Lesenzeit mit Literreiniger

[uberreiniger]

I finally overcame my mental block against reading recently. Finished Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood a few days ago. It's a fun read because it's basically two stories in one, set in both the past and the present of the main character's life; the past a cyberpunk nightmare, the present, something even worse. Good stuff, but nothing to read if you're on a suicide watch.

The play got my curiousity up, so I'm finally reading Brahm Stoker's Dracula. I never bothered before just because, well, we all know the story. But it is an amazingly well-written novel. I find myself genuinely growing to care about the characters, and even though I know exactly what's going to happen to all of them, I still find myself turning the page wanting to find out what happens next. If that's not good writing, I don't know what is. The vampire isn't even really the point of the story. Rather, it's a story about the beauty and strength of human relationships as they form under common adversity. Beautiful, just beautiful. At the same time, I also finally see why it has been such a difficult story to make a truly good movie of. The narrative, with its multiple first-person viewpoints, does not lend itself easily to filmmaking. This may be heresy to some horror movie fans, but Francis Ford Coppolla's '92 film starring Gary Oldman is the only adaptation I've seen which has even tried to depict the narrative or the characters correctly, (and that includes the original Bela Lugosi version.)

One of the most beautiful short stories I've read in a long time was just recently posted on the Legend Of The Five Rings official website. It's called "Masters of Earth" and wraps up the story of a main character who died recently by looking back over her life. Normally, when the story team fiddles with the backstories of long-established characters (as they frequently do these days,) it meets with mixed results in my eyes. But they really struck gold with this one, truly adding something new to the story of the bitter, often-antagonistic Isawa Taeruko, giving credible and touching reasons for why she was the way she was without contradicting or rewriting anything about her which has already been said.

It also turns out the newest L5R expansion is coming out sooner than I thought. I just forked over $100 for the special promotional expansion they just released and it looks like now I'm going to have to shill out even more. I'll do it, of course, but man... ouch.

Is everybody ready for Wednesday's recount? It's gonna be a long Election Tuesday. I willingly took two hours of overtime for the morning, then I have to go vote, then I have to get to bed so I can go to the election/Daily Show watching party at Adam and Amy's tomorrow night. I guess if I wasn't "tired" of the election already, I will be now![/knee-slapper]

Comments

[stitchedsutures.livejournal.com]

i was thinking the other day how insane it would be if we had *another* recount.. heh.. what if it happened in Florida again now that i'm out this way? Things such as this and natural disasters seem to follow me around from state to state.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking Ohio will be where it hits. Could someone please tell me what's so important about Ohio and why it of all places is a "battleground state." I mean, I've nothing against Ohio, it's just you never hear ANYTHING about it until the election every four years. That's a little odd. Any place that important, you'd think it would make the news more often.

[winegodeatsyou.livejournal.com]

I love Oryx and Crake-- Wednesday recount? I have no idea... that maybe optimistic.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

What did you think of the ending? Anticlimatic, or appropriate?

[winegodeatsyou.livejournal.com]

Anticlimatic and fairly bad for the Republic no matter who wins.

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

I agree. Granted, I thought it was appropriate given the way he'd lived his entire life up until then but, damn, if I didn't feel like I'd only been given seven eigths of a book!

[winegodeatsyou.livejournal.com]

I know... it was frustrating.

[catlin.livejournal.com]

Heh given all that has -already- gone wrong... I am ready for the thursday Lawsuit. I mean come on! They cought people actively throwing away democrats applications to vote... In 2 states! *assumes the dems have done shadey things too, but that is just to much!*

[rustie25.livejournal.com]

Is election day over yet? Is it friday yet? And on the list of questions.....where is the CD of the Dracula music? ;) And how about some more of that story about the building!!!! :)

[mellifera.livejournal.com]

Thank you for asking the important questions ;)

Where IS that cd?

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

Ladies please! It's all dependent on when Dean will let me on his computer since he's got the music editing software!

[mellifera.livejournal.com]

So where is Dean and how do I go about exerting my influence?

[rustie25.livejournal.com]

yeah

[uberreiniger.livejournal.com]

I'll see him Friday and start hitting him up then. I promise!

[elvinborn.livejournal.com]

you know that they already have the lawsuits ready to go. This shall be the election that never ends. I think we'll be really lucky to have a president for certain by inauguration day. It's going to suck.