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Apr. 5th, 2006 10:10 pmI should have got some lottery tickets today -- the powerball number was 42!
I could've used the money to buy more books. And also to fund a life of unemployment so I would never have to talk to customers again.
Books for March
Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto. A Japanese girl obsessed with Rococo and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright clothing becomes friends with a moped-driving punk girl. Original source material for an awesome movie. And I loved the book too, especially since Ichiko is much more foul-mouthed, which seems fitting to her character. My only complaint is that the cover art, meant to mimic embroidery, looks like a print out from a really old color printer.
Wise Guy by Nicholas Pileggi. Basis for the movie Good Fellas, about the life of Henry Hill and his career in the Mafia. Fun.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. The story of two women's friendship in 19th Century China. I really enjoyed this, despite the fact that first person narrator's frequently unlikeable plus the chapter about foot-binding, which nearly made me throw up. Still, the story's very poignant and hard to put down. It's nice to find a historical novel set in a different locale for once.
Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash. I read this after watching Walk the Line again. Johnny Cash is The Man. It's not a linear account, but much more anecdotal in nature, which is kind of distracting. It's a bit ironic that Cash seemed rather embarrassed by his history of drug abuse (although honest enough to not shy away from it), when the movie about his life is almost entirely centered around that aspect.
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Another autobiography, this time about the author's bizarre childhood. Despite the neglect of her eccentric parents and living in poverty, Walls doesn't depict her life with the self-pity of a victim. It's rather more reflective and nonjudgmental and oftentimes funny. A very good read, I'd highly recommend.
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lisa Willig. Bleah. This was a bit more fluffy and Chicklit-y than I expected. It has two plotlines, one in the present as a historical researcher/Bridget Jones-type heroine tries to uncover the identity of a British spy (the Pink Carnation) in Napoleonic France and the other in the past, with another airheaded heroine also trying to uncover the identity of said spy so she can help him reestablish the monarchy. It's dumb. Interesting enough to finish the book, but I don't think I'll be buying the sequel. I haven't read enough Chicklit to know, but do all the main characters seem to come across as Mary Sues? I'm curious to know. Anyway, one would be better off just reading The Scarlet Pimpernel instead of this.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, reread. In times of stress, you can't go wrong with Austen. This time, it occured to me that Marianne is a very wangsty, emo teenager (and not very likeable either), but I guess that's the point.
The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman. This is the second book I've read by this author and I think she's going to be one of those Must-reads, where I have to get read all her books. She does modern Gothic thrillers very well, a la Barbara Michaels (who used to be one of my Must-reads.) This one's about a writer whose fantasy-novelist mother died under mysterious circumstances years ago. The main character's trying to uncover what really happened to a)her mother and b)the mother's last book, which also mysteriously, disappeared. Includes a lot of rumination on the nature of fairy tales and folklore as well, which I also liked.
Lost was a good episode today. The scene where Hurley kicks Sawyer's ass is possibly my favorite moment of the series so far. Jin laughing in the background while Sun urges him to do something makes it totally awesome.
I could've used the money to buy more books. And also to fund a life of unemployment so I would never have to talk to customers again.
Books for March
Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto. A Japanese girl obsessed with Rococo and Baby, the Stars Shine Bright clothing becomes friends with a moped-driving punk girl. Original source material for an awesome movie. And I loved the book too, especially since Ichiko is much more foul-mouthed, which seems fitting to her character. My only complaint is that the cover art, meant to mimic embroidery, looks like a print out from a really old color printer.
Wise Guy by Nicholas Pileggi. Basis for the movie Good Fellas, about the life of Henry Hill and his career in the Mafia. Fun.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. The story of two women's friendship in 19th Century China. I really enjoyed this, despite the fact that first person narrator's frequently unlikeable plus the chapter about foot-binding, which nearly made me throw up. Still, the story's very poignant and hard to put down. It's nice to find a historical novel set in a different locale for once.
Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash. I read this after watching Walk the Line again. Johnny Cash is The Man. It's not a linear account, but much more anecdotal in nature, which is kind of distracting. It's a bit ironic that Cash seemed rather embarrassed by his history of drug abuse (although honest enough to not shy away from it), when the movie about his life is almost entirely centered around that aspect.
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Another autobiography, this time about the author's bizarre childhood. Despite the neglect of her eccentric parents and living in poverty, Walls doesn't depict her life with the self-pity of a victim. It's rather more reflective and nonjudgmental and oftentimes funny. A very good read, I'd highly recommend.
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lisa Willig. Bleah. This was a bit more fluffy and Chicklit-y than I expected. It has two plotlines, one in the present as a historical researcher/Bridget Jones-type heroine tries to uncover the identity of a British spy (the Pink Carnation) in Napoleonic France and the other in the past, with another airheaded heroine also trying to uncover the identity of said spy so she can help him reestablish the monarchy. It's dumb. Interesting enough to finish the book, but I don't think I'll be buying the sequel. I haven't read enough Chicklit to know, but do all the main characters seem to come across as Mary Sues? I'm curious to know. Anyway, one would be better off just reading The Scarlet Pimpernel instead of this.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, reread. In times of stress, you can't go wrong with Austen. This time, it occured to me that Marianne is a very wangsty, emo teenager (and not very likeable either), but I guess that's the point.
The Seduction of Water by Carol Goodman. This is the second book I've read by this author and I think she's going to be one of those Must-reads, where I have to get read all her books. She does modern Gothic thrillers very well, a la Barbara Michaels (who used to be one of my Must-reads.) This one's about a writer whose fantasy-novelist mother died under mysterious circumstances years ago. The main character's trying to uncover what really happened to a)her mother and b)the mother's last book, which also mysteriously, disappeared. Includes a lot of rumination on the nature of fairy tales and folklore as well, which I also liked.
Lost was a good episode today. The scene where Hurley kicks Sawyer's ass is possibly my favorite moment of the series so far. Jin laughing in the background while Sun urges him to do something makes it totally awesome.
