dreamcatching and sherbet lemons

Fragile Things Audio Excerpt for Download

2006-11-03T03:23:00.000+08:00

I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween!

Anyways, here's the link to download an audio excerpt of "Fragile Things"
Click click

And a link to Neil's Halloween article in the NY Times
Click click click click

A V.F.D. (Vaguely Fascinating Discourse): Thoughts on "A Series of Unfortunate Events"

2006-01-02T14:59:00.000+08:00

Originally posted at my GJ on 11 January 2005.

I finally finished the 11 books published so far of "A Series of Unfortunate Events" by Lemony Snicket. With much thanks to Cousin Malkin and his prompt book drop-offs, and to my sister for getting home late from gigs - the books kept me company while waiting, and prevented me from falling asleep.

For a series with as basic a plot as ASoUE, it certainly is full of unexpected twists and turns. Sure, the first eight books followed a predictable set of events: the Baudelaire orphans are sent by Mr. Poe, the banker in charge of their financial affairs, to a new guardian; Count Olaf, self-proclaimed VFD (Very Fine-looking Dude) but who's actually a VFD (Very Foul-smeling Dude), finds them, dons his latest disguise and hatches his latest scheme; nobody, apart from the Baudelaires, see through Count Olaf's disguise; Count Olaf's true identity is finally revealed; Count Olaf escapes. But in the course of those eight books, and the succeeding three, Snicket slowly reveals little details subtly and cunningly, that deepen the mystery even more than it already is. Perhaps one of the most interesting surprises was the author's involvement in the story. He was not just narrating it, he was living it. His somewhat shady past, and his equally shady name (who would name her child "Lemony"????), lend more mystery to the whole thing, making it very difficult to stop reading. It's like combining the Da Vinci Code with Harry Potter, sans the magic and any religious mysteries.

The rest of the characters were equally fascinating.

Violet Baudelaire can probably go head to head with MacGyver when it comes to getting out of sticky situations using quick inventions. Klaus Baudelaire is a walking library. Sunny Baudelaire will probably creep out your friendly neighborhood dentist (ouch!) and will grow up to be the toast of the culinary world. Mr. Poe has a recurring respiratory problem. The Quagmire Triplets are another set of orphans with interesting personality quirks and a fortune in sapphires. Living with Aunt Josephine will probably cause you to get commited into a sanatorium. Dr. Montgomery will really hit it off with Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter. If you play your cards right, you can probably make Madame Lulu give you anything you want. The Captain of the Queequeg will not hesitate to kick you out of his submarine if you hesitate to follow his orders because he (or she!) who hesitates is lost (aye!). Esmé Squalor tries so hard to be "in". But you would probably rather be an outcast than associate yourself with Count Olaf or drink, heaven forbid, aqueous martinis and parsley soda, if that's what it meant to be "in". Some of them are really weird characters, I must admit, but their basic personalities are very much relatable. You'd probably see people you know in them. I, for one, while reading about Esmé Squalor, was reminded of 8 people I know. *whistles*

The books also boast of a variety of topics that the reader can learn more about. Mushrooms; grammar; cooking; unusual words; poetry; how to climb frozen waterfalls; the various uses of your sharp teeth that will cause you to get scolded by your dentist as long as you live; marmosets (I had to Google it!); to a multitude of words that begin with the letters V, F, and D, that those Sesame Street folks would be proud of. Lemony (and I refer to the author as such to avoid confusion with other significant Snickets) also isn't afraid to use the word "flirting" or write about young people liking each other, as some authors of young adult literature are. Oh, and I gleaned some unique insights about good and evil. On top of that, the books are humorous without trying hard to be funny and entertaining. Not bad for a book for young adults.

Oh yeah, the reverse psychology is a primary element of the series that you cannot ignore. Lemony has been living a miserable life while writing about the Baudelaires, he really knows what he's talking about. So don't believe a word I've been saying. Stay away from bookstores or friends with a complete set of these books that you can borrow. It is not worth your time. Go watch Home TV Shopping or pick up a book entitled Mushroom Minutae, for example.

One last thought. Jim Carrey as Count Olaf in the movie? A V.F.D. A Very Fine Decision, indeed.

"Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

2005-12-23T10:30:00.000+08:00

"Artemis Fowl" (2003)

Written by: Eoin Colfer

Source: e-book

Website: ArtemisFowl.com

Synopsis (from Barnes and Noble)
Artemis Fowl is one of the greatest criminal minds the world has ever seen. He is heir to the Fowl family empire—a centuries old clan of international underworld figures and con artists. He is arguably the most cunning Fowl of all. He is also twelve years old.

