Parched Plant

One of the unofficial parts of my job is to water the big plant out front.  Yesterday, however, my supervisor brought another plant to me, one that had been sitting unloved and unattended in the corner by the back window, and that was so parched and so sad that I'm not sure it's going to make it (and I'll be honest, none of us seemed to know it was there!).  But, I'm going to make this other plant my new project, and make sure to keep it well-watered and well-loved.  Wish me luck on nursing this little baby back to health!

Anna Karenina (2013)

So, I finally got around to watching the most recent film incarnation of Anna Karenina, the 2013 version starring Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadeyn, and Jude Law.  And I must say, with a cast like that, and a screenplay written by Tom Stoppard, I'm more confused why I didn't see it sooner (like, in theaters).

I was supposed to have read the book back in high school, for my AP World Literature class.  And I sort of read it.  It was a summer reading assignment, and as I'm sure most of you are aware, when it comes to summer reading, I read a lot of different things, but rarely what I'm supposed to read.  So, I got through about a fourth of it, went to class, and bull-shitted my way through weeks of discussion and a silly video where I had to play Anna's immature, lying, cheating, but terribly amusing brother Stiva.

I had also watched older versions of the film, but found them, like the book, to be trivial and trite.  I guess my issue was not so much with the presentation of the story, but with the story itself.  I found Anna to be drippy, self-absorbed, and irritating.

Perhaps, at this point, I should give you a bit of the plot?  Anna Karenina is, at it's heart, essentially the story of a virtuous married woman who falls in love with an officer, and finds herself in a landslide to social suicide, ruining the lives and relationships of those around her.  I know it's over-simplifying things, but think soap opera in book form.

[MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS]

So, I guess onward to the review, eh?

I think what I liked most about this movie was the setup.  For the most part, with a few exceptions, the entire movie takes place in a theater, on the stage, in the audience, the wings, even the catwalks above the stage.  It was very cool.  And it gave the whole performance the feeling of a tightly knit drama.  It felt close, and intimate.  And perhaps that's what director Joe Wright, and writer Tom Stoppard were going for.  After all, this is certainly a drama.  And a tragedy at that.  And putting it on a stage, in a theater, makes a spectacle of things.  Anna's affair is there for everyone to see.  And society is watching and judging.

Reconnecting with the story five years after I first experienced it (and last experienced it, as well), I have to say that not much of my personal feelings toward the characters have changed.  I still think Stiva is hilarious.  I feel perhaps, a bit more kindly towards Levin and Dolly, and I don't see Kitty as quite such a silly, ridiculous little girl.  In these three characters, I see the smashed dreams of a damaged romance.  Love has not been kind.  And I see, too, a bit more to Levin than I did five years ago.  Perhaps it was this interpretation of him, but I don't think he's quite so foolish as he came across before.  Now, I see him as someone who is shy, and nervous, and introverted like myself, and who is looking for love and a simple life.  I think I finally "get" him.

And on that note, I think I'm starting to come around to Karenin a bit more.  Before, I saw him as boring, and snobbish.  He seemed demanding and cold, but now, I see that he is perhaps, a bit serious, but at the same time, he's kind and concerned, even though he's a bit less emotional.

And it really amazes me just how different a story can be depending when in your life you first experienced it.  And I never understand people who say that they'll only read a book once.  Every time you read it, you're coming to it from a different perspective.  And if it is truly an enduring work of art, every time you read it, you'll see something new of it.  And I'm more encouraged than ever to reread Anna Karenina, if only to help me see it from a different perspective than I did when I was younger.  I mean, I was 17, had gone to Catholic school all my life, and didn't date.  I didn't really even have any male friends.  And I could not understand the motivations of most of the characters.

The one thing I disliked the most about the film was the tendency to get a bit too up-close and personal for certain scenes.  I'm not at all against a bit of romance, but all the same, I don't want to see a close-up of tongues lolling around between mouths and that sort of thing.  Of course, I know that's how people kiss, but that doesn't mean I want to see it.  After reading Gulp by Mary Roach, I know how digestion works, and I understand that it is perfectly commonplace.  But, that doesn't mean I want to watch you chew.

