Book hauls and misc

[rachelmanija]

I am in Santa Barbara, where I picked up some packages that had arrived a while ago. I was delighted to find Runaways # 2, which I had special-ordered when I discovered that # 2 was out of print, though 1 and 3 are easily found. This is an American comic about teenagers who find that their parents are super-villains. I'm not crazy about the art, but I really like the story.

Also, and totally unexpectedly, three mix CDs from lnhammer. Thank you so much! They look great. Larry, are you familiar with Dave Carter and Tracy Grammar? If not, I will put some of their songs on yousendit when I return.

This was supposed to be a business trip, but I was relieved when I couldn't get any appointments because I really really need a break. So I stopped in at McConnell's famous ice cream parlor. They sell ice cream in pints in supermarkets, but they're a local company. I was tempted by cinnamon, Bordeaux strawberry, island coconut, and my usual favorite cinnamon stick, but my eye was caught by the sign advertising fat-free hot fudge. "Do you have normal hot fudge?" I asked hopefully. When informed that they did, I had that with vanilla bean ice cream.

Then I went to Paperback Alley and bought a bunch of Laura Kinsales for rushthatspeaks, and these for myself:

XXXHolic vol 3, by CLAMP.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind vol. I, by Hayao Miyazaki. I believe that this is his only manga. I haven't seen the movie.

Sargasso of Space, by Andre Norton. Dane Thorsen gets a berth on the Solar Queen, then chips in to buy a planet, sight unseen. I have no idea why I don't own this, since I've read it a gazillion times from libraries, so I remedied that.

Octagon Magic, by Andre Norton. She wrote a series of children's and YA "Such-andSuch Magic" fantasies, of which my favorite is Dragon Magic. I am pretty sure that I haven't read this one, about a girl and a magic dollhouse.

The Hidden Heart, by Laura Kinsale. This one's for me, since I haven't read it yet. I got rushthatspeaks Shadowheart, My Sweet Folly, and Seize the Fire.

Miss Whittier Makes a List, by Carla Kelly. Miss Whittier is the sole female aboard a British man o' war. Hey, sailor.

The Great Santini, by Pat Conroy. Closely based on his relationship with his hateful father, I believe. I am a great fan of that deliciously over-the-top Southern Gothic Prince of Tides, even though...



...Once you've had the entire family raped by escaped convicts who are then devoured by a Bengal tiger, anthing else is going to be anti-climactic.

Comments

[literaticat.livejournal.com]

omg please please see Nausicaa! I LOVE IT.

and you can go see HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE (http://www.eonline.com/Reviews/Facts/Movies/Reviews/0,1052,88859,00.html) tomorrow, you lucky thing, because it is only opening in LA & NY and I AM DYING!

[tanuki-green.livejournal.com]

It's opening in more than just NY and LA. It's opening in 36 theaters nationwide. Checkout yesterdays news at Nausicaa.Net.

And Nausicaa really does rock!

[literaticat.livejournal.com]

I checked it on Yahoo last night, but the Kabuki was the one theatre they didn't have a listing for.

WOOHOO!

[tanuki-green.livejournal.com]

So, one would assume you have tickets in hand? ;)

[literaticat.livejournal.com]

I am hoping I can get someone else to buy them - if not, I will break down by this afternoon.

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

Run out *now* and buy the Nausicaa DVD and watch it!

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

Ditto on Nausicaa.

My favorite of the Andre Norton Magic books was Steel Magic, because it has a giant steel spoon in it. Among other things. Dragon Magic was very good, too.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

I am afraid that Miss Whittier Makes a List is the only Carla Kelly novel I just cannot stand.

[oracne.livejournal.com]

I disliked it, too. But I read it anyway, because I had no others left. At least now I know she can write annoying characters.

Yay for providing crack--err, Kinsale--for someone else!

[gfjames.livejournal.com]

"The Great Santini, by Pat Conroy. Closely based on his relationship with his hateful father, I believe. I am a great fan of that deliciously over-the-top Southern Gothic Prince of Tides, even though..."

Even Conroy's father liked Santini--the movie version stayed pretty true to the book, too. I personally thought (though I watch it anyway) the movie version of Prince of Tides was miscast. Nolte was okay, Streisand as Susan? Awwwwwwful.

