tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41568155294060814082024-03-13T09:02:45.361-07:00Laura PetelleLaura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-30145072309193940052016-02-07T11:41:00.002-08:002016-02-07T11:52:50.516-08:00The Rainbow Houses of South PeoriaAs I survey the architecture of South Peoria, I've been collecting rainbow-colored houses. Purple was the hardest! These are all in the one square mile or so bounded by Western, Laramie, Lincoln, and Krause, comprising two old streetcar neighborhoods laid out along the Garden and Lincoln lines. You can read more about my project <a href="http://www.laurapetelle.com/p/about-urban-details-peoria.html" target="_blank">surveying the architecture and history of the neighborhood here</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WH5aQ622Wqw/VrecZ_67gGI/AAAAAAAAD3M/THocE4krr5k/s1600/24458530591_ee82126743_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WH5aQ622Wqw/VrecZ_67gGI/AAAAAAAAD3M/THocE4krr5k/s320/24458530591_ee82126743_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1bvH-2xqPKE/Vrecb9IFbrI/AAAAAAAAD3Y/EMmcxptKQg4/s1600/24514913156_5845c248d1_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1bvH-2xqPKE/Vrecb9IFbrI/AAAAAAAAD3Y/EMmcxptKQg4/s320/24514913156_5845c248d1_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9GYrL3jHwa8/VrecUNFSPQI/AAAAAAAAD2I/vzc2CXHTFd4/s1600/22529579873_e68026c4c3_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9GYrL3jHwa8/VrecUNFSPQI/AAAAAAAAD2I/vzc2CXHTFd4/s320/22529579873_e68026c4c3_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lo1oSNvVgII/VrecVIrSSVI/AAAAAAAAD2Y/ZDFbX8R3DW0/s1600/22758495389_95d69fcba7_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lo1oSNvVgII/VrecVIrSSVI/AAAAAAAAD2Y/ZDFbX8R3DW0/s320/22758495389_95d69fcba7_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/39964956@N08/24458530591/"></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ftr_qDnRX5U/VrecUel90PI/AAAAAAAAD2M/2sgKdjKxLpc/s1600/22529578503_e632e8d20c_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ftr_qDnRX5U/VrecUel90PI/AAAAAAAAD2M/2sgKdjKxLpc/s320/22529578503_e632e8d20c_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aIYnthz8mFM/VreccLtk4yI/AAAAAAAAD3c/klevWq5M-8g/s1600/24540790035_e18bc0ed09_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aIYnthz8mFM/VreccLtk4yI/AAAAAAAAD3c/klevWq5M-8g/s320/24540790035_e18bc0ed09_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XH13sHQ66bc/VrecaC0lGWI/AAAAAAAAD3Q/uwkSr_xt0z4/s1600/24458581641_3357feb26b_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XH13sHQ66bc/VrecaC0lGWI/AAAAAAAAD3Q/uwkSr_xt0z4/s320/24458581641_3357feb26b_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7qvgrePBEWU/VrecURTV7wI/AAAAAAAAD2Q/A5L4cooKhpI/s1600/22529555693_6f88f16047_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7qvgrePBEWU/VrecURTV7wI/AAAAAAAAD2Q/A5L4cooKhpI/s320/22529555693_6f88f16047_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2azq6YmG0rs/VrecW9_VepI/AAAAAAAAD2s/2ElU9exjRWI/s1600/23913991773_24497827db_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2azq6YmG0rs/VrecW9_VepI/AAAAAAAAD2s/2ElU9exjRWI/s320/23913991773_24497827db_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7cQ8NuDHz4/VrecWLR_hjI/AAAAAAAAD2k/geTqpPizVKQ/s1600/23162342501_629e9236df_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="302" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7cQ8NuDHz4/VrecWLR_hjI/AAAAAAAAD2k/geTqpPizVKQ/s320/23162342501_629e9236df_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pHpQ0_mMDNQ/Vrecafh1foI/AAAAAAAAD3U/BucjGB1Wsqw/s1600/24514630126_6545316518_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pHpQ0_mMDNQ/Vrecafh1foI/AAAAAAAAD3U/BucjGB1Wsqw/s320/24514630126_6545316518_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-29Uwmj4Kzbk/VrecZeIs3iI/AAAAAAAAD3I/4iRyin_m_5s/s1600/24458445111_24c1261aaa_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-29Uwmj4Kzbk/VrecZeIs3iI/AAAAAAAAD3I/4iRyin_m_5s/s320/24458445111_24c1261aaa_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uv7bZThGhfc/VrecZMC7vDI/AAAAAAAAD3E/rBY-wWVDT3U/s1600/24432628472_e3301a9383_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uv7bZThGhfc/VrecZMC7vDI/AAAAAAAAD3E/rBY-wWVDT3U/s320/24432628472_e3301a9383_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xiXdY8zW-0M/VrecVgkijzI/AAAAAAAAD2c/iTt6ycHFt_E/s1600/23136803322_9bf23eddd8_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xiXdY8zW-0M/VrecVgkijzI/AAAAAAAAD2c/iTt6ycHFt_E/s320/23136803322_9bf23eddd8_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bvkwnTWNM6k/VrecWg7X_CI/AAAAAAAAD2o/-JMVRC7o28M/s1600/23162363941_e8bce30fed_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bvkwnTWNM6k/VrecWg7X_CI/AAAAAAAAD2o/-JMVRC7o28M/s320/23162363941_e8bce30fed_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ogEuDaJqRtE/VrecV2KDVhI/AAAAAAAAD2g/HXsXu9xwtb0/s1600/23162331431_3438b3c9db_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ogEuDaJqRtE/VrecV2KDVhI/AAAAAAAAD2g/HXsXu9xwtb0/s320/23162331431_3438b3c9db_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--4WoSBcwnEE/VrecXgv14II/AAAAAAAAD20/if9v-t89ozI/s1600/23914040503_dd0e63639e_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--4WoSBcwnEE/VrecXgv14II/AAAAAAAAD20/if9v-t89ozI/s320/23914040503_dd0e63639e_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kld77-I8FlE/VrecYLAC2-I/AAAAAAAAD24/Y2QWvJ-c1SA/s1600/24245369830_20d51c9e97_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kld77-I8FlE/VrecYLAC2-I/AAAAAAAAD24/Y2QWvJ-c1SA/s320/24245369830_20d51c9e97_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-20046362389029720332016-01-09T10:29:00.003-08:002016-01-09T10:29:41.023-08:00Valentine's DayI made a Valentine's Day Card for all my online friends ...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wh_bhfIpejo/VpFRhzB_RTI/AAAAAAAADzQ/d45dEzVlYIk/s1600/this-valentines-day-nyfrbd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="330" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wh_bhfIpejo/VpFRhzB_RTI/AAAAAAAADzQ/d45dEzVlYIk/s400/this-valentines-day-nyfrbd.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-27303245465751035212015-12-31T11:49:00.001-08:002015-12-31T12:01:06.745-08:00I read 60,000 pages of books in 2015<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actually, 64,439 pages across 175 books. I set this relatively arbitrary goal because I wanted to make some headway on both my physical and virtual "to-read" piles, and 5,000 pages a month seemed reasonable: it's about 10 fat novels, or about a novel every 3 days, which is about how fast I read when I'm in a reading mood. I chose pages rather than books as my marker because I didn't want to incentivize myself to knock off lots of skinny, easy books at the expense of the big fat ones that haunt my to-read pile. Of course, sustaining that speed across an entire year was much harder than I thought it would be; after about three-months of high-intensity reading, my brain would want a break to go watch bad TV for a while, but I had to keep chugging along to keep up the pace. I also didn't stop to consider that a lot of what I wanted to read didn't read nearly as quickly as a comfortable novel; working through "Team of Rivals," "Pioneer Girl," "Alexander Hamilton," and "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" in particular left me more mentally exhausted than I've been since the rigors of graduate school. But exhausted in a good way!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of the 175 books, 50 were non-fiction, 4 were poetry, and 121 were fiction (vastly disproportionately tilted towards SFF -- 68 SFF novels, more than half my fictional total). This was the year my reading toppled almost entirely into e-books; 150 of the books I read were on my kindle, with only 25 in hard copy. When I first began reading on a kindle, I found it harder to retain what I read, but that problem has faded and I seem to have gained kindle-specific reading skills the more I use it. I also tried to firmly restrict my re-reading habits (I'm a dire re-reader) because the point of 2015 was to read down my to-read pile, but even so I re-read 25 novels -- childhood favorites like the Little House books or Anne of Green Gables; and SFF comfort reading from Bujold, Eddings, and Pierce. I might try to break down my male vs. female authors later on, but I forgot to keep track as I was reading and it seems like a lot to look up now. Regardless, I read a lot of women.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't really make a list of the "best" books I read or my "favorite" ones, but I've put together lists of the books that most delighted me and most disappointed me -- in other words, books that were better than I'd anticipated them being, and books that were worse than I'd expected. And below that, behind the jump, you can see the whole messy list, loosely divided into genres.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Most Delightful</i></b> (in no particular order)</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Motel of the Mysteries</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - A children's book about how experts don't know nearly as much as they think they do, featuring the archaeological exploration of a 70s-era motel? YES PLEASE.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Ten Cents a Dance</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - A little YA historical fiction novel about taxi dancers in Chicago. I'm not sure where I stumbled across it, probably a Kindle Daily Deal, but it was charming and I loved it.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Fangirl</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Where has Rainbow Rowell been all my life??? This is just so lovely.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Mind blown into a hundred thousand pieces. The sequels weren't as powerful as the first one, but the first one was one of the best pieces of SFF I've read in a long time. Fantastic.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Team of Rivals</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - There's a reason everybody read it, and you should too.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Women’s Work: The First 20,000 Years</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - I seriously could not put this down. It's about the importance of string, spinning, weaving, etc., to human culture, and why this is so under-recognized in archaeology and history (string decays). It's also tangentially about why diversity is so important; until women began entering archaeology, male archaeologists often didn't know what they were looking at when they did happen across fiber work or fiber art, because men in western culture don't sew. You don't know what you don't know; diversity helps us at least recognize those gaps that hegemonic thought can't even see!</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - The next time you're feeling depressed about climate change, this is the book to read. It's about the life of Plenty Coups, the Crow chief who helped his people survive the coming of the white man. It is not cheerful, but it is intensely hopeful. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Citizen</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - If you haven't read this, you've missed one of the most important books of 2015.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>, Claudius</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - An older classic, but so hugely entertaining! Compulsively readable. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Wake</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Haunting, terrifying, deep, weird, strange ... a tough book (written in a fake Old English dialect), but worth the effort.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Dinner</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Months later this is still haunting me and I still want to argue with people about it.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Americanah</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - The best novel I read in 2015, hands down. Just made me so happy.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Martian</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - XKCD got me to read it by saying it was the "nerds making air filters" scene in Apollo 13 expanded out to an entire novel/movie. That's my favorite scene! Totally worth it.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Goblin Emperor</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - When I first read it, I was like, "Oh, that was nice." Now I can't wait to go back and read it again, and I wish it were longer.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Alexander Hamilton</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - How DOES a bastard orphan son of a whore and a Scotsman dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by Providence, impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar? Now I know.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Fire Season</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Really charming memoir of a man who works as a fire spotter in the GIla Wilderness.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Spillover</b> - I love reading terrifying books about zoonotic diseases, I can't help it, and this was a good one. I now know everything that wants to kill you.</span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up</b></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - It changed my life, so sue me. I HAVE EMPTY DRAWERS NOW.</span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><i>Most Disappointing</i></b> (in no particular order)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Un Lun Dun</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - I like China Mieville, but this was just tedious, even for a children's book.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Lost Prince</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Flatly ridiculous. I can't imagine I would have enjoyed it even as a child; the protagonist had a serious case of massive stupidity and terminal genre blindness.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Banner of the Damned</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - I like Sherwood Smith, but in this one she gives in to all her worst habits and it was wildly inadequately edited. Nice world-building, terrible story.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>The Time of the Dark</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Saw it raved about in several places; was just meh.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Saplings</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - For Noel Streatfield, this was SUPER-DARK. I was depressed for days.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Brideshead Revisited</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - This was so obviously a convert's book, and just sort-of embarrassing in its shallow exposition of issues of faith to arrive at the author's predetermined outcome. Reading it gave me terrible fremdscham.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Hild</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Great setting; meh plot. Relies too much on the fact that there will be sequels; doesn't provide a strong emotional through-line. It wants to be a sort of fictional biography, and as such doesn't feel too obligated to provide a narrative structure. It's good, but it was disappointing compared to how good I expected it to be.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Condominium</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - This book is terribawesome and I totally recommend it as a hate-read. This is the flap copy: "H</span><span style="line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">e's in finance, she works at a hipster small press, yet both are indie-rock East Village veterans who aren't above snorting a little heroin on the weekends. But when they decide to take the logical next step and buy a condo in one of the glass-and-steel skyscrapers now dotting the waterfront of Williamsburg, their lives start to fall apart." It's more entertaining than that makes it sound, but it's pretty hilarrible. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Dead Key</b> - flatly awful. Not even worth a hate-read.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Wreckage</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - The entire plot hinges on a wildly incorrect understanding of the law, and therefore makes no sense.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Burned Bridges of Ward Nebraska</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Everyone in this book is terrible and you root for no one.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Monuments Men</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - It's hard to even say what was so bad about this book: the writing is weak, it tries to end every chapter on a pithy cliffhanger that never works, the author makes it impossible to follow his large and shifting cast of characters, he sets things up as about-to-be-momentous and then they disappear with no explanation. It was such a disappointment for a book on a topic so naturally interesting to me.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Garlic & Sapphires</b></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Like virtually all food memoirs, about 1/3 too long. Also kinda mean.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Great List of 2015</span></b></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Non-fiction: Science</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bird on Fire: Lessons from the World's Least Sustainable City (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ross)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emperor of All Maladies (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mukherjee)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Ghosts of Evolution (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Barlow)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Immunity (</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Biss)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Packing for Mars </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Roach)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Soul of an Octopus (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Montgomery)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Spillover (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Quammen)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What a Plant Knows (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chamovitz)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Non-fiction: Philosophy and Theology</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Laudato Si' (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Francis)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Man's Search for Meaning (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Frankl)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Open Mind, Faithful Heart (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Francis)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lear)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Non-fiction: Memoir</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Baby's Cry (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Glass)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Belles on Their Toes (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gilbreth)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blackout </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hepola)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Blood, Bones, and Butter (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hamilton)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Book of Mormon Girl (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brooks)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chast)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Damaged (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Glass)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fire Season (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Connors)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Garlic and Sapphires (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reichel)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gnarr! (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gnarr)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eggers)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Journal of Best Practices (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finch)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Night the Angels Came (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Glass)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some