Books

The Common Room Film, Television, Music & Books
#121

I just finished the first book in the ‘Guardians of Ga’Hoole’ series called ‘The Capture’. Soren is a young night barn owl who is kidnapped and sent to the mysterious St Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls, where owls are being trained for a dark purpose. He meets an Elf Owl named Gylfie, and together, the intrepid duo must do the impossible to escape and warn their brethen on the outside; they must fly. A very exciting beginning to the Ga’Hoole saga, and I can see how it makes great material for the upcoming motion-picture adaptation by Animal Logic. :slight_smile:
Oh, and Twilight the ruddy great gray owl who is trained in “the orphan school of tough learning” is one bad-*ss! Love his taunts! :sunglasses:

Also, I started on SIr Ian Fleming’s “Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories”. I’ve read the first story ‘A View to a Kill’, and it is classic J.B. to a T. Bond goes on the trail of a murderer who has stolen classified documents from a dispatch rider in France. And not without trying to catch the eye of the pretty secretary along the way… :wink:

#122

Maus by Art Spiegelman. It’s no writing spectale, does not try to be spectale; This is nothing to critique on because it is true events.

Germans are cats, the Jewish are mice, non-Jew Poles are pigs. Art Spiegelman did not experience the Holocaust, but he is sure a survivor of its impact. What really surprised me was the portrayal of his father, the Holocaust survivor. The father really is the streotypical bitter Jewish man. Yet, despite Art’s wariness of this portrayal, that is the truth he presents.

I really recommend reading this. It leaves you thinking about the psychological damage of Holocaust victims and the effect on one (who never even when through the Holocaust).

#123

Read through all three of the Kingdom Keepers books consecutively. Wow, so exciting, page-turning, vivid, and just awesome for any Disney fanatic. Ridley Pearson is amazing! :smiley: I just wish Stitch had played a bigger role in the third book, even if he[spoil] was a villain. [/spoil]

The morning after I finished Kingdom Keepers III, I started and finished in about one sitting one of the books in the How to Train Your Dragon series by Cressida Cowell. It’s the 6th, I believe: A Hero’s Guide to Deadly Dragons. (I haven’t read any of the ones before it, but they did say you didn’t have to necessarily read it in order. I don’t feel that confused anyway- it’s like an episode of a TV show only in your head). It’s not that hard to finish in one sitting. What’s hard is putting it down. :slight_smile: It was nice to transition from something intense the day before to something easygoingly funny the morning after.

Right now I’m reading Every Soul A Star by Wendy Mass. It’s also nice to transition to reading something in first person now. It makes the read more refreshing, I think, if a novel like this is told from a certain point of view (for thrillers, mysteries, or ghost stories, those are better in third person, I think).
Anyway, it’s pretty cool so far. It switches points of view every chapter, but not in a confusing way- in a way that you can see how the stories start to collide. I like that- it’s like a crossover except with all original characters or something.

It’s about three different teens’ lives changed by an eclispe: Ally, a sort of nature girl who enjoys the wonders of simple things in life and lives in a place that seems isolated; Bree, a popular girl who is obsessed with beauty and becoming a supermodel and is about to move away from all she’s known to somewhere isolated; Jack, a lonely awkward boy who spends a lot of time alone until oppurtunity of adventure knocks and he gets to travel to camp somewhere to see the eclipse everyone’s waiting for. I really disagree with a lot of things Bree says in her point of view- it sounds so stuck up- but I do agree with one thing, that moving away just like that and having no one in your family who understands your sadness is really terrible.
Well, as far as I’ve read, they haven’t met yet, but their stories are slightly connected. I wonder what they’ll do together when they meet.

I’m also reading The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillio (author of The Tale of Desperaux) with my sister. An interesting story. This author sure has creativity. What’s weird is that saying you’re reading a story about a boy getting an answer from a fortuneteller that an elephant will lead him to his lost sister- that sounds random and just funny. But really reading it, it’s sort of a magical kind of funny, not a random kind of funny. I don’t think what I just said makes sense, but I don’t know how to explain it…

#124

So true. I loved Maus, and another book like it, Persepolis, but a lot of people (including my own mother) dismiss them because they’re in comic form. They tell the same story, just with a different medium. I wish people would stop thinking of graphic novels (and animated movies, but that’s a whole 'nother topic) as inferior to the more traditional form of literature (or live action movies).

