C_Club #10: The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

Short story is definitely not my preferred format when reading, except when it comes to Ray Bradbury. The Martian Chronicles is one of my all-time favourite books, ever, and I was happy to discover that The Illustrated Man gives out some very similar vibes.

 

I didn't even know I was going to read this book this month until I discovered it for a ridiculous price from a bookshop, brought home, figured "I'll take a little peek" ... and then it was over. Only then did I realise that it is a good RIP VIII read and also, what do you say, I had even added it to my Classics Club list and completely forgotten. So that's pretty much a double or triple win.

 

The whole concept of this story book is quite spooky - the stories are tattooed on the illustrated man's skin and they come to life at night. They are all considerably short, which makes it a good book to read before bed (no need to wait for those endless new chapter pages).

 

Let me just say that I love how Ray Bradbury writes. In addition to such beautiful and at the same time simple prose (at least in this book - it is different when you read Something Wicked This Way Comes), he has such sympathetic attitude towards his characters. I have often imagined him as this gentle father figure, for whom characters are like children - yes, they can be loud, throw tantrums and spill the food, but they are still to be loved and understood.

 

Other than that, I appreciate the kind of subtle fantastic setting. It can oftentimes be just one detail, only one thing that is a bit different than your and my real life, but it has such impact (for example, many of the stories take place on a different planet - usually Mars but in this book also Venus; in one of the stories there is a house that is "alive"; a little bit of time travel). Whatever the setting or time, the stories tackle deeply humane and moral issues and relationships between people, from racism to bullying to parenthood.

 

My favourite stories:

* The Veld (house that is alive);

* The Long Rain (set on Venus; *very* psychologically disturbing);

* Usher II (giving E.A. Poe some love - intelligent piece of fantasy-horror);

* The Last Night of the World (very short - "What would you do if you knew that this was the last night of the world?" - how wonderful is that opening sentence?);  

* The Fox and the Forest (time travel story of people who escape to the past);

 - I could actually go on and on, most stories I liked very much.

 

I don't usually like to recommend stuff to read, but in this case I am making an exception, because Bradbury's works are so accessible and yet intriguing, flirting with the philosophical side of life while being everything but boring and dull - yes, I would recommend his stories and novels wholeheartedly.

24-hour Readathon: Starting Post

Reading 24 hours in a row with no stop sounds insane, and it probably is, and even if I wanted to, I can't attempt it today because life gets in the way, but I try my best to read as much as possible from 3 pm today 'til 3 pm tomorrow.

 

As usual there are some questions for the participants, so that we can get to know each other better and socialise and all that jazz. Here goes:

 

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? I am reading from Helsinki, Finland, Europe.

 

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Seriously, I don't have clear preference... Maybe Harry Potter, because I'm sure it'll be a fairly quick read? I'd also really like to finish Shades of Grey (about 1/3 through), but it's the kind of book that requires a lot of attention to catch all the awesome details so I don't know. I'm sure all these lovely books have their benefits.

 

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Oh dear, I haven't really given thought to snacking at all. I'm not a big snacker in general, but maybe I'll seek for something for tomorrow morning/lunchtime, because snacks kinda go in spirit with the readathon, as I have understood.

 

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! *fiddles with fingers* I'm a bookworm and a nerd in general, I have unexplainable obsession to wombats and alpacas. Me and my fiancé have two cats, who are the coolest little buggers in the world. I work in translating/media. My favourite authors are Ray Bradbury, Haruki Murakami, Robin Hobb, Jasper Fforde.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to? It's my first readathon and I am looking forward to general reading craziness that's gonna take over Twitter and book blogging world. Oh and also I am looking forward to reading some awesome books.

Closing the lid of May

May - what an overall successful and pleasant month. So much happened. Spring finally arrived, my Finnish classes ended for this half-a-year, we were reading lots during Bout of Books 7.0, I made some important health-related decisions that should promise for better future. I am happy with you, May!

 

What I read in May 2013:

 

* M. Atwood "The Blind Assassin" (Classics Club big list)

* D.L. Bogdan "The Forgotten Queen" 

* B. Kingsolver "Flight Behavior" (Women's Prize shortlist)

* R. Bradbury "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (Classics Club big list)

* J. Fforde "The Eyre Affair"

* H. Wecker "The Golem and the Djinni"

* G.G. Marquez "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (Classics Club big list)
 



This is my boyfriend reading one of Martin's books. With
Robert. What lovely emotion on this photo.

Page count: 521 + 315 + 436 + 290 + 373 + 484 + 337 = 2756 pages

I think 7 books is the most I've done during blogging since the beginning of the year, so thanks a lot, Bout of Books!
 

