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Neil Gaiman on the Colbert Report!
Poor Neil looks so tired. He just lost his dad last week. I think he does a rather good job of standing up to Colbert's crazy in spite of it. ;)
Poor Neil looks so tired. He just lost his dad last week. I think he does a rather good job of standing up to Colbert's crazy in spite of it. ;)
Coraline
The movie is AMAZING. Having read the book recently, I thought it was absolutely perfect. The story isn't identical, of course, but the changes worked really well.
GO SEE IT. NOW. You have until the end of this week to catch it in 3-D, because the Jonas Brothers Movie comes out in the 3-D on Friday, at which point the theaters with 3-D capable screens will be dedicating them to that. Bah.
Things I Need:
1. Orange polka dot pajamas.
2. Short, dark blue wig.
3. Crystal dragonfly hair clip.
4. Grey puffy vest?
5. Limo driver hat?
6. Red messenger bag.
7. Floppy stuffed black cat.
GO SEE IT. NOW. You have until the end of this week to catch it in 3-D, because the Jonas Brothers Movie comes out in the 3-D on Friday, at which point the theaters with 3-D capable screens will be dedicating them to that. Bah.
Things I Need:
1. Orange polka dot pajamas.
2. Short, dark blue wig.
3. Crystal dragonfly hair clip.
4. Grey puffy vest?
5. Limo driver hat?
6. Red messenger bag.
7. Floppy stuffed black cat.
There seems to be some confusion.
Just to clarify, Tim Burton had nothing at all to do with the Coraline movie.
That is all. You may now return to your regularly scheduled LJ.
That is all. You may now return to your regularly scheduled LJ.
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Coraline Trailer!
This one has Neil in it. It was actually filmed in his home, and I am SO JEALOUS of his library.
One day, we will have a house. In our house, there will be a room where you can't see the walls for the bookshelves. No art, except for maybe a sculpture or two on the shelves. Just books GALORE.
Then they will be able to all live with me, instead of some of them having to be stored in my mother's attic due to lack of space.
That's enough of that tangent. Trailer!
Can anyone tell that I've been on a Gaiman kick lately?
One day, we will have a house. In our house, there will be a room where you can't see the walls for the bookshelves. No art, except for maybe a sculpture or two on the shelves. Just books GALORE.
Then they will be able to all live with me, instead of some of them having to be stored in my mother's attic due to lack of space.
That's enough of that tangent. Trailer!
Can anyone tell that I've been on a Gaiman kick lately?
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I keep wanting to comment on people's posts with this...
...so instead I'm just going to make it a post of my own.
You should read Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. It's excellent.
Have you ever read a book and been a little sad at the end, simply because it was over?
Yeah. I cried a little.
Go. Read. NOW.
So the Bubbles sayeth, so shall it be done.
You should read Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. It's excellent.
Have you ever read a book and been a little sad at the end, simply because it was over?
Yeah. I cried a little.
Go. Read. NOW.
So the Bubbles sayeth, so shall it be done.
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Terry Pratchett on Alzheimer's
This man is one of my very favorite authors, if not my absolute favorite. He was diagnosed with a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's at the age of fifty-nine last year.
New interview in the Daily Mail, thieved from Neil Gaiman's blog.
When this man dies, as one day we all will, I will cry my eyes out.
New interview in the Daily Mail, thieved from Neil Gaiman's blog.
When this man dies, as one day we all will, I will cry my eyes out.
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On the Death of Imagination
For those of you who may be unaware, (I hope it's very few of you), the American Library Association is currently celebrating Banned Books Week. (Today is the last day. I've been trying to get this posted for three days, but *some* people are very distracting.)
I am a really big fan of a person's right to choose, and not just when it comes to the abortion issue. When a book is banned it doesn't only affect the people who complained about it; every single other person in the school or community, regardless of whether or not they have an objection to the book, has their ability to choose to expose themselves to the contents of said book affected.
Don't get me wrong; I'm all for age-appropriate reading material. Exposing your seven year old to something like The Joy of Sex may not be a good plan. However, "age appropriate" varies with the individual. I was reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when my classmates were drooling over the complete Berenstein Bears collection one of the girls had brought in. (Nothing against the bears, of course. I'm just illustrating a point.)
The fact that today, in the year 2008, in America, books are still being banned pisses me off to no end. They're banned for the silliest of reasons!
"Oh no! We can't let our children read a book that mentions SLAVERY! The wee little black kids will be upset!"
"My child must NEVER be exposed to any mention of homosexuality!"