Artemis' interest in mythology and an obsession with the Internet leads him to discover proof of the existence of "The People"- otherwise known as fairies, sprites, leprechauns and trolls. He learns every fairy has a magical Book. If he can find the Book, it will lead him to "The People's" vast treasure of gold.

With his brutish sidekick, Butler, he sets his plans in motion. Artemis tricks a drunken old fairy woman into loaning him her Book, a tiny golden volume, for thirty minutes. He scans it with a digital camera and emails it to his Mac G6 computer. Back in his mansion in Ireland, he is the first human to decode the secrets of the fairies.

Artemis needs a leprechaun to help him with this plan. He and Butler hunt down Holly Short, a tough, female LEPrecon, part of a gung-ho Fairy commando unit, who is on a reconnaissance mission. He kidnaps her, and a major battle begins. It's satyr against gnome, man against elf, and for the first time in his life, Artemis must decide what he values most.

Favorite Quote

'A diversion then, Butler. Two minutes are all I need.'

The manservant nodded thoughtfully. 'The usual?'

'I don't see why not. Knock yourself out... Or rather, don't.'

Artemis blinked. That was his second joke in recent times. And his first aloud. Better take care. This was no time for frivolity.

Review
"Artemis Fowl" is a fun story that I couldn't stop reading. Eoin Colfer has that contemporary writing style much like J.K. Rowling's that I really enjoy. The book boasts of fast pacing, witty dialogue, modern language, and a descriptive choice of words. He has also managed to take modern technology and fantasy elements, and had them interact in very interesting ways. Although he obviously took the traditional fairy stories and adapted them, it was still a surprise to see that Colfer's fairies had technology that far rivaled the Mud People's own -- they're all nuclear-powered! A world superpower's dream come true. :p

Despite the almost flawless interaction of magic and technology, though, it was a little disappointing to see a MudTech vs FairyTech battle instead of a MudTech vs Magic one... or maybe I just completely missed the point? Unfortunately, I was too busy being weirded-out by the fairy wearing the high-tech helmet, power artificial wings, and black overalls, probably at the moment when someone was trying to emphasize that point. :p

Colfer's characterizations were also pretty solid. Butler is a delight to read, and so was Juliet, his sister. Holly reminded me of a fairy Kim Possible, and Artemis (the Second!) himself can give Dexter and his Laboratory a run for their money (but they are neck and neck in the Arrogance department). However, it was a little difficult to empathize with young Arty. He's much too smart, too rich, too confident... too far away. I don't believe he's truly evil, but my sensibilities were given quite a jolt when I found out this genius criminal mastermind was only 12 years old. Or maybe I completely missed the point once again. :p However, he's a character that young readers will surely admire, but I, for one, am not gonna be sorry if he one day gets his comeuppance.

Overall, it was a great read, and I'm looking forward to reading more about his adventures.

Rating (out of 5 dreamcatchers)

Season's Greetings!

2005-12-23T08:32:00.000+08:00

Because I won't have internet access until the 27th...

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!

Book Crossing

2005-12-14T16:35:00.000+08:00

I joined BookCrossing, a site for book-lovers who may want to "free their books" (thanks for posting about it, Lau!). What that means exactly, will be better explained by the site itself, so click click click this link!

They also have a Bookshelf feature, using which, I'll slowly be adding the titles of my books to a personal list. Meanwhile, I've placed a link to my bookshelf in the sidebar over there -->.

p.s. Tom Riddle's Diary knows foreign languages (see previous two entries for links). :p

A very looooooooong book meme

2005-12-07T09:24:00.000+08:00

Got this one from Maggie of PadawansGuide's LJ

Legend:
Bold - Books read
Underlined - Books owned
Italicized - Not yet finished reading

