yoga, books, movies, tv & too many crime procedurals – not necesarily in that order
I’ve gone on to pretty much everyone who will listen about how much I enjoyed the Steig Larsson trilogy. I love that they’re mystery and suspense but set right now and crafted in such a way as to call into question all our biases about mental illness, women’s rights and the corporate stranglehold on media. Love.
I’m out of town doing training and – as a result -a bit closer to Aspen than usual. While on break yesterday I was flipping through the local rag and noticed that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was playing at the Isis. Now this film has been on my ‘want to see’ list since before we went in Seattle. On the west coast I looked longingly at showtimes. Did the same thing in the midwest. Time crunches and family time take priority over films, alas, especially when I’m the only one who wants to see the film. That’s not to say Spouse wouldn’t have joined me but it’s not the same as making a movie outing for something we BOTH really want to see.
After I got off work this afternoon I headed up (down, actually. Or wait- both. Uphill, headed south.) to Aspen and got my tix. Despite TWO idiots having their phone go off during the film (and DUDE. I didn’t even know that shit STILL HAPPENED anymore.) it was as gripping as the book. It’s an excellent adaptation and I’m going on the record to say I fucking LOVE the chick who played Salander.
So. If you’re down for a great film, I give it two thumbs up. If you hate subtitles however, it’s not for you. If you aren’t sure you’ll like the books, check this out. If you like this film, you’ll love the books.
Probably the only thing I talk about as much as yoga and TV is gadgets. One of my friends is at a conference and re-tweeted two things that interested me:
1. The iPad is designed to entertain your finger, an e-reader to entertain your eye.
2. The Kindle isn’t a superior reading experience, it’s a superior delivery experience.
These things are tied in my mind because the iPad was billed as a Kindle-killer. Admittedly I am a non-Apple geek (They make nice stuff but it’s wicked expensive. I’m looking for the alternative that fits my budget.) but I wasn’t all that interested in the iPad. I HAVE a Kindle (which I love and will get to in a minute) and a Droid Eris by HTC. From what I’ve seen, my Eris does all the stuff that an iPhone does – at least the stuff that I WANT it to, as I’ve got no interest in watching TV/movies on my phone – and cost a fraction of the price. Not only that, but Verizon never drops my calls. Never. And I live in the Timbuck-3 mountains.
So if I’ve got a touchscreen phone and all the apps I can stand and an mp3 player that holds a ton of music and movies, as well as an e-reader that checks my email and surfs the web – the iPad is obsolete FOR ME. I get that there are people who want everything in the same gadget but I really don’t. I like having a separate mp3 player because it means I’m less likely to break it – my phone has to withstand a lot of abuse. My phone is built for portability and wicked web access, so I don’t need a laptop hardly ever – unless I really want one.
All of this brings me to the Kindle. Yes, it’s a superior delivery system. I can get a book (including a whole mess of FREE books) from pretty much anywhere, anytime. I’d argue about it not being a superior reading experience though, and for a couple of reasons. It’s much a lighter than a regular book. It’s far more portable and allows me to do everything a regular text would do (bookmarks, notes) as well as things it can’t (email, web). Not only that but I can carry up to 1,500 books around all the time. I’ve got 207 on there currently and I love that if my attention wanders, I can just hit the Home button and switch to something else. On a plane or roadtrip, this portability is invaluable. It’s great for waiting rooms, lunch breaks and coffee stops.
As to the experience – I know that Spouse loves the fact that he can increase the text size whenever he wants. It makes reading in low light easier. The auto text-reader is also nice, if a bit robotic.
I don’t miss turning pages. It always surprises me that I really ENJOY reading on the Kindle. I’m an English major. I’ve been reading voraciously since the age of 3. I LOVE books. Yet I find that I don’t miss the feel of paper in my hands or even the smell of the pages – things I would have sworn at one point were integral to my reading experience. In fact, when I HAVE to read a paper text now (for classes) I find I’m annoyed with how cumbersome and unwieldly they are. I don’t like having to lug them around and having to flip back and forth rather than just click a bookmark is irritating. The lack of backlight makes my Kindle page just as easy to read as a printed page, but better for the environment.
