Flight of Fancy

I have a thing for Neil Gaiman. I can't exactly explain what it is, but it's there. Now, this does not compare to the deep, unending, and (sometimes) irrational thing I have for Patrick Rothfuss,...but I can't deny there is something special in my heart for Neil's art, for his way of seeing things, and for his lovely, lovely storytelling.

I became a fan of Gaiman's when I read The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It is a most unusual tale, a cross between a delightful faerie tale and a Grimm Brothers' nightmare. I loved it and reviewed that book in an earlier blog. Since reading that first book, I've sought out and read various books by Gaiman. Each one, so far, has been different than the others, but I've liked them all. I do have a thing for first loves, though, so my heart pulls most towards The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Most recently, though, I became enamored with Gaiman's novel Stardust. It's a delightful romp in a magical forest. It's about bringing together all the things that make fantasy fiction so much fun for me. There's lovely maidens, evil plots, handsome heroes, magical kingdoms, witches, faeries, ghosts, falling stars, magic spells, flying ships, unicorns, and...well,...love. What's a good story without that? Oh, you can have a good story without it, don't get me wrong, but it isn't usually the kind of story that leaves you with a big, goofy grin on your face.

There is a part of me that would like to compare Stardust to William Goldman's The Princess Bride, but that's difficult for me to do because that particular book and movie have been near and dear to my heart for a very long time. I am a bit biased. Stardust does, however, glimmer with the same kind of magic, wit, fun, and good storytelling that is appealing in The Princess Bride. And, like The Princess Bride, Stardust was also made into a movie.

OK, OK,...wait. My brain keeps repeating how I actually DO compare The Princess Bride to Stardust, but I didn't want to write it...just in case it might dissuade you from reading Stardust (and I do think you should read it). Oh, I'm going to go ahead and write it, anyway...

Stardust is like the plain cousin of The Princess Bride. Not unattractive, but attractive in a different way. She's less complex, much shorter, a bit naughty, and not quite as witty, but she's a fun date and can dance a jig as well as most. Best of all, she will leave you with a warm smile at the end of the evening and, while she'll never be her cousin, she is worthy in her own right and deserves to be courted.

There. I said it.

Now, if you want a real book lovers' treat, you should buy the book with illustrations by Charles Vess. I ordered mine after I'd read the book on my Kindle. Once I read it, I knew this was a book I would read again and wanted to own (yes, I'm one of those kind of people). When I looked it up on Amazon and saw there was an option to get the illustrated version, I was thrilled! The pictures remind me of the kind I used to see in old faerie tale books when I was a little girl. They are really lovely and a bit scary - just as any good, illustrated fantasy book should be. :)

So, do yourself a favor and read Stardust. After that, watch the movie. Then read The Princess Bride and watch that movie again (It is 'again,' isn't it? Surely, you've watched it?). You will enjoy both, but you'll understand what I mean. Both are lovely flights of fancy, one is just a little fancier than the other. :)

Happy reading (and movie watching)!!

 

A Movie?

Yes, believe it or not, as much as I love to talk about books, I do enjoy movies, as well. I don't usually enjoy them as much as I do books, but - now and then - I get a truly pleasant surprise. I'm pleased to share one of those with you that I recently enjoyed, although,...it isn't a recently released movie.

I had finished reading a wonderful historical fiction (which I'll talk about later) and was still marinating it, which means I was still researching some information from the historical fiction, still thinking about the storyline. I wasn't ready to start a new book yet, but I wanted something to keep me company for a couple of hours one day. I knew what could satisfy my desire: Kindle Fire.

The great thing about my Kindle is his Fire not only burns passionately with beautiful books, it also glows with Netflix and Amazon. (There is more than one reason I love him, you know.) It helps that I'm a Amazon Prime Member, too, which means I love shopping for a "free" instant movie to see what hidden treasures I can find without paying an additional price for them. (What can I say? Along with being born a bibliophile, I'm also a born bargain shopper. It's the thrill of the hunt!)

The movie I found, on this particular hunt, was "Amelie" from 2001. I had never heard of it before, but I loved the look of the pixie-faced actress on the cover. She reminded me of a faerie, and I love faeries. When I read the reviews and a bit of the synopsis, I decided it might be just the thing I wanted. I also admit it appealed to me because the film was set in Paris (one of my most favorite places), and it was in French with English subtitles (which helps me practice my French). I thought I might like the film. Little did I know, I would fall in love with it! I smile, even now, just thinking about it.

