january books (and other media)
Jan. 27th, 2025 06:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
screechfoxSo, I've done a lot of reading this month, mostly because of Storygraph's January pages challenge - the chances of winning £150-ish worth of books and a Kobo by logging reading every day was too much to pass up, even if I'm competing with 200k-ish other people. time will tell if I manage to win!
this is what I've managed to read so far, what I've bought, and a few other media things going on.
Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, and Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
I've just finished Ancillary Mercy, so I'm still digesting the full trilogy slightly. I definitely enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of Leckie's work, especially her other books set in this universe (and especially Translation State, because I'm a nerd). I think my favourite book was the first one, because it had the most a) cultural and linguistic details/clashes, and b) a non-traditional narrative... voice? viewpoint? The other books had both of those things too, but the premise of the first one just led there to be more of both.
We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida
A faintly whimsical book about cats solving people's personal problems, added to my wishlist on a whim and given as a Christmas gift. Not normally my kind of thing - and it wasn't! I didn't like the general tone (strangely it felt almost dismissive, except of the cats), it ended up quite repetitive, and overall wasn't very cohesive. I don't know if any of that can be laid at the foot of the translation or not. Someone else will like it a lot, but not me - it'll probably get donated in my next clear-out, but I'm tempted to keep it and try it again in a different mood.
Jackdaw Summer by David Almond
The first reread of the year! I got this book from the library as a child, and a couple of the scenes in it have stuck with me all this time. I don't love it as much now, but it's still an effective book. David Almond's faintly magical style, even in his more grounded books, is always lovely. I also like how much he loves Northumberland; I'd like to get his audiobooks, some of which he narrates himself, because I think it would feel like home to have his Geordie accent telling mystical stories. (As an aside, it annoys me that the US edition is titled Raven Summer. I know jackdaws are Eurasian, but ravens have much more ominous connotations!)
Deadly Dolls: Midnight Tales of Uncanny Playthings edited by Elizabeth Dearnley
I have a small collection of these books by the British Library, mostly made up of anthologies of older horror/weird fiction with a few contemporary stories thrown in. As a fan of doll motifs, I was looking forward to this one, doubly so because it has an Angela Carter story, who I've enjoyed in previous anthologies - although in this case, I was ambivalent about it.
My favourites were The Doll by Vernon Lee; The Doll by Daphne du Maurier; The Dressmaker's Doll by Agatha Christie; The Patchwork Dolls by Ysabelle Cheung (which also stood out as the only sci-fi flavoured story in the collection); and The Inner Room by Robert Aickman. The final story, The Mouse Queen by Camilla Grudova, was just very strange, in a way I really disliked but I think other people might enjoy.
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
A grim read, but a very good one; probably my favourite book I've read so far this year. A brilliant recounting of a family's lives, focused on three generations of women, woven in with details about the societal context and many, many political upheavals. I don't necessarily have much to say about it, but I recommend it to anyone up for nearly 700 pages largely composed of hardships.
Beowulf translated by Maria Dahvana Headley
Maybe I should have picked a different, more 'conventional'; translation for my first time reading Beowulf, but I enjoyed this a lot. I picked it up from my shelves because of the Medieval Women Writers and Old English courses that I'm doing; they got me in a medieval mood! I liked Headley's approach to translation, especially of a text that's been translated so many times. It felt very... playful? I'd like to get the audiobook somewhen, I think it would be very pleasing to listen to. I do plan on getting the Heaney translation somewhen, and maybe another, even more 'conventional' one (Tolkein?), but I liked this one a lot.
I've made myself the bargain that for every two books I read this year, I can buy one (with possible caveats for reading library books), so I can let myself buy some books while hopefully not straining my very full bookshelves too much. I don't think it'll be enough - I'm already at the point of putting books in front of books with my non-fiction, and I'm close to it with fiction!
That said, the three books I've bought as part of that bargain so far are Stone Butch Blues - which I've read before, but wanted in physical format; Carmilla with annotations by Carmen Maria Machado - again, I've read Carmilla before, but a) I've heard very good things about the annotations in this version and b) shallowly, I like the aesthetics of this edition better than the one I already own; and The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter - which contains the story I liked from the previous British Library collection I read, The Lady of the House of Love. I technically owe myself another book now too, but, well...
