#sinika talks books

[mariedemedicis]

so i’m re-reading the trickster duology, which i only read once before, 14/16 years ago, and i’m a third of the way through trickster’s queen and i have to say that i find the choice of a time jump really weird, given the ramifications.

don’t get me wrong, i don’t think that books in a series have to pick up immediately after one another but where choice ends and queen picks up, there’s a looot happening off-screen/in between. like all of aly’s recruits were trained during that six month period but we don’t see any of them, and that leads into my other problem, which is related. queen introduces just so many new characters but honestly only a few, like nuritin and taybur, are fully-fleshed out and distinguishable characters. if there had been a book set in between choice and queen, some characters could have been introduced then, making them more familiar in queen, and leaving more room for distinguishing and introducing characters in queen.

i also find that trickster’s queen contains a lot more of the interesting parts of the story while also ramping up the parts of trickster’s choice that i didn’t like so much. sarai and petranne i think were the two characters who were carried over from choice to queen that suffered the most. better writing i think would have shown sarai’s emotional journey from mequen’s death and killing bronau to the sarai of queen without cutting out the in-between and petranne goes from a minor character with a genuine personality (shades of myrcella and tommen at times i thought) to hardly there at all, even less present than elsren.

i also think people are really hard on sarai in-universe, in a way that doesn’t feel quite fair.

[mariedemedicis]

loosely collected thoughts on the vampire diaries: the awakening

spoilers for a 30+ year old book below

I thought the intro was way more intriguing than the pilot’s although the payoff kind of ehh took way too long to connect

interestingly Elena mentions Caroline first of all her friends even though by this point they kind of aren’t friends anymore, then Matt, then Meredith and finally Bonnie (probably reading too much into this ordering but it’s intriguing) - Meredith is also the only mainish character whose last name isn’t dropped, apparently it’s that important we know the full names of Dick Carter & Raymond Hernandez but not Meredith’s last name

I knew that both Caroline & Bonnie were redheads in the books and I knew Caroline had green eyes, but I didn’t know that Bonnie had brown eyes, respect for the least common type of redhead (now we just need a redhead with blue eyes for the full set shgghhgh)

Stefan ending up in Fell’s Church was more a coincidence/happenstance than anything else, he did pick it based on the strong connection to its past - the civil war, but he has no past there and did not know or know of Elena before enrolling, I kind of prefer how it isolates him in comparison

Stefan is dark haired (which I did know), both Salvatore brothers are and most likely look much more alike, but with green eyes, which I didn’t

Meredith is...very inscrutable, both Bonnie and Elena have very obvious personalities but Meredith’s is hard to discern, she’s definitely being set up to know more than she lets on but I’m hoping for a bit more sense of who she is in the next book

Part of ‘the Powers’ (which as a terminology does absolutely crack me up a bit) that come with being a vampire include, not so much being able to read minds but get like a sense of personality, I’m explaining this poorly so let me just copy one of the relevant passages: ”So many minds. The pressure of so many thought patterns, so many mental voices surrounding him, was making him dizzy. It had been years since he had been in a swarm of people like this. One mind in particular stood out from the others. She had been among those watching him in the main corridor of the school building. He didn’t know what she looked like, but her personality was powerful. He felt sure he’d recognize it again.” Stephanie Meyer did you plagiarize this? (extra funny in light of Stefan having been called a knockoff Edward Cullen)

wild to find that Mr. Tanner is drawn almost as he was in the show from the books, all the way down to his showdown with Stefan on the first day, he teaches European History instead of American and the correction is about the Renaissance (this Stefan’s area of expertise) but otherwise, yeah same asshole teacher, same actually you’re wrong Stefan

Tanner’s death is way more dramatic and gruesome here though

Tyler dressing up as a werewolf for Halloween, bro you’re wild for that

I really like that Elena is the one to pursue Stefan rather than vice versa even if I don’t exactly love the writing of how she does it

book!Matt >>>>

the differences in the relationship between Stefan & Damon is also really interesting, Damon was apparently quite close to his unnamed mother who died a few years after Stefan’s birth and it’s implied that Stefan believes Damon blames him for this (v. interesting contrast to Lily Salvatore in the show who is blatantly written to be very similar to Stefan and for him to be her favorite); the relationship between them was antagonistic before Katherine ever showed up; whereas in the show, Stefan nearly immediately knows Damon is around, here Damon essentially gaslights Stefan into thinking he’s turning into/on the verge of turning into a killer without the memories of what he’s been up to, it takes Elena to help him work out that it’s Damon

Katherine is portrayed very differently given that the brothers believe they saw her dead, she was also involved consensually with both brothers, no compulsion involved, although neither was happy with her involvement with the other

she is also roughly the same age as the brothers

here are some comparisons between Elena & Katherine that have me very smugly thinking oh what little do you know: Stefan: “‘But,’ he added slowly, as if puzzling something out for himself, ‘you’re not like her, really. She looked like you, but she was fragile, delicate. Vulnerable. Inside as well as out.’ ‘And I’m not.’

