Reading roundup: WicDiv, Fangirl, more Whyborne and Griffin/SPECTR
19. Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matthew Wilson, The Wicked + The Divine, volume 1 -- this was a book L borrowed from Awesome Friend Allie (or, more likely to say, that Awesome Friend Allie pressed on her in an effort to get L into comics), and L read it and confessed to me she enjoyed it (with a great dose of chagrin, 'cos she knew there would
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(*googles it* there is fic, but of the 540 works on AO3, looks like only 35 or so are about the actual characters, and the rest are Simon Snow related)
I glanced once at the archive, randomly stumbled into a nice, very canon-like Carry On fic, and didn’t feel like reading on much more. If you say there is no Reagan ot3 fic, I am disappoint in the fandom and don’t want to look at the archive in more detail :P
I liked Cath and Arthur’s jokes, with a lot of references (though I barely caught half of it) and not a little self-deprecation, but that was about the only part that I seriously enjoyed, being too cautious about the rest.
This is what it looks like when a sane person taps her fingers
Whoa.. I had completely missed this sentence, it’s a very good one, and drives the point, too.
Nodding in agreement to all you said about Laura, minus actually caring about her much. I think the whole balance of not-reconciliation btw the girls and Laura was done right.
I didn’t like Wren’s arc at all, all this teenage rebellion thing and her way of “acting out” in the company of boring cardboard Courtney and the abrupt rehab didn’t seem in the least bit interesting. I guess I had wanted her to get less of a ~блудный сын~ arc, it just looked so blanddd and high school drama to me.
Re:Nick, I agree that Cath refusing to co-author and let him published his hemingwayan self-insert read like a statement that is made more by the author than the character - good job finding the right words for it, actually, it hadn’t occurred to me that it READ so until you put it in those words. And this general last standoff wasn’t something I enjoyed in any part (besides Levi refusing to throw a jealousy party because “should he?:D i mean if you want?:D :D”). But at this point I was actually resigned to liking Nick unconditionally (not as much as Reagan, but definitely with more forgiveness:’) because it seems I can’t let pretentious bookclub babies go /o\ and he won me over with laughing at Cath fanficcing his self-insert chara. So in my head, I’d have preferred to keep them as writing buddies - not necessarily in agreement or sync always, but there to brainstorm things and comfortably be writers together. (Also, very nicely spotted too, re:him literally suffering from the same syndrome as Baz in GTL’s canon).
I’m not surprised you clicked better with Cath, for introversion and Ravenclaw-ness (but I hadn’t expected the parental angle:), but yeah, didn’t work for me. On the other hand, props to the book for staying overall enjoyable even when the protagonist wasn’t someone I could very much empathize with.
Her fandom experience, though, even if I liked reading about it, actually didn’t overlap with mine in the least! Almost each fandom I wrote for either grew out of real-life support circle (A or Moni, or you:) or found the right people for me to connect with (the entirety of my Hikago and Natsume experience tbh) and of course, nothing from big projects, prolific writing and this detached BNF stuff. (How did she not make any proper fandom friends… is it because Wren was the only one she needed? I mean, I understand prioritizing them, but not limiting yourself). My writing happened much later in life, also it’s short and there is no such tangible evolution I guess? So, like, interesting but also unrelatable.
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YES to your disappointment with ending. It was so - saggy and lackluster? and i’m not sure if it was trying to drive the point of ~graduation~ from fandom to original writing or whatever, because yeah, open ending blabla and we dont even get to hear whether she finished carry on and when and how, but it looks like the author lost interest and wrapped it up with a handwavy “feel free to imagine whatever happened”. And her original story - did she steal Nick’s second person thing? XD
I noticed Levi didn’t admit right away he wasn’t Reagan’s boyfriend, but that didn’t make me mind it much, because I enjoyed the limbo, with Cath admiring both of them :D
Cather and Wren is a bit too heavy on symbolism, but I actually thought they make cool separate names, so rolled with it for coolness factor. (as you see, I mostly slid off stuff I didn’t care about here; except I guess I am bitter that wren was overall wasted)
HARRY POTTER MENTION YES. Literally why?? It was so confusing and unnecessary. Was it done to say that lol Simon’s books are not REALLY harry potter? this is such a questionable move..
