Off to Alaska!!

It does pay to know people in far off places. It makes traveling a whole heck of a lot easier when you're with someone that's willing to let you stay at their place for free and show you around. I've been to Europe (Britain and Italy extensively) and in the states, I've made it to Texas, California, Nevada and a few states on the East Coast... oh, and Ohio! 

Now, I remember telling members of my 3rd grade class that I was from Alaska and I moved to Maryland when I was 5 years old. Even though I'm not a native to Baltimore and definitely did move to my neighborhood when I was 5 years old... I moved from Westminster, Maryland, NOT Alaska. 

I'm not sure how, or why I got it in my mind to lie about where I was from. I think it might have been the start of my love for story telling, or my desire to travel, but more than likely, it was my desire to seem cooler than I really was. A few of my really gullible friends believed me, but my teacher, and my other classmates who have been in past classes with me, definitely knew I was lying my pants off. 

My "tall tale," if you will, eventually dissipated along with my other lies. After a while, I didn't feel the need to invent things about myself in order to be liked. (Also, I was called out and humiliated by my Deaf Ed. teacher after telling her a "tall tale" about my "British Deaf Aunt"later on that year. She inquired about her to my mother who told her that I was lying... but that's a story for another day.)

I remember spotting Alaska for the first time on a map when I was in lower elementary grades. I was mesmerized: how could Alaska be so far away and still be considered a state? The continental 48 was all one color, then Canada was grayed and the Alaska was the same color as the rest of the United States! There was ice! Igloos! Eskimos! POLAR BEARS! Alaska was rad. Also, and probably the most important point to why I chose Alaska to be the state where I was "from," no one else seem to be from Alaska. There less chance of getting caught and I didn't have to compare my notes with another Alaskan. 

Finally, after all these years, everything has come full circle. A friend of mine, Kathryn, currently resides in Alaska. She's from Baltimore and she did the exact opposite of my fib! She moved from Baltimore to Alaska! She does conservation work and does cool things like cuddle walruses (no joke) and release whales and dolphins back in the wild. 

My friend Kat and I are going to visit her on Monday! Even though I won't be able to say I'm "from" Alaska, after this week I can certainly say I visited it! Kathryn planned awesome activities for us like dog sledding, kayaking, fishing and whale sight-seeing. I'm super excited! Kat and I will be taking the red eye flight home on Thursday. I wish we could have stayed for longer, but the differences in ticket prices were ridiculous. 

I wonder what Alaska themed books I can review or read again. Call of the Wild, anyone? 

Elektra: The Hand by Akira Yoshida and Christian Gossett

Free comic book day. What a great weekend for sales and stocking up on comic books. I couldn't find any more She-Hulk or any other variation of She-Hulk volumes, but BAE picked me up an Elektra comic. I remember that Jennifer Garner played Elektra when she was in that Dare Devil movie with Ben Affleck (probably where they met and hooked up), but she was mostly unmemorable. (That entire movie is unmemorable. I remember seeing it in theatres and it was going to be awesome JUST LIKE the spider man movie. NOPE.)

ANYWAY, on the cover, I am not impressed with her outfit. High rise leotard. Trust, baby doll, wedgies and camel toe galore. That is not a suitable crime fighting outfit. Maybe you like the freedom that a leotard gives you. I get it. There is a reason dancers wear leotards.... but not even tights? Tights would help you. It would keep everything in place (if you have a good leotard). Also, the bandana and these bright red gloves that don't cover her hands. I am unsure what the purpose of those things are. Finally, I see at the bottom thigh highs... oh man. A wedgie and thigh-highs that come down immediately when you start walking. I need to talk to someone at Marvel about Elektra's outfit. 

Ok, on with the story. So... this comic isn't about Elektra AT ALL. It's the origin story of The Hand, which is I think is an assassin group, a la League of Assassins? She appears in the very beginning and watches these guys try to bring this mummy to life, and instead the mummy kills the guys instead. Elektra mentions something about being a foreigner and a woman and how that may throw a wrench into her being accepted as a member of The Hand, and her guide told her to wait just a second, because she wasn't the first foreigner and the first woman to ever join their ranks. 

BOOM! SCHOOLED! 

It then does a flashback where it shows the start of The Hand, and how Japan wanted the foreigners to leave their country. It's a story of samurais, star cross lovers, cultural preservation and human expectations. It's a good story with a twist on the comic book style. It was more manga, which was cool. However, this isn't an Elektra story at all. Other than putting her in the beginning of the story and at the very end, she serves no purpose, only to listen to her guide inform her about the start of The Hand. 

