[null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TRBbObF4ZgI/AAAAAAAAAkg/Gv5BGFGAfx8/s320/IMG_1664.JPG", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TRBbObF4ZgI/AAAAAAAAAkg/Gv5BGFGAfx8/s320/IMG_1664.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG"}, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//1.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TRBuG1FXW7I/AAAAAAAAAko/SqAxNsMBPEE/s320/forest01.jpg", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TRBuG1FXW7I/AAAAAAAAAko/SqAxNsMBPEE/s320/forest01.jpg", "formatted_filename": "forest"}, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TRBvxM_DktI/AAAAAAAAAkw/NHUM4U-Im-g/s320/IMG_1591.JPG", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TRBvxM_DktI/AAAAAAAAAkw/NHUM4U-Im-g/s320/IMG_1591.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG"}, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TRBwqjKfSSI/AAAAAAAAAk4/2w3fuB3iFcU/s320/IMG_1597.JPG", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TRBwqjKfSSI/AAAAAAAAAk4/2w3fuB3iFcU/s320/IMG_1597.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//3.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TQ36L1noYlI/AAAAAAAAAkI/XI7X2u63eL0/s200/NancyDrewHardyBoys.jpg", "src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TQ36L1noYlI/AAAAAAAAAkI/XI7X2u63eL0/s200/NancyDrewHardyBoys.jpg", "formatted_filename": "NancyDrewHardyBoys"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//1.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TQWUHYrEepI/AAAAAAAAAkA/b5O3hLYTiU4/s200/McKinley_Chalice.jpg", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TQWUHYrEepI/AAAAAAAAAkA/b5O3hLYTiU4/s200/McKinley_Chalice.jpg", "formatted_filename": "McKinley Chalice"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//3.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TOSgwXH7yjI/AAAAAAAAAj4/Ym__4GEdYY0/s200/hornby%2Bjuliet%2Bnaked.jpeg", "src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TOSgwXH7yjI/AAAAAAAAAj4/Ym__4GEdYY0/s200/hornby%2Bjuliet%2Bnaked.jpeg", "formatted_filename": "hornby Bjuliet Bnaked"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//3.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TNypG9XxdcI/AAAAAAAAAjw/JvtmHfJJbUs/s320/let%2527s%2Bfile%2B014.jpg", "src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TNypG9XxdcI/AAAAAAAAAjw/JvtmHfJJbUs/s320/let%2527s%2Bfile%2B014.jpg", "formatted_filename": "let s Bfile B"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TLLqN_AGSFI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/2u_BCuFMTs8/s320/wantbooks.jpg", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TLLqN_AGSFI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/2u_BCuFMTs8/s320/wantbooks.jpg", "formatted_filename": "wantbooks"}, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//1.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TMJ2su0yDaI/AAAAAAAAAjo/pkRQmr1av0w/s200/strain_wishlist02.jpg", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TMJ2su0yDaI/AAAAAAAAAjo/pkRQmr1av0w/s200/strain_wishlist02.jpg", "formatted_filename": "strain wishlist"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TL-82otCYTI/AAAAAAAAAjg/UxdAnknxY5Q/s200/Carter_Bloody_Chamber.jpg", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TL-82otCYTI/AAAAAAAAAjg/UxdAnknxY5Q/s200/Carter_Bloody_Chamber.jpg", "formatted_filename": "Carter Bloody Chamber"}, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TLLqN_AGSFI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/2u_BCuFMTs8/s320/wantbooks.jpg", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TLLqN_AGSFI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/2u_BCuFMTs8/s320/wantbooks.jpg", "formatted_filename": "wantbooks"}, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TLLsnSJulFI/AAAAAAAAAjY/hYaqrXjSQ1g/s200/beagle_wishlist01.jpg", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TLLsnSJulFI/AAAAAAAAAjY/hYaqrXjSQ1g/s200/beagle_wishlist01.jpg", "formatted_filename": "beagle wishlist"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TK2nhlvYMlI/AAAAAAAAAjI/QusMeDoS2xc/s200/watson_stargazer.jpg", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TK2nhlvYMlI/AAAAAAAAAjI/QusMeDoS2xc/s200/watson_stargazer.jpg", "formatted_filename": "watson