I'm Done.

[sisterite]

Finished The Night Circus tonight.

If you haven't read it, go get it. This book... It is seriously one of the very best books I have ever read. Absolutely. I need a copy of this. I want a copy that is loved, and worn, and dogeared, and has notes and highlighting in it. I was a copy that has been lived in and enjoyed

Comments

[juushika]

Not gonna lie, Perdido is long and dense, and overwritten which doesn't help things. My copy was 710 pages, which is sort of embarrassing—I like a substantial novel well enough, but at a certain point you're just gunning for length, not greatness. Meiville has a sort of fetish for complexity, and in some ways it works: the world is vast and nearly believable and often fascinating; in many other ways, though, it's just thesaurus abuse and intentional confusing plotting as if feeling intricate and dense will make it intricate and dense, and as if those adjectives immediately make a work more meaningful.

I dunno, Meiville and I just don't get along. I hear such good things that I want to keep trying, but I have a rule that after I've banged my head against an author ~3 times and they're still not working for me, I have to stop trying for at least a few years. THAT SAID I hear his newest novel, Railsea, is fun and speedy instead of dense and plodding; it's young adult, but not as young as Un Lun Dun, and on the fringes of steampunk. It does play off of Moby Dick, which may be intimidating of you (like me) haven't read that source material, but it may be a taste of Meiville that's more open to both your approach to reading and the fact that you've just come off a particularly readable text and right now dense Meiville is really really really dense Meiville.

I have no idea how Kindle/ebook borrowing works from library, other than knowing and being glad that it exists—it's a cool idea! sad though that it seems to not be as speedy/streamlined as one might want. You're under the King County Library System, right?

For what it's worth, my secret to library use is one part holds and one part reading books from a few+ years ago which are no longer in such high demand—you can go through the latter on whim of the moment while the former slowly trickle in. I don't know how well that transfers to digital books, but I assume it can't be too different.

Edit: So yeah same system, which makes sense, except that licences take the place of physical books—but the number of licences often fails to meet demands, no surprise. Selection looks heavy on classics and new releases, but there may be a gap in between of older modern books; that also makes sense (before ebooks were big and all), but could create all number of frustrations in terms of my older & less popular book advice. This is just me thinking aloud, I know; mostly I just wish it were easier for you! I'm sorry.

Edit the last I swear: Your other option—if you are under the KCLS—may be to also get a Seattle Public Library card. You can check out books from home (not just by going into the library), right? SPL should have more licences on more books, given their size, and so may give you more options with similar convenience; getting a card should be easy, it looks like all of King County qualifies. If you're already under their system though then please ignore this message. >.>

[sisterite]

Yup, SPL! \o/ It's a good system, for what it is; the ability to download books at home, when they're available, is pretty freaking awesome. And they have licenses available, usually, in two or three separate formats, so that's nice.

But yes; I can put books on hold from home. The problem actually lies in getting to the library to take books out / return them. I like checking them out from the downtown library; I just love that library. But I discovered (today, in fact) that the Kirkland library is right around the corner from where I work, though, so it sounds like I'll be able to take out more book books.

... Now I have to see what I can find that's I really want to read that's available. :3 And maybe wander to the library tomorrow on my lunch break.

[sisterite]

Ugh, and I just realized that the KCLS is completely different than the SPL system. Ughhhhh. Signed up for a KCLS card; that'll take 2 weeks to get here. Wah wah wah, I'll have to get over to Seattle to drop off a book I borrowed recently, anyway, so ... Meh.

[juushika]

Ah okay that does change things some—but not completely. SPL will hold a book at your branch of choice for a week and gives you some micromanaging ability over holds, so even if you're not getting into Seattle daily you could make a weekly/biweekly/occasional trip in to drop off books and pick up a number of holds. I still don't know how digital checkouts work (do you have to do those in the library? it seems like you should be able to do them from home...) so maybe that's still an option for the SPL system even if you aren't making it into the city? KCLS is a surprisingly large system and also does interbranch loans; I don't know how long they hold holds, but if it's easier to get to that may be less a problem.

Getting your hands on books through libraries and/or when money is tight can be troublesome, oh how well do I know, but I find that 1) letting the system work for you especially through inter-branch holds and 2) keeping a long to be read list including outdated/not currently popular books (which are easier to get faster, at least in analog) can make it much more manageable. Here's hoping that KCLS turns out to be an easy around the corner solution!

[juushika]

Yay okay the secret with big multi-branch city libraries is putting books on hold and having them shipped free to your local branch. You'll end up with a few-day wait for books that are already on shelves but at a different branch, but it's not nearly as long as waiting on a hold list and it expands your reading potential considerably. I tend to have mixed to poor luck browsing local shelves—downtown/main branches are a thing of beauty, but selection locally is hit and miss. But holds, holds, all the holds. Have no guilt about making them reserve or ship a book: it's what they're there for. I love the Portland library system to death, and the two sound similar; if you can easily get there to pick up paper books in person, you have a treasure trove of not currently popular but still wonderful books just a few days away.