Recent reading

[luzula]

Jag såg henne idag i receptionen by Anders Fager [I saw her today in the reception area]
Swedish urban fantasy, or maybe it's horror; not available in English. Yes, it's a weird title. A friend of mine recommended the author, and I thought the book was okay, though there's sooo much drug abuse in it, which turned me off. Ack. It is also unclear whether evil wins or not, though that part I didn't mind.

On A Red Station, Drifting by Aliette de Bodard
Space opera based on Vietnamese culture; more of a novella than a novel, I guess. I liked it, especially towards the end.

Also, if you enjoyed Jo Walton's The Just City and its sequel, I can recommend the Crooked Timber seminar about it. Especially good is Ada Palmer's essay, though I also liked Walton's own contribution (it does depend on the other essays for context, though).

Comments

[malnpudl]

Jag såg henne idag i receptionen by Anders Fager [I saw her today in the reception area]

I'm betting that's a riff on the first line of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by the Rolling Stones -- "I saw her today at the reception" -- which might give some context to the title?

Also: Hi. I always appreciate your book posts. (And all your other posts.) Hi. <3

[luzula]

Ha, my appreciation of references to rock lyrics is pretty much nil. Thanks! I'll look up the song and see if it sheds light on the book.

(My translation of the Swedish title was different because in Swedish, a "reception" is a place where a receptionist works--like the lobby/reception area of a company. But as I understand it that's not quite what "reception" means in English.)

And hi! I have your recent post open in a tab but have not replied to it yet. I will, though. : )

[malnpudl]

The lyrics are really cryptic, a lot of very dated references to British drug culture, so don't be surprised if you find them a bit perplexing.

[calvinahobbes]

It's without a doubt a Rolling Stones reference, thanks for pointing it out :D

[calvinahobbes]

I'm not sure I would trust a book that was a direct translation of a Rolling Stone lyric?

Is The Just City any good? Is it at all like Sofies verden?

[luzula]

Well, a friend recommended the author, and I just picked the first book of his that I found at the library? My friend and I have overlapping taste, though clearly not identical.

The Just City is great! I really liked it. Thinky and with interesting characters; be warned that there's a fair amount of rape in it, though I think it's handled well. I don't think it's much like Sofies värld.