"Harry Potter is going to turn my good little Christian child into a heathen Wiccan!"
"My kid thinks babies come from the cabbage patch. I don't want to have to explain sex to her after she reads that book!"
What is the result of "protecting" children from all of this, of only letting them be exposed to things that are "safe" and easy to explain? They don't learn to think for themselves. They don't learn to imagine. Think about it for a second; if you're not exposed to anything outside of your little bubble, how do you learn to process it? You don't.
This is why America is falling behind in science and technology. We over-protect ourselves into stupidity. "Don't think, don't question, just sleep...shhhhhh....shhhhh...."
I think we should be encouraging not just children, but EVERYONE to read controversial works. Read them. Think about them. Decide what it is that pisses people off, and why. The talk about it. Talk about WHY slavery and racism are wrong. Talk about WHY Harry Potter is different from real life. LEARN FROM IT.
(This post was much longer and better in my head, but then I ran out of time. Bah. Perhaps I shall edit it at a later date.)
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Neil Gaiman on the Hitchhiker's Sequel
"Nobody asked me to do it, but then, when Douglas asked me if I'd like to adapt Life, The Universe and Everything for radio I said no, and that was with Douglas alive and asking. (Dirk Maggs did it, and did an excellent job.) It seemed a thankless task.
I like Eoin very much, and wish him well with the book. He'll probably write a sixth Hitchhiker's book with more enthusiasm, and certainly faster, than Douglas would have done. But it won't be a Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's book.
For the record, if I don't get around to writing a sequel to something while I'm alive, I'd very much rather that nobody else does it once I'm dead. It should exist in your head or in Lucien's library, or in fanfic. But that's me, and not every author feels the same way."
Well said!
I like Eoin very much, and wish him well with the book. He'll probably write a sixth Hitchhiker's book with more enthusiasm, and certainly faster, than Douglas would have done. But it won't be a Douglas Adams Hitchhiker's book.
For the record, if I don't get around to writing a sequel to something while I'm alive, I'd very much rather that nobody else does it once I'm dead. It should exist in your head or in Lucien's library, or in fanfic. But that's me, and not every author feels the same way."
Well said!
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Needz Icon!
The first person who can make me a "Bad Ass Mouse" icon with this picture or similar wins a cookie:
Prince Caspian rocked. There are definitely some issues with the plot vs. the book, but when are there not? I'm craving to re-read the whole series again now, of course. We'll see, though. I have something like four or five books on deck, one of which was lent to me unexpectedly by my Grandpa, and one of which belongs to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thunderemerald.
Narnia books only take me a day to read at most, so maybe this weekend.
Prince Caspian rocked. There are definitely some issues with the plot vs. the book, but when are there not? I'm craving to re-read the whole series again now, of course. We'll see, though. I have something like four or five books on deck, one of which was lent to me unexpectedly by my Grandpa, and one of which belongs to
thunderemerald. Narnia books only take me a day to read at most, so maybe this weekend.
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Harry Potter Request
I know a whole bunch of you are picking up your books Friday night. I will not be purchasing the final Harry Potter book just yet.
The rest of my set are all in paperback, and I have book OCD. If I purchased just one in hardcover, it would drive me nuts that they don't match.
Of course, I don't want to have to wait the year or more that it's going to take them to release it in paperback. The chances of the ending being spoiled increase exponentially the longer you wait to read a book like that.
Would any of you lovely people be willing to lend me your copy once you've finished it? I take very good care of books, especially other people's. I'd probably finish it in less than a week.
Pretty please?
The rest of my set are all in paperback, and I have book OCD. If I purchased just one in hardcover, it would drive me nuts that they don't match.
Of course, I don't want to have to wait the year or more that it's going to take them to release it in paperback. The chances of the ending being spoiled increase exponentially the longer you wait to read a book like that.
Would any of you lovely people be willing to lend me your copy once you've finished it? I take very good care of books, especially other people's. I'd probably finish it in less than a week.
Pretty please?
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Books
Reading the banned books list makes me want to cry. Books should never be banned. Ever.
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Have I really been wrong all these years?
I've been a fan of The Chronicles of Narnia practically since I can remember. I grew up watching the BBC version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and when I was about seven, I found my mom's copy of the series of books in our basement. I ran my little butt upstairs and dragged my mom back DOWNstairs to show her the wonderful thing I had discovered in our basement.
"Mom, I didn’t know there was a BOOK!"
"I know honey, it's mine. The other ones go with it."
