| Date | Book
Title |
Comments |
| 8/20/2008 |
Northanger
Abbey ***** |
As with any Jane Austen book,
movie, TV miniseries, I think it was just fantastic. I can't say
that statement is entirely true. I did see "Becoming Jane," the
Anne Hathaway "biographical" movie of Jane Austen, which was okay but
not great. On the contrary, I really did enjoy reading Northanger Abbey. This was
her first completed and published book. However, unlike her other
novels, I didn't really feel that Catherine (the heroine) was put out
too much, unlike Elizabeth & Jane and Marianne & Elinor.
I suppose this is more of a comedy similar to Emma. It has the normal
themes: rich vs. middle class vs. poor, women vs. men, marriage
vs. spinsterhood, and all is well in the end. Ironically, reading
Northanger Abbey helped
me to understand some of the finer points in "Becoming Jane." For
example, in the movie, Austen gets to meet Mrs. Radcliff, a female
novel writer established long before Austen was a household name.
She helps her to see that it is possible for a woman to earn a living
"by the pen" and not just by marriage. In Northanger Abbey, Austen spends a
lot of time espousing the greatness of novels, like those of Mrs.
Radcliff (and herself), while society apparently deemed that reading
them was unbecoming. Whether Jane Austen and Mrs. Radcliff
ever met IRL, apparently has no historical basis, but it makes for a
good movie plot line. |
| 12/4/2007 |
Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy **** |
I actually finished this a month
or so ago, but I haven't had time to update my blog. Of course I
liked this
book. What's not to like? It's geek-fi TM.
Once
again, I saw the movie first, and I thought the movie did a pretty good
job of capturing the book. The sequence in the movie is a little
different from the book, but all in all very similar. The book
did end kind of in the middle of the story, which is a little annoying,
but ya gotta sell books, right? I'm not sure I'll read the
remaining 4 books of the series just yet. I have a very very long
list, and sequels will just have to wait. |
| 9/11/2007 |
Stardust *** |
All in all, I liked this
book. It's more mature than the kid-friendly movie might
suggest. There's a moderately explicit love scene and somewhat
bloody scenes. I saw the movie first, so I hate saying this, but
I think I liked most of the movie plot line better, well, at least the
end. In the beginning of the movie, Tristran uses the candle to
get into Faerie. In the book, Tristran learns (sort of) that he
belongs in Faerie and is allowed across the wall opening. In the
end, all live "Happily Ever After" in both the movie and the book, but
I prefer the fairy tale movie ending that since Yvaine metaphorically
gave Tristran her heart, they both lived forever. I thought it
was a little more clever. What can I say? I'm a hopeless
romantic. |
| 9/11/2007 |
General |
I'm starting this blog as a way
to keep track of the books I've read. I don't expect anyone to
read it, though I think the reading list is pretty thorough. I
welcome any recommendations to add to my list, but as you can see, I
have a long way to go to even scratch the surface of my own. I'll
provide my own comments and critiques, but I'm by no means an expert in
literature. Rating: * to ***** |