Hello readers! I seem to be making a habit of awfully long summer breaks in blogging, which I don't particularly like... But now I'm back with the second half of the Ask Me Anything event I hosted in April.
Before I get to that, let me remind you of another, rather more international-scale event that should be of interest to bookworms across the world: the Banned Books Week, 27.9-3.10. It's mostly an American event, initiated by libraries and booksellers, who are often pressured to remove "unsuitable" books from their selections. The Banned Books Week raises awareness of censorship and celebrates people's freedom to read and as these issues are relevant to readers everywhere in the world, I don't think we should let America celebrate all alone! Therefore, I'm inviting you all to pick a book that has been notoriously challenged or even banned and discuss it during the upcoming week in any medium available to you – blog, social media, circle of friends, anything that enables you to introduce this book and reflect on why you should have been prohibited from reading it. The American Library Association keeps lists of frequently challenged books from recent years, but there are plenty of notoriously challenged books all across the history of literature. I'm going to review Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner (2003), it would be great to see all of you fellow book bloggers participate with whatever you choose. Please throw me a link to your posts if you do! Let's really discuss censorship and read whatever the heck we want!
Now, moving on to the actual topic of the day. I'll be answering Hamlette's and Olivia's questions that they asked many... many months ago, and this little celebration for the second anniversary of Music & My Mind comes to an end. Thank you all for participating, I have had tremendous fun thinking up answers to all of these questions!
Hamlette asked:
What animated movie do you wish they would make a live-action version of next? Who would you cast?
As I'm supposed to be honest here, I'll have to tell you all that I'm completely bored and frustrated with this persisting Disney trend of live-action remakes. Not that I resist remakes on the whole or think that all of these Disney films are of bad quality – I'm absolutely open to the suggestion that some of them might be good films in their own right, even if I haven't bothered to see most of them myself.
The real reason why I don't applaud live-action remakes is that for me, the magic and the intrigue of the original Disney films is largely to do with the beautiful work they did with the animation. The older I got, the more awed I was by the fact that people could actually draw things like sunlight, thunderstorms and water – if you really stop to think about it, isn't it quite an achievement to animate even such an ordinary thing as a moving person? So I don't really see what the artistic gain is in telling essentially the same story as a live-action version. I hate to be cynical, but I get the feeling that Disney is after some easy profit in continuing with this trend.
What musical NEEDS a movie version but doesn't have one yet? Again, who would you cast?
I think some stage musicals are better off left on the stage in their awesomeness, but to be honest, I would be quite happy to see a film version of Jekyll & Hyde. The score is wonderful, the themes of addiction and ethics will never get old, and the Victorian setting would look gorgeous on screen – there would be so many things in this film's favour! As for casting, all I would ask for is actors with a strong musical background and at most a minimal amount of stunt casting. I would much prefer an unknown, interesting new talent with a gorgeous singing voice to a big-name Hollywood star who took a singing crash-course just before shooting.
Olivia asked:
What is your opinion on the subject of Ramin Karimloo?
I can tell you that if you were to watch me listening to Ramin Karimloo, you might witness something rather peculiar. There's this half-dreamy, half-zombie look in my eyes, I tend to clasp my hands really tight and perch on the very edge of whatever I'm sitting on. My goodness, what a voice. What a stage presence. Have you seen that look on his face when he plays Enjolras in the Les Misérables 25th anniversary concert and sings "The ABC Café Song"? And how, as the Phantom, he has incredibly expressive hands that more than make up for the fact that the mask hides half of his face? Just... wow.
Have you seen the new Cinderella movie? If so, what did you think?
I haven't, and as you can probably judge by my response to the question about Disney re-makes, I wasn't in a hurry to see it. However, a friend of mine saw it and told me that Cate Blanchett was magnificent, which I can easily believe!
Do you plan to pursue a career in theatre/musical theatre? Are you a soprano or an alto?
I would love to write plays and writing a musical is a crazy, ambitious dream that may or may not come true. I do like to sing though, and I'm definitely more of a soprano than an alto because my lower range is very limited and my belt voice is, quite frankly, pathetic.
What is your favourite version of The Phantom of the Opera? (Meaning any book, movie, or stage adaptation.)
That would be the stage musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. I was lucky enough to see it at Her Majesty's Theatre in London, and it was one of the most impressive experiences of my life. Not only hearing but feeling the power of the music reminded me why I love musicals so much. I have also read the original novel by Gaston Leroux, which was quite a disappointment, unfortunately.
Showing posts with label About me. Show all posts
Showing posts with label About me. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 September 2015
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Ask Me Anything: The Answer Post, Part 1
The blog birthday is here! I'm so excited to share my answers to the Ask Me Anything questions that some of you readers sent me. In fact, there were so many more questions than last year and I ended up giving such lengthy answers to some of them that I thought it might be a good idea to do the Answer Post in two parts. Today's post will include the questions from Hannah and Siiri L. – thank you both, for coming up with such interesting questions and for being such great blog friends all this time!
Hannah asked...
If you could play any character in a musical and/or play, who would it be and why?
I'm going to pick one character from a musical and one from a straight play. My musical character choice would be Éponine, without a doubt. "On My Own" and "A Little Fall of Rain" are among my favourite songs from Les Misérables, and although the character in the musical is often criticized for lacking the complexities of her Victor Hugo counterpart, I think there would be plenty of chances for an actress to explore more of the derangement and instability that characterize Éponine in the novel. Everyone loves a good stage death, and Éponine departs singing a beautiful duet and fills the remaining rebels with new resolution to keep fighting. Plus, I really love that hat.
August: Osage County is my favourite modern play so far, and Ivy – the middle one of Violet Weston's three grown-up daughters – is one of the most interesting characters in it. She makes her sisters uncomfortable with her blunt and apparently cynical comments, but with Little Charles around she becomes a completely different person, which just adds up to the devastation that the romance ultimately brings her way. She shows deliberate indifference to what are often perceived as commonplace feminine values; her mother nags at her for not caring about her looks, and she appears completely fine with the fact that she can't ever have children. Like Éponine, Ivy has a wonderful last scene in the play, involving emotional breakdown and finally breaking away from the mother whose problems she was forced to deal with as her sisters moved away. All the different layers in Ivy's personality and that heart-wrenching character arc would be just wonderful to play.
Can you rank the Dickens novels that you've read so far?
I'll be more than happy to do that! I have only read three and a half of his novels so far, plus A Christmas Carol which I'll also include in the ranking even though it's a novella. I'm seriously working on my Dickens education, though – just look at my Classics Club list! I would like to point out that I have loved every Dickens novel I have read so far, they are all brilliant in different ways. Therefore, even the works that I have placed low on this ranking are not bad – just less amazing than the ones above them.
1. A Tale of Two Cities
This one bounced straight up to my list of "all-time favourite books of literary magic which will affect me for the rest of my life" – as soon as I was finished with despairing over the cruelty of the human race and crying about that bloody guillotine. Dickens does something very different than his usual thing here; the setting is in the late 1700s exploring the devastating effects of the Revolution and the Terror on the French society, there is none of Dickens' trademark satirical humour, and the page count is just over 400. The result is an absolutely heartbreaking account on how humanity's struggle for "justice" leads to tragedy both nation-wide and in the lives of ordinary men and women. I don't think any other book ever has sent my mind reeling so wildly, both during and after reading it.
2. Nicholas Nickleby
This was my first Dickens experience and it will most likely stay high in my esteem no matter how many Dickens novels I will read after it. It is a big book in terms of length and story, covering diverse layers of Victorian society in their various pursuits. However, the focus stays on young Nicholas Nickleby of idealistic values, as he develops one of literature's loveliest bromances with poor Smike, and learns to stand his ground against his miserly uncle Ralph. Nicholas Nickleby is many things, which makes it such an engaging read – it's viciously funny and unflinchingly tragic, a broad social commentary as well as an eventful coming-of-age adventure.
3. A Christmas Carol
I'm a complete junkie for fantasy, character development and the Christmas spirit, so if there exists a story about a sore old miser finding redemption through supernatural intervention at Christmastime, written in brilliant Dickensian prose, is there anything else for me to do but adore it? As always, Dickens' masterful pen creates literary images so awe-inspiring that it is best described as pure magic.
4. Little Dorrit
I'm exactly halfway through this one while I'm writing this blog post so I won't say much right now, but I'm fairly certain that Little Dorrit will rank somewhere hereabouts once I'm finished with it. The book is very slow-paced at times, but the good parts are very good. It explores themes such as the effects of institutionalisation (in this case, in a debtors' prison), the vapid constructions of high society, and the importance of a fulfilling life in great depth. Arthur Clennam is an interestingly atypical literary hero and the reader gets to really delve into how his past experiences have shaped his personality and current views of life.
5. Oliver Twist
As I discussed in my review about a year ago, this book has some structural flaws and Oliver Twist himself is not the most interesting or realistic of child heroes, but there is still more than a fair share of brilliant bits to be found here.
Would you rather J.K. Rowling wrote a series about the Hogwarts Founders, a series about the Marauders or a series about the next generation at Hogwarts?
Each of these ideas holds its own element of intrigue, but being such a history person, I would most like to hear about how Hogwarts came to be. I just happened to do some reading on the Anglo-Saxon period in British history, and how amazing would it be to know what that era was like for witches and wizards? And even compared to all the countless magical people that came from Rowling's imagination, the four who founded Hogwarts must be terrifically interesting characters!
If you could put various Doctor Who Doctors and companions together for a one-off episode, who would you pair up?
Oh, I was hoping Hannah might come up with a Doctor Who question, and this is a wonderfully interesting one! (Hannah, I want your answer on this in the comments.)
First of all, I would pair up the Twelfth Doctor with Donna simply because, as this article points out, it would be hilarious. Donna would first ask what the hell "Caecilius" was doing in the TARDIS and why he was even bothering to do such a lousy impersonation of the Doctor – the accent? being all grumpy? WHAT?!
