Wednesday Reading Meme
This is actually...what, 3 weeks of books?
What are you currently reading
Nothing, ATM. Finished my plane-reading book last night before bed.
What did you recently finish reading?
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. I'm glad that this time, when Annabeth got a quest, it was actually about her. (IIRC, when she had an official quest in the first series, it still ended up being mostly about Percy. Really, it's a good thing I like Percy.) The humor is still there, not to mention the characterization and entertaining takes on mythology, and I'm glad that the series is considerably more diverse now, but I think Riordan may be starting to have a few too many things going at once now. I mean, I can't even remember if Jason orr Frank had any POV chapters. (Though, in Jason's case, I may just not have noticed them. There's nothing particularly wrong with Jason [aside from being named after a Greek hero i'm not exactly fond of], but there's nothing incredibly right with him, either, he's just kinda inoffensively but uninterestingly there.) And yet, I'm pretty sure we'll also be getting Nico chapters in the next book, and despite the potential overpopulation of narrators, I can't help but think Reyna is due some POV chapters, too.
The Demon Catchers of Milan by Kat Beyers. YA about Mia, a girl who, after being possessed by a demon, is carted off to Italy by her father's estranged relatives to learn to be a demon hunter. It takes a little while to get going and has a bit much family drama and "Oh look! Italy!" and not enough supernaturlal worldbuilding and demon hunting, but generally pretty solid and enjoyable, though it's very much a book meant to be the first in a series.
Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong. I have no particular thoughts about the plot of this one, but i enjoyed it. This is the first (only?) book in the series where part of it was from a male character's POV. Which I raise an eyebrow at in a series titled "Women of the Otherworld," but at least it was Lucas, who at least is one of the few men in the series who I like. This is also the first (only?) book in the series with POC narrators (Lucas is Cuban and Hope, the other narrator, is Indian). I was disappointed to find the Hope/Karl relationship having some of the same issues as Elena/Clayton, though not nearly to the same degree, and in a much more palatable form.
Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma: Two years ago, Chloe found a dead body floating in a boat in the reservoir near their hometown, at a sight where another town is said to be under the water, still intact, citizens and all. Chloe was promptly removed from her half-sister, Ruby's, care by her father, their mother having effectively abandoned them a while back. Ruby vows to return things to exactly the way the were before, and to bring Chloe back once she's done so. When she does bring Chloe back, she does so without Chloe's father's permission, and one of the first people Chloe encounters is the dead girl, London, who everyone believes has been in rehab for drug abuse. This is a wonderfully spooky and atmospheric YA gothic novel that is not only completely unconcerned about men and romantic plotlines, and completely absorbed with the relationship between Ruby (who is something like what I picture Allison DiLaurentis from Pretty Little Liars would be like if she were older and had a sister, or the titular Rebecca from Daphne DuMaurier's novel) and Chloe.
The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress: Note: this is the book I read flying home from WisCon while half-dead. This is an Edwardian Steampunk book about 3 assistants who band together to become a super-heroine team. No, really, there's a scene where they all sit down to choose their super hero code names and, had I not been in the middle of a crowded plane and thus expected to act like a mature adult, my inner 13-year-old would have taken over, clutched my fists to my mouth, and let out a high-pitched girlish squeal of delight. So, anyway, Cora, and inventor's assistant, Michiko, a fight-instructor's assistant, and Nellie, a magician's assistant, all stumble across a dead body one night after a ball they all performed at. HIJINKS ENSUE. Hijinks unfortunately often consisting of boys, but also consisting of getting drunk, confronting "mad scientists," creative B&E, fights, inventions, superheroine costumes, investigations, fights, and bonding. There are a lot of groany orientalism cliches with Michiko (though fewer than I'd braced myself for) and the book sometimes thinks it's cleverer than it actually is, but overall, I thought it was a lot of fun.
Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaugh: Note: This is the book that I was reading at WisCon when hibernating/everything but my eyes was dead. This book somehow manages to successfully combine Greek Mythology (and especially the Trojan War), the apocalypse, and Arthuriana into a story about a comic book writer who goes home after learning her father is dying and discovers that he and her ancestors have been the keepers of a storeroom that hold all of history and mythology's magic artifact. (Yes, her basement is Warehouse 13. It was published in 2010, so Vaughn and SyFy probably had the idea around the same time.) World War III is gearing up (wreaking havoc on Our Heroine, Evie's, plotlines) various immortals and mythic figures, lead by Hera, the only surviving member of the Greek Pantheon, is trying to gain access to the storeroom, along with Sinon, (the Greek warrior from The Aeneid, who pretended to be a defector to convince the Trojans to take the wooden horse inside the city walls) who was snatched from Troy by Apollo and made Apollo's immortal sex slave (literally) and hopes the storeroom has a weapon that can kill him. Somewhere along the way, Arthur and Merlin show up and effectively declare themselves Evie's sidekicks as part of team Save The Storeroom. (Well, Arthur does, Merlin is more dragged along, grumping the whole way.) Lots and lots of stuff going on, but Vaughn pulls it all together pretty well, and I enjoyed it a lot. Warnings, though, for off-page m/m slave rape that goes on for decades inbetween flashbacks.
What do you think you'll read next?
Not sure. I have some books that I got at WisCon that I really want to get to, but also have some books from the library that I renewed just before leaving for WisCon.
