Teaser Tuesday - Jun 14

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

Dozens of small lengths of what looked like miniature wainscoting were lined up on top of it.
A little strange, Fenerman thought, but it doesn't make the man a murderer.

from Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones. I book I'd encourage you to read - if you haven't already - but it's a book you'll either love or hate! Here's part of the Guardian review

The Lovely Bones is a determined reiteration of innocence, a teeth-gritted celebration of something not dismembered or shattered at all, but continuous: the notion of the American family unit, dysfunctional, yes, but pure and good nonetheless. It's a celebration that is hard-won, often vivid, sometimes moving, comic and sweet,

- though contrary to other parts of that review I thought the book increased its grip on you as you read it.

Teaser Tuesday - Aug 26

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

In 2068, thirteen soldiers were killed when a prototype excavating robot malfunctioned, and drove its unit over a checkpoint. This led to a new program where Philosopher William's model of socialised development rose to prominence.

From Bernard Beckett's Genesis. This is our BATS book of the month - a lateral interpretation of the 'a book with a famous first line' choice. Described as young adult reading - reviews are tightlipped about some of the plot developments and I think I'm just getting to the interesting bit...

Teaser Tuesday - Dec 2

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

'What earthly use are what-ifs?' she asked, pulling a golden muffin off her long fork and reaching for the honey. 'I was born in the body allotted to me.'

Something warming for a winter evening! From Emma Donoghue 'The Woman who gave birth to rabbits' a collection of fictions which are true. The quoted sentences come from the 'Salvages' tale - a wonderful collection of whacky tales full of entertaining historical detail. This is a re-read for me.

Cloud Atlas

I seem to be on a run of David Mitchell at the moment, here's the trailer for the forthcoming Cloud Atlas movie:

.. to be released in October! (h/t bookriot and twitter's suzyklein)

Teaser Tuesday - 17 May

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

'This is the border of Elfland,' said the Queen. 'This is a shadowland where the shadowless travel.' The rocks, and the grass were grey, and a little river that ran beside the track was grey, and the thickets they passed were grey, rat-grey, shadow-grey, and there was the sound of rushing and roaring, like breakers on the beach.

Another teaser, like last week, from A S Byatt's The Children's Book

Teaser Tuesday - 6 April

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

It's builded firm of genes and cells,
And neurons without number;
My Ark enfolds the million years
That Adam spent in slumber.

And when destruction swirls around,
To Ararat I'll glide;
My Ark will then come safe to land
By light of Spirit's guide

To follow on from my reading earlier in the year of Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake, here's a teaser from her 'The Year of the Flood'. I'm nearly tempted to find a hymn tune it fits and sneak it in one Sunday! I'm not finding it as dark as Oryx but it is early days!

Two for the price of one!

Dr Who and 2001 - hat tip to Geoff Coupe.

El Orfanato

A trip last night to the Silk Screen in Macclesfield to see Juan Antonio Bayona's El Orfanato (The Orphanage). A Spanish gothic horror which draws one into a world where children are simultaneously innocent and unknown. I found myself thinking of James' Turn of the Screw. There was a lot of involuntary audience participation last night! Wonderfully acted by Belén Rueda in the main role. Here's the trailer - in Spanish, I'm afraid I couldn't find a version with sub-titles and I really didn't want the dubbed version!

There's been a coup!

Or maybe not.. but searching though my spam bucket, I've just found this gem:

Based on our investigation department, we wish to warn you against some Miscreants, Hoodlums and Touts who go about scamming innocent people by claiming to be who they are not and thereby tarnishing the image of this wonderful country. I am Lt General Peter Smith (Rtd), National Security Adviser to the new Prime Minister of Great Britain.

inevitably it continues as the normal Nigerian scam.

Teaser Tuesday - 1 Dec

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

As far as Mrs Munde could see, her daughter had no ambition and no faith. It had never occurred to her that Gloria had chosen to be nothing in order to avoid being her mother's something. Only by remaining in a vacuum-sealed diving bell could Gloria hope to avoid the storm at sea that was Mrs Munde.

Jeanette Winterson having far too much fun with the story of Noah and Genesis in 'boating for beginners' (a re-read here but I've not read it for quite a few years).
The woffle on the back says: 'If you find Monty Python The Life of Brain amusing, then this is your comic book of revelations' But go and read the link I've provided to what JW says about it on her website.
Yes I know it is three sentences, do you think I could miss out sentence three?

