Books read, early May

[mrissa]

This is an extremely light fortnight for reading: combination of a big, heavy tome and general household uproar. So:

Chaz Brenchley (desperance), Bridge of Dreams. Just finished. Want the next. I spotted some things that I think would push (the bad kind of) buttons for some people on my friendslist, but they didn't hit me that way. At first I had the problem I often have with two POV books, where I was much more interested in one POV character than the other, but after the first 50-100 pages, that eased off as well.

David Palmer, Emergence. Written long before V. Secret Diaries. Had similar diary/telegraphy style. As result, kept thinking, "Still last one alive. Apocalypse v. annoying. Still prettiest," etc., similar snark early on. Main character annoying. Secondary characters not much better except bird. Plot took off eventually.

Simon Schama, Citizens. The book that ate my fortnight. Definitely worth it. I think wshaffer and Daniel recommended this -- if not, some other Schama -- and it definitely made me cross the line from "read this author if he writes something immediately useful" to "read this author." This was about the French Revolution, a lot of personalities but not necessarily "great man" history -- the people it focused on weren't all the great and powerful, but they were all distinct individuals. Very little of The Masses or The Aristocrats or what have you. Individual aristos, certainly. Also balloonists, orators, craftsmen, madwomen, lots of fascinating tidbits.

I'm finding that one of the disadvantages of reading about...well, countries that aren't Finland, basically...is winnowing. A book like Citizens makes me want to read more about the French Revolution, but there's too much more out there to read it all. This is not nearly so true of books about Finnish history, myth, and culture available in English. I won't go so far as to say I've read all the stuff there is, but I've read a pretty large percentage of it -- not quite everything I can get, because we have access to the University of Minnesota library now, but even a large percentage of that. There just isn't much out there. In the understatement of the century (haddayr: this is a good time for a bland, "Oh, yah?"), this is not true of material on the French, and it's not ever going to be. So the sorting process is a good deal more interesting.

Noel Streatfeild, Movie Shoes. May have had a more sensible British title; some of them do. Anyway, one of the parts I found interesting about this reread of this childhood favorite is that Streatfeild was fairly aware of how much her characters tended to be types. Posy Fossil, a character from an earlier book now grown, exclaims to one of the children that she is just like Posy's sister Pauline. And indeed she is.

And that's it. Oof.

Comments

[fiddledragon]

My *favorite* books growing up were the Shoes books by Noel Streatfeild.

I've started looking for them again - but it's slow going *chuckle*. What's your favorite? I don't remember all of the ones that I read when I was younger, but I *think* my favorite was Skating Shoes

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

In memory, I am fondest of Theatre Shoes, because it's all WWII-ish, but I am gradually rereading them and may change my mind.

You can borrow mine if you like.

[fiddledragon]

I would like that very much :)

Speaking of books of yours. We still have one of yours sitting on our door-side bookshelf.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Oh, good. When I reshelved, I thought, "Didn't I have another in this set? Hmmm, I think I lent it down to Dragonsept."

[fiddledragon]

Set? Are there more than just the two? Does this mean I have more than the one to purchase? :D

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

So far, just two.

[fiddledragon]

*phew* was worried I'd missed a book somehow *laugh*

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Curtain Up.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

White Boots.

[fiddledragon]

*nod* it was published as White Boots in the UK and Skating Shoes in the US.

this is the cover I remember from my youth....*wistful* *grin*.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

And that is the cover mine has, the cover the eldest fruit of your loins borrowed from me (and has responsibly returned, fear not).

[carbonel]

I loved the Shoes books, too, though I really didn't discover them until I was technically too old for them. I think I read the first of them in high school, and didn't read the last one I could find (Tennis Shoes, which seems to have been published originally under that name, and may, along with Ballet Shoes be responsible for the American renamings) until fairly recently.

I bought copies of all of them I could find when I was in the UK, though I'm still missing a few.

