When you live like I do

Anne Rice and her vampires

"One of America's most read and celebrated authors, Anne Rice is known for weaving the visible and supernatural worlds together in epic stories that both entertain and challenge readers. Her books are rich tapestries of history, belief, philosophy, religion, and compelling characters that examine and extend our physical world beyond the limits we perceive.

Anne lives and works in California. Anne's life experiences and intellectual inquisitiveness provide her with constant inspiration for her work."
Source: AnneRice.com

I am currently reading the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice, so I thought it would be fitting to write about her now. (I’m only up to Queen of the Damned yet, but I own all the books.) She has made a lot of different books, but I thought I would just write a bit about the Vampire Chronicles. Especially since vampires are so popular now a days. Don’t get me wrong, I like some vampire books and movies and TV-series. Just not most of them, because they are so sucky made (pun unintentional but after discovered intended). I like the TV-series True Blood, but I hate Twilight and its vampires and everything it stands for. But the only vampires in popular culture I find “believable” is Ann Rice’s vampires. Bear with me, because I’m going to generalize here.

First of all, they are dead. That means no sex, because those body parts do not work…because they are dead. This is also why all of her vampires are bisexual, if you want to put a name on it. They have no sexual drive, so they, in lack of a better expression, fall in love with other vampires and sometimes people’s minds. They need to be fascinated with someone so they can stand to live as long as they do. And often they need young vampires or people to help them adjust to new times. I mean, if you are a 2000 year old vampire the world has changed quite a bit since you were turned.

Second, they are dangerous. They have no empathy of conscience. They like to think that they have it, but they don’t really. They might feel attached to some human beings, and think that they love them. And they do in their minds, but these are exceptions, the rest of human kinds are considered food. I will make up an expression right now; they have a “love-food” relationship with humans. They love them in general, but when it comes down to it individuals they meet are considered food. And even if a vampire loves you, you can never be 100% sure he or she won’t get carried away some day by the smell of you or your heartbeat, killing you almost unintentionally. That’s why most of the people who are “human pets” are ones that want to be turned, which they have no guarantee that the vampire will ever do.

Very few vampires can stand living in our world for 100’s of years. Most of them need to take a break. This is done by burying themselves down in to the ground, where they slip in to a sort of trance or sleep. They do this to keep sane I think. A vampire who has not done this from time to time (like Maharet in the books) is considered to be very strong indeed.

I could go on and on about why Anne Rice’s vampires are the only ones I feel are made “right”. And don’t get me started on why Twilight is an abomination. But I think you get the point. Maybe I will make a part two of this post, or a separate post about the book series itself when I finish it. I don’t know yet. But if you want a fast way to get updated on the Anne Rice world you should watch the movie “Interview with a Vampire”. Anne Rice made the script herself, and the acting was superb. And do NOT see the movie “Queen of the Damned”. It was so bad I wanted to cry, probably because Anne Rice had nothing to do with this one. The acting sucked and I don’t like to think about its existence.

I will leave you with this picture:

Book: Isabel Allende - "City of Beasts"

Fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold has the chance to take the trip of a lifetime. Parting from his family and ill mother, Alexander joins his fearless grandmother, a magazine reporter for International Geographic, on an expedition to the dangerous, remote world of the Amazon. Their mission, along with the others on their team -- including a celebrated anthropologist, a local guide and his young daughter Nadia, and a doctor -- is to document the legendary Yeti of the Amazon known as the Beast.

Under the dense canopy of the jungle, Alexander is amazed to discover much more than he could have imagined about the hidden worlds of the rain forest. Drawing on the strength of the jaguar, the totemic animal Alexander finds within himself, and the eagle, Nadia's spirit guide, both young people are led by the invisible People of the Mist on a thrilling and unforgettable journey to the ultimate discovery....
Source: Amazon

This is one of the best books I have read in a while. Or rather listened to as an audio book. I was so caught up in it I went around in a daze while listening to this great story. Allende has a way of writing that kind of sooths me. Is that a weird thing to say? I get swept away to another world inside my head, and I didn’t want to leave it. The story is so good, and I desperately wanted it to be true. It is written so close to reality that you can almost believe it all, but far enough from reality to let you dream and lose yourself in that world.
It is a young adult novel, and Amazon say it is suitable for age 10 and up. But don't let that scare the older people off. Allende doesn't write in a "childish" way at all, as I have found in some young adult books. It only means you can share this wonderful book with more people.

