Reading sort-of roundup
Oct. 15th, 2022 06:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
white_hartI didn't mean to take nearly two months off posting, life had just been taking up all my spoons and I haven't really had the energy left to string words together.
I have been reading quite a lot of words, though.
Fierce Company - Stephanie Burgis: the last in her Good Neighbours fantasy romance series. Witty, fun, peril firmly set at "mild".
Back to the Bonnet - Jennifer Duke: in which Mary Bennett inherits a bonnet which enables her to travel in time and has fun making sure the events of Pride and Prejudice come out right. I thought the ending was a bit overcontrived but generally very entertaining.
The Letter of Marque - Patrick O'Brian: Aubrey and Maturin on the high seas again. Joyous as always.
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain - Nghi Vo: the sequel to The Empress of Salt and Fortune sees Cleric Chih trading stories with tigers on a snowy mountain, and is just as charming as the first book.
Because Internet - Gretchen McCulloch: interesting look at the way the internet has shaped language.
Holiday Brew - Tansy Rayner Roberts: the second collection of Belladonna U novellas, as much fun as everything Rayner Roberts writes.
Petty Treasons - Victoria Goddard: prequel novella to The Hands of the Emperor showing Cliopher's early years in His Radiancy's service from His Radiancy's perspective. Absolutely delightful.
No Time To Spare - Ursula K Le Guin: a collection of Le Guin's blog posts, thoughtul and beautifully written.
Downstream - Caitlin Davies: a history of swimming in the Thames. More London and less upstream Thames than I'd hoped for, but actually really interesting.
Stim: An Autistic Anthology - ed. Lizzie Huxley-Jones: a collection of writing by autistic authors. I know that I enjoyed quite a few of the pieces here and found them very relatable, but I can't remember much about any of them now.
Dust-up At The Crater School - Chaz Brenchley: another term at the Martian version of the Chalet School, this one featuring a weeks-long dust storm and a Christmas pageant.
The Burning Page - Genevieve Cogman: third in the Invisible Library series, enjoyable and unchallenging.
Rowany Goes To Summer School - Chaz Brenchley: another Crater School-linked story, featuring the former Head Girl at a rather unorthodox summer school.
Beowulf - trans Maria Dahvana Headley: a modern feminist translation which uses the classic text to explore issues around toxic masculinity. I've never studied Old English and will never read Beowulf in the original, but I really enjoyed this take on it.
Nona the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir: the surprise fourth book in Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb trilogy is as different in style to the first two as they are to each other, but just as full of clues and puzzles to solve and just as much of an absolute delight.
Blackthorn Winter - Liz Williams: the sequel to Comet Weather has the same feeling of a grown-up version of the children's fantasy of the 1960s and 70s, full of timeslips and incursions of faerie into the modern world. Beautiful and lyrical, occasionally scary but somehow still deeply comforting.
Still Life - Sarah Winman: my mother recommended this to me, and I'm glad she did; it's a lovely book, which reminded me of The Enchanted April in the way its English characters are changed for the better by their encounter with Italy and continually open their arms to newcomers (as well as A Room With A View, which is a vivid background presence).
The Far Time Incident - Neve Maslakovic: in the Connie Willis time-travelling academics genre, but narrated by the administrator. I wanted to like this more than I actually did, alas.
Her Majesty's Royal Coven - Juno Dawson: a witchy adventure story which felt like it was conceived and written as a massive fuck-you to J.K. Rowling (intersectional feminism! Trans witches!). There was a lot I liked about this, and if it had ended a couple of chapters earlier I'd probably have said I loved it, but I really didn't like a few things about the ending and probably won't read the sequel which is out next year.
Heartstopper vol 4 - Alice Oseman: just as delightful as the first three.
The Way to the Stars - Una McCormack: I love all of the characters in Discovery, but Tilly is definitely one of my favourites and this novel about the events that led her to joining Starfleet was lovely.
The House in the Cerulean Sea - T.J. Klune: this is charming and managed to stay just the right side of too whimsical, and also didn't do what I feared it was going to do and decide that getting a small number of people out of a manifestly horrible system while leaving millions of others behind counted as a happy ended. (Yes, I'm looking at you, A Close and Common Orbit.)
The Year of Critical Rolls - Tansy Rayner Roberts; Untitled Cryptid Album - Tansy Rayner Roberts: more Belladonna U
Think of England - K.J. Charles: Edwardian adventure romance. Fun and also sweet.
The Last Graduate - Naomi Novik: the sequel to A Deadly Education. I really enjoyed this but found the last chapter almost impossible to get through as the tension was ratcheted up so high. I need to read a lot of fluff now, and possibly wait until I'm in a better headspace before I read the third book in the trilogy.
I have been reading quite a lot of words, though.