He made a sound that would have been a laugh if there had been any humor in it. ‘No. You’re a fighter. You are ... yourself.’“ Damon: “’You’re wrong about her, you know. You think she’s sweet and docile, like Katherine. She isn’t. She’s not your type at all, my saintly brother. She has a spirit and a fire in her you wouldn’t know what to do with.’ ‘And you would, I suppose.’ Damon uncrossed his arms and slowly smiled again. ‘Oh, yes.’“

I probably won’t get to the next book, The Struggle, until next year but then I’ll be back with thoughts on it

[mariedemedicis]

i’m hoping to read three memoirs this year and i realize i only have one planned out. does anyone have suggestions/recommendations?

[mariedemedicis]

What are your thoughts on the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead? The good, the bad? What do you think about the upcoming tv adaptation?

Tell Us👁👄👁🍿

Did I reblog something VA recently? No idea where this is coming from, haha, but I will bite.

I loooved Vampire Academy when I first read in my mid-teens. Consumed it wholeheartedly and didn’t really critique it at all because I didn’t do that at the time.

I actually think the sequel/spinoff series, Bloodlines, is better, both in terms of quality of writing and pacing and dealing with sensitive topics. My guess would be that Mead had more creative freedom writing it than Vampire Academy, but that’s neither here nor there.

The good: I think it’s really fun to see a popular vampire media that includes different types of vampires and I like that the society is structured realistically around them; the teenagers act like actual teenagers; I love Rose & Lissa’s relationship

The bad: I mean, yeah it’s definitely cheesy and campy, but the big yikes piece for me is the Rom/tri relationship, will fully admit that I shipped it when I was reading the series for the first time (a bit younger than Rose), Lissa & Christian are sweet but Dimitri is an adult when Rose is a minor plus he’s in a position of authority over her, that’s a nope for me; I’m sure this is an unpopular opinion though

What I would ideally like from an adaptation would be a Rose who’s actually as described (For the record I have not kept up with any casting/production news beyond the fact that it’s coming and who’s producing so I don’t have any comments on casting. EDIT: other than apparently J. August Richards is playing Victor Dashkov?! How awesome is that!) Zoey Dutch is lovely but not at all as Rose is described.

What do I think about the upcoming tv adaptation? Well, given it’s being helmed by Julie Plec of the Vampire Diaries tv franchise, uh, I don’t feel particularly confident about what we might get. The best I would hope for is that she just slaps her name on the executive producer label and we get decent writers for the actual show.

I’ll probably still watch some of it though but I don’t think I’ll be watching religiously.

My understanding was that there was some drama around casting announcements but I don’t know all the details there so I will refrain from commenting.

[mariedemedicis]

i want. ladies of kingkiller chronicles gifset and if it doesn’t exist, i will simply have to learn to make gifs

[mariedemedicis]

13&17 📚👈

Thank you, Lee!

13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

Boyfriends with Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez. Oh my god, the characters were cardboard and the biphobia. 🙄

Also, American Street by Ibi Zoboi. This is the second book I tried by Zoboi and while it was somewhat better than Pride because she wasn't confined by trying to do a retelling, it cemented that her work isn't for me. It's really lacking in description and I still felt like I barely knew the characters any better by the end.

17. Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Yeah! Not to repeat my answer to Em but, so my library has this feature where you tell them the name of a book you've enjoyed, click a few genres you like, and pick the appropriate age range (picture books, middle grade, ya, adult, etc.) and they pick out a bundle of five books from your info.

The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley was definitely the standout from my bundle! It's not a book I had ever heard of before and I've really glad I read it. I probably will do it again!

I also really enjoyed Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken and The Animals of Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey.

