tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19926025.post8350780217783664109..comments2024-02-14T17:33:59.172-04:00Comments on The Written World: Week in Review (35) and Short Story Sunday - Week 4Kailanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11136262232046813471noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19926025.post-69522305881226407462011-10-05T12:21:37.218-03:002011-10-05T12:21:37.218-03:00**Cat: Yeah, it is a bit daunting, but I it can be...**Cat: Yeah, it is a bit daunting, but I it can be a lot of fun, too!<br /><br />Thanks!<br /><br />**Marg: I even listened to the CD and I still didn't love it. <br /><br />**Carl: I know. Several of my plans are your plans, too! I wish October was longer, too. It is my favourite month of the year, but I have just been too busy lately to do a lot of what I want to do.<br /><br />I was forced to play the piano as a child. I hated it and quit as soon as I was allowed. I just don't have a natural ability and my sister does. I always felt stupid for sticking with it when it all came so naturally to her. Now I wish I had learned how to play guitar. Lorrie's family is all really musical and I am not at all. I always feel like the odd one out!<br /><br />I never get picked to go up on stage and I really appreciate that. I hate that sort of attention! <br /><br />Yes, circuses. If you pop back over here, what was the book on circuses that you recommended? I wrote it down but now can't find it.<br /><br />I still haven't had time to watch the Tori Amos videos you sent me. There were a couple songs I really enjoyed on Strange Little Girls, but I wasn't amazed by it.<br /><br />I am just not sure I 'got' Harlequin Vampires. I am not sure what it was that made me hesitant. I am looking forward to talking about the next batch of stories because the entire reason for this buddy read, the story about Susan I was curious about, was included. I have lots to say and I am going to try to post ahead of time so it isn't a rushed together post.<br /><br />**Chelsea: Or, horrors, once a year they only give you 28 or 29 days in a month to get anything accomplished... And yet February always seems so long... (Very sick of snow at that point.)<br /><br />Yes, 'Strange Little Girls' was a strange thing to include, I thought. It something that is easier to appreciate when you are a fan of Tori Amos and I have never really listened to her before. I have heard lots of good things about her, though.<br /><br />I think the 'Finch' story won me over with the circus. I am a big fan of circus stories lately. If the story was set somewhere else, I might not have enjoyed it at as much. And, yes, I actually know what you mean about the sadness in 'Harlequin'. I never really thought about it until now, though.<br /><br />Thanks! I look forward to your update next week, too.<br /><br />**bookswithoutpictures: I am glad that Finch reminded you of someone. That's a very nice connection!<br /><br />I think HV is a story I need to think about a bit more. I mind think differently about it with a bit of time and a reread.<br /><br />**Carl: Same here. I just didn't really think of anyone myself that she reminded me of.<br /><br />**Geraniumcat: ah, yes, American Gods. One of these days I am going to finish that book! I really have no excuse to have not. Every time I pick it up I enjoy it, but then I sort of fizzle out. Your thinking makes me think differently about everything. I will have to keep your thoughts in mind should I choose to reread this collection in the future.Kailanahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11136262232046813471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19926025.post-10516566184369680432011-10-04T19:05:27.113-03:002011-10-04T19:05:27.113-03:00If I had to choose (and I always hope I won't!...If I had to choose (and I always hope I won't!) I think that I would say Harlequin Valentine is the best story we've read, though I love Miss Finch equally - wonderful that she reminded you of someone! HV can be read in the same way that American Gods can, or a retelling of a fairytale, following but subverting a tradition - so you know that the characters are archetypal, as well as real. Their realness could make it sad, but the story element transcends it. That's my thinking, anyway.Jodie Robsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02442935205880334932noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19926025.post-25280611343483720322011-10-03T19:48:24.414-03:002011-10-03T19:48:24.414-03:00That is cool that Miss Finch reminded you of a rea...That is cool that Miss Finch reminded you of a real person. Your description of that librarian is exactly what I picture Miss Finch to be like.Carl V. