Tag: #books

Music, The Other Stuff

Music, Princesses, and Emma Watson

Aubrey Leaman

Thanks to electrobeth for nominating me for the Liebster award! She has a great blog on writing inspiration that you should totally check out!

(I basically already posted 11 random facts about myself for another award, so instead of repeating myself you can check them out here.  As a sneak preview, I talk about swords, Batman, and setting my hair on fire.)

Princess music

1. What made you start your blog?

I am writing a book that is provisionally titled “Dickens and the Cheshire Cat: The Book Lover’s Guide to Classical Music.” In it I discuss how to hear stories in music (along the lines of the “Classical Music Stories” section of my blog, but in more detail). So my goal as I’ve been blogging is to connect with people who might share my interests (and, of course, to have fun!).

I believe that without first connecting to classical music and enjoying it on a personal level, technical information about things like how to identify instruments and form is more useless than useful. So, yes, the “goal” of the book I am writing is to help readers have an appreciation for classical music, but not because it is better than other music. I love my pop and rock tunes as much as the next person! Instead, the fact that classical music tells such intricate stories makes it likely that the avid reader would also be an avid listener if he or she cracked the code, so to speak, on how to listen. I hope my book will help with just that and introduce readers to this fascinating and fun activity that they might just love…

2. How do you de-stress after a long day?

Playing games on my phone, taking the most ridiculous Buzzfeed quizzes I can find, and reading, of course.

3. What fascinates you?

How we perceive Continue reading “Music, Princesses, and Emma Watson” →

Books

Literary Characters for President!

Aubrey Leaman

Characters for President

Could your favorite character be the next POTUS? Meet the candidates:

(SPOILERS)

Hamlet (Hamlet)

As Prince of Denmark, I already have incredibly valuable experience in politics. My fellow candidates like to point out my inability to act in previous situations[1]. They also like to throw around the term “insanity” in their accusations. But need I remind you that I did get the job done in the end? Anyone who acts impulsively is not fit to rule this country, which is why I am the man for the job.

Hermione Granger (Harry Potter)

It is high time that the United States of America had a president with a head on his—or her—shoulders. It is true that I do not have the political experience of Hamlet, but while he was dealing with political scandal I was out in the real world, helping to save millions of lives from Voldemort. Yet I am also one of you, coming from a humble family of dentists. Vote for me and we will increase this country’s prestige together.

George Wickham (Pride and Prejudice)

What this country needs is a soldier, and I am just the man for Continue reading “Literary Characters for President!” →

Classical Music Stories

Classical Music Stories: The Great Gatsby

Aubrey Leaman

GreatGatsby423x630.jpg

Daisy is driving Gatsby away from town after the fight.  She sees her life shattering around her as she frantically rushes home.

There are a few temporarily happier sections, perhaps showing Gatsby’s (or even Daisy’s) unyielding optimism that it will all turn out right in the end, but even these are constantly moving and frantic.


 And of course, after the music ends, we know what happens next…

 

Do you hear this story, too, or do you hear something different? And what was your favorite part?

Judging the Book By Its Cover

Judging the Book By Its Cover: Your Guided Tour Through Wonderland

Aubrey Leaman

24331115

When I saw the cover and title of this book, I knew I had to do a post on it:

My Ideas: 

And here you can see the very same roses that were once painted red…no touching, please.

After Alice came back from Wonderland, she was not shy about sharing her story. As a result, more and more little girls and even adults started to “fall” down the rabbit hole (to the point where the White Rabbit could predict when the next one was due).

As a result, the residents of Wonderland transformed their home into a tourist attraction, welcoming visitors and leading them through guided tours that include a sighting of the croquet grounds, the Duchess’s home, and of Continue reading “Judging the Book By Its Cover: Your Guided Tour Through Wonderland” →

Classical Music Stories

Classical Music Stories: Wuthering Heights

Aubrey Leaman

moor-839245_1920

Read the story first or listen to the music first–the choice is yours!

SPOILERS

The Firebird: Lullaby by Igor Stravinsky

Near the end of his life, Heathcliff wanders at night in search of Catherine—it is like she has put him under a spell. Night after night he keeps plodding along without sleep.

At one point he thinks he glimpses her and is filled with a soaring hope! …But then he realizes his mistake and returns to endless searching.
 

Can you hear it? Do you hear something different?

Check out similar musical adventures with Hamlet and Jane Eyre.  Visit the “Classical Music Stories” category on the home page to find even more!

Books

The Shape of Grief in Hamlet

Aubrey Leaman

Happy Halloween!

Want to read something creepy? Shakespeare’s Hamlet has you covered with ghosts, murder, insanity, and more!

Today my review/analysis of Claudius’s creepy, evil character is featured on Matthew O’Connell’s blog.  He posts atypical book reviews that focus more on a particular aspect of a book.  If you haven’t already, you should definitely check it out! Here’s a sneak peak of my post:

51+ksP0-mTL._SX303_BO1,204,203,200_

Inspired by Robert Schumann’s “Verrufene Stelle” from Waldszenen, Op. 82, a classical music work (as performed by Sviatoslav Richter).

