Three books (and some misc bits and bobs)
Finally digging up the time to review the three (!) books I recently finished.
The Cursed Queen by Sarah Fine. This was a sequel to The Imposter Queen, which I stumbled upon when browsing the bookstore after the holidays. The first book focused on a young woman (Elli) from the fictional land of Kupari who was supposed to inherit the queen's magic upon said queen's death, but she didn't. The second book focuses on the young woman who DID inherit the magic. She was kidnapped and raised by a warrior tribe as a tot, and has always fought hard to be accepted as one of them. They think of magic as "witchcraft" so when (unbeknownst to Ansa) the Kupari queen dies and Ansa is suddenly bursting with magic, she thinks she is cursed (hence the title) and tries hard to hide it. Shockingly enough, this does not work. :P
I found I didn't like TCQ as much as TIQ, mostly because of the warrior tribe's attitudes. "Blood and victory" is their motto, and they basically live successfully by raiding any and all neighboring tribes/villages/etc and just taking whatever they want: food, gear, slaves. They DO have the abilities to cook and make clothes and such on their own (every warrior is mated to an "andener" - basically, the homemaker), but, yeah, raiding is their main way of life. Kills are proudly marked on the warrior's arm, horizontal slash marks from the upper arm all the way down to the middle finger, one slash for each person they've killed - and then you start creating marks on the next arm. They engage in grisly fights for power and position within their own tribe, although not fights to the death unless they are challenging leadership. Still, the more vicious you are, the better. It was not an attitude I really liked reading about.
One thing I did kind of like - same-sex unions are not really treated as any different. Most people in the tribe are straight, of course, but, for example, when she was first captured, she was given to a m/m couple (where one was a warrior and one was an andener) for them to raise. And Ansa herself is totally in love with/devoted to the daughter of the tribal chief. What I didn't really understand was why said daughter always held herself back from Ansa, since it didn't seem like f/f relationships were considered any worse than m/m ones. It seemed like they weren't supposed to be together, so the chief's daughter never wanted their relationship known, and I didn't really get why. The only thing I could think of was, even though the chief's daughter was, temperamentally better suited to being an andener, she was expected to be a warrior as future chief, and two warriors aren't allowed to be together? It always has to be warrior + andener.
Anyway, we do see some of the same characters as from TIQ, and there are some references to events from that first book, so it was interesting to see things from a different vantage point. The book clearly sets up for the two women to meet and work together in a third book and, I don't know, bring peace, harmony and rainbows to the land. But since TCQ was only published in January, that obviously will take a little while to happen.
Rise of the Wolf by Jenifer Nielsen This, too, was a sequel book, following up on Mark of the Thief. This is the same author who wrote The False Prince, which I LOVED (although I didn't feel the sequels were quite as strong), but this series is set in Ancient Rome, with magic. Nic continues to be a pawn in multiple power plays - his Rome-hating (but high-ranking) Grandfather, a Senator and his family, and the Praetors of Rome. They all want the same thing from Nic; the golden bulla (sort of a charmed amulet) he found in the first book, and the "Malice of Mars" - a magic armband - which, when combined with the bulla will supposedly allow Nic to make a third charmed item, which can bring about the full power, or destruction, of Rome.
Nic doesn't really trust anyone by this point, with good reason. However, it did start to drive me crazy that he kept wanting to run away from his grandfather, and didn't want anything to do with him, didn't want him to get any or (even worse) all of the amulets, and yet kept having to rely on said grandfather to bail him out of tight spots. And feed him. And train him to race chariots (which ends up being instrumental in a bargain Nic makes with the Praetors later in the book). You can't have it both ways, Nic. You do get a glimpse late in the book that the grandfather might actually value Nic for more than just his amulets, but still - the constant passive-aggressive push-pull nature of their relationship eventually annoyed the heck out of me. As did Nic's complete inability to express his feelings about Aurelia. Idiot teenage boy. :-P
The plot, though, furthered in some interesting ways, and I'll be curious to see how the trilogy ends in the next book. I miss some of the real skill Nielsen showed in The False Prince, hiding a major plot secret in plain sight until midway through the story - there's a small amount of that early in this book, but that's about it.
I finished Rise of the Wolf during my long stay at SFO last Friday, and started the next book Friday night when I climbed into bed. I didn't have a lot of time to read during my stay, but plenty on various airplanes, so I ended up finishing by Monday.