stargazer"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TKV2_atx7nI/AAAAAAAAAiw/iZXd90unhb0/s200/bacigalupi_shipbreaker.jpg", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TKV2_atx7nI/AAAAAAAAAiw/iZXd90unhb0/s200/bacigalupi_shipbreaker.jpg", "formatted_filename": "bacigalupi shipbreaker"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TJ9lOaENAHI/AAAAAAAAAiE/BZ1PGPHIKrI/s320/IMG_9481.JPG", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TJ9lOaENAHI/AAAAAAAAAiE/BZ1PGPHIKrI/s320/IMG_9481.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TJdSHX0rQuI/AAAAAAAAAh8/9SDQpMRjPeQ/s200/mckinley_sunshine.jpg", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TJdSHX0rQuI/AAAAAAAAAh8/9SDQpMRjPeQ/s200/mckinley_sunshine.jpg", "formatted_filename": "mckinley sunshine"}, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TIj4uaZslMI/AAAAAAAAAhk/NePH7scy8Uc/s320/maul+corregidor07.jpg", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TIj4uaZslMI/AAAAAAAAAhk/NePH7scy8Uc/s320/maul+corregidor07.jpg", "formatted_filename": "maul corregidor"}, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//3.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TIj30cXPO1I/AAAAAAAAAhc/BGB4IqV5YFc/s320/france01.jpg", "src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TIj30cXPO1I/AAAAAAAAAhc/BGB4IqV5YFc/s320/france01.jpg", "formatted_filename": "france"}, null, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TIMJmhtwvNI/AAAAAAAAAhU/flbC76re25I/s320/IMG_9432.JPG", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TIMJmhtwvNI/AAAAAAAAAhU/flbC76re25I/s320/IMG_9432.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//1.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TH3CdQoApVI/AAAAAAAAAg8/Dzxv9HrtD-s/s320/IMG_9376.JPG", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/TH3CdQoApVI/AAAAAAAAAg8/Dzxv9HrtD-s/s320/IMG_9376.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/THz0ZRuUYDI/AAAAAAAAAg0/FzjdqdgEbJM/s200/Picture+1.png", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/THz0ZRuUYDI/AAAAAAAAAg0/FzjdqdgEbJM/s200/Picture+1.png", "formatted_filename": "Picture"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/THNYq5fNmII/AAAAAAAAAgc/2TkLaUxTRKg/s320/IMG_9247.JPG", "src": "http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/THNYq5fNmII/AAAAAAAAAgc/2TkLaUxTRKg/s320/IMG_9247.JPG", "formatted_filename": "IMG"}, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//3.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/R-tSPSdYwJI/AAAAAAAAARg/0GaACqjcumQ/s200/rhymer.jpg", "src": "http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_3viYwMfr7KY/R-tSPSdYwJI/AAAAAAAAARg/0GaACqjcumQ/s200/rhymer.jpg", "formatted_filename": "rhymer"}, null, null, null, null, null, null, null, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//4.bp.blogspot.com/-7i9jj48ZNIY/TlR3xTpA3gI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/q2Sxn2iveeg/s1600/sidebar-blogarchive.png", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7i9jj48ZNIY/TlR3xTpA3gI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/q2Sxn2iveeg/s1600/sidebar-blogarchive.png", "formatted_filename": "sidebar blogarchive", "rendered_width": 208, "rendered_height": 48}, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//4.bp.blogspot.com/-YInnY26u5aU/TlR36qBjyfI/AAAAAAAAA2g/lyMsxdbYXbc/s1600/sidebar-links.png", "src": "http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YInnY26u5aU/TlR36qBjyfI/AAAAAAAAA2g/lyMsxdbYXbc/s1600/sidebar-links.png", "formatted_filename": "sidebar links", "rendered_width": 208, "rendered_height": 48}, {"document_url": "https://ficsation.blogspot.com/2010/", "unformatted_src": "//1.bp.blogspot.com/-qtYKTeQZZZg/TlR3_BsWsqI/AAAAAAAAA2o/SOPaU8IYxrc/s1600/sidebar-bookblogs.png", "src": "http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qtYKTeQZZZg/TlR3_BsWsqI/AAAAAAAAA2o/SOPaU8IYxrc/s1600/sidebar-bookblogs.png", "formatted_filename": "sidebar bookblogs", "rendered_width": 208, "rendered_height": 48}]

