In which I read some books and am largely unimpressed
Tuesday, 22 May 2012 10:13![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
usuallyhats
Continuing with the EDAs, I read Emotional Chemistry a while ago and was sadly not very impressed: none of the storylines really grabbed me, and overall the book had a bit of a case of original-characters-defaulting-to-male-itis. Pretty much the only characters that were female (with the possible exception of Irena) were those that had to be for the plot, and by "had to be" I mean so that they could fall in love with a male character or one could fall in love with them, SIGH. (Even though two out of four plotlines are set in the future, and one involved aliens, all the romance was still tiresomely heteronormative, SIGH AGAIN.) None of the regulars had a great deal to do, though in Fitz's case this was something of a blessing, as his laddishness was rather to the fore, and this is not exactly his most appealing trait. Trix had some good stuff but is still rather opaque to me. On the other hand, the Doctor was nicely Doctorish, when he appeared, and it did have Future Russian UNIT (aka OGRON, ahahaha), so it wasn't a complete loss. I also enjoyed the bit where Fitz thinks about how EVERYONE has chemistry with the Doctor. Yes, indeed they do.
I also read a Black Widow book, Kiss or Kill, on the grounds that it was in the library. The story was fine but the art... ugh. WHY. I got all excited for a moment when she discovered how to zip her catsuit up, but sadly it didn't make much difference. (And it kept on undoing itself! ARGH. A catsuit unzipped to below the breasts is NOT a practical crime-fighting outfit. *headdesk*)
"You do read books that aren't science fiction, don't you?" asked my mother anxiously on the phone on Sunday. I do! But recently it has not been going that well.
I tried to read Alan Hollinghurst's The Swimming Pool Library, but did not get very far. Really, I should've known that it wouldn't be my cup of tea when one of the quotes of praise said something about how some may find it unpleasant but that is the nature of TRUTH, which, no, sometimes truth is nice ok. I hate the idea that nasty is necessarily deeper than nice, and I didn't find any of the characters particularly appealing, which more than anything is what kills my chances of liking things. Boo.
Other non-sf books I have read lately include William Boyd's Ordinary Thunderstorms, which was rather a disappointment after how much I've enjoyed his other books, and Anthony Horowitz's new Holmes book, The House of Silk, which I really couldn't get into. BOO. (I also disliked the resolution, but this may have been because I was already grumpy with it for not being as entertaining as I wanted it to be.)
Sometimes I read books and like them! One such book being The Curse of Chalion, FLAILY LOVE AND JOY, HURRAH, and I have just checked and the sequel is waiting for me at the library YAY. And then I reread Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which made me happy and nostalgic. ♥ I remember reading it for the first time on a minibus on the way to my church youth group's weekend away, the day after it had come out. (My sister and I bought one copy between us and she got first dibs...)
Ages ago I had this plan to read all the Booker and Orange prize winners; I read the 1996 winners (Last Orders and A Spell of Winter) and then never read any more, maybe I should go back to that. 1997's Orange prize winner was Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels, anyone read it? (The God of Small Things won the Booker; I've already read that.) (ETA: just after I posted this, Orange announced that they were withdrawing their sponsorship. D:)
I also read a Black Widow book, Kiss or Kill, on the grounds that it was in the library. The story was fine but the art... ugh. WHY. I got all excited for a moment when she discovered how to zip her catsuit up, but sadly it didn't make much difference. (And it kept on undoing itself! ARGH. A catsuit unzipped to below the breasts is NOT a practical crime-fighting outfit. *headdesk*)
"You do read books that aren't science fiction, don't you?" asked my mother anxiously on the phone on Sunday. I do! But recently it has not been going that well.
I tried to read Alan Hollinghurst's The Swimming Pool Library, but did not get very far. Really, I should've known that it wouldn't be my cup of tea when one of the quotes of praise said something about how some may find it unpleasant but that is the nature of TRUTH, which, no, sometimes truth is nice ok. I hate the idea that nasty is necessarily deeper than nice, and I didn't find any of the characters particularly appealing, which more than anything is what kills my chances of liking things. Boo.
Other non-sf books I have read lately include William Boyd's Ordinary Thunderstorms, which was rather a disappointment after how much I've enjoyed his other books, and Anthony Horowitz's new Holmes book, The House of Silk, which I really couldn't get into. BOO. (I also disliked the resolution, but this may have been because I was already grumpy with it for not being as entertaining as I wanted it to be.)
Sometimes I read books and like them! One such book being The Curse of Chalion, FLAILY LOVE AND JOY, HURRAH, and I have just checked and the sequel is waiting for me at the library YAY. And then I reread Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which made me happy and nostalgic. ♥ I remember reading it for the first time on a minibus on the way to my church youth group's weekend away, the day after it had come out. (My sister and I bought one copy between us and she got first dibs...)
Ages ago I had this plan to read all the Booker and Orange prize winners; I read the 1996 winners (Last Orders and A Spell of Winter) and then never read any more, maybe I should go back to that. 1997's Orange prize winner was Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels, anyone read it? (The God of Small Things won the Booker; I've already read that.) (ETA: just after I posted this, Orange announced that they were withdrawing their sponsorship. D:)