Arms around my life

[shadowkat]

1. I think I need a really good book to read, to escape into and away from the world, not to think deep meaningful thoughts or crack-wise/snark at the world (I apparently am quit good at doing that on my own, I don't need help). Bit depressed. Work has sucked the soul out of me and I just want to crawl into a hole somewhere. It's complicated and not worth boring you with.


Would do a romance novel, but sort of burned out on those. Might try Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, the young adult novel about two dueling magicians in a contest. It's sort of Harry Potter meets the Hunger Games by way of the Prestige and Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked this Way Comes. Or at least that's the description. Another possibility is Elmore Leonard's new novel Raylan - Leonard deftly skirts the line between broad satire and devlish social commentary in his modern Western pulp novels. So it may be too deep for me. Or too violent. There's The Marriage Plot (or anti-romance novel which is set up to satirize romance novels and chick-lit) - but much like Leonard, it may be too male...and male pain stories are getting on my nerves at the moment. (In the Marriage Plot - it's about a pretty girl and the poor put-upon nerdy guys who she can't decide between. I'm sure it's good and if I were in a different mood, I might eat it up. But right now it feels painfully pretentious and chauvinistic. I'm sorry, I thought about fifty pages in, women aren't like this except in tv shows written by men.) Tried Master and Margritta which is too literary for me at the moment. Brain can't quite focus on it, without drifting elsewhere. Just not in the mood. And it also feels painfully pretentious and preachy. Again, a mood thing. Don't take it personally.

2) Finished watching the premiere of Luck - which has an amazing cast, as well as a great production team. But much like the books I discussed above, may be too male centric for my mood. I did find it compelling. Particularly Jason Gedrick's down on his luck and somewhat desperate gambler. The four down on their luck guys who bet on a horse and suddenly win. Also I love horses. They are truly majestic and beautiful creatures. But Luck demonstrates how incredibly cruel humans are to animals...for their own, well, desires. In the opener, a race horse breaks a leg and is put to sleep. Dustin Hoffman and Denis Farinza continue to impress. Michael Mann can direct a scene like no-one's business. He uses no gimmicks and it is truly seamless. His direction pulls you in. But the story itself and the writing isn't doing it for me, my attention wandered and I had troubles following it. The pacing is predictably slow - the only HBO series that aren't slowly paced are True Blood and Game of Thrones, so nothing new there. As a good friend once told me - if you're not into David Milch...well, you're not into David Milch. And this could very well be true. Milch is a macho writer, he to a degree is a bit like Cormac McCarthy and Ernest Hemingway in that he romanticizes the macho...his men are tough speakers, and tough characters. Women barely factor into the story and if so, only as supporting players. It's a mad, mad, chauvinistic world...after all. At least that's my impression, I could be wrong of course. I admittedly have not watched either The Shield or Deadwood. And this is based purely on reviews of both by others, including my mother - who didn't take to Deadwood - the anti-hero was more than even she could take.

Off to watch a movie I think, maybe bake some gluten-free cookies. Try a mindfulness exercise. Feel a little less...bummed out.

3) I feel as if all week long I'm lying. Lies by omission. Restraining myself. Suppressing something. Playing a role. Do you ever feel like an actor in your own life? Saying the words...with a bright smile, a laugh, but not quite feeling it even though you do appear to? Poker face fixed, smile intact? Quip at the ready? Not sure I want to know the answer to that. Don't want advice. Just want ...well there's a lovely song by Janis Ian that fits what I'm feeling right now perfectly.

Here it is:

Comments

[ponygirl2000.livejournal.com]

If you do find a book that's Hunger Games-y do let me know! I feel like something with a fast-paced plot (that won't piss me off). I thought I was in the mood for non-fiction after finishing the latest Patrick Rothfuss fantasy but I'm finding everything else a bit slow.

[kerkevik.livejournal.com]

Hi,

I love Janis Ian; there where a whole host of appearances on arts programmes; Radio 2; Radio Scotland & Radio Foyle (or Ulster). She's a great Human Being, as well as one of the finest living songwriters.

Ray.

[empresspatti.livejournal.com]

Have you ever read The Boyfriend School by Sarah Bird?

It's wonderful, laugh out loud funny and really kind and touching in parts.

[candleanfeather.livejournal.com]

Maybe I could rec you two French female writers, Colette and Georges Sand who lived for the first one at the end of the 19th century- beginning of the 20th c. and for the second one in the middle of the19h century. I'm not sure you'd enjoy their novels (personnally I love Colette but Georges Sand bores me) or that you could find them easily but their lifes are worth the discovery.Have a look in Wikipedia.