So yeah – when people talk to me about how they love books and can’t POSSIBLY like an e-reader, I call bullshit. Read a book on a Kindle and if you’re not converted, I’ll believe you. I just don’t think it’ll happen.
First, no blogging because I’ve been working like a dog – if a dog would climb up and down ladders all day carrying incredibly heavy cases of things like laundry detergent. Workouts have been rendered obsolete.
Second: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest came out this week.
It is no secret that I am a huge book nerd. That said, I cannot remember a time when I’ve been so anxious for a new release. This series of novels has been brilliant, intense, engaging and thought-provoking. You can’t say THAT about your average mystery book – which is what makes them brilliant. They are, on their face, a great series of mysteries. They are, but they’re SO MUCH MORE – incredible social commentary on prejudice, social justice and journalism. They are a bit like what The Wire was aspiring to in its last season of journalistic commentary, just as hard-hitting and tackling a wildly unpopular topic in abuse/mistreatment of women.
There are very few books I’ve recommended in the last several years as much as I’ve recommended these. I’m glad to hear there may be another manuscript floating around (despite the truly terrible treatment of Larsson’s partner) and I’ll be keeping an ear to the ‘net to see if it’ll be emerging.
With so many things to blog about, where do I start?
How about this: I’m watching I Hate Valentine’s Day and I think maybe the only thing Nia Vardalos has changed since My Big Fat Greek Wedding is her eyebrows. Alas, it’s not a change for the good. I find these eyebrows or the makeup or something about it to be weirdly distracting.
Books! I finally finished Finch. While I enjoyed the story I loathed the fragments. I will not reread it and I won’t be looking for more of VanderMeer’s work. Also finished The Year of the Flood, Atwood’s latest and I really enjoyed it. In fact, it made me want to reread Oryx and Crake (again) and then YotF right behind it. I didn’t though – I read Silver Borne, the latest Mercy novel from Patricia Briggs. Pretty happy with the whole novel but I think I put more details on my 2010 reading list page.
I’m also in the middle of The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Not sure if I just hadn’t heard anything about it but I was expecting something really different. Thus far, engaging protag and interesting story.
Our flights were uneventful. Against what must be the largest number of odds, on each flight I was seated next to someone who was going to be visiting our new hometown in the near future. I really loathe seating process of Southwest. Frankly I don’t see anything wrong with being able to check and and get my seat assignment early, INCLUDING a spot next to my spouse, rather than depending on the kindness of strangers allowing me to sit next to him. Add unnecessary seat-partner anxiety to all the least fun parts of air travel (cattle call loading and unloading) with a dose of ‘whoever gets there first, wins’ and yeah, it’s not my most enjoyable travel. I was also not enamored of the Southwest/Kevin Smith debacle, where they were dicks and he was unjustly thrown off a flight. Those things mean I’m not sure we’ll be flying Southwest again.
Seattle was lovely as are my long-distance friends. Probably I’ll upload some pictures soon and then get on with the whole yoga post.
HA! SPN reference!
Our flight was uneventful – good, because thanks to the incredibly slow airport security we made it to the gate with only 3 minutes to spare. That meant not sitting together but I ended up sandwiched between a very nice man and his son.
Per usual on the plane, my kindle was an icebreaker. After some gadget talk, I discovered the young guy was a local (Denver area) U student who’s going to finish his final degree credits at Spouse’s campus. What are the odds?!
On the plane I FINALLY finished Finch. Good book, wicked annoying writing style. Starting The Year of the Flood. Also not purchasing books for a while as I have at least 20 unread on the kindle.
We arrived to warmth and sun- not a bad start, even if it doesn’t hold. Spent most of the afternoon at Pike’s Market and are looking forward to a return for breakfast. AMAZING beer and sushi at the Tap House Grill last night after getting our first dose of PNW rain (mostly a drizzle, done by the time we finished dinner.
The Sheraton is a nice hotel we wouldn’t stay at on our own dime, especially because despite ridiculous price tag they STILL charge $10 A DAY for WiFi access in the room. WTF. Thankfully phone browser remembers passwords. What did I EVER do without my Eris!? Best travel tool, evar.
Most entertaining moment of trip so far- having to explain to Spouse “hipster”. It’s like being in a foreign country…
