Entries tagged with “Books” from Chilling Words
When I read the following from Anime News Network I had mixed feelings:
Dark Horse has sent out a press release about its upcoming release of the first volume of the Vampire Hunter D series of novels (off of which the anime are based). This is the first time that a VHD novel are translated and released in English. Digital Manga is co-releasing the novel with Dark Horse. There are a total of 17 novels in the series.
I am a fan of “Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust” having watched it a number of times. I've not been a big fan of vampire literature in general, and in truth I have not seen many vampire movies. I have listened to some of Anne Rice's work and have been lukewarm in my response to it. Vampire Hunter D has been something altogether different, and these novels have me both excited and apprehensive.
Years back I came across a site managed by MIT about the hacks perpetrated on their campus. I have read through that site a few times, usually with admiration for the creativity and skill of some of their students. There have been many things done, in good nature, non-destructive, that have made me wish I could join their ranks as a student and let lose my Puckish nature.
ThinkGeek recently added Nightwork: A History of Hacks and Pranks at MIT to their catalog and I'm once again reminded of MIT and their history of accepted pranks. This time I can have a book I can place on my coffee table and share a world of fun with people who might not otherwise find out about it.
This is rather old news, but as life has been terribly busy of late (more on that later) I have time now to talk about this. Some time ago the Sci-Fi channel aired a movie based off of two of the Earthsea books by Ursula K. Le Guin which looked captivatingly interesting so my wife and I watched it. It was a fairly good story, though we thought the ending left much to be desired. I have had her books on my “To Read” list for a while, and facing our long trek south I purchased the first two books from Audible.com so we could listen to them and enjoy the stories. Before I even got to do this I found an article online by Le Guin in which she expressed how upset she was about the movies. Among the details of what they got wrong and how things went askew (more can be found here at her site) I found this quote which still angers me to no end.
A Whitewashed Earthsea - How the Sci Fi Channel wrecked my books. By Ursula K. Le Guin:Early on, the filmmakers contacted me in a friendly fashion, and I responded in kind; I asked if they'd like to have a list of name pronunciations; and I said that although I knew that a film must differ greatly from a book, I hoped they were making no unnecessary changes in the plot or to the characters—a dangerous thing to do, since the books have been known to millions of people for decades. They replied that the TV audience is much larger, and entirely different, and would be unlikely to care about changes to the books' story and characters.
I went to the library today. Not a vastly unusual occurrence, especially given that I have been listening to audio-books on the way to work now (this week it's “Moving Pictures” by Terry Pratchett). Our city library is an ugly building, asymmetrical and made of concrete, yet despite that I have fond memories of it, and they returned to me today. Maybe it was the grey overcast day, maybe it was because I got to spend most of my afternoon reading books, something I would regularly do when I was younger. Maybe it was just one of those things where the mood was right and a dormant memory (or box full of memories) was triggered. Whatever it was, I am thankful and glad, for it was pleasant to recall them.
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