By the end, the reader finds out how they became evil, but as I am not familiar with Elektra's story, I have no idea how The Hand and Elektra work together. I thought she was also a good guy? 

Meh. I feel like I've watched anime and read other stories that do the Samurai thing much better. 

Moving and the Current Book Stack

So, Bae and I are in the process of buying a house! Yay!  Along with everything else (paperwork, inspections, etc.) we also have to pack (boo, hiss). As a self diagnosing hoarder (I'm not really, but you never know when you need something), moving is a good thing for me. I get to go through my stuff and envision myself moving it. If it's worth the moving part, it stays. If not, then it definitely goes.

Which brings me to books. When I was younger, I dreamt about having a library. The library in Disney's Beauty and The Beast? Yeah, I definitely didn't care for the love story. I wanted those BOOKS! When I lived at home, I started collecting books, because well, I wanted to start my own library! This proved to be a terrible idea when I moved out, because I had to actually move all of those books. In those 6 years, I've had to move 5 times; almost every single year since I moved out.

Things have definitely been donated, trashed and given away. As BAE and I stare down the prospect of moving into a permanent home (5 years, anyway) with the idea of adult things like nicer furniture and durable picture frames, we're going to have to be ruthless about what we choose to get rid of versus what we keep.

And that includes books.

BAE is an English teacher, and we have so many doubles of the same books. As I was going through my books today, I realized that there were 2 copies of Schindler's List. I knew about Corrections and Catch-22, but Schindler's List was news to me. So, that's an issue.

Before going to the gym, I perused my shelves to donate books to goodwill. Some of them were easy; older books, books I didn't really enjoy and books that were given to me by people I rather not remember. However, embarrassingly enough, I stumbled across MANY books that I actually bought but never read. Some of them I simply stuck on my shelf and forgot about, and others.... I think there was a point in my life where I bought books because I thought I should buy them... and it would make me look smart to have them on my shelf.

I apologize to anyone and everyone that ever helped me move. You moved books that I bought that I thought made me look smart.

So, I have about a month before I move. There are definitely books I know I will read. However, those books that I completely forgot about and never read, I plucked them off my shelf and put them in my book stack. I bought them, so I am GOING to read them.

Look at that enormous stack of books. That is such a weird mix of books. I have some history, some manga (Korean Manga, mind you), some classic literature, some unknown fantasy and finally... religion. Man, my religion minor really paid off... because now I am reading those books. 

Ok! Off we go! 

Red She Hulk: Vol. 1 Hell Hath No Fury by Jeff Parker and Carlo Pagulayan

I picked up this comic along with the second volume of She-Hulk Disorderly Conduct. I love obscure superheroes, and Red She-Hulk, an anti-hero, looked badass to me. There was a minor discount because of comic book day, but there was no second hand anything. I will say that I got the comic book from an actual comic book store, which is a breed that is dying out faster now that Amazon is around.

So, Betty Ross. Red She-Hulk. I haven't read any of her books before, but it's a female hulk, which is pretty awesome. So apparently, she was exposed to the Gamma Radiation that Bruce was exposed to along with her father, General "Thunderbolt" Ross, who became Red Hulk. They briefly mention Bruce Banner, but their relationship is not the focus of the story. Betty is trying to stop the super soldier program that that military is putting together, but instead of derailing it, she encourages MORE funding when she kills a potential soldier and gives The Avengers a run for their money. Oh, and there is an android named Aaron, who is more powerful than The Vision and Ultron put together.

She sees a vision of the future where the super soldiers battle against humans and super heroes and they destroy the world. Even though she is wrecking and destroying everything in her path (for the greater good) and is pretty unlikeable, she's trying to save the world.

The artwork is fantastic and consistent the entire way through (unlike some issues of She-Hulk). I like how they drew Red She-Hulk, including when she went Savage Hulk. When she hulked out, she looked strong and graceful, and suited her. I am resisting the urge to say, 'feminine,' because it would be completely OK if the Red She-Hulk, or any superhero female character didn't want to look, feminine, but I felt like she was drawn without looking weird.

Anyway, the series ends about Volume 2, like She-Hulk unfortunately ended. I'm looking forward the mash up between Betty Ross and Jen Walters.

The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King

Alright, so I picked up this book at the book store in Ohio. I mostly got it because it was 6 dollars! I thought the title, "Language of Bees" was interesting, and the mention of Sherlock Holmes alternative universe seemed interesting too.

I'm normally not a Sherlock Holmes sort of person. I read a few of his books when I was studying abroad in London in college. I took a class on Victorian and Edwardian London, and it was a bonafide, legit, humanities course. I loved reading English literature and then actually going out and seeing the places where the books took place. Dickens was more notorious than Sherlock in setting the scene in London (and specific places at that), but it was still cool to see some of places Arthur Conan Doyle wrote and depicted his first Sherlock novel.

