Thursday, September 1, 2011

Climbing up the top sails

Hey look, another blog. Shock horror. I guess you can tell that I don’t particularly feel like working this week.

For those following my descent into full-blown geekiness, I finished Watchmen last night. I now understand why a friend of mine insists Matthew Goode was miscast as Ozymandias… but seeing as Ozymandias was the only character I really paid attention to in the movie, I’m not particularly fussed about this. On the page, he’s a bit of a prat. On the screen, I was totally on his side. Vanity? Perhaps. Obviously it’s been ages since I saw the film, but a lot of things make a lot a more sense now – the music, for example. Not that I don’t love the soundtrack (best part of the film really) but I would maybe not have been so quick to burst into hysterical laughter at ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ had I know how it was referenced in the text. This is a big maybe though because unfortunately I can only ever think of Mr Burns when I hear it. Poor Wagner, I’m sure he never anticipated that for his music.

I really do not like Nite Owl though. I kinda just want to smack him around. Don’t know why Rorschach doesn’t do me the favour. Anyway. I should really have read it before I saw the film. It was a pretty faithful adaptation, so it’s not like there was any mystery. It’s a good read - very nuanced, very clever – but it didn’t exactly blow my mind. And I know, I know. It’s supposed to be this genius work and the ultimate of the medium and what have you but…eh *shrug* I liked V for Vendetta more. I read it last week and that was just mind-bendingly good.

You know what else is a good read? One Day by David Nicholls. This book is a modern classic. It does everything a good book should and it’s presented in an interesting, engaging way that’ll keep you hooked. It’s one of those that, if you read it at the right time in your life, defines who you are. Read it before you see the movie. That’s the new rule.

Next on my reading list is the first Sally Lockhart novel and probably Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men. I have to say reading graphic novels is much more compatible with work cause I just blitz through them in an evening. I'm one of those people who likes to read a book pretty much in one sitting if I can, all that stop-starting completely puts me off it. I've actually organised my TBR pile in order of the number of pages - anything around the 300 mark I can still finish in one night if I start early enough, so they're at the top. The ones I know will take longer, I'll leave to last.  Like A Game of Thrones which I'm dying to read but it's so huuuuge. I just know I'm never going to be able to put it down. Sadly it'll just have to wait. It seems like a ridiculous system, but if I didn't have one, I'd just end up reading nothing.

Now. Back to the craft shops. Joy.

Music: I'm shipping up to Boston - Dropkick Murphys

1 comment:

  1. I still get perplexed when Ride of the Valkyries comes on my car stereo.

    That is actually an excellent way to organise your to read list. I just try to avoid buying/borrowing books unless I will have time to read them within the next fortnight.

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