Books Read Recently

[kmo]

 Not officially part of December meme, but I thought I'd take this lull in the epic shitstorm of grading that I am in to do my little book review thingy. Enjoying my brief respite before I am buried under a pile of poorly written research papers and blue books. Though actually, I kind of like grading final assignments....in that they are usually easier to grade as I don't have to put as many comments in them 'cuz students hardly ever pick up their work. :P

I have a kindle now and I have just discovered the fabulousness that is downloading ebooks from the library. I know, I know, 2010 called and wants to hang out. I do feel oddly treacherous, like I am cheating on regular books or something. But it's just so easy and convenient to have them come at my command! So in the last month I read:

Speaking from Among the Bones, Flavia de Luce #5- This is absolutely my favorite Flavia mystery since the first one, probably because it is the one that actually takes the time to examine Flavia, her sisters, and their father as a family unit. The stakes are higher here. And I won't spoil, but it ends on a major cliffhanger/gamechanger that promises to take the series in a new direction. Which I am so happy about and it felt like the perfect time to pull the trigger on that particular Chekhov's gun. Anyway, I love Flavia...she might actually be my favorite girl detective. I just want her and Arya Stark and Sally Draper to meet on the astral plane and be badass tween BFFs. Also, PBS where is my Masterpiece Mystery series starring Flavia? Can we have fewer old white dudes and their young white dude partners and more morbid 11 year old girls solving mysteries, plz? Though a little birdie on FFA told me Sam Mendes has optioned the film rights...that would be amazing! 

Beauty and the Werewolf, Mercedes Lackey- Part of Lackey's 500 Kingdoms fairytale romance series, which I have read all of. I feel like fairytale romances are probably an odd choice for me, but I do love this series, even if it is super straight and conventional in a lot of ways. Also fairly silly. Mostly because I really enjoy all the fairytale mashups (this one is kind of Beauty and the Beast mixed with Red Riding Hood and general werewolf stuff) Also because I love the world-building- basically magic functions on something called The Tradition. The Tradition is storytelling tropes- the tendency for tales to repeat themselves. It's oddly meta. If you like OUaT or just fairytales in general, I'd definitely recommend this series. I wish there was more of a fandom for it.

The Devil You Know, Felix Castor#1-  I have to thank netgirl_y2k for turning me on to the Felix Castor series. I'm loving it! On paper, it's really not my thing- male exorcist doing ghostbusting in an alternate 21st century London. But it's really so much more than your typical urban fantasy. I don't usually go for male protags, but Felix's first person POV is original and hilarious. The world building is also great- like the way the books deal with the ethical and moral issues of having an epidemic of the risen dead around. Plus, it also has Juliet the gorgeous succubus who is reluctant to return to hell. I'm halfway through the second already and I can tell Juliet and I are going to be friends. 

I never know what to make of this show. Like I love love LOVE that the cast is so dominated by all these amazing powerhouse actresses this season. And I'm happy to just sit back and watch Jessica Lange, and Angela Bassett, and Kathy Bates and Frances Conroy chew the scenery all day. The plot I feel is shakier than the past 2 seasons....which is saying something. I think Murphy is a terrible showrunner. I have to say that moment last week where Patti LuPone's character gave her son an ajax enema is the scariest and most outrageous thing I have ever seen on television. And because I am a musical theater vet, I also kind of hearted it. 

Comments

[netgirl_y2k]

Oh, I'm so glad you're enjoying Felix Castor (that makes five of us!) and if you like Juliet, then there's some good stuff coming up!

[kmo]

i'm happy to join your fandom of 5! and now i'm trying to decide whether i should pace myself or just plow through the series. it will probably be the latter. they are very addictive. :)

oh Juliet...if she and Susan end up becoming an item, that will be something straight out of my id. my id is a very scary place apparently. despite being in a healthy relationship, sometimes i think i have some issues with women i might need to work out with a professional...

[netgirl_y2k]

Mine is an evil laugh, and I hate to dangle a carrot right at the end, but if you get to book five, I think your id will appreciate what's going on with Juliet and Susan, I know mine did.

[aptasi]

On first read I thought you were about to say "part of Lackey's 500 books (that she has written)" which is about equally true. I had a couple of her books in high school and was really into them, but haven't done much with her since. I might have to consider that, if I think I'm in a mood to put up with romance.

[kmo]

very true- she's quite prolific. i read part of the Valdemar series and actually like these much better. it's hard to categorize these books...romance is definitely part of the plot, but they aren't necessarily porny. some of the romances are a bit subversive (two dragons fall in love, a godmother ends up falling for her mirror servant) the first one is called The Fairy Godmother and it's about a would-be Cinderella who ended up a fairy godmother instead. the series is fairly tame and fluffy, perfect if you just want to be entertained.

[sorrillia]

At least you guys let them pick them up. It still seems really weird and a little creepy to me that MIT doesn't let students pick up their final exams: they're considered classified because profs don't write new ones each year.

[kmo]

that sounds like a horrible idea. how hard is it to write new exam questions? and it seems grossly unfair- i'm sure there's some fraternity or student org that has all the questions from previous exams.

at Michigan we had to hold onto the exams for 3+ years if students didn't pick them up, just in case they ever contested a grade. the gsi offices were filled with boxes of old blue books. ridiculous.

[silverflight8]

Interesting! My institution doesn't give them back (if you want a recheck, you need to make an appointment, and they're very strict about what you can bring--put your bag down there against the wall, no pencils allowed, 15 minutes only for looking--and you have to make written petitions based on that 15-min observation time *eyeroll*) but professors generally have past exams up.

[sorrillia]

Where I was an undergrad, at Caltech, they were always handed back. It hadn't occurred to me that other places would do anything else until I TAed here.

[kmo]

wow. i've never heard of anything like that sort of system. it does remind me though to double-check what i am supposed to do with all of these exams after i grade them....technically it's a student privacy violation if i just leave them in a box outside my office.