Reading Wednesday
I broke my ereader by dropping it on a cement floor the other day. Knew this would happen eventually. There are many reasons I prefer paper books, and that is one of them. It was an old-ass one - a Kobo Original; they were discontinued ages ago - so it isn't as if I broke some fancy new gadget, but I'm still not looking forward to replacing it.
...Anyway.
On Hold: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. I was reading this one on the aforementioned Kobo when it met its unfortunate demise. Was about halfway through, and pretty cheesed off at having to stop for the moment, because I was enjoying it immensely.
Currently Reading: The Burying Ground by Janet Kellough. This is from that mystery series set in Canada during the mid-1800s. Like On the Head of a Pin, I found it a little bit difficult to get into at first, but once things started to actually get going, I enjoyed it. ...I confess, it always feels a little bit weird to read things set in Canada, especially if it's genre fiction rather than literary fiction, because usually I have to specifically seek this stuff out. I mean, if I'm at the bookstore, and I pick up a novel, chances are it will not be set here, and it won't be by a Canadian author either. The local place carries very few Canadian authors, aside from big names like Atwood and... well, I'm not sure who else. Sad state of affairs.
Anyway, back to this novel. So far, it's pretty good, though reading it is a little bit awkward. It references a lot of things that I feel I should know about, but don't. The Upper and Lower Canada rebellions, for instance. In school, my eyes kind of glazed over when we were studying anything Canada-related that didn't involve polar exploration/the search for the northwest passage. Or Louis Riel. Or the War of 1812. So, for some things to do with this series, I feel like I'm missing some context. Oh well, some day I'll get my act together and re-learn all the stuff that went in one ear and out the other. Maybe.
As for the novel itself -
So, I was reading along, as you do, and then I kind of tripped. Because it suddenly became clear that Luke, one of the main POV characters, is gay. Or - well, okay, wrong term, since that term didn't exist at the time, but. He's a man who is interested in men. Looking back, I stumbled over quite a few hints before I finally caught on, too.
This wasn't established in the other novel that I read, but there are several books between On the Head of a Pin and this one. And while I wasn't really sure if I would check out the rest of the series, I... think I will, now. And see if there's anything hinting toward it in the earlier novels.
I just - look, I'm not used to seeing characters in novels that are anything like me as far as this kind of thing goes, not unless I specifically seek them out, go looking for rec lists, whatever. It just doesn't happen. Especially not in historical mysteries, rather than, say, fantasy novels or science fiction. It doesn't happen.
So, I just feel - weird. Good weird, but still weird. Or surprised, I guess. It's like getting doused with cold water on a hot day. Startling, but really welcome. Especially since lately I've been feeling kind of... not-so-great about being stuck forever in the closet, and so on. It's a really, really pleasant surprise to be able to pick up a genre novel of this type and unexpectedly come across an important character who is a man who's attracted to other men.
I'm not sure if this will become important to the plot, but I have a feeling it will be. And it's possible that the story will go very badly for Luke, and I'm prepared for that. ...I'm not going to bother getting my hopes up for a romance or anything, considering the context of the novel, but. Well. I don't know. Needless to say, I'm going to enjoy it in a different way than I was expecting to enjoy it, I guess.
Reading Next: Well, I'm going to finish reading The Miniaturist as soon as I have my new e-reader, but other than that, I have no clue. I wasn't able to get to the library this past weekend, so hopefully when I go there this weekend, I'll find something cool.
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3489536.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.
...Anyway.
On Hold: The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. I was reading this one on the aforementioned Kobo when it met its unfortunate demise. Was about halfway through, and pretty cheesed off at having to stop for the moment, because I was enjoying it immensely.
Currently Reading: The Burying Ground by Janet Kellough. This is from that mystery series set in Canada during the mid-1800s. Like On the Head of a Pin, I found it a little bit difficult to get into at first, but once things started to actually get going, I enjoyed it. ...I confess, it always feels a little bit weird to read things set in Canada, especially if it's genre fiction rather than literary fiction, because usually I have to specifically seek this stuff out. I mean, if I'm at the bookstore, and I pick up a novel, chances are it will not be set here, and it won't be by a Canadian author either. The local place carries very few Canadian authors, aside from big names like Atwood and... well, I'm not sure who else. Sad state of affairs.
Anyway, back to this novel. So far, it's pretty good, though reading it is a little bit awkward. It references a lot of things that I feel I should know about, but don't. The Upper and Lower Canada rebellions, for instance. In school, my eyes kind of glazed over when we were studying anything Canada-related that didn't involve polar exploration/the search for the northwest passage. Or Louis Riel. Or the War of 1812. So, for some things to do with this series, I feel like I'm missing some context. Oh well, some day I'll get my act together and re-learn all the stuff that went in one ear and out the other. Maybe.
As for the novel itself -
So, I was reading along, as you do, and then I kind of tripped. Because it suddenly became clear that Luke, one of the main POV characters, is gay. Or - well, okay, wrong term, since that term didn't exist at the time, but. He's a man who is interested in men. Looking back, I stumbled over quite a few hints before I finally caught on, too.
This wasn't established in the other novel that I read, but there are several books between On the Head of a Pin and this one. And while I wasn't really sure if I would check out the rest of the series, I... think I will, now. And see if there's anything hinting toward it in the earlier novels.
I just - look, I'm not used to seeing characters in novels that are anything like me as far as this kind of thing goes, not unless I specifically seek them out, go looking for rec lists, whatever. It just doesn't happen. Especially not in historical mysteries, rather than, say, fantasy novels or science fiction. It doesn't happen.
So, I just feel - weird. Good weird, but still weird. Or surprised, I guess. It's like getting doused with cold water on a hot day. Startling, but really welcome. Especially since lately I've been feeling kind of... not-so-great about being stuck forever in the closet, and so on. It's a really, really pleasant surprise to be able to pick up a genre novel of this type and unexpectedly come across an important character who is a man who's attracted to other men.
I'm not sure if this will become important to the plot, but I have a feeling it will be. And it's possible that the story will go very badly for Luke, and I'm prepared for that. ...I'm not going to bother getting my hopes up for a romance or anything, considering the context of the novel, but. Well. I don't know. Needless to say, I'm going to enjoy it in a different way than I was expecting to enjoy it, I guess.
Reading Next: Well, I'm going to finish reading The Miniaturist as soon as I have my new e-reader, but other than that, I have no clue. I wasn't able to get to the library this past weekend, so hopefully when I go there this weekend, I'll find something cool.
This entry was originally posted at http://yuuago.dreamwidth.org/3489536.html. You can comment here or at the original entry.