Sex and the Single Vampire by Katie Macalister. I really needed some fun, so perhaps my take on this book isn’t objective. It had silly jokes, a wounded but tough magical protagonist, a tragic-handsome love interest, some suspense, some action. The protagonist seemed a bit Buffy/Anita Blake in places but I bet that’s hard to avoid.
I may look for the one called Sex, Lies and Vampires next Friday.
I’m feeling a bit low tonight so I think I’ll talk about going to the library. The lady who processed me was very friendly and helpful.
After I got my card, I walked around the whole library and looked at all their offerings. The movies are staff-picked and they have a whole shelf of movie guide books close at hand. There is a big collection of audio books and music.
The kids have a nice section with their own computers and toys and books and so forth. There were classes of some sort going on. I also saw several adults studying in the kids’ department. They must be teachers or librarians or writers or something.
The nonfiction department was so large that it took me awhile to find the fiction. They have the mysteries, YA books, SF and fantasy in separate sections. But the Westerns and romances were in general fiction.
They even had a graphic novel section. That was where I got Contract with God. I also got a mediator book by Meg Cabot and Sex and the Single Vampire by Katie Macalister. I didn’t want to get too many in case I didn’t read them but I think I’ll be finished with them by tomorrow.
I was trying to explain the Macalister book to my friend. I told her, “I don’t like vampire books…it’s just that there are so many of them.” She said, “I have managed to never read a vampire book, in spite of there being so many of them.”
Well, she caught me there. I guess I sort of like vampires. Yeah, I’m a pushover for horror and fantasy. Maybe I should look up paranormal romances with mummies or Godzilla or something. That would surprise her.
Daily Lit is an invaluable service. I made several attempts over the years to read Vanity Fair but gave it up, the first time because I had no sense of humor and the second time because I had no time.
Daily Lit sends me the novel in easily read chunks. I chose for them to come three days a week but I could requested more. I can suspend and restart the novel if I’m very busy. I can immediately ask for another section if I’m enjoying it to much to stop.
I’m reading Vanity Fair and Turn of the Screw right now. I read through Mark Twains’ essay on lying and suspended Agnes Grey (a little too much work right now).
My only small complaint is that they are classic books and I’ve read most of them in class or for pleasure. Still, I have 100 sections to go before I’m finished with Vanity Fair and I may tackle Don Quixote, who knows?
POSSIBLE SPOILERS
I got this one because it was remade in the 70s and I want to compare the two.
This is a silent mystery about a young woman who must prove she is sane to inherit a fortune.
The opening scene showed a man in the wheelchair being attacked by giant, clawing cats to symbolize his feelings of persecution. That was amusing.
There was no set dressing to speak of. Just a sofa plunked in the middle of a room. Or a bed with no dresser or nightstand. Very odd.
The characters were profoundly naive but it was kind of charming. One of the more amazing choices the heroine made was to wear her inheritance, a diamond necklace, to bed.
conclusion: curiosity. worth watching for the historical value.
FilmFanatic.org review
Contract with God by Will Eisner.
I have heard a lot of good reviews and this is a classic of comic book/graphic novels.
I have delayed in reading this one because I don’t really like “The Spirit.” I admire it, especially the artistry in the splash pages, but I haven’t enjoyed it. The stories seemed artificial and not funny or suspenseful. So, I wasn’t that eager to try Contract.
Far from being disappointed, I am overwhelmed. I was not emotionally prepared for the stories. The first of the stories felt like a parable, very well done. The next stories felt very real to me. Eisner was able to present his people (not characters) as fully rounded without excusing their choices. That’s hard to do.
The best thing about this experience is now I want to try his other works because I understand what the fuss was all about.
Last August, I had this plan to watch a lot of mystery movies chronologically. I have no film studies background and don’t really know that much about mysteries. I pulled the titles from a “best” mysteries list, and I don’t know much about them.
It’s just interesting to see what kind of mystery movies were being made, year by year.
Insatiable Appetites: Twentieth-Century American Women’s Bestsellers by Madonne M. Miner. I very much enjoyed this one. She examines Gone with the Wind, Forever Amber, Peyton Place, Valley of the Dolls, and Scruples. I read all but the chapter on Scruples.
She more-or-less claims that American women have loved reading about these characters who have lost or have trouble with their mothers. The characters have insatiable appetites for food and material goods because their mothers didn’t properly nourish them.
I never read Gone with the Wind or Forever Amber and now I think I might try them. I did read as much as I could of Peyton Place but I didn’t enjoy that. I doubt if I’ll ever try Scruples or Valley of the Dolls. I saw part of the movie version of Valley of the Dolls.
Sin Fest, I just found this on-line comic strip a few months ago. It’s about an aspiring womanizer named Slick and a sexy girl named Monique. The supporting characters include an enthusiastic, pure-hearted dog and God the artiste, and many others. Generally the topics irreverently cover sex, art and religion.
I think the recent strip, “The End is Near,” pretty much sums up the series. (19 Jan 2007) Monique and the Halo guy are such opposites, it’s great.
There are books and t-shirts and stuff for sale. I really want the mouse-pad with Monique and Slick.
I read Joanna Russ’ How to Suppress Women’s Writing, and I have to admit, I’m disappointed.
I don’t know if it is because it seems invalid to my experience or I just don’t understand her writing. It was interesting but uninvolving. Her Female Man was the same way for me. Oh, well. Strike it off my must-read list.
Oh: the book is about men devaluing women’s artistic or intellectual production. Interesting because I’ll bet you could apply it to any out=group, in=group dynamic.
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I’m a little bored with this blog. I meant to keep it for my family and friends but most of them don’t have access to the Internet. I call them. (Roz looks but she has access to my friends only blog, so there’s no need.)
So, rather let this go to waste. I’m taking it in a new direction. Not sure what that’ll be yet.
Moonlit Garden
