A Night at the Theatre

Last night I went and experience a little bit of culture, I went to the stunning Open Air Theatre in Regents Park. The park itself is lush, and luckily for us the rain held off so we could lay on the grass with our picnics and Champagne (none of that for me as I was driving :( ). The theatre is set in a bank in the park, and we were surprisingly high up, I wasn't expecting it to go up so far. I've seen plays outside before, mainly Shakespeare in the gardens of Cambridge University but it has always been a sitting on a blanket affair, I was glad of a seat and a higher elevation point, just a shame that it wasn't as warm as the previous night and that the little moggies had a taste for my blood and kept nibbling away at my legs.

We went to see Twelfth Night a Shakespeare play I wasn't at all familiar with. Personally I was bored stiff for the first half an hour but then it got started and I started enjoying myself. Next year I'm going to see if I can get tickets to see Midsummer Night's Dream as that is by far my most favorite play and would be stunning in that location.

I've added some pictures for you, they are taken off the net as cameras were banned!

My Thoughts: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse

I wasn't to sure if I wanted to read this novel, but it was part of the Noble Spiral (I get sent one Noble winning book roughly each month then pass it on to the next participant) so I had to give it a go.

The book has a simple enough plot, Siddartha is a Brahmin but he wishes to push his philosphy further, he is seeking peace and being at one with the world. As he journeys through life in various guises his philosophy changes as he understands more about himself and the world around him. Underneath this simple plot is all the philisophical discussions and theories. The ideas are mainly centred around Buddhism and drawn out from this way of living.

The novel is not really my type of thing, it reminded me of the type of 'clever' books I read at University and I'm sure it would be a great text to study, I feel that had I known more about Buddhism, India at that time and the author I probably would have got a lot more out of the novel. Having said that the book was highly readable, mainly down to the beautiful use of language, it certainly descerves it's subtitle 'An Indian Poem'.

Challenges:

Read the Nobles

Classics Challenge

Reading Around the World

20th Century Project

July Book Blowout Book 6

If you have reviewed this book please leave a link to your review and I'll add you to mine.

My Thoughts: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi & a book blowout meme

Last month I had my first introduction to graphic novels with Dream Country by Neil Gaiman, Persepolis showed me what a Graphic Novel can do with a serious topic. Persepolis is about a little girl growing up in Iran during political change. Life goes from being free to having strict rules forced upon the people. Marji's parents generally tell her the truth, she is allowed to hear vivid details about the torture of prisoners, they take her to demonstrations and she reads political and marxist texts for her bedtime stories. Coming from a very political family she finds it extremely difficult to be the obedient little girl which is required under the new regime.

I found this book extremely easy to read and a very powerful look at life in Iran, I have read books about Iran before but this one is very powerful in it's message. I thought that the torture scene was particuarly hard hitting. I'm not sure if this is because the image is below to reiterate what is happening or because it is seen from the eyes of a child.

I shall be reading Persepolis: The Return in the next week.

Other Reviews:

Rebecca's Reads

Corinne

Raidergirl3

Marg

If you have reviewed this book please leave a link to your review and I'll add it on.

Challenges:

The Graphic Novel Challenge Book 2 of 3

Young Adult Challenge Book 3 of 12

July Book Blowout Book 5

Mrs S has set this mini-meme for the July Book Blowout

The Where’s your book set? meme
Here’s how it works - just answer some or all of the following questions about the book you are currently reading (or just finished if you are between books). You can either post your answers on your blog and link us up using Mr Linky below - or post your answers here in the comments.
Here’s the questions:
1. Title and author of the book

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi.
2. What year is the book set in?

1980-1984
3. What happened on this day in that year? Go to google and type in the date ie 13 July 1952 and see if you can find a news item for that day

July 13, 1980 U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk U.S.S.R.
4. Where is your book set?

Iran
5. Have you visited that place before? If yes tell us something about your trip. If no, look the location up on google and tell us an interesting fact about the city/country.

Cyrus the Great's "Cylinder", found during excavations in Babylon, was inscribed with the first known declaration of human rights.

Elam, the oldest known civilisation in Iran, was founded in 1250 BC.

Cuneiform writing, a form of picture writing, was used in Iran over three thousand years ago.

My Thoughts: Mirrormask by Neil Gaiman

I grabbed this book whilst I was in the library today, I then came home and read it all in one go. This novella is about 15 year old Helena, she is a member of a circus and like all teenagers she wants out, she wants to be 'normal' and live in the real world.

When her Mum gets sick, Helena is drawn into a dream world full of flying books, winged hungry cats, police beetles and Valentine her side kick through this world. Quickly Helena realises she much prefers her old life and has to go on a quest to return herself to her family.

