DOLLY > Recent Status Updates

Exposition on people and events leading up to the Jackal’s appearance was tedious and slow-going, but things are picking up now. His active planning and prep leading up to the big day is so exciting to follow. Good read so far.

And so begins the fall of House Atreides at the hands of the vile Harkonnens.

Moe’s dead. A cardboard crown lies upturned in a pool of blood inside a brick wall - another dimension. Darius hits play on the boom box containing a man-made trachea and an iPod; strangers on a subway hear Black Speech again for the first time in centuries.

Desperate for Lucy’s trust, Coriolanus accompanies the tributes to the stadium in a truck with metal bars. The other tributes make up their minds to kill Coriolanus, thinking they have nothing to lose, until Lucy reminds them all that the capital’s reach extends far out into the districts, to friends and family that may be punished for their kin’s transgressions.

[Metamorphosis] current theory: Orr's real-world self is the comatose patient showing up on his tv - "he" [Jimmy?], the English engineer, the one in love with Andrea Crammond. Orr, the barbarian, the man running from the train... all related to the trauma that put him in the coma.

what's a dream? what isn't? is Orr trapped in his own version of wonderland, where no one makes any sense and where you are and what you do don't matter? questions on top of questions... curiouser and curiouser...

I think I get it now. the bridge is like a Tower of Babel, only lateral, "disappearing over the horizon in both directions." The amnesiac, washed up, found, and nursed back to health has seen no land since his arrival. His research is limited by language and access - "requests for information still sinking through miasmic layers of bureaucratic ooze... they will be virtually meaningless." poor guy.

how/where/what is this bridge!? steam trains, horse-drawn carriages, petticoats - we're in the past? elevators, bracelet scan entry, specialized languages/jargons by skill group - we're in the future?

ah... the unsettling dreams of a lying amnesiac. my curiosity is piqued, please continue.

cheated, and saw the movie [Carrie 2013, starring Chloë Grace Moretz]. At this point, Carrie is out buying materials for what may become her dress for prom. The movie was so, so. Stuck to the book pretty closely so far.

whoa. I didn't think this was possible - esp as a long, long-time King fan - I underestimated his ability to make a reader squirm. I resemble Carrie White in no way whatsoever, not her background, personality or appearance. Despite all that, how was King able to make be empathize with the girl on such an uncomfortably intimate level - her fear is my fear, her shame is my shame, her rage is my rage.

far enough into the book to get a sense of the setting and characters - Carolyn is our heroine - and still cannot decide whether or not I like her. Very interesting read so far; can't put the book down.

this guy's proper crazy. how can you tell what's really happening and what's just in his head? and what's with this obsession with name-brand clothes? wool crepe? wha?

great book! seeing Frodo and Gloin share stories at Elrond's table is like a tying together of old and new. Got a little misty eyed there. Best part of the book so far.

"the town has a sense, not of history, but of time, and the telephone poles seem to know this. if you lay your hand against one, you can feel the vibration from the wires deep in the wood, as if souls had been imprisoned in there and were struggling to get out." || the slow-building eeriness is starting to get to me. it's 11:38 am broad daylight now, but I'm still glancing uneasily over my shoulder.

The earliest sunshine, thin and precious gold, was slanting I through the east windows. It was the best time of her day, and she would not disturb its moveless peace for anything.

This filled me with the vaguest sense of dread, "Dead is dead is dead is dead. If you are reading this then I'm dead too and you'll shortly be fighting for your own life. Eric, I am so sorry." I had to take a break at this point. It's shocking how much of my fear centers around the not knowing. It's a testament to this book and its author for pulling the reader in close and not letting go until it's all over.

This filled me with the vaguest sense of dread, "Dead is dead is dead is dead. If you are reading this then I'm dead too and you'll shortly be fighting for your own life. Eric, I am so sorry." I had to take a break at this point. It's shocking how much of my fear centers around the not knowing. It's a testament to this book and its author for pulling the reader in close and not letting go until it's all over.

exhilarating, too-close-for-comfort writing. I can already tell this is gonna be good. "My eyes slammed themselves capital O open and my neck and shoulders arched back in a huge inward heave, a single world-swallowing lung gulp of air."