My Christmas 2014

Candice: The Christmas break isn’t over yet but we’ve moved from the pre-christmas to post Christmas bit very quickly, as you always do.

Its been a different one this year with the addition of an extra person in the family, and there is Erin too!  Seriously, Christmas will now be more about her than us, but that’s not a bad thing as it is our chance to go and be big kids again.

It was also the time for Facebook to do one of its clever marketing ploys and get everyone to drown their wall with ‘Their year’. Now that’s lovely and all, but I looked at my version and didn’t post it because it just didn’t represent what I wanted, and also my year didn’t really start until the 4th Jan.  I’ll be doing a revised version then.  But it did make me think about representing things as images and I had all these plans to do that as my post today, but as it always the way I didn’t have time.  So my representation is this.

Food and books.  Both of those have been a big feature in the last week, let alone the last year.  I have actually got to the point this morning, after three Quality Street for breakfast, that it is time for a chocolate break and its not even the new year yet! Even my other half is suffering with indigestion and he can eat anything.

And so books, I’ve been working my way through one this break, and my little one has been bought a few to help get her on the reading path.  Phil has been great on that front, though he has tried to throw in a train influence here or there.  But there is one she won’t be reading until she is older – both the parody shown her and the real one!

Fifty Sheds has kept the whole family amused this christmas, and I’ve even been using my creative head to come up with my own versions. I was doing some painting yesterday, working round some areas that had been missed due to poor lighting in the house and I had some inspiration.  So here is my Fifty sheds thought:

She surveyed the room and then looked him in the eye.  “I think its time for you to touch me up.” He gulped and said, “I’d best go get my paint brushes.”

Parlez Vous Francais?

Candice:  Apparently our gaelic writing friends are struggling to find a bigger market than their own turf.  According to the BBC, French books don’t sell well outside of their own country because the French are seen as too deep and intellectual.  And they aren’t very good at writing chic lit…

I have to say this probably relates to most of our European cousins, lets face it most of the books in the shops are British or American these days, the key European ones are more likely to be course text for English Lit students.  The same could be said for the music charts and films – they again are mainly populated by the English-speaking countries.

Why is this? Well it seems it goes both ways, the French don’t read as much of the stuff we select in our bookstores.  It’s highly unlikely you’d be sat on the Metro next to someone reading ‘Fifty Shades of Grey‘. No our french colleagues are to clever for that.

Personally I think it gets lost in translation.  They always say American and the UK, split by a common language.  The Yanks struggle with our sense of humour (though they get Monty Python) and we take their stories with a pinch of salt.  But add in changing the words as well as cultural differences and I think it might be a step too far for most.

However, I’m not saying these guys are stupid.  I think its us English speakers who don’t try hard enough.  We will always opt for the easiest route as we are crap at learning another language, the closest most Brits get to talking to foreigners is slowing it down to say “Fish and Chips, please, senor”.

I have to admit if I had the option of a french film with subtitles or an English one I know which way I would go but then when I give them a chance, something like Leon or Amelie is the result.  Two cracking films.

To our European based readers – what do you think?

Fifty shades of Grey – Again

 

Candice:  No I am not obsessed with this book but I noted in today’s press that the two main cast members have been announced.

I have to say I haven’t heard of either of them.  “Britain’s Charlie Hunnam and US actress Dakota Johnson have landed the coveted lead roles in the big-screen version of erotic bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey.” to quote the BBC.   It’s nice to see a brit in there but they aren’t setting me on fire.  But then, should they as it’s probably better if it isnt Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as they would take over the film.  Not that I am going to see it, the book was so bad I don’t think I could watch 2 hrs of people dry humping each other with not alot of dialogue and plot. One thing that did make me think about going was the fact it is to be directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, artist and director of ‘Nowhere Boy’, a film I did enjoy.

Phil and I have discussed before who would play the characters in our book if it were made into a film.  I actually think I would probably go for someone not so famous so they didn’t distract from the plot, but maybe the odd famous cameo in there.  I’ve just seen a trailor for new TV programme on BBC Two called ‘The Wipers’ – the content wasnt was interested me but the fact they threw in some famous faces in the middle of the main cast.  My favourite man (TM) Michael Palin was in there.  I’ve set the TIVO for it just because of him.

These days it’s all about who can ‘open’ a film which isn’t really fair on all those budding actors who can’t break into the world of acting. But we all want what we know.  But I think if you can throw in some things people are comfortable with they will accept other unknowns.  The same goes for books, as long as we have some reference to another author that we like – ‘in the style of Marian Keyes‘ then we might pick up something we don’t know.

Perhaps I should shoe horn a role for Michael Palin into the book, one so I can meet him again, and two so it might get the book and therefore film off the ground!

 

Fifty shades continued

Candice:  I posted the other week about a book I had read on holiday, “Fifty shades of Grey”.  I had mixed feelings about is as a concept and so, it seems, did our readers and my Twitter followers.  Autumn made a very good point about sex being necessary to the story,and when I posted on Twitter I got a flurry of “going to read it, don’t read it” and generally a storm of comments both positive and negative.

However, just today, I have spotted a distant facebook friend posting a copy of the cover and saying she is about to start reading.  She lives in London so I told her not to read it on the Tube in case some one is looking over her shoulder!

So what is it about this book that has created such a fuss, and surely it’s not the only one. I feel its abit like “Lady Chatterley’s Lover“, but in that day it would definately have been banned.  Was it just written to generate a furor, or did the writer actually feel that this book was adding something to the world. Don’t forget there are three of them in the series.

Have read around a bit I find it only really became big about a month before I picked it up, though the three books have been out on a smaller print run before.  The writer is English, though the book is set in Seattle, but I suspect that is something to do with the fact it was originally inspired by “Twilight”.  A very interesting route in it seems, a something that makes one think about how by using existing stories someone has been published.  Perhaps Phil’s and my aim for short stories should use inspiration from the programs we already watch as a starter.  I know there is a regular following for “lost girl” which I am a part of.  Could I write something for the main character, Bo?  Yes, I think I could.

All more fuel for the writing fire.

I still don’t know if I will buy another book in the series, I did try in Tesco on Friday but they are obviously more into censorship than Asda and are not stocking it.  I bought “The Hunger Games” instead, another talked about book but for different reasons.

I’ll let you know what I think of that one.

Fifty shades of … Hum

Candice: Before I went on holiday I mentioned I’d read Tess Daly’s book while I am away and give you some feedback on it. However, when I went to find it in Asda, it’s wasn’t there, so I had to buy some other options.

One of them was called “Fifty shades of Grey”. Dark cover and mysterious description on the back, I assumed it was some kind of murder mystery or serial killer style book. It’s part of a trilogy, none of which I had heard of before.

Anyway, it’s my third book to read on holiday and I’m chilling on the sunbed when things start to get weird in the book. Coming home I have read a description of the book, it said ‘mommy porn’. Ah now I understand what I have bought.

There was I chilling, surrounded by people, and the book is talking about them having S&M sex. If I wasnt red from the tan I’d have been blushing. Now I’m not a prude but it does go abit OTT in this book, to the detriment of the storyline.

Finally finished the book today and I’m confused if I want to go on with the trilogy. I want to see how the two character’s relationship pans out. But I’m not sure I can take anymore of the rather overtly graphic sex scenes.

Rich and I liked to watch the series ‘the Borgias”, it was a good bit of costume drama rubbish. But it had a lot of random sex scenes, which we mostly fast forwarded through. Not necessary for the storyline we thought. This book felt the same, so I did a lot of skimming.

So the jury is out on if I buy book two… Has anyone else read them ?