Now, the Doctor that Donna knows – the Tenth – would have to go with one of the Eleventh's companions, and I would pick post-marriage Amy and Rory – I love them best when they're together, so that's a package deal. I don't really know what we might expect to happen with these three. The Doctor might notice that Amy has succeeded in being ginger, unlike him. He would also, for once, get to meet a pretty young woman who doesn't fall for him, and that young woman's husband whom he can't call an idiot, unlike the "companions' boyfriends" that he met. He would also witness two companions whose lives don't revolve entirely around TARDIS traveling.
Because Martha is my favourite companion right after Amy and Rory, I would definitely want to see her somewhere in this mix-up. She and Nine would make up a very interesting, business-like TARDIS team, wouldn't they? Nine might also appreciate her talents more than Ten did, and I think Martha would lecture the Doctor on how he's not allowed to label all humans as "stupid apes".
Martha and Donna being taken, the only regular companion left for the Eleventh Doctor would be Rose, and I can't really see anything interesting coming out of this. Maybe I'm just biased against Rose. Anyway, I had another idea... Captain Jack Harkness. He's not one of "the" companions, but think about it, seriously! The "Captain of the Innuendo Squad" paired up with the Doctor who doesn't understand why a married couple doesn't want bunk beds – endless hilarity! Also, my favourite Doctor + my favourite supporting character from series 1-4 would mean an extra birthday for me...
What are your top 5 Disney films?
A Disney question, yay! First of all, I did some thinking on what sorts of things make my personal favourite Disney films stand out from all the good Disney films. Here is a list of things that really matter to me regarding this question. All of my Top Five don't have all of these qualities, but mostly they do.
2. The Princess and the Frog
This film carries none of the childhood nostalgia that I get from The Lion King and Pocahontas and the likes, because it came out as late as 2009 and in fact I only saw it a year ago – so I was quite surprised at how high it jumped (frog-like) into my favourites list, I simply loved it straight away! New Orleans makes a wonderfully imaginative setting and I love how the "Disney Princess" concept gets a modern update in Tiana, who is one of my favourite Disney heroines ever. She knows wishing and dreaming won't get her anywhere – she's gonna work for it! She's also got Anika Noni Rose's voice, which is such a perfect fit for a Disney princess. I'm very happy with how her relationship with Naveen develops throughout the film; they go through a lot together and actually make each other better people, so when they (spoilers, sort of) fall in love and start a life together, it feels like they have truly earned it. I really enjoy the music in this film and Charlotte, Louis and Ray (sniffles!) are some of my favourite Disney supporting characters! This is the only film on my list that I haven't heard the Finnish version of, but Tiana's voice actress (including the singing) is Laura Voutilainen, whom I liked very much as Megara in Hercules.
3. Mulan
Mulan is another wonderful heroine! She is such a great role model for anyone out there who feels like they don't fit in. She's smart, selfless and butt-kicking! She might even have actually existed! Again, the film looks beautiful and I really like the Chinese setting. It's possibly one of the funniest Disney films ever and makes me literally roar with laughter, but among the things I love most about it is the lovely relationship Mulan has with her father. "The greatest gift and honour... is having you for a daughter." Almost all of the earlier Disney heroines' relationships with their fathers were built on the fact that their mothers just weren't there, but I don't think any of their Disney Dads can top that line by Mulan's father. The soundtrack is amazing. The singing voices for both the original and the Finnish Mulan (Lea Salonga and Heidi Kyrö respectively) are very good, the scene where Mulan leaves her parents gives me the chills every single time, and this one below is one of my favourite work-out songs! (Shang's Finnish voice actor, Santeri Kinnunen, also voiced John Smith.)
4. Aladdin
Just hearing the first beats of "Arabian Nights" gets me all excited. By the time I finish watching, I think "Wow, this was even more awesome than I remembered", every single time! The setting in Agraba is full of mystery and excitement and Jafar is damn impressive as the villain. Jasmine is definitely on the smarter side of the Disney Princess line-up as she sees right through "Prince Ali's" pretense and fools Jafar into thinking she's suddenly smitten by him (I never stop giggling at that scene). Like Tiana, she gets to have adventures with Aladdin and learn things about him before she decides he's the man. The Finnish voice cast actually received some sort of a Disney award for best dubbing, with special recognition to the Finnish Genie, Vesa-Matti Loiri. He's a long-time household name over here and a man of many talents, and the energy and character that he brings to the Genie is spectacular. I do appreciate Robin Williams' portrayal as well.
5. Pocahontas
I wonder what people might think about me placing Pocahontas in my top favourites, because it seems that nobody particularly likes it. However, for me it was one of the most important films of my childhood. In all honesty, I can say that the importance I place on anti-racist and environmental values originates from how profoundly affected Little Me was by Pocahontas. Years later, when I had to give a presentation of a hero for a school assignment, I chose the real-life Pocahontas. I love the look of the film, the character designs and the colours (of the wind). Watching Pocahontas is also one of those times when being a Finn is a vast advantage, because you get to hear Arja Koriseva and Santeri Kinnunen as the leads. I don't really like Judy Kuhn's singing, whereas Arja Koriseva's voice seems to vibrate with the forces of the wind, the earth and the river that she sings about. I also find John Smith much more believable when he doesn't speak with the voice (and the American accent) of Mel Gibson. Now listen to Arja Koriseva sing like a goddess.
Honourable mentions: Fantasia because of its amazingly imaginative re-interpretation of some of the greatest compositions of classical music, and The Great Mouse Detective because it's such a fun tribute to Sherlock Holmes.
Have you seen any Jane Austen adaptations? If so, which did you like best?
I haven't seen many Jane Austen adaptations and, to be honest, I'm not terribly enthusiastic about them. In my opinion, Jane Austen's strongest asset is her distinctive, sharp and witty narrative voice – when that gets inevitably eliminated in the process of adapting to screen, the result is mostly leisurely-paced relationship dramas with very predictable endings. Therefore, I often get a little bored when watching Austen on screen. I have seen the Pride and Prejudice film from 2005, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series, the 1995 film and part of the 2008 miniseries of Sense and Sensibility, and the 2009 miniseries of Emma. My favourite of these would be The Lizzie Bennet Diaries because the modern update is very cleverly done! Out of the actual period dramas, the film version of Sense and Sensibility is my top pick because it has a good cast, a couple of additional scenes that really advance the characters, and beautiful directing by Ang Lee.
You're a polyglot: what's your favourite word in Finnish, Swedish, English, French and Spanish?
What an interesting question – and what a challenge! It's impossible to give definite answers to this one, but I tried to come up with something.
What's your favourite pizza topping?
Pineapple! It's one of the best fruits ever, not just in pizza – when it's fresh, actual pineapple, that is. The sickly-whiteish bits that swim around in tin cans do not deserve to be called pineapple.
Siiri L. wanted to know my Hogwarts house, wand and Patronus.
I am a Ravenclaw according to every single Hogwarts test I've ever found on the Internet, including Pottermore's, and I completely agree with the results. I have always identified with the bookish, knowledge-valuing Ravenclaw crowd, and when Pottermore revealed that the house also values creativity and originality (to the point where others call it being just plain weird), it sounded exactly like my old high school which specializes in performance arts and is locally famous as the "artsy weirdoes' school". (Note that I use the phrase as a term of endearment.)
Hannah asked...
If you could play any character in a musical and/or play, who would it be and why?
I'm going to pick one character from a musical and one from a straight play. My musical character choice would be Éponine, without a doubt. "On My Own" and "A Little Fall of Rain" are among my favourite songs from Les Misérables, and although the character in the musical is often criticized for lacking the complexities of her Victor Hugo counterpart, I think there would be plenty of chances for an actress to explore more of the derangement and instability that characterize Éponine in the novel. Everyone loves a good stage death, and Éponine departs singing a beautiful duet and fills the remaining rebels with new resolution to keep fighting. Plus, I really love that hat.
Can you rank the Dickens novels that you've read so far?
I'll be more than happy to do that! I have only read three and a half of his novels so far, plus A Christmas Carol which I'll also include in the ranking even though it's a novella. I'm seriously working on my Dickens education, though – just look at my Classics Club list! I would like to point out that I have loved every Dickens novel I have read so far, they are all brilliant in different ways. Therefore, even the works that I have placed low on this ranking are not bad – just less amazing than the ones above them.
1. A Tale of Two Cities
This one bounced straight up to my list of "all-time favourite books of literary magic which will affect me for the rest of my life" – as soon as I was finished with despairing over the cruelty of the human race and crying about that bloody guillotine. Dickens does something very different than his usual thing here; the setting is in the late 1700s exploring the devastating effects of the Revolution and the Terror on the French society, there is none of Dickens' trademark satirical humour, and the page count is just over 400. The result is an absolutely heartbreaking account on how humanity's struggle for "justice" leads to tragedy both nation-wide and in the lives of ordinary men and women. I don't think any other book ever has sent my mind reeling so wildly, both during and after reading it.
2. Nicholas Nickleby
This was my first Dickens experience and it will most likely stay high in my esteem no matter how many Dickens novels I will read after it. It is a big book in terms of length and story, covering diverse layers of Victorian society in their various pursuits. However, the focus stays on young Nicholas Nickleby of idealistic values, as he develops one of literature's loveliest bromances with poor Smike, and learns to stand his ground against his miserly uncle Ralph. Nicholas Nickleby is many things, which makes it such an engaging read – it's viciously funny and unflinchingly tragic, a broad social commentary as well as an eventful coming-of-age adventure.
