Dance with me, fat man!

[shadydave]

Argh, I was supposed to go the NYC this weekend to see Courtney. Instead, I am stuck at home buried under a foot of snow (which is still falling), and I fear cleaning is imminent. Doesn't the weather know it's supposed to snow during the week? What the hell is up with all this Saturday snowfall crap?

Anyways, I saw Princess and the Frog last night! It was cute. Pretty light-weight, though -- the story wasn't bad, but it didn't have much depth. Likewise for most of the characters, though they were all likable. Prince Naveen, though, was hilariously sketchy; as Mal (I think) put it, he definitely has the most personality out of any of the Disney princes. I think the biggest problem was that none of the songs were particularly memorable -- they weren't bad, but they aren't totally infectious as is Disney's wont, and that highlighted the film's general shallowness. You can do a whole lot with an awesome musical number.

I did like how *active* Tiana was, though -- definitely not one of those Disney princesses who sits around and lets all her more interesting co-stars do all the work. And she actually had a mom and a friend (who was very amusing)! Will wonders never cease. The animation was really pretty (of course), but I think they re-used a lot of character designs from the Emperor's New Groove, which I found rather entertaining.

Overall, though, it was a lot of fun and you should totally go see it. I want more 2D Disney musicals, dammit!

So, have a book meme! Here's a list of all the books I've read in the past year; pick one and I'll give you a short review.

The Lord of the Rings -- J. R. R. Tolkien
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid -- Bill Bryson
The Bell at Sealey Head -- Patricia McKillip
Sabriel -- Garth Nix

Lirael -- Garth Nix
Abhorsen -- Garth Nix
Flora Segunda -- Ysabeau S. Wilce
The Forever King -- Molly Cochran and Walter Murphy

Guards! Guards! -- Terry Pratchett
Men at Arms -- Terry Pratchett
Feet of Clay -- Terry Pratchett
Jingo -- Terry Pratchett
The Fifth Elephant -- Terry Pratchett
Going Postal -- Terry Pratchett
Making Money -- Terry Pratchett

Flora's Dare -- Ysabeau S. Wilce
The City in the Lake -- Rachel Neumeier
Snow Crash -- Neil Stephenson
The White Company -- Arthur Conan Doyle

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies -- Jane Austen and Seth Graham-Smith
The Summoning -- Kelley Armstrong
Chalice -- Robin McKinley
The Awakening -- Kelley Armstrong
Good Omens -- Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Wake -- Laura McCann

The Demon's Lexicon -- Sarah Rees Brennen
Naamah's Kiss -- Jacqueline Carey
I Love You Beth Cooper -- Larry Doyle
Mistress of the Art of Death -- Ariana Franklin
Interred With Their Bones -- Jennifer Lee Carroll

The Belgariad -- David Eddings
The Serpent's Tale -- Ariana Franklin
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- J.K. Rowling
The Tales of Beedle the Bard -- J.K. Rowling

Grave Goods -- Ariana Franklin
Don Quixote -- Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Silver Phoenix -- Cindy Pon
Elantris -- Brandon Sanderson
Green -- Jay Lake

Shadow Magic -- Jaida Jones and Dani Bennett
Unseen Academicals -- Terry Pratchett
Mistborn: The Final Empire -- Brandon Sanderson
Reaper Man -- Terry Pratchett
Soul Music -- Terry Pratchett
The Well of Ascension -- Brandon Sanderson
The Hero of Ages -- Brandon Sanderson

Heart's Blood -- Juliet Marillier

Comments

[failing-light.livejournal.com]

I mock you for keeping a list of the books you read. Mock mock mock.

Also, you should do a lot of cleaning today so there is less for me to do when I come over tomorrow. Assuming I can get out of my parking lot by then.

