Can you wear yellow?

[bethnoir]

I reading this book at the moment,
it's one of those "throw you in at the deep end" ones with a very alien world, hundreds of new creatures, places and concepts to comprehend. I'm enjoying it, but it's quite hard work. Do you love it when words you've never seen written down before appear regularly? The last time this happened for me was Umberto Eco I think, had to keep a notebook.
Might have to pick up something more relaxing today for when I'm tired.

Had a cool dream last night. I was at school/university in an English lesson. The female teacher was jumping from subject to subject, asking questions and then not letting anyone answer and basically not providing a very coherent lesson, which was annoying me. Suddenly she said she was going to show us a film which cheered me up.

It was projected onto a big white screen at the back of the room, it was Siouxsie Sioux and Budgie singing a song I'd never heard before, in a refectory somewhere. Siouxsie was wearing a lemon coloured minidress with a peach cardigan draped around her shoulders and Budgie was looking super cute. They were both really young, teenagers I think. There was some screaming at the end, kind of punky, but that's all I remember. In the dream, I was singing along, entranced by the song and decided that the teacher wasn't so bad after all.



Wonder if it exists? Siouxsie can even look good in yellow velvet, what a woman.

Comments

book cover poses

[bethnoir.livejournal.com]

That man has no vanity does he?

I like these photos too, that is one impressive beard

http://laughingsquid.com/men-ups-men-posing-like-classic-female-pin-up-models/

There was a whole article I read the other day, getting annoyed about women on film posters posed so their bottoms are facing the viewer, tipped up at an unnatural angle whilst they look back over their shoulder, usually holding guns. Double standard much?

I love my bear.

[wolfy-codex.livejournal.com]

Hee, Mr. Hines really is quite a silly man but there is a point to his playfulness. He previously did a recreation of typical female cover poses to illustrate just quite how unnatural they tend to be, and that the male versions, though equally unnatural still tend to be more about manly power and dominance than objectifying sexuality. So yes, a good man too.

It is a highly impressive beard indeed though! :D

Re: I love my bear.

[bethnoir.livejournal.com]

from the female cover poses it was pose 3 I was trying to describe. I wonder who decides that these poses are a good idea?

I often think it's odd how in successive editions they change the covers, as if they've decided they need to appeal to a new audience or they've gone off the original artistic vision. I get confused about some books and can't remember if I've read them or not.

The Terry Pratchett and JK Rowling 'grown ups' covers seem a bit insulting to original readers, or is that just me? I really don't think I've ever bought a book on the strength the cover, although I avoid pink girlie covers in the library, how about you?

Re: I love my bear.

[wolfy-codex.livejournal.com]

I do find it striking just quite how similar a lot of those fantasy covers are to all the myriad Mills & Boon books I sort through each day at the shop. That in itself has rather put me off reading a lot of them. It rather gives the impression they are less about the story and rather more to some mythical romantic ideal and whilst of course it may be all silly fantasy stuffs, some nod towards content rather than style might be appreciated, especially since they all end up looking the same and so rather continue to uphold fantasy's bad name as not being a proper serious genre.

I was always rather puzzled by the 'grown up' covers for Pratchett though. Josh Kirby's art always seemed quite grown up enough for me. The 'Adult Editions' as I find them amusingly entitled on Amazon, of Harry Potter are really just a bit weird. Both are really in no way representative of the books which they, umm, enjacket! (To invent a fun new word!) I'm not sure how insulting it might be but it's certainly a weird logic. People are embarassed to be seen reading a book with a 'childish' cover? Doubtless these people would be among the first to claim that adults can enjoy them too if they were caught out on the matter. So doesn't hiding from the fact rather undermine that more noble sentiment?

I assume most revamps of covers are largely to do with marketing more than anything else but in the end I don't suppose I mind too much. The obsessive perfectionist in me does rather like to have a series of books on the shelves all in the same cover style. It is nice to have pretty books but its far from the biggest factor for me. I've certainly never chosen a tome purely because of the cover art but I can't say I'm probably not more naturally inclined to a book that looks interestingly artistic if not dark and gothy to one that does not. I suppose it starts to matter a bit more now that kindles and such are taking off, the paper book needs that extra aesthetic quality to keep hold of its value as an object alongside its downloadable cousin perhaps.

book covers, I lied

[bethnoir.livejournal.com]

Oops, I just remembered that I lied, I did buy the Necronomicon in Waterstones because I wanted to own that particular edition, but usually the cover is not so important.

I just got a book from the library which the librarian told me was worth £300. Curious, when I looked it up on Amazon it costs £18 so it must be more available than it used to be. She seemed dubious about letting me take it away (it's an obscure anthropological book from 1972, hardly in demand), I assured her I wouldn't eat and orange whilst reading it or read it in the bath.

The prices things sell for and the value of them are not always the same are they? Would you consider having a kindle? Mr Bethnoir is quite keen on the practicality of them, but I do like the physical presence of a paper book.

Re: book covers, I lied

[wolfy-codex.livejournal.com]

*gasps* How can I ever trusts you again?! Erm, in fairness though it sounds that it was still the book you wanted rather than the cover.

Hm, is the book a swishy first edition or somesuch? Does it perhaps contain Lucifer's hidden code to unlock the Ninth Gate?! Hee, well I'm sure you'd be no more likely to damage it that you might any other book from the library. Perhaps you should take it with you to the beach and have an ice cream? :)

Ah, well I have a kindle but as yet I haven't really found any great use for it. Mostly this is because it only works through a wireless connection and my home interweb is very much wired. I do prefer the physical book myself too though the electronic reading device does have potential for the creation of new media experiences, integrated stories with video and such but for the simple reading of a story there is no greater device than the book. :)

kindle

[bethnoir.livejournal.com]

oh, I thought you could download stuff and read it anywhere, but if it's dark you need a light, so not quite anywhere. I'm not really tempted, except when I run out of books I want to read or when they're out of print, but seem to cost about £1.50 on Amazon.

Re: kindle

[wolfy-codex.livejournal.com]

Well the kindle isn't backlit like a mobile phone might be so indeed you can't read it in the dark. The rationale seemingly being partly to reduce screen glare since many kindle readers read outdoors and also to increase the length of time between charging. Apparently you can get little lights that attach to it though that isn't really any different to reading a book with a nightlight. Still, I can't say I've really found much use for mine but then I has plenty of real books yet to read. Also the wireless only thing isn't really convenient for me, although you can get models that work through 3G as well, but mine is just the basic flavour.