GREETINGS. (I heard something on NPR recently where an American correspondent was talking to an African correspondent and he was all "hey, hello" super casual and she came on with a strong 'GREETINGS' and it was perfect. Like, it's the only way I want to greet anyone ever, want my phone message changed to it, etc. GREETINGS.)
ANYWAY. I started to get into the bananas nature of my summer, but that way lies mission-creep so I deleted it for now. It will have its day! But today I come before you to talk about BOOKS. I've been trying over the many years of this blog to find a way to speak briefly about various books that I've read. I've tried some things, but nothing made me particularly happy. Then I started writing in a notebook. Just the title, then a list of top of my head things I thought about it. I'm bringing those here, and then I'll write a little more about it if I feel like it.
I'm trying to train myself to bring my thoughts a little closer together so if someone asks me about a book (not unusual or unexpected in a library) I can pull it together and respond. As it is now, it's like all my thoughts are floating at various depths in a swimming pool. They're there, I just can't lay my hands on them in the space of a quick conversation. (does that make sense? I will trust that it does.)
The list method is something I picked up from Lynda Barry's What it Is. There's a part where she has this enormous word list that you cut apart and use in your writing/drawing exercises. After you select your words, you quickly write down whatever pops into your mind. I've used this in other writing and find it VERY USEFUL. Here we go:
Dystopia, horror, thriller, science, good teacher, young girl with extraordinary intelligence, failures of bureaucracy, road novel, it’s probably what you think it is
This was a fast read once I got about 30 pages into it. I don’t want to say too much because while I don’t agree that spoilers are inherently evil (or good), I think this book is best enjoyed just diving in. Warning: creepy and gross. But the pages kept turning!
Creatures, science, family, magic, time walking “the old fashioned way”, trust, loyalty, lots of castles, vampire investment opportunities, knew everyone, invented everything
This was the concluding volume of the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness; it tried to tie up EVERYTHING, which I think made for an overstuffed book. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed the trilogy and would be lying if I said I wouldn’t read another installment next year. (As far as I know there are no more installments.) I thought aspects of the story were too tidy, but I really love the world she has built over three doorstopper volumes. (Volume 2 is set almost entirely in Elizabethan England!) (p.s. I heartily disagree with the “Twilight for grownups” dismissals that this series has received and will happily have it out with anyone who wants to bring that argument to me.)
ANYWAY. I started to get into the bananas nature of my summer, but that way lies mission-creep so I deleted it for now. It will have its day! But today I come before you to talk about BOOKS. I've been trying over the many years of this blog to find a way to speak briefly about various books that I've read. I've tried some things, but nothing made me particularly happy. Then I started writing in a notebook. Just the title, then a list of top of my head things I thought about it. I'm bringing those here, and then I'll write a little more about it if I feel like it.
I'm trying to train myself to bring my thoughts a little closer together so if someone asks me about a book (not unusual or unexpected in a library) I can pull it together and respond. As it is now, it's like all my thoughts are floating at various depths in a swimming pool. They're there, I just can't lay my hands on them in the space of a quick conversation. (does that make sense? I will trust that it does.)
The list method is something I picked up from Lynda Barry's What it Is. There's a part where she has this enormous word list that you cut apart and use in your writing/drawing exercises. After you select your words, you quickly write down whatever pops into your mind. I've used this in other writing and find it VERY USEFUL. Here we go:
The Girl with all the Gifts by M.R. Carey read August 2-3
Dystopia, horror, thriller, science, good teacher, young girl with extraordinary intelligence, failures of bureaucracy, road novel, it’s probably what you think it is
This was a fast read once I got about 30 pages into it. I don’t want to say too much because while I don’t agree that spoilers are inherently evil (or good), I think this book is best enjoyed just diving in. Warning: creepy and gross. But the pages kept turning!
The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness finished July 28
This was the concluding volume of the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness; it tried to tie up EVERYTHING, which I think made for an overstuffed book. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed the trilogy and would be lying if I said I wouldn’t read another installment next year. (As far as I know there are no more installments.) I thought aspects of the story were too tidy, but I really love the world she has built over three doorstopper volumes. (Volume 2 is set almost entirely in Elizabethan England!) (p.s. I heartily disagree with the “Twilight for grownups” dismissals that this series has received and will happily have it out with anyone who wants to bring that argument to me.)
+++++++
I was going to put more books up tonight, but I think I'll just do short little bursts and we'll see what happens. More soon, but not now - I've got to get myself to bed because there are Florida relatives in town and they are running me ragged with their tourism demands! (it's super fun, though.)
