Top five lists
Apr. 16th, 2008 10:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarigwaemirHaste Street on the Feast of Ste. Bernadette of Lourdes
Went to sleep before midnight yesterday and got up just before eight this morning, which I regard as an achievement. Maybe there's hope for my sleep cycle after all.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lacewood asked for top five writers and manga. I tried to narrow down "writers" by trying to pick authors whom I admired specifically for their writing, but even then, I couldn't pick a specific list. So instead, you get:
Top five writers whom I've discovered recently and whose complete works I want to finish reading
1. Dorothy Dunnett:jaebi_lit recommended her to me, so I read A Game for Kings, the first book in the Lymond Chronicles, and became completely hooked. Obviously I have a weakness for witty characters who can quote at the drop of a hat and speak eloquently in rare moments of emotion. Also a weakness for plots filled with political intrigue: the more backstabbing and double-crossing, the better.
2. Julian Barnes: I enjoyed Flaubert's Parrot so much that I put the rest of Julian Barnes' œuvre on my to-read list. Of course, my to-read list is already fairly massive, but I suspect I'll tackle another Barnes novel fairly soon. Am vaguely obsessed with authors who experiment with the form of the novel and narrative structure. Also, the Anglophile in me really wants to read Arthur and George (featuring Conan Doyle and a half-Indian solicitor) and England, England (England rebuilt as theme park).
3. P.G. Wodehouse: After all the mention of Jeeves & Wooster from the friends list, I started reading Wodehouse during reading period last January and have been steadily devouring his books ever since. I still haven't read every Jeeves story ever written, but the "school stories" round on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
bibliophages convinced me to pick up the Psmith books, so I'm currently now in the middle of Leave It to Psmith. I agree with lazulisong: Psmith is fanon!Draco. I adore reading his piffle.
4. Orhan Pamuk: My Name is Red was amazing. Seriously considering buying a copy so I can go back and reread parts if not the whole novel. I started reading A New Life last fall but haven't gotten past the first third because I've gotten distracted by other books. It reminds me a bit of Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler--protagonist picks up an unusual book, his life is changed, he meets a woman whom he finds irresistible and fascinating--which makes me draw unfair comparisons since the two books are stylistically very different.
5. Iain Banks: The Wasp Factory had a sort of Gothic, almost Faulknerian feel to it, albeit transferred to an entirely different setting. Am curious to see how he writes science fiction; the way Banks describes Frank's elaborate rituals of vengeance and self-purification convinces me that he would invent interesting worlds and societies.
Top five manga
1. Hikaru no Go: I think what fundamentally appeals to me about Hikaru no Go is that it is about people who are consumed with passion for what they do. It is also about growing up, changing, losing people you love, living with honor, making sacrifices, remembering the past, shaping the future. I love that line that Hikaru says about building universes on the go board: in that moment, he defines himself and who he wants to be.
2. Mushishi: I know Mushishi is supposed to be a "supernatural" series, but it doesn't feel supernatural at all. Ginko goes around investigating these seemingly inexplicable phenomena and shows that they can be explained as the activity of various mushi. Granted, the mushi themselves don't exactly behave in "natural" ways, at least for my Western-educated definition of "natural", but the premise of the series does remind me very much of the way I feel about biology. Also, the whole series has a Zen atmosphere: there are very little moral judgments made about the people who encounter mushi, even when they attempt to use or manipulate them. The series only seems to say that they are human.
3. Monster: I still remember the all-nighter I pulled to finish reading all eighteen volumes. >_> But the suspense! I think the premise of the series alone--a doctor making a deliberate choice to operate on a child rather than an important politician only to find that the boy whose life he saved grows up into a serial killer--is pretty brilliant, but the series morphs into this...epic about despair and hatred and the darkest depths of human nature...as well as about love and courage and the small acts of goodness that we cling to in our attempt to overcome the monster inside of us.
4. Ravages of Time: Retelling of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms! Sima Yi and Zhao Yun as protagonists, instead of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang! Has enough military strategy, assassinations, shifting alliances, disguises, and political deception to fill anyone's needs. Also has an enormous cast of characters, and it can be difficult to keep them all straight without having to go back and reread chapters. But the art is detailed and realistic, and the story absorbing.