What are you currently reading
Nothing, ATM. Finished my plane-reading book last night before bed.
What did you recently finish reading?
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. I'm glad that this time, when Annabeth got a quest, it was actually about her. (IIRC, when she had an official quest in the first series, it still ended up being mostly about Percy. Really, it's a good thing I like Percy.) The humor is still there, not to mention the characterization and entertaining takes on mythology, and I'm glad that the series is considerably more diverse now, but I think Riordan may be starting to have a few too many things going at once now. I mean, I can't even remember if Jason orr Frank had any POV chapters. (Though, in Jason's case, I may just not have noticed them. There's nothing particularly wrong with Jason [aside from being named after a Greek hero i'm not exactly fond of], but there's nothing incredibly right with him, either, he's just kinda inoffensively but uninterestingly there.) And yet, I'm pretty sure we'll also be getting Nico chapters in the next book, and despite the potential overpopulation of narrators, I can't help but think Reyna is due some POV chapters, too.
The Demon Catchers of Milan by Kat Beyers. YA about Mia, a girl who, after being possessed by a demon, is carted off to Italy by her father's estranged relatives to learn to be a demon hunter. It takes a little while to get going and has a bit much family drama and "Oh look! Italy!" and not enough supernaturlal worldbuilding and demon hunting, but generally pretty solid and enjoyable, though it's very much a book meant to be the first in a series.
Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong. I have no particular thoughts about the plot of this one, but i enjoyed it. This is the first (only?) book in the series where part of it was from a male character's POV. Which I raise an eyebrow at in a series titled "Women of the Otherworld," but at least it was Lucas, who at least is one of the few men in the series who I like. This is also the first (only?) book in the series with POC narrators (Lucas is Cuban and Hope, the other narrator, is Indian). I was disappointed to find the Hope/Karl relationship having some of the same issues as Elena/Clayton, though not nearly to the same degree, and in a much more palatable form.
Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma: Two years ago, Chloe found a dead body floating in a boat in the reservoir near their hometown, at a sight where another town is said to be under the water, still intact, citizens and all. Chloe was promptly removed from her half-sister, Ruby's, care by her father, their mother having effectively abandoned them a while back. Ruby vows to return things to exactly the way the were before, and to bring Chloe back once she's done so. When she does bring Chloe back, she does so without Chloe's father's permission, and one of the first people Chloe encounters is the dead girl, London, who everyone believes has been in rehab for drug abuse. This is a wonderfully spooky and atmospheric YA gothic novel that is not only completely unconcerned about men and romantic plotlines, and completely absorbed with the relationship between Ruby (who is something like what I picture Allison DiLaurentis from Pretty Little Liars would be like if she were older and had a sister, or the titular Rebecca from Daphne DuMaurier's novel) and Chloe.
The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress: Note: this is the book I read flying home from WisCon while half-dead. This is an Edwardian Steampunk book about 3 assistants who band together to become a super-heroine team. No, really, there's a scene where they all sit down to choose their super hero code names and, had I not been in the middle of a crowded plane and thus expected to act like a mature adult, my inner 13-year-old would have taken over, clutched my fists to my mouth, and let out a high-pitched girlish squeal of delight. So, anyway, Cora, and inventor's assistant, Michiko, a fight-instructor's assistant, and Nellie, a magician's assistant, all stumble across a dead body one night after a ball they all performed at. HIJINKS ENSUE. Hijinks unfortunately often consisting of boys, but also consisting of getting drunk, confronting "mad scientists," creative B&E, fights, inventions, superheroine costumes, investigations, fights, and bonding. There are a lot of groany orientalism cliches with Michiko (though fewer than I'd braced myself for) and the book sometimes thinks it's cleverer than it actually is, but overall, I thought it was a lot of fun.
Discord's Apple by Carrie Vaugh: Note: This is the book that I was reading at WisCon when hibernating/everything but my eyes was dead. This book somehow manages to successfully combine Greek Mythology (and especially the Trojan War), the apocalypse, and Arthuriana into a story about a comic book writer who goes home after learning her father is dying and discovers that he and her ancestors have been the keepers of a storeroom that hold all of history and mythology's magic artifact. (Yes, her basement is Warehouse 13. It was published in 2010, so Vaughn and SyFy probably had the idea around the same time.) World War III is gearing up (wreaking havoc on Our Heroine, Evie's, plotlines) various immortals and mythic figures, lead by Hera, the only surviving member of the Greek Pantheon, is trying to gain access to the storeroom, along with Sinon, (the Greek warrior from The Aeneid, who pretended to be a defector to convince the Trojans to take the wooden horse inside the city walls) who was snatched from Troy by Apollo and made Apollo's immortal sex slave (literally) and hopes the storeroom has a weapon that can kill him. Somewhere along the way, Arthur and Merlin show up and effectively declare themselves Evie's sidekicks as part of team Save The Storeroom. (Well, Arthur does, Merlin is more dragged along, grumping the whole way.) Lots and lots of stuff going on, but Vaughn pulls it all together pretty well, and I enjoyed it a lot. Warnings, though, for off-page m/m slave rape that goes on for decades inbetween flashbacks.
What do you think you'll read next?
Not sure. I have some books that I got at WisCon that I really want to get to, but also have some books from the library that I renewed just before leaving for WisCon.