Isabel Roman's Blog, page 42
August 31, 2011
Wednesday Review: The Help
To be fair, I didn't read the book. The library has 8 regular copies, 2 large print copies, and 1 audio. All of them have multiple, multiple holds and I'm currently 6 of 9 on the waiting list. So this is my review of the movie with as few spoilers as possible.Exceptional casting all round. Definitely Oscar-worthy.
Well done with both sides of the story-meaning I didn't think all whites were cast as racist bitches (though there were plenty! And I hope they all got their just rewards afterwards) and all African-Americans as sympathetic characters. There was (what I hope was) a truthful mix of good and bad, just as there is in real life.
The main characters were definitely sympathetic and I loved their stories very much. So much so that I wanted more! Almost like a based on a true story film where they tell you what happened afterwards. Truly, I wanted to know if Aibileen reached her dream. Or how Minny fared after she found a family she could love and who loved and respected her in return. And Skeeter, I hope she realized the full extent of her dream.
I admit it, I cried. Was the movie sappy? I didn't think so, emotional yes, but sappy usually has me rolling my eyes and I was riveted throughout.
I'd definitely recommend this to anyone interested in the dark parts of the American Civil Rights past with the feel good light of hope at the end.
August 29, 2011
More from the Grammar Divas
Have you subscribed to their newsletter yet? You really should. I'm only posting my favorite of the 5 they lisited on the
5 More Kudzu Words That Creep Into Your Writing
Kudzu Word #4: Strange The word strange is not instantly wrong. But all too often, people abuse the word in order to hedge or avoid coming to the point. You already know that's not good!Kudzu: Looking into Josh's baby blues gave her a strange, but pleasant, feeling. (Oh, come on. This is silly purple prose. Unless his eyes are emanating radiation in concentric circles at her, she's not feeling strange.)Much Better: Looking into Josh's baby blues warmed her inside and out. Her soldier was home. Emily tossed him the smile she saved only for him. She laughed when Josh lifted her off her feet in the embrace she'd had to imagine for a year.Kudzu: What's that strange smell? (Really? You're a writer and can't come closer to describing the smell than that?)Better: Do you smell that metallic, earthy odor?
Kudzu Word #4: Strange The word strange is not instantly wrong. But all too often, people abuse the word in order to hedge or avoid coming to the point. You already know that's not good!Kudzu: Looking into Josh's baby blues gave her a strange, but pleasant, feeling. (Oh, come on. This is silly purple prose. Unless his eyes are emanating radiation in concentric circles at her, she's not feeling strange.)Much Better: Looking into Josh's baby blues warmed her inside and out. Her soldier was home. Emily tossed him the smile she saved only for him. She laughed when Josh lifted her off her feet in the embrace she'd had to imagine for a year.Kudzu: What's that strange smell? (Really? You're a writer and can't come closer to describing the smell than that?)Better: Do you smell that metallic, earthy odor?
August 26, 2011
Purple Prose: Love it or Hate it?
At Dictionary.com Purple Prose is defined as:purple prose
noun
writing that calls attention to itself because of its obvious use of certain effects, as exaggerated sentiment or pathos, especially in an attempt to enlist or manipulate the reader's sympathies.
My reaction to that dictionary entry is: Aww shut up. Particularly in romance writing are purple prose effective but the writer has to know how to use it sparingly but effectively. I once wrote this line:She loved him with every beat of her heart. (As purple as purple gets)If I started a story that way I'd be shot at by frequent readers or they'd hurl stones. Either way it would not be pleasant. But if I stuck that line in after the black moment and when it looked like all was lost for the hero and heroine I'd get a pass because at that point the reader would know that the heroine wasn't exaggerating but that she indeed felt that way. Yes, the writer is playing with the reader's emotions and sympathies but that is the whole point. Writers want to take you on a journey with the characters and sometimes the correct use of purple prose only adds to the experience. Song writers do it all the time but most people miss it in the catchy music. For instance:"When you kissed me heaven sighed." A line from Edith Pilaf's La Vie en Rose."The scars of your love remind you of us." Adele's Rolling in the DeepI could go on…So what do you all think of the use of purple prose?
