What did you recently finish reading?
The Bearkeeper’s Daughter — evidently, since I just posted the review today — and before that, Conquistadors by Michael Wood. One fiction, one non-fiction, but both based on bits of history I know comparatively little about, so both interesting for that!
What are you currently reading?
Dark Currents, by Jacqueline Carey, is what’s at the top of my pile. It’s fairly standard for urban fantasy, I guess, not as rich as most of Carey’s other work, but absorbing and well written. More like Robin McKinley’s Sunshine than Random Joe’s The X’s X or whatever. Speaking of a more Random Joe-ish one, I’ve also started reading Sandman Slim, by Richard Kadrey, which… well, when the main character has been dragged down to hell and then escapes, owns an Impala, and has an attitude problem, I side-eye Supernatural and wonder about the influence there.
Other than those two, I started Tam Lin by Pamela Dean, which I thiiiink got mentioned in Jo Walton’s What Makes This Book So Great? So that would be the impetus for finally getting round to it, probably. So far, the actual links to the Tam Lin ballad are just beginning to take shape, but I’m just glorying in that academic world. It seems so simple compared to the hoops they want me to jump through to get back into academia. (Hm, a thesis on fairytale retellings?)
Aaaaand I still haven’t picked The Thirteenth Tale back up yet, but I’ll get there.
What do you think you’ll read next?
Well, probably a bunch of graphic novels, since they’ll be the most awkward things to drag back to Cardiff in my suitcase. Then there’s my ARCs of Gretel and the Dark (Eliza Granville) and Stolen Songbird (Danielle L. Jensen) that I really really have to get to, or no one will ever send me physical ARCs again.
I started Tam Lin by Pamela Dean, which I thiiiink got mentioned in Jo Walton’s What Makes This Book So Great?
It did! (I just read the latter.)
Ha! I can remember a thing.
I studied for years to be a Celtic Bard *the story teller or history keepers* and Tam Lin was my absolute favorite tale to learn. It’s actually told in verse and song format which made it easy to learn. I love it. I might have to check this book out.
I know it from Fairport Convention’s version, yeah. (And I’ve read several retellings.)
*clutches thesis on Tam Lin retellings close to her heart* But you can borrow it if you like. Glad to hear you’re getting along with the Pamela Dean so far, though. ^_^
I was actually thinking maybe Beauty and the Beast — Robin McKinley’s done two, I know of at least one m/m version, there’s Disney, I’ve seen another version around recently…
Ooooooh. That one would be lovely too. ^_^ There’s loads of those. Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier is another. There’s Beastly by Alex Flinn (but I wouldn’t personally recommend it). And I think that’s the specific ones I can think of covered that you haven’t mentioned. I could’ve sworn I’d read more than those…
Ooh, yes, I forgot Heart’s Blood, and I loved it so much too.
My favorite Tam Lin isn’t any of the book versions, but SJ Tucker’s sung version, so I am looking forward to seeing how much you like the book.
Yes sj tucker is amazing