Reviewing the evidence time (Manga Edition!) - Genju No Seiza vol.1

Title: Genju No Seiza vol. 1
Author: Matsuri Akino
Genre: Graphic Novel, Manga, YA (older teens,) Fantasy, Paranormal

A few starting notes:

Genju No Seiza translates to 'Constellation of the Imaginary Beast' (thanks Wikipedia,) and is presented in the format favoured by the publisher (the now sadly diminished, but hopefully will soon rise from the flames, Tokyopop,) of reading right to left to keep the orientation of the artwork. It sounds more complicated than it is, honestly, though sometimes you do read things in the wrong order and have to check yourself.

I picked this up randomly in my last library haul, so didn't really have any preconceptions about what it would be like.

Book or Film? The debate continues!

People will think I've taken something a little bit unusual with my morning coffee but I (yes, me, the reading addict,) don't always think that the book is better than the film. I realise that I now need to go into hiding before my fellow bibliophiles hunt me down and force me to read the entirety of a song of ice and fire (up to the current volume) in one sitting (I realise that's a TV series not a film, but let's not be overly pedantic about this.)

Please though, listen to my point before you bind my hands with fabric bookmarks and march me out of the library in disgust! We should not be asking which is 'better' (and I would certainly never watch the film instead of reading the book - blasphemy!) - it's simply which we prefer.

In some cases, no matter how radically different the book and the film are, I like them both equally. Because they are different. Because directors, producers, and actors, can read the same book I do and see something completely different in it's pages - and sometimes their ability to show us that is simply beautiful. No one can argue that Alan Rickman does not perfectly embody Severus Snape, and also completely steals the show in the last film despite having minimum screen time. If it wasn't Harry Potter he would've won an Oscar (After all this time? Always.) Shutter Island has a different vibe, and several different points, to the original book by Dennis Lehane. I love both book and film equally - they're simply beautiful; the same with An Interview with the Vampire.

This leads me to my next point - the film encourages people to read the book; to date, (and off the top of my head,) films (or TV series) which I have seen and then been inspired to seek out the book are: Shutter Island, An Interview with the Vampire, The Crow, Let the Right One In, The Man with the Iron Mask, The Vampire's Assistant, Tanya Huff's Blood books, A Game of Thrones, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and A Tale of Two Cities. All of which I now adore to varying degrees; I don't love the film any less for reading the book, nor the book any less for seeing the film. And if films are encouraging people to think about their literary predecessors, shouldn't we be encouraging that?

Sometimes though, filmmakers miss something vital - something of the magic and the majesty of the original. There's always something to prose that it's almost impossible to convey on screen. Sometimes the film is just down-right disappointing (I really wasn't fond of the Picture of Dorian Gray adaptation starring Ben Barnes, despite my usual love for his work.) But the best of stories, novels, etc., can withstand even the most haphazard of adaptations. They survive. They continue. Everybody forgets the crappy film, and goes on loving the book.

So watch the film, read the book, or do both. And hopefully my fellow book lovers will understand what I mean, and I won't have to change my name and flee the country!

Shame the Shamers

I don't know whether you've seen a particular meme - it's been hanging around on my various feeds for months and now I can't even find it to show you, typical - but I'll describe it for you and why I don't like it.

It features a fictional conversation between two people, the first person is excited that they've finished a 150 page (or around about) book, and it's taken them a long time to read. The second person asks (as Captain Barbossa from PoTC) "how stupid are you?" (or words to that affect.)

The thing is: this isn't what our online reading community should be like. There's a vibrant and thriving group of bibliophiles on the web - so much so that we can rarely even keep track of each other - and instead of encouraging people who wouldn't normally read, some of us ridicule them. Not cool guys. If someone who struggles to read, or even just struggles to find time to read, has made the effort, then they should be applauded. If I struggled to do a bean bag race, only to find a champion runner making fun of me at the end, then I doubt I would ever run again.

Let's keep it friendly and encouraging guys - the more the merrier after all!

Goodbye to a great writer

I just heard the news about Sir Terry Pratchett who has passed away at the age of 66. A fantastic and funny writer, and someone who raised the profile of Alzheimer's, I will miss waiting to buy his new books. My thoughts are with his family.

Some Days...

Ok, I'm going to level with you, completely and utterly. I am having a bad day. Nothing bad has particularly happened, no one has said anything to upset me, nothing has broken, nothing has really gone wrong. But I'm still having a bad day, the kind of day where you don't want to get up, face the world, and pretend everything's Ok. This is the kind of day when I want to do nothing at all, and hate myself for it, and then hate myself for hating myself, and then hate myself for hating myself for hating myself...you get the idea.