Waiting for it..

The Dr Who Christmas Special!

Teaser Tuesday - 20 Oct

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

'Sanders! Come back, Doctor!' The brittle echoes of Radek's voice, like a faint cry in an underground grotto, reached Sanders, but he stumbled on along the road, following the intricate patterns that revolved and expanded over his head like jewelled mandalas.

J G Ballard The Crystal World - a re-read for me!

Teaser Tuesday - 21 April

Teaser Tuesday
The rules are:

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) 'teaser' sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title and author of the book that you’re getting your 'teaser' from .. that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you've given!

When they had gone, the helicopters rose from their waiting grounds along the highway. Trabert looked up as the sky was filled with these insane machines. Yet in the contours of his wife's thighs, in the dune-filled eyes of Karen Novotny, he saw the assuaged time of the astronauts, the serene face of the president's widow.

Provoked into re-reading and posting this teaser by the death of J G Ballard yesterday, from his The Atrocity Exhibition, strong meat! not for the timid! As I quoted yesterday:

You need to be well hard.

J G Ballard

Following the news of J G Ballard's death, let me post a few disorganised thoughts:
I first read Ballard back in the 60's I think introduced through an early evening programme on The Third Programme on contemporary SF writing, at the time I was familiar with Bradbury (and English master's enthousiasm) so it wasn't a big leap. Drowned World seemed to resonate with my end of teen years, I read his short stories many times over the years - recently acquiring the two volumes. For a long time I was convinced that I'd nicked part of a plot idea of his for my Cambridge entrance exam - but the device I remember isn't in any of his works, I think now it was a self invented extension inspired by the claustrophobia of his writing.
I've taken longer to get to his later works - some are still unread, maybe I don't want to meet another Ballard style which I might not like!
I'm puzzled that searching this weblog for Ballard gives no hits when I know I've posted at least two items which refer to him, it looks as if Ballard doesn't match Ballard's I think this is a bug, but this post will ensure at least on hit!
From a summary of his work posted last year linked by the Guardian bookblog tribute

A warning: Don't start with Crash or The Atrocity Exhibition, unless you're feeling well hard. They will do serious damage to your head. (Either you will throw the book across the room, or the book will throw you across the room.) Work up to them.(Yes, I know some of you ARE well hard. Fair enough, OK, go for it.)

- he has lots of links to the novels (from Amazon).
If you only know the Ballard of The Empire of the Sun and afterwards, do read The Drowned World, The Crystal World with the early short stories - I will try to reciprocate!

Terragen 2

Back in Spring last year I posted a render produced with a beta of terragen 2 and mentioned that it had taken around 30 hours to produce. Planetside are now nearly at the release point - folks like me who have pre-paid can download - release is waiting for the website and maybe a few other things. I'm running it using Linux and wine and something has definitely speeded up - maybe the betas had some debugging code, maybe it is better at spotting dual cores (though that fix appeared to go in an earlier beta), I've just repeated that render - well same base file, slightly different camera position and it now takes just over 7 hours! I didn't really notice much of a slow down either.

Four times the speed is certainly appreciated!

Round the Hurin

Thanks to Geoff Coupe for finding this:

Look, Chou, what’s your game, making all the trees in Hyde Park walk about, singing?
CHOU-EN GOLLUM: Because it’s my birthday, precioussss, and I wants it.

You probably need to remember BBC radio in the 1960's to appreciate it!
(29 Sept) Fixed corrected link

Silk Screen

To the Silk Screen last night for the first showing of their new season - Pan's Labyrinth. A wonderful film with its mixture of fantasy with gritty realism depicting the end of the Spanish Civil War and the long shadow that cast over Spanish society. Despite us having the DVD I hadn't seen it before and I was glad to see it on the large screen first. Maybe I found it a bit violent though...

Especially for tomorrow

Happy Watching!

Background of one GAFCON bishop

Read this article from metacatholic.

Emmanuel Chukwuma... would have made two short planks look like Einstein

Chukwuma has recently called for Rowan Williams resignation - ok you don't need a towering intellect to judge whether a bishop should resign but some of the other points in the article make him look a few points short of a message.

(2014) Metacatholic appears to have gone, here's a copy of that article in the internet archive.

The trailer

Next weekend is complicated so I need to make sure I book a time to see the two parter!
The Arthur C Clarke reference was noted!
(trailer via Peter Ould)