Girls: My Life in a Harem (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lauren)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Waiter Rant (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dublanica)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Murakami)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wild (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Strayed)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Non-fiction: History</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Alexander Hamilton (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chernow)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Central Asia in World History (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Golden)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Courtiers (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Worsley)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lost Region: Toward a Revival of Midwestern History (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lauck)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Magna Carta: A Very Short Introduction (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vincent)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Marshall Field's: The Store that Helped Build Chicago (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Soucek)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Martha Washington: An American Life (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brady)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Monuments Men (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Edsel)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">North American Indians: A Very Short Introduction (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Perdue & Green)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography of Laura Ingalls Wilder (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wilder, Smith)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Silk Road in World History (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liu)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Team of Rivals (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Goodwin)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Washington: A Life (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chernow)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Barber)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Non-fiction: Misc</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Abstract City (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Niemann)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Capital in the Twenty-First Century (</span><span style="line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Piketty)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Engineering the City: How Infrastructure Works (Levy & Panchyk)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (</span><span style="line-height: 1.38; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kondo)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Partly Cloudy Patriot (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Vowell)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Pattern Language (Alexander)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Plane That Wasn't There (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wise)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Poetry</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Citizen (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rankin)</span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Angelou)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dhammapada (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Buddha)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leaves of Grass (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Whitman)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Historical Fiction</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Aztec (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jennings)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I, Claudius </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Graves)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Little Town on the Prairie (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wilder)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Madonnas of Leningrad</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Master and Commander (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">O'Brian)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Perfume Collector (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tessoro)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saplings (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Streatfield)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Summer Queen (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chadwick)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ten Cents a Dance (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fletcher)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Wake (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kingsnorth)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These Happy Golden Years (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wilder)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b id="docs-internal-guid-20b0532f-f977-ccfe-74c4-939055e7fff4" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Literary Fiction</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Absurdistan (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Shteyngart)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Americanah (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adiche)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anne of Avonlea (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Montgomery)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anne of Green Gables (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Montgomery)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mantel)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brideshead Revisited (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Waugh)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Bone Clocks (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mitchell)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Buried Giant (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ishiguro)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Condominium (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Falatko)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Dinner (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Koch)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Euphoria (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">King)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Everything I Never Told You (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ng)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fangirl (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rowell)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hausfrau (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Essbaum)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hild (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Griffith)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Magnificent Ambersons (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tarkington)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My Brilliant Friend (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ferrante)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Norwegian by Night </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Miller)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Round House (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Erdich)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Secret Life of Bees (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kidd)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Romances</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Corinthian (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heyer)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Crazy Rich Asians (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kwan)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Elizabeth the First Wife (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dolan)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Flat-Out Love (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Park)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Frederica (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Heyer)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Greensleeves (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">McGraw)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've Got Your Number (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kinsella)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Major Pettigrew's Last Stand (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Simonsen)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Miss Buncle's Book (</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stevenson)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Royal We (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cocks/Morgan)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Other Fiction</span></b></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Burned Bridges of Ward Nebraska (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Curtright)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dead Key (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pulley)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don't Let Me Go (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hyde)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The King's Hounds </span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jensen)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Lost Prince (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Burnett)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Man Who Knew Too Much (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chesterton)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Motel of the Mysteries (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Macauley)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
</div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr. Mercedes (King)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Saturnalia (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Davis)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Scruples (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Krantz)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This Is Where I Leave You (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tropper)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wreckage (</span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bleeker)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Science Fiction and Fantasy (aka my wheelhouse)</span></b></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because so many of these are series by one author, I've sorted by author here</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Addison</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Goblin Emperor</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bear</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forge of God</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anvil of Stars</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bujold</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Curse of Chalion</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Penric's Demon</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buroker</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Emperor's Edge</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dark Currents</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Deadly Games</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Conspiracy</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blood & Betrayal</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Beneath the Surface</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forged in Blood I</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forged in Blood II</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Republic</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Byrne</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Girl in the Road</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eddings</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Diamond Throne</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Ruby Knight</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Sapphire Crown</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hale</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Enna Burning</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">River Secrets</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Forest Born</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hambly</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Time of the Dark</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hartman</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seraphina</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shadow Scale</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holmberg</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Glass Magician</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Master Magician</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Howey</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shift</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dust</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Itaranta</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Memory of Water</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Jemisin</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Broken Kingdoms</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Kingdom of the Gods</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LaFevers</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Grave Mercy</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Dark Triumph</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mortal Heart</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Leckie</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ancillary Sword</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ancillary Mercy</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Liu</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Three-Body Problem</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mandel</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Station Eleven</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mieville</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Un Lun Dun</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Embassytown</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Olson</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Boundary Crossed</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perotta</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Leftovers</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pierce</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First Test</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Page</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Squire</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lady Knight</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandry's Book</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tris's Book</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Daja's Book</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Briar's Book</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Magic Steps</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Street Magic</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cold Fire</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shatterglass</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Will of the Empress</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Melting Stones</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pratchett</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Small Gods</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Equal Rites</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Riddle</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Atlantis Gene</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Scalzi</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Old Man's War</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Smith</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Banner of the Damned</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">VanderMeer</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Annihilation</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weir</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Martian</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wrede</span></i></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Matter of Magic</span></div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-12604936266052779352015-12-08T19:51:00.000-08:002015-12-10T19:13:48.631-08:00Streetcars and Neighborhood Design<i><b>Note: </b>This is the first in what will be a series of essays about South Peoria's history, development, and present conditions. These essays may be updated as my research becomes more complete. All essays are linked to an <a href="http://www.laurapetelle.com/p/urban-details-peoria-articles-index.html" target="_blank">index page</a> for easier browsing. <a href="http://www.laurapetelle.com/p/about-urban-details-peoria.html" target="_blank">Project homepage.</a></i><br />
<br />
South Peoria was developed as a streetcar neighborhood, building out along the Lincoln and Garden lines. We'll take a look at the general characteristics of Midwestern streetcar suburbs (or neighborhoods), and we'll compare a typical Peoria streetcar neighborhood (South Peoria) to a typical postwar neighborhood in central Peoria and a typical suburban-style subdivision in far north Peoria.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.peoriacounty.org/files/8513/3838/3852/Peoria_Street_Car_LinesLoFi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.peoriacounty.org/files/8513/3838/3852/Peoria_Street_Car_LinesLoFi.jpg" height="320" width="236" /></a></div>
Streetcars, first drawn by horses but later (and primarily) electric, ran out from the city center into newly-developed residential areas. These streetcar neighborhoods were characterized by rectangular plots, often quite long and thin, which packed a maximum number of house frontages along the streetcar line itself. There are relatively frequent cross streets connecting the blocks, trying to ensure that all houses are within a 5 to 10 minute walk to the streetcar. (Often, the houses along the streetcar's road were larger and more expensive, while those tucked into back streets were smaller and shoddier, but this can be difficult to eyeball in South Peoria because the houses on the street car road are packed so tightly and their extra volume runs towards the back of the lot and is hidden by their neighbors.) To keep houses closer together and easier for pedestrians, garages are almost always behind the house, typically facing an alley, and they are almost always detached. This was the law in Peoria until the development of more modern fire safety standards for homes and more modern cars that were less likely to carbon monoxide poison people if the garage was attached. (I want to say that city code changed to permit attached garages in all new construction around 1960. You can actually see the change occur in some post-war neighborhoods where the houses built closer to 1950 have detached houses and then the next block over, completed closer to 1960, the houses all have attached garages.)<br />
<br />
Streetcars work exceedingly well in the flat topography of the Midwest (significant hills require cable cars, like San Francisco's), and in many Midwestern cities became the primary mode of transportation for people of all classes.<br />
<br />
One of the most characteristic features of streetcar neighborhoods is small commercial establishments on corners where cross streets cross the streetcar's street. These are typically flush or nearly flush with the sidewalk, and if there is any parking, it's behind the building. These commercial buildings were often originally built with the idea that the proprietor would live above or behind the shop. The most typical uses were small mom & pop groceries, where you could pick up a few items on the way home, and neighborhood taverns.
