Ronan Boys nonsense (now on Tumblr), reading roundup, and The Martian movie

[hamsterwoman]

Today is apparently International Fanwork Day? Or so AO3 informs me. Anyway, I accidentally made a fanwork anyway, sorta. So, remember my Raven Cycle poems (on AO3), which are all ikel89's fault? For a while I've been trying to figure out if there was a way to release them into the wilds of Tumblr, and that got me down the path of turning them into

Comments

[stasia]

I liked both the book and the movie of the Martian as well - one thing I thought the movie did really well that the book couldn't do at all was show the physical deteriation Mark went through. He wouldn't mention it (not at all in character), but it was very compelling to see him gradually losing weight and mass and becoming less and less healthy.

[hamsterwoman]

Oh, yes, I did notice that about the movie as well, and thought it quite striking, and a good use of the medium, since Mark wouldn't mention it himself, you're right.

[ikel89]

*tips hat* the scintillating sestina is a gift that keeps on giving, isn't it?XD So hard to keep track of something so ~unknowable~ lol. Also, good to learn the thinking behind the graphics :D

Since everything besides "supernatural m/m in america" is under SPOILERS cut, I don't even know if book 2 on your list might be something up my alley?:D Pls oblige me with a guess!

[hamsterwoman]

Lo! it is my masterwork XD

Pls oblige me with a guess!

Hmm... I'm not sure; I wouldn't rule it out, but I'm actually not very good at predicting what might work for you beyond a "veselo and strelyayut" sort of metric, and this does not fit under that rubric :P But let me try to describe it non-spoilerly (at the level of cover blurb/things you'd get from the first couple of pages) and you can judge for yourself? With the rider that I found it charming enough that if you're on the fence, it may be still worth a try.

Anyway, so first half of the couple, and first-person narrator for the book, is Whyborne, whom I liked, and who I think may appeal to you for "precious introvert" reasons. He is a young doctor of comparative philology, speaking a dozen languages, many of them dead ones. He is... well, zatyukanyj, basically, at the beginning, due to a combination of family issues and youthful trauma, but he is not actually pathetic (though he thinks he is at the start). And over the course of the book he faces things about himself and

[ikel89]

Oh, thank you! That's very detailed and pretty perfect for mentally cataloging the book :D I think I'm gonna put it under "for when I want a m/m romance that's not fanfic" haha, which is a legit concern, given what kind of reading I primarily had in 2015 :'D It doesn't sound too bad if you go there with lowered expectations, imo. I was also trying to remember if this is the book I saw reviewed (pretty negatively lol) by a tumblr person recently, but bah, can't seem to find it since looking things up on tumblr is a holy grail levels of easy mission XD (I'll link you to it if I eventually find it, or let you know if I was wrong and it's some other vaguely historic m/m book that mislead me:'D)

[hamsterwoman]

Oh good, I'm glad this is helpful! I don't even think one's expectations need to be lowered that far, beyond generally knowing it's paranormal romance and so contains the tropes inherent therein.

I was also trying to remember if this is the book I saw reviewed (pretty negatively lol) by a tumblr person recently, but bah, can't seem to find it since looking things up on tumblr

I've only seen good things about this one (but not, I think, on Tumblr), but would be definitely curious if you do find that review! (which, yeah, is a feat. The only way I can find anything on Tumblr is just be searching Google for it; Tumblr's own search is totally useless to me.)

"for when I want a m/m romance that's not fanfic" haha, which is a legit concern, given what kind of reading I primarily had in 2015 :'D

I was gonna say! :P

But, actually, this reminds me that now is probably a good time for me to give Watchmaker of Filigree Street a shot... I seem to be in a Victorian groove.

[hours_gone_by]

I'm glad you liked Widdershins. :) Fair warning, though: the misunderstandings between Whyborne and Griffin keep happening till about the third book. It makes sense given Whyborne's background with his family and all, but it's still one of my biggest criticisms of the early books.

Did Niles get to name the oldest and his wife the others?

I believe so, yes. There's another, older, sister too but I can't remember her name right now.

...annoy me about Crane and Stephen as a couple, and did contain a number of my favorite secondary characters, such as Merrick and the Golds.

I like Crane and Stephen as individual characters but the romance does feel a bit "well, of course they have to be a couple now". Granted that's about 90% of fictional romance anyway (or at least it feels that way). I was happy to see more of the secondary characters as well - particularly Esther and Saint.

[hamsterwoman]

I believe so, yes. There's another, older, sister too but I can't remember her name right now.

I think Guinevere *is* the older sister... the twin sister who died right after birth didn't get a name, I think, or at least it isn't in the book. In the passage where Guinevere is named in this book, Whyborne is talking about her having inherited their mother's willowy frame, like he did. Or does he have two surviving sisters? I thought it was just the one...

the misunderstandings between Whyborne and Griffin keep happening till about the third book. It makes sense given Whyborne's background with his family and allAh, that's good to know, in a forewarned is forearmed sort of way. I know misunderstandings are a staple of the genre, and I thought they were handled reasonably in this book, bu-ut I can see my patience for them eroding if they keep happening in the next couple. I mean, misunderstandings do happen with new couples, often even the same ones a couple of times over! But it's even more tedious to read about than it is to

[hours_gone_by]

I think Guinevere *is* the older sister...

Ah, you're right. I'm getting things twisted around in my head. Too much fiction? No, that's silly.

[hamsterwoman]

Too much fiction? No, that's silly.

Haha!

I did wonder what the other sister had been named, since there are many fewer Arthurian names for girls than for boys... Elaine?

[_profiterole_]

I haven't read The Martian, but I enjoyed the movie a lot.

Sean Bean is starting to survive these days. Didn't he survive in Jupiter Ascending as well?

[hamsterwoman]

Didn't he survive in Jupiter Ascending as well?

He did! I guess sci-fi movies are good for him? :D

The movie is good! And, I think, for the general audience, it is actually a better vehicle for the story than the book. But I missed all the engineering geekery the movie understandably skipped over.

[meathiel]

Widdershins was 0€ at Amaazon ... so I had to get it. So much for not buying books for some time ...

[hamsterwoman]

It doesn't count as buying a book is a freebie! (at least that's what I think, haha)

I hope you enjoy it -- it was quite charming!