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reading wednesday + some tv things
What did you recently finish reading?
The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson. IT WAS SO GREAT. I loved how casually queer it was, not just in the sense that m/m and f/f relationships were normal and uncommented upon, but also in the sense that in the place of a love triangle there are three people who all love each other a whole lot in various different ways, and try to take care of each other and respect each other's decisions. I loved a lot of the worldbuilding (particularly the semi-sentient city, I'm so easy for sentient cities!); a few of the plotlines, like the one where the main character realizes that her rival at school is actually lovely and it's too bad they haven't been friends, were on the predictable side -- but even when I did guess some things, they felt well-executed and satisfying, and for the most part everything was unexpected enough to keep me guessing. This book is good, also, both as its own thing and as a Gilgamesh retelling; I was compelled to go look up a summary of Gilgamesh after I'd finished (since I hadn't read the epic in ... five years?) and was impressed all over again, because the thematic things Johnson pulled are really, really great. I'm buying this one forthwith, in fact; it will definitely hold up on rereads.
Outsider Perspective by Neery, Person of Interest, Finch/Reese. I can go either way on amnesia fics, although I'm kind of a sucker for them if they're done well, and this one is indeed! Finch and Reese, of course, assume that [a] they are dating and that [b] something really weird is going on, what the hell is with all the fake IDs? It's funny, and the characterization is sound; it also takes time to deal with the fallout once they have their memories back. And, like a bizarre number of PoI fics, it made me tear up at the end, because ... idk, I guess I'm just really a sucker for intense caring D/s and John Reese getting nice things.
What are you currently reading?
Tides by Betsy Cornwell. I looked over an early draft of this one in college! It is much better now, as I expected; it's charming and engaging, and I like everyone a lot, and it does fun things with selkie mythology.
What do you think you'll read next?
WELL. I just started working at a bookstore! There are discount and free books everywhere! My to-read pile is therefore already kind of alarming. The short list, though, is Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane, and after that possibly the Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner, since I read the first one in middle school and have roughly zero memory of it besides that it was good, and because Polaris thinks I'd really enjoy them.
Also, I have been watching some television! (Some of it is TERRIBLE. For some reason for instance I'm still watching Teen Wolf! What a stupid show, how I love it.) Fortunately I don't have thoughts about Teen Wolf, but I do have thoughts about several other things:
Warehouse 13! Okay, first things first: Myka has ovarian cancer, HAHAHA NOPE NOPE NOPE /rolls off planet Seriously I need NONE of that. That said, though, I've discovered from watching tv in the last six months that the thing that panics me is scenes in hospitals, not feelings discussions about cancer? So I actually really ... liked is probably not the right word, but appreciated the scene where Pete offers to drive Myka to her appointment, she declines, they smile at each other, and as they walk away their faces both crumble. That was very very real in a way that made me feel like someone actually knew what they were doing with this plotline. I also had the weird experience of being at the scene where Paracelsus is transparently manipulating Pete by promising to help Myka, and next to me on the couch Polaris was going "DON'T BE AN IDIOT PETE DON'T TRUST HIM," and meanwhile I'm sitting there going, "...yeah, of course it's a trap, and I'd be doing EXACTLY what Pete is in this situation anyway." So ... yeah.
Uh, that aside, things I loved: looool Tony Head and James Marsters, morally questionable brothers!! I'm sad they didn't give Marsters more to do -- I loved his ridic lout intro episode, but they didn't run with it as much as they could've, hilarious fake mustache aside. Tony Head on the other hand they used to really good effect, and I'm so so excited to see the opening of next season because oh my goddd PARACELSUS VS CLAUDIA YESSSS. I'm also really glad that this season finale ended the way it did (BLASTING FLORENCE) because no one is dead! Not even Ms Frederick! Claudia will be totally fine, because obviously, and also because there is a mysterious (evil?) sister plotline now?? I'll roll with it. And I'm going to assume Myka will be okay too; they're mostly good at not permanent-killing the main cast, and this way I won't stress out about it.
Also, next season is their last! I hope everything gets nicely wrapped up. I'm also holding out hope for endgame Myka/HG, but it won't shatter my hopes and dreams if it doesn't happen, because the actual ship of my heart is Big Happy Warehouse Family.
Avengers! Specifically, I watched the two-part opener of Avengers Assemble, and ... I have the vague idea that the internet is unenthused? I'd be curious to hear why; I'm not thrilled by the fact that there is literally one lady so far, but otherwise I find it unobjectionable! Honestly as long as I love Thor and I love Natasha (which I do in this iteration so far!) and I don't actively want to punch anyone in the face, we're doing okay. (Ftr in EMH I actively wanted to punch like ... half the cast in the face the whole time, but T'Challa and Jan and Carol and Hulk and Hawkeye were so unrelentingly great that it was okay.) I do find it interesting, though, that the recent Avengers shows -- and also the movie, tbh -- are really interested in having the Avengers fight each other a lot! Like, omg guys who would win?? And I don't know why that seems to be a focus/something the creators think we're clearly interested in? (Which I guess says something about who their assumed audience is?) I'm trying to remember how much, say, X-Men Evolution had the team fighting each other vs just hanging out in the mansion being bros, and I think the ratio was a lot better, and I want me some of that! Sure, Hulk and Thor can beat each other up, that's clearly their version of hanging out being bros, but I also want a billion scenes of everyone going out for burgers. Yep.
