Dracula Readings Part 4

Dracula Readings part 4

Chapters 17 thru 21

After the revelation that Lucy was turned into a vampire, my interest in the story went up. I like that when the group came together, they figured out to compile all of their journals and diary entries into a database, so that they can put all of the pieces together. I like that we finally reveal Renfield's involvement in all of this, because that was a big question that I had early on in the story.

There were things that I must have missed in the reading because I'm not sure why they are looking for these boxes that the count has shipped over. Are the boxes filled with his special dirt? Does he have more than one house that he has purchased in England? I'm not really sure what they are looking for when they are out hunting for the Count. Other than that, which is probably just something I missed, I'm really intrigued with how the story is going to unfold.

After the last chapter I read (21) the story took a dark turn that I did not see coming. Having the Count feeding off of Mina Harker. It was a nice subtle hint that I didn't pick up on with Mina being pale. As the story has gone on, I've grown to like Mina, so I'm curious as to what is going to happen to her now, if she becomes a vampire. Will Jonathan turn also? Will she kill Jonathan? And who is going to kill the count? If he dies at all? There's a lot of questions still left. I hope that Van Helsing (who is my favorite character, and now one of my favorite characters in literature) gets to stake Drac.

The only thing I'd have to say that I don't care about are the three suitors of Lucy: Dr. Seward, Quincy Morris and Arthur Holmwood. I don't feel that they a re distinct enough from each other to justify there being three of them. But maybe there is something that I am missing, still.

Next post will be chapters 22-27, finishing the book. If you have any thoughts on Dracula, please I want to hear them. If you have any insight into the questions I've asked, let me know. Comment below or tweet at me. Until next time, beware the mist!

Dracula Readings part 3

After about 8 chapters that had somewhat lost my interest in the story, it has finally regained my attention. A somewhat shocking revelation about Lucy has finally come to light. Although the book still has not used the term vampire. There was a story about a woman in the night preying on kids, and some died. The kids all had puncture wounds on their necks, yet no one knew what had caused it. Reminds me a bit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, people trying to make excuses for these neck punctures, anything other than vampire bites. At first I thought that this mysterious woman might have been maybe one of the three sisters of Dracula, or someone that had bit Lucy. But I loved the shocking reveal that the woman was Lucy herself. So, we still don't know who bit Lucy, but I'm starting to enjoy the story again.

I love the interactions between Mina and Van Helsing, and how she turned to him to help Jonathon. After reading Jonathon's journal, I assume Van Helsing, has figured out that the Count is a vampire. I'm curious to see if this is what draws the characters back to Castle Dracula. I'm still not sure how Renfield plays into the story, or if we will return to his character again.

Back to Lucy, I like that Van Helsing was clever enough to catch vampire Lucy in a trap by laying garlic on her grave. The book is doing a good job of setting up the mythology of how vampires work. As a big fan of Buffy, I thought it curious when Van Helsing said to drive the stake through the heart using a hammer. It had just occurred to me why it is called a “stake”. Buffy makes it look easy to stake vamps. Anyway the mystery is finally coming together, and I'm starting to enjoy the story again.

New Ideas for The Hunger Games Prequel Book

According to Lionsgate Studios and author Suzanne Collins, a new book set in the world of Panem will be coming out May of 2020. Following that release a movie or more, will be made based on the book. Here is the link to the news article, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/17/books/hunger-games-prequel.html

As a big fan of The Hunger Games franchise, I am super excited for this new book. It will be set 64 years prior to the first Hunger Games books. So, it will take place during the 10^th Hunger Games, a part of the “Dark Days” period that was mentioned in the books. For years now I have been wanting a prequel to The Hunger Games that explores more of the society of Panem and how everything came about, leading up to the circumstances found in the trilogy.

Not knowing exactly what the story will be, here are some things that I would like to see show up in the book.

