What are you reading now?

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Doesn't have to be women authored sci-fi and fantasy, talk about any books you're reading or thinking about reading right now.

[Sparrowlicious]

I started reading yesterday.
It's the last of its trilogy and very interesting. In Flewelling's fantasy world there's a country where usually Queens reign (because of the phrophecy of an oracle). The Tamír Trilogy is about the time a king usurped the throne and pretty much about how brave wizards conceiled the true heir - Tamír - from her uncle's eyes by making her appear to be a boy. The best thing about it: she doesn't know it until much later.
So you get a character who is actually a girl but grows up believing that she's a boy. Even after she turned back she's still unsure about a lot of things. She's still a warrior since the country's queens were always warriors but she has a hard time coming to terms that her body is different.
I really love that since, you know, she's still the same person, only with a different gender. It's brilliant. Also, she's a really good warrior and all the other characters in this book are great too. <3
(Also, it shares the world of the Nightrunner series. Since Tamír builds the new capital there's also a quick overview of her history in the Nightrunner books.)

[Mark]

interesting reading, con fit in so many genres.

[E.J.]

The Wild Ways by Tanya Huff. I'd like to be enjoying this book more than I am. I loved the previous book in the series, The Enchantment Emporium. The characters were engaging, and I loved the mythos. But I'm not loving this one, at least not so far.

It started badly for me -- too little of the characters from The Enchantment Emporium. The story is told from multiple POVs, which is not a technique I'm overly crazy about, and one of the initial POVs is a character I find deeply unsympathetic. I think that's a poor narrative choice, actually, and a good learning point for me as an author. There were other POVs that Huff could have written from on the same plot-line. Those POVs could have started as "corporate" as Amelia Carlson's and then become more sympathetic over time. I think that might have drawn me in more.

There's also no central "romance" to this story, and while I like Charlie's poly lifestyle, the romance between Allie and Graham in The Enchantment Emporium definitely drew me into that story.

Finally, there hasn't been much magic so far. Given the amount of time Huff dedicates to setting up the magical system in The Enchantment Emporium, I felt like she could have made more use of it, earlier on here.

Ah, well, hopefully the book will continue to improve!

[Jo]

Alicja wrote: "Doesn't have to be women authored sci-fi and fantasy, talk about any books you're reading or thinking about reading right now."

Since I don't work and two of my classes involve reading books...

I've started 8 or so books but I am almost done with Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes, halfway done with Great Expectations.

I finished Goosebumps The Horror At Camp Jellyjam. I just found out that Goosebumps was originally written with girls in mind, but appeals to both genders. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/goosebu...). Just found this out so I wanna annoy everyone with this information.

[E.J.]

Jori, is there anything about the Goosebumps series that feels "targeted" towards the female audience? Just curious.

[Jo]

E J wrote: "Jori, is there anything about the Goosebumps series that feels "targeted" towards the female audience? Just curious."

What I written was based on what R.L. Stine has said about his books.

"The secret of “Goosebumps” . . . was it was the first book series to appeal equally to boys and girls. . . . In fact, these books were originally done for a girl audience. And then the fan mail started coming in, and it was half from boys. I have a boy and a girl in every book. . . . [The books are] aimed at 7-to-12-year-olds. Second-graders can read them."

I meant originally it was geared toward girls -- so who knows how they may have continued to package the books if it continued on. Horror books glittery and pink could have been a possibility..

[E.J.]

Interesting. Also interesting that it was a male writer who decided to pitch his books equally at boys and girls. Has YA horror hitherto been primarily targeted at a male audience? I don't know enough about it to know.

[Jo]

Neither do I know,really. I've been wondering about that for a while because I read another "horror" book for children and all main character s were male ( a series) When I read the above and the lead was female, I wanted to know if r.l Stine did that regularly.

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Jori wrote: "I finished Goosebumps The Horror At Camp Jellyjam. I just found out that Goosebumps was originally written with girls in mind, but appeals to both genders."

