Saturday 15 October 2011

Catch Up


Post from the 27 October 2011

I've got a Feeling...


1 week to go! Thank you to everyone that has come in help us raise some more money in the last stretch. And thank you to those who have donated twice! You’re generosity is overwhelming!

I can talk about “We Need to Talk About Kevin” now. It was an unsettling book. Not just because of the teenage murderous rampage, but all the characters where all just a little off. It was a good read, but not one I need to relive again and therefore I think I will skip seeing Tilda Swinton in the movie. But as she is unsettling in general, I think she is a perfect fit for the part of Eva.

Maybe the most unsettling thing was I could understand where at least Eva and Kevin where coming from. Eva wanted to connect with her son and be a good mother but never could. Whether that caused him to become a sociopath or whether he just was one doesn’t really matter to me. The fact that she was longing to be a good mother and have her child manipulate her life to show that she wasn’t was distressing. The fact that this child destroyed a relationship was understandable as well. Although from Kevin’s point of view, all he wanted was a reaction and in some ways to feel something. He seemed to be so emotionally numb that I can understand trying to do something so horrible in order to feel something.

A world without feeling seems like a horrible place to be in. Thank goodness we all have at least books to help us feel something, even if it is unsettling.



Post from the 15 October 2011

Close to the Finish Line

So, I really want to talk about "We Need to Talk About Kevin" but I can't. Book Club embargo. Which is why I haven't posted in so long as I had to read something else to post about.

I chose Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne, because I have meant to read something of his for years and haven't gotten around to it. Maybe I had my expectations set too high for Jules Verne. I have him categorised in my mind as steampunk/adventure/sci-fi and I wish this book had lived up to that expectation.

I spent the whole 180 odd pages waiting for the twist or the adventure, and am still left wanting. Although it sounds like I have picked the wrong Verne book to start with, and will try again once I'm over this disappointment.

I will say though I have sourced a brilliant quote now because of this book. 'When science has uttered her voice, let babblers hold their peace'.

Now this being all said and done, I honestly probably only have time to read one more book for October. I think I shall throw it open to the masses to decide what that should be. Let me know if you have an idea.