This was a strange little book, every page is illustrated with either cartoon like pictures which we would expect in a graphic novel or pictures from the film Mirrormask, it's like it can't quite make up it's mind which it wants to be. Personally I much prefered the graphic novel-esqe pictures. The story was interesting enough, well written, I wasn't gripped though, maybe it was because it was a novella but things seemed to move a bit too fast. One minute Helena has entered a strange world, the next she is a Princess eating tea with the Queen (I actually went back to see if I'd skipped a page).

Challenge

Young Adult Challenge Book 2 0f 12

July Book Blowout Book 4

If you have reviewed this book, leave a link to the review in the comments and I'll add it to the bottom of my review

Sunday Salon and My Thoughts on Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

Another fairly busy week but I managed to finish 2 books so I'm back up to my average speed. This week is the final week at school before the holidays and rather than helping us teachers relax they shove everything in at once. It's not all bad though, I off to see Twelfth Night at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park (lets hope the weather has improved by then).

I spent my of my reading time on Stardust this week, my first Neil Gaiman of many, I'm sure. It was lovely to come home and disappear into a fairytale world for an hour or so.

Twilight - Stephanie Meyer

Yesterday I started Twilight (it got finished this morning in bed), yes I know I'm probably the last person to read this but at least I got around to it eventually.

For those few of you who haven't read this, the book is about a teenage girl, Bella, who has just moved from sunny Phoenix to dreary Forks, apparently the most rainy place in America. In this small town Bella stands out and everyone wants to get to know her. Everyone, that is, except her lab partner, Edward. Edward and his brothers and sisters are aloof, they stand out, they are stunningly beautiful, they are awfully pale, they don't make friends and they prove a great danger to the curious Bella. And you guessed it, they are vampires! Bella, decides to fall in love with Edward and he with her, and off the adventure begins.

I loved this novel. Yes it's predictable. Yes it's a typical YA romance/Gothic drama. Yes it is like a million other books I read as a teenager. Yet there was something about this book that stood out. It was fairly well written, they avoided too many stereotypes. Most importantly it made me feel like a teenager again - in a good way. It also reminded me how overpowering your first love can be, to the point where it is all consuming.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I think this is going to be the first book we read for the reading group I'm setting up at school.

Challenges
Young Adult Challenge 2008 Book 1 of 12
July Book Blowout Book 3

Reading Around the World - American States
I also joined Becky's Stephanie Meyer Mini Challenge, 1 book down 1 to go

Other Reviews:
Me, My Book and the Couch
A Striped Armchair

Marg
If you've reviewed this book please leave you link to your review and I'll link it to the page.

My Thoughts: Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I've been meaning to read a Neil Gaiman novel for a while as everyone seems to rave about him and I finally got around to it! I had seen the film earlier this year, and while I loved the film I seem to have forgotten the majority of it so this story was still fairy fresh to me.

The novel, for anyone who doesn't know, is set in the village of Wall, a small English village in which the locals guard the wall which leads to the land of Faerie. Despite no one being allowed to cross into Faerie a market exists every 9 years which allows the inhabitants of Wall to mix with the people of Faerie. Early in this book the market results in a child being born, he is brought to live in Wall and grow up as a normal citizen.

When this child is 18 he falls in love with the popular Victoria Forrester. So in love with her is he that he promises her anything she wants in the world, she requests the star she has just seen fall from the sky. The star lays in Faerie, so off he goes on his journey. Along the way he meets a variety of characters and situations.

This is a feel good book, something nice to drift off into at the end of a busy day at work. I will certainly be looking out for more of Gaiman's work. I have seen a stunning graphic novel copy of Stardust in the bookshop and may have to ask for it for Christmas.

Challenges:

July Book Blowout

20th Century Project

Others Thoughts:

Andi.Lit

A Striped Armchair

Just a Reading Fool

Becky's Book Reviews

Bart's Blog

If you have read and reviewed this book please leave a link to your review and I'll add it on, also feel free to link back to my review.

The Japanese Literature Challenge 2

Yes, yes another challenge!

This challenge is held over at Dolce Bellezza the aim is to read 3 Japanese books between the 30th of July to the 30th of December, whether it is fiction, poetry, graphic novel, autobiography or a biography.

I'm not one hundred percent sure what I will be reading at the moment but I have a few ideas:

Any of Murakami which I haven't read

The Pillow Book by Shonogan

The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea, Mishma

Out by Kirino

I have read:

Goodbye Tsugumi, Yosimoto

Hardboiled/Hardluck, Yoshimoto