Chhhhhhhhhhhhapter!

[grooot]

Crawled on my hands and knees over broken glass a la Bruce Willis in Die Hard to bring you Mongoose Chapter 30.

It took me quite a while to figure It what I wanted to do in this chapter. So....hope it is well received.

Comments

[chienne_folle]

Good lord! We don't expect that level of dedication; crawling over gravel would have been plenty. :-)

Seriously, what's up?

[grooot]

I probably shouldn’t use such hyperbole. I’m sorry!!! I guess I meant mental broken glass.

I actually found this chapter hard, similar to writing the Manor. The canon for those very popular scenes is so clear in my mind I found it hard to unpick them to figure out where to insert my take on Snape. There was a bit of pondering in moments while reading the book thinking, so what happened here?

[chienne_folle]

Yes, I knew you meant MENTAL broken glass. :-) But that still sounded pretty bad; I thought you meant you were having some sort of emotional breakdown in response to something happening in your life or something. I'm glad to hear that it was just a bit of difficulty figuring out how to insert Snape into the proceedings. :-)

[grooot]

Oh no all good! Currently doing ok!

Yanno... we *could* have a LJ “book club”. We could pick a book then set certain chapters, or read the whole thing and talk themes..... food for thought! I know, I know... who has time right? But still. :)

[chienne_folle]

That sounds good, although typing one's thoughts is a lot more cumbersome than being able to just SAY them. My husband just brought Naomi Novik's new book home from the library; it's Spinning Silver. Wanna read it?

[grooot]

I’ll see if my library has it!

[chienne_folle]

As it turns out, because it's a new book, they only lend it out for a week, and my husband had it for all of that time. So we have to take it back. :-( Is there a book you've been dying to read? Or do you have a favorite book that you'd like to turn other people onto?

I have a ton of books I could suggest, but it's your turn to suggest one, so I'll zip my all-too-ready lip. :-)

Love the new icon, by the way! She's sooooo good at that.

[grooot]

Haha yeah MyWitch is SO talented!

What books do you like reading?

I have one book that I try to get everyone to read as it is the greatest YA book in the world. Written by a brilliant New Zealand author called Margaret Mahy. Oh. So good. She has the most beautiful writing.

[chienne_folle]

I like most science fiction and fantasy, though there are a few subtypes that I'm not wild about. I don't much care for dystopian fiction, because my mind comes up with awful scenarios on its own, thanks. :-) And I'm not much into stories that focus on the military or politics. My favorite stories are ones that read rather like the anthropology of alien cultures, like Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card or The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula LeGuin. Not that that's all I read, by any means, just that those especially light me up.

I also read mysteries, mostly the old classics like Dorothy Sayers, Ngaio Marsh (speaking of NZ authors), Rex Stout, and Arthur Conan Doyle.

I read some paranormal stuff, as long as the romance isn't too sappy, which most of them are, so I read fairly few in this genre. I like the Anita Blake books, especially the first dozen or so. I'm not as fond of the books after Incubus Dreams. I don't care for the same author's Merry books, though, partly because the denouement was so thoroughly dishonest

[grooot]

So... they aren’t long. My absolute favourite is called The Changeover. It’s sold as a “supernatural romance” but don’t let that put you off. Mahy is not a soppy, mushy writer.

Agh it’s just so good!

Now I’m terrified you find it, read it and think meh.

[chienne_folle]

I can get it through interlibrary loan, so I've requested it.

And really, don't be terrified! There are books where my husband and I both agree that THIS book is FABULOUS, and then there are books that I love but my husband doesn't, or he loves it but I don't. I don't know of any two humans who agree on everything! I'm more worried that if I don't like the book, you'll think less of me. :-)

My husband and I met at a party (which we both attended solely because it was a good-bye party for a person we cared about) where everyone else was drinking and dancing sloppily as they all got drunk, which neither of us thinks is a good time. I was sitting on the sides watching the drunk people act like jerks, and Norman came over to talk to me. We started discussing science fiction, and he shyly confessed that although he knew they were objectively terrible, although he knew the prose was purple and the social attitudes dated, he secretly adored the Lensman novels by E. E. "Doc" Smith. And I said, "God, I love those books! I mean, they'

[grooot]

Oh my god that story!!! Er.....I talked to her. ha!

Oh if you don’t like it that’s cool, I’m sure we can find ONE we both enjoy! Your turn next. :)

One of my colleagues gave me A Little Life to read. It is bloody harrowing and I’ve stopped reading it. Real life is full of enough terrible things thanks. It’s got amazing reviews and it was very well written but...ugh. No thanks.

[chienne_folle]

I've gotten the book from the library, so I'm good to go. I hope to start reading it tonight or tomorrow.

Yeah, I don't do harrowing anymore. I used to be a therapist for adults who'd been physically, sexually, or emotionally abused as children, and I've heard enough terrible things for one lifetime. I mean, it was an honor to be there for people whose parents had failed them, and I don't begrudge a single moment of that journey. But now that I'm done with it, I don't need to hear terrible stuff. I didn't get get the tee shirt for hearing terrible stuff; I got the freaking sweatshirt AND the matching pants! :-)

[grooot]

OH exciting! I’ll read it again too!

So the good thing is, neither of us will recommend anything harrowing so that’s good! :)