Anyway, I recently started a book called Under the Dome, by Stephen King. Normally I’m not a big fan of King (except for Needful Things, which I loved), but the premise of Under the Dome really grabbed me. An invisible dome covers this small town, and each of the residents reacts to their predicament differently. If anyone has read the book, feel free to tell me what you thought of it, but no spoilers please :smiley:

#125

Hurray, another HTTYD reader! I recently finished ‘How to Speak Dragonese’ (and I read the first one last year, I skipped ‘How to be a Sea Pirate’). Never have I laughed so hard for a ‘children’s book’ in a long while! :laughing:

Wow, I saw that at my local bookstore today! :open_mouth: It grabbed my attention with those curious cover variations of people staring into the sky, and I read the blurb and the opening paragraph. Although, the plot does remind me a little of “The Simpsons Movie”. :slight_smile: I’m sure it’ll be smarter and more gripping than that, though!

I just started two books called Raptor Red and Alex and Me. The first is a fictional biography (although grounded in scientific facts) of an ‘Utahraptor’ in the prehistoric age, as she searches for a new mate while surviving her hostile world. The second is a true story of an ornithologist and her research subject, an African Grey Parrot named Alex, who ends up becoming her best friend.

Both books open with pretty heartbreaking beginnings… :frowning:

#126

Raptor Red sounds pretty interesting, thedriveintheatre. Utahraptors always remind me of Dinosaur Comics though, so I’d probably already have a preconception of the main character. :laughing: Still, it definitely sounds like something a bit different from the norm.

At the moment I’ve got my nose in lots of psychology books and magazines in preparation for September. One book I’m reading, called Individual Psychoterapy and the Science of Psychodynamics is particularly interesting as its written in an anecdotal form, relating the theories to real-life experiences. The problem is that this type of psychology is not the most scientific to say the least, so though it’s intriguing I’m trying to avoid reading too much about it.

#127

thedriveintheatre: So you don’t think it’s weird to read books like that, aimed at a young children’s audience? :astonished: High-five!! :smiley:

I just read The Tale of Desperaux again all in one day (well technically two, since I read past midnight, but I’m gonna just call it one day). One of my favorite books.
Very sweet, fun to read, and brilliant fairy-tale-type books I’ve read. I love that story! I love how there’s different stories colliding and the reader can piece things together- stories like that are most interesting to me, like Holes. Parts of it are sadder and darker than the movie adaption dares to be, which is why I like the book a lot better. After all, if you don’t emphasize the darkness in it, how can you expect to show the power of light conquering it?

My favorite part was when [spoil]Desperaux’s father believes he’s just seen the ghost of his son, and begs for his forgiveness because he let his son go to his death.[/spoil] It’s a moving scene that the movie just had to leave out. In the movie, he just [spoil]faints at the sight of Desperaux, not because he’s terrified of his son and regrets letting him be banished, but just because he’s a “ghost”.[/spoil].

But what the heck, I shouldn’t be comparing the movie and book in this thread.

#128

You and my friend Alejandro would like each other! He’s super into pshchology and is taking a psychology class next semester.He’s always reading books about it, and for my birthday he got me a book called “ABCs of the Human Mind”

#129

I took a short course on psychology once, it was pretty interesting. All the books I’ve seen on the subject are huge though, and I don’t have the time to read them, sadly.

I just started reading Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, an epic poem about Dante’s journey through hell, puragtory, and finally, Heaven. I’m not a very religious person, but it’s a fascinating read.

#130

I recently finished Raymond Arroyo’s biography of EWTN foundress Mother Angelica.
I’d say it’s a remarkable book about a most remarkable person.
I wish I had even half her faith in God’s providence. :slight_smile:

#131

Your friend sounds cool, ellie-jessie-eve! I’m going to be studying psychology as my ‘major’ for the next three years (no ‘minor’ here though, so just lots and lots of psychology) so doing a bit of reading as preparation is pretty essential. That book he got you sounds very useful as an overview of psychology, I’ve got something similar to that myself- very handy!

