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Katharine's July books
Aug. 3rd, 2018 04:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
katharhinoAn Accomplished Woman, Jude Morgan - Years ago I saw a recommendation for Jude Morgan's regency romances, something like "If you like Georgette Heyer then try..." But he seems to be a little bit obscure because I've never run across any of his novels until last month when I found one at the library book sale. I immediately snapped it up and started reading in down moments while we were working on the house. It IS like Heyer, and in fact many of the tropes are recycled from classic Heyer - trip to Bath, heroine banters with somewhat misogynist hero, scandalous elopement, etc. But Morgan makes the inner thoughts of Lydia, his heroine, snarkier and more incisive than the typical Heyer, while not seeming anachronistic. This book opens with a scene in which Lydia accidentally runs into another lady who, not recognizing her, tells her gossip about herself. It's a little contrived but so wittily managed I was immediately hooked. The whole novel is extremely well written and halfway through I was already raving to friends about it. Unfortunately in the second half, Morgan draws a little too obviously and heavily on character types from Austen herself. There's one side character who is not just an homage but almost a direct copy of Mrs. Elton from Emma. The author tries to pass this off with some broad winking to the reader but it still feels a little clumsy when the writing is clearly good enough to stand alone. But that was my only critique - it was still a delightfully enjoyable read even though the plot itself is entirely predictable. [4.5/5]
Sleeping Giants, Sylvain Neuvel - Recommended by Brenda on a really good summer reads blog post. This novel is a sci-fi story about the discovery of mysterious alien artifacts, which is told in epistolary format. The style could be gimmicky but was handled perfectly, with the characters emerging vividly through "interviews" and other records. In fact the shadowy interviewer himself even starts to develop as an individual over the course of the novel. I don't read straight-up sci fi as often as I used to but I'm still very fond of a believable sci-fi and this one was quite immersive. I found it hard to put down. [5/5]
What the Dog Saw, Malcolm Gladwell - Another library book sale purchase. I picked it up because I find everything Gladwell writes to be captivating and thought-provoking. I've seen him criticized as being overly anecdotal, but I don't really care because I enjoy the way he leads the reader around a topic pointing out new scenic viewpoints along the way. I didn't realize that this book is just a collection of essays from the Washington Post, most of them a little dated, but I enjoyed them all the same. There was one, about how we value genius, that actually made me tear up because of how it put into words the way my art process works. [4/5]
Indiscretion, Jude Morgan - After the first Morgan I read so thoroughly captivated me, I requested two others from interlibrary loan. Unfortunately this next one didn't live up to my now quite high expectations. The story of a disreputable old soldier's daughter who has to make her own way in the world, it's still well-written but it just failed to charm me. I found the plot to be somewhat ponderous and it wasn't nearly as witty, and the misogynist hero in this one has much less of an excuse to be misogynist so he didn't win me over. [2.5/5]
Uprooted, Naomi Novik - Fairly straightforward fantasy with fairytaleish overtones, this novel tells the story of a young woman taken from her family, learning to tap into her deep-rooted magic to battle a creepy evil forest. The plot doesn't sound terribly creative in summary, but is so well written I was totally engrossed. Despite the epic adventure tropes including final apocalyptic battle, it's very character-driven and as you all know that's my hook. World-building is impeccable and immersive too. Loved it. [5/5]
A Little Folly, Jude Morgan - Final Morgan I requested did not immediately win me over either, but the plotting is a lot sharper and more evenly paced than Indiscretion and it's cleverer. The author has built in an theme of influence that threads throughout the novel - when do you listen to influence and when do you resist? The heroine is likeable if a little frustratingly dense at times. I also liked the hero better than Indiscretion's. There were a few moments that rang a little false to me, however - one gibe about women never talking sense which is probably period appropriate but very unpleasant, and it came from the hero. As mentioned, misogynist hero seems to be a thing for Morgan, which reading these so close together made clear to me. It started to grate a bit. This hero doesn't need to be misogynist, though, he only needs to be a little unapproachable, and the comment reads as out-of-character for the rest of the novel. I also wish that the author had given a little more resolution to the heroine's relationship to her impetuous but beloved brother. I wish I could adore these last two novels as much as I did the first Morgan, but as it is I can only give a mixed recommendation. Fun but slightly problematic. [4/5]
Sleeping Giants, Sylvain Neuvel - Recommended by Brenda on a really good summer reads blog post. This novel is a sci-fi story about the discovery of mysterious alien artifacts, which is told in epistolary format. The style could be gimmicky but was handled perfectly, with the characters emerging vividly through "interviews" and other records. In fact the shadowy interviewer himself even starts to develop as an individual over the course of the novel. I don't read straight-up sci fi as often as I used to but I'm still very fond of a believable sci-fi and this one was quite immersive. I found it hard to put down. [5/5]
What the Dog Saw, Malcolm Gladwell - Another library book sale purchase. I picked it up because I find everything Gladwell writes to be captivating and thought-provoking. I've seen him criticized as being overly anecdotal, but I don't really care because I enjoy the way he leads the reader around a topic pointing out new scenic viewpoints along the way. I didn't realize that this book is just a collection of essays from the Washington Post, most of them a little dated, but I enjoyed them all the same. There was one, about how we value genius, that actually made me tear up because of how it put into words the way my art process works. [4/5]
Indiscretion, Jude Morgan - After the first Morgan I read so thoroughly captivated me, I requested two others from interlibrary loan. Unfortunately this next one didn't live up to my now quite high expectations. The story of a disreputable old soldier's daughter who has to make her own way in the world, it's still well-written but it just failed to charm me. I found the plot to be somewhat ponderous and it wasn't nearly as witty, and the misogynist hero in this one has much less of an excuse to be misogynist so he didn't win me over. [2.5/5]
Uprooted, Naomi Novik - Fairly straightforward fantasy with fairytaleish overtones, this novel tells the story of a young woman taken from her family, learning to tap into her deep-rooted magic to battle a creepy evil forest. The plot doesn't sound terribly creative in summary, but is so well written I was totally engrossed. Despite the epic adventure tropes including final apocalyptic battle, it's very character-driven and as you all know that's my hook. World-building is impeccable and immersive too. Loved it. [5/5]
A Little Folly, Jude Morgan - Final Morgan I requested did not immediately win me over either, but the plotting is a lot sharper and more evenly paced than Indiscretion and it's cleverer. The author has built in an theme of influence that threads throughout the novel - when do you listen to influence and when do you resist? The heroine is likeable if a little frustratingly dense at times. I also liked the hero better than Indiscretion's. There were a few moments that rang a little false to me, however - one gibe about women never talking sense which is probably period appropriate but very unpleasant, and it came from the hero. As mentioned, misogynist hero seems to be a thing for Morgan, which reading these so close together made clear to me. It started to grate a bit. This hero doesn't need to be misogynist, though, he only needs to be a little unapproachable, and the comment reads as out-of-character for the rest of the novel. I also wish that the author had given a little more resolution to the heroine's relationship to her impetuous but beloved brother. I wish I could adore these last two novels as much as I did the first Morgan, but as it is I can only give a mixed recommendation. Fun but slightly problematic. [4/5]
