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July 01
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Lizzie
gave  to:
The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists (Paperback)
by
Neil Gaiman (Goodreads author)
bookshelves:
comics,
david-s
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my rating:
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read in July, 2009
Lizzie said:
"Cool. I liked the angels a lot. Though, I like it best when they manage to keep character design consistent throughout a comics series; it annoyed me that Lucifer is scarier looking than he is the first time we saw him -- or is it less scary lookin...more
Cool. I liked the angels a lot. Though, I like it best when they manage to keep character design consistent throughout a comics series; it annoyed me that Lucifer is scarier looking than he is the first time we saw him -- or is it less scary looking, I don't know -- anyway I liked the Goldilocks version from book 1 best. Makes an impression.
The story with the banquet and the offers and the just decisionmaking was a pretty typical type story. It was fine.
The standalone issue with the ghost boys is really good.
(And the old-timey artist bios are sort of funny.)(less)
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Lizzie
is currently reading:
Brideshead Revisited (MTI)
by
Evelyn Waugh
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
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Lizzie
marked as to-read:
The Sandman Vol. 5: A Game of You (Paperback)
by
Neil Gaiman (Goodreads author)
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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June 28
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Lizzie
gave to:
Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles (Canongate Myths)
by
Jeanette Winterson
bookshelves:
myth
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Lizzie said:
"I got this at the same time as The Penelopiad, and started to read it then, but put it down halfway. (I almost never do that!)
This time around I liked it perfectly ok. It is kind of rambly, but often pretty. Eventually I took away one ...more
I got this at the same time as The Penelopiad, and started to read it then, but put it down halfway. (I almost never do that!)
This time around I liked it perfectly ok. It is kind of rambly, but often pretty. Eventually I took away one whole star for all the times I had to read about Heracles's erections. No thank you. Then, I got to the chapter "Leaning on the Limits of Myself," a tiny 4-page section in the middle, and I put the star back. That chapter is extraordinary. I didn't expect the framing story to be a contemporary narration, and a vastly emotional one. I read it several times. The rest of the book does not compare.
(Then I took the star back again because, you know, even more of Heracles's erections. But still.)
I didn't really understand her idea of Atlas leaving at the end, but of course, I liked the dog.(less)
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June 24
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Lizzie
gave  to:
Bash Latterday Plays (Hardcover)
by
Neil LaBute
bookshelves:
myth,
theater
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Lizzie said:
"I bought this at the first BC/EFA Broadway Flea Market I went to, in 2000. The play was new then, so I bought it with a bunch of other books for a dollar, but never read it. Or any LaBute, for that matter. Probably because I was pretty sure I woul...more
I bought this at the first BC/EFA Broadway Flea Market I went to, in 2000. The play was new then, so I bought it with a bunch of other books for a dollar, but never read it. Or any LaBute, for that matter. Probably because I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it. Perhaps because I was worried I would?
Well, no worries, nothing exciting here. The first scene was ok, though kind of elementary. I could deal with the Iphigenia metaphor. The second scene totally lost me. It was like being stuck making excruciating small talk with totally horrible rich people for half an hour. And are they talking together or separately? It goes back and forth. Does she really need to be there? Any chance they'll kick themselves in the face? Oh sorry, SPOILERS. The third is all oblique rambling. And that is about it.
I don't get why all the "characters" are LDS, for no apparent reason or connection. To say what exactly? Only one of these stories is about institutionally-condoned bigotry, so as a whole it's not really about a church's warped value system. And the other two are more about their Greek allegories. So who knows. LaBute clearly thinks he is writing the edgiest junk in the world, and he wants to make you feel like you are super cool for participating. I don't find those kinds of authorial favors very interesting.(less)
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June 23
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Lizzie
gave to:
The Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country (Paperback)
by
Neil Gaiman (Goodreads author)
bookshelves:
comics,
david-s,
myth
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Lizzie said:
"3.5 stars for this, what is essentially a short story collection. Extra half star for the general darkitude, which mostly worked well, and general solidness. The "Midsummer Night's Dream" story is apparently one of the famous well-regarde...more
3.5 stars for this, what is essentially a short story collection. Extra half star for the general darkitude, which mostly worked well, and general solidness. The "Midsummer Night's Dream" story is apparently one of the famous well-regarded Sandman stories, but it actually was my least favorite. First prize goes to the kitty cats. Maybe that's lame, but they were beautiful, and, KITTY CATS.
