1) I read a lot.
2) I read for fun.
3) I refuse to apologize for my taste in books. I likes what I likes.
Recent reads:
His Majesty's Dragon (Novik): Good, but an increasingly annoying lack of women. If dragons talk why only two female characters?
Hunter (Lackey): So good I wondered if someone else had written it.
Bone Doll's Twin (Flewelling): So much creepy violence toward children, I returned it with prejudice and am never reading it.
Exit Strategy (Armstrong): Terrible. Beyond words. Did not finish. Stick to werewolves, lady.
Lust Over Pendle: Surprisingly Not Bad HP fanfic. Sequel is a mystery. Not too violent, explicit, or boring.
HPMOR: I liked it, but I dislike 'rationalist communities' for being as pratty as (some/most) vegans. (Don't read any of EY's nonfiction, is what I'm saying.)
Glass Sided Ants' Nest (Dickinson): A racist product of its time. Did not finish, too racist.
Written In Red (Bishop): Very enjoyable. Vampires and werewolves that are neither cuddly nor sexy.
Various things by Metzger: Better than nothing, but only barely. Universally need to be 1/4 the length.
Everything by Seanan McGuire: YESSSSSS. Especially the one set in Australia. Their real animals are strange enough. (Note: contains women, but NO violence towards women. Aside from being eaten by monsters, etc. Mira Grant zombie/virus books also excellent, if somewhat disturbing.)
Everything by Lillith Saintcrow: Lady, you need THERAPY.
Dreamer's Pool (Marillier): An engaging story about a mysterious woman. Want to read the next one too!
Gentleman Jole (Bujold): Fairly enjoyable, though not much happens. Leaves you with an unpleasant, slightly slimy retconned feeling afterwards.
Cast in Honor (Sagara): Death knell. Feeeeeeelings and wooooords. All words and no plot. Characters can die in a fire for all of me, I'm done.
Somehow almost everything I've read lately is by women. Possibly because when a dudely book is entirely full of dudes I just can't. I can't decide whether to axe the Novik series. It's just... so full of dudes. Dudes everywhere. Dudes on dude dragons.
What have you read lately that was good? (Or not good.)
Worm and Pact - completed webserials by Wildbow. Google is easiest way to find them. Monster length, but good stories. You can tell the author is still new, and they could use a good edit for length, but still worth the time investment.
ReplyDeleteSounds like good bedtime reading for me! Just a little too wordy puts me right out.
DeleteLast year I tried to review everything I read over on goodreads...but that ended up being SO MUCH WORK and sort of stopped. Right now I'm reading a book that could be described as "it'd be nice to have more than one character".
ReplyDeleteWhat I have read recently which was top notch, ace, had me up past my bed time multiple nights in a row, hung-over upon finishing it, and why on earth had no one ever told me about this book before now was Dan Simmons' _Hyperion_.
I have the sequel, but I am too scared to start it, that it won't live up to the perfection of the first one.
I'll have to try that- don't think I've ever read it.
DeleteYour reviews cracked me up. The Goblin Emperor, Addison. So great! Very little happens in the most enjoyable way. And a L M Montgomery book I'd somehow never encountered, the Blue Castle. Just the tiniest bit dark and real. And now I'm out of books, so will have to look into these...
ReplyDeleteWill add to my list, thanks!
DeleteI make no warranty that anyone *else* will like these books but I did! (Some of them at least.)
I recently read The Blue Castle and wish I had read it sooner. The somewhat dark view on relationships and family really really spoke to me.
DeleteI have the latest Seanan Mcguire saved up for a special occasion (I got it for my birthday :) )
ReplyDeleteNovik kind of loses steam after the few books anyway, even if you can get over the lack of female characters.
I just finished The Secrets of Drearcliff Grange School on recommendation from #2 on the blog and LOVED it. It's a good antidote to "all doods" given that it's set at a girl's school. SO GOOD. DC1 is currently enthralled and almost had a heart attack yesterday when he thought he'd lost it at school before finishing (we found it in his backpack in a usually unused pocket).
Must look into this book!
DeleteI read part way through Novik #3 and gave up after another round of gratuitous dudely violence.
I have the latest Seanan McGuire on hold!
I had a thought that amused me about the Drearcliff Grange book-- there are like 5 male characters (mostly in bit parts) and if there were a male version of the Beschdel test, the book would totally fail. That's so rare!
DeleteI'm on book 3 of The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin--interesting story by a woman author with great female characters!
ReplyDeleteI also recommend any book by Kristin Cashore for strong female characters, though there is more violence than I'd like. Actually same goes for the books (Throne of Glass series) by Sarah J. Maas--love the main female character, but get a little sick of the violence.
I read those Jemisin books and really enjoyed them! Fifth Season is dead to me because of the extreme violence towards children though. I did readmoje book each from Cashore and Mass but too violent... nope!
DeleteRead. One. Darn it.
DeleteMy best recent read: My name is Lucy Barton.
ReplyDelete