Three books, one movie
Mar. 2nd, 2025 09:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
yuuagoStuff I've read and watched lately:
Books:
+ Fearless and Free, Josephine Baker's memoir. This was published in France a long time ago, but it's only very recently that it was translated into English. Super interesting! She had a fascinating life. I'm glad I took the time to read it.
+ Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa. Set in 1970s Japan, about a girl who goes to live with some wealthy and somewhat strange relatives. I found it meandering and dreamy. Might check out more of this author's work at some point.
+ Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan. Basically a diary of her experience watching the birds in her backyard, with some very neat illustrations. I think someone on my flist recommended it. Anyway, I really liked this a lot; it kind of made me want to get into birdwatching myself (not that I need a new hobby...) It's amazing how many things you notice about the world outside, nearby, right in your backyard, when you stop to look at it.
Movie:
+ The Boy and the Heron (2023). This movie is beautiful and weird, which is to be expected given that it's a Miyazaki film. Kind of not sure what to think of it; the story got very loosey goosey toward the end, I think.
Also I got my wires crossed somewhere, because at some point I heard that this was an adaptation of How Do You Live. I read the translation of that last year, and was curious about how you could possibly adapt it, given that the book is very didactic and basically an exploration of ethics and so on. Turns out it's not an adaptation; it merely references it (in the Japanese title and in one brief scene).
...So the entire time that I was watching it, I was looking for more references back to the novel, which there weren't really. Maybe I should watch it again with my expectations recalibrated.
(Also, Kiriko is awesome. I LOVE HER, she's the best.)
Books:
+ Fearless and Free, Josephine Baker's memoir. This was published in France a long time ago, but it's only very recently that it was translated into English. Super interesting! She had a fascinating life. I'm glad I took the time to read it.
+ Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa. Set in 1970s Japan, about a girl who goes to live with some wealthy and somewhat strange relatives. I found it meandering and dreamy. Might check out more of this author's work at some point.
+ Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan. Basically a diary of her experience watching the birds in her backyard, with some very neat illustrations. I think someone on my flist recommended it. Anyway, I really liked this a lot; it kind of made me want to get into birdwatching myself (not that I need a new hobby...) It's amazing how many things you notice about the world outside, nearby, right in your backyard, when you stop to look at it.
Movie:
+ The Boy and the Heron (2023). This movie is beautiful and weird, which is to be expected given that it's a Miyazaki film. Kind of not sure what to think of it; the story got very loosey goosey toward the end, I think.
Also I got my wires crossed somewhere, because at some point I heard that this was an adaptation of How Do You Live. I read the translation of that last year, and was curious about how you could possibly adapt it, given that the book is very didactic and basically an exploration of ethics and so on. Turns out it's not an adaptation; it merely references it (in the Japanese title and in one brief scene).
...So the entire time that I was watching it, I was looking for more references back to the novel, which there weren't really. Maybe I should watch it again with my expectations recalibrated.
(Also, Kiriko is awesome. I LOVE HER, she's the best.)
Yuu. Fic writer & book lover. M/Canada.
no subject
Date: 2025-03-03 04:53 pm (UTC)(Also, Kiriko is awesome. I LOVE HER, she's the best.)
that's just facts!!! She was amazing, I loved her.
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Date: 2025-03-04 01:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-03-03 05:43 pm (UTC)ahhh, I feel this! For a while, I was in a discord server with a few people who were really into birdwatching, and reading their conversations with one another got me so tempted and intrigued. But, like you, the last thing I need is another hobby to add to the teetering pile of all the things I like to do;;;
no subject
Date: 2025-03-04 01:13 am (UTC)