Outread Aubrey! Challenge discussion
What are you reading?
I was surrounded by books today, although I didn't read any of them. I was helping set up for the library used book sale. :D I told myself I wouldn't buy much, because I wasn't really looking for anything for my permanent shelf, but I found a whole stack of stuff... *rolls eyes* A lot of it will end up in the grand prize bundle, though, I think.
I also found this... Who thinks I should give this away as a prize, too? http://instagram.com/p/ef9dbHg59z/
I also found this... Who thinks I should give this away as a prize, too? http://instagram.com/p/ef9dbHg59z/
Aubrey wrote: "I was helping set up for the library used book sale."When I used to help out for our Friends of the Library book sales, I usually took my pay in books. :)
Read a book of short mysteries by G.K. Chesterton, The Man Who Knew Too Much (not related to movie of same name), earlier in the week, and then finally got around to reading The Great Gatsby.
That would definitely be a very good prize.
Read "None So Blind" by Chautona Havig. It was a fun read, not on my current reading list. But it was on my Kindle, which is what I was using and the other books aren't. I'm looking forward to the other books in the series! :)
Leah, I have a whole stack of fairytale retellings from that series that I need to read. Picked them up at a library used booksale. I have a thing for fairytale retellings... :)
Aubrey wrote: "Leah, I have a whole stack of fairytale retellings from that series that I need to read. Picked them up at a library used booksale. I have a thing for fairytale retellings... :)"I never did fairy tales growing up, so reading retellings is an interesting experience for me since I don't have the foundation of the original or Disney versions. I do enjoy them most of the time.
I find that stories using fairy tales can work well, and can work badly though I tend to like the ones that "turn them upside down" better than straight retellings.But there's another issue: nearly all the "fairy-tale retellings" I'm aware of draw on the same pool of half-a-dozen to a dozen or so fairy tales, when there are so many far richer ones to choose from. I would love to see a fantasy author try his or her hand at "Fairy Gifts" or "He Wins Who Waits" or "Why the Sea is Salt."
(By the way, one of the items on my list of books I think everyone should read is "any two" of the Andrew Lang Fairy Books. :) Which are even, now that I've had a look at his dates, on Project Gutenberg!)
Gail Carson Levine's retellings of "Puddocky" and "The Princess on the Glass Hill" are really good. ("For Biddle's Sake" and "Cinderellis and the Glass Hill") They're similar enough to common fairy tales that people don't question them, but readers of Lang know them for what they are.But I agree, there are too many retellings of the "popular" fairy tales.
I was not aware of those; thank you.Looking at those sparked another thought. I would tend to think less of a "fairy tale retelling" that won't work unless the reader already knows how the original goes. But I still want a "fairy tale retelling" to have the "feel" of a fairy tale---and I know of one example of a series where that's not the case. (I haven't read them myself, and I'm not sure I want to given how dark I'm told they are, but was present when my dad finally came to the realization that each book is built around one fairy tale or another.) That series is Mercedes Lackey's "Elemental Masters" series.
I personally take fairytale retellings in any shape and form. Retellings of the classics, inventive retwistings, nearly original stories that used elements of fairytales as inspiration... I like it all, because I just simply love the basic elements of a fairytale. I agree that it would be good to explore some of the more obscure fairytales (which I plan to do at some point...), but then again, I never get tired of another rendition of Beauty and the Beast... :)
On a completely different note, these are my acquisitions from my latest library trip: http://instagram.com/p/eqqLuLA53-/ Let's just say I discovered the "New Science Fiction" shelf. :P
On a completely different note, these are my acquisitions from my latest library trip: http://instagram.com/p/eqqLuLA53-/ Let's just say I discovered the "New Science Fiction" shelf. :P
Jealous! So jealous. ;) I started "Kenobi" at the bookstore, but I haven't had a chance to finish it yet. I really liked what I read though. It's sort of like a SW western...definitely an interesting reading experience. And I just love Obi-wan. ^_^
*grins* There are so many SW books I should read. The era before/after Ep. III is my favorite, too, so I expect I'll like this particular book.
