Recent reading

[luzula]

I've been away from the internet for a while, and done some forest surveys in the north. Lots of camping and good companionship--I like that almost all the participants were middle-aged women like me. There was a fair amount of rain, though, and getting to/from Jokkmokk takes a looong time. I didn't write while camping, and for various reasons I've written almost nothing today and yesterday, despite nominally having time while traveling! But I ought not to feel bad about that--I've written over 100K so far this year.

The British Recluse by Eliza Haywood (1722)
My periodic dose of 18th century writing. This is basically f/f; here are the two main characters meeting: The Meeting of these two Ladies was something particular for Persons of the same Sex; each found, at first Sight, so much to admire in the other, that it kept both from speaking for some Moments. The Recluse consider'd Belinda, as indeed she is, one of the most lovely Persons on Earth; and Belinda found the Recluse so far beyond the Landlady's Description, something so majestick, and withal so sweet and attractive in her Air,----such a Mixture of the most forceful Fire, and most enchanting Softness in her Eyes, that she became wholly lost in speechless Wonder. And at the end, they get to live happily ever after together! But despite this, I don't know if I can really recommend it: most of the book is the separate narratives of the two main characters, who have both had love stories with Terrible Men. I was not that interested in reading at length about how they both passionately loved men who turned out to be pieces of shit and treated them badly! Why not give us instead more than one paragraph about how the main characters decide to shack up together? But I guess it's nice that one of them was a mistress and had a child out of wedlock and yet gets a happily ever after at the end.

Band Sinister by K J Charles (2018)
This was much more to my taste than The Magpie Lord! It plays around with Heyer tropes (the in-universe Gothic novel written by one protagonist about another, also the "stuck together in one household" trope). What I enjoyed most about it is the thoughtfulness and all the explicit conversations about consent, written engagingly and in a way that contributed to the characterization and relationship development.

Since all my books are packed, it has been the Summer of Ebooks, and I have somewhat glutted myself on historical romances. Taking a break from those now, and I have some quite different books reserved at the library.

Comments

[china_shop]

I've written over 100K so far this year.

That's awesome! Go you!

I really liked Band Sinister too. The communication in it was outstanding, and I really liked the sense of queer community, too. :-)

[luzula]

Thank you! : D

As soon as I saw you'd commented, I was thinking, "oh, I bet china_shop also likes/would also like Band Sinister"...

[china_shop]

Ha, I'm so predictable. It took me a while to warm to the younger guy -- he was indeed a plank. But once it got going, I loved it. :-)

[jesse_the_k]

I’d love to hear more about your forestry projects — are you on a footpath to Jokkmokk, or trains, or (gasp) automobiles?

Have you found any nifty lichens?

[luzula]

I took the train up, but partly got a ride with someone on the way down, since train tickets were hard to get. We were surveying forests which one of the Sami reindeer herding villages in the area needed help in getting more arguments to protect.

Hmm, no particular lichens this time around. I did find some cool mushrooms though, among them one smelling of anise.

[jesse_the_k]

I admire your using your forestry powers for good!

That sounds like a delicious smell!

[seascribble]

That was my first KJ Charles! WOULD I LIKE SODOMY? :D The Magpie Lord never did it for me.

[luzula]

That must have been a good first one! Would he like sodomy indeed. I also loved the etymological discussions and usage of Latin terms for various sex acts. : D

[nnozomi]

okay, I looked up Jokkmokk on the map, what a neat place to go to. (I wish you could send some of the air from there...)

such a Mixture of the most forceful Fire, and most enchanting Softness in her Eyes, that she became wholly lost in speechless Wonder
This is a fantastic line!

[luzula]

Jokkmokk is a very nice town, I have several friends living there! Definitely the place I would choose if I were to move so far north (which is not in the cards, however).

It is a good line! : D

[chestnut_pod]

I definitely think the Magpie Lord books are here weakest, for a variety of reasons (all this about China and no Chinese characters?) -- but that means they only go up from there! Looking forward to your Quite Different reading too!

[luzula]

I do like that she has such a large back catalog, it means that I can just go there when I am in the mood for a romance novel that I am reasonably sure to enjoy.

[garonne]

Hmm, The British Recluse sounds quite frustrating.

What I enjoyed most about it is the thoughtfulness and all the explicit conversations about consent, written engagingly and in a way that contributed to the characterization and relationship development.

Yes, I do love those scenes! There's a little polyamory negotiation in the book too; I would have liked even more of it.

[luzula]

Hmm, The British Recluse sounds quite frustrating.
It was! I mean, the story was fine, it's just that the author and I didn't agree on where to place the emphasis...