Interlude: Love Comes Along With the Rain Hooray for kilometric blog titles. 


Chalice (Robin McKinley) Labels: chalice, reviews, robin mckinley

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Juliet, Naked (Nick Hornby) Labels: juliet naked, nick hornby, reviews


The Change. 
Want Books? (The Strain) Sometimes I just really want lose myself in a thrilling/chilling read. Viral pandemic? Vampires? Guillermo del Toro? I was salivating from the get-go. I haven't read Richard Matheson's I am Legend but The Strain sounds like a more action-packed, less introspective read. Where Mr Matheson's novel deals with the after-effects of the pandemic on one survivor, the del Toro-Hogan collaboration chronicles the spread of the virus as it happens, how the world falls apart, how a war with the vampires begins, which all somehow makes me think of The Stand meets Y the Last Man. Very promising.

(Also, check out their very cool website.)

I've seen copies of the second book in the trilogy, The Fall but have yet to see this one. I've been avoiding picking up interesting-looking fantasy titles because they're part of a series, but looking at how fast-paced The Strain seems, I don't have the same problems with uh, sinking my teeth into it.
Posted by dementedchris at 1:40 PM 2 comments Labels: meme, want books


The Bloody Chamber (Angela Carter) No one does dark and sensual stories quite like Angela Carter. She dances on the edge of taboo with her gothic imagery and rich metaphors. She has a deft way of using language to awaken the senses, and in The Bloody Chamber she re-imagines well-known characters and situations against a vivid tapestry of emotions.

That said, I'm glad that I read The Bloody Chamber all the way through, instead of using my usual method of reading the first, then doing random samples of the other stories until I have finished the entire book. This collection of short stories has a logic to it, with folktales and fairy tales retold close to their original narrative found at the beginning of the book ("The Bloody Chamber," "The Courtship of Mr Lyon") before drawing the reader deeper and deeper into the deeply reworked and refashioned spirit of the later stories ("The Lady of the House of Love," "The Company of Wolves"). Had I read it in my normal fashion, I would have lost the lush beauty of that build-up.

Ms Carter presents different women caught in situations not of their own choosing -- a young woman bartered away to a mysterious stranger, a wife trapped in a loveless relationship, a snow-child found by the side of the road -- and shows how the female characters reverse the power structure without reversing the gender roles. By embracing their feminine sides, her characters emerge the dominant figures within their own narratives.

What made this collection a heady read for me was Ms Carter's style, which varied from witty observation:
'Her face was acquiring, instead of beauty, a lacquer of the invincible prettiness that characterizes certain pampered, exquisite, expensive cats (The Courtship of Mr Lyon, p49).'

to sharp melancholy:
'The carnival air of her white dress emphasized her unreality, like a sad Columbine who lost her way in the wood a long time ago and never reached the fair (The Lady of the House of Love, p109).'

to the plain luscious:
'He strips me to my last nakedness, that underskin of mauve, pearlized satin, like a skinned rabbit; then dresses me in an embrace so lucid and encompassing it might be made of water (The Erl-King, p89).'

An embrace made of water. Images like that just hook me. I may have read the book hoping for stories that leaned towards horror but was drunk instead on the bold (if somewhat disturbing) re-imaginings that Ms Carter had in store for her reader -- as if underlining what her collection has shown me: one thought supplanted by another.
Posted by dementedchris at 11:37 AM 4 comments Labels: angela carter, reviews, the bloody chamber


The Wedding.

You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Le Petit Prince

One of my favorite lines in literature captures one of my favorite couples perfectly. For more than ten years, I have been part of their lives, from friendship to courtship to romance to the here and now. The inevitable. Staircases. Bus rides. Twix Fail. Mammal. Mabango ang Clairol. The soldier from the mountain. Top Three + On Top. Overnights. Slow drives. Baguio. Boracay. Tagaytay. Enchanted. Haranas. Ep Four. Tomi Fun. Moon cake festivals. You killed three bears in one game. Killer iced tea. Instant English-Tagalog song translations. Friendship hierarchy. This is the yearbook entry of our lives. I love you. I love you. I have seen them laugh, cry, doubt, sacrifice, get mad, give in, and fall madly in love over and over again. I have been blessed to have two friends who have never made me feel that I was a third wheel, who have managed to draw me into their special circle with such warmth and openness. That's why I was deeply touched when they asked me to be part of their special day in so many ways. I can say finally, finally. My heart is full.

As weddings go, it was a lovely ceremony that celebrated the bond between two people. Sure, it consumed most of my waking hours for the past few weeks (months?) but they were moments I would gladly give up again for these two:

Chrissie and John from MWCDLS on Vimeo.

This video was done by the amazing team at Daniel Lei Studio.
Change the weather, still together when it ends.
Posted by dementedchris at 12:49 AM 7 comments 
Fairy Tale Fail

Mina V. Esguerra, who wrote the uber-fun My Imaginary Ex title for Summit Books, has a new title out! The paperback was recently made available via Amazon although it's been out for months on Kindle.

Here's Mina blogging about it.

Congratulations, Mina! I'm VERY eager to read it! :)
Posted by dementedchris at 10:46 AM 6 comments Monday, October 11, 2010

Want Books? (We Never Talk About My Brother) 
Thursday, October 07, 2010

Stargazer: The Life and Times of the Telescope (Fred Watson) No, this is not fiction. And no, this isn't entirely a review.

Not a lot of people know that I'm a huge astronomy nut. I keep a refractor here in Manila, as well as an assortment of binoculars scattered between the different places I call home. I have SETI@home. I regularly buy astronomy textbooks and pretend that I will someday volunteer at the Apache Point Observatory and help make a 3D map of the universe. But I'm no expert. I can still tell you that Venus is hanging pretty low tonight towards the west and will disappear in an hour or so, or that I'll probably be asleep by the time Orion is no longer eclipsed by the old factory behind our home. That's probably the only kind of backyard astronomy that I can do.

