bookworm

Okay, I finally got my "reading"-widget (thanks, shazza!), which means I now have to fess up to you. I'm reading the Twilight saga. I never thought it would happen, especially since I tend to give books that everybody is over the moon about a wide berth. But somehow in my current habit of basically devouring books in 2 days max I got sucked into it, young adult love story or not.
And I have to say Twilight was really good. Not Philipp Pullman-deep kind of good and not John Irving-crazy kind of good, but I liked it. Except for the fact that I want to barf at how Bella's life revolves around Edward and nothing and no one else exists. You got to have friends, girl! I finished New Moon yesterday and am now reading the third part, Eclipse. I still enjoy reading it, it's quite suspenseful at times, however the saga has the typical sequel problem - whatever comes after the first book is usually not that great (that goes for movies as well usually). And another big con: While Bella is completely oblivious about a lot of happenings and reasons, I tend to guess what's going on with the same information that she has. So then I'm basically just waiting for her to figure it out as well or someone else to enlighten her. Predictability can be quite annoying with books, takes away a bit of the pleasure. I will however read the fourth part as well when it comes out in fall. I'm kinda ocd like that, I can't just not read a sequel if the parts are more than just loosely connected...

Finn of course will never ever read it, that I know. She has a strong dislike for young adult books and romance. In fact, our reading habits are totally different. But that's gonna have to be another blogpost, because I have some work to do now. With the words: "Do you want to earn some big money today" my boss just gave me a couple of articles to do :)

little things

It's ridiculous to what little things we cling in life. But I just lost my favourite marker, the one I used for oh so many books when I was a kid, and I'm devastated. Literally devastated. I have a hard time not starting to cry. Ridiculous... :(

on books (and a meme)

wasn't careful enough, got tagged -

Laura tagged me with this old meme: Take the nearest book and write three sentences from page 123, from the fifth sentence on.

"That's Sherman," she said. "And that's Jackson. This is Granz, and whatever you do don't go whistling Dixie around him.

Taken from "Ghost Boy" by Iain Lawrence.

I've been tearing through books lately. I read about one a week, in good weeks one and a half. I read one on my day trip to Budapest. Usually I just have time to read on my way to work and back, considering that I'm doing pretty well. In fact, when one Amazon order arrives chances are I have already ordered the next one or gone to the shops to pick up a couple of books on sale. That was how it all started, Finn and I were walking down a major Viennese shopping street with our frappucinos when she spotted Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys on sale, like really cheap. As she was reading something else at the moment I tore through that pretty fast after I had finished his American Gods which is good to have read it before reading Anansi Boys. It's not a prerequisite, but it worked out fine for me that way. So after I couldn't decide what I wanted to order from Amazon next, I went back twice to that bookshop which had English books on sale, and then ordered some more from Amazon (twice). Basically, in the last couple of weeks I reade:
Anansi Boys, The Bad Mother's Handbook, two Artemis Fowl volumes (a fast read and extremely commendable because of wit and the connections between our universe and the fairy world that Colfer amazingly creates), Nick Hornby's Slam, a Nicholas Sparks tearjerker, and I think a couple of other books that I can't remember now.

I just love having time to read again. I loved reading as a kid, tearing through book after book, but I kind of stopped these past couple of years. Finally, I had to read lots of scientific books during my thesis-"retreat", which I hate. So now I'm back to lots and lots of fiction and loving it :) I'll never understand why it can be so hard to get kids to read... with me it was hard to make me stop

résumé

this isn't a year in review kind of thing. it's rather a last-couple-of-weeks review kind of thing
I realised that I don't write anymore. My last poem must be about a zillion years old now, my last short story is even older and I'm not even going to think about the short film idea that is saved as an mp3 on my computer and still not turned into writing. My blog posts have been mainly on very real everyday stuff lately, and rarely introspective.

But the thing is that intro is a word that very well describes what I have been like lately. I realised that I have retreated a bit into myself. I've been taking refuge - in work mostly, but also in reading (I've finally taken to a John Irving book again and am hopelessly entangled in it). I have been watching tv but a lot less than I used to (I usually don't have shows from last week lined up).
It's good to be able to immerse myself in work. I like my work and it pays well. But I'm tired and I feel numb. Not because of work, but because of what I use it for. Maybe I'm taking flight to not thing about my grandfather's death and what it entails for me. But probably that's just one of so many thoughts I'm trying not to think.

The point is that I really do love what I'm doing here. I know that I'm good at what I'm doing and I can see how I'm learning and getting better every day. And while I don't know if and how I will be able to follow my (other) dream of becoming a filmmaker/editor - at the moment I feel at home here and very much so. However, in my private life I feel quite lost. I hope that come Christmas and some holidays that will change and I'll feel less drained in the new year.