In Classics Club May Meme post I set down the three classics I wanted to read in May. Well, I only read the Atwood book - I didn't really get into Conan Doyle and Dickens at all, so I didn't force them - the better time will come. However, I did read three CC books in May, which I am very happy with. And also enjoyed all of them, so that is a good thing too (I really have to catch up with the reviews, though...)
 

Okay, plans for June (and what a busy month this will be).
 

* Classics Spin #2 Summer Edition - I get to read "Villette" by Charlotte Brontë. I am excited! "Jane Eyre" is such a famous book, but it's also a story a bit overly chewn by the world by now, so I am so so curious to discover the later works of Charlotte. I started the book last night after I finished "One Hundred Years..." (very suitably on the last day of May) and read a few pages; I don't have opinions yet but it's definitely Charlotte's style there.
 

* O from Délaissé is hosting 18th Century English Literature Event for June - even though it will be a super busy month  for me, I wanted to take part because I am scared of the 18th century English lit and I am especially scared of Defoe and "Moll Flanders", which I picked to read. So hoping that reading with the rest of the classics-loving folk will make it easier!
 

* We are going to Prague this month for four days (this is like my dream destination for a city holiday ever). I am slightly obsessed with Prague and I want to read two books around the time of the trip - Magnus Flyte's "City of Dark Magic", which is set in Prague, and re-read Milan Kundera's "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", one of my favourite books from high-school reading programme (oh yes, we got to read some interesting books there :) ).




Robert got tired :)

It will be also the Midsummer's holidays this month, coinciding with my week-long vacation from work. We will likely be heading to boyfriend's parents' summer cottage in the middle of nowhere - which is actually the most perfect place for reading, ever (the forest, the lake, the nightless nights of Finland - this one day of the year when sun doesn't set).

 

Also, Women's Prize winner for this year will be announced on 5th of June, which is already next week - I really want to know which book wins.

C_Club #7 - "Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury

This is a story about two boys, a creepy carnival, wicked characters and power of good, all set in spooky October. Welcome to the wonderfully horrible world of Ray Bradbury.

 

This novel is somewhat difficult for me to write about. It is quite different from other two Bradbury books I have read, one of the best classic dystopias "Fahrenheit 451" and short story collection "The Martian Chronicles". "Something Wicked..." is a lot faster, has a lot more energy and colours; it is an excellent example of a skillful author using "show, not tell" technique.

 

For such a short story, it has very wide cast of most extraordinary characters. Aside from Will and Jim, the two 13-year olds living in their quiet town, Will's father and their schoolteacher there are the members of the carnival - the Illustrated Man G. M. Dark (Bradbury has another short story collection also called "The Illustrated Man"), the Dust Witch, a lightning rod salesman that turns into a dwarf, a Skeleton, etc.

 

Picture from here.

For the tents were lemon like the sun, brass like wheat fields a few weeks ago. Flags and banners bright as blue-birds snapped above lion-colored canvas. From booths painted cotton-candy colors, fine Saturday smells of bacon and eggs, hot dogs and pancakes swam the wind. /p. 61/

 

It makes me wanna go there and have a carousel ride, but then again, it would not be such a good idea, because from the very beginning you realise that there is something really fishy about this particular carnival.

 

I really liked the language, although since things were not "painted red on the wood", as we say in Estonian for something that is overly simplified, at times it was a bit difficult to keep up with all the flow and craziness. But such fun.

 

The closest I would get to describe my reading experience would be an explosion of some colourful jelly-gummy-candies in my head. Or Skittles. I love Skittles. Or maybe liquorice, since it is, after all, a very spooky book.

 

This book also reminded me that I still have Erin Morgenstern's "The Night Circus" somewhere on the shelves, and that I should really read it. Should be somewhat of a similar setting.

It's over - Bout of Books 7.0 Wrap-up

Never would have thought I would enjoy a reading event as much as I enjoyed Bout of Books 7.0 readathon.

 

So to wrap it up, what happened during this week:

 

Total books read: 3

Total pages read: 949 (oww... so close!)

The books I finished: Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver (Women'z Prize shortlist), Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (my Classics Club list), The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (simply an awesome book).

Number of challenges I participated: 3

 

How did I do regarding to the goals I set myself before the readathon?

 

Let's see...

 

1. Finish at least two books - check!

2. Read at least two hours a day - I am not even sure why I set this goal as it is basically impossible for me to keep track on reading time. But I'm positive that at least half the days I did read around two hours.

3. Visit at least 5 Bout of Books blogs a day - check. I visited, I commented.

4. Regular daily updates - CHECK. This is what I am really proud of, as doing something regularly can be very challenging for me. However, during the readathon I posted every single morning. (That is almost achievement enough to buy a book as a reward...)

