Why is it that every hero and heroine fall in love in a matter of days or (in the most egregious cases) hours? Is that really how it works? I mean, it seems really fast and kind of stupid. I can count on my hands the number of times I've seen people take longer, and those books/movies are usually among my favorites (Devil in Winter, Savage Damsel and the Dwarf, Penelope). And Shards of Honor doesn't count, because... I say so, I guess. ZARTRAM WILLS IT.

Props to Anne Stuart for having a hero who realizes that no means no, incidentally. He was getting pretty hot and heavy with his heroine and ( cut for sex ) when she said "no." Most heroes that I can think of would've just kept right on going, but this guy stops. *pets him lots* I think that's when I was convinced he was good for this particular heroine.

And how sad is it that I feel like this is something that should be praised? Argh. Okay. Not getting into the rape discussion from a while ago.

No, actually, Shards of Honor doesn't count because we get to see a continuing love story for the people in question. It's not marriage and that's it, I'm not left wondering how these two are going to work out the rest of their lives. I get to see it. I get to see them manage and navigate intimacy and kids and in-laws and civil wars and all those other pesky problems you get with marriage, and they do quite a nice job, thank you very much. And that's not just me shipping it like FedEx.

Incidentally, when Frederick met Katherine she was engaged, and it wasn't to him either. I must figure out how this works. I suspect it's going to make me strongly dislike Katherine's poor mother, but what can you do.

1. Post about something that made you happy today.

2. Repeat for eight days. No, don't say the same thing every day, numbskull.

3. Tag six people to do the same. I ain't tagging nobody. Do it if you like.

Terry Pratchett made me happy today. Specifically, rereading Interesting Times. I always forget how funny the man is in between re-reads. Also, putting a bunch of books on hold at the library, and realizing how lucky I am to essentially have books on demand for free. \m/

Sorry for the self-pity in the last post. I have made it go away and I hope that it didn't hurt anybody's feelings.

On a brighter note, I've been going through my books and I've come across a few that I have double copies of. If you want one of these, leave me a note; first come first served. I will ask you to pay shipping if necessary but nothing else.

The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
The Truth is Out There: The Official Guide to the X-files, Chris Carter
Madame Bovary, Gustav Flaubert, trans. Geoffery Wall

More to come once my last box of books comes in and the sci-fi/fantasy gets sorted.

I have quite literally just finished reading what is possiby the most wrenching book I have read in my life (and I took a class on Holocaust literature, guys). It's titled The Book Thief, it's by Markus Zusak, it is narrated by Death, and you should all read it now, because oh, my God. It is wrenching and heartbreaking and beautiful, it made me cry three seperate times. It's all about the power of language, and the beauty and glory and ugliness and horror of humanity, and it will emotionally devastate you, and you will be grateful for it. It hurts so good, guys.

This is also one of the most beautifully written books I have read in... um... ever. Zusak has an incredible command of language. Every word used is so precise, and his voice is so remarkable. Here, see for yourself:

"I am in all truthfulness attempting to be cheerful about this whole topic, though most people find themselves hindered in believing me, no matter my protestations. Please, trust me. I most definitely can be cheerful. I can be amiable. Agreeable. Affable. And that's only the A's. Just don't ask me to be nice. Nice has nothing to do with me."

And that's off the first page. The whole book is like this. It's books like this that make me want to be a writer even more.

I cannot think of a single thing I would change about this book. Not one word. Go and read it. Buy it, borrow it, steal it, I don't care, it is worth whatever you do to get your hands on it.

I am such a biblophile. My idea of wealth is being able to buy all the used books off Amazon that I want, and being able to walk into a bookstore and walk out again with the kind of haul that I usually get from the library.

Current loves of my life include: John Adams by David McCullough, Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Hall by Stephanie Barron, Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert trans. Francis Steegmuller, Stone Cold Souls by George K. Moffat, Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.

Also, I'm in love with the Merry Wives of Windsor, and I never ever want the Sarah Jane Adventures to end. Such a good show.

I need a books! icon. I has a books icon!

Take a look at this cover. That is A Civil Campaign, one of the more recent books in the Miles Vorkosigan saga. Looks like an okay cover, doesn't it? Kind of cheesy, but hey.

Now realize that the couple in the center is meant to be Miles and Ekatarin. Now remember that Miles Vorkosigan is four foot nine. Now remember that Miles should therefore be on an eye level with Ekatarin's breasts and thus looking at them far more obviously. As if that's possible.

Also remember that neither Ekatarin nor Cordelia is blonde, but that's neither here nor there (black-haired and redhead, respectively, in case you're curious. Even more egregious because "roan-red hair" is one of Cordelia's stock descriptions).

So I just finished reading Mary Called Magdalene, by Margaret George. I chose to read it because I enjoyed George's other books (The Autobiography of Henry VIII and The Memoirs of Cleopatra) despite their length, and because I've always been interested in and curious about the Magdalene. However, I find myself curiously irritated by Mary Called Magdalene.

I think part of the reason is because it feels so much like "women's history." I use the term carefully here, not to suggest a derogatory attitude towards people who research the lives of ordinary and extraordinary women in the past (I come from an all-girl's school, people, that'd be stupid and hypocritical of me), but to express my irritation with the people who insist on shoehorning women into places they simply would not have occupied. In this novel, Mary Magdalene manages to be an ordinary Jewish woman who then becomes the center of the group of disciples, and, according to George, the only one who remained with Jesus throughout his trials and suffering. The apostle John gets a mention as does the Virgin Mary, but all the glory belongs to Mary Magdalene. She also falls in love with Jesus, though thankfully George does not go the Dan Brown route and claim it was returned. Beyond this specific objection, I have no reason to account for my annoyance with Mary's character.

