So a few weeks ago my friend Monika asked me if I wanted to go to Tallinn with her. She’s a tour guide and has been to Tallinn a number of times but always with a group and there were some things she wanted to check out for herself, some places she wanted to find so she could guide people there on her tours. And there was a Christmas Market, which is always fun. Continue reading “Two Crazy People in Tallinn”
Review: Her Royal Spyness
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I’m on a roll, reading the first book in a series, again. At some point, I’ll read the rest of them, maybe. This one is fun and cute and well written – it may be the first in a series but it’s not a first novel, not by a long shot. Continue reading “Review: Her Royal Spyness”
Life as a Movie Star (Ha!)
So about 6 weeks ago, I got a weird email from someone saying they were casting for a movie filming in Vilnius and would like to know if I was interested in auditioning for a small speaking role (basically, they needed native English speakers). I agreed and we set a time for me to head to Vilnius.
To be honest, I didn’t think much about it, figuring it was some sort of student or sample thing, the kind of thing I get asked to participate in from time to time. So I went to the audition, in Vilnius, read in front of a camera, remembered why I’m not an actor, thanked them for their time and headed home (a little over 6 hours door to door – there and back). Continue reading “Life as a Movie Star (Ha!)”
Review: Killing Floor
Killing Floor by Lee Child
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
There’s a rule in writing having to do with coincidences. If you get too many of them, the audience will stop believing what you’re writing. This is the case with Killing Floor
Review: American Gods
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I first read this book back in ’06 and remembered liking it a great deal. Listening to this full cast recording of the author’s preferred text, I didn’t particularly notice much difference (that being said, I didn’t really remember the Hinzelman scene or the coming to America passages from before so who knows).
Fish
It’s no secret I am a big fan of the band Marillion. I have followed them from their 80s Prog Rock beginnings up through their current, more straight forward rock and roll albums. In fact, I first discovered them in late 1984 when I was working at the Waldenbooks in the Meadows Mall and I had a reciprocity deal going with the guys who worked at the record store. When they needed books for school, I would strip the covers or give them my discount (this was before I knew how the author end of things worked – I would never do that today!) and in return, whenever I’d go into the record store, I’d bring a stack of LPs and a 45 to the counter and the guys would ring me up for the single (about $1.49 or so in those days) and throw the entire stack into a bag. Continue reading “Fish”
Review: About Time
I may be in the minority here, but I absolutely adored Richard Curtis‘s new film, About Time. I know it’s not a perfect film but then, really, what is? Yes, there are some logic issues and you are asked to let your disbelief suspend mightily, but I don’t care. For me, it works.
The only major conceit, and the reason this film is listed as speculative as opposed to a straight romantic dramedy, is that in the family of Tim, the male lead, all the men have the ability to travel through time. I’m not giving anything away here, this is in the trailer. The caveat is that they can only travel within their own time line and the so called “butterfly effect” is dealt with by means of a little hand waving. But once you buy into that one concept, the rest of the film falls into place beautifully.
Tim meets Mary near the start of the film and, the way some people do, just knows she’s the one for him. Now, again, from the trailers this much seems fairly obvious and the film itself seems like it’s going to be a fun little romp about how the get together. It is and it isn’t. Continue reading “Review: About Time”
Review: Gravity
Alfonso Cuarón‘s new film, Gravity, is stunning. Pure and simple. These words can describe the plot as well. There’s nothing complex about some people working out of the space Shuttle Explorer when they hit the debris field of a an exploded satellite. This happens within the first few minutes and for the rest of the hour and a half film it’s left for the two survivors, Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) and Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) to try and get home. That’s it. But in the hands of a master of suspense like Cuarón, you don’t need any more.
The filmmaking gets us as close to being in space as we can get on this planet. Honestly, I have no idea how he filmed half the scenes he did, I can only assume it’s a seamless mix of CG and greenscreen and a flying rig that puts David Copperfield to shame. And if Bullock or Clooney wanted to take a run at “Ashes to Ashes” to go along with Chris Hadfield‘s “Space Oddity” I’m not sure many would be able to spot the difference between the reality and the movie magic. Continue reading “Review: Gravity”
Review: The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a wonderful book!