 

It was nice to read the blogs of other participants and see how everyone was doing. It was nice to find comments in my own blog - thank you, people!

 

The next Bout of Books readathon will take place in August and I very much would want to get involved again.

 

As for now, let the normal reading, reviewing and posting schedule to commence - I miss my routine :D

Bout of Books: Friday

Friday was an a-okey day, except for this totally random and accidental nap me and the boyfriend took in the eveningish and which lasted for two hours, and during which I had this awesome dream with Ray Bradbury, who was such a nice guy to talk to (and I am sure he was that nice or even nicer of a person in life). Compared to my regular semi-nightmarish dreams (side effect of quitting a certain medicine, as I learned) this was like a breath of fresh air. And maaaan, bookish dreams! Yes. Also I had very nice chat with Ellie in Twitter in the evening, which totally deserves a mention of its own.

The books I read on Friday: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury, The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.
Total pages read: 127, which is fewer than on Thursday, but matters not, because...
Total books finished: 2 (!!)
What do my cats think: Robert agreed to pose with my Shiny New Book Pile the Ultimate Temptress:



Hard to tell by his impression, but I'd say he is intrigued (as am I!). Or maybe he's thinking "oh, woman, when does this week end already so I don't have to do this anymore..."

Flavour of the day: Lots of makis from the best sushi place in Helsinki.

So I did dig into The Eyre Affair and it seems like exactly the kind of light-ish, entertaining read that I expected. Also I love the design of this series (first emotion when I was about to take the book out of the parcel - why the hell did they send me a used copy :D) and I would very much like to see all the Thursday Next books gracing my bookshelves!

So, Saturday - today I will try to get some reading outside done, if the thunderstorm doesn't kick in. Later there is a Very Important Ice Hockey Match between Finland and Sweden (like the arch rivalry or something), and the boyfriend wants to go out to see it. We shall see what happens. I doubt I will be able to read in a pub full of yelling and cursing Finns.

Bout of Books: Thursday

Thursday was bit of an odd, I was feeling a bit out-of-everything and had headache and so I did read, but not as much as I could have. However, I am positive I will finish off "Something Wicked..." today, which means I can dig into the Shiny New Book Pile today or tomorrow, if I like! (Sorry Robin Hobb... but Bradbury kinda counts as fantastic, too.)

The books I read on Thursday: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury.
Total pages read: 143
Total books finished: still the 1
What do my cats think: No cat update since they both lacked any connection with any books yesterday.
Flavour of the day: Ice Cold Beer.

I also got distracted by the Internetz and participated another challenge, as well as started the Spine Speak. So, in total I made a whopping three posts in my blog in one day, which hasn't happened ever before? probably. I kind of miss writing reviews and filling the blog with some more content, so in that sense I am waiting for the next week.

Happy reading day to all the readathon-ers! It's Friday!

Bout of Books: Wednesday

The third day of readathon was very successful for me - I actually finished a book! Yes, I am done with Barbara Kingsolver (now that may sound a bit wrong, but I don't mean it in any bad way :) ). There are many, many thoughts I have about Flight Behavior, but no idea when I get to write about it, since I have pretty much cancelled all reviews during this week in favour of reading. Anyway, even though this wasn't a life-changing experience for me, this is not the last meeting between me and that particular author, that is for sure.

I am also extremely proud of staying away from "the new shiny book pile" and continuing with my initial readathon books - small step for mankind it may be, but for someone with considerable self-disciplining issues, that is a gigantic leap.

The books I read on Wednesday: Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver, Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury.
Total pages read: 138 (getting better daily, it seems!)
Total books finished: 1 (!!!!!) (yes, it deserves to be in red and bold)
What do my cats think about the books at hand: Robert finally warmed up to Kingsolver and just after I finished it and put it down next to me on bed, he graced Flight Behavior with his presence and took a nap on it, or well, half the upper body on it. However, Robert was very excited about the Bradbury book, and approved it wholeheartedly:

"I like this book!" I agree with you, little buddy.

Flavour of the day: It was the flavour of the first day reading outside with my boyfriend today, definitely.

I do expect my page count to skyrocket, as Something Wicked This Way Comes is a pocket-size book with big font (gotta love those :p). I also made a deal with myself that if I manage to finish this one also before the weekend, I am allowed to take a sneak peek in The Eyre Affair (positive motivating yay!).

Happy reading day to all the readathon-ers!
 

Bout of Books goals (and general ramblings)

So when I was picking the books for Bout of Books today (and in my mind earlier this week), I faced this problem again - I don't really have any slim books... Most of the books I own are either classics or fantasy/sci-fi, and they do tend to come in rather voluminous sizes. Even my Women's Prize selections are all around 450 pages! *grumble* And here I was, thinking, for the reading event as such I'd try to pick slimmer volumes.

