Book Logging
Jun. 13th, 2014 09:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_rckI decided to log some of the fic I've been reading, only the longer stuff and only stuff I would recommend. If I tried a fic and didn't like it, I'm not going to mention it, not even if I want to rant about it (and there's one fic I do want to rant about). These are all on AO3. They're mostly things I downloaded for fifth grade camp. As I've got about seventy fics on my e-reader, I will probably continue to read fic for a while.
Recommendations are welcome. I mostly read gen, but I will read low rated slash (m/m or f/f) or het, particularly if the relationship isn't the exclusive point of the story. I'll try any fandom, even if I don't know the canon, as long as canon knowledge isn't required.
Ardrey, Adam. Finding Arthur - I was interested in Ardrey's theory about Arthur, but I wanted a clearer idea of what he was theorizing about and what was documented. I also felt like he beat his points-- particularly his linguistic points-- to death. He may well be right about the historical Arthur. I lack the background to evaluate his theories.
Atherton, Nancy. Aunt Dimity & the Wishing Well - If you know the Aunt Dimity books, you already know whether or not you'll like this. It's more of the same. I can't say that there's much of a mystery, but I had fun. (I think it's a great pity that this, the Greenwood book and the Quick book all came to me within two weeks. I'd have preferred to space them out. Books that I know I can read from end to end are rare.)
Brosh, Ally. Hyperbole and a Half - I expected more of this to be about depression. I'm not disappointed that there were other topics. I enjoyed each section. The book was pretty funny and was a quick read.
Greenwood, Kerry. Murder and Mendelssohn - I don't think this is the place to start with the Phryne Fisher books, but it's hard for me to tell. I think that this one reads better for knowing Phryne in advance. I enjoyed this one. I wish I knew more about music-- The points about Mendelssohn went right over my head.
Hines, David (hradzka). The Adventure of the Hopping Vampire - I've decided to log the long (or longish) fics I've downloaded to my e-reader. This one is a Doctor Who fic featuring Jenny and Madam Vashtra in one of their many adventures. The author succeeds in giving the sense that this is just one story of many. It was recommended to me as gen, but Jenny and Madam Vashtra are very definitely together. It's just not the point of the story. I quite liked this one.
inlovewithnight. Red Flowers - I wasn't going to log this one because it's only about 8000 words and because I didn't read it on my e-reader, but I really enjoyed this story and want to recommend it to other people. It's a Belgariad/Malloreon story, backstory for Polgara. The blurb says "Long ago, in Cthol Murgos, Polgara fell in love." It's Polgara/OFC, and it's from Yuletide 2012 (I'm finally getting around to reading those fics. I'm not sure why I didn't before).
liviapenn. Madelyn Mack and the Dead Man's Cipher - This one is on the short side for fics I'm going to log, but I did enjoy it. Reading it doesn't require knowing canon which is good because I don't. Madelyn Mack is a detective in the very early part of the twentieth century. Nora Noraker is a reporter and Madelyn's best friend. There's very much a Holmes/Watson vibe. Now I want to read canon.
mikeneko. Cartes Postales - This is a Blossom Culp story, about 20000 words. I liked the ghost story aspect of the story better than the romance part. It's not that I don't believe in Blossom/Alexander. It's more that the two parts of the story didn't quite fit together. Definitely worth reading if you know the canon.
pendrecarc. Boston Marriage - This was one of the recs I got when I asked for long, plotty gen. It's a Sherlock fic with both Sherlock and Watson gender flipped (always women). I don't know the canon, so I don't know how closely this follows that. It does go through several cases. There's a sequel that I haven't read yet, and apparently the story arc will continue on after that.
Quick, Amanda. Otherwise Engaged - This is a standard Quick book, nothing unusual. The heroine is a world traveler who's written about her travels. The hero is an engineer who's gotten involved in espionage. Together, they try to find a serial killer who has (naturally) set his sights on the heroine, and they try to find out who's stolen some important papers.
SallyExactly. Chance - This is the early adventures of the Black Widow and Hawkeye, starting from when he chooses to bring her in rather than kill her. The story goes through several missions together as Natalia (she changes her name at the end of the story) tries to find her place in SHIELD and SHIELD tries to decide whether or not she can be trusted. I really enjoyed this one a lot. There's an incomplete sequel that I plan to read and follow.
Started but not finished:
Blackwell, Juliet. A Cast-off Coven - I read about a third of this and really thought I'd finish it because the style was engaging. I stopped because I realized that I was having trouble keeping the characters straight and that I didn't much care about them. I also wasn't interested in the magical plot threads.
Hart, Ellen. Death on a Silver Platter - As the title no doubt tells you, this is a mystery. I didn't care for the characters or voice.
Hyzy, Julie. Hail to the Chef - This is a murder mystery set at the White House. I just didn't get into it.
Lawson, Valerie. Mary Poppins, She Wrote - I simply didn't enjoy the style in which this was written, so I stopped reading.
Stossel, Scott. My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind - I found this too dense to get through. As someone disabled by anxiety, I was very interested, but I only got through about a third of the book (there's a waitlist at the library, so renewing wasn't an option). The part I did read talked a lot about what anxiety is and about the author's own struggles with anxiety. His issues aren't the same as mine-- He gets acute symptoms where I get chronic, for one thing.
