So many books, so little time...
Two posts in less than a week? What is the world coming to? Well, it's still a mell of a hess, but I thought I'd talk about the books I've been reading lately. Just for a change of pace, y'know. :)
So, one of my favorite genres to read since at least my late teens/early twenties has been Regency romances. I've read everything from Georgette Heyer to Marion Chesney to Christina Dodd. I have a ton of old Signet Regencies on my bookshelf, and even have some Mills & Boon ones from my visits to the UK. I've pretty much quit buying/reading them as other interests have taken over, but there's one author I will always buy when she publishes something new - Julia Quinn. I know she can be problematic at times, and she gets some details wrong, and she has a tendency to use modern... attitudes in her plots, but damn can she make me laugh! Whether it be 'witty repartee' or just plain ridiculous conversations among characters, I find myself giggling uncontrollably or literally laughing out loud quite frequently when reading her novels.
Case in point, her newest one: First Comes Scandal. I read that baby in TWO DAYS! I don't read anything in two days these days, but I just couldn't put it down. Every time I tried, I'd end up going back to it to see what hilarity would ensue next. And I was richly rewarded by laughter, a sweet love story, and a satisfying resolution.
Technically, this isn't a Regency romance, since it's a Bridgerton prequel, but since I love that universe, who cares about technicalities. I can also imagine a crossover with the Poldark series, as the 'hero' of this story is studying to be a doctor in 1791. I'd have to check again to see exactly when Dwight came on the scene, but I'm sure it's close enough that something could be devised. :)
I haven't taken the time to watch the new series on Netflix yet, but it's in my queue. I have read & heard some of the criticisms of it, though, and am glad to have done so. It'll give me something to think about when I do watch.
Enough about that, let's move on to what I read before JQ... The newest Firefly novel, Generations by Tim Lebben was a rollicking good tale of the crew finding one of the ark ships from Earth-That-Was and the first ever victim of the Alliance's meddling with people's brains. Took me a couple of weeks to read, just because I didn't feel the need to read it in one fell swoop. Still, a good story that I enjoyed almost as much as The Magnificent Nine.
Before that I read The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History. It was a fascinating look at fabric through the ages, from Ancient Egypt to space exploration, and even included some pre-history. Did you know there are people trying to make fabric from spider web silk much like they do with silkworms? I had no idea! Think it's going to be a while before they figure it out, though. They've been trying for decades with little to no success. Anyway, I read that for a book club that my embroidery group is forming. We'll discuss it starting next Thursday. Here's hoping I remember enough to do so, since I finished it right after Christmas and turned it back into the library.
And that brings me to... the last of the Poldark novels. I've been going to write about it for a while, but keep putting it off because I know I'm going to rant. I'll put that bit behind a cut because spoilers, but I will say that I'm very glad I reread the whole series. It was nice to visit some old friends, and reacquaint myself with their children. And I'm still pondering writing some fanfic in that universe. But, whoa, Nelly, do I have some thoughts about Bella Poldark!
Technically, I guess my ranting actually begins with events that occurred in The Twisted Sword when the family was in Paris before Waterloo and Demelza let 14-year-old Bella go out with 20-something Christopher What's-his-face. WTF, Demelza?! I don't care if they were accompanied by her 10-year-old brother and a nanny/governess/whatever. I don't care if she 'looked like she was 17'. She was 14! And he was in his 20's!
And don't give me any BS about it being a 'different time', either. Yes, men generally married women younger than themselves. But the majority of them didn't marry a young teen when they were in their mid-twenties and older. And those that did? You know something skeevy was going on. I can only be glad that Demelza was smart enough to say no when Christopher asked to marry her! (The first time.)
But then they carried on a secret correspondence! Seriously, Ross & Demelza? How can you be so lax as to not notice these letters coming to your house?! I get that you're all laissez-faire and 'let your children make their own decisions', but seriously?!
And speaking of laissez-faire... In a time when actresses and singers are looked on as no better than prostitutes, when this same daughter expresses a desire to become a professional singer, you don't raise ONE objection? I mean, I guess I can buy Demelza being too unsophisticated to think about it, but Ross is a man of the world! He KNOWS the attitudes of society. And then even Caroline and her aunt are all for it?! WTF, people?! And then they send her off to London where she's in close contact with Christopher, and he's basically in charge of her voice education? What makes him such a GD expert?! And why are you letting him groom your daughter?! I just... UGH!!!
And then there was the whole sub-plot that ended with Valentine dying and Ross being saved by his 'ghost'. WTF? Why introduce this bit of, I don't know, supernatural phenomenon at the end of a series that's never had any hint of it before? (And no, Aunt Agatha cursing George wasn't supernatural. It was just an old woman being vindictive and George being an idiot.) It was just so out of place and uncalled for.
There was a bunch of other stuff in the book that I felt was OOC for various characters, but these are the two things that really stuck in my craw. I also think Ross might have died in the next book, if there'd been one, so...
All in all, I think I'm glad this was the last book in the series. I mentioned above that JQ has a tendency to use modern attitudes in her writing, and I saw a lot of that in these books as well. To an extent, I didn't mind it, but there were times when it was just a big ol' flag saying 'Look at me! Aren't I ahead of my time?' and then it was extremely annoying.