1. The “Dark Days” - We've only heard about (briefly) what the dark days were, but I hope the book further explores what lead to the dark days and how the actual “hunger games” were formed.
2. More districts – The second book and third books Catching Fire and Mockingjay gave readers a glimpse into some of the other districts outside of district 12. But there are still several districts that we no little about, so I hope the new book can provide more details about the other districts, and maybe even be set in a different district. Was district 12 always the poor district or at one point was it more equal, and at what point did things change? Questions that I've had for a while, let's see if they get answered.
3. Old Characters – Now there are a couple of characters that we meet in the original trilogy that were old enough to be alive during the 10^th hunger games. I, personally, would love to see a younger Mags. I love Mags from Catching Fire, and I believe Katniss says she is in her 80's meaning she would have been the right age for the reaping during the 10^th games. Also, president Snow was in his 70's and would be a young boy during this time. It would be fan service sure, but maybe there could be a way to add in some familiar characters organically to the new story. Also, there is mention of Haymitch's mentor in the first book, but that he died years before. So, perhaps however Haymitch's mentor was, maybe he shows up in the new book. 
4. The Capital – We get to spend some time in the Capital in the original trilogy, but not really with any of the people from the capital outside Katniss' prep team. It would be curious to see what the Capital was like, if it was different and how so, back during the 10^th games.
5. The Hunger Games – The description says that it takes place during the time of the 10^th Hunger games, but not that it necessarily will be about the games. I would certainly like to see the evolution of the hunger games. What was the technology like back then, and were sponsors still a huge factor? Also, I believe that the “Careers tributes” were not yet a thing, so what was the actual competition like for the tributes? How has the spectacle of the event evolved? There's a lot that I would like to see in an old version of the actual games.

So, there's my list of the things that I want to see happened in the new prequel Hunger Games book. What are some of your theories, or ideas that you would like to see included? Leave a comment below or tweet me. Thanks!

Dracula Readings part 2

Still working my way through Dracula. Right now it's all about Lucy and Dr. Seward. At first I had trouble switching between characters while listening to the audio narrator. His Dracula voice is similar to his Van Helsing voice. But eventually I sorted it out. At first I was not interested by the Lucy storyline. I still have no idea how Renfield plays into the story, so that's something I hope gets paid off. But I think I have finally cracked the Lucy story! She's slowly turning into a vampire and Van Helsing is trying to stop the transformation, without telling anyone. Still not sure how she got infected or what they will do with her.

It was also mentioned that Mina and Jonathan got married and that Mr. Hawkins died, leaving Jonathan his fortune. My question is when and how the story is going to get back to the Count and the castle. The book is titled Dracula and it's spent the last 10 or so chapters talking about these other (seemingly ancillary) characters. I also want to know what Mina's reaction to Lucy' fate will be. Is that what drives them back to castle Dracula?

I gotta say that I have, for the most part, enjoyed the story so far. I really do want it to pick back up with Dracula though, because I found him to be the most fascinating character so far. I still have about half of the book to go, so I'm hoping everything will wrap up and my questions answered. I am curious about he Van Helsing character, because I know of him as being this legendary vampire hunter, so I want to see how he will factor in with Dracula. I have about half of the book to go still, so I'll see how things turn out. 

If you've read the book, feel free to post your comments and thoughts. Go ahead and tweet at me, also. 

Bram Stoker's Dracula pt 1

While I have taken several American Literature classes, I still have major gaps in my readings of classic American literature. However, I don't have enough time to read long novels. Instead, I found an online resource that offers several classic works in both ebook form and audio book. It's called Lit2Go, https://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/books/.

After browsing their immense catalog, I finally decided to give Dracula by Bram Stoker a shot. While I know of the character Dracula, I have not read the book, nor have I seen the 1930's film staring Bela Lugosi, or the 1990's film with Gary Oldman. The Dracula that shows up in Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 5, is a character that I did not like. But after recently trying to read Mary Shelly's Frankenstien, and stopping after a few chapters, I thought maybe I should give Dracula a shot. My ultimate goal would be to read all of the books, that the Universal Studios monster movies are based on. Then watch the original films.

So, going into Dracula, I did not know what really to expect. I didn't know any of the characters, or what their encounters with Dracula would be like. While, I am still early on in the book, I'll say that I really enjoyed the first 3 chapters, telling Jonathan Harker's story of traveling to Castle Dracula and meeting the count. He slowly figures out there is something wrong, and puts all of the clues together. The first few chapters do a great job of building the mystery and suspense of Count Dracula. It sets an eerie atmosphere around the castle, and kept me quite intrigued. However, once the story shifted to Mina Harker's journal, I began to lose interest. Not sure what Dr. Seward, Renfield and Lucy have to do with the rest of the main story. Perhaps it will all be revealed later on, but for now, it doesn't captivate me. I did enjoy the story about the ghost ship, I thought it was eerie and tense. Would love to follow up with that story again. Since, I listening to the audio version, I do find the constant change of characters to be a bit confusing. The introduction of Van Helsing, I got mixed up with the Count, since the accent the reader uses for both sound similar. I know of the Van Helsing character, so I'm curious to see how he factors in with Dracula.

