Books, or why I love them.

Livejournal's Writer's Block Question for yesterday:
Is there any book you can read over and over again without ever getting sick of it? Do you discover something new every time you read it?

Why yes, there are two books in my life that I can simply read over and over and over and over and over and never get sick of them. I've read one in its original language and the other I'm working my way through. (Who is surprised that my two favourite books were not originally in English? Bueller?)

My favourite book of all time, and one I am constantly re-reading as a source of inspiration in both my life and my writing is The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. This book is so amazing and means so much to me. My current facebook quote is from the last lines of the novel:

"Darling," replied Valentine, "has not the count just told us that all human wisdom is summed up in two words? - `Wait and hope.'"

My own philosophy toward my reading materials and my interests in life comes from the middle of the text:

My kingdom is bounded only by the world, for I am not an Italian, or a
Frenchman, or a Hindu, or an American, or a Spaniard -- I am a cosmopolite. No country can say it saw my birth. God alone knows what country will see me die. I adopt all customs, speak all languages.

It's a long read (over a thousand pages) but entirely life-changing for me, who encountered it in French class.

My second favourite book, and one I read all the time (except right now because I damaged my copy far beyond repair and need to buy a new one) is The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende.

In a previous post I mentioned that I love the country of Chile, and I never truly explicated why. This book is the gateway to that love. It's not just the history of Chile, it's a family story, with bits of spirituality and just a bit of supernatural beauty that makes this book a winner. It was Allende's first novel and she's only gotten better (ask my friend Phil if I'm wrong). Like Monte Cristo, this book influenced the type of books I want to write, and how I write. It's a little more accessible than Dumas, but just as important to me.

Since the book was originally written in Spanish, I'm trying to read through it in that language. It's a little harder for me because I have a deeper background in French than Spanish, so I have to keep pausing to absorb what I've read, even though I know the story by heart. I will persevere though.

Audience participation time.

Working on the book again, and I have a question.

I wonder if it's too odd/cliche to have a severely injured woman slip away from the bodyguard and her daughter and have one of the following options happen to her:

1) She jumps off a cliff to end her life
2) She surrenders to the people chasing them, and dies in their custody. Daughter and bodyguard escape to safehouse
3) She disappears and is never seen again.

For the purposes of the story -- the daughter is the scion of a fallen house, and the bodyguard is smuggling her and her followers off-world.

too many books, too little time

I was skimming the spotlit community Bookfails earlier and it inspired me to think about what the worst books I ever read were.

Years ago I hated HATED HATED Jane Eyre. I hated that she got together with Rochester (SPOILERS!) in the end. It took reading The Eyre Affair for me to really like the book.

I also really hated The Old Man and the Sea. In fact, all of Hemingway is anathema to me. I've tried to read him, I really have, but I can't stand him. Also in the vein of great books that I should like but don't is The Grapes of Wrath. Steinbeck is good (I liked Of Mice and Men), but reading Wrath was like watching paint dry.

I try to finish every book I start whether it is worth my time or not. But I put down The Road by Cormac McCarthy sometime last year and I haven't picked it up since. With the movie coming out I might be inclined to finish it, but it's just so damned DEPRESSING that I can't take it. I also never finished The Coffee Trader by David Liss. I really wish I hadn't wasted my money on that book. Although it might have been the free book in a buy two get one free deal, I don't remember. Totally not worth reading.

I've only been dismaed with one book recently though and that was Laura Esquivel's Malinche. If you read the review I posted, I mentioned that I'm not sure if it was the translation or if the story was just that bad, because I did enjoy the movie version of Like Water for Chocolate.

So tell me, friends: what are some books you absolutely hated? Books you threw against the wall, wanted to set on fire (as wrong as it is), books you never wanted to see again.



ETA: I totally blanked on how much I HATE Virginia Woolfe. HATE. To the LIghthouse was INSUFFERABLE. Flames...at the side of my face...


OH MY God how did I forget Joyce? Fuck Ulysses and Portrait of the Artist as a YOung Man. Those books are the worst ever ever.

je t'adore, montreal <3

reasons why i love montreal more than your mom

-centre bell has lifesized statues of famous hockey players.
-there's such a mix of languages here and all of them i can understand (so far)
-the metro is really far superior to cdta (hell, most things are)
-there is a baked potato restaurant that i am going to try for science (again) tomorrow.*
-i got to stand less than two feet away from laura pausini omg and she came around the edge of the stage and shook everyone's hand and i got squished against the stage and i don't even CARE because omg i love her


missions for tomorrow:
do touristy things (ie walk around mtl and take lots and lots of pitchers)
eat baked potatoes @ restaurant
am iffy on smoked meat, but when in montreal...
i also need to have real poutine. that's correct sir i will be doing a lot of eating on this trip.
make it back to the bus terminal by 2100 or else


I forgot my cable back in the states so I can't upload any of my awesome photos from the concert yet. in the meantime i have a queen-sized bed all to myself and I found the ABC station out of Burlington, so I am awesome.

*Candice discovered this place when I first met her, and we tried it when I got to MTL for the original Trip of Doom.