Recommendations are welcome. I mostly read gen, but I will read low rated slash (m/m or f/f) or het, particularly if the relationship isn't the exclusive point of the story. I'll try any fandom, even if I don't know the canon, as long as canon knowledge isn't required.
Ardrey, Adam. Finding Arthur - I was interested in Ardrey's theory about Arthur, but I wanted a clearer idea of what he was theorizing about and what was documented. I also felt like he beat his points-- particularly his linguistic points-- to death. He may well be right about the historical Arthur. I lack the background to evaluate his theories.
Atherton, Nancy. Aunt Dimity & the Wishing Well - If you know the Aunt Dimity books, you already know whether or not you'll like this. It's more of the same. I can't say that there's much of a mystery, but I had fun. (I think it's a great pity that this, the Greenwood book and the Quick book all came to me within two weeks. I'd have preferred to space them out. Books that I know I can read from end to end are rare.)
Brosh, Ally. Hyperbole and a Half - I expected more of this to be about depression. I'm not disappointed that there were other topics. I enjoyed each section. The book was pretty funny and was a quick read.
Greenwood, Kerry. Murder and Mendelssohn - I don't think this is the place to start with the Phryne Fisher books, but it's hard for me to tell. I think that this one reads better for knowing Phryne in advance. I enjoyed this one. I wish I knew more about music-- The points about Mendelssohn went right over my head.
Hines, David (hradzka). The Adventure of the Hopping Vampire - I've decided to log the long (or longish) fics I've downloaded to my e-reader. This one is a Doctor Who fic featuring Jenny and Madam Vashtra in one of their many adventures. The author succeeds in giving the sense that this is just one story of many. It was recommended to me as gen, but Jenny and Madam Vashtra are very definitely together. It's just not the point of the story. I quite liked this one.
inlovewithnight. Red Flowers - I wasn't going to log this one because it's only about 8000 words and because I didn't read it on my e-reader, but I really enjoyed this story and want to recommend it to other people. It's a Belgariad/Malloreon story, backstory for Polgara. The blurb says "Long ago, in Cthol Murgos, Polgara fell in love." It's Polgara/OFC, and it's from Yuletide 2012 (I'm finally getting around to reading those fics. I'm not sure why I didn't before).
liviapenn. Madelyn Mack and the Dead Man's Cipher - This one is on the short side for fics I'm going to log, but I did enjoy it. Reading it doesn't require knowing canon which is good because I don't. Madelyn Mack is a detective in the very early part of the twentieth century. Nora Noraker is a reporter and Madelyn's best friend. There's very much a Holmes/Watson vibe. Now I want to read canon.
mikeneko. Cartes Postales - This is a Blossom Culp story, about 20000 words. I liked the ghost story aspect of the story better than the romance part. It's not that I don't believe in Blossom/Alexander. It's more that the two parts of the story didn't quite fit together. Definitely worth reading if you know the canon.
pendrecarc. Boston Marriage - This was one of the recs I got when I asked for long, plotty gen. It's a Sherlock fic with both Sherlock and Watson gender flipped (always women). I don't know the canon, so I don't know how closely this follows that. It does go through several cases. There's a sequel that I haven't read yet, and apparently the story arc will continue on after that.
Quick, Amanda. Otherwise Engaged - This is a standard Quick book, nothing unusual. The heroine is a world traveler who's written about her travels. The hero is an engineer who's gotten involved in espionage. Together, they try to find a serial killer who has (naturally) set his sights on the heroine, and they try to find out who's stolen some important papers.
SallyExactly. Chance - This is the early adventures of the Black Widow and Hawkeye, starting from when he chooses to bring her in rather than kill her. The story goes through several missions together as Natalia (she changes her name at the end of the story) tries to find her place in SHIELD and SHIELD tries to decide whether or not she can be trusted. I really enjoyed this one a lot. There's an incomplete sequel that I plan to read and follow.
Started but not finished:
Blackwell, Juliet. A Cast-off Coven - I read about a third of this and really thought I'd finish it because the style was engaging. I stopped because I realized that I was having trouble keeping the characters straight and that I didn't much care about them. I also wasn't interested in the magical plot threads.
Hart, Ellen. Death on a Silver Platter - As the title no doubt tells you, this is a mystery. I didn't care for the characters or voice.
Hyzy, Julie. Hail to the Chef - This is a murder mystery set at the White House. I just didn't get into it.
Lawson, Valerie. Mary Poppins, She Wrote - I simply didn't enjoy the style in which this was written, so I stopped reading.
Stossel, Scott. My Age of Anxiety: Fear, Hope, Dread, and the Search for Peace of Mind - I found this too dense to get through. As someone disabled by anxiety, I was very interested, but I only got through about a third of the book (there's a waitlist at the library, so renewing wasn't an option). The part I did read talked a lot about what anxiety is and about the author's own struggles with anxiety. His issues aren't the same as mine-- He gets acute symptoms where I get chronic, for one thing.
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Date: 2014-06-13 03:10 pm (UTC)