Seeing as this book is over century old, I do not mind if the story gets spoiled for me, so if anyone has read Dracula and can tell me whether or not the stuff in Mina's journal will have relevance later on in the book, I would like to know. I'll continue on, but hope that it picks the pace back up with Count Dracula. If you have read the book, feel free to tell me your thoughts on it. What did you like most? Do you enjoy the characters? Leave your comments below.

Aladdin (2019) Movie Review

The original Disney animated Aladdin movie was for a long time my favorite of the Disney classic animated movies until I re-watched the 1991 Beauty and the Beast. The musical numbers from Aladdin are some of the best that Disney has done, and my love for the original made me very excited to see the live-action version. Even though I was really hyped, I toned down my expectations after the first five minutes of the movie. I told myself, "this isn't going to be the animated movie, so I should stop expecting it to me and judge it on its own merits."

Now, going into the movie, I was most concerned about the actor playing Aladdin, but luckily I ended up really enjoying Mena Massoud in the role. I loved Will Smith as the Genie and loved the idea when he was first cast. While Smith doesn't have the best singing voice, he makes up for it with sheer charm and enthusiasm. Plus accompanying visual spectacles. I even enjoyed the "Friend Like Me" hip-hop remix that plays over the end credits. The new song by Princess Jasmine was also a surprisingly excellent addition to the movie. While I did miss Jafar's reprise of "Prince Ali," I also understand why they didn't add it in. It wouldn't have fitted with this version of Jafar.

Which brings me to the changes to the characters and overall story. Like the other Disney live-action remakes of the animated movies, Aladdin takes a slightly more grounded approach to the world. Yes, there is magic, but the animals, in particular, do not have the same amount of personality that they had in the cartoon. Iago only speaks in the sense that parrots are known to mimic what humans say. Rajah looks extremely badass, and Abu is still cute. Jafar is not the same colorful character from the animated movie, but much more uneasily calm, and at times a bit one-dimensional. The additions to  Princess Jasmine's character, give her more depth and ambitions than merely being trapped in a palace. There is also mention of her mother, and the addition of her handmaid gives her a human character to discuss her goals with.

One of the reasons I have enjoyed the Disney live-action remakes is that they expand the stories, and in Aladdin's case, it builds the relationship between Aladdin and Jasmine, making them have a connection before he even finds out she's a princess. Also, it develops a genuine friendship between Aladdin and the Genie. The real strength of this film, however, is simply the fact that it is a fun and exciting journey. While the music is not the quality of the animated version (some song lyrics have been changed), I have been listening to the soundtrack a lot! I had such a great time watching this movie, altogether singing along and a grin on my face the whole time. Will Smith was delightful as the Genie, Aladdin was charming and Jasmine stunning. Director Guy Ritchie adds his signature style to the film, and overall I'd say it's a good, fun, entertaining movie, on par with the 2017 Beauty and the Beast film. Can't wait to see what Disney has in store for the rest of its live-action remakes of its classic animated movies.

New Update!

Hello to all the blog readers out there, and everyone new to the blog. I just want to give an update to some changes that are going to be made on the blog. A few years ago I set out to create a blog where I could post reviews of short stories, which is primarily my main interest in reading and writing. Due to being in school at the time and having to read A LOT of stories, it made it almost harder to keep up with posting reviews on the blog. Over time, I have noticed that there is not much interest in reviews for just short stories. I then tried my hand at doing a companion podcast to the blog, I even reviewed a couple of books on there, which seemed to be more popular. But ultimately couldn't keep up.

I took a lot of time away from the blog due to graduating with my Master's Degree in English, working a full time job, and moving into a new place. Not to mention working on my own stories. Even though I haven't been posting regularly on the blog, I have been thinking about how I can make some changes and update the blog.

