Something in the air...
Nov. 7th, 2004 07:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lady_schrapnelland it's something antagonistic to my communicating with people. This morning I couldn't get my email, but could get on the web - except for LJ, which was down, then this afternoon could get online, but no mail or web, and once that got sorted (by someone who doesn't 'know much about Macs', so I'm expecting more problems here!), gmail seems to be down. [Cue scary music...]
Back to books - I finished The Bearkeeper's Daughter by Gillian Bradshaw, a couple of days ago. I'd almost finished it, and had (blushes) read ahead, so knew the ending, but then came back and finished it properly. Loved this one - not as high on my favourites list as The Island of Ghosts or The Sand-Reckoner, but above all her others I've read. And I was so pleased that the unlikely seeming romance I was rooting for worked out! Then yesterday I finished Tove Jansson's The Summer Book, a ring from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
myntti, and it was just wonderful. Very simple and sparse, but funny and wise and very moving as well. I loved the characters so much. Actually, I'm losing track of the order in which I finished things, as I also recently finished Eva Ibbotson's Madensky Square, about which I'd mixed feelings. Lovely period atmosphere, and some great bits and pieces, but I couldn't really enjoy the main romance, when I had such a hard time thinking I should like this long-term unfaithful guy. It's quite melancholy in some ways, actually, though everything seems to work out for the best.
Almost finished the second (third really) Jenny Carroll, which is working better for me than the first one did. And (I love having so many books on the go at once), started Irresistible Forces ('nother great bargain from Amazon.fr) last night. I read Jo Beverley's story, as I'm saving Bujold's (which is first in the book) for last. It was pretty blah, though there was a wonderful bit about these far in the future people analyzing Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Very amusing!
There go the fireworks again - and poor Bell has just run away. Must go to the rescue...
Back to books - I finished The Bearkeeper's Daughter by Gillian Bradshaw, a couple of days ago. I'd almost finished it, and had (blushes) read ahead, so knew the ending, but then came back and finished it properly. Loved this one - not as high on my favourites list as The Island of Ghosts or The Sand-Reckoner, but above all her others I've read. And I was so pleased that the unlikely seeming romance I was rooting for worked out! Then yesterday I finished Tove Jansson's The Summer Book, a ring from
myntti, and it was just wonderful. Very simple and sparse, but funny and wise and very moving as well. I loved the characters so much. Actually, I'm losing track of the order in which I finished things, as I also recently finished Eva Ibbotson's Madensky Square, about which I'd mixed feelings. Lovely period atmosphere, and some great bits and pieces, but I couldn't really enjoy the main romance, when I had such a hard time thinking I should like this long-term unfaithful guy. It's quite melancholy in some ways, actually, though everything seems to work out for the best. Almost finished the second (third really) Jenny Carroll, which is working better for me than the first one did. And (I love having so many books on the go at once), started Irresistible Forces ('nother great bargain from Amazon.fr) last night. I read Jo Beverley's story, as I'm saving Bujold's (which is first in the book) for last. It was pretty blah, though there was a wonderful bit about these far in the future people analyzing Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Very amusing!
There go the fireworks again - and poor Bell has just run away. Must go to the rescue...
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Communicating
Date: 2004-11-07 01:53 pm (UTC)I liked it a lot as well, those other two are also my favorites and this might be my third. Scary our agreement no? I think Alchemy of Fire sounded a little bit like TBKD, I was all happy cos I thought I had found an affordable copy ( relatively, around 20 euros including shipping) but got sold while I diddled convicing myself to indulge in it in next month´s ( well, from today or so) credit card bill. Oh, well, I will get it sooner or later.
I like Madensky Square a lot, but it´s one book I think is not meant to be a romance, we got a love affair, which is not at all standard and we got no guarantees of happiness past 1914 which would be just around the corner, but it is a love story to that city and that city square. I don´t remember much of the relationships, but as a sort of collection of short stories, of details, of images, I love it. As a novel and plot, ok, it might be disapointing, but trust me, you will reread it and maybe enjoy it more at the second read ;) Oh, another not too standard of her novels is her last ( latest?) of her grown-up books, A Song for Summer, it is more standard-genre than Madensky Square but there is also this feeling perhaps of a bit of melancholy, more realism, I was thinking of it the other day and I think I am ready to reread aSfS one of these days ;) I still liked it, it is just different than A Countess Below Stairs or A Company of Swans.
Poor puppy! My best to her...
Re: Communicating
Date: 2004-11-09 07:31 am (UTC)I trust you, and will definitely reread Madensky Sq. sometime - as I said, I loved the period detail - which you may find similar to Star of Kazan to an extent (though only half the book's set in Vienna) when you get to it. And I picked A Song for Summer up the other day second-hand, but will probably save it for a bit. I don't want to spoil anything by reading too many of her books too closely together. Although I've said that before, and keep reading them...
peeking at the ending!
Date: 2004-11-09 05:32 am (UTC)it's so nice to know that others do it and then come right out and state what they have done :) but really and seriously, thanks, now i can do my peeking with a clear conscience and blame it on you, hee hee!
and by the way am starting wells' wheel of infinite and no peeking yet, though it's totally engrossing and also a bit confusing. i don't know maskelle's secret yet.
Re: peeking at the ending!
Date: 2004-11-09 07:36 am (UTC)It's ok not to get what's going on at the beginning of WotI - you're not supposed to. Though I don't think it'd be a book that you'd benefit at all from peeking, I don't think it'd hurt too much either. But some of the fun is sharing Maskelle's bafflement.
Glad to see you here - you've been awfully quiet lately (though I know I owe you a letter) and I was wondering where you were. PDB passed on your review of Komarr and was very pleased you'd liked it so much btw!