![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
listersgirlBooks! Many books, again, so I'm cutting to spare your list.
Dorothy Allison Bastard Out Of Carolina
Yeah. I knew before starting this book that I would find it deeply depressing, but I ran across it at the library, and it's on the 100 Great 20th Century Works of Fiction by Women list, so I thought I'd read it. It's just so hard for me to imagine living with the conditions shown in this book, and that, more than the dramatic plotline, made me angry and upset. Nicely written, though, with some very interesting characters. I just found it very heartwrenching.
Mary Balough Slightly Married and Slightly Scandalous
I think by now everyone knows my secret guilty love of a good romance novel (but only a good one - I'm very picky). These, I actually quite liked. I'm a fan of series of novels that take place within the same family or same group of people, so that you get little bits of them before the full story, so I was happy to see these, after having read Slightly Somethingelse. Oh, and I particularly liked Slightly Scandalous, because the hero was just my type of romance novel man - charming, funny, quick to smile. No brooding men for me, thanks.
Lois McMaster Bujold The Curse of Chalion
It was a little strange to be reading a Bujold book that wasn't part of the Vorkosigan series, but I got over it. Which is good, because I ended up really enjoying this book about a former soldier who becomes protector to a royal family struggling under a curse they cannot break. Characters that I really liked, a nice bit of mysticism without it being overwhelming, good fun.
Jayne Castle After Glow
More cheesy romance! That's probably why I was so depressed last weekend. I always forget how miserable they make me when I'm done. This was fun - I wouldn't normally read a romance with a futuristic bent, but I like the author (a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz), and it was a quick read.
Mercedes Lackey Joust
Do you think it's possible to read a fantasy novel about dragons without it reminding you of Anne McCaffrey? I'm not sure. Of course it doesn't help with the comparisons when your protagonist is young. I love Mercedes Lackey, though, and...it suddenly occurs to me that I don't think I finished this. I don't remember finishing this. I have no memory of how it ends, and yet I appear to have returned it to the library. Dang.
Gregory Maguire Mirror Mirror
This was an interesting take on the Snow White fairy tale, particularly his portrayal of the dwarves. It wasn't as good as Wicked, though - too much a retelling of the story, rather than a reimagining.
Val McDermid Last Temptation
You know, I like how she writes, but I can't really get into the psychological mystery/crime story plotlines. I thought I'd try another, but no.
Tova Mirvis The Outside World
I'm somewhat fascinated with Orthodox Judaism - it's a little like reading a fantasy novel where the author has created a really detailed society. This is the story of Tzippy, whose deeply Orthodox mother is trying to get her married, and Byron/Baruch, who shocks his more modern family when he returns from yeshiva with a newfound religious fervor. It's also the story of their families, particularly the two mothers, who were friends in university but drifted apart. Definitely worth reading, although I found the story of Tzippy and Baruch more interesting than the surrounding parts, and so I lost the thread a couple of times in the middle. Really nice ending, though.
Christopher Moore Coyote Blue
I hadn't read this in ages, and I was very pleased to find a copy in a secondhand store. Sam, an insurance salesman who has turned his back on his Crow heritage, finds his orderly Western life turned upside down by the trickster Coyote. It's not my favourite of his novels, but I still enjoyed it. After all, not my favourite book by one of my favourite authors is still a very good read.
Tamora Pierce Street Magic
I think Briar might be my favourite of the group in these books. Or possibly Tris. Still, this story of Briar and his reluctant student, the street urchin with stone magic, was very enjoyable - Briar's gang member past makes for good reading. Although, I read the girl's name as Envy until about 2 pages from the end, when I suddenly noticed it was actually Evvy. Durr.
Anne Thomas Soffee Snake Hips
A very fun true story about a half-Lebanese woman who, in the depths of depression after a bad break-up, signs up for a bellydancing class in order to explore her heritage. It was a great look at the amateur dance community in Richmond, from someone who threw herself into it with a passion, plus the scenes of her trying to meet someone on Arab Chat were hilarious. And some of the dancers she met would have totally felt like a stereotype, except that I've met people like that too.
Dorothy Allison Bastard Out Of Carolina
Yeah. I knew before starting this book that I would find it deeply depressing, but I ran across it at the library, and it's on the 100 Great 20th Century Works of Fiction by Women list, so I thought I'd read it. It's just so hard for me to imagine living with the conditions shown in this book, and that, more than the dramatic plotline, made me angry and upset. Nicely written, though, with some very interesting characters. I just found it very heartwrenching.
