![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
More books I've read
Dec. 28th, 2018 10:25 amFinally, I’ve gotten this posted!
What I’ve read:
The Dry – Jane Harper
Force of Nature – Jane Harper
The Raven Cycle Series (Books #1-4) – Maggie Stiefvater
I’ll Give You the Sun – Jandy Nelson
We are Legion – We are Bob (Bobiverse, #1) – Dennis E Taylor
A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1) – Madeleine L’Engle
The Long way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfayer, #1) – Becky Chambers
The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
Lady Sherlock Series (#1 and #2) – Sherry Thomas
Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie
Circe – Madeline Miller
Thoughts are behind the cut.
( Read more... )
What I’ve read:
The Dry – Jane Harper
Force of Nature – Jane Harper
The Raven Cycle Series (Books #1-4) – Maggie Stiefvater
I’ll Give You the Sun – Jandy Nelson
We are Legion – We are Bob (Bobiverse, #1) – Dennis E Taylor
A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet, #1) – Madeleine L’Engle
The Long way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfayer, #1) – Becky Chambers
The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas
Lady Sherlock Series (#1 and #2) – Sherry Thomas
Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie
Circe – Madeline Miller
Thoughts are behind the cut.
( Read more... )
Books I've Read
Oct. 15th, 2018 10:16 amI will apologize early and say some of these are spoiler-y since I want to talk about the plot. Because of that reason, I’ve put my opinions of five books I’ve finished behind a cut.
Also, I've met my reading challenge for the year. It was only 12 books, but I'll still be happy I met one of my yearly goals. :)
( Read more... )
Also, I've met my reading challenge for the year. It was only 12 books, but I'll still be happy I met one of my yearly goals. :)
( Read more... )
What I’m Reading
Apr. 18th, 2018 03:46 pmFinished
The Martian by Andy Weir
I’ve just finished and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The line “Mars will fear my botany powers” is my new science war cry. It combined my favorite things: plants, NASA, and problem solving/tinkering. I saw the movie first and the movie did a very good job at representing the book. The ending was different, but that’s ok.
There is a lot of what I would call engineering humor and Weir’s characterization of the engineers feels spot on to the engineers that I know. Some of the NASA engineer humor reminds me of the From the Earth to the Moon mini-series. My favorite episode was “Spider” where the engineers try to build things and make it work.
Not to overstate, but Mark Watney is my new literary hero. This character’s “go get ‘em” and “work the problem” philosophy are very strong. That said, while it works great in the book, I’m not entirely sure it’s realistic. There wasn’t much talk about his emotional state. He is talking out a blog meant for recording the mission and says he needs to keep this more professional, so that makes sense.
Since this is a sold book and not a fic, I can say I found a continuity mistake. I heard from another chemistry PhDs that the chemistry and calculations are spot on, which is good. The author does go into math and calculations (problem solving) a lot and it is most of Watney’s dialogue in his logs.
I was also noting how Weir was blending epistolary and narrative since that’s relevant to one of the things I’m writing.
Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett
This was my first introduction to Terry Pratchett and I need to read more of his works. The humor was fun and quirky. I was also surprised as to where who was the villain and Carrot’s role. Overall, that was fun. I’m listening to audiobooks, so some of the humor involved in how things are written are lost.
Pratchett’s style and wit seem very distinct to me. One writing thing that standing out was Pratchett’s use of adverbs. X said conversationally, Y said helpfully, A said agreeably, B said knowledgeably, etc. As this is my first book from Pratchett, is that normal for him? When I was paying attention to when he used them, they seemed to coincide with parts of the story I found funny. So, B said helpfully when he isn’t being completely helpful to the other characters.
Lastly, does this guy believe in chapters?
Current
I’m currently reading Good Omens and so far enjoying it.
Fan Fics
As for fan fictions, I’ve realized I read a lot of the longer fics. If it’s 30k+, odds are I’ll try it. I like getting lost in what the author has the characters experience and see how they’ll resolve stuff. I just finished one of the 280K ones where one of the characters was dealing with debilitating depression as well as other issues. Not a happy read at the beginning, but there was a happy ending.
In the past when I’ve read or watched stuff with depression it would mess me up for days. This time I was happy that it didn’t and I was able to take the time to think about it instead of immediately shelving it to avoid. It was a good story, not easy, but a good read and character development.
The Martian by Andy Weir
I’ve just finished and I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The line “Mars will fear my botany powers” is my new science war cry. It combined my favorite things: plants, NASA, and problem solving/tinkering. I saw the movie first and the movie did a very good job at representing the book. The ending was different, but that’s ok.
There is a lot of what I would call engineering humor and Weir’s characterization of the engineers feels spot on to the engineers that I know. Some of the NASA engineer humor reminds me of the From the Earth to the Moon mini-series. My favorite episode was “Spider” where the engineers try to build things and make it work.
Not to overstate, but Mark Watney is my new literary hero. This character’s “go get ‘em” and “work the problem” philosophy are very strong. That said, while it works great in the book, I’m not entirely sure it’s realistic. There wasn’t much talk about his emotional state. He is talking out a blog meant for recording the mission and says he needs to keep this more professional, so that makes sense.
Since this is a sold book and not a fic, I can say I found a continuity mistake. I heard from another chemistry PhDs that the chemistry and calculations are spot on, which is good. The author does go into math and calculations (problem solving) a lot and it is most of Watney’s dialogue in his logs.
I was also noting how Weir was blending epistolary and narrative since that’s relevant to one of the things I’m writing.
Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett
This was my first introduction to Terry Pratchett and I need to read more of his works. The humor was fun and quirky. I was also surprised as to where who was the villain and Carrot’s role. Overall, that was fun. I’m listening to audiobooks, so some of the humor involved in how things are written are lost.
Pratchett’s style and wit seem very distinct to me. One writing thing that standing out was Pratchett’s use of adverbs. X said conversationally, Y said helpfully, A said agreeably, B said knowledgeably, etc. As this is my first book from Pratchett, is that normal for him? When I was paying attention to when he used them, they seemed to coincide with parts of the story I found funny. So, B said helpfully when he isn’t being completely helpful to the other characters.
Lastly, does this guy believe in chapters?
Current
I’m currently reading Good Omens and so far enjoying it.
Fan Fics
As for fan fictions, I’ve realized I read a lot of the longer fics. If it’s 30k+, odds are I’ll try it. I like getting lost in what the author has the characters experience and see how they’ll resolve stuff. I just finished one of the 280K ones where one of the characters was dealing with debilitating depression as well as other issues. Not a happy read at the beginning, but there was a happy ending.
In the past when I’ve read or watched stuff with depression it would mess me up for days. This time I was happy that it didn’t and I was able to take the time to think about it instead of immediately shelving it to avoid. It was a good story, not easy, but a good read and character development.