Blog Challenge Post 11

She’s more of a comic book character than a cartoon character, but she deserves this one.
I have always wanted to meet Nemi, Lise Myhres crazy, childlike and smart goth girl. I have loved this comic since I was a teenager. I collected both the comic and the books, and bought the school-diary.

Nemi is a Norwegian comic strip, written and drawn by Lise Myhre. It made its first appearance in 1997 under the title Den svarte siden ("the Black Side" or "the Black Page"). At that time, it was a very dark cartoon concerning heavy metal subcultures, but Myhre has turned it brighter with the years, although she still frequently publishes strips about serious issues, especially in the larger Saturday panels. The strip was re-named Nemi, its protagonist. It is currently the most popular comic strip in Norway next to another humor strip named Pondus.
Source: Wikipedia

Her engagement in important matters, her love for a subculture I was really into, her love for the fantasy genera, her humor, her refusal to “grow up”… It’s hard to describe what I love the most. I often find myself refereeing to the Nemi comic strips when trying to explain what my opinion of something is, or just in general because it’s a hilarious comic. And I always found myself wanting to be more like her.

 

The Jane Austen heroine Test

Normally I never do these kind of tests. But this one I could not resist. I am after all a dedicated Jane Austen fan! And I promise you I will write about her and her books a lot. Actually, with her I will probably have separate posts for each book, and one for the author.

I actually thought this was a very well made test. And I found myself thinking more about how I would react if I lived in Jane Austens world, and not just who I wanted to become (Elizabeth Bennet will always be my favourite).

Not quite sure what I think about the result. As I said, Elizabeth Bennet is my idol and my all time favourite. But I might actually be more of an Elinor Dashwood. Although I don't think anyone, least of all my sisters, would think me cold or boring. But I guess I have the same values as she does.

I would never go for Edward Ferrars though. Not my type of man at all. But Mr. Knightley from "Emma" on the other hand...

This test made me want to reread all of the books again. And I think I will. My sister gave me the collected novels for X-mas one year. So with that in mind there will probably come some more Austen posts on this blog. It's maybe not in sync with the overlaying theme of this blog, but I don't care. She rocks!

 

Your result for The Jane Austen heroine Test...

Elinor Dashwood

51% romance, 44% sauciness, 57% etiquette, 77% intelligence

You're always aware of social obligations and have more than your fair share of sense. You would never say something out of anger or in poor taste. This may lead some (like, perhaps, your saucy little sister) to accuse you of being cold. Nothing could be further from the truth! It's just that you don't believe in making a scene. Respectable gentlemen everywhere swoon for you (though you'd never admit it). But you only have eyes for one. He is lucky to have you.
Ideal matches: Edward Ferrars, Mr. Knightley, Captain Wentworth
Guaranteed heartbreak: John Willoughby, John Thorpe
Not worthy of your affections: Frank Churchill, Captain Benwick

Take The Jane Austen heroine Test at HelloQuizzy

Favorite authors: David Eddings

David Eddings (July 7, 1931 – June 2, 2009)

"Born in Spokane in Washington State, Eddings studied English at university in Oregon, and then spent two years in the army in Germany, which funded him through graduate studies in Middle English. He went on to work for Boeing, eventually settling in Denver where he began his writing career."

"Eddings turned to fantasy after he spotted a copy of The Lord of the Rings in a bookshop, and saw that it was in its 73rd printing."
Taken from an article in The Guardian

David Eddings has so many good books that I can’t write about them all. I have read many of them, but not all. So I’m going to concentrate on my favorite series by him. There are actually two of them, with the same main characters, The Belgariad and The Malloreon respectively.

