Clare-Dragonfly

The Spiral Dance by Starhawk

( This one's pretty long. )

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

This short story collection is mainly retold fairy tales, which is a genre I adore, so I was naturally excited to read this book. Some of the author's takes on fairy tales were quite intriguing. I especially enjoyed the title story, Bluebeard with a quite a twist, and "The Courtship of Mr. Lyon," a sweet Beauty and the Beast. From there, though, it seemed to go straight downhill. The author's overwrought style, peppered with extremely obscure words, was enjoyable at first, but grating on the nerves after several stories. It never seemed to change, and a number of the stories, I felt, would benefit from a different style. Some of the stories had twist endings that made no sense, and some, particularly "The Lady of the House of Love," were just not interesting. (The last may have been more fun when it was first written, when the trope of the reluctant vampire wasn't quite so done.) I do recommend many of the stories if you enjoy the genre, but perhaps one at a time would be better.

( Prince Caspian: spoilers )

The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson

It's hard to articulate why, but this struck me as a very unusual fantasy book almost from the beginning. The story is about Tilja, the elder daughter on a farm where the country's magical defenses are kept up. But the magic is starting to fail, and someone has to venture into the evil Empire to find the man who can refresh them. The characters are tons of fun--Tilja's grandmother, Meena, and two people from the other magic place, Alnor and his grandson Tahl--and the magic is unusual. I wouldn't call the novel a work of genius, but it was a fun read. The one thing that really bothered me--almost throughout the book--was that the characters seemed to take too much for granted. I was very suspicious of certain characters, and it was all explained away too easily. However, I'm utterly fascinated by Tilja's strange ability and wish there were sequels to this. Actually, looking on Amazon, it looks like there is, but it's not about the same characters and frankly I'm confused--it sounds as though it's set in the future and the past. However, I have also discovered that this author also wrote a book I read many times as a kid, Eva, about a girl who gets her brain transplanted into the body of a chimp. It's actually really good. Also he's married to Robin McKinley!

Don't worry, these are more interesting to the non-knitters!

I feel guilty about the Calmer. I feel guilty for buying--and so far, loving--a yarn that is part conventionally grown cotton (one of the most resource-intensive crops that exists) and part synthetic. I want to be environmentally friendly. I want to buy and use yarn that is good for the environment. Like bamboo! Yay, renewable resource! Yay, plant fiber!

But as I learn more about yarn I find that it's not all so good. Bamboo is not as natural a fiber as I thought it was; instead of pulling long fibers from the stalks and spinning them together, it's actually made in much the same way as rayon, broken down and made into yarn with harsh chemical processes. And most of it comes from China, where the regulations are much less strict than in the US, so who knows what kinds of dyes are used. In fact, it seems like the only good ways to be sure of getting environmentally friendly yarn is to get organic colorgrown cotton (not very nice colors and not very versatile), wildcrafted silk (way expensive), or humanely raised wool (I'm allergic). These are not good options! I want to knit stuff I like and can afford!

Now, fast forward... after more thought and more reading, I've come to another realization. Really... I'm already doing my part. I do try to get more environmentally-friendly yarns, even if everything isn't. And it's already significant that I'm mindful of my purchases. And the biggest thing? I'm making my own clothing, and therefore offering less and less support to mass-manufactured clothing probably put together by underpaid children in sweatshops. So really, I'm doing pretty well.

I was going to be good. I was all "yay me, I'm going to knit up my stash. See me buy needles so I can knit things. See me knit stash!" And I have been knitting up my stash to some extent. I started to make a hat with yarn I had (though I need some smaller DPNs for that). I made socks. I'm making a mesh bag with the cheap cotton/acrylic that I really just want to use up.

But I have been done in by deals. I ordered two skeins of way discounted Rowan Calmer from eBay. I ordered a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk from Little Knits. I just now ordered five skeins of an anniversary sale yarn (I don't even remember what it's called...) from WEBS.

