Books and comics read in July 2015
Monday, 3 August 2015 11:18![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
usuallyhats
Fear Itself: Heroes for Hire
Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England 450-1500 - Henrietta Leyser*
Enemies at Home - Lindsey Davis
Saga vol. 5
Superman/Batman: World's Finest*
The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria - Max Adams
The Small House At Allington - Anthony Trollope
Foxglove Summer - Ben Aaronovitch
Rat Queens: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth*
The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman
New Teen Titans vol 2
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever - James Tiptree Jr
Tomboys and Bachelor Girls: A Lesbian History of Post-War Britain 1946-1971 - Rebecca Jennings*
Musketeer Space - Tansy Rayner Roberts*
Trust Me - Malorie Blackman*
Didn't finish: Bel Canto - Ann Patchett. I feel SLIGHTLY guilty for just abandoning this halfway through, but it was annoying me and I have a lot of other things to read, and also I spoiled myself for the end and it didn't seem worth it. It had that literary novel thing where there was a constant subtext of "by the way this is all SUPER MEANINGFUL JSYK", and I didn't like the fact that it was explicitly set in a mishmash of stereotypes rather than an actual South American country, and the few women mostly only got to be seen through the men's eyes rather than having point of view sections and ugh I just didn't care.
Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England 450-1500
This felt slightly more like a collection of essays than a book, but the essays were all interesting so I didn't mind! It gave a great insight into the texture of women's lives in the period.
Superman/Batman: World's Finest
I think the thing I liked the most about this comic (other than the scene where Clark awkwardly gives Bruce a Christmas present and Bruce awkwardly invites Clark to spend Christmas at the manor, which was a thing of beauty and a joy forever) was the mingling of the supporting cast. Alfred and Lois clearly hitting it off was a highlight, but I also enjoyed Alfred and Clark working together, as well as the dynamic between Bruce and Lois, which I desperately want to see more of. Oh, and I am basically in love with all the very fifties civilian outfits Bruce wore in Metropolis. :D
Rat Queens: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth
As with the previous volume, this was a bit gorier than I like, but done with such gusto and with such great characters that I didn't mind. I really liked getting to see some of the women's backstories, and seeing them begin to mature a bit: can't wait to see more of them! I also enjoyed Stjepan Šejić's art, which was a really good fit for the book. I'm sad he's not doing any more, but excited to see what Tess Fowler does with it. :D
Tomboys and Bachelor Girls: A Lesbian History of Post-War Britain 1946-1971
Fascinating and readable account of lesbian history and culture. I did have one major issue with it, though: the fact that it never mentioned bisexual or trans people. I mean, obviously its major focus was on lesbians and that's fine, but it seemed like a mistake not to at least mention the possibility that women who had relationships with both men and women might have been bisexual, or that people who had male personas and/or lived full time as men might have in fact been trans men, or might have been non binary. Other than that, this was really great!
Musketeer Space
In which Tansy Rayner Roberts rewrites the Three Musketeers so that it's full of women and queer people and brown people, and also it's in space, and it's AMAZING. :D It's heartbreaking and delightful in equal measures, and, having been reading it as a weekly web serial, I am so sad it's over.
Trust Me
This was a quick, entertaining take on the teenage vampire novel, but given the status quo at the end of the book my feelings on it are mostly "I wish this had been the set up for a series." /o\ Also, it's a 2013 edition of book published in 1993, and the text has clearly been modernised, but... in a slightly half-hearted way? It felt like 2003 more than 1993 or 2013: Jayna sends e-postcards but otherwise never uses the internet or email, and there's lip service paid to the idea that she has a mobile phone, but it's only a few mentions and they mostly feel a bit tacked on. It was weird.