Mary Balough Slightly Married and Slightly Scandalous
I think by now everyone knows my secret guilty love of a good romance novel (but only a good one - I'm very picky). These, I actually quite liked. I'm a fan of series of novels that take place within the same family or same group of people, so that you get little bits of them before the full story, so I was happy to see these, after having read Slightly Somethingelse. Oh, and I particularly liked Slightly Scandalous, because the hero was just my type of romance novel man - charming, funny, quick to smile. No brooding men for me, thanks.
Lois McMaster Bujold The Curse of Chalion
It was a little strange to be reading a Bujold book that wasn't part of the Vorkosigan series, but I got over it. Which is good, because I ended up really enjoying this book about a former soldier who becomes protector to a royal family struggling under a curse they cannot break. Characters that I really liked, a nice bit of mysticism without it being overwhelming, good fun.
Jayne Castle After Glow
More cheesy romance! That's probably why I was so depressed last weekend. I always forget how miserable they make me when I'm done. This was fun - I wouldn't normally read a romance with a futuristic bent, but I like the author (a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz), and it was a quick read.
Mercedes Lackey Joust
Do you think it's possible to read a fantasy novel about dragons without it reminding you of Anne McCaffrey? I'm not sure. Of course it doesn't help with the comparisons when your protagonist is young. I love Mercedes Lackey, though, and...it suddenly occurs to me that I don't think I finished this. I don't remember finishing this. I have no memory of how it ends, and yet I appear to have returned it to the library. Dang.
Gregory Maguire Mirror Mirror
This was an interesting take on the Snow White fairy tale, particularly his portrayal of the dwarves. It wasn't as good as Wicked, though - too much a retelling of the story, rather than a reimagining.
Val McDermid Last Temptation
You know, I like how she writes, but I can't really get into the psychological mystery/crime story plotlines. I thought I'd try another, but no.
Tova Mirvis The Outside World
I'm somewhat fascinated with Orthodox Judaism - it's a little like reading a fantasy novel where the author has created a really detailed society. This is the story of Tzippy, whose deeply Orthodox mother is trying to get her married, and Byron/Baruch, who shocks his more modern family when he returns from yeshiva with a newfound religious fervor. It's also the story of their families, particularly the two mothers, who were friends in university but drifted apart. Definitely worth reading, although I found the story of Tzippy and Baruch more interesting than the surrounding parts, and so I lost the thread a couple of times in the middle. Really nice ending, though.
Christopher Moore Coyote Blue
I hadn't read this in ages, and I was very pleased to find a copy in a secondhand store. Sam, an insurance salesman who has turned his back on his Crow heritage, finds his orderly Western life turned upside down by the trickster Coyote. It's not my favourite of his novels, but I still enjoyed it. After all, not my favourite book by one of my favourite authors is still a very good read.
Tamora Pierce Street Magic
I think Briar might be my favourite of the group in these books. Or possibly Tris. Still, this story of Briar and his reluctant student, the street urchin with stone magic, was very enjoyable - Briar's gang member past makes for good reading. Although, I read the girl's name as Envy until about 2 pages from the end, when I suddenly noticed it was actually Evvy. Durr.
Anne Thomas Soffee Snake Hips
A very fun true story about a half-Lebanese woman who, in the depths of depression after a bad break-up, signs up for a bellydancing class in order to explore her heritage. It was a great look at the amateur dance community in Richmond, from someone who threw herself into it with a passion, plus the scenes of her trying to meet someone on Arab Chat were hilarious. And some of the dancers she met would have totally felt like a stereotype, except that I've met people like that too.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Dorothy Allison
Date: 2004-05-27 02:11 pm (UTC)Yeah. Hard to read but good book. She has another book called Trash that I found equally as difficult but not as well-written. It's fairly autobiographical from what I've heard and that is disturbing. Did you know there was a movie made of Bastard Out of Carolina? It wasn't very popular, but you might be able to rent it from some little artsy fartsy place if you feel like being more disturbed.
Nice list!
Re: Dorothy Allison
Date: 2004-05-27 06:52 pm (UTC)I really should just go check IMDb.
Re: Dorothy Allison
Date: 2004-05-27 07:55 pm (UTC)Re: Dorothy Allison
Date: 2004-05-28 05:36 am (UTC)Wow, I don't remember hearing about this movie at all!
Re: Dorothy Allison
Date: 2004-05-28 07:39 am (UTC)There was a lot of controversy over the release of the film because if I remember correctly there is a rape scene or an abuse scene or something. It still got released, but there was very little publicity. I think I only heard about it because I was reading the book and at the time I was dating someone who paid attention to things like that.