Stacking the Shelves

 

 Stacking The Shelves is a meme created by Tynga’s Reviews. This is my first time participating, but I got some new books today and haven't posted in a while, so here we go! Links go to Goodreads.

This afternoon, my mum and I went into a second-hand bookshop we like but haven't been to for a very long time, and she bought these for me! The first I picked up because I have two other books by the author on my TBR list and it sounded very interesting, the third was on my TBR list, and the second my mum picked up because she has the same name as the title and enjoyed one of the author's other books.

Despite The Falling Snow  by Shamim Sarif

The enthralling narrative of Shamim Sarif's powerful second novel moves between present day Boston and 1950s Moscow. After an early career amongst the political elite of Cold War Russia, Alexander Ivanov has built a successful business in the States. For forty years, he has buried the tragic memories surrounding his charismatic late wife, Katya - or so he believes. For into his life come two women - one who will open up the heart he has protected for so long; another who is determined to uncover what really happened to Katya so long ago. The novel's journey back to the snowbound streets of post-Stalinist Moscow reveals a world of secrets and treachery. Shamim Sarif's elegant writing delicately evokes the intensity of passionate love and tragic violence.

Helen  by Maria Edgeworth

Newly orphaned Helen Stanley is urged to share the home of her childhood friend Lady Cecilia. This charming socialite, however, is withholding secrets and soon Helen is drawn into a web of ‘white lies’ and evasions that threaten not only her hopes for marriage but her very place in society. 

A fascinating panorama of Britain’s political and intellectual elite in the early 1800s and a gripping romantic drama. Helen was the inspiration for Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters.

  Tipping the Velvet  by Sarah Waters

 

This delicious, steamy debut novel chronicles the adventures of Nan King, who begins life as an oyster girl in the provincial seaside town of Whitstable and whose fortunes are forever changed when she falls in love with a cross-dressing music-hall singer named Miss Kitty Butler.

When Kitty is called up to London for an engagement on "Grease Paint Avenue", Nan follows as her dresser and secret lover, and, soon after, dons trousers herself and joins the act. In time, Kitty breaks her heart, and Nan assumes the guise of butch roue to commence her own thrilling and varied sexual education - a sort of Moll Flanders in drag - finally finding friendship and true love in the most unexpected places.

All of these are set in the past, but are quite diverse - there are 20th Century Russians*, Georgians, and Victorians. Being the history nerd that I am (who loves these 3 eras) I am very excited to read these 3 novels! (Unfortunately my bookshelf is already overflowing, so I have no idea where I'll put them.)

*I seem to be going through an unintentional 19th and 20th Century Russia phase. Stay tuned for my review of War and Peace whenever I finish it (I'm still not even halfway, though I'm making good progress!).

Have you read any of these? What have you added to your bookshelf lately? Or have you been good?

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Lying about reading a book

I've read and watched a lot of things in which characters lied about having read a specific book (and eventually having it backfire). I've also come across people on the internet who say they've lied about reading a certain book. The books people lie about reading are usually classic literature and popular fiction.

I want to know why this happens. Why lie about reading a book? Do these people honestly think we care that much about what they read? That if someone says, "No, I haven't read Jane Eyre or Hamlet," we'll think they're unintelligent? 

Because we won't. One of the best things in the world is when you can talk about your favourite book with someone who has also read it. But that doesn't make you both more intelligent. Reading a particular book does not make you smarter than someone who hasn't read it. (Unless it's a textbook, which is designed to make you smarter.)

I have no problem telling people that I've never read and never want to read Harry Potter or 50 Shades of Grey. That I read all of Jane Austen's works by age 16. That I will probably never read The Silmarillion or Charles Dickens. Or that I'm currently reading War and Peace, one of the longest novels ever written, and am loving it.

Not every book is interesting to everyone. Not every book is accessible to everyone. It's okay to have your own taste in books. It's okay to not read at all. Just be honest. People will dislike you more for lying about it than for just admitting to not having read it.

Talk to me...

Have you ever lied about reading a book? Has someone ever lied to you about reading a book? How did it make you feel?

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Top Ten F/F Relationships on TV

Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is to do a television-related topic, so I've chosen to do my ten favourite female/female relationships on television, past and present. Some of these are ships, some are friendships, some are antagonistic relationships. Not a spoiler-free post.

