Summer Reading List

[shifty_gardener]

Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
AMAZING. OH MY GOD THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING. when not exhausted will type out the particulars.
The author will be at Comic Con *_________* SO EXCITED.
Things I liked:
* child main character (for part of it, anyhow)
* expertly unobtrusive worldbuilding
* amaaaazing writing style, very immersive
* lots of female characters
* science-y explanations of the world's magic
* random hilarious moments
* meta - author and narrator-within-the-second-story narrates in such a way that pokes fun at typical storytelling techniques, which sometimes lead to the above hilarious moments

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
I liked this a lot! But partway through had a discussion with a friend realized Kvothe (the main guy) was a total Mary Sue and that none of the other characters in the story-within-the-story are developed or even really friends with Kvothe. This was actually fine, because I realized the story-within-a-story is written like an old fairy tale, and I used to read a lot of those, so.
The utter hopelessness of the ending and seemingly doomed trajectory for Kvothe makes me wonder where the next book is going to go.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman
15 pages in, taken by Melanie. So far the main character circumstantially is someone I could like but based on his inner monologue is someone I would not like/would not like to read about. WE WILL SEE.

Julia Quinn novel with an amusing concept a.k.a. What Happens in London by Julia Quinn
THIS WAS HILARIOUS AND THE BEST ROMANCE NOVEL I'VE EVER READ. I've only read about four or five romance novels, of course, so that may not mean much. It will be the yardstick to which I will compare all others, though. It had in its favor:
* period piece setting
* misunderstandings
* characters that inwardly dithered about how not to look awkward in some situations/overthought things in a relatable way
* multilingualism (a huge YES for me ngl)
* surprise political/action-y subplot
* side characters that interacted with one another in unexpected and hilarious ways
* dramatic readings, and making fun of, silly gothic novels
* the main guy was not a rake (something I sadly do not much like and is very prevalent in the genre)
* banter
* a pretty low amount of ravishing, which was great, because it left room for hilarious character interactions
Ten Things I Love About You by Julia Quinn
Companion book/sequel to the above. Not as great, but def had it's funny moments.

Hundred Thousand Kingdoms sequel
got halfway through, didn't like it in the same way I didn't like its predecessor. Can't say Maria didn't warn me.

Hannibal by Thomas Harris
unrelated to the show, supposed to be addictive
Ended up giving it away because it was kind of noir. :\

Dune by Frank Herbert
~250 pages in - amazing worldbuilding (the culture, omg. if I were an anthropologist I would be salivating), beautifully crafted political intrigue, well applied philosophy, perfect hinting at information and larger connections to keep you intrigued, poor main character development

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
stopped 2/3 or 3/4 through several months ago >.>


Green mystery novel that looks awesome a.k.a. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
~30 pages in - not awesome in the exact way I had hoped it would be, but delightful precocious 11-year-old narrating voice

Count of Monte-Christo by Alexandre Dumas
Don't actually currently have a copy, but if I put it on here I'll eventually read it...right?

State of Wonder
Some book about scientists in the rainforest my mum bought at a library sale and pointedly put in my room (she's read it twice, so apparently it's good)

The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
~20 pages in, feels almost Salinger-y so far, i.e. I adore the prose ( ) but there isn't a clear plot, thus making it easier to put down and not bring places to read.

The Stranger by Camus

Comments

[oddishly.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I have instantly decided that we have very similar reading tastes, I had those books recced to me and by all means should have enjoyed them and instead disliked every one for the same reasons every time. Also, I am really really impatient to hear what you think about The Magicians! As I have told you. It polarised opinion between me and a couple of my friends who read it so I need to assess your rightness in these things, too.

[shifty-gardener.livejournal.com]

Her main characters seem to always be special snowflakes who seems to think gods will be interested in the fact that she wants to get laid. And then they actually are and it infuriates me. (wanting to get laid is fine, but the whole special snowflake and broing it up with gods makes me think of the 5th or 6th arc in a shounen manga, where it's like the 10th time they're confronting THE STRONGEST VILLAIN EVARRR2!1!! and achieving strength in a way NEVAR SEEN BEFOREE OMG NO IT'S IMPOSSIBLEEEE11!! and it feels like things don't have any worth, if you know what I mean)

Also the first book felt really closed off - the setting and cast of characters felt very constricted and I felt like the world was small and claustrophobic when I read it, or like the author just didn't want to complicate things/was too lazy to flesh the cast out. The small cast of characters also made it seem like everything that happened didn't have much context or impact on the country/world/whatever it was set in.

Ah, Melanie took the book away from me when I was 15 pages in, after hearing me rant at her about The Name of the Wind for days. /not bitter at all, obviously