Esteliel

At last the World Cup will begin tomorrow - it's about time! I've looked forward to it so much; summer without a World Cup/European Championship just seems wrong. Hopefully it will mean a few days of happy match watching in company - preferably more than just three. ;)
Also, I need a proper football icon - proper meaning pretty, huggy boys of course.

And I've yet again won tickets to the cinema. Four tickets to go see Toy Story 3 in 3D next weekend. I seem to be very lucky this year, so I immediately went and took part in a competition to win a trip to the world cup finale. Not that I think that will be successful, but who knows...

I've also used the hot weather to finish another book:

9) Lynn Flewelling - The White Road

I think the most telling thing about this book is that I thought "Ohh, the real plot must begin any moment now" when there were only 50 pages left to the book. I'm not quite sure what it is that makes these newer two Nightrunner books feel different to the original trilogy, but I think it might just boil down to length. I'm too lazy to go and look up the pagecount of Luck in the Shadows, but The White Road has only 385 pages, and I'm pretty certain that the volumes of the original trilogy were almost twice that long. These new books just feel so straightforward - you can sum up the plot in two sentences, and where I keep expecting conspiracies and unexpected twists, instead everything that happens is predictable and quickly resolved.

It's not that I didn't enjoy the book - I did, I even liked Sebrahn a lot more than in Shadows Return, but it just feels more like this is only half of a novel. I guess the next book will have to deal with the Hâzadrielfaie and the Retha'noi - it better had, because she left enough threads dangling there.

I wonder if the length of the books is something her publisher forced on her? Maybe shorter books sell better? I can't really believe that, though - this is fantasy, after all, genre of the thousand-volume doorstopper series.

Entry originally posted to DW: http://esteliel.dreamwidth.org/348272.html (comments). Comments are welcome in either place.

I can't believe that it's June and I'm only at eight books. Of course, there was the thesis, and if I'd count everything I read for that, the number would be quite different, so even if I don't reach 50 books this year it's no reason to be disappointed. I still have a few books waiting for me, and a few more I've preordered, and a whole lot more I'd love to reread.

For now, though, I finished Tad Williams' Otherland series yesterday evening. I've tried to make the last book last, but when the story reached its final climax after more than 3000 pages, I just couldn't stop reading.

5) Tad Williams - City of Golden Shadows
6) Tad Williams - River of Blue Fire
7) Tad Williams - Mountain of Black Glass
8) Tad Williams - Ocean of Silver Light


This was one of those series where, when I finished it, I just need a day to mull it all over, because there is just *so much*. So much that happened, so many people I've come to love, admire or hate, so many emotions... I really can't believe that I didn't read these books sooner, as they are without a doubt the best Tad Williams has ever written. I've always seen them described as SF or cyberpunk, which aren't my favourite genres, but these books are so much more. They are also epic fantasy, detective novel, and on a meta level, I think, even a commentary on The Lord of the Rings. These books are not just about the future, or virtual reality - they are also about mythology, about stories, and how humanity is defined by the stories it tells.

At the same time, the future they depict is just 60 years in our future, and even though Williams wrote the novels ten years ago, it is rather frightening to realize how much has already happened that seems to lead straight to the dystopia Williams describes.

At the same time, now I'm even more confused that, even though I love both his Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series and his Otherland series, the series that he is currently writing just fails to grab me. If I had read Otherland while it was originally published and had to wait a year between each volume, I'm pretty certain I would have gone half mad with wanting more. His Shadowmarch series, on the other hand... I've read the two volumes published so far, and I can't even really remember any of the characters. I really hope that one day, he will find once more whatever it is that made those first two series so outstanding.

Entry originally posted to DW: http://esteliel.dreamwidth.org/347954.html (comments). Comments are welcome in either place.

I thought that this year's WTF award would go to the Netherlands, but... WTF Serbia? O_o And the Russian song is really bad, too.