1. Xena & Gabrielle

Xena: Warrior Princess 

Gif source

This one's a given.

2. Xena & Callisto

Xena: Warrior Princess

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You hurt me, I hurt you back tenfold.

3. Eve & Varia

Xena: Warrior Princess

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Varia has good reason to hate Eve, but ultimately forgives her. Cue happy feels.

4. Ilithyia & Lucretia

Spartacus

Gif source

The best frenemies to ever frenemy.

5. Gaia & Lucretia

Spartacus

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They genuinely care about each other and Gaia is essential in Lucretia's character development.

6. Nicole Haught & Waverly Earp

Wynonna Earp

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No Bury Your Gays trope here!

7. Waverly Earp & Wynonna Earp

Wynonna Earp

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 Healthy family relationships are so rare in fiction. Given the end of season 1, let's see how long this lasts.

8. Cosima Niehaus & Delphine Cormier

Orphan Black

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Delphine is alive!

9. Clara Oswald & Jane Austen

Doctor Who

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Still a better love story than Twilight, and they don't even have any scenes together.

10. Alex Vause & Piper Chapman

Orange is the New Black

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Such an unhealthy relationship that sometimes it's hard to watch. But it's so good!

Talk to me...

Do you know all these relationships? Which are your favourites? Who would you add to the list?

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The Fabulousness of Ebooks

Ereaders aren't a new thing, but in my experience they are severely underrated, and some people think they're superior beings for preferring paper to electronic books. I would like to stress that preferring to read one way does not make you any better than people who prefer to read another way. There are advantages and disadvantages to both paper books and ebooks. But bear in mind that ereaders weren't invented just for fun, they were invented because they have benefits over paper books.

I've had my Sony Reader for more than three years now, and it's still exciting to read stuff on it. So, here are 11 reasons why ereaders and ebooks rule.

Disclaimer: There are different types of ereaders, and these features might not apply to all of them.

My baby

1. They're light and easy to hold

Some books are just too massive. This is where ereaders come to the rescue - I downloaded War and Peace because that book is over 1,000 pages long. Reading a 1,000-page paperback is not fun at all - I'm reading the last Obernewtyn book, which is over 1,100 pages, and the page size is big too. It's really hard to read.

Those are my legs and that is the book. It's soo big! *cries*

2. You can look up what words mean!

I can't stress enough how useful this function is. When you're reading something and come across a word or phrase you don't understand, just press down on the word and the definition comes up! This is so much better than having to get out a dictionary. My vocabulary has definitely increased since I got my ereader.

3. They're portable

Who here has had to bring a whole extra suitcase full of books with them on holiday? I have, and it sucks. With an ereader, you can bring tens, even hundreds of books with you on holiday, and only need to make room for one device that's usually smaller than an actual book.

My ereader, next to my laptop for reference

4. You can change the font and text size

The text size in some books is just too small for comfort, and in others it's too big. On an ereader, you can choose the font size that suits you the best, and you can also choose what font the text is in. How cool is that?

5. You can get books without having to leave your house!

Going to the library is a hassle. Going to a bookshop is dangerous. If you have an ereader, you can get books just by having an internet connection. (This is very useful when it's the middle of the night and you want something new to read... Shhhh!) I download most of my ebooks for free from Project Gutenberg and Goodreads, although I also borrow them from the library. Of course the same problem occurs with ebooks as it does with paper books - you end up with more books on your shelf than you can read. But it's still more convenient.

6. Nobody knows what you're reading

Are you reading Les Misérables, or are you reading Fifty Shades of Grey? No-one knows. However, this can be slightly awkward when your Year 12 form teacher asks what you're reading and you have to say, "Fanfiction, actually..."

7. They're electronic devices, which means... buttons to push!

Who doesn't love playing with technology? C'mon, it's fun.

8. You can make notes on the page... without ruining the book!

You can highlight sections, make typed notes and handwritten notes, all without marking the paper. What sorcery is this?

9. You don't need bookmarks

No matter how many ebooks you've got on the go, the ereader always remembers where you're up to. Your younger sister can't pull your bookmark out of an ebook!