Let's look at a couple of characteristic Peoria neighborhoods. This is part of the South Peoria neighborhood that I've been documenting. Grey buildings are housing; yellow are outbuildings (mostly garages); red buildings are commercial; and blue are non-profit (mostly schools and churches). You can see the mix of red commercial buildings in the primarily residential neighborhoods, as well as a smattering of small churches and larger school buildings.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-95rslEuHp2k/VmehgbZwsBI/AAAAAAAADvY/5EvyBqo0Ylw/s1600/SouthPeoriaMixedCommercial.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-95rslEuHp2k/VmehgbZwsBI/AAAAAAAADvY/5EvyBqo0Ylw/s400/SouthPeoriaMixedCommercial.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">South Peoria: Residential with "corner stores" and many churches.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
In this map, I've traced in red a major 4-lane arterial road, Western Avenue, that marks the neighborhood boundary and features larger commercial establishments. In green, Garden Street, which had one of the two neighborhood streetcar routes; you can see the small red commercial buildings -- former corner stores, taverns, small garages -- studding the streetcar's route and providing services to the houses along there. In yellow, Starr Street, a slightly larger vehicular route (but not a streetcar route) that provided through access to the neighborhood and is also marked with many commercial buildings.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BACFg32upOg/Vmehg_FXyyI/AAAAAAAADvo/qaGhNSqJqKo/s1600/SouthPeoriaMixedCommercial_GardenLine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BACFg32upOg/Vmehg_FXyyI/AAAAAAAADvo/qaGhNSqJqKo/s400/SouthPeoriaMixedCommercial_GardenLine.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red corner businesses along the green Garden Street former streetcar line.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
By comparison, here's a neighborhood in Central Peoria, just south of War Memorial Drive (the neighborhood is called “North Florence” and sits just southeast of War Memorial and Sheridan). This is a post-war suburb, and you can see that there's barely any commercial activity – on the northwest is a tiny, hard-to-access strip mall with a cellular store and a dry cleaner; on the southeast is a former drive-through bank that's now a State Farm Insurance (Randy Begole, good dude), that's also inaccessible from the neighborhood. There are a handful of religious buildings, all surrounded by seas of parking. (Top left: Disused synagogue that has had several failed redevelopment attempts. Below that, Apostolic Christian Church. Top center: St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral. Top right, First Covenant, a small evangelical church.) It's a very pleasant neighborhood for walking – you see lots of people out walking dogs or walking for fitness -- but there's not anywhere to walk to. This is typical of neighborhoods developed after zoning codes were introduced, separating commercial uses from residential and removing small-scale neighborhood commerce like ice cream shops and corner groceries.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FdCQRd0C-yA/VmehfiNK0bI/AAAAAAAADvU/8O4xZDrLyqc/s1600/NorthFlorence_ResidentialOnly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="388" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FdCQRd0C-yA/VmehfiNK0bI/AAAAAAAADvU/8O4xZDrLyqc/s400/NorthFlorence_ResidentialOnly.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Postwar neighborhood of North Florence, zoned residential. There are no commercial establishments to walk to.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here's a neighborhood in North Peoria (still within the City of Peoria), a fancy and exclusive neighborhood with large, expensive houses on sprawling lots, that is exclusively for cars. Here, the street grid has been abandoned, and many of the streets don't even have sidewalks. It's difficult to walk within the neighborhood, which is designed for cars rather than people. There is no commercial development at all within the neighborhood – the few red buildings face a busy arterial road (Knoxville) and cannot be accessed from the neighborhood. You must get in the car and drive to them (you cannot safely walk around; there's no shoulder and no sidewalk on that part of Knoxville). There are a lot of children in this part of town, but they can't walk to each others' houses, because the high-speed car-oriented sidewalk-lacking roads are too dangerous for kids on foot. (Even worse, restrictive covenants make all the front yards super-boring and the streets are hot and unshaded.) It's kind-of a hellscape, which is why you rarely see people outdoors in this neighborhood; they stay inside their pleasant houses or drive their cars even within the neighborhood itself. There's nothing to do in this neighborhood; there's no there there.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zi4WIoq9hS4/Vmehfyb0o7I/AAAAAAAADvc/A3NrOeiutVQ/s1600/Peoria_Sububan_Hellscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zi4WIoq9hS4/Vmehfyb0o7I/AAAAAAAADvc/A3NrOeiutVQ/s400/Peoria_Sububan_Hellscape.jpg" width="346" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">North Peoria neighborhood: no grid, not safe on foot, nowhere to go.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Further Reading:</b><br />
<br />
National Park Service, <a href="http://www.nps.gov/nr/publications/bulletins/suburbs/part1.htm" target="_blank">An Overview of Suburbanization in the United States, 1830 to 1960</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://cornersideyard.blogspot.com/2015/09/in-praise-of-streetcar-suburbs.html" target="_blank">In Praise of Streetcar Suburbs</a> (they're adaptable, efficient, and multi-modal) <br />
<br />
<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120204222741/http://www.salisburync.gov/lm&d/2020/ch03b/03bcityhistoryandcityform.htm" target="_blank">Why Streetcar Neighborhoods Work Well </a>(archive.org link; report for Salisbury NC with recommendations for future development as part of 2020 planning)<br />
<b>Summary:</b> Streetcar suburbs feature development density, multimodal transit capabilities, and gridiron blocks that make for liveable, adaptable neighborhoods. They also feature pleasant pedestrian streetscapes with sidewalks everywhere and many mature trees. Setbacks are modest and porches ubiquitous; garages are deprioritized to alleys, along with trash pickup and (sometimes) utility services. Modern, low-density, car-centric suburbs are considerably more expensive to supply with roads, utility services, police and fire coverage, mail delivery, and public transit. (Greater property taxes levied on more expensive homes in diffuse, suburban-type developments does not cover the greater cost those homes extract from city services, which I'll talk about in future posts dealing with utilities.) Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-70718352736104457752015-08-05T13:47:00.000-07:002015-08-05T13:47:09.723-07:00Sometimes Experts Are the Worst Explainers<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}">
Dad goes to jury duty. I attempt to explain jury duty to my 6- and 4-year-old:<br />
<br />
I. Anglo-American Theories of Truth vs. Continental Theories of Truth
and Its Implications for Common and Civil Law Systems with Specific
Reference to Juries<br /> II. Important Civic Duties and Why They Matter to Democracy<br /> III. The Difference between Sixth and Seventh Amendment Rights to a Jury<br /> IV. "Okay So What If You Were a Robber ..."<br /> V. Where Jury Rosters Come From and How Local Government Administers Them and Why This Is a County Function Not a City Function<br /> VI. A Brief History of the Development of Twelve-Man Juries with Digressions into Early Medieval Danish Invasions of England<br /> VII. Stop Hitting Your Brother, I Said Robber not Assaulter<br /> VIII. Citizen Juries as a Check on the Coercive Power of the State <br /> IX. Empirical Research on the Effectiveness of Juries from the Arizona Jury Project <br /> X. Why It Is Okay for Mommy to Be Judge and Jury but not the Government <br /> XI. Look There Is A Thing Called Jury Duty and Daddy Is at It as Is His Civic Duty<br /> XII. I Feel Like This Conversation Was a Bad Idea, Do You Want to Go to Costco?</div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-52764357211803968752014-09-30T19:32:00.001-07:002014-09-30T19:45:56.680-07:00A Dance with Dragons (ASoIaF, spoilers)<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-add5f8bd-c976-98a0-a9da-bef9eda9803f" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">It makes me nervous that Dany thinks of Missandei last when mentally listing people who might betray her.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Three-eyed crow = some Night Watch guy with the sight. At first I thought it might be Benjen but the three-eyed crow probably has to be a lot older so I am off that prediction.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“Are you quite certain that Daenerys will make good her brother’s promises?” -- is this speaking of a different brother? Which brother? Rhaegar or Vanerys or someone else?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Varys -- “he taught them to read as well” -- like Dany freeing the slaves? Will this make Varys more loyal to Dany?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">8% -- Gray death! I knew there'd be a plague!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">“The worst part was knowing that nightfall would bring no relief. Up in the high meadows north of Lord Yronwood’s estates, the air was always crisp and cool after dark, no matter how hot the day had been. Not here. In Volantis, the nights were almost as hot as the days.” I FEEL YOUR PAIN MERCHANT’S MAN. THIS IS WHY I LEFT NORTH CAROLINA.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Quentyn is going to die, he is totally incidental to this plot. </span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">In the story the elephant driver prods the elephant with his heels -- no, in reality, they use big honkin' hooks, and it is not cool. And also we need to stop elephant habitat destruction and probably they should not be kept in zoos only really big nature preserves so they can walk a lot.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Nerd Interlocuting: Speaking of tendentious complaining ... I am slightly bothered that all the hot women in Game of Thrones are SLIM and that Cersei is spending lots and lots of time working on being slim and tightly-corseted [Erin: And high breasted.] It's not fucking 1870 you dumbass [Erin: Yeah, it seems like there should be buxom wenches, if nothing else.] Exactly! curves! child-bearing hips! well-fed chubby cheeks!</span> especially since he DOES spend a lot of time on the quality and quantity of the food of the rich vs. the hunger of the poor. Cersei should be a chubbo [Erin: Yeah, that's a good point. Does he comment on Sansa having the equivalent of baby fat? And then slimming out?] I think so, yeah [Erin: I hope Sansa wins.<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">] me too</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">GRRM: "Stretch marks that could only have come from childbirth" -- NO YOU DUMMY stretch marks are from PREGNANCY! Another symptom of being too famous to be edited.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">30% - Not really buying young Griff as Rhaegar’s kid</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Benjen Stark isn't permanently lost ... He seems obviously key to some future plot point.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Mountain isn't dead because the skull is not definitive. People in this novel suffer from terrible genre blindness. If you don't see someone die AND BE BURNED in a character POV chapter, THEY ARE NOT DEAD. Don't believe it when you just get shipped the skull.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This book much better than the last one. Also cannibals are a totally good place to hide if you're Rickon.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">40% -- Tyrion is on his way to serve Dany and probably to save Meereen </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I refuse to let Jon be Azor Ahai. I quit this book if he is.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(GRRM describes Melisandre as breaking her fast - put a pin in this until slightly below.)</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Waaaaaaay too much Ramsey Bolton.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">So I assumed the horn that wakes the sleepers was magic to wake up dead warriors to fight for good, I guess because there's something like this in The Hobbit? It only just occurred to me now that it means literally that a horn is waking up sleeping warriors in the castles or whatever and that is supposed to be our first thought, and the magical meaning is supposed to be a surprise. So, prediction, some magic horn will wake "sleepers" (i.e., dead people) to fight for humanity against the Others.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Well Reek definitely rhymes with a lot of things. Reek, Reek, it rhymes with Martinique.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Apparently this is the book where random eligible heirs start popping up. They are all boring.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">68% -- Uh ... It took me until midway thru the escape to figure out Able was Mance. Doh. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hahahaha hello MOUNTAIN. This makes me think the Hound isn't dead for real either. They will have to face off. Symmetry!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">One of the problems with book 4 and 5 is the lack of plot line in individual books. Book 1 had a really strong individual plot line (Eddard's story) that carried the book through and also connected to the larger saga; that has faded over the series.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I love the Braavosi battlefield banker. I totally buy this. Bankers do anything to protect their investments. I love it.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Bored of slave Tyrion. We don't need a billion chapters to make the point.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">80% ... Interest flagging. Liked this book a lot better than the last one but let's ... finish ... up.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">GRRM says that<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Theon gets up from sleeping and "breaks his fast." He makes a point earlier about Melisandre getting up in the morning and<span style="font-family: inherit;"> the squire asks if she wants to "break her fast." <span style="font-family: inherit;">This is 100% petty and pedantic, so feel free to sk<span style="font-family: inherit;">ip ahead, but to me this is another sign of getting too big to be edited. The "fast" that is being broken in the word "breakfast" is the midnight-<span style="font-family: inherit;">until</span>-Mass fast that Catholics were obligated to observe unt<span style="font-family: inherit;">il <span style="font-family: inherit;">the Second Vatican Council<span style="font-family: inherit;">, because you can't mix Jesus in with regular food in your stomach acid. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Just sleeping overnight is NOT A FAST, and it is <span style="font-family: inherit;">sort-of weird and throws me out of the narrative when people in the book solicitously act like <span style="font-family: inherit;">not eating while sleeping was a m<span style="font-family: inherit;">assive hardship<span style="font-family: inherit;">. I know it's just a fake-medievali<span style="font-family: inherit;">sm meant to serve the mood of the story, but this is why editors are important.