My reaction to that dictionary entry is: Aww shut up. Particularly in romance writing are purple prose effective but the writer has to know how to use it sparingly but effectively. I once wrote this line:She loved him with every beat of her heart. (As purple as purple gets)If I started a story that way I'd be shot at by frequent readers or they'd hurl stones. Either way it would not be pleasant. But if I stuck that line in after the black moment and when it looked like all was lost for the hero and heroine I'd get a pass because at that point the reader would know that the heroine wasn't exaggerating but that she indeed felt that way. Yes, the writer is playing with the reader's emotions and sympathies but that is the whole point. Writers want to take you on a journey with the characters and sometimes the correct use of purple prose only adds to the experience. Song writers do it all the time but most people miss it in the catchy music. For instance:"When you kissed me heaven sighed." A line from Edith Pilaf's La Vie en Rose."The scars of your love remind you of us." Adele's Rolling in the DeepI could go on…So what do you all think of the use of purple prose?
August 25, 2011
Reviews and thoughts
Last week I read a NYT article on review factories: In a Race to Out-Rave, 5-Star Web Reviews Go for $5. (It might not open, sometimes the NYT makes you subscribe to their site.)
But the theory is still there and is sound: "For $5, I will submit two great reviews for your business," offered one entrepreneur on the help-for-hire site Fiverr, one of a multitude of similar pitches. On another forum, Digital Point, a poster wrote, "I will pay for positive feedback on TripAdvisor." A Craigslist post proposed this: "If you have an active Yelp account and would like to make very easy money please respond."
The big question is--how much attention do you pay to reviews? Personally, if a book has 5 bad reviews and no good ones, I'll probably skip it. But if you've looked on Amazon and one of two things
1. All or most of the 1 and 2 star reviews are either as a shipment, price, or Amazon problem (The Fifth Witness), or even after reading the blurb the reader thought the book was about something else entirely (Please Look After Mom).
2. The polarizing effect--100 5 star and 100 1 star with very little in the middle (Heaven is for Real before the explosion of 5 star reviews), you have to make your own choice.
Which is what it all boils down to for me. Making my own choice based on good & bad reviews and what they actually say. One liners mean nothing to me, and I ignore them.
What about you?
But the theory is still there and is sound: "For $5, I will submit two great reviews for your business," offered one entrepreneur on the help-for-hire site Fiverr, one of a multitude of similar pitches. On another forum, Digital Point, a poster wrote, "I will pay for positive feedback on TripAdvisor." A Craigslist post proposed this: "If you have an active Yelp account and would like to make very easy money please respond."
The big question is--how much attention do you pay to reviews? Personally, if a book has 5 bad reviews and no good ones, I'll probably skip it. But if you've looked on Amazon and one of two things
1. All or most of the 1 and 2 star reviews are either as a shipment, price, or Amazon problem (The Fifth Witness), or even after reading the blurb the reader thought the book was about something else entirely (Please Look After Mom).
2. The polarizing effect--100 5 star and 100 1 star with very little in the middle (Heaven is for Real before the explosion of 5 star reviews), you have to make your own choice.
Which is what it all boils down to for me. Making my own choice based on good & bad reviews and what they actually say. One liners mean nothing to me, and I ignore them.
What about you?
August 24, 2011
Wednesday Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Shockingly, I enjoyed this flick. I was a teenager when I saw the original Planet of the Apes movies with my uncle who loved them and a bit of his geeky, sci-fi loving ways rubbed off on me. When Tim Burton did that remake like ten years ago I was excited to see it and horrified when I left the theatre. It was so bad I wanted to find an experimental mind erasing machine and wipe it from all memory! Not to mention the time waste!But this new movie is not a remake or awful at all. It is actually a prequel to the Heston version. And it has a lot of references to the 1968 version that fans of the original will enjoy. However, the plot implies something different happened to cause the rise of the intelligent ape population on Earth than the original implied but it was still plausible.More of today's fears, our fears, than the fears of the 1960s. Therefore, I'd give this move 4 out of 5 stars. The action was a lot of fun and the acting was definitely not Saturday sci-fi B movie but much better!
August 23, 2011
Tuesday Comings and Goings
Today I'm over at Unusual Historicals talking about F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald's sdaughter, Frances Scott during the month of Children Of...
There's also a survey to complete about the future of the site, including what you'd like to see more of. It takes about 4 minutes to complete, so please do so!
http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-type-of-future-content-would-you.html
There's also a survey to complete about the future of the site, including what you'd like to see more of. It takes about 4 minutes to complete, so please do so!
http://unusualhistoricals.blogspot.com/2011/08/what-type-of-future-content-would-you.html
August 22, 2011
Monday Musings
Mondays are the bane of the week.
August 18, 2011
British Humor
Because apparently it's a bit different.