Upstairs at the White House by J.B. West Nonfictional account of life at the White House, particularly for the residence and the First Family (not the political or office life), as written by the Chief Usher, who worked from FDR's 3rd term until the very beginning of Nixon's first term, basically 1941-1969. Although there's little (or no) mention of the affairs some of those people had, it otherwise is a nice behind-the-scenes account of what life was like in the White House, from Eleanor Roosevelt rushing off nonstop and inviting all manner of people to have tea in the White House, to Mamie Eisenhower's love of the color pink in her decorating, and her determination never to miss an episode of her favorite soap opera. There are stories of what the First Family were like, as people: their foibles, their health, their children, their schedules and pastimes, the way they treated the servants, the personal staff they brought with them and how they meshed with ongoing White House staff, the decorating and redecorating that goes on for each family, and the social events they hosted - some more successfully than others. I went back and re-read the relevant chapters of Secrets of the First Ladies (which doesn't hesitate to reveal dirt, as well as more positive aspects) to see how they jived together, creating an even more detailed picture. I should look to see if there are similar books for more recent First Families, because I did definitely find this interesting.
Had no idea the White House had been gutted and rebuilt from the inside during the Truman administration, as it would have fallen down, otherwise. Didn't realize the extent that it got redecorated for each person - I mean REALLY redecorated, even changing how rooms opened onto each other - or that it wasn't considered a museum until Jackie Kennedy pushed for it. Mamie Eisenhower was the only one - of the era discussed in this book - who slept with her husband on a nightly basis, and not in a separate room, but it was the Trumans who once broke their bed after a, um, joyous reunion. Lyndon Johnson insisted on a super-pressured shower with multiple jets and kept asking for it to be made better for practically all his administration. (Nixon had it removed almost immediately, after practically being blasted through the wall by the water pressure.) Anyway, you get the idea. Not the most edge-of-your-seat reading, but it was entertaining.
I'm currently reading Theft of Swords, but I'm very much at the beginning and it's a long book, so it might be awhile before I finish.
Something I meant to mention about my visit with my dad last weekend was - he asked me how Two was doing, gender-wise, and respectfully listened as I explained his current status. I had always had the feeling that my dad, being of a significantly older generation, didn't really understand the whole gender thing, but went along with it because he loved us as a family. But he seemed pretty accepting, honestly, rather than just polite, and when I mentioned how much that acceptance meant, he said that, as a scientist, he holds on to facts, not sentiment. And since all evidence pointed to Two's transgender status, he accepted that. He was worried, as we all are, about Two's future, although I said that right now our biggest concern for his future is a) that he has one, without committing suicide first and b) that he finds a career he can be successful at, given his learning disabilities. Smart kid, and very creative, but no chance in hell in surviving a job (or training) that requires heavy reading and writing. Not at this point, anyway. But as a transgender person, he would have to have thick skin, yes, and we were working on that, but that otherwise he had the same chance to marry and have a Life, same as everyone else. I explained the difference between sexuality and gender, and that Two was actually straight: a straight male, that is.
Finally, some links and other tidbits before I go:
Trump sucks. Like we didn't know this already. Not that he's egging people on, but bigots are interpreting his rolled-back protections as an indication that being jackass bullies is acceptable again. Ugh. (And we won't even go into the rolled back environmental protections. As my dad pointed out, it's not about saving the planet for our children. It's about saving the planet for three, seven, ten, twenty generations from now. Those people need a place to live, food to eat, and water to drink, too.)
I have GOT to find this Butterbeer ice cream and try some. It's an expensive brand, and I don't know if our stores carry this flavour or not, but it sounds awesome.
And speaking of HP: 7 characters that didn't make it into the books. Huh - interesting.
Two is on an overnight field trip with half the 7th graders (the other half go tomorrow) to some environmental education center in northern Jersey - apparently it's THE place a lot of 7th grade groups go. Anyway, one of the adults in his cabin sent a pic of the kids, and he looked happy. Rob was terrified of his gender status being revealed (They were all supposed to bring swimsuits for showers anyway, but Rob was envisioning a mass mooning or something, adolescent boys being what they are) but I think he'll be ok. The house is oddly quiet with him gone, and with MiniPlu at a school event for a couple hours. (This is how I had time to write this post, rather than being on homework duty.)
I have my first official sub-teaching assignment (for this district) tommorow (Th) and Fri. I was a sub last week for a half-day, as a lunch monitor, alternating between the lunchroom and various classrooms as they had indoor recess (cold windy day that day) for three hours after I was in the library. This time I'm going to be an assistant teacher, helping a 3rd-grade class with those kids who need extra help and some pull-out services. Wish me luck! I'm nervous about working all day, having an hour or so at home, and then heading off to black belt class on Fri, because my on-your-feet-all-day stamina is still coming back to me, but I'll have to manage.