Really? I'm surprised. I haven't read it in years but traditionally horror genres (as I remember them from decades ago) are considered to be boys' domain. Plus, its usually more common that something meant for boys appeals to girls but not the other way around. Go Goosbumps!

[Gary]

I'm using this as my bucket list for 2014:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinlarosa/bo...

I'm not going to do all of those, but most seem like things I should have under my (reading) belt.

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Interesting list... I've read a few of them, some back when I was in high school.

When I see Fyodor Dostoyevsky's name I shudder. We had to read Crime and Punishment and then Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina one semester in high school and then write up a 15+ page paper on comparison and contrast between the two novels and their themes, styles, etc. I remember that assignment 13 years later still because, despite not being a teen who was not keen on dramatics, I thought that this would drive me to cut myself. It was THE most horrible experience during high school (which includes bullying and other traumas). Sorry, tangent, but the mention of either of these two books brings back nightmares.

[Gary]

Alicja wrote: "I remember that assignment 13 years later still because, despite not being a teen who was not keen on dramatics, I thought that this would drive me to cut myself. It was THE most horrible experience during high school (which includes bullying and other traumas). Sorry, tangent, but the mention of either of these two books brings back nightmares."

I guess that would be a kind of successful reading experience.... At least, it would qualify as potentially life changing (since that's the premise of the list.)

I'm not real psyched about all of those, but several are "should-have-read-by-now" books. I'm probably NOT going to read Life of Pi anytime soon, but The Diving Bell and the Butterfly is definitely on my list.

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Ha! That's called an experience to scare teenagers off reading completely. And I am one of those who generally liked to read books for lit class.

I also remember reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance in high school and loving it. It has been on my re-read list for years along with Khun's Structure of Scientific Revolutions, The Heart of Darkness, and Kiss of the Spiderwoman. I'd be interested to see if they still hold their appeal 10+ years later.

[Jo]

Alicja wrote: "Interesting list... I've read a few of them, some back when I was in high school.

When I see Fyodor Dostoyevsky's name I shudder. We had to read Crime and Punishment ..."

Oh wow, I enjoyed Crime and Punishment but I read it on my own. That's amazing that your teacher did that to the students, that much work... could kill a potential reader.

[Sparrowlicious]

I started reading The Name of the Rose on Sunday.
Wow, what a complicated book. I didn't think this would be such a difficult read but I guess my main problem are the infodumps. Eco pauses the narration for lots of background information that you probably need - but it's quite a lot when it goes over 3 pages.

What's actually really funny: apparently William is some sort of Sherlock Holmes-esque character. The main character's name is 'Adson'. Rhymes with Watson, am I right?
Anyway, apart from me not understanding many religious things (even with all the infodumps) it's so far quite interesting. I like William's deductions.

[Matthew]

Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge. It's a very convincing tale about a man who's Alzheimer's is cured in 2025, and he finds himself in a world that's completely unrecognizable by his first decade of the 21st century standards.

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Sparrow, that's a classic that I know I should read but that I haven't gotten myself motivated enough to read.

Matthew, the premise sounds interesting. Let us know if its any good once you are done.

I am currently reading:

From the writer of Wool, another dystopian novel. This time the sand has taken over and buried our cities. Sand divers, well, dive under the sand to find long lost hidden treasures. I like it so far.

A battle fantasy with lots of rough warriors and bloody battles. Plus, cool political intrigue.

Despite the creepy cover its so far a very good epistolary novel about the Roman emperor Augustus.

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

And I just realized none of the three were written by women. Bad me...

[Yoly]

Alicja wrote: "And I just realized none of the three were written by women. Bad me..."
Ha! Exactly what I was going to say :)

I am currently reading Daemon a techno-thriller about a game designer who created software to monitor the internet for his obituary and start "doing things" after he dies.

Also The Husband's Secret I'm not too far into it yet to say anything about it.