Jonathan wrote: "I was not aware of those; thank you.Looking at those sparked another thought. I would tend to think less of a "fairy tale retelling" that won't work unless the reader already knows how the origin..."
There are actually six books in that series, two of which are very obscure, three somewhat common but not done by Disney yet, and Sleeping Beauty. All six are very good.
There are so few modernizations (Elemental Masters are set in the Twenties) of fairy tales that are able to capture the fairy tale magic, and most people choose to do Cinderella ... which is definitely overdone.
The reason I doubt I'll read any of the Elemental Masters books is that, from what my parents have said, they range from "dark" to well past "very dark" ... and I find I'm losing what little taste for such things I ever had. For all her flaws (in at least two series she has moments that are far closer to anti-Christian propaganda than I like), Lackey is an excellent writer, if not quite one I would rank in the top tier.
I haven't read any of Lackey's books, but my mother has and she likes her books, so she's evidently a good author. I don't care for dark books period (much prefer cheery, whimsical books like Alice in Wonderland and The Princess Bride), and dark and fairy tale just doesn't mix, despite the grimm (pun intended) themes of some of the original tales.
I disagree on dark fairytales, but I do have a taste for dark books of the right flavor. That said, I do prefer my fairytales to have happy (as opposed to tragic) endings. Many of the original tales are practically tragedies. Little Mermaid, anyone?
I'm reading "Moon Over Soho" by Ben Aaronovitch. It's the sequel to one I read earlier in the week. I guess you could call it urban fantasy (wizards in London) but it's also kind of a crime novel because it's about policemen who specialise in magical crimes/murders. It's pretty cool.I also borrowed three other books from the library -- I read a book a day the past week so I thought I might as well try and keep that up, even if I slow down slightly...
I'm reading "The Fellowship of the Ring" and "The Healer's Apprentice". I'll be slowly working my way through both the next week or so.
Finished Moon Over Soho. I think I'll read "Notes From Underground" by Dostoyevsky next. It's nice and short.
Corey wrote: "^Nice and short and awesome and brain-bending. :)"Then I look forward to it. Except maybe without the brain-bending, since my brain is pretty bent already!
Finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I liked it quite a lot! I'll have to wait to read The Horse and His Boy though - my book is due back at the library!
Just finished reading Clockwork Princess. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but that wasn't it. I think I'm in shock.Now I'll go back to my highbrow literature. Sort of. Maybe. Next on my list is Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas.
Miriam wrote: "Just finished reading Clockwork Princess. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but that wasn't it. I think I'm in shock.Now I'll go back to my highbrow literature. Sort of. Maybe. Next on my list i..."
Shock as in, you hated it? Or shock as in, it was that good?
Shock as in WHAT HOW DID THAT NO HOW PLOT TWIST kind of shock.
September giveaways tomorrow! And they're special, let me tell you. *traipses around humming*
I read (and formatted) Supervillains of London last night. I don't know why I should bother to review it... If my fangirling over the previous 5 books hasn't gotten you to read the series yet, then your loss.
I read (and formatted) Supervillains of London last night. I don't know why I should bother to review it... If my fangirling over the previous 5 books hasn't gotten you to read the series yet, then your loss.
Giveaways plural? *raises eyebrow* I'm intrigued!
Yup. Well, unless I decide to be stingy and change my mind to singular.
I've never known you to be stingy, Aubrey! :)
Y'all see right through me. It's not fair! :P ;)
I just finished "Angel Fall", by Coleman Luck, and oh... my... goodness. That has to be the best book I've read in a long time (that is, best book not written by friends; I'm afraid Grace's "Radialloy" is the book that wins 'best' in my recent reads). "Angel Fall" is a book with a lot of symbolism and allegory, at least to me. It's a heartbreaking book, and if the ending had been anything like the rest of it, I don't think I would have liked the book as much as I did.