(Quick housekeeping note: I have run out of room for new tags on LJ, which is why they are a little sparse over there. /o\ Also, because I haven't mentioned this in a while, my decisions about which things I write about are pretty random, feel free to poke me for opinions on things I haven't said anything about if you want! ♥)
Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England 450-1500 - Henrietta Leyser*
Enemies at Home - Lindsey Davis
Saga vol. 5
Superman/Batman: World's Finest*
The King in the North: The Life and Times of Oswald of Northumbria - Max Adams
The Small House At Allington - Anthony Trollope
Foxglove Summer - Ben Aaronovitch
Rat Queens: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth*
The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman
New Teen Titans vol 2
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever - James Tiptree Jr
Tomboys and Bachelor Girls: A Lesbian History of Post-War Britain 1946-1971 - Rebecca Jennings*
Musketeer Space - Tansy Rayner Roberts*
Trust Me - Malorie Blackman*
Didn't finish: Bel Canto - Ann Patchett. I feel SLIGHTLY guilty for just abandoning this halfway through, but it was annoying me and I have a lot of other things to read, and also I spoiled myself for the end and it didn't seem worth it. It had that literary novel thing where there was a constant subtext of "by the way this is all SUPER MEANINGFUL JSYK", and I didn't like the fact that it was explicitly set in a mishmash of stereotypes rather than an actual South American country, and the few women mostly only got to be seen through the men's eyes rather than having point of view sections and ugh I just didn't care.
Medieval Women: A Social History of Women in England 450-1500
This felt slightly more like a collection of essays than a book, but the essays were all interesting so I didn't mind! It gave a great insight into the texture of women's lives in the period.
Superman/Batman: World's Finest
I think the thing I liked the most about this comic (other than the scene where Clark awkwardly gives Bruce a Christmas present and Bruce awkwardly invites Clark to spend Christmas at the manor, which was a thing of beauty and a joy forever) was the mingling of the supporting cast. Alfred and Lois clearly hitting it off was a highlight, but I also enjoyed Alfred and Clark working together, as well as the dynamic between Bruce and Lois, which I desperately want to see more of. Oh, and I am basically in love with all the very fifties civilian outfits Bruce wore in Metropolis. :D
Rat Queens: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth
As with the previous volume, this was a bit gorier than I like, but done with such gusto and with such great characters that I didn't mind. I really liked getting to see some of the women's backstories, and seeing them begin to mature a bit: can't wait to see more of them! I also enjoyed Stjepan Šejić's art, which was a really good fit for the book. I'm sad he's not doing any more, but excited to see what Tess Fowler does with it. :D
Tomboys and Bachelor Girls: A Lesbian History of Post-War Britain 1946-1971
Fascinating and readable account of lesbian history and culture. I did have one major issue with it, though: the fact that it never mentioned bisexual or trans people. I mean, obviously its major focus was on lesbians and that's fine, but it seemed like a mistake not to at least mention the possibility that women who had relationships with both men and women might have been bisexual, or that people who had male personas and/or lived full time as men might have in fact been trans men, or might have been non binary. Other than that, this was really great!
Musketeer Space
In which Tansy Rayner Roberts rewrites the Three Musketeers so that it's full of women and queer people and brown people, and also it's in space, and it's AMAZING. :D It's heartbreaking and delightful in equal measures, and, having been reading it as a weekly web serial, I am so sad it's over.
Trust Me
This was a quick, entertaining take on the teenage vampire novel, but given the status quo at the end of the book my feelings on it are mostly "I wish this had been the set up for a series." /o\ Also, it's a 2013 edition of book published in 1993, and the text has clearly been modernised, but... in a slightly half-hearted way? It felt like 2003 more than 1993 or 2013: Jayna sends e-postcards but otherwise never uses the internet or email, and there's lip service paid to the idea that she has a mobile phone, but it's only a few mentions and they mostly feel a bit tacked on. It was weird.
(Quick housekeeping note: I have run out of room for new tags on LJ, which is why they are a little sparse over there. /o\ Also, because I haven't mentioned this in a while, my decisions about which things I write about are pretty random, feel free to poke me for opinions on things I haven't said anything about if you want! ♥)
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no subject
Date: 3 Aug 2015 11:42 (UTC)Also I am RIGHT NOW! reading The Invisible Library!
