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highlyeccentricWhat Are You Reading Wednesday:
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
What are you currently reading?
Baraba Baynton's Bush Studies and an anthology of Marvel superhero team-ups.
What did you recently finish reading?
Apples & Oranges by Jan Clausen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I found this memoir fascinating and moving and very much the sort of thing that I have been craving when assembling a to-read pile of bisexual angst.
As to be expected, I found Clausen's sweeping, two-sentence dismissal of the bisexual movement to be quite aggravating: especially since after that two-sentence mention she proceeded onwards to write as if there are no bisexuals to be found anywere in lesbian, feminist or activist circles. It's one thing if bisexual is not how she'd describe herself: it's insulting to dismiss a large swathe of fellow bisexuals while complaining how isolated you feel as a neither-straight-nor-gay person.
But. As long as I put that annoyance aside, I found I agreed with much of what Clausen had to say: about sexuality, about the dynamics of People in Groups, about understanding oneself in relation to others and the world.
Murder and Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was an ABSOLUTE HOOT. I loved Greenwood's depiction of the choristers, and the guest appearance by Aunty Mark. I found the narration unexpectedly witty, the pace slower than expected, and that I have evidently missed important characters and backstory by only watching the TV show so far. I shall start reading the others in the series soon!
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The writing here was compelling and deft: it's first person without being melodramatic; the metaphors built up between film, set design, and life/relationships were clear without being heavily drawn. I read an interview in which LaCour said an early draft had been very heavy on the religous persecution of gay teens and subsequent angst, and that she had almost stripped it out in the final write-up. I think that was a very good choice: if she'd dug deeper into Ava's trauma, she would have needed to resolve it somehow - and, as the protagonist realises, that can't be done just by giving her a job in the movies and a fancy house. In addition, I thought the matter-of-fact way in which everyone took the fact of fundamentalist homophobia is... pretty damn realistic, actually.
My chief complaint is that neither Emi's internal perspective nor the external facts of the girls' lives (paid internships, freedom of movement, etc) seemed to match up to 'just finishing high school'. As school never features, the graduation in question could more plausibly have been the end of undergrad.
Plus a bunch of books for work, and friend L's Chalet School omnibus, which will show up in a later review post.
What do you think you'll read next?
Perhaps I'll buy another Miss Fisher book on the kobo?
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?
What are you currently reading?
Baraba Baynton's Bush Studies and an anthology of Marvel superhero team-ups.
What did you recently finish reading?
Apples & Oranges by Jan ClausenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I found this memoir fascinating and moving and very much the sort of thing that I have been craving when assembling a to-read pile of bisexual angst.
As to be expected, I found Clausen's sweeping, two-sentence dismissal of the bisexual movement to be quite aggravating: especially since after that two-sentence mention she proceeded onwards to write as if there are no bisexuals to be found anywere in lesbian, feminist or activist circles. It's one thing if bisexual is not how she'd describe herself: it's insulting to dismiss a large swathe of fellow bisexuals while complaining how isolated you feel as a neither-straight-nor-gay person.
But. As long as I put that annoyance aside, I found I agreed with much of what Clausen had to say: about sexuality, about the dynamics of People in Groups, about understanding oneself in relation to others and the world.
Murder and Mendelssohn by Kerry GreenwoodMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was an ABSOLUTE HOOT. I loved Greenwood's depiction of the choristers, and the guest appearance by Aunty Mark. I found the narration unexpectedly witty, the pace slower than expected, and that I have evidently missed important characters and backstory by only watching the TV show so far. I shall start reading the others in the series soon!
Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCourMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The writing here was compelling and deft: it's first person without being melodramatic; the metaphors built up between film, set design, and life/relationships were clear without being heavily drawn. I read an interview in which LaCour said an early draft had been very heavy on the religous persecution of gay teens and subsequent angst, and that she had almost stripped it out in the final write-up. I think that was a very good choice: if she'd dug deeper into Ava's trauma, she would have needed to resolve it somehow - and, as the protagonist realises, that can't be done just by giving her a job in the movies and a fancy house. In addition, I thought the matter-of-fact way in which everyone took the fact of fundamentalist homophobia is... pretty damn realistic, actually.
My chief complaint is that neither Emi's internal perspective nor the external facts of the girls' lives (paid internships, freedom of movement, etc) seemed to match up to 'just finishing high school'. As school never features, the graduation in question could more plausibly have been the end of undergrad.
Plus a bunch of books for work, and friend L's Chalet School omnibus, which will show up in a later review post.
What do you think you'll read next?
Perhaps I'll buy another Miss Fisher book on the kobo?
no subject
Date: 2014-09-11 11:08 pm (UTC)