my #1 distraction technique: open a book
Oh, y'all, I am laughing (in that way that's sort of screaming) so hard about work right now. There's a whole other story there, one that I will get into later, but for now, let's talk books. It's been a couple of months, but for a while, I couldn't focus on much other than my hard-core comfort fic re-reads so there aren't as many books stacked up as there might ordinarily be.
finished
Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates === I finished this before the latest round of horrible events, but it's not as though the topic was any less important then. I certainly can't say anything in summation that does justice to the book other than to say that I shouldn't have had to read it to understand, but that's kind of the point of it all.
Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow === For a 700+ page book, this read very easily. I managed to finish prior to seeing the musical, which made that even more astonishing. Also, I do know that people wrote of their love and affection for their friends much more easily and descriptively in the era, and Hamilton was way OTT even for that era (and would apparently sleep with anyone who caught his eye), but holy crap, the Hamilton/Laurens crackles off the page (and by page, I mean their own correspondence.) It was actually downplayed in the musical, though the significance of having the same actor play both Laurens and Phillip Hamilton can't be understated. They were emotionally intimate even if not physically (and Laurens was quite possibly gay, while Hamilton, as mentioned previously, was not given to turning anyone down.) So, yeah, I read a giant, thoroughly researched biography and came out of it with a new slash pairing, but I swear I couldn't help it.
The Raven King, Maggie Stiefvater === I was very much looking forward to this one, but then it started and all this stuff started happening and I promptly lost interest. I *really* love Blue and her Raven boys, though, so I gritted my teeth and kept going to find out what happened to everyone, but given how little I remember of getting to the end, I think I probably should have just skipped to the back and read the last two chapters. I still love the kids, though.
Small Favor, Jim Butcher === Book #10 of the Dresden Files and I can't remember the last time I hung on so far into a series. It helps that Butcher is getting better at plotting and has a great cast of supporting characters from previous books to pull from. Plus, I've done all of them as audiobooks and James Marsters is pretty stellar and really adds a depth to Dresden that helps in his less well-written moments.
Bloodline, Claudia Gray === I think this is the real set up for The Force Awakens as it lays out the political situation a few years before the movie and answers all those pesky questions that the script skimmed over. Plus: HUTTSLAYER.
Jane Steele, Lyndsey Faye === While this is not exactly 'Jane Eyre: Serial Killer,' it is close enough and written with enough evident love for the canon to pull off the parallels. Paired with Bloodline, it made for excellent badass heroine beach reading.
The Bollywood Bride, Sonali Dev === I think an appreciation for Bollywood plots might make the difference between like and love for this book. If you can throw yourself into all the drama of a good Bollywood romance, all the stuff that happened in the past in this book won't even raise an eyebrow. Surprising no one, I'm sure, I did love the found family aspect and I adored Ria's aunt and uncle, and the flock of friends who zoomed around feeding everyone (the setting was a wedding, so there was extra extra feeding going on.)
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, narrated by Rosamund Pike === Utterly fabulous narration. FABULOUS.
now
Wait 'Til Next Year, Doris Kearns Goodwin === DKG's memoirs of growing up on Long Island in the late 50s as a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. I have this emotional knee-jerk reaction to this book and connecting to parental figures through baseball and keeping score (substituting my grandfather for my father) so I may not be unbiased.
next
I'm going through my mom's kindle account and pulling out what I want to keep so I'm guessing it'll be either a cozy mystery or a historical romance.
This entry was originally posted at http://topaz119.dreamwidth.org/121960.html -- comments are groovy wherever you'd like to make them.
finished
Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates === I finished this before the latest round of horrible events, but it's not as though the topic was any less important then. I certainly can't say anything in summation that does justice to the book other than to say that I shouldn't have had to read it to understand, but that's kind of the point of it all.
Alexander Hamilton, Ron Chernow === For a 700+ page book, this read very easily. I managed to finish prior to seeing the musical, which made that even more astonishing. Also, I do know that people wrote of their love and affection for their friends much more easily and descriptively in the era, and Hamilton was way OTT even for that era (and would apparently sleep with anyone who caught his eye), but holy crap, the Hamilton/Laurens crackles off the page (and by page, I mean their own correspondence.) It was actually downplayed in the musical, though the significance of having the same actor play both Laurens and Phillip Hamilton can't be understated. They were emotionally intimate even if not physically (and Laurens was quite possibly gay, while Hamilton, as mentioned previously, was not given to turning anyone down.) So, yeah, I read a giant, thoroughly researched biography and came out of it with a new slash pairing, but I swear I couldn't help it.
The Raven King, Maggie Stiefvater === I was very much looking forward to this one, but then it started and all this stuff started happening and I promptly lost interest. I *really* love Blue and her Raven boys, though, so I gritted my teeth and kept going to find out what happened to everyone, but given how little I remember of getting to the end, I think I probably should have just skipped to the back and read the last two chapters. I still love the kids, though.
Small Favor, Jim Butcher === Book #10 of the Dresden Files and I can't remember the last time I hung on so far into a series. It helps that Butcher is getting better at plotting and has a great cast of supporting characters from previous books to pull from. Plus, I've done all of them as audiobooks and James Marsters is pretty stellar and really adds a depth to Dresden that helps in his less well-written moments.
Bloodline, Claudia Gray === I think this is the real set up for The Force Awakens as it lays out the political situation a few years before the movie and answers all those pesky questions that the script skimmed over. Plus: HUTTSLAYER.
Jane Steele, Lyndsey Faye === While this is not exactly 'Jane Eyre: Serial Killer,' it is close enough and written with enough evident love for the canon to pull off the parallels. Paired with Bloodline, it made for excellent badass heroine beach reading.
The Bollywood Bride, Sonali Dev === I think an appreciation for Bollywood plots might make the difference between like and love for this book. If you can throw yourself into all the drama of a good Bollywood romance, all the stuff that happened in the past in this book won't even raise an eyebrow. Surprising no one, I'm sure, I did love the found family aspect and I adored Ria's aunt and uncle, and the flock of friends who zoomed around feeding everyone (the setting was a wedding, so there was extra extra feeding going on.)
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, narrated by Rosamund Pike === Utterly fabulous narration. FABULOUS.
now
Wait 'Til Next Year, Doris Kearns Goodwin === DKG's memoirs of growing up on Long Island in the late 50s as a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers. I have this emotional knee-jerk reaction to this book and connecting to parental figures through baseball and keeping score (substituting my grandfather for my father) so I may not be unbiased.
next
I'm going through my mom's kindle account and pulling out what I want to keep so I'm guessing it'll be either a cozy mystery or a historical romance.
This entry was originally posted at http://topaz119.dreamwidth.org/121960.html -- comments are groovy wherever you'd like to make them.