[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

JPK, on 13 November 2025 - 04:39 PM, said:

Please let the new Mummy movie be good. Please let the new Mummy movie be good. Please let the new Mummy movie be good.

Amen!

[JPK]

I'm about 30% into Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things and having to DNF this one. I find myself pretty open-minded usually, but it turns out that between this and The House of the Spirits I have a pretty hard line regarding SA of young children. Just can't.

This post has been edited by JPK: 24 November 2025 - 05:11 PM

[JPK]

We're a few weeks into the new year and I've got some new old books up to bat.

I've started and finished Kazuo Ishiguro's THE REMAINS OF THE DAY. What an absolutely brilliant book and one that feels so absolutely relevant to the current political climate of the world. I ended up getting a copy of this one for my shelves as I definitely foresee myself rereading this one.

Now I'm currently working on Dickens' GREAT EXPECTATIONS and at roughly 25% of the novel, it's living up to the expectations set by previous works by the author. Dickens just really had a way of making the circumstances of the poor very understandable and relatable. Pip's restlessness and desire for more after seeing a taste of the life Miss Havisham has in comparison is completely understandable.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 13 November 2025 - 01:09 PM, said:

Having said that, Van Helsing is one of those films I know is objectively terrible and an absolute travesty to the source character, but I kind of enjoy it anyway. I can neither explain nor justify it even to myself!

On the book, I studied Dracula in school and enjoyed reading it again as an adult. Haven't ever gotten round to Frankenstein but it's on my list to do so!

Bought a copy of Frankenstein today

[JPK]

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 22 January 2026 - 07:05 AM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 13 November 2025 - 01:09 PM, said:

Having said that, Van Helsing is one of those films I know is objectively terrible and an absolute travesty to the source character, but I kind of enjoy it anyway. I can neither explain nor justify it even to myself!

On the book, I studied Dracula in school and enjoyed reading it again as an adult. Haven't ever gotten round to Frankenstein but it's on my list to do so!

Bought a copy of Frankenstein today

I really hope you like it. I found that one to be particularly beautifully written.

[TheRetiredBridgeburner]

JPK, on 22 January 2026 - 04:34 PM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 22 January 2026 - 07:05 AM, said:

TheRetiredBridgeburner, on 13 November 2025 - 01:09 PM, said:

Having said that, Van Helsing is one of those films I know is objectively terrible and an absolute travesty to the source character, but I kind of enjoy it anyway. I can neither explain nor justify it even to myself!

On the book, I studied Dracula in school and enjoyed reading it again as an adult. Haven't ever gotten round to Frankenstein but it's on my list to do so!

Bought a copy of Frankenstein today

I really hope you like it. I found that one to be particularly beautifully written.

Finished it last night.

I had a very similar reaction to it to you. It was not at all what I expected, and the way it manages to conjure unexpected sympathy is really impressive. It poses some interesting questions about the nature of cruelty and "othering".

What a beautifully written, thought provoking book!