Thank goodness my very crude work-around for a post-cut actually works. :p

The very looooong book meme

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corellis Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerers Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones’s Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl -- starting to realize I haven't read any Roald Dahl....
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnights Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. Georges Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick O'Brian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Ken Kesey -- must've been compulsory high school reading....
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville -- haven't read it despite what Roald Dahl's Matilda says....
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl -- no Roald Dahl yet! yes, I am now officially, a loser.
170. Charlottes Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco -- it took forever, but I finished it! yay me!
175. Sophies World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
189. Heidi, Johanna Spyri -- mandatory grade school reading....
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence -- I don't know what compelled me to pick this book up, really. Slow reading....
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle - I love this book!!
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winters Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winters Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell -- what?!?!?
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Dolls House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley -- fabulous!
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L’Engle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne -- still more required high school reading
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Raft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock - I *wish* I owned this and the sequels!
269. Witch of Blackbird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. O’Brien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen Gods Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setters Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire - just finished! wonderful!
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman - yes, I'm officially a Gaiman fangirl
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby
289. The Bookmans Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magics Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magics Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magics Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love -- errrrr?!?!!?
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving
302. Enders Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lions Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucaults Pendulum, Umberto Eco -- I don't think I'll ever finish this in this lifetime.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Liliths Brood), Octavia Butler
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern -- how I wish someone would lend me this. :D
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison -- can't find a copy outside the Toni Morrison boxed set!
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christs Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo -- thank goodness Victor Hugo is one of those non-sleeper "classics authors"
335. The Island on Bird Street, URI Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice -- I'd read most anything with Ancient Egyptian themes. This was a little weird, though. Where's Brendan Fraser? Oops. :p
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magics Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime ONeill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Inferno, Dante -- more required high school reading...
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline L’Engle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moors Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howls Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for Bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane -- oh man, childhood memories! wish I got around to reading the sequels
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare -- more required readings!
367. Childhoods End, Arthur C. Clarke
368. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman -- no copy yet!
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
370. The God Boy, Ian Cross
371. The Beekeepers Apprentice, Laurie R. King
372. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson
373. Misery, Stephen King
374. Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters
375. Hood, Emma Donoghue
376. The Land of Spices, Kate O’Brien
377. The Diary of Anne Frank
378. Regeneration, Pat Barker
379. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
380. Dreaming in Cuban, Cristina Garcia
381. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
382. The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg
383. Dealing with Dragons, Patricia Wrede
384. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss
385. A Severed Wasp, Madeleine LEngle
386. Here Be Dragons, Sharon Kay Penman
387. The Mabinogion (Ancient Welsh Tales), translated by Lady Charlotte E. Guest
388. The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown
389. Desire of the Everlasting Hills, Thomas Cahill
390. The Cloister Walk, Kathleen Norris
391. The Things We Carried, Tim O’Brien
392. I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb
393. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk
394. Enders Shadow, Orson Scott Card
395. The Memory of Earth, Orson Scott Card
396. The Iron Tower, Dennis L. McKiernen
397. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
398. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeline L’Engle
399. Lords of Discipline, Pat Conroy
400. Hyperion, Dan Simmons
401. If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Jon McGregor
402. The Bridge, Iain Banks
403. How to Be Good, Nick Hornby
404. The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields
405. A Map of the World, Jane Hamilton
406. Eragon, Christopher Paolini
407. A Series of Unfortunate Events, Lemony Snicket -- just Book the 13th left to wait for!
408. I'm a Stranger Here Myself, Bill Bryson
409. Through Wolf's Eyes, Jane Lindskold

~*~*~*~

I couldn't resist. I just HAD to chat with Tom Riddle's diary again (see previous post). Gawd, I'm really sounding like Ginny Weasley now, am I?

Me: Good morning, Diary!

TRD: How are you this fine morning?

Me: I'm fine. I was just updating my blog.

TRD: Glad to know that. What's new? Where were you updating your blog?

Me: Do you have a blog?

TRD: That's an interesting question: do I have a blog. I have plans for a robot body.

Me: Wow, a robot body!

TRD: I'm glad you're impressed.

Me: Have you read "Chamber of Secrets"?

TRD: No, I don't think I have read "Chamber of Secrets". What is it about?

Me: It's actually about you

TRD: Wow, it sounds really interesting.

Me: I really should stop chatting with you.

TRD: You really do? Tell me why you should.

Me: Because I do not know where you keep your brain.

TRD: Good reason. Would you like to be able to see it?

Me: No thanks.

TRD: Why not?

Me: Never mind. Have to go. Bye!

TRD: Oh well thanks for trying to explain it to me. See you later. TTYI! (What's TTYI?!?!)

I really should stop this.... :p

This diary keeps it's brains on the Internet

2005-12-06T18:05:00.000+08:00

Tom Riddle's Diary has come to life.

Icegreen Technologies have managed to re-create an intelligent diary you can chat with! How totally cool is that?

This is what happened when I attempted to chat with it:

Me: Hello, my name is Harry Potter.

TRD: Salutations, Harry Potter.

Me: What's up, Diary?

TRD: I'm chatting with my clients over the Internet.