PS. very happy you’ve picked up Watchmaker! keep me posted with impressions :D
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But most important question first, lest I forget all about it, commenting on specific points - how long do you plan on putting off reading Carry On? :D :D :D
Haha, well, I enjoyed this as a respite from the paranormal Victorian romance that I appear to be otherwise mainlining, so maybe after Watchmaker and the next Whyborne & Griffin I'll do Carry On as a palate cleanser again... I'm honestly not sure how well it will work for me -- I couldn't shake the Drarry flashbacks in the snippets after all -- but I plan to give it a try.
Alas, I could find no trace of +Reagan OT3, just lots of questionable Cath/Levi shmoop, but there is this one Cath/Reagan story that was actually pretty good, except I'm annoyed that the author broke up Cath and Levi (it was a gift, so I assume that part was written to the recipient's tastes, but still).
Whoa.. I had completely missed this sentence, it’s a very good one, and drives the point, too.
Yes, that one struck me! I also marked downt he passage where Cath is talking to Reagan on the phone and Reagan is complaining about her mother being crazy and 'pathological', but this one was more succinct and punchy.
Laura, minus actually caring about her much
I wouldn't say that I cared about Laura at all -- more that I was touched (unexpectedly) by Cath's submerged memories of her mother suddenly coming up. It's a thing that -- there are these little moments from my childhood, having to do with my mother, that I remember with just piercing clarity, and it's aching-nostalgic to look back at them, and the description in that section tapped into those moments.
I guess I had wanted her to get less of a ~блудный сын~ arc, it just looked so blanddd and high school drama to me.
Yeah, it was very Afterschool Special and lacked the nuance that the rest of the situations and relationships in the book did, which was a pity. I think Wren was relegated to being absent and/or bland because otherwise she would've stolen the show, but it's still a pity.
besides Levi refusing to throw a jealousy party because “should he?:D i mean if you want?:D :D”).
Haha, yues, that was adorable, and very Levi!
and he won me over with laughing at Cath fanficcing his self-insert chara.
Yes -- I liked their vibe together while they were writing, and while I could see it as a very one-way relationship when not mandated by Piper to be a collaboration, I do wish that had gotten a better arc...
How did she not make any proper fandom friends… is it because Wren was the only one she needed?
I guess it could be that Wren is the only one she needed, but it still feels so weird to me. Because I don't think Cath is anti-social -- she's socially awkward specifically in real-time, face-to-face situations (the strain of which I can totally understand, a a fellow introvert). Well, LJ is AWESOME for friendships that don't strain those introvert batteries -- and it (or, you know, BlogJournal or whatever) just plain doesn't seem to exist in this universe. And that automatically crosses out a good chunk of my fandom experience, except for the parts that took place before the internet was a widespread thing.
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LOL But, yeah, I really didn't get any sense of what was so great about it... Like, at all.
And her original story - did she steal Nick’s second person thing? XD
Heh. That is a fair point.
I thought at first that Cather was an homage to Willa Cather -- and maybe it is, either/both in-novel and from the author, 'cos apparently Cather lived in Nebraska and went to the university at Lincoln (I didn't know that until I just looked it up). But as far as author-homage names go, I don't think it's a great one for a girl...
HARRY POTTER MENTION YES. Literally why?? It was so confusing and unnecessary. Was it done to say that lol Simon’s books are not REALLY harry potter? this is such a questionable move..
I would like someone to explain this to me, yes, please! On my own, all I'm left with is a pile of WHYYYY.
I am about 15% into Watchmaker, and it's lovely and melancholy (and, predictably, I like Grace -- who actually reminds me a bit of the cool archeologist lady from the gay Victorians books that we were talking about the other day). Thaniel just met Mori, and I'm still entirely unclear on what is happening, but it's a gentle sort of read.
