- Jane Eyre (audio book) by Charlotte Bronte - I listened to LibriVox's version 3. Can you believe I had never read this book before? I knew about the mad wife, but that was about it. I would have never made it past the first 10 chapters if I had been reading this, rather than listening to it. Past that point, I had more fun, even though I occasionally wished Jane could be far, far away from Rochester.
- Sea Change (e-book) by Darlene Marshall - A historical romance in which the heroine pretends to be a man so that she can continue to practice medicine. I loved this book and plan to read more of Marshall's stuff.
- Wild & Steamy (e-book, anthology) by Meljean Brook, Jill Myles, Carolyn Crane - I got this primarily for Brook's story (it features Constable Newberry and his wife - so much yay!). I thought Brook's story was the best one in the anthology, although I liked aspects of Crane's enough to want to try the first book in her Disillusionists series. Myles' story wasn't bad, I'm just not a huge fan of threesomes. I should definitely have a post coming out for this one soon - all I have left to do is write about Crane's story.
- Pigeons from Hell (e-short story) by Robert E. Howard - Technically, I'm not done with this one yet, but I had to add it to the list anyway. I mean, that title is awesome. I was hoping for a crazy, campy read, but so far the story itself hasn't been nearly as much fun as the title.
- Some Kind of Magic (e-book) by R. Cooper - This romance stars a werewolf who's trying to resist being mated to a half-fairy, because fairies are known for being promiscuous. I read some worrisome reviews, but the book isn't as bad as I feared. However, I agree with everyone who said that the writing was confusing.
- Pawprints (e-book) by Anne Cain - I admit it, I bought this one almost solely for its cover image, which I swear looks like Fruits Basket fan art. The contents of the book don't live up to the pretty cover, unfortunately. It's been long enough ago that I read this that I think I'll have to reread it in order to write a decent review. I'm not looking forward to the reread. It's not so truly awful that it'll be fun to write about, but it's also not so good that the reread will be enjoyable. It's a meh kind of book.
- Unlocked (e-novella) by Courtney Milan - Very nice, but, again, I read this long enough ago that I think I'll need to do a quick reread. Those who like their romance to come with grovelling on the part of the hero will love this one. I do wish it had been longer, though.
- Second Son of a Duke (e-novella) by Gwen Hayes - I had this one in my wishlist for the longest time. I was worried that my desire to read it was mostly due to my "ooh, pretty" reaction to the cover. I bought it, read it, and enjoyed it. Again, as with Milan's novella, I wish it had been longer. The hero and heroine of this one have both been cleaning up after their irresponsible brothers for as long as they can remember, but they never expected that their brothers would go so far as to force the two of them to marry. The wedding night is disastrous, but things get better as the two get to know one another.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Still here
I'm still here! I've been reading, too, I just haven't been writing anything. The thought of writing coherent sentences has been too exhausting. I'm hoping to get back to post-writing soon, though, because I've read some fun stuff lately. And some not-so-fun stuff. Here's a list of things that might be on the posting horizon:
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Interesting...I'm reacting to the stress at work by writing more than usual. :)
ReplyDeleteSorry, this isn't directly related to this post, but I randomly found your blog and it seems you have read the entire Emma manga. Have you also seen the anime? In season two of the anime, William's mother is introduced and we learn that she had to separate from the family because she was weak to cigarette smoke. Does this also happen in the manga? Do you know if this is a real sickness? I seriously think I have the same thing, and it turns out that there's not much that I can do.
ReplyDelete@Amanda - Well, as you can see, my writing has definitely tanked. Stress has a tendency to first energize me and then make me very sleepy if the stress continues for too long, which explains maybe the first week of no posting, but now I think it's just that I've gotten out of the habit and I need to get back in.
ReplyDelete@whirldwindrage - As far as I can remember, an exact reason for William's mother's health problems was never given, although she does also end up needing to leave the family for health reasons in the manga. I understood her leaving as being primarily due to her inability to handle the stresses of living in London society - I can't remember if cigarette smoke was indicated to be a problem, although it's possible that Mori worked that into the visuals and I just missed it. I do know that cigarette smoke (both if you smoke it and if you're just exposed to the smoke on a regular basis) can cause respiratory problems. Depending on what the problems are and how bad they are, sometimes they're permanent and sometimes they can be reversed. If you think you have respiratory problems of some kind, it would be a really good idea to see a doctor if you can - he or she can tell you what's wrong with you and how it can be treated or managed.
Thank you very much for your reply. I am pretty sure hearing in the anime the phrase "hai ga warui." I am not fluent in Japanese but I think that refers to a person that has a smoking problem. In this case, the mother doesn't have a smoking problem, but a problem with the smoke around her. For me, at first I just didn't like the smell, but now it causes eye pain and headaches. There is a scene in the anime where the mother has a problem with her eye at a party.
ReplyDeleteI did see an eye doctor quite a while ago and was told that I am sensitive to the toxins but I it is not causing health problems, which doesn't really solve the problem. The only advice was to take Tylenol and avoid the smell. I don't want to take Tylenol everyday, and I am putting in a lot of effort to avoid the smell but I can't avoid everyone.
Well, all I wanted to know was if the manga author was using a real medical reference and if it could help me, so thank you for replying. Actually, I am already considering checking out a country called Niue. It is a small island country that apparently has one smoke free village. Find a job there will probably be hard and there will probably be a lot of other difficulties, but it looks like my best shot at the moment.