Part two! (May!)
Daphnis and Choe by Longus
Hot ancient Greek love bucolic. Found whilst browsing Pre-Raphaelite paintings, as you do. Apparently admired by Goethe. Recommended!
Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
UKL's prose is as crystalline and stately as ever. I was awfully glad to hear of Ged again in "On the High Marsh"; "The Finder" broke my heart; and I cried upon my reread of "Bones of the Earth".
Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin
UKL writing about writing. Priceless advice on novelistic prose, really.
Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan
Evocative, surreal illustrations coupled with apposite vignettes and short stories. The scenes therein will be familiar to anyone who has ever lived in Australian suburbia.
Searoad by Ursula K. Le Guin
One of UKL's more obscure works (she calls it a 'suite of stories), in terms of exposure and prose. I can't say this is a successful experiment, because it's as if UKL's going for a Woolf pastiche. And why would you need to imitate Woolf when you are UKL? Highlight is the introductory passage 'Foam Women, Rain Women'.
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
One of my new favourite novels! I read it in a sitting, late at night. The surreal plot and setting are great. I wholeheartedly agree with what Phillip K. Dick has to say about the novel. Also, George Orr! Heather! Flying sentient alien sea turtles! ♥ UKL also did a fantastic interview on this work.
Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xialu Guo
Sheer obnoxiousness of the protagonist hampered my enjoyment of the cultural exposition I could recognise from information I'd absorbed from my parents. Ah well.
Snowbone by Cat Weatherill
Charming pirate adventure novel about a race of tree-people. Very sprightly. Recommended!
Scarlett by Cathy Cassidy
Your standard tween angst novel. I felt obligated to read because I'd bought it some years ago and had never read it since then.
The Arabian Nights as translated by Hussain Haddawy
I've read different versions of the Nights over the years, but this is apparently the most faithful one, as it's based off the earliest extant Syrian script as opposed to innumerable liberal European adaptations. An extremely great read.
Driftwood by Cathy Cassidy
Liked this one more than Scarlett, but still thought the characters were somewhat callow.
Obscure Destinies by Willa Cather
I think I'd bought this book from a mother's day stall when I was still in the second grade. 'Neighbour Rosicky' is extremely beautiful.
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
Advertised as a collection of erotic feminist fairy tale , but I didn't find these sexy, exactly, which I think was the point?
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Need to read more Faulkner to form a more concrete opinion? Mine's pretty mixed at the moment.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Loathed it for more reasons than one. I like Charlotte's work infinitely more, for some reason.
Jacky Daydream by Jacqueline Wilson
Another unread relic from my lasslit days.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Probably my favourite Shakespearean play. Also, Hamlet is a jerk.
Finding Violet Park by Jenny Valentine
Silly teenage boy angst that I didn't care much for.
The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
Annoyingly sententious and anti-Semitic. Also occasionally ludicrous.
Palm-of-the-Hand Stories by Yasunari Kawabata
Kawabata's work is refreshingly subtle. Many of the better stories evoke a brisk eddies behind the breast. I think I liked the later stories more. They're the ones that provide genuine insight into family and love and life.
Now and Forever by Ray Bradbury
'Somewhere a Band is Playing' is interesting; 'Leviathan '99' is just… eh.
Seaward by Susan Cooper
Another favourite of the batch. I had not read any Cooper beforehand (shokku!) but I really liked this. The slow pace, ambiguity in setting, and dreamlike ambiance are great! Will probably ask for reunion fic/post canon Callie/Westerly sexy times come Yuletide, haha.
Hot ancient Greek love bucolic. Found whilst browsing Pre-Raphaelite paintings, as you do. Apparently admired by Goethe. Recommended!
Tales from Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
UKL's prose is as crystalline and stately as ever. I was awfully glad to hear of Ged again in "On the High Marsh"; "The Finder" broke my heart; and I cried upon my reread of "Bones of the Earth".
Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin
UKL writing about writing. Priceless advice on novelistic prose, really.
Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan
Evocative, surreal illustrations coupled with apposite vignettes and short stories. The scenes therein will be familiar to anyone who has ever lived in Australian suburbia.
Searoad by Ursula K. Le Guin
One of UKL's more obscure works (she calls it a 'suite of stories), in terms of exposure and prose. I can't say this is a successful experiment, because it's as if UKL's going for a Woolf pastiche. And why would you need to imitate Woolf when you are UKL? Highlight is the introductory passage 'Foam Women, Rain Women'.
The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin
One of my new favourite novels! I read it in a sitting, late at night. The surreal plot and setting are great. I wholeheartedly agree with what Phillip K. Dick has to say about the novel. Also, George Orr! Heather! Flying sentient alien sea turtles! ♥ UKL also did a fantastic interview on this work.
Twenty Fragments of a Ravenous Youth by Xialu Guo
Sheer obnoxiousness of the protagonist hampered my enjoyment of the cultural exposition I could recognise from information I'd absorbed from my parents. Ah well.
Snowbone by Cat Weatherill
Charming pirate adventure novel about a race of tree-people. Very sprightly. Recommended!
Scarlett by Cathy Cassidy
Your standard tween angst novel. I felt obligated to read because I'd bought it some years ago and had never read it since then.
The Arabian Nights as translated by Hussain Haddawy
I've read different versions of the Nights over the years, but this is apparently the most faithful one, as it's based off the earliest extant Syrian script as opposed to innumerable liberal European adaptations. An extremely great read.
Driftwood by Cathy Cassidy
Liked this one more than Scarlett, but still thought the characters were somewhat callow.
Obscure Destinies by Willa Cather
I think I'd bought this book from a mother's day stall when I was still in the second grade. 'Neighbour Rosicky' is extremely beautiful.
The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter
Advertised as a collection of erotic feminist fairy tale , but I didn't find these sexy, exactly, which I think was the point?
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Need to read more Faulkner to form a more concrete opinion? Mine's pretty mixed at the moment.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Loathed it for more reasons than one. I like Charlotte's work infinitely more, for some reason.
Jacky Daydream by Jacqueline Wilson
Another unread relic from my lasslit days.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Probably my favourite Shakespearean play. Also, Hamlet is a jerk.
Finding Violet Park by Jenny Valentine
Silly teenage boy angst that I didn't care much for.
The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
Annoyingly sententious and anti-Semitic. Also occasionally ludicrous.
Palm-of-the-Hand Stories by Yasunari Kawabata
Kawabata's work is refreshingly subtle. Many of the better stories evoke a brisk eddies behind the breast. I think I liked the later stories more. They're the ones that provide genuine insight into family and love and life.
Now and Forever by Ray Bradbury
'Somewhere a Band is Playing' is interesting; 'Leviathan '99' is just… eh.
Seaward by Susan Cooper
Another favourite of the batch. I had not read any Cooper beforehand (shokku!) but I really liked this. The slow pace, ambiguity in setting, and dreamlike ambiance are great! Will probably ask for reunion fic/post canon Callie/Westerly sexy times come Yuletide, haha.