Posts (page 2)

i missed lust, caution in the
theatres. argh. just didn't have time. =(

i consider the meaning of night to be the best book i've read this year. and i read jane austen's pride and prejudice for the first time this year as well as other "classics" such as in cold blood and brave new world.

and so the book begins :

"after killing the red-haired man, i took myself off to quinn's for an oyster supper.

it had been surprisingly -- almost laughably -- easy."

cox does many things that new novelists are warned against. (i mean, look at those ly words! =) he starts with a murder. a tad cliche. he jumps around as far as timeline of the tale. there are themes which aren't new to any reader, the anti-hero discovers he was given away as a baby. his childhood, his life, his history was never what it seemed (many fantasy books). there is an incredible estate involved (austen books, gone with the wind) which should be his to inherit, except for the rash decision his birth mother made to cast him aside.

the tale is a confession, narrated in the first person by edward glyver. he discovers after his mother died, that she was part of the conspiracy to deny the rich and powerful baron of evanwood estate (his birth father) an heir. his birth mother did this horrific act (giving away of her first son), in retalition against her husband. she would deny her husband the heir he wanted, even tho the act sends her to her own grave, she is so struck by guilt and sorrow for her lost son.

edward discovers along the way, as he searches for clues, that other people were roped in to conspire in this act of betrayal. when edward discovers his past enemy, phoebus daunt, has insinuated himself into his father's home, and is to be adopted and made heir to evanwood, he tries everything in his power to gather information against daunt and thwart it.

i think cox is a master at storytelling. he sets the scene of victoria england so well, and the tone of edward perfectly. you understand his anger and his pain, you feel his frustration at the cards he was dealt in life. it is a mystery that unravels for the reader, and we are forced to see edward make mistakes, misinterpret information, even as we know what the inevitable outcome will be.

i spent five hours straight last night reading, so that i could finish the book. i found that my heart was actually pounding close to the climax of the story. in the end, edward does kill his old nemesis, phoebus daunt : "i killed him, but in doing so, i killed the best part of myself". as a reader, i wanted this murder, it was a scene the author had to give, and he created an obsessive monster in edward, yet still, i got it. i understood and was sympathetic to edward. dare i say, i liked him. i think that is an amzing feat in itself, by cox.

of course, after reading this tale, i think my storytelling skills are about as good as lump of a fresh horse manure--hell, stale dried horse manure. but i'm inspired. it's great to see an author who can tell a compelling story in a different era, create mystery and suspence using familiar elements, but still give a fresh and gripping tale. cox said that this novel was thirty years in the making, and he only felt compelled to write it finally when he was in danger of losing his eyesight. it was now or never. on the backcover : the meaning of night was named one of the 10 best books of the year by the economist, the washington post, booklist, and booksense.

i highly recommend it.

thanks to badmojo for my nifty
new banner design!

how cheesy was that superman scene
done very badly between annoying flying
boy and claire?

okay, i'm getting totally bitchy about
the show. haha!

i do still enjoy it, somewhat.
i think the flying boy is annoying, esp
after he acted like an ass to her in class.
i love how they just stood up and
left--which high school are they at?
i also love how he just took off in the
middle of the quad or some such--i think
your secrets out claire.

i also love how peter became
honorary member of the irish mob
or some such.

thank god for sylar. he needs
to kill a few more of the heroes. 

the twins bleeding black through the
eyes story is already getting old for me.
that's sad.

maybe i have the attention span of
a mouse--with half a functioning brain--
and bad eyes.

What do you have, what do you need and what do you want?
Submitted by Miss Scotch.

have : everything.

need : more patience. better sleep.

want : to sell my novel.
to become a better writer and artist.

i wound up taking my friend, v, to my
favorite intimate little italian place for
lunch yesterday.
they have big portions, like so
many american restaurants

in fact, whenever i order a kiddie
portion for the bubs, it's usually
big enough for me to eat AND share
with both kids. i guess they are catering
to a child of 12. but even that is scary.

i tried the gnocchi pomodoro with homemade
added sausage (the best!) and it was SO
good. but i ate just a little more than half.
and will eat the rest for lunch today.
can you believe all that's left?
and i don't eat small portions, either.

one of my biggest problems since i love
food so much is i'll keep eating for the
pleasure of the taste, even if i'm full.
meep!

the take away box is bigger than average
as well, if you can believe that
i love yummy leftovers so i'm digging
in soon.

chow! =)

i didn't realize we had to post specifically
to our group.

who's all on this thing?

make a post and let us know.

i'm eating a 4 day old breakfast
burrito, and i hope i don't regret
it later on. =O

it's huge and i only ate half of
it last thursday--and i can't stand
the thought of wasting it.
it has beans and tomato and avocado,
cheese and eggs. it's the eggs i'm most
worried about.

we'll see what happens. =X

this was part of our dinner last night.
i got a cali hand roll (scooped out
half of the fake crab, gets too
much for me) and the veggie roll.
love the veggie roll. half of it is
salad, there is cucumber, avocado
and the orange japanese pickles.

i also shared a tempura soup udon
with sweet pea.

i am loving the summer fruits!
we went shopping after dinner tonight
and at this moment, these are the
fruits we have in the house :

fuji apples
ranier cherries
bananas
cantalaupe
pureheart mini watermelon
blackberries
strawberries
blueberries
valencia oranges
navel oranges

we're making good poo
in this household. 8)