3. A Christmas Carol
I'm a complete junkie for fantasy, character development and the Christmas spirit, so if there exists a story about a sore old miser finding redemption through supernatural intervention at Christmastime, written in brilliant Dickensian prose, is there anything else for me to do but adore it? As always, Dickens' masterful pen creates literary images so awe-inspiring that it is best described as pure magic.
4. Little Dorrit
I'm exactly halfway through this one while I'm writing this blog post so I won't say much right now, but I'm fairly certain that Little Dorrit will rank somewhere hereabouts once I'm finished with it. The book is very slow-paced at times, but the good parts are very good. It explores themes such as the effects of institutionalisation (in this case, in a debtors' prison), the vapid constructions of high society, and the importance of a fulfilling life in great depth. Arthur Clennam is an interestingly atypical literary hero and the reader gets to really delve into how his past experiences have shaped his personality and current views of life.
5. Oliver Twist
As I discussed in my review about a year ago, this book has some structural flaws and Oliver Twist himself is not the most interesting or realistic of child heroes, but there is still more than a fair share of brilliant bits to be found here.
Would you rather J.K. Rowling wrote a series about the Hogwarts Founders, a series about the Marauders or a series about the next generation at Hogwarts?
Each of these ideas holds its own element of intrigue, but being such a history person, I would most like to hear about how Hogwarts came to be. I just happened to do some reading on the Anglo-Saxon period in British history, and how amazing would it be to know what that era was like for witches and wizards? And even compared to all the countless magical people that came from Rowling's imagination, the four who founded Hogwarts must be terrifically interesting characters!
If you could put various Doctor Who Doctors and companions together for a one-off episode, who would you pair up?
Oh, I was hoping Hannah might come up with a Doctor Who question, and this is a wonderfully interesting one! (Hannah, I want your answer on this in the comments.)
First of all, I would pair up the Twelfth Doctor with Donna simply because, as this article points out, it would be hilarious. Donna would first ask what the hell "Caecilius" was doing in the TARDIS and why he was even bothering to do such a lousy impersonation of the Doctor – the accent? being all grumpy? WHAT?!
Now, the Doctor that Donna knows – the Tenth – would have to go with one of the Eleventh's companions, and I would pick post-marriage Amy and Rory – I love them best when they're together, so that's a package deal. I don't really know what we might expect to happen with these three. The Doctor might notice that Amy has succeeded in being ginger, unlike him. He would also, for once, get to meet a pretty young woman who doesn't fall for him, and that young woman's husband whom he can't call an idiot, unlike the "companions' boyfriends" that he met. He would also witness two companions whose lives don't revolve entirely around TARDIS traveling.
Because Martha is my favourite companion right after Amy and Rory, I would definitely want to see her somewhere in this mix-up. She and Nine would make up a very interesting, business-like TARDIS team, wouldn't they? Nine might also appreciate her talents more than Ten did, and I think Martha would lecture the Doctor on how he's not allowed to label all humans as "stupid apes".
Martha and Donna being taken, the only regular companion left for the Eleventh Doctor would be Rose, and I can't really see anything interesting coming out of this. Maybe I'm just biased against Rose. Anyway, I had another idea... Captain Jack Harkness. He's not one of "the" companions, but think about it, seriously! The "Captain of the Innuendo Squad" paired up with the Doctor who doesn't understand why a married couple doesn't want bunk beds – endless hilarity! Also, my favourite Doctor + my favourite supporting character from series 1-4 would mean an extra birthday for me...
What are your top 5 Disney films?
A Disney question, yay! First of all, I did some thinking on what sorts of things make my personal favourite Disney films stand out from all the good Disney films. Here is a list of things that really matter to me regarding this question. All of my Top Five don't have all of these qualities, but mostly they do.
- Well-rounded main characters whose background, motivations and hopes are properly explored
- Great music
- Beautiful animation
- An interesting setting
- A well-paced, eventful story that has equal measures of touching and funny moments
- A good voice cast – I watched most Disney films with Finnish dubbing first, and I still think many of the Finnish voice actors are better than the original ones, no matter how objective I try to be.
So, getting to the point, my Top 5 Disney films are...
1. The Lion King
This was an easy choice to make; there has never been and never will be a competitor to how much I adore just about everything in this film. The music is wonderful, the animation is gorgeous, I love every single character (including that classic, awesome Disney villain Scar) and no matter how many times I watch it, I'm always completely heart-broken about how Mufasa's death affects Simba way into adulthood. No other movie in the world makes me cry three times in one viewing. The story is truly inspiring and I wish I could have Timon and Pumbaa as my best friends – the Finnish voice actor for Timon, Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, really stands out. Let me give all of you non-Finns a piece of him:
2. The Princess and the Frog
This film carries none of the childhood nostalgia that I get from The Lion King and Pocahontas and the likes, because it came out as late as 2009 and in fact I only saw it a year ago – so I was quite surprised at how high it jumped (frog-like) into my favourites list, I simply loved it straight away! New Orleans makes a wonderfully imaginative setting and I love how the "Disney Princess" concept gets a modern update in Tiana, who is one of my favourite Disney heroines ever. She knows wishing and dreaming won't get her anywhere – she's gonna work for it! She's also got Anika Noni Rose's voice, which is such a perfect fit for a Disney princess. I'm very happy with how her relationship with Naveen develops throughout the film; they go through a lot together and actually make each other better people, so when they (spoilers, sort of) fall in love and start a life together, it feels like they have truly earned it. I really enjoy the music in this film and Charlotte, Louis and Ray (sniffles!) are some of my favourite Disney supporting characters! This is the only film on my list that I haven't heard the Finnish version of, but Tiana's voice actress (including the singing) is Laura Voutilainen, whom I liked very much as Megara in Hercules.
3. Mulan
Mulan is another wonderful heroine! She is such a great role model for anyone out there who feels like they don't fit in. She's smart, selfless and butt-kicking! She might even have actually existed! Again, the film looks beautiful and I really like the Chinese setting. It's possibly one of the funniest Disney films ever and makes me literally roar with laughter, but among the things I love most about it is the lovely relationship Mulan has with her father. "The greatest gift and honour... is having you for a daughter." Almost all of the earlier Disney heroines' relationships with their fathers were built on the fact that their mothers just weren't there, but I don't think any of their Disney Dads can top that line by Mulan's father. The soundtrack is amazing. The singing voices for both the original and the Finnish Mulan (Lea Salonga and Heidi Kyrö respectively) are very good, the scene where Mulan leaves her parents gives me the chills every single time, and this one below is one of my favourite work-out songs! (Shang's Finnish voice actor, Santeri Kinnunen, also voiced John Smith.)
4. Aladdin
Just hearing the first beats of "Arabian Nights" gets me all excited. By the time I finish watching, I think "Wow, this was even more awesome than I remembered", every single time! The setting in Agraba is full of mystery and excitement and Jafar is damn impressive as the villain. Jasmine is definitely on the smarter side of the Disney Princess line-up as she sees right through "Prince Ali's" pretense and fools Jafar into thinking she's suddenly smitten by him (I never stop giggling at that scene). Like Tiana, she gets to have adventures with Aladdin and learn things about him before she decides he's the man. The Finnish voice cast actually received some sort of a Disney award for best dubbing, with special recognition to the Finnish Genie, Vesa-Matti Loiri. He's a long-time household name over here and a man of many talents, and the energy and character that he brings to the Genie is spectacular. I do appreciate Robin Williams' portrayal as well.
5. Pocahontas
I wonder what people might think about me placing Pocahontas in my top favourites, because it seems that nobody particularly likes it. However, for me it was one of the most important films of my childhood. In all honesty, I can say that the importance I place on anti-racist and environmental values originates from how profoundly affected Little Me was by Pocahontas. Years later, when I had to give a presentation of a hero for a school assignment, I chose the real-life Pocahontas. I love the look of the film, the character designs and the colours (of the wind). Watching Pocahontas is also one of those times when being a Finn is a vast advantage, because you get to hear Arja Koriseva and Santeri Kinnunen as the leads. I don't really like Judy Kuhn's singing, whereas Arja Koriseva's voice seems to vibrate with the forces of the wind, the earth and the river that she sings about. I also find John Smith much more believable when he doesn't speak with the voice (and the American accent) of Mel Gibson. Now listen to Arja Koriseva sing like a goddess.
Honourable mentions: Fantasia because of its amazingly imaginative re-interpretation of some of the greatest compositions of classical music, and The Great Mouse Detective because it's such a fun tribute to Sherlock Holmes.
Have you seen any Jane Austen adaptations? If so, which did you like best?
I haven't seen many Jane Austen adaptations and, to be honest, I'm not terribly enthusiastic about them. In my opinion, Jane Austen's strongest asset is her distinctive, sharp and witty narrative voice – when that gets inevitably eliminated in the process of adapting to screen, the result is mostly leisurely-paced relationship dramas with very predictable endings. Therefore, I often get a little bored when watching Austen on screen. I have seen the Pride and Prejudice film from 2005, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries web series, the 1995 film and part of the 2008 miniseries of Sense and Sensibility, and the 2009 miniseries of Emma. My favourite of these would be The Lizzie Bennet Diaries because the modern update is very cleverly done! Out of the actual period dramas, the film version of Sense and Sensibility is my top pick because it has a good cast, a couple of additional scenes that really advance the characters, and beautiful directing by Ang Lee.
You're a polyglot: what's your favourite word in Finnish, Swedish, English, French and Spanish?
What an interesting question – and what a challenge! It's impossible to give definite answers to this one, but I tried to come up with something.
- Finnish: possibly valo, which means light (the noun). I'm not even remotely sure about this, though – it's really hard to evaluate my first language in this way! Eino Leino, one of the greatest Finnish poets (1878-1926), liked to use words with the back vowels a, o and u, and I really like the Finnish sound of them as well.