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">100% and Done -- This one was a sad book. And didn’t have enough plot. Poor Ser Kevan.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jon Snow is obviously not dead. Maybe wildlings save him?</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cersei won’t die at the trial. Margaery probably won’t, but I suppose maybe. Upon reflection, I am actually slightly so-so on this now ... I thought the trial would be in Book 5, but with it being pushed to Book 6, maybe Cersei will die, especially if it drags out through half the book. But, I will predict, Cersei survives the trial. Jamie has to kill her later on.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Not convinced Stannis is dead.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Varys, give up, there’s enough dead people. Varys stabbing people at the end is just depressing, things are unstable enough. Be better at your job and you won't have to stab quite so many people!</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I feel like GRRM has put off showing us magic or religion or The Others for too long. He's managed to foist off a really long historical fiction epic on SFF nerds as a fantasy epic by promising magic that never shows up!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Okay, so, Mirri Maz Dur -- Dany’s womb just quickened again when she PLOT-CENTRALLY MENSTRUATED (It was not actually clear to me in the story if she had been menstruating all along or just suddenly re-menstruated, but obviously it mattered to the story ... or maybe miscarried). Quentyn is the sun, who "rose" in Westeros and "set" in Essos. The great grass sea is growing dry for winter … mountains blow in the wind -- volcanic ash? Maybe a volcano erupts next book? Obviously Drogo is not coming back (BURNED IN POV CHARACTER CHAPTER!) so it must be some Drogo-lite or Drogo-junior or something.</span></span></div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-34921578021257648672014-09-13T14:55:00.001-07:002014-09-13T15:20:21.990-07:00A Feast for Crows, Part II (ASoIaF, Spoilers)<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Discussion after first part:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This Dorne shit is borrrrrrring. So far it could have all been rolled up in people at Kings Landing chatting about things. Yeah, we get it, the country is falling apart. Also, Westeros is not the size of South America. Just no. [Kathryn: No, He is bad at scale.] No pre-modern state can rule that much territory. It's like Britain or maybe double-Britain. [Yeah, maaaaaaybe China.] Yeah.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">ALSO apparently the messenger ravens fly BOTH WAYS. That is not how birds work. I keep having to remind myself to suspend my disbelief about that and decide the maesters have secret bird powers. [Clearly these are magic birds or something.] Yeah, that is why only the maesters can tend them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Okay, so, I agree with Jon Snow that Sam should by now have quit being craven. But also, it would be okay if maye like ONE OR TWO THINGS had happened in Sam's entire childhood that weren't horrible, terrifying, or abusive.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Also, virtually all of Westeros's problems are caused by child abuse.</span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Picking up at 30%:</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Okay Noho Dimittis, nice fakey Latin name. Nunc dimittis is "now you dismiss [your servant]" from Luke and used in many Masses; Noho Dimittis is probably he who can't be dismissed/gotten rid of.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-7c95da9b-70f7-9ac4-508c-09662286f40d" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh I totally forgot winter is coming until Jaime told the guy in the Riverlands to plant and hope for one last harvest. Should be more urgency, no?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Hahahha mad points ... Hanged, Ami. Your father was not a tapestry. That is one of my favorite useless language facts.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Also props for the Quiet Isle being Mont San Michel.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This book jumping around in time and perspectives is very confusing. I doubt the Onion Knight is dead.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh hello Gendry, tuning up at what I'm pretty sure is same inn where I declared Bob Newhart was the innkeeper, having a weird dream. It's odd how on a continent the size of South America everyone turns up in the same 3 places.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I could loosely buy Gendry as a love affair for Brienne but I still think she's Jaime's arc.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">76% argh I'm so bored I have to go read something else [Read half of the last of the Call the Midwife books and, dude, I am still totally clenched up, it is harder core than anything in these books!]</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I'm kind-of ready to be done with GoT, or at least this book which is getting EXCRUCIATING. NOBODY IS DOING ANYTHING. EVERYONE IS JUST TALKING [Kathryn: This one is by far and away the weakest of the five] It has been going on so long that I <i>am starting to forget that I like to read</i>. I took a break to go more Call the Midwife and I was like OH RIGHT THIS IS WHAT INTERESTING IS LIKE. And every time ANYTHING happens he immediately ends the chapter and cuts away to another talking part</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">THIS BOOK IS NEVER GOING TO END AND NOTHING IS EVER GOING TO HAPPEN!</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oh, hi, Mya Stone is apparently one of Robert's bastards hanging out with Sansa, BAM PREDICTION ... she is the oldest one, right?</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-7c95da9b-70fb-fafd-eb18-44fbb5046708" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Brienne is not dead and neither is Pod. This ENTIRE SUBPLOT is achingly pointless if they are and I will go buy this volume in paperback (instead of e-book) specifically to throw it across the room if I just read all of that looooooooong subplot to no good end.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jaime and Cersei will leave the world together but not at the trial by combat. Margaery won't die yet either.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No man will take Riverrun from Emmon ... So a woman will</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Arya will lose herself to the faceless whatsits but Nymeria will recall her to herself </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Back to the geography problem: Dorne is dry and hot and somewhere down near the equator, and yet obviously Cornwell, so he mentions in passing that Dornish yew bows are second only to goldenwood but I don't think yews near the equator make for good longbows, I think the cold and wet slow growing conditions do it.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Seriously nothing happened in this whole entire book, the next one had better be better. Like there was no plot arc and hardly anything from the characters we started with.</span></span></div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-90205232400670970432014-09-08T06:40:00.003-07:002014-09-08T06:49:26.771-07:00A Feast for Crows Part I (Spoilers, ASoIaF)<span style="font-family: inherit;">I had to look up the title of this book again; this is my major problem with reading on the Kindle, I can never remember the damn titles of what I'm reading.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But I predict there will be many crows in this book, both Night Watch ones and real ones!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let's get to it:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Isn't Aeron a kind of a chair or an Intel chip or something?<span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> -- I really don't feel like the Iron Islands have a viable economy. -- All these religions are pretty clear that the dead don't stay dead. So, probably lots more dead people who aren't dead.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">GRRM has a big vocabulary. I don't usually look up words this often.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I'm not thrilled with this Dorne chapter ... Too much early worldbuilding. I want to get back to the story, GRRM wants to give me ALL THE INTERESTING DETAILS of ALL THE DISTINCT CULTURES he has created. As a normal thing I'd probably like this because I like worldbuilding, but it's getting hard to keep track of all this stuff and it just feels a bit oppressive to have to decode an entire new culture AGAIN.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I keep reminding myself, I just have to stick it out through first 50% for it to start picking up. First 50% is self-indulgent world-building, second 50% is galloping plot. Sort-of like The Brothers Karamazov! Same length, even!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">OMG this Brienne chapter is ennnndless and repetitive. Do you suppose she’s looking for a girl of three-and-ten with auburn hair and blue eyes? Also, I’ve gathered from a few tiny hints in the text that she’s abnormally tall and horse-faced, and self-conscious about it. (Is this where he started getting too famous to be edited?)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I finally looked at a map because I was so confused, and I had the Eyrie and King’s Landing both on the wrong side of the continent, along with Harrenhal. And I thought Casterly Rock was somewhere in the middle. I also had literally no idea where Highgarden was. I didn’t think next to Dorne. Man, now my brain has that twisted feeling. The map said that Westeros was "about the size of South America," which -- no. Just no.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Arya reciting her list again. Bet she gets to kill Cersei.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Predictions are getting harder with all these minor characters that I forget who they are ... They might be important but I can't recall prior mentions. Like who the hell is Lancel? (Or rather, what the hell happened to him?)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Brienne's new arms must have belonged to someone significant </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Was the Hound definitively dead? Well, I guess no one in this book is really DEFINITIVELY dead. But I refuse to believe the Hound is dead until someone burns his body or his corpse rots in full view in King's Landing.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I'd crew Asha's ship. (Not in the dirty way.)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">OMG there are ten million new POV characters. Okay maybe three. But still!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Arianne is a damn liar. That's like not even a prediction, that's just a fact. Nobody loves you, Arys Oakheart, and you are a major illustration of the fact that God only put enough blood in a man's body for one head to work at a time.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">These plots all feel really disconnected from the first set of plots. Like I've started on an entirely different series, almost, such as when an author writes a trilogy, then goes back later and writes more books during the same time but from minor characters' points of view (*coughAnneMcCaffreycough*). I've sort-of forgotten why we care who wins the Game of Thrones as long as it's Not Cersei. Is this book the one where he starts wandering off and indulging his love for extreme detail at the expense of central plot?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Awwww, Podrick Payne is back! I hope he's a cutie patootie on the show because he's a cutie patootie in my head.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Prediction: Tyrion turns up in the east with Dany. He's been missing for A LOT OF PAGES, and I still think Varys (and his nominal y) is playing a long game for the Targaryen.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Wow Cersei is bad at queening. This is a little heavy handed.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ohhhh they're settling the Golden Companions on The Gift. (I guess this is a prediction because they haven't outright said so yet? But really it's just the reader having a few pieces of information from several widely-spaced chapters -- Stannis wants to resettle The Gift, and the Golden Companions have taken ship north, and the Golden Companions lost their homeland or something a long time ago -- that the people in the book don't have all of yet.)</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Is Jaime going to be making kings later? Speaking of Jaime, he and Cersei missed a prime chance for corpse-adjacent sex. I guess it's really over!</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Damphair is a dumb name. GRRM has a way with names but Damphair is dumb.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>(30% ... just finished the Brienne chapter where she kills Shagwell, et al, and gets set on the trail of Arya instead of Sansa)</i></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>(I also <span style="font-family: inherit;">wasn't texting my predictions to my nerd interlocutors during this one bec<span style="font-family: inherit;">ause I was mostly reading it late at night while up with a sick child and I didn't want to wake anyone else with an ill-timed text!)</span></span> </i></span></span></div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-70132839196696376162014-09-01T15:00:00.003-07:002014-09-01T15:00:56.253-07:00Took a Break, Coming BackI took a non-fiction break to clear out my brain* and I am ready to start diving back into Game of Thrones again. I will be starting the next book tonight!<br />
<br />
*<a href="http://amzn.to/1oyKvrK" target="_blank">1491</a>: Definitely read, so interesting<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/1lEXXQ0" target="_blank">Call the Midwife</a>: Stories familiar from TV series but with more socio-economic and political background given, interesting and worthwhile<br />
<a href="http://amzn.to/1pjNqEK" target="_blank">The Secret House</a>: The Extraordinary Science of an Ordinary Day: kinda dated, writing style annoying<br />
<br />Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-66639815144258651402014-08-19T19:45:00.003-07:002014-08-20T05:32:57.284-07:00Storm of Swords: Second Half (spoilers! ASoIaF)<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;">
<b>50% and
further – sorry I got sucked in and I didn't keep good logs</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Dany, hero-worship your brother less,
he sucked. Also Jorah is getting more traitor-like all the time. Also
that is a lot of slaves to free.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The predictions from the old lady are
creepy. Beric talking about how fire consumes makes Melisandre's
theology not so winning. And her Creepy Jesus theology is creepy.
Jenny Oldstones might be the old lady's daughter or friend or even herself?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Bran + Meera = TWOO WUV, but srsly how
old are these people? I am very unclear whether this is puppy love or
true adult love.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Brienne as Jaime's salvation is sweet!
