Introducing Reading Wednesday
I'm totally stealing someone else's idea and instituting Reading Wednesday where I blather about the cool (or not so cool) stuff I've been reading lately.
What I Just Finished:
Ms. Marvel vols. 7 & 9 - I used to buy the monthly issues of this comic, but those things are expensive and mama's got a few new bills to pay. Luckily, Barnes & Nobel had a buy 2, get one free sale, so I picked these up along with some Saga. Kamala is just as charming and wholesome as I remember her. At one point, she defeats an evil computer virus by modeling kindness on the internet with the help of her gamer friends. She's basically the epitome of all the best things about Generation Z. Her circle of friends are also wonderful and Zoe has managed to go from my least favorite characters to in my top 5 thanks to her coming out story and her speech at the old folks home. Now I just need to track down volume 8 and I'll be golden.
Throne of Glass books 1 & 2 - My friend C---- bought me the first two books in the series for a combo holiday/birthday gift a few years back and now the series is ending. Before I read and buy the last book, I figured I should re-read the series so I can remember what the heck is going on. I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it the first time around, but, for whatever reason, this re-read has been a bit of a slog. The main character is like a fun and mysterious, considerably more murderous, female Han Solo, the world building is interesting, and the over arching plot of both the individual books and the series is compelling. In book one, the main character must participate in a competition, the results of which may win her her freedom or doom her to a slave mine. Unfortunately, the author glosses over large parts of the competition in favor of boy drama and sneaking into balls. In book two, she spends so much time resisting the call, a full third of the book passes andher black best friend gets fridged before the plot really gets going. Also, the author clearly doesn't know what fencing terms like parry or riposte mean and, as someone who does, that makes fight scenes nearly unreadable.
What I'm Reading Currently:
Throne of Glass book 3 (Heir to Fire) - Literally just started it yesterday. It's a doorstop of a book, but the prose is breezy and I'm already 30 pages in.
What I'm Reading Next:
Throne of Glass book 4 - I forget what the title is. Something of Something presumably. You know these young adult fantasy novels and their naming conventions.
Honorable Mention:
"The Cost of the Confederacy" - This month's Smithsonian magazine had a troubling article about the state and federal tax payer money going to support Confederate historical sites around the country. As a historian, the myth of the good slave owner and the Lost Cause fill me with an indescribable sort of rage, so I found this article deeply troubling, especially regarding the ways the mythologization of the Confederacy is used to justify current and historical white supremacy. Even if you don't subscribe to the Smithsonian, pretty much every American public library does. I urge you to track this article down.
What I Just Finished:
Ms. Marvel vols. 7 & 9 - I used to buy the monthly issues of this comic, but those things are expensive and mama's got a few new bills to pay. Luckily, Barnes & Nobel had a buy 2, get one free sale, so I picked these up along with some Saga. Kamala is just as charming and wholesome as I remember her. At one point, she defeats an evil computer virus by modeling kindness on the internet with the help of her gamer friends. She's basically the epitome of all the best things about Generation Z. Her circle of friends are also wonderful and Zoe has managed to go from my least favorite characters to in my top 5 thanks to her coming out story and her speech at the old folks home. Now I just need to track down volume 8 and I'll be golden.
Throne of Glass books 1 & 2 - My friend C---- bought me the first two books in the series for a combo holiday/birthday gift a few years back and now the series is ending. Before I read and buy the last book, I figured I should re-read the series so I can remember what the heck is going on. I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it the first time around, but, for whatever reason, this re-read has been a bit of a slog. The main character is like a fun and mysterious, considerably more murderous, female Han Solo, the world building is interesting, and the over arching plot of both the individual books and the series is compelling. In book one, the main character must participate in a competition, the results of which may win her her freedom or doom her to a slave mine. Unfortunately, the author glosses over large parts of the competition in favor of boy drama and sneaking into balls. In book two, she spends so much time resisting the call, a full third of the book passes andher black best friend gets fridged before the plot really gets going. Also, the author clearly doesn't know what fencing terms like parry or riposte mean and, as someone who does, that makes fight scenes nearly unreadable.
What I'm Reading Currently:
Throne of Glass book 3 (Heir to Fire) - Literally just started it yesterday. It's a doorstop of a book, but the prose is breezy and I'm already 30 pages in.
What I'm Reading Next:
Throne of Glass book 4 - I forget what the title is. Something of Something presumably. You know these young adult fantasy novels and their naming conventions.
Honorable Mention:
"The Cost of the Confederacy" - This month's Smithsonian magazine had a troubling article about the state and federal tax payer money going to support Confederate historical sites around the country. As a historian, the myth of the good slave owner and the Lost Cause fill me with an indescribable sort of rage, so I found this article deeply troubling, especially regarding the ways the mythologization of the Confederacy is used to justify current and historical white supremacy. Even if you don't subscribe to the Smithsonian, pretty much every American public library does. I urge you to track this article down.