That's why I thoroughly enjoyed Dr Fred Watson's Stargazer: The Life and Times of the Telescope. It remains firmly focused on just one essential aspect of astronomy by tackling the discovery, development, and the significance of the telescope. From key figures like Tycho Brahe, Isaac Newton, Laurent Cassegrain, and William Herschel to the various scandals and controversies surrounding the telescope, Dr Watson weaves history and fact into a friendly yet informative account that won't scare off beginning astronomers like me. It also accounts for the more well-known telescopes and observatories of our time which personally translates into a must-visit wish list.

In writing Stargazer, Dr Watson succeeds in widening the general public's understanding of such an important instrument. It presents a rich tapestry of stories that perfectly complements what I consider the most poetic branch of science.
Posted by dementedchris at 6:06 PM 2 comments Labels: fred watson, stargazer

Friday, October 01, 2010

Ship Breaker (Paolo Bacigalupi) I was keen on reading Paolo Bacigalupi's The Windup Girl ever since I saw it mentioned on io9. But there was always some other book, always something else in the way. Then I came across his dystopian YA novel, Ship Breaker, and figured this was a good place to start as any.

At a time when the polar ice caps have melted and the ocean levels have risen, Nailer struggles to eke out a living as a light crew member, someone who strips copper and other useful wiring off grounded tankers and ships. After a particularly devastating hurricane whips through Bright Sands Beach, he and his friend Pima discover a new clipper ship that has run aground nearby. Its crew is dead, except for Nita, a wealthy girl who could probably be the biggest scavenge of all. But Nita (or Lucky Girl, as Nailer calls her) is no ordinary 'swank'; she's an heiress caught in the middle of a huge takeover of one of the world's biggest shipping companies. As expected, Nailer rescues Nita and with help from some unlikely quarters, they journey to restore her to her family.

The opening circumstances reminded me a lot of Terry Pratchett's Nation, where island boy Mau and shipwrecked rich girl Daphne find themselves turning to each other as they pick up the pieces after a life-changing tsunami. Of course, the differences in genre, tone, and approach prevent further comparison but the thought was pretty much foremost in my mind as I was reading Ship Breaker. Just a little reminder (again) to take my comments with a grain of salt, especially if I forget to be objective.

Mr Bacigalupi explores geopolitics for the younger set: the poorly-built cities that collapse under nature's tide, the corporate wars fought over flotsam and scavenge, the genetic experiments that breed half-men. I think Mr Bacigalupi builds Ship Breaker's world with admirable confidence and boldness and this well-drawn scenario was what immediately hooked me.

The novel is not without a few stumbling blocks. Its pace is exciting but somewhat uneven. Mr Bacigalupi spends the first four chapters detailing Nailer's work in the belly of an oil tanker, which I thought was a good pace for a reader acquainting herself with the boundaries of a new world. Somehow, though, in the middle of the action, certain things were glossed over. While I am satisfied with how the book turned out (the first of a series, I'm told) in the end, part of me wishes that the time Nailer and Lucky Girl spent in the Orleans had been longer than two chapters, or at least had been utilized enough to establish a stronger bond between the two, other than being co-fugitives. I didn't really feel the friendship or the mutual dependence and--if the last scene is meant as foreshadowing--an attraction beyond teenage hormones. The characters are a bit timeworn, but for a story that driven by plot, I think they were still effective.

Ship Breaker spins an exciting coming-of-age story. Before Lucky Girl, Nailer lives and dies by his scavenge: 'Ahead, the gull-white hull of the wreck gleamed in the sunlight, beckoning (p78).' In the last scene, as he is watching Lucky Girl's ship, his world and his possibilities have widened: 'Beyond it, the blue sea stretched to the horizon, beckoning (p323).' A lifetime has happened between these two incidents, and stubborn, enterprising Nailer waits to see how many readers will come along for his next adventure.
Posted by dementedchris at 1:46 PM 2 comments Labels: paolo bacigalupi, reviews, ship breaker


The Seeds.

Points if you can name the pop culture reference. (Well, points if you actually read this blog...) These are addictive. As addictive, I guess, as Sergei Lukyanenko's Watch series. Or weekends spent playing mad, mad RPG. I had undead warriors and unsolved crimes these past couple of days. And lots and lots of blood.

Sometimes I want my world to stay as uncomplicated as this.
Posted by dementedchris at 11:21 PM 2 comments 

Sunshine (Robin McKinley) Confession: this is not my book cover; this is. Obviously, I'm not a big fan of the YA cover. I have, however, become a fan of the book.

