My book club recently finished Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk. I was intrigued to read it, as Mr. Palahniuk wrote Fight Club, so I was expecting some real mental exercise.
Not so much.
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August 3, 2007
Patrick Rothfuss, “celebrated newcomer,” and Orson Scott Card, my beloved favorite, got together to jaw about Harry. I’m kinda sick of Harry, actually, but I can’t miss out on OSC sightings, and I’m currently reading Rothfuss’ book The Name of the Wind, so I thought I’d give it a gander. Turns out, these guys are good together. With topics like “Atheism and the Afterlife in the Potterverse,” and “What Civilization Does Harry Potter Create?” these guys roll with the zeitgeist and opine about what the most popular fantasy series of all time (I think) really means to us as a culture. Interesting stuff.
July 21, 2007
Hubby just left the room, practically dancing, and shouting “It’s OVER!” I guess he’s happy all the Harry-hype has ended.
The spoilers I’ve been able to find:
- Snape’s a good guy. (That’s the only part I truly cared about.)
- Eventually, Harry and Ginny marry, as do Ron and Hermione. They all have kids that end up going to Hogwarts.
- Voldemort kills Harry, but Harry comes back to life because Voldemort can’t kill him for various reasons. But as Harry did die, the horcrux part of him is gone, so Harry is able to kill Voldemort. (Obviously, Harry and the Gang found all the other ones and destroyed them.)
- Lupin and Tonks die, but not before having a son (Teddy).
- Voldemort kills Snape. Snape shares his memory with Harry before he dies.
There’s more at Wikipedia, if you’re interested. I’m just glad I don’t have to go spend $20 on a hardcover – with my burning question answered, I can wait for the paperback!
Am I going to get sued now?
July 7, 2007
Hubby has a new show he enjoys. Burn Notice on USA. Hubby says he likes the home-improvement tips (yuk yuk). I think he’s OK with the T&A aspect of a show based in Miami, too. Lots of bikinis. (That was the only thing that kept him watching that stooopid show with David Caruso.) (But of course he wouldn’t admit that to me.) It’s James Bond with snark. I have to admit, I liked it, too. Not as much as the Hubby did, but I liked it.
So we’re sitting on the couch, chuckling at the Ocean’s 13-esque dialogue of Jeffrey Donovan (telling the guy whose car he just jacked that he has to get the visor fixed because it’s ‘really annoying.’ *smirk*) when hubby laments that Burn Notice is a summer fill-in show. As is his other favorite show, Eureka. As is one of my favorite shows, The 4400. And Monk. And Psych. And Dead Zone.
So what does this say about us as people? Hubby and I apparently are summer fill-in kind of people. Respectable enough, but never going to make it to mainstream prime-time. And we seem to really like USA Network and the SciFi Channel. And our young kids know who Stan Lee is. And Gene Rodenberry. Before too long they’re going to know who Robert Heinlein is (actually, Eldest Son already does, as he’s perused some of the juviniles).
When people who don’t know us well learn these facts about us, they seem surprised. Not by Hubby, of course, as he’s always been a bit of a geek (occupationally), and so people somehow expect an interest in speculative entertainment from him. From me, though? The HausFrau? I drive a mini-van and boor people to tears with mundane anecdotes about my family. Who would think that my favorite stories are those with aliens or set in alternate universes? That I can quote most of the Star Trek movies (I veer away from I and V, and try to avoid IV)? That many (OK, most) of my political, social, and religious opinions have been infuenced by Asimov, Atwood, Bradbury, Bradley, Card, Clarke, Dick, Heinlein, Herbert, LeGuin, Verne, and Wells? My good friends know this about me, and generally smile indulgently when I go off on a tangent about books, authors, and the state of current literature, with a look that suggests they’re about to pat me on the head and tell me everything will be OK. But when an acquaintance drops a comment about space opera while looking at a magazine ad, and I respond with a quip about David Weber and ‘missles screaming through the void,’ the look on their face is full-on shock.
I guess we haven’t moved as far from the stereotypes as I thought. I must be a pimply-faced, Spock-ears wearing, no girl kissing dweeb in another life.
Along those lines, Ursula LeGuin wrote this about genre fiction. I was choking with laughter. Way to go Ursula!
July 7, 2007
So, about 10 years ago now I picked a book up off of the shelves (Finder), and enjoyed it very much. For nine years after that, I scanned the shelves for something by this author (easy to do as she was one shelf-step away from my beloved OSC), and came up zero. Then I started paying attention to this whole Internet thing, and discovered you can ‘Find’ almost anything on here. Remembering her name, I re-found Emma Bull, and happiness ensued. And now I hear she and her husband Will Shetterly, are going on a book tour! Hooray! Her new book, Territory, got a stellar write-up by James Vandermeer at SciFi Weekly. I’m going to the book store today – if it’s there I’ll pick it up! Yippee! Another author to love! WooHoo!
July 6, 2007
I haven’t been thrilled with his most recent work, but I always look forward to a new one.
I’m a bit surprised at how vehemently some of the sci-fi world debase him, based on his (granted, unattractively conservative in areas) politics. The fact that he’s a bit of a curmudgeon in his political opinions does not remove his talent, or the treasure trove that is his body of work. He has always been a favorite of mine, and the Ender stories helped me to form a lot of my adult viewpoints, as I absorbed them at a very formative time in my life. Regardless of his political or religious affiliations, I am a fan and will continue to admire him.
