I used to be pretty obsessive about spoilers. Something weird's happened this year though, where I've started caring less about the stories of whatever I'm watching or reading, and started caring more about how they're told. I like writing that flows, clever language, comics that overflow with colour, movies that look like comics, comics that read like movies, lighting that's as powerful as dialogue to create a mood. For all I used to despise the word, I find that I care about cinematography. How very meta it's all become. From demanding a strong narrative ("an honest-to-god novel with a story" is how I sold some book or other I wanted us to read at book club back in the day.), I've moved to wanting every line, every scene, every minute, to make me think, or make me feel, or to delight me in some way, and I'm not willing to trawl through hours of quite-good just for the big reveal at the end, unless the path to it is extraordinarily pleasant and rewarding in some other way. So I read summaries for the rest of the last season of Lost, of Studio 60, of Battlestar Galactica, and you know what? I don't think I missed anything. Say 10 episodes by 45 minutes by three programmes.. that's almost an entire day!
Not that I did anything in particular with the day I got back, I guess. But that's not the point, is it? Well, not completely the point, anyway.
I was thinking today about myself at 17 and myself at now and what we'd think of each other if we met. Me at 17 would find me at now really very irritating and shallow, I think, and me at now would find that most entertaining and would probably be quite condescending in return. Growing up is a lot of fun, isn't it? (Me at now would also teach me at 17 about moisturiser. Because, seriously.)
Anyway. I don't know if I'll read the book with the wizard is (quite ridiculously) where this is going. The last one didn't really do it for me. I'd absolutely watch the film if it was out now, because I think the movies have been better than the books recently (Me at 17 would be making such a
face at that), but I've had the book on my laptop since Tuesday or something, and I haven't gotten past the first five pages. I suppose I'd rather not be spoilered if it's any good. Is it any good?
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Potter -- well I just read the first 100 pages or so and it starts well.
After the let-down that was the Sopranos finale, I'm expecting to be underwhelmed.
Also, computers are overrated. If you are going to read the book (which I think you should), read it on paper. It's about the right length for a plane flight. Though if you do buy it here, expect Americanized spellings and about 1/4 of the Briticisms to have been translated, and translated inconsistently at that.
Shocked I am.
If I was being as growed up as I sometimes pretend to be I'd have something more witty to say than "Hah!" But I amn't, so I don't.
It's a lovely feeling to be opening up my meeja books again for lernin' reasons.
I don't even watch TV so much anymore; I just read the plot recaps on Television Without Pity, since the writing in the recaps is often so much better than in the shows themselves.
One woman's opinion, is all.
But, it's great you like your movies well made, that's how I've liked them for some time now. Time to make your way through the IMDB 250; www.imdb.com/top_250_films
I'm not completely certain that what I'm looking for in the books is necessarily good writing as such, though. If you've read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, I can say I'm looking for quality and it'll probably work pretty well. Otherwise, I'm looking for the set of half-undefinable somethings that come together to make a book (or series, or whatever) good.
That's one reason that I started getting properly back into tabletop gaming after I dropped out of college - gaming, particularly running games, allows me to participate in something that has a lot more enjoyment than not. If I get bored with a book or series, the best I can do is put it down, but in a game, I can change things until I'm interested again.