Hugo

Yesterday, I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and today, I went and watched Hugo in the cinema. Both experiences were wonderfully captivating and magical, and I wanted to share this magic with you.

The story is of an orphan boy who tends the clocks in a railway station in Paris in the 1930s. He loves mechanical things, and by the end of either the book or the film, you probably will too.

Clocks!

The book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, is a story told in both pictures and text. It really captures the imagination, and doesn't take a long time to read, despite being over 500 pages long. The pictures, or illustrations, or drawings - whatever you call them - are wonderfully made, sometimes with exquisite detail, and sometimes with lots of tension. But no matter what emotion or feeling they convey, they do so beautifully, full of life. The combination of pictures and text is magical. The two ways the story is told complement each other, and work together to create a wonderful atmosphere of childlike wonder. The emotions are so well conveyed in the pictures, I felt as if I was Hugo Cabret, experiencing all this for the first time.

The film, Hugo, captures the mood and feeling of the book very well. Of course, things are added and things are taken away, but aren't they always in the process of making a good film from a book? In my opinion, the core of the book was captured very well. The atmosphere is just right, the magic comes to life, and I am left with the same childlike wonder. The score is beautiful, and it all just comes together.

I would highly recommend both the book and the film, for children of any age, be it nine or ninety (maybe not under nine, though). It is a wonderful journey into a magical land of clocks, robots, and early film. I think you should embark on this journey, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Like many other people, I like Pride and Prejudice. It's a wonderful story, the characters are lovely, the comedy is just right, and it's just really a good book. It has also been made into several different films (some better than others), and a BBC mini series (twice? I'm not sure). The story has been enjoyed through all these media by lots of people, and it has been hugely successful.

Yesterday, I discovered that this story is being told once again, but this time in a more modern format, namely the video blog. Basically, for those of you who don't know, a video blog is when someone sits and talks to their camera about their life or anything that interests them, and then uploads it to the internet. Kind of like a blog, but in video form - as the name implies.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a fresh take on Pride and Prejudice, set to the modern day. Some changes have been made to accomodate this (I mean, five children is NOT normal anymore), but I don't think this will matter much. The acting is really good, and I find myself believing the illusion really easily. The first two episodes have been posted so far, so if you join now, you'll get to see the story unfold, with new instalments every week, I think. I must say, I'm already a fan. You can watch the first video below, or check out the whole thing on youtube.

Harry, A History

Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon by Melissa Anelli

This book let me delve into the Harry Potter fandom like I have never been able to. I was a latecomer to the books (Harry Potter, that is) and I read the books in the autumn of 2007 - when all of them were already published. I was never able to go to a midnight release party or immerse myself in plot discussions and speculation. This book took me on a guided tour of the fandom and behind the scenes of a phenomenon whose products I now see.

This book was wonderfully personal, but at the same time covered all the important things that one would expect of a book about the Harry Potter phenomenon. Everything from fanfiction and shipping wars to wizard rock is covered. The author, a well known fan and webmistress of The Leaky Cauldron, takes you along on her personal experience with the books and the fandom, letting you get inside the head of a fan and explaining everything on the way.

It ends after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was published, but with the promise of continuation of the phenomenon. The fandom is, of course, still going strong, living and growing. The strong friendships formed between people who have met through Harry Potter continue on, and wizard rock bands are still rocking out. The message of love from the books continue shaping people's lives, and charity work in the name of Harry Potter (The Harry Potter Alliance), and last but not least the fostering of young people who love to read, as well as many other wonderful things, are still happening.

The end, about reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, took me right back to my experience of finishing the series for the first time. All the anxiety and sense of closure was there for me too, although I hadn't been waiting for nearly as long before I got to know everything.

This review has become a mixture of my personal experience with the Potter books and phenomenon, and about this book. It made me think of my own fandom experiences, and structuring my own experience. In the beginning of the book I felt a bit alienated, but I soon became immersed in the story of the fandom growing and expanding. It is wonderfully written, and takes you on a whirlwind tour of the phenomenon we know as Harry Potter with a wonderful guide. I would almost go so far as to say that this should be required reading for any Harry Potter fan.

PS: Now that I'm writing and thinking about it: A HUGE THANK YOU to Fatima, who pressured me to finally read the Potter books. Thank you so, so much!

Hits By Day

For those of you who thought today was Palm Sunday (or April Fool's Day), well...it's also Godiva Day, the day that Alex Day's new single Lady Godiva comes out. You can listen to it below (or buy it on iTunes). Alex's last single, Forever Yours, reached number 4 on the UK Cristmas Charts for 2011.

Alex Day (or nerimon on youtube) has also recently started a new thing, called Hits By Day. It's basically a half-hour long radio show only available for streaming on the internet. It features Alex Day as host, and eight of his currently favourite songs. He has kind of made a promise to make it a weekly thing, and I really hope he does. It's a great way to discover new (old) songs. So far he has made three, and I have posted the first one below. You can find more of them on his web page.

Hits By Day - March 10th 2012 by Alexday on Mixcloud

Happy Godiva Day!