The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson. IT WAS SO GREAT. I loved how casually queer it was, not just in the sense that m/m and f/f relationships were normal and uncommented upon, but also in the sense that in the place of a love triangle there are three people who all love each other a whole lot in various different ways, and try to take care of each other and respect each other's decisions. I loved a lot of the worldbuilding (particularly the semi-sentient city, I'm so easy for sentient cities!); a few of the plotlines, like the one where the main character realizes that her rival at school is actually lovely and it's too bad they haven't been friends, were on the predictable side -- but even when I did guess some things, they felt well-executed and satisfying, and for the most part everything was unexpected enough to keep me guessing. This book is good, also, both as its own thing and as a Gilgamesh retelling; I was compelled to go look up a summary of Gilgamesh after I'd finished (since I hadn't read the epic in ... five years?) and was impressed all over again, because the thematic things Johnson pulled are really, really great. I'm buying this one forthwith, in fact; it will definitely hold up on rereads.
Outsider Perspective by Neery, Person of Interest, Finch/Reese. I can go either way on amnesia fics, although I'm kind of a sucker for them if they're done well, and this one is indeed! Finch and Reese, of course, assume that [a] they are dating and that [b] something really weird is going on, what the hell is with all the fake IDs? It's funny, and the characterization is sound; it also takes time to deal with the fallout once they have their memories back. And, like a bizarre number of PoI fics, it made me tear up at the end, because ... idk, I guess I'm just really a sucker for intense caring D/s and John Reese getting nice things.
What are you currently reading?
Tides by Betsy Cornwell. I looked over an early draft of this one in college! It is much better now, as I expected; it's charming and engaging, and I like everyone a lot, and it does fun things with selkie mythology.
What do you think you'll read next?
WELL. I just started working at a bookstore! There are discount and free books everywhere! My to-read pile is therefore already kind of alarming. The short list, though, is Neil Gaiman's Ocean at the End of the Lane, and after that possibly the Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner, since I read the first one in middle school and have roughly zero memory of it besides that it was good, and because Polaris thinks I'd really enjoy them.
Also, I have been watching some television! (Some of it is TERRIBLE. For some reason for instance I'm still watching Teen Wolf! What a stupid show, how I love it.) Fortunately I don't have thoughts about Teen Wolf, but I do have thoughts about several other things:
Warehouse 13! Okay, first things first: Myka has ovarian cancer, HAHAHA NOPE NOPE NOPE /rolls off planet Seriously I need NONE of that. That said, though, I've discovered from watching tv in the last six months that the thing that panics me is scenes in hospitals, not feelings discussions about cancer? So I actually really ... liked is probably not the right word, but appreciated the scene where Pete offers to drive Myka to her appointment, she declines, they smile at each other, and as they walk away their faces both crumble. That was very very real in a way that made me feel like someone actually knew what they were doing with this plotline. I also had the weird experience of being at the scene where Paracelsus is transparently manipulating Pete by promising to help Myka, and next to me on the couch Polaris was going "DON'T BE AN IDIOT PETE DON'T TRUST HIM," and meanwhile I'm sitting there going, "...yeah, of course it's a trap, and I'd be doing EXACTLY what Pete is in this situation anyway." So ... yeah.
Uh, that aside, things I loved: looool Tony Head and James Marsters, morally questionable brothers!! I'm sad they didn't give Marsters more to do -- I loved his ridic lout intro episode, but they didn't run with it as much as they could've, hilarious fake mustache aside. Tony Head on the other hand they used to really good effect, and I'm so so excited to see the opening of next season because oh my goddd PARACELSUS VS CLAUDIA YESSSS. I'm also really glad that this season finale ended the way it did (BLASTING FLORENCE) because no one is dead! Not even Ms Frederick! Claudia will be totally fine, because obviously, and also because there is a mysterious (evil?) sister plotline now?? I'll roll with it. And I'm going to assume Myka will be okay too; they're mostly good at not permanent-killing the main cast, and this way I won't stress out about it.
Also, next season is their last! I hope everything gets nicely wrapped up. I'm also holding out hope for endgame Myka/HG, but it won't shatter my hopes and dreams if it doesn't happen, because the actual ship of my heart is Big Happy Warehouse Family.
Avengers! Specifically, I watched the two-part opener of Avengers Assemble, and ... I have the vague idea that the internet is unenthused? I'd be curious to hear why; I'm not thrilled by the fact that there is literally one lady so far, but otherwise I find it unobjectionable! Honestly as long as I love Thor and I love Natasha (which I do in this iteration so far!) and I don't actively want to punch anyone in the face, we're doing okay. (Ftr in EMH I actively wanted to punch like ... half the cast in the face the whole time, but T'Challa and Jan and Carol and Hulk and Hawkeye were so unrelentingly great that it was okay.) I do find it interesting, though, that the recent Avengers shows -- and also the movie, tbh -- are really interested in having the Avengers fight each other a lot! Like, omg guys who would win?? And I don't know why that seems to be a focus/something the creators think we're clearly interested in? (Which I guess says something about who their assumed audience is?) I'm trying to remember how much, say, X-Men Evolution had the team fighting each other vs just hanging out in the mansion being bros, and I think the ratio was a lot better, and I want me some of that! Sure, Hulk and Thor can beat each other up, that's clearly their version of hanging out being bros, but I also want a billion scenes of everyone going out for burgers. Yep.