The Film Noir Experience

Ah, the next Pretty Little Liars book. We left off with them at Alison’s funeral, Spencer jonesing for her sister’s boyfriend, Hanna ruling the school, Aria chasing her teacher and Emily coming to terms with who she is. Oh, and all of them freaking out about the fact that someone seems to know all their secrets (and knowing that the one person who *actually* knew all their secrets is dead.) So, this book is more of the same. The girls being terrible people. The girls doing awful things to people they care about and people that allegedly care about them doing awful things to them.

In this book, we’re taken back to the real beginning, the “Jenna thing” that is alluded to throughout the first book. Toby, who has been discussed, returns to town and freaks the girls out. Toby’s secrets become apparent. Some of the girls secrets are outed, too.

In short, this is more terrible people doing hateful things to each other. It was wonderful, like watching a soap opera without having to be home in the middle of the day or remembering to set your TiVo.

So, these books have recently been made into a television show. I know this because I’ve seen the pilot and because it also says so all over the books. I decided to not hold it against them. I was looking for something…well, trashy. Trashy and thoughtless to read while I’m on vacation. Oh, boy did I find what I’m looking for. For the most part, these are stories about thoughtless, terrible people doing hateful things to each other. One of the girls is jonesing for her sister’s boyfriend. One of them has hooked up with her AP English teacher. One of them has remade herself into the high school’s new It girl and little swimmer Emily is just coming to terms with who she is (and is actually pretty sympathetic). They are all involved in a web of secrets and lies and have been since their best friend Alison disappeared 2 years before. The novel progresses, us discovering the secrets that the girls want to keep hidden as they begin to get text messages signed by “A”. They wonder if their friend is back until her body is found. And, now someone is out there, and knows all their secrets and seems determined to make them all pay.

So, this was well written and it was fun. I have some theories about who this mysterious “A” is, and I think the girls are way off. (And, at 15, if they’d just own up they’d get a slap on the wrist and be done with their community service in time for college.) Some of their secrets are the sorts of things that, yes, at 15 you would be freaked out about in a small town but aren’t tragic. And, some of their secrets, well, let’s just say I look forward to some of them getting their comeuppance.

Despite the fact the most of my friends told me to read things that weren’t linguistic while I was on vacation, I picked this book up. I figured that, since Blount is a journalist and not a linguist, it wouldn’t be like real language reading. It would be fun. And, the subtitles promised, “the energies, gists and spirits of letters, words and combinations thereof; their roots, bones, innards, piths, pips and secret parts, tinctures, tonics and essences; with examples of the their usage foul and savory.”

That sounds fun, right? (Well, it sounds fun if you’re a nerd like me.)

And, the book isn’t bad. I just don’t feel like it is what I was promised. There are not a lot of “roots, bones, piths and secret parts”. There are some but not for every word. And, some of Blount’s “pith and innards” seems to be features of sounds or phonology that he points out to support his thesis that language isn’t arbitrary. But, a lot of language is arbitrary. It is actually a design feature. It has the flexibility that it has largely because of its arbitrary parts. But, whatever. I’m trying to not be a linguist, just someone who is interested in words here.

There were a lot of anecdotes in the book. Some of which were funny, some of which were just, well, anecdotal. And, often not having to do with the words but rather one instance of one word’s usage.

My friend Melissa recommended it to me. And, I looked for her review of it just now to see if she liked it. Because I have to say that my opinion of the book is coming down on the side of ‘boo’. Anecdotes about your life in words can be fun. But, believe me when I say (after reading 1 semester and 1 summer session’s worth of papers on etymologies) where words come from is sometimes surprising, often fun, every now and then shocking and always interesting. I expected so much from this book based on its title, and it just didn’t deliver.

I occasionally go to Autocompleteme for a laugh. Today, while on a study break, I headed over there for a chuckle.

Laughing is good for the soul, you know.

And, I did last heartily at a first line from a Theodore Roethke poem out of context. I don’t know why I found it so funny, maybe because it is finals week and I do know the inexorable sadness of pencils. And, coffee pots. And, long hours and clicking keys. It was surprising, this laugh that it pulled from me. It was wonderful.

The poem itself is kind of a downer, commenting on the isolation and loneliness of the modern world. It does have a good first line, though.

So, admittedly, I’m only half way through this children’s classic in English. But, I don’t think I’m going to finish it for the following three reasons:

1. I read this in Italian back when I was actively pursuing Italian-reading skills. I don’t remember finding the wooden boy to be such an irritant that time around. Although, admittedly, it is probably hard to be irritated by the characters when one is staring at a sentence and asking oneself, “Is that the subjunctive? I think it is the subjunctive. Why is that in the subjunctive??”

2. This edition has a lovely forward by Umberto Eco in which he argues that Pinocchio is loved by all and translated into everything because as a story it is hard to pin-down. I disagree. Maybe this is just where I am in my life, but I feel like Collodi, with his annoying little wooden boy, has beaten me over the head with his tale of morality. In case you were curious or didn’t already know this, people, its right action and not intention that matters. As the old saying goes, The Road to Hell (and/or jackass-ville) is paved with good intentions.

3. I hate Pinocchio. He’s Carrie Bradshaw, Meredith Grey and Bella Swann all rolled up into one. I didn’t think the bar could slip that low.

Normally, I recommend both reading Classics and finishing books (especially short books) but I just couldn’t do it. Time is at a premium (especially now that its the last few weeks of the semester). Maybe I will return to this translation of this classic after the semester is over, but I doubt Pinocchio is going to get anymore endearing.

