Sunday, March 27, 2011
Site Update
Initially I had desired to write about the books that I read on this blog, but because I don't read often enough for that to really have any point, I think I'm just going to turn this blog into a personal blog where I post just my general thoughts on things (still including what I read, but other stuff too). I will be phasing out my LiveJournal, therefore, which was previously used as my personal blog. ::sniff:: it's been great, LJ, but ... I think it may be time to lay you to rest. New era of my life and all that.
Obligatory Introductory Post
Yay! This is the first post of my blog Any Whimsy. I transferred the title from my website, figuring that it was about time that I stopped using it on my own personal address, which has become an online portfolio of sorts. It didn't feel like that needed a name like Any Whimsy anymore.
I've been wanting to start a blog about travelling, but since I also love to read and write, I wanted a place where I could sort of combine those two passions. So this journal will be for writing about my travel adventures - past stories, as well as travel tips like comparing transportation methods and more technical stuff - and also for reviewing novels I read. However, when I do discuss novels that I'm reading, I will try to focus more on the travel aspects to them.
As a fantasy reader, I have always been fascinated by the wide scope these epic novels tend to have. In Lord of the Rings, for example, we see the heroes journey from the pleasant, rolling hills of the Shire; over the terrible snowy peaks of the Misty Mountains and then when that failed, beneath them through the fiery forge of Moria; across the vast plains of Rohan; through the bewitching forest of Lothlórien; and finally to the terrible black, rocky crags of Mordor. Any epic tale is also a travel tale. And so I will seek to explore how travel comes to play a part in some of my favorite texts.
Fantasy stories have always been a truly enveloping means of escape for me as well. When a person gets so involved in a novel, it can sometimes make real life seem boring. Travel is one of my main methods of curing this boredom that over takes me, and I feel that the youth lazying around their houses whining that nothing good is on TV can taste at least a little bit of adventure by just going out and exploring even their own town. Thus, from my European travels to my weekend day trips, I will try to cover it all and find the adventure in life. (I know this is starting to sound corny so I'll be done soon).
The purpose, therefore, of this blog is really finding adventure. "Any Whimsy" was chosen because for me, it implies a sense of adventure and of the unknown, of embarking out without necessarily knowing what adventures will be had, just that adventures will be had. We seek adventure - or at least a good story.
I've been wanting to start a blog about travelling, but since I also love to read and write, I wanted a place where I could sort of combine those two passions. So this journal will be for writing about my travel adventures - past stories, as well as travel tips like comparing transportation methods and more technical stuff - and also for reviewing novels I read. However, when I do discuss novels that I'm reading, I will try to focus more on the travel aspects to them.
As a fantasy reader, I have always been fascinated by the wide scope these epic novels tend to have. In Lord of the Rings, for example, we see the heroes journey from the pleasant, rolling hills of the Shire; over the terrible snowy peaks of the Misty Mountains and then when that failed, beneath them through the fiery forge of Moria; across the vast plains of Rohan; through the bewitching forest of Lothlórien; and finally to the terrible black, rocky crags of Mordor. Any epic tale is also a travel tale. And so I will seek to explore how travel comes to play a part in some of my favorite texts.
Fantasy stories have always been a truly enveloping means of escape for me as well. When a person gets so involved in a novel, it can sometimes make real life seem boring. Travel is one of my main methods of curing this boredom that over takes me, and I feel that the youth lazying around their houses whining that nothing good is on TV can taste at least a little bit of adventure by just going out and exploring even their own town. Thus, from my European travels to my weekend day trips, I will try to cover it all and find the adventure in life. (I know this is starting to sound corny so I'll be done soon).
The purpose, therefore, of this blog is really finding adventure. "Any Whimsy" was chosen because for me, it implies a sense of adventure and of the unknown, of embarking out without necessarily knowing what adventures will be had, just that adventures will be had. We seek adventure - or at least a good story.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
My Thoughts About "One Day"
I just finished reading One Day by David Nicholls. I've had this book sitting on my desk for a few weeks now and I finally picked it up on Monday. And only just now, when I needed to write those three words "by David Nicholls", did I finally notice that the writer was, in fact, male. I read the whole thing thinking the writer was female.
I wonder what it is that makes a person judge whether or not a writer is male or female. It's not something that normally comes up because normally you notice these things when you first look at the book cover (which is something that I did, but the writer's name is in the bottom right corner and the covers a little folded up there, somewhat obscuring it).
I can't say that I greatly enjoyed the novel, nor can I completely say with sincere conviction that I hated it. I was pretty neutral about it up until the very end of chapter 18, page 385. Really a bad feeling was coming from the beginning of chapter 18. Because you know it's too early for a happy ending. When things are going too well, you know something horrible is just around the corner. But I never thought it would be that...
Well, here's the obligatory cut then. Spoilers follow.
I wonder what it is that makes a person judge whether or not a writer is male or female. It's not something that normally comes up because normally you notice these things when you first look at the book cover (which is something that I did, but the writer's name is in the bottom right corner and the covers a little folded up there, somewhat obscuring it).
I can't say that I greatly enjoyed the novel, nor can I completely say with sincere conviction that I hated it. I was pretty neutral about it up until the very end of chapter 18, page 385. Really a bad feeling was coming from the beginning of chapter 18. Because you know it's too early for a happy ending. When things are going too well, you know something horrible is just around the corner. But I never thought it would be that...
Well, here's the obligatory cut then. Spoilers follow.
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