10. There's no way to damage the book

No dog-eared pages from when your "friend" borrowed your book, no food or sand in the pages, no yellowing of the paper, no cracked spine, no rips and tears and dents and bends... It's incredible. My ereader is getting old and has cracks and chips in it, but since I'm very protective of my physical books, it's much safer to have an ereader.

11. Ebooks are the best for studying at a tertiary level

(Note: I don't use my ereader for this, I use a computer, so this reason is a bit of an odd one out.) It's so much easier to download ebooks you might need to refer to in your essay and use the finder to find keywords than it is to use paper books. I wouldn't be able to study without  textbooks and journals being available online. Thank you, internet!

Do you have an ereader? If so, what do you love about it? What do you dislike about it? Do you ever buy ebooks, or only download free ones?

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Goodreads Book Tag

I came across this cute little book tag on The Review Room and decided to share what I've been reading recently. As you may know from an earlier rant, I love Goodreads and use it every day, so if here's what my profile kind of looks like at the moment.

What was the last book you marked as read?

If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by Sappho, Anne Carson (Translator)

Five stars!

 

What are you currently reading?

The Red Queen (The Obernewtyn Chronicles, #7) by Isobelle Carmody

I've been reading this for months. It's soooo long!

What was the last book you marked as TBR?

Rooks and Romanticide by J. I. Radke

What book do you plan to read next? 

Either one of three books on my bookshelf (Strange Are the Ways by Teresa Crane, Pompeii by Robert Harris, Sacred Country by Rose Tremain) or Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace on my ereader.

Do you use the star rating system?

Yep, I find it very helpful. My rating system is the same for this blog and Goodreads.

Are you doing a 2016 reading challenge?

Nope. I last did a reading challenge in 2012. So on the challenge box it just says, "I want to read books in 2016," which is very accurate. I just want to read books this year, not a specific number.

Do you have a wishlist?

I have a to-get list, but since books are so expensive it's a very short list. This is it:

Darkbane (The Legendsong #3) by Isobelle Carmody

I don't actually know if she's even started writing it yet, and I've been waiting for almost six years - it's been 13 years since the last book was published... 

Cleopatra's Shadows by Emily Holleman

 

Do you have any favourite quotes? Would you like to share a few? 

With pleasure! 

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
― Marcus Tullius Cicero 

“We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin 

“We don’t need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don’ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever.”
― Philip Pullman 

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring  

Who are your favourite authors?

My three most-read authors are Tamora Pierce, Louise Rennison, and John Marsden but they aren't necessarily my favourites. I'm still just getting my foot in the door of adult books so I haven't found any favourites yet there.

 

Have you joined any groups?

I did, but I've since left them. I don't remember if I ever posted anything in those groups. I've actually never been in any book groups, online or offline. I'm not sure that they'd work for me.

I tag...

Everyone reading this who uses Goodreads!

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Poet in the Spotlight: Sappho

Happy National Poetry Day, everyone!

I'm not a poetry fan. I'm really not. I just tend to...not get it.

But I adore Sappho, a famous poetess from Lesbos who lived around 600BCE. Most of her work is lost, but the fragments that remain are beautiful - she says so much in just a few words.

So to celebrate National Poetry Day, I thought I'd share with you some gorgeous Sappho poems. These are all from If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho translated by Anne Carson (2003). Enjoy!

 

 

One of Sappho's poems

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Girls don't want boys; girls want more LGBTQ characters in genre fiction

I see plenty of LGBTQ books (especially in YA) being published these days, and this is a fantastic step for representation. These sorts of books are essential for young LGBTQ readers to know that they are valid and are not alone in having their experiences. They're also important as they help non-LGBTQ readers to understand the issues our community faces. It's all well and good to have these sorts of books becoming more mainstream.

But.

Most of these books fit into a specific LGBTQ genre. Which is fine in itself, I certainly won't complain about there being a whole category of books dedicated to non-cis and -straight characters.

But.

The problem is that these characters are being confined to this one genre. We need to see more LGBTQ characters in our beloved genre fiction, characters whose orientations are not part of their character development or the plot, they just happen to be LGBTQ because they can. We need to see these characters because our LGBTQ identities are not all that we are - we can exist without being riddled with angst because we don't conform to a hetero- and cisnormative ideal. We can be LGBTQ and still get on with our lives without it being a big deal. We can be LGBTQ and face huge problems that have nothing to do with our orientations.

