I'm currently reading this book by Qiu Xiaolong. It's most likely banned in China because of the bad light it puts on Mao.
It's one of a few books (I'm not sure how many exactly) in the "Inspector Chen Novel" series. I heard from someone in my class that this author is popular in China, just that this book is most likely banned--I feel sorry for those waiting for the next book in this series since they obviously won't be getting it.
The dedication tells a lot about this book: "For the people that suffered under Mao".
Other fiction books written by this author (which I plan to read eventually) are:
Death of the Red Heroine
A Loyal Character Dancer
When Red is Black
A Case of Two Cities
Red Mandarin Dress
Poetry Translations are:
Evoking Tang: An Anthology of Classical Chinese Poetry
100 Poems from Tang and Song Dynasties
Treasury of Chinese Love Poems
Original Poetry is:
Lines Around China
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fiction. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Twilight (and Friends) by Stephenie Meyer
By "friends" I mean the rest of the series. I read them last year and it took me about 2 weeks to read all 4.
Ehh...they weren't really my type of book, but I found them to be a good enough read. It fits well in the teen romance genre (which I have enough of a bone to pick with)--girl meets boy, girl falls in love with boy, girl can't be with boy. It was pretty predictable over all.
However, the cult that came from it scares me. The part where Edward leaves Bella to save her life, I fear leaves girls with a misguided sense of male/female relations. Girls these days already have enough issues about being single that giving them hope that when a guy dumps them it is for an altruistic reason is detremental to society. Maybe if Bella and Edward were 30 and sensible the message would be better, but as an impressionable 15 year old (the age group this book is aimed towards) these books don't send a positive message. I've decided that they deserve a PG-25 rating (mental age of course) and I RARELY rate books and movies.
As for the movie (Twilight), I must be crazy because when it came to the way Edward was portrayed, I thought they did it fine. When I read the book, I felt that Edward was very unsure of himself and timid--just as he was in the movie. He leaving in book 2 and his actions in the final 2 books BOTH show that he wasn't comfortable with his situation and would rather crawl into a hole and die. I'm not sure why so many folks I talked to thought that Edward had been ruined--I thought Robert Pattinson's portrayal was dead on. Maybe this is a indicator that girls were viewing Edward as the "Knight in Shining Armor" willing to face down anything for the woman he loves and is afraid of nothing. The first might be true, but the latter, definitely NOT.
Anyway, this is my opinion on this book. I'll probably be putting my copies up for sale in the coming months (they're at home right now while I'm at school). It's not something that I'll be reading again any time soon. But go ahead and read it for yourself--like I said, it wasn't my type of book to begin with--it would already have been a one time read before I started.
Ehh...they weren't really my type of book, but I found them to be a good enough read. It fits well in the teen romance genre (which I have enough of a bone to pick with)--girl meets boy, girl falls in love with boy, girl can't be with boy. It was pretty predictable over all.
However, the cult that came from it scares me. The part where Edward leaves Bella to save her life, I fear leaves girls with a misguided sense of male/female relations. Girls these days already have enough issues about being single that giving them hope that when a guy dumps them it is for an altruistic reason is detremental to society. Maybe if Bella and Edward were 30 and sensible the message would be better, but as an impressionable 15 year old (the age group this book is aimed towards) these books don't send a positive message. I've decided that they deserve a PG-25 rating (mental age of course) and I RARELY rate books and movies.
As for the movie (Twilight), I must be crazy because when it came to the way Edward was portrayed, I thought they did it fine. When I read the book, I felt that Edward was very unsure of himself and timid--just as he was in the movie. He leaving in book 2 and his actions in the final 2 books BOTH show that he wasn't comfortable with his situation and would rather crawl into a hole and die. I'm not sure why so many folks I talked to thought that Edward had been ruined--I thought Robert Pattinson's portrayal was dead on. Maybe this is a indicator that girls were viewing Edward as the "Knight in Shining Armor" willing to face down anything for the woman he loves and is afraid of nothing. The first might be true, but the latter, definitely NOT.
