Recent reading
Mar. 25th, 2014 09:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luzulaThe Shattered Chain and Thendara House, by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Reread. These are still SO GREAT--they make my id very happy. I think I need to request them for Yuletide next year. Talk to me about them, if you've read them?
Perfect Circle, by Sean Stewart
I'd read one book before by the author, and yeah, this one was similarly likeable and readable: engaging storytelling and vivid setting. It's urban fantasy, sort of: the main character sees ghosts, which complicates his life. The poverty in this book really got to me--wow, I'm so glad I live in a country with socialized health care.
Giraffens hals [The Neck of the Giraffe], by Judith Schalansky (original in German, read in Swedish)
For my bookclub at work; it's about a cynical middle-aged biology teacher in Eastern Germany. It was okay, but didn't really wow me. And as to the central metaphor of the title: evolution is not Lamarckian, arrgh! It breaks my suspension of disbelief to have a biology teacher think so (yes, this is far post-Lysenko).
I also read a Ph D dissertation about the history of the anti-racism/anti-fascism movement in Sweden. Good stuff to learn more about and very interesting, but inevitably it's a subject that stirs up feelings. I couldn't sleep after reading it.
Reread. These are still SO GREAT--they make my id very happy. I think I need to request them for Yuletide next year. Talk to me about them, if you've read them?
Perfect Circle, by Sean Stewart
I'd read one book before by the author, and yeah, this one was similarly likeable and readable: engaging storytelling and vivid setting. It's urban fantasy, sort of: the main character sees ghosts, which complicates his life. The poverty in this book really got to me--wow, I'm so glad I live in a country with socialized health care.
Giraffens hals [The Neck of the Giraffe], by Judith Schalansky (original in German, read in Swedish)
For my bookclub at work; it's about a cynical middle-aged biology teacher in Eastern Germany. It was okay, but didn't really wow me. And as to the central metaphor of the title: evolution is not Lamarckian, arrgh! It breaks my suspension of disbelief to have a biology teacher think so (yes, this is far post-Lysenko).
I also read a Ph D dissertation about the history of the anti-racism/anti-fascism movement in Sweden. Good stuff to learn more about and very interesting, but inevitably it's a subject that stirs up feelings. I couldn't sleep after reading it.
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Date: 2014-03-25 10:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-03-26 08:17 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2014-03-26 07:06 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-03-26 07:05 pm (UTC)Spoiler discussion below, for anyone else reading.
I really love them except for the ending, which rubs me a bit wrong? I mean, she hasn't really earned Magda and Jaelle's relationship with the Forbidden Tower people. Sure, there's foreshadowing all through the book that they're going to get involved with them, but the ending presents their strong personal relationships with those people as something established, which I don't think is built up enough to be believable. I also don't like the way Jaelle is treated as childlike at the end, and Magda's love for her is twice mentioned as being like love for a child, which, no. /o\ I get that Jaelle is having a breakdown and all, but still. Now I want fic where Jaelle is being competent.
Also I feel like Camilla gets short shrift at the end. I really like Camilla, maybe I should ask for Yuletide fic about her?
Hmm, I know there are actually books with sanctioned-by-MZB fic about the Amazons, but I have no idea if they're good.