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Wednesday Reading Meme
Jan. 8th, 2014 10:12 pmI noticed that Wednesday reading meme that started going around last year and vaguely thought about doing it ... but of course I never got around to it. But last week I had two books that to go back to the library in a couple of days and I'd only read part of one of them and I thought, 'Self, you really have to do better at putting a dent a dent in your TBR piles. And shelves.' So here's my first week's efforts. Maybe this weekly check-in will remind me to keep it up! (Don't expect coherent comments every week though.)
What I've just finished
Fiction
Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories, #1)
Glamour in Glass (Glamourist Histories, #2)
Mary Robinette Kowal
These were the library books. Alternate Regency Europe where they have magic called glamour. I liked the storylines well enough and the descriptions of glamour but I never really felt like I connected with the characters. If the library gets the third book I'll probably read it. Nice light reads.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
I read Good Omens and promptly fell in love with all things Pratchett. Gaiman, not so much. But I did enjoy Neverwhere and London Below. For a rather damp white male POV protagonist (sigh) Richard's okay. It's interesting that while it was Richard's story, it's never his quest. I was delighted that he never wound up with a Hidden Destiny or Secret Parentage. He did get something in the end but only once the quest was done. That being said, a book from Door, the Marquis, or Hunter's POV would be a lot more interesting.
The Devil in the Dust (Outremer, Volume 1) by Chaz Brenchley
Alternate Crusades, high fantasy. Quite dark in places and oddly short - which was explained when I looked it up and found that US Book 1 (which I have) is only the first half of the UK Book 1. Apparently the US publishers thought the UK books were too big and scary and spilt them into six, rather than three. I wasn't hugely enamoured of the book but now I feel like I haven't finished it and it's going to bug me.
I also reread several Agatha Christie Poirot novels - After The Funeral, Three-Act Tragedy and Appointment with Death.
Non-fiction
Mrs Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale
Didn't enjoy this nearly as much as The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. It was an interesting look into Victorian society at the point when divorce became a serious possibility but frankly I didn't like any of the people involved very much. I did have some sympathy for Isabella - her husband was a shit and the way he stole her private diary then let others read it, and used it to the point where her most intimate thoughts and fantasies where being printed by the daily press was horrifying - but I never was a fan of Madame Bovary.
Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived Without Men After the First World War by Virginia Nicholson
The huge changes resulting from the Great War and the 'Surplus Women' who could never marry and had to make their own way, thus revolutionising the idea of the single woman would make a fascinating book - but not this book. There was some good information and some terrific characters but oh gods, the writing! The repetition! The restatements and then the wandering from the point!
Out of Harm's Way: The Wartime Evacuation of Children from Britain
by Jessica Mann
Much better and both sad and interesting. If the UK had been invaded, the parents would have been applauded for sending their children overseas. But it didn't happen and it was years before the families could be reunited, with parents who'd suffered through the war and children who'd grown up in very different countries.
French Letters and English Overcoats: Sexual Fallacies and Fads from Ancient Greece to the Millenium by Richard De'Ath
Silly and fun collection of historical anecdotes. One presumes that at least one person had to try certain remedies and deem them effective to recommend them ... how did the human race manage to reproduce? It is also hilarious to note how many Victorian-era anti-masturbation and chastity devices look very similar to what can be found on modern BDSM sites ...
Amazons and Military Maids: Women Who Dressed as Men in Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness by Julie Wheelwright
Started out as a thesis apparently. I didn't find it too dry but others might. It was very interesting to see how the idea of the cross-dressing female as heroine changed with (not quite) modern ideas of sexuality. Suddenly it couldn't just be because she wanted the freedom the explore, to earn better money, to be free from harassment - there must be some hidden sexual component as well.
What I'm reading now
Wolfsbane (Sianim, #4 / Aralorn, #2) by Patricia Briggs
The Warrior Queens: Boadicea's Chariotby Antonia Fraser
What I'm reading next
Something from the shelves? Or the pile of books on the chair next me right now?
What I've just finished
Fiction
Shades of Milk and Honey (Glamourist Histories, #1)
Glamour in Glass (Glamourist Histories, #2)
Mary Robinette Kowal
These were the library books. Alternate Regency Europe where they have magic called glamour. I liked the storylines well enough and the descriptions of glamour but I never really felt like I connected with the characters. If the library gets the third book I'll probably read it. Nice light reads.
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
I read Good Omens and promptly fell in love with all things Pratchett. Gaiman, not so much. But I did enjoy Neverwhere and London Below. For a rather damp white male POV protagonist (sigh) Richard's okay. It's interesting that while it was Richard's story, it's never his quest. I was delighted that he never wound up with a Hidden Destiny or Secret Parentage. He did get something in the end but only once the quest was done. That being said, a book from Door, the Marquis, or Hunter's POV would be a lot more interesting.
The Devil in the Dust (Outremer, Volume 1) by Chaz Brenchley
Alternate Crusades, high fantasy. Quite dark in places and oddly short - which was explained when I looked it up and found that US Book 1 (which I have) is only the first half of the UK Book 1. Apparently the US publishers thought the UK books were too big and scary and spilt them into six, rather than three. I wasn't hugely enamoured of the book but now I feel like I haven't finished it and it's going to bug me.
I also reread several Agatha Christie Poirot novels - After The Funeral, Three-Act Tragedy and Appointment with Death.
Non-fiction
Mrs Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady by Kate Summerscale
Didn't enjoy this nearly as much as The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. It was an interesting look into Victorian society at the point when divorce became a serious possibility but frankly I didn't like any of the people involved very much. I did have some sympathy for Isabella - her husband was a shit and the way he stole her private diary then let others read it, and used it to the point where her most intimate thoughts and fantasies where being printed by the daily press was horrifying - but I never was a fan of Madame Bovary.
Singled Out: How Two Million Women Survived Without Men After the First World War by Virginia Nicholson
The huge changes resulting from the Great War and the 'Surplus Women' who could never marry and had to make their own way, thus revolutionising the idea of the single woman would make a fascinating book - but not this book. There was some good information and some terrific characters but oh gods, the writing! The repetition! The restatements and then the wandering from the point!
Out of Harm's Way: The Wartime Evacuation of Children from Britain
by Jessica Mann
Much better and both sad and interesting. If the UK had been invaded, the parents would have been applauded for sending their children overseas. But it didn't happen and it was years before the families could be reunited, with parents who'd suffered through the war and children who'd grown up in very different countries.
French Letters and English Overcoats: Sexual Fallacies and Fads from Ancient Greece to the Millenium by Richard De'Ath
Silly and fun collection of historical anecdotes. One presumes that at least one person had to try certain remedies and deem them effective to recommend them ... how did the human race manage to reproduce? It is also hilarious to note how many Victorian-era anti-masturbation and chastity devices look very similar to what can be found on modern BDSM sites ...
Amazons and Military Maids: Women Who Dressed as Men in Pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness by Julie Wheelwright
Started out as a thesis apparently. I didn't find it too dry but others might. It was very interesting to see how the idea of the cross-dressing female as heroine changed with (not quite) modern ideas of sexuality. Suddenly it couldn't just be because she wanted the freedom the explore, to earn better money, to be free from harassment - there must be some hidden sexual component as well.
What I'm reading now
Wolfsbane (Sianim, #4 / Aralorn, #2) by Patricia Briggs
The Warrior Queens: Boadicea's Chariotby Antonia Fraser
What I'm reading next
Something from the shelves? Or the pile of books on the chair next me right now?