She is the knight he couldn't be, who keeps her vows and is motivated
by the proper things. And doesn't have ill-considered sexual relationships with siblings. Or sex with anyone, apparently.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jeyne chasing Robb out seems obviously
about Jeyne wanting to do evil to him, like she needs to be there to help with the Freys' scheming, not her wanting to be with
him. I think she's in on whatever is coming.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Catelyn needs to get over Jon Snow being a bastard. It's been 16 years and approximately 30% of the
population of Westeros are bastards (given the frequency it comes up in the text!). She is too mature and too smart
to blame a baby for who its parents were or weren't. Also I think
she's too smart not to pick up on the fact that Ned is NOT REALLY THE
FATHER.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
You know what wouldn't grow in a land
of multi-year summers? Fucking apples. Apples require 1000-1500 hours of
“chilling,” which is temperatures below freezing in winter to
bloom in spring. They simply wouldn't set blooms in a years-long
summer. And you know what would happen in a premodern society without
modern food preservation techniques with a years-long winter? Everyone would
die of fucking scurvy. [Kathryn: They never really describe how they
make it through winter.] GRRM says, Eat your vegetables or you'll
turn into a wight.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hound: “Maybe we'll be in time for
your uncle's bloody wedding.” OH YOU THINK IT'LL BE BLOODY,
CHAPTER-ENDING SENTENCE? This is the second time GRRM has ended a
chapter with (off-the-cuff) predictions about Edmure's wedding ending
horribly. This wedding is going to end in death, death, death. (Maybe
I'm good at predicting things because like 90% of my communication is
sarcasm.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well that was horrifying. [Kathryn:
That's what they call the Red Wedding.] Goodness.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The first Westerosi lord to forbid
their army from drinking on duty will win the Game of Thrones, just
saying.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Wait, how did Balon Greyjoy die? Ugh,
it is hard to keep track.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hero reborn in the sea – like Davos?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
996 Lord Commanders of the Wall
properly recorded but they can't manage to keep track of how to kill
wights? “Obsidian knives” was too tricky?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well now that Ygritte is separated from
Jon she's gonna fucking die.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
GAAAAAH don't wave at eagles; if this
series has taught us one thing, it's not to wave at eagles.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
In Bran's story Walder Frey is cursed
for slaying a guest … the Night King must figure somehow.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Benjen is not wholly dead. I don't
think he's ColdHands, who is older than Benjen, but maybe he is
similar? I'm not sure who or what ColdHands is, but then I guess we don't know a whole lot about the magic beyond the Wall yet.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
OH BAM the black door gives me chills.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ugh way to have incestuous sex on the
altar near your dead child, Jaime and Cersei, so creepy.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sansa needs to stop using the word
“tummy” in her internal monologue as she is NOT FOUR.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This wedding chalice is Bad News.
[Kathryn: What makes you say that?] Tyrion says Joffrey can drown in
it; Sansa hopes he gets drunk and breaks his neck. There's also a
sword and a dagger and one other weapon, but the chalice gets like
five paragraphs and has all seven houses on it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ohhhh, I did not get that Joff killed
Bran. [He really is a loathesome little shit.] I feel like they are
spending a lot of time going over everyone who might want Joffrey
dead. But there was just a wedding slaughter like two chapters ago.
[Kathryn: Everyone airs grievances at weddings don't they?] No,
you're thinking of Festivus. [Kathryn: My bad.]</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ohhhhhhh Sir Loras is gay, for Renly
apparently; things make more sense now.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Lysa. Dude. Turn off your baby clock.
Have a little self respect.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Boy, Tyrion seems awfully sulky about a
14-year-old girl whose family was slaughtered by his not being in
love with him. [Kathryn: I mean kudos for not raping her but that
really only gets you so far.] Right. Sansa either plotted with
Margaery or is fleeing in the night or both. When the hell did Tommen
get here? [Why do you say that about Sansa?] Margaery's no innocent
and that Queen of Thorns is both hilarious and totally lacking in
scruples. I suppose it might be a Dornishman who was on the inside
but I think Margaery has to be in on it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Cersei's accusation that Tyrion wanted
to be king seems over-the-top, but this is an exciting battle with
The Mountain. I keep confusing the first names of the Mountain and
the Hound, but that does not actually seem to matter a lot to the
narrative.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm sort-of nervous that Missandei will
betray Dany. Also that Barristan won't tell her secrets she needs to
know until it's too late.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
SO CONVENIENT THAT THEY HAVE MEDIEVAL
PENICILLIN.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Man, apparently this is the book where
violent young women fail to kill men who need killin' (Dany, Arya;
Jorah, the Hound).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Harsh for Dontos but he was creepy. So
creepy.<br />
<br />
Dany should have had Ser Jorah's head cut off; this will come
back to bite her in the ass.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I predict Jaime will eventually go to
the Wall (to fight, not take the Black).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tywin does not have so many sons he
should be disowning them at this rate.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
OH LOOK JON IS WISHING FOR A DRAGON OR
THREE TO DEFEND THE WALL. Maybe he eventually joins up with Dany so they can defeat the Others, in a veritable song of ice and fire!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jon won't accept Winterfell from
Stannis.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh Shae you stupid bitch.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Melisandre should be less obviously
creepy; people would find her less off-putting and maybe she could
make more conversion progress. Her evangelism is less successful than it could be because she gives most people the creeps.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
DID NOT EXPECT DEAD TYWIN. [Kathryn: I
KNOW RIGHT? But you kind-of did. You said Tyrion would bet against
his family and kill them.] Oh, that's right I did!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Whoa, Lady Lysa … bitches be crazy.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
WHOA ALL THE TULLY BITCHES BE CRAZY.
ZOMBIE CATELYN ROCKS.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I have many important questions about
zombies. Zombies north of the wall just seem to be randomly
resurrected but zombies related to R'hellor require a priest and then
just, like, get up, regardless of deathiness. My current theory is that dead bodies north of the area that wights control get up regardless as long as their bodies aren't burned; zombies otherwise require someone to raise them specifically. I do not know who raised Catelyn, or if she was raised by the automatic encroaching magic creeping south of the Wall.<br />
<br />
I am surprisingly glad that Lady Lysa got shoved out her moon door because she was a uniquely horrible person for such a minor character. Selfish, preening, detached from reality, at least a little mad, and a rotten mother. So much of this story is about mothers and mothering. The characters spend all their time talking about fathers and bastardy, but the story much more often hinges on mothers and mothering. Interesting. </div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-28433121089518940922014-08-15T17:04:00.001-07:002014-08-15T17:05:36.802-07:00ASoIaF: Google Has Its Priorities Straight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1D0COoyt-EQ/U-6f1YMsPgI/AAAAAAAADL8/hCToqSZEIng/s1600/who%2Bkilled%2Bj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1D0COoyt-EQ/U-6f1YMsPgI/AAAAAAAADL8/hCToqSZEIng/s1600/who%2Bkilled%2Bj.jpg" height="182" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Google "Who killed J" and this is what Google suggests.Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-80875173998020130082014-08-10T22:02:00.003-07:002014-08-10T22:02:46.492-07:00Storm of Swords: First Half (ASoIaF predictions; Spoilers!)
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always; text-align: center;">
<b>Book 3</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Suspect Catelyn kills Jaime because she
threatens she will have his blood if he doesn't keep his oaths. He
won't keep them, she will kill him. But only after something really
terrible happens like all her arms get cut off or she thinks all her
children are dead, but obviously they're not; Arya, Sansa, and Bran
clearly have long story arcs ahead. But SOMEHOW disaster has to make
her magic so she can kill people. (Also she keeps having like
quasi-magical portents and visions.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Surprised Robb and Joffrey survived
book II.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I hope Brienne gets to kill a lot of
people who annoy me. No one in particular, just characters who annoy
me.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>10%</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Neither Tyrion nor Jaime tried to kill
Bran; was it Varys?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Someone is getting their nose chopped
off at a wedding, since Tyrion made a point that one is more likely
to get one's nose chopped off in battle than at a wedding.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Davos turns on Stannis.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Rhaegar obviously found a prophecy when
he went to become a warrior.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ugh, way rapey, Ser Jorah. You're one
of the three betrayers of Dany obvs. Ugh, ugh, ugh, so creepy.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>20%</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jon's wolf that never makes noise will
later howl at a moment of great importance.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Catelyn talks about how she HAD five
children and now has three, which makes me think maybe three of them
survive the series – I predict Robb and Rickon as the dead ones.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Illyrio is funding Stannis, apparently?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh Robb. Oh Robb. Such bad life
decisions. GRRM did a nice job setting up Robb's failure to follow
through on the marriage contract. He made it both inevitable and
totally understandable that a 16-year-old would make such a dumb
mistake.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Cersei is only buying Sansa a new dress
to try to whore her out to someone. I mean maritally, not literal
whoring.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
OH LOOK IT'S MY ZOMBIE ARMY! That was
quicker than I thought.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I think Tyrion is being set up to take
the fall for Littlefingers' shady accounting.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
OH BAM SANSA AND TYRION WHAT DID I TELL
YOU? But I'm a little confused as to whether Cersei was in on it with
Tywin or whether Cersei had a different plan.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Is Jeyne working for Tywin? Robb's
honorable like his father, Jeyne will sleep her way to power like her
mother? But maybe not by seducing a king but sleeping with him to
betray him.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>25%</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The dreaming hag – shadow with a
burning heart butchering a golden stag is Stannis killing Renly. Man
without a face on a bridge, with a drowned crow … don't know. Woman
that was a fish, dead crying red tears – I think that's Catelyn,
crying for her dead children, and she's dead too … and then she
opens her eyes … ZOMBIE CATELYN? I just KNOW Catelyn is magic.
Maybe she is a magic zombie.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
OMG DOES ZOMBIE CATELYN KILL JAIME?
THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Okay I am totally more into this series
now and getting wrapped up in it but when I stop to think about it
these plots are stalling out a bit and it's very Harry Potter and the
Neverending Camping Trip. Lots of following people
kidnapping/hostaging other people as they wander around. That's kinda
dull.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
If there's going to be zombie Catelyn I
wonder if there will be zombie Robb. But probably zombies can't be
king, and also then what would zombie Catelyn be mad about?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>30%</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
You know nothing, Jon Snow. Nothing
except how to pleasure a woman. Me, I just know how to say this one
sentence over and over and over. Why? If you don't already know I'm
not telling you, because you know nothing, Jon Snow.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Well Dany's obviously not going to sell
a dragon. Also “Missandei” is uncomfortably similar to
“Melisandre” in print, I keep misreading.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This section with Daenerys talking to
Ser Jorah about what a king is for and how Viserys should have
protected her is almost unbearably clunky and nonsensical. Dany's
passion for justice has been worked into the narrative and didn't
need to be called out for extra explication like that.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hahahahaha, that was pretty sweet,
Daenerys 4 Lyfe. (Although that did not sound like a very realistic
description of a dude getting his head set on fire. Like, probably
you couldn't watch the individual eyeballs melt before the whole face
just melted.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Where does the food for all these
Unsullied come from? I have concerns about supply chains in these
novels.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Knight of the Laughing Tree</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Meera and Jojen wouldn't be all
“Haven't you heard this story a million times?” if it weren't
about Eddard himself and their father.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Four wolves – Eddard (quiet wolf),
his dead older brother (wild?), Lyanna, and his younger brother (the
pup – Benjen, right?). Which makes it Jojen and Meera's father
(Howland, I think) who is the crannogman who is the protagonist of
the story. And the dragon prince is Rhaegar, and maybe this is the
first time Lyanna and Rhaegar meet? That's probably the major purpose
of the story here, to put Rhaegar and Lyanna in one place, and give a
reason the Reeds are so loyal to the Starks.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Who is in the armor? Short, booming
voice, mismatched pieces, talented enough to beat knights. Probably
not the older brother Stark. Could be young Robert. Could be Howland
himself. Could be Lyanna? Could be Rhaegar if Rhaegar is short. I
think Benjen is probably too young.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>47%</b><br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Melisandre's theology is going to run
into some serious problems when she meets Dany and Dany's whole
fire/light powers.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Why do fantasy novels always have such
long, long timelines? Ghiscar is 5,000 years old, Dorne is 3,000
years old. If this is timeline 1200-ish, 3,000 years before would be
2000 BCE and 5000 years would be 4000 BCE and basically humanity had
just discovered pottery, plows, and horse domestication. It's not
exactly a complaint, it's just a weird thing common to fantasy epics.
