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Nov. 28th, 2010 01:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
serindranaI'm back on campus after an interesting Thanskgiving break! I spent the week with David and his family, finally getting to meet his grandfather and his cousins, who he talks about a lot (for him, anyway). We had to sleep on the floor a lot, though. The houses we visited usually only had one guest room, and his parents got the bed. My back hurt so much!
The highlight of the trip was an unexpected visit with Weishan, my best friend from highschool. She goes to Berkley, and doesn't go home for her really short Thanksgiving break. We were driving out of San Francisco when I finally realized that Berkley is right there, so I called her. She was in class, though, and we didn't get to talk until we were too far away to head back that day. David, his dad, and I had already planned to go the next day to one of the best Indian/Nepalese restaurants I've ever been to, but upon hearing about my friend, David's father asked if Weishan would like to come along, even though it meant several extra hours of driving. So the next morning, we were out the door by 8 AM to go pick her up and eat lunch at noon!
I forgot to get a picture of us all together, though. I'd waited so long to introduce Weishan and David that I absolutely forgot! I also forgot to give her a present I'd gotten for her earlier that week at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Also on the trip, I found out that my stomach no longer appreciates meat-heavy dishes, since I tend to avoid meat at our dining hall here on campus. I got the most amazing duckling in blood orange sauce dish, and five bites in I started feeling really sick. D:
I also read four books. I don't usually read that much, so that was a pleasant surprise! I read:
Mind Games (Carolyn Crane): Really good, though I burst out laughing at a line that was something like, "His cock felt deliciously cucumbery." Well, it IS in first person present, so I guess... the character has experience with produce? Pfft. But otherwise, it was an amazing concept executed quite well with really interesting characters. The main character even gets turned off by a guy BECAUSE he removes some of her bodily autonomy! SHOCK and AWE, people!
Double Cross (Carolyn Crane): The next book in the series, and even better than the first. No awkward produce metaphors! The plotting is much tighter and the romance is fairly strong when it crops up (though the plot is pretty intense and takes up much of the focus), and the ending- holy shit. David was really confused as to why I was so wibbly and nervous, but geeze. I need the next book! Too bad it's not out until late next year.
Unholy Ghosts (Stacia Kane): The first book in the Downside Ghosts series. Really interesting, though since most of the book's characters are drug dealers or other residents of Downside, the dialect was hard for me to understand sometimes. The main character is a drug addict who seems dangerously close to losing the balance she has, but she manages through the book. The romance almost seems like an aside? The plot, though, is pretty strong (though at the beginning most of it seems unconnected). The magic is really interesting, heavily based off of 'traditional' European witchcraft, and the setting is fascinating. I'm not sure whether I'll read the next book. I feel bad wanting a book in the same setting but from a perspective outside of Downside, but the dialect keeps knocking me out of the story.
The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Leanna Renee Hieber): I really wanted to like this. Victorian setting, ghosts, strong friendship alliances, and a teacher/student romance? But it felt a lot like either fanfiction or the first draft of a NaNo novel, and neither in a particularly good way. I ended up skimming the second half of it, but I don't feel like I missed out on anything. The relationship was clunky, the dialogue often contrived, and the myths it draws on aren't drawn on well. It's not a horrible book, just not... particularly good. The banter can be fun at times, but most of the dialogue in the romance is stereotypical 'Victorian' romantic speak. Aaargh.
Right now I'm starting Ann Aguirre's Grimspace. It's already engaging and the characters are rounded enough that I believe them, unlike a certain Miss Percy.
Just a few more weeks of this semester. I have two big presentations this week. Back to work!
The highlight of the trip was an unexpected visit with Weishan, my best friend from highschool. She goes to Berkley, and doesn't go home for her really short Thanksgiving break. We were driving out of San Francisco when I finally realized that Berkley is right there, so I called her. She was in class, though, and we didn't get to talk until we were too far away to head back that day. David, his dad, and I had already planned to go the next day to one of the best Indian/Nepalese restaurants I've ever been to, but upon hearing about my friend, David's father asked if Weishan would like to come along, even though it meant several extra hours of driving. So the next morning, we were out the door by 8 AM to go pick her up and eat lunch at noon!
I forgot to get a picture of us all together, though. I'd waited so long to introduce Weishan and David that I absolutely forgot! I also forgot to give her a present I'd gotten for her earlier that week at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Also on the trip, I found out that my stomach no longer appreciates meat-heavy dishes, since I tend to avoid meat at our dining hall here on campus. I got the most amazing duckling in blood orange sauce dish, and five bites in I started feeling really sick. D:
I also read four books. I don't usually read that much, so that was a pleasant surprise! I read:
Mind Games (Carolyn Crane): Really good, though I burst out laughing at a line that was something like, "His cock felt deliciously cucumbery." Well, it IS in first person present, so I guess... the character has experience with produce? Pfft. But otherwise, it was an amazing concept executed quite well with really interesting characters. The main character even gets turned off by a guy BECAUSE he removes some of her bodily autonomy! SHOCK and AWE, people!
Double Cross (Carolyn Crane): The next book in the series, and even better than the first. No awkward produce metaphors! The plotting is much tighter and the romance is fairly strong when it crops up (though the plot is pretty intense and takes up much of the focus), and the ending- holy shit. David was really confused as to why I was so wibbly and nervous, but geeze. I need the next book! Too bad it's not out until late next year.
Unholy Ghosts (Stacia Kane): The first book in the Downside Ghosts series. Really interesting, though since most of the book's characters are drug dealers or other residents of Downside, the dialect was hard for me to understand sometimes. The main character is a drug addict who seems dangerously close to losing the balance she has, but she manages through the book. The romance almost seems like an aside? The plot, though, is pretty strong (though at the beginning most of it seems unconnected). The magic is really interesting, heavily based off of 'traditional' European witchcraft, and the setting is fascinating. I'm not sure whether I'll read the next book. I feel bad wanting a book in the same setting but from a perspective outside of Downside, but the dialect keeps knocking me out of the story.
The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker (Leanna Renee Hieber): I really wanted to like this. Victorian setting, ghosts, strong friendship alliances, and a teacher/student romance? But it felt a lot like either fanfiction or the first draft of a NaNo novel, and neither in a particularly good way. I ended up skimming the second half of it, but I don't feel like I missed out on anything. The relationship was clunky, the dialogue often contrived, and the myths it draws on aren't drawn on well. It's not a horrible book, just not... particularly good. The banter can be fun at times, but most of the dialogue in the romance is stereotypical 'Victorian' romantic speak. Aaargh.
Right now I'm starting Ann Aguirre's Grimspace. It's already engaging and the characters are rounded enough that I believe them, unlike a certain Miss Percy.
Just a few more weeks of this semester. I have two big presentations this week. Back to work!
