BookieMonster, BookieMonster, paging BookieMonster…

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May 162012
 
BookieMonster, BookieMonster, paging BookieMonster...

Heh. “Paging”. Geddit? Hello my preciouseseses! I know, it’s been quite a while. Well, things have been quite busy here in the BookieMonster household, not to mention I have been busy job-hunting and that is, quite frankly, an exhausting undertaking. I have also been helping a friend out with another project (go here to see it, especially if you’re a teacher) plus I have been doing temp work. All in all, I have just been taking a quiet break from the book blogging business. In fact I’ve been quiet all-round the internet lately. I’ve been an introspective, home-body BookieMonster. Oh, plus I got me one of these: Weeeeeeet! That would be a piggie. My guinea piggie, to be exact. But I thought I should let you all know that I am here, I am still reading and hopefully I am a little closer to a job. Soooo… whatchoo all been [...read more...]

Game of Thrones Open Thread

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Apr 052012
 
Game of Thrones Open Thread

Game of Thrones! Have you read it? Have you seen it? I hear the second season premiered somewhere the other night. So, I have questions. Did you see the TV show or read the books first? Do you think it’s better to read the books before you see the adaptation? (Also, we need to talk about The Hunger Games, but I need to finish the series first, so shhh.) Some people believe that coming to the books from the adaptation taints the experience. Do you agree? Do you think that’s realistic? Is my reading of Game of Throne lesser for having seen the first four episodes of season one before reading the books? Is my reading of Dune coloured by playing the computer game before reading it? Or, did these adaptations lead me into books I never would have read otherwise? Can you really discover an older work without being [...read more...]

Guest Post: Tim Jones interviews Keith Westwater about Tongues of Ash

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Feb 082012
 
Guest Post: Tim Jones interviews Keith Westwater about Tongues of Ash

Today’s guest post: Tim Jones (author of Men Briefly Explained) interviews Keith Westwater (author of Tongues of Ash). Thanks Keith and Tim! 1) The publisher of Tongues of Ash, Interactive Publications, has described the collection as ‘travel poetry’. Is that how you see the collection? I must admit, when I first saw the term I was a little taken aback, as I had not considered the work in that light. My thinking was that the poems as a whole are representative of landscape writing, in the sense that they are to do with place, memories of place, the physical world, and the environment. They also touch on what is meant by ‘home’. On reflection, I think the publisher has insightfully picked up on the journeys that are also woven into the fabric of the collection   – my personal journey through time and place and my travels within New Zealand and overseas. [...read more...]

Guest Post: Keith Westwater interviews Tim Jones about Men Briefly Explained

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Feb 072012
 
Guest Post: Keith Westwater interviews Tim Jones about Men Briefly Explained

Today’s guest post: Keith Westwater (author of Tongues of Ash) interviews Tim Jones (author of Men Briefly Explained). Thanks Tim and Keith! 1) Is it possible to explain men, briefly or otherwise? It would probably take a much longer book than mine to do that job full justice. I guess that Men Briefly Explained attempts to reveal the mysteries of the male from two angles: partly internally, through a report on what it’s been like so far to grow up male, and partly externally, through observing how other men behave. I have tried to look at how men’s biological role affects our behaviour too – although it’s important not to try to push such sociobiological explanations too far. (That’s a frightfully serious explanation, so I should also add that the book is a great deal less serious than I’ve just made it sound!) 2) Is this really an explanation of [...read more...]

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