Friday, November 30, 2007

Kid Stuff

My eldest son is barreling through the Philip Pullman His Dark Materials Trilogy before the movie version of The Golden Compass comes out next week. Having an 11-year-old avid reader in the house reminds me of what reading was like for me when I was a kid. My son reads obsessively, and if he finishes something that's part of a series, he's uncomfortable until he has the next book in his hands. We practically ran to the library the other day so he could get The Subtle Knife out, after putting The Golden Compass down minutes before. It's times like this I'm glad our local branch is only three blocks away!

I haven't read The Golden Compass, but I'm planning to take the kids to the movie. My son and most of his friends are waiting impatiently for this one to come out, so we'll probably go opening day, or soon thereafter. If anyone out there has seen a sneak preview, let me know what you think!


6 comments:

jaz said...

Pullman is an amazing storyteller and the film version of Golden Compass is visually dynamic.

In addition to the His Dark Materials trilogy, stand-alones like Clockwork and Count Karlstein are highly recommended.

Gentle Reader said...

jaz--I checked out your review of the film on your blog--thanks! I'll have to read Pullman's work. Not the first time my son will have recommended something to me :)

Anonymous said...

My son won't read the Pullman novels - don't know why but he was against Harry Potter initially. It's something to do with refusing to go along with others, which might be laudible at times but is a pain in the neck as a general principle. I'm hoping to get him to the film which might then spark an interest in the books.

Litlove

Gentle Reader said...

litlove--well, I can see why your son's refusing to go along with others might be a pain in the neck, but I can also see the bright side! Maybe peer pressure will affect him less, and he'll go his own way when others want to do things that aren't good for them! Did he come around to Harry Potter? My son is the opposite at the moment, he desperately wants to read what everyone else is reading...

jenclair said...

So nice to hear about a young reader becoming so involved with a series! Oh, the pleasure of being a young reader...I can vaguely remember.

Anonymous said...

gentle reader, I caught the sneak preview last Friday. I was not please at all. I'd finished THE GOLDEN COMPASS on hours before, and I was really excited to see the film. I thought it was...disappointing to say the least (see Another Adaptation Bits the Dust for details). The book was amazing though. I'm currently reading THE SUBTLE KNIFE. I highly recommend the series so far.