So here it is, the first change is going to be shortening the name of the blog from Fantastic Literature Review to simply Fan-Lit. I'm also accepting better suggestions as well. The other change is going to be the content posted on here. Instead of just posting reviews of short stories, I want the blog to become more discussion focused. So in addition to posting reviews of not only short stories, but stories of all genres, I will be also posting movie reviews, discussion posts, lists, and my general thoughts on reading and writing. And the blog won't just be limited to the written literature, but also movies and television. While those are visuals medium, remember they start with a written script. And to be honest I don't read as much as I watch movies and TV shows.

The goal is to create a broader spectrum of content for the readers to enjoy. Not everyone reads a lot of short stories like I do, so expanding the topics will hopefully open the blog up to more readers. This also allows me to fully express the ideas and opinions that I want about the stories that interest me. In addition to the above content, I am also looking to post some of my own original stories on the blog as well. As for the podcast, I do not have any current plans for starting the podcast up again. It will be enough for me to just keep up with the blog for now. But I do have something in mind for possibly next year. 

So that's it! That's the new plan for the blog. I'm hoping the new changes will enable readers to want to discuss the topics. Please feel free to write in your thoughts, questions and comments. If there's a topic, or story that you want me to discuss then please let me know. Respond to the posts and let me know what is working for the blog and what is not working. I'm looking to post at least twice a week, so check back in every few days. Thanks all!

Suzanne Collins and The Hunger Games

In honor of Women's History Month, I thought I would talk about one of my favorite female authors, Suzanne Collins. Her trilogy The Hunger Games is my favorite book series ever. I also adore the movies. I won't give a full review of the books here, but I just wanted to talk about how much I love what Collins has accomplished as a writer. Collins started off as a television writer for Nickelodeon in the 1990's, working on shows like Clarissa Explains it All and Little Bear. All shows that I used to watch when I was a young kid. She went on to write children's books (and continues to do so), before transitioning into young adult/adult fiction. In 2008 she hit big with The Hunger Games, and just four years later it was turned into a successful film series starring Jennifer Lawrence as the book's heroine, Katniss Everdeen. While I do love the movies, the books do a better job of building the world of Panem in which Katniss lives in, based on a futuristic North America. Collins does a great job bringing the world of Panem alive, and I wish she would write more stories set in that universe. Katniss is one of my favorite heroines in fiction and made me want to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow (I still haven't). The Hunger Games movie came out the same year as The Avengers movie which also featured an archer, and the popular CW show Arrow premiered around that same time as well. Leading to an interest in heroes and heroines that shoot bows. For instance, a certain redhead on the CW show Riverdale was revealed to be an excellent shot with a bow. 

One of the things that I love about Katniss' story is that while she does have two love interests, in the books it's not really a matter of her choosing between them (it's played up more in the movies). Katniss' whole journey and motivation is her sister Prim. Everything she does is to try an save her sister. The reason that starts the whole series is her volunteering in her sisters place, to save Prim. It's an aspect that I really admire in the character. While the books are amazing, I also think that the movies are some of the best book to movie adaptations. 

Collins worked on the screenplay, and I love most of the changes that were made to the films, with a few exceptions. I'm sure I will review the three books on the blog someday so I won't get into the details here. But I absolutely love the third movie Mockingjay Part 1 and the changes there, I feel are for the better. Plus Collins wrote the lyrics to the hauntingly beautiful song sung by Jennifer Lawrence, "The Hanging Tree". Even though Collins has gone on to write another series called The Underland Chronicles, I will always be grateful for her work in The Hunger Games books.

Review of "Pigeons at Daybreak"

Review of "Pigeons at Daybreak" by Anita Desai

Pigeons at Daybreak  was first published in her novel Games of Twilight and Other Stories in 1978. Read the story here

Summary
The story takes place in India one morning with Mr. Basu and his wife, Otima. She reads the newspaper Mr. Basu at breakfast. He quickly gets frustrated at his wife for not reading the important news articles that he likes. Instead she is taking her time and when she does begin to read some news, she begins to share her thoughts on the subject. Mr. Basu is no longer interested in the paper. At least, not until she reads the news about the electricity going out. Knowing this, Mr. Basu begins to panic and feels like he can't breathe. Without the electricity the fan will not run and the air in the house will be hot. Throughout the day Mr. Basu keeps complaining to his wife. Even with the fan on, he can't take his afternoon nap because he feels like he can't breathe knowing the fan will be off at night. Otima gets frustrated with her husband and begins to remember a happier time in their marriage. Not so long ago.