#132

Anyone a fan of graphic novels? Watchmen, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, V For Vendetta, The Killing Joke? I read Watchmen for the third time a few weeks ago, so many things you can miss on the first read.

#133

When I was in middle school, I was a fan of Jhonen Vasquez. I loved Invader ZIM, and I read a bit of Johnny. I really liked the artwork of JTHM.

#134

Oh it is, lizardgirl! It not only covers the physiology of Raptor Red (her evolutionary adaptations, hunting methods, etc.) but her inner psychology too (how she differentiates her family from outsiders, how she chooses a mate, the ‘selfish gene’ theory, etc.). As well as the usual narrative dramas like the death of a loved one in the beginning, or how her sister accidentally chases away a potential mate for her (I’ve only just finished the third chapter!). It’s fun brain-candy, to say the least.

Hiiigh fiiiivee… veeery niiiice! :stuck_out_tongue:

I read Desperaux two years ago. Was cute, but not much narrative depth to it, which was okay for its length, I guess. I do get frustrated on how the author gets all cryptic or wanders away ‘off-topic’ throughout, but it all gets tied together neatly. Like a Rashomon or Vantage Point for kids. I should really watch the movie-adaptation, I’ve been meaning to for a while.

I’ve been meaning to read TKJ… heard TDK film took some pointers from that, not to mention the ravings about it being a comic masterpiece. I don’t think I can handle reading Watchmen again, probably because it’s very depressing and it tends to wander around slowly (probably because I read all the newspaper articles and magazine cut-outs the first time I went through). But it really deserves it claim as one of the best graphic novels of all-time!

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I finished the second book of the ‘Guardians of Ga’Hoole’ saga, ‘The Journey’. The journey in question (at least the physical one), actually only takes the first third of the book. The rest is devoted to the Band’s adventures as they train in their individual chaws (classes) under their respective rybs (teachers) at the Great Ga’Hoole Tree. It’s like Hogwarts for owls, sans the magic!

Well, besides my lame parable, Kathryn Lasky’s world really does stand on its own talons. It is one of blind nest-maid snakes, trading magpies, and ‘strigiformes’ with governments and social heirarchy. We are introduced to new characters, like a short-ear who lost her family under mysterious circumstances, an arrogant spotted owl who is obsessed with lineage and prestige, a snowy owl who sings the owls to sleep every morning, and a grumpy whiskered screech with unorthodox teaching methods. All of the birds are charming (well, except Twilight, Ezylyrb and Otulissa), and the Band’s friendship and loyalty to each other is heartwarming.

The ending is satisfying while leaving many more questions to be answered of course, in the next installment, ‘The Rescue’. Unfortunately, there are no more subsequent installments in Sydney’s libraries. Looks like I’ll have to write a book order request… :imp:

#135

:open_mouth: :angry: Wow…I’m so mad at myself right now. I saw the first book in the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series at a thrift store yesterday, and I didn’t pick it up. It didn’t sink it that that was the series TDIT has been raving about for a while! Maybe I should go back this weekend, you’ve certainly piqued my interest with your fan trailer TDIT :smiley:

And yes, Watchmen is very depressing…Rorschach is pure awesomeness though :wink:

#136

Evil_Genius_27- Oh my goodness Rorschach. I think I’m in love with him. AMAZING character! I really want to read the graphic novel of Watchmen, mainly because of him!

I’m definitely a fan of graphic novels, but my favourite graphic novellist has to be Daniel Clowes. I’ve read his comics many times, over and over again, and I even went so far as to buy a new release of his on a visit to New York, meaning that I must’ve been one of the first people in the UK to read Wilson! He doesn’t stretch reality too much, he just creates believable characters experiencing strange things, and I love him and his style.