To me, "Amelie" is everything a movie should be: art and magic and wonder. A movie is a place to lose yourself for a little while and enter another world. If it's a good movie, you take a part of that world with you when the film is over. It's a place you remember fondly and, if the movie is really good, it might be a world you'll want to visit again. "Amelie" is definitely that kind of movie.

I was going to post a link here to the movie trailer, but I feel it gives too much away. I'm glad I didn't really know much about the movie before I watched it (which is why I only read a bit of the synopsis, I hate knowing too much before watching a movie or reading a book. Spoils the fun, in my opinion. I believe I've said this before, yes?)

I'll end my recommendation with this, if you find yourself wanting to spend some time in a lovely place with a pixie-faced faerie girl as your guide, just give "Amelie" a try. She'll lighten your heart and make you smile, and we all need some of that, oui?

Books...

Oh, yes, I do have a book recommendation, as well. I won't go into a review, but I will say this book was another great surprise (so, don't think my lack of review indicates a lack in the book). It was one I had on my shelf, but had not read yet. It was meant to be a "filler" book or a "tweener" - you know, something I was reading to kill time until my next Kristin Cashore book arrived. I was pleasantly surprised to find the book was more of a main attraction than I would have imagined.

 If you love historical fiction, as I most passionately do, I recommend you read The Irish Princess by Karen Harper. I've never read Harper before, but I liked her style. I also like the research she did for her book and the references she gives to the real information at the back of the book. I found the novel to be a springboard into some interesting research of my own. I admit to having a particular fondness for the setting, as I love England (another one of my most favorite places), and was more than a bit thrilled to see some places mentioned I know and love well, such as Leicestershire and Charnwood Forest - truly lovely places with truly lovely people.

Time to go now...

Not that this post was short, but I do feel a bit rushed in writing it. You see, today is my last day of Spring Break. It's back to work tomorrow. I have a few things on my "just gotta do list" to end my break in style and, of course, one of them is reading. My Kristin Cashore book has arrived from Amazon, and I am anxious to spend a little time in that world before enjoying some other things this lovely Sunday.

Happy reading! :)



 

Lovely Lies

Believe it or not, I've never seen the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha." I don't know why this surprised friends of mine when I told them this recently, but it did. If you're wondering why the topic even came up, it's because when I was asked what I'm reading I told them Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. Their first response was, "Didn't you see the movie?"


No. I didn't see the movie. Believe it or not, there are some movies I haven't seen. I especially avoid movies that were books first, to be honest. If I hear a movie is great, and find it was a book first, I go get the book. Books are always better because no director or actor or computer animation can come close to what my perfectly good brain conjures up when I read.

So, back to my current reading selection...

Actually, I just finished the novel. To be exact, I got up at three this morning...just so I could finish the book before I started my regular day. And, yes, I enjoyed it that much. I love the figurative language in the book. I also love that it's written as a first-person narrative. It is one of those books I have tabbed with several sticky notes to mark my favorite passages. I also find it to be quite a fascinating cultural and historical lesson.

When I closed the book at the end, I sat in my favorite reading chair and let it soak in. I smiled to myself and felt quite satisfied that it was a good read. I had enjoyed the characters, absorbed the surroundings the narrator had described throughout the book, and I was very glad I'd read the novel.

That feeling lasted a few precious moments...

And, then, although I wanted to fight it, my logical brain kicked in. My research brain gave a shout, too. Normally, this is something I like about myself, but just this once I wanted to let something go at face value,...but I wasn't able to do so. My brain just wouldn't allow it.

You see, I began making a connection between SO many similar stories. The first one that came to mind was the movie "Pretty Woman." I couldn't resist, I looked up the date of the movie - 1990. The date of the novel? 1997. While one is an American 'fractured fairy tale,' the Japanese one is too similar to ignore. It's simply set in a different country and a different time. Other than that, there really is no other differences worth mentioning.

I was tempted to hang on to what I was feeling, frustrated by a society that still tries to sell us a package of lies about what love and loyalty and 'happily ever after' should look like. I mean, if a prostitute and a geisha can find real love in this world, it shouldn't be that hard for everyone else, right? Yeah, right.

But I didn't. I didn't hang on to that feeling. I let it go...

While I know it's all lies, even I admit they're lovely ones. And, as long as I see them for what they are, there's no harm done if I indulge in little 'suspension of disbelief' now and then. Who wants to feast on a dose of reality all the time anyway? ;)

Happy reading!

Cryptic Messages?

I have noticed there is a group of people turning up their noses to cryptic messages people like to post on Facebook.