Apart from that, I quite like Slovakia (it's the usual ethno pop, but that always gets lots of votes, and hey, I have a weakness for that kind of thing) and Turkey is supposed to be good, too (at least Ü. promised me something along the lines of Linkin Park). Anyway, even in my big tri-national family everyone is keeping their fingers crossed for Lena, who is just awesome. ♥



Lena's really the reason why I'm watching the Eurovision half finals for the very first time (and there's nothing else on TV anyway). As Lena is from my hometown, I hear we will even get a huge public viewing event for 20 000 people on Saturday, like they usually do for the World Cup, but I'm not yet sure if I can make anyone go with me. :/


In non-Eurovision news, I'm still really in love with Tad Williams' Otherland series. Why didn't I read it sooner? I find myself slowing down now, as I'm about halfway through book 3, trying to make the remaining 1,5 volumes last. I didn't think it was possible, but this is just as amazing as his Memory, Sorrow and Thorn books - if not even more so. It's strange to be reminded what a gift he has for creating these many, many storylines of different characters, making you care for every single of these characters (except for the psychopathic killer maybe), because that's what I'm missing in his current books. I've read Shadowplay and Shadowmarch when they came out, looking forward to another fantasy series that would grip me as much as Memory, Sorrow and Thorn, but instead - nothing. :(

But whatever it is that his current writing has lost, Otherland has it in spades, and I'm already looking forward to getting to spend more time with Renie, !Xabbu, Orlando, Paul Jonas and the others tomorrow!

ETA: Slovakia didn't make it... Awwww. :(

3) Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett - Havemercy

I already wrote earlier about how much I enjoyed this, and it does feature one of the sweetest m/m couples ever, along with UST galore. This quote really says it all:

"I could have kissed him, and I almost did. He must have sensed it in me, for he made a small noise in the back of his throat and his lips parted as though he was expecting my mouth on his. It was an invitation, however clumsy and inexperienced, and with it his arm came up to lock thin and tight around my neck, pleading with me to wait - just a moment.
That was when I forced myself to draw away."

*melts*
Of course, the m/m romance is only a part of this novel (though a very gorgeous one ♥ ), and the other part is the adventures of the ill-mannered members of the dragon corps (flying mechanical dragons made of metal!) and the scholar who is supposed to teach them manners, as well as the war of the Volstov empire against the Ke-Han.

I can really recommend this as a feel-good book which I just couldn't put down. I'm looking forward to the next part of the series which will be out in paperback in two months. :)


4) Patrick Rothfuss - The Name Of The Wind

I know, I know, this has been touted as the next best thing in fantasy since Tolkien for quite a while now, but I only just got around to reading it. Another book I just couldn't put down, though I admit the continual reviews which called it 'Harry Potter for adults' left me baffled - this has nothing in common with Harry Potter at all, save perhaps that HP has a school for magic and this has a university, but there have been fantasy novels about magic being taught in an academic setting long before Rowling...
Anyway, this gripped me from the first page and I just couldn't stop! I took great care not to pick this up in the evenings because I knew that I wouldn't be able to stop reading until morning in that case. Even so, it didn't take me long at all to race through it, and I count myself very lucky that unlike his earlier fans, I won't have to wait years until the next installment. :)

A quote for this as well from the backcover, which pulled me in immediately:

"I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me. "


Unconnected to that, I'm still really pissed off by Kässmann resigning. Why is it that I cannot remember a single man ever resigning because of drunk driving? >:(

I installed Windows 7 on my PC yesterday. No idea why I though that would be a good idea as I have been fiddling for hours to get my mail program back to work. At last it seems to run, though, with all accounts, folders and filters imported and working.

Because the world needs nice people too: ( I am Pollyanna )


Also, before I forget it again (and I finished this two weeks ago already):

Books Read in 2010:
#2 Carol Berg - The Spirit Lens
I fell in love with her protagonist right away - and unlike the Avonar books, I was quite pleased that she wrote a mystery where for once, I didn't guess the outcome a few chapters in. As usual, the downside is that now I get to wait at least a year until the next book is out.


I also rewatched the season finale of the last Lost season on Sunday. Tomorrow morning I should be able to get a torrent for the episode which you lucky guys are getting this evening. I can't wait! Once it is all over, I am so getting the complete series on bluray, never mind that I don't have a bluray player yet.

1.) Sarah Monette - Corambis
The fourth and last book in the Doctrine of Labyrinths series - I think it's the book I enjoyed the most out of the series, as it lacks the darkness of the first three. Of course there is still lots and lots of Felix angst, but by the end I actually felt like there was going to be real happiness for Felix and Mildmay at last. It also didn't hurt that I adored Kay from the moment of his introduction. Why oh why isn't there more bdsm-themed queer fantasy? (Okay, themed is probably an exaggeration, but I'm now going to have very pleasant daydreams about Murtagh coming to visit when Felix feels like he needs a tarquin... ;))

The last two days, the temperature rose above 0°C, so the beautiful huge icicles melted and are all gone now. :( But at least I still have the pictures I took. And it seems like we will get at least two more weeks of <0°C weather from tomorrow on, so maybe new icicles will grow...