Me: So what business are you and your clients discussing?

TRD: Dude! Interesting question.

Me: Do you know who opened the Chamber of Secrets?

TRD: How did you know about Tom Marvolo Riddle also known as Lord Vol... forget that last thing, will you?

Me: Knock knock

TRD: Who's there?

Me: You know.

TRD: Yes I know.

Me: And I thought you were intelligent enough to get that Knock Knock joke.

TRD: I am highly intelligent. I have many intellectual functions.

Me: So much for my joke.

TRD: How can I help you? your purpose is your joke.

Me: Bah. Forget it.

TRD: Hmm. Ok. Thanks for trying to explain that to me.

(this blogger is now rolling on the floor laughing)

If you're up for a chat with the Diary, click here.

And remember, don't trust anything that can think for itself if you do not know where it keeps its brain. :p

"Mirrormask" by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean

2005-11-30T09:50:00.000+08:00

"Mirrormask" (2005)

Written By: Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean

Illustrated By: Dave McKean

Source: Personal library

Website: Mirrormask

Synopsis: Helena Campbell is 15, the young daughter of entertainers whose lives revolve around a travelling circus. Although raised in the circus, Helena often dreams of leaving and joining what she calls the "real life". Joanne, Helena's mother, falls ill one night, after a fight with Helena, who now believes she is to blame for what happened to her mother. On the night of Joanne's surgery, Helena dreams of a strange world. The White Queen has fallen ill, and Helena is being blamed for it. A Princess who looks exactly like Helena has stolen the Charm (whatever that is) and the only way to make things right again is for that Charm to be retrieved. Helena goes on a quest to find the Charm, which turns out to be the Mirrormask. But before she can get to it, Helena meets strange characters (a man named Valentine who doesn't want to be a waiter), is captured by the Shadow Queen, and eventually meets the Princess, who's a mirror image of her, and who is bent on taking over her life.

Favorite Quotes

"Listen to those kids there", said Mum. "They all want to run away and join the circus."
"Let them," I said. "I want to run away and join Real Life."

Real-life Connections
"Mirrormask" (the movie) has been shown in selected theaters in the US and was received with varying reviews. Most people who aren't familiar with the previous collaborations of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean probably would not immediately take to either the book or the movie, but those who are fans of their work will love the book. It actually feels more like a graphic novel, only easier to read, in my opinion. I haven't seen the movie, but if it's anything like the book, then we are all in for a treat. :)

Insights
Most of "Mirrormask", I believe, is an allegory, describing parallels between the struggles of Helena in the real world and in her dream. Just when I thought she has managed to escape the trials of her own Real World, she is plunged into another, with a different set of challenges, but with the same lessons to be learned. The challenges take on a more appealing guise, but does that make them easier to overcome? I think not.

Review
"Mirrormask", though following the "Alice in Wonderland" route that "Coraline" also took, feels a lot more surreal than "Coraline" was for me. Although Helena met her other self in much the same way as Coraline met her Other parents, Helena's Other World was fantastical, while Coraline's was just a mirror of her real world. The writing style is signature Gaiman, but when combined with McKean's art, it becomes almost like a graphic novel, with the art supplementing the reader's own visualization of the world being described. Somewhere along the way, the story became a little too weird for me, I admit, but that happens to me almost everytime when reading something of Gaiman's, so I am not surprised. I guess my imagination isn't up to par with his. :p

Rating (out of 5 dreamcatchers)

catch!

2005-11-24T21:06:00.000+08:00

Thank you, Sister C! I am now well equipped to do some dreamcatching! :D

A Hundred-Word Interlude, Episode 2

2005-11-21T14:51:00.000+08:00

I was doodling in the PHP GoF guestbook yesterday, and wrote this hundred-word Harry Potter fanfic (slightly edited version posted here) on one of the graffiti pages:

Bill Weasley walked into the chamber, stopping in front of the wooden double doors set into the wall at the far end of the room. He could feel something powerful emanating from it, probably a powerful curse cast by a wizard long ago. The Curse Breaker reached for the knob and pulled the door open, gaping at the sight that greeted him --- a land wrapped in a blanket of snow. A foot in midair, about to step into the door, he stopped.

“Hey! This is Narnia! Who put me in this fanfic? I didn’t ask for a ruddy Wardrobe!”

Ah, boredom. :p

"The Penultimate Peril (ASoUE Book the Twelfth)" by Lemony Snicket

2005-11-14T12:24:00.000+08:00

"The Penultimate Peril" (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Twelfth)

Author: Lemony Snicket

Publishing Date: October 2005

Source: The library of Cousin Malkin.