- Swedish: Swedish words are almost always cluttered with sounds like d, j, ä, g, and r (seriously, there are so many r's!) which don't make the pleasantest combinations if you ask my ears. There is also an abundance of weird phonemes which involve s in the front and a variety of other consonants right after it. Himmel is a nice, soft exception, and it means sky.
- English: Damn, this isn't any easier than the two previous ones! English is my favourite language and I'm constantly impressed by the scope and variety of its vocabulary. If I had to pick one, I might go with dramatic. It sounds exactly like what it means – dramatic!
- French: Oh, everything sounds beautiful in French, even vulgarities and words like trash ("Oh là là, this pubelle is rotting!"). Avenir is a particularly nice one, I think – future. It's rather clever too, as it's constructed from à venir, which means upcoming.
- Spanish: On my last visit to Spain, I stayed near to a village that has the word arroyo (brook) in its name, and I realized that even though the rhotic r is one of my least favourite sounds in Finnish and Swedish, in Spanish it sounds passionate and vivacious.
What's your favourite pizza topping?
Pineapple! It's one of the best fruits ever, not just in pizza – when it's fresh, actual pineapple, that is. The sickly-whiteish bits that swim around in tin cans do not deserve to be called pineapple.
Siiri L. wanted to know my Hogwarts house, wand and Patronus.
I am a Ravenclaw according to every single Hogwarts test I've ever found on the Internet, including Pottermore's, and I completely agree with the results. I have always identified with the bookish, knowledge-valuing Ravenclaw crowd, and when Pottermore revealed that the house also values creativity and originality (to the point where others call it being just plain weird), it sounded exactly like my old high school which specializes in performance arts and is locally famous as the "artsy weirdoes' school". (Note that I use the phrase as a term of endearment.)
According to Pottermore, my wand is of maple and unicorn hair, 10 inches and surprisingly swishy. Unicorns are my favourite mythological creatures and maple wands are supposed to fit for travelers and explorers who don't like to stay in one place, so I think it fits pretty well! The Patronus question is a tricky one because I don't think it's something you can choose, but I would love a wolf Patronus. Fear and hate of wolves is a deeply-rooted mindset in the Finnish population, but I've always thought they're beautiful and mysterious (though I do understand how people who live in the heavily wolf-populated areas where children are sometimes afraid to walk to school might find it hard to agree with me). The Starks' direwolves are one of my absolute favourite things in A Song of Ice and Fire!
The Ask Me Anything event finishes tomorrow with my answers to Hamlette's and Olivia's questions! :) Please feel free to share your own thoughts on the questions above!
Monday, 2 March 2015
Blogger Recognition Award
Hamlette has awarded me with the Blogger Recognition Award! Salutations and thanks to you, Hamlette – I hope you already know how much I appreciate and admire your dedication to your blogs, those fun blog events you have hosted, and all those vastly intelligent comments you have made while visiting here. You probably also know how eagerly I'll jump at any kind of blog challenge or tag that is thrown my way, so here I go!
Rules and Regulations:
Rules and Regulations:
- Attach the award.
- Thank the person who nominated you.
- Provide a link to the original post at Edge of Night
- Give a brief story of how your blog got started and a piece or two of advice for new bloggers.
- Select 15 blogs to nominate.
- Comment on each nominee's blog and let them know that you've nominated them.
How it began
Somewhere around the spring of 2013 I started having the feeling that I had quite a lot to say about the way I experienced literature, music and drama. At the time I hardly had any people in my life who shared those interests with the same enthusiasm and critical eye as I did, so because of the lack of arts-related face-to-face communication, I had the idea of putting up a blog. I remembered my favourite literature course in (the Finnish equivalent of) high school where our assignments included reading a controversial classic novel and writing a review on it. Even though I read Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary for that assignment and I didn't appreciate it much, that course was among the best of my high school experiences because the teacher was the best ever and I discovered that writing reviews was something that really resonated with me.
The best decisions I've made in my life have always been spur-of-the-moment. Once the idea of starting a culture blog had settled nicely in my head, I spent the next day or two setting up an account on Blogger, and on April 15th, 2013 I wrote my first blog post.
Many different bloggers served as inspiration and role models for Music & My Mind, but there was a person with the online-name Frankie Savage who deserves a special mention. She was my friend in the Blogiverse as well as in real life, and she was the one who answered my silly questions when I first couldn't figure out how Blogger worked. The reason why I have to refer to Frankie in past tense is that she sadly passed away just before Christmas in 2014, due to a long and serious illness. She was just 24 years old and one of the wisest, strongest, simply the best people I have ever known. All the comments on this blog made by Frankie Savage or Kristallikettu are hers, and though I'm over the worst shock of her passing, it still makes me terribly sad to think that I'll never get to talk to her again. Still, I'm glad I'm able to at least show her a bit of gratitude in this blog post.
Advice for new bloggers
- First and foremost, write about the things that interest you, in a style that feels natural to you!
- Using labels and tags on your blog posts makes it loads, and I mean it, loads easier for your readers to browse around your blog and target the posts that would most interest them, and to get a general overview on the topics that you write about.
- Experiment with different forms of writing. For example, if you have review blog like me, you don't always have to write the regular kinds of reviews. You could do Top Ten lists, comparison posts, open letters... Just use your imagination! It will make your blog so much more interesting.
- Be cautious with your blog's layout. Most people find neon-green text on a bright red background a little irritating to read.
- Even if your blog is not intended as a diary of your personal life and you should always be very careful about sharing personal details online, I would still suggest that you give your blog a little touch of your personality. I like to feel like what I'm reading comes from a real person, rather than a fact-sprouting machine. Make your blog sound like you, write an introduction page that makes readers feel welcome, and demonstrate how the things you write about stem from your real-life experiences.
- This is something I should really work on myself: visit other blogs as often as you can, and look out for new blogs to add on your reading list. You want people to comment on your blog, right? The best way to achieve this is commenting on other people's blogs. Also, participate in any interesting blogging events that you can find. They are always loads of fun (if they are hosted well) and it's one of the best ways to find bloggers who share your interests and expand your social blogging circles.
Now, nominating 15 other blogs is the tricky part. Like I said, I haven't been very actively working on my blog circles, so I'll just see how many nominees I can come up with.
- Hayden at The Story Girl
- Mariah Martinez at Godwottery Shenanigans
- Miss Dashwood at Yet Another Period Drama Blog
- Miss Laurie at Old-Fashioned Charm
- Siiri L. at Some Superfluous Opinions
- And a posthumous nomination for dearest Frankie Savage
Happy blogging and blog-surfing to you all!
Friday, 10 October 2014
The Guardian's "1000 novels everyone must read"
Finland has a lot of "national days of this and that", which are often celebrated on the birthday of a notable Finnish personality. They are not official holidays and it really depends on one's own interest how much or how little you care to mark the occasion. Personally, I mostly forget about these various dates completely and wouldn't even notice they existed if it wasn't for all the Finnish flags being hoisted up. Today, however, I'm actually aware that it's the birthday of Aleksis Kivi, which also stands for the national day of Finnish literature. Aleksis Kivi is renowned as the author of Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä) – one of the first Finnish novels ever, published in 1870 – and he is also considered a Finnish pioneer in the genre of realism, and one of the first people over here to make their entire living by writing – though this never quite worked out as well as Kivi might have wished and his life was unstable both mentally and financially.
Well, my relationship with Finnish literature is what it is, but as I was planning a bookish blog post anyway, I will take this chance to appreciate literature in a more global sense. So here follows the original post which I planned some days ago and which now fits in very conveniently with the national day of literature.
While the BBC booklist went around the internet last spring, The Guardian's list of 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read that had been compiled in 2009 re-surfaced. This list had been made by the Guardian's review team and a panel of expert judges, rather than by a public poll. I hope that readers everywhere will choose their reading according to their own interests (and occasionally because the teacher said so) instead of feeling pressure from some "definitive" list, but of course it was very interesting to see what this list looked like – and how I measured up against it myself. You can get your score on List Challenges. Here is what I have read out of the list:
Well, my relationship with Finnish literature is what it is, but as I was planning a bookish blog post anyway, I will take this chance to appreciate literature in a more global sense. So here follows the original post which I planned some days ago and which now fits in very conveniently with the national day of literature.
While the BBC booklist went around the internet last spring, The Guardian's list of 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read that had been compiled in 2009 re-surfaced. This list had been made by the Guardian's review team and a panel of expert judges, rather than by a public poll. I hope that readers everywhere will choose their reading according to their own interests (and occasionally because the teacher said so) instead of feeling pressure from some "definitive" list, but of course it was very interesting to see what this list looked like – and how I measured up against it myself. You can get your score on List Challenges. Here is what I have read out of the list:
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Emma by Jane Austen
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Silas Marner by George Eliot
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Earthsea series by Ursula K. LeGuin
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Black Beauty by Anna Sewell
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
That's 33 novels, which makes 3,3% out of the list. There were also a couple of books on the list that I started but never finished: Lord of the Flies by William Golding, The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco, and the His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman. The first two I gave up because I got too bored, but I really don't understand why I never finished the last book of His Dark Materials, because I was absolutely fascinated by the first two. I must have been busy with other stuff and put the book aside in order to return to it at a better time. I'll have to keep that in mind. I've also read City of Glass, which is one part of Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy – I didn't think much of it, it was one of those compulsory reads for a University course.
There were also many books on that list that I will definitely be reading some day. I just made myself a "near-future reading list" (meaning "I won't take up any other reading till I've finished these") which happens to include eight books from the Guardian list. (My "far-future reading list" is vague and constantly changing, with no time limits except "before I die" and includes all the Charles Dickens books, for example.)
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
Meme: On Books & Reading
1. Favourite childhood book?
I can remember the exact moment when I learned to read, at the age of six on a summer day. This very special book was a picture book about different kinds of jobs called Things People Do (Finnish translation titled Iloisten ihmisten saari), by Anne Civardi and Stephen Cartwright. I can still remember in glorious detail how my mother and big sister encouraged me to read aloud from the chapter about the baker, and how the jumbles of letters finally made sense! So obviously, such an important book deserves a mention among my childhood favourites.
