@beexcessivelydiverting@bookstodon this makes me think of Anne Elliott telling Mrs. Smith that She doesn't believe Mr. Elliott can be trusted - because He always says the right thing, and is consistently agreeable and never offends anyone.
@beexcessivelydiverting@bookstodon when Elizabeth's aunt writes and says how much She really likes Darcy- it dawned on me what perfect complements They are for each other. and when Elizabeth shuts down Lady Catherine- it became certain. but just now, i was thinking of the real point. Lady Catherine and Mr. Collins are blind. because Their hearts are closed. and the promise of prodigious joy for Darcy and Elizabeth- is exactly because Their hearts are open. reserved is really closed, isn't it?
Book 23 of 2024: Paris Daillencourt is About to Crumble
2.75 stars
I expected this to be a cute romance in a charming setting, but this was...not that. The protagonist's anxiety was extreme to the point that I found the book stressful to read. It felt like the central romance was fundamentally incompatible; they spent most of the book upsetting and talking past each other. The bake-off theme was also pretty underutilized, in my opinion. I like to imagine that behind the scenes, those cozy baking shows are friendly and collegial, but the producers in the book were portrayed as mean and predatory.
I was really expecting some low-intensity fluff, so I'm pretty disappointed. It was fairly well-written, it just didn't feel like a romance novel to me.
Book 24 of 2024: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
4.5 stars
I picked this one up because I enjoyed Station Eleven, which means I went in knowing basically nothing about the plot or premise. Honestly I think this is the best way to experience a book like this.
The mystery unfolded like a puzzle, no less enjoyable when it became a little predictable by the end. I loved many of the characters and settings, particularly the lunar colonies and the parts clearly inspired by Mandel's experience writing a book about a pandemic shortly before an actual pandemic.
I admire her lyrical prose and very effective use of spec fic to explore some thought-provoking themes. It actually felt quite similar to Cloud Atlas in scope and structure. And similarly to David Mitchell's books, there's apparently quite a bit of crossover between this book and Glass Hotel. I'll have to read that soon!
There's going to be a joint Sea of Tranquility/Glass Hotel adaptation with the same creative team who adapted Station Eleven. That's one of my favorite TV shows of all time, so I am incredibly excited.
I'm reading through the Clarke Award nominees, and I'm getting very tired of all the wallowing in dystopian futures that have been constructed solely to indict the trajectory of the present.
Like, I get it, SF is and has always been political. And that's fine! But can we please have a STORY as well? And fewer footnotes referencing Supreme Court case outrages?
@ergative@bookstodon@books ah yes, this one of my bugbears too! I don’t want to be preached at, I want a good story. And any good story will have things to say - but no story and I’ll stop reading.
Something a little different this week: after finishing Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin, I'm pivoting hard to The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean. I didn't love Tales of the City, and I think a large part of that had to do with Maupin's narration: for me, his North Carolina accent didn't translate well to a character driven story set in 1970s San Francisco. Hoping the next book will taste better (pun intended). 😂
Hi there, @bookstodon , what are you reading these days? I'm half-way through Normal Rules don't Apply, Kate Atkinson, and it's really good! (a collection of interconnected short stories) Deliciously ominous, with unexplained deaths and weird job interview / date questions. "If you were a (sandwich / vegetable / disease), which would you be?" #amreading#bookstodon#shortfiction#stories
@ferngirl@bookstodon "Murder Road" by Simone St. James (a favorite author), which I am thoroughly enjoying! She writes paranormal thrillers, so very creepy but not straight up horror.
After that will be, "The Dead Detective" by William Heffernan, about a detective with the ability to hear "the postmortem whispers of murder victims." Okay, then.
Plus, a collection of short stories, "Memphis Noir," which caught my attention because I live in Memphis.
@ferngirl@bookstodon Some "golden age" mysteries- the current one is "Touch and Go", a Patricia Wentworth thriller/mystery from 1934. I find them soothing, and some of them are even good!
I'm trying to read This Is How You Lose The Time War, but I'm struggling to understand what is going on, and I'm not sure if it gets better. It feels like a dense read. I heard so much about it, but perhaps I'm too impatient?
@strathearnrose@dilmandila@bookstodon I was underwhelmed and didn't finish it. I wasn't really in the mood for it and other library patrons were waiting for it. Might try it again someday, but I like my fiction a lot weirder, mostly.
@KateOfMind@strathearnrose@bookstodon Just read how it got attention and it seems to be from a single influencer.... But well, I hear they are developing a TV series out of it. That might actually work better since with TV they have to emphasize the visual elements and this might help with getting into the story. I failed to get a sense of place which is one reason I couldn't get into the story.
Dang, y'all, I know I'm late to the party, but in case anyone else is even later than me, @vajra 's Saint of Bright Doors is ASTONISHINGLY GOOD.
Or, at least, the first half is. I presume the second half is too, but I haven't finished it yet. It has definitely shot to the top of my Hugo best novel ranking. (One more to read!)
@beexcessivelydiverting@bookstodon What 2005 film? As far as I'm concerned, there is no screen adaptation of Pride and Prejudice other than the 1995 BBC miniseries. All others are dead to me. 🙂
As I noted right here in this feed, this past Saturday was Towel Day. That inspired me to check out The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy from the library to re-read it for the first time since 2000. It still holds up! What a delightful classic.
Also worth noting: Douglas Adams basically described an e-reader device almost 30 years before Kindle came on the market.
#WhatchaReading ? #AmReading Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh which is very intriguing so far. Lots and lots of undercurrents, clueless main character.
Am reading "Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries" by Heather Fawcett. Absolutely loving it.
I'm not sure if the writer did this on purpose, but the main character is heavily autistic coded. Emily Wilde finds it easier to deal with the capricious Fae, than with mystifying human social conventions.
The book reminds me quite a lot of Naomi Novik, especially "Spinning Silver".