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Yoly wrote: "Alicja wrote: "I am currently reading Daemon a techno-thriller about a game designer who created software to monitor the internet for his obituary and start "doing things" after he dies."

That actually sounds pretty cool. What a way to gain immortality!

[Mark]

different.

[Sparrowlicious]

Alicja wrote: "Sparrow, that's a classic that I know I should read but that I haven't gotten myself motivated enough to read."

Well, it takes some time to get used to the infodumps. I'm on page 116 and not much happened so far. I admit I skimmed two pages of description because I didn't think they were relevant.

Mark, what do you think of Traitor's Blade so far?
Apparently at least one review has it that the main characters are too alike. Is that true?

[Mark]

Sparrowlicious wrote: "Alicja wrote: "Sparrow, that's a classic that I know I should read but that I haven't gotten myself motivated enough to read."

Well, it takes some time to get used to the infodumps. I'm on page 11..."

Will let you know tonight when I am home from work, will have read a load more by then so will more imformed.

[Mark]

Sparrowlicious wrote: "Alicja wrote: "Sparrow, that's a classic that I know I should read but that I haven't gotten myself motivated enough to read."

Well, it takes some time to get used to the infodumps. I'm on page 11..."
Ok, not really sure about the characters so far, only seeing whats happening from one view point, but its very well written and worth reading.

[Matthew]

Alicja wrote: "Sparrow, that's a classic that I know I should read but that I haven't gotten myself motivated enough to read.

Matthew, the premise sounds interesting. Let us know if its any good once you are don..."

I certainly will. And I forgot, I'm also reading The Giver by Lois Lowry, a well-known dystopian YA novel that is actually written by a woman! I anticipate that once all this Divergent hoopla is done with, Hollywood will move onto her book in their ongoing quest to mine contemporary YA fiction for movie premises.

[E.J.]

Gary, good list, and "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" was life-changing for me when I read it in college, so I highly recommend it.

[E.J.]

Just added this: Starvation Ridge, to my Kindle off a Twitter rec. Anyone else read it?

[Sparrowlicious]

I'm currently reading and so far it's very interesting. It's the sort of book that makes you wish some game developers would put their heads together with the author and create the book's world as an open world video game.
The thing about this book is: there are no human characters. The story takes place in a complete alien world. You get floating islands, lots of different races (apparently sometimes mixed-species), shapeshifters, and so on. Apparently, it's not unusual in this book if characters have scales.

[E.J.]

That sounds very cool!

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Wow, sounds very different. Let us know how you liked it when you're done!

I am back to historical fiction as I just started . I also started but can't renew at the library (someone else has it on hold) so I had to pause it and will pick it up when I can get my hands on it next.

[Bryn]

I've just read Ammonite which was majorly groovy. It might be an icon for this group. :) My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Great review, its been on my tbr for a long time but I'll make a point to move it up more now. You made it sound so exciting!

I just finished The Heroes and loved it! Next is Sheepfarmer's Daughter, supposed to be a battle fantasy with a female protagonist so I'm excited about it.

[Sparrowlicious]

Ah, um, I can't currently link my blog entry about The Cloud Roads (I'll admit: I'm at work, taking a small break and tumblr is blocked here.) I'll edit it in later. To make it short: It got its small problems but all in all it's very interesting.
Edit: Here it is

Anyway, I'm currently reading Vernon God Little and the narrative annoys me to no end - but I'm curious enough to continue reading (I want to know how it ends). All the adult characters seem to be completely oblivious to what that Lally guy does. That's quite disturbing, among other things (like, for example: the main character regretting that he didn't take advantage of a drunk girl... seriously? Ugh.)
This really makes me think twice about what books to get in the future.

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Sparrowlicious wrote: "Anyway, I'm currently reading Vernon God Little and the narrative annoys me to no end"

I checked out the reviews, seems quite a few people had issues with it. Despite getting the blurbs, reviews, star ratings, etc. there is always a chance of getting a crap book (or mediocre one) or one that just isn't for us. One book that is highly rated by tens of thousands I hated, it was Memoirs of a Geisha.

