September Book Post
I can't believe it's October already! How crazy!
September books. I feel like this list does not acurately reflect all the stuff I read this month. Because I'm part way through about three five (I counted, nerdily) books at the moment, and it doesn't count things I read for class that weren't full books. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I'm not a reading-slacker.
Disobedience by Naomi Alderman. Another S&S book club pick. Very few people in the club liked it. I was sort of surprised. I thought it was well written. Maybe not the best book I ever read, but we certainly had worse picks for the book club. Only four people showed up to the meeting and only two of us kinda-sorta defended it. I guess people thought they were crazy (it was about very a very orthodox Jewish community), but you can’t just undo the way you were raised to think.
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. I asked my mom if she wanted to read this and she told me she didn’t want to read some book about a Jew girl. I was like “what?” I don’t know if she saw “Disobedience” or she’s just crazy. I yelled at her. And then I made her read it anyways to prove it was about an Irish dude. She liked it. She likes anything Irish. My dad tried to tell us he read it too, a long time ago. But when we’d quiz him on what happened he’d just make stuff up about how terrible the English are to the poor Irish (he has issues with English people, sorry flist Anglos). Anyway, I love Frank McCourt but what I’ve learned from reading this is that both my parents are crazy and prejudiced, which is not so much fun to learn.
Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter. I did a report on Jane Austen books for my editing class. Did I mention? I think I did. Anyway, as part of research I read this one. It was okay. It was about a bookseller named Emily (which is weird, I don’t like reading about people who have my name and do a job I once did) who has no boyfriend or whatever. She goes to England on a Jane Austen themed tour and starts having visions of Mr. Darcy striding through the mist. Except it sorta turns out that he’s not quite the dream boyfriend she thought he was (he doesn’t approve of her having a job, etc). And she ends up with an actual non-fictional boy. Normally I wouldn’t tell you the ending in case you want to read it, but you know the ending of this book from the beginning because her real-life boy/Emily plot is framed like “Pride and Prejudice.” So she doesn’t end up with Mr. Darcy but she does end up with the Mr. Darcy type. I’m not sure if this confuses the point or not.
Eleanor of Acquitaine by Alison Weir. I had this in my to-read pile for, like, forever. Originally I bought a bunch of books about medieval life and people because I was going to write “A Song of Ice and Fire” fic. But now my fics are all unfinished and I’ve read the book anyway. Eleanor’s interesting. I like her. The author likes her a lot. Seriously, every law she ever wrote became important to the fate of the entire world or whatever. At the end of the book she wrote an author’s note saying she wanted to present a “balanced” portray of Eleanor and I was like “Oh, you failed then because I thought you were writing a defense of her.” Which is fine, she’s been witch and a demon so she needs some defending, I guess. Just call a spade and spade.
The Foretelling by Alice Hoffman. grammargirl gave me this in exchange for some Stephen King books and I read it in one lunch break. Very quick read. It’s about Amazons. I was interested in it because, like my reasoning for reading the Eleanor book, I was writing a fic about Amazons. Maybe one day I’ll finish that… Hm. Maybe not.
Getting to Yes by Fischer, et al. I don’t want to talk about this. I had to read it for my Contract Negotiation class. It was very dull and annoying. Seriously, there’s, like, an entire chapter about how you have to remember the people you’re negotiating with are people and have feelings. No kidding! Anyway, I’ve finished it and that’s the best part.
Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik. I love my Temeraire books. I was nervous about this one though, because a lot of the action takes place in Africa during the slave trade. Uncomfortable. But I think it was handled well enough. I still don’t want them to go to Africa again, but it was balanced. I was just relieved that my dragons didn’t die. And very happy to see my Volly again, even if I did have to wait to the way damn end of the book for him to appear (an Egg!). Weee!!!
I also got the trade paperback compilations of X-23: Target X and Wolverine Origins 2: Savior. I was thinking to myself last night how queer it is that I love X-23 yet I hate pretty much all the other clones/children/random relations of comic characters. Point of fact, Wolverine’s stupid son in Origins. I can’t explain it. I just like how Kyle and Yost handled X-23 in her book. She’s less fun in other people’s hands I think. There’s also this really beautiful panel where Sarah is watching Laura watch Wolverine on TV and she presses her hand to the glass. I wants it for an icon.
