Today is fanfic day, and in true fanfic fashion, it's time to see how JK Rowling feels about all of this.
Showing posts with label literacy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label literacy. Show all posts
June 10, 2010
June 9, 2010
30 Days: Day 14 - A non-fiction book.
I'm going to keep this short and to the point as I think the following speaks for itself.
My favorite non-fiction books are The Zombie Survival Guide and How to Survive a Robot Uprising. It's coming.
My favorite non-fiction books are The Zombie Survival Guide and How to Survive a Robot Uprising. It's coming.
June 8, 2010
30 Days: Day 13 - A fictional book.
And now a return to blogging!
A book I finished recently (and I mean that in the loosest terms. I haven't really committed myself to leisurely reading since I received my degree in reading good) was Seeing Redd, the second installment in the Looking Glass Wars trilogy that, last I heard, was in the works of becoming a movie. Which would be rather awesome, I think, because there's lots of room for compelling imagery that feeds off of viewer knowledge since the story of Alice is so well known.
Anyway, the book itself isn't necessarily spectacular and is an easy read. It's predictable, but fun nonetheless. I personally enjoyed some of the feminist undertones in a story that was originally largely about a damsel in distress (for example, Wonderland is ruled by a Queendom and the King of the Baorderlands, Arch, is considered a misogynist idiot). However, I recognize that I love retellings and fantasy, and the book nerd in me squeed all over this series as it have several throwbacks to the original series and incarnations, and the modern fantasy nerd of me loved the Westernized version of a magical girl trope normally associated with Japanese cartoons.
Let me just breakdown the basics.
Alyss Heart is Alice reincarnated, the Princess of Wonderland and wielder of White Magic. She's a bit obnoxious and doesn't really become badass until later, but she's not the real reason most of us are reading. I was pleased that she was depicted as a dark brunette/raven haired as that's generally how Alice is never portrayed. I'm assuming this is a deliberate homage to the Queen of Hearts normally illustrated with dark hair since Alyss represented the Hearts Family out of the four family factions.
The main antagonist is Alyss' aunt, Redd, wielder of Black Magic and basically crazy. She is a mixture of the Red Queen and Queen of Hearts, her image coloring being red (including her hair) and is often yelling for beheadings. She dethrones her sister quite early in the first book, taking over Wonderland while Alyss is in hiding in our world.
Other major characters that are easily recognizable include the very badass Hatter Madigan who serves as Alyss' body guard, Bibwit Harte as the white rabbit and tutor, and The Cat based on the Cheshire Cat and Redd's assassin. Card soldiers return as well, and sport fancy physical updates best illustrated through official art rather than descriptions in the book.
Three books of the series are out, I have yet to read the latest titled Arch Enemy, so I'm hoping it doesn't disappoint.
A book I finished recently (and I mean that in the loosest terms. I haven't really committed myself to leisurely reading since I received my degree in reading good) was Seeing Redd, the second installment in the Looking Glass Wars trilogy that, last I heard, was in the works of becoming a movie. Which would be rather awesome, I think, because there's lots of room for compelling imagery that feeds off of viewer knowledge since the story of Alice is so well known.
Anyway, the book itself isn't necessarily spectacular and is an easy read. It's predictable, but fun nonetheless. I personally enjoyed some of the feminist undertones in a story that was originally largely about a damsel in distress (for example, Wonderland is ruled by a Queendom and the King of the Baorderlands, Arch, is considered a misogynist idiot). However, I recognize that I love retellings and fantasy, and the book nerd in me squeed all over this series as it have several throwbacks to the original series and incarnations, and the modern fantasy nerd of me loved the Westernized version of a magical girl trope normally associated with Japanese cartoons.
Let me just breakdown the basics.
Alyss Heart is Alice reincarnated, the Princess of Wonderland and wielder of White Magic. She's a bit obnoxious and doesn't really become badass until later, but she's not the real reason most of us are reading. I was pleased that she was depicted as a dark brunette/raven haired as that's generally how Alice is never portrayed. I'm assuming this is a deliberate homage to the Queen of Hearts normally illustrated with dark hair since Alyss represented the Hearts Family out of the four family factions.
The main antagonist is Alyss' aunt, Redd, wielder of Black Magic and basically crazy. She is a mixture of the Red Queen and Queen of Hearts, her image coloring being red (including her hair) and is often yelling for beheadings. She dethrones her sister quite early in the first book, taking over Wonderland while Alyss is in hiding in our world.
Other major characters that are easily recognizable include the very badass Hatter Madigan who serves as Alyss' body guard, Bibwit Harte as the white rabbit and tutor, and The Cat based on the Cheshire Cat and Redd's assassin. Card soldiers return as well, and sport fancy physical updates best illustrated through official art rather than descriptions in the book.