When I found out that this was the 2007 winner of the Mythopoeic Award, I was excited. My new goal is to read as much of the Mythopoeic winners as I can, especially since a number of them are already my favorites (Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Hand, Patricia McKillip, among others).

Sunshine bakes cinnamon rolls every four in the morning for her stepfather's quaint little diner. One night, she heads to the lake, gets abducted, and experiences what every Twilight fangirl dreams of: being shackled right next to a vampire.

Normally, I don't like characters like Sunshine. Most of them, I feel, are too conveniently dropped into a storyline with paranormal creatures and because of (surprise, surprise) some mystic power in their blood or some obscure prophecy, they are able to triumph over evil. Ho-hum. But while this may be true for Sunshine, Ms McKinley sets her apart through the observant tone her main character uses. Sunshine makes her days at the coffeehouse just come to life and it is this same eye for detail that allows her strange encounter with the vampire Constantine to remain on some grounded level of believability.

Sunshine is not quite romance, even if you have vampires and crimson ballgowns and a devoted human boyfriend. It's not quite science fiction either, even if you have a recently-concluded war with drastic effects and tech names for familiar things. There's a lot in Sunshine that makes you think you know where it's going, but it has surprised me in many (small and subtle) ways. I appreciated how the book deals with the morality of killing (a vampire, yes, but killing just the same) or the way that it leaves some loose ends that may (or may not) have anything to do with the main conflict.

But the ambiguity is not the sole reason that I feel that the book has two different personalities. As the story progresses, the reader will feel the change in Sunshine, but it's hard to pinpoint the exact passage when her tone changes. You do know that she still cares for the same things in the end, still wants her old life. But her voice--her storytelling--has moved on from its originally sharp and tongue-in-cheek effervescence into more deliberate, more mature shades. I suppose I loved that feeling, reading the last few pages of the book and letting Sunshine's realizations wash over me as well. Not really what I expected from another 'vampire novel.'
Posted by dementedchris at 2:30 AM 9 comments Labels: reviews, robin mckinley, sunshine


Jellicoe Road (Melina Marchetta) I was hooked from the very first line ('My father took one hundred and thirty-two minutes to die'), so I know it will be very hard for me to stay objective about Jellicoe Road. The premise didn't sound like something I would be normally attracted to: Taylor is a troubled teen abandoned by her mother and raised at a boarding school, which is about to commence its annual territorial wars with the locals (Townies) and a visiting military camp (Cadets). For one reason or another, it's been on my Amazon Wish List for a while now and it was only yesterday when I was able to get a copy from my local bookstore. At one-thirty in the morning, I started to read it and didn't stop--except for a short bathroom break and to get a drink of water. It was that much of an emotionally addictive read for me.

It's about Taylor coping with being chosen to lead her school in the territory wars. It's about her dealing with the pain of a father she doesn't know and a mother who has abandoned her. It's about her searching for the one adult she depends on--Hannah, who found her at eleven and brought her to Jellicoe School but is now nowhere to be found. It's about trusting yourself and trusting others and learning to love. But this story is bigger than Taylor. Interspersed between her present-day struggles are snatches of an uncompleted manuscript that Hannah is writing, about five tragic teenagers who once called Jellicoe Road their home.

The more I read, the more I got hooked. Who were these teens? What did they have to do with Taylor? Ms Marchetta's plot is so complexly layered and so well-mapped out that even though you're not sure where it's headed, you feel compelled to read on. I admit though that once you've started making the connections, it's easy to see what happened to these characters' splintered past. Despite this, I didn't feel disappointed; the novel certainly didn't take the easy way out. Towards the latter chapters the book loses some of its steam (a particularly didactic scene between Taylor and Hannah didn't rise to the level of intensity the rest of the book had) but it's still an amazingly epic contemporary story that I would recommend. I did not regret falling asleep at four in the morning or that my pillow was wet with tears. I was happy to have been to Jellicoe Road and back, to have met these characters, and to feel that in some small measure my life had been changed.
Posted by dementedchris at 11:08 AM 7 comments Labels: jellicoe road, melina marchetta, reviews

Thursday, September 09, 2010

Kotobukiya Star Wars Chopsticks Review and Giveaway

As a huge Star Wars fangirl (check out Exhibit A and B below), I've been meaning to post this link so I can increase my chances of winning some lightsaber chopsticks. Darth Maul and I need some awesome eating utensils to up our geek cred:
 Exhibit A. My travel buddy and me in Corregidor Exhibit B. Maul in France--without me this time! (He's been all over the Philippines, and has been to France, Finland, UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and China!)
I feel that the Force is strong with me. Plus it's my birthday in a couple of days so... yeah. :) I'm sending the universe good vibes.

