 |
| This post contains affiliate links. I earn a commission from qualifying purchases. |
The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. It’s hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer, Readerbuzz, and Book Date.
The Sunday Post #372
On The Blog Recently
- Best July - December 2024 Young Adult Book Releases
- Best July - December 2024 Book Releases
- Best Debut Novels
- I Read The Lowest Rated Books On My Shelf. Did They Suck?
- August 2024 Book Releases
In My Reading Life
I decided to finish the books I was partway through instead of starting new books. This turned out to be an excellent strategy. I actually finished books! It's been a while since that happened.
I finished The Terror by Dan Simmons. If I had read this book when I was 13 years old, I would have been obsessed. I know it would've been an instant favorite because it's very "me."
The Terror is an alternate history horror book about two ships that are searching for the Northwest Passage in the early 1800s. The ships get caught in the ice and are stuck there for years. The men on the ships start slowly dying from starvation and scurvy, but that's not their only problem. There's a monster on the ice, and it's hungry for human flesh.
There's a lot to love about this book. Teenage-me would have been obsessed with the arctic setting and historical details. The details feel very authentic. It's a terrifying story! It's tense and full of plot twists. The men know they're going to die, but that doesn't stop them from fighting for their lives.
Since I'm a critical witch and not an easy-to-please teenager, I have quibbles about this book. First, it doesn't need to be 800 pages. The author loves long info dumps and repetitive conversations. I was tempted to skim them.
Second, I hate how the female characters are written. All the main characters are men, and the female characters are mostly. . . boobs with legs. I wish they had more personality.
Despite my issues, I had a good time with this one. Read it if you want nightmares.
Speaking of a good time, I read The Fragile Threads Of Power by V.E. Schwab. It's the first book in a companion series to the Shades Of Magic trilogy. Reading it made me happy! I enjoyed seeing the characters from Shades Of Magic again. I loved being back in the parallel Londons. The new characters are just as compelling as the old characters. The magic system gets more depth. The plot is fun. I flew through it.
I'm not sure how to summarize this book without spoiling the original trilogy. Please don't read this one until you've read the first 3 books in the series. Even though it's a companion novel, it's not a good place to start.
Lila is still an irritating main character. Probably because I don't like fight scenes in books. Every time she comes onto the page, she's trying to stab somebody. It gets tiring, but the other characters are entertaining enough to balance it out.
Bring on the next book! I want it now. If you enjoy novels about parallel universes, I highly recommend this series.
Then I read my final Jane Austen book. It was Persuasion, and I didn't hate it. I like it less than Northanger Abbey and more than Mansfield Park. It's a romance. I have a hard time staying interested in the love lives of fictional (or nonfictional) people. Whenever I put this book down, I wasn't motivated to pick it up again. It's a very internal story. The characters have a lot of emotions, but they weren't doing enough to hold my attention.
The plot follows Anne, who was once in love with Captain Wentworth. Anne's family convinced her to break up with him because he wasn't rich or influential. They thought she could do better. Anne and Wentworth were heartbroken but agreed to go their separate ways.
Fast-forward eight years. Wentworth unexpectantly enters Anne's life again. She's still in love with him, but he's cold, distant, and romantically interested in Anne's friend Louisa. What's Anne going to do?
My favorite part of the book is Anne's family because they're horrible. They don't appreciate her, even though she's always saving them. Their self-centeredness provides some much-appreciated comedic relief.
After I finished the book, I watched the Netflix adaptation. I liked it more than the book. It captures the characters' personalities while cutting out some of the internal angst that I struggled to get through. I recommend the Netflix Persuasion.
In The Rest Of My Life
Here's what's been happening recently:
I requested time off work. Work responded by catching on fire. Literally. There was brushfire. It burned 579 acres, required 190 firefighters, and took a week to put out. No humans or buildings got torched, but it sucks to be whoever has to repair all those miles of severely over-cooked hiking trails.
The fancy neighborhoods near the park were evacuated.
The park was not evacuated. I learned that I can perform customer service during an apocalypse. Several visitors were confused about why the county banned campfires during the brushfire. How were they supposed to cook their lunch? I wanted to ask if smoke inhalation was killing their brain cells. It was sure killing mine. I've had a nonstop headache since July 30.
The lake was closed because the firefighters needed it. Since I was preoccupied, I didn't get any cool footage of the firefighting efforts, but that's what tourists are for! They make TikToks of the stuff that I'm too busy to point my phone at.
Here's some water-scoopers and water-suckers using the lake. Honestly, it was pretty awesome to watch in real life.
@mavisavi1 Chinook and Superscooper #cofire #quarryfire #cowx #littleton #colorado #firefighter #avgeek #denver ♬ original sound - 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
@mavisavi1 Canadair SuperScooper pair in action on Chatfield Reservoir #cofire #quarryfire #littleton #cowx #colorado #firefighter ♬ original sound - 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
@mavisavi1 CH-47 Chinook billings scooping up water from chatfield reservoir #cofire #quarryfire #littleton #cowx #colorado #denver #chinook #firefighter ♬ original sound - 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
So . . . that's what I've been doing. What have you been up to?
