This week’s theme is “beach reads”. Now, I kind of… don’t do beach reads. I’ll read whatever books whether I’m on the beach or not, and I don’t really go with ‘themes’ for the time of year or anything… I know, I know, I’m boring.
And to top it off, I’m not likely to go to the beach. So I’m at a loss for how to handle this theme and will go for “books I am planning to read soon”, in that it is beach weather here.
Hex, Thomas Olde Heuvelt. I’ve heard conflicting stories on whether this is scary or not, but either way, I’m a wuss. So summer might be the best time to read it, when the days are long and bright…
A Court of Mist and Fury, Sarah J. Maas. Once I’ve reread A Court of Thorns and Roses, anyway. Just picked up my copy.
The King of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner. This is a reread, but it’s been aaaages. I just finished rereading Queen of Attolia, though. [And because I wrote this post a ways in advance, now I have read it!
A Local Habitation, Seanan McGuire. Before I end up forgetting details of Rosemary and Rue.
The Girl with All the Gifts, M.R. Carey. I really have to get round to reading this, don’t I?
Little, Big, John Crowley. Since I recently picked up a second copy…
Hammered, Elizabeth Bear. My partner’s been poking me to read these for, uh, a while.
Uprooted, Naomi Novik. It’s been waiting long enough for me to get round to it, and it sounds great. And it’s on the Hugo ballot.
The Long Way to A Small Angry Planet, Becky Chambers. I really really want to get round to this one, from all I’ve heard.
Midnight Never Come, Marie Brennan. I really love her Lady Trent books — it’s time I read this. [Read this one now, too!]
How’s everyone been this week? The week has gone both really fast and really slow for me; it’s a little weird. I’m working on my next assignment already, but fortunately I’m not down to the wire on it, so there’s still plenty of time for reading as well as learning about microbes!
New books
After reading Dreamer’s Pool a week or two ago, I got the itch to read more of Marillier’s work again — and I found Raven Flight in the cheap-ish second hand shop in Leuven. Perfect! In Ashes Lie, I had to grab after loving Midnight Never Come (maybe not as much as the Lady Trent books, but a lot all the same). I haven’t got that pretty cover edition — yet — just an ebook, but I will be picking that up to join my paperbacks of the Lady Trent books and Midnight Never Come. The Orphan Queen, I’ve been curious about for a while, and I saw it was £1.99 on Kindle…
As for what I’ve been reading, it’s been a productive week! I still need to get my thoughts down about most of these, but there isn’t a dud among ’em.
If you’ve had your head in the sand for the last day or two, the title of this post might confuse you a little. There’s an article here which covers the basics, but this panel might just sum everything up best:
The moment Marvel stomped on the character of Steve Rogers and all previous portrayals thereof.
And we’re told that this isn’t an impostor. This really is Cap. Hell, Steve’s mother was recruited by Hydra, per some of the flashbacks in this comic.
Yep. The quintessential defender of the little guy is suddenly an agent of Hydra. You know, that Nazi organisation. The ones Steve Rogers has been fighting for seventy-five years of comics history, in various guises.
I don’t even really need to explain why it’s wrong (though this article is a good one on that). Just think of the number of people who read this who now face the fact that Steve Rogers supposedly hates everything they are. It won’t even wash, I agree: no one is going to buy Steve Rogers as an actual Hydra agent. It must be brainwashing or alternate reality or a trick or… something. Because this isn’t the Steve Rogers we know and love — the character which sticks with us throughout different versions, whether he be played by Chris Evans or drawn with more muscles than is anatomically possible. The key thing about Captain America is not the suit, the colour scheme, the beefcake eye-candy. It’s the little guy he was, who kept on fighting and pushing, making the world a better place, never giving a damn what it cost him. Even when he could’ve taken advantage, cashed in, got whatever he wanted.
We know what Captain America wants: it’s justice tempered with mercy, and safety and freedom for everyone. This is not exactly compatible with Hydra’s goals.
Nah, what really sparked this post is all the counter-arguments which start with: You don’t understand comics if you think this is going to stick. Cap will be back to normal in a couple of issues. There’s no way they’re going to mess up this legacy.