ETA: Yearly total up to 70 books.
September books. I feel like this list does not acurately reflect all the stuff I read this month. Because I'm part way through about three five (I counted, nerdily) books at the moment, and it doesn't count things I read for class that weren't full books. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I'm not a reading-slacker.
Disobedience by Naomi Alderman. Another S&S book club pick. Very few people in the club liked it. I was sort of surprised. I thought it was well written. Maybe not the best book I ever read, but we certainly had worse picks for the book club. Only four people showed up to the meeting and only two of us kinda-sorta defended it. I guess people thought they were crazy (it was about very a very orthodox Jewish community), but you can’t just undo the way you were raised to think.
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt. I asked my mom if she wanted to read this and she told me she didn’t want to read some book about a Jew girl. I was like “what?” I don’t know if she saw “Disobedience” or she’s just crazy. I yelled at her. And then I made her read it anyways to prove it was about an Irish dude. She liked it. She likes anything Irish. My dad tried to tell us he read it too, a long time ago. But when we’d quiz him on what happened he’d just make stuff up about how terrible the English are to the poor Irish (he has issues with English people, sorry flist Anglos). Anyway, I love Frank McCourt but what I’ve learned from reading this is that both my parents are crazy and prejudiced, which is not so much fun to learn.
Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter. I did a report on Jane Austen books for my editing class. Did I mention? I think I did. Anyway, as part of research I read this one. It was okay. It was about a bookseller named Emily (which is weird, I don’t like reading about people who have my name and do a job I once did) who has no boyfriend or whatever. She goes to England on a Jane Austen themed tour and starts having visions of Mr. Darcy striding through the mist. Except it sorta turns out that he’s not quite the dream boyfriend she thought he was (he doesn’t approve of her having a job, etc). And she ends up with an actual non-fictional boy. Normally I wouldn’t tell you the ending in case you want to read it, but you know the ending of this book from the beginning because her real-life boy/Emily plot is framed like “Pride and Prejudice.” So she doesn’t end up with Mr. Darcy but she does end up with the Mr. Darcy type. I’m not sure if this confuses the point or not.
Eleanor of Acquitaine by Alison Weir. I had this in my to-read pile for, like, forever. Originally I bought a bunch of books about medieval life and people because I was going to write “A Song of Ice and Fire” fic. But now my fics are all unfinished and I’ve read the book anyway. Eleanor’s interesting. I like her. The author likes her a lot. Seriously, every law she ever wrote became important to the fate of the entire world or whatever. At the end of the book she wrote an author’s note saying she wanted to present a “balanced” portray of Eleanor and I was like “Oh, you failed then because I thought you were writing a defense of her.” Which is fine, she’s been witch and a demon so she needs some defending, I guess. Just call a spade and spade.
The Foretelling by Alice Hoffman. grammargirl gave me this in exchange for some Stephen King books and I read it in one lunch break. Very quick read. It’s about Amazons. I was interested in it because, like my reasoning for reading the Eleanor book, I was writing a fic about Amazons. Maybe one day I’ll finish that… Hm. Maybe not.
Getting to Yes by Fischer, et al. I don’t want to talk about this. I had to read it for my Contract Negotiation class. It was very dull and annoying. Seriously, there’s, like, an entire chapter about how you have to remember the people you’re negotiating with are people and have feelings. No kidding! Anyway, I’ve finished it and that’s the best part.
Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik. I love my Temeraire books. I was nervous about this one though, because a lot of the action takes place in Africa during the slave trade. Uncomfortable. But I think it was handled well enough. I still don’t want them to go to Africa again, but it was balanced. I was just relieved that my dragons didn’t die. And very happy to see my Volly again, even if I did have to wait to the way damn end of the book for him to appear (an Egg!). Weee!!!
I also got the trade paperback compilations of X-23: Target X and Wolverine Origins 2: Savior. I was thinking to myself last night how queer it is that I love X-23 yet I hate pretty much all the other clones/children/random relations of comic characters. Point of fact, Wolverine’s stupid son in Origins. I can’t explain it. I just like how Kyle and Yost handled X-23 in her book. She’s less fun in other people’s hands I think. There’s also this really beautiful panel where Sarah is watching Laura watch Wolverine on TV and she presses her hand to the glass. I wants it for an icon.
ETA: Yearly total up to 70 books.