You can get those fabulous chopsticks from the Kotobukiya online store.
Posted by dementedchris at 10:58 PM 2 comments Wednesday, September 08, 2010 Labels: someone else's wisdom

Sunday, September 05, 2010

The Paradox. 
Wednesday, September 01, 2010

List-erature: Summer Teen Reads

My fifteen-year old sister and I barely have anything in common these days. She educates me on the benefits of lip primer and moisturizers with SPFs, she teases me for buying my clothes from Old Navy, and she mentally catalogues every outfit she will wear for the first month of her sophomore year. But one thing I feel that we will share for a long time is our love for reading. When she and the rest of my family visited me for their summer vacation, she brought with her a bunch of books to lend me--and ended up buying even more during her two-month stay.

As with most teen titles that my sister reads, the central theme among this collection is young love, although in varying degrees. From light and flirtatious to serious and even tragic, these books are great to pick up during the summer--or, if you're like me, eager for any excuse to reconnect with your younger self: 1. Seventeenth Summer (Maureen Daly). Published in 1942, Seventeenth Summer is regarded as one of the first (if not the first) YA books around. Of course, we didn't know this at the time we bought it so my sister found it rather old-fashioned, Googled it, and then resumed reading with new eyes. While the story of girl meets boy then goes off to college sounds tame and relatively uneventful by contemporary standards, Seventeenth Summer is quiet and observant and contains an innocence not often found on today's YA shelves. Angie and Jack have their own misunderstandings like any normal teens, prompting Angie to say that 'Just because you kissed a boy doesn't mean you're going steady,' before later asking herself with fragile sensitivity, 'Why do I keep remembering the smell of pipe smoke that you can't even see, pungent in the night air, and that small, warm silence when someone is near you? (p.139)'

2. The Lonely Hearts Club (Elizabeth Eulberg). Penny Lane and her friends have been burned by love, but what starts out to be a friendly pact to swear off guys suddenly becomes an after-school club that shakes up the entire school. I was surprised to enjoy this book as much as I did. It's not just about teen romance, it's also about friendship and being true to yourself, themes that are admittedly overdone in YA but are tackled with a clearly upbeat sense in Ms Eulberg's debut.

3. Two-Way Street (Lauren Barnholdt). I was really looking forward to reading this that I had my sister buy me a copy. But maybe because of my high expectations, I ended up on a lukewarm note. It's about Jordan and Courtney, who have just split up but find themselves taking a road trip together because it's too late for them to change their plans. There's a lot of tension between these two, especially when you find out that there's more to the breakup than meets the eye. I liked the way the plot is presented: jumping from Courtney's to Jordan's perspective, not to mention going back and forth from their first months together to the current road trip. But I guess I didn't really quite warm up to the characters or to the way they dealt with their (predictable) situation. Without giving too much away, I feel that Jordan could have done something other than what he did. Both their reasons for doing things never seem too clear to me. Of course, that would leave us without a story, but I guess this was just one of those times when I couldn't suspend my disbelief enough.

4. One Lonely Degree (CK Kelly Martin). This is one of the heavier books in this list, as it tackles sensitive issues like date rape, separation and betrayal. Finn's traumatic sexual encounter with a popular boy has scarred her emotionally, and the only person she can turn to is her best friend Audrey. So when Audrey starts liking Finn's childhood friend Jersy, she only gives them her blessing. But when Audrey goes away for the summer, Finn realizes that it's not as easy as she thinks. Ms Martin's novel is very controlled with its emotions that it doesn't dissolve into drama and hysterics. One of my favorite moments is when Finn puts on a Liz Phair song as she blocks out her parents' argument and realizes that it 'is the longest song in the world (p.37)'. As far removed as I may be from Finn's world, Ms Martin has a way of making it very believable.

5. The Juliet Club (Suzanne Harper). Serious Kate finds herself in Verona, studying Shakespeare and answering letters to lovelorn teens through The Juliet Club. Of course, Shakespeare references are abound, including a plot that borrows heavily from Romeo and Juliet. Unfortunately, I feel that Ms Harper tries to do much with the story. There are three main love stories involving all six of the Club's teen volunteers (how coincidental), but none of these are as thoroughly explored as I would have liked. There's even a few chapters about Kate's friends who act like a Greek chorus, which I doubt the story needed. On a minor note, all the letter writers sound as if they came from the same American high school (don't even get me started on how high school students would know about The Juliet Club, much less write to a fictional character via snail mail instead of spilling their guts on some online forum). But one of the book's strengths is its lovely descriptions (its Italian setting still makes it a good choice for a summer read) and I think that cutting down on some of the other plots would have helped turn The Juliet Club into a more charming read.

