hh_clubs | Restricted Section: Term XXVI

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Restricted Section: Term XXVI - Read, Reading, To Read

Activity: Read, Reading, To Read
Points: 10 points for your initial comment, 2 points for every substantial response, max 30 points
Deadline: August 30 @ 11:59PM UTC (Timezone Converter)

Details: Since this will be my only activity of Term XXVI, I wanted to both do something relatively simple AND take the opportunity to get to know you guy, so we're going to have a discussion post about our recent reading habits. For your initial comment, write at least 150 words talking about books you've recently read, are currently reading, and/or what you plan to read next. You can talk about any aspect of the books you wish, but some ideas would be why you selected the books, what you liked/didn't like about them, whether you'd recommend them to others, etc. For your responses, you'll need to write at least 50 words. Make sure you're saying something more than, "I read that book and liked/hated it!" Try to open a dialogue about what was good or bad, or even why you chose NOT to read it. Anything goes, as long as there's substance to it.

If you have any questions, direct them to the appropriate thread. As always, don't forget to sign each comment with your name/house or a sigtag.

Also, do remember that I wiped the roster clean, so if you have bonus items, make sure you register them HERE as soon as possible to earn your extra points. I won't be giving grace periods, so please double-check that you're good to go!

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

I have this weird fascination with time travel and I was just giddy when I found Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict (http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Austen-Addict-Laurie-Rigler/dp/B000Z4GQ3G) and its sequel/continuation Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict (http://www.amazon.com/Rude-Awakenings-Jane-Austen-Addict/dp/0525950761/ref=pd_sim_b_1) by Laurie Viera Rigler. I loved the premise but the actual writing was a very big let down for me because it was sometimes too simple and very modern especially when the story was set in Regency times. The 21st century Courtney was just really whining all the time which I really hate. I liked that the 19th century Jane was really confused by the 21st century technology which is appropriate and I liked that she I did enjoy the books though but I am glad that I didn't buy them.

If you like time travel and Jane Austen and want a nice book to read for a hour or two then I would suggest the books.

My next book to read (I've just started today) is Game of Thrones. I couldn't get into the series but maybe I will get into the books?

Danipuff//wc=150//01

Don't be so upset because you couldn't get into the Casual Vancancy because I'm the same. I read it from cover to cover but it took me several days to read (unlike the Harry Potter books which took a few hours). I didn't like most of the characters and Rowling's use of language while I understood it was a little too much for my tastes.

Danipuff//wc-65//02

Fairy,

Haha, I tried watching the show and I couldn't get through the pilot :/ (are there better episodes to watch?) and thought that the whole hype was just something that I didn't understand. But now I've taken out of the library, Games of Thrones and we shall see. I might love it or might find it to be like the Hobbit and the LOTR which I did try and read and couldn't get through it.

Danipuff//wc-75//03

I liked To Kill a Mockingbird and at the same time I raged by way through it. It deals with racism a lot and it is very powerful because of it but...I just wanted to crawl into the book and punch lots of people in the face for their behaviour. That made it difficult to read and at the same time shows it really gripped me.

Sam/Claw

Things that I've read recently: Most of this summer has been very lazy on the book-book front---I've read so damn much fanfiction that it's kind of shameful-hilarious. (And I enjoyed all that fanfiction, but still.) August, at least, represented a Return to Books. I've read Silver by Rhiannon Held, which is some werewolf fiction that I would definitely recommend. It's missing a lot of the tropes about werewolf fiction that make me very uncomfortable, it's got a really fun take on modern packs and pack hierarchy, and I loved the way the book dealt with religion; it was really fun. The writing's not the best---this is a quick romp of a book, not something deep, that makes you want to really delve into the prose---but still, it's fun.

There's also E.B. Hudspeth's The Resurrectionist, which has a meh story but OH MY GOD THE ILLUSTRATIONS YOU GUYS. The illustrations are freaking fantastic. Read it for the illustrations, you won't go wrong.

I've also read some Emily Dickinson, mostly for sentimental reasons, as I've got a volume that used to belong to my great aunt; I actually don't like Dickinson that much. (I know, for shame.) The last of the August books was an academic book on runes, which was half for fun and half for research for Ancient Runes, lols. It was a genuinely enjoyable read.

Currently reading is A.S. Byatt's Ragnarok. I'm a few chapters in and totally digging it. I have a love-hate relationship with her work (loved The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, it was just plain gorgeous, but couldn't even finish Possession).