Anyway, this is my opinion on this book. I'll probably be putting my copies up for sale in the coming months (they're at home right now while I'm at school). It's not something that I'll be reading again any time soon. But go ahead and read it for yourself--like I said, it wasn't my type of book to begin with--it would already have been a one time read before I started.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I honestly thought I was going to hate this book. My 12th grade English Lit teacher introduced it as the book most likely do be disliked by the guys in the class. Now, as you've probably read my "review" of the Twilight "saga" you know that chick books aren't really my thing. Yes, I like a bit of romance, but I want it to be secondary--to complement the plot and to explain some of the inter-character relations, but NOT to drive the story as Twilight does. So, when I heard that this would be a chick book I was a little leery.
But I was pleasantly surprised. This book definitely deserves "classic" status. It's again one of those books that everyone should read, especially if they themselves wonder why they can't relate to the people around them. There is definitely a character for everyone in this book and I'm curious as to who readers best relate with.
I personally thought this book to be a pretty easy read, but I have a friend who found it difficult (i.e. boring--I've found the two go hand in hand). To this I will say that there is no way on Earth for me to know whether someone will like or dislike a particular book. I mean, I hated Heart of Darkness the first time I had to read it and quite enjoyed it the second time. My general rule of thumb for any book is to pick it up every 5 years or so--the change in perspective you get from age will change the way the book will read, possibly even making a book that you hated in high school interesting.
I just watched Becoming Jane (2007). I thought it was extremely good and, at least in the context of Pride and Prejudice, it makes sense, whether or not it's historically accurate. It's so sweet and sad...I highly recommend it, especially if your complaint about the ending of Pride and Prejudice was that it was too good to be true.
But I was pleasantly surprised. This book definitely deserves "classic" status. It's again one of those books that everyone should read, especially if they themselves wonder why they can't relate to the people around them. There is definitely a character for everyone in this book and I'm curious as to who readers best relate with.
I personally thought this book to be a pretty easy read, but I have a friend who found it difficult (i.e. boring--I've found the two go hand in hand). To this I will say that there is no way on Earth for me to know whether someone will like or dislike a particular book. I mean, I hated Heart of Darkness the first time I had to read it and quite enjoyed it the second time. My general rule of thumb for any book is to pick it up every 5 years or so--the change in perspective you get from age will change the way the book will read, possibly even making a book that you hated in high school interesting.
I just watched Becoming Jane (2007). I thought it was extremely good and, at least in the context of Pride and Prejudice, it makes sense, whether or not it's historically accurate. It's so sweet and sad...I highly recommend it, especially if your complaint about the ending of Pride and Prejudice was that it was too good to be true.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Another book that I love. Such a sweet story. The whole series is terrific, though there are some very sad parts, just enough to make for a very realistic story. Definitely a coming of age story, and suitable for any 10 year old girl (or 10 year old girl at heart).
There are about 8 books total in the series. I'm only going to list the 1st here, though.
There are about 8 books total in the series. I'm only going to list the 1st here, though.
Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
1st off...they made a tv show out of this?!?!? Seriously, that's news to me. But I can't give judgment about it without seeing it for myself, so let me know if it's any good.
I thought this book/series was rather good. It's about a young orphan girl who is raised by her strict aunts. Unfortunately, I didn't remember how sad the beginning of the book is when I decided to re-read it over the summer. But once I got past that part, I remembered that for the most part, just as with Anne of Green Gables, the story is primarily a happy one--or at least, not one of total sadness.
Great for girls who are growing up and changing, or anyone who needs a little more imagination in their life. In comparison to Anne of Green Gables, there is more imagination by the heroine, at least initially. Or at least that's my impression, especially with the 1st books.
I thought this book/series was rather good. It's about a young orphan girl who is raised by her strict aunts. Unfortunately, I didn't remember how sad the beginning of the book is when I decided to re-read it over the summer. But once I got past that part, I remembered that for the most part, just as with Anne of Green Gables, the story is primarily a happy one--or at least, not one of total sadness.
Great for girls who are growing up and changing, or anyone who needs a little more imagination in their life. In comparison to Anne of Green Gables, there is more imagination by the heroine, at least initially. Or at least that's my impression, especially with the 1st books.
