Reading roundup: Night Witch, Wayfarers + December ramble meme (BtVS)

[hamsterwoman]

Another clearing of the decks, fannishly, before I dive into Yuletide reading -- the two books I've finished recently (though there should be at least one and maybe two more for the year, since I'm in the middle of several).

75. Becky Chambers, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet -- I'd seen this book pop up on my flist several times, so when it

Comments

[aletheiafelinea]

(which is great, and even interesting in places, but felt very deliberate in that "bisexual mermaids are valid" Tumblr way.
My impression exactly, but much better worded than I managed it! XD Btw, as for "which way the inspiration went", I think it's book that must have taken way more from Tumblr than vice versa. I don't think the book is really popular, I mean, judging how I don't really see it mentioned/referenced much. Seems to me that it got its five minutes of small-ish fame some time ago, at best. Nothing like what happens when Tumblr really grabs and runs with something.

the "good" characters are never actually WRONG; they're almost never even petty, or short-tempered after a bad day.
This one slipped my attention (actually, you catched many more Tumblrisms that totally flew over my head! :D token white male and all), but it agrees with my general impression - the whole book feels so cotton-candy-sweet, so fluffy, so corner-cushioned, so polished, and so... shallow, alas. It's what social drama would read like if Harlequin

[hamsterwoman]

Btw, as for "which way the inspiration went", I think it's book that must have taken way more from Tumblr than vice versa. I don't think the book is really popular, I mean, judging how I don't really see it mentioned/referenced much. Seems to me that it got its five minutes of small-ish fame some time ago, at best.

Yeah, you're probably right. I mean, you are certainly right in general, and the "aliens eating ice cream post specificaly could be mere coincidence, too.

the whole book feels so cotton-candy-sweet, so fluffy, so corner-cushioned, so polished, and so... shallow, alas.Heh, "corner-cushioned" is my favorite of these descriptions, because YES, that exactly! I think everything else is sort of an outcome of that, the sweetness and the shallowness -- there are attempts at depth, but they never involve any real conflict, so they just sort of fizzled out for me. (Like, it might've actually been interesting to see Quentin, Rosemary's father, as an actual person? A man who BOTH loved his daughter and did his best by her and felt

[aletheiafelinea]

There was not a single moment of actual GRIEF for losing her family, no conflict at all -- not a moment of trying to justify to herself her father's actions or believe that he might've been falsely acused -- which is so weird, but felt like more Tumblr-y repudiation in black-and-white terms.
Yes. That's another thing that mostly slipped me while reading. And you also nailed that one about human guilt complex, in the reply to Egelantier below.

We'll see how much I remember in a couple of months.For me it shifted from "Oh, cute! ...if not particularly clever" to "Annoying in its empty positiveness, though sweet". Though now you reminded me also that it might be read as "how to SJ in less harmful and hatespreading way" (admittedly I had overlooked the doubtful things you pointed out now). Perhaps kids brought up by Tumblr are the book's target (and certainly could learn from it more) rather than us, brought up on older sci-fi. It just hardly can tell us anything we don't already know about society and - especially - Tumblr-ish ways. It'

[hamsterwoman]

Rosemary's total repudiation of her father didn't hit me as a flaw right away, either, but has been bothering me further in retrospect -- I think it's part of why she works for me least well as a character, not even as mediocre-ly as saintly captain Ashby. I mean, I guess it's possible that she worked through all those feelings before the novel started, but that seems kind of unlikely, considering.

It's a sort of book that's great in formative age but rather undersatisfying and feeling "childish" later.

I could see that, and can also see (as egelantier said) it hitting the spot when one is especially in need of something that posits a friendly universe inhabited by benevolent and reasonable people. So, like, this year is good for it. But I've read "Clair" books that didn't feel "Tumblr-y" to me like this one does, and I preferred those more.

Now when I think about it (and very possibly remember wrong), there was little to no follow-up after thatNo, you're right, and that's a good point! It's mentioned in passing -- Ashby remarks to Sissix

[blakmagjick]

I don't think I could write up something like that about any book I've ever read...haha

[hamsterwoman]

I tend to talk a lot about my books, haha, but both of these write-ups are on the longer side even for me -- one is an entry in one of my favorite series with open canon, and the other had a lot of intriguing ideas and was also one of those almost-but-not-quite books for me, which I tend to talk a lot about as I attempt to figure out exactly how it did and did not work for me.

[egelantier]

huhhhhh, interesting. i've just finished the long way a bit ago, and i totally agree with your points but i also think i got something different out of it, only i can't articulate it. i'll try to work my way up to it... but i also wanna say, i'm reading the sequel, which is dealing with a different set of characters and themes, and i wonder if you'd like it more.

(although the Alien Gender Discourse is out there in full force, too :D).

the first book mostly reminded me of, like, cheerful sixties sf a-la general hospital, not even tumblr, you know? or maybe i just needed something like it, this month.

[hamsterwoman]

Haaa, I was planning to rec this to you if you hadn't read it yet, because it is Clair and with interesting worldbuilding and the found-family-ness, so I'm very glad to hear you've read it meanwhile! I would love love LOVE to talk more about this one, especially as you're familiar with all the things it reminded me of :D

[qwentoozla]

Your review of The Long Way... was super interesting! I just decided to hell with spoilers and read the whole thing. It does sound very Tumblr-y, and I'm not sure what I'll think if I read it--I feel like the lack of conflict would bore me, but it sounds unusual too.

That Ant-Man fic was adorable. XD

[hamsterwoman]

That Ant-Man fic was adorable. XDIt basically did the same thing the Ant-Man movie did, in surprising me how funny and likable I found the execution despite kind of side-eyeing the premise! I'm glad you enjoyed it, too! :D

[qwentoozla]

I hope I didn't, like, prejudice you against The Long Way...,

No, I'll certainly still pick it up at the library when I get a chance! I have a feeling I'd notice the same things as you though, because it sounds a bit like when Tumblr Imagines things, which I dislike, but it definitely sounds like there's a lot in it, too, so I'm curious. I'll let you know what I think! :)

[hamsterwoman]

Yeah, I do think you'll find a lot that's interesting (if you can put up with the talkiness of the so-called plot and the slight preachiness). I would definitely love to hear your thoughts on it, for sure! :)

[a_phoenixdragon]

*DRIVEBY HUGS!!*

[hamsterwoman]

:) Likewise!