Wednesday Reading Meme

[osprey_archer]

What I’ve Just Finished Reading

Jaclyn Moriarty’s A Corner of White, but I have a proper review in the works for that, so I shall not detain us here any longer than to note that I quite liked the book.

Also L. M. Boston’s The Children of Green Knowe, which is the first of her Green Knowe series. I don’t know if the rest of the series is like this, but the first book is great as long as you’re cool with the fact that it is not so much a novel as a long, atmospheric, lovingly detailed description of a slightly magical country house full of History and of ghosts. But, like, nice ghosts, so it’s not like they contribute suspense.

I found it deliciously soothing, but I suspect if it’s not your cuppa then it’s deadly dull.

What I’m Reading Now

More Les Mis. Infinite Les Mis. I’m kind of stalling on it because we’re going to meet the Amis soon, and I suspect that once I read about the book canon Enjolras and Grantaire, I will be way too embarrassed to finish/continue my fic, and that would be a mean thing to do to my readers, whom I have already dragged through seven chapters of poor life choices and philosophical rambling.

HOWEVER possibly it will simply inspire me to finish the story, so I should really get on that.

What I Plan to Read Next

I have Grace Lin’s Starry River of the Sky, which I am saving for my visit home over Memorial Day weekend. Chinese folktale remix! With illustrations! I am excited!

Also Maureen Johnson’s 13 Little Blue Envelopes, because I have heard Maureen Johnson’s work mentioned hither and thither AND ALSO the book features European travel, so. Clearly a win-win.

Plus if I like her work, she has a ton of books, so I am clearly set for the rest of the summer. Except there are SO MANY BOOKS I want to read, you guys, how will I ever be able to prioritize???

Comments

[silverusagi]

You are always reading so much! I remember when I used to read that much...

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

I am trying to make up a year's worth of reading that I had no time to do during the school year! That's a lot of books.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

I think part of my reluctance to plunge back into Les Mis springs from realizing, thanks in part to your posts, just how big a role the friends play, and I am not *interested* in the friends, at least not from what I've seen so far. As depicted, so far they remind me of the sorts of hyperbolic characters you get in Broadway plays--they could be from the cast of Rent or something--and that's not to my tastes. Whereas, I like what I thought of as the main storyline, about Jean Valjean and Cosette and Javert, etc. And Marius: I'm interested in him and his family. But not the friends. And so when I saw how much you liked the one friend and then a girl I'd not even met yet, I felt a kind of deflation and weariness. But, on the other hand, with the exception of the friends, I've liked everything else about the book so far, so maybe I should just grit my teeth and plunge in again.

And yay, Starry River of the Sky!

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Well, my affection for Eponine et al comes entirely from the movie, where is seemed perfectly reasonable that they would act like hyperbolic musical characters, as they were in a musical. So maybe I will find them overblown when I get to them?

Alternatively, perhaps they'll grow on you as you read more? He wrote so much about them, presumably they grow some depth eventually...

In any case: Starry River of the Sky, hooray! (And if you run into them, I think you might like the Green Knowe books.)

[lycoris.livejournal.com]

I remember The Children of Green Knowe being strange like that. I couldn't work out why I'd forgotten everything about it except bare details and now I've realised it. I think some of the later ones have more plot (one of my friends loves them)

Prioritizing books is always awful. I've got so many of them sitting around, staring at me. So delightful and yet so many!

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's not a lot there except for details. Fun details! But details nonetheless.