Reading Post #8
Oct. 30th, 2005 10:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
desertvixenIt's going to be slowing down from the breakneck pace of being in Arizona. Now I actually have stuff like work, and Brian to keep me busy, and so I don't have to read fifteen books in one week.
One trashy romance novel that I couldn't quite resist (because of the title), Flint by Norah Hess. Yes, she does write bad bad bodice rippers, but every now and then, I want to read one. They're like really bad candy that I shouldn't eat, and only have one piece every few months. This wasn't too bad, there was an actual semblance to a plot.
I followed that up with Brighter Than The Sun by Julia Quinn. There's always a twist on whatever "standard" plot (and let's face it, Regency fans, there are a limited number of plot categories that are suitable for Regency stories) - this time, the marriage of convenience plot. Groom has to marry to keep fortune thanks to father's will, bride needs to marry to escape stepmother from hell, and so forth.
I picked up 2 of the Sunfire teen novels from the 1980s, Josie by Vivian Schurfranz, about a sixteen year old living in 1860's Nevada and involving the Pony Express, and Victoria by Willo Davis Roberts, about a sixteen year old living in the period of the Alamo and Texas War for Independence. Yes, I have a guilty sweet tooth for "teen" novels as well, replacing the collection that various parents liquidated. We're making sure the kids have plenty to read. :)
In between those 2, I read through Jihad: Militant Islam in Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid. This was a pretty decent, if dated (2002) look at the conditions and issues related to Islam in the former Soviet states of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Krygyzstan. Many of the predictions made by the author had come true by the time I read the book. There's also a little bit of indictment towards the US for racing to use those countries as springboards for the war in terror, but not insisting that there be any attention paid towards human rights. (Of course, when there finally was some insistence on looking into the Andijon massacre in Uzbekistan, it got us a 180 day notice to leave Karshi Khanabad AFB.)
I spent the better part of the week reading through Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. It was an excellent way to spend the reading time for the week - I just had to keep stopping to savor the language. Pleased to see that while it wasn't a happy ending, the antagonists got was coming to them.
There was a smaller book entitled Misstating the State of the Union by mediamatters.org going over some of the incorrrect statements made by members of the right-wing press corps, including such people as Ann Coulter and Michael Savage.
Tbe topper to the reading period was Cardington Crescent by Anne Perry. Another of her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novels, and an excellent pre-Halloween read. I did guess the majority of the twists she was going to play this time, but it's still enjoyable to get there. Major change for one of the major characters, and I wait to see where it takes us next.
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coalboy, I'll get back to you by email over the Regencies today/tonight.
DV
One trashy romance novel that I couldn't quite resist (because of the title), Flint by Norah Hess. Yes, she does write bad bad bodice rippers, but every now and then, I want to read one. They're like really bad candy that I shouldn't eat, and only have one piece every few months. This wasn't too bad, there was an actual semblance to a plot.
I followed that up with Brighter Than The Sun by Julia Quinn. There's always a twist on whatever "standard" plot (and let's face it, Regency fans, there are a limited number of plot categories that are suitable for Regency stories) - this time, the marriage of convenience plot. Groom has to marry to keep fortune thanks to father's will, bride needs to marry to escape stepmother from hell, and so forth.
I picked up 2 of the Sunfire teen novels from the 1980s, Josie by Vivian Schurfranz, about a sixteen year old living in 1860's Nevada and involving the Pony Express, and Victoria by Willo Davis Roberts, about a sixteen year old living in the period of the Alamo and Texas War for Independence. Yes, I have a guilty sweet tooth for "teen" novels as well, replacing the collection that various parents liquidated. We're making sure the kids have plenty to read. :)
In between those 2, I read through Jihad: Militant Islam in Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid. This was a pretty decent, if dated (2002) look at the conditions and issues related to Islam in the former Soviet states of Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Krygyzstan. Many of the predictions made by the author had come true by the time I read the book. There's also a little bit of indictment towards the US for racing to use those countries as springboards for the war in terror, but not insisting that there be any attention paid towards human rights. (Of course, when there finally was some insistence on looking into the Andijon massacre in Uzbekistan, it got us a 180 day notice to leave Karshi Khanabad AFB.)
I spent the better part of the week reading through Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. It was an excellent way to spend the reading time for the week - I just had to keep stopping to savor the language. Pleased to see that while it wasn't a happy ending, the antagonists got was coming to them.
There was a smaller book entitled Misstating the State of the Union by mediamatters.org going over some of the incorrrect statements made by members of the right-wing press corps, including such people as Ann Coulter and Michael Savage.
Tbe topper to the reading period was Cardington Crescent by Anne Perry. Another of her Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novels, and an excellent pre-Halloween read. I did guess the majority of the twists she was going to play this time, but it's still enjoyable to get there. Major change for one of the major characters, and I wait to see where it takes us next.
coalboy, I'll get back to you by email over the Regencies today/tonight.DV
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no subject
Date: 2005-10-31 05:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-01 03:09 am (UTC)It's not bad.
The teenage girl actually listens to her parents about why they like Boy A over Boy B - although she and Boy B agree that it's just not ever happening. But she's not one of the *perfect* teenage characters either, which is good as well.
DV