Wednesday reading - good and bad luck
What I've been reading
I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Thanks to the long time between the play opening and the script being published, it was the first time I consumed a Harry Potter book (-like object) without it being a scrupulously-unspoiled experience. I did start out avoiding the spoilers, but it ended up being untenable.
JKR claimed that once we got a chance to see the production we would understand why the story needed to be a play, and admittedly I haven't seen the production and maybe I would understand why it needed to be a play if I did, but I'm never going to see the production so that seems moot and having read the script I understand why it is a play less than ever. I mean, I guess they probably do cool things with the staging; the stuff you can do on stage with a budget is really quite impressive. On the other hand, I literally can't imagine anything productive you could do with stage directions like this:
And with that, time moves ever onwards - ALBUS’s eyes become darker, his face grows more sallow. He’s still an attractive boy, but he’s trying not to admit it.
Like, I don't even know what that means, much less how I would convey it on stage.
The narrative voice of the Harry Potter books was delighful and you don't get that in the script. Harry himself was always sympathetic and you definitely don't get that in the script; he's pretty much a dick, actually. I remember when writing Harry like this would get you scathing comments about character-bashing!
I did like Albus and Scorpius, though. They're kind of adorable. I would have used a magical artifact to rescue them from this play and put them into something that I would have enjoyed more. Oh well.
I read The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It, a really entertaining collection of oral history. Deservedly a classic.
I read But Didn't We have Fun?: An Informal History of Baseball's Pioneer Era, 1843-1870, which covers even earlier days than The Glory of Their Times. I was personally looking for more about gameplay and how it changed during that time period, which this book touches lightly on but focuses more on changes in attitudes towards playing baseball at all, and also the shift from local amateur teams to recruiting professional teams, which is also very interesting.
I read Full of Briars, an novelette in the October Daye series but with Quentin as the POV character, and i don't know why. I mean I do know why, because I still keep up with the series and I like Quentin, but then I feel like Seanan McGuire's writing really only works for me with a POV character who fits within this very circumscribed range that is her sweet spot and this…does not fall within that range. At all. Also the whole encounter with Quentin's parents just fell unbelievably flat. I dunno, this made me actively less excited for the next actual Toby book, which is not great.
I read Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball, which follows a pretty good number of minor league players and managers (plus an umpire and a groundskeeper) through a minor-league season.
Also posted on Dreamwidth, with
comment(s)
I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Thanks to the long time between the play opening and the script being published, it was the first time I consumed a Harry Potter book (-like object) without it being a scrupulously-unspoiled experience. I did start out avoiding the spoilers, but it ended up being untenable.
JKR claimed that once we got a chance to see the production we would understand why the story needed to be a play, and admittedly I haven't seen the production and maybe I would understand why it needed to be a play if I did, but I'm never going to see the production so that seems moot and having read the script I understand why it is a play less than ever. I mean, I guess they probably do cool things with the staging; the stuff you can do on stage with a budget is really quite impressive. On the other hand, I literally can't imagine anything productive you could do with stage directions like this:
And with that, time moves ever onwards - ALBUS’s eyes become darker, his face grows more sallow. He’s still an attractive boy, but he’s trying not to admit it.
Like, I don't even know what that means, much less how I would convey it on stage.
The narrative voice of the Harry Potter books was delighful and you don't get that in the script. Harry himself was always sympathetic and you definitely don't get that in the script; he's pretty much a dick, actually. I remember when writing Harry like this would get you scathing comments about character-bashing!
I did like Albus and Scorpius, though. They're kind of adorable. I would have used a magical artifact to rescue them from this play and put them into something that I would have enjoyed more. Oh well.
I read The Glory of Their Times: The Story of the Early Days of Baseball Told by the Men Who Played It, a really entertaining collection of oral history. Deservedly a classic.
I read But Didn't We have Fun?: An Informal History of Baseball's Pioneer Era, 1843-1870, which covers even earlier days than The Glory of Their Times. I was personally looking for more about gameplay and how it changed during that time period, which this book touches lightly on but focuses more on changes in attitudes towards playing baseball at all, and also the shift from local amateur teams to recruiting professional teams, which is also very interesting.
I read Full of Briars, an novelette in the October Daye series but with Quentin as the POV character, and i don't know why. I mean I do know why, because I still keep up with the series and I like Quentin, but then I feel like Seanan McGuire's writing really only works for me with a POV character who fits within this very circumscribed range that is her sweet spot and this…does not fall within that range. At all. Also the whole encounter with Quentin's parents just fell unbelievably flat. I dunno, this made me actively less excited for the next actual Toby book, which is not great.
I read Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball, which follows a pretty good number of minor league players and managers (plus an umpire and a groundskeeper) through a minor-league season.
Also posted on Dreamwidth, with
comment(s)