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petroniaSo far no one on the fic meme has said anything that I would have said re: distinguishing characteristics of my fic, which only goes to show. (I would have listed items like "Canadian spelling", "Everyone always has a beverage of some kind in hand," "abuse of adverbs like 'oddly', 'strangely' and 'actually'", and "No one is ever cold, even when they should be." That last is wish fulfillment through fiction. =_=)
Last night I took a long bath and read Witch Week. :P
Christmas Party bath ballistic: this has the same scent as the Champagne Snow shower jelly, although in fizzy orange bath bomb format it comes off less like 'buck fizz' and more like 'orange creme soda'. *g* One stops noticing the scent very much after five minutes in the water, but my sister who came in briefly to get her toothbrush found it overpowering, and it still lingered faintly when I came to scrub the tub out the next afternoon, so I have to set it down as one of the stronger ballistics. It turns the water rust orange and fills it with coloured cut-out/metallic glitter stars in various sizes and tons of confetti. Fun until you realise there's a definite danger of getting confetti in awkward places if you thrash around too much. >_> I think I was too absorbed in my book to feel itchy at being covered with confetti and glitter stars, though, and despite fears it all went down the drain quite easily.
(I think I didn't do a review of the Hollywood bubble bar I used last time. It's less spectacular - the bar is white and has a pleasant rose-based floral scent - but unlike Christmas Party you can smell the perfumed bubbles all the time you're in the water. All these Lush products soften and moisturize the water so your skin isn't dried out no matter how long you stay in, but the bubble bars are better value because you only need to use 1/3 to 1/2 of one at a time.)
Witch Week: this is a stronger book than either of the preceding ones, I think. It has more depth and resonance, and my feelings about it are accordingly more complex. It is screamingly funny in parts, and after I went to bed I had extensive nightmares about it. XD The passage in which the children desperately try to escape from evil Inquisitioners over the English countryside wearing impractical clothing and riding gardening implements that won't quite take off into the air is the sort of thing I dream about all the time, what can I say... It is definitely the sort of children's book that is more disturbing to adults than the target audience. DWJ's portrayal of the personalities and ranks within a typical "junior high" pecking order is trenchant and not a little depressing; in part because the ending served to reinforce how arbitrary said pecking orders often are. And the witches' situation in the world itself is horrific. Actually the universe and basic plot concept are sophisticated enough for a lengthy and dark work of adult speculative fiction, except in grown-up books one is probably not allowed a deus ex machina as literal as Chrestomanci. ^^; It does explain why even his dressing gowns need to be splendid.
Next up is The Lives of Christopher Chant, and then I will probably read Howl's Moving Castle.
Last night I took a long bath and read Witch Week. :P
Christmas Party bath ballistic: this has the same scent as the Champagne Snow shower jelly, although in fizzy orange bath bomb format it comes off less like 'buck fizz' and more like 'orange creme soda'. *g* One stops noticing the scent very much after five minutes in the water, but my sister who came in briefly to get her toothbrush found it overpowering, and it still lingered faintly when I came to scrub the tub out the next afternoon, so I have to set it down as one of the stronger ballistics. It turns the water rust orange and fills it with coloured cut-out/metallic glitter stars in various sizes and tons of confetti. Fun until you realise there's a definite danger of getting confetti in awkward places if you thrash around too much. >_> I think I was too absorbed in my book to feel itchy at being covered with confetti and glitter stars, though, and despite fears it all went down the drain quite easily.
(I think I didn't do a review of the Hollywood bubble bar I used last time. It's less spectacular - the bar is white and has a pleasant rose-based floral scent - but unlike Christmas Party you can smell the perfumed bubbles all the time you're in the water. All these Lush products soften and moisturize the water so your skin isn't dried out no matter how long you stay in, but the bubble bars are better value because you only need to use 1/3 to 1/2 of one at a time.)
Witch Week: this is a stronger book than either of the preceding ones, I think. It has more depth and resonance, and my feelings about it are accordingly more complex. It is screamingly funny in parts, and after I went to bed I had extensive nightmares about it. XD The passage in which the children desperately try to escape from evil Inquisitioners over the English countryside wearing impractical clothing and riding gardening implements that won't quite take off into the air is the sort of thing I dream about all the time, what can I say... It is definitely the sort of children's book that is more disturbing to adults than the target audience. DWJ's portrayal of the personalities and ranks within a typical "junior high" pecking order is trenchant and not a little depressing; in part because the ending served to reinforce how arbitrary said pecking orders often are. And the witches' situation in the world itself is horrific. Actually the universe and basic plot concept are sophisticated enough for a lengthy and dark work of adult speculative fiction, except in grown-up books one is probably not allowed a deus ex machina as literal as Chrestomanci. ^^; It does explain why even his dressing gowns need to be splendid.
Next up is The Lives of Christopher Chant, and then I will probably read Howl's Moving Castle.
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Date: 2006-01-23 04:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-23 05:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-23 04:34 am (UTC)that oddly made me think of T.Findley's foreword to dinner along the amazon and his agent saying to him, "Oh God, Findley--not more rabbits!" *g*
but heeeyyyy, there's an actual point to this comment, i'm thrilled to inform that I'm all caught up to you and now embarking on watching the "second season" of Samurai Champloo. whoo to the hoo and all that. :)
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Date: 2006-01-23 05:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-24 03:36 pm (UTC)BUT DO WATCH YOUUUUU! :)
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Date: 2006-01-23 04:48 am (UTC)In the Many Lives Of Christopher Chant you'll get to meet Millie again (you said you liked her, so that's good!) and uh, I dunno, ADVENTURE HO and stuff I guess. XD
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Date: 2006-01-23 05:58 pm (UTC)(Like, you can plot him halfway between James Bond and Doctor Who. So in a way he's a very British icon.)
I actually ended up starting Howl first. I find I have to put the movie out of my mind entirely as I read it.
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Date: 2006-01-23 10:00 pm (UTC)Actually there's this great essay I should find for you where someone compared the themes found in book vs movie.
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Date: 2006-01-23 04:50 am (UTC)I read Witch Week as a youngster, but I probably would find it far more disturbing had I started out as an adult. I remember being very impressed with the characterization as a kid, though.
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Date: 2006-01-23 06:10 am (UTC)But she does have Canadian (ie, proper) spelling. Why would she kill someone for suggesting that?
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Date: 2006-01-23 06:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-23 07:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-23 11:56 pm (UTC)(I'm really enjoying reading your impressions of the series; it makes me want to reread the series again. ^_^)
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Date: 2006-01-24 03:32 am (UTC)Witch Week was possibly the most real of all her books in that series, and for that reason it spooked me. It didn't have as much Chrestomanci as I was used to having, as well, but I also got that in Magicians of Caprona. It is very dark, for her work, but in that way I suppose I like it.
I hope you like Howl's Moving Castle. I love it dearly. And if you haven't read it and seek more Diana Wynne Jones, I recommend Deep Secret with all my heart.
I scuttle back to whence I came.