Book reviews!

I missed doing these posts, so I will do a few of the books I've read recently.

First up, Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey, by Alison Weir.

Weir is my favourite historical author, and I was elated to find out she'd branched into novels. I picked this one up in Ottawa, and I was slightly disappointed. Weir is a master at writing historical characters, using the available facts to give us a clear sense of the subject. Something got lost in the novel though. The facts are all there, but the spirit is missing. She set it up similarly to what Phillipa Gregory did in The Boleyn Inheritance by using three first person narrators. But unlike Gregory, this setup just loses its punch. Jane Grey is the best character in the book, but it's clear that Weir is not nearly as interested in Queen Mary. I dunno, I was underwhelmed.

I have Weir's The Lady Elizabeth, and that's up next to read so I'm hoping it goes a little better. I think Innocent Traitor was her first novel.

Up next I have uh, another Alison Weir book. But this one is one of her standard biographies. And as usual, I have nothing bad to say about it at all. She manages to bring a woman who there is limited source material regarding to life. Eleanor of Aquitaine was the Duchess of Aquitaine, Countess of Poitou, Queen of France, and Queen of England. She was in fact one of the most famous, most influential women of her day. Sadly because she lived in the 12th century, there is little remaining of her records -- even her tomb, Weir reveals, was destroyed in the 18th Century during the French Revolution. While most of the book talks about Eleanor's family, Weir is able to show fairly easily how these forefathers and descendants influenced and in turn were influenced by this woman known as "the most beautiful woman in Europe."

The final book I'm gonna talk about is a Kate Atkinson novel. If you haven't read anything by this woman I strongly encourage you to do so ASAP. I love this woman and her writing. And I was reading One Good Turn, which is a sequel to Case Histories. If you haven't read Case Histories you don't necessarily NEED to in order to understand this book, but it helps. It revolves around poor ex-detective Jackson Brodie, a man who seems to find trouble no matter where he goes. The supporting cast of characters is so rich and creative that it's almost worth it on its own.

GO READ KATE ATKINSON GO GO.

I haven't forgotten about Honduras

RL got in the way of my Honduras updates -- yesterday I had to work and then I kinda just mindlessly surfed the internet to get over how sad I am bout leaving that store. Today was in town, and it's the last time I will see her for a while since she's moving to Japan later this month.

My money sitch is gonna run me tight. Love it.

Maricela wrote this on Facebook a couple of days ago:

La verdad de Honduras
Share
Tues at 11:45
Es una pena que los gobiernos y las organizaciones internacionales traten a este evento como una barbarie y una acto troglodita. Mas del 90% de la población se opone a la restitución del Sr. Zelaya quien ha pretendido en múltiples ocasiones pasar por encima de la ley y se ha mostrado incapaz de gobernar este país con justicia. Este Sr. ha ofendido los valores y derechos del pueblo Hondureño y la democracia, al haber llegado al poder por medio de mentiras y promesas falsas, y luego introducir ideas izquierdistas a semejanza de Hugo Chávez, quien es un gorila necio que pretende llevar a América Latina por el mismo camino de la antigua Europa socialista. Los militares arrestaron a Manuel Zelaya siguiendo las órdenes de la Corte Suprema de Justicia debido a sus actos criminales, y el mismo dia el poder fué devuelto a los civiles. Esto no ha sido un golpe de estado ni un regreso a los años oscuros como ha sido clasificado por el resto del mundo, sino un acto de valor, por el cual el pueblo Hondureño ha optado por despedir a un empleado incompetente y ponerle fin al circo del Sr. Zelaya. Los noticieros internacionales han tergiversado la información convirtiendo a este señor en una victima. Por esto, yo y todos aquellos que queremos la paz y la democracia en nuestro país queremos que nuestra voz sea escuchada y pido que nos ayuden a transmitir nuestro mensaje.

El mundo solamente ha podido ver un lado de la moneda en el que el Sr. Zelaya ha quedado como la víctima. Hoy dia se le brindo la oportunidad a este señor de hablar frente a Asamblea General de la ONU donde proporcionó un discurso lleno de mentiras. Por dar algunos ejemplos, dijo que la fuerzas militares han mantenido a Honduras en un estado de parálisis por 3 dias, disparando a la gente y lastimando a unas 160 personas, cuando esto es mentira. En el país hay calma, unidad, y fe en el nuevo gobierno. Entre otras mentiras dijo que él vive en una casa de clase media, que está en contra de las dictaduras, y que ha reducido la pobreza en 2 años. Todas estas son mentiras. Me parece que lo justo y correcto en esta situación es que el pueblo de Honduras también tenga la oportunidad de expresarse ante la comunidad internacional y explicar porque apoyamos la destitución de esta persona. No es posible que la ONU y la OEA evalúe la situación sin mandar delegados al país y analizar la situación desde adentro, examinando todas las acusaciones que se han hecho en contra del Sr. Zelaya. La Fiscalia ya ha emitido una orden de arresto a través de la interpol en cuenta de 18 delitos incluyendo narcotráfico, traición a la patria, desvío de recursos y crimen organizado.


