October 25, 2007

No indeed.

When a movie that's slated to be released at the end of the year, during Oscar season, amid all the other big blockbuster-wanna-bes, suddenly gets shunted to…ugh….end of February, one can only say, "Yikes."

How bad can it be?

It must be reallllllly bad.

After all, February and March are the bad times for movie releases (good times for book releases, though…hint, hint)–it's after the Oscar rush, before the big summer releases.

So, it's a bummer that the movie's that bad. Don't think I'll be seeing it–Eric Bana doesn't really do that much for me, and although I like Scarjo (mainly 'cause the girl has curves and isn't an emaciated paper doll *cough*KeiraKnightley*cough*).

And really, Eric Bana had no business playing the running-to-fat, pus-running-down-gouted-leg Henry VIII. I'm sorry, but that was poor casting in the extreme. 

I've read one Philippa Gregory book–The Queen's Fool–and I enjoyed it (although I thought the love story/romance between the "fool" and her eventual husband was unrealistic, tacked on, and clumsy). I haven't read any other Gregory books, though everyone says The Other Boleyn Girl is the best.

So maybe I'll read it instead of watch it.

So, what do you think? Will you see the flick? Have you read the book?

And, since there's now suddenly a total glut of Tudor-set historical fiction…how do you feel about that? Tired of it? Want a different time period explored?

(Why can't someone do a series like that about Eleanor of Aquitaine? I would glom that up in a heartbeat.)

Oh, wait. Someone did. Roberta Gellis. The Roselynde Chronicles. Sexier than the Gregory books (wayy sexier), with more fictional elements, but…damn, they're some of my favorite books. Ever.

October 10, 2007

Quick. The last two-three books you've read or are reading (and would recommend). Boom, boom, boom.

Here goes:

1. Shattered Silk by Barbara Michaels

2. The Body Movers by Stephanie Bond

3. The Body Movers: 2 for 1 by Stephanie Bond (currently reading)

Now you. Go!

August 31, 2007

I "met" Carl V., owner and author of the very fine blog Stainless Steel Droppings last year when I joined his R.I.P. reading challenge.

The R.I.P. reading challenge spans a two-month period in which participants are challenged to read books that fall within the horror or gothic genre/subgenre.

Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, I didn't successfully complete the challenge–though I did read The Phantom of the Opera and something else (that I can't remember. Doh!). 

But this year–this year I'm going to do it! So here's my list of the four books I'm going to read for the R.I.P. II challenge:

1. Poltergeist by Kat Richardson

2. Road to Hell by my dear friend Jackie Kessler (Advance Copy. W00T!)

3. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfeld

4. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, or something by Ann Radcliffe (The Mysteries of Udolpho, perhaps). Or maybe I'll reread (shhh!) read something by my favorite gothic authoress, Barbara Michaels.

So if you want to join in (Carl has some great prizes, and those who complete the challenge will be entered to win them), pop over to the RIP II challenge page and sign up. The challenge officially starts tomorrow.

July 23, 2007

Does she not?

Best line in the book: "Not my daughter, you bitch!"

Your favorite line? 

July 22, 2007

I went to a big Harry Potter party on Friday night, then traipsed over to my favorite Borders to wait in line for my copy. Got home at 1:00am, read two chapters, then went to bed because I had a very busy day on Saturday.

Which meant that I didn't get a chance to pick it up again until 11pm that night (after wresting it from my 9 year old's hands after he finally fell asleep) (I think the only thing that kept him from staying up all night to read it was because he'd just returned from camping and was overtired). 

Got home today after church and was blissfully left alone for hours (miraculous, really) to curl up and finish it.

I loved it.

I was satisfied with all of it, and although it wasn't the same kind of feel or adventure as the other books…it fit. It worked. There were lots of things that had to happen and be worked out. I took my time reading it, refusing to let myself race through to see what was going to happen, particularly in those scenes where one really wanted to race through.

But now that it's over, I'm grieving.

So, a few questions for the house:

1) how long did it take you to read it?

2) did you get it at midnight?

3) did you peek at the epilogue?

4) were you right or wrong about Snape?