Other notable ones would be Roald Dahl's Matilda and Anna Sewell's Black Beauty. I loved all of Dahl's books when I was a kid (I still do!) but I felt a very special connection with Matilda because I happened to come across that book at the time I was beginning to realize just how much I loved books, so I felt very close to the book-loving title character – who also happens to share my first name!
2. What are you reading right now?
I'm actively reading Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – the Finnish translation. But I've also got bookmarks on George R.R. Martin's A Storm of Swords and Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. They've been on hold now for quite a long time, waiting for their proper time to be finished.
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
I just requested a big book about British kings and queens (I can't remember the name) which seems super interesting! I should be getting it tomorrow.
4. Bad book habit?
As you can see from my answer to the second question, I'm currently in the middle of several books at once. This is a very recent habit and one which I don't like at all! I really want to give my full attention to just one book at a time and I have absolutely no idea how I ended up in this situation!
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona, Directing in the Theatre by Hugh Morrison, and a Spanish text book called Español Uno.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
I don't, and I'm not really interested in having one. I already spend enough of my time staring at various kinds of screens (when I'm blogging, for example) so when I want to enjoy a good book I want the real thing.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
As I mentioned before, I've always been a strictly one-book-at-a-time person... until recently.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I think I'm more interested to try out different genres and authors nowadays, because I want fresh and interesting content for my blog.
9. Least favourite book you read this year (so far)?
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux – as much as I love the stage musical, I couldn't wait to get rid of that book!
10. Favourite book you've read this year (so far)?
I've had the chance to read many great books recently! Perhaps the most favourite one would be Zadie Smith's White Teeth which was both thought-provoking and immensely entertaining.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
I try to broaden my reading horizons regularly, but I wouldn't say I read out of my comfort zone that often.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
I read mostly well-known authors, most often not very modern ones (though I'm working on that too). I'm usually drawn to "big" stories – not necessarily big in terms of the number of pages, but rich in characters and a well-developed plot.
13. Can you read on the bus?
I always read on the bus if the ride is longer than half an hour. Now that I live quite in the middle of my home town I rarely have to take longer bus rides, but whenever I do it's absolutely necessary to have something to read.
14. Favourite place to read?
At home on the couch, and on any kind of transportation – trains, cars, airplanes, and, of course, buses.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
I only lend books to people I know well and can trust to 1. return my books 2. also return them in perfect condition. However, to these people that have earned my trust in this matter I'm very eager to recommend my favourites on my bookshelf and give them the chance to read them as well.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
No. No. No. No. Just NO.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Just the thought of violating my books with a pencil makes me uncomfortable.
18. Not even with text books?
Alright, text books are different. I haven't quite been able to make notes on my text books, but I can definitely see that it could be very helpful. That is, if the text book is your own – I absolutely hate it when I have to borrow a book from the University library and someone else has underlined the whole book – having someone else's (often totally stupid and irrelevant) notes on a book that I'm supposed to be concentrating on is incredibly distracting! People, do you realize what's the point about library books? The fact that it's not your own – someone else will be reading it after you, complete with whatever idiotic notes and smiley faces you scribble on the margins!
19. What is your favourite language to read in?
English. I started reading in English when I was about 10 years old, and nowadays I rarely read in any other language.
20. What makes you love a book?
Well-developed characters, an engaging and unpredictable plot, interesting settings, and sophisticated use of language and narration techniques. That's about it.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I'm still mulling over a book for several days after finishing it, I will definitely badger all of my friends about it.
22. Favourite genres?
Historical fiction, fantasy (though I'm quite picky about this genre nowadays), children's books, good detective stories, plays, and, perhaps above all else, social satire.
23. Genres you rarely read (but wish you did)?
I think I should read more biographies/autobiographies – I bet there are some absolutely fascinating real-life stories to find. I'm also planning to get a little more into the horror genre, which I barely ever read.
24. Favourite biography?
I just told you this is one of my least-read genres... In fact, I can't think of a single biography right now. Salman Rushdie's Joseph Anton is on my reading list though, and it probably qualifies as at least a partial biography because it's his account on the years he lived under the threat of the fatwa.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Do horse riding manuals and "how to train your dog" books count?
26. Favourite cookbook?
Ahem, I don't really cook that much and on the rare occasion that I do, the recipe is usually from online or a really trusty old goodie that I know and love. There is a really big, beautiful cook book in my parents' shelf called Rakkaudesta ruokaan (= For the love of food) which I sometimes like to leaf through simply because all the things in it look gorgeous – the recipes, on the other hand, sound so dauntingly complicated I don't think they would ever work in a home kitchen.
27. Most inspirational book you've read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes, which I recently blogged about, was a tremendously uplifting reading experience!
28. Favourite reading snack?
I usually have a cup of tea when I'm reading. Then again, if I give myself permission to nibble on something... my favourite alternative would be cheese puffs. I love those things way too much.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
I made a whole blog post about much-adored books that disappointed me, but probably the best example of this would be Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. I had heard nothing but praise and why haven't you read it alreadys about this book, then I read it and felt utterly, completely deflated.
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I very rarely agree with critics. It's not always the "I loved it but the critics put it down" situation, or even vice versa – usually, even if I share a critic's overall impression of a book, I like and dislike completely opposite things than what they point out.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
Blogging about things I intensely dislike is actually quite a lot of fun. On the other hand, I always try not to go the "This book just sucks, end of story" route, and I won't put anyone else down for liking something I don't.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?
I do most of my reading in English, which counts as a foreign language for me. I've also read a little in French and Swedish. I'm currently learning Spanish and would love to be able to read properly in that language one day – Federico García Lorca's plays and Cien Años de Soledad by Gabriel García Márquez would be first on my Spanish reading list!
33. The most intimidating book you're too nervous to begin?
To be completely honest, I don't really get it how a book can be intimidating. If I'm interested in a book, I'll read it – simple as that.
34. Favourite poet?
John Keats. Ode to a Nightingale does such funny things to my brain every time I read it, it's like an enchantment.
35. Favourite fictional character?
Of course nobody is seriously expecting me to pick just one, so let's make a list of the great characters that first come to mind: Matilda from the Dahl book that I mentioned earlier, Bilbo Baggins, Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Nancy from Oliver Twist, Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Jean Valjean, Éponine...
36. Favourite fictional villain?
The White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia and Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series. I'm actually quite surprised to find that these two are the first ones to spring up in my mind!
37. Books I'm most likely to bring on holiday?
Like I mentioned earlier, I like to read on all kinds of vehicles. Therefore, I need something that will last both the airplane/bus/train/car rides there and back, and during the actual holiday. I'm laughably paranoid about this, so when I make the important (almost ritualistic) decision on what shall be my holiday read, it's always something chunky (The Lord of the Rings and Nicholas Nickleby are about the good holiday size in my opinion) and something I haven't started yet. People think I'm really weird, hauling my biggest books around when everyone else packs something light and practical.
38. The longest I've gone without reading
I'm always in the middle of a book. As soon as I finish one, I pick the next. As far as I can tell, it's been like this ever since I learned to read properly and really took up the habit of books. I honestly can't remember going without a book for more than 12 hours.
39. Name a book that you would/could not finish
I tried and failed to read Émile Zola's Nana this summer. I admit, part of the problem might have been that reading in French is a lot more challenging than reading in English or Finnish, but mostly, I think I just got bored with the characters and the very slow plot.
40. What distracts you easily when you're reading?
Any kind of noise, especially conversation. I'm just really bad at blocking out background noise. I've also found out that it's especially hard to read anything in English or French if someone is speaking Finnish nearby.
41. Favourite film adaptation of a novel
I've seen lots of good film adaptations, but the first ones to come to mind are the Les Misérables musical film and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
42. Most disappointing film adaptation
This might seem bizarre, seeing as I just listed the LOTR films as my favourite adaptations, but I felt really, really sad about Desolation of Smaug. Sure, it looked great and most of the actors did a superb job (Martin Freeman, Lee Pace and Richard Armitage at least deserve to be mentioned) but I got incredibly frustrated with all the subplots and felt that all the best moments in the book where Bilbo saves everyone by just being quietly clever were converted into huge, messy action scenes that dragged on for way too long!
43. The most money I've ever spent in a bookstore at one time
I have a rubbish memory for numbers and I'm way too over-enthusiastic at the event of buying new books so I can't possibly remember anything as irrelevant as this.
44. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
If there are illustrations in the book, I often like to give them a peek before reading. Otherwise I don't, because I share River Song's attitude about spoilers.
45. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
If it bores the living daylights out of me.
46. Do you like to keep your books organized?
I like the idea of keeping my books organized by author and genre, but I have never managed to make it a reality. I always end up stowing my books wherever convenient, making my bookcase a sort of lovely mess.
47. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you've read them?
I try to make good use of the library so I don't have to buy every book I read. However, if a book holds any kind of special value to me, I will buy it and keep it forever.
48. A book you didn't expect to like but did
Every Finn has to read Väinö Linna's The Unknown Soldier at some point of their basic education, and I've usually found these compulsory reads of Finnish "classics" more or less terrible. However, I was genuinely surprised at how intense The Unknown Soldier was, and really admired Linna's depiction of the soldier boys who serve as the main characters.
49. A book that you expected to like but didn't
See my answer to question 29, and the blog post that I mentioned in it.
50. Favourite guilt-free, pleasure reading
No matter how hard I think about this, I can't really think of anything that would suit the description. I don't really do "light reading", to be honest. When I pick up a book, I'm looking forward to something at least mildly intellectual and thought-provoking.