Now I'm off to read some cozy mysteries that hopefully won't make my blood boil. :)
TTFN!
So, one of my favorite genres to read since at least my late teens/early twenties has been Regency romances. I've read everything from Georgette Heyer to Marion Chesney to Christina Dodd. I have a ton of old Signet Regencies on my bookshelf, and even have some Mills & Boon ones from my visits to the UK. I've pretty much quit buying/reading them as other interests have taken over, but there's one author I will always buy when she publishes something new - Julia Quinn. I know she can be problematic at times, and she gets some details wrong, and she has a tendency to use modern... attitudes in her plots, but damn can she make me laugh! Whether it be 'witty repartee' or just plain ridiculous conversations among characters, I find myself giggling uncontrollably or literally laughing out loud quite frequently when reading her novels.
Case in point, her newest one: First Comes Scandal. I read that baby in TWO DAYS! I don't read anything in two days these days, but I just couldn't put it down. Every time I tried, I'd end up going back to it to see what hilarity would ensue next. And I was richly rewarded by laughter, a sweet love story, and a satisfying resolution.
Technically, this isn't a Regency romance, since it's a Bridgerton prequel, but since I love that universe, who cares about technicalities. I can also imagine a crossover with the Poldark series, as the 'hero' of this story is studying to be a doctor in 1791. I'd have to check again to see exactly when Dwight came on the scene, but I'm sure it's close enough that something could be devised. :)
I haven't taken the time to watch the new series on Netflix yet, but it's in my queue. I have read & heard some of the criticisms of it, though, and am glad to have done so. It'll give me something to think about when I do watch.
Enough about that, let's move on to what I read before JQ... The newest Firefly novel, Generations by Tim Lebben was a rollicking good tale of the crew finding one of the ark ships from Earth-That-Was and the first ever victim of the Alliance's meddling with people's brains. Took me a couple of weeks to read, just because I didn't feel the need to read it in one fell swoop. Still, a good story that I enjoyed almost as much as The Magnificent Nine.
Before that I read The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History. It was a fascinating look at fabric through the ages, from Ancient Egypt to space exploration, and even included some pre-history. Did you know there are people trying to make fabric from spider web silk much like they do with silkworms? I had no idea! Think it's going to be a while before they figure it out, though. They've been trying for decades with little to no success. Anyway, I read that for a book club that my embroidery group is forming. We'll discuss it starting next Thursday. Here's hoping I remember enough to do so, since I finished it right after Christmas and turned it back into the library.
And that brings me to... the last of the Poldark novels. I've been going to write about it for a while, but keep putting it off because I know I'm going to rant. I'll put that bit behind a cut because spoilers, but I will say that I'm very glad I reread the whole series. It was nice to visit some old friends, and reacquaint myself with their children. And I'm still pondering writing some fanfic in that universe. But, whoa, Nelly, do I have some thoughts about Bella Poldark!
Technically, I guess my ranting actually begins with events that occurred in The Twisted Sword when the family was in Paris before Waterloo and Demelza let 14-year-old Bella go out with 20-something Christopher What's-his-face. WTF, Demelza?! I don't care if they were accompanied by her 10-year-old brother and a nanny/governess/whatever. I don't care if she 'looked like she was 17'. She was 14! And he was in his 20's!
And don't give me any BS about it being a 'different time', either. Yes, men generally married women younger than themselves. But the majority of them didn't marry a young teen when they were in their mid-twenties and older. And those that did? You know something skeevy was going on. I can only be glad that Demelza was smart enough to say no when Christopher asked to marry her! (The first time.)
But then they carried on a secret correspondence! Seriously, Ross & Demelza? How can you be so lax as to not notice these letters coming to your house?! I get that you're all laissez-faire and 'let your children make their own decisions', but seriously?!
And speaking of laissez-faire... In a time when actresses and singers are looked on as no better than prostitutes, when this same daughter expresses a desire to become a professional singer, you don't raise ONE objection? I mean, I guess I can buy Demelza being too unsophisticated to think about it, but Ross is a man of the world! He KNOWS the attitudes of society. And then even Caroline and her aunt are all for it?! WTF, people?! And then they send her off to London where she's in close contact with Christopher, and he's basically in charge of her voice education? What makes him such a GD expert?! And why are you letting him groom your daughter?! I just... UGH!!!
And then there was the whole sub-plot that ended with Valentine dying and Ross being saved by his 'ghost'. WTF? Why introduce this bit of, I don't know, supernatural phenomenon at the end of a series that's never had any hint of it before? (And no, Aunt Agatha cursing George wasn't supernatural. It was just an old woman being vindictive and George being an idiot.) It was just so out of place and uncalled for.
There was a bunch of other stuff in the book that I felt was OOC for various characters, but these are the two things that really stuck in my craw. I also think Ross might have died in the next book, if there'd been one, so...
All in all, I think I'm glad this was the last book in the series. I mentioned above that JQ has a tendency to use modern attitudes in her writing, and I saw a lot of that in these books as well. To an extent, I didn't mind it, but there were times when it was just a big ol' flag saying 'Look at me! Aren't I ahead of my time?' and then it was extremely annoying.
Now I'm off to read some cozy mysteries that hopefully won't make my blood boil. :)
TTFN!