Kate ([info]kate_nepveu) wrote,
@ 2003-08-11 23:16:00
Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend  Next Entry
Entry tags:books, fantasy of manners, sff, website

Book Log Update

Normally I don't post separate notices of book log updates here, but having just cleared my backlog by adding seven books in one swell foop, I thought I'd make an exception this time.

There for your reading pleasure are my comments on:

  • The Hot Rock, by Donald Westlake
  • Issola, by Steven Brust
  • The Element of Fire, by Martha Wells
  • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, by Alan Moore
  • Deep Secret, by Diana Wynne Jones
  • A Short History of Nearly Everything, by Bill Bryson
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling

(11 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]montoya
2003-08-12 05:34 am UTC (link)
Oh, good. I thought you were going to Trentify.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]kate_nepveu
2003-08-12 06:39 am UTC (link)
Nope. (I'd make a rule that I wasn't allowed to start a new book before writing up the old, but really, reading is more important.)

But steelypips appears to be down right now, even though the server status page claims its server is up, which is highly annoying. Some kind of highly localized router problem? It's a conspiracy, I tell you . . .

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]montoya
2003-08-12 06:42 am UTC (link)
Yeah, I noticed that. Seemed like a DNS issue, but who can say? (Well, the server admins, maybe.)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]kate_nepveu
2003-08-12 07:40 am UTC (link)
Well, it appears to be back.

Have you read any Westlake? I'd think it would be right up your alley.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]montoya
2003-08-12 07:54 am UTC (link)
I read the Hot Rock (I thought in booklog time, but it must have been before that). I thought it was... okay. Lightly amusing in parts, but it didn't really grab me.

Part of it might have been that Dortmunder is too much a sad sack; when I'm reading "fun" books, I don't want the characters to be schlumps.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]kate_nepveu
2003-08-12 08:22 am UTC (link)
But he's a _smart_ sad sack, and the people around him are fun, and he comes out on top (basically) every time.

Oh well. Ignore the comment over at the book log, then.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]montoya
2003-08-12 08:26 am UTC (link)
Well, I didn't DISLIKE it. And when it comes to series books, it frequently takes me a few books to really settle in and enjoy the things. I'll probably read another one... eventually.

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Fantasy of Manners
[info]hms_yowling
2003-08-12 09:16 am UTC (link)
Made myself a reading list from the thread on this subject, although unfortunately some of the books seem hard to come by. I'm curious to know what some of "manners" elements you're referring to. I find myself trying to pick them out but it may be that I have Wildean comedy of manners too firmly in my brain.

Random commentary follows:

I'd read Tam Lin previously (oh, ten or more years ago) and the only thing I remember about the book is the argument a few of the characters had over the casting of a Shakespeare play. Apparently a family was played by members of different ethnic groups and the characters nattered on and on about the significance of it. Me, I flipped to the copyright page to figure out why it was even a topic of discussion. Dated the book for me and it may even be that I never finished it.

Swordspoint -- enjoyed it but found myself wondering what the mannerly elements were. Is it enough to have aristocrats running around, or is it more the author's worldbuilding -- that she developed the idea of the swordsman as a method to settle points of honor? Alec could don that, hmmm, stereotypically English mannered male persona, but he didn't carry himself in that way throughout the book.

A College of Magics -- haven't finished yet, but am again wondering about the manners aspect.

Mairelon the Magician -- hadn't read this before (had read Sorcery and Cecilia as well as Magician's Ward, re-read them for good measure). God, MtM was hilarious. A comedy of fantasy of manners. I'd love to read a few more like this.

How are you enjoying Deep Secret?

I'm hoping that I can get my hands on The Element of Fire via the library.

Er, that's all I guess. Thanks again for the thread on this topic.

(Reply to this)


[info]leighdb
2003-08-12 12:00 pm UTC (link)
From your booklog:

I re-read The Paths of the Dead, by Steven Brust [...]On a re-read, I find that it is still an immensely fun and smooth ride, and I'm more curious than ever if it would be a good place to start reading the Khaavren books for someone who's only read the Vlad series to date. Anyone have empirical evidence to report on the last question?

I was going to go pick up The Phoenix Guards Sunday, but got derailed by Perdido Street Station and the next two Sandman compilations (more on those shortly in my journal), so I didn't.

If you're still curious, and you really think I might still enjoy the Khaavren books if I start from Paths, let me know and I'll be your library experiment.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

[info]kate_nepveu
2003-08-12 12:56 pm UTC (link)
If you're willing, why not?

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

[info]leighdb
2003-08-12 12:58 pm UTC (link)
Aight. Next trip, we'll try it.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

(11 comments) - (Post a new comment)

Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Login w/ OpenID
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…