#46 Diana Gabaldon - Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade
Another re-read of a favourite. I hope that she'll eventually write one that gives him a bit of lasting happiness. ;)

#47 Carol Berg - Transformation
Re-read it for my Yuletide assignment... Another of those books I must have read at least five times already. It's not m/m, but the subtext is not exactly subtle.


( 47 books I've read in 2009 )

Obviously, I didn't make it to 50 this year after all, but I did better than last year. Right now, I have almost finished Sarah Monette's Corambis - but I don't really want to finish it, as I hate the thought of not getting to read about Felix and Mildmay again after this. But to cheer me up, I should get Carol Berg's The Spirit Lens any day now, which I had preordered, and which I will hopefully enjoy as much as all of her other books.

30) John Garth - Tolkien and the Great War
This was so, so good - I can't even image how much research Garth must have put into this. A definite recommendation if you want to learn more about Tolkien and his influences. On the same level, if not better, than Carpenter's biography.

31) JRR Tolkien - Tales from the Perilous Realm
This was really the first time that I read Tolkien's shorter works, and despite my love for all things Middle-earth, I wound up enjoying them a lot. I found myself especially enchanted by Leaf By Niggle, which despite Tolkien's often-voiced dislike of allegory, can't really be read as anything but allegorical of his own creative process, IMO.

32) Jacqueline Carey - Angels: Celestial Spirits in Legend and Art
Non-fiction by one of my favourite authors - now I should have everything she has ever published. ;)

33) Diana Gabaldon - An Echo in the Bone
( Spoilers )
34) Diana Gabaldon - Lord John and the Hand of Devils
I just needed *more* after finishing Echo, so I finally caved and ordered this. It's a collection of 3 short-stories/novellas, of which I had already read two in anthologies, so there was only one novella in here which was new to me. Still, as everything Lord John, it was totally worth it in the end.

35) Diana Gabaldon - Lord John and the Private Matter
I decided to reread the other two Lord John books then; they just make me happy. ♥

36) Helga Esselborn-Krumbiegel - Von der Idee zum Text. Eine Anleitung zum wissenschaftlichen Schreiben.
Another non-fiction book, but hey, it totally counts in my goal to reach at least 50 books this year.

37) Mamiya Oki - Ja-Dou 4
The only Manga series I've picked up in the last five years, but her drawings are just gorgeous, and she has this adorable couple I cannot get enough of...

38 - 41) Chris Owen & Jodi Payne - Deviation series 1-4
I bought the first two quite some time ago, and at last got the latter two as ebooks - it's m/m bdsm, and I really hope that there will be a fifth novel eventually.

42 & 43) Jules Jones - Lord and Master 1 & 2
I decided to check out another m/m ebook series afterwards, and I liked this a lot. The premise is such a cliché, but I loved it... Probably because I never read het romance novels, and this m/m take on 'secretary falls in love with boss' was completely enjoyable.

44) Janet Brennan Croft - War and the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction & Fantasy)
I was disappointed by this book, I really had expected more - I read it after Garth, compared to which this is really a letdown. I wouldn't recommend this unless you have very specific research interests like looking at Aragorn as a military leader, or comparing the battles of the War of the Ring to Greek or Roman tactics. For everything else, rather get Garth.

45) Verlyn Flieger & Carl F. Hostetter - Tolkien's Legendarium: Essays on the History of Middle-Earth (Contributions to the Study of Science Fiction & Fantasy)
This, on the other hand, I can very much recommend. It contains a broad selection of very good essays written by the usual names of Tolkien academia. I haven't read all essays, but those relevant to me were really very well researched and argued.

Right now I'm rereading Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade. Afterwards I'll only have four books left to get to 50, and as I'll probably have to do some rereading for Yuletide, that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe I'll manage 60 after all?

Squee - seven more roles have been cast for the A Song of Ice and Fire pilot: Jaime Lannister, Theon Greyjoy, Arya, Sansa, Dany, Robb and Ser Jorah Mormont.

Call me shallow, but I am SO glad they found a good-looking Ser Jaime - give him a blond wig and I think he could totally play the part. I'm so looking forward to this... Maybe I should reread the books until next year. :)

Speaking of books:

28.) Fiona Patton - The Silver Lake (Warriors of Estavia 1)

29.) Fiona Patton - The Golden Tower (Warriors of Estavia 2)

The Silver Lake is actually a reread, as it took three years or more for The Golden Tower to come out, and when I finally picked it up a couple of weeks ago, I could remember absolutely nothing, not even the characters, so I went back to book 1. With the second book, this series has really started to grow on me, as everything becomes clearer, the motivations of the characters and especially those of the Gods. I can't wait to get my hands on the next one, but who knows how many years that will take.