5. Hana Yori Dango: Thirty-four volumes of every shoujo manga cliché you can think of. I started reading the series thinking that Doumyoji was awful and that Makino was an idiot for putting up with him, but after the beauty pageant, Canadian shack, deserted island, bouts of amnesia, kidnappings, Saturn necklaces, and lookalike impostors, I stopped critically evaluating the relationship and just admired the series for being completely and utterly crazy. Doumyoji is completely and utterly crazy too, but somehow evolves into a well-rounded character, and despite how often Makino ends up having to be rescued (what a dense girl), she doesn't give the impression of being helpless because she never stops fighting back.
schwimmerin asked for:
Top five ice cream flavors
1. Green tea: Needs no explanation, I hope.
2. Sweet cream: I've only had it at Cold Stone and Herrell's, but it remains a perennial favorite.
3. Apple pie: I think it's a Ben & Jerry's flavor? I like the bits of crust.
4. Vanilla bean: In preference to plain vanilla.
5. Lychee: I think I had it at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.
shoujo22 asked for favorite songs, which again cannot be narrowed down into any sort of list, so I changed it to:
Top five favorite songs over the past two months
1. Bebel Gilberto - All Around (Telefon Tel Aviv remix): Just downloaded from iTunes.
2. Kent - Våga Vara Rädd: Fromambientlight.
3. Niyaz - Dilruba (Junkie XL remix): Fromcanis_m.
4. Monade - Regarde: Released as a sample for their new album, Monstre Cosmic.
5. Orbital - Are We Here?: From Steve.
Some links:
Muxtape: a site for uploading playlists of up to twelve songs to be shared with your friends via streaming. The site design is especially appealing.petronia has one up already. I agree, it should be a meme!
From BBC World, 'Writuals' - scribes reveal daily routines: Awful puns aside, I figure some of you would find the article interesting. As for me, I write best in absolute silence in the frantic five or six hours before deadline, i.e. the wee hours of the morning 'twixt midnight and dawn. -_- Granted, the writing that results isn't my best, but at least it gets done at the fastest rate. Panic is the best motivator.
Via Mumpsimus, I See Dead People['s Books] on LibraryThing: Group devoted to reproducing catalogs of famous people's libraries.
I feel vaguely guilty for spending my morning typing up this post instead of doing something productive, like catching up on schoolwork or reading paper or at least going grocery shopping...but not guilty enough to not enjoy it. ^_^
Yours &c.
Went to sleep before midnight yesterday and got up just before eight this morning, which I regard as an achievement. Maybe there's hope for my sleep cycle after all.
lacewood asked for top five writers and manga. I tried to narrow down "writers" by trying to pick authors whom I admired specifically for their writing, but even then, I couldn't pick a specific list. So instead, you get:Top five writers whom I've discovered recently and whose complete works I want to finish reading
1. Dorothy Dunnett:
jaebi_lit recommended her to me, so I read A Game for Kings, the first book in the Lymond Chronicles, and became completely hooked. Obviously I have a weakness for witty characters who can quote at the drop of a hat and speak eloquently in rare moments of emotion. Also a weakness for plots filled with political intrigue: the more backstabbing and double-crossing, the better.2. Julian Barnes: I enjoyed Flaubert's Parrot so much that I put the rest of Julian Barnes' œuvre on my to-read list. Of course, my to-read list is already fairly massive, but I suspect I'll tackle another Barnes novel fairly soon. Am vaguely obsessed with authors who experiment with the form of the novel and narrative structure. Also, the Anglophile in me really wants to read Arthur and George (featuring Conan Doyle and a half-Indian solicitor) and England, England (England rebuilt as theme park).
3. P.G. Wodehouse: After all the mention of Jeeves & Wooster from the friends list, I started reading Wodehouse during reading period last January and have been steadily devouring his books ever since. I still haven't read every Jeeves story ever written, but the "school stories" round on
bibliophages convinced me to pick up the Psmith books, so I'm currently now in the middle of Leave It to Psmith. I agree with lazulisong: Psmith is fanon!Draco. I adore reading his piffle.4. Orhan Pamuk: My Name is Red was amazing. Seriously considering buying a copy so I can go back and reread parts if not the whole novel. I started reading A New Life last fall but haven't gotten past the first third because I've gotten distracted by other books. It reminds me a bit of Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler--protagonist picks up an unusual book, his life is changed, he meets a woman whom he finds irresistible and fascinating--which makes me draw unfair comparisons since the two books are stylistically very different.
5. Iain Banks: The Wasp Factory had a sort of Gothic, almost Faulknerian feel to it, albeit transferred to an entirely different setting. Am curious to see how he writes science fiction; the way Banks describes Frank's elaborate rituals of vengeance and self-purification convinces me that he would invent interesting worlds and societies.