My favorite is probably Skating Shoes (White Boots) as well, though I'm awfully fond of Ballet Shoes and Circus Shoes as well.

I'd still like to read her adult novels, even though I understand from papersky that they aren't as good as the children's books. The only one I've read is A Vicarage Family

My current in-the-car book for when I have to wait for takeout or some such is Gemma, inspired by mrissa's comments on her recent reread.

[fiddledragon]

IMO, there is *never* a "technically too old" age for any book ;) - but then I like YA books in general, and not just because we've got 2 pre-teens and one teen-in-less-than-six-months in the house. *grin*. (so sayeth the woman who goes from Karen Traviss' Ally - decidedly NOT YA...to Kai Meyer's wholly YA The Wave Walkers, Book One: The Pirate Curse. )

[papersky.livejournal.com]

The Painted Garden.

Jo,
Available 24/7 for all your Streatfeild proper title needs.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Much appreciated!

That's a much better title. I mean, ballet shoes, okay, dancing shoes, okay, but nobody ever put on their movie shoes, for heaven's sake. That sounds like the sort of thing one's jocular but odd uncle would say: "Put on your movie shoes, kids, we're catching a show!"

[timprov.livejournal.com]

Except Judy Garland.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

I can't think why the US publishers were so lame.

Usually US titles are just datapoints, but I find these actively painful, as the original titles were good and meaningful and the changed ones dumb at best and an affront to the story at worst.

Also, it makes me wonder what on earth they called the odder ones, like Caldicott Place and The Growing Summer.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

There were some that escaped the shoe menace, like The Magic Summer, which may also be The Growing Summer for all I know.

Further confusing me as a child, some libraries had an American and a British edition of the same title, so I would think I'd found a new one and then be disappointed.

[carbonel]

Caldicott Place became The Family at Caldicott Place, and The Growing Summer became The Magic Summer. Luckily, I had read enough Streatfeild by then to know that nothing Nesbit-like was likely to happen.

[zalena.livejournal.com]

I loved the Outremer world building, characters, and sexual identity stuff. I was disappointed by the ending. Should I try the new series?

It's irritating how frequently the Shoes books go OOP. Getting ahold of certain books in the series can be quite challenging. The lesson: if I find these books, I should buy them and hold on to them.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I haven't got any of the Outremer books, so I couldn't say how similar you'd find worldbuilding and characters. But I liked this book and want the next, for what that's worth in a vacuum.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

I have been burbling away on my own journal about how much I loved both the books in the "Selling Water by the River" series. Really so very good, and now I will go find the Outremer books because I'm hugely impressed with how he handled all the themes and POVs in this one. And I love his language.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Shhhh, he can hear you.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

No, no, he's far away. He can't hear me squeeing.

[shewhomust.livejournal.com]

Depends on what it was about the ending of Outremer that disappointed you, but I think on balance that if you enjoyed those things, you'd also like them in Selling Water.

[tanaise.livejournal.com]

I think my favorite of them is Circus Shoes, but it's a hard choice. They're all so good. (except for Party Shoes, I think.)

And in fact, the romance-ish book I just finished reading (Diagnosis of Love which I keep wanting to call "Young Doctors in Love.") had one of the main character's goals while she spent a year in England be to go to the road the Fossils lived on.

[athenais.livejournal.com]

My favorite was Ballet Shoes, because I wanted so desperately to be a ballerina when I was a little girl. And was devastated to be told (quite kindly) at age 12, just after beginning to dance en pointe, that I would not have a career in front of me due to my body shape. There were many, many bitter tears over that reality. So I adored any stories about ballet dancers, saw "The Turning Point" several times, and read many biographies of the famous choreographers and dancers.

[mizkit.livejournal.com]

Oh, I loved the Shoes books. I want to re-read them. Must find and do so.

Also, EMERGENCE works quite well if you read it for the first time at about sixteen, well over a decade before the V.S.D.'s ever thought of coming into being. Unfortunately, I can't quite figure out how to arrange that for you...:)