I immediately broke the bargain with myself by buying four more books in charity shops on Saturday. Nesting by David Almond - a collection of adult short stories, I'm curious about how his writing style will differ when not aimed at children; Polar Horrors: Strange Tales from the World's Ends - another of those British Library collections; Earthsea: The First Four Books by Ursula K. Le Guin - I've heard good things! I've also read very little 'traditional' fantasy; and the only non-fiction book, Terms & Conditions: Life in Girls' Boarding Schools 1939-1979 - it just sounded interesting!
It's fine, it doesn't count if it's for charity, right?
Not much to say about other media, really. I watched the first episode of Shōgun, enjoyed it, then immediately got distracted and haven't watched any more. I might get back to it this evening after having dinner - I think it's going to pick up now that the first episode has established things, and there's going to be even more tension around translation!
I've not been playing many video games, but the medieval mood has also led me back into Crusader Kings 3. It's going badly - my Welsh Catholic king is right next to a very powerful England ruled by a Norse pagan who would like nothing more than to take over. But that's the fun of the game!
this is what I've managed to read so far, what I've bought, and a few other media things going on.
Read Books
Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, and Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
I've just finished Ancillary Mercy, so I'm still digesting the full trilogy slightly. I definitely enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of Leckie's work, especially her other books set in this universe (and especially Translation State, because I'm a nerd). I think my favourite book was the first one, because it had the most a) cultural and linguistic details/clashes, and b) a non-traditional narrative... voice? viewpoint? The other books had both of those things too, but the premise of the first one just led there to be more of both.
We'll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Ishida
A faintly whimsical book about cats solving people's personal problems, added to my wishlist on a whim and given as a Christmas gift. Not normally my kind of thing - and it wasn't! I didn't like the general tone (strangely it felt almost dismissive, except of the cats), it ended up quite repetitive, and overall wasn't very cohesive. I don't know if any of that can be laid at the foot of the translation or not. Someone else will like it a lot, but not me - it'll probably get donated in my next clear-out, but I'm tempted to keep it and try it again in a different mood.
Jackdaw Summer by David Almond
The first reread of the year! I got this book from the library as a child, and a couple of the scenes in it have stuck with me all this time. I don't love it as much now, but it's still an effective book. David Almond's faintly magical style, even in his more grounded books, is always lovely. I also like how much he loves Northumberland; I'd like to get his audiobooks, some of which he narrates himself, because I think it would feel like home to have his Geordie accent telling mystical stories. (As an aside, it annoys me that the US edition is titled Raven Summer. I know jackdaws are Eurasian, but ravens have much more ominous connotations!)
Deadly Dolls: Midnight Tales of Uncanny Playthings edited by Elizabeth Dearnley
I have a small collection of these books by the British Library, mostly made up of anthologies of older horror/weird fiction with a few contemporary stories thrown in. As a fan of doll motifs, I was looking forward to this one, doubly so because it has an Angela Carter story, who I've enjoyed in previous anthologies - although in this case, I was ambivalent about it.
My favourites were The Doll by Vernon Lee; The Doll by Daphne du Maurier; The Dressmaker's Doll by Agatha Christie; The Patchwork Dolls by Ysabelle Cheung (which also stood out as the only sci-fi flavoured story in the collection); and The Inner Room by Robert Aickman. The final story, The Mouse Queen by Camilla Grudova, was just very strange, in a way I really disliked but I think other people might enjoy.
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
A grim read, but a very good one; probably my favourite book I've read so far this year. A brilliant recounting of a family's lives, focused on three generations of women, woven in with details about the societal context and many, many political upheavals. I don't necessarily have much to say about it, but I recommend it to anyone up for nearly 700 pages largely composed of hardships.
Beowulf translated by Maria Dahvana Headley
Maybe I should have picked a different, more 'conventional'; translation for my first time reading Beowulf, but I enjoyed this a lot. I picked it up from my shelves because of the Medieval Women Writers and Old English courses that I'm doing; they got me in a medieval mood! I liked Headley's approach to translation, especially of a text that's been translated so many times. It felt very... playful? I'd like to get the audiobook somewhen, I think it would be very pleasing to listen to. I do plan on getting the Heaney translation somewhen, and maybe another, even more 'conventional' one (Tolkein?), but I liked this one a lot.
