Comments | sciathan_file: Day 4: The 30 Day Book Meme

sciathan_file

Day 4: The 30 Day Book Meme

Feb 13, 2011 21:59

mornea just reminded me that I am totally behind on this. Oh well, I take comfort in the fact that nowhere on the tin does it say "30 Consecutive Days." Also, I have been occupied by the joint activities of substitute teaching and trying not to continually call out my family for various acts of asinine behavior ( Read more... )

meme, merlin rocks my socks, ouran, real life, books

Comments 10

mornea February 14 2011, 19:27:05 UTC

Thank you. You're right. Nowhere does it say thirty consecutive days. :D
And IA about Mumford and Sons as well. Awesome.

I *knew* I'd read that opening but I couldn't remember where from-- I also went through an Arthurian Legend phase at about the same age, and I read the series. I seem to remember being disappointed by the last one, but loving The Crystal Cave. Now I can't really remember much of any of it.

sciathan_file February 15 2011, 07:56:08 UTC

You is not the same person, is you??? :D

This is one of the few Arthurian books I have gone back to (although, someday I will read Steinbeck's update on Malory...it has been sitting on my shelf for an ungodly amount of time). I don't like The Wicked Day all that much because it is not Merlin and I want more Merlin every time. But alas, it is always Mordred.

There are a few moments of that book that stick out for whatever reason, and moreso now that I went back and dug around all the Welsh mythology and the original myths. But it held up quite nicely when I re-read it...2ish years ago.

mornea February 15 2011, 17:45:45 UTC

Did you read the "Hawk of May" series?

sciathan_file February 15 2011, 20:45:43 UTC

I haven't...what is is about? I might want to look it up...

shinebunny February 14 2011, 21:09:24 UTC

Is it fair that I had a moment of confusion over the author's being Martha Stewart? :)

Also, I thought I'd let you know I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle and really enjoyed it. For me it wasn't Book Thief level, but I liked it a lot. Something about the voice and the creepiness, and how the creepiness was all so insidious.

sciathan_file February 15 2011, 08:01:37 UTC

THAT'S BECAUSE I'M DUMB AND DIDN'T TYPE THE AUTHOR'S CORRECT NAME. IT IS MARY STEWART. MAAAAAAARY!

That book is deeply creepy in ways you don't necessarily expect. The Book Thief is purely wonderful stuff (it really was probably the best thing I read last year, but I'd already spoken at length about it, so I wanted to show some new stuff off). Shirley Jackson really is the master of twisting the familiar into the creepily fantastic. Glad you enjoyed!

aeternitasbeach February 15 2011, 00:11:41 UTC

ASKLJDKA;DK; THE CRYSTAL CAAAAAVE ♥

that book has some of the most gorgeous prose ever and it is probably going to stick with me forever. (also, I read in an interview somewhere that Mr. Colin Morgan read the trilogy when he was researching young!Merlin and I was ridiculously pleased.) I need to really read the other books some time.

you are writing Kyouya again!? :D :D :D

sciathan_file February 15 2011, 08:13:44 UTC

I LOVE THAT BOOK!

Mary Stewart certainly does it well. And I love, from my ersatz Celtic scholar-ness, that Merlin totes around a harp like a proper Celtic bard (since poetry to harp music and prophecy were often one and the same). And, you should definitely read the other books when academia finishes eating you. :)

And I am attempting to finally write Kyouya and his mistress (mostly in the Japanese class I'm taking which is not geared towards terribly motivated students...). Although I started writing the Kyouya part today and was like...I dunno how to write him anymore. His voice is simply not in my head...

I also need to catch up on like 2 seasons of Merlin. I saw what I think is the end of last season and it was all crazy, so I wonder what is up now! :0

aeternitasbeach February 15 2011, 17:25:36 UTC

I have like a .doc file with pages and pages of passages I typed up that I loved when I read it. Even now, when I go back to them, I can't help but gush over her gorgeous turns of phrase and how freaking incredible it all is. And everything about that Merlin is love! I loved his curiousity about everything ever and the whole internal struggle of being human and also very Other at the same time, and how he went from being overwhelmed by his power to pretty much going with the flow to being badass and levelheaded and changing the landscape (literally on some occasions!) while everything around him was all panic and chaos. Also, I've always had a hard time reading first-person POV but I was completely enchanted because the narration was so A++! (Oh gosh, can we just forget life and talk about this book forever?)

As for Merlin The Show: it continues to be RIDICULOUS but fun though the later seasons get somewhat darker and I guess you could say that stuff actually happened. Season 3 has been trying to get at more of the legendy aspects I ( ... )

sciathan_file February 15 2011, 21:09:35 UTC

I do that sometimes (most recently for McEwan's Atonement and Marilynne Robinson's Gilead. The first person POV is very natural in that book in that I feel, despite the epicness of the character and the magical elements, that it is really a complex human being talking. Also I just love his character. And I can talk about all kinds of books at length. Sometimes I even get paid (although I cried a little bit when a senior English student asked if anyone could possibly like Keats last week(!!!)).

Luckily, I never started watching Merlin for its historical accuracy or consistency. Unless I'm looking to be impressed, I just want to be entertained. Also, I am almost never spoilerphobic, and, this makes me want to go track down season 2 as Ambrosius was right behind Merlin as one of my favorite characters. I am seriously always gutted when he dies. EVERY TIME.

I have a crazy writing process..and I can see Kyouya and what he is supposed to do, but I can't hear his voice properly. It's not even first person narration, but it needs ( ... )