What I especially love about this is how fluid sex/gender is in that universe - bi-gender people are common and can change their sex to their preference, and people born as one sex can petition a God for that ability.

Gender has always been one of the themes I'm fascinated by, and though this is not truly one of the themes of the series but more a part of the background of that world, it's still really refreshing after the conservatism of fandom when it comes to the portrayal of gender. The way that "He acts like a girl" is one of the gravest insults that can be made about a slasher's characters, and the "Real men don't cry" that gets bandied about all the time annoys me like nothing else.

If Real Men don't cry, then I guess that Real Women do cry? Pity I'm not a real woman, then. In any way, I have long since decided for myself that I am not interested in writing about Real Men. I have very little interest in perpetuating conservative gender roles, and while the sex of my characters might be male, their gender is something different alltogether - a third gender maybe, as there are so many guides out there to tell us misguided women how to write Real Men.

Anyway, the purpose of the post wasn't really to rant, but more to rejoice at surviving yesterday's heat - without going to the ocean, or a lake, but instead I sat outside in the shade and wrote. I had two glasses of wine in the evening and continued to write until it got dark and the promised thunderstorm came with the 10°C temperature drop... And at long last, I finished the CE chapter. I feel really guilty that it took so long, but I think it's a good chapter, though all happy-fluffy. Legolas is full of ideas about how to make up for the fluffiness in the next chapter, which is a welcome change, as usually it is Glorfindel who gets ideas. ;)

I'm still working on the AinA story... I think it will end up at around 6000 words, and I should easily have enough time to finish it until the deadline. There was no writing yesterday though, as it was my brother's birthday, and as he'd said for some time that he'd like to have a Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, this was my very first attempt to make one. I think it came out rather well, and most importantly, it tasted great, even though I used only 1/4th of the Kirschwasser the recipe wanted me to add, as I'm not that fond of it.

( Read more... )

I did more cleaning/tidying/trying to put books into shelves today. But it's warm and I'm covered in sweat, so I think the rest will have to wait until tomorrow. Anyway, sorting all those books reminded me that once again I slacked off on my 'books read in 2009' list, so here are quite a few books, though not in the order I read them, because I'm lazy and also, can't remember anymore.


#10 Thomas Honegger, ed - Reconsidering Tolkien

#11 Caldecott & Honegger, eds - Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, Sources of Inspiration

#12 Hither Shore 2, Interdisciplinary Journal on Modern Fantasy Literature - Tolkiens Weltbild(er)

#13 Hither Shore 3, Interdisciplinary Journal on Modern Fantasy Literature - History of Middle-earth

#14-16 Mary Stewart - The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment
(Well, actually, I'm still in the process of reading The Last Enchantment, but unfortunately I'll have finished it in a day or two. These are really perfect summer reading. :))

#17 Seamus Heaney - Beowulf, A New Verse Translation

#18-21 Mamiya Oki & Tsubasa Kawahara - Ja-dou #1-3 and Ja-dou: Teiou & Keika

#22 Tolkien - The Children of Hurin

#23 Humphrey Carpenter - JRR Tolkien, A Biography

#24 Jacqueline Carey - Naamah's Kiss

#25 Elfriede Jelinek - Lust

#26 Tom Shippey - The Road to Middle-earth

#27 Tom Shippey - JRR Tolkien: Author of the Century

Books read in 2008: 37 books

( Read more... )


Books read in 2009:

1) Tolkien - The Silmarillion
Do I even have to say anything about this? The more I reread it, the more I love it. :)

2) Italo Calvino - Wenn ein Reisender in einer Winternacht (If on a Winter's Night a Traveler)
I guess you could call this a post-modern experimental novel... A Reader buys Calvino's latest novel, only to find out after 10 pages that the story stops and the printers seem to have bound pages from a different novel by mistake into the book. When he goes to get a complete version of the novel, he finds out there has been another mistake and he reads the beginning of yet another novel... There's quite some commenting on theories of reader- and authorship in here as well, but despite the frustration of always only getting the beginnings of novels this was a book I enjoyed.

3) Andreas Okopenko - Lexikon einer sentimentalen Reise zum Exporteurtreffen in Druden
Another post-modern experimental novel, but I'd call this a failed experiment. I was bored out of my mind by this. A bit like those Choose-Your-Own-Adventure novels, just in the style of a lexicon. It tells the story of a boattrip, pointing you from the entry for ->arrival to ->castle to ->lunch, leaving it up to you whether you also want to look up ->schoolgirls, ->water, ->sweets or ->random conversation. I was glad when I'd made it to the end of the journey and could put it away at last. Doesn't seem to have been translated to English anyway, so consider yourselves lucky.