I haven’t seen anyone convincingly arguing that this is not a punch in the face for a lot of people. So let’s use that metaphor: if someone hit you, are you going to sit back and wait weeks for them to unfold some narrative that justifies it? Are you going to say, “this person wouldn’t hit me, so it can’t really hurt even though they just hit me”? Are you going to accept them saying, “hey, sorry I hit you, but wait a couple of weeks and it won’t hurt anymore”?
It’s not about how comics work. We all know that the power of retcon is strong in comics. It’s about why anyone thought this was a good idea at all. This is just so fundamentally wrong, not just for the character but as a plot device, because it is so tone deaf. Sometimes you’ll run with a bad idea and somehow not see that it’s a bad idea, so while I’m not happy that Marvel ever let this go ahead, I’m more interested in what they do now. That people talk about it. That people who don’t get it turn around and listen.
It doesn’t matter if Cap is a Nazi for good or not. It matters that Marvel ever thought it was a good idea. But the thing that really gets my goat is this idea that I must not like/understand/read comics if I’m against this plotline. Guys, take a look at my blog. I’ll wait.
Evidently I do read comics, and if you comb back far enough, you’ll find that I don’t just wait for the trade paperback. I buy the comics on the day they come out. I bugged the life out of my local comic shop owner when he couldn’t put Young Avengers or Ms Marvel in my hands fast enough (what do you mean you only stocked enough for people’s pull lists, and no copies left over?). And then I get the trade paperbacks of ones I really like, to reread and lend and enjoy in future.
So yes, I do understand comics. And so maybe it’ll come better from me: you don’t need to understand comics to have an opinion on this questionable, harmful, hurtful, anti-Semetic issue of Captain America.
“You just don’t understand how comics work” is a way of ducking the responsibility for examining something that’s going on in your fandom. I haven’t even seen anyone who thinks this storyline isn’t a problem, I should emphasise. Everyone thinks it is. But some people are trying to sweep it under the rug because… what? Is it too hard to see what’s going on in the world reflected in comics?
Sorry, mates. Look up Cap’s origins. He was never apolitical, never just wish fulfillment, never intended not to be a comment. Comics, like everything else, are part of the world and have to exist within it. Nothing is above or beyond or below criticism.
This week’s theme is an interesting one: ten books I feel differently about now time has passed. There’s a lot of books I feel that way about from when I was a kid, of course, but I’ll try to go for more recent stuff.
Cocaine Blues, Kerry Greenwood. I reaaaally changed my opinion on this one, and ended up devouring the whole series. But the first time I tried it, I hated it.
The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien. I’ve always liked reading it, but I’ve gone through periods of being more or less critical. There was one point where I didn’t dare reread it, because I thought I’d find it too racist, sexist, simplistic… But thanks to Ursula Le Guin’s writing on Tolkien’s work, and then studying it during my MA, I’ve come to appreciate it a lot more. A lot of the things people complain about post-Tolkien fantasy really are post-Tolkien — he didn’t bring them in. Derivativeness, lack of thought about the implications of this choice or that on the world — I’ve come to see that lack of thought was never Tolkien’s problem, though it has been a problem for people after him.
The Diamond Throne, David Eddings. I’ve had a long succession of feelings about this too; loved it and thought it really romantic as a kid, grew up and thought it was crappy and derivative, but recently I reread a bit and thought it was kind of funny anyway. (Even if Sparhawk and Ehlana is actually a creepy relationship.)
Chalice, Robin McKinley. I think I originally gave this one three stars, but I keep thinking about it and I’ve read it again since and I just… I love it.
Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton. Didn’t love this the first time, fell right into it on a reread. The right book at the right time, I guess.
The Farthest Shore, Ursula Le Guin. This is less one that I’ve got to like more, and more one I appreciate more. I’m still not a big fan of it and wouldn’t idly pick it up the way I would, say, The Tombs of Atuan. But I see its purpose and beauty.
Across the Nightingale Floor, Lian Hearn. I loved this at the time, but I don’t know if it’d stand up to that now. I’m a little afraid to try, so I think that counts for the list?
Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden. I know in how many ways this is exploitative and so on, but I did love this at one point. Another one I don’t think I’ll try again.
Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country, Rosalind Miles. I might like this more now that I read more romance, I don’t know, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. My opinion got worse and worse as I read more of her books.
The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart. The misogyny drove me mad the first time, but I actually appreciated parts of it more the second time.
That was… harder than I expected. Although I was also distracted by being a backseat driver to my partner playing Assassin’s Creed.
This week hasn’t been great for reading, but my assignment is finally done, and it was the last one for this module! So maybe I can relax a bit now? I started off the relaxation in style with some new books, of course…
New books:
A mixed bag, which probably surprises no one. I’ve already finished reading The Book of Phoenix; it might be the Nnedi Okorafor book I appreciate the most so far! The other stuff is mostly from my wishlist, except The Horns of Ruin, which was an impulse buy. Oh, and The Tempering of Men, because I finished the first book earlier this week.
Books to review:
I’ve read some of Foz Meadows’ blog posts and such, I think? Anyway, I enjoy how rainbow-y the cover is and the fact that it’s openly queertastic. Tremontaine and The Fireman I’ve been hearing a lot about…
Books finished:
Reviews posted: –Captain America: Civil War Prelude, by Corona Pilgrim et al.I was not impressed by the lack of new content in this tie-in release. If you’ve seen the other Marvel films, or even just a good selection of them, you’re good to go. 2/5 stars –The Bread We Eat in Dreams, by Catherynne M. Valente.A varied and typically gorgeous collection. If you’re a fan of Valente, you’ve probably read some of these before — but probably not all… 3/5 stars –Dead Man’s Chest, by Kerry Greenwood.Another strong outing for Phryne, and it introduces a secondary character who I rather hope will stick around. 3/5 stars –The Door into Fire, by Diane Duane.A book well-deserving of the nostalgic love people have for it. I love the way it deals with polyamorous relationships, without them being idyllic, but without demonising any of the participants either. 4/5 stars –The Movement: Class Warfare, by Gail Simone and Freddie Williams III.This is basically like Gotham, if it was policed not by Batman, but by the 99%. I didn’t like the reread as much as the initial read way back in 20…14? But still fun, and really cool and diverse characters. 4/5 stars –The Sin-Eater’s Daughter, by Melinda Salisbury.I think it’d be hard for a book to match up to that gorgeous cover, and so it proved. But I enjoyed the story well enough, and it caught me by surprise… 3/5 stars –Flashback Friday: Kalpa Imperial, by Angélica Gorodischer, trans. Ursula Le Guin.An interesting what-if, and I think it’d appeal to fans of Le Guin’s writing and world building. There’s something of the same flavour. 4/5 stars
How’s everyone else been? Good weather where you are? Any reading achievements to share?
Yay, it’s the weekend! How’s everyone been this week? I have not got enough reading done, because assignment hell. It’s nearly done, but… gaah, a few more days.
Books acquired:
Because I read Rosemary & Rue and haaad to get the next lined up.
Books finished this week:
Reviewed this week: –Bryony and Roses, by T. Kingfisher.An interesting take on Beauty and the Beast, with an angle I didn’t quite expect. Much more clear about the curse and the hows and whys of it than is often the case. 4/5 stars –Lady of Mallow, by Dorothy Eden.A potentially good source of new comfort reads for me, Dorothy Eden’s basic plot/writing style reminds me of Mary Stewart’s suspense/romances, except with less of a sense of place. 3/5 stars –All the Birds in the Sky, by Charlie Jane Anders.Not quite sure what to make of this one; it’s an interesting fantasy vs technology scenario, but I didn’t connect much with the characters. 3/5 stars –The Farthest Shore, by Ursula Le Guin. A reread of a less-liked book in this series. I can see the beauty in it, but I’m just… not a fan in the same way. 3/5 stars –Silver on the Tree, by Susan Cooper.Maybe I liked this one a little less than I usually do, because this time I so much wanted more. I do love the books, but… 4/5 stars –Ink and Bone, by Rachel Caine.Interesting alternate universe: what if the Library of Alexandria was not destroyed, and preserving books and the Library became ever more important? 3/5 stars –Flashback Friday: The City and the City, by China Miéville.I think I like the idea of some of Miéville’s ideas almost more than the execution sometimes. It’s always worth (for me) hanging on and seeing how it all plays out, but the main draw is the idea. 4/5 stars
I missed last week’s post because of travelling and busy, and neither last week’s theme or this week’s theme is really speaking to me. So! Instead, just have “Ten Bookish Things I Have Had Feelings About Recently”.