Three books of the series are out, I have yet to read the latest titled Arch Enemy, so I'm hoping it doesn't disappoint.
May 25, 2010
30 Days: Day 4 - Favorite Book
As I told my friend today over Gtalk, today I will not be a child! Sure, I could sit here and blab about Harry Potter, which is one of my favorite book series, but I would mostly be mocking it...which you may or may not find interesting considering that everyone knows about Harry Potter.
Anyway, I'll be brief and say it's Memoirs of a Geisha. Memoirs has it's own set of Very Unique Problems, one of them spurring the misconception of what a mizuage actually is and that legal battle that occurred after the author outed his retire geisha source, who then fell under much scrutiny from her peers as geisha life is one of secrecy. This makes sense as the entire art of geisha is to entertain and appeal (for example, Inara's profession of a Companion in Firefly is based off of geisha). These girls work behind painted faces and beautifully crafted robes with the only intent to serve their patron, not express themselves and their individuality.
You know how they say part of what makes a woman desirable is because of her mystery? How your boyfriend and husbands don't want to know that their girlfriends and wives poop? That's the life of geisha in a nut shell.
Aside from mizuage, the book is reported to follow geisha life somewhat accurately, and Sayuri's narrative is vivid in description and writing devices. She speaks in similes and metaphors, and you can tell that her character embodies the idea of an entertainer, even in her fictitious memoirs.
And yes, Sayuri is fictitious, even though much of her life is based on real life events and career choices of actual geisha.
The book spans Sayuri's early childhood, when she was known as Chiyo, and spends a great portion of the book describing her years when she first became a geisha, right before Japan was attacked by Allied Forces in WWII. A small bit of the book describes her life immediately afterwards before doing a quick recap of her life from that point until present. I would classify this as a book for those interested in romance and historical fiction as romance plays a key role in the plot. This is also a novel about female gender roles, a women's world, which can make it less appealing to those who do not find that subject matter particularly intriguing.
The book never directly deals with misogyny, classism, racism, and other big issues that were obviously abundant during this time which is often criticized. However, in historical context and the narrative, it would be highly inappropriate for Sayuri to ever outright address those issues, and I feel her passing commentary on the issues themselves is telling enough on how she feels about being a geisha and the life of women in 1930's Japan. Of course, critics point out that the book is written by a man, which is a valid point, take that as you will.
The book was also made into a movie, which was splendid eye candy and had its own host of controversies, but did not do the story justice. Figures.
Anyway, I'll be brief and say it's Memoirs of a Geisha. Memoirs has it's own set of Very Unique Problems, one of them spurring the misconception of what a mizuage actually is and that legal battle that occurred after the author outed his retire geisha source, who then fell under much scrutiny from her peers as geisha life is one of secrecy. This makes sense as the entire art of geisha is to entertain and appeal (for example, Inara's profession of a Companion in Firefly is based off of geisha). These girls work behind painted faces and beautifully crafted robes with the only intent to serve their patron, not express themselves and their individuality.
You know how they say part of what makes a woman desirable is because of her mystery? How your boyfriend and husbands don't want to know that their girlfriends and wives poop? That's the life of geisha in a nut shell.
Aside from mizuage, the book is reported to follow geisha life somewhat accurately, and Sayuri's narrative is vivid in description and writing devices. She speaks in similes and metaphors, and you can tell that her character embodies the idea of an entertainer, even in her fictitious memoirs.
And yes, Sayuri is fictitious, even though much of her life is based on real life events and career choices of actual geisha.
The book spans Sayuri's early childhood, when she was known as Chiyo, and spends a great portion of the book describing her years when she first became a geisha, right before Japan was attacked by Allied Forces in WWII. A small bit of the book describes her life immediately afterwards before doing a quick recap of her life from that point until present. I would classify this as a book for those interested in romance and historical fiction as romance plays a key role in the plot. This is also a novel about female gender roles, a women's world, which can make it less appealing to those who do not find that subject matter particularly intriguing.
The book never directly deals with misogyny, classism, racism, and other big issues that were obviously abundant during this time which is often criticized. However, in historical context and the narrative, it would be highly inappropriate for Sayuri to ever outright address those issues, and I feel her passing commentary on the issues themselves is telling enough on how she feels about being a geisha and the life of women in 1930's Japan. Of course, critics point out that the book is written by a man, which is a valid point, take that as you will.
The book was also made into a movie, which was splendid eye candy and had its own host of controversies, but did not do the story justice. Figures.
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