Days 10 and 11, plus a brief book post
May. 26th, 2010 04:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shah_of_blahDay 10. A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Surprisingly enough, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, I judged the show by its quite silly name. All I knew about it was that the heroine was named Buffy and that my dad watched it sometimes. We mocked him for it on occasion. Then one fateful day my sister stayed home sick from school, and started channel surfing. She was looking for Xena, but stumbled upon Buffy instead. That night, she said I absolutely had to watch this show, that it was amazing and I would love it. I finally agreed, but mostly just to shut her up. And the rest is history.
Day 11. A show that disappointed you
Uh, hello. Battlestar Galactica. Oh Battlestar, my Battlestar, you had such promise! Such amazing characters! And then season three had to happen. And season four. So yes, you disappointed me. I still love you though. Even if you have an overblown opinion of yourself, and even if you sort of dissolved into nonsensical storylines. You didn't have a plan, and neither did the Cylons (except, you know, to blow up the Colonies, which they managed quite well in, like, the first hour, leaving one to wonder what else they needed a plan for)
Well, this is a bit of a downer post. Sorry. But hey, I want to talk about some books! Two books, specifically. The Demon's Lexicon and its sequel, The Demon's Covenant, by Sarah Rees Brennan (LJ's own![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sarahtales ).
Covenant came out a few days ago, and I read it in a mad fury. I started Sunday afternoon, and finished this morning, at 3 AM. I was completely useless yesterday, and accomplished very little. It was all I could do to tear myself away from the book long enough to do things like eat and watch Glee. Although I had been warned by the author herself that some thought this book suffered from the ol' Second Book (in a trilogy) Syndrome, I found that to be not the case at all. True, it does set things up for the next book, and true, I am left anxious to find out what is going to happen. But the book was just as satisfying as Lexicon. Hell, it might even be more satisfying.
Books like these make me question why I spend so much time reading classics and so-called literary fiction, when YA Fantasy novels are just so damn fun. Am I improving my mind by reading these books? Probably not. But then again, Dorian Gray and his compatriots don't stay with me the way Nick and Alan Ryves do.
I don't want to say too much because there is sort of a central thing that would spoil much of the first book, but in non-specific terms I love these books and these characters. At the heart of the series, are the Ryves brothers (Nick, 16, and Alan, 19). Their relationship is astonishingly lovely. And I kind of love Nick. I want one of my very own. Except not really, because he's sort of like a 16-year-old cross between Starbuck and Dexter, but mostly Dexter. He really likes knives, and hates talking about his feelings. I wonder if characters who have trouble expressing themselves and don't really understand the norms of human interaction are becoming my 'type.' Oh dear.
Anyway, it's not all about Nick. Alan is great too. He takes care of his little brother, even though his little brother has a fascination with swords. Unlike Nick, Alan is the bookish, rather nerdy type who is also a frighteningly good liar. He takes care of everybody but fears that he is somehow unloved. None of the books are from Alan's perspective, and I suspect this is because then we would know what he was thinking and planning, and what would be the fun in that? Alan is a bit Lee-like, actually. More than a bit, really.
The other main characters are siblings Mae and Jamie. They used to be 'normal,' or so they thought, but in the beginning of the series Jamie has been marked by a demon. He's in danger, and Mae will do anything to protect her brother, even if it means putting up with Nick and his many knives. Mae and Jamie actually provide a sort of comedic element, cracking jokes in the face of terrible danger and contributing to the books' wry humor.
Oh yeah, and they fight magicians and demons. Did I mention that?
Anyway, I'm off to re-read the first book because I can't get enough of my new slightly psychotic book boyfriend. You all should read them too. You wouldn't want to miss out.
Surprisingly enough, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Yes, I judged the show by its quite silly name. All I knew about it was that the heroine was named Buffy and that my dad watched it sometimes. We mocked him for it on occasion. Then one fateful day my sister stayed home sick from school, and started channel surfing. She was looking for Xena, but stumbled upon Buffy instead. That night, she said I absolutely had to watch this show, that it was amazing and I would love it. I finally agreed, but mostly just to shut her up. And the rest is history.
Day 11. A show that disappointed you
Uh, hello. Battlestar Galactica. Oh Battlestar, my Battlestar, you had such promise! Such amazing characters! And then season three had to happen. And season four. So yes, you disappointed me. I still love you though. Even if you have an overblown opinion of yourself, and even if you sort of dissolved into nonsensical storylines. You didn't have a plan, and neither did the Cylons (except, you know, to blow up the Colonies, which they managed quite well in, like, the first hour, leaving one to wonder what else they needed a plan for)
Well, this is a bit of a downer post. Sorry. But hey, I want to talk about some books! Two books, specifically. The Demon's Lexicon and its sequel, The Demon's Covenant, by Sarah Rees Brennan (LJ's own
sarahtales ).Covenant came out a few days ago, and I read it in a mad fury. I started Sunday afternoon, and finished this morning, at 3 AM. I was completely useless yesterday, and accomplished very little. It was all I could do to tear myself away from the book long enough to do things like eat and watch Glee. Although I had been warned by the author herself that some thought this book suffered from the ol' Second Book (in a trilogy) Syndrome, I found that to be not the case at all. True, it does set things up for the next book, and true, I am left anxious to find out what is going to happen. But the book was just as satisfying as Lexicon. Hell, it might even be more satisfying.
Books like these make me question why I spend so much time reading classics and so-called literary fiction, when YA Fantasy novels are just so damn fun. Am I improving my mind by reading these books? Probably not. But then again, Dorian Gray and his compatriots don't stay with me the way Nick and Alan Ryves do.
I don't want to say too much because there is sort of a central thing that would spoil much of the first book, but in non-specific terms I love these books and these characters. At the heart of the series, are the Ryves brothers (Nick, 16, and Alan, 19). Their relationship is astonishingly lovely. And I kind of love Nick. I want one of my very own. Except not really, because he's sort of like a 16-year-old cross between Starbuck and Dexter, but mostly Dexter. He really likes knives, and hates talking about his feelings. I wonder if characters who have trouble expressing themselves and don't really understand the norms of human interaction are becoming my 'type.' Oh dear.
Anyway, it's not all about Nick. Alan is great too. He takes care of his little brother, even though his little brother has a fascination with swords. Unlike Nick, Alan is the bookish, rather nerdy type who is also a frighteningly good liar. He takes care of everybody but fears that he is somehow unloved. None of the books are from Alan's perspective, and I suspect this is because then we would know what he was thinking and planning, and what would be the fun in that? Alan is a bit Lee-like, actually. More than a bit, really.
The other main characters are siblings Mae and Jamie. They used to be 'normal,' or so they thought, but in the beginning of the series Jamie has been marked by a demon. He's in danger, and Mae will do anything to protect her brother, even if it means putting up with Nick and his many knives. Mae and Jamie actually provide a sort of comedic element, cracking jokes in the face of terrible danger and contributing to the books' wry humor.
Oh yeah, and they fight magicians and demons. Did I mention that?
Anyway, I'm off to re-read the first book because I can't get enough of my new slightly psychotic book boyfriend. You all should read them too. You wouldn't want to miss out.