Hazel Grace is a 17 year old dying of cancer. This is not romance cancer which will miraculously get cured by the final act, by the way. Nope, this is terminal from the moment the book opens. She did have a miracle slowing of the cancer at one point about three years before the book starts, but at this point, she’s just waiting for her time to come. She’s pretty much resigned to it and lives her life accordingly. Continue reading “Review: The Fault in Our Stars”
Review: Soulless
Soulless by Gail Carriger
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
There are some books which are a mix of genres, like a steampunk novel with romance, say, or a romance novel set in a steampunk world. Soulless is most definitely the former. This isn’t a bad thing, not by a long shot, but it’s not really my cup of (very well-written and beautifully described) tea. Gail Carriger’s book is a fun read, rife with the social obstacle course which is Victorian England. Add in a healthy mix of supernatural beasties (werewolves, vampires and ghosts) and a steampunk-ish sensibility and you have all the ingredients for great romp. Continue reading “Review: Soulless”
Review: The Maze Runner
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book won all kinds of awards and came highly recommended and yet… I was mostly bored.
The premise, that of a boy walking up in an elevator which is going to deposit him into Lord of the Flies type setting with no memories of his past life could be interesting. The “Glade,” where the boy, Thomas, is deposited, is the center area of a huge maze which some of the boys of this compound (and yes, it’s all boys) go through on a daily basis, trying to “solve” it. They’ve been doing this for two years and all they’ve discovered is that some of the walls move at night (which is also when “scary” monsters come out). Continue reading “Review: The Maze Runner”
A Few Short Book Reviews
I’ve been horribly remiss in my book reviews as the semester has started and I’ve been swamped. So… here’s a a few short reviews of what I’ve been reading.
The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This is a wonderful book! Helene Wecker draws three dimensional characters who change and grow and evolve before our eyes. Even her stock characters, the old arab gossip, the lapsed jew, the pampered socialite, all have an extra quality to them which allows us, as readers, to be fully invested in their lives. Continue reading “A Few Short Book Reviews”
Review: Ficciones
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a book you need to focus on to read and fully appreciate. It’s not easy, mostly because they’re not stories, not in the sense we are conditioned to think of them. No real beginnings, middles or ends, more like Borges’ thoughts as he’s sitting at a typewriter and doing writing exercises.
This book in particular didn’t quite work for me for that reason. On a sentence by sentence level, the language and imagery are beautiful but that’s like looking at the scattered pieces of a mosaic and commenting on their attractiveness. Unless they’re put together to make a picture of some sort, something with coherence and fusion, they remain just lovely pieces.
That all said, it’s fascinating to see his influence and how far reaching it is. Anyone who reads this and Murakami and doesn’t see how the one affected the other is missing a fairly important link in the chain.
Review: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Not quite sure what to say about this one. In today’s world of YA urban fantasy action love stories, you’re obviously going to draw some comparison to Harry Potter and Twilight – the heavyweights of that genre. And the film of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (which is WAY too long for a title) certainly doesn’t disappoint in that regard.
Is there a love triangle (or two)? Check.
Teen Protagonist who doesn’t know about their magical abilities? Check.
Werewolves (as protectorate, close family friend and biker gang)? Check.
Love sick best friend pining for a love which will never be reciprocated (and possibly being a vampire)? Check.
Really beautiful people who would be at home on a CW show? Check.
It’s got everything we’ve come to expect from a film like this… so why doesn’t it work? Continue reading “Review: The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones”
Happy Anniversary to me…
Today, August 22, 2013, marks the third anniversary of my life as an Ex-Pat.
In 2010, on this date, I packed up some of my belongings into one too many suitcases, loaded a dog into the hold of an airplane and headed off for a small town in Hungary, with absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into. Now, I’m one year past my original expiration date – my original contract being for a single year with a one year extension option. I didn’t exercise it and instead, headed north to Lithuania (I didn’t know where it was, either) to take up my new life as a university docent (associate professor). I’ve been in Lithuania now for a little over two years, having moved to Vilnius for a few months in June of 2011 and into my flat at the beginning of August that year. I’m also a few days away from beginning my 3rd year at VDU. Continue reading “Happy Anniversary to me…”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 