596 replies to this topic

[Katia11]

now i'm going to have to check out the apothecary diaries  

[Katia11]

Last month was pretty good overall! I have finished all the currently released light novels of The Apothecary Diaries, and I also completed Yellowface, which I had been meaning to read forever. It was very thought-provoking- almost five stars. The end got a bit far-fetched for me, though. I read a nonfiction book called Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl. It was very impactful. I also finally read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, which I'd been meaning to get around to for a long time, and, man, that was sad too. However, there was a great deal of love and strength within that family. 

 

I read The Fox Wife, and I thoroughly enjoyed it! So yay! I'm in the club! 

 

AND I finished a few horror novels!  The Reformatory was probably my favorite, but Camp Damascus and When The Reckoning Comes were both also good. 

[Katia11]

okay, this is a bit of a... not really a rant? But ... it will contain some negative thoughts about the Stormlight Archive. 

 

I started the next book in the series yesterday, and I'm having a bit of trouble with it. The world-building is still interesting, but I feel like the characters are annoying me more in this one. 

 

Can Shallan say anything serious at all? She's dealing with some heavy things, and I appreciate that the book is pretty clear she's intentionally avoiding those things. However, so many of her on-page interactions are jokes. It's trying SOOO hard to be funny and witty, which makes it not funny and witty. At first, it was certainly fun. But it has started to grate on me a little. Sometimes, I find myself thinking, "Hey! That was clever!" But other times, I find myself asking, "What the point is of these quips?" Quips are not personality. I'm sorry. Thankfully, the exploration of her inner thoughts and feelings helps round her out a little. There are other things too that round her out, and make her feel like she's more than just a cardboard cutout of a character, so overall, I DO enjoy her. Her interactions with Adolin especially, like the one in the carriage was very nice. 

 

To be fair, OTHER characters fall into this trap too. Syl and Kaladin do it too. It's just as annoying when they do it. I just find myself wanting to roll my eyes and say, "Okay. You aren't as clever as you think you are. Can we move on now?"

 

There is just a lot of "witty banter" and as is the case with series that has a lot of witty banter, eventually, I start to grow a little tired of reading it. A very similar thing happened with The Skyward series. I was really enjoying that series, until I started seeing some of these things and it started to make the reading experience unpleasant. 

 

To be clear, I do enjoy banter! I do! Obviously. Well written banter is a weakness of mine. I think it's just when it's present in more than one set of characters that I find it gets a bit old. 

 

Also, I should have probably just continued into this book when I was on a roll. I KNOW that I am suffering for being away from the world for so long. 

[Katia11]

Thankfully, once I got over that little hump, things did get easier. So take that, Rhythm of War! I have conquered you!!

I have another library book out currently, so I think I will read that next. But then, having learned my lesson, I hopefully will continue straight into Wind and Truth.

[Katia11]

Well, here we go, folks. I have started Wind and Truth, and I am determined to finish it. DETERMINED. 

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Best of luck, Katie!

[Katia11]

About 47% through at 546 pages!!!

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

You got this, girl!

[Katia11]

I finally finished!!!

[Mara=^.^=]

GO GO GO

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

You go , girl!! Great job!! *high-fives*

[Katia11]

so I burned through Katabasis today. I have largely heard negative things about it, but I enjoyed it. Don't ask me to explain anything, but I could NOT put it down. 

[Katia11]

lol it always amuses me when a character in a book says, "Oh yeah, we're just friends.." about someone and then not even a page later they are kissing the person in question. 

[Katia11]

Apparently, I am feeling particularly ambitious because I started Anna Karenina. 

 

I'm currently about 35% through. It's slow going, but I am determined to read this baby. 

[Katia11]

I finished it!!!!!

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

You go, girl!

[Katia11]

thanks! 

 

My concentration was like absolute ZERO today.... for reasons. I've only read about 8% of the book I started. LOL 

[JimmyxxCindy4EVER]

Hey, at least it's something at all... You got this!

[Katia11]

Not book-related at all, but watched the Anna Karenina movie (the Keira Knightley version) this evening. There are some parts where this movie is brilliantly made. Very artistic. There are also parts of the romance that are sweeping and epic. However, it goes from 0 to 100 very quickly (which is accurate to the book). I really loved the little touches. (How Vronsky touched her arm when he took the cigarette was SEXY as hell. And the kiss on her hand in the very beginning was too. And the dance they shared? WOW. Almost sexier than the sex scenes.) 

 

I loved the way the train was worked in to other parts of the movie. It was dramatic and heartbreaking. I also liked the way it was framed as a theatrical production (many sequences taking place on a stage) that was very interesting.

 

There were some parts of the movie where the transitions were a bit difficult for me to follow. 

 

Overall though, it was enjoyable and pretty faithful to the book. 

[Katia11]

I MEAN LOOK AT THE WAY HIS HAND RUNS DOWN HER ENTIRE ARM???!?! LIKE. JUST. EFF ME UP. (it's right away at the beginning).