Eddis, Attolia, Sounis

The Fall of Gondolin, by J. R. R. Tolkien. I've loved this story since I was 17 (14 years ago), and I'm beyond thrilled to see it brought to life by Alan Lee, and rediscover the beauty of Tolkien's prose. (For the curious, the bulk of the text are a 1917 text previously published in The Book of Lost Tales 2, and a 1951 text previously published in Unfinished Tales.)

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I reread Master and Commander, which is a good prelude to some even better books.

I reread Alcott's A Modern Mephistopheles and didn't like it all that much. There's a recap on my journal.

I reread The Thief. Great book, LOL.

Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire, that one I liked.

I'm rereading one of my favorites, The Winter Prince by Elizabeth Wein, because last week the omnibus ebook was on sale. I love Medraut, Goewin, and Lleu.

Edited Date: 9/5/18 06:33 pm (UTC)

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checkers65477.livejournal.com

I was just reading about this! There was an article in my newspaper about the most recent publication, which came out in August and was edited by Tolkien's son (who is 93, holy moly).

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checkers65477.livejournal.com

I haven't read Master and Commander but saw the movie (I know! It's not the same!) Have you also read the Hornblower books? I read a few of those.

Oh, The Thief. I've heard that's good. ;-)

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I haven't read or seen Hornblower. Not yet, anyway.

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I know I've read some of the M&C books and some of the Hornblower books, but have no idea where I left off with either.

But I love both the M&C movie and the Hornblower TV series!

The Winter Prince is a bittersweet favorite of mine--because I enjoyed the books that came after it a lot, but their undoing of the first book broke my heart!

Edited Date: 9/6/18 12:56 am (UTC)

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So is any of it new material? (Of course I want a copy, regardless, as a bonafide Tolkienite, but I did wonder.)

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but their undoing of the first book broke my heart!

Same! On the other hand I adore Telemakos and Athena.

Sometimes I think about writing fix-it fanfic where Lleu shows up in Aksum, or Telemakos travels to Britain.

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I recently read Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge, because it turns out I'm always down for a Beauty and the Beast retelling. :) It was a fun, fast read, and I'm already fuzzy on the details, but there you have it.

Next up was Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, and I enjoyed it even though the story lagged in odd places. It reminded me a little of The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. I'm loving all these Eastern European/Russian fairy tale retellings of late. Though I'm realizing I'm not a fan of how Novik writes romances--Uprooted left me with very mixed feelings in that department, and Spinning Silver leaned heavily on some of the same tropes, particularly the one where the angry/stand-offish/abusive hot guy inevitably falls in love with the un-pretty but oh-so-plucky heroine who will turn him into a gentlemen or die trying. (I'm not at all against redemption arcs, just particular about the character growth that has to happen.)

And I finished re-reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society after watching and enjoying the recent film adaptation (on Netflix). In fact, I think I liked the film better than the book (gasp).

Does anyone have audiobook recommendations? I'm always on the hunt for things to listen to while driving, traveling, or falling asleep at night.

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I've kind of gotten into the habit of telling myself that's what happens. 0:)

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94, actually! I really love that he's stuck with the hard job of untangling all these notes for our pleasure - but I know it's because he loved his father.

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The illustrations and interstitial text by Christopher is new. There is no new narrative text from Tolkien himself.

(If I'd been editor, I would have included the chapter "Of Maeglin" and I would have pulled a "Children of Hurin" and edited it all together into a coherent whole...because that's what I did 14 years ago in high school. :) )

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Have you read McGuire's October Daye series? The latest one just came out, and I read it tonight (though I got kicked out of the bookstore before I could finish reading the novella at the end).

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I read the third and fourth - that's what the bookstore had - and didn't care for them.

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Fair enough. :)

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I didn't notice you'd been reading Girl on the Train - that one got a lot of un-sympathy for the main character, but I quite liked her and the book. A bit more than Gone Girl, in the same vein. (I also read The Woman in the Window, also in the same vein, but it wasn't quite as smart as either of the other two.)

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I haven't done a reread of Guernsey because I also enjoyed the film better than the book! :) I remember reading it about 6 years ago and thinking it was a bit overly sweet and shapeless. The movie has a few cliches that didn't need to be there, but on the whole, it was much more statisfying. (I'm kinda bummed that a similar concept - reading helps people get better - hasn't been adapted - The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry.)

Audiobooks - there are many I could recommend! For oldie but goodies, the Rosamund Pike Pride and Prejudice is a masterpiece - if you "buy" the kindle P&P (for free), you should be able to get the audible book for like $3! I'm a huge fan of Enchantment by Orson Scott Card as an audiobook - it has two really fantastic narrators, and is a amazing mashup of fairy tale, fantasy, time travel, and romance. I also really enjoyed Artemis by Andy Weir, read by Rosario Dawson. A lot of people didn't like the main character, but I thought she was pretty sympathetic and interesting. And I'm a sucker for classic sci-fi settings and plotting.

While not strictly audiobooks, I'm a huge fan of BBC radio dramas. I've recently been bingeing all of the Miss Marple mysteries starring June Whitefield (you can find them on Archive.org) - Sleeping Murder is especially nice, but I've enjoyed almost all of them. I think we already chatted about Crooked House as a radio drama on goodreads. :)

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Good to know, thanks! And your idea is a good one.

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I think you're spot-on about the Guernsey book and movie. Re-reading the book served to remind me why I didn't love it the first time. "Overly sweet and shapeless," yes! And the characters were caricatures, and all too obviously mouthpieces for the author, rather than having the distinct voices and opinions that one would expect (in letter form especially) from a variety of sources. That said, the book had potential that the movie realized. It trimmed back some of the weedier aspects of the book and honed the plot and characters. Completely agree that they could have done without the cliches, and I suspect they were included for the purposes of marketing it as a chick flick. I mean, it has all the ingredients of a chick flick, and I like chick flicks, but that's shortchanging it a little.

Perhaps it will open the door for your A. J. Fikry adaption?

Thanks for all the recs! I do love radio dramas, too, though I file them differently than audiobooks. I tend to want to engage more with a radio drama, as something in-between reading and watching a movie. Whereas I listen to audiobooks more habitually, as part of a routine, or as a means of lulling myself to sleep. If that makes sense.

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I'm curious to see if we'll be getting some new chick flicks, actually. I feel like there haven't been that many in the past several years. And maybe, indeed, we'll get my A. J. Fikry adaptation. (That one, by the way, I also listened to as an audiobook, and it was quite nice. :) )

Your distinction does make sense, though I think my brain processes them a bit differently - likely because I'm terrible at imagining what things and people look like. :)

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...How does Archive.org work, by the by? I find it a little bewildering. Is it free or do you donate or create an account or...? Can you download files (onto a phone or iPod, say) or do you have to listen via the website?

I fancy myself averagely tech-savvy but I swear I relearn how to use Amazon digital and Overdrive every time I try to buy or borrow an audiobook and transfer it across devices. 0:)

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I have a terrible memory, Checkers. Please tell us again about John Green touching your shoulder...?!

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rosaleeluann.livejournal.com

Hi, sounis. It’s me. I decided to drop by and see what’s going on... WSK was always special to me because it started the day I found sounis!

I just started the audiobook of Mortal Engines and am enjoying it so far. Only after I started did I find out that the movie will be out soon. I’m sure it will have awesome visuals... I’m excited to see what they do with it.

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HEEYYYY YOU!! <3

I was gonna say "good to see your face..." but actually, good to see your icon again. :)

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