Bedknob and Broomstick
Just knocking another book off my list--I want to read every book/story that classic Disney movies are based on. I'm not sure which ones are left, but I just bought 101 Dalmatians which has been at the top of the list for about 8 years. I didn't even realize that "Bedknob and Broomstick" was on the list until I found it on the shelf at camp this summer. It's only half like the movie that we all know and love, but still was an excellent book. I decided to go ahead and link to the movie too, in case that it isn't one that you know.
"The Thirteenth Tale" By Diane Setterfield
Well, I honestly started out not really feeling the content of this book. There were a few themes that I am not a big fan of, but that didn't stop me from picking this book up whenever I could to read more. I ended up finishing it at 4am, something I honestly haven't done with a book in a number of years. I highly recommend it; which 4 days ago wouldn't have been the case.
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
"Tell this to King Shrewd. Our population grows, but there is a limit to our arable soil. Wild game will only feed so many. Comes a time when a country must open itself to trade, especially so rocky and mountainous a country as mine. You have heard, perhaps, that the Jhaampe way is that the ruler is the servant of his people? Well, I serve them in this wise. I marry my beloved younger sister away, in the hopes of winning grain and trade routes and lowland goods for my people, and grazing rights in the cold part of the year when our pastures are under snow. For this, too, I am willing to give you timbers, the great straight timbers that Verity will need to build his warships. Our mountains grow white oak such as you have never seen. This is a thing my father would refuse. He has the old feelings about the cutting of live trees, And like Regal, he sees your coast as a liability, your ocean as a great barrier. But I see it as your father did--a wide road that leads in all directions, and your coast as our access to it. And I see no offense in using trees uprooted by the annual floods and windstorms."
Very few times do you find a fiction novel like this that makes you really understand what it means to live in the real world...or at least one that I'll actually enjoy reading. A lot of attempts are made, I guess, focusing on the problems invasions by foreigners, but few go further to be viewed through the eyes of a bastard son of the crown prince turned assassin for the king, his grandfather. I mean, you can get a number of ideas about the world we live in just by judging how well the kingdom's ambassadors do their job of actually knowing the people they are visiting...and the importance of information and allies.
I highly rate this 1st book in the series.
Very few times do you find a fiction novel like this that makes you really understand what it means to live in the real world...or at least one that I'll actually enjoy reading. A lot of attempts are made, I guess, focusing on the problems invasions by foreigners, but few go further to be viewed through the eyes of a bastard son of the crown prince turned assassin for the king, his grandfather. I mean, you can get a number of ideas about the world we live in just by judging how well the kingdom's ambassadors do their job of actually knowing the people they are visiting...and the importance of information and allies.
I highly rate this 1st book in the series.
"Wolf Tower" by Tanith Lee
It was an an okay short read, for me. But then I'm probably a freak of nature when it comes to reading. In this book's case I was reading faster than I could comprehend the words and nothing was there to stop me. I guess it's only to be expected in a book intended for younger audiences, but normally I don't have such problems. Maybe it's because I'm tired. I can't really say. But the story is very good--I quite enjoyed the plot and the fairy tale romance is extremely cute, I think. Simplistic, but again, look at the audience. I'm game for the rest of the series, though who knows when I'll get around to reading them.
Winter Break Reading
I didn't read as much over winter break as I could have, but I worked and had a ton of mail to answer. But I did get to finally finish 2 books that I started over Thanksgiving. They were The Sleeping Beauty by Mercedes Lackey and Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb. Both were, I admit, slow reading at first, but in both cases the story is well worth the time. In the case of Royal Assassin, I don't think it would be possible to write such an epic story without all the detail. I highly recommend both books.
With graduation looming only 4 months from now, I have a lot of stuff that's going to get in my way of reading, but I suspect that there will be 4 upcoming posts illustrating gender in the civil war, since that's what my history thesis will be dealing with. I'm excited to read these books.
With graduation looming only 4 months from now, I have a lot of stuff that's going to get in my way of reading, but I suspect that there will be 4 upcoming posts illustrating gender in the civil war, since that's what my history thesis will be dealing with. I'm excited to read these books.
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