Reading roundup and book meme

[hamsterwoman]

63. Jo Walton (papersky), The Just City -- huh. So, this is the first Jo Walton book I've read, although I enjoy reading her column on Tor.com about other people's books (Rothfuss and Brust in particular). I didn't really know what to expect, and did not realize this had sequel(s), and so was especially puzzled by where the book left off. Even knowing

Comments

[gelsey]

I love what I've read of Jo Walton. Her The King's Name and The King's Peace are two of my very favorite books ever.

[hamsterwoman]

I don't think I've heard of those two. I want to read Tooth and Claw particularly, because dragons, but have also heard good things about Among Others. But I will add these books to my mental list of Jo Walton books to try and track down!

[gelsey]

They're really good. A King Arthur sort of retell but very original at the same time. I'll warn you, the first book essentially opens with a rape... but it's utterly essential to the story and isn't gratuitous or romanticized in the least. Or, It hink, gory. I reread these books at LEAST once a year, seriously. I love them.

Tooth and Claw was a fun read!

[hamsterwoman]

Those are both useful warnings, the opening rape and the Arthuriana retelling -- as I tend to be annoyed by surprise!Arthuriana (which crops up more often than one might imagine, LOL XD Like, when I got to that in Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar books, I was very skeptical :P) So, thank you!

[spiffikins]

Character I actually resemble: probably Kragar :P I'm definitely the trusted lieutenant type, and although I'm capable of acting in a leadership role, I'd much rather be someone's right-hand person instead, take care of the preparations and detail work, and snark at them from the sidelines.

That's hilarious - my manager described me as the Chloe character in 24, the person that Jack Bauer calls when he's trapped and needs help and she hacks into the grid and disables the video surveillance, the security system and send him a helicopter in 20 seconds, all while making snarky comments. :)

[hamsterwoman]

Haha, that definitely sounds like a similar character type! (I'm aware of 24 by cultural osmosis, but not enough to know who Chloe is, so thank you for explaining.)

But, uh, snarky remote sidekick hi-five! o/

[lyssa027]

I always loved Great Gatsby... and I finally reopened my Pottermore account since they've changed Pottermore and got sorted into Slytherin :)

[hamsterwoman]

The Great Gatsby is proving to be a fun book for a classic so far (also, it's short, which I think L appreciates, too). Anyway, she likes making fun of/looking down at people, so it's a good book for her XD

I can't get back into my account either, but I still have my username saved somewhere... probably, so I think I'll just reclaim my Ravenclaw sorting when I figure out where I put it or dig it up on LJ. I did get myself a new wand (hazel, unicorn hair, 10.5", unyielding), but don't feel like going through the sorting again.

[gehayi]

I absolutely hated The Great Gatsby (I can't relate to stories about rich Americans and their problems, as having money would solve all of mine, and I liked none of the Gatsby characters), but if you would be interested in posting what you're reading and why you like it, I would read it.

My Patronus is a calico cat. What that means, I don't know.

How did you manage to go back and force yourself to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell? (I got stalled on it after about 100 pages, myself.)

[hamsterwoman]

I haven't gotten to Gatsby himself yet, and all of the rich people I've met so far (i.e. Tom and Daisy) do not appear to be sympathetic or meant to be sympathetic at all, so I don't have that problem with it right now. (I mean, Nick is not exactly poor either, apparently, but he doesn't feel rich so far either.)

I will definitely include The Great Gatsby in my usual reading roundup once I'm done with it, just trying to see if anyone is interested in the chapter-by-chapter impressions. In any case, I'm taking my notes chapter by chapter, since it's going to take me so long.

I do wish there was some explanation provided for the Patronus, the way there is for wand and the rest. But canonical Patronuses seem to correlate to "person you love" a lot, which would be difficult for an online quiz to guess :P

How did you manage to go back and force yourself to read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell?Well, LJ/Tumblr were abuzz with the miniseries, and I'm a stickler for reading the original before watching the adaptation, so that provided the

[a_phoenixdragon]

Ohh, think I will be reading #65...sounds right up my alley!

*HUGS*

[hamsterwoman]

It is both totally adorable and really well done! I hope you enjoy it if you do check it out! :)