It's one thing to watch bad movies. They're over in an hour and a half/two hours, and they're fun to laugh at with friends.

But reading bad books? I must be mad!
(Especially when I can tell that it's bad, because I usually like everything I come across.)

Which isn't to say that I'm not enjoying it, because I am. It's hilarious!

The book in question is Death of a Transvestite by the infamous Edward D. Wood Jr.

Glen, the main character from Wood's film Glen or Glenda, has become a transvestite assassin, and is now on death row. His last request is to be allowed to die in drag, and in exchange he tells his story to the warden.

Really, it makes sense. Because the perfect disguise for an assassin is as a woman, especially when you look as hot as Glenda does.



Bet you wouldn't have known she was a man if I hadn't told you!

So, guess who's going to start watching Firefly tonight? Well, I suppose since I'm the one asking the question, it's kinda obvious that's it's ME!

I've been hearing about it for so long, but I never got off my butt to find it until I saw Serenity on TV a few weeks ago. Then there was the waiting around to get it from the library, and now I can see it! It's actually quite good timing too, seeing as I've run out of Supernatural to watch, because I can't find the damned 3rd season anywhere.

Also, it has been 6 months since I re-read a book. I was kinda amazed when I found out, since yesterday I thought "I wonder if I could make it to 6 months", then I did some calculations and realised that it had already happened! And it's likely that I'm going to keep reading new books for a while longer, since I still have some library books to read, and the first part of my order of cheap books arrived yesterday. The Amory Wars has been shipped, and another book that I ordered months ago and had given up on seems to be on it's way too. I'm quite excited!

Since everyone else seems to be posting their reading lists monthly, or whenver they feel like it, I thought maybe I would too, since it's much easier than wading through them at the end of the year.

So then, January. I read 8 books, 2 of which were non-fiction (both autobiographies of comedians).

JANUARY
Doctor Who: The Doctor Trap - Simon Messingham
A Lion Among Men - Gregory Maguire
One Flew Into The Cuckoo's Egg: My Autobiography - Bill Oddie
Small Favor - Jim Butcher
The Tales Of Beedle The Bard - J. K. Rowling
Dear Fatty - Dawn French
Doctor Who: Shining Darkness - Mark Michalowski
Doctor Who: Ghosts Of India - Mark Morris

So far this month, I have finished 4 books, but 2 were incredibly short, and another I have been reading since November, so I thought it was bloody well time that I finished it! So, up till today:

FEBRUARY
Lyra's Oxford - Philip Pullman
Book Of The Dead: The Complete History Of Zombie Cinema - Jamie Russell
Nation - Terry Pratchett
Doctor Who: Revenge Of The Judoon - Terrance Dicks

I'm currently reading I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert and Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay.

For the last few years, I've aimed to read 100 books each year, but in 2008 I decided to do something different. I have a long list of books that I own but haven't read yet, books that I would like to reread, or just books that I really want to read. So I decided to read as many of those books as I could. The trouble is, because I keep buying books, or finding new ones to read, this list keeps growing.

I started the list in October 2007, and by the end of 2008, I had read over half of them (33 out of 61), which I was quite happy with.

( They were: )

As well as that, I did make it to 100 books last year (108 to be exact). 87 of them I read for the first time, and 15 were non-fiction, both of which are the most I have done since I started keeping lists in 2003. So, here's the list of everything I read last year.

( 2008! )

So, it's been ages since I posted anything. Not because nothing's been happening but because I'm either not in the mood to write, or I've forgotten what I wanted to write. But now I am gonna write, because I've noticed that lately I've been watching lots of biopics and based-on-true-story movies (most of which start with "C"), so I'm gonna write about them.

