Gentle reader,
It’s 3am here, and today (yesterday, rather) I woke up sick as a dog and slept most of the afternoon, and now I can’t sleep, so I thought I’d write y’all a post. Hopefully it won’t sound like some cray-cray fever dream… I’ll be sure to proof read it again when I wake up! ^_~
So, as I’ve mentioned, I’ve been on a bit of a reading binge lately, largely since my craft projects have mostly been packed up. But, I’ve also just been super lucky to have such an awesome line up of books. I’m on a roll! I’ve already talked about Cold Mountain and True Grit, and I recently finished World War Z, which I’ll save for another post. Now I’m reading Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist.
I had seen the Swedish film adaptation of this novel a year or two ago and was completely amazed by it. I’d looked for the book a few times but ended up putting it back because of the somewhat unappealing cover of the Australian edition. I know, you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover… but books are so expensive here that I usually jump on any excuse not to spend (if only I were such a thrifty-nickel in other areas…). Usually it’s in the “Paranormal” section of the bookstore and is surrounded by a bunch of tween-y paranormal romance stuff, but don’t let that or the cover put you off (though other editions seem to have awesome covers).
Also, I didn’t realize that the “Paranormal” section was a thing until recently; I thought this stuff would be either in the “Horror” or “Sci-Fi/Fantasty” sections. For some reason it made me feel old… But I digress.
Then, recently, my inestimable friend, Marelle, borrowed it from the library and thought it was such an neat read that on one of our Sundays at work she dashed down to the book store and bought me a copy (friends who buy you books? BEST. EVER. Keep them around, y’all!). I’m about three quarters of the way through, and I have to say, I don’t even need to finish it to be able to recommend this book to you.
If you love a book that is beautiful and dark, and uncomfortable in all the right ways, or you’re looking for the vampire antithesis of Twilight, then definitely put this on your reading list. Lindqvist manages to cram a whole bunch of characters into the novel, but he weaves them all together just so, and it never feels crowded, with each character given a distinct personality and internal narrative no matter how briefly they appear. The two main characters, Oskar and Eli are exceptionally written, and they counterpoint each other in quite a profound way, and if you’ve ever been an outcast they will resonate with you on some level.
I’m also really keen to see the American film adaptation, Let Me In, because it’s been quite well received too, and I think Chloe Moretz is a crazy good actress (Did you see her in Kick-Ass? Oy.). I’ll wait ’til I’ve finished the book though.
Also, are you on GoodReads.com? Do you like it? Enjoy it? I’ve just joined there and have found it quite useful to figure out what to add to my reading list. Feel free to befriend me there!
I do apologize sincerely that my posts haven’t been too crafty lately. My creative endeavors have come to a screeching halt, what with this whole packing and moving caper. But, I assure you that I have barrels of fun planned once I’m in my new house, including videos and interviews with some of my crafty friends and all sorts of things… (maybe some giveaways…? Ooooh!).
In the mean time, my posts will be a bit less craft related, I guess, but I hope you find them fun and interesting anyway. Just bear with me for a bit. We’ll have fun anyway, ‘kay? Great!
– R
theshylion.wordpress.com 