Friday, November 28, 2008

Readings

Though I may have complained and whined about reading these anti- happy ending books, I really did enjoy this class and all of the readings involved. They made me cry, laugh, cringe, and just "think." My least favorite part was probably some of the poetry...it's just not my thing and I don't understand the abstract ones...I prefer a straight plot. I loved our class discussions and our overall openness to each other. I'm not sure which is my favorite book...probably a tie between Atonement (shocked, I'm sure) and The Watchmen. My first comic book excursion was quite the success and I cannot wait for the movie.

I probably would have left some of the poetry off and focused on some more of the short stories in our Anthology. Besides that it was a great semester with some great reads!

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Virgin Reads Comic Book

I quite enjoyed this article... her experience reading the Watchmen was similar to mine in the sense that I was a comic book virgin as well, but she was definitely more intense in her experience than I was.
I loved the way in which she wrote and her metaphor for a girl's "first time"... it was very humorous and gripping. I actually thought some of the same things she did while reading and I myself liked Dan (but also Laurie) the best...he was more realistic, more human somehow and I was pulling for him and Laurie.
The rape, which later turned into a secret tryst resulting in Laurie, really threw me (but then again the book itself did that), but I also liked (and she mentions this) the fact that not one of the Watchmen (or Minutemen) is a true, idealized, super-hero...they are all flawed and cruel in some way.
She looked to this as a new exciting experience and I looked at it as something I "had" to do for class. Looking back I wish I had approached the Watchmen the same way...I feel I missed out by not doing it her way. I was not looking forward to "reading a comic book." I didn't know how to read one and I thought it was slightly juvenile...I was wrong. It was an amazingly twisted book and I thoroughly enjoyed it...I liked the twists and turns and the clues you don't really understand at first...the Watchmen is first-rate piece of writing and I honestly can't wait to see it translated into film..."Who watches the Watchmen," we all will....