Bookcrossing… yay!!!
How cool is this!! Excuse my excitement, but one of the books I released yesterday has been registered as found!! Yippee!! I would guess that the others have been found too, just not registered.
I hope that I may add “not yet” into that last clause and it proves true.
Anyway, I am excited to bursting that Aeneid has been found, and the person who found it said they would read and release it!
Yay. How exciting.
Bookcrossing
I haven’t released any books for a very long time, but I did today – four! The joys of public transport. I do hope they get picked up by people who appreciate them. I also hope it encourages me to do it with more books… since I hang on to them rather selfishly most of the time.
Deathstalker/Long weekend
Ok, so… in Lorne for the loong weekend, and I didn’t leave the house in about 48 hours. That’s not to say I didn’t go outside – I did, they have a perfectly lovely balcony. We dragged cushions out there and slept for a bit in the sun on Saturday afternoon; it was great.
Anyway, I started my third book of the weekend this morning. The first two were the Deathstalkers I mentioned. Really good. The book – even two books – before, I was getting a little bit distressed that maybe, just maybe, he was losing The Touch a bit; he was repeating stuff in the same book, whole phrases in fact (which is fine if it’s a character’s catch phrase, but when it’s the narrator describing something, I’m not such a fan), and I was getting a bit narked. But never fear – these were really well written, so it’s all good. Except… yes… I realised when I got home that I have not, as previously thought, bought all of the next books. I have Deathstalker Prelude, which I am looking forward to reading, but I don’t have the one after Deathstalker Legacy, which is making me a bit mad. But the Readers’ Feast night is coming up, so I’m not that fussed… they will soon be in my grubby little hands.
Hitchhikers’ Guide
I liked it. I don’t really mind that much that they changed the story a bit – even putting in new bits – because the story is so completely flipped out that it would be impossible to film in the first place, and then no one would go and see even if it was filmed except for the really hard-core Adams fans, and most of them would be likely to be disappointed anyway. So, my thought is, at least this way they would have got a pretty good audience of both Adams-nuts and others, which might in turn get more people reading the books, which is all good.
I liked Jon Malkovitch is Harma Kavula. He was cool. And the guy who played Zaphod – so, so perfect.
Deathstalker issues
Well, I finally – finally! – found Deathstalker War, the third in the series, which it took me absolutely ages to find. I read it… and then realised that I did not, as previously thought, have the fourth. More frustrations, but thankfully this one was infinitely easier to find.
The Back Story: I read Deathstalker ages ago, maybe 18 months or something. I loved it, but I couldn’t find the second, Deathstalker Rebellion, for ages. Then I found it – and about 3 others in the series, which I figured I ought to get too – but couldn’t find the third. I tried the usual places… and then realised that I hadn’t been to Minotaur, because the only other time I had dared got there I nearly cried and had to tear myself away from the place before I lost all my money. Anyway, I braved that most dangerous of places, and it was there – hurrah! So I got it, and read it. Then the above saga happened.
Regular Programme: Anyway, I was reading another book when I found the fourth (which doesn’t usually stop me, but it was really good; I’llpost about it later when I remember the author’s name), soI get to start it this weekend – a long weekend – yippee! Much excitement. And I noticed, when I was at Reader’s Feast buying said fourth book, that there is another Deathstalker book, which I don’t have, that is still in large paperback! So I wonder if he is still pushing them out… he’ll have to run out of steam, though, just from what I’ve sneaked on the backs of the books I haven’t got up to yet (yes, I actually bought books I hadn’t read the blurb of; you can’t read the blurb of a story two books removed from where you’re up to, it’s immoral!)
Caligula
Just about to finish a bio of Caligula, which I have quite enjoyed – which is a good thing, since I recently bought a book on Agrippina (the Younger) by the same author. I had to laugh, though; I don’t know whether he did it deliberately, but I thought he was aiming for a dispassionate account, or as dispassionate as an historian is capable of being, but there’s a great line about Caligula being condemned by historians through the ages largely because he deserves it! Ah, Objectivity; how we worship Thee. As well, i’m not entirely convinced by his treatment of the sources, who are basically Suetonius and Dio, with a bit of Philo and Seneca thrown in. He says they’re unreliable, and totally dismisses some stories – and I think I agree with his rationale in those cases – but I wasn’t always able to follow his logic for the stories that he accepted as likely to be basically true, or containing some useful historical nugget.