I was already waiting for this

Finally: the religious has reacted to the movie release of the first part of Philipp Pullman's His Dark Materials. If you don't know the trilogy evade the last to paragraphs, cause they refer to the last chapters of the third book. On the other hand if you're a spoiler freak go ahead and read it anyway.

I've recommended His Dark Materials before. If you don't like reading at least go see the movie. I have a feeling it might be well done. I can tell you for sure on Saturday cause finn is taking me to see it Friday night. I'm all giddy about that already.

Lovely Luna

I finally managed to see the newest Harry Potter Film. After having read the deathly hallows I wanted to reread books 1 to 5 before watching the movie, that's why it took so long. but yesterday we finally made it to the cinema (children's viewing so to speak, as the movie's only on once and in the afternoon now). I realised that based on the movies my favourite Potterverse-character is definitely Luna Lovegood. Evanna Lynch is amazing and totally cute with that weirdness that is Luna.

girl, interrupted / girl disappearing

welcome home... after three years of silence my insomnia is back. so when I woke up knackered after 5 crappy hours of interrupted sleep I decided I might as well go and get my copy of harry potter. strangely not even idiots could bother me so far.

I know I have been bad at blogging lately but I can already tell you it won't get any better this weekend, because this is when I disappear for 2 days. I don't read the papers, I avoid the internet, my mailbox and mean people who want to spoil me cuz they read faster than me. this is when I start reading.

For god's sake, when are they finally going to off themselves?

A couple of years ago everyone was all over The Virgin Suicides movie, so watched it - and bleh... I thought either I didn't get it or there's nothing to it. But I gave it the benefit of the doubt, nothing wrong in assuming it's me who's stupid. So I told gf about my Virgin Suicides experience years after it, which made her point to our bookshelf, obviously she had read it and thought it would be a good idea for me to do so too. She could have just told me there was no point to do it *through clenched teeth* well, thank you very much for that, you who supposedly loves me...

Soooo, benefit of the doubt. I read it.

And PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF! What a shitty book! Originally Middlesex sounded intriguing from what I'd heard of the story, but now I'm thinkin twice about reading that, because if The Virgin Suicides is the way that Jeffrey Eugenides always writes, then he does not write for me - period. Virgin Suicides is simply a crappy story (those boys? come on, how dumb can ya be?), it's crappy writing, and the story has no point whatsoever. It's a pubescent nightmare, and I was desperately waiting for the girls to finally, finally kill themselves to to end not only their but also my suffering. I only finished the book because clung to hope that there might still be a point to the story. Yeah... might... I was so wrong...

can it please be december already? please?

I bawled my eyes out - again

I finished reading his dark materials two nights ago and I am STILL sad about the ending. usually a book might make me shed a couple of tears because the words get to me. yes, beautiful writing can make me cry. or i might sob a little because someone dies. in the amber spyglass no one dies (in the end i mean, people do die in between and all) but the conclusion resonated with me so much I couldn't stop sobbing. I felt so ridiculous lying in bed and bawling my eyes out but I couldn't stop for quite awhile. the cynic in me seemed to have gotten overpowered by that story. I did stop eventually though. but while a book is usually closed for me when I close it (yeah, not much of a thinker I am ;) it resurfaced throughout yesterday. his dark materials is such a great trilogy I can only recommend reading it whatever age your are (although you might only really get it once you're 12 or 13 years old I guess - or a really precocious child. and I think every person should read it, for all the wisdom it offers about love, good and evil and also the church and its ways throughout history (inquisition and all). I vote for original sin. Eve rocks. ;)

Philipp Pullman, I love you. You're a genius.

ok,end of gushing now... *runs off to buy lyra's oxford*

I really wonder about how they were making this into a movie though. it's far too complex and in this case just leaving stuff out isn't as easy as it was with lord of the rings or harry potter. most of the stuff that pullman put in there you just really need.

Lyra, Pan & Iorek Byrnison

you might remember that some time ago voiced my plan to order philip pullman's his dark materials. well, I did and now I'm completely, utterly, hopelessly lost in his world. I've already soaked up the first book the golden compass or northern lights as it was called in its first release in britain. i like it so much I didn't even play the x-men game for a couple of days. I need a reading break though before I start with the second book, the subtle knife. and as I can't surf the internet for fear of seeing who won idol before I watched the finale I'm gonna have to go play a little with kurt wagner & co.

P.S. I love boxed sets, but what bothers me about them is that I can never make the books fit in again properly after I've read them... yes, I admit to being one that breaks books (only the ones I own), it's just more comfy when reading.