Hamlet is easily one of my favorite plays for reasons too numerous to go into here. So I’m just going to focus on Claudius: Hamlet’s evil, murdering, and incestuous uncle.

How can we understand his character? He’s obviously committed the horrible crime of killing his royal brother as well as the highly questionable act of marrying that brother’s wife shortly thereafter…We don’t explicitly know what he was like before the murder, but it’s still reasonable to infer that the murder and marriage were his first “large” sins because of the torturous guilt and echoes of remorse he experiences later on in the play. A repeat criminal would perhaps be hardened, but a first-time criminal may struggle with the emotional aftermath of his actions. Actually, such a character transformation also occurs in Shakespeare’s Macbeth: Macbeth originally doesn’t want to murder King Duncan. It’s his wife that incites him with the deprecatory lines:

“I have given suck, and know
How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this”

And:

“But screw your courage to the sticking-place,
And we’ll not fail.”

Read more here!

Books, Music

A Colorful Symphony

Aubrey Leaman

color-866060_1920

“The last colors slowly faded from the western sky, and, as they did, one by one the instruments stopped, until only the bass fiddles, in their somber slow movement, were left to play the night and a single set of silver bells brightened the constellations. The conductor let his arms fall limply at his sides and stood quite still as darkness claimed the forest.” –The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

I love how Norton Juster makes music the source of color in his children’s book, “The Phantom Tollbooth.” (For those of you who aren’t familiar with the book, it’s very Alice-in-Wonderland-esque with puns and other wordplay.)

He really hit the nail on the head here: different subtleties of sounds are as beautiful as all the different shades of color! And without music, how colorless would our lives be?

This passage also made me think about synesthesia, the state when a person sees actual, physical colors when they hear music among other things (I knew a band director who had this). It got me thinking: what color would my favorite songs be? Would each song by the same artist have the same basic hue with different nuances, or would there be an entire spectrum in every album? Do all synesthetes see the same colors for the same sounds, or is each person different?

On a related note (ha! Pun not intended), Continue reading “A Colorful Symphony” →

Judging the Book By Its Cover

Judging the Book By Its Cover: Orpheus in the 1920s

Aubrey Leaman

24611425
A retelling of the myth of Orpheus set in the roaring ‘20s

My Ideas: Directly descended from the legendary Orpheus himself, Orr can control anyone with a single chord on his harp. As a result, he easily climbs the ranks to perform as the very first harpist in New York’s top speakeasy where the drinks never end and the lights never die.

But then his career catapults into an earth-shattering halt when his harp is stolen one particularly boisterous night. Without the influence of the harp, he finds himself out on the streets just trying to survive—all the while searching with the unconquerable purpose of: 1) finding the thief so he can 2) enact his revenge and 3) reclaim his life.

Goodreads summary: “With more than two million copies of her novels sold, New York Times bestselling author Geraldine Brooks has achieved both popular and critical acclaim. Now, Brooks takes on one of literature’s richest and most enigmatic figures: a man who shimmers between history and legend. Peeling away the myth to bring David to life in Second Iron Age Israel, Brooks traces the arc of his journey from obscurity to fame, from shepherd to soldier, from hero to traitor, from beloved king to murderous despot and into his remorseful and diminished dotage. Continue reading “Judging the Book By Its Cover: Orpheus in the 1920s” →

Songs For Every Book

Songs For Every Book: The Great Gatsby (and One Direction)

Aubrey Leaman

Please don’t unfollow me.

But One Direction’s Fireproof = Jay Gatsby about Daisy in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel.


 
“It’s been so long, it’s been so long, maybe we’re fireproof
Cause nobody saves me, baby, the way you do.
…
I think I’m gonna win this time,
Riding on the wind and I won’t give up.”

Judging the Book By Its Cover

Judging the Book By Its Cover: Dinosaurs, Robots, and Dinosaur Robots

Aubrey Leaman

23719378

My Idea: Meet the woman known simply as “Granny,” who is really anything but.

In an alternate universe where dinosaurs, robots, and dinosaur robots coexist, Granny is the cowboy version of Robin Hood. But stealing from the rich to give to the poor is the least of her accomplishments. From space age pirates to invisible tigers, Granny simply saves the world one impossible situation at a time.

Goodreads Summary: “Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters into hiding fifteen years ago. One day a belligerent and powerful silk factory owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. When the sheriff enlists her help in convicting the men, Constance is forced to confront her past and defend her family — and she does it in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared.” Find it on Goodreads

Results: Amy Stewart’s novel looks fantastic (albeit in a different way than I imagined)!

Judging the Book By Its Cover is an ongoing series that imagines a potential story for a book based on the cover art alone.  You can read more here and here.