Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Reading maniac

This is a memoir from the founder of Virgin Records, Airline, etc. and took about an hour to read. I give it one thumb down. It has all the same old positive cliches you'll find in every self-help book, the difference being that this one is entirely unrelatable, coming from a man so disgustingly successful in life as to lack any failures to write about whatsoever except the equivalent of a 9-year-old's lemonade stand.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but everyone has such good things to say about these books. Our school library happened to have it as well as many other unexpected literary classic and must reads, and there's not a chance any of the elementary students would miss it, so I borrowed it.

I really enjoyed the book and pored through it in less than a week, though it didn't live up to the hype I've read and heard regarding it. And I'm not sure if I'll seek out the other two books in the series. I want to see the movie, too, but more for Daniel Craig than any other reason.

6 comments:

  1. The Golden Compass movie was good, but I was left wanting more at the end. I'm surprised they haven't announced a sequel. I'd be interested to read the books to see how they compare.

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  2. so i'm confused...
    you choose to stay in korea even though you seem to hate everything about it???
    why not leave and go home instead of hating on another country's culture?

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  3. You seem a bit lost, N-D, so here's a map. Less than a third of my posts are negative about Korea, and even those are just the truth about what is here. At home I was laid off from 3 jobs in a row and unemployed for 6 months before I got here and was laid off again. As soon as I can afford to leave, I intend to, though it's not as if I really have anywhere to go.

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  4. i understand that your life has followed a series of unfortunate events, but your experiences shouldn't cheapen the opportunities that korea can offer.

    i mean upon entering your blog, it doesn't necessarily leave a good impression (e.g., "I can't decide whether it's lovely or hideous...like most of South Korea."; under the pic of the park (??)).

    i'm pretty sure that one quote, in itself, speaks for your overall opinion of korea. so no, i don't think i'm lost.

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  5. There's a marked difference between admitting to having had mixed experiences and accusing that person of "hating on another country's culture."

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  6. The Golden Compass has to be read in full before it's judged, honestly. Second book doesn't focus on Lyra as much, and the tone completely changes (You likely noticed the tone change somewhere near the end) as well as weaving many more metaphorical elements.

    The movie was beautiful, well-casted, but poorly adapted. I doubt there will be a sequel, simply because the books delve into such sensitive territories, and if they wanted to get into what makes the series great - really get into it - it'd be up around R rating and four-five films long. (Kaitlin from BD btw)

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