[E.J.]

I felt the same way about Across the Nightingale Floor. Lots of people loved it. I wanted to love it. Really didn't. Not every book is for every reader.

[Sparrowlicious]

Btw, Memoirs of a Geisha: That's a book I won't ever read. I read the book by the woman the author apparently interviewed instead: Geisha of Gion: The True Story of Japan's Foremost Geisha: The Memoir of Mineko Iwasaki
That was interesting, also cleared up that Geishas don't sell their 'virginity'. Some reviewers didn't seem to like her though because apparently you're not allowed to be proud of your accomplishments if you're a woman. (I didn't have the feeling the author was in any way 'stuck up' because let's face it, the stuff Geishas do is hard!)
Err, so much to that.

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Sparrowlicious wrote: "Btw, Memoirs of a Geisha: That's a book I won't ever read. I read the book by the woman the author apparently interviewed instead: "

I didn't like Memoirs of a Geisha because (I'll put it in the spoilers but since you'll never read it, feel free to get spoiled) (view spoiler)[she acts childish the whole book, there is no growth to her character. All the geisha's go at each other like teenage high school girls. On top of that, she falls in love with a man who does a small favor for her as a little girl and then ignores her for decades to come (ugh, insta-love). To top it off, as a Geisha she manipulates his best friend, who over a long period of time falls for her. He is kind and loving and saves her during WWII from an uncertain fate and hardship. He is intelligent with a dark humor and actually sacrifices to help her. But she continues to manipulate him while being in love with the jackass who barely speaks to her since that first time he did a favor to her as a child. So, why can't she develop past that childish infatuation (aka insta-love) and actually turn out a decent human being loving the man who was always there, always kind, always saved her ass? Because he has lost an arm in the war and is scarred... she thinks he looks like a monster. And her view of him doesn't change, she can't see beyond his scars as anything more than a man whose emotions she can manipulate to get what she wants right now. And how did he become this way? He fucking saved a fellow soldier's life! Fuck, this guy is what dreams are made of for any girl who is willing to look further than just the surface. But no. So then the big great ending comes where... she doesn't grow, develop, or change but hurts Mr. Wonderful by throwing him away like trash because finally the man who gave her a frickin' coin when she was a child confesses he's been secretly in love with her the whole time and whisks her away to live the rest of her life in luxury. WTF!? That ending pissed me off so bad I would have chucked the book onto the street and repeatedly driven over it with my car if it wasn't for the fact I checked it out of the library. I don't give many 1 star ratings, but wanting to have a go at the main character and cause her bodily harm is a good criteria for me. (hide spoiler)]

And that is why I hated Memoirs of a Geisha. Thanks for letting me rant. :)

[E.J.]

Alicja wrote: "Sparrowlicious wrote: "Btw, Memoirs of a Geisha: That's a book I won't ever read. I read the book by the woman the author apparently interviewed instead: "

I didn't like [book:Memoirs of a Geisha|..."

Wowza! Excellent rant! And I completely agree with you.

-Em

[Gary]

So, is Memoirs of a Geisha fantasy or science fiction?

[E.J.]

Gary wrote: "So, is Memoirs of a Geisha fantasy or science fiction?"

Er, fantasy?

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Gary wrote: "So, is Memoirs of a Geisha fantasy or science fiction?"

So badly written that its fantasy.

We can talk about how a male author wrote her as he sees women... or maybe just Japanese women. It is interesting that he wrote her as opportunistic, shallow, and unchanging.

Plus, in this thread we can talk about anything we are reading, not just fantasy and sci fi as per my instructions in the first post. :P

[E.J.]

Alicja wrote: "Gary wrote: "So, is Memoirs of a Geisha fantasy or science fiction?"

So badly written that its fantasy.

We can talk about how a male author wrote her as he sees women... or maybe just Japanese wo..."