Nonetheless, it was an interesting read. And the above issues are always interesting for an historian, and perhaps especially a history teacher, to be reminded of.
Fandom and elitism are not a comfortable mix
I have discovered that being a fan, in the fan situation, makes me feel quite uncomfortable.
I went to a ‘meet Jasper Fforde’ night some weeks ago. I’d been looking forward to it for a month or so – his books are great, he’s Welsh, it was going to be great. And it was: he was very entertaining, spoke like he writes – all rambling and funny and cross-referenced.
However.
The problem with the evening was not Jasper himself, but everyone else there. No, not true – not everyone – just the people who asked cringe-worthy questions and generally fawned over him. Which, in a way and to be honest, I would have liked to do, had I been able to think up an appropriately witty question or remark and manage to get myself noticed (which, I admit, might not have been hard, since I was in the second row – only not in the first row because I thought that would be just too pathetic).
So the people who annoyed me and made me want to cringe really only did so, if I am to be truthful, because they did what I wanted to and didn’t because I thought it would be a bit embarassing. I took an elitest view to the whole thing and decided to look down on these people who seemed so desperately eager for the conversation and approval, in some form, of this author whom they admired so much (as if I didn’t).
So fandom and elitism are not placid bed-fellows. You can probably expect more dissertation on this in the future, as it really is something that disturbs at the same time that it fascinates me.
Lotsa books
I’ve read a couple of books over the last week or so. It’s been fun to be on holidays.
Something Rotten – by Mr Fforde, whom I saw last Thursday – more about that later.
Grim Tuesday – by Garth Nix, which again was awfully entertaining. I can’t wait to read Wednesday.
Artemis Fowl – by Eoin Cowler. Also very entertaining, looking forward to reading the rest of them. I like the idea of the main character being a 12yo criminal matermind with some family issues.
The Gutenberg Revolution – by John Man, just for something slightly different.
Right not I’m reading two books. This is because the one I was already reading, the Empyrion omnibus by Stephen Lawhead (yes, like a cross between Hyperion and Endymion, but very very different and hopefully not so disappointing as that’s conclusion was… I’m still not over that), was too enormous to carry to the HTAA conference I went to today (and tomorrow, and Thursday). So I took along Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman, which I’ve been meaning to read for ages – it’s all about what it’s like in “Girl World”: aimed at mothers and daughters, but I think it will be really useful to read as a teacher too. So far it’s been pretty good; not entirely sure if/whether I’ll be able to put it into practice.
A disappointing Firebird
Have just finished Michael Asher’s Firebird, one of the books I got from Walkerville Library. It was an excellent story… right up to about a fifth to go. Then it got stupid. It was almost like he had this great story going and couldn’t really figure out a way to end up, and so added in this stupid bit (aliens; rarely a good idea outside of good scifi, and only then when it’s obvious they will feature) in order to bring it a not-very-dramatic conclusion.
Sigh. And I decided to finish reading that rather than jump straight into Fforde’s fourth, Something Rotten. My restraint is incredible… I’m writing this rather than starting it, even now!
Drinking Midnight Wine
My “I need to read at the airport and REFUSE to take Dart-Thorntot with me” book. A Simon Green, but less dark than his usual stuff, which was refreshing. Quite odd and very entertaining; I was worried it was going to morph into needing a sequel but this story has avoided it, although of course there is always room for another with the same characters. Highly recommended.
Now I need to get back to the Deathstalker series, but a) I think I’ll have to read the lot again, and that will be a bit painful – they’re so dark; and b) I know something bad is going to happen (thanks a lot, Kate). So I’m in denial.
Randomly Yours, Alex 