Girl in Translation

I've never been so excited for a book to come out (April 29, 2010), aside from the Harry Potter series.

Watch Video of author Jean Kwok introducing "Girl in Translation".

Moore Graphic Novels

After having taken two courses in college about comics, cartoons, animation, etc. (go liberal arts!), I figured it was about time I read a few graphic novels. I'd read excerpts, and also a copy of David Small's new book, "Stitches", but never anything that had anything to do really with DC or Marvel or manga.

But this spring break, I plunged in: finding the graphic novels section of B&N (which was squeezed in the back by the teen books and sci-fi...eeek...), I decided to reach for something that had been recommended to me several times: "Watchmen" by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons and colored by John Higgins. AMAZING. I hear the movie was terrible (even though the trailer with that Muse song was sooo goood), which I can totally understand because the plot was so non-linear and, obviously, played with time.

The juxtapositions of text and image, including multiple layers of media, like the pirate comic that boy reads, or the inclusion of different articles and pieces written about the characters, gave the book so much depth that I'll definitely need to read it again to get everything I can out of it. But I do have to say...what was up with that ending??? I wasn't a big fan. Though the dialogue got a little self-serving in its existentialism at times, it was an engrossing read. And c'mon, who wouldn't want to be able to go to Mars?

The other book I read was the first volume of "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" which was definitely entertaining and another book written by Moore that plays with iconic superheroes except in this book, those characters are from various literature, like Nemo, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, the Invisible Man, Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty, among others. Not as deep, but certainly a fun read. I'm definitely going to buy the other segments and I recommend the first, if not for its intricate illustrations and fun references to London settings (there's even a reference to Oliver! at one point. So funny). Haven't seen the movie version of the book, but probably won't.

I'm so so so afraid to go into manga now that I've taken a class about manga and I've seen people in B&N engrossed in these scary backwards books with cutesy imagery but I'm kinda curious...have any of you read any manga and can recommend something so I don't make a mistake?? plz? ^_^

Botchan by Natsume Soseki

Writing a response paper on "Botchan" by Soseki. The story is about a young man who moves from Tokyo to teach at a middle school in the country. Botchan was a reckless, bad kid so it's ironic that he's become a school teacher himself. The whole novel is rather blunt with hyperbolized text, but it has some interesting points about morality. Botchan is pretty bitter in general because his family didn't love him and now has no faith in the human race, really.

"Now that I thought about it, though, I realized that most people actually encourage you to turn bad. They seem to think that if you don't, you'll never get anywhere in the world. And then on those rare occasions when they encounter somebody who's honest and pure-hearted, they look down on him and say he's nothing but a kid, a Botchan. If that's the way it is, it would be better if they didn't have those ethics classes in elementary school and middle school where the teacher is always telling you to be honest and not to lie. The schools might as well just go ahead and teach you how to tell lies, how to mistrust everybody, and how to take advantage of people. Wouldn't their students, and the world at large, be better off that way?..."

Lebowski Challenge

Oh, "The Big Lebowski". I saw a fledgling college student dressed up as The Dude for Halloween and shuddered at how much his infantile countenance contrasted with his forcedly lax look inspired by Bridges' brilliance. I could tell his intentions were ill-willed when he looked at me confusedly as I said the rug really tied the room together. It made me realize that there are different contingents of Lebowski lovers out there: the Challenge doers, who get together every now and then, as in every couple of years, to drink a White Russian every time The Dude drinks one and then forget (understandably) what the movie is about until the next time a friend mentions the film; and then there are the true fans, fans who share in the indescribable faith that baffles epistemology. The second contingent consists of thinkers that wrote essays for the book, “The Year’s Work in Lebowski Studies,” an essay collection edited by Edward P. Comentale and Aaron Jaffe (Indiana University Press, $24.95). Check out the Times review here.

That first contingent are the people who really need to read this book to start cultivating their innate comprehension of the Cohen Brothers' cult film. That "Dude" is basically someone who needs to first, see the movies several more times, and second, read this book.

I'm looking forward to picking up a copy tomorrow myself. Perhaps I'll start bowling and recognizing Shomer shabbos while I'm at it.

Marmots.

Nihilism.

Genius.

Atlas Shrugged [E-mailed]

Here's an e-mail I received from a friend that I thought was interesting enough to post verbatim. I've never read Atlas Shrugged (I know, so sue me) but now my interest is piqued -- is the entire book very good?