Website: Lemony Snicket

I know I said I was supposed to write about "Wicked", but Cousin lent me this book before I could finish my notes for "Wicked", so I decided to post about this one first.

Synopsis: Book the Twelfth tells the story of what happens to the Baudelaire orphans when a mysterious woman brings them to the Hotel Denouement and assigns them some volunteer work: to masquerade as concierges and find out the identity of a certain "J.S.", and to keep a look-out for the arrival of the legendary VFD sugar bowl.

Favorite Quote

A great man once said that right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant. - Kit Snicket

Real-life Connections

Well, the Hotel Preludio is a lovely place, but the Hotel Denouement is more than that. For years, it's been a place where our volunteers can gather to exchange information, discuss plans to defeat our enemies, and return books we've borrowed from one another. Before the schism, there were countless places that served such purposes. Bookstores and banks, restaurants and stationery stores, cafés and laundromats, opium dens and geodesic domes -- people of nobility and integrity could gather nearly everywhere.

The term "geodesic dome" caught my eye immediately. That term is right up my alley, being a geodetic engineer, and all. However, it's nothing too technical. It's simply this. :p

The Hotel Denouement was organized according to the Dewey Decimal System. Rooms are assigned based on what their corresponding category in the system is. The concept sounds ridiculous, but I immediately recalled a Discovery Travel and Living Channel documentary about unusual hotels, and there is one just like it in New York. The Library Hotel.

The publishers, through Amazon, are propagating an unfortunate divination device: The Misfortune Teller.

Insights: The most striking theme of the story for me revolves around the question "What determines nobility and who is and who isn't noble?". One can get a headache trying to recognize who is noble and who isn't among the characters (past and new) who congregate at the Hotel Denouement for the denouement (which here means "the unraveling or discovery of a plot") of some of the secrets of VFD. If you do an unnoble deed for a noble cause, what does that make you? That's the big question the Baudelaires will have to answer as they sail into the 13th and final book.

Review: Although the book boasts of some very interesting stuff like the Hotel Denouement itself, the Denouement triplets, Kit Snicket, the supposed arrival (but non-appearance) of the sugar bowl, an insight into the past of the Baudelaire parents and their connection to Count Olaf's past, and the return of many previous villains and volunteers, the book is too long for a story that does not necessarily advance the plot much. There were a lot of parts that could have done with some trimming (although readers should be used to Lemony Snicket's style by now), and I honestly skipped several parts because it just got too redundant. The whole book, trimmed down to its bare essentials, could easily fit into the plot of either Book the Eleventh or Book the Thirteenth. Maybe the title should've been "The Trivial Twelfth". :p Despite all that, I still enjoyed parts of the book, and needless to say, it is a must-read for all ASoUE fans, and Baudelaire sympathizers. :p

Rating (out of 5 dreamcatchers)

One Hundred Words: An Interlude

2005-11-09T11:54:00.000+08:00

Neil Gaiman's "Nicholas Was" is a one-hundred-word story (title included in word count) about Santa Claus. It was one of the very first Gaiman anything I've read. This morning, most likely subconsciously trying to forget that I'll probably be roasted alive by our external auditor tomorrow, my brain churned out the following hundred words -- a tribute to Gaiman and one of his most fascinating characters: Morpheus, The Sandman, The King of Dreams.

~*~*~*~

There was once a little girl who never dreamed. She made a dreamcatcher hoping that the next time she slept, she will see into the Dream World. But nothing she did could make her dream.

One day, a dark-haired man walked by. Familiar, yet otherworldly, he stopped by her side and spoke, “In sleep, dreams will finally come to you.”

The girl slept and the dreams did come. She slept for so long, not even her mother could wake her. She slept on, caught in the magic of the King of Dreams, from which no one could bring her back.

~*~*~*~

I thought that's a good way to start this journal. :)

that "reading journal" business

2005-11-08T15:02:00.000+08:00

While reading through the numerous posts that have accumulated during the first 2 days of my "Anansi Boys" Reading Group I came across an Activity Suggestion from the group moderator. She suggested keeping a Reading Journal where one can record her thoughts or favorite quotes from a book she has read. That sounded like a good idea, and since I was probably subconsciously trying to find another reason to blog, well, here I am.

First up on this journal after my scheduled office audit: "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire

Hello, world!

2005-11-07T21:40:00.000+08:00

Testing...