In short, I'm having one of those days where my depression has decided to sink it's teeth in and not let go. . Luckily, they are less frequent these days, and aren't quite as dramatic as they were. But I'm not Ok. I don't mean I'm a bit down; I have depression But somehow, here I am sitting on the sofa with my laptop across my knees attempting to do things, struggling on when all I want to do is go back to bed. And if that's not strong, I really don't know what is. To anyone in the same situation - I really do applaud you; this is some tough s**t. To anyone who's not been through it - imagine the worst hangover you've ever had, then add the start of a cold or flu, and the feeling you get when you remember a recently deceased loved one, and you'll have something similar though not the same.

So I'm having one of those unspeakable days where I don't even feel like reading (I know, almost sacrilegious to say it) but I will anyway. Because it'll make me feel better - and the weirdest thing about depression is that it's the stuff you lose interest in will drag you out of it; if you don't feel like eating you need to nibble breakfast, don't feel like writing then you need to let it all out; don't feel like wearing nice clothes and accessories and you damn well need to, don't feel like doing your favourite hobbies then you damn well should. Because your favourite necklace, shirt, book, DVD, is for you; not anyone else. And you're important, even if you feel like you belong on the bottom of the proverbial shoe. So excuse me while I battle on, try to smile, try not to hide, try to stay positive, while all the while I'm fighting my own brain. Good luck to anyone and everyone dealing with this or anything similar - and please remember, it will pass, and the moments when it does are totally worth it. Now I'm going to go find something enjoyable to read, and I think I can manage a small smile already...:)

True Confessions of a Reading Addict

How is that it seems to be OK in this world to drink, smoke, f*** around etc., but not OK for you to prefer entering a world with dragons and demons, heroes and angels? The reading world is the one that I want to live in, I would rather wrap myself in the rhythm and beauty of the words on the page then get hammered at a night club. I'm sorry if my preferences irritate you.

For the record, if you want to go out and have a good time then go ahead, but please please please understand that I and people like me don't actually enjoy it, and would rather stay in with a good book. Oh, and try to stay safe please!

Time to Review the Evidence - Prince of Shadows

Title: Prince of Shadows
Author: Rachel Caine
Genre: YA, Historical fiction, Romance

A few starting notes:

A historically-set piece of YA from Rachel Caine (author of the Morganville vampire series) which had me intrigued but weary before reading. Could it live up to the strength of its premise?


Premise:

Ok, so we've all heard of Romeo and Juliet - those doomed Shakespearean lovers from fair Verona. This takes the original play and runs with it, focussing on characters who see relatively little or no stage time in the Shakespearean version - Benvolio Montague, cousin to Romeo, and Rosaline (here made a cousin to Juliet to make the plot more fitting.) Benvolio has secrets of his own, stalking the night as the infamous thief the Prince of Shadows, and despite his best efforts, developing a bit of a thing for Rosaline Capulet. And then a curse starts to set in and things get interesting!

Best bits:

The paranormal aspects of this are never overdone - subtle and in-keeping with both the plot and the tone of the novel. It's not overt, and hits just the right note. 

The writing flows well (I know it sounds like a bit of a standard review phrase but good quality writing really should be acknowledged,) and Caine imbues the whole book with the passion of both her own plot and the original play. Her Verona has a dream-like feel to it - a world of extremes filled with beauty and horror - and we stay very firmly in the period setting of swords and nobles.

The characters are vivid, their pains and pleasures believable, and Benvolio (our eloquent narrator for the majority of the novel) is charming enough to keep you reading - which of course is an excellent quality to have in a narrator.

Not so great bits:

Caine's attempts to incorporate Shakespearean language and dialogue occasionally jar the reader - this isn't her fault exactly, it's just that Shakespeare's tone is so different from her own voice that it's sometimes noticeable when she's tried to force a merger of the two.

I also didn't find the character of the Montague grandmother all that believable - are you telling me that this world you've tried to convince is so chauvinistic allows a shrivelled and spiteful old matriarch to tell lords what to do? Maybe it's a personal thing, but, although she certainly moved the plot along, she annoyed the hell out of me.

Verdict:

A couple of minus points aside, this kept me engaged and lived up to its promise - I love things that look into other character's points of view and this managed to follow through where a weaker writer may have floundered and failed. I thoroughly enjoyed it - and it wasn't too smushy and kissy kissy either, making it all the more believable. Anyone who enjoys well-written young adult fiction could do worse than to give this a go.

World Book Day

Hey everyone, today's World Book Day and as far as I'm concerned any excuse for us to celebrate books and reading in general is a genuinely awesomeful thing. Not to mention the brilliant work it does to encourage the kidlets to read. Their website is pretty awesome, and contains trailers for YA books such as the one below for Opal Plumstead by Jacqueline Wilson (enjoy!)

Being Bookish

You know you're a reading addict when...

...your book piles look like a treacherously cunning game of Jenga.

...you volunteer as tribute.

...you can't walk past a stall of second-hand books without your head craning to look, with or without your permission.

...you want to finish the book but you don't want to finish the book.

...when you close a book you keep judging how much is left by where the bookmark is.

...there's no such thing as too many books!