![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Been on an anime/manga binge the last few days, and so, to make sure they don't get lost when half the f-list goes "hmph...anime/manga...next..." a couple of classics:
Arsenic and Old Lace: This is one of those movies that relies 95% on over-the-top antics and comedy to carry the entire thing, as opposed to story. It works though, primarily because it's actual humor, and most clever, as opposed to today's so-called "humor." If this movie was made today, it'd be 2 hours of grossout, crass, and dirty jokes, as opposed to actually being, you know, funny. Not a favorite, but worth the watching.
The Philadelphia Story: Much better movie, though I'm not quite sure I would have chosen that ending(though I have no problems with it...it's just not quite the ending I would have chosen) Very smart show, with humor that relies on wit and intelligence. It seems odd to me, though, that Jimmy Stewart won a Best Actor award for it. Don't get me wrong, he was great, I just didn't see what would make him stand out above all the others.
Books I've been reading:
Most of the books I've read the last six weeks or so, though four were in just the last two weeks...the temporary transfer to verifications leaves me lots of time to read...
"The Chocolate Mouse Trap" by JoAnna Carl(mystery) A bit of a disappointment, sadly. Carl is now trying to be "modern" and forcing technological Deus Ex Machina into my nice, cozy little small town mystery. Grr...I read these things to AVOID technology in my mysteries...only mystery series I've seen where I didn't mind all the technology was Veronica Mars, and that's because it never provides more than the "shoeprint" type of clue...it's still 99% her brain that figures it out. Sigh...Still a good book, though, and I have no plans to drop the series.
"Isabella" and "The English Witch" by Loretta Chase(traditional Regency romance) note for the uninitiated: Trad. Regencies are of the Jane Austen variety, not the clench cover, corset ripping inside variety. Anyway..."Isabella" was one of the first regencies I read. I liked it then, but I think I liked it a whole lot more now that I'm more used to the style. "The English Witch" I hadn't read because it was impossible to get ahold of(barring an absurd amount of money for a 15 yr old 200 page paperback) until this omnibnus was rereleased. The hero in this one was the nominal villain of the first book. While I got him, I couldn't understand the girl's motivation at all.
"The Rigante" series by David Gemmell: "Sword in the Storm" "Midnight Falcon" "Ravenheart" and "Stormrider"(fantasy): Very good little set. The first two books are pulled out of celtic legend and feature a father/son with a relationship that seems to be very loosely modeled after King Arthur and Mordred, only without the patricidal ending, and simultaneously healthier and unhealthier. Backdrop is primarily "Rome invading Ireland." Kinda. Because, while these two books seem to have Ireland as the basis for the Rigante lands, books 3-4 seem to be based more on Scotland. Books 3-4 are set several hundred years later, and the two title characters(the Rigante have "soul names") come from two branches of their descendants. Those two characters, I think, grow the most of any of Gemmell's characters that I've read, with the possible exception of Waylander. As a result, I think Kaelin and Gaise(RH and SR respectively) are my favorite of his characters, though I'd put "Midnight Falcon" down as my favorite of his books.
"Deathstalker Coda" by Simon R. Green(sci-fi): Dear Universe: Do not piss off the Deathstalkers. Thank you. Dear Mr. Green: Please reconsider. Thank you. And so ends one of maybe 3 scifi series I've bothered to read more than one book of, and the only one to wear mostly scifi trappings, as opposed to "fantasy world with guns"(hello Mr. Stasheff, I'll get back to your books soon, I promise. I really wasn't criticizing your books. See how many of them I own?) I will now go off to be sad, because it's over. Oh, and shock at how few main characters died, seeing as it's a Deathstalker book.
"Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth" by Simon R. Green(urban fantasy): quick note: my current avatar is from the cover. If this is ALSO the last book in this series, I'll be extra sad. I don't recall seeing anything from him announcing the end of the series, but this one seemed to firmly wrap things up, so we'll see. Hopefully there's more, as this series seems to be Green's best outlet for his imaginantion. As I've said before, his brain both fascinates and frightens me. I think I want to be him(writingwise) when I grow up. Still, whether it's the end of the series of the end of this leg of the series, it's a great book.
"The Vampire Earth" books 2-4 by E.E. Knight: "Choice of the Cat" "Tale of the Thunderbolt" and "Valentine's Rising"(sci-fi): This is one of those series I referred to earlier. It's billed as sci-fi, but a more appropriate(and long winded) billing would be "futuristic postapocalyptic military dark fantasy." Basic concept the the truth behind the vampires myth(they make vampires look like fluffy kitties) and the appearance of the swastika symbol in so many places. Explaining it would take too long, so I'll just say the books are really good and you should all read them.
"Death at Blenheim Palace" by Robin Paige(historical mystery): This series has changed a lot since it started. It used to be about an American author who inherited her British aunt's estate and her neighbor and eventual husband, an English gentleman and would-be detective who's interested in the emerging science of forsenics. Now it's about an English lord who's a noted investigator, and his slightly eccentric American wife, who writes novels. The mystery aspect has also been pushed off to the side, in favor of focusing on particular social and historical events and people of the time, with the main characters imposed upon the existing landscape and a mystery threaded in. So, not the series I originally started reading, but still more interesting than most of the other mysteries out there. And, unlike some that changed a lot from their beginnings, it still holds my interest despite the changes(yes Ms. Evanovich, I'm talking to you.)
