The book I didn't finish

That would be The Echo Maker by Richard Powers; had good start then wasn't really invested in the characters of the suffering sister or the noxious brother who lost his memory. The researcher also seemed like a cipher. Much more enjoyable was The Djinn by Byatt and Liebesfluchten by Schlink.

More books and a disturbing dream

Using full use of the 8 books allowance given by NLB; polished off The Glamor by Christopher Priest, The Reader by Schlink and lastly, The Bell Jar by Plath.

The Glamor: A conundrum of a book, something to do with the distinction between invisibility and not being noticed, as well as multiple unreliable narratives. Who is telling the truth? Is this a realist or a science-fiction / fairy story?

The Reader: Tried reading this in German 4 years back; did not succeed in going beyond the first 10 chapters. The translation was short and concise, conveying the clipped, rapid pace of the novel. The ending was surprisingly stoic, given the unfortunate and abrupt turn of events. Trying to finish Flights of Love but might be an uphill task.

The Bell Jar: Much more accessible than her poetry; it did have the feel of an autobiography, with no attempts to shoehorn it into a well-made narrative. Liked the unsympathetic and candid nature of the protagonist; at least she wasn't desperate for your pity or sympathy.

The Weird Dream: once in a while, you'll actually vividly remember because it was so bad/ terrifying. This one started innocently enough; people from JC (whom I am not that close to) gave me a lift. I am late for work and I'm dropped off somewhere that resembles Grange Road, which is nowhere my place of work. I get into a taxi and we're speeding down the 3-lane road. At this point, I notice a road accident. There is a body in each of the three lanes. Somehow, there are people dragging the bodies nearer to us; I can see the innards. The taxi slows down until it's almost motionless. The people dragging the bodies stare at me and somehow the taxi must not stop, since I am going to be late. It gingerly passes over the bodies and that's when I wake up.

3 Books

In between the various breaks we had, I managed to finish reading 3 books: Fahrenheit 451, M for Malice and The Prestige, in order or ascending enjoyment.

Fahrenheit 451: I vaguely remembered reading this before and seeing that it might be really relevant next year, I started re-reading it. Sadly, it did not impress me this time either. Dialog was clunky, characters were unsympathetic and unrealistic, seemingly floating around as symbols rather than real characters. The plot devices ( the Hound, the group of men Montage meets at the end) did not convince either. In the end, it's probably the provocative ideas the book presents rather than any literary merit that has boosted it's stock in the literary world. Metaphor overload too, though that may be why it's selected for the exams.

M for Malice. This was much better than L for Lawless; Kinsey investigates a family murder and the familiar trappings of a murder mystery were present. In the end, I thought that the ending was utterly unconvincing, inventing a motive and murderer just to fit in with convention. The theme of family politics and reinventing oneself was pushed aside to this banal need. Chandler's dictum about murder mystery novels being dictated by the plots rather than character held true in this case.

The Prestige: Some important divergences from the movie, noticeably the framing contemporary story, which was too sketchy and thankfully left out. The movie was much darker though, unexpectedly, with more deaths and family revenge.

Daniel Levitin - This is your brain on music

This is a book that examines music from a neurological perspective; quite a different focus instead of the usual subjective description of music. I've learned some really interesting new facts, such as how overtones contribute to timbre, the connection between the different elements of music. A worthwhile read.

L for lawless

Needed some trashy books to alleviate my boredom as well as borrowing 3 DVDs. L for Lawless was a mixture of the treasure hunt and road novel, but didn't really work with Kinsey disguising herself as a hotel maid. Hopefully the next book would be better.

Paprika was quite good, with wonderfully imagined dream sequences and detailed and vibrant colours. 300 was ridiculous, good if you're in a mood for campy movies. What looks and reads good on a comic book page may not translate well into a movie. Little children is a overtly- plotted movie, with characters being fitted into a mould rather than naturally developing.

Busy National Day

Just a reminder that I do have a life outside of work! Pre-National Day was spent was fellow Liteachers at a lovely place where we just had junk food for dinner. Managed to buy A Very Long Engagement and Supersize Me serendipitously. National Day was at Pasir Ris Park and then followed by Citadels and Ticket to Ride. And yesterday was spent with A. in Menotti; he's getting married next year. The Simpsons movie was ok, though they focused almost exclusively on the family alone, neglecting the other characters.

Vivocity

Went back to the workplace to sort out the chaotic workspace. Then I headed down to Vivocity for the very first time to have lunch with friends. Needed the break after doing endless marking, but now it's back to the scripts. Quite liked Vivocity; will head there once I have more time.