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-art-of-the-cryptic-facebook-message

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cryptic-Messages-Suck/264645616677



While I notice most of the complainers mention people who usually post cryptic messages when they're angry at someone, and they claim it is because the people have a passive-aggressive nature, the truth is...cryptic messages serve many more purposes than expressing anger. Just like everything else in life, some people do things for the wrong reasons...and do them badly. To say that all people who enjoy cryptic messages are passive-aggressive and spend "11 hours on Facebook" is a bad generalization.

Please allow me to explain...

Facebook is a great place to say what you think and, while I don't always agree with what my friends post sometimes, I certainly don't complain about it. After all, if they're posting on their own site, who am I to complain about what they post? If I don't like it, I can just ignore it and move on. No big deal. If my friends "live" on Facebook and the posts get overwhelming, I block it from my newsfeed. I still love my friend, I just need to take their words...in small doses. It's an easy fix. I am not the Facebook police, and I am not a therapist.

This is how I see it...

If a person posts a cryptic message, and they're good at it, their intended target will pick up on it every time. If it isn't for me, why do I care what the message is? I'm not going to lose any sleep, or any of my time, trying to figure out a message that - obviously - wasn't intended for me anyway. When I see one, I just smile and know that someone - somewhere - is getting the message. Sometimes it's a message they like, other times...maybe not so much - those are the ones you see and go, "Ouch, I don't know who he/she is talking about,...but I'm glad it's not me."

I should mention the kind of cryptic messages that aren't "angry" ones. Sometimes it's a quote from a teacher/coach that only your old high school buddies will understand. It might be a movie quote that just a small group of your friends understand a funny incident that happened at that movie, at that moment, when you were all out together. If you're a teacher, like me, it might be a post that only someone who teaches could ever understand the true meaning. On rare occasions, it might even be a message you would post that only one person remembers a specific moment in time when those words were said or were important to you. See? It's not all anger management/passive-aggressive issues.

So, while I think we all have a right to our opinion, I think people who complain about cryptic messages should quit telling people to "get a life" and get a life of their own. Seriously. Why do they care what the message means? Don't they have something else to focus on? If the person wanted you to know the meaning behind it, you would.

Do I like to post cryptic messages from time to time?

Yes, I do. In fact, I find it fun to play with words and get responses from the people who know exactly what I mean. I also love to post messages with double meanings. I will say, though, that I don't usually post those messages because I'm angry or need to get something off my chest. I do them for fun.  I also don't do it to get attention from other people asking me what I mean. My intended audience always knows what I mean.

You know, it kind of reminds me of an incident in my past (LONG before Facebook)...

Once upon a long time ago, my dad happened to walk in to the same cafe where I sat eating lunch with some coworkers. He knew the owner and workers in the cafe, so he waved and said hello when he came in. Dad came over to our table, and I introduced him to the other ladies. He was courteous to everyone, but after a few minutes he turned to me directly and said something. I don't even remember now what it was, but it was something he was saying to just me, while the other ladies were talking to each other.

At the end of what he said, one of the ladies happen to catch that he was speaking to me. She looked over at him, almost expectantly, thinking he would repeat what he had said when she wasn't paying attention. She raised her eyebrows to him, as the other ladies finished talking, and everyone looked at the two of us. I noticed it, but my dad was still looking at me. He then turned to face the women at the table as one said, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you were saying to her. You were mumbling too low." My dad looked her straight in the eye and said, "I wasn't mumbling, I was speaking to my daughter. If I had wanted you to understand what I was saying, you would have." My dad then smiled, told us all to have a good day, winked at me and walked away.

Now, you could argue that it isn't the same thing, but I think it is. Other people could see my dad and hear my dad, they just didn't know what he was saying to me. The "messages" he gave when he walked in the cafe varied: one was for a large group (the cafe crowd he knew), one was for a smaller group (the ladies at my table), and one was for just me. We were all in a public place together, but each "message" was intended for different people.

So, here's my advice for people who complain about cryptic messages... 

Next time you see a cryptic message that you don't get, just leave well enough alone. If the writer wanted you to understand it, you would have. If you have a passive-aggressive friend who uses cryptic messages to get attention and it gets on your nerves, block them from your newsfeed.

Here's another thought...

Maybe you should get some friends who are a little more mentally and emotionally balanced. Find some people who are intelligent and well-read enough to know how to play with words and have fun with them or who understand all the same references to novels, movies, and song lyrics. If you do that, you can all join in on the fun! ;)

And, now, it's only fitting I leave you with a cryptic message of my own...

"There's no word like the name that I call you."