I had a whole list of notes jotted down on the back of a library receipt, but looking at them now, I feel like they were either just silly jottings, or they went a bit too much into detail.  Comments like those would be better suited for a discussion, not a blog post, so I'm going to hold back on those.  But, if you would like to have a discussion on the film, you know how to reach me.

Reading in the Cold

I love to sit outside and read.  It's one of the highlights of my day (not including crawling between the covers to read right before bed).  But, the days have been getting shorter and colder, so by the time I get home from work and eat dinner, there's not much time to sit outside before it gets too dark to see.  And it's so cold, I can feel my toes freezing in my flipflops.  But, even though I was shivering in my polar-fleece sweatshirt, I stuck it out for a good forty-five minutes.

Sitting inside now, but my feet are still cold.  Even though I love Fall, I'm starting to wish that it was summer again.

Too Many Books

The air-conditioner was off in the break room at the library, and it's hot enough out there to melt the car tires (okay, I exaggerate), but there was no way I was going to spend my break in a stifling hot room, so I decided to wander the stacks.  I intended to find one or two books, and I left with a lot more than that.  Damn.

Summer Reading Wrap-up Review #2 (Getting Graphic)

So, this is the first of a few "Multiple Book Updates" that I'll be using to catch up on all my Summer Reading posts for this year.  Even though I didn't read too many of my school books, I did get to read some fun graphic novels.

First, I touched on the Lupin III manga series.  I've been interested in Lupin for a few months now, mostly watching the anime and the movies.  And it's a lot of fun.  So, after a few hours of animated excitement, I started to wonder why I hadn't read any of the graphic novels.

Jigen & Lupin III from Castle of Cagliostro

 Unfortunately, my library doesn't have ANY of the Lupin III books.  They have the Castle of Cagliostro movie, but no anime TV series, and no books.  One Inter-Library Loan later, and I got my first Lupin III graphic novel.  But, it was not Book 1.  No....It was Book 3 (despite my requesting book 1)!!

Luckily for me, the stories are all sort of disjointed and stand-alone.  So, starting with Book 3 didn't leave me with too many questions.  Sure, I did have questions, but I would have been just as confused even if I had read Books 1-2 beforehand.

I will say, however that despite being a fairly decent series, I was disappointed to discover that the Lupin III graphic manga is just not as good as the anime.  Sure, it was fun.  But, it lacked the same appeal of the anime.  On Goodreads, I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars.  Not bad, but not great either.  Honestly, I wouldn't mind reading the rest of the books, but I don't want to deal with the frustration of trying to track them all down via Inter-Library Loan.

Next up is a hilariously bizarre collection called Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton.  This collection was quirky, and pretty strange, to be honest.  But, it was funny, and appealed to my strange sense of humor.  Which is, of course, why it earned 5 of 5 stars on Goodreads.

The topics cover literature, history, and just the random squibblings of Miss Beaton's mind.  This can (and proves to be) very funny, but at times, produces the strangest comments and plots imaginable.  As a future librarian, I loved the literature references, especially Sherlock Holmes, E.A. Poe, and the Bronte sisters.

I suppose posting about this sort of gives a window into what I think is funny.  And that may or may not be a good thing.  I guess I'll leave that up to you guys to decide, haha.

While I'm on the topic, I also want to mention that Kate Beaton also has a website full of even more strange and funny comics.  You can find a link to it HERE.  Enjoy!

My third and final graphic novel is a bit more highbrow, I suppose you could say.  It's called Oishinbo, and it's all about food.  The series follows the staff at a Japanese newspaper, as they attempt to put together the Ultimate Menu, of the greatest foods that truly represent Japan.  In the installment I read, The Joy of Rice, author Tetsu Kariya takes us on a journey into all the finer points of eating rice.  I learned about preparation, toppings and fillings, rice balls, and how to physically go about eating the rice.  There 

was even a recipe in the front (or back, depending how you look at it, since manga traditionally reads right to left) for making scallop rice.  I don't really even like seafood, but I have to admit that it did look pretty delicious.

