Enjoying Pi and drifting on a cloud

I saw it!  Finally I saw the Life of Pi.  It was the 3D version, which if I'm honest wasn't the version I intended to see.  However, in retrospect, it was definitely the superior version.  This story has been spellbindingly held in my thoughts for weeks now.  I ruminate on it often and the reason for this is because it is story based on the philosophical debate about science over religion, reason over imagination and fact over fiction.  It has haunted me for the last few weeks and now that I've seen the film, I think it will continue to haunt me for some time to come.  My hat is off to Mr Martel and Mr Lee, splendid work gentlemen!

When I haven't been ruminating over Life of Pi, I've been reading Simon Mayo's Itch.  Yes, DJ Simon Mayo.  I rather enjoyed this unlikely tale of a teenage 'element hunter' accidentally discovering element 126 and taking the decision to change the world or not.  There was enough of the believable to help with the continuity of the narrative and the characters were likeable and realistic.  Great to see some strong female characters and a health dose of science.  Much, much better that the average celebrity novel. I'm looking forward to reading his next book to be launched later this year.

So now I'm reading Phantom by Jo Nesbo and Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.  *rubs hands together gleefully*  An eclectic mixture of Nordic Crime and Sci/Fi Fantasy.

Shhh, I'm reading.

What I'd like to know, is who else reads more that 1 book at  a time? and why?

I've always put my bi-reading of books down to my mood swings.  That way I've always got something suitable to pick up depending on where my mood is.  It's the literature equivalent of me taking imipramine and lamotrigine. (you probably need to speak a little psychopharmacology to understand that comparison.)

A Piece of Pi

Loved it! What an extraordinary story, what a rich colourful palette of symbolism, spirituality and Zoology.

It was really thought provoking for me, especially the ethics of zoos.  I've always been first to say that zoos are a bad idea, not ideal habitats for creatures and certainly not to be encouraged or supported.  Ive always said 'Yes' to conservation, 'Yes' to nature reserves and protected environments, however I was compelled to listen attentively and to allow myself to be challenged by Martel's arguments and reasoning for zoos.  I'm not ashamed to say that I am one of those well-meaning and misinformed people who thought animals in the wild and 'happy' and 'free' and I am appreciative of his thought provoking reasoning for zoos.

I must say that as a vegetarian, I found Martel's descriptions of the 'zebra incident' and 'first fish kill'  very nauseating.  Resolving the moments after reading these passages NOT to see the film.  However, it would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to see all of the special effects for the sake of my lack of stomach about a few sections of the story.

I could really identify with Pi dilemma "a lifetime of peaceful vegetarianism stood between me and the wilful beheading of a fish"  I have wondered from time to time if I would have the courage and conviction to follow through with a similar act should circumstances compel me.  As Pi discovers, "a person can get used to anything, even to killing."

Well, after a thoroughly enjoyable read, I was in the library on Saturday to celebrate National Libraries Day, not that there was much going on in the way of celebrations.  I spied Jean-Christophe Castelli's the making of Life of Pi a film a journey.  It is new stock and was still to be issued for the first time.  I took pride in rectifying that.  A fabulous read for anyone interested in the process of how a novel is brought to life on the big screen.  Castelli was responsible for period research for the film, set in 1975.  What an interesting journey is catalogued in Castelli's book.  Wonderful illustrations and photos documenting the film research and story.  Storyboard illustrations, old photos of Tigers in Zoos, The cast, included the 3 Tigers (King, Minh and Themis) who star as Richard Parker,  Director, Ang Lee and superb location shots in Pondicherry and in the studios in Taiwan.  Well worth a read.

Yann Martel writes the foreword to Castelli's book. He says that the film that Ang Lee and his novel have the same title but each tells a slightly different story because each is told by a different author.  "

"Both the reader and the viewer must ponder the same question: Which is the better story: the one with the animals, or the one without?...... what does that mean tin terms of how you will live your life?"

So National Libraries Day (9th Feb)  has been and gone and I visited my local library in Carnoustie.  I was impressed by the amount of new releases in the stock.  As I said before, I borrowed Castelli's book, a copy of the Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Itch by Simon Mayo and the first audio book I've borrowed for a while, The Nightmare by Lars Kepler.

I'm curious as to how the book 'sounds' when read by someone else rather than hearing my own voice reading the story.  It will also be interesting to hear how the Swedish words should be pronounced as opposed to how I pronounce them.

As I was checking the books out at the circulation desk, there was much amusement at the  anonymous review of The Nightmare.  It did get me thinking though, maybe a few more anonymous reviews could find their way into the library. wink! wink!

Read Precepts and Wonder

I took the opportunity today to read a book that has been given a lot of press recently.

 It was so good, I read it in a few hours.

This is R J Palacio's first novel, Wonder.  It has a strong anti-bullying message attached to wrapped around a whole melting pot of issues that Teens experience.  It's a very character driven novel with some really interesting characters.  August, the main character, is an ordinary boy with an extraordinary appearance that shocks everyone who first meets him.  However August's situation isn't unique. There are lots of kids who have these monumental hurdles to overcome just to be accepted.  Not all of these kids have physical differences either, as a Mother of a child with autism, I am all to aware of the painful daily struggles Claire has to be accepted by her peers.

A lovely touch that the author has included in her novel are precepts.  Some are well known No man is an island, entire of itself - John Donne and others less well known Don't be friends with Jerks. Henry Joplin.

On that note, I hope you have a relaxing weekend.  I'm off to Somerset this weekend to do some long overdue packing.  Oh joy!