random stuff
Of course our lives are still mostly baby-centric at the moment, but I've got some other things on my mind as well.
Has anyone read Pillars of the Earth? I read it back in high school, and I loved it. It's been more than 10 years since I last re-read it, and I can't say I remember a lot about it beyond the interesting cathedral facts, but I've always counted it as one of my favorite books. I went on to read most of his other books, and I've enjoyed all of them.
When I saw that he had written a sequel to POTE, I was geekily excited. I bought it a few months back but it sat on the shelf. It wasn't high on my reading priority list, because of its length (1000+ pages) and my not having the time to focus on what I was sure would be literary crack.
A month after having the baby, I slowly started getting back into reading. I picked up a couple of short books which had been languishing on the shelf here (first The Reader, then The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) both of which I enjoyed. I was using the time I spend feeding the baby, which is QUITE A LOT OF TIME as I'm breastfeeding, so I felt like I was ready to pick up the big book.
I'm more than halfway through it now, and I just am at a loss to say just how much of a piece of crap this book is. here is the link to it, by the way; I'm superstitious, and I'm afraid that speaking its name gives it legitimacy as a real book.
What's wrong with it? Pretty much everything. The characters are one-dimensional (Strong Female is Strong! Evil Male is Evil!) with minimal backstory and random facts introduced abruptly via internal diablogue one chapter before they become relevant. The plot is ridiculous (serfs taking their Lord to court in the 1300's and winning. Townspeople taking the head of the local priory to court and winning. In fact, WAY TOO MUCH litigation, period. I'm only halfway through the book and there have been three cases brought by the serfs/local people against their oppressors. Two more cases if you include cases by said oppressors against the underlings.) I'd go into more details but I'd seriously just be rehashing the entire plot, that's how insane it all is. To stress how bad this book is: I'm considering just putting it down forever. I never give up on books.
I'm so shocked by this pile of crap that it's making me wonder how good POTE was. I mean, I haven't read it since I was just out of HS. Maybe it sucks, too? I'm scared. Has anyone else read this?
In baby news, I should have some new picspam but I haven't had much time to organize photos lately. We took a few on Easter and yes, they involve bunny ears.
Has anyone read Pillars of the Earth? I read it back in high school, and I loved it. It's been more than 10 years since I last re-read it, and I can't say I remember a lot about it beyond the interesting cathedral facts, but I've always counted it as one of my favorite books. I went on to read most of his other books, and I've enjoyed all of them.
When I saw that he had written a sequel to POTE, I was geekily excited. I bought it a few months back but it sat on the shelf. It wasn't high on my reading priority list, because of its length (1000+ pages) and my not having the time to focus on what I was sure would be literary crack.
A month after having the baby, I slowly started getting back into reading. I picked up a couple of short books which had been languishing on the shelf here (first The Reader, then The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) both of which I enjoyed. I was using the time I spend feeding the baby, which is QUITE A LOT OF TIME as I'm breastfeeding, so I felt like I was ready to pick up the big book.
I'm more than halfway through it now, and I just am at a loss to say just how much of a piece of crap this book is. here is the link to it, by the way; I'm superstitious, and I'm afraid that speaking its name gives it legitimacy as a real book.
What's wrong with it? Pretty much everything. The characters are one-dimensional (Strong Female is Strong! Evil Male is Evil!) with minimal backstory and random facts introduced abruptly via internal diablogue one chapter before they become relevant. The plot is ridiculous (serfs taking their Lord to court in the 1300's and winning. Townspeople taking the head of the local priory to court and winning. In fact, WAY TOO MUCH litigation, period. I'm only halfway through the book and there have been three cases brought by the serfs/local people against their oppressors. Two more cases if you include cases by said oppressors against the underlings.) I'd go into more details but I'd seriously just be rehashing the entire plot, that's how insane it all is. To stress how bad this book is: I'm considering just putting it down forever. I never give up on books.
I'm so shocked by this pile of crap that it's making me wonder how good POTE was. I mean, I haven't read it since I was just out of HS. Maybe it sucks, too? I'm scared. Has anyone else read this?
In baby news, I should have some new picspam but I haven't had much time to organize photos lately. We took a few on Easter and yes, they involve bunny ears.