"Can I READ them???"
"No. You’re too little."
I had a bad habit of leaving books behind on the playground and various other places, so that's probably why my mom refused to let me read her copies of the books. Hardcover, by the way. Dust jackets in tact.
It took a year, but in the second grade I was finally allowed to read them. That was the end of that.
Now, there are three different orders to the books.
The order in which C. S. Lewis wrote them:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 1948
Prince Caspian, 1949
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 1950
The Horse and His Boy, 1950
The Silver Chair, 1951
The Last Battle, 1953
The Magician's Nephew, 1954
The order in which they were published:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 1950
Prince Caspian, 1951
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 1952
The Silver Chair, 1953
The Horse and His Boy, 1954
The Magician's Nephew, 1955
The Last Battle, 1956
Chronological order within the story:
The Magician's Nephew
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle
There is much contention as to which order one should read the books. Many fans believe that the second list (publishing order) is the order in which Lewis intended them to be read. However, during the past few years, the books have been published in chronological order.
I have always read them according to the second list. That is also how they are arranged on my bookshelf, as well.
Since the release of the new movie, there has been a lot of buzz about the series. Recently, I purchased The Chronicles of Narnia Beyond the Wardrobe: The Official Guide to Narnia. It’s very informative.
On page thirty two, my world was shattered.
Apparently, after all of the books were published a young boy named Laurence wrote to Lewis and suggested that the books be read in chronological order. In a letter dated April 23, 1957, Lewis writes:
"Dear Laurence,
I think I agree with your order for reading the books. ...The series was not planned beforehand.... When I wrote The Lion [the Witch and the Wardrobe], I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P.[rince Caspian] as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage [of the Dawn Treader] I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found I was wrong....
yours
C. S. Lewis
Now what do I do? I've been so accustomed to reading them in published order, and seeing them lined up so nicely on my shelf. Now I find that I've been doing it wrong my entire life!
"Mom, I didn’t know there was a BOOK!"
"I know honey, it's mine. The other ones go with it."
"Can I READ them???"
"No. You’re too little."
I had a bad habit of leaving books behind on the playground and various other places, so that's probably why my mom refused to let me read her copies of the books. Hardcover, by the way. Dust jackets in tact.
It took a year, but in the second grade I was finally allowed to read them. That was the end of that.
Now, there are three different orders to the books.
The order in which C. S. Lewis wrote them:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 1948
Prince Caspian, 1949
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 1950
The Horse and His Boy, 1950
The Silver Chair, 1951
The Last Battle, 1953
The Magician's Nephew, 1954
The order in which they were published:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, 1950
Prince Caspian, 1951
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 1952
The Silver Chair, 1953
The Horse and His Boy, 1954
The Magician's Nephew, 1955
The Last Battle, 1956
Chronological order within the story:
The Magician's Nephew
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Horse and His Boy
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Last Battle
There is much contention as to which order one should read the books. Many fans believe that the second list (publishing order) is the order in which Lewis intended them to be read. However, during the past few years, the books have been published in chronological order.
I have always read them according to the second list. That is also how they are arranged on my bookshelf, as well.
Since the release of the new movie, there has been a lot of buzz about the series. Recently, I purchased The Chronicles of Narnia Beyond the Wardrobe: The Official Guide to Narnia. It’s very informative.
On page thirty two, my world was shattered.
Apparently, after all of the books were published a young boy named Laurence wrote to Lewis and suggested that the books be read in chronological order. In a letter dated April 23, 1957, Lewis writes:
"Dear Laurence,
I think I agree with your order for reading the books. ...The series was not planned beforehand.... When I wrote The Lion [the Witch and the Wardrobe], I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P.[rince Caspian] as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage [of the Dawn Treader] I felt quite sure it would be the last. But I found I was wrong....
yours
C. S. Lewis
Now what do I do? I've been so accustomed to reading them in published order, and seeing them lined up so nicely on my shelf. Now I find that I've been doing it wrong my entire life!
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(no subject)
I've just finished Half Blood Prince. I cried through the last few chapters.
I'm really pissed at JK Rowling right now. Don't get me wrong, the book was good, but... why him???
I'm really pissed at JK Rowling right now. Don't get me wrong, the book was good, but... why him???
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For hoju3942
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Horse and His Boy
The Magician's Nephew
The Last Battle
Read them in that order. :)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Prince Caspian
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Silver Chair
The Horse and His Boy
The Magician's Nephew
The Last Battle
Read them in that order. :)