remindmeofthe | (no subject)

HELP. I have finished Les Miserables (and cried on the bus in so doing, which at least looks slightly less ridiculous than crying over an audiobook, which I have also done on a bus and probably makes me look like I am crazy). AND NOW I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY LIFE. I have, according to the shipment date on Amazon, been reading this fucker since September thirtieth. I have never in my life spent a MONTH reading one book before. I feel vaguely as though I've braved a gauntlet or something. And it didn't help that the last chapter GOT ON MY NERVES, like, you! Valjean! Quit being a damn martyr and suck it up! You! Marius! You are a passive-aggressive twat! You! Cosette! Do you actually have any operating brain cells in that lovely head of yours?

I mean, I know I'm bringing in a more modern-day mindset on this one, but Valjean's decision-making process when it comes to his conscience - tends not to sit well with me. I bought it when he turned himself in to save Champmathieu at the expense of Montreuil-sur-mer's well-being, because there was no good choice to be made there and Valjean himself was in a daze for much of it, but telling Marius of his past was purely selfish. All it did was put Marius in the position of having to lie to Cosette. Honesty to help someone else is good. Honesty that hurts someone else so you can have the relief of telling the truth is crappy. Especially when you make me cry for you anyway when you do it, you jerk.

Marius didn't annoy me quite so much, because he is a DORK and he will never escape his innate dorkness and I cannot help but be fond of that. I especially enjoyed how he somehow came to the conclusion that Valjean, the ex-convict, ratted out M Madeleine for being an ex-convict, and then stole his money? Somehow? I mean. I appreciate that, at this juncture in the narrative, it is difficult for Marius to imagine that Valjean could be a particularly good or selfless person, but I love how he came up with the only scenario that could possibly be more convoluted than what actually happened.

And I'm not even dealing with Cosette. That is my approach to female characters in pre-twentieth century literature in general, because they tend to be, oh, thinly written? So I accept it when they suck, as they so frequently do, and I ignore them. Cultural context and yadda and there's no point to getting worked up, really. But I just could not quite overlook that she was so wrapped up in being married that her father slipped her mind. I suppose if I thought about it I could hammer it into something that makes sense, but I don't WANT to think about it. It HURTS my BRAIN. What the fuck is wrong with her?

Sigh.

Anyway. Now I can't quite decide what to do next. I want to read at least parts of it over again, and I have to go back and read Waterloo, because I kind of, um, lost my patience and skipped half of it. But also I think I need to read something slightly less taxing. Which is EVERYTHING EVER PUBLISHED, so. Any recommendations? Funny is good, please. Depressing is bad.

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You should read Woman in White by Wilkie Collins!

I have not read this book, but [Bad username or site: rickenbacker / @ livejournal.com] read it last year and liked it very much. It's also quite the underrated classic, apparently, if you're in the mood to keep going with the classics.

You should read it! I read it in my Brit. Lit. class last year and really liked it. My dad highly recommends Collins' The Moonstone too, but I haven't read that yet.

It sounds interesting, but I want to give my brain a rest. It kind of aches. XD

Have you read anything by David Sedaris? He's pretty contemporary, and funny, but not taxing.

I will keep that in mind for when my brain works again. I think I need something a little more contemporary. Thanks, though, I looked it up and it does sound interesting.

What kind of genres are you interested in, as far as modern lit. goes?

I'll try anything if the story sounds good. I do tend to lean more toward fantasy and sci-fi, though. Mysteries are also good.

Okay, well, I don't really read a lot of sci-fi or fantasy, or mystery so here are some random suggestions!

This Body, Laurel Dowd
White Noise, Don DeLillo
Smashed, Koren Zailckas
Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
Skinny Legs and All, Tom Robbins
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Michael Chabon
The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, Michael Chabon
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Edward Albee
Reservation Blues, Sherman Alexie
Nightshade, John Saul
If I Don't Six, Elwood Reid
Something Wicked This Way Comes, Ray Bradbury
White Oleander, Janet Fitch
The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kidd
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, Dave Eggars
Underworld, Don DeLillo
The Road, Cormac McCarthy

I'll think of more later!

