Things

It's freezing in this house which makes it hard to do anything. So I'm under four layers of blankets just surfing the net. [Do they still say that?] Have to get some rest anyway. I'm going to Disneyland at midnight. Why? Because I can. Happy Leap Day! Here's some stuff I found that I love:

The Dancing Plague of 1518 is a blog depicting famous dance moves on posters. It's pretty awesome. The name is derived from a plague that actually existed in France that caused its victims to dance until they die. I'm not joking. I even stumbled on the this book once at work.

New Wes Anderson movie! Looks about as pointless and beautiful as all his others. I can't wait.

The Night Circus

Source

I finished The Night Circus last night. Definitely a new favorite of mine. If you like romance, tragedy, and magic then this is the book for you. It centers around two magicians trained and bound to a competition set within the Le Cirque des Reves (The Circus of Dreams). Tragically they fall in love without realizing the magnitude and seriousness of the competition. Sorry, I'm not a professional book reviewer but that pretty much sums it up in my opinion. The book is well written and at times nearly magic itself. I wish it were real. I miss the feeling of wonder and amazement. Anyway, here's an excerpt that I especially enjoyed:

"..."Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice up of Lapsand souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There's magic in that. It's in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift...There are many kinds of magic, after all." (p. 381)

Lovely, isn't it? I heard that Erin Morgenstern (the author--can you believe this is her debut novel!?) sold the movie rights to it. I'm excited. Some books should never be made into movies (i.e. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close) and some, like this, I think. would translate very well to cinema. While reading it, I could easily imagine it as a movie; especially with special effects today. Anyway, I highly suggest it for all the romantics and dreamers out there. Although it's categorized as science fiction, at least in my library, it's not for science fiction geeks. The magic in here is pretty ambiguous. That's the only complaint I have about it. Some aspects aren't explained as well, but I guess that's part of the effect. :)