books, books, books: 2016 jan-mar

[meiface]

I figured I should make this post before April was over and I was even further behind! As it stands, travel and hosting visitors and general work/life obligations have set me back on my list of things to read and watch. It just keeps getting longer, not shorter!

1. Snowdrops and Scandalbroth by Barbara Metzger - Cute and different premise! Where a guy is determined to stay a virgin but has to hire a fake mistress to keep up his reputation. Enjoyable but I did realize Metzger writes a little more "hijinks and antics" than I really prefer to read about, with characters that are supposed to be funny but often feel like caricatures. I find it hard to really like or connect with her protagonists.


2. Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer - Heyer is always a delight, because I know she really fleshes out her world and characters with details and personality. I liked the sensible heroine who resented a little being forced her matronly position as mentor, but she really does like her silly niece. She's responsible in a way that's nice when I'm tired of flightly and irresponsible teenage heroines, but not too boring or cardboard. She and her hero really got to build a rapport and relationship, I think, although he's quite different from the stereotypical Rich Aristocratic Asshole hero. He seemed like an older dude who'd lived his life and has settled into being happy with who he is, which is nice, as he read as likeable and centered. A lot of romance heroes are still trying to figure out who they are or lashing out against expectations for them.


3. Murder with Mirrors by Agatha Christie - I think I'd read this before but I didn't remember the outcome. The usual "house murder" kind of story where all the suspects were members of the household, and Miss Marple is the visiting friend/detective whose investigation into the details of the death are surreptitious and unassuming, as she is. Some red herrings, some narrative as well as character driven misdirection, a nice explanation. Solid Christie mystery, though some weird opinions on mental health/juvenile delinquents.


4. Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein - Always charming, and the illustrations are so key. Sometimes just as silly as it appears, as weird as a child's imagination, and sometimes with deeper layers. I liked this one because I have a fondness for Alice in Wonderland and therefore references to it.


5. At Bertram's Hotel by Agatha Christie - A totally new Marple mystery I hadn't read before! Set a little more contemporary with a lot of commentary about how London/society had changed so rapidly and how some were still clinging to the nostalgic past, those good ol' days. Christie touches on this theme a lot, I think, especially with Marple stories, but I think she, or at least Miss Marple, is pretty equable about facing the world as it is. You can lament some of the past and how things used to be, but you have to get on with the times.You can't live in the past, a point made pretty clear. Anyway, I liked to read about the hotel and descriptions of that era of the past a lot, so the atmosphere was really interesting to me, more so than the mystery itself.


6. Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat - I had to reread this and book 2 before I got the finally-released and long awaited book 3! I'd been reading along on LJ years ago, having hopped onto the train sometime about halfway through her publishing book 2 chapters. I remember when Vere was still Rabat, the anticipation for the long-awaited sex scene, gasping at the first kiss, being thrilled that she was going to publish, buying up the self-pubbed books when she still had S.U. Pacat as the title, being even more thrilled she got a legit deal with Penguin, and then knowing it'd be years before we finally saw the completion and release of book 3. Worth it.
   
   Rereading Book 1 was interesting, knowing that I'd end up loving Laurent and remembering how much I hated him at the start. You start to see the clues of how carefully she writes and builds scenes that give you moments of grudging respect, or realizing there was more to the story than you the reader (or Damen) knew, and so on.


7. Prince's Gambit by C.S. Pacat - Book 2 was a delight of tropes. A DELIGHT. Undercover in a tavern, pressed together while hiding from searchers,random brothel scenes, badass tribes of warrior women, both Laurent and Damen getting to show off their skillsets. I really liked that they felt more like equals in this, with Damen getting to command an army and have his opinion be listened to, and you could see how Laurent was starting to respect him. And Damen of course learning more about Vere's history and Laurent's past and seeing Laurent's machinations in a new light. It was really delightful in terms of emotional tropes too, and honestly one of the best anticipatory crescendos to the climax of the book. SUCH a great ending.


8. Kings Rising by C.S. Pacat - WORTH THE WAIT. The hotly debated question is answered. A new dynamic in the relationship introduced. More plot and lots and lots of feelings, and she didn't forget to keep the humor. Praise the heavens for Charls. I could have done with a longer and more fleshed out climax, but I am happy anyway. I may see how it holds up on a reread. The ending is a happy one, which is satisfying after three books, but there was always meant to be an epilogue (that's separate) so there is an unfinished feel too. For now, there is fic. Though I'm working on overcoming my reticence because fic can't quite replicate Pacat's lovely, precise writing. But it can fill some emotional wants, and some of the AUs are fun.


9. A Caribbean Mystery Agatha Christie - A reread! Except I didn't remember the killer. I never remember the killer. I can spot the clues that are important, but not always piece them together. Christie does a great job with painting a whole host of characters, as always. Contains some period racism.