4) Marieluise Fleißer - Erzählungen
5) Marieluise Fleißer - Ingolstädter Stücke
6) Marieluise Fleißer - Eine Zierde für den Verein: Roman vom Rauchen, Sporteln, Lieben und Verkaufen
I wasn't sure whether I'd like Fleißer, but I found that I actually do - more than Jelinek, in any case. It's definitely an interesting experience to read her, especially as so many of her short stories/dramas/her novel seem to be vastly autobiographical, and though on the one hand I find her life so interesting, especially the Brecht scandal, on the other hand I can't help but wonder what it must feel like to again and again and again put the details of your life/fears/dreams out for everyone to see.

7) Charlotte Roche - Feuchtgebiete (Wet Lands)
I already wrote about this novel... Certainly the most disgusting book I've ever read. At least I got rid of the mental images at last. It does raise interesting questions, but I don't think it's worth it compared to how sick some scenes made me feel. Only recommended if you have a reason to keep up to date with contemporary feminist literature/want to take part in the debate whether this is feminist literature or not.

8) Josefine Mutzenbacher - Die Lebensgeschichte Einer Wienerischen Dirne, Von Ihr Selbst Erzält (Josephine Mutzenbacher - The Life Story of a Viennese Whore, as Told by Herself)
LOL, I'm sure I'm on the list of Schäuble and von der Leyen now as ordering child porn... You can easily order the Swiss edition from amazon.de, but the critical edition with lots of essays included by a German publisher is still on the index because while it's art it's also child porn, apparently.
Anyway, I read this directly after Roche's novel, and OMG in contrast to that this novel was even enjoyable, even though the plot is quickly told (little girl has sex with basically everyone... brother, friends, teacher, priest, father and so on, until at last she winds up a famous courtesan).

9) Sarah Monette - The Bone Key
A collection of short stories, dealing with an introverted museum archivist who always winds up in the middle of paranormal mysteries. I really enjoyed these, even though I usually like neither short stories nor paranormal mysteries.

I signed up for Ardor in August again - because I totally need another story to write, ahem. But I am working on CE too...


Books Read in 2008

#31-#33 Sarah Monette - Melusine; The Virtu; The Mirador
Because I suck and didn't keep my resolve to write something immediately about the books I had read, even if it's just a sentence, it's been a few months now and I can't remember what happened in the single volumes. All I can tell you is that I enjoyed this series immensely - the fourth (and last) volume, Corambis, is now out as well, and I hope I'll get to read it soon.
This series made me doubly happy, because not only is it queer fantasy, it's queer fantasy with bdsm elements, squee! She writes highly memorable characters with quite distinct voices, and I can only recommend this series if you are fed up with the usual fantasy plots.

#34 Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear - A Companion to Wolves
More queer fantasy - and I love the way they play with gender here, in addition to completely turning the whole animal companion genre on its head!

#35 - #37 Patricia A. McKillip - The Riddle-Master of Hed; Heir of Sea and Fire; Harpist in the Wind
(Though I have the omnibus edition here, I'm still counting these as three books, because my list of books this year is already small enough. ;))
I enjoyed these books a great deal. The plot and characters were quite refreshing if compared to other fantasy, and the writing is truly gorgeous! Again I can only recommend these - they are quite beautifully free of clichées or tropes, and I wish there were more female characters like Raederle in fantasy. :)

Only 14 days until my birthday... and I just realized that the day after my birthday is Ascension Day, which means it's a holiday! *rubs her hands* If the weather is good, we can have a barbecue, and hopefully my sister won't have to work. I have so many recipes I want to try...

Also, an actor for Tyrion Lanister has been cast for the ASOIAF pilot! I can't wait to see who is playing Jaime, and Jon! I'm really looking forward to that, especially as no one knows when GRRM will finish the next book.

I read Roche's Feuchtgebiete yesterday, which was less pornographic and more disgusting than I would have thought, and also quite interesting in the questions of female sexuality and hygiene it raises. Looking forward to discussing this one. Which reminds me that I totally failed in keeping my 'books I've read' list up to date. Maybe I'll manage to remedy that today.

(And I wonder if I will ever be able to write anal sex again after reading Feuchtgebiete.... Must read fic today to get rid of the mental images, urgh.)