Literary Stylings # 6

This outfit is based on the character of Caesar Flickerman from Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins:

   

How so?  Well, he has blue hair and I�m wearing a blue hat.  And I�m pretty sure he loves shiny stuff so I�m wearing a shiny blue sweatshirt.  But, it�s my Caesar Flickerman Weekend Look so instead of pairing it with equally shiny blue pants that I don�t own but obviously need, I paired it with plaid:

Unfortunately, I think the resulting look is less �Caesar Flickerman On The Weekend,� and more �glitter grunge.�  Which is a thing I just accidentally invented but kind of love.  Seriously, folks, Glitter Grunge could totally be my new aesthetic as well as the name of my new all-female grunge band; we�ll cover Nirvana (because of course), Hole and Garbage.  It will be both dark and glittery.

Enough of that nonsense (though I suspect we�ll revisit it at some point), let�s get back to my look.  Caesar Flickerman is my favorite and I adore how Stanley Tucci plays him with those giant Chiclet teeth of his.  That�s not an insult; I love big teeth and big smiles.  And I love Caesar Flickerman and my Caesar Flickerman-inspired outfit:

Glitter Grunge, FTW!!

And now on to you, Reader Friends.  Did you read a book last month?  Are you wearing an outfit inspired by that book?  Well, then, please link up below:

Happy Tuesday, All! 

Gracey

October�s Books

Hello, Party Peoples!

This is your better-late-than-never reminder that my always exciting Literary Stylings Link Party is coming up on Tuesday the 5^th.  If you want more information on this rockin' good time, you can find it here.

So, October was a very strange and stressful month for me and I�m afraid I didn�t get around to reading many books.  In fact, I only read two.  But, I figure this will allow me some room to talk more about them. 

Let me start by saying that, happily, this time around I enjoyed both of the books that I read.  More or less. 

Please to allow me to explain that last bit.

The first book I read is The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan:

According to Wikipedia, �a panopticon is a type of institutional building designed by English philosopher and social theorist Jeremy Bentham in the late 18th century. The concept of the design is to allow a watchman to observe (-opticon) all (pan-) inmates of an institution without them being able to tell whether they are being watched or not.  (Wikipedia goes on to say that Bentham thought the panopticon design would be great for all matter of institutions, including daycare facilities!  Seriously.)

If that definition and daycare suggestion doesn't quite help you picture what we're talking about, this is a panopticon:

Now that we�ve got that out of the way, let�s talk about the book.  As I said, I enjoyed this book.  It was heartbreaking at times, but I think that just means the author did a good job.

The novel is about a troubled youth named Anais, who is sent to a panopticon institution.  Anais believes that her life is not really her life but is part of an experiment where she is under constant surveillance by the watchers.  As you can imagine, being sent to an institution designed to keep you under constant surveillance is not easy to handle for someone who already suffers from the sort of paranoia Anais suffers from. 

The author did a good job with this concept and with Anais� voice.  Really, my only complaint about this novel is that it is written in the Scottish (I think) vernacular and I have the hardest time reading things in vernacular without saying them aloud.  Fagan wasn�t as difficult to read as Irvine Welsh, but I did a LOT of mumbling to myself as I read all the �cannae� and dinnae� statements in this book. 

Also, just as a warning, in case you�re thinking a book about a 15-year old heroine would be a great book for the young reader in your life, this is NOT a YA novel.  At all. 

The other book I read is Margaret Atwood�s The Blind Assassin:

Yes, more Atwood.  What can I say; she�s one of my favorites.  Although, having read both her futuristic fiction (The Handmaid�s Tale, Oryx and Crake and The Year of the Flood) and her historical fiction (Alias Grace and The Blind Assassin), I think I prefer the futuristic fiction.  Don�t get me wrong, The Blind Assassin is a lovely novel, just as Alias Grace was, but I prefer the others more.

That�s just a personal preference though; The Blind Assassin is really very good.  It�s sort of two books in one and it�s a mystery as well as historical fiction and I highly recommend it.  This was a book that I couldn't stop reading because of how well it was written.  Atwood�s device of setting a novel-within-a-novel added to the mystery and worked very well.

So, why do I prefer the futuristic fiction?  Because I�m afraid of the future.  I don�t mean the future as in tomorrow, or next week or even next year.  No, I mean the future as in 2033 when things get all dystopian and stuff.  And, like anyone else who watches/reads scary stuff, I like that little frisson of fear.   For example, Oryx and Crake?  Just the ChickieNobs Nubbins alone scare the crap out of me.

And don�t get me started on The Handmaid�s Tale; seriously terrifying stuff.  Speaking of which, I guess there is a new cover for it now?  Have you guys seen this?

Isn't that both horrible and perfect for the book? 

Anyway, read The Blind Assassin, it�s good.  And if you like dyslit (dystopian literature), read Atwood�s futuristic fiction; there are frissons galore.

And don�t forget to join in on Tuesday!

Happy Saturday, All!

Gracey

Literary Stylings Reminder

Hello Dearest Reader Friends!