6. She's So Dead to Us (Kieran Scott). This is one of the more enjoyable (contemporary) teen titles that I've read in a long time (I've always been a fantasy/sci-fi/historical kind of girl). Ally returns to the posh upper-crust neighborhood that she was forced to leave two years ago and finds out that life is different at the bottom of the pecking order. This Mean Girls-meets-Gossip Girl title may sound derivative but Ms Scott keeps it fun. Her main cast are not cardboard cut-out stock characters which really makes me want to know more about them and what make them tick. Too bad that this is the start of a series--and it really ended on a cliffhanger. I'm still looking forward to more.

7. Geek Magnet (Kieran Scott). My sister and I really liked Kieran Scott's writing that we immediately bought this one. In this book, KJ, certified geek magnet, tries to get with the one she likes by getting rid of the ones she doesn't and realizes that it's not always easy to trade one for the other. It wasn't as fun for me as She's so Dead to Us was, but if you're a fan of teen romances, this one doesn't disappoint. I liked Geek Magnet's male lead a whole lot better than Dead to Us's Jake Graydon.

8. Boy Crazy (Hailey Abbott). It was one of those teen books that does not easily appeal to me, bursting with pop culture and a contemporary take on dating and friendship, so anything more than that might be unfair. It's a popular series, I hear.

9. Twenty Boy Summer (Sarah Ockler). My sister says she's tired of reading books where the protagonist tries to deal with the loss of a significant other. But this, this was just different for us. It moved me beyond all my expectations. Best friends Abby and Frankie spend a summer together, trying to put themselves together after the unexpected loss of Frankie's brother Matt (and Abby's secret boyfriend). But when he dies, Abby not only has to heal herself but she has to heal in private, painfully aware that the world does not allow her to fully grieve for this boy she loved. Ms Ockler's command of language and her acuteness of definition, turned what could easily have been over-the-top melodrama into a story that is poignant, and diamond-sharp, and real. She writes about 'all the old ghosts I tried to leave home float like dandelion seed wishes (p85)' or that 'a banished mermaid reads my letters and weeps endlessly for a love she'll never know(p289).' Just lovely. As someone who's known loss but has never been fully able to write about it, I am always left catching my breath when someone else does.
Posted by dementedchris at 11:02 AM 4 comments Labels: listerature, one lonely degree, reviews, seventeenth summer, the juliet club, the lonely hearts club, two-way street, young adult

 
Saturday, January 02, 2010

100 Book List Countdown

Possessed by either optimism or hubris last year, I vowed to finish 100 books for 2009. And though I've been quite slow blogging about them, I am happy to report to my three readers that I closed my last book on December 27, four days before the year was out. I picked up three fresh books after that, but have since been taking my own sweet time.