That moment when you realise you want to read a book that you’ve left behind somewhere else. Accio my copy of Heyer’s The Talisman Ring?
Trying to figure out if I liked Pamela Dean’s Tam Lin. So much going on, complex structure. I got to 85% and wasn’t sure what I thought, and then it went and dealt with most of my concerns in the last 15%. What’s with that, book?
When I need all of Seanan McGuire’s books, stat. I just finally read Rosemary and Rue and yep, I need the rest. Everyone who recced me these books totally owes me Amazon vouchers so I can get some… Whaddya mean, no?
When the paperback is really pretty and handier but you have the hardback and the ebook already. Lookin’ at you, Uprooted by Naomi Novik! It’s there and it’s taunting me, in all the shops. But I own it so…
Dinner is ready and you just want to read. I’m getting better at this; I’ve even been stopping mid-page when my partner has dinner ready. But.
Gotta love a comfort read. Contemplating digging into some of my old favourites while I struggle through the hell known as my final math assignment.
But gotta love the new ones too. I’m finally reading Juliet Marillier’s Dreamer’s Pool, for example, and I really want to know what happens and if everything turns out okay in the end for Flidais.
When you can’t find a comfortable position to read. At this rate, I’m thinking upside down in some kind of harness might be what my body is looking for, because all the usual ways of getting comfy are noooot working.
The joy of giving people books. Okay, so my partner already had China Miéville’s latest as an ebook, but the print version is pretty.
The joy of bookshops. I went to my favourite bookshop in Brussels last week (Sterling Books, Wolvengracht 23). It’s moved locations and downsized a bit since I was last year, but I still got a really good haul. And I have five euro off my next purchase…
And now to get on with queueing up some more posts so last week’s standstill doesn’t repeat the next time I’m stressed!
Hello, everyone! It’s been both a busy and a quiet week, in weird ways. But hey, now I’m with my partner in Belgium, I have a document that affirms I’ve never been married, and okay, I should be doing my final assignment for my course, but other than that, I can spend a good amount of time just reading and recharging for the next week!
And I have books (new books, and I can bear anything as long as there are books).
New books
I’m a wuss, so Hex might be a bad choice, but I’m intrigued with the buzz about it and the translation stuff. A lot of the other stuff was fairly random, just picked up because it interested me in Brussels’ Sterling Books. I came to Belgium with only 22 books… this makes a start at making up for it!
It’s May already?! Like last month, I’m going to consolidate my TBR list with my ShelfLove update, since they go together well and it is in fact the first of the month today.
And this month I also bring more stats, plus colour coding. The goals where I’m ahead are in blue; bang on are in green; behind by up to five books are in orange; anything else is in red. I now have a running total to show where I should be for the month (so for example, in books read overall, I should’ve read 121 by now, and I’m on 109).
As you can see, I’ve not doing too badly in the past month, and I’m beginning to catch up with the deficit from previous months. And I’ve been very good about sticking to my budget, too!
Still, time for a TBR for May. I’ll undoubtedly read more than this — hopefully a lot more — but these are ones I need to get to for reviews, buddy reads, or just because they’ve been languishing that long.
The Last Argument of Kings, Joe Abercrombie. Darn it, Nikki, you’re halfway through it. Pick it back up.
Passenger, Alexandra Bracken. Started this last month, but got distracted.
Bitterblue, Kristin Cashore. Uh, ditto from The Last Argument of Kings. Except more so, because at least the former is a reread. This isn’t and I really should finish it and find out the ending.