New developments include: attempts to bring Zelaya back to the country, pressure from the OAS on Honduras to restore Zelaya, threatening expulsion. The new President, Micheletti, is willing to negotiate on this, but Zeleya is going to face impeachment proceedings should he return.

It seems like Micheletti is holding out an olive branch to Zeleya. If Zeleya returns, don't expect to see him be President much longer.

Writing! Untitled Novel! Exclamation Point Abuse!

I'm writing my new novel.

You: You are always writing a new novel, Ehjay, when are you actually going to finish one?
Me: Shut up.

Anyway, I'm really excited about this one. It's based on a dream I had, and I like the idea that it explores a lot of themes large and small. At least I hope it will. So I'm gonna include a preview of it here, and if you like it, let me know. Also let me know what may/may not be wrong with it. PRETTY PLEASE WITH CHERRY ON TOP. Yes, on top.

---

It’s a giant desert on the surface - temperatures nearly impossible to survive in during the daytime, nearly frozen at night. The binary stars are in the same orbit, and were they any closer nothing could survive at all. But just under the surface lie hundreds of miles of caves, their temperature regulated by a large network of mirrors and solar powered skylights. Two million people live in these caves, developing technologies to help them survive the horrific climate.

This network of mirrors lights up the interior nearly as well as the natural suns above do. The caves have an abundant supply of water and the skylights allow for greenhouses to produce the plant life that otherwise would not have existed. Were it not for these, the ten thousand survivors of a shipwreck two thousand years prior would never have made it to this point - peace negotiations with a benevolent neighbour.

The ship sits in orbit over the planet, the flagship of the Terran-Boral Confederacy. Its captain was under strict orders not to bring any Boralians aboard the ship, so as not to disturb the delicate negotiations. James Markwick’s first mission with his new ship led him to this planet. His wife Jenna, who was the ship’s half-Boralian second officer, was more excited about this mission than he was.

But something had gone horribly awry. He sat on the bridge of his ship, head in his hands, trying to sort out why the President of Mirella was in his infirmary near death from hemlock poisoning, and how he could extract Jenna from the hands of the recalcitrant and angry Mirellans. It had started out so well, so full of hope and promise.

The ship’s doctor, Ian Kensington knocked on the open door and entered. “Elle‘s down there,” he told Markwick.

“How is she?”

“It’s hard to say. You know how she is, intractable anyway.” Kensington frowned.

“What’s the latest on President Rostova?”

“He’s still in a very deep coma. I think we’ve stabilized him for now, and I don’t think he’ll die, but it will be a long time before he even regains consciousness.”

“That’s great news.”

“Well, let me qualify that. I’m not even sure he WILL regain consciousness, and if he does, I can’t guarantee the quality. Any luck on finding the perpetrator?”

“None. And they had to come from here. But the Mirellans think Jenna did it.”

“Have you spoken to her at all?”

“No,” James looked at his friend sadly. “I would give anything to have her back.” He stood up, straightening his uniform. “Let’s go talk to her.”

---

She sat in the infirmary next to the immobilized body of her uncle. Jonathan Rostova had been her only family since the death of her mother eight years earlier, and she would not desert him now. They had been through so much together, and had only been recently reunited. Someone entered, and she turned her neck to see Jake. He smiled, and she waved him to a chair.

“You called me, Elle?”

“Yeah, I did. I could use some company.”

“I’m not sure how much company I can be,” he replied.

“I just want you to listen,” she said. “You’re a storyteller, and someone has to tell this one.”

“Usually I write my own,” he said, unconvinced.

“Ideas start somewhere,” Elle replied.

“True. So what are you going to talk about?”

She stood up and walked to the window. Looking out over the planet’s surface, a never ending tan streak across its surface, she replied simply, “home.”

My own Overheard in New York...+ random other notes

While I was waiting on the bus, the lady sitting next to me got into a conversation with the French Canadian couple sitting behind her. I'd switched seats with them so they could sit together, since they got on when the bus was full. And since I did that for them, they helped me put my seat back a bit because there were like 3 rows of seats folded right behind mine for the wheelchair space.

Anyway, this woman is chattering along with them, and she asks them the following: "What do you guys speak?"

The dude replied, "French and English."

She looks at him and says in all seriousness, "Oh. I thought you spoke Canadaese. So you guys speak English up there too?"

And the guy humoured her and explained that French and English were both official languages of Canada.

In other news, once again we have a left-handed president. I was reading earlier about how there has been a significantly large number of lefthanded Presidents since World War II. Now most of this is because before that, being left-handed was strongly discouraged. I have vivid memories of going to Upper Canada Village when I was in Elementary school, and getting thwacked on the hand for trying to use my left hand when we visited the one room schoolhouse. So yeah, it's kind of fascinating to see left handedness so prominent. At my current workplace, I actually think lefties nearly outnumber righties. It's really funny.

In other other news, I spent ten minutes tonight at the bar discussing colloidal silver and how it turns people blue. This came from a discussion on the Appalachian mountains, and I brought up the blue people in the Appalachians. Yes. I am a giant nerd.

Current Music: Blackmore's Night - Empty Words