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rowynOn Monday I got a library card, and placed requests for eight or nine books. On Tuesday, I got an email that two of them were in. I biked to the library to pick them up. On Wednesday, I finished one of the two books, and two more arrived at the library. I was going to bike over that evening to get the new ones, but spent it fruitlessly trying to settle cable issues instead. Today, two more books came in, and I finished one.
So far, the library is like a hydra. c.c
I successfully resolved cable issues tonight, and drove to the library because rain does not make for a pleasant bike ride. Two books returned, four more checked out.
I am still working on the backlog of "books I've been meaning to read" and have not gotten to the list of new recommendations yet. Because those are conveniently written in one place, instead of scattered about my head and/or the rest of the net!
... possibly I should edit that post to add new books when I run across them elsewhere, instead of placing them immediately on the library hold list. Because hydra.
I am going to write very briefly about the books I've read so far, in the hopes that I'll actually post something about them instead of meaning to post about them forever and not, like I did with, say, Pay Me, Bug!*.
I read Mary Robinette Kowal's Shades of Milk and Honey yesterday. It's billed as "Jane Austen + fantasy" and pretty much lives up to that. The writing is more Austen-like than I expected, although there are elements from the plot that are clearly modern. The climax has far more drama than Jane Austen would ever use, for example. This is an observation, not a criticism of either Kowal or Austen. Romance + fantasy + Regency + Austen influences is right in the intersection of my tastes, so one would expect that I'd like Shades of Milk and Honey. And I did enjoy it, although I spent a lot more time thinking about the things I didn't care for than about the parts I liked. There's a love triangle, and I dislike love triangles, and jealousy, which is possibly my least favorite character trait**. If you find these things unobjectionable, you will love this book better than I did. I did like the way the magic was structured to fit neatly into the setting, the writing style was entertaining, and I was eager to learn what happened next. I'd give it about a 7 out of 10, and I plan to read the sequel.
Today, I read Diana Rowland's My Life as a White Trash Zombie. I didn't really think I'd like this -- horror and zombies are Not My Thing. As it turns out, I loved the book. It's more like "paranormal police procedural + a little romance", with a lot of the book dealing with the logistics of the protagonist adjusting to her life and dealing with the people in it. The characters are endearing and lovable. Even the dead ones. The climax has a certain amount of "narrative structure dictates this was inevitable" which detracted a bit from my enjoyment of it, especially since parts of the climax were clearly indicated by narrative structure but not really by anything else in the book. Still, had a great time reading it, and plan to read the sequel. 9 out of 10.
* You should read Pay Me, Bug! It is available for free at that link, or as a cheap e-book from Amazon or Smashwords. It's marvelously entertaining and deserves a better review than this footnote.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
haikujaguar and tuftears can back me up on this!
** I know there are much more dangerous human emotions, like hatred and anger, but jealousy is so petty. I certainly sympathize with jealousy and am far from immune to it in my own life, but it's hard for me to muster any enthusiasm for it in writing.
So far, the library is like a hydra. c.c
I successfully resolved cable issues tonight, and drove to the library because rain does not make for a pleasant bike ride. Two books returned, four more checked out.
I am still working on the backlog of "books I've been meaning to read" and have not gotten to the list of new recommendations yet. Because those are conveniently written in one place, instead of scattered about my head and/or the rest of the net!
... possibly I should edit that post to add new books when I run across them elsewhere, instead of placing them immediately on the library hold list. Because hydra.
I am going to write very briefly about the books I've read so far, in the hopes that I'll actually post something about them instead of meaning to post about them forever and not, like I did with, say, Pay Me, Bug!*.
I read Mary Robinette Kowal's Shades of Milk and Honey yesterday. It's billed as "Jane Austen + fantasy" and pretty much lives up to that. The writing is more Austen-like than I expected, although there are elements from the plot that are clearly modern. The climax has far more drama than Jane Austen would ever use, for example. This is an observation, not a criticism of either Kowal or Austen. Romance + fantasy + Regency + Austen influences is right in the intersection of my tastes, so one would expect that I'd like Shades of Milk and Honey. And I did enjoy it, although I spent a lot more time thinking about the things I didn't care for than about the parts I liked. There's a love triangle, and I dislike love triangles, and jealousy, which is possibly my least favorite character trait**. If you find these things unobjectionable, you will love this book better than I did. I did like the way the magic was structured to fit neatly into the setting, the writing style was entertaining, and I was eager to learn what happened next. I'd give it about a 7 out of 10, and I plan to read the sequel.
Today, I read Diana Rowland's My Life as a White Trash Zombie. I didn't really think I'd like this -- horror and zombies are Not My Thing. As it turns out, I loved the book. It's more like "paranormal police procedural + a little romance", with a lot of the book dealing with the logistics of the protagonist adjusting to her life and dealing with the people in it. The characters are endearing and lovable. Even the dead ones. The climax has a certain amount of "narrative structure dictates this was inevitable" which detracted a bit from my enjoyment of it, especially since parts of the climax were clearly indicated by narrative structure but not really by anything else in the book. Still, had a great time reading it, and plan to read the sequel. 9 out of 10.
* You should read Pay Me, Bug! It is available for free at that link, or as a cheap e-book from Amazon or Smashwords. It's marvelously entertaining and deserves a better review than this footnote.
haikujaguar and tuftears can back me up on this!** I know there are much more dangerous human emotions, like hatred and anger, but jealousy is so petty. I certainly sympathize with jealousy and am far from immune to it in my own life, but it's hard for me to muster any enthusiasm for it in writing.
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no subject
Date: 2012-09-14 02:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-09-14 02:12 am (UTC)But I'm not going to make any pretensions to objectivity in my ratings -- it's going to be "how much did I like this?" and not a lot else. :)
no subject
Date: 2012-09-14 02:11 am (UTC)I have not read much Jane Austen per se, I guess I wouldn't cross the street for Regency but I do enjoy it when it crops up in my path, as it were.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-14 02:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-09-14 04:44 pm (UTC)I'm not *specifically* talking about my 'read later' list on fimfiction, but that's an easy example to see it in action since it gives me a running total (122 at the moment).
no subject
Date: 2012-09-15 05:25 pm (UTC)