Last night, I watched Chapter 27, which is about Mark Chapman, the guy who killed John Lennon. I'm incredibly glad that I read The Catcher In The Rye before I saw it, because a lot of Chapmans' dialogue and the things that he does are taken straight from the book, and it would have seemed incredibly strange without knowing that. By the way, I don't get what the big deal about The Catcher In the Rye is. I mean, I liked it, and I agree with some of the stuff that Holden says and understand his disillusionment with being an adult, but maybe you have to be an angsty teen to really love it, and I haven't been one of those for a few years. Also, the way he talked annoyed the shit out of me. Hmm, I'm gonna be in big trouble if I suddenly find that I've time travelled back to the 50's. Anyway, I liked the movie, but then again, I like nearly all movies. :P

The night before last, I saw Control, about Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division. I've been wanting to see it for ages, and I really liked it. Some of the early scenes reminded me of parts of Velvet Goldmine, which really isn't surprising, seeing as they're both set in Manchester in the early 70's, and both have boys wearing make up, and Bowie worship. :D It was also quite interesting to see some of the scenes that were in 24 Hour Party People done in a slightly different way, and from a different perspective. 24 Hour Party People is about Factory Records, Joy Divisions' label, and tells the same story but in less detail (cos it has more stuff to tell) and from Tony Wilsons' perspective (the head of Factory). Anyway, great movie, but not as depressing as I expected it to be, which is kinda strange.

The other biopic starting with C, which I saw last week, was Chaplin, and I really hope I don't have to explain what this one is about! I already liked Robert Downey Jr, but now I think he's amazing! He was a perfect Chaplin, even when he was playing Charlie in his 80's. And I had a lot of fun trying to work out who the different people were along the way, especially trying to remember which wife was which, and spotting Stan Laurel and getting excited when Edna Purviance had a very brief scene (which looked like it was stolen from The Immigrant, cos, it was! Well, not completely, but the restaurant looked the same!). I only wish that it could have gone into more detail, but that wouldn't be possible without making it immensely long, which would have bored anyone who wasn't a fan, seeing as it goes for 2 and a half hours now. But I loved it anyway, and I think I might watch it again before I take it back to the library.

Also, I have a boxset of 31 Chaplin short films that I bought last year and have been meaning to watch for ages. 9 hours of Chaplin! I think I'll have to watch those next week. Prepare to be bored by my ramblings! (If I'm in the mood to write them down, and luckily for you, I probably won't be. :P )

Book Meme stolen from schultzie42

The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Put an asterisk next to the books you'd rather shove hot pokers in your eyes than read

( I've read 35! )

If anyone is looking for something to read, I strongly recommend Journey To The Centre of the Earth, by Jules Verne. It's awesome, and they're not even in the centre of the Earth yet, they're still trekking around in Iceland (Hence the title: apparently an Icelanic greeting meaning "Be happy.") Oh no, look out, a leper!

But as much as I'm enjoying it, I keep getting distracted by Russell Brand. For some reason, I'm reading his autobiography, and man, can he write a book!

I was wandering around at the shops yesterday, and I found out where they keep the colourful hair dyes. Because it would make too much sense to keep them with the normal hair dyes. Anyway, I may be doing something interesting with my hair in the next few weeks. The only problem is that I'll have to bleach my hair, and I have no idea what I should use for that. Do I just use a normal blonde hairdye? I'm completely clueless. Maybe I'll consult Vindie, since she has a lot of experience in this area....

Anyway, better go get ready for work soon. Need to earn money to spend on dye!

Samsam, you are awesomely funny! Don't ever stop making me laugh!

In case anyone else happens to read this (not likely, but it may happen :P ), samelthecamel  , longlongwaytogo  , Grant and I went to see Across The Universe last night. And there was this bit where Sam said to me "That guy looks like Bono." So I told her, "It is Bono." And we cracked up, and I guess it's our quote of the week now. Everything looks like Bono! Anyway, very cool movie!

I have a new favourite drink! The white iced chocolate chillers (aka Frapps!) at Gloria Jeans are the most amazing things ever! *drool* I had three last week....

Ummm, ...... Oh yeah, I read an awesome book last week! It was The Crystal Cave, by Mary Stewart. I think tradredav  mentioned it on NIH? Thank you soo much!!! I'm a bit of a sucker for anything Arthurian, and it's about Merlin, who I was slightly in love with anyway! So, now I need to go find the next one, The Hollow Hills.

And once again, I'm excited about seeing a band! Muse on Wednesday night!

Also, I've probably upset the zombies. Eeek!

Ooooo, and I have season 3 of Spongebob! Maybe I should go watch it......