Reading 2012
I've notice many people discussing what they wrote and read and watched the past year. I can't give an exhaustive list by any means, but I was thinking about my on-and-off media consumption habits and what it all MEANS. Which is not much, but it's a post, eh? First we'll do books, since that's the longest list.
I re-read the Anne of Green Gables series, mostly on my antique e-reader. Two books of the series haven't made it to Project Gutenberg yet, and I was interested to find they were, in my opinion, the weakest of the series. I did manage to dig out my paperbacks so I could read in sequence :)
So I didn't particularly enjoy Anne of Windy Poplars, which is a letter-book, that is a book written as letters, from Anne to Gilbert after their engagement while they were living and working apart. It was a bit embarrassing with all the cut-aways when she got frisky. Fade to black! Plus there seemed to be less Anne in it even though it was all her, and first person in the letters at least. The other was Anne of Ingleside, which is grown Anne with children. I'm not fond of Rainbow Valley either, which introduces the Blythe horde, but Ingleside is worse. Anne doesn't seem Anne-ish in it. Oddly I was very intrigued by Rilla, the last book in the series. Not much Anne there either, except suffering war mother Anne, but what was there rang true. Also it was very interesting to read about the Canadian attitudes and experiences during World War I. There's a lot of fascinating cultural stuff about orphans and orphanages and folk going west to the wild areas and gold mines and never coming back or coming back rich with full beards. Orphans were always just being picked up or taken in or farmed out; I don't know if the system was better or worse than what we have today. Probably both, and depending.
I did a lot of listening to audiobooks from Librivox on my elderly Sansa clip this year. When things are going badly I often resort to children's books. Complex in theme but simpler in resolution than adult books, and way less pretentious. So I listened to Little Women, Little Men, and Jo's Boys. I also read part of Little Men (the Damon and Pythias chapter was argle-bargled on the Librivox recording) and Jo's Boys. I listened to Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom (I love all the 'modern' ideas about raising healthy girls in those books. Cut off the corsets! Exercise! Lose the coffee and late nights of dissipation!), and An Old-Fashioned Girl (Lovely stuff in there about the responsibilities of businessmen of character and the lack of morality in corporate leaders of the 1800's. Very prescient.). Also Wind in the Willows, The Secret Garden, At the Back of the North Wind (does anyone but me like George McDonald?), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Treasure Island, Black Beauty, and Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.
I'm almost to the end of Persuasion, which was much more approachable in audio form than I had imagined it would be. I'm breathlessly awaiting the reunion of Anne and Captain Wentworth. One thing I love about Librivox is the diversity of voices. So many people from all over the world, donating their time to reading aloud so others may hear. I recently sent in my registration...it would be nice to be part of something so altruistic.
I've been trying to go to the library every few weeks. They need the support, and are judged on distribution numbers. I can't remember anything I read that stuck with me though; some mysteries, a little sf, YA books, some Christmas stories. The steampunk trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, at least the last one, Goliath, I read this year. There were some other steampunky books but they all tend to veer into horror or at least graphic violence. Not my thing. I don't do a lot of casual reading these days, and I'm much more inclined to put down a book and return it unread. Not enough time left to read everything just to say I finish everything I start. I did read Cat Valente's Habitation of the Blessed on vacation and enjoyed it immensely. But I didn't make it through the sequel The Folded World. I'd like to try some more of her work though; it's lush in description and imagery. It may have this last year that I read through the Vorkosigan sage by Bujold. I think it was. I had completely forgotten the new one was coming out in the fall, but was happily reminded by wendelah1 and have it snug and secure on my e-reader awaiting a bit of free-ish time. Maybe my next WV trip, end of the month. I can stay up all night reading!
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