1. HOLY CRAP. WHAT WAS THAT.
2. Meh.
3. Good book, I'll add it to my collection
4. LOVED IT.
5. OMG. FLAIL. I WANT TO MARRY THIS BOOK.
1. American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot - Craig Ferguson
I've had a lot of respect for Craig Ferguson ever since back in whatever year it was that Britney Spears had her melt down and shaved her head and beat up a car with an umbrella and she was on the cover of every gossip rag and everyone was speculating and making jokes and you couldn't turn sideways without hearing about the fall of America's pop princess. But Craig Ferguson went on his show and said that this is a young girl who has a problem, a problem that he understands, and that he wouldn't be making fun of her anymore because she was obviously troubled. And man, did I respect that. Interestingly enough, he has recently made similar comments regarding Charlie Sheen and whatever the hell he's been doing. Again, respect. In the advent of reality television we have become way too amused with watching the humiliations of others for sport. Although I suppose that's been going on forever too.
Anyways, this book. Is good. I very much appreciated it's honesty and humor and darkness (and even in the darkest places of the book, the humor remains). He is very open about his pre-sober years and experiences with alcohol and drugs and it's just this little glimpse into who he was and how he came to the place he is today. And as you may be able to tell from the title it's also a little bit of a love story between him and America and the amount to which he loves this country (but his homeland as well) just oozes off the page. In a time when patriotism seems to be equated with bible-thumping and guns and Sarah Palin, it's refreshing.
RATING: LOVED IT
And for fun, a recent interview Craig did with my favorite Joel McHale.
2. Heat Wave - Richard Castle
I don't know if I've ever really talked about Castle on this blog but it's one of the shows that I look forward to every week. One of my friends recommended it to me after an episode in which they find a body that has the phrase, "your out of time" written across the torso. Castle notes that instead of "your" it should be "you're" and then says, "I'm just saying, whoever killed her also murdered the English language." My friend felt that this is the kind of humor I would enjoy. And she was correct. The show is a lot of fun (interesting cases, snappy dialogue, etc), the relationship between Beckett and Castle is adorable and Nathan Fillion is always amazing.
The character of Richard Castle is a novelist using his time at the precinct to research his book about fictional detective Nikki Heat. And this is meant to be that book, ghostwritten under the name Richard Castle. I very much enjoyed it and I would actually be interested to give it to someone who hasn't seen the show to see if they enjoy it as much because so much of it felt like an episode of the show with characters that I could already picture in my head.
So, in summary: Good book. Good show. Fun, smart characters either way.
RATING: Good book, I'll add it to my collection.
3. Stardust - Neil Gaiman
Movie adaptations of books. Tricky things. Ninety-five percent of the time when asked "book or movie?" I will probably pick "book." Especially if I've read the book first. However, I'm not a total purist. For instance: there are some people who loathe and detest the Harry Potter movies for how much they've changed or haven't stayed true to the books. My thoughts? Meh, whatever. I DO like the books better than the movies just because there is so much there and the writing is so captivating and characters such as the Weasley twins get more time for personality and humor. But I also LOVE the movies. For what they are. I try to disassociate the two in my head. Besides, there's no way that anyone could make a movie that stays completely true to the books. That series of movies would be fifty hours long. And while yes, I might watch it, NO ONE'S going to make that movie.
So, I went into this book with an open mind. I had already seen the movie with Claire Danes and Michelle Pfeiffer and adored it and had heard good things about the book. But honestly? I wasn't too impressed. Maybe, maybe if I had read the book first. But in my mind's eye I can see the characters from the movie - Tristan Thorne as he transforms from awkward suitor to dashing hero, Robert DeNiro's drag queen ship captain, the final climactic battle complete with vodoo and explosions and the magical abilities of a star - and the book lacked all of that. The humor wasn't there, the character development wasn't there, the relationship between Yvaine and Tristan just kind of happens and you don't get to SEE them fall in love, and my biggest issue - in the end there's no real villain. I'm okay with bad guys who aren't so cut and dry evil (HELLO, Benjamin Linus from LOST was totally the bad guy but he also had sympathetic qualities that made me want to hug him) but in this case, all the "bad guys" just kind of walk off screen. There's no battle or climax at the end with the witch, Tristan doesn't get to dump Victoria on her ass - there's no payoff to anything.
I did like that we got a little bit more into some of the origin stories and I do have to admit that even though Victoria didn't get a comupance, her arc is satisfying. It's just that in the end the book kind of ends and that's it. The magic that I loved from the movie wasn't there. So. I might try reading another Neil Gaiman book to see if I'm less prejudiced when I don't have any expectations. But other than that...
RATING: Meh.
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