Planning to read is, oh god, anything off the veeeeery long list of books that I own and haven't read yet. It's a shameful list, really. :(

Anieclaw

Edited 2013-08-30 17:40 (UTC)

I'm kind of thinking the same -- a lot of people really seem to be in love with it, and in a good way (and I've not yet heard about anything squicky about it, unlike some other popular series out there).

Anieclaw

Giulia, I don't think that present tense works very well for most novel-length texts in English, either. Vignettes and short stories, fine, but once you get past 5-10k it starts to sound really stilted to me. (And I'm sure there's some exceptions out there, but for the most part, meh on present tense in long texts.)

Anieclaw

So, if female werewolves generally can't carry babies to term---is this a world where most of the wolves are made and not born? I've always liked the "made wolf" dynamic. Most of the werewolf fic I've read has so much focus on born werewolves, and a very separate werewolf culture, and I really like the idea of people just sort of... falling into it and not knowing how to deal.

Anieclaw

One of the books I've read recently is Bossypants by Tina Fey. I love the books that have come out by women in comedy lately. They give such a great picture of what it's like to be a part of a cast like SNL. It's also really fascinating to see where their creative outlets led them. For example, Tina Fey worked in the theatre, then she did improv comedy... it's so awesome. Mindy Kaling's Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns is also awesome. It gives more of an insight on the writing process than Tina's book, but is equally fascinating. I loved reading about Mindy's cultural upbringing and how that influenced her. I also loved reading about how some of her interests have leaked into characters she's played or created. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is a fan of one of them. has an interest in feminists/awesome ladies, or even just really like television.

Basically, any books with information about TV behind the scenes, especially women in comedy? Totally up for it.

Jessica//Hufflepuff//183 words

There are people who don't like Howl? :( :( It's such a gorgeous, gorgeous piece of work. I tend to dislike the Beats, for a very long list of reasons, but I really enjoy Ginsberg.

Anieclaw

In the past decade or so, it seems as though I’ve all but forgotten the existence of a fiction genre in literature.

That was pretty much all of my college career, and a big chunk of grad career too. I'm usually the kind of person who devours novels left and right, but oh my god, college and the first two years of grad school were just so incredibly full of reading for school that it was crazy.

Douglas Adams is such a joy---so witty and sharp and he just had a wonderful, wonderful take on the universe in general. I love the place of dolphins and mice in the universe especially. :)

Anieclaw

Oh god Ophelia I didn't need more books for my list jkajdfka. This just looks good. I was so sad when I finished the Casebook because there wasn't any more Holmes left---now to go on to the Holmesian riffs, I guess.

Anieclaw

Haha, I had a very different experience with that canon---I basically devoured it in a very short period of time. The Adventures and The Memoirs I pretty much inhaled, and then I still ended up kind of rampaging through everything else quickly, too.

I do like the short stories, though, because you CAN just read one or two over a cup of coffee. It's really pleasant.

Anieclaw

You're definitely not alone in not being impressed with The Casual Vacancy. I liked some of the characters, I'll always enjoy JKR's wit, and since I grew up in a small town I can really empathize with all the small town gossip and nattering, but it was a kind of disappointing novel overall. So much of JKR's prowess is in world-building and word play, and since this was supposed to be a "serious" novel it didn't draw on those strengths so much.

Anieclaw

I loved Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell! I've been really hoping that she'll come out with a sequel. I loved the style -- the sort of pseudo-academic-ness of it, the footnotes, just the prose itself. I also really liked Jonathan Strange, and oh my god the Raven King. LOVE the Raven King. Norrell's, of course, a complete and total ass, but I kind of enjoyed his asshattedness.

I also just really liked the world she built. It was imaginative, and just such a beautiful twist on magical Britain. The historical bits, like Waterloo, just made it even richer and more fun for me.

Anieclaw

I really enjoyed Dracula on its own; I actually was reading it one night before bed, turned out the light, and then turned it back on and went to go lock all the windows in the house because I was actually scared from reading the book. Books very rarely scare me like that, so it was really fun. I also think I'm kind of glad I saw/read a lot of adaptations first. It was really interesting seeing what parts of the Dracula mythos are from the original Stoker, and what's been added on and twisted and changed.

I also like the epistolary format (and think that Dracula is an especially good example of it) so that's definitely a point in its favor for me.

Anieclaw

I recently read Cast Member Confidential too! I can tell you as a major Disney fan that it didn't make it any more interesting. I mean, it was interesting to learn some of the behind the scenes stuff, but the author just seemed so cynical and grumpy that I didn't care for him.

