Archive for September 6, 2006

Eragon

{ September 6, 2006 @ 10:38 pm } · { Recommendations }
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<scratches back of head nervously>

Well, I guess I DID choose something I’m passionate about.  I just didn’t realize I’d be this…into blogging.

Anyway, on to a VERY good book, and one that made me feel a bit incompetent as a struggling writer for the genre.  Not that I get very far with my thoughts and ideas for books, mind you.  They all get written and published before I can even finish my manuscript.  <ahem.>

Christopher Paolini is perhaps the best young writer I can think of.  He began Eragon when he was 15, and is currently looking at publishing the third, and sadly last, book in the Eragon series.  I highly encourage picking up this book and devouring it with relish.  And possibly mustard, although that’s a personal taste.  (Yes, it’s an old joke, but I thought it worked here…Maybe I was wrong.)

They are going to make a movie out of this trilogy like they did Lord of the Rings.  (Another topic that I’ll cover in GREAT detail later.  I need to re-read them first.)  The imagery and plot pacing lends itself to a movie, probably more readily than Tolkein’s stories.  I still want to see the Hobbit made into a movie, though.  The cartoon just doesn’t do it justice.

To top it all off, the boy was homeschooled.  <blinks>  Maybe I’m missing something, but the homeschoolers in my area aren’t quite that ambitious.  Or that open-minded.  I’m not sure if ANY of their kids read Eragon or Eldest (book 2).  Ah, but that’s a topic for another rant, and I think it can wait for a while.

Alright, I’ll admit it…

{ September 6, 2006 @ 10:13 pm } · { Other Interests }
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I’m a fangirl.

I’m a shipping, squeeing fangirl.

 Definitions:  Fangirl, noun.  A female who is adamantly attached to various fictional characters from film, novels, or comics.

Shipper, noun.  A person, usually female, who is VERY insistent on a particular relationship in a given fictional story.  The term is derived from the ’ship’ portion of relationship.

Squee, verb.  To squeal in a high-pitched, overly-excited way about something inconsequential, usually related to a fangirl’s character(s) of choice, but can also involve anything that is small, absurdly cute, or exciting.

 I will say that I’m not rabid.  I’ve been through and gotten over that phase of fangirliness.  However, I do own the fanguide for my favorite series in both hardcover and paperback, along with the limited edition box set, a figurine of my favorite character from that series, a plushie, a calendar, two keychains, two t-shirts, several posters, a wall scroll, and the soundtrack.  I’m a staunch shipper for the series, too.  And every time I see Episode 9, I squee.

Why am I admitting this?  Probably to get it off my mind so I can go on to do more important things.  Like update the links in my previous posts.  Am I going to divulge the secrets of my series and ship of choice?  No way.  That’d be too incriminating.  I will say it’s Japanese, it was originally released in 1999, and the manga artist worked on another anime as well.  And my ship is basically fanon for the series.

Definition: Canon, adjective.  Used to describe something that is explicitly stated in the show/film/comic/novel.  See also, Fanon, (fan-on) a word used to describe something that’s been so well-documented by fans of the piece that it might as well be canon.

Wizards Howl!

{ September 6, 2006 @ 1:58 pm } · { Recommendations }
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As a fan of both Anime and SF/Fantasy books, Howl’s Moving Castle was a natural choice as a Recommendation.  Not only is Diana Wynne Jones’s book funny, it’s well-written and moving, too!

For those interested, you should probably read the book first to have a deeper appreciation for Miyazaki’s film.  It differs SUBSTANTIALLY from the book, but somehow I ended up LOVING them both!  Jones’s book is much more integrated with our world, and some typical Japanese plot styling has been added to the movie.  The characters themselves, however, have remained true to the book.  It’s almost like a fan-fiction that re-invents the plot laid out by Jones into one of a more cinematically-friendly story.  But it works.

And, as a side note, if you like Howl’s Moving Castle, check out the sequel, Castle in the Air!  It’s just as good, and even has Sophie and Howl making cameo appearances!

Seventh Son

{ September 6, 2006 @ 1:17 pm } · { Favorite Books }
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Well, I recently finished Angie Sage’s second book in her Septimus Heap series, Flyte, and I have to say it was very good.  The way in which she resolved some of the issues raised in the book was very creative.

I suppose this series could be considered a Harry Potter spinoff, but she’s altered the landscape dramatically, placing Septimus and his friends on another world, quite different from our own.  And really, if you want to argue the point, no character or plot is completely original anymore.  After all, J.K. Rowling has used the VERY cliche ’struggle of good against evil’ to great effect in her books.  And I love all six of them dearly and await the seventh with bated breath. (Even if I was a bit dissappointed by some of the canon relationships set down in HBP. But that’s neither here nor there.)

The very complexity of the magic in Septimus’s world, I think, is what draws me to it.  It is not simply ’swish and flick’ or ‘alakazam’ type stuff.  There is an art to it, almost akin to alchemy, but very much apart from the mathematical specificity of that genre.  The Young Wizards series, by Diane Duane makes use of the mathematical approach to magic very thoughtfully, though.

Considering that many seem to refer to Fantasy books only as ‘dragon books’ or ‘wizard books’ it is amazing how much variety there is within each of those sweeping categories.  Certainly all the books I’ve mentioned here have wizards under the age of 18 as main characters.  But the tone, style, and substance of those books is vastly different.  Even between the Harry Potter and Young Wizards series, both of which take place in the modern world and both of which have elements of secrecy surrounding the wizarding community, there are so many differences it is a shame the Young Wizards have been shoved underneath Harry Potter.

But, who can argue with a woman who’s richer than the Queen?  I certainly don’t want to tangle with her lawyers.

CAUTION! RANT AHEAD!

{ September 6, 2006 @ 12:58 pm } · { Rants }
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I would like to know when it was decided that librarians had to be ‘appropriateness’ filters for our youth.  Isn’t that the parents’ job?  Oh, wait, I forgot.  Parents hardly do their job anymore, so I guess you have to get paid before you’ll take care of kids.

I am NOT saying that all parents do a bad job.  In fact, this rant is probably more aimed at the circumstances that have arisen creating families that have no time for parenting.  And what the heck happened to responsibility?  HELLO!  If you don’t have a stable job, are addicted to some kind of illegal substance (or a legal one), or have no concept of the time and commitment it takes to raise a child, DON’T HAVE ONE!  Condoms are NOT that expensive!  And they give them away for FREE at Planned Parenthood!  No excuses!  I’m sick and tired of seeing kids every day that are not being cared for properly.  I’m even more tired of the women who ‘accidentally’ have a baby.  I’m sorry.  Did our mothers go through women’s lib for nothing?  Honestly, we don’t have to burn our bras (and honestly not wearing one would be uncomfortable anyway…), but we DO have to maintain a level of responsibility to our freedom.  After all, freedom without limits is anarchy.  And although an interesting concept, anarchy in practice is not really practical.

The whole mess is a self-perpetuating cycle of poor parenting leading to poor decisions by today’s young adults.  And they are the very near future of our country.  And that frightens me.

 Obviously, there are some exceptions to the sweeping generalizations I’ve made here.  I am aware of this.  However, this IS a rant, and you were warned.