This edition includes a script, for "Calliope," so I read the script too because I like scripts. I've always particularly been intrigued by comic scripts, somewhat because it's the least familiar form, but I think I put my finger on it while reading this one. Occasionally, my favorite part of a play is its stage directions. And in a way, a comic script is 75% "stage" directions. And Gaiman's are helpful, suggestive stage directions. I like reading these, I think, because the directions are a method for sharing the story on a different plane than what is evoked by the final work. I will always like that.(less)
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June 19
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Lizzie
gave  to:
Refuge (Paperback)
by
Jessica Goldberg
bookshelves:
theater
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Lizzie said:
"In 2003 my best playwriting teacher recommended I read this, to help inspire the play I was working on, in a similar vein. She was a really smart teacher, so I can see why she did. (But I was too caught up to read it, at the time.)
I rea...more
In 2003 my best playwriting teacher recommended I read this, to help inspire the play I was working on, in a similar vein. She was a really smart teacher, so I can see why she did. (But I was too caught up to read it, at the time.)
I really liked it: the family is really good, the situation behind the family is really good, it feels like it could go longer because there's even more threads to pull.
That was almost the same as the only thing that held it back from being great for me: consistently, some of the writing is on the nose. I like that they're saying what they're saying, but good playwriting is written around those things, not all over them. Give it time.(less)
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June 17
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Lizzie
gave to:
Keely and Du (Paperback)
by
Jane Martin
bookshelves:
theater
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Lizzie said:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
I can't remember how I heard of the play, but I understand why I was drawn to...more
I remember buying this at Shakespeare & Co. something like 8 years ago, and there was a kitty cat lying under the ladder downstairs with me in the drama section.
I can't remember how I heard of the play, but I understand why I was drawn to it. I used to think the best were "issue" dramas, "concept" plays, and this is one for sure: a woman is kidnapped by "Operation Retrieval" from a clinic before her abortion procedure, and confined for months to prevent her from going back.
I think I waited so long to read it, though, because some ideas lose everything the minute you put a lot of words to them. How could this idea be sustained for a play? How could it possibly end? But it gained some traction and the longer scenes occasionally blossomed. The scene on Keely's birthday was very kind. In the end, it did manage to surprise me.
The coat hanger was good.(less)
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June 15
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Lizzie
marked as to-read:
Here is New York (Hardcover)
by
E.B. White
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
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June 14
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Lizzie
gave to:
The Westing Game (Mass Market Paperback)
by
Ellen Raskin
bookshelves:
children-s,
library
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my rating:
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read in June, 2009
Lizzie said:
"The edition from my childhood is this one, with scary Turtle on the cover. But we watched "Silence of the Lamb" the other day, and Chris got it out of the library.
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A perfect read for a weekend! It was fun -- going ...more
The edition from my childhood is this one, with scary Turtle on the cover. But we watched "Silence of the Lamb" the other day, and Chris got it out of the library.
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A perfect read for a weekend! It was fun -- going in, I remembered exactly two things about it from reading it as a kid. 1) The exploding wedding present, and 2) Sydelle Pulaski's Polish shorthand. And when I started rereading, I thought, that is a pretty cool pair of things to remember about a book, even if I don't remember the plot twists. As I reread, I found that much of the rest of the detail came out of my memory, too; oh right, the braid and the shin-kicks.
It's interesting that this is a kids' book. I mean, there's really only one kid in it. A couple older teenagers, but they're peripheral players. Mostly the people who matter most in this book is one kid, and a bunch of weird adults. I think that's kind of great -- kids read this book and are like, grown-ups are weird. The introduction to this edition describes the writing as "for the adult in children," which is a good thing to think about.
It makes me a little sad I did not remember that this takes place in Milwaukee.(less)
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