Ash Wednesday
And so we reach Ash Wednesday, at least this year it feels like there has been a proper gap between Christmas and Lent! We blessed a new set of Lenten vestments this evening at the Ash Wednesday Eucharist (the things the priests & servers wear). We've had a very mismatched set for a long time and these match both each other and the altar frontal and hangings and they're very pleasing <3
Last month was a very good month for books, a few train journeys and a holiday add up to lots of books :D
February reviews
House of Shattered Wings - Aliette de Bodard There's just so much in this book it's hard to know where to start? I enjoyed teasing apart the different mythologies it borrows from and the idea of a world of Fallen angels is interesting but there was a little bit of me that felt as if nothing in the book was quite as interesting as the stories that were referred to in its own past. I enjoyed the central characters and got caught up in it, don't get me wrong, but I wanted to know more about the set up and then when it appeared we were getting some returning characters who might show that I felt they were somewhat wasted. BUT I do want to read the next book because Madeline was probably my favourite character and from the sounds of it she's at the centre of the next book.
In Morningstar's Shadow - Aliette de Bodard Three(free) short stories set before House of Shattered Wings (they're on Aliette's website if you want to look). I think the first one, set during the War, was the most interesting and actually I really wanted to know more about Elisabeth and her experiences but that's always the danger with short stories set in bigger worlds, the main plot doesn't follow the thread you want.
The Housekeeper's Tale - Tessa Boase I put this on my to read list after visiting Uppark last year and seeing the quote from HG Wells about his mother being the worst housekeeper in the world. The chapter on Sarah Wells is brilliant, and being able to picture the house and servant's quarters precisely was really interesting. Tessa Boase has done a great job of telling the stories of 6 women who mostly appear tangentially in other people's stories and outlining the spaces they moved through- Sarah Wells might not have been a great housekeeper but her situation was nearly impossible and the other stories she tells of a housekeeper accused of being a thief, one (married) woman dismissed after becoming pregnant and finishing with Vanessa Bell's "Angel of Charleston" are all different and all completely fascinating. They're also a great advert for archives and why piles of recipes & accounts and shopping lists can sometimes be at least as fascinating as famous people's diaries.
The Complete Maus - Art Spiegelman Ever since I started reading graphic novels I've been meaning to read this but it's taken a while to finally get round to it. It's not an easy read, not just because it's about the Holocaust but also because it's about a very real family and I hadn't realised how much of the book actually looked at the "present day" (1980s when Speigelman was writing it) and his relationship with his father and his memories of his mother who killed herself. Part of what makes it so hard hitting and effective is that everyone involved is so obviously real. These aren't saints or particularly worthy people who survived the Holocaust they're just people with all their hopes and dreams and foibles and annoyances. It really is every bit as good as I'd been told and I think it will stand up to repeat readings too.
The End of the Road - Jonathan Oliver (ed) Slightly too much horror for my liking, though I guess when you're theme is the road that's quite likely. There were some really interesting stories though- one about a soul leaving the afterlife/hell for the one month a year they're allowed and a Canterbury Tales sort of story on the way to a Temple.
The Reluctant Widow - Georgette Heyer An Heyer reread because I found a copy for myself in a charity shop (previously I read Mum's copies). This isn't one of my favourites, the hero is altogether too sure of himself and domineering and Elinor complains of it throughout and then collapses into his arms in the end and of course she does but it's still irritating. I'd have liked him to be wrong at least once. Still I always enjoy her books.
Ossian's Ride - Fred Hoyle I think I picked this up at Nine Worlds? Though I'm not 100% sure. It's actually three novels bound together but they're not connected so I'll count them separately (and I think leave breaks between each book!) Fred Hoyle is very much a scientist and mathematician and reviews I've seen suggest all the science behind this book is about right but it was also all over my head! Not that I needed to understand. In one way this is just a very good romp- a student trying to break his way into a very secretive organisation based in the south of Ireland. There's a mystery at the heart (though I got there quite a long time before the hero, admittedly his own narration suggests he should have guessed sooner). Fun but I'm not convinced it will stick with me.
The Princess of Cleves - Madame de La Fayette This is a very early novel, 1678, and I believe one that's studied in French schools? It starts with a LOT of people with place names and I got very confused and nearly gave up but I'm glad I stuck with it. It's a romance really but the Princess at the centre of it, despite the best efforts of several people around her, very much has her own mind and decides her own fate (whether sensibly or not is a whole other question!) I enjoyed it once I'd got the character set in my own mind.
The Pickwick Papers - Charles Dickens ♥ I've never actually read the Pickwick Papers before and most of what I know of them has been gathered from other books (principally Little Women) I am SO glad I finally got around to them. They're very gentle and very funny and full of instantly recognisable characters who I felt I already knew because so many of them are referenced elsewhere. I didn't know all the adventures they get into though, the debtors prison section is fascinating and there's quite a lot of Dickens the social reformer in there. Definitely worth a read if you haven't.