#137

Haha, Evil_Genius! :smiley: It’s not as complex or thought-provoking as Harry Potter or His Dark Materials, although I can tell Ms Lasky is trying to include ‘grown-up’ themes like the power of belief in intangibles, [spoil]fraticide[/spoil], and issues of abandonment, et cetera. There’s also a hint of eugenics and racial supremacy at the end of the second book, much like the HP series, so I’m very eager to continue to see what the ‘You Only Wish’ enemy is. I think you’ll understand what I mean when you eventually hunker down to read it; each book is pretty short, can be finished in an afternoon if you’re fast, but I read a few chapters daily to stretch it to a week. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m really mad with the City of Sydney now because they only have the first two books at all their public libraries, and I want to at least finish the third in time for the movie! :angry: Not to mention they only had two installments from the HTTYD series too… stingy bums. :slight_smile:

You should, lizardgirl! My friends who’ve watched the movie told me that the film didn’t explore his character motivations as much as in the book (they made him out to be a bad guy with no reason, simple as that). He is a much more complex character in the novel, which is probably why many fans (myself included) root for him. :slight_smile:

#138

Oh, I loved the Dark Materials trilogy! I cried when [spoil]Lee died, and when Lyra and Will said goodbye[/spoil] <3 I must admit though, I liked the first one the best.

How many books are in the series so far, and is it finished or are there new books coming out soon? Which of the books does the movie comprise? Sorry for all the questions TDIT, but I’m actually interested now. The only thing is, I don’t like getting into a series untill all the books have been released (long story).

And yes lizardgirl, you should definitely check out Watchmen if you can. The movie really doesn’t do the book, or Rorschach, justice. But like TDIT said, it’s really depressing, even more so than the movie.

#139

Oh god… Lee and Hester… I sobbed at that part too! :frowning:

I didn’t catch the religious undertones till the feature film came out. I started the first book in 2005 and finished the trilogy in '06, a few months before they announced the feature film was under production. I did a little research, and upon reflection, there were some pretty astute observations about organized religion and all that, but Mr Pullman always stressed that he was against ‘authority’, not God per se. And really, all those fundamentalists who were baying ‘boycott’ were the same close-minded individuals who thought the Da Vinci Code was real, or that Harry Potter preached paganism. :unamused: For the record, I’m Agnostic, but I am always open to other people’s ideas and interpretations of the world.

But I was really looking forward to the movie, and although it’s nice to see Mr Bond and Nicole Kidman onscreen (along with Pantalaimon and Iorek Byrnison brought to life), I was really disappointed they did a cop-out on the original ending, regardless of the supposed ‘anti-God’ element. The conclusion to Northern Lights (renamed The Golden Compass in America) was amazing, and utterly heartbreaking for Lyra, and to remove that from the adaptation, is, for lack of a better word, blasphemy.

Aaanywaaay… I’d really love a dæmon! No idea what she would be, but it’s a very cool idea! If you guys have no idea what I’m talking about, read HDM, and tell me that is one cool idea! :smiley:

Which reminds me, I should really attempt to read Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, which supposedly inspired HDM.

To answer your questions, there are 15 books (But I will say again, each book is very short). Yes, the series is complete, although I just discovered yesterday there’s a spin-off featuring the wolves of Ga’Hoole. :wink: The movie will cover the first three books: ‘The Capture’, ‘The Journey’ and ‘The Rescue’.

#140

I hate it when people try to boycott a movie, book, concert etc. Let people enjoy it, and interpret it their own way! Trying to prevent people from seeing/reading it will just make them want it more, and draw attention to the issue. :unamused: Personally, I didn’t even notice the supposed “anti-religion” sentiments people were harping about; it’s just a story.

Hmm, if I had a dæmon, I think he would have to be a medium sized, furry mammal. That sounds really specific, doesn’t it 8D He’d have to be a furry mammal so he would be warm and cuddly, and medium sized so as to be able to ride on my shoulder. Maybe an ermine? That may sound unoriginal, but I’ve loved that animal ever since I was little, even before [spoil]that’s what Pan settled into.[/spoil]

I may be alone here, but I enjoyed the movie. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t think it was horrible either. Although I must admit, I was very disappointed they left out the orginal ending. They were planning to make a second, and they didn’t want the first to end so [spoil]depressingly[/spoil]. Since they aren’t making a second (at least as far as I know), it just makes me feel…cheated. I really would have loved to see that scene.

So are they planning to make 5 movies, or will they wrap this one up neatly like they did with The Series of Unfortunate Events?