Do you read fantasy? Mercedes Lackey's historical fantasies, based on fairy tales, are some very nice fluff with humor and happy endings and things. They all take place around the WW2 era, and all but the first take place in England. Fire Rose (Beauty and the Beast), Serpent's Shadow (Snow White), Gates of Sleep (sleeping Beauty), Phoenix and Ashes (Cinderella), Wizard of London (the Snow queen, a Russian fable), and last but not least, Reserved for the Cat (Puss in Boots).

I like these books better than her more famous Valdemar books (though I read those, too).

Oh, I would also recommend the slightly funnier, slightly-less-romantic Sworddancer books by Jennifer Roberson. Sword Dancer, Sword Singer, Sword Maker, Sword Breaker, Sword Born, and Sword Sworn. First person, from the pov of a macho, hedonistic sword-for-hire with a GREAT sense of humor. They're the funniest books I own (which, admittly, isn't saying much-- but still!). They're fantasy, but in a much more down-to-earth fashion than Lackey's books, since the storyteller himself spends the whole series saying how magic is stupid XD

Thas all I got, though. I don't actually read much aside from fantasy >.> (forgot to say that, so I edit! wow, I like being able to edit comments XD )

Edited 2008-10-29 22:14 (UTC)

OOOH. I am an absolute SUCKER for reworkings of myths and fairy tales. I will definitely look those up. The other ones sound fun, too. I like fantasy books. :D

I'm a sucker for 'em, too, hee. and throw in that they're historical fantasy, which is really kind of rare but that I LOVE, and I'm just sold :B Lackey also does a remix of Swan Lake (I think?) called The Black Swan, and another russian fairy tale about the firebird called, predictably, Firebird.

And I can't recommend Patricia McKillip enough. Her stuff is loosely based in mythology of various cultures, but it all READS like a fairy tale, even they aren't exactly fairy tales. Which I love.

Okay, break over, back to work :B

Those Sworddancer books sound AWESOME.

omg they ARE awesome. I'd recommend them to anybody who likes fantasy ^^

If you can find them, Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher Mysteries are good, as are her Corinna Chapman books (I love the last ones. love. except for the last, which I haven't read)

Despite the author not being afraid to kill people off (which she really isn't, BUT this book I always end with smiling because CHARACTERS! <3!), Ruins of Ambrai by Melanie Rawn. It's the kinda thing where the characters make you chuckle the whole way through. Also, the world she's created is absolutely facinating.

In the non-fiction section, Married to a Bedouin, by Marguerite Van Geldermalsen, is just LOVELY. Short and lovely. And also Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything is the kind of thing that you can't actually have as an audio book, as you'd need to pull over and crack up too much. It's more history of science, but also has lots and and lots about the PEOPLE (which I find important), and also Bryson's asides and ways of writing I just find brilliant.

I'll always pimp Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Always! It's a quick read, too.

The Temeraire series by Naomi Novak is a little more thinky, but it's awfully fun.

Red As Blood by Tanith Lee is a fabulous collection of shivery, reinterpreted fairy tales.

What to do now? Well, you could always read Les Mis fanfiction... *evil grin*

If you want to laugh your ass off, Vive la Révolution by Mark Steel is flat-out the most hilarious and awesome history of the French Revolution ever written.

I second the recommendation for Woman in White. Interesting but not too heavy, and Marian is an excellent antidote to Cosette.

As far as modern goes, I heartily recommend Neal Stephenson. Aside from a really twisted sense of humor, the guy has a way of weaving together a bunch of disparate geeky interests into one narrative, and dragging the reader along for the ride. I haven't read the Baroque Cycle yet, and it looks mind-bogglingly involved, but Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon were both excellent nerdy fun. The Diamond Age wasn't as strong, IMO, but it did have neo-Victorians and a kickass heroine.

Also, Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey-Maturin series has been my excuse for light reading over the past, oh, six months or so. It's great fun.