Thousands upon thousands of years and nobody discovers anything.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Okay, Stannis is TOTALLY NOT CREEPY
JESUS. Melisandre either just picked him because he's convenient and has a claim to the Westeros throne, or else she's super-bad at identifying Creepy Jesus (Azor Ahai).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Suspect Gendel's tunnels will come back
later on.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Beric Dondarrion is way more magic than
Stannis – okay now I'm farther along and he's been resurrected like 8 times, he is TOTALLY
more Creepy Jesus-y than Stannis.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Robb thinks about how Rollam and Ser
Reynald stand in the places of his brothers (Bran and Jon Snow),
which makes me think both of them will die since he thinks his
brothers (Bran and Rickon) are dead. The chapter ends with Edmure
reluctantly agreeing to the wedding (literally the last line) so
obviously this wedding is going to shit. People don't do things in the last line of chapters in this series unless it's about to go REALLY IRONICALLY BADLY.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Dornish/Cornish whatever don't be
afraid to put a lampshade on it GRRM.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oh man suddenly there is a lot of
exposition and it's getting dull. Jaime's being sent here and there
for Reasons explained at length. Tyrion is thinking Thoughts about
Oberyn. Arya is off this way and that way with many different
outlaws. Shifting gears, I guess, as some plot lines begin to run
down and others have to get started. I've lost track of which group
of miscreants is running around with Ary, but it probably doesn't
matter as so far nobody has expressed any interest in return her to
Catelyn.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
UGH WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CHARACTERS
THIS IS LIKE WAR AND PEACE. SIMILAR QUANTITIES OF WINTER, EVEN. If "Gapoleon" invades I quit. SRS.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<i>(47% of the way through Storm of Swords)</i></div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-78718446407142682872014-08-05T17:41:00.003-07:002014-08-05T17:43:31.601-07:00ASoIaF: Dany & the Undying and Bael the Bard (Spoilers)I've been back and forth several times about how to do this, since making predictions based on foreshadowing given to the reader in a novel is a totally different task than making predictions based on prophecies and visions given to the characters within the novel. There's too much stuff in here to ignore, but it's hard to tell which of it is for US to take seriously and which is for DANY to take seriously. Anyway, here goes:<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always; text-align: center;">
<b>Dany in the
House of the Undying</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(Which I keep typing as undrying)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Naked woman with tiny rat-men:</i> Just
gross, GRRM</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Feast of corpses. A dead man on a
throne with the head of a wolf, wearing an iron crown. </i>This is a
Stark (wolf head), probably Robb (iron crown = King in the North),
who is struck dead at the moment of his triumph (the feast). Sounds
like a lot of other people get to die too.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Dead dragons, iron throne, old man with
silver hair, “Let him be king over charred bones and cooked meat.
Let him be the king of ashes.”</i> Probably Mad King Areys? It's a
Targaryen, but the dragons are dead, and he seems to have just lost
the war, so probably him.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>A Targaryen, taller than Viserys, dark
blue eyes, who plays a lap harp; a woman with a newborn baby, naming
him “Aegon” to be a king. “He is the prince that was promised,
and his is the song of ice and fire.”</i> – BOO YA, Jon Snow, aka
Aegon, son of Rhaegar and Lyanna, you have the ice of the wall AND
the fire of dragons, cool song, bro.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
(Continuing): “There must be one
more. The dragon has three heads.” – Daenerys, Jon/Aegon, and …?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I think GRRM doesn't give us a physical
description of the nursing woman here because it would make it too
obvious she was a Stark rather than whoever Rhaegar was supposed to
be married to.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Pyat Pree trying to lure her
off-course, warlocks in splendor:</i> Rather obvious to the reader,
really, but Dany sees through lies</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Child of three:</i> Irregular parentage is
a theme – mother, father, and someone who saved her? Mother,
father, and dragons?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Three fires:</i> Life, death, love – my
initial thought was the funeral pyre that births the dragons, the
fire that melts the gold that kills Viserys, and something to come.
But then the House of the Undying burns down shortly after, so maybe
THAT is the deathfire. And then the funeral pyre is life (dragons),
death (Drogo), AND love … so I withdraw all current predictions
about the three fires and award GRRM a “Sneaky prophecy, sir!”</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Three mounts:</i> bed, dread, love –
probably men: Khal Drogo, Viserys, and someone else that I think
we're supposed to think will be Ser Jorah but probably isn't. But
possibly the mounts could be both men AND animals like horses and
dragons.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Three treasons:</i> blood, gold, love –
blood is either Mirri or her brother, I'd think. I don't think we've
seen gold or love yet. Strongly suspect Ser Jorah of being the one for love.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Dying man in the water with rubies:</i>
Rhaegar</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Blue-eyed king who cast no shadow:</i>
Stannis and his creepy religion with no shadows</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Cloth dragon: </i>a false Targaryen? A
failed one?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Mother of dragons, slayer of lies:</i>
Daenerys will somehow reveal a lot of these falsehoods. Stannis and
the “Cloth Dragon” are both false in some way.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Silver horse to a darkling stream</i>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Corpse in the prow of a ship</i> – Dunno,
but that doesn't sound like it's going to work out for you, dead dude (greyjoy? grey lips smiling? too obvious a pun?)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Blue rose in a wall of ice</i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>“Bride of Death”</i> – since these
things come in three, are all three of these husbands of Daenerys who
die? Khal Drogo (silver horse), maybe a Greyjoy (grey lips smiling)
on a ship, and Jon Snow (blue rose = Lyanna) The blue rose is
referenced several times in quick succession as being a flower that
only grows in the North/Winterfell. It grows from a “chink in the
wall of ice” so she's from the North, and maybe foreshadows the
coming supernatural onslaught from the North? (a crack in the armor) One of my first
suspicions/predictions was that Jon would marry Daenerys to unite the kingdom so
that would sort-of please me except for all the endeadenating of Jon.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Mother of dragons, bride of fire:</i>
Lyanna? Or Danerys? Literal dragons or Targaryen dragons? Lyanna
would be the mother of a Targaryen dragon and the bride of southern
(Targaryen) fire, making Aegon/Jon the prince with the song of ice
and fire. But perhaps it's Danerys, the mother of dragons (literal)
and bride of fire (different metaphor).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Little girl/red door and following:</i>
Daenerys's free city childhood, time with the Dothraki, etc. But the
white lion could have something to do with the Lannisters. Always be
suspicious of animal symbols.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i>Ten thousand slaves calling “Mother!”</i>
– Daenerys frees some slaves, I guess. Good place to get an army.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b>Ygritte tells Jon Bael the Bard</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ygritte tells the story to make the
point that the Starks are half-wildling.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Other notes from the story's resonances with the present:</div>
<ul>
<li>One of the 8 billion Lords Bran –
Bran will become (at least technically) Lord Stark because Robb will
die</li>
<li>
The crypt is a stronghold of true
Starks; a truer stronghold than Winterfell itself – search that
fucker when you're the boss of Winterfell</li>
<li>
The blue winter rose stands for Starks,
especially Stark women. In Daenerys's visions, it is Lyanna.</li>
<li>
Bastards can be Lords in Winterfell,
and leaders.</li>
<li>
Irregular family relations only end in
tragedy.</li>
<li>
When Jon lets Ygritte go, he will
probably later join the wildlings, as he seems to be implicitly
accepting her point that Starks are half-wildling.</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This is the first time Jon questions
his parentage w/r/t his FATHER. WAY TO GET THE MEMO GENIUS.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
There's been a lot in this book about
the Wall dividing humans north and south of it, how often those
humans intermingle and how the Wall is an artificial divider <i>among
men</i>. The Starks are the key to the Wall, and I think another
point here is that they in some fashion bestride the Wall, the realms
of mundane and magic, wildling and civilization, etc. Winterfell is a
very liminal place generally in GoT so far, a nation within a nation,
wilder than the South but more civilized than the North, owing
allegiance to men and things other than men (the Wall), worshiping
different Gods, and so on.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
My very theological self wants to say
that the fact that Bael takes the kingsroad to Winterfell shows how
the structures of civilization itself allow the incursion of
wildness, but probably I'm getting overexcited here.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-32318890974888320582014-08-03T08:16:00.004-07:002014-08-03T08:17:30.246-07:00ASoIaF: An Aside about Women (Spoilers)<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b>An Aside about Women</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
It's impossible to read Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire as a
female reader and not have Opinions on this topic. My opinions so far
are mixed.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a> <br /><br />
I commented <a href="http://www.metafilter.com/140275/a-critical-mass-of-people-suddenly-noticed-just-how-rapey-this-show-is#5606987" target="_blank">on metafilter</a>:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<blockquote>
I'm reading GoT right now and one thing I have noticed, so far, is that
the overdescribing of (non-consensual) sex tends to be like "and
oooooooh it felt so good, sexy characteristics, etc." while the
overdescribing of stabbings is like "and his overdescribed ropey guts
fell on the muddy ground" and not like "Lord Stabbington felt SOOOOOOO
GOOD as his dagger pierced the other guy's guts and gently probed around
his insides."<br />
<br />
The books have actually so far struck me as somewhat <i>less</i>
sexist than I thought they might be, but they are definitely interested
in the titillating nature of sexual assaults, while deaths are treated
with more horror. The non-consensual sex scenes are frequently described
in lushly sensual ways (that is, appealing to the senses), while the
murder scenes are frequently described in stark terms that lay bare its
horror.<br />
<br />
Also, when Catelyn Stark first describes her sister she remembers her as
a "slim, high-breasted girl" and no grown woman thinks about her sister
in those terms. I mean srsly. I laughed out loud. Everybody in this
book spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about boobs.<br />
<br />
Also, all these men are deeply embedded in profoundly intertwined
networks of relationships, but the women are just adjunct to the web of
men and their relationships are defined through the men. Which is all
fine and fair in terms of medieval public life, but where the hell is
the women's web that runs through private life? Where are Catelyn's
serving women? Where are the loyal laundresses? Where is the web of
interconnecting women's palace gossip and betrayal and support? It's
seriously like he left half the story out. I keep wondering, why does
Westeros have such a monstrously unbalanced birth rate that there are
like six men for every woman? I have generally found when he writes an
individual woman she is interesting and relatively 3-dimensional (with
occasional clunkers and howlers, but that's fine, characters are hard),
but <i>women as a group</i> are largely ignored by the text, and absent from the world in a way that feel strange to me.</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I think that's where my current, ambivalent stand remains: Women as a
group are treated in sexist and dismissive and lazy trope and
non-Bechtel ways; Individual female characters are often interesting,
strong, and three-dimensional. So on the one hand when I read these
books, I get annoyed at the sexual objectification of women and their
diminution in the narrative. On the other hand, there are strong,
admirable, complex female characters that women do not get to see a lot
of in fantasy fiction. For example, fantasy fiction rarely includes
interesting mothers. That's partly because fantasy fiction is
archetypically about a quest, and mythic quest narratives very
frequently involve a young man going forth to seek his fortune and
become an adult and make himself worthy of love. There are now lots of
female analogues to these quest narratives (Tamora Pierce, represent!)
that are about young women coming of age, and those are wonderful. I
love <span class="st">bildungsromans</span>. But now that I'm a mother
of two young children, I notice how rarely women are foregrounded in
fantasy once they're mothers. Ned Stark as a father is not a new sort of
character; men with children who go off adventuring in service of
honor, country, and children are common to fantasy fiction. But Catelyn
Stark? She's new.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
One of the things I discovered when I had children is that motherhood makes you <i>fucking fierce</i>.