[mariedemedicis]

12 and 19? :3

Thank you <3

12. did you enjoy any compulsory high school readings?

yeah! we did pride and prejudice in twelfth grade, although idk if that should count since i read it beforehand for funsies, but yeah our english teacher was awesome and we talked about all the social implications of so much in the book.

but since i'm unsure if that example strictly fits the question, i can also say the picture of dorian gray.

19. most disliked popular books?

lmaoo, song of achilles. probably can think of a bunch more but i'll just pick that one to be canceled for :)

[mariedemedicis]

seeing daniel sharman portray kol in the originals has only cemented for me that he would be perfect for ungolad in goose girl

[mariedemedicis]

3, 4 and 11 for the reading meme?

Thank you, Lil!

3. What were your top five books of the year?

I feel like I'm repeating myself a lot but probably, not in order:

Jane Fairfax by Joan Aiken

The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley

Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Animals of Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Answered here.

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

I don't know what constitutes 'a while' but Child of Dandelions by Shenaaz Nanji came out in 2008 and it's a short but very interesting read about the Indian population in Uganda and the tension that comes about when the country's President, General Idi Amin, declares that all foreigners, including Indians, have ninety days to leave the country.

[mariedemedicis]

as an agatha christie dork....death on the nile is not one of the better ones

when can i get a full film adaptation of my personal favorite ac novel the moving finger (not a tv ep, a full-length movie)

the thirteen problems my beloved

death comes as the end isn’t a favorite exactly but would definitely be a unique choice for an adaptation (and has never had one!!!)

[mariedemedicis]

4, 10, 25 😁

Thank you, Em!

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Unsure I would go quite as far as love but I read The Animals of Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey, The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley, and I'm currently reading The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter, which were my first books by each of them and I definitely would read more.

10. What was your favorite new release of the year?

Lemme check if I read anything released this year.

Looks like the closest I came was late 2020, I think.

25. What reading goals do you have for next year?

I had planned to read three classics that I've never read before and reread ASoIaF but I ran out of time this year so those are getting added on for next year.

Otherwise, I want to clear a big chunk off my to read list on goodreads and read more nonfiction.

[mariedemedicis]

I’ve been struggling to make my way through Wild Magic because of Num*ir which really sucks honestly

I’m not sure I’ll be able to read Daine’s quartet again, I can’t help but be uncomfortable reading about the Daine-Num*ir interactions in WM because they feel so father-daughterish but I know where the later books go

which sucks because I really like the idea of wild magic and I wish Num*ir had stayed like this, in the mentor role

sidenote: surprisingly, Miri has a bigger role then I remembered; I think she’s pretty absent (or completely absent) from the next three books (obviously wouldn’t expect her in Emperor Mage) but she showed up more than I remembered in WM

[mariedemedicis]

Top 6 books?

let’s do top six standalones

- nine coaches waiting by mary stewart

- mara, daughter of the nile by eloise jarvis mcgraw

- spinning silver by naomi novik

- a drowned maiden’s hair by laura amy schlitz

- longbourn by jo baker

- i capture the castle by dodie smith

[mariedemedicis]

📖

next to impossible to narrow it down to one so here’s a fave:

mara, daughter of the nile by eloise jarvis mcgraw

[mariedemedicis]

thinking about this

Slowly the Architect’s eyes climbed up to rest on Sheftu’s immobile face. “It is as you say.” He flung Sheftu’s wrist down. “Here is your traitor, Radiant One—the incorruptible Sheftu!”

“Osiris!” whispered the queen, dropping back upon her throne. “It cannot be! It cannot be!”

For Mara, time itself seemed to halt. Then Sheftu sighed, shrugged and turned to Count Senmut.

“So it is over, comrade,” he said. “We had best admit everything, had we not? But it is sad, that in spite of all our precautions—”

“We!” Senmut was staring at him, suddenly ashen.

“Great Amon, what are you saying?” Hatshepsut fairly screamed. “Do you tell me that Count Senmut, too—”

The Architect whirled to her. “Majesty, it is a lie! He but seeks to drag me down with him! Radiant One—you do not believe—”

“Oh come,” put in Sheftu coolly. “The game’s over. We’ve been comrades, let us die like men.”

“Curse you! You’ll die like a rat, here and now—” Senmut sprang upon him savagely, a knife flashed upward, only to clash upon another that seemed to leap of itself into Sheftu’s fist. In an instant the room was pandemonium.

king shit

[mariedemedicis]

Top 5 stand alone books 🌼

a brother’s price

the mermaid and mrs hancock

my real children

i capture the castle

here lies arthur