I picked up this meme on Hannah's blog and had a lot of fun doing it! It's been a long time since I've properly assessed my reading habits, and it was quite refreshing to do that now! Anyone who comes across is most welcome to pass on the meme. There really isn't a better, more rewarding hobby in the world than reading books, is there?
I can remember the exact moment when I learned to read, at the age of six on a summer day. This very special book was a picture book about different kinds of jobs called Things People Do (Finnish translation titled Iloisten ihmisten saari), by Anne Civardi and Stephen Cartwright. I can still remember in glorious detail how my mother and big sister encouraged me to read aloud from the chapter about the baker, and how the jumbles of letters finally made sense! So obviously, such an important book deserves a mention among my childhood favourites.
Other notable ones would be Roald Dahl's Matilda and Anna Sewell's Black Beauty. I loved all of Dahl's books when I was a kid (I still do!) but I felt a very special connection with Matilda because I happened to come across that book at the time I was beginning to realize just how much I loved books, so I felt very close to the book-loving title character – who also happens to share my first name!
2. What are you reading right now?
I'm actively reading Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell – the Finnish translation. But I've also got bookmarks on George R.R. Martin's A Storm of Swords and Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth. They've been on hold now for quite a long time, waiting for their proper time to be finished.
3. What books do you have on request at the library?
I just requested a big book about British kings and queens (I can't remember the name) which seems super interesting! I should be getting it tomorrow.
4. Bad book habit?
As you can see from my answer to the second question, I'm currently in the middle of several books at once. This is a very recent habit and one which I don't like at all! I really want to give my full attention to just one book at a time and I have absolutely no idea how I ended up in this situation!
5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?
Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona, Directing in the Theatre by Hugh Morrison, and a Spanish text book called Español Uno.
6. Do you have an e-reader?
I don't, and I'm not really interested in having one. I already spend enough of my time staring at various kinds of screens (when I'm blogging, for example) so when I want to enjoy a good book I want the real thing.
7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?
As I mentioned before, I've always been a strictly one-book-at-a-time person... until recently.
8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?
I think I'm more interested to try out different genres and authors nowadays, because I want fresh and interesting content for my blog.
9. Least favourite book you read this year (so far)?
Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux – as much as I love the stage musical, I couldn't wait to get rid of that book!
10. Favourite book you've read this year (so far)?
I've had the chance to read many great books recently! Perhaps the most favourite one would be Zadie Smith's White Teeth which was both thought-provoking and immensely entertaining.
11. How often do you read out of your comfort zone?
I try to broaden my reading horizons regularly, but I wouldn't say I read out of my comfort zone that often.
12. What is your reading comfort zone?
I read mostly well-known authors, most often not very modern ones (though I'm working on that too). I'm usually drawn to "big" stories – not necessarily big in terms of the number of pages, but rich in characters and a well-developed plot.
13. Can you read on the bus?
I always read on the bus if the ride is longer than half an hour. Now that I live quite in the middle of my home town I rarely have to take longer bus rides, but whenever I do it's absolutely necessary to have something to read.
14. Favourite place to read?
At home on the couch, and on any kind of transportation – trains, cars, airplanes, and, of course, buses.
15. What is your policy on book lending?
I only lend books to people I know well and can trust to 1. return my books 2. also return them in perfect condition. However, to these people that have earned my trust in this matter I'm very eager to recommend my favourites on my bookshelf and give them the chance to read them as well.
16. Do you ever dog-ear books?
No. No. No. No. Just NO.
17. Do you ever write in the margins of your books?
Just the thought of violating my books with a pencil makes me uncomfortable.
18. Not even with text books?
Alright, text books are different. I haven't quite been able to make notes on my text books, but I can definitely see that it could be very helpful. That is, if the text book is your own – I absolutely hate it when I have to borrow a book from the University library and someone else has underlined the whole book – having someone else's (often totally stupid and irrelevant) notes on a book that I'm supposed to be concentrating on is incredibly distracting! People, do you realize what's the point about library books? The fact that it's not your own – someone else will be reading it after you, complete with whatever idiotic notes and smiley faces you scribble on the margins!
19. What is your favourite language to read in?
English. I started reading in English when I was about 10 years old, and nowadays I rarely read in any other language.
20. What makes you love a book?
Well-developed characters, an engaging and unpredictable plot, interesting settings, and sophisticated use of language and narration techniques. That's about it.
21. What will inspire you to recommend a book?
If I'm still mulling over a book for several days after finishing it, I will definitely badger all of my friends about it.
22. Favourite genres?
Historical fiction, fantasy (though I'm quite picky about this genre nowadays), children's books, good detective stories, plays, and, perhaps above all else, social satire.
23. Genres you rarely read (but wish you did)?
I think I should read more biographies/autobiographies – I bet there are some absolutely fascinating real-life stories to find. I'm also planning to get a little more into the horror genre, which I barely ever read.
24. Favourite biography?
I just told you this is one of my least-read genres... In fact, I can't think of a single biography right now. Salman Rushdie's Joseph Anton is on my reading list though, and it probably qualifies as at least a partial biography because it's his account on the years he lived under the threat of the fatwa.
25. Have you ever read a self-help book?
Do horse riding manuals and "how to train your dog" books count?
26. Favourite cookbook?
Ahem, I don't really cook that much and on the rare occasion that I do, the recipe is usually from online or a really trusty old goodie that I know and love. There is a really big, beautiful cook book in my parents' shelf called Rakkaudesta ruokaan (= For the love of food) which I sometimes like to leaf through simply because all the things in it look gorgeous – the recipes, on the other hand, sound so dauntingly complicated I don't think they would ever work in a home kitchen.
27. Most inspirational book you've read this year (fiction or non-fiction)?
Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes, which I recently blogged about, was a tremendously uplifting reading experience!
28. Favourite reading snack?
I usually have a cup of tea when I'm reading. Then again, if I give myself permission to nibble on something... my favourite alternative would be cheese puffs. I love those things way too much.
29. Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience.
I made a whole blog post about much-adored books that disappointed me, but probably the best example of this would be Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. I had heard nothing but praise and why haven't you read it alreadys about this book, then I read it and felt utterly, completely deflated.
30. How often do you agree with critics about a book?
I very rarely agree with critics. It's not always the "I loved it but the critics put it down" situation, or even vice versa – usually, even if I share a critic's overall impression of a book, I like and dislike completely opposite things than what they point out.
31. How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews?
Blogging about things I intensely dislike is actually quite a lot of fun. On the other hand, I always try not to go the "This book just sucks, end of story" route, and I won't put anyone else down for liking something I don't.
32. If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you choose?
I do most of my reading in English, which counts as a foreign language for me. I've also read a little in French and Swedish. I'm currently learning Spanish and would love to be able to read properly in that language one day – Federico García Lorca's plays and Cien Años de Soledad by Gabriel García Márquez would be first on my Spanish reading list!
33. The most intimidating book you're too nervous to begin?
To be completely honest, I don't really get it how a book can be intimidating. If I'm interested in a book, I'll read it – simple as that.
34. Favourite poet?
John Keats. Ode to a Nightingale does such funny things to my brain every time I read it, it's like an enchantment.
35. Favourite fictional character?
Of course nobody is seriously expecting me to pick just one, so let's make a list of the great characters that first come to mind: Matilda from the Dahl book that I mentioned earlier, Bilbo Baggins, Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, Nancy from Oliver Twist, Jon Snow, Arya Stark, Jean Valjean, Éponine...
36. Favourite fictional villain?
The White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia and Dolores Umbridge from the Harry Potter series. I'm actually quite surprised to find that these two are the first ones to spring up in my mind!
37. Books I'm most likely to bring on holiday?
Like I mentioned earlier, I like to read on all kinds of vehicles. Therefore, I need something that will last both the airplane/bus/train/car rides there and back, and during the actual holiday. I'm laughably paranoid about this, so when I make the important (almost ritualistic) decision on what shall be my holiday read, it's always something chunky (The Lord of the Rings and Nicholas Nickleby are about the good holiday size in my opinion) and something I haven't started yet. People think I'm really weird, hauling my biggest books around when everyone else packs something light and practical.
38. The longest I've gone without reading
I'm always in the middle of a book. As soon as I finish one, I pick the next. As far as I can tell, it's been like this ever since I learned to read properly and really took up the habit of books. I honestly can't remember going without a book for more than 12 hours.
39. Name a book that you would/could not finish
I tried and failed to read Émile Zola's Nana this summer. I admit, part of the problem might have been that reading in French is a lot more challenging than reading in English or Finnish, but mostly, I think I just got bored with the characters and the very slow plot.
40. What distracts you easily when you're reading?
Any kind of noise, especially conversation. I'm just really bad at blocking out background noise. I've also found out that it's especially hard to read anything in English or French if someone is speaking Finnish nearby.
41. Favourite film adaptation of a novel
I've seen lots of good film adaptations, but the first ones to come to mind are the Les Misérables musical film and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
42. Most disappointing film adaptation
This might seem bizarre, seeing as I just listed the LOTR films as my favourite adaptations, but I felt really, really sad about Desolation of Smaug. Sure, it looked great and most of the actors did a superb job (Martin Freeman, Lee Pace and Richard Armitage at least deserve to be mentioned) but I got incredibly frustrated with all the subplots and felt that all the best moments in the book where Bilbo saves everyone by just being quietly clever were converted into huge, messy action scenes that dragged on for way too long!
43. The most money I've ever spent in a bookstore at one time
I have a rubbish memory for numbers and I'm way too over-enthusiastic at the event of buying new books so I can't possibly remember anything as irrelevant as this.
44. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
If there are illustrations in the book, I often like to give them a peek before reading. Otherwise I don't, because I share River Song's attitude about spoilers.
45. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
If it bores the living daylights out of me.
