Reading Wedne– Thursday
Mar. 5th, 2015 04:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brigdhWhat did you just finish?
Astray by Emma Donoghue. A book of short stories, all historical fiction, with time periods ranging from the 1600s to the 1960s, and set in Canada, the US, or England. Each story is based on some sort of real historical fact, though these people are very much not famous figures; I think the character with the most name recognition is an elephant. Instead of well-known circumstances, these stories are based on letters, diaries, newspaper articles: little references, nearly forgotten or lost in archives. There's all sorts of people here – Jewish widows in early New York City; Yukon miners who fall in love during the long, isolated winter; tough women cowboys in the Arizona territory; dignified prostitutes in the suburbs of London.
I really liked this book; I'm a fan of Donoghue in general, but this might be the best thing of hers I've read. My favorite aspect of her writing is how she can capture different voices and dialects, even though some of the stories are just a few pages long, and she certainly shows that off in this book.
Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans by Gary Krist. A non-fiction history book about – well, that's the author's main problem, really. He seems to have no idea what his topic is. So he writes a few chapters on a police chief's murder and the subsequent lynching of the suspects in 1890, then one on an (entirely unrelated) race riot in 1900, and then a random kidnapping in 1907, and finally a long section on the Axeman murders (a possible serial killer - or one killer and a copycat - or several disconnected murders linked only by a hysterical public) in 1918-19. All of this is interspersed with scenes from the childhoods of Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet, or the careers of other musicians. Based on the title, Krist seems to think his main topic is the rise and fall of Storyville (the notorious neighborhood in New Orleans in which prostitution was legal for a few decades, and - according to legend if not documented history - the birthplace of jazz), so every now and then he comes back to that to talk about the laws, politics, or people associated with it, but it never holds his attention for long enough to sustain a book. The "modern New Orleans" part of the title is entirely unexplained; I guess it just sounded good. Ultimately, the whole book comes off as a series of random factoids from vaguely the same place and vaguely the same time, but which have very little to do with one another. It's unfortunate because any of these topics could have made a great book, and Krist has a very easy-to-read, page-turning writing style, but his basic structure needs a serious revamping and a very strict editor before it could become what it wanted to be.
I read this as an ARC via NetGalley.
Partner by Lia Silver. A new Werewolf Marines book! :D (This one is the sequel to Prisoner, which is currently free on Amazon, just fyi.) DJ - the titular werewolf Marine, also actually a DJ – and Echo – a genetically engineered assassin/spy - are finally together, but are still being held hostage by Evil Government Scientists in their Secret Underground Base. Seriously. This series uses so many tropes, I love it. Other amazing bits in this book include: pretend married! Ballroom dancing! A playlist of the most annoying songs ever! Sex in a shower! Sex while trying to stay quiet (this is my faaaavorite, I need it in all romance novels stat)! Dramatic rescues! Near death experiences! Tender bandaging of wounds! Big explosions! Also, this book starts off with an established romance, which makes me so happy. It's not that I dislike first-time stories! It's just that they're 99% of romance, and it's really nice to occasionally see something different.
Echo and DJ are excellent characters (as are many of the secondary characters; my particular favorite is Charlie) without any of the annoying problems that turn up in so many romance novels - this book has no sketchy gender dynamics, no adults who refuse to speak to one another or dumb miscommunications, no contrived jealousy or other childish relationship problems. Just likeable characters, understandable problems, and lots of action. How is cool is that?
What are you currently reading?
Moonshine by Alaya Dawn Johnson. Vampires and djinn in 1920s NYC! :D
Astray by Emma Donoghue. A book of short stories, all historical fiction, with time periods ranging from the 1600s to the 1960s, and set in Canada, the US, or England. Each story is based on some sort of real historical fact, though these people are very much not famous figures; I think the character with the most name recognition is an elephant. Instead of well-known circumstances, these stories are based on letters, diaries, newspaper articles: little references, nearly forgotten or lost in archives. There's all sorts of people here – Jewish widows in early New York City; Yukon miners who fall in love during the long, isolated winter; tough women cowboys in the Arizona territory; dignified prostitutes in the suburbs of London.
