Recent reading
Dec. 2nd, 2021 04:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
luzulaThe Last Graduate by Naomi Novik (2021, #2 in the Scholomance series)
I find Novik compulsively readable in general and this is no exception. Also as usual with Novik, the romance doesn't really grip me, but that's okay. I don't have deep thinky thoughts about the book, though if you do, please comment! I suppose I enjoy this series more on the level of being entertaining and engaging, and given that there are plenty of books out there which are supposed to be fun and easy reading, but which don't actually engage me, I'll take it when I find it.
Romantick Stratagems by L A Hall (2018, #9 in the Comfortable Courtesan series)
I've been having a bad cold for a week, so it was time to break out the comfort reading, and this hit the spot as usual. Also it was time to read another book in the series before I forgot any of the by now rather large cast of characters.
Also, I got a very nice comment on my Flight of the Heron audiobook from a listener at Librivox! Here it is: I read this book thirty years ago and when I came across the Librivox recording by chance I thought I would listen whilst I knitted in lockdown. I was most impressed and engaged by the reading. Her voice was pleasant and expressive, not only in her delivery of the descriptive passages, but especially in her sensitive interpretation and voicing of the character's thoughts and feelings - both Ewen's and Keith's, which are central to the story of the unlikely friendship. It really did justice to Broster's story and rekindled my love for the characters.
Awww! That is very nice to hear, especially when I was feeling myself like I didn't do the book justice. Also I feel weird reposting it here because it feels like bragging, but whatever, it's just going to disappear into the depths of a forum thread on Librivox otherwise. They have a weird method of leaving feedback. You can't comment on individual audiobooks, instead you type your feedback into the "thank a reader" comment box. From there, it looks like someone manually has to post it into the forum thread for the purpose and then send a private message to the reader so they will notice it! Seems like that could be designed with less hands-on labor...but then, their forum looks pretty old. Also, sadly, you can't reply and thank the person who gave you feedback.
I find Novik compulsively readable in general and this is no exception. Also as usual with Novik, the romance doesn't really grip me, but that's okay. I don't have deep thinky thoughts about the book, though if you do, please comment! I suppose I enjoy this series more on the level of being entertaining and engaging, and given that there are plenty of books out there which are supposed to be fun and easy reading, but which don't actually engage me, I'll take it when I find it.
Romantick Stratagems by L A Hall (2018, #9 in the Comfortable Courtesan series)
I've been having a bad cold for a week, so it was time to break out the comfort reading, and this hit the spot as usual. Also it was time to read another book in the series before I forgot any of the by now rather large cast of characters.
Also, I got a very nice comment on my Flight of the Heron audiobook from a listener at Librivox! Here it is: I read this book thirty years ago and when I came across the Librivox recording by chance I thought I would listen whilst I knitted in lockdown. I was most impressed and engaged by the reading. Her voice was pleasant and expressive, not only in her delivery of the descriptive passages, but especially in her sensitive interpretation and voicing of the character's thoughts and feelings - both Ewen's and Keith's, which are central to the story of the unlikely friendship. It really did justice to Broster's story and rekindled my love for the characters.
Awww! That is very nice to hear, especially when I was feeling myself like I didn't do the book justice. Also I feel weird reposting it here because it feels like bragging, but whatever, it's just going to disappear into the depths of a forum thread on Librivox otherwise. They have a weird method of leaving feedback. You can't comment on individual audiobooks, instead you type your feedback into the "thank a reader" comment box. From there, it looks like someone manually has to post it into the forum thread for the purpose and then send a private message to the reader so they will notice it! Seems like that could be designed with less hands-on labor...but then, their forum looks pretty old. Also, sadly, you can't reply and thank the person who gave you feedback.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-02 07:23 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-02 07:26 pm (UTC)And aww, what a lovely comment on your audiobookâand they're quite right. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-03 01:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-03 06:20 am (UTC)Oh I loved The Last Graduate! I talked about it here. Haha, you'll notice I didn't talk about the romance at all either :) (And there's a Yuletide fic that looks Scholomance-centric, yay!)
but feel free to write all of my other worldbuilding prompts;)(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-03 02:00 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-03 02:06 pm (UTC)And feedback for Librivox audiobooks is much more sparse than for podfic, so I was very glad to get it. I only wish I could've replied to say thanks! (And awww, thank you as well.)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-03 02:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-03 02:15 pm (UTC)I had actually noted that you had an enthusiastic review, and just went back to read it. I don't know if the worldbuilding feels really solid to me, but it's just so fun and inventive that I don't really care. Like you, I appreciate that mana is something you need to work to get, and that it isn't free. Most of the second book kinda took the focus off that by giving El unlimited access to mana, which makes her ridiculously overpowered. Would like to see her struggle more with that in the next book! Because without that mana access, she'll be vulnerable again.
Re: the numbers issue, it could work out if magic is something that regularly appears among the children of non-magic folks. But yeah, something with a genetic component which has such relentless natural selection against it should have disappeared from the gene pool long ago...
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-03 09:26 pm (UTC)Aww, what a sweet comment! I'm glad you reposted it, and you should definitely save it to read again later. Celebrate your victories! Giving someone comfort and pleasure is a very valuable thing, especially with the way the last couple of years have gone.
I hope your cold is better! ♥
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-04 01:38 pm (UTC)Thanks! Yeah, re-reading comments later is definitely a thing that I do. : ) And yes, my cold is definitely getting better.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-05 02:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-05 05:18 pm (UTC)I'm taking a little break from recording Broster now that I've done Mr Rowl, but I'm looking forward to eventually doing the other Jacobite trilogy books, and also The Wounded Name. Don't know yet if I'll want to do the other books set in France...
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-08 05:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-14 07:00 pm (UTC)Not only is that comment lovely, and well-deserved. It reminds me of the power of making a comment, when sometimes that's the only fan activity I can handle.
(no subject)
Date: 2021-12-14 08:11 pm (UTC)Yes! That is very true--a comment can be worth so much for the one who receives it. ♥