AND YESSSSS THE SEX AND PUNISHMENT BOOK. I've been reccing it all over. XD It was definitely an interesting read.

Liz | Gryffindor

I had seen this pass across one of the ebook communities and almost snagged them because of the Jane Austen aspect but was apprehensive about how the Regency writing would seem coming from a contemporary writer. Not sure how I should feel now that you've confirmed my fears.

Liz | Gryffindor

I've done both at different times, but I think my ideal way to read Holmes is on a rainy night with too much coffee and nothing else to do. You're right, the short stories are perfect for that.

Julia // Slytherin

It seems most people dislike the Beats, but I'm really fond of them. I understand why people don't like them, though, and I think the criticisms are valid (of course, most of the criticisms I hear are, "Julia, you only like them because you're a hipster" and I don't think that's a very valid one, personally).

I kind of got into the Beats in the same way Ginsberg found himself there (this is incredibly loose and really reaching, I'll admit). In the same poetry class I mentioned before, we read A LOT of Whitman and I fell in love with him ~~another one everyone else hated maybe I am a hipster I also like Dickens sooooo~~. From there, I got really, really into Ginsberg and Kerouac, and others slowly started to endear themselves to me and now I just love them all for different reasons.

Julia // Slytherin

Well, I’ll start off saying that as I’ve gotten older, I’ve become a really slow reader. I used to read really fast and breeze through books, but now it takes me a really long time to finish anything. So people who can read 50+ books in a month? I can’t even. If I finish one, I consider that a success. But anyway, that is totally not the point of this.

Currently reading: I just started Game of Thrones, and am about 100 pages in. I’ve watched the show, and I love love love it, but I was afraid to start the books, mostly because I’ve heard they can be hard to get through (and I hated The Hobbit and that style of writing, so I was worried this would be similar). But so far, I am really enjoying it. I think it helps that I’ve watched the show so I already know and understand who these characters are, and now I am seeing a different, newer side to them. And so far, the writing is not so dense as to slow down the plot, although I’ve heard that comes later!

Recently and future readings: Before Game of Thrones, I read the entire Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus series (although when I started Percy Jackson, I totally didn’t realize the Heroes of Olympus was a sequel series. I thought it was all new characters). I started it based on a friend’s recommendation and also because the premise reminded me a little of HP. But the more I read, the more I fell in love with the series, and I think I like it more after each book. I’m excited for October when House of Hades comes out so I can read that.

Ha, that's so odd to me -- I grew up in a place where everyone loved the Beats, like Kerouac was this god. And since I now live in the SF Bay area, there's definitely a ton of Beats lover. (Calling the hipster argument not a very valid one is being kind to it, I think. The criticisms about sexism and misogyny are the ones that affect me, and they're the reasons why I tend not to enjoy the Beats as much.)

I like what I've read of Whitman; Dickens is good when I'm in the mood for long-windedness.

Anieclaw

Oh, rainy night with a cappuccino, PERFECT night for Holmes.

Or maybe a cup of PG Tips with milk and sugar, in bone china. ;)

Anie

Werewolves are pretty much all made. Only one werewolf has been born (although he is the main male character of the Alpha and Omega series). The female wolf of the Alpha and Omega series has only been a werewolf for a few years and is fairly unknowledgeable about how it all works and is still trying to figure it out. Mercy, the protagonist of the other series, is a coyote, but she is dealing with werewolves, as that is her world, and she is also trying to figure out all the dynamics. A lot of both series deals with people who have been wolves long enough that they have different issues other than "falling into it and not knowing how to deal", but there are elements of that in the series as well.

I, personally, preferred the Mercy Thompson series, but I think Alpha and Omega might have more of the dynamic that interests you.

Meredith // Hufflepuff

Those things actually bother me a lot too, and I'm not entirely sure why I'm able to look past them. I don't think "yes, these are the best ideas and I am very socially inspired by them", but I like the style in general and a lot of other ideas they present (like homosexuality, alternate views of "the Human Condition", etc).

I can definitely imagine a lot of Beat lovers in SF. Not so much here in Toronto (not that there aren't any, but I guess they're kind of passe for the English major douchebags at UofT - they also thought Sylvia Plath was overrated). Honestly, a lot of it I think has to do with the attitude here in Toronto. This city so desperately wants to be world-class and the next NYC, so people here roll their eyes at "the classics", etc and uggghhh how am I the hipster one in that situation? lol

I had another point but I totally lost it, sorry, haha.

Julia // Slytherin

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