read the His Dark Materials trilogy before The Golden Compass is out in theaters

In Paris no less, and I do feel that it was packed with too much in too short a time. Having all of the nuances from reading just wasn’t portrayed in the film…

I’m interested to see how they’ll film the third book. If the Vatican banned the first, I think they’re going to have a major issue with the last one.

Finished The Subtle Knife last night and returned it today. That one was my favorite so far…

Part of the intro to Amber Spyglass:

O stars,
isn’t it from you that the lover’s desire for the face
of his beloved arises? Doesn’t his secret insight
into her pure features come from the pure constellations?
from “The Third Elegy” by Rainer Maria Rilke

It’s so fantastic! Every time we crack the cover we have this bubbling anticipation to find out what happens next!

We are on page 100 or so out of 400. It’s been so fun to read it together. My sweetie really gets the subtle things, more than I remember getting when I read it the first time.

At least the first book. My boyfriend is picking up a copy at the bookstore right now. I’d like us to read it together.

I returned The Golden Compass today after visiting City of Hope for my second round of TB testing (I don’t even want to think about it).

Borrowed The Subtle Knife and will start it tonight.

“That first book was set in a world like ours, but different. This book begins in our own world.”

Last night, I couldn’t put the book down during its last several chapters, so I finished after midnight when I was done watching Muriel (an awful movie, sorry).

I’m unsure if I enjoyed the style of writing as much as I thought I would. There was certainly a fair share of vocabulary that I was shocked to see in a “children’s book” and even some violence like a polar bear’s jaw being torn off…

All in all the story was great. It was lovely getting swept up in this “other” world and now I’m ready for the next book, The Subtle Knife, which LDH says is her favorite of the trilogy.

^{Huzzah for libraries!}

Well, I paid the ridiculous amount $4.00 to replace the library card I couldn’t find so that I could check out The Golden Compass today.

This is supposed to be a children’s book, but it starts off quoting Paradise Lost (explaining where Pullman’s series got its title).

Into this wild abyss,
The womb of nature and perhaps her grave,
Of neither sea, nor shore, nor air, nor fire,
But all these in their pregnant causes mixed
Confusedly, and which thus must ever fight,
Unless the almighty maker them ordain
His dark materials to create more worlds,
Into this wild abyss the wary fiend
Stood on the brink of hell and looked a while,
Pondering his voyage…

And so I love it already.

I see a lot of the same people at the Entertainment & Arts campus of my college – and I’ve been attending long enough to recognize who the regulars are.

While in the ladies washroom, an old woman was soaping her hands and I turned to her and said, “I see you around a lot. What are you studying here?”

We got to talking about computer animation and effects, which she is studying, but also about how we miss 2D films – especially ones with good stories.

She used to be a literary agent so she completely agreed about storylines these days and how awful they can be (Disney’s Brother Bear, anyone?) I asked if she has seen any films lately that she did like the story for…

“Are you a reader?”
“Oh, of course!”
“Then I recommend His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.”

Then she said to read The Golden Compass before seeing the film when it comes out in December.

“If it’s faithful to the story, then it’ll be good.”

I viewed the trailer and read reviews on the books – I’m actually pretty excited to delve into this fantasy world. I’m not big on reading fantasy books (I haven’t read a single Harry Potter or anything by Tolkien), but this is sparking my interest for whatever reason.

(I also took their “quiz” to find out what my Daemon is. Apparently my Daemon is Agapius – the snow leopard. I’m “softly spoken, inquisitive, relaxed, assertive, and flexible.” I would have to say they’re correct.)

Image is of one of the concept art prizes from figuring the combinations in the alethiometer page. I’ll post more later.