Anyway, I never got on the whole Sherlock Holmes TV series bandwagon. I think Benedict Cumberbatch is incredibly overhyped and the BBC show with Moffat is just... I don't know. I didn't find it amusing or interesting. I watched the first season and when I found out how they treated Irene Adler... well, I was done that show. Elementary seems a bit better, with a female cast as Watson and a more weekly villain vibe. I haven't seen much of Elementary to come to a well rounded conclusion.

ANYWAY, back to The Language of Bees. Not only am I not a huge, "Sherlock Holmes" variation head, I normally don't read straight mysteries. If they are mysteries, they are cross genre with science fiction or fantasy. But, it was 6 dollars, and I was Ohio, so why not?

It was not what I was expecting. It is told in first person perspective of Mary Russell, who is Sherlock Holmes' wife. They arrive home from India to find Sherlock Holmes' son, Damian Adler, in their house in Sussex. Damian states that his wife has gone missing, but due to their bohemian lifestyle, it wasn't such a big deal except for the fact that this time, Yolanda, his wife, also took his daughter with her. Though his relationship with his father is strained, he needs Holmes' help because going to the Scotland Yard with his priors would get him arrested for Yolanda's presumed death.

Sherlock runs off with Damian to find Yolanda and their daughter, Estelle. Mary is left at home in the beginning of the book and goes to investigate an empty bee hive. Apparently Sherlock Holmes is a beekeeper and there is a mystery with why his hive died. Mary Russell solves the mystery, and then goes to meet Holmes in London to figure out the rest of the case.

Ok... Mary Russell is 24 years old in the book. Not a big deal. Sherlock Holmes is in his 60s. Ok... still not a big deal, but kind of odd. Mary reveals how she came to Holmes when she was in her teens, around 15, helping him out on cases. She's an orphan and as she got older, became more of an apprentice... then suddenly became his wife?

When I did some research on Laurie R. King, I discovered that it's a series of books. I thought it was strange there was NO romance between the pair. On one website, Holmes and Russell brokered a marriage in one of the books. Gee, that doesn't sound romantic at all. They also refer to each other as 'Holmes' and 'Russell.' So, she kept her last name (respect) but they still call each other by their last names? BAE calls me by my last name to be funny, but never consistently.

I did more research on their relationship, and I need to read the beginning books to get some of the romance between the pair. The website also argued Holmes homosexuality... but ok. It was very strange. I'm not sure if King thought any sort of romance between the two would take away from Russell or the book, or the focus was on the mystery instead of the relationship between Holmes and Russell.

My original thought (I usually type of a googledoc with initial thoughts, ideas and introduction of the book immediately when I finish it) was that I was more than likely not going to revisit her books. However, The Hive convinced me to give The Beekeeper's Apprentice and A Monstrous Regiment of Women. I want to read about Holmes and Russell sexy times.

The Kingmaker's Daughter by Phillipa Gregory

Like most of PG's books, this one was found at the Baltimore book fair. I wasn't really interested in The Kingmaker's Daughter, but I got it because it was a PG book, it was probably 5 dollars and I figured why not?

Eventually, I stumbled upon The Red Queen book in Ohio and it dawned on me that The Kingmaker's Daughter was another installment in the Cousins' War series. When I chose to watch The White Queen show on Starz for my second and third installment on "Which is Better?" it was advertised that those three books were adapted for the show. I could see the influences of The White Queen and The Red Queen books in the show, so I was curious to see which parts of The Kingmaker's Daughter they used as well. After She-Hulk, this book was next in line!

It's interesting to read about how much other characters perceive Elizabeth's actions as witchcraft. Since it has been so long ago since I read the book that for the entire time I read this one, all I could do was wished I reread The White Queen before reading this book. It's funny, I don't remember much of Anne and Isabel's characters in The White Queen, but maybe it was supposed to be like that? That Elizabeth Woodville paid no mind to girls who based their entire lives on her? However, I do remember parts where Anne was to take the throne, and, I'm not sure if Elizabeth who said it or if another character close to her said it, but that Anne was so thin that the dresses had to be cut down to her size.

It was also interesting to read about The Kingmaker, Warwick and the conflict between him and Edward through Anne's eyes. He was a man desperate for power, and hurt that he was betrayed by Edward. It's also interesting how the entire aristocracy is absolutely against a commoner like Elizabeth and her family to gain power and how much they are willing to scheme, back stab and die in order to get her and her family out of there.