The Belgariad is about the boy Garion. His parents died in a fire when he was little, so he is living with his aunt Pol on a big farm, where aunt Pol is working as the main cook. When Garion is in his early teens an old vagabond and storyteller, who has come to the farm several times before, comes and tells aunt Pol that they have to leave. Mister Wolf, as he is called by Garion, tells them that a mysterious object has been stolen, and they have to chase the thief down. Also joining them is the farms blacksmith Durnik, who has always been a good friend to Garion and has a secret crush on aunt Pol. They travel all over the world, following some kind of invisible trace from the mysterious object. During their travels they are joined by several companions or helpers from the different countries around the world. Amongst others there’s the spy and thief Silk, the warrior Barak, the knight Mandorallen and the princess Ce’Nedra. Garion learns more about his past as the journey continues, and that there’s more to him than he had first though.
And that’s as much as I want to say about the series without spoiling too much.

I find that I connect more with the characters in David Eddings series than I do in any other books.  There’s a lot of adventure in the books, but I find they are mainly focused on the characters and the relationships they form with each other. And as the series goes on, more and more is revealed about each character, up to the point where you feel you almost know them personally. And I also find that he is focusing a lot on their flaws as well as their good sides. The fact that a 7000 year old wizard can have a problem with alcohol, and have commitment issues and whatnot makes him so much more real to me. This mixed with the great humor in the books is the reason this book series is in my top three.

What now? Updates on me!

I have decided that I won't write too much about me on this blog. Part because I'm not that exciting, and part because I tried it before. I found that people are not interested in reading about me, and I very soon got bored with writing about my not so interesting life.

But that being said, I thought I would make a series of update-posts about me. What I am reading, watching and doing at the time. As you probably understand these posts won't be very frequent. As I said, I don't have an especially interesting life. Probably why I'm so geeky...

So let's start!

What am I reading these days?

• The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien. Started rereading this one because it was surly 10 years since the last time. And since the movie is coming out eventually I wanted to remember a bit better. I only have a few chapters left now.
• Northern Mysteries & Magick – Freya Aswynn. Reading this one for a book club project with a friend. It's mainly about runes. And I have to say I'm not impressed with the author so far...
• Naked Empire – Terry Goodkind. Haven't actually started reading this one yet. I just finished Faith of the Fallen, so I did take it out of the shelf, and it is currently receding in my reading corner (yes I have one). I decided to reread the entire Sword of Truth series, and I'm about half way.

Which audio books am I listening to?

• American Gods – Neil Gaiman. Just finished this one actually. It was very different from the other books I have read by him. But I loved it of course. I love everything he writes.
• Pyramids – Terry Pratchett. I have a project going on: I'm going to listen to the whole Discworld series. I have book 1 - 36. This is number 7. I find there's some wonderful weird logic and world wiews in his writings that I totally get.

Which series do I watch?

• Eureka. I actually hadn't heard about this series before this year. I guess it's not running in Norway. But a friend told me about it, and then I found out that Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton are staring in season 4 I was sold. I'm currently on season 2, slowly working my way to their episodes.
• The Big Bang Theory. I didn't want to see this show at first, because I got so uncomfortable watching the character Howard Wolowitz. But after getting trough the first two seasons it got better. And this is the only show I have watched where I get 90% of the references!
• The Guild. This web-series by Felicia Day just ended their season 5 actually. But I'm sometimes a bit slow when it comes to series, so I saw the 3 last episodes a few days ago. And I absolutely loved all the cameos!
• Dragon Age: Redemption. Felicia Days new webseries. So far there's only two episodes, but what I saw there convinced me that I want to see the rest of it.
• NCIS, Criminal Minds and The Mentalist. I can say pretty much the same about these three series. I love them passionately. I have followed them since they started. I will keep following them till they end (gods forbid).

What games do I play?

• FarmVille and FontierVille. I know it's sad. My internet is not exactly up to date these days, and that won't change for at least a few months. So instead of WoW I had to find something. Don't worry, I have a fake FB account for playing these games. And I will stop as soon as I can play WoW again.
• Spider Solitaire. Sometimes I like to play this one while listening to my audio books.

What do I do these days?