My wife and I were fortunate enough to catch one of Dave Carter's (and Tracy Grammer) last performances before he died--we just saw her perform not to long ago...Tanglewood is probably their best album together...love is a tanglewood in a bower of green/in a forest at dawn...

[telophase.livejournal.com]

OK, I say that Nausicca is good but not the OMG experience that everyone else has had.

OTOH, Porco Rosso is definitely an OMG experience and you should rush right out and buy or rent it and watch it.

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

I say Porco Rosso was disappointing, but I figure I should give it another shot. One reason Nausicaa may have had such a big impact on me is that it was one of the earliest anime I watched. I like it a lot more than Mononoke Hime, which I had heard described as Miyazaki's swan song and his self-rebuttal to Nausicaa, and thus found the actual product to fall short of its billing.

Have you seen Please Save My Earth? That is another early anime love of mine.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Nausicaa didn't hit me because (a) I had a friend who fanboyed over it and built my expectations up too high and (b) I am so totally burnt out on the environmentalist message that it's got to be the Best Movies EVAR for me to get past it. Porco Rosso, OTOH, hits me in a lot of good places - that sort of time period that's a specific time and place, yet is still kinda timeless and not quite in our world (er, makes no sense, I know, but I can't quite explain it), the hint of a mystery, and, dude, air pirates. The things that Disney paid homage to in Tale Spin, which was a comedy rather than an adventure/drama. I liked Mononoke Hime better than Nausicaa, but that was because one of the things I like is when the real and the mythological coincide and mix. Because of that, Spirited Away is just about the perfect telophase movie EVAR.

I haven't seen PSME yet.

[minnow1212.livejournal.com]

>Miss Whittier Makes a List, by Carla Kelly. Miss Whittier is the sole female aboard a British man o' war. Hey, sailor.<

Warning--I know a bunch of people, including myself, for whom that is the worst Kelly.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Drat. I knew it was one of the Miss So-and-So does Such-and-Such that nobody liked, but I couldn't remember which, and anyway it was the only Carla Kelly they had. Her books are a bit hard to find.

[larryhammer]

Hope you like the mixes. I've probably heard something by Carter & Grammer, but I don't place any tunes with their names; I've been told before I should track them down. I gather they reside near Eastmountainsouth and Mary Chapin Carpenter in musicspace.

Nausicaa, like Porco Rosso, is good but flawed. Miyazaki matches the effects he was aiming for with those two in Princess Mononoke and ... well, think of Castle in the Sky without the castle.

---L.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Let me put it this way: Vienna Teng (via yhlee and coffee_and_ink was my favorite musical discovery of the last six months, and Carter & Grammar are my favorite since her.

[larryhammer]

Heh. And my favorite musical discovery since Vienna Teng (also six months ago) is Michelle Cross. (I'd count Roth d'Lux now that their CD is actually out, but really I was onto them from their demo EP last year.)

<jots Carter & Grammer on his list>

---L.

[wildgreentide.livejournal.com]

Hi, I'm in the middle of reading your book (a friend picked it up for me at BEA because she knows I like books about India) and I wanted to let you know that I'm thoroughly enjoying it. You have a very clear and compelling prose style--and a wicked sense of humor--and you tell great stories. I hope it does well!

When my friend first handed the book to me, I knew I recognized your name from somewhere; it came to me in the shower this morning. I've seen your name and your comments in both coffee_and_ink's and jonquil's journals. So I came here to check out your journal, and I discovered that you love not only fantasy, science fiction, and YA literature, but also Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, whom I adore. Very cool! Anyway, I've added you to my friends list.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! It's a small world after all...

PS: just peeked at your LJ

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

I love City of Djinns and detest, hate, revile, and loathe Holy Cow, of which I have an insulting review archived under "memoirs."

Re: PS: just peeked at your LJ

[wildgreentide.livejournal.com]

Heh. I just read your review of Holy Cow and was amused to note that you also ended it with a recommendation of City of Djinns instead. He's got a few other books on India that are in my to-be-read pile (The Age of Kali and White Mughals).

Re: PS: just peeked at your LJ

[literaticat.livejournal.com]

FUCK holy cow was the WORST.

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

KINSALE! *sproing* Thank you!

I haven't seen the Nausicaa movie either, but was fond of the manga.

Estimated time until I am finished burning you terrifying quantities of anime: approx. three days.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Please send to my parents address in Santa Barbara, and I'll pick it up from there.

If you post reports on the Kinsales, it would make me very happy.