Also, if you want a random non-fiction rec, and haven't already, grab Helen McDonald's award winning 'H is for Hawk' - it is beautiful and moving and so gripping. (Sorry, I just read that over the weekend and my head is STILL full of it!)
no subject
Date: 4 Aug 2015 14:55 (UTC)Hurray! Isn't it fun?
Ooh, thanks! That's been vaguely on my radar for a while; now it's on my library wishlist. :D
no subject
Date: 4 Aug 2015 15:10 (UTC)I'd be interested to know what others think of Aaronovitch's series. Personally, I enjoy it, but at least in the US versions of the books, they either weren't edited or A. and the editor don't understand how commas are used. Also, unknown if this only happens in the US versions, but Lesley starts out Leslie, then switches over between books. Very helpful... (The US version of the first book also had a controversy, because Peter was in shadow, looking like a big, presumably thuggish and scary black guy [despite being mixed race and probably looking like Obama], and was seen with a gun, though he doesn't carry. Sigh.)
Someone suggested that Peter Capaldi could play Nightingale, but I see him as more Anthony Stewart Head. :-)
I loved H is for Hawk. I've read too many reviews complaining that they don't understand why grieving a death could cause someone to train a killer hawk, but it made sense to me. She was in a wild frame of mind, and had experience with hawks, etc. IMHO, it was excellent. (Fortunately, the author is in a better frame of mind these days. She said in an interview that she's much more cheerful and it was kind of difficult to remember the state she'd been in at that time. She did a good job expressing it, though.)
no subject
Date: 4 Aug 2015 17:43 (UTC)Yes, I agree about Peter seeming to be dealing with stuff better than he really is.
It was great fun! I finished it over breakfast this morning and wondered why I didn't have the next one already!! :D
It had been on mine, too, and then, for some reason I can't now recall, I just decided that *now* was when I was going to read it.
no subject
Date: 4 Aug 2015 17:48 (UTC)I'm not too surprised the US editions are weirdly edited - I know BA has moaned about that issue on Twitter in the past.
I'm glad to hear HM is in a better place now. I confess, I wept in a lot of places - in part because it's not that long since I lost my dad (although he'd been ill, it was still a surprise) - it was different circs (my dad and I were not-quite-estranged, for a start) but I could still relate. And yes, her deciding to train a hawk made absolute sense to me!
no subject
Date: 4 Aug 2015 23:37 (UTC)no subject
Date: 5 Aug 2015 02:26 (UTC)no subject
Date: 5 Aug 2015 05:01 (UTC)no subject
Date: 5 Aug 2015 08:31 (UTC)I just checked and Genevieve Cogman's next book is due out in October, which is closer than I was expecting! \o/
no subject
Date: 5 Aug 2015 08:38 (UTC)I love it! The sense of humour really works for me, and I love how the magical and mundane aspects of policing are blended together. :D I have noticed the odd copy editing slip up in the copies I've read, but nothing too dramatic. I didn't notice Lesley's name changing, but I read library copies so can't check! Is the Leslie spelling more common in the US? (The fact that Chrome's spellchecker objects to the former and not the latter suggests that it is. ;)) (Ugh, yes, I remember reading about that. :/)
I don't know who I'd pick for Nightingale, but I could definitely see either of those options!
no subject
Date: 5 Aug 2015 08:41 (UTC)no subject
Date: 5 Aug 2015 13:31 (UTC)Absolutely!
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Date: 5 Aug 2015 14:29 (UTC)no subject
Date: 5 Aug 2015 17:22 (UTC)no subject
Date: 6 Aug 2015 02:27 (UTC)no subject
Date: 9 Aug 2015 21:57 (UTC)no subject
Date: 12 Aug 2015 12:18 (UTC)