 

But anyway, one has to do with what one has at hand, and I've put together *drum roll* the Bookpile for the Readathon. It's not my goal to read all those books, but rather it's the books to choose from, and even if I feel reading/starting a different book every day, it's perfectly fine! (No pressure.)

* Ray Bradbury "Something Wicked This Way Comes" - is from my Classics Club list and one of the shorter books I could find from my shelves.

* Robin Hobb "Ship of Magic" - I came to realisation that if I visited for my blog for the first time right now, there would be no way of saying I actually love fantasy literature... And I miss reading it. So I am not hoping to finish this one (unless it is highly addictive), but at least to make a good start into it.

* Gabriel García Márquez "One Hundred Years of Solitude" (in Estonian - obviously) - I just tossed it in for a good measure to basically be reminded of those Classics Club books I should read more of, plus since I was kind of disappointed with the latest Murakami, I am craving for some magical realism. (It's a re-read.)

* Arthur Conan Doyle "The Hound of the Baskervilles" - this actually counts as a slim volume, since I am not reading the Complete Sherlock Holmes at once, and have been quite up to date with my Baskervilles-readalong so far. I think I will finish it off during the next week.

* Barbara Kingsolver "Flight Behavior" - I started this one yesterday, after yet another failed attempt to get into "A Tale of Two Cities" (I think I'll give up on this one for now and try it again later - I really want to enjoy it and not just force myself to plow through for the sake of it...). I am beginning to see a pattern here - all the slumps can be remedied by Women's Prize books... Not sure I like that trend that much to be honest, but whatever keeps me reading (as long as it's not Dan Brown or 50 Shades :) *)

 

So this is 3 classics, one fantasy and one Women's Prize book, which seems about the kind of balance that I was looking for. (For now, let's not try to think of the books I ordered that will arrive some time in the beginning of the next week...)

 

Other goals for the readathon (slightly modified from this post):

 

* Finish at least two books - with the selection of the books I have, and if I count "The Hound of the Baskervilles" as a separate book, this is perfectly doable. I expect to also finish Bradbury and Kingsolver.

* Read at least two hours a day - like, one hour before bed, and then throughout the day. I have things coming up like seeing a friend, my weekly Finnish class, THE JOB, but if I manage to be dedicated, I predict to get a lot of reading done.

* Visit at least five blogs of the other participants a day - and by that I mean not the blogs of the girls I visit regularly anyway (like Sam, Ellie and Sarah), but new ones. Bookmark those that I would like to examine more thoroughly after the readathon.

* Regular daily updates - boring tidbits like page count, how many books read, did my cats like the books I am currently reading (they measure the likeness by the cover - is it good to rub against or not :p), etc. + an occasional tweet or two (@Rivorniel).

 

Less than a day left now!

* Edit: Just to put it out there - I have no other problems with Dan Brown and E.L. James other than they are just not for me. I read mainly for the pleasure of the beauty of the word, and in that department I find them both lacking, for my taste. (I always thought Dan Brown would probably make a lot better movie industry person than an author :) )  

Brain Food Purchase

Stumbled upon a book sale here in Helsinki... Oooooops :)

From top to bottom:

1. Wilkie Collins "The Woman in White" - considered to be one of the first "mystery novels". Of course I am intrigued. How did they (attempt to) write spooky stuff in the 19th century?
2. George Orwell "1984" - probably the most famous of all dystopian novels, which I, sadly, missed in the high-school. There must have been a choice between this book and some others, and for some totally unexplainable reason, I must have chosen that something else. Though, plowing my way through it now, I feel like I have already "read" it - afterall, if you have seen "Equilibrium" and read "Fahrenheit 451" (R. Bradbury) and "Brave New World" (A. Huxley), added the occasional flirt with marvellous Anne Applebaum (who writes of this stuff in terms of how it really was - I read her enormous and spooky to the bone "Gulag: A History"), how much new can it be in regards of book-burning and turning the whole society into mindless duckspeakers?
3. Hunter S. Thompson "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" - because the movie was not too shabby and what better way to spend a snowy evening than getting drifted away by delusional drug-induced journeys of a few Americans?
4. Jeanette Winterson "Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?" - because how can you possibly not want to read a book with such a title? 
5. Ernest Hemingway "For Whom the Bell Tolls" - my last contact with Hemingway goes back many years and I think now I am again ready for the overload of testosterone and his, apologises for the expression, but what I remember as quite plain writing style. (O the things we go through for you, authors of classics!) 
6. William Faulkner "The Hamlet" - because I felt it is about time to rekindle my love for this Mississippian master of written word.