My theory on why I like Pride and Prejudice sequels and adaptions is that I love the characters so much that I want to spend extra time with them. This makes it extra important that, in the sequels, Lizzie and Darcy are happily in love. That cannot be screwed with. So you can imagine how I felt when I found out that [spoiler but it’s all over twitter and facebook so I’m sure you noticed] Helen Fielding KILLED OFF MARK DARCY for the new Bridget Jones novel. This is so not okay, and I will not be reading this book. I will probably read a synopsis on the internet, though. Sigh. Anyway, here’s someone who disagrees with me. You’ll note that, as she mentions in the first paragraph that she’s not keen on Austen, she can’t possibly be trusted.
To get you through the anxiety of dealing with this travesty, here’s a hedgehog eating a carrot.
But on to authors doing GOOD things. Nora Roberts, who in my head has a room in her bed and breakfast where she just rolls around in cash like Scrooge McDuck, has donated a lot of money to a college to encourage them to academically study romance. I think this is awesome. Also, I have somehow never read a Nora Roberts book. I think I picked up one in the library sale, though, so if the urge comes up, I’m ready.
I’ve decided I’d like one of these miniature book pendants, but how would you decide which book to get?
If you have any interest in Sci Fi or Fantasy, Tor.com often has free short stories. Here’s a great option from Mary Robinette Kowal.
I’ve been reading some nice books that I don’t really want to review. Some books – new ones, mostly – are for reviews, but lately I’ve been tired and I’ve just read for fun.
Charity Girl is not Georgette Heyer’s best work. It does, however, illustrate all the strengths and flaws of her novels. Her characters are just excessively likeable and there’s just enough plot and everything works out well in the end for everyone. They speak in the oddest slang, though, so the dialogue sometimes has to be figured out from the context, which is just ridiculous. Her books are like cupcakes, and this one could’ve used better quality icing.
The Camelot Caper is the odd Elizabeth Peters book that isn’t part of a series and is more like one of her Barbara Michaels thrillers, but not quite as gothic. It’s a road trip through England plot as the plucky American heroine meets an author with a nose of Cyranoic (Bergeracian?) proportions and they try to figure out why low quality criminals are menacing them. It was also a delightful romp of a read, but dated, as the heroine kept roving the English countryside in pastel skirt suits. I can’t imagine any flavor of American tourist doing that now.
A Hidden Fire is along the lines of A Discovery of Witches, in that a heroine with an unusual skill set – she’s getting a degree in Library Science – assists and falls for a vampire. I might quibble a bit with the style, especially in the first few chapters, but the story is solid, and kept me entertained even though I’m officially over the vampire thing. I also liked that the heroine was not in the least bit a frumpy librarian, and that it was set in Houston and all my favorite academic places make an appearance. Seriously, the rare books section of the UH library is magic. They let me touch a first edition of Rasselas
EDIT: I forgot to mention that A Hidden Fire is the first in a series and is free for Kindle.
Finally, there’s been a lot of mention lately of comfort reads, and I have to give a shout out to mine:
Plot Driven 