Another issue I had with the novel is that it goes on too long. I ended up skimming the last hundred or so pages, since they did nothing for me and merely served as a chance for George to talk about the early Christian church. Had she written them in the same engaging style as she did the rest of the story, I might have read them; however, she chose to write them in a summary, formulaic voice, styling them "The Memoirs of Mary Magdalene." The lovely turns of language and knack for dialogue are all gone, and it was simply uninteresting.

I did enjoy the language prior to that little interlude. Margaret George has a way with words that make her seven- and eight-hundred-page books worth reading. For example (off a randomly-opened page in Mary Called Magdalene):

"Something seemed to slow her, and she turned and looked carefully at each face. She looked directly into each woman's eyes, although usually she felt it was impolite to do so. Dark-brown eyes, so deep they looked black; eyes fringed with such heavy lashes they threw shadows on the woman's cheeks; eyes the tawny yellow of the shells of tortosies; even one pair of startlingly blue eyes, as blue as any Macedonian's."

Gorgeous description. George specializes in these and usually delivers five or six a chapter.

I'm not sorry I read this book, but I am confused by my irritation with it. I quite liked the story up until Mary fell in love with Jesus, at which point I started skimming and skipping. Perhaps I'm too Christian at heart to quite like the idea of Jesus being in love, or maybe it's simply part of my own beliefs about what makes divinity. It could even have been my feeling of "I know this story, get on with it," though I don't think so, as I was enjoying the book up until then. Either way, I just stopped caring about Mary and her troubles.

If you like me are interested in Mary Magdalene but don't feel like investing the time in this brick of a book, I much preferred Donna Jo Napoli's Song of the Magdalene. It's elegant, concise, and much more emotionally affecting.

This is inspired by the Big Read meme going around that prompts people to select 'classic' books from a list that they have read. With that in mind, I'd like you to list the ten books that have had the most influence on YOU, personally. It doesn't matter whether or not they're classics, adult books or YA. This meme is not asking you to be a literary critic. These are the books that have made an impression on you, that stay in your mind, that have had an impact on your life. The books that taught you how to write, that molded your ideas about life and love. The books that you *always* have a copy of on your bookshelf, and invariably read until the binding is falling apart.

1) The Fire Rose, Mercedes Lackey
Lackey has a way with language that always strikes me, even when she's writing about certain Mary Sues I could name (Vanyel, anyone?). She's splendid with description, and even when her plots fall flat, which this one doesn't, the language carries the day. I also love Beauty and the Beast, and this reinterpretation of the legend has the benefit of being impeccably-researched historical fiction as well.

2) Persuasion, Jane Austen
Guh. Just guh. One of the best love stories ever, and a wonderful, wonderful book. Jane Austen makes some of the most memorable characters I have ever read. A pitch-perfect romance.

3) Proven Guilty, Jim Butcher
Plot! Jim Butcher teaches me about Plot! Proven Guilty has the added benefit of just being fun.

4) American Gods, Neil Gaiman
Likewise plot. Neil Gaiman weaves everything together skillfully and near-seamlessly. I will admit to having problems buying the climax, but I'm just too in love with his concept and execution that I simply can't care.

5) His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik
WOW. Amazing language, great plot, a climax that never fails to make me tear up, wonderful characters, just wow. Seamlessly weaves dragons into British history. This is precisely how the Napoleonic wars would have gone had Napoleon in fact had dragons to deploy.

6) Magic and Malice, Patricia C. Wrede
See above. Wow. Also has a wonderful love story that His Majesty's Dragon doesn't. Both take place in the Regency; a coincidence? I THINK NOT. So does Persuasion. I'm terribly fond of the Regency, so having so many of my favorite novels take place there is a bonus.

7) Crown Duel, Sherwood Smith
Some of the best damned worldbuilding since Tolkein. Tolkein and I don't really get along for various wordy-related reasons, but Crown Duel is so wonderfully written and just right with the world.

8) Matilda, Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl is a master storyteller, and Matilda is my favorite story of his. A bright little girl and the people who believe her, the people who don't, and her revenge on the idiots of the world. Clearly Roald Dahl was at some point a bright little kid, because this book resonates with me so much. Hands up, who else tried to move chalk with their eyes after seeing this?

9) A Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett
I don't know. I love Sara, I love Becky, I love the coincidences, I love Miss Minchen and Amelia Minchen, I love the whole book. It's just so well done and such a childhood memory. Maybe that's it. Either way, the binding on mine is kind of dead.

10) The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara
Oh, Michael Shaara. A heartbreaking story of Gettysburg. The language is exactly right for the time. The men he's writing about are so right for their time and yes. Amazing story.

These are the top 106 books most often marked as unread by LibraryThing’s users. As in, they sit on the shelf to make you look smart or well-rounded. Bold the ones you've read. Italicize the ones you didn't finish. Strikethrough the ones you hated. Underline the ones you plan to read.

( Read more... )

So many books and so little time...

( To spare your friendslists... )
52) Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali
53) Vensuian Lullaby, Paul Leonard
54) Civilization and its Discontents, Sigmund Freud
55) Undaunted Courage, Stephen Ambrose
56) Point of Hopes, Melissa Scott and Lisa A Barnett

Currently Reading: Fool Moon, Jim Butcher; The Snow Leopard, Peter Matthiessen; Point of Dreams, Melissa Scott and Lisa A Barnett