Here is the complete list, excluding titles that I merely re-read this year (so yeah, this list could have been longer had I concentrated on books new to me, but there's so much joy to be found in re-exploring a good book):
1. Stick Out Your Tongue (Ma Jian)
2. Special Topics in Calamity Physics (Marisha Pessl)
3. The Princess Diaries 10 (Meg Cabot)
4. Austenland (Shannon Hale)
5. My Swordhand is Singing (Marcus Sedgewick)
6. No one belongs here more than you. (Miranda July)
7. The Little Book of Forensics (David Owen)
8. Color: A National History of the Palette (Victoria Finlay)
9. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
10. An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England (Brock Clarke)
11. My Mistress' Sparrow is Dead (edited by Jeffrey Eugenides)
12. Night Watch (Sergei Lukyanenko)
13. Royal Assassin (Robin Hobb)
14. Becoming Bindy McKenzie (Jaclyn Moriarty)
15. Feeling Sorry for Celia (Jaclyn Moriarty)
16. The Princess and the Hound (Mette Ivie Harrison)
17. Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)
18. The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (Laura Willig)
19. Malinche (Laura Esquival)
20. Getting to Know You (David Marusek)
21. The Stone Rose (Jacqueline Rayner)
22. Winter Rose (Patricia A. McKillip)
23. The Man of My Dreams (Curtis Sittenfeld)
24. Silent on the Moor (Deanna Raybourn)
25. Eat Pray Love (Elizabeth Gilbert)
26. What I Did For Love (Susan Elizabeth Philips)
27. The Changeling Sea (Patricia McKillip)
28. The Resurrection Casket/Doctor Who series (Justin Richards)
29. Kissed by an Angel (Elizabeth Chandler)
30. The Power of Love (Elizabeth Chandler)
31. Soul Mates (Elizabeth Chandler)
32. Tintin and the Secret of Literature (Tom McCarthy)
33. Proust and the Squid (Maryanne Wolf)
34. The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric and Discredited Diseases (edited by Jeff Vandermeer and Mark Roberts)
35. The Sugar Queen (Sarah Addison Allen)
36. General Winston's Daughter (Sharon Shinn)
37. The Observations (Jane Harris)
38. Lady of the Glen (Jennifer Roberson)
39. Criss Cross (Lynne Rae Perkins)
40. A Curse Dark as Gold (Elizabeth C Bunce)
41. Belle/Once Upon a Time series (Cameron Dokey)
42. Pretty Monsters (Kelly Link)
43. The Time Traveler's Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
44. My Imaginary Ex (Mina V. Esguerra)
45. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (E. Lockheart)
46. Carved in Stone (Linda Newbery)
47. The Mysterious Benedict Society (Trenton Lee Stewart)
48. When It Happens (Susane Colasanti)
49. Every Soul a Star (Wendy Mass)
50-53. Secret Sorceress (+ 3 other books)
54. The Ninth Stone (Kylie Fitzpatrick)
55. Devil's Cub (Georgette Heyer)
56. Ransom My Heart (Mia Thermopolis/Meg Cabot)
57. The Historian (Elizabeth Kostova)
58. Murkmere (Patricia Elliott)
59. Ambergate (Patricia Elliott)
60. The Reluctant Heiress (Eva Ibbotson)
61. The Red Queen's Daughter (Jacqueline Kolosov)
62. Agnes and the Hitman (Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer)
63. The Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Joanne Fluke)
64. Eon Dragon Reborn (Alison Goodman)
65. Thirteen Reasons Why (Jay Asher)
66. The Book of Lost Things (John Conolly)
67. Carpe Diem (Autumn Cornwell)
68. Dracula's Heir: An Interactive Mystery (Sam Stall)
69. A Far Cry from Kensington (Muriel Sparks)
70. The Knife of Never Letting Go (Patrick Ness)
71. The Ask and the Answer (Patrick Ness)
72. The Lighting Thief (Rick Riordan)
73. The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan)
74. The Titan's Curse (Rick Riordan)
75. The Battle of the Labyrinth (Rick Riordan)
76. Odd and the Frost Giants (Neil Gaiman)
77. The Tea Rose (Jennifer Donnelly)
78. City of Bones (Cassandra Clare)
79. Impossible (Nancy Werner)
80. Making Money (Terry Pratchett)
81. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (Trenton Lee Stewart)
82. I am a Dalek/Doctor Who series (Gareth Roberts)
83. Thud! (Terry Pratchett)
84. Blink (Malcolm Gladwell)
85. Salt A World History (Mark Kurlansky)
86. Stargazer: The Life and Times of the Telescope (Fred Watson)
87. Tigerheart (Peter David)
88. An Abundance of Katherines (John Green)
89. The Sultan and the Mermaid Queen (Paul Spencer Sochaczewski)
90. Fevre Dream (George R.R. Martin)
91. Grail Prince (Nancy McKenzie)
92. Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List (Rachel Cohn and David Levithan)
93. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Alan Bradley)
94. Bewitching Season (Marissa Doyle)
95. Wild Orchid/Once Upon a Time (Cameron Dokey)
96. Hush (Donna Jo Napoli)
97. The Glass Book of the Dream Eaters Volume 1 (Gordon Dahlquist)
98. The Woman in Black (Susan Hill)
99. The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Carrie Ryan)
100. Anathem (Neal Stephenson)

On the surface, I've learned that:
1) 100 books in a year is an average of 3.65 per book, but I can actually consume about 2-3 books in a day, provided they're really light reads. Much thanks go to YA and romances, which prove to be the quickest reads for me.

2) Of all the books I've read this year, only about 20 of them come highly recommended. Okay, the actual number might be a little off; I'll have to go over my list. Not that the others are bad. I have more than enough good words to say about most of them, but only a precious few have reached my personal favorites category. The ratio seems extremely disappointing to me at this point.

3) Anathem was the hardest book I've had to read in a long time. It's about math and philosophy and aliens and contains words like polycosmic metatheorics. But thank you, Mr Stephenson. It's an experience I won't soon forget.

4) This year, I read what could be the crappiest romance series I've ever encountered. It had angels. And cheese. Plenty of cheese. Urgh. Why didn't I stop?

5) I was disappointed with myself for not picking up more Filipino books. I actually read part of Sarge Lacuesta's Flames and Other Stories and Ricky Lee's Para Kay B but never got to finish them. I vow to read more next year.

I don't think I'm crazy enough to go for another hundred next year after this, not especially after feeling pressured by mid-December. I'm glad I tried this, though. 100 is a nice number, especially when my instinct tells me my annual average would fall between a comfortable 60-80 books/year range. Looking back, I realize my list has leaned towards the lighter side of the reading scale so perhaps for 2010, I'll try to challenge myself with wider, more diverse reading material. Now there's a resolution. Happy new year, friends!
Posted by dementedchris at 11:46 PM 6 comments Labels: 100 book list