This entry was originally posted at http://morganmuffle.dreamwidth.org/1395092.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Last month was a very good month for books, a few train journeys and a holiday add up to lots of books :D
- House of Shattered Wings - Aliette de Bodard
- In Morningstar's Shadow - Aliette de Bodard
- The Housekeeper's Tale - Tessa Boase
- The Complete Maus - Art Spiegelman
- The End of the Road - Jonathan Oliver (ed)
- The Reluctant Widow - Georgette Heyer
- Ossian's Ride - Fred Hoyle
- The Princess of Cleves - Madame de La Fayette
- The Pickwick Papers - Charles Dickens
February reviews
House of Shattered Wings - Aliette de Bodard There's just so much in this book it's hard to know where to start? I enjoyed teasing apart the different mythologies it borrows from and the idea of a world of Fallen angels is interesting but there was a little bit of me that felt as if nothing in the book was quite as interesting as the stories that were referred to in its own past. I enjoyed the central characters and got caught up in it, don't get me wrong, but I wanted to know more about the set up and then when it appeared we were getting some returning characters who might show that I felt they were somewhat wasted. BUT I do want to read the next book because Madeline was probably my favourite character and from the sounds of it she's at the centre of the next book.
In Morningstar's Shadow - Aliette de Bodard Three(free) short stories set before House of Shattered Wings (they're on Aliette's website if you want to look). I think the first one, set during the War, was the most interesting and actually I really wanted to know more about Elisabeth and her experiences but that's always the danger with short stories set in bigger worlds, the main plot doesn't follow the thread you want.
The Housekeeper's Tale - Tessa Boase I put this on my to read list after visiting Uppark last year and seeing the quote from HG Wells about his mother being the worst housekeeper in the world. The chapter on Sarah Wells is brilliant, and being able to picture the house and servant's quarters precisely was really interesting. Tessa Boase has done a great job of telling the stories of 6 women who mostly appear tangentially in other people's stories and outlining the spaces they moved through- Sarah Wells might not have been a great housekeeper but her situation was nearly impossible and the other stories she tells of a housekeeper accused of being a thief, one (married) woman dismissed after becoming pregnant and finishing with Vanessa Bell's "Angel of Charleston" are all different and all completely fascinating. They're also a great advert for archives and why piles of recipes & accounts and shopping lists can sometimes be at least as fascinating as famous people's diaries.
The Complete Maus - Art Spiegelman Ever since I started reading graphic novels I've been meaning to read this but it's taken a while to finally get round to it. It's not an easy read, not just because it's about the Holocaust but also because it's about a very real family and I hadn't realised how much of the book actually looked at the "present day" (1980s when Speigelman was writing it) and his relationship with his father and his memories of his mother who killed herself. Part of what makes it so hard hitting and effective is that everyone involved is so obviously real. These aren't saints or particularly worthy people who survived the Holocaust they're just people with all their hopes and dreams and foibles and annoyances. It really is every bit as good as I'd been told and I think it will stand up to repeat readings too.
The End of the Road - Jonathan Oliver (ed) Slightly too much horror for my liking, though I guess when you're theme is the road that's quite likely. There were some really interesting stories though- one about a soul leaving the afterlife/hell for the one month a year they're allowed and a Canterbury Tales sort of story on the way to a Temple.
The Reluctant Widow - Georgette Heyer An Heyer reread because I found a copy for myself in a charity shop (previously I read Mum's copies). This isn't one of my favourites, the hero is altogether too sure of himself and domineering and Elinor complains of it throughout and then collapses into his arms in the end and of course she does but it's still irritating. I'd have liked him to be wrong at least once. Still I always enjoy her books.
Ossian's Ride - Fred Hoyle I think I picked this up at Nine Worlds? Though I'm not 100% sure. It's actually three novels bound together but they're not connected so I'll count them separately (and I think leave breaks between each book!) Fred Hoyle is very much a scientist and mathematician and reviews I've seen suggest all the science behind this book is about right but it was also all over my head! Not that I needed to understand. In one way this is just a very good romp- a student trying to break his way into a very secretive organisation based in the south of Ireland. There's a mystery at the heart (though I got there quite a long time before the hero, admittedly his own narration suggests he should have guessed sooner). Fun but I'm not convinced it will stick with me.
The Princess of Cleves - Madame de La Fayette This is a very early novel, 1678, and I believe one that's studied in French schools? It starts with a LOT of people with place names and I got very confused and nearly gave up but I'm glad I stuck with it. It's a romance really but the Princess at the centre of it, despite the best efforts of several people around her, very much has her own mind and decides her own fate (whether sensibly or not is a whole other question!) I enjoyed it once I'd got the character set in my own mind.
The Pickwick Papers - Charles Dickens ♥ I've never actually read the Pickwick Papers before and most of what I know of them has been gathered from other books (principally Little Women) I am SO glad I finally got around to them. They're very gentle and very funny and full of instantly recognisable characters who I felt I already knew because so many of them are referenced elsewhere. I didn't know all the adventures they get into though, the debtors prison section is fascinating and there's quite a lot of Dickens the social reformer in there. Definitely worth a read if you haven't.
This entry was originally posted at http://morganmuffle.dreamwidth.org/1395092.html. Please comment there using OpenID.