Therefore.

There need to be more LGBTQ characters in genre fiction to make sure we get the representation we deserve, and to make sure our community (especially the young ones) doesn't get classified as angst-ridden, hormone-raging adolescents. Genre fiction deals with bigger, wider issues, like historical and fictional societies, war and politics and morally grey decisions. It's easy for LGBTQ characters to be featured, heavily or not, in these books without any stretch of the imagination (there have always been LGBTQ people and there always will be, so there's no need for "Is it historically accurate for this Medieval character to be gay?" These characters won't always use these labels for themselves, especially if they live in the past, before these words came into use, but labels for their orientation is a subject for another post). It's easy, so they should be included in these books. They need to be included in these books.

Example.

I'd like to point you in the direction of the Bi the Way trope (FYI, TV Tropes is an amazing website for a) learning about millions of tropes you didn't know existed, and b) filling in a few hours). In this trope, the character just happens to be bi because they can be, not because it makes them more interesting or allows for more angst. If you go to the page, you can see examples of the trope's use in literature, film, TV, and other media. This trope proves that it is indeed possible for a character in genre fiction to be LGBTQ without their orientation being its own plotline.

Conclusion.

Give me bi men in space. Give me aromantic lesbians in Ancient Greece. Give me transwomen on fantastical quests. There are so many stories to be written, and so many identities to represent, so just make it happen: put more LGBTQ characters into genre fiction. It doesn't have to be a big deal. Just give my community the representation we deserve.

Disclaimers.

1. While writing this post I was thinking about genre fiction books, but the same applies for TV and movies. 
2. My definition of LGBTQ includes heterosexual aromantics and heteroromantic asexuals. I won't take part in any discourse surrounding this.
3. I just decided now that this will be the first in a series of posts about LGBTQ representation in fiction. Can't wait? Neither can I! 

What are your favourite examples of LGBTQ characters in genre fiction? What is your favourite type of genre fiction? Who is your favourite LGBTQ figure from history?

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Top Ten Books Set in the Future

Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is Top Ten Books With X Setting (top ten books set near the beach, top ten book set in boarding school, top ten books set in England, etc). If you read my blog you'll know how much I love historical fiction, but you may not know that sci-fi is also one of my favourite genres, and I love futuristic settings a LOT.

Click the covers to go to the Goodreads links. 

1.

The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld

2.

Diverse Energies edited by Tobias S. Buckell & Joe Monti 

3.

The Galahad series by Dom Testa

4.

 The Dust Lands trilogy by Moira Young

5.

 The Rosie Black Chronicles by Lara Morgan

6.

  The Adaptation series by Malinda Lo

7.

The Carbon Diaries series by Saci Lloyd
(Wait....)

8.

Titanic 2020 by Colin Bateman

9.

The Exodus series by Julie Bertagna

10.

The Mammoth Book of SF Wars edited by Ian Watson & Ian Whates

What are your favourite futuristic books? Have you read any of these? Do you have any recommendations?

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Top Ten Books by New Zealand Authors

Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is Top Ten Tuesday REWIND - go back and do a topic you missed over the years or recently or a topic you really want to revisit. I missed 19 July's Ten Books Set Outside The US, but since that's too broad I thought I'd narrow it down a bit and show my international readers what they should be reading. These books aren't all set in New Zealand, but they're not set in the US, either.

1. 

Love in the Land of Midas by Kapka Kassabova

2.

Rosetta by Barbara Ewing

3.

The Boy in the Olive Grove by Fleur Beale

4.

I Am Not Esther by Fleur Beale

5.

The Prince of Soul and the Lighthouse by Fredrik Brounéus

6. 

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore by Stella Duffy

7.

Juicy Writing: Inspiration and Techniques for Young Writers by Brigid Lowry
(Very inspirational and motivational for teenage writers.)

8.

Tomorrow All Will Be Beautiful by Brigid Lowry

9.

A Necklace of Souls by R.L. Stedman

10.

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd
(C'mon, it's a classic!)

Talk to me... 

Do you have any favourite New Zealand books? Are you going to try any of the ones on this list? How well do NZ writers compete internationally?

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