Excerpt from Oishinbo.  Remember to read right to left ;)

All in all, I was pretty pleased with my collection of graphic novels this summer.  And with Oishinbo earning 4 of 5 stars, that means my graphic novels earned a 3, 4, and perfect 5 out of 5.  Not too bad, I'd say.

Continuing on into the fall, I would love to see if Kate Beaton has made any more books.  And of course, I want to read the rest of the Oishinbo series.  As for Lupin III, I'm not sure.  Of course, I love the anime, so I'll be watching quite a bit more.  But, I'm just not sure if the manga is really for me. 

Keep on the lookout for more of these big themed posts while I sum up my summer reading.  I'm expecting to have even more fun stuff to talk about come fall.  I promise I'll try to post more often.  Thanks, guys ^_^

Summer Reading Wrap-up Review #1

So, I know I've been pretty terrible about posting book reviews this summer....I've been posting on Goodreads, but when it comes to blogging, I've been such a lazy bum.  So, to make up for it, I'm going to try and make a few BIGGER posts, containing the highlights of the summer's reading selection over here in the wonderful world of Emmy.

First, I thought I'd dredge up those books that fit into my Summer Reading Theme of "Summer School".  And well, that list is going to be painfully short.  How short, Emmy?  I can hear you asking.  Well....one.  I read ONE book for my summer reading theme.  In total, though, I did read a healthy 29 books, and I'm still working on my 30th (I'm ending "summer" at Labor Day, so I have until Monday to finish with 30 books.  That means that about 3% of my summer reading actually fit in with my theme.  And that is pretty sad.  Not that I'm beating myself up over it.  I mean, I had a great time reading those 28 other books.

I was considering doing a post about the best and worst of my summer reading, but I think, since most of the books I read were fours and fives, I'm NOT going to write about the best.  (Unless you really want me to).  But, I think I might do a post about the worst.  Sort of like a cautionary tale.  "Don't read this shit" kinda thing.  Not sure yet.  I'm just sort of making this up as I go.

I guess I'd say just expect some more summer reading posts from me in the next few days.  And come this fall, perhaps we can come up with a sort of schedule for my book reviews, or something like that?  If you have any suggestions (like a big post at the end of each week, or post as I read, or whatever, just let me know).

Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat (Hal Herzog)

First, I would like to start off my first book review in a good, long while by saying I really like Hal Herzog.  And by that, I don't mean I liked his book, per se.  I mean, I really like him as a person.  Like, I would be perfectly happy to sit down and have dinner with this guy, talking about his next book, his family, his cats, etc.  I just think he seems like a really cool guy.

That being said, while I did enjoy his book, it certainly is not something I would read again.  It's nothing against Hal.  Not at all.  As I said before, he seems like a really cool person.  It's just that the topic of Anthrozoology (animal/human relations) are not really my top interest priority.  My human/animal relations involve swatting bugs, chasing cats, and shouting over the fence for the neighbor's dog to stop barking at a leaf while I'm trying to read.

Honestly, this is a book I totally judged by it's cover.  I mean, look at it: it's bright yellow and blue and has cute animal silhouettes.  Who wouldn't want to read a book like that?  And also, the title piqued my interest.  I even found myself falling comfortably into the prose as soon as I started reading.

All in all, it was a good book.  But, honestly, not a topic I really have a particular interest in, or one I plan on pursuing further.  I guess it was what it was: something enjoyable to read, and nothing more.  Seriously, though, I'm really tired right now, and I think Imma end this post at that.  If you have questions, post them in the comments, and I can ramble on about them when I'm a bit less sleep-deprived.

[But seriously, if Hal Herzog wanted to grab lunch sometime, to talk about his kids, his wife, or his newest book, I would jump at the chance.]