___________________________________

From: [Dartmouth '10 retracted]

Date: 28 Dec 2009 19:23:31 -0500

Subject: interesting little tidbit
To: [Group of sender's friends including Georgina]
Reply-To: [Nickname retracted]

sooooo this break i've been reading ayn rand's atlas shrugged - really really interesting. buuut here's a passage i just HAD to share

about sex. you can interchange the him and her as you wish

"He will always be attracted to the woman who reflects his deepest vision of himself, the woman whose surrender permits him to experience - or to fake - a sense of self-esteem. The man who is proudly certain of his own value, will want the highest type of woman he can find, the woman he admires, the strongest, the hardest to conquer - because only the possession of a heroine will give him the sense of an achievement, not the possession of a brainless slut."

a little harsh on the "brainless slut" part - but sort of interesting when we think about people we're attracted to

sorry if this bores you, i just had to share, and am sitting at home reading alone, so obvi blitz [e-mail] comes to the rescue.

anywaysssssss happppy new years!

___________________________________

But since I've never read Atlas Shrugged, I'm left wondering: who is "he" in this quote?

Becoming Jane

I just watched the movie Becoming Jane this week (on DVD), and I thought it was a very good film. The premise of the movie (spoiler? ...) is that the main character Jane Austen basically lives the life of Elizabeth Bennett of Pride and Prejudice, and then later pens and publishes Pride and Prejudice based on her own great romance (because she is Jane Austen, author of Pride and Prejudice, haha). The main difference between the 'fact' of the movie and the 'fiction' of the book is that unlike her literary counterpart, there is no happy ending for Jane in the movie -- she never marries her real-life Darcy (love interest and penniless young lawyer Tom Lefroy, portrayed beautifully by James McAvoy) and is single for the rest of her life, living by the wit of her pen.

Earlier in the movie, in an attempt to convince her to marry the wealthy-but-boring character who has proposed to Jane, her mother admonishes, "Affection is desirable. Money is absolutely indispensable." The irony of the movie is that Jane takes this advice to heart and chooses not to elope with Tom Lefroy because she realizes the extent that his family depends on his income (and accordingly, his non-tarnished, non-eloped reputation) as a provider.

I liked the movie because it made me think -- and I realize this is starting to read like a fourth grade book report -- and realize the limitations women faced in the past in determining their own destinies, even in relatively high society. Of course, even today not all women have a choice.

Hold that thought. Live blogging, this is unfinished...

OK, I'm back.

Luckily, today in Western society a woman is no longer considered 'unmarriageable' if she is a writer... banker... production director... or whatever profession. Either way, I would not want to be alone for the rest of my life like Jane and have a great unresolved love who I discover many years later has named his first child after me (which Tom does for Jane). That was the very tragic conclusion of the movie.

I also liked the film because it recalls all that olde English shit we girls love: romance, restraint in interactions with the opposite sex, propriety, pride... prejudice... But seriously, I did enjoy the stolen glances and slight hand grazes between the main characters, and it reminded me that courtship used to be drawn out and slow-growing (is it still today, outside of college?). I was even willing to overlook Jane and Tom's seemingly sudden realization of their passionate love (in the woods, no less) because it was so... passionate.

Four stars to Becoming Jane for a strong lead character and being much better than I anticipated. I love being pleasantly surprised by movies. :)

JBKO

"To transcend the ordinariness that Jackie so feared in youth meant feasting on a diet of discipline and restraint."

- excerpt from my friend Christine J's book What Would Jackie Do?

I've always thought that being condemned to - or worse, resigning to - ordinariness would be a horrible fate.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

I realized that the book was due to the library tomorrow and it wouldn't let me renew it, so I read the whole thing in one sitting today, and it is a very, very, very good book. Extremely well-researched. Clearly and simply written, in a tone that strikes the perfect pitch between documentary-like academia and when your smart friend talks to you with great verve about an interesting discovery. Incredibly insightful and incisive.

Author Malcolm Gladwell introduces his book in this video on Amazon.

Outliers are those who have been given opportunities – and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them. For hockey and soccer players born in January, it’s a better shot at making the all-star team. For the Beatles, it was Hamburg. For Bill Gates, the lucky break was being born at the right time and getting the gift of a computer terminal in junior high. Joe Flom and the founders of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz got multiple breaks. They were born at the right time with the right parents and the right ethnicity, which allowed them to practice takeover law for twenty years before the rest of the legal world caught on.

Read it. It's a quick read and well worth the time. Even the epilogue, which details the circumstances in which his own success was created and how it applies to the world, is excellent and captivating.

Newsweek's 50 Books For Our Times

The List

I'm going to at least try to read a review of each and hopefully read at least one or two this summer.