Let's be outrageous - let's misbehave!

Nov 07, 2010 11:57


Someone remind me to make a separate post about Boardwalk Empire once the first season is over. This is not related to what follows but here it is anyway.

I think I want to talk about books more on this journal. As some of you may know, I already have a separate book blog but I think I need a place to talk about my bookish life in a more informal manner (having a blog is nice and all and I've already met wonderful people through it but I'm not sure the book blogging community is for me... it's so, well, formal and proper and apart from the people I met it's a bit hard to find like-minded people).

Anyway, I have a Goodreads account which I really cherish - if you don't have one already, I suggest you have look around, it's a really good way of 1) organizing your book collection 2) keeping track of the books you've read & plan to read 3) motivating you to leave your thoughts on each book you finish 4) finding good recommendations 5) checking out what people you know are reading/plan on reading and get even more recommendations. Goodreads also has groups but since my taste is a bit eccentric I don't feel like I belong to a specific group of readers (like fantasy readers or mystery readers or whatever).

My favourite reads recently have been:

- Soulless by Gail Carriger, which is a steampunk/comedy of manners novel taking place in Victorian London with a great heroine who's soulless (which means she can kill supernaturals, such as vampires). It's hilarious. It's the first in a series of 5 books, 3 of which have been released thus far: Soulless, Changeless and the latest Blameless. The series is called the Parasol Protectorate series. Goodreads link.

- A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee, which is about girl spies in Victorian London. It's the first in a trilogy, two of which have been released - A Spy in the House and The Body at the Tower. Feminist.  Goodreads.

- The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E.Lockhart, which is a stand-alone novel about a 15-year-old girl called Frankie who attends Alabaster, an elite prep-school and who's going to, to put it plainly, disturb the peace and rebel against this elitist system. Feminist. Goodreads link.

- Unnatural Fire by Fidelis Morgan, which is the first in a series of five novels, all released. It's funny (very funny, think bawdy humour) mysteries set in Restoration England. The series is called the Countess Ashby de la Zouche series (after one of the main characters). Goodreads link.

I look forward to reading Moonshine by Alaya Dawn Johnson, which is about Zephyr, a teacher & social activist in New York in the 1920s. It's urban fantasy with vampires and other creatures (everybody knows they exist in this world). It's the first in a series but the second one hasn't been published yet. Goodreads link.
I also bought a copy of Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, whom a lot of my favourite people seem to love. Goodreads link.

Other things I want to buy but really can't afford:

- Downton Abbey box set, according to Amazon there are audio commentaries, which is also my favourite extra so I seriously look forward to that. GO SYBIL.

- Boardwalk Empire by Nelson Johnson, which is a book about Atlantic City in the 1920s and was the starting point for the new HBO series. The author just published another book, The Northside, which is specifically about African-Americans at that time and which I'm eager to read too.

I find it so hard to find good books. You wouldn't believe the number of books I try when you see how few I finish. I think for about one really good book, I have to try (and in my case trying means buying so you see how this is going to be the death of me) at least 4 or 5. It's that dire. I still have no idea what 'group' I belong to and I think I'm actually alright with that, even if it makes it incredibly difficult to find new books to read, I enjoy the challenge. Sometimes non-fiction seems like a safer bet because I do know I'm interested in the 20s and in screwball comedies and in LGBTQ and in feminism and in humanism and in academic essays about my favourite TV shows so chances are if it's about any of these topics, I'll at least not be bored.

How do you find new books to read? How long do you spend making sure it's a book you want to read?



:)

good books

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