Booklogging post of doooom

[luzula]

So, here are all the books I've read/listened to up in the mountains:



The Lost Steersman, by Rosemary Kirstein (#3 in the Steerswoman series)

Wow. This was stunning, even though it didn't have Bel in it! I'm so glad I didn't give up on this series in the first book, which I was slow to get into. It was so worth it--this is some really impressive worldbuilding, and a suspenseful gradual reveal--I couldn't stop reading. Also, I love Rowan and her scientific mind so much! ♥ Now I'm going to save the next book up for a long time...

Wives and Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell (audiobook, read by Elizabeth Klett)

I couldn't quite get into Cranford, but I really enjoyed this. If you're in the mood for a good Victorian romance with lots of family dynamics, this is for you. Aww, the man who the main character marries is an earnest naturalist--obviously he was going to charm me. There was one thing that annoyed me, though: in the beginning of the book, two middle-aged widowed people get married. I liked the woman at first--there was one instance where she needed some space to herself and wants to get out of inviting someone into her home, and also at one point she thinks that she's tired of teaching kids and wants to do something else. But of course those things were meant to be warning signs that she was a selfish and manipulative creature. *sigh* Also, Elizabeth Klett is probably my favorite reader over at Librivox. Wow, she's good.

2312, by Kim Stanley Robinson

I love KSR's Mars trilogy, and this is set in the same 'verse, I think? (Though there are some differences in the history of Mars--why?) Anyway, I enjoyed it, though it didn't grip me as hard as the Mars books. I liked the documentary-style chapters that were interspersed with the narrative. I mean, I was largely there for the world-building anyway, so I was happy to read about it directly. One thing I really like about KSR's world-building is that it feels almost fractally diverse and complicated. There's diversity in politics, gender, culture, art, religion, etc, so that it feels like an actual world.

Although I did have some quibbles. Like, I am not sure I can believe that in 2312, a significant portion of Earth's food is grown in space? There's just so much biomass and soil right there on Earth, even after a rise in sea level, and in space you'd have to build the biomass plus protect against vacuum, cold, etc, as well as the costs associated with transport and so on. I can't quite believe that soil can be built up as easily as he describes. Also, there's a terraforming project on Earth where people want to raise up the flooded Florida by using stone transported by train from inside the Canadian Rockies. Yes, really. Quick calculation: Florida is 170,304 km^2, or on the order of 10^11 m^2 (rounding down here), and they need to raise it by around 10 m. That's about 10^12 m^3 of rock, or about 10^15 kilograms (assuming rock has the same density as water--it's actually more). A freight car of today carries about 10^5 kg according to Wikipedia. Assuming 1000 freight cars a day, it would take 10^15/10^8 = 10^7 days, or more than 27,000 years, to accomplish this. They are much more advanced technologically, so sure, improve that by a magnitude or so, but I still can't see this as plausible. Anyway, despite my complaining here, I actually like the science aspects of the book--it has a lot more interesting ideas than many SF books that handwave wormholes or whatever. I'm complaining out of love. : )

Half a Crown, by Jo Walton (audiobook, #2 in the Farthing trilogy)

I liked the first one in this series so much that I've been saving this one up for about a year. Jo Walton, how so awesome? It's like, first I got attached to the characters (which happened very quickly), and then it all unfolded like an inevitable Greek tragedy, only I was never sure whether it would have a happy ending or if all the main characters would get sent to concentration camps or something. I was seriously going "oh no, don't do it, please don't do it!" several times out loud while I was listening to this. Besides the suspenseful plotting, I am so impressed by how these books portray the everyday reality of fascism, where a teenage girl can worry about what she's going to wear to the fascist rally without actually giving a thought to what the rally is about because it's so normalized, and at the same time her uncle is smuggling Jews out of the country without her knowledge. Everyone's got a weakness that makes them potentially a target, while on the surface it's all old-fashioned (and very class-conscious) British social life. Oh, and at the beginning there's a great sentence about skirts being so long in the 1960's that you had to hold them up when you went up stairs, which just establishes so immediately that this is alternative history. I think I'm going to get these books in paper form too, just so I can lend them to people.

Cotillion, by Georgette Heyer

I would probably never have read Heyer if people on my reading list hadn't enthusiastically talked about her, but hey, this was quite enjoyable (although wow, what distaste of the lower classes). I liked Freddy a lot, and I liked that it was not the sort of romance that had high drama and brooding heroes. Not that I read enough romance novels to know much about it? Well, except that a lot of (probably most) fic is actually romance, but I imagine fic has different conventions. Anyway, would totally read more Heyer.

Homage to Catalonia, by George Orwell (audiobook)

This is an eyewitness account of the Spanish Civil War. Orwell went there as a journalist, but as you can probably guess since he's the same guy who wrote 1984, he wasn't exactly impartial, and he promptly joined the anti-fascist militia. He's also obviously on the side of the anarchists against the communists. It's an interesting and well-written historical document.

Revise the World, by Brenda Clough

The premise of this story is that Titus Oates of the Scott Antarctic expedition (he of "I may be some time" fame) was plucked away just after he walked into the storm, and taken to the mid-21st century. I enjoyed it, but it didn't quite reach all the way to my heart. Mostly it's about culture clash, and Titus is a bit unsympathetic at times, at least by modern standards, which makes it more interesting. Oh, and there are some pretty cool aliens, based on a believable biological idea.

