wednesday reading, and an update
So. Hmm. Lemme think.
Recently finished: Hmm. I guess I should list So Big, by Edna Ferber, for book club. It's not well-known now (I had never heard of it before it was picked for book club), but it won the Pulitzer for fiction in 1925. (To be fair, there was some serious campaigning for the prize by a publisher friend of Ferber...) I really enjoyed it. It's the story of the daughter of a gambler, who is thrown on her own when her father dies unexpectedly. At 19, she has great plans, but starts out as a schoolteacher in farm country outside of Chicago--and somehow never manages to leave. She's a marvelous character, full of strength and vivacity, and the book is more than worth it just for her story. It's basically a feminist novel in its valuing of women, and women's labor, even though the book is actually named after the protagonist's son. The second part of the book concerns itself with the son, and I found it less engaging, but it's still well worth the read. And I will find more Edna Ferber to read now!
Also, I don't know if you all remember this, but I'm a huge fan of Molly Gloss, especially The Hearts of Horses. And now she has a new novel out, Falling from Horses, which is basically a sequel to Hearts of Horses but not completely. You don't need to read the first one to follow the second. They are both about horses, naturally. But Falling from Horses is about Hollywood, and the damage we do in creating those fantasies. A young Oregon cowboy goes to Hollywood in 1938 to become a stunt rider, and gives us a look into the movie business at the time, and the lives and deaths of horses and men (and a very few women). It's gorgeously written, with the simplicity and vividness of prose that is Gloss' hallmark. But it is also devastating, and heartbreaking, and no one who cannot bear to read about animal harm should read this. Still, I really enjoyed it, especially to learn about Martha and Henry, despite their struggles and tragedies. Martha's letter to the schoolteacher, for instance, is wonderful.
I also read Ancillary Sword, which I really enjoyed!
Current reading: I'm finally reading Wolf Hall, after having it on my Kindle for the last few years. It is, of course, very well-written, but I'm glad I'm at least fairly familiar with Tudor politics (after my many years of Dunnett fandom), because I could see one getting very confused very easily. I'm also sort of reading an Andre Norton novel I picked up used, Brother to Shadows. It's not one I've read before, probably because it was published in 1993, which I think means she didn't write much of it. It's not very compelling, although I always like to see Zacathans show up.
Up next: probably Rachel and Sherwood's book Stranger, but not until I finish Wolf Hall.
*
Update: TNG is safe home from her surgery, looking ridiculous with a donut around her neck and her butt shaved bare. She is asleep at my feet as I type.
Crossposted from DW, where there are
comments; comment here or there.
Recently finished: Hmm. I guess I should list So Big, by Edna Ferber, for book club. It's not well-known now (I had never heard of it before it was picked for book club), but it won the Pulitzer for fiction in 1925. (To be fair, there was some serious campaigning for the prize by a publisher friend of Ferber...) I really enjoyed it. It's the story of the daughter of a gambler, who is thrown on her own when her father dies unexpectedly. At 19, she has great plans, but starts out as a schoolteacher in farm country outside of Chicago--and somehow never manages to leave. She's a marvelous character, full of strength and vivacity, and the book is more than worth it just for her story. It's basically a feminist novel in its valuing of women, and women's labor, even though the book is actually named after the protagonist's son. The second part of the book concerns itself with the son, and I found it less engaging, but it's still well worth the read. And I will find more Edna Ferber to read now!
Also, I don't know if you all remember this, but I'm a huge fan of Molly Gloss, especially The Hearts of Horses. And now she has a new novel out, Falling from Horses, which is basically a sequel to Hearts of Horses but not completely. You don't need to read the first one to follow the second. They are both about horses, naturally. But Falling from Horses is about Hollywood, and the damage we do in creating those fantasies. A young Oregon cowboy goes to Hollywood in 1938 to become a stunt rider, and gives us a look into the movie business at the time, and the lives and deaths of horses and men (and a very few women). It's gorgeously written, with the simplicity and vividness of prose that is Gloss' hallmark. But it is also devastating, and heartbreaking, and no one who cannot bear to read about animal harm should read this. Still, I really enjoyed it, especially to learn about Martha and Henry, despite their struggles and tragedies. Martha's letter to the schoolteacher, for instance, is wonderful.
I also read Ancillary Sword, which I really enjoyed!
Current reading: I'm finally reading Wolf Hall, after having it on my Kindle for the last few years. It is, of course, very well-written, but I'm glad I'm at least fairly familiar with Tudor politics (after my many years of Dunnett fandom), because I could see one getting very confused very easily. I'm also sort of reading an Andre Norton novel I picked up used, Brother to Shadows. It's not one I've read before, probably because it was published in 1993, which I think means she didn't write much of it. It's not very compelling, although I always like to see Zacathans show up.
Up next: probably Rachel and Sherwood's book Stranger, but not until I finish Wolf Hall.
*
Update: TNG is safe home from her surgery, looking ridiculous with a donut around her neck and her butt shaved bare. She is asleep at my feet as I type.
Crossposted from DW, where there are
comments; comment here or there.