• Blogging/Twitter/FB. After I stopped smoking a few weeks ago I started using more time online. Probably to keep my mind from the smoking. I will have to calm down with the internet thing soon though. I never go to bed on time anymore.
• Variety Show/Acting. I'm currently in an acting group of sorts, and we are writing a variety show. We haven't started practicing on stage yet, but we will soon. It will be two preformanses, one 27th and one 29th of December.
• Podcast/Knitting/Coffee. Not always together though. Not long ago I decided to test the phenomenon that is podcasts, and I loved it. I am also currently learning to knit. The two go very well together.
• Walking/Spinning. These are the two main exercise things I do. I used to attend zumba classes, but they changed the day. And the new day did not suit me at all. That being said, except for zumba, I hate all forms of exercise. So I do it because I have to, not because I like it.

I think this will have to do for this time. One wants to remain a tad mysterious at least, hehe.

 

Favorite authors: Terry Goodkind

Picture from Terry Goodkinds official MySpace page

"Terry Goodkind is an American writer and author of the epic fantasy The Sword of Truth series as well as the contemporary suspense novels The Law of Nines and the The Omen Machine which have ties to his fantasy series.
Goodkind was born in 1948, and his home town was Omaha, Nebraska. In 1983 Goodkind moved with his wife Jeri to a house he built in Maine, later making his residence on the coast of Lake Las Vegas, Nevada his primary home.
Goodkind has dyslexia, which initially dissuaded him from any interest in writing. Before starting his career as a writer, Goodkind built cabinets and violins and was a marine and wildlife artist, selling his paintings in galleries. In 1993, during the construction of his home on the forested Mount Desert Island off the coast of Maine with his wife Jeri, he began to write his first novel, Wizard's First Rule, and his writing career was launched with its publication in 1994.
Taken from Wikipedia

Terry Goodkind has created the best fantasy book series I have ever read. And I read mostly fantasy. The Sword of Truth series has it all. A likable hero (I’m one of those who usually like everyone else but the hero), some awesome sidekicks who most of the time are more kickass than the hero himself. Two funny, sweet and powerful wizards!! A non sickening love story and the coolest pets/companions/friends you can think of. Also the story is the best. I like that the hero is so unwilling to be a hero. I know that one is a classic in most fantasy books, but very seldom does the hero become the hero because he has to fix stuff he has done wrong. Except for the very first book, in the first books the world is in trouble mostly because of him, so he has to fix things. And when he’s finally done with that he’s so far into it all he couldn’t get out if he wanted to. And also, I’m one of those who often times likes the villain the best, because everyone else is so boring. Not so here. There are several villains in this series of course, but I can’t say I “cheered for” any of them. I respect one of them because he is extremely smart, but other than that I hate the villains the way I should do.

These books have just the right blend of humor and seriousness. As I have said before, I need a little humor in most books I read. I get so in to the world I’m reading about that it would be too intense without it. (Don’t get me started on the time I cried for 16 hours while listening to “Gone With the Wind” on audiobook…) This reminds me, this is the only series I cannot listen to on audio book. The characters have become so alive in my head that I simply cannot let someone else’s interpretation ruin them.

I will not be saying much about the TV-series “Legend of the Seeker”. I saw the teasers about the different characters, and decided that since they had obviously decided to butcher my favorite book series I would never ever watch it. And I have kept that promise, and will continue to do so. That’s all I have to say about that. Especially since it makes me angry to think about.

 

Thoughts about books

Why is it that so many people is so anal about how their books should be read? Don't crack the spine! Don't fold the corners of the pages! It's like they want them to look unread, so they can display them and say "look at all my pretty books!" But it just looks like they have never read them.

I display my books too. But my books all have cracked spines. And when I don't have a bookmark handy, I set fold the corner of a page. They don't look new, they look like someone have read them and loved them. And in my head, that's how it should be.

I saw a cute entry about J.K. Rowling on TV a while ago. She was signing books, and a mother came to her and told her that her son was too embarrassed to get the book signed himself, because the book looked so worn and tattered. J.K. Rowling asked the mother to bring her son over so she could talk to him. And she told him that this was how she wanted her books to look like, because it told her that he had read the book many times because he loved it.
I found that to be so touching, and I agree with her wholeheartedly.