I just finished The Masqueraders by Georgette Heyer. It was very like a Shakespearean comedy, with the sister dressed as a man and the brother dressed as a girl and everyone falling in love with everyone else and amusing cases of mistaken identity. I loved it muchly. And everyone came off as more intelligent than they generally do in Shakespearean comedies, where sometimes only dramatic convention keeps their idiocy from being completely unbelievable. I think I am in love and it's actually a good thing that there's a snowstorm because otherwise I would go to B&N and spend all my money on Georgette Heyer novels and have nothing left to buy you Christmas presents.

[shadydave.livejournal.com]

You are evil in all respects.

[failing-light.livejournal.com]

You hurt my soul :(

[monadhrionnag.livejournal.com]

Yay! I love Georgette Heyer. Her novels are like delicious, tasty candy.

[spelly.livejournal.com]

I find it delightfully nerdy. While I also mock, it is only a little bit b/c part of me is like, hmm that is a good idea! you should totally review the Jacqueline Carey book. I am interested to read your take on it.

[spelly.livejournal.com]

the fact that you keep a list. Not cleaning, or Georgette Hery (I dont know who that is). ...but *points laughs b/c you have to do tons of cleaning*

[shadydave.livejournal.com]

:(

Naamah's Kiss, aka World-Traveling Magical Celtic Sexytime

[shadydave.livejournal.com]

So, I liked this book waaaaay more than any of the Imriel ones. Not that Imriel is a bad character, but he is far too emo to be trusted with first-person narration; Moirin was much easier to read. Also, in the Imriel books the conflict felt totally pastede on yay -- in Phedre's trilogy, you had Melisande lurking in the background to tie everything together, but there wasn't really a similar threat in the second trilogy (Melisande was still lurking, just not very sinisterly). So I liked that in the new book, we had some good hints at a continuing plot arc with magic-obsessed ninja turtle guy (Raphael? I forget his name).

However, I find it interesting that the books have been depending more and more on the supernatural as a threat. Magic was always there, but the first trilogy had a lot bigger focus on war and political intrigue, at least until the third book. It makes some sense that this would play a larger role in Moirin's trilogy, since she has magic-y type gifts, but I think it was a bit of a loss that Moirin turned up at court and shacked up with Raphael and the royal family without too much fuss (I know there was some, but not nearly as much as I expected).

I fully expect that these books are going to be very travelogue-y; we know Moirin has to hit Mongolia to go find Bao, and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if she ends up in the New World at some point. I hope that Jacqueline Carey manages to avoid any cultural appropriation fail; I thought she did ok in the China section, but I'm in no way an expert, and now that we're moving away from Judeo-Christian European mythologies, that's def a problem to watch out for.

As it is, I think the part with Snow Tiger messed with the structure of this book a little, since it went Moirin's childhood --> arrival at previous books' major setting --> random-ass trip to China. It basically felt like that could have been two separate books, since there wasn't a whole lot to tie the two halves together besides the same cast of characters. However, it was still way better than the time Imriel spent a hundred pages going home and nothing happened, so yeah.

In conclusion: it amuses me a LOT that this universe seems to operate on the same rules as SPooN. First we have Cassiel, Anael, and daevas, and now someone's been possessed by a demon! I look forward to more random crossover background info :D

[libraflyter.livejournal.com]

Is it bad that I'm happy to know you are in fact under a foot+ of snow?

And I agree that the music was a weak point in Princess and the Frog (though when I caught one of the songs on the radio the other day, I did start humming along. Maybe they creep on you slowly ...)

I totally did not pick up on the Emperor's New Groove potential klepto-ing. Do you really think so, or is it more just a confluence of twenties' Art Deco and such?

Enjoy the snow (we get ours tomorrow).

[shadydave.livejournal.com]

Well, I'd be pissed if we canceled the trip for nothing :D

I think the Emperor's New Grooviness was just standard recycling. (They've totally done it before -- Prince Eric and Aladdin look like long-lost brothers.) Though I suspect the Art Deco had a lot to do with it, though ENG is way more stylized.

[spelly.livejournal.com]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzyLZYYb2qk&feature=fvw

Disney reusing animation? Never!