(no subject)
It doesn't feel like November at all with this sun and warmth but apparently it really is which means it's time for October's books! It's been a fairly quiet month reading-wise but I've had a couple of much longer things on the go as well that I think I'll finish soon.
Lumberjanes #6- Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson & Brooke Allen Nice fake out to start <3 and I LOVE Diana quite a stupid amount because she really thinks the Lumberjanes are a lot more with it than they are! Lots of lovely bonding and ridiculous planning in this one too PLUS the ending suggested more Jen in #7 so I'm impatient for that now!
Pope Joan- Emmanual Royidis, Lawrence Durrell (trans) Apparently this is a fairly free translation by Lawrence Durrell so I don't know how funny the original is but this version kept making me giggle which several times prompted people to ask what I was reading and I have to say the name of the book got me a few odd looks. Fun & short.
Time is the Fire: The Best of Connie Willis- Connie Willis Connie Willis is always pretty good her so her best is amazing. I will always happily reread Fire Watch of course but there were some other new fabourites here too- The Winds of Marble Arch was nicely unnerving, All Seated on the Ground was funny (and I worked it out before the story got to the point) and I loved Even the Queen because who writes SFF about menstruation?
Blood of Tyrants- Naomi Novik Amnesia is such a common fanfic trope it was quite weird seeing it done in a novel in a very similar way- weird but good! I liked the way it allowed us to see how far Laurence has come but also how he's the same person in a lot of ways. How he became attached so quickly to Temeraire despite his reservations, the way he treated Granby and Little... a lot of details. Also when we finally got Tharkay I might have almost dropped my book to clutch at my face in sheer joy (shush) <3 I'm also hugely enjoying the way that Naomi has given the French some very admirable qualities and not made the British or their allies right in all situations.
Pyongyang- Guy Delisle After reading Jerusalem I really wanted to try another of Guy Delisle's graphic novels and this one about North Korea was just as fascinating. Of course his movement is significantly more limited and his time in North Korea was spent on his own so before his family as the other book I read but it's interesting to see the day to day struggles alongside the bigger questions about living and working on North Korea. Definitely going to keep reading more of his stuff if I can.
The Periodic Table- Primo Levi I read If This Is a Man a long time ago and I've been meaning to read the Periodic Table ever since. It's a very different book of course, although it does touch on his time Auschwitz it's much more about his life before an after. The use of elements to hang the stories he tells on is clever and, as a non-chemist, it did give me a feel for the elements even when they were unfamiliar. He's a great writer too and draws you in whether he's talking about a problem of chemistry or getting in touch with his supervisor at Auschwitz. I do want to reread If This Is a Man now though as well as trying some of his other books.
In other news I thought my cough might finally be improving after a proper night's sleep last night <3 however today has not continued the improvement *sighs* still at least I'm less tired now!
- Lumberjanes #6- Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson & Brooke Allen
- Pope Joan- Emmanual Royidis, Lawrence Durrell (trans)
- Time is the Fire: The Best of Connie Willis- Connie Willis
- Blood of Tyrants- Naomi Novik
- Pyongyang- Guy Delisle
- The Periodic Table- Primo Levi
Lumberjanes #6- Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson & Brooke Allen Nice fake out to start <3 and I LOVE Diana quite a stupid amount because she really thinks the Lumberjanes are a lot more with it than they are! Lots of lovely bonding and ridiculous planning in this one too PLUS the ending suggested more Jen in #7 so I'm impatient for that now!
Pope Joan- Emmanual Royidis, Lawrence Durrell (trans) Apparently this is a fairly free translation by Lawrence Durrell so I don't know how funny the original is but this version kept making me giggle which several times prompted people to ask what I was reading and I have to say the name of the book got me a few odd looks. Fun & short.
Time is the Fire: The Best of Connie Willis- Connie Willis Connie Willis is always pretty good her so her best is amazing. I will always happily reread Fire Watch of course but there were some other new fabourites here too- The Winds of Marble Arch was nicely unnerving, All Seated on the Ground was funny (and I worked it out before the story got to the point) and I loved Even the Queen because who writes SFF about menstruation?
Blood of Tyrants- Naomi Novik Amnesia is such a common fanfic trope it was quite weird seeing it done in a novel in a very similar way- weird but good! I liked the way it allowed us to see how far Laurence has come but also how he's the same person in a lot of ways. How he became attached so quickly to Temeraire despite his reservations, the way he treated Granby and Little... a lot of details. Also when we finally got Tharkay I might have almost dropped my book to clutch at my face in sheer joy (shush) <3 I'm also hugely enjoying the way that Naomi has given the French some very admirable qualities and not made the British or their allies right in all situations.
Pyongyang- Guy Delisle After reading Jerusalem I really wanted to try another of Guy Delisle's graphic novels and this one about North Korea was just as fascinating. Of course his movement is significantly more limited and his time in North Korea was spent on his own so before his family as the other book I read but it's interesting to see the day to day struggles alongside the bigger questions about living and working on North Korea. Definitely going to keep reading more of his stuff if I can.
The Periodic Table- Primo Levi I read If This Is a Man a long time ago and I've been meaning to read the Periodic Table ever since. It's a very different book of course, although it does touch on his time Auschwitz it's much more about his life before an after. The use of elements to hang the stories he tells on is clever and, as a non-chemist, it did give me a feel for the elements even when they were unfamiliar. He's a great writer too and draws you in whether he's talking about a problem of chemistry or getting in touch with his supervisor at Auschwitz. I do want to reread If This Is a Man now though as well as trying some of his other books.
In other news I thought my cough might finally be improving after a proper night's sleep last night <3 however today has not continued the improvement *sighs* still at least I'm less tired now!