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948764216438379394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19926025.post-85320342580187948532011-10-03T17:30:11.850-03:002011-10-03T17:30:11.850-03:00I absolutely loved Finch. I think part of it migh...I absolutely loved Finch. I think part of it might be that Miss Finch reminds me a lot of my high school librarian, who was awesome once you got to know her, but she tended to intimidate people. It was one of my favorite stories thus far.<br /><br />I agree that HV was strange. I'm still not entirely sure what I think of it...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19926025.post-47540119314364579972011-10-03T13:36:06.100-03:002011-10-03T13:36:06.100-03:00"Your plans for October look as dauntingly op..."Your plans for October look as dauntingly optimistic as mine do" - I'll echo both you and Carl on that one! Then again, I seem to say this about most months of the year, so maybe I should just get used to the fact that there are only ever going to be thirty (or thirty-one) days in a month! <br /><br />I'm sorry to see that "Good Boys" didn't stick out more for you! I thought it worked as a wonderful companion story to "Flints", and is a great example of Gaiman playing with the magical without having to go full-force with it. I also think that maybe "Strange Little Girls" belongs more in a book dedicated to the relationship between Gaiman and Amos, as it's not a great stand-alone story (although I LOVE this album and these stories remind me what I love about the album).<br /><br />I'm glad to see that everyone else got more out of "Miss Finch" than I did. I mean, I LOVED the circus aspect of it. Everything else? I think I missed something, because it just fell flat for me. I also had a much sadder reading of "Harlequin" than everyone else did, although I adored the story. There was just a sadness there that wouldn't stop nagging at me! <br /><br />Great thoughts, and awesome luck getting everything done in October that you need to - can't wait to hear your update for next week!<br />- ChelseaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19926025.post-90762228353983599852011-10-03T00:54:17.199-03:002011-10-03T00:54:17.199-03:00Your plans for October look as dauntingly optimist...Your plans for October look as dauntingly optimistic as mine do. I need October to last about twice as long as it will so that I can work in the stories and films that I want to experience this month. LOL!<br /><br />I know just what you mean about lacking discipline when it comes to musical instruments. I played the guitar for a brief period of time in my early teens and now of course I wish I had practiced and stuck with it as I think I would really enjoy being able to sit and play, but even as an adult I lack the motivation to pick it back up. As a kid I often longed to have something "take over" me so that I could suddenly play some instrument amazingly. That probably says something about me, and if I think about it too much I might not like what it says, ha!<br /><br />Love what you had to say about Miss Finch. It wasn't until just now that I realized that another reason I can identify with Miss Finch and feel some kindness towards her is that I always seem to get picked to go up on stage at events and I hate doing so. Once I get up there I am a good sport and have fun, but I never, ever actually want to do it. <br /><br />I'm a big fan of circuses in stories of all kinds. There is something both magical and creepy about them that I delight in.<br /><br />I'd be surprised if Strange Little Girls sparked a love of Tori Amos in you, and yet I do know people who really like it. Little Earthquakes is the album that even today makes me want to shout her brilliance from the rooftops. She is incredible in concert. <br /><br />Sorry you didn't like Harlequin Valentine much. I'm not sure why the story works so well for me, but it does. If you can track down any images of Snellings' Dark Caravan online I think you would enjoy them. Probably wouldn't change your feelings about the story, but in and of itself this larger work of Lisa's is amazing! It contains all kinds of moving parts and is wonderfully creative.Carl V. Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15948764216438379394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19926025.post-2867540950854227372011-10-02T23:21:46.366-03:002011-10-02T23:21:46.366-03:00I normally go back to the intro and reread it befo...I normally go back to the intro and reread it before I write down my thoughts but I completely forgot to do so with Strange Little Girls. Makes much more sense in context!Marghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13508430635744720721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19926025.post-43612637778167384892011-10-02T22:30:33.091-03:002011-10-02T22:30:33.091-03:00I would be totally overwhelmed by your reading sch...I would be totally overwhelmed by your reading schedule! Good luck and I hope you can make October awesome.<br /><br />Happy Birthday for Monday!Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09391899740930810224noreply@blogger.com