Kindle, Merlin, and Otomen

[dangermousie]

Kindlekindlekindlekindle!

In case you haven't figured it out, I am madly in love with my Kindle. It's small, it weighs less than my wallet and it can hold so many books - I can take it everywhere to read - trips, in bed, in the bath, everywhere.

So, here is what I have on my Kindle so far:


1. Complete works of Charles Dickens

2. Complete (I think, it's 50+) works of Wilkie Collins

3. Berta Platas' Cinderella Lopez (a chicklit book take on Cinderella. For some reason, even though I am not Latina, I love Latina chick lit. Maybe because I am ethnic too, even if not Hispanic, and can see more in common with those heroines than the neurotic, infantile heroines of 'mainstream' chicklit).

4. Mark Twain, The Gilded Age, vols 1-5

5. Mark Twain, The American Claimant (I read this book years ago and have been looking for it ever since)

6. Owen Wister, Seven Westerns (I am not a big Western fan - not my thing, but oddly, The Virginian, one of the classics of the genre, is one of my all-time favorite novels. So much so that I've disliked every adaptation of it I've seen, even if Gary Cooper from an early one would have made a perfect Virginian if it had a different script and cinemascope :P Part of the problem for adapting this is that TV doesn't really have a plot - it's a character study of time and place, and a particular person at the center of it - there are "episodes" (hunt for cattle rustlers, the Virginian's courtship of Molly *swoonshipswoon*) but they aren't necessarily connected and they certainly don't flow from one to another - that real-life structure of the book is one of the reasons I love it, but it makes it hard to adapt. The book is all about language and mood and characters and that's hard to put on screen. Take it out, and it becomes rather dull. Plus, they usually make Molly a PRISS. Wtf? Molly is one of my huge fictional favorites - she is a genteel New Englander, 'upper class' too, who is basically stuck in the wilderness with quasi-savages (by that I mean cowboys) who are different from anything she knows. She is not being a tease for not falling into the Virginian's arms - it's a huge thing as they are so fundamentally different as to be almost (but not quite) incompatible). OK, that was a huge digression.

7. HW Brands, Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times

8. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought (American history 1815-1844)

9. Simon R Green, Swords of Haven

10. Simon R. Green, Daemons are Forever

11. Simon R. Green, The Man with the Golden Torc

12. Simon R. Green, The Spy who Haunted Me

13. Helen Hunt Jackson, Ramona (I loved that 19th century "issue" novel).

In other news, I get very tempted to check out Merlin - so many on my flist love it. But whenever I get close, I start thinking about big WTFs (why is Merlin Arthur's age and his servant) and small ones (Gwen as a Black servant as opposed to a queen. Also, while it's not impossible for there to be a Black person in the isles of that time, it's very unlikely, to say the least). Oh well - Arthurian mythos is an odd thing to be a purist about, but I remember griping my way through the entirety of Clive Owen's King Arthur movie and don't want a repetition of that.

I bet they eat potatoes, too! /bitter

And finally, Otomen continues to be ridiculously sweet - unlike MeiChan and jHanaKimi, it has heart and also a Universe I can conceivably identify as our own.

Comments

[koalathebear.livejournal.com]

Hee! I love my kindle, too. It's been awesome and such a convenient and speedy way for me to get books. I don't have access to whispernet and but I'm still able to buy books off amazon and there are more free books around out there than you can poke a stick at so I haven't regretted my decision to get it! The only down-side is that I can't 'share' books I buy off amazon with other friends with Kindles but hey :D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Glad to see a fellow Kindle enthusiast!

[acakeofcheese.livejournal.com]

I understand your hesitation about Merlin but it isn't meant to be historically accurate - at all. It is complete fantasy set in a fantasy land so it isn't situated in a historical place or time. This actually put me off for a long time but it is such a fun, silly show that I couldn't resist. I would definitely urge you to give it a try.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think I could get past it - from prior bitter experience :(

[fivil.livejournal.com]

Merlin is definitely not for the history nut/purist.. I know nothing about Arthurian legend (not something Finnish history curriculum at schools really focuses on, y'know - was maybe a mention at most) so I was able to get with the very modern interpretation and even enjoy the modern language and what not.

It's a cheesy show that most people seem to dig for the slashy friendship between Merlin and Arthur but I suppose eventually they'll go for Arthur/Guinevere romance which might be lovely and shippy and to your interests.

I personally wasn't huge on it so stopped watching around ep 5. But as somebody said, as a pure fantasy/very free interpretation it might work for you.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Arthur/Gwen as a ship? *boggleboggleboggle* (read too many Gwen/Lancelot adultery things - it's the established part of the mythos :P)

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure you'd like Merlin if you don't like slash. *g*

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

LOL. touche.

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

No no, I meant it! The girls are awesome but they don't really shine until later eps -- it's alllll about the boys and their epic homoeroticism. I'm talking, "surrendering my life for yours" and "poisoning myself for you" and "jumping in a lake fully clothed to save you from evil fairy witches." The producers do it on purpose.

