Book talk

[mhalachai]

This is the first of two meta pieces of the afternoon. This is on books. The next is on TV and will be up later tonight.

I'm listening to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone as an audiobook, which is helpful because when I'm re-reading I usually skip a lot because I know how it goes. Anyway, my point is that I had forgotten what an awesome story this is. JKR does a great job in world-building, not only for a book, but for a children's book. It reminds me why I fell in love with this world.

And let's talk about another set of books.

I'm not sure if any of you out there read the "Cat Who..." series of mysteries (by Lillian Jackson Braun), but there's like 20+ books in the series. The backstory is that the protagonist, Jim Qwilleran, is a reformed alcoholic journalist who inherited a packet and as part of the will had to move to the middle of nowhere, Michigan. While there he gets involved in detecting. Anyway, there have been like a billion of the books and they're nothing to tax your brain. Crime. Cats. Etc.

The problem with the books IMO is that they're in a giant rut. The central character was trapped (probably as the author is trapped in writing such a successful series) with wealth, a girlfriend, and a huge house in a tiny town.

But.

In the latest book (published in early 2007 but I think I was hiding under a rock or something), the main character was a) dumped by his girlfriend of several years (she moved to Paris to escape him) and b) had his goddamned house burn down (don't worry, the cats are fine).

To recap:

In a rut.
THEN girlfriend dumps his sorry rich ass.
AND his house burns down.

That's one way to open up new possibilities. I applaud the author’s balls in messing with her character's life so.

Also, a line I wrote today:

A security guard, the proper kind with a gun keeping a steely eye on the doorway...

Oh punctuation, how we miss you when you're gone.

Comments

[hsifyppah.livejournal.com]

God, finally! I always liked the first two books, before he got LOL rich, the best.

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

yeah, I liked the books written back in the 60s best myself (while he was still in Chicago and not rich). The character felt more at home in that role.

Like I said, a rut since he showed up in Pickax, imo.

[hsifyppah.livejournal.com]

Plus he needs to shave. "Luxuriant moustache" my ass.

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Sixties porn-stache, all the way.

Now I need to go shower.

[aishuu.livejournal.com]

I gave up on the Cat Who books about eight years ago, since that very same rut totally made me lose interest. So they're worth picking up again?

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I'd go that far -- the most recent book was still more of the same, but at the halfway point when Qwill gets the Dear John letter from Polly, I actually took notice for a few moments. The proof will be in the next book, which apparently was supposed to come out in April 2008 but was delayed without reason. Who knows.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Same here. Given that the cats must be about 40 by now it lacks some contact with reality...

[houses7177.livejournal.com]

Ah punctuation. I love it so.

[zephyrrs.livejournal.com]

Potter...I'm rereading the entire series to the kids at bedtime. About a chapter every other night when I'm not travelling. We are now on book six and....there are loads of details that I just don't remember. Plus, in rerearding it really does feel as if there are so many hints about what is to come. Reading them out loud to someone else is causing me to read them more carefully then I would have to myself.

Haven't read the other series...