I enjoyed the dynamics between Anne and Richard after Edward dies and their fight for the throne. It starts as Richard's genuine concern for his nephew, then it's a struggle for power between Elizabeth's clan and Richard's clan, then finally their fight for control and power. Richard is seen as the loyal brother for all those years, and then he declares his brother's children as bastards.

I was particularly interested to read about when Richard III started making moves on his niece, Princess Elizabeth. In The Red Queen, Margaret Beaufort talks at length about how disgusted she is with Richard III and Princess Elizabeth and how much they flirt and how the court gossips about their relationship. In this book, Anne is absolutely convinced that Richard is the love of her life and he saved her from desitution, the tower, the abbey and possibly even death. Anne hypes him up for the entire book, and I waited for the other foot to drop.

However, it was far sadder than the other books revealed. Richard and Anne's child, Edward, dies, and Anne is so distraught there are no other children and their heir is gone. She mourns the loss of her son, and Richard tells her that his plan is to ruin his niece to reduce Prince Henry's claim to her and the throne.

Finally, however, for me, the least interesting part of the book, were the princes in the tower. I like that it is never really solved, though several clues were given to what could possibly have happened to them. Anne is guilt ridden to think that she could have possibly given the command to harm them, and then second guesses Richard's claim that he didn't harm them.

I think I will keep an eye for The White Princess, another book in the Cousins' War. I read some harsh things about it, especially the relationship between Henry Tudor and Elizabeth York.. so we'll see.

Which is better? The White Queen, second half of the season

So, I viewed most of the second half of the series, read the book, The Kingmaker's Daughter (review featured soon), and then watched the last episode of the series. As I said before, a part of me wants to re-read The White Queen, then re-watch The White Queen to see how much of all three books are used in the series.

Anyway, back to reviewing the second half of the season of The White Queen! So, after Margaret of Anjou is defeated, the romance of Richard and Anne come into play. I really like how Richard is depicted throughout the show, and how complicated he is. What I like about PG and about this show is that all the characters are not all good or all evil. They all make choices. They all have aspirations and desires, and they choose just how far they will go to achieve their goals.

So, PG has the series, The Cousins' War, and tells the War of the Roses through women's eyes, but the real star of the series is Richard III. Does he want to be King Regent to his nephew Edward? Did he or didn't he kill the Princes in the Tower? Does he or doesn't he love Anne Warwick? What is his end game with Princess Elizabeth? We never quite know where we stand with him. Throughout the series, he is clever, and he plays the long game with finally sleeping with Princess Elizabeth.

Which, by the way, is pretty skeevy and creepy. I've read a lot of criticism over that shipping and PG's writing of the pairing. Apparently the real story of King Henry and Queen Elizabeth of York is a beautiful romantic story and PG decided to go in another direction with an incestous relationship instead. I haven't read The White Princess yet to accurately judge the future relationship between Henry and Elizabeth.

Now, I didn't notice this before I read the book, but after I read The Kingmaker's Daughter, I noticed that for the show, they made Anne much more aggressive. I think it was to push things along, and most of PG's books are in first person and the reader is privy to their inner thoughts. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'm not sure how else to move the story along, so they most likely made the right choice.

They also made Princess Elizabeth much more aggressive as well. I remember in The Red Queen where Princess Elizabeth goes to live with Margaret Beaufort. Margaret comments that she is demure and she makes the right choices at all times, the makings of a real Queen, and I remember in The Kingmaker's Daughter is also graceful and demure as well. Princess Elizabeth in the show yells at Margaret and runs off to see Richard. Its to move the show along but the unfazed Elizabeth is what I was fascinated with.

I've read reviews on The White Queen, specifically the period clothing and the lack of "no teeth" and grime. To be honest, do we really need realistic historical fiction? We all know those times were dirty, cold and violent... I don't want to be reminded of it while I watch TV. "Reign" clothing is almost all historically inaccurate and it'ts great. The key is, to know that it's accurate and that it's intentional.

I also think that if one wanted to watch historically accurate shows, The White Queen would not be it. Philippa Gregory's books are centered around women's stories, and more than the chronological events that occurred, she focuses on character relationship and evolution. The White Queen does that  very well.

There are rumors about The White Princess in the works, but we'll see if that comes to fruition. I'm a fan of PG, so hopefully it comes about! There is enough media surrounding Henry the VIII and Anne Boleyn. Bring on the other royals!

So, which is better? I think it's a good adaptation of 3 books (!!!) and they got really good actors for the show, but I have to say... the books are better! They have much more content, 1st person perspective is invaluable and the nuances are also very fun. The actors are cute in the show and the smexy times are fun... but The White Queen, the TV show, is not as good as The White Queen, The Red Queen and The Kingmaker's Daughter books.