I was a brave and headstrong teenager, but that was nothing -- nothing
-- compared to how fiercely courageous having children made me. You
discover you can do all kinds of things that didn't seem possible
before, from the mundane (exercising) to the somewhat mind-boggling
(running for office). Catelyn Stark and Cersei Lannister are <i>fucking fierce</i>,
and they seem like they are the women they were before (Catelyn devoted
to family, Cersei ambitious), become fierce and amplified in service of
their children. Young Catelyn didn't ride to war with her husband; Mom
Catelyn is at her son's side and serving as an emissary and kicking ass
and taking names. (And, I predict, will eventually become supernatural
to kick more asses on behalf of her children.) We don't know a lot about
young Cersei (yet?), but we know she will do anything -- anything -- on
behalf of her children. She isn't always right about what's best for
them. She's a pretty terrible mother. But she will destroy entire
kingdoms for them if she has to.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
GRRM's women in general seem a bit Madonna/whore-ish, as is so often the
case in fantasy fiction, but the women he foregrounds are interesting
and complex enough for me to want to keep reading, and he creates women
that we haven't seen very often before in the genre. I think there's a
lot to talk about in terms of the problems with how he writes women,
largely because these are problems that are endemic in the genre (and in
a lot of other literature, and other narrative art) and that helps to
silence women's voices and to diminish and marginalize women's stories
and experiences and lives. Novels that ignore or get wrong half of
humanity are much the poorer for it, and readers -- men and women alike
-- are poorer for it too. Female readers are usually aware of this
marginalization but used to reading around it; male readers (and
writers) too often don't even notice it. It's important to notice it,
and talk about it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
That said, I like Arya and Sansa and Danerys and Catelyn and Cersei as
characters (not necessarily as people!). They are rounded and grounded,
have internal motivations and personalities that are <i>theirs</i>, not entirely dependent upon the men around them. And, oh, there are mighty women in this world, and I like it.<br />
<br />
<i>(I will return to this post and update as I get further into the novels if I have further thoughts. This was written after I read GoT and CoK.) </i></div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-42470218966921092782014-08-03T08:14:00.003-07:002014-08-03T08:14:34.106-07:00ASoIaF: An Aside about Typology (Probably Spoilers)<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b>An Aside about Typology</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Following on a comment from a friend about how I am observant in interpreting
the myths and songs as about the current story:</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yeah, Ygritte's storytelling was clearly
just about setting up "types" for the current generation to
fulfill. [explain.] There is this whole genre of bible study,
"typology." It's all about interpreting Old Testament
stories and prophecies as prefiguring Christ. [Various examples given,
use your Googles. Isaac overthrowing the older brother Ishmael is a
"type" for Christ overthrowing the Old Covenant. It's relatively
out-of-fashion these days, partly because it lacks deep engagement with
what the texts actually say in favor of forced parallels to a particular
theology, but it's profoundly influential on Christian theology and
Biblical interpretation as a whole, even when you'd rather ignore it.]</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Anyway, whenever people in fantasy books
tell old stories and legends it is almost always for the sole purpose
of doing typology (or giving an unfulfilled prophecy for someone to
fulfill). See, for example, all the prefaces in
The Belgariad. Tolkein and CS Lewis were both
SUPER-typological in their understanding of the Gospels, and they
both wrote fantasy epics with the Gospels in mind. Both of them used
past history in
their epics to prefigure the heroism of the hero. Presumably that's how
fantasy turns
typology into such a trope, above and beyond the part where you
don't tell past stories unless they're relevant to your present
novel. Someone should pull a thesis or two out of this: Do the
typological tendencies of SFF enter the genre primarily via imitation of
Tolkein and Lewis, or are there other vectors? Is SFF in other
western languages as fully typological as in English?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Discuss. </div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-31340500247630654482014-08-03T08:10:00.003-07:002014-08-03T09:40:34.339-07:00A Clash of Kings: Predictions (Spoilers!)<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: left;">
More direct commentary this time as I get more involved with the characters!<b> </b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: center;">
<b>A Clash of Kings</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Predictions:</b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
As a general thing, I expect a plague.
Maybe not in this volume but they've mentioned illnesses a couple of
times in passing in a way that seems important, and GRRM seems to be
building towards maximum chaos before introducing the supernatural
winter threats.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I have a mental block on the title of this book and have to look it up every time.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>Prologue:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This strangler potion is basically a
margarita (sugar water, lime, wine, and spices).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am disappointed that the main redhead
(Melisandre) is apparently an evil religious fundamentalist. I always
take these things personally. Her hair is even the same shade of red
as mine, apparently.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>15%:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sansa thinking extensively about how
ugly Tyrion is every time he turns up = eventual true love. Or at
least sex. Sansa will learn further important Life Lessons about how
pretty people aren't good and ugly people aren't evil, as Sansa
appears to be all about learning how Appearances Aren't Reality.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Varys is playing some long game for the
Targaryn. Giveaway is the Y in his name. Also I assume his penis was
cut off in Essos.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Willingness to kill children appears to
be the other major marker of someone's essential alignment towards
good or evil (along with seeking consent for sex) … so Tyrion &
Ned = good. Cersei, Robert, Joffrey = evil.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Yoren is surprisingly good at his job
for someone who doesn't bathe. Arya is starting to admire him;
therefore, I expect he will die by the end of the book.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am bored of half these POV
characters.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Melisandre is probably sleeping with
someone. Maybe multiple people. I dunno why I think that, she just
has too much power for no reason, I guess.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>25%</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Since Jon has taken a vow of chastity
and Danerys is allegedly (ALLEGEDLY) infertile, my money is on
super-virgin Sansa as the compromise queen who can unite the factions
AND have children to continue the line.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Littlefinger survives at least five
books.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ever so slight sympathy for Theon
Greyjoy, who is obviously still terrible, so that sympathy probably
evaporates by the end of the book.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Stannis, as he is grim, humourless, and
dutiful, will die, but probably not for a while yet. Renly I cannot
really remember anything about except that he is not-Stannis, so I
have no opinion on his survival.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Robert's bastard whose name I forget,
who's running around with Arya, had the scene with the fire glowing
on his helm, which seems to prefigure he'll become a heroic knight.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
POVs I'm bored of:</div>
<ul>
<li>Catelyn: Look, Robb's gonna die and
you're not getting your daughters back. Get over it already.</li>
<li>Bran: Needs more Hodor</li>
<li>Davos: Why do I even care who you are?</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
POV's I am still interested in:</div>
<ul>
<li>Daenerys: You're on a whole different
continent but at least you're doing interesting stuff</li>
<li>
Sansa & Arya: You're both treading
water a bit and having terrible things happen to you, but at least
it's not all battle scenes</li>
<li>
Theon: You seduce me with your
worldbuilding novelty, but I suspect you will become boring fast</li>
<li>
Tyrion: Political maneuvering is better
than endless battle scenes</li>
</ul>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Hodor eventually dies protecting Bran
once Bran comes into his magic. Bran has a frenzy of
self-flagellating remorse that leads to some bad decision that leads
to more battle scenes in book six or seven, helping to set off the
final confrontation, by which point Bran has new steely Hodor-related
resolve.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Also Bran is NOT EIGHT.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>28%</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Varys's “Little Birds” are
servants, mostly young ones. He shows up knowing things shortly after
any time there's a scene with a nameless servant that nobody rapes in
a Tyrion scene. [That I will tell you is straight-up correct.] Martin
likes naming people so much. Namesless characters mostly seem to have
a point for being nameless. Also my mother used to say “a little
bird told me” a lot so it stuck out to me in the narrative and he
repeats it INCESSANTLY. Also I am reading suspiciously because I am
trying to predict things right.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
also, and I have trouble keeping how
old these people are straight, GRRM writes Arya and Sansa as
significantly younger, more simple thinkers than Bran and Robb. it's
annoying that well-educated Sansa is portrayed with less
depth-of-thought than 8-year-old Bran
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>50%</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Moderately surprised by Renly's mode of
death</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>58%</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
OMG this is boring and long and has too
many POV switches.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jon is north of the wall and Brienne
just fled with Catelyn, who is having Super Mom thoughts adding to my
conviction that she is supernatural on behalf of her children.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tyrion is being all chivalrous towards
Sansa for not a lot of reason.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ser Courtney Penrose probably comes up
later.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Still do not understand why Danerys
gives a fuck especially when she has so many other interesting life
choices available.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>60%</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
OMG Danerys seriously why do you give a
fuck, take a different fucking country, you've never even been to
Westeros, it's not that great.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I read Dolorous Edd as Dolores Edd and
was consequently briefly confused.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Way to die Penrose. Although this is
picking up a bit. Still do not understand why any of these people
want to rule any of these places.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>(Danerys's visions will appear in a separate post. It was so dense that I bookmarked it to come back and go through it more slowly when I finished the book. I'll also throw in Ygritte's story to Jon there.)</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
AEGON IS JON.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Melisandre's demon sex baby shadow was
pretty good stuff.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
And I suspect Melisandre is more
powerful than before because of Danerys because like a chapter or two
ago the fire spellcasters wherever Danerys currently is were
getting more powerful because she woke her dragons. And Melisandre has light/flame/shadow
type powers. Or possibly just everyone is getting
more powerful because whatever is in the North is getting all
unleashed</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>75%</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Somebody's going to flay Theon and he's
going to deserve it [Kathryn: why do you say that?] Lots of flaying talk in
the Theon-loses-Bran chapter.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Also they mentioned Blackwater and I
vaguely recall HBO spent a lot on special effects for a place called
Blackwater, so I assume the book's climax will be there, eventually.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Jon meeting Ygritte is like NOTHING BUT
PORTENTS. [Kathryn: Like?] Brandon the Daughterless/Bael ballad which probably
predicts other stuff that will happen; Starks are all related to
Wildings stuff; Jon wonders if Ned is really his father. WAY TO CATCH
UP WITH THE REST OF US JON. Is Ygritte a love interest for Jon?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
GRRM is obsessed with boobs, bastards,
and redheaded women. Also lots of “realism” about bad and sad
emotions but like none about real, non-empty honor, or affection, or
loyalty.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am really glad Bran escaped with the
bog people and not the Walders Frey because they were too fucking
annoying for 800 pages of misadventure. Also how else will Robb break
this marriage agreement? [Kathryn: Why do you think that?] I don't know who
he'll marry but obviously not a Waldette. They (the Freys) broke their oaths
first so I assume Robb is in the clear to make non-Frey-related bad
romantic decisions.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Also marrying a Frey doesn't seem like
it gets you dead and I am banking on Robb being dead by the end of
Book II. If they were that evil/powerful, they'd get POV chapters.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>95%</b>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I think I am about to be disappointed
that Theon is Not Actually Dead. He failed to die very definitively
in his death scene. Very Bran-like. Actually I'm a little concerned
Theon won't die until the LAST BOOK because he sucks.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Also GRRM has started getting a little
overly-clever with the whole Bran's dead-not dead thing with the
miller's children
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>END of A Clash of Kings:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
WEASEL BETTER FUCKING TURN UP ALIVE IN
A COUPLE BOOKS (Weasel the toddler)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
The thing is that GRRM never gives any
reason any of these people -- any of them -- want to be king or lord
or ser for ANY reason except ambition/daddy issues/duty, which works for
some of them, but for a
lot of them it's thin or pointless, like Stannis seems actively
childish.
It worked okay with Ned and his Duty
since he comes in a grown man with a whole life of Duty behind him. But
Robb? We never hear anything from Robb about, like, I've always
loved Winterfell and its beauteous wintery woods and its people who
feed me and stuff and therefore DUTY … he's just like "Oh,
well, duty? I guess?" I think part of that is just GRRM's
total elision of "small folk" and women from the narrative
except as it serves the "noblemen having wars.” I mean, I have
hardly any sense of the North except for Winterfell's castle, and
then just a handful of rooms and a couple of serving people. I think
it's easy to mentally fill in
the blanks in the characters because we're all used to fantasy
fiction, except that I get thrown out of the narrative by POV
switches so I'm noticing it a lot … and I'm like, "Well, I'm
filling Robb in with Aragorn son of Arathorn and whatnot but ... GRRM
doesn't actually do any of that work" … as a result, if you
stop to think, basically everyone's motivation is "BUT IT'S
SUPPOSED TO BE MIIIIIIIIIIINE." Tamora Pierce, for example,
almost always has a moment where her heroine contemplates why she
actually wants to serve such abstract concepts as "the realm"
or "duty" or "honor" or "my people" and
she uses all those little scenes with "smallfolk" to build
a picture of a place that people love and feel a duty towards. [Kathryn:
Sometimes we see it with Cat] Yeah, also Bran is growing into it. But
yeah, Stannis is really jarring
for me as a character: he's a grown-ass, serious-minded adult
with excellent tactical skills, who's busy having a big sulk about
not getting to be king? Nope. Don't buy it.