10. Macdonald Hall Series by Gordon Korman - One of my favorite series since my 6th grade teacher introduced us to The Zucchini Warriors. Never over these silly school antics. Bruno/Boots forever, but with their cast of supporters please.
    · This Can't Be Happening at Macdonald Hall - The great intro to all the ridiculousness but still shaky as we flesh out the boys' personalities and their core friend group. Oh dear Elmer.
    · Beware the Fish - One of my favorites, totally unbelievable but so funny. Definitely an attitude towards (domestic) terrorism pre-9/11 though.
    · Go Jump in the Pool! - Another of my favorites, because the talent show was hysterical and I remember reading that chapter a lot. So much Bruno/Boots here, and a great use of the rest of the cast, committee, school, and of course Miss Scrimmage's lovely girls.
    · The War with Mr. Wizzle - Glorious. Pranks irl turn me off. They're great in schoolboy antics in fiction. Bruno is a genius. Also totally unbelievable with the science and resolution, but it's so great I don't care.
    · The Zucchini Warriors - Ten times funnier now that I'm into sports (I wasn't in sixth grade), and Cathy is my favorite. Oh god, crossdressing hijinks and the inescapable Elmer Drimsdale science experiments. Great intro of The Beast and The Blabbermouth.
    · Macdonald Hall Goes Hollywood - So much secondhand embarrassment here for Bruno and the girls acting like batshit stans made this less fun, but overall still hysterical. Jordie Jones is great and no one can beat the spotted tundra leopard in the woods.


11. Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie - A series of shorts, all enjoyable. I think I actually solved some of them but the others were open. Quick and egnaging read; Christie is always good for that.


12. Unnatural by Joanna Chambers - Original m/m tangential to her Enlightened series! Which I enjoyed a lot so I was definitely looking forward to reading this. I liked it even more actually, as I think this ship dynamic hits my buttons even more. Childhood friends full of hookups and angst and misunderstandings and pining. Sign me up. One party being dumb as hell for what he thinks are noble and self-sacrificing reasons? Full of guilt and inability to stay away? Yep, yep. A lot of flashbacks and backstory revealed that way, so that may be a narrative tic some like or don't. Worked okay for me. I liked James being a geeky naturalist into flora and fauna; you don't see that a lot. And satisfyingly resolved emotional turmoil, I feel.


13. I Want to Go Home! by Gordon Korman - I wonder how this book can be so short every time I read it because it packs SO MUCH GREATNESS into it. Rudy hates being at summer camp and enlists new bff Mike to escape, thwarted constantly by camp counselors and lack of a bailing bucket. Rudy is amazing and the camp counselors are comic gold. Mike is a great foil. And totally in love with Rudy. I mean this fic is basically a canon sequel as far as I'm concerned.


14. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean - Classic regency romance, with a straitlaced older heroine wanting to break some rules and live it up before feeling like her entire life has passed her by, and of course among those bucket list items are things of passion and love and that one dude she's crushed on forever. But this was the classic in all the best ways. Every trope hit perfectly. Broke my streak of Heyer and Heyer-esque regencies with one following the modern love of sexy feelings and urges. But well done and hot. Crossdressing here too! Fun and likeable background characters. Lots of feelings.


15. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie - A CLASSIC. FOR A REASON. Ms. Christie, you are a master. Great set up and clues dropped but I don't think anyone really figures it out until the reveal. I don't read enough across the mystery genre to know if this particular idea is now common but, regardless, it was definitely unexpected at the time, and unexpected to me.


16. One Piece Vols 43-66 by Oda Eiichiro - End of the Enies Lobby arc (SO GREAT, so epic) and breathlessly through Saobody (really creative and loved the glimpsed into more of the world and the Celestial Dragons) and then the Summit War. Oh god, Amazon Lily was a delight, but the Impel Down arc was just so much happening, all leading up to Marineford before you have a chance to catch your breath. A flurry of character intros and backstories, so much new info dropped, and before you have a chance to even process it all, more shit keeps happening and Whitebeard shows up and then, god. That feeling in your chest when they rescue Ace, and he turns right around and rescues Luffy -- because of course his little brother still needs looking out for. And then that end, and the flashback to childhood and Sabo, so that when you return to reality, everything hurts more. I'm sorry, these are just TEARS ON MY FACE. AND IN MY HEART.
    
    But I finally got past the timeskip where I stopped years ago and got through the Fishman Island arc, which was lovely. I love that world and the silly giant crying mermaid and the history there and the foreshadowing of Poseidon's role to come. We're well and truly into the New World now, setting up some kind of fight with one of the Four Emperors in the future. But for now -- onto Punk Hazard.

Separate from all this, I watched Zootopia and adore it. Thoughtful and timely in its message, but also hilarious and sweet. Great, great characters, funny little tributes and shoutouts, and Shakira's song is great.