I 4m teh l33t ch3f!
In other words, I cooked something today which involved more than slavishly obeying oven-cook instructions. *is proud* And I learned how to use the washing machine too! At this rate I shall be worryingly domesticated quite soon... however, the iron is still a strange and hellish device of Satan, so I think I'm safe for the moment.
Zzzzz... I really need to get around this 'takes an hour before I am capable of rational speech in the morning' thing. Was rudely awakened by parents at obscenely early hour (8.30) today and forced to think, resulting in considerable bad mood not helped by the fact that I had to go shopping in Harlow, that graveyard of peroxide-infested harpies... >.<
My mood was considerably lifted by Dad's cunning engagement of my bossy-takeover syndrome, however, as we're organising Mum's 50th at the moment (on a beautiful big boat on the Thames ^_^) and I got to organise it all. *smiles the smug smile of the satisfied control freak*
*struggles to think of something not mind-numbingly banal to blog about* Oh yeah! AS Byatt being quite remarkably rude about JK Rowling in public forum, thus demonstrating neatly that being an undeniably fantastic author doesn't give you enough common sense to wipe your arse on your own. What was she thinking? O.o
Utter stupidity of saying it aside, I do see her point that the Harry Potter books don't feature that brand of childish fear and mystery that, say, Susan Cooper does (her example and one of my favourite children's authors), but I don't see that they're trying to, or that they should. The fear in the HP books is of a much more adult kind - fear of threat to loved ones, power misuse, being out of control of your life - , which explains straight off why adults find the books compelling; and if children can't connect with all the levels of the plotline, no more they can in any high-quality children's literature (Susan Cooper, for example again - read some of *those* again once you've hit late teens ^_^;;). And I think she may be missing a generational point too - that for modern kids, schools like Hogwarts *are* the realm of fantasy and mystery. We're a little past the days of the public school story...
Oh, and while we're on the subject of authors she put forward as better, Ursula le Guin? I don't mean to question le Guin's talent at all - what I mean is, is Byatt honestly arguing that the most famous feminist sci-fi author ever was writing about a *child's* notion of fear or mystery? I refer you to the second and fourth Earthsea books, which feature some of the most disturbing sexual imagery I've ever read. I guess that explains why I found some bits of Earthsea considerably disturbing as a child without ever knowing why.
*rereads* Mmm, rambling. Time for bed. ^_^;;
Oh, and incidentally, has anyone read 'Holy Fools' by Joanne Harris (the woman who wrote Chocolat)? Only I just read it, and I really liked it, but I can't decide whether it's a) a historical Mills & Boon novel masquerading as literature, in which case I am ashamed, or b) a piece of quality writing that actually dragged *me* so far inside the characters' heads that I was rooting for them, including the romance (almost unheard of for me), in which case I am impressed. Answers on a postcard please. ^_^
Comments
At this very moment I'm sitting about to read "Over Sea, Under Stone"...haven't read The Dark is Rising sequence in aaaaages. Hope I still enjoy it...
I really can't remember much about Ursula leGuin at all. I remember reading the first three Earthsea books without any incident at all, and then the fourth one came out a few years later...and I found it very very difficult to read. Maybe I actually understood what was going on then or something.
Incidentally, Harry Potter's not that far off on public school life, I don't reckon, except it's all "heightened" - House competition was generally more good natured, although sometimes it got a little vicious (but with 11 houses instead of 4 that's to be expected). Except they seem to have more freedom after hours than the boarders had (2 hour forced prep sessions with House Sixths watching them like hawks, I believe it was). But it's the kind of public school I'd have loved to have, if only for the magic lessons ^_____^
And OOOH, KATY'S LOGGED ON! *rushes off to MSN* *dial-up disconnects* *doh*
Posted by: BluWacky | July 11, 2003 11:32 PM
Can I read it?(Holy Fools) Save me from the Dickens.....still struggling with the first chapters of bleak house...back to 'Tom has the Ball' for Naomi.
Posted by: Naomi | July 12, 2003 05:49 PM
*grins* Course you can! Read it (takes about ten seconds) and enlighten me on whether I'm degenerating into a reader of Romantic Fiction *prepares to commit seppuku*
Posted by: Tasha | July 12, 2003 10:59 PM