Top five manga
1. Hikaru no Go: I think what fundamentally appeals to me about Hikaru no Go is that it is about people who are consumed with passion for what they do. It is also about growing up, changing, losing people you love, living with honor, making sacrifices, remembering the past, shaping the future. I love that line that Hikaru says about building universes on the go board: in that moment, he defines himself and who he wants to be.
2. Mushishi: I know Mushishi is supposed to be a "supernatural" series, but it doesn't feel supernatural at all. Ginko goes around investigating these seemingly inexplicable phenomena and shows that they can be explained as the activity of various mushi. Granted, the mushi themselves don't exactly behave in "natural" ways, at least for my Western-educated definition of "natural", but the premise of the series does remind me very much of the way I feel about biology. Also, the whole series has a Zen atmosphere: there are very little moral judgments made about the people who encounter mushi, even when they attempt to use or manipulate them. The series only seems to say that they are human.
3. Monster: I still remember the all-nighter I pulled to finish reading all eighteen volumes. >_> But the suspense! I think the premise of the series alone--a doctor making a deliberate choice to operate on a child rather than an important politician only to find that the boy whose life he saved grows up into a serial killer--is pretty brilliant, but the series morphs into this...epic about despair and hatred and the darkest depths of human nature...as well as about love and courage and the small acts of goodness that we cling to in our attempt to overcome the monster inside of us.
4. Ravages of Time: Retelling of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms! Sima Yi and Zhao Yun as protagonists, instead of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang! Has enough military strategy, assassinations, shifting alliances, disguises, and political deception to fill anyone's needs. Also has an enormous cast of characters, and it can be difficult to keep them all straight without having to go back and reread chapters. But the art is detailed and realistic, and the story absorbing.
5. Hana Yori Dango: Thirty-four volumes of every shoujo manga cliché you can think of. I started reading the series thinking that Doumyoji was awful and that Makino was an idiot for putting up with him, but after the beauty pageant, Canadian shack, deserted island, bouts of amnesia, kidnappings, Saturn necklaces, and lookalike impostors, I stopped critically evaluating the relationship and just admired the series for being completely and utterly crazy. Doumyoji is completely and utterly crazy too, but somehow evolves into a well-rounded character, and despite how often Makino ends up having to be rescued (what a dense girl), she doesn't give the impression of being helpless because she never stops fighting back.
schwimmerin asked for:Top five ice cream flavors
1. Green tea: Needs no explanation, I hope.
2. Sweet cream: I've only had it at Cold Stone and Herrell's, but it remains a perennial favorite.
3. Apple pie: I think it's a Ben & Jerry's flavor? I like the bits of crust.
4. Vanilla bean: In preference to plain vanilla.
5. Lychee: I think I had it at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.
shoujo22 asked for favorite songs, which again cannot be narrowed down into any sort of list, so I changed it to:Top five favorite songs over the past two months
1. Bebel Gilberto - All Around (Telefon Tel Aviv remix): Just downloaded from iTunes.
2. Kent - Våga Vara Rädd: From
ambientlight.3. Niyaz - Dilruba (Junkie XL remix): From
canis_m.4. Monade - Regarde: Released as a sample for their new album, Monstre Cosmic.
5. Orbital - Are We Here?: From Steve.
Some links:
Muxtape: a site for uploading playlists of up to twelve songs to be shared with your friends via streaming. The site design is especially appealing.
petronia has one up already. I agree, it should be a meme!From BBC World, 'Writuals' - scribes reveal daily routines: Awful puns aside, I figure some of you would find the article interesting. As for me, I write best in absolute silence in the frantic five or six hours before deadline, i.e. the wee hours of the morning 'twixt midnight and dawn. -_- Granted, the writing that results isn't my best, but at least it gets done at the fastest rate. Panic is the best motivator.
Via Mumpsimus, I See Dead People['s Books] on LibraryThing: Group devoted to reproducing catalogs of famous people's libraries.
I feel vaguely guilty for spending my morning typing up this post instead of doing something productive, like catching up on schoolwork or reading paper or at least going grocery shopping...but not guilty enough to not enjoy it. ^_^
Yours &c.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-16 09:58 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-17 03:28 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-17 07:16 am (UTC):D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D
(no subject)
Date: 2008-04-17 02:30 pm (UTC)I was very tempted to read Monster a one point, but I opted not to. But now that I've seen it on your list, I think that I'll go on and give it a try.
Cold Stone's Sweet Cream ice cream is absolutely delicious. They had a store at the outside mall that I use to work at. Now that I have stopped working there (I used to commute to work), going to buy their ice cream is a bit of an inconvenience. What a pity T__T.