One of these days, I am going to make a real life post about my conflicted feelings about how the boss I didn't get along with is gone ... but in such a way, that I kind of feel bad about being so delighted that he's gone. However, it will probably take a lot of emotional effort to talk about it, since his actions caused me a lot of stress and depression and I suspect is part of the reason why I've been so utterly unable to have any sort of fun with fandom and the Internet in general since I got this job.
For now, I'll leave you a book rec (or two).
The best book I've read recently? The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. It's utterly fascinating. I do have conflicted feelings regarding how the author treated weight in this book, but overall, I think it's a great, absorbing read.
Oh, wait. I also read Bitterblue, by Kristen Cashore. It was not a book I could ever consider a fun read. However, I still think it was brilliant. It dealt with the trauma an evil, insane king like Leth could cause in a very realistic way. I'm quite sure there were a lot of people who read this and were shocked that this wasn't a story like Graceling -- a fun adventure. I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere close to being as emotionally exhausting as it was. However, after thinking about it, I don't think there is any way a book about Bitterblue could ever have been a typical happy, fun adventure story. Bitterblue is about healing, which it needed to be. That's why I liked it, and that's why I'll have a very hard time reading it again.
My only quibble with Bitterblue? In both Graceling and Fire (particularly Fire), Kasta and Fire choose to never have children out of fear over what their children could become or how their children could be used. Bitterblue's father was an evil, insane madman and I cannot imagine Bitterblue not having some of the same fears that Kasta and Fire have. I really wish she'd shown a character who had the same fears as Kasta and Fire but deliberately made the opposite decision. Given that Bitterblue is a queen and having children is typically seen as an obligation for royalty, I wish this was an issue that had been brought up.
I know this is wishful thinking, since it certainly wouldn't have fit in well with the plot of the book (nor would there have been room), however, I still can't help wishing Cashore had found a way to do so.
For now, I'll leave you a book rec (or two).
The best book I've read recently? The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson. It's utterly fascinating. I do have conflicted feelings regarding how the author treated weight in this book, but overall, I think it's a great, absorbing read.
Oh, wait. I also read Bitterblue, by Kristen Cashore. It was not a book I could ever consider a fun read. However, I still think it was brilliant. It dealt with the trauma an evil, insane king like Leth could cause in a very realistic way. I'm quite sure there were a lot of people who read this and were shocked that this wasn't a story like Graceling -- a fun adventure. I wasn't expecting it to be anywhere close to being as emotionally exhausting as it was. However, after thinking about it, I don't think there is any way a book about Bitterblue could ever have been a typical happy, fun adventure story. Bitterblue is about healing, which it needed to be. That's why I liked it, and that's why I'll have a very hard time reading it again.
My only quibble with Bitterblue? In both Graceling and Fire (particularly Fire), Kasta and Fire choose to never have children out of fear over what their children could become or how their children could be used. Bitterblue's father was an evil, insane madman and I cannot imagine Bitterblue not having some of the same fears that Kasta and Fire have. I really wish she'd shown a character who had the same fears as Kasta and Fire but deliberately made the opposite decision. Given that Bitterblue is a queen and having children is typically seen as an obligation for royalty, I wish this was an issue that had been brought up.
I know this is wishful thinking, since it certainly wouldn't have fit in well with the plot of the book (nor would there have been room), however, I still can't help wishing Cashore had found a way to do so.