46. Do you like to keep your books organized?
I like the idea of keeping my books organized by author and genre, but I have never managed to make it a reality. I always end up stowing my books wherever convenient, making my bookcase a sort of lovely mess.
47. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you've read them?
I try to make good use of the library so I don't have to buy every book I read. However, if a book holds any kind of special value to me, I will buy it and keep it forever.
48. A book you didn't expect to like but did
Every Finn has to read Väinö Linna's The Unknown Soldier at some point of their basic education, and I've usually found these compulsory reads of Finnish "classics" more or less terrible. However, I was genuinely surprised at how intense The Unknown Soldier was, and really admired Linna's depiction of the soldier boys who serve as the main characters.
49. A book that you expected to like but didn't
See my answer to question 29, and the blog post that I mentioned in it.
50. Favourite guilt-free, pleasure reading
No matter how hard I think about this, I can't really think of anything that would suit the description. I don't really do "light reading", to be honest. When I pick up a book, I'm looking forward to something at least mildly intellectual and thought-provoking.
I picked up this meme on Hannah's blog and had a lot of fun doing it! It's been a long time since I've properly assessed my reading habits, and it was quite refreshing to do that now! Anyone who comes across is most welcome to pass on the meme. There really isn't a better, more rewarding hobby in the world than reading books, is there?
Monday, 28 July 2014
Bucket List Tag
Hannah at Miss Daydreamer's Place tagged me for the Bucket List challenge – thanks for this really fun tag! The idea is to list ten things you want to do before you die, and then pass the tag to five people. So here I go, my Bucket List!
At some point in my life, I would like to...
Thinking up this list was really fun, so let's pass on the tag. Elwingda, Frankie Savage and Siiri L., are you up for the challenge...? I can't think of anyone else to tag, but everyone who happens upon this post is completely free to pick it up!
At some point in my life, I would like to...
See at least one of these insanely talented gentlemen live on stage:
Benedict Cumberbatch
Tom Hiddleston
David Tennant
Go on a riding holiday in at least one of these places:
Scottish Highlands
Iceland
South Africa
(Mind you, I could fill an entire book-length bucket list of countries that I'd like to visit, on horseback or otherwise!)
Sing at a karaoke bar
But only if there's a song selection up to my taste, so probably not in Finland.
See a play on Broadway
See these musicals on stage (I can't put an "at least one of these" on this one, these are all a must):
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| I saw a Finnish production of this once, but it was mostly dreadful so I demand another opportunity! |
Own a beautiful Leonberger dog (or two)
Move to London
Learn at least one new language (because three isn't enough!)
Read all of Charles Dickens' works
So far, I've read Nicholas Nickleby, Oliver Twist, A Tale of Two Cities and A Christmas Carol.
Become a professional playwright!
Thinking up this list was really fun, so let's pass on the tag. Elwingda, Frankie Savage and Siiri L., are you up for the challenge...? I can't think of anyone else to tag, but everyone who happens upon this post is completely free to pick it up!
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Replies to Ask Me Anything
It's been quite a long while since I announced the "Ask Me Anything" event, so let's give you some answers! Apparently only two of my readers were curious enough to Ask Me Anything, but their questions were very interesting and numerous enough to make this post, so thank you very much for that!
Siiri L asked me about my best, worst and most baffling theatrical experiences ever.
My best theatrical experience could be pretty much everything I've seen in London – there's the glorious West End musicals and Shakespeare's Globe, both of which are, in my opinion, the very best offerings of the world of theatre. However, I want to be more specific than that, so I'll name Richard III which I saw at Shakespeare's Globe on September 2nd, 2012. It was my second Globe experience and I was rapidly succumbing to the charm of this very special theatre. This performance was made to look as much as possible like it might have been in Shakespeare's times, with period costumes and an all-male cast. The iconic title role was played by Mark Rylance, and of course it was an absolute treat to see one of the most famous current Shakespearean actors doing his thing.
The worst piece of theatre in my life was no doubt that time when I was 14 or 15 and went to see a new Finnish play called Kohti kylmempää (literal translation would be "Towards colder" which sounds bizarre). It was supposed to be a play about some people trying to establish the world's northernmost community, but there was such a lack of plot and such an abundance of pointless characters that I ran out of the theatre as soon as the intermission came.
"Most baffling" would be another Shakespeare experience. The Bard wrote, among other things, a play about King John, which is very rarely performed. Well, having seen it once in Stratford-upon-Avon's Swan Theatre, I can completely understand why. That script is definitely not Shakespeare at the height of his genius – but then again, that might have been the very thing that enabled the director and creative team of the Stratford production to go a little wild with it. There was an abundance of creative choices that perfectly correspond to the word "baffling". For example, try to imagine King John's death-by-poisoning scene as a psychedelic drug high that drives the dying king into a blurry '70s dance routine. Not joking one bit.
Hannah asked:
What is your favourite Sherlock episode from each series?
Hannah was worried that a question like this might be too cruel, but actually I do have very strong favourites from each series – Sherlock is brilliant through and through, but there are some episodes that I re-watch more often than others. These would be A Study in Pink, The Hounds of Baskerville and The Sign of Three.
In A Study in Pink, I love how brilliantly the two main characters are introduced and how they gradually drop into their co-habitating life. The Hounds of Baskerville I can especially respect as a great, inventive modern update of the original novel – also, Sherlock's rant about the rabbit in the beginning has me laughing my head off no matter how many times I watch it. I have to admit though, it was a tiny bit hard choosing a Series Two favourite between this and A Scandal in Belgravia, which is also awesome in indefinitely many ways. My Series Three favourite has to be The Sign of Three, mostly because it's so damn hilarious!
I just realized that my three favourite episodes have one thing in common, something which I like to call "John Watson's awesome-military-badassery moments". I bet it's not a coincidence. Dr. John Watson just doesn't get any better than this.
Is there any book that you would love to see adapted into a film?
While I agree wholeheartedly with Hannah that someone should really get a move on with a film adaptation of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, I'm going to drop in a new idea. You know Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, right? Yes, that bone-chillingly haunting murder mystery where ten people are shut off on an island and they start dying one by one, resulting in mounting paranoia and claustrophobia for both the characters and the reader. Now the question is, why are all the (surprisingly few) film adaptations of this tale either not faithful to the original plot, or at least 20 years old? So there's a brilliant idea for some team of movie-makers, here you go.
What is your favourite place in Finland?
Not that I want to boast or anything, but I think the best place in Finland is my family's summer cottage by Lake Näsijärvi. (A piece of cultural tidbit to non-Finns: many Finns like to have a little cottage getaway, or mökki, where we can escape from the noise and everyday life of the actually rather small and quiet towns where we normally live in.) The most hardcore mökki owners swear by a complete no-electricity, no-running-water, no-modern-comforts-whatsoever policy, while a small minority build their summer places so modern that it kind of loses the countryside feel. I think our family's mökki is quite nicely in the middle. It's nice and cosy during all seasons, but also very close to nature (a colony of shrews living under the patio and lynx paw prints appearing now and then in the winter months) and it's really just a beautiful piece of land all over.
What is/are the film(s) that you are most looking forward to seeing in 2014?
I actually had to take a look at the list of films coming up in 2014 and came to the conclusion that last year was much better movie-wise. 2012 was even better, with Les Misérables and the first Hobbit. This year, though... Well, it's nice to have another musical film on Christmas Day, but Into The Woods has never really been on my top list of musicals and while some of the casting choices are great (Meryl Streep! Christine Baranski! Daniel Huttlestone!!!), some are rather... interesting. I didn't even know these people could sing on a musical performer level... or can they?
I would love to be more excited about the conclusion to the Hobbit trilogy, but I just can't. The first film was good, the second went into way too many subplots and turned most of my favourite Bilbo moments from the book into overlong fight scenes, and now the third one will probably be a three-hour-account of the Battle of the Five Armies, which only takes a couple of chapters in the book.
What would you like your superpower to be?
It would be awesome to be able to fly. Transportation would be such a breeze (literally), and things would look gorgeous from a bird's perspective.
If you could travel to any point in time where would you go?
I would time-travel to Victorian London, there's no doubt about that. If I had to be precise (the Victorian era was quite long after all), I would probably land somewhere in the 1880s. That period contains some of my favourite "old stuff" along the lines of ball rooms, horse-drawn carriages and ridiculously-impractical-but-still-oh-so-gorgeous women's fashion, but then there is also the definite atmosphere of innovation and moving forwards. For example, the gramophone was invented in 1887 – how cool is that? Also, I have a fixated curiosity for British Imperialism, which was still going pretty strong at this point.
Siiri L asked me about my best, worst and most baffling theatrical experiences ever.
My best theatrical experience could be pretty much everything I've seen in London – there's the glorious West End musicals and Shakespeare's Globe, both of which are, in my opinion, the very best offerings of the world of theatre. However, I want to be more specific than that, so I'll name Richard III which I saw at Shakespeare's Globe on September 2nd, 2012. It was my second Globe experience and I was rapidly succumbing to the charm of this very special theatre. This performance was made to look as much as possible like it might have been in Shakespeare's times, with period costumes and an all-male cast. The iconic title role was played by Mark Rylance, and of course it was an absolute treat to see one of the most famous current Shakespearean actors doing his thing.
The worst piece of theatre in my life was no doubt that time when I was 14 or 15 and went to see a new Finnish play called Kohti kylmempää (literal translation would be "Towards colder" which sounds bizarre). It was supposed to be a play about some people trying to establish the world's northernmost community, but there was such a lack of plot and such an abundance of pointless characters that I ran out of the theatre as soon as the intermission came.
"Most baffling" would be another Shakespeare experience. The Bard wrote, among other things, a play about King John, which is very rarely performed. Well, having seen it once in Stratford-upon-Avon's Swan Theatre, I can completely understand why. That script is definitely not Shakespeare at the height of his genius – but then again, that might have been the very thing that enabled the director and creative team of the Stratford production to go a little wild with it. There was an abundance of creative choices that perfectly correspond to the word "baffling". For example, try to imagine King John's death-by-poisoning scene as a psychedelic drug high that drives the dying king into a blurry '70s dance routine. Not joking one bit.
