Mehr Bücher
Feb. 21st, 2025 06:52 amKeeping up on books might be harder now that I can burn through them in audio format because I 100% have more time to listen to audio than I do to snuggle in a little nest and leisurely read a book. That's okay, it's life. I don't have time for everything, but having audiobooks as an option is fantastic. I catch up on podcasts between the audtiobooks so I'm finding a little bit of balance in my podcast listening by adding in the audiobooks. I will admit my NPR listening is non-existant right now, but that's fine. I still flip it on now and again to stay somewhat inforfmed. I like thinking that Trump and Co. are being given just enough rope to hang themselves, though I'm not sure if it's worth the collateral damage.
Morgan recommended the Legend of Drizzt books, which there's apparently a crap ton of. I started with "The Orc King" by R. A. Salvatore, which is the start of a trilogy within the dozen plus book series about this character. It's a D&D-esque fantasy, high on action, low on women, and sometimes losing it's point in the next battle scene. It was still entertaining. The number of charcters to follow was a little overwhelming, but I think I figured it out (mostly) in the end. The reader was quite good, but I'm too lazy to look up his name, forgive me.
I canceled my audible free trial, but snagged "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire because it was free and I finally hit the point of "what's all the fuss about." I found myself a bit "eh" about it. He kept nudging the line of being sexually explicit, but not quite crossing, which I found more obnoxious than just a sex scene because it kept me debating on whether or not to skip it. There were some interesting character interactions and it was a different view of Oz and how it developed. The worldbuilding was more thorough than the original books by L. Frank Baum, but Baum's vision was more whimsical and "Wicked" is gritty and "real" and I think suffers from the modern idea that "gritty and real" means better and more intellectually sofisticated, and it really is not.
Next up was "A Thousand Li: The First Step" by Tao Wong, a fantasy rooted in the wuxia and xanxia tradition of Chinese literature. An interesting change from what I usually read, while still in the fantasy genre. I admit some of the character names were hard to follow in audio form, it might have been easier in text, but the author was good about context cues to assist my poor Anglo ears.
I borrowed another T. Kingfisher book through the library, "A House with Good Bones," which was read by Mary Robinette Kowal (she is both a fabulous author and reader). The protagonist is an arceological entymologist who moves back home while her mother while she's between digs and things are Not Quite Right. Once again, I love Ursula's writing. It's witty and weird and wonderful in all the right ways. I know I can't write like that, but I absolutely adore it. I'm going to slowly work through the backlog of her books.
"Seraphina" by Rachel Hartman was my latest listen. It's in the same world as "Tess of the Road" and takes place a decade or so before. These two books stand well alone, you don't have to read one to get the other, but it does give you more insight into some of the characters. The title character, Seraphina is half dragon and rather desperate to keep that a secret. It's about coming to terms with the parts of yourself that you can't change, the danger and power of secrets, love, discovering yourself, and coming to understand the choises your parents made and how they affect you. There were some parallels in what I'm writing in FFK so there was a good deal more analytical thought going on as I was listening. The twist near the end was quite spectacular and the mystery and intruige woven in kept me looking sharply for the next clue. Surprising, but inevitable is an adequate describer.
Morgan recommended the Legend of Drizzt books, which there's apparently a crap ton of. I started with "The Orc King" by R. A. Salvatore, which is the start of a trilogy within the dozen plus book series about this character. It's a D&D-esque fantasy, high on action, low on women, and sometimes losing it's point in the next battle scene. It was still entertaining. The number of charcters to follow was a little overwhelming, but I think I figured it out (mostly) in the end. The reader was quite good, but I'm too lazy to look up his name, forgive me.
I canceled my audible free trial, but snagged "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire because it was free and I finally hit the point of "what's all the fuss about." I found myself a bit "eh" about it. He kept nudging the line of being sexually explicit, but not quite crossing, which I found more obnoxious than just a sex scene because it kept me debating on whether or not to skip it. There were some interesting character interactions and it was a different view of Oz and how it developed. The worldbuilding was more thorough than the original books by L. Frank Baum, but Baum's vision was more whimsical and "Wicked" is gritty and "real" and I think suffers from the modern idea that "gritty and real" means better and more intellectually sofisticated, and it really is not.
Next up was "A Thousand Li: The First Step" by Tao Wong, a fantasy rooted in the wuxia and xanxia tradition of Chinese literature. An interesting change from what I usually read, while still in the fantasy genre. I admit some of the character names were hard to follow in audio form, it might have been easier in text, but the author was good about context cues to assist my poor Anglo ears.
I borrowed another T. Kingfisher book through the library, "A House with Good Bones," which was read by Mary Robinette Kowal (she is both a fabulous author and reader). The protagonist is an arceological entymologist who moves back home while her mother while she's between digs and things are Not Quite Right. Once again, I love Ursula's writing. It's witty and weird and wonderful in all the right ways. I know I can't write like that, but I absolutely adore it. I'm going to slowly work through the backlog of her books.
"Seraphina" by Rachel Hartman was my latest listen. It's in the same world as "Tess of the Road" and takes place a decade or so before. These two books stand well alone, you don't have to read one to get the other, but it does give you more insight into some of the characters. The title character, Seraphina is half dragon and rather desperate to keep that a secret. It's about coming to terms with the parts of yourself that you can't change, the danger and power of secrets, love, discovering yourself, and coming to understand the choises your parents made and how they affect you. There were some parallels in what I'm writing in FFK so there was a good deal more analytical thought going on as I was listening. The twist near the end was quite spectacular and the mystery and intruige woven in kept me looking sharply for the next clue. Surprising, but inevitable is an adequate describer.