Fierce Company - Stephanie Burgis: the last in her Good Neighbours fantasy romance series. Witty, fun, peril firmly set at "mild".
Back to the Bonnet - Jennifer Duke: in which Mary Bennett inherits a bonnet which enables her to travel in time and has fun making sure the events of Pride and Prejudice come out right. I thought the ending was a bit overcontrived but generally very entertaining.
The Letter of Marque - Patrick O'Brian: Aubrey and Maturin on the high seas again. Joyous as always.
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain - Nghi Vo: the sequel to The Empress of Salt and Fortune sees Cleric Chih trading stories with tigers on a snowy mountain, and is just as charming as the first book.
Because Internet - Gretchen McCulloch: interesting look at the way the internet has shaped language.
Holiday Brew - Tansy Rayner Roberts: the second collection of Belladonna U novellas, as much fun as everything Rayner Roberts writes.
Petty Treasons - Victoria Goddard: prequel novella to The Hands of the Emperor showing Cliopher's early years in His Radiancy's service from His Radiancy's perspective. Absolutely delightful.
No Time To Spare - Ursula K Le Guin: a collection of Le Guin's blog posts, thoughtul and beautifully written.
Downstream - Caitlin Davies: a history of swimming in the Thames. More London and less upstream Thames than I'd hoped for, but actually really interesting.
Stim: An Autistic Anthology - ed. Lizzie Huxley-Jones: a collection of writing by autistic authors. I know that I enjoyed quite a few of the pieces here and found them very relatable, but I can't remember much about any of them now.
Dust-up At The Crater School - Chaz Brenchley: another term at the Martian version of the Chalet School, this one featuring a weeks-long dust storm and a Christmas pageant.
The Burning Page - Genevieve Cogman: third in the Invisible Library series, enjoyable and unchallenging.
Rowany Goes To Summer School - Chaz Brenchley: another Crater School-linked story, featuring the former Head Girl at a rather unorthodox summer school.
Beowulf - trans Maria Dahvana Headley: a modern feminist translation which uses the classic text to explore issues around toxic masculinity. I've never studied Old English and will never read Beowulf in the original, but I really enjoyed this take on it.
Nona the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir: the surprise fourth book in Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb trilogy is as different in style to the first two as they are to each other, but just as full of clues and puzzles to solve and just as much of an absolute delight.
Blackthorn Winter - Liz Williams: the sequel to Comet Weather has the same feeling of a grown-up version of the children's fantasy of the 1960s and 70s, full of timeslips and incursions of faerie into the modern world. Beautiful and lyrical, occasionally scary but somehow still deeply comforting.
Still Life - Sarah Winman: my mother recommended this to me, and I'm glad she did; it's a lovely book, which reminded me of The Enchanted April in the way its English characters are changed for the better by their encounter with Italy and continually open their arms to newcomers (as well as A Room With A View, which is a vivid background presence).
The Far Time Incident - Neve Maslakovic: in the Connie Willis time-travelling academics genre, but narrated by the administrator. I wanted to like this more than I actually did, alas.
Her Majesty's Royal Coven - Juno Dawson: a witchy adventure story which felt like it was conceived and written as a massive fuck-you to J.K. Rowling (intersectional feminism! Trans witches!). There was a lot I liked about this, and if it had ended a couple of chapters earlier I'd probably have said I loved it, but I really didn't like a few things about the ending and probably won't read the sequel which is out next year.
Heartstopper vol 4 - Alice Oseman: just as delightful as the first three.
The Way to the Stars - Una McCormack: I love all of the characters in Discovery, but Tilly is definitely one of my favourites and this novel about the events that led her to joining Starfleet was lovely.
The House in the Cerulean Sea - T.J. Klune: this is charming and managed to stay just the right side of too whimsical, and also didn't do what I feared it was going to do and decide that getting a small number of people out of a manifestly horrible system while leaving millions of others behind counted as a happy ended. (Yes, I'm looking at you, A Close and Common Orbit.)
The Year of Critical Rolls - Tansy Rayner Roberts; Untitled Cryptid Album - Tansy Rayner Roberts: more Belladonna U
Think of England - K.J. Charles: Edwardian adventure romance. Fun and also sweet.
The Last Graduate - Naomi Novik: the sequel to A Deadly Education. I really enjoyed this but found the last chapter almost impossible to get through as the tension was ratcheted up so high. I need to read a lot of fluff now, and possibly wait until I'm in a better headspace before I read the third book in the trilogy.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-15 06:54 pm (UTC)That's quite a reading list!
I can read Beowulf in the original OE but this sounds like an interesting take.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-17 06:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-10-17 02:19 pm (UTC)I really must get around to reading some Patrick O'Brian, Kev owns a whole bunch of them.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-27 09:20 am (UTC)