Bought Books
I've made myself the bargain that for every two books I read this year, I can buy one (with possible caveats for reading library books), so I can let myself buy some books while hopefully not straining my very full bookshelves too much. I don't think it'll be enough - I'm already at the point of putting books in front of books with my non-fiction, and I'm close to it with fiction!
That said, the three books I've bought as part of that bargain so far are Stone Butch Blues - which I've read before, but wanted in physical format; Carmilla with annotations by Carmen Maria Machado - again, I've read Carmilla before, but a) I've heard very good things about the annotations in this version and b) shallowly, I like the aesthetics of this edition better than the one I already own; and The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter - which contains the story I liked from the previous British Library collection I read, The Lady of the House of Love. I technically owe myself another book now too, but, well...
I immediately broke the bargain with myself by buying four more books in charity shops on Saturday. Nesting by David Almond - a collection of adult short stories, I'm curious about how his writing style will differ when not aimed at children; Polar Horrors: Strange Tales from the World's Ends - another of those British Library collections; Earthsea: The First Four Books by Ursula K. Le Guin - I've heard good things! I've also read very little 'traditional' fantasy; and the only non-fiction book, Terms & Conditions: Life in Girls' Boarding Schools 1939-1979 - it just sounded interesting!
It's fine, it doesn't count if it's for charity, right?
Other Media
Not much to say about other media, really. I watched the first episode of Shōgun, enjoyed it, then immediately got distracted and haven't watched any more. I might get back to it this evening after having dinner - I think it's going to pick up now that the first episode has established things, and there's going to be even more tension around translation!
I've not been playing many video games, but the medieval mood has also led me back into Crusader Kings 3. It's going badly - my Welsh Catholic king is right next to a very powerful England ruled by a Norse pagan who would like nothing more than to take over. But that's the fun of the game!
no subject
Date: 2025-01-27 07:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-27 08:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-01-27 11:20 pm (UTC)Oh, I read that Beowulf translation this month too! I quite enjoyed it as well.
no subject
Date: 2025-01-28 03:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-02-03 08:31 pm (UTC)I'm interested to hear your thoughts about that book about girls' boarding schools, if you get around to it! I'm familiar-ish with boys' boarding schools in the first half of the 20th century but I've read very little about girls' schools or about any post-WWII schools other than day schools; I'm curious about what's the same and what's different.
I love the site Education in the UK on this topic—they have tons of interesting historical documents.
Okay, I desperately want to see this as a BBC TV series now. XD
no subject
Date: 2025-02-04 09:29 am (UTC)I'll definitely let you know when I do get around to it! I think it was partly your musings on the stuff you've read about boys' boarding schools that tempted me to pick it up, as well as the remnants of a childhood fascination with boarding schools in general. I'm expecting less in the way of homoromantic liaisons as you mentioned in the social structure of pre-WWI/WWII schools!
I think the mark of any good Crusader Kings playthrough is that it would make a great historical drama.
As an update on how that playthrough's going, in case you want to imagine the rest of the series!: that Welsh Catholic "king" died of old age and his son took over, continuing to call himself king even when he only had a very tiny piece of land left. Got conquered, spent a few decades in exile as a sword-for-hire in Europe, then returned to Britain after the king died and bought a small piece of Wales from a Welsh duke who had converted to paganism.
That duke really wanted the piece of Wales back, so my guy fought some wars with him and won, conquered a bit more of Wales, but was forced to also convert to paganism (which I was kind of hoping for, to be honest - I couldn't do it on my own). I'm now on this guy's son (probably going to die of old age soon), who murdered his brother for the land he'd inherited, then murdered a succession of his lieges until there was one who didn't have a claim on the land. I've now got myself in a position where my heir (who seems to be some kind of child of destiny?) is in a good place to lay claim to the duke's title. Or possibly I already started that war before I closed the game last night, hard to say!
Tl;dr: yeah, it makes a fun historical drama!