Not just Arthur Golden's portrayal, but the myth of the "eternal feminine" is really interesting to me. What is appealing about a childlike character who never develops? I see it a lot, particularly in women characters. In fact, there was a little bit of it in the episode of "Almost Human" that I watched last night, where it was portrayed in a female sexbot that couldn't evolve beyond her programming. There she was portrayed as a character to be pitied. In Memoirs of a Geisha, I don't think the character is (intentionally) to be pitied. She's rewarded in the end by getting what she desires. How often are "eternal child" female characters rewarded?

[Sparrowlicious]

Thank you for this earnest review. :) Now I'm glad I read the book by Mineko Iwasaki instead. She's more mature about everything, even if she did some silly things like for example cook for her family without even tasting the stuff before bringing it over. xD That was hilarious. Also, she described her romance in a more serious way too. I can understand now why she wrote that book after what you wrote in your spoiler tag.

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

Sparrowlicious wrote: "Thank you for this earnest review. :) Now I'm glad I read the book by Mineko Iwasaki instead. She's more mature about everything, even if she did some silly things like for example cook for her fam..."

Yeah, I'd be pissed off as well if that was about me too. Funny how most readers love the book and never noticed that she remains, as E.J. put it, an "eternal child" throughout. They also appear to have no problem with her manipulating and then pushing aside when convenient "good" guy for a childish infatuation that he actually calls love and they think its love, an insta-love formed from an impression and that is long and lasting without developing over a long time or facing trials.

E.J., its even worse that she gets rewarded for it than pitied. I think we all know an "eternal child", both men and women, who never develop and remain childlike throughout their lives. That part is realistic. But rewarding such a character means that it may be actually a desired state (plus, I think Golden had some stereotyped ideas about what a Japanese woman and a Geisha should be and it colored his representation of the character.

[E.J.]

Alicja wrote: "Sparrowlicious wrote: "Thank you for this earnest review. :) Now I'm glad I read the book by Mineko Iwasaki instead. She's more mature about everything, even if she did some silly things like for e..."

I think it's really interesting that she's "rewarded." I'm not saying it's good or moral or anything, just interesting. I can't think of any other "eternal child" characters in sci-fi/fantasy or other fiction who are rewarded that way. The typical plot is to reward the character who has developed. Getting what they want is the reward for completing their character arc. Memoirs is unusual in that way. Again, I'm not making a value judgment about it at this point, just noting that it's usual in fiction, maybe unique (or maybe I'm just not widely-enough read). I wonder if that's part of Memoir's popular appeal?

[Alicja, ἀπὸ μηχανῆς Θεός]

E.J. wrote: "I wonder if that's part of Memoir's popular appeal?"

Not sure. I guess it has the insta-love appeal, the soul mates appeal. (view spoiler)[They both apparently fell for each other right away but he stayed away because the other guy was his best friend and didn't want to hurt him but in the end it hurt worse than if he would have done it years before. And she fell for him right away and held out... it's the typical love story where the prince at the end steals the "Cinderella"-turned-princess and whisks her away for a "happily ever after." Because of the way the story was progressing I thought it'd be more like Beauty and the Beast (which was one of the few Disney princess movies I actually liked as a kid, that and Pocahontas), where she falls for the personality and not the looks. I think that made my disappointment at the end even greater, I was expecting her to grow up and realize how good that other guy was to her, realize the beauty within, but instead the pretty girl got the pretty guy and the scarred, kind man was left behind and we didn't even find out his fate. He was the only character I actually liked as well. Anyhoo, too much ranting, few books make me this angry and this one did it just so thoroughly. (hide spoiler)]

[Cynthia]

I am currently reading Daemon a techno-thriller about a..."

OOO I just put it on my want to read list.

[Cynthia]

."Well, it takes some time to get used to the infodumps. I'm on page 11..."

An annoying, viscous, boring, sexist book with a measely thin mystery to it.

[Cynthia]

I loved Life of Pi and the movie was superb. I'm going to take a look at the other 2 novels you mention.