However! I am still being relatively good. The first skein of Calmer is dedicated to swatching--ordinary "see what gauge I get" swatch is going now, then I'll do a swatch-in-the-round, then a cabled Morrigan (sweater I will make someday) swatch. The second skein? Finally, Knucks. The Sea Silk goes toward the Hanami stole--and since I already have the first skein for that, it is technically helping knit up my stash! And the other yarn will be for the Ballet Camisole from MagKnits, which I will totally wear. So, yay. And it's not like my stash is that huge, really... it's just a little inconvenient to transfer around with me between school and home. I guess that will be moot soon anyway. Ah well. I still want to shrink it.

(Also, we just got a huge raise at the Writing Center, so I can totally afford all this!)

Why I Let My Hair Grow Out by Maryrose Wood

I stopped reading this book (featuring an incredibly obnoxious sixteen-year-old narrator) after a talking horse named Samhain was referred to as "Sam."

...yeah.

That's an error I can forgive in ordinary people or new pagans, but not in authors, especially ones who have theoretically researched ancient Ireland fairly extensively in order to write the book.

Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Well, I was right about there not being another book like American Gods; still, this book was pretty delightful. I liked that it was about characters barely mentioned in the prequel--Anansi's sons. Fat Charlie is a memorable and sympathetic character, while Spider is the fascinating sort I'd never want to meet in real life. Rosie, Fat Charlie's fiancee, is also a great character, even if the way their relationship changes over the course of the book is fairly predictable from the beginning. The plot moves by increments that seem implausible from just a chapter away, but, by the time you reach them, are inevitable. Even the villains are fantastic, especially the wonderfully weaselly Grahame Coats. All in all, an excellent, satisfying book, told as only Gaiman can.

1. Reply to this post, and I will pick five of your icons.
2. Make a post (including the meme info) and talk about the icons I chose.
3. Other people can then comment to you and make their own posts.
4. This will create a never-ending cycle of icon squee. Whoo!

( Read more... )

All right, I'm sure no one here needs to be convinced to leave LJ, but if you have friends who do, here's a great post with lots of explanation as to why exactly LJ is full of suckitude: http://asylums.insanejournal.com/refugees_of_lj/1458.html

The Whispering Mountain by Joan Aiken

This was an interesting little fantasy novel. I enjoyed it, and somehow it had the feel of a classic, but I'm not quite sure what to make of it. It was set, I believe, in the early 19th century--the date was never made quite clear, and as one review described it, it is "unhistorical," so a sot of it doesn't make sense for 19th-century Wales anyway. I suppose I should say I quite liked the plot, the stolen harp and the strange groups of characters running about and meeting up in new configurations trying to find it, but the peripheral aspects seemed a bit off. It was quite silly, but didn't always seem to be aware of its own silliness. And then the ending, which I won't reveal but is decidedly not silly, rather threw me off. Oh, and the villain reminded me quite strongly of Voldemort. I wonder if J. K. Rowling's read this.

The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare

Ah, Shakespeare. What could there possibly be to complain about? I have just one thing: it would be so much better on stage. This is a hilariously funny play, full of sex and deception, but text is not an ideal way to consume it. While some of the jokes wouldn't make sense were it not for the glosses, that sort of thing is easier to pass quickly by on stage, and it's such a physical play that it would be vastly improved by being able to see the characters. I'm glad I read it, but now I know that I should absolutely snatch any chance I get to see it performed.

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Having not seen the movie, I wasn't sure what to expect of this book--in fact, I thought that, like Spirited Away, it would start out in our world and move into a fantasy world. I was delighted to find that it was the other way around! (Okay, I won't give too much away--but it does take place partially in our world.) The main character, Sophie, is the eldest of three, and in this fairytale world, that means she's sure to amount to nothing. And in fact it seems to have disastrous consequences when the Witch of the Waste comes and puts a curse on her for no apparent reason. But Sophie sets out to seek her fortune, and finds one quite unexpected and fun.

This book was quite an enjoyable read. There were a few plot holes, or at least spots where the story didn't seem to quite follow its own logic, and parts of the story were rather predictable, but I enjoyed it all the same. The characters especially were fantastic. I particularly admire Diana Wynne Jones' ability to create a character--Howl--who is both extremely flamboyant and inarguably heterosexual!