I know you're not big on slash, so I thought I'd let you know. XD

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heh - yeah, I am staying away.

[boycottbananas.livejournal.com]

Otomen! I'm so glad that you're enjoying it. :3

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's so lovely.

[boycottbananas.livejournal.com]

It is~ The viikii videos, sadly, don't work for me. :

[syrenstar.livejournal.com]

I found Merlin hard to get into in the beginning. I'm too familiar with the legend to like all the changes. In the end the plot was engaging enough for me to treat as a alternative universe and squee when a name crops up that I recognise. Using my Dr Who/Robin Hood don't sweat the details mind set gets me through.

Plus it has Anthony Head.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I never did check out RH because of stuff I heard...

[syrenstar.livejournal.com]

Yeah judging from the stuff you've flailed over Robin Hood isn't for you.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Merlin seems to have better writing than RH. Or maybe the actors mesh better with it. Whatever it is, it doesn't have the clunky awkwardness than RH had sometimes.

[animeshon.livejournal.com]

If you do decide to watch Arthur, the important thing to remember is that it doesn't take itself seriously! There is so much that they just throw in there for the hell of it, but its still enjoyable if you kinda accept that it stands outside the Arthurian mythos.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Ehhh - I don't think I could do that, I'd go insane :)

[animeshon.livejournal.com]

Then it's probably best to just avoid it. Cause it completely messes with everything. Gwen seems more interested in Merlin than Arthur. And Mordred isn't Arthur and Morgana's son.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Gwen/Merlin? *brain breaks*

[animeshon.livejournal.com]

It's actually kinda cute, but still...

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

just fyi she actually gets over that crush fairly early on. and they do change things around from the legends but i use the term "change" loosely because there is no set cannon in arthurian legend, there just so many variations. le morte d'arhtur is not the only version that exists, and i tend not to take it as gospel myself since it was 1: written by a frenchman and 2: wasnt written until the middle to late 1400's well after the actual setting of the stories. really his version of arthur was inspired probably by the folklore that came from the british isles themselves which differs in alot of ways. for instance alot of the welsh tales focused more on a knight called gwaine instead of arthur himself (though he did appear)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I know of a variety of versions but still, something so basically different - I guess I could have gotten over it if I got masterpiece vibes of it but a random fun romp thing isn't enough to push out the inner purist.

[acakeofcheese.livejournal.com]

I LOVE your icon! So true!

[animeshon.livejournal.com]

It was what made me start watching the show :)

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

I'm glad your considering merlin and I cant speak for that clive owen camelot film but merlin has nothing to do with ancient or medieval english history. Like never in the series is the word "england" or "britain" said. also the inside of the castle is more 15th or 16th century style as opposed to medieval era style. it also switches up the arthurian legend alot, although really there are SO many variations on the legends themselves, and also for the fact that the legends arent exactly realistic themselves, they are myths. merlin is playing with the various legends regarding the king arthur stories. so basically I wouldnt let those things affect your enjoyment of the show. and as I say this as both a european history major and a massive mythology/folklore geek. it's really just a fun light show in the vein of doctor who only it's more swords and sorcery instead of aliens and gadgets.

If you do try out merlin I'd say dont let the first few eps put you off, they arent bad but they are mostly just mediocre, however it really hits it's stride near the middle and only gets better from there. Especially in the case of giving the female characters something to do. Also gwen isnt the only black person in the show, there's a few black knights who pop up now and then, her dad's a blacksmith and there's supposed to black sorcerer of some kind in S2. just in case you were concerned the only black person in the show is a servant. (though the main character is a servant too, to be fair)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but I am not big on fun light shows to start with (love my emo!) and with all the other stuff, I think I'll sit it out :)

Still, I like looking at pretty pics from it others post.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

It isn't until several episodes in that Arthur gets tolerable too. It says something for Bradley's charm that you should absolutely hate him for most of the season, yet you still sort of love him.

[akosikae.livejournal.com]

I've been using Mobipocket for my Palm for a year now so I understand your love.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yes - fellow obsessee!

[muffinkath7.livejournal.com]

I despise "historical" inaccuracies (being as we're not entirely sure of Arthur of course. It almost killed my interest in the Tudors. But I have enjoyed Merlin. You just have to put what's wrong out of your mind and enjoy it for what it is. It is clear that Gwen WILL end up with Arthur at some point, and it's kind of fun having Merlin and Arthur as friends rather than mentor and mentee. It's all in good fun, and since it's all legend anyway, it's fun to see what the creators come up with.

I wouldn't let the inaccuracies stop you from watching it. Now the cheesy special effects...that might be something else. ;)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I'll think about it :)

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Merlin is not for purists unless they're willing to go AU about their subject. That being said, the young cast is fantastic and they make what could have been a dreadful show very enjoyable. Probably not for you though.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh well - maybe I'll check it out once I get used to the concept :)