Enhanced reading meme
Dec. 28th, 2012 03:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dreamsharkWhat are you reading?
How are you reading it? (paper book, audio-book, ebook?)
Why are you reading it?
What's interesting about it?
Repeat as necessary if you read multiple books at once, or for recently read books.
------------
What are you reading? (first answer)
Little, Big - by John Crowley
How are you reading it? (paper book, audio-book, ebook?)
Audiobook, downloaded from library.
Why are you reading it?
I had Novelty, (short works by John Crowley) sitting on my nightstand for months. Periodically I would get in a mood to read before bed and would peck away at it. About the time I finished the novella about time travel it finally penetrated what an excellent s.f. writer this man is. I was surprised to realize how many of the ideas in this one little anthology had recurred in only slightly altered form in Hugo nominated stories I have read in recent years. Whether intentional or unintentional plagiarism, I have no idea, but IMHO Crowley did it better. So I decided go back and reread one of his better-known works. Since his language is so lush, I thought it would go well as an audio book.
What's interesting about it?
As an audio-book it works reasonably well. The language and images are lovely, but on the downside it's slow to pick up momentum. I appreciate the deep background, but in an audiobook that's sometimes a problem because there is not enough sense of urgency to keep me from getting distracted by podcasts. I finally got to the point where Barbarossa makes his (re)appearance and stuff starts happening, and now I'm crashing right through chapter after chapter. I've always enjoyed the "urban fantasy" genre where Faerieland and the human world intersect, and nobody does it better than Crowley.
---------
What are you reading? (2nd answer)
Lorna Doone - R.D. Blackmore
How are you reading it? (paper book, audio-book, ebook?)
Ebook, on my iPhone. Downloaded for free from Project Gutenberg, *.epub format. Reader app: iBooks.
Why are you reading it?
Amber asked for "historical fiction in Nook format" for Christmas, so I downloaded a bunch of public-domain historical fiction. She thought she might start with this one, so I decided to read it too.
What's interesting about it?
Historical fiction written in the past is doubly interesting - gives you insight into both eras. This one is written in 1869, takes place about 200 years earlier in the West Country of England, based on historical events with fictional characters added in. The author is a native of the region and took great pains to make the language authentic. I remember really enjoying this book as a child, and I'm curious to see if I can remember why. I'm pretty sure I had no idea what the historical context was when I originally read it. Even this time round, I found the schoolboy reminiscences in the first couple of chapters pretty incomprehensible, but once we got to the creaking of the gallows on the fogbound moor and the terrifying passage of the Doone clan through the valley below I remembered what I liked about it.
---------
What are you reading? (3rd answer)
The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell.
How are you reading it? (paper book, audio-book, ebook?)
Ebook, downloaded from library. Actually, I am NOT reading it now because I didn't get done with it in time and it expired. I put it back on my waiting list and someday maybe I'll be able to check it out again. Grrr..
Why are you reading it?
I was profoundly affected by her WWII historical, A Thread of Grace.
What's interesting about it?
Her characters, and the thread of horror that clearly hangs over the setup chapters. I don't read horror fiction, per se, but anything that has a kind of Gothic darkness at the core of it tends to get its hooks into me. I just hope I don't forget who all these people are before I get the book back again.
How are you reading it? (paper book, audio-book, ebook?)
Why are you reading it?
What's interesting about it?
Repeat as necessary if you read multiple books at once, or for recently read books.
------------
What are you reading? (first answer)
Little, Big - by John Crowley
How are you reading it? (paper book, audio-book, ebook?)
Audiobook, downloaded from library.
Why are you reading it?
I had Novelty, (short works by John Crowley) sitting on my nightstand for months. Periodically I would get in a mood to read before bed and would peck away at it. About the time I finished the novella about time travel it finally penetrated what an excellent s.f. writer this man is. I was surprised to realize how many of the ideas in this one little anthology had recurred in only slightly altered form in Hugo nominated stories I have read in recent years. Whether intentional or unintentional plagiarism, I have no idea, but IMHO Crowley did it better. So I decided go back and reread one of his better-known works. Since his language is so lush, I thought it would go well as an audio book.
What's interesting about it?
As an audio-book it works reasonably well. The language and images are lovely, but on the downside it's slow to pick up momentum. I appreciate the deep background, but in an audiobook that's sometimes a problem because there is not enough sense of urgency to keep me from getting distracted by podcasts. I finally got to the point where Barbarossa makes his (re)appearance and stuff starts happening, and now I'm crashing right through chapter after chapter. I've always enjoyed the "urban fantasy" genre where Faerieland and the human world intersect, and nobody does it better than Crowley.
---------
What are you reading? (2nd answer)
Lorna Doone - R.D. Blackmore
How are you reading it? (paper book, audio-book, ebook?)
Ebook, on my iPhone. Downloaded for free from Project Gutenberg, *.epub format. Reader app: iBooks.
Why are you reading it?
Amber asked for "historical fiction in Nook format" for Christmas, so I downloaded a bunch of public-domain historical fiction. She thought she might start with this one, so I decided to read it too.
What's interesting about it?
Historical fiction written in the past is doubly interesting - gives you insight into both eras. This one is written in 1869, takes place about 200 years earlier in the West Country of England, based on historical events with fictional characters added in. The author is a native of the region and took great pains to make the language authentic. I remember really enjoying this book as a child, and I'm curious to see if I can remember why. I'm pretty sure I had no idea what the historical context was when I originally read it. Even this time round, I found the schoolboy reminiscences in the first couple of chapters pretty incomprehensible, but once we got to the creaking of the gallows on the fogbound moor and the terrifying passage of the Doone clan through the valley below I remembered what I liked about it.
---------
What are you reading? (3rd answer)
The Sparrow - Mary Doria Russell.
How are you reading it? (paper book, audio-book, ebook?)
Ebook, downloaded from library. Actually, I am NOT reading it now because I didn't get done with it in time and it expired. I put it back on my waiting list and someday maybe I'll be able to check it out again. Grrr..
Why are you reading it?
I was profoundly affected by her WWII historical, A Thread of Grace.
What's interesting about it?
Her characters, and the thread of horror that clearly hangs over the setup chapters. I don't read horror fiction, per se, but anything that has a kind of Gothic darkness at the core of it tends to get its hooks into me. I just hope I don't forget who all these people are before I get the book back again.
