45 The Unknown Ajax, Georgette Heyer I inherited Mum's collection of Heyer's books. I sometimes wonder if the state of the book could be used as a guide to how much she enjoyed them. In which case this one was probably a favourite. Pages 135 to 194 are no longer attached to the spine and the last 2 pages are making a bid for freedom!
I enjoyed this at a re-read. You know that Anthea & Hugo will end up together its the scrapes they get into on the way. #books@bookstodon
@Helen50@bookstodon I too used to have the whole collection. Over time they disappeared. Was watching #bridgeton and had to laugh. The writer of those books was definitely a Heyer fan. A little bit more saucy but knew the situations to a tee.
Sad to say I was very disappointed in "Most Ardently: a Pride and Prejudice Remix." I'm not sure if it's the fault of the author or if it was the requirements of the series publisher that spoiled it, but the excellent premise ("Elizabeth Bennet" is actually a trans boy) was not given the care it deserved. The language is all over the place, and teenage heartthrob Mr. Darcy is just too weird.
Years ago I got my rights back from my previous publisher for all 17 books I had with them.
Five of them I revised, tweaked, deleted bits, moved others, and generally reworked them, and submitted them to my wonderful publisher @evernightpublishing
They accepted them!
I'm so happy and excited. That will mean I have traditionally published 35 books!
June #books list, asterisks for my favorites of the month (but I liked almost all of these). Hit me up if you've read:
James - Percival Everett
City of Laughter - Temin Fruchter
A Crane Among Wolves - June Hur
Goodbye, Vitamin - Rachel Khong
The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels - Janice Hallett
The Funeral Cryer - Wenyan Lu*
A Fire So Wild - Sarah Ruiz-Grossman
Flyaway - Kathleen Jennings
Notes on an Execution - Danya Kukafka
Natural Beauty - Ling Ling Huang*
The Devourers - Indra Das
Clear - Carys Davies*
Rebel Girl - Kathleen Hanna
Last Days in Plaka - Henriette Lazaridis
Soldier Sailor - Claire Kilroy*
Ancillary Justice - Ann Leckie*
Radiant Heat - Sarah-Jane Collins
Vladivostok Circus - Elisa Shua Dusapin
Such a Bad Influence - Olivia Muenter*
@beecycling@weirdwriter@bookstodon The environmental cost is too much even if the work is public domain. And the 'AI' will always have been trained on stolen content.
If you've not heard of Ismail Kadare, then have a read of Alberto Manguel's quick assessment, and if you're tempted perhaps pick up a copy of The File on H, or The Successor.
I mostly keep track of books on #StoryGraph so I was a little surprised after finishing All The Light We Cannot See by #AnthonyDoerr that of all the people who answered ‘Flaws of characters a main focus’ only 38% said Yes 🤔 I mean Werner is a complex sympathetic character but the ways he is complicit in Nazism is a major driver of the plot. If that ain’t a character flaw I don’t know what is! Nevertheless that complexity is part of why it’s a great book that avoids cliche @bookstodon
@bookstodon@diazona I 100% agree with you on both. That question could be interpreted many ways. Werner’s unease over his actions as a member of the German army is absolutely the driving force of his section of the novel though!
As to other ways character flaws can drive a novel: I just read The Prestige which has an unreliable narrator and 91% said flaws are a main driver of plot. Plus it is a great book.
@bookstodon just finished Robert Kagan's The Jungle Grows Back, as an audiobook.
Well written, it presents the conventional view of post-WWII history, with America as The Essential Nation. All our interventions were well intentioned, though many of them were flawed. It doesn't go into, say, the CIA manipulation of the Italian election. It argues strongly for the need for continuing vigilance and the American role as ballast and keel for the liberal world order.
@bookstodon it would make an interesting curriculum to start with this and explore backwards and sideways to see how well it holds up. (Spoiler alert: imperfectly, at best, even if you buy the fundamental premise.)
@rdviii@bookstodon it will briefly interesting to live in a world where every nuclear-armed state is a right-wing dictatorship / kleptocracy. Will also answer the Fermi Paradox locally.
My other hobby (other than computer science and language learning) is the history of Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity.
Ehrman’s works are great if you’re interested in the field. Easily the most accessible, IMHO, for a layperson. Obviously don’t limit yourself to one author in any field, but he’s an excellent place to start.
@kimlockhartga@bookstodon
💬Victory Parade by Leela Corman is a masterwork
💬Gender Studies: True Confessions of an Accidental Outlaw by Ajuan Mance
💬All My Bicycles by Powerpaola
💬Malarky by November Garcia
💬Heavyweight by Solomon Brager
💬Here I am, I am me—a guide to mental health by Cara Bean
(Not a novel, a short story by myself: 💬Feather by Tyler Cohen)
What book bloggers do people follow to find their erotica and romance? Not all of those I followed on Twitter migrated to here, but I am sure there are ones I don't know about in the Fediverse.
Particularly interested in sf/f/h/weird erotica and romance book bloggers, and lgbtq+ themed blogs, but also generalists.
#FinishedReading this #AlanMoore collection. As a prose writer he has much flair but little restraint, which makes for stimulating but frustrating reading. The book is unfortunately dominated by a novel-length Tom Sharpe style ribald satire of the comics industry which was too didactic and mean-spirited to work for me. I liked his wild story of intelligent life emerging in the 1st femtosecond after the big bang, and the creepy story told in dialogue that ends the book. @bookstodon#Bookstodon