The Cursed Queen by Sarah Fine. This was a sequel to The Imposter Queen, which I stumbled upon when browsing the bookstore after the holidays. The first book focused on a young woman (Elli) from the fictional land of Kupari who was supposed to inherit the queen's magic upon said queen's death, but she didn't. The second book focuses on the young woman who DID inherit the magic. She was kidnapped and raised by a warrior tribe as a tot, and has always fought hard to be accepted as one of them. They think of magic as "witchcraft" so when (unbeknownst to Ansa) the Kupari queen dies and Ansa is suddenly bursting with magic, she thinks she is cursed (hence the title) and tries hard to hide it. Shockingly enough, this does not work. :P
I found I didn't like TCQ as much as TIQ, mostly because of the warrior tribe's attitudes. "Blood and victory" is their motto, and they basically live successfully by raiding any and all neighboring tribes/villages/etc and just taking whatever they want: food, gear, slaves. They DO have the abilities to cook and make clothes and such on their own (every warrior is mated to an "andener" - basically, the homemaker), but, yeah, raiding is their main way of life. Kills are proudly marked on the warrior's arm, horizontal slash marks from the upper arm all the way down to the middle finger, one slash for each person they've killed - and then you start creating marks on the next arm. They engage in grisly fights for power and position within their own tribe, although not fights to the death unless they are challenging leadership. Still, the more vicious you are, the better. It was not an attitude I really liked reading about.
One thing I did kind of like - same-sex unions are not really treated as any different. Most people in the tribe are straight, of course, but, for example, when she was first captured, she was given to a m/m couple (where one was a warrior and one was an andener) for them to raise. And Ansa herself is totally in love with/devoted to the daughter of the tribal chief. What I didn't really understand was why said daughter always held herself back from Ansa, since it didn't seem like f/f relationships were considered any worse than m/m ones. It seemed like they weren't supposed to be together, so the chief's daughter never wanted their relationship known, and I didn't really get why. The only thing I could think of was, even though the chief's daughter was, temperamentally better suited to being an andener, she was expected to be a warrior as future chief, and two warriors aren't allowed to be together? It always has to be warrior + andener.
Anyway, we do see some of the same characters as from TIQ, and there are some references to events from that first book, so it was interesting to see things from a different vantage point. The book clearly sets up for the two women to meet and work together in a third book and, I don't know, bring peace, harmony and rainbows to the land. But since TCQ was only published in January, that obviously will take a little while to happen.
Rise of the Wolf by Jenifer Nielsen This, too, was a sequel book, following up on Mark of the Thief. This is the same author who wrote The False Prince, which I LOVED (although I didn't feel the sequels were quite as strong), but this series is set in Ancient Rome, with magic. Nic continues to be a pawn in multiple power plays - his Rome-hating (but high-ranking) Grandfather, a Senator and his family, and the Praetors of Rome. They all want the same thing from Nic; the golden bulla (sort of a charmed amulet) he found in the first book, and the "Malice of Mars" - a magic armband - which, when combined with the bulla will supposedly allow Nic to make a third charmed item, which can bring about the full power, or destruction, of Rome.
Nic doesn't really trust anyone by this point, with good reason. However, it did start to drive me crazy that he kept wanting to run away from his grandfather, and didn't want anything to do with him, didn't want him to get any or (even worse) all of the amulets, and yet kept having to rely on said grandfather to bail him out of tight spots. And feed him. And train him to race chariots (which ends up being instrumental in a bargain Nic makes with the Praetors later in the book). You can't have it both ways, Nic. You do get a glimpse late in the book that the grandfather might actually value Nic for more than just his amulets, but still - the constant passive-aggressive push-pull nature of their relationship eventually annoyed the heck out of me. As did Nic's complete inability to express his feelings about Aurelia. Idiot teenage boy. :-P
The plot, though, furthered in some interesting ways, and I'll be curious to see how the trilogy ends in the next book. I miss some of the real skill Nielsen showed in The False Prince, hiding a major plot secret in plain sight until midway through the story - there's a small amount of that early in this book, but that's about it.
I finished Rise of the Wolf during my long stay at SFO last Friday, and started the next book Friday night when I climbed into bed. I didn't have a lot of time to read during my stay, but plenty on various airplanes, so I ended up finishing by Monday.
