florianschild (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
florianschild) wrote2025-01-29 01:49 pm
florianschild) wrote2025-01-29 01:49 pm
Entry tags:
Wednesday Reading
Just Finished
Yield Under Great Persuasion by Alexandra Rowland
The first half of this was really enjoyable, if far outside my usual comfort zone. It was a spicy cozy fantasy with lots of humor and some impressively done world-building (a lot of interesting detail conveyed in an enjoyable and non-infodump-y way). The second half however really lost me and I ended up more annoyed the more I read. I don't tend to like grouchy protagonists and Tam was very, exceedingly grouchy. I DID appreciate the message that it can be hard to get out of a rut of your own making and sometimes you've gotten so used to acting a certain way with people you're comfortable around that it can be hard to change even when it's in your best interest. Yeah, I liked that message a lot. But that didn't redeem the total boredom I had with the non-plot and the perpetual whining of Tam.
Currently Reading
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
I'm listening to the audiobook of this and really enjoying the accents. The story is good so far. I like that Mungo is a bit older than Shuggie was through the first half of Shuggie Bain. I DNF'ed that, and I think it was mainly because I don't love reading fiction books from the POV of children.
The Uses of Illicit Art by Wendy Palmer
I just started this but I have high hopes based on a recommendation from a reader on Reddit who also loves The Rifter. So they obviously have good taste!
The Day the World Stops Shopping by J.B. MacKinnon
Another audiobook, this one a non-fiction thought experiment about what would happen in the entire world reduced consumption by 25%. I'm enjoying it but it's also quite bleak.
Up Next
The Crack at the Heart of Everything by Fiona Fenn
I actually got this *in paperback* from my library! It's pretty rare to find indie mm romance at my local library so this was an exiting discovery. I want to try to finish it before I run out of renewals.
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I had to google to remind myself which one this was again -- not one I've read, but one I saw reviews of before, and then promptly forgot the title of, because I feel like Rowland picks titles that sound poetic without being all that relevant to the books they're writing.
I originally heard about Alex Rowland via the Be the Serpent podcast, which I still miss, and I really enjoy the way they talk about books, especially in the company of the other podcasters involved. Unfortunately it's become pretty clear that Alex's id and my id are just very, very different, and so the books they write just don't seem to work for me -- in fairly frustrating ways, because I enjoy some aspects of them, but then get really irritated by others, which it sounds like what happened with you here as well.
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I periodically see A Taste of Gold and Iron in recommended sections on book apps and no matter how many times I re-evaluate (because that cover is so gorgeous) I always end up feeling like it wouldn't be a good fit and passing it over.
Alex's id and my id are just very, very different
This is a great way to put it. Love all that for her. Not so much for me. :D
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Exactly :) Alex seems to be living their best life, publishing the iddy books of their heart at a very impressive clip, and that seems to be working for them, but I'm mostly given up on trying to read them. (I believe Alex is currently still using they/them pronouns, although it's been a while since I checked.)
And yeah, the covers also seem to be gorgeous yet fairly random XD
A Taste of Gold and Iron is one I've read and found frustrating (write-up here, if you're curious.)
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Haha, that's a neat commonality to discover :) My friend calls this tendency of mine to think about why books aren't working for me "scab-picking", and she's not wrong, but yeah, I feel like that's its own kind of fun.
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