These are classified ads, which were actually placed in U.K. newspapers:
FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8 years old.
Hateful little bastard.
Bites!
FREE PUPPIES.
1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbour's dog.
FREE PUPPIES.
Mother is a Kennel Club registered German Shepherd.
Father is a Super Dog, able to leap tall fences in a single bound.
COWS, CALVES: NEVER BRED.
Also 1 gay bull for sale.
JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
Must sell washer and dryer �100.
WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE .
Worn once by mistake.
Call Stephanie.
**** And the WINNER is... ****
FOR SALE BY OWNER.
Complete set of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 45 volumes.
Excellent condition, �200 or best offer. No longer needed, got married, wife knows everything.
Statement of the Century
Thought from the Greatest Living Scottish Thinker--Billy Connolly.
"If women are so bloody perfect at multitasking, how come they can't have a headache and sex at the same time?"
These are classified ads, which were actually placed in U.K. newspapers:
FREE YORKSHIRE TERRIER.
8 years old.
Hateful little bastard.
Bites!
FREE PUPPIES.
1/2 Cocker Spaniel, 1/2 sneaky neighbour's dog.
FREE PUPPIES.
Mother is a Kennel Club registered German Shepherd.
Father is a Super Dog, able to leap tall fences in a single bound.
COWS, CALVES: NEVER BRED.
Also 1 gay bull for sale.
JOINING NUDIST COLONY!
Must sell washer and dryer �100.
WEDDING DRESS FOR SALE .
Worn once by mistake.
Call Stephanie.
**** And the WINNER is... ****
FOR SALE BY OWNER.
Complete set of Encyclopaedia Britannica, 45 volumes.
Excellent condition, �200 or best offer. No longer needed, got married, wife knows everything.
Statement of the Century
Thought from the Greatest Living Scottish Thinker--Billy Connolly.
"If women are so bloody perfect at multitasking, how come they can't have a headache and sex at the same time?"
August 17, 2011
Wednesday Review: Nothing Daunted
Nothing Daunted: The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West. I'm not big on biographies, I don't really care about the intimate details of other people's lives. But this is more of a history I guess. About real people. From the perspective of Dorothy's descendants.
Which probably makes it a biography.
In the summer of 1916, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, close friends from childhood and graduates of Smith College, left home in Auburn, New York, for the wilds of northwestern Colorado. Bored by their society luncheons, charity work, and the effete young men who courted them, they learned that two teaching jobs were available in a remote mountaintop schoolhouse and applied—shocking their families and friends. "No young lady in our town," Dorothy later commented, "had ever been hired by anybody."
I wanted to read this book because of the romantic heroine nature of the story. Just goes to show we writers don't make this stuff up! There really were women like this, and only through stories such as this one can we know not everyone followed the rules.
Granted I admit to skimming some of it, but over all it was engaging enough to finish and recommend for historical (and western) lovers who enjoy a well-written narrative non-fiction read.
Which probably makes it a biography.
In the summer of 1916, Dorothy Woodruff and Rosamond Underwood, close friends from childhood and graduates of Smith College, left home in Auburn, New York, for the wilds of northwestern Colorado. Bored by their society luncheons, charity work, and the effete young men who courted them, they learned that two teaching jobs were available in a remote mountaintop schoolhouse and applied—shocking their families and friends. "No young lady in our town," Dorothy later commented, "had ever been hired by anybody."
I wanted to read this book because of the romantic heroine nature of the story. Just goes to show we writers don't make this stuff up! There really were women like this, and only through stories such as this one can we know not everyone followed the rules.
Granted I admit to skimming some of it, but over all it was engaging enough to finish and recommend for historical (and western) lovers who enjoy a well-written narrative non-fiction read.
August 16, 2011
Humor
Or at least words to make you smile. This is from a forward from my mom. I'm only posting the good ones, there were quite a few. I'll start with my 2 favorites...the rest are in no particular order.
TOMORROWOne of the greatest labor saving devices of today. YAWNAn honest opinion openly expressed.
COMMITTEEA body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
INFLATION Cutting money in half without damaging the paper. MOSQUITO An insect that makes you like flies better.
RAISIN A grape with a sunburn. SECRET Something you tell to one person at a time.
TOMORROWOne of the greatest labor saving devices of today. YAWNAn honest opinion openly expressed.
COMMITTEEA body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
INFLATION Cutting money in half without damaging the paper. MOSQUITO An insect that makes you like flies better.
RAISIN A grape with a sunburn. SECRET Something you tell to one person at a time.