This post is just a friendly reminder that it's nearly time to link up to the Fashion for Giants Literary Stylings Link Party.  Per usual, the party will be held the first Tuesday of the month, which is next Tuesday, October 1st, and will be open for linking all week long.  You can find more information on this awesome literary adventure here.

Here are the books I'll be choosing from for my look.

This month, I read Kapitoil, by Teddy Wayne:

Image via goodreads.com

This was a good book but not necessarily one I enjoyed reading.  I will try to explain.  The lead character, Karim, is from Qatar and is really quite lovely but most of the other characters were not.  It got to the point where I dreaded his interactions with the mostly horrible Americans he came into contact with.  And from the stand point of this challenge, there really wasn�t much inspiration there so I don�t think I�ll be using this one.

 

I read The Roaches Have No King, by Daniel Evan Weiss:

Image via www.bookfever.net

The Roaches Have No King was� interesting.  But, I think the author�s device of writing from the POV of a roach back-fired on him in the end.  The book got increasingly graphic and, well, disgusting as it progressed, and by the end I was no longer sure what point the author was trying to make.  It got drowned out in scatological observations and inter-species sex.  And although those two things might make for an interesting challenge look, I think I�ll probably end up going a different route.

I read The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth:

Image via thebooksmugglers.com

The Midwifewas an absolutely lovely book.  Jennifer Warner isn�t the best author in the world but that didn�t stop me from enjoying this book.  I�m delighted she put her experiences in East End London after World War II down on paper because the stories are wonderful.  I definitely recommend reading it and I�ve heard the PBS series, Call the Midwives, is pretty darned good as well.

And I'm finishing up Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, by Piper Kerman:

Image via goodreads.com

The author of Orange is the New Black, Piper Kerman, isn�t exactly a great author either but she gets her point across and I�m glad she wrote the book.  Like Warner, Kerman doesn�t try to glamorize her experiences and both are honest even when it doesn�t portray them in the best light.  I definitely recommend this book and have heard this series is pretty good too.

My Literary Stylings outfit this month will most likely be based on one of these last two books unless I come into possession of some cockroach-colored patent leather and then, well, my choice is obvious.

What about you, Reader Friends?  Have you chosen your look for next Tuesday?

Gracey

Literary Stylings Link Party Reminder

Hello Dearest Reader Friends!

Well, it's getting to be that time again; time to send the kiddos (or your goldfish, whatever, no judgement here) back to school and link up to the Fashion for Giants Literary Stylings Link Party.  Per usual, the party will be held the first Tuesday of the month, which is next Tuesday, and will be open for linking all week long.  You can find more deets here.

This month was a pretty slow reading month for me.  I moved and read a fairly long book this month so I only have three to choose from.

This month, I read The Godmother, by Carrie Adams:

image via www.goodreads.com

I read Valeria's Last Stand, by Marc Fitten:

image via www.indiebound.org

And I'm finishing up Alias Grace, by Margaret Atwood:

image via www.goodreads.com

Out of the three of these, Alias Grace is my favorite and therefore the one I thought I'd be inspired by outfit-wise.  There are actually quite a few references to clothes in the book that I could have used but, as much as I love this book (it's one of my favorite Atwood books, I think) I just wasn't inspired by it for this challenge.

Of the other two books, The Godmother was the better of the two but that's not saying much.  I selected it to act as a sort of literary sorbet; I needed something light and refreshing before tackling Atwood, Schindler's Ark, Irene Nemirovsky and Caroline Moorehead.  And it definitely worked in that capacity.  But, I wouldn't recommend it and it didn't inspire me for this challenge either.

Valeria's Last Stand was my least favorite read of the month.  It was muddy, poorly written and all of the characters were assholes.  And, it just happens to be the book that inspired my look for next Tuesday.  So, yeah, once again, that has happened.

But, enough about me.  This is about reminding you that we're linking up next Tuesday and I do hope you all can come!

Happy Tuesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Literary Stylings Reminder

Hello Lovelies!

I just want to remind everyone that next Tuesday is the next Literary Stylings Link Party.  Unfamiliar with this party but want to know more?  You can read about the rules, such as they are, here.

The quick and dirty version though is that we all wear outfits inspired by a book you've recently read or are currently reading.  Last month I had just finished Auntie Mame and my outfit was based on Mame's character.  This month I've read several very different books and I'm not sure yet which will inspire me for next Tuesday's look.

I read The Bling Ring, by Nancy Jo Sales:

Image via www.vanityfair.com

I read The Enemy, by Charlie Higson:

Image via www.readingteen.net

I read Your Mouth is Lovely, by Nancy Richler:

Image via www.goodreads.com

And I just finished City of Dark Magic, by Magnus Flight:

Image via www.goodreads.com

I probably won't do The Bling Ring, because I don't have a blue velour Juicy Couture sweat suit, nor do I want one.  The Enemy is a YA novel about zombies and the most prominent clothing item mentioned in that book was, interestingly enough, also a velour sweat suit, this time in white.  Also, a no go.  And Your Mouth is Lovely depressed the heck out of me so I don't really want to channel anything from that book, so, I think it will probably be City of Dark Magic.

I hope to see you all on Tuesday, August 6th and hopefully I'll be in something dark.  And magical.

Happy Monday, All!

Gracey