I really liked this book; I'm a fan of Donoghue in general, but this might be the best thing of hers I've read. My favorite aspect of her writing is how she can capture different voices and dialects, even though some of the stories are just a few pages long, and she certainly shows that off in this book.
Empire of Sin: A Story of Sex, Jazz, Murder, and the Battle for Modern New Orleans by Gary Krist. A non-fiction history book about – well, that's the author's main problem, really. He seems to have no idea what his topic is. So he writes a few chapters on a police chief's murder and the subsequent lynching of the suspects in 1890, then one on an (entirely unrelated) race riot in 1900, and then a random kidnapping in 1907, and finally a long section on the Axeman murders (a possible serial killer - or one killer and a copycat - or several disconnected murders linked only by a hysterical public) in 1918-19. All of this is interspersed with scenes from the childhoods of Louis Armstrong and Sidney Bechet, or the careers of other musicians. Based on the title, Krist seems to think his main topic is the rise and fall of Storyville (the notorious neighborhood in New Orleans in which prostitution was legal for a few decades, and - according to legend if not documented history - the birthplace of jazz), so every now and then he comes back to that to talk about the laws, politics, or people associated with it, but it never holds his attention for long enough to sustain a book. The "modern New Orleans" part of the title is entirely unexplained; I guess it just sounded good. Ultimately, the whole book comes off as a series of random factoids from vaguely the same place and vaguely the same time, but which have very little to do with one another. It's unfortunate because any of these topics could have made a great book, and Krist has a very easy-to-read, page-turning writing style, but his basic structure needs a serious revamping and a very strict editor before it could become what it wanted to be.
I read this as an ARC via NetGalley.
Partner by Lia Silver. A new Werewolf Marines book! :D (This one is the sequel to Prisoner, which is currently free on Amazon, just fyi.) DJ - the titular werewolf Marine, also actually a DJ – and Echo – a genetically engineered assassin/spy - are finally together, but are still being held hostage by Evil Government Scientists in their Secret Underground Base. Seriously. This series uses so many tropes, I love it. Other amazing bits in this book include: pretend married! Ballroom dancing! A playlist of the most annoying songs ever! Sex in a shower! Sex while trying to stay quiet (this is my faaaavorite, I need it in all romance novels stat)! Dramatic rescues! Near death experiences! Tender bandaging of wounds! Big explosions! Also, this book starts off with an established romance, which makes me so happy. It's not that I dislike first-time stories! It's just that they're 99% of romance, and it's really nice to occasionally see something different.
Echo and DJ are excellent characters (as are many of the secondary characters; my particular favorite is Charlie) without any of the annoying problems that turn up in so many romance novels - this book has no sketchy gender dynamics, no adults who refuse to speak to one another or dumb miscommunications, no contrived jealousy or other childish relationship problems. Just likeable characters, understandable problems, and lots of action. How is cool is that?
What are you currently reading?
Moonshine by Alaya Dawn Johnson. Vampires and djinn in 1920s NYC! :D
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no subject
Date: 2015-03-06 01:06 am (UTC)That's an interesting idea. I wonder if any of DJ's Marine buddies have dominant tendencies. It would really break the rules of paranormal romance to have a supernatural heroine/regular guy, but the series is pretty rule-breaking anyway. Maybe a novella.
no subject
Date: 2015-03-06 03:22 am (UTC)Hmm, I suppose you're right. Even the series with very tough, supernatural heroines pair them up with vampires and werewolves and so forth. But a novella would be great too! :D
Oooo, tropes. Let me see. Some of my favorites that might work are:
masquerade: like, Halloween, Mardi Gras, a costume party, etc. The thing I love most about this is seeing what the characters choose to dress up as. Like, who secretly wants to be 'steampunk Sherlock Holmes' and who shows up as 'generic sexy witch'?