Knight’s Shadow, Sebastien de Castell. I have read the first couple of pages and now I muuuust get round to it.
Tam Lin, Pamela Dean. Before people explode or something.
The Door into Shadow, Diane Duane. I’ve had these books kicking around since 2011, and I just reread the first one, so it’s time. I’ll probably try to read the third one too.
The Wolf in the Attic, Paul Kearney. Received to review and I think the review is about due. Oh dear, too much of that rhymed.
False Hearts, Laura Lam. Due out in June, I think, so it’s about time to get to it.
A Court of Thorns & Roses, Sarah J. Maas. I don’t remember the book well enough to read the sequel right away. That’s a good excuse, right?
A Court of Mist & Fury, Sarah J. Maas. Zomg!
Rosemary & Rue, Seanan McGuire. Reading Every Heart A Doorway convinced me I really need to get on and read this one.
Hero, Perry Moore. What better way to celebrate Captain America: Civil War’s release than with cute gay superheroes?
The Sudden Appearance of Hope, Claire North. Just received this to review, and North’s books are always solidly entertaining, so let’s go!
Too Like the Lightning, Ada Palmer. Had it to review, should have already done it. Whoops.
House of Suns, Alastair Reynolds. Or my sister will kick me. If she could be bothered to come to Belgium to do so, anyway.
And I’ll stop there, lest I end up sulking about having to stick too rigidly to a list (yes, despite my evident and oft-indulged love of making lists).
And now for the Shelf Love challenge’s prompt for the month: summer’s coming, so we’re all planning literary trips. It requires some serious thought, because the areas of fiction and history that fascinate me to read about wouldn’t necessary be fun to visit. I could take a leaf out of my mother’s book and follow in Lord Peter Wimsey’s footsteps through Scotland on the trail of Five Red Herrings. Or perhaps, since I don’t live in Wales anymore, I’d be better served by visiting Cader Idris in Wales, the site of Susan Cooper’s The Grey King and Silver on the Tree. Or a trip round Britain to the various sites of Arthurian legend — but not while the battles are going on, please. Hey, if I could pinpoint a site for Camelot…
But really, I’m a homebody, so my favourite literary trips are best taken from an armchair.
As you’re about to see, it’s been a busy week full of reading for me! I’ve been adding books to the “books read this week” section right up to the last minute. It’s always nice when I have plenty of time to read! And despite having an Amazon voucher to spend, so far I haven’t picked a new book — though I did get a couple of books to review.
Received to review:
I’ve followed Claire North’s work for a long time now, so I’m hopeful about this new one. I’ve heard a lot about Woman on the Edge of Time, so I’m curious about it.
Books read this week:
A whole bunch of these were rereads (The Farthest Shore, Silver on the Three, volume one of The Movement, The Door into Fire), but there were a lot of new-to-me books too. And I enjoyed most of them! An excellent week.
Reviews this week:
–Every Heart A Doorway, by Seanan McGuire.This is probably my favourite story from Tor.com’s novella line. The plot and world are awesome, and so are the characters. 4/5 stars –Century Rain, by Alastair Reynolds.A reread of a book I loved as a teenager, which I haven’t revisited in a long time; it didn’t disappoint. 4/5 stars –Death at the Bar, by Ngaio Marsh.Felt a bit too by-the-numbers as a mystery, without the strength of character of Sayers’ Wimsey or even Christie’s Miss Marple. 2/5 stars –Forensics, by Val McDermid.A good survey of forensic science and how it’s used to catch and indict criminals; well-written, too. 4/5 stars –Flashback Friday: Blackbirds, by Chuck Wendig.I think this is one of the first Angry Robot books I ever read; I’ve kept on reading both the publisher and the author. Wendig’s work is generally a lot of fun, and Blackbirds does well with an interesting idea. 4/5 stars
Other posts:
–Readathon progress.The start of my excellent reading week, even though I didn’t stay up the full 24 hours!
–Top Ten Tuesday.This week’s theme was bookworm delights, like the smell of books.
–Bout of Books signup. Aka, another readathon!