( Margaret Application )

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

It's hard to say much about any of Gaiman's work beyond "Gaiman is a genius." But I'll try! This novel is quite, quite delightful. The characters are real and complete, the premise--the old god of religion warring against the new gods of technology--is compelling, and the plot is both surprising and masterfully crafted. I don't think there could ever be another book lite this--and I say that knowing that there is a sequel. The only bad thing I have to say about this book is that the end left me feeling a bit adrift, and I suspect that was done on purpose.

Step 1: Put your MP3 player or whatever on random.
Step 2: Post the first line from the first 25 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 4: Strike out the songs when someone guesses correctly.
Step 5: No cheating.

( Two of these have the title in the first line )

WHEREAS, the Feast of St. Valentine has repeatedly proven offensive or inconvenient to the majority of the American People;

WHEREAS, the Feast of St. Valentine has been demonstrably debased by unseemly commercialism and rapacious greed;

WHEREAS, all attempts to celebrate the Feast of St. Valentine in the common way debase the true arts of love;

WHEREAS, the above factors in combination have continued to cause strife, discomfort and misery in the Greater Portion of the American People;

WHEREAS, the activities surrounding the Feast of St. Valentine debase and shame the American People;

AND WHEREAS, a more appropriate and honorable claim to that day exists;

NOW, THEREFORE, we decree that the celebration of the Feast of St. Valentine be hereby ABOLISHED;

AND WE FURTHER ORDER that the Fourteenth Day of February each year be rededicated to the celebration of the birth of Joshua, Norton I, Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico, who, by the grace of God, ruled his people wisely and well for more than twenty years.

Via.

"There will no longer be so many pleasant things to look at if responsible people do not do something about the unpleasant ones."

-Mrs. Which, A Wrinkle in Time

Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart

This book sets forth the principles of eco-effectiveness. Basically, the authors argue that being less bad is not enough: we must create products and buildings that are actively good for the environment, people's lives, and businesses as well. Instead of following a traditional cradle-to-grave paradigm, in which products are designed to last until they are worn out and then thrown "away," products should be designed to go from cradle to cradle. All components should not only be safe, they should be food: either biological or technical nutrients--recoverable in such a way that they can either be used to nourish the earth or can be upcycled, used to create products of the same or better quality as their previous incarnations.

This book simultaneously makes me really happy and makes me really sad. The former is because I love these concepts and they sound like a great, viable way to stop and even reverse the harm we've been doing to our environment. The latter is because I don't think they'll ever be widely adopted. One that seems particularly useless is the idea of products of service, which is having people sort of lease items like carpets, televisions, and solar panels, so that they can be returned to the company and their components recovered. It's a great idea in theory, but people like to own things. I can't imagine that any but the most environmentally conscious will do this. Some principles are obviously (from their examples) being adopted by some companies, which is great, but what about all the others? The authors can't innovate for every company out there. Can anyone else do it and will they be willing to try?

There's also the fact that I feel rather helpless. I don't see what I can do to help. I wish I was an architect, an engineer, or a chemist... but I'm not, and I have no idea how to apply these principles. All I can think of to do within my vocation--writing--is to write stories set in a utopia in which all of these concepts are in effect, and even then, I think I'd have to be pretty vague about it. (I guess I could also go for a dystopia in which we've destroyed our environment. That's something I could probably do real research for.) At least I was a bit affirmed by the end, in which the language strongly implies that the book is intended for business owners and others who can do something, and not necessarily for ordinary people like me to read.

I guess the one concrete thing I can do is to get my sister to read this book. She's a business student, and she cares about the environment. Maybe she'll get some ideas out of it, and maybe she'll pass it on to her friends.

This is for an Environmental Reading Group on campus, so I may have more to say after the discussion.

Bone by Jeff Smith

I read a few pages of the beginning of this comic when they were in Disney Adventures magazine. I really liked it then, and had been hoping to find a copy of the book for some time. Well, now I have, and I have to say--wow! It's so much more than I expected it to be. Like with webcomics and other serially published stories, I have to wonder how much the author knew or planned from the beginning. Was this sweeping fantasy epic in the works when I read about three cousins run out of Boneville and met a talking leaf bug and a cow-racing grandmother, or did it evolve as Smith wrote? Either way, it is extremely successful at moving from humble beginnings to a world-changing tale. Sometimes, with such things as the "lost princess" theme, it does seem a bit stereotypical, but the characters and the storytelling make up for it.