Upstairs at the White House by J.B. West Nonfictional account of life at the White House, particularly for the residence and the First Family (not the political or office life), as written by the Chief Usher, who worked from FDR's 3rd term until the very beginning of Nixon's first term, basically 1941-1969. Although there's little (or no) mention of the affairs some of those people had, it otherwise is a nice behind-the-scenes account of what life was like in the White House, from Eleanor Roosevelt rushing off nonstop and inviting all manner of people to have tea in the White House, to Mamie Eisenhower's love of the color pink in her decorating, and her determination never to miss an episode of her favorite soap opera. There are stories of what the First Family were like, as people: their foibles, their health, their children, their schedules and pastimes, the way they treated the servants, the personal staff they brought with them and how they meshed with ongoing White House staff, the decorating and redecorating that goes on for each family, and the social events they hosted - some more successfully than others. I went back and re-read the relevant chapters of Secrets of the First Ladies (which doesn't hesitate to reveal dirt, as well as more positive aspects) to see how they jived together, creating an even more detailed picture. I should look to see if there are similar books for more recent First Families, because I did definitely find this interesting.
Had no idea the White House had been gutted and rebuilt from the inside during the Truman administration, as it would have fallen down, otherwise. Didn't realize the extent that it got redecorated for each person - I mean REALLY redecorated, even changing how rooms opened onto each other - or that it wasn't considered a museum until Jackie Kennedy pushed for it. Mamie Eisenhower was the only one - of the era discussed in this book - who slept with her husband on a nightly basis, and not in a separate room, but it was the Trumans who once broke their bed after a, um, joyous reunion. Lyndon Johnson insisted on a super-pressured shower with multiple jets and kept asking for it to be made better for practically all his administration. (Nixon had it removed almost immediately, after practically being blasted through the wall by the water pressure.) Anyway, you get the idea. Not the most edge-of-your-seat reading, but it was entertaining.
I'm currently reading Theft of Swords, but I'm very much at the beginning and it's a long book, so it might be awhile before I finish.
Something I meant to mention about my visit with my dad last weekend was - he asked me how Two was doing, gender-wise, and respectfully listened as I explained his current status. I had always had the feeling that my dad, being of a significantly older generation, didn't really understand the whole gender thing, but went along with it because he loved us as a family. But he seemed pretty accepting, honestly, rather than just polite, and when I mentioned how much that acceptance meant, he said that, as a scientist, he holds on to facts, not sentiment. And since all evidence pointed to Two's transgender status, he accepted that. He was worried, as we all are, about Two's future, although I said that right now our biggest concern for his future is a) that he has one, without committing suicide first and b) that he finds a career he can be successful at, given his learning disabilities. Smart kid, and very creative, but no chance in hell in surviving a job (or training) that requires heavy reading and writing. Not at this point, anyway. But as a transgender person, he would have to have thick skin, yes, and we were working on that, but that otherwise he had the same chance to marry and have a Life, same as everyone else. I explained the difference between sexuality and gender, and that Two was actually straight: a straight male, that is.
Finally, some links and other tidbits before I go:
Trump sucks. Like we didn't know this already. Not that he's egging people on, but bigots are interpreting his rolled-back protections as an indication that being jackass bullies is acceptable again. Ugh. (And we won't even go into the rolled back environmental protections. As my dad pointed out, it's not about saving the planet for our children. It's about saving the planet for three, seven, ten, twenty generations from now. Those people need a place to live, food to eat, and water to drink, too.)
I have GOT to find this Butterbeer ice cream and try some. It's an expensive brand, and I don't know if our stores carry this flavour or not, but it sounds awesome.
And speaking of HP: 7 characters that didn't make it into the books. Huh - interesting.
Two is on an overnight field trip with half the 7th graders (the other half go tomorrow) to some environmental education center in northern Jersey - apparently it's THE place a lot of 7th grade groups go. Anyway, one of the adults in his cabin sent a pic of the kids, and he looked happy. Rob was terrified of his gender status being revealed (They were all supposed to bring swimsuits for showers anyway, but Rob was envisioning a mass mooning or something, adolescent boys being what they are) but I think he'll be ok. The house is oddly quiet with him gone, and with MiniPlu at a school event for a couple hours. (This is how I had time to write this post, rather than being on homework duty.)
I have my first official sub-teaching assignment (for this district) tommorow (Th) and Fri. I was a sub last week for a half-day, as a lunch monitor, alternating between the lunchroom and various classrooms as they had indoor recess (cold windy day that day) for three hours after I was in the library. This time I'm going to be an assistant teacher, helping a 3rd-grade class with those kids who need extra help and some pull-out services. Wish me luck! I'm nervous about working all day, having an hour or so at home, and then heading off to black belt class on Fri, because my on-your-feet-all-day stamina is still coming back to me, but I'll have to manage.