Follow For More Joy
It’s always sad to hear about all the fires that are slowly destroying recreational and residential areas, as well as the homes of wildlife — but more importantly are showing all the critical mistakes that have been made by “civilization.” I hope your park recovers if that’s really possible.
ReplyDeletebest, mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Looks like A1 takes things/commands very literary. No worries if that is so that they will take over everything, lol.
ReplyDeleteVery literally, I mean. Too early in the morning...
DeleteI am always sad to see fire destroy nature but from visting the south of France for decades now, a region with many fires too, I know that nature grow again. The worst is all the lives lost (animals and sometimes humans). I hope you'll have some rest now AJ.
ReplyDeleteGood strategy to finish books you've already started. I loved Shades of Magic and The Fragile Threads of Power. I'm ready for the next book, too.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
The wildfires can be so devastating. We've had some close to us as well and the bad air combined with the heat is not fun. We're fortunate to not be too badly affected but I feel for those who've lost their homes and been displaced.
ReplyDeleteThe Terror sounds really good! I read the first couple of paragraphs of your post and I immediately added it to my TBR. Then I got to the part where you said it's 800 pages long and the women are boobs with legs. 😂 I don't know. It still sounds really good but now I'm just a tiny bit hesitant!
I like the sound of The Terror. But 800 pages? I'm not a long-book person, and it has to be pretty darn great for me to read 800 pages.
ReplyDeleteOh, the wildfires. I'm glad there was no loss of life from the fire. And what's up with people who can't figure out why campfires are banned during wildfires?!
Is it interesting how the planes pick up the water from the lake to drop on the fire. I'm glad they were able to put it out. The smoke really can give bad headaches. Ugh. Good reviews of the books. Man The Terror is too long, I can imagine it was repetitive and had much info. I liked the TV show adaptation of it. That wasn't as long ... but kept the mystery about it.
ReplyDeleteThat is a worst case scenario at work. I hate reading about the fires this time of year. Had to be very stressful for you. Gold star for finishing your in-process books. Your reviews are always a delight. I am especially pleased that Schwab continues to write books that make you happy.
ReplyDeleteOh yikes, the fire! Glad no one got hurt, but eek.
ReplyDeleteI'm rereading Persuasion now, too... think I'll look for that Netflix adaptation when I'm done. Thanks for the suggestion!
ReplyDeleteI love Persuasion and go back and forth which I like better -- it or Pride and Prejudice. It's been several years since I read it, though. Time for a reread perhaps.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's a strong sign from work that it didn't want to give you a break. But we all need one so hopefully you'll be able to get some time off soon.
ReplyDeleteoh my gosh. I am so sorry to hear all of that!! I am glad that no one was injured.
ReplyDeleteI just read about dogs being used to plant seeds in areas that have been devastated by wildfires. https://www.greenmatters.com/news/2018/02/19/2m3wBf/border-collies-forest#:~:text=That%20is%20until%20three%20unusual,help%20regrow%20the%20destroyed%20area.
Oh, that is so scary! I'm glad they were able to get it under control.
ReplyDeleteThese wildfires are so scary and getting worse every year. And I really have a hard time understanding how people’s brains work - or don’t work. Let’s have a campfire during a brush fire! Riiiight!
ReplyDeleteSounds like quite a fire. We've been seeing lots of smoke from Canadian wildfires this summer even though we are hundreds of miles away. It must be awful to be closer. Congrats on finishing books. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteYikes! Wildfires are very scary. The Terror sounds good, but too long for me. I hope you have a good week!
ReplyDeleteI liked the cover of The Terror but it doesn't sound like my kind of read. I have put the Shades of Magic series on my TBR list.
ReplyDeleteOh my about the wildfire and campfire ban! We have so many wildfires here in BC that fires are banned most if not all the summer province wide. I’m glad you survived the apocalypse! Have a wonderful week.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, how awful!! Maybe once the smoke clears you will be able to enjoy some time off.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! That fire is scary and sad too. I'm sure you have been very busy with that! I've always thought The Terror by Simmons sounded good, but that length is too much! Hopefully you are having a better time since you posted this!
ReplyDeleteWe have recently just been getting haze in the air from the Canadian wildfires. I just can't imagine what it's like to be that close to something so devastating. I'd like to read the rest of Jane Austen's books. I've only read Pride and Prejudice. Glad you enjoyed the movie. Sometimes the movie is better than the book. :)
ReplyDeleteI need to set aside some time to do that same strategy. I have a few I paused and need to clear. That AI photo cracked me up!! *cackles* Sorry to hear about the fire, but glad no one was hurt.
ReplyDelete