And...that's it. Next update, I suspect, will have more mysteries and/or historical fiction.
Arsenic and Old Lace: This is one of those movies that relies 95% on over-the-top antics and comedy to carry the entire thing, as opposed to story. It works though, primarily because it's actual humor, and most clever, as opposed to today's so-called "humor." If this movie was made today, it'd be 2 hours of grossout, crass, and dirty jokes, as opposed to actually being, you know, funny. Not a favorite, but worth the watching.
The Philadelphia Story: Much better movie, though I'm not quite sure I would have chosen that ending(though I have no problems with it...it's just not quite the ending I would have chosen) Very smart show, with humor that relies on wit and intelligence. It seems odd to me, though, that Jimmy Stewart won a Best Actor award for it. Don't get me wrong, he was great, I just didn't see what would make him stand out above all the others.
Books I've been reading:
Most of the books I've read the last six weeks or so, though four were in just the last two weeks...the temporary transfer to verifications leaves me lots of time to read...
"The Chocolate Mouse Trap" by JoAnna Carl(mystery) A bit of a disappointment, sadly. Carl is now trying to be "modern" and forcing technological Deus Ex Machina into my nice, cozy little small town mystery. Grr...I read these things to AVOID technology in my mysteries...only mystery series I've seen where I didn't mind all the technology was Veronica Mars, and that's because it never provides more than the "shoeprint" type of clue...it's still 99% her brain that figures it out. Sigh...Still a good book, though, and I have no plans to drop the series.
"Isabella" and "The English Witch" by Loretta Chase(traditional Regency romance) note for the uninitiated: Trad. Regencies are of the Jane Austen variety, not the clench cover, corset ripping inside variety. Anyway..."Isabella" was one of the first regencies I read. I liked it then, but I think I liked it a whole lot more now that I'm more used to the style. "The English Witch" I hadn't read because it was impossible to get ahold of(barring an absurd amount of money for a 15 yr old 200 page paperback) until this omnibnus was rereleased. The hero in this one was the nominal villain of the first book. While I got him, I couldn't understand the girl's motivation at all.
"The Rigante" series by David Gemmell: "Sword in the Storm" "Midnight Falcon" "Ravenheart" and "Stormrider"(fantasy): Very good little set. The first two books are pulled out of celtic legend and feature a father/son with a relationship that seems to be very loosely modeled after King Arthur and Mordred, only without the patricidal ending, and simultaneously healthier and unhealthier. Backdrop is primarily "Rome invading Ireland." Kinda. Because, while these two books seem to have Ireland as the basis for the Rigante lands, books 3-4 seem to be based more on Scotland. Books 3-4 are set several hundred years later, and the two title characters(the Rigante have "soul names") come from two branches of their descendants. Those two characters, I think, grow the most of any of Gemmell's characters that I've read, with the possible exception of Waylander. As a result, I think Kaelin and Gaise(RH and SR respectively) are my favorite of his characters, though I'd put "Midnight Falcon" down as my favorite of his books.
"Deathstalker Coda" by Simon R. Green(sci-fi): Dear Universe: Do not piss off the Deathstalkers. Thank you. Dear Mr. Green: Please reconsider. Thank you. And so ends one of maybe 3 scifi series I've bothered to read more than one book of, and the only one to wear mostly scifi trappings, as opposed to "fantasy world with guns"(hello Mr. Stasheff, I'll get back to your books soon, I promise. I really wasn't criticizing your books. See how many of them I own?) I will now go off to be sad, because it's over. Oh, and shock at how few main characters died, seeing as it's a Deathstalker book.
"Sharper Than A Serpent's Tooth" by Simon R. Green(urban fantasy): quick note: my current avatar is from the cover. If this is ALSO the last book in this series, I'll be extra sad. I don't recall seeing anything from him announcing the end of the series, but this one seemed to firmly wrap things up, so we'll see. Hopefully there's more, as this series seems to be Green's best outlet for his imaginantion. As I've said before, his brain both fascinates and frightens me. I think I want to be him(writingwise) when I grow up. Still, whether it's the end of the series of the end of this leg of the series, it's a great book.
"The Vampire Earth" books 2-4 by E.E. Knight: "Choice of the Cat" "Tale of the Thunderbolt" and "Valentine's Rising"(sci-fi): This is one of those series I referred to earlier. It's billed as sci-fi, but a more appropriate(and long winded) billing would be "futuristic postapocalyptic military dark fantasy." Basic concept the the truth behind the vampires myth(they make vampires look like fluffy kitties) and the appearance of the swastika symbol in so many places. Explaining it would take too long, so I'll just say the books are really good and you should all read them.
"Death at Blenheim Palace" by Robin Paige(historical mystery): This series has changed a lot since it started. It used to be about an American author who inherited her British aunt's estate and her neighbor and eventual husband, an English gentleman and would-be detective who's interested in the emerging science of forsenics. Now it's about an English lord who's a noted investigator, and his slightly eccentric American wife, who writes novels. The mystery aspect has also been pushed off to the side, in favor of focusing on particular social and historical events and people of the time, with the main characters imposed upon the existing landscape and a mystery threaded in. So, not the series I originally started reading, but still more interesting than most of the other mysteries out there. And, unlike some that changed a lot from their beginnings, it still holds my interest despite the changes(yes Ms. Evanovich, I'm talking to you.)
And...that's it. Next update, I suspect, will have more mysteries and/or historical fiction.