handcuffed together
swordfights
roadtrips
epistolary: this can be texts and emails as much as old-fashioned letters. This might be very hard to do with DJ, but on the other hand, maybe adding that difficulty would make it all the more interesting (or angsty)?
crossdressing. Though this is another one that's probably a rule-breaker
poker, or some other type of gambling or strategy game. All the fun stuff of 'who can bluff', 'who can read their partner', 'does the card you need show up in time', plus, of course, staking something you can't afford to lose and being desperate to win
writing, painting, or drawing on skin
And a few sex tropes (at least, ones you haven't done yet. Since most of my favorites have already shown up!)
sex pollen (or aphrodisiacs or heat or whatever)
dirty talk
sex in the rain
no subject
Date: 2015-03-06 03:34 am (UTC)Oh, I love this idea. I will see if I can work it in. Hmm. There is a major sequence at a fancy party. It's not the sort of party that would normally be a masquerade, but it does have an aspect that could be an excuse to make it one.
handcuffed together
HA HA HA. I'll keep that in mind. I think it works better when they're still in the UST stage, though. Maybe for the Charlie novella, should I write one.
roadtrips
There may well be a roadtrip.
epistolary: this can be texts and emails as much as old-fashioned letters. This might be very hard to do with DJ, but on the other hand, maybe adding that difficulty would make it all the more interesting (or angsty)?
Oh, that's an interesting idea. I could see him in the position of having to send a message to Echo that would have to be known by some third party, if it has to be written. Or him being forced to scrawl something via muscle memory, and cross his fingers that she'll be able to read and understand it.
crossdressing. Though this is another one that's probably a rule-breaker
The thought of Echo in a suit is suddenly extremely hot to me.
poker, or some other type of gambling or strategy game. All the fun stuff of 'who can bluff', 'who can read their partner', 'does the card you need show up in time', plus, of course, staking something you can't afford to lose and being desperate to win
Oh, that's a very good idea. If not for that book, for something.
sex pollen (or aphrodisiacs or heat or whatever)
How could you tell?That might be a fun one to do for a not-established couple.Any h/c tropes I haven't done yet?
no subject
Date: 2015-03-06 04:51 am (UTC)Oh, cool! I love fancy parties, even if you don't add in a masquerade.
HA HA HA. I'll keep that in mind. I think it works better when they're still in the UST stage, though. Maybe for the Charlie novella, should I write one.
Hmmm, true. It's extra-good when the couple has to do something while handcuffed: fight bad guys, escape a building, climb over stuff, change clothes, take a shower, etc.
There may well be a roadtrip.
:D
Oh, that's an interesting idea. I could see him in the position of having to send a message to Echo that would have to be known by some third party, if it has to be written. Or him being forced to scrawl something via muscle memory, and cross his fingers that she'll be able to read and understand it.
Ooo, yes. I like that second idea in particular.
The thought of Echo in a suit is suddenly extremely hot to me.
Me too!
That might be a fun one to do for a not-established couple.
Yes, that's how the trope usually works, and does add in a lot of tension. But desperation goes good with all sorts of couples!
Any h/c tropes I haven't done yet?
Hmmm, you've hit so many of my favorites already. Here's a few more:
Other person presumed dead. You've already done this one, but I never get tired of it. There can always be more ecstatic reunions! And related to this, one character having to do CPR on the other is awesome.
Hypothermia. Or, you know, the fantasy version of hypothermia in which getting naked and cuddling is actually appropriate medical treatment. Or sharing a sleeping bag in freezing circumstances and hoping you don't wake up dead in the morning! (Not that you would actually wake up, of course...)
Substance addiction. Bad Guys deliberately induce addition for mysterious nefarious purposes? And then, of course, the comfort part of being nursed through the withdrawal
Accept injury to protect someone. Again, you've had some of this, but it really never gets old.
Cages. Pretty self-explanatory! Probably goes well with wolves, actually.