Up for April previously had been Aimée & Jaguar: A Love Story, Berlin 1943 by Erica Fischer but it has changed to Toby Young’s How to Lose Friends and Alienate People. For some reason, I think this is going to be my cup of tea.

Who is the Last Olympian. Percy Jackson knows. And, he knows because the Last Olympian tells him that he has to keep her in mind when he’s making a decision that could save or destroy all of civilization.

In the fifth and final book of the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series. In this book, the war that has been building for the previous four books is on. The monster Typhon has been released from his prison under Mt St Helen’s and is headed straight for New York City and Mt Olympus. As is Luke’s demon cruise ship. Oh, and the heroes of Camp Half Blood discover that there is a spy in their midst. Still. Again. This book is non-stop action and heartbreak. From the first battle on the demon cruise ship until the final battle on top of Olympus, the characters that we’ve followed for all these books show great courage and bravery and…well, you just have to read it. This was a great book and an excellent ending to the series. I am so pleased that Riordan didn’t pull a Stephenie Meyer and Merchant of Venice us in the end. I am pleased with what happens and look forward to reading more by Riordan.

Oh, Percy Jackson. What will become of you and Camp Half-Blood?

At the end of the third book The Titan’s Curse they save the Great Huntress Artemis, the fight the titans on the top of Mount Tamalpais and win the day. They best Atlas. Thalia makes a shocking (well, not that shocking) decision and they still haven’t made any headway in talking Luke out of the terrible decisions he’s made that have put him on the path that he is on.

This book opens with Percy going to high school orientation at a school where his Mom’s boyfriend teaches English. There he once again meets his mortal friend Rachel Elizabeth Dare and they are attacked by a couple of empousai. Typical for Percy, not typical for Rachel, so before letting Percy run off to the safety of camp Half-Blood, she makes him promise to call her someday and explain. But, that’s only the beginning. Luke’s army may have been bested at the end of the last book, but it wasn’t beaten and they are still looking for a way into camp to take out all the heroes who won’t join their cause. Annabeth has an idea that the great labyrinth, you know, the one that was in Crete. Daedalus, who built the labyrinth was one of the greatest inventors of all time, and of course, his creation was invented to grow on its own. It has. And, it has an entrance into camp. Percy, Annabeth, Tyson and Grover (who is still looking for the Great God Pan) are given the task of finding Daedalus before Luke can and convincing him to give them Ariadne’s string instead of giving it to Luke. Once Luke and his army have the string, they’ll be able to use the labyrinth to navigate wherever they want. They would just pop out of the ground and attack and then be gone again. Bad news, friends.

There are adventures. There are touching moments. As always, there are battles. They find and work with Nico di Angelo again. They discover more secrets and make a little progress. They do well, but the great War still looms. Of the books so far, this book touched me the most. There were tears, I will admit. But, I can’t wait to read The Last Olympian

Speaking of Percy Jackson, I have recently finished the third book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. In this novel, we follow Percy and Co. on a quest to save a goddess and keep the titan Kronos from coming into full power. This is the first adventure with Thalia, a daughter of Zeus. We meet the virgin Goddess Artemis and her hunters led by her lieutenant, the mysterious Zoe Nightshade.

The heroes have to go across the country in order to rescue one of their own in addition to the Goddess. Throughout the adventure, Percy, Grover and Thalia discover an inconsistency about the newest hunter Bianco and her brother’s Nico past that may turn out to be dangerous for the whole world.

In the end, as one would expect, there is an excellent battle between a Titan and the heroes and I was shocked, shocked! (well…not that shocked) by some of the decisions which the characters make. They are still fighting to save Luke from his own decisions and we know a little bit more about the prophesy and who it is about. This was a good little read. As exciting as the first two. It made me want to pick up the next one.

Back in the day (it feels like I’m saying that a lot lately), I went through this phase in which when I read a book, as a little review of it I would put together a mix CD. It was a fun little exercise that brought together two of my favorite activities, reading and listening to music.

Right now, I’m reading Constructions for a class (this is not likely to receive mix tape treatment), The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Crimson Petal and the White. These last two may very well get their own mix tapes. Percy Jackson is a demigod, the son of Poseidon, and quite the little badass. His adventures are fast reads (reading teen fiction will do that for you) and are terribly entertaining. This one is book four. And, the Crimson Petal and the White is a look at Victorian England from multiple perspectives. Its seven hundred…thousand (hyperbole) pages long but so far its been terribly interesting. It starts off following a prostitute and then moves its way up through society. The mix tape potential is astounding. I could possibly do a song for each person that is followed!

Now, why am I bringing this up now? Well, when the NaBloPoMo people sent me an email to say that February’s topic for anyone up to the challenge of blogging everyday of the shortest month of the year was “love”, I thought, “Hey, wouldn’t it be interesting to come up with a mix tape representation of the many different kinds of love at there in the world?” (Even more interesting when one considers how odd and awfully awkward I am when it comes to any kind of human interaction.)

You may have noticed that I’ve been ending entries with songs. I am collecting these things into a list so that I can put them together as a mix. So, you’ve been warned.

The first book off of my booklist this year was for my book group. We read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book follows the main character Melinda through her first year of high school. It becomes painfully obvious in the first chapter that something awful has recently happened to her. You find out that at a party during the summer, she called the cops and is now hated by everyone at school. Throughout the book, she grows and develops and eventually, confronts the incident.

Anderson does an excellent job of portraying the tension created by the feelings Melinda is having (or trying not to have) and the image she is trying to project to the world. This book was heartbreaking but it was beautiful. And, the climax… well, it was thrilling and a little frightening. This was a wonderful book and I wholeheartedly recommend it.