Authors I love: Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself)

(Picture from Neil Gaimans Home Page)

Ever since I was little I have loved the Sandman comics. My mom never let me buy them because she thought I was too young. So every time I was spending the night at my cousins house I used to borrow her Sandman comics and read them before I went to sleep. Now that I'm a "grownup" my project is to read them all. I think I might be somewhere in the middle of that project right now, (there's a lot of them, ok!)

But now comes the part I'm a bit embarrassed about. Until this year, 2011, I hadn't read a single one of his books. I have no idea why! But when I did read some of them, not too long ago, I fell in love with his writing all over again.

The thing is, I don't have too much time for reading books. But what I do is get the audio books. I hate cleaning the apartment, and doing the dishes and stuff like that. So when I do I listen to audio books. And then I don't hate doing it anymore.
And here comes the good part: Neil Gaiman reads his own audio books! At least he read Stardust and Neverwhere, which are the two books I have heard so far. And I am pretty sure no one would be as good as he is at reading his books. He has an almost hypnotic voice which is very....hard to describe. Comfortable, cozy, soothing and soft might be some good words, (I know how to express it in Norwegian, but I just can't find as good a word in English right now).
What I'm trying to say is that I think more authors should read their own audio books. Much because I found it facinating to hear how it was "read" in his head when he wrote it. I'm not sure it would have been the same way in my head if I were reading the book. And I find I like his way better. I'm not good at describing this, but I do hope you get what I'm trying to say here.

As I have mentioned earlier the books I have "read" so far is Stardust and Neverwhere. I just acquired American Gods, and Good Omens has been sitting in my bookshelf for a little while now, (Good Omens was written together with Terry Pratchett, another one of my favourite authors.) I can't wait to read them!!
Here is recaps from Stardust and Neverwhere:

Stardust:
"This is the story of young Tristran Thorn and his adventures in the land of Faerie. One fateful night, Tristran promises his beloved that he will retrieve a fallen star for her from beyond the Wall that stands between their rural English town (called, appropriately, Wall) and the Faerie realm. No one ever ventures beyond the Wall except to attend an enchanted flea market that is held every nine years. But Tristran bravely sets out to fetch the fallen star and thus win the hand of his love. His adventures in the magical land will keep you turning pages as fast as you can--he and the star escape evil old witches, deadly clutching trees, goblin press-gangs, and the scheming sons of the dead Lord of Stormhold."
This recap is from Amazon

Neverwhere:
"Neverwhere's protagonist, Richard Mayhew, learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished. He ceases to exist in the ordinary world of London Above, and joins a quest through the dark and dangerous London Below, a shadow city of lost and forgotten people, places, and times. His companions are Door, who is trying to find out who hired the assassins who murdered her family and why; the Marquis of Carabas, a trickster who trades services for very big favors; and Hunter, a mysterious lady who guards bodies and hunts only the biggest game. London Below is a wonderfully realized shadow world, and the story plunges through it like an express passing local stations, with plenty of action and a satisfying conclusion."
This recap is from Amazon

One of the reasons why I love Neil Gaimans writing so much is that I get to go to different worlds. They are in some ways similar to ours, but at the same time so vastly different, often in very humorous ways. I love good subtle humor when I read books, and humor can often be one of the main reasons I love some authors.

This last week it has seemed to me as Neil Gaiman were popping up everywhere. I decided to try out Twitter again, and he was one of the first people I stumbled upon when searching for people I'd like to follow. Then I was googeling something, I can't remember what at this moment, but there was his online journal, which I then read some of. And last night, while catching up on the last episodes of The Guild, suddenly there he was! Doing a cameo! It was a really funny one too, much better than many of the other cameos this season.

Wow...long blogpost here... But I have a sneaking suspicion that my "Authors I love" posts will be.

Here's a picture of Mr.Croup and Mr.Vandemar from Neverwhere. I couldn't find where it comes from, but the picture says "Bronnlow/06".