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questionable Cath/Levi shmoop
*snickering at your description* *like actually snickering* thanks for the non-shmoopy angle link! i will come back to you once i've read it :)
"What kind of crazy is your mom" conversation, is that what you are referring to? It was well done, too, as was everything with Reagan tbh.
I tried to recall any mother moments like you described in my head, but I'm coming up short.. ._. Something to appreciate in other people's retelling, then.
I think Wren was relegated to being absent and/or bland because otherwise she would've stolen the show, but it's still a pity.
Especially in the interpretation you suggested, definitely :D
could see it as a very one-way relationship when not mandated by Piper to be a collaboration, I do wish that had gotten a better arc...
*nods* I don't want to make Nick sound non-problematic in his attitude as we've seen it, but he also didn't seem to be incorrigible, you know? So what I wanted was mostly to have Cath learn to voice her opinions and to say no and explain why - on the example of why submitting their co-authored story would have been an obvious choice - and not just shut him out forever while being flunked by her friends. This way, they lose the bookclub, and Cath doesn't learn to talk. (Two-way process, folks, two-way process. Communication and relationships, I mean.)
Lovely and melancholy describes Watchmaker well and consistently so! Grace is a very interesting character, but tbh who isn't, in that book. Things become clearer as you read along, but you understand now why I tried so hard not to explain anything about the plot of the book? It's fun to discover mysteries as they unfold, and not just give them away as a premise. I hope you're still enjoying the book? How far along are you?:)
(sorry for the delay in answering, social weekend hosting, and my batteries are flickering)
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I will be happy to be charmed if it so falls out!
"What kind of crazy is your mom" conversation, is that what you are referring to? It was well done, too, as was everything with Reagan tbh.
Yes, and there's also an earlier scene, or an earlier bit in the same scene (on the phone) where Reagan is complaining that her mother is 'pathological' about wanting to saddle her with furniture, while Cath is standing next to her dad, who was just released from St Richards.
I tried to recall any mother moments like you described in my head, but I'm coming up short.. ._.
Awww, K :( <3333
So what I wanted was mostly to have Cath learn to voice her opinions and to say no and explain why - on the example of why submitting their co-authored story would have been an obvious choice - and not just shut him out forever while being flunked by her friends.
This is also a really good point, and part of why Nick resolution feels so unsatisfying. I do really like Cyan's suggestion (which I think I've already said somewhere, probably even to you, in this now triangular discussion XD)
I'm about 30% along now in Watchmaker and still fairly confused by what is going on with Mori, but not unpleasantly so (and the sock-stealing octopus is darling :P). I'm also really liking Thaniel's synesthaesia, and I understand why it's being used sparingly, but would actually welcome more of that.
I hope the visit is going well!
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Awww, K :(
Hugs? ♥ At least I have all the friends nostalgia :3
Synaesthesia gets a lovely Mori-instigated reappearance later on, hope you enjoy it, too :) and glad that the reading is going smoothly so far. Keep me posted!:) I've been casually flipping between CP1 and Dasha's recent gift - a Westerner handbook on making business in Russia and CIS, lol - these days but today I had a mighty urge to read something solidly good, so I returned to Minority Council that has been waiting its turn on my desk for months.
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And also hugs for the continued ineptness/wishy-washiness of Pharma HR.
I'm now at the halfway point with Watchmaker, and it's still lovely and melancholic. Just got to Mori's explanation of his 'condition'. Kind of want to give everyone a hug, even the ones who want incompatible things.
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Wanting incompatible things is actually a very appropriate thing to say about Watchmaker! Please keep me posted on how you feel about further developments, too: there is definitely room for discussion there.
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(I hope you've managed to catch up on rest a bit, and are having a good week! <3)
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Re: watchmaker, I understand your conflicted Grace feelings! I had to have a lot of thinking done on her account before I could pass an opinion, but there is some итог раздумий in my and A's posts on the book, if you look them up. But I'm also lookinf forward to your full write up!
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