When the fan turns off at night, Otima has a great idea to move Mr. Basu out to the terrace to get some fresh air. Outside Mr. Basu begins to remember when he brought his grandson up there and how they would watch the pigeons. When Otima returns inside the house very early in the morning, she notices that the electricity is back on. She tries to bring Mr. Basu inside and he refuses. Not because he is being difficult this time. But because he is enjoying the memory of his grandson, watching the sunrise and the birds fly off into the blue sky.

Analysis
There is a theme of appreciation that runs throughout the story. The Basu's may not live lavishly, but they do have a fan. While some people in the city do not. They also have access to a terrace, a place outdoors that's all their own. Mr. Basu is too concerned about the fan being turned off that he's forgotten to appreciate it. His illness has caused him to be dependent on his wife and has forgotten to appreciate what she does for him.  It is never said what Mr. Basu's condition is, except that he gets asthma and has trouble reading and moving around. Otima thinks that her husband is overreacting to everything. Mr. Basu seems to think that nothing can be done to make their situation better. It's not until Mr. Basu is on the terrace, that he comes to accept his situation and appreciate what he has and what he had.

Throughout the story, Otima is constantly trying to help her husband but with little success. While her idea to sleep on the terrace seems to fail at first, it ultimately is a success. Perhaps Mr. Basu needed to trust his wife more and accept his dependence on her, rather than fighting it. Their relationship is a key element to the story. While we don't get their whole backstory there is enough to get a sense that Mr. Basu's asthma condition is fairly new. The couple is still working out their dynamic with each other. By the end of the story, it seems to suggest that they will figure things out.

The memory of his grandson and the sight of the pigeons flying off in the early morning sky are what allow Mr. Basu to appreciate the wonderful things in life that he does have. The pigeons flying in the air symbolizes the rebirth of Mr. Basu's new appreciation for life.

Thoughts
To start, my summary is a very condensed version of the story. There is a lot of emotions and details that really make the story engaging. I had to read this story a few time to decipher all of the details. I really enjoyed the complicated relationship between the married couple. From reading the story, I interpreted Mr. Basu's illness as being relatively new, probably within the last year or two. The couple is still getting used to the new situation and Mr. Basu doesn't like having to rely on Otima. Knowing that the fan is going to go off is a trigger. He already feels that his quality of life is low and not having a working fan just makes it worse.

What I like about the story is that the two are struggling to communicate with each other. Mr. Basu's illness doesn't only affect him but his wife as well. They both long for their previous lives. I love the ending. Mr. Basu realizes that his life is not over. He still has much to live for, his grandson, watching the pigeons and even his wife. This is a simply story, one about relationships and how they change as people grow older. I'll be honest, if you haven't read the story, this review is not doing it justice. I highly recommend reading this story.


Ask questions, comments or suggest topics for me to discuss. Tweet to me @BelleArboreus or leave a comment on the blog. You can also visit the Instagram account @fantastic_literature

2018 Update

Hello everyone, I just wanted to post an update about the blog and podcast. I started a new job over the holidays and it has been really busy. Also, I'm working on my Master's degree so school work takes up a lot of my time as well. I just haven't had the time the last few months to read and do reviews.

However, work is slowing down so I might have some time to start writing reviews again. I'm not sure if I'll always be able to do a podcast along with each review. What I have decided to do, is review some of the works I've been reading for my classes. Since I still don't have time to read a lot outside of school. I will be working on reviews of short stories, books and even poems I have enjoyed for class. I should have a review up on the blog by the end of the month, January 2018.
As for the podcast, I will continue to try and do an audio version of the reviews, however, the format might be changing a little bit. I want to try and start making the podcasts a bit more of a discussion rather than a straight review. In order to do that I will need to receive some comments, questions, and feedback from you the listeners. You can submit your thoughts about the stories I review, or you can bring up topics that you want to discuss.

So, for now, that's the future of the blog and podcast. So keep checking back for more updates. Be sure to send in your questions, comments, and feedback, right here on the blog. Or send a tweet to @BelleArboreus or on Instagram @Fanastic_literature