However, though the entire book was heartbreaking... the ending was beautiful and happy, though slightly bittersweet.
It was wonderful writing, reminiscent (to me) of Tolkien and N.D. Wilson. Definitely a wonderful book.
*smiles broadly* That book astounded and impacted me greatly, so it makes me happy that you enjoyed it, Renna. :)
I was so confused because I had it confused with Kirk Outerbridge's "Eternity Falls" which was fantastic, but I don't think it was as good as the descriptions seem to imply.
I'm reading "Black Heart" by Holly Black at the moment. I also borrowed a couple of other books from the library, but I think I've read too many books recently, as it was harder to find ones that would stand out to me.I recently read "The Bone Season", which is apparently slated to be the next big thing. I did enjoy it, though it didn't strike me as so utterly exceptional as to be worthy of the huge hype. However, I definitely thought it was good, and as the writer is not a lot older than me, I was pretty impressed. It's supposed to be the first in the series, so I look forward to what happens next.
I also read "Clockwork Princess" by Cassandra Clare. It made me angry, which I think I already mentioned in this thread, but might not have done. Not necessarily in a bad way, but partly.
I've been doing a lot of formatting this week, but that means I've been reading in the process... Besides Katie's book, I read and formatted my screenwriting mentor's book on depression. Although I don't struggle with depression myself, I thought a lot of the practical advice in there was helpful for controlling other self-destructive habits. I'll add it to Goodreads and review it later... if I can't get him to do the work himself. *smiles*
I've been reading quite a bit lately. Funny how working full time at Barnes and Noble is putting me in the mood to devour books, right? One perk is a lending program so employees may take home hardcovers to read, so I will be reading some more modern books in the near future. But I had a lot of fun today with "Edna's Secret Marriage" by Charles Garvice, a 1905 story.
That is a seriously awesome job perk, Hannah. ;)
If you haven't already, don't forget to enter September's giveaways! https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
If you haven't already, don't forget to enter September's giveaways! https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Oh...today I got to take home a Nook to play with...and it had "Princess Bride" on it...so I am reading that for the first time! I got a third of the way through tonight...Oh, and on breaks we all sit around and talk about books! Definitely a great job for book lovers. :) And most of us read all the time.
Ahh, I'm such a nice librarian. I listed that book about depression myself. Here's my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... (Short version: it's not just for those who struggle with depression.)
Read Supervillains of London! I've been trying to do the first review (Besides Aubrey, of course. She cheats.) for the last three books. I think I finally made it. XDI just have to say (this is for you Katie) you're one of only three authors whose books I buy as soon as they release. ;)
I do not cheat! I have to work for this! *grumpy face*
My reading has been kind of fragmentary and all over the place the last couple weeks. Finished Guys and Dolls, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Pirates of Penzance—almost done with Peter's Angel.Today I'm heading to the library to pick up City Editor by Stanley Walker (research for the novel I'm writing) and E.B. White On Dogs.
Aubrey wrote: "I do not cheat! I have to work for this! *grumpy face*"XD Whatever the case, it makes it impossible for me to get the first review written. So it must be cheating. ;)
Well now, who's a sore loser? *tongue* ;)
Ohh? Elisabeth is reading my book? :D
Ohh? Elisabeth is reading my book? :D
Aubrey wrote: "Well now, who's a sore loser? *tongue* ;)"Haha. Oh well.
Just finished Angelmaker. It was awesome. And, unexpectedly, contained vintage lesbian superspies, which for me is always a bonus, though I appreciate that not everybody feels the same way.
There's nothing complicated. Basically what it says on the tin. 50s superspies that just so happened to be a little queer.
Outread Aubrey! Challenge
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I'm reading "The Silver Chair" again and lovin' it. ^_^ (Puddleglum is such a hilarious, wet-blanket character!)
I also have a massive stack of books for school that I am (slowly) making my way through. *wipes forehead*