Hannah asked:
What is your favourite Sherlock episode from each series?
Hannah was worried that a question like this might be too cruel, but actually I do have very strong favourites from each series – Sherlock is brilliant through and through, but there are some episodes that I re-watch more often than others. These would be A Study in Pink, The Hounds of Baskerville and The Sign of Three.
In A Study in Pink, I love how brilliantly the two main characters are introduced and how they gradually drop into their co-habitating life. The Hounds of Baskerville I can especially respect as a great, inventive modern update of the original novel – also, Sherlock's rant about the rabbit in the beginning has me laughing my head off no matter how many times I watch it. I have to admit though, it was a tiny bit hard choosing a Series Two favourite between this and A Scandal in Belgravia, which is also awesome in indefinitely many ways. My Series Three favourite has to be The Sign of Three, mostly because it's so damn hilarious!
I just realized that my three favourite episodes have one thing in common, something which I like to call "John Watson's awesome-military-badassery moments". I bet it's not a coincidence. Dr. John Watson just doesn't get any better than this.
Is there any book that you would love to see adapted into a film?
While I agree wholeheartedly with Hannah that someone should really get a move on with a film adaptation of Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, I'm going to drop in a new idea. You know Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, right? Yes, that bone-chillingly haunting murder mystery where ten people are shut off on an island and they start dying one by one, resulting in mounting paranoia and claustrophobia for both the characters and the reader. Now the question is, why are all the (surprisingly few) film adaptations of this tale either not faithful to the original plot, or at least 20 years old? So there's a brilliant idea for some team of movie-makers, here you go.
What is your favourite place in Finland?
Not that I want to boast or anything, but I think the best place in Finland is my family's summer cottage by Lake Näsijärvi. (A piece of cultural tidbit to non-Finns: many Finns like to have a little cottage getaway, or mökki, where we can escape from the noise and everyday life of the actually rather small and quiet towns where we normally live in.) The most hardcore mökki owners swear by a complete no-electricity, no-running-water, no-modern-comforts-whatsoever policy, while a small minority build their summer places so modern that it kind of loses the countryside feel. I think our family's mökki is quite nicely in the middle. It's nice and cosy during all seasons, but also very close to nature (a colony of shrews living under the patio and lynx paw prints appearing now and then in the winter months) and it's really just a beautiful piece of land all over.
What is/are the film(s) that you are most looking forward to seeing in 2014?
I actually had to take a look at the list of films coming up in 2014 and came to the conclusion that last year was much better movie-wise. 2012 was even better, with Les Misérables and the first Hobbit. This year, though... Well, it's nice to have another musical film on Christmas Day, but Into The Woods has never really been on my top list of musicals and while some of the casting choices are great (Meryl Streep! Christine Baranski! Daniel Huttlestone!!!), some are rather... interesting. I didn't even know these people could sing on a musical performer level... or can they?
I would love to be more excited about the conclusion to the Hobbit trilogy, but I just can't. The first film was good, the second went into way too many subplots and turned most of my favourite Bilbo moments from the book into overlong fight scenes, and now the third one will probably be a three-hour-account of the Battle of the Five Armies, which only takes a couple of chapters in the book.
What would you like your superpower to be?
It would be awesome to be able to fly. Transportation would be such a breeze (literally), and things would look gorgeous from a bird's perspective.
If you could travel to any point in time where would you go?
I would time-travel to Victorian London, there's no doubt about that. If I had to be precise (the Victorian era was quite long after all), I would probably land somewhere in the 1880s. That period contains some of my favourite "old stuff" along the lines of ball rooms, horse-drawn carriages and ridiculously-impractical-but-still-oh-so-gorgeous women's fashion, but then there is also the definite atmosphere of innovation and moving forwards. For example, the gramophone was invented in 1887 – how cool is that? Also, I have a fixated curiosity for British Imperialism, which was still going pretty strong at this point.
 |
| Beautiful 1880s dresses... |
 |
| British Empire in red |
What is next on your to-read list?
I really should think about this question, because I'll soon be finished with my current read which is Zadie Smith's White Teeth. I seriously need to broaden my appallingly narrow knowledge of French literature and have pretty much settled on trying Émile Zola next. I would gladly take suggestions as to which one of Zola's works I should start with.
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I had tons of fun answering these questions, and I hope my readers found something interesting there as well. The idea for this event came pretty much from Miss Laurie's lovely period drama blog Old-Fashioned Charm, go and check it out. Who knows, maybe there will be more of these as Music & My Mind hopefully celebrates future anniversaries...
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
BBC's booklist challenge
It was a while ago that I found this "BBC book list" on Listchallenges.com. It seems that BBC published a list of 100 books that were voted most popular by audiences, and then someone slapped on it the provocative title of "BBC believes you only read six of these". Well, turns out my score is 25 (I bolded the ones I've read). What about you?
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Bible
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (Have this in my book shelf but unread so far...)
1984 by George Orwell
His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman (Read the first two books and part of the last one)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Little Women by L.M. Alcott
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
Complete works of William Shakespeare (I think I'm about halfway through)
Rebecca by Daphe du Maurier
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
Middlemarch by George Eliot
Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Emma by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernières
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Lord of the Flies by William Golding (Read a few chapters, then got bored)
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Dune by Frank Herbert
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
On The Road by Jack Kerouac
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
Germinal by Emile Zola
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Possession by A.S. Byatt
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (I just bought this!)
The Folk of the Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
Watership Down by Richard Adams
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy
A Town Like Alice by Neville Shute
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
On The Road by Jack Kerouac
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
Ulysses by James Joyce
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
Germinal by Emile Zola
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Possession by A.S. Byatt
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (I just bought this!)
The Folk of the Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
Watership Down by Richard Adams
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy
A Town Like Alice by Neville Shute
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Sunday, 20 April 2014
One year of blogging
On April 15th, 2013, I did something that quite surprised me. I started a blog; this blog. Why was I so surprised at myself? Because for many years, I was under the impression that "blogging" meant "writing down all the boring, everyday stuff you do and whining about all your problems, as if you were keeping a diary, but instead putting it in the Internet under the impression that someone would be interested." I had absolutely no interest in doing that.
However, I now have a blog that just celebrated its first anniversary, and I'm very happy about it. So far I've produced 61 blog posts and gained ten followers. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of these ten wonderful bloggers (most of whom I follow myself and others should take a look at too) for keeping such high-quality blogs and bringing up such interesting things that I always want to learn more about. The best example of this is my to-read list, which will never end thanks to all the wonderful reviews from other bloggers that catch my interest.
As well as my fellow bloggers, I want to thank everyone who has ever spared so much as a glance to my blog, and everyone who has given me an idea for a post. Comments from readers are always such a delight as well, no matter how long or short they are.
As this anniversary came by, I started wondering if the past year of being a blogger had brought any substantial changes to my life. It wasn't very hard to make these observations about myself:
However, I now have a blog that just celebrated its first anniversary, and I'm very happy about it. So far I've produced 61 blog posts and gained ten followers. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of these ten wonderful bloggers (most of whom I follow myself and others should take a look at too) for keeping such high-quality blogs and bringing up such interesting things that I always want to learn more about. The best example of this is my to-read list, which will never end thanks to all the wonderful reviews from other bloggers that catch my interest.
As well as my fellow bloggers, I want to thank everyone who has ever spared so much as a glance to my blog, and everyone who has given me an idea for a post. Comments from readers are always such a delight as well, no matter how long or short they are.
As this anniversary came by, I started wondering if the past year of being a blogger had brought any substantial changes to my life. It wasn't very hard to make these observations about myself:
- I've become much more active a follower of all the happenings in the arts. I feel like I have to be on the lookout for new things to blog about, so I'm constantly adding new things to follow on Facebook, new websites to look up, and so on.
- I feel like whenever I'm having a conversation with anyone, no matter what subject we end up talking about, I say "I'm planning a blog post about [subject]" sooner or later.
- Whenever I feel annoyed, frustrated or something of that kind, I think "Let's go to the blog, it will help."
- I find myself endlessly baffled by the question of how exactly someone from Brazil or South Korea found their way into my blog.
- I have to admit it – I feel ridiculously intellectual when I get to tell someone "I'm a blogger, I do reviews on books and theatre and other sorts of arts." I know, it's completely hilarious.
- I've become more and more convinced about where I want my future career to be. I'm no longer content to be simply a spectator for the works of theatre; I want to be a part of that world, a part of the system that brings theatre productions to audiences. I've noticed that I talk about theatre very differently than most of the people around me, often resulting in the other one asking "How on Earth did you pay attention to that?"
- This isn't really a consequence of my blogging habit, but worth mentioning because it is a change that happened in the past year and has altered somewhat the way that I perceive the things I blog about. I recall saying in one or two of my blog posts that I'm not easily moved by things that happen in books and movies and such, that if something makes me cry it must be noteworthy. Well, that isn't true anymore. I've seen the most definite change in the way I experience characters' deaths on page, stage or screen – it holds a whole new level of intensity for me now. But even things less tragic than deaths do make me emotional nowadays.
Now, after musing about the effects of my blogging, I would like to try something with you readers. In celebration of the first anniversary of Music & My Mind, I'll host an "Ask Me Anything" event! It means, quite simply, that you can ask me any questions you can think of, they don't have to be related to the subjects I usually blog about, and if there are enough questions asked, I'll do a separate blog post where I post my answers! You can get as imaginative as you like with your questions and ask as many as you want, but I do reserve the right not to answer questions that I think are too personal.
So come on, join the blog celebration and surprise me! :)
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