A Tale of Time City, by Diana Wynne Jones

Another of those DWJ books I remember with childhood nostalgia. And the suck fairy had left it alone (well, except for me wondering how everyone Vivian meets in Time City and all through tens of thousands of years of history speaks English). I quite enjoyed it, but I didn't feel the utter delight that I felt upon re-reading Dogsbody, possibly because there are no dogs in it.

Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein

I know, everyone else read this ages ago. But whatever, I loved it and it made me cry. Awesome use of unreliable narrator; awesome female friendship. If by any chance you haven't read it yet, do it, because you'll love it too. Will buy this in paper form so I can lend it to people.

Comments

[isis]

Wives and Daughters was made into a really good miniseries, as well. (I haven't read the book. But I liked Cranford (both book and series)!)

[luzula]

I think there just wasn't enough happening in Cranford for me? Hmm, maybe I should try North and South.

[feroxargentea]

North and South has more in the way of obvious social commentary. And cotton mills! Cotton mills and urban squalor was what Wives & Daughters was lacking.

[luzula]

Okay, here's where I confess that I actually tried North and South once before, but couldn't get past a moment near the beginning where the female main character tells her servant off for something, and how it was only after that that the servant really respected her, because she'd put her in her proper (subordinate) place! But maybe I should try again, because it does sound like I'd like it otherwise.

[feroxargentea]

Yeah... yeah. A fair bit of sympathy for the poor and downtrodden, without for a moment supposing them equals of rich folk. Bit like poor obscure plain little Jane Eyre feeling bad because she has to teach farmers' daughters (who are only capable of learning knitting, for goodness' sake). The TV version of North and South is fun, though. (Actual cotton mills! *g*)

How about Mary Barton, then? Genuinely poor protagonist!

[luzula]

Oh hey, I'll try that one, then. And there's a Librivox recording of it, too, though it's one of those that are a mix of tons of different readers.

[feroxargentea]

At least with multireader books, an annoying voice is a temporary annoyance :-)

[brigantine]

I love Cotillion! It's my second-favorite of Heyer's, after "The Grand Sophy." Yeah, they're definitely classist, but that's the period they're living in, so it's kind of a caveat lector, I guess.

Thanks for the reviews. Several of those sound rather attractive. I keep hearing about Diana Wynne Jones, but I've never read her books. I did see the Studio Ghibli version of "Howl's Moving Castle," and quite liked that. :)

[luzula]

I'll check out The Grand Sophy, then!

DWJ writes YA books, and they're usually quick, fun reads. If you're a dog person, I recommend starting with Dogsbody, although yes, Howl's Moving Castle is good, too.

[skygiants]

The Grand Sophy is a lot of fun and I second the rec, but it's worth warning for a super anti-Semitic scene in the middle. Oh, Heyer. She is deeply enjoyable as a writer as long as you brace for her GIANT blind spots.

[luzula]

Oh, that's good to know. Thanks!

ETA: And it was your review that made me read Cotillion, so thanks for that. : )

[skygiants]

Hee, you're welcome! I love it every time one of my reviews gets someone to read a book. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. >:D

[mysticalchild_isis]

I'm not generally a romance reader, and historical fiction isn't usually one of my favorite genres, but after I gave one Heyer a try, I totally fell in love and read a ton.

Venetia, The Grand Sophy, The Masqueraders, and A Civil Contract are my four favorites, but there are a lot of other good ones out there.

[luzula]

Yes, Heyer was a lot of fun! Thanks for the recs--I have A Civil Contract lined up on my ereader already.

[jesse_the_k]

You accomplished a hell of a lot of work on your journey! All the science and the reading and the scientist deconstructing the reading -- thank you so much for why that Canadian mining project won't save Florida.

Have you read KSR's Gold Coast trilogy? It's a tribute to the unreliable narrator: three kinds of ecological disasters in South California and the societies which form in reaction. That's my fave of all his stuff.

The only problem with Rosemary Kirstein is she has a day job. If we could only collect enough to permit her to write full time ....

[luzula]

I've read one of KSR's Gold Coast books, because I randomly came across it somewhere, but it was a long time ago and I don't remember much of it. Hmm, maybe I should put those on my to-read list. Thanks for the rec!

And yeah, I'm going to save up that last Steerswoman book for a long time now, because there might not be another for a long time...

[skygiants]

I admire your resolve to hold out and wait for the fourth Steerswoman book -- I caved and devoured it early, and now I regret it sincerely because NO MORE. ;___;

A Tale of Time City I never think of as one of my favorite DWJs, but it has so many really delightful bits in it -- the fake translation scene! Butter-pies!

[luzula]

I admire your resolve to hold out and wait for the fourth Steerswoman book

It's not really a hardship to me? That's just the way I normally operate--like, there are fics and books I've held off reading for years because I suspect they will be awesome. I was the kind of kid who would open Christmas presents very slowly one by one and hold out until everyone else had already opened theirs. *facepalm*

And yeah, I had a vivid memory of the butter-pies even before re-reading!

[feroxargentea]

Homage to Catalonia is interesting to read in conjunction with As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning. Another young Englishman caught up in the Spanish civil war, this one politically naive as hell.

The sort-of sequel to Code Name Verity just came out. Worth reading if you want to catch up with the survivors. It doesn't work so well overall, but the middle 200 pages are powerful stuff.

[luzula]

Huh, that sounds interesting with the contrasting Spanish civil war book. And thanks for the tip about the sequel to Code Name Verity--I'll definitely check that out!