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I am not super-clear on what happened
with Tommen* because there are six zillion minor knights and lords
with names, some of whom matter and some of whom don't, and I'm not
really clear on which minor guy flipped on him or whatever but anyway
I gathered from context that he arrived SOMEWHERE safe eventually.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*I had to look up his name. I was
like Timmon? Timon? No, that's Lion King. Tommas? Tommin? Apparently I
give as many shits about him as Cersei does. </span></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sansa and Tyrion obviously being set up
for romance, evidenced by Sansa thinking about how ugly Tyrion is
every time he turns up, and Tyrion contemplating Sansa's purity and
innocence. Kinda creepy, GRRM. Shae is a bad life decision that will
come back to haunt Tyrion as she almost immediately became whiney and
pouty when he gave her a house.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
Davos made a passing reference to the dead being raised when he was in the boat with Melisandre; I predict zombies. <br />
<br />
Thought Robb and maybe Stannis and Joffrey would be dead
by the end of book II, so I'm fairly surprised all three are still
alive (especially Robb). Next book, right? We start killing kings
soon?<br />
<br />
I am a tiny bit concerned Rickon might be a sociopath
because of his direwolf's bad manners. But it's hard to tell because
child development is clearly not GRRM's wheelhouse.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
The battle scenes were very entertaining, those are hard
to do well, good job GRRM. (Although that reminds me that I am finding
it problematic that I have no map of these places in my head at all.)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Also, seriously Daenerys, do something
more interesting with your life than trying to run Westeros. You do
not want this country, it is terrible. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<a href="http://www.laurapetelle.com/p/predicting-game-of-thrones.html" target="_blank">The master page with all my commentary and predictions so far.</a> </div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-31706500933866438172014-08-03T08:07:00.002-07:002014-08-03T08:12:29.866-07:00A Game of Thrones: Predictions (Spoilers!)<div style="text-align: left;">
I was texting my predictions as I read along, or sometimes chatting online as I read. My general comments on the story become more numerous as I go. (Reading on a kindle so I give %s, not page #s. I thought later about labeling by specific chapters but, man, this is for fun, that seems like homework!)<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>A Game of Thrones</b></div>
<b>End of First Chapter</b><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Big giant signpost in the form of a
dead direwolf with five normal pups and one creepy albino pup, killed
by a stag, which is obviously Ned and (a few pages later) obviously
the Baratheons. NOTE TO READERS: NED GONNA DIE.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a> </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>30%ish</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I think Jon Snow is the secret son of
Robert and Lyanna because otherwise this plot is dumb. No, wait, I
changed my mind, I think it's Rhaegar and Lyanna so Jon can unite the
warring sides of Tagaryn and Stark in the face of whatever greater,
supernatural threat is forthcoming. (I suppose that'd make it creepy
if he married Danerys but I'm only like 200 pages in so I assume more
female characters are forthcoming.) Bran will become the great wizard
obviously and Arya the unlikely female warrior.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Arya will eventually be forced to stab
Sansa in the last book or two or else Ned wouldn't have warned her
not to.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This book is like Jungian archetypes
all the way down, I don't understand why people get so pissy about
spoilers.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>50%ish</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
When Jon finishes his hero's journey
and finds out he's not actually a bastard (or else he is a bastard
but a royal one and for some reason it doesn't matter … but I think
he'll turn out not to be one and Rhaegar and Lynna got married for
Reasons, because DEAR LORD IS THIS AUTHOR OBSESSED WITH BASTARDRY),
Robb will be his knight, Bran his wizard, and Arya his unlikely
female warrior who relies on speed. Presumably Sansa learns to
manipulate people in the drawing room and gets less simpering or she
wouldn't have POV chapters so she shall be the Diplomat.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Khal Drogo has to die and then Dany
will probably invade things, elsewise there's no reason to give her
an army and definitely not one she'd have to command through her
husband; she can't run around with armies and dragon eggs if she has
to drag a husband and ask permission, and this plot is going to run
out of steam if she doesn't start invading things with this gigantic
army. I suppose she would marry Jon, they make a Targaryn cousin
marriage point in the first 200 pages and I initially thought Robert
and Lyanna so Jon could marry her uncreepily. I know she ends up with
dragons eventually. She has no constituency in Westeros but obviously
a supernatural threat is coming they'll all have to unite against
even if they don't want to.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
[You are terrible for guessing and
ruining plot] Well, it's fairly Joseph Campbell with all its Jungian
archetypes, and he's putting lots of pistols on mantles to fire them
in the third act.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Also clearly Sansa will be bad life
decision theater for a while and maybe will do something
un-Stark-like (i.e., lacking honor). She'll either be the Susan (from
Narnia, who abandons God for sex) or the Diplomat depending on
whether she defects or returns to her family. Haven't decided if Ned
killing Sansa's direwolf means she's cut off from the Starks or just
in grave danger but will later be redeemed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Catelyn is boring but she seems like a
catastrophe magnet. Half her family are maimed or dead by page 300.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
This is basically an entire D&D
party all having coming of age novels in one epic.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>60%ish</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I assume Robert's oldest bastard turns
up with one of the Stark girls later on or Ned wouldn't have wasted
an entire paragraph thinking about her and her age in relation to his
own daughters.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>75% done</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Ned is kind of a dumbfuck.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Okay seriously dudes this bad at
anticipating other people's strategies don't win wars. [Mike: He's
HONORABLE.] This is a boy book.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b>END Game of Thrones:</b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Everybody who's king at the end of Book
I is going to die, probably horribly. (Joffrey, Renly, Robb.) Robb is
going to die, probably unhappily, you should never get yourself
crowned in Book I. Especially when the series keeps expanding.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Catelyn will eventually do something
magical, probably as a result of having one too many catastrophes,
possibly rage-induced. [Tell me more.] She's had all these
quasi-magical premonitions of events (note: such as that the antler
in the direwolf was a sign), and everything she fears comes to pass,
sort of like a Cassandra. If Catelyn stops to worry about it, it'll
happen. I expect her magical thing will be in some fashion
catastrophe-induced as she is a walking catastrophe magnet. [an
interesting mix of terrifyingly accurate and dead wrong] She's very
afraid of Robb dying so I expect he will die shortly. Also she is
afraid of war so that's obviously upcoming. She is ODDLY UNCONCERNED
with Rickon so I expect him to survive the next book.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Tyrion will probably continue to say
sassy things. He announces dramatically at the end of the chapter
that he never bets against his family, so I assume he will eventually
bet against them AND KILL THEM.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Cersei will outlive Jaime, but they'll
both die before the end. You can mostly guess how quickly people are
going to die based on how non-standard their sex lives are, by modern
standards. Sir Jorah's dishonor he blames on a woman coercing him
into it, so he'll be allowed to be relatively honorable but
eventually will be dishonored. Tyrion, who waits for enthusiastic,
informed consent from his whores (Shae) and wants them to be informed
in advance, will probably come through at the end as a hero. Shae
seems like she's probably bad news or we wouldn't spend so much time
on her. Unless Tywin is going to murder her, I guess that might be a
reason. But I think she's probably bad news. GRRM is going to be
judgy about whores.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Theon is smarmy and Bran doesn't trust
him, so obviously he will be terrible.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
[Kathryn: What was surprising?] I was moderately
surprised that Khal Drogo didn't die in actual battle. But not
surprised Dany miscarried. [Ned dying?] Not surprised, it was
signposted in the first few pages and then Catelyn worried about it.
Also Jon Snow is the protagonist and he needed more daddy issues. I
was moderately surprised that GRRM skipped graphic descriptions of,
like, Ned's death and a couple other things, but I guess just because
I know the HBO show is very graphic. Little surprised Robb became
“King in the North” but mostly because that means he'll die
sooner than I thought.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
Notes on GRRM: he does not know a lot
about child development, teenagers, or pregnancy. Or how clothes are
made. Not complaining, you can't know everything about everything.
But it is a less-creepy book if you try to ignore the ages of the
young characters. [Kathryn: They're aged up in the HBO show.] Yeah, Dany would
be a lot more believable at 17.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
GRRM is judgy about sexual
relationships. People who attempt to coerce others or have
disapproved-of sexual relationships will end up evil and/or dead
(Joffrey, Jaime, Cersei, Verys, Littlefinger). People who wait for
enthusiastic consent for adultery are good (Tyrion, Drogo, Robert) as
are those who respect their marriage vows (Ned). The “rapers”
with Jon at the wall are actually okay dudes because the girl was
inside the window begging them to come in. Whores who sell sex will
end up bad/evil/dead (Shae). Buying sex is okay as long as you're
kind to the whores (Tyrion). Rhaegar will have to have NOT raped
Lyanna (as Robert claimed he did) for Jon Snow to be Rhaegar &
Lyanna's legitimate son; Lyanna will have had to have wanted it.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I'm a little unclear on why Dany gives
a shit about the Iron Throne but whatevs. She escapes her horrible
brother, lives among the horse people as a princess, and has never
even been to Westeros. It'd be better if she didn't care until they
(the Westeros council/king) tried to kill her more times.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
I have figured out how A Song of Ice
and Fire ends: Bob Newhart wakes up and it was all just a really weird dream.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.laurapetelle.com/p/predicting-game-of-thrones.html" target="_blank">The master page with all my commentary and predictions so far is here. </a></div>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-14097854131306187602014-08-03T08:04:00.002-07:002014-08-03T09:07:39.386-07:00I Predict A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones (Spoilers!)<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>What Is This?</b></div>
<br />
I read a very little bit of Game of Thrones when
it first came out, the very first book ... less than 10% of it. I stopped
because a) it was too rapey; b) the female characters weren't very
realistic; and c) I haaaaaaaaate novels that switch POV all the time.
The sum totally of what I remember from the book is a little kid gets
thrown off a tower for something to do with incest, and the big
important castle is built on a hotspring even though it's like always
winter and never Christmas at it.<br />
<br />
I forgot about it until it started getting bit in pop culture. I
resisted reading or watching it, because it sounded extremely violent
(which isn't my thing) and because I'm awfully tired of grimdark fantasy
(although I really GRRM and GoT were among the progenitors of the
sub-genre). But finally I got tired of being left out of nerd-chat and
gave in. I knew it was supposed to have many shocking and unforeseen
twists, so when I read the very first chapter, I texted one of my nerd
friends (Kathryn) and said, "Ned's gonna die, right? Is that the
shocking twist that everyone's always complaining about?" This turned
into a game where I texted her (and then some of my other friends, and
then posted on facebook) my predictions as I read through the books.
I've compiled the texts from the first two books into the following posts
(adding in timeline as best I could afterwards; it's a bit messy), and
then started keeping a better log going forward. I'm putting all my
prediction and commentary together on <a href="http://www.laurapetelle.com/p/predicting-game-of-thrones.html" target="_blank">this page</a>, and will be posting
additions to my blog as well as adding them to the master page.<br />
<br />
Where I was texting my comments I have edited them for clarity and flow
(taken out the text-speech, turned things into actual sentences).
Wherever you see something in [square brackets], that was a comment from
whomever I was talking to, most often Kathryn, and sometimes Mike or
Carmen or other friendly nerds. Generally I've edited their comment to
the most direct question -- sometimes because I no longer have that part
of the conversation, other times because we were also, at the same
time, discussing baby poop. <br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>General Comments and Foreknowledge</b></div>
<br />
From my first attempt at reading the books (which ended less than 10% in):<br />
<ul>
<li>A castle has hotsprings</li>
<li>A child gets thrown off a tower for something to do with incest</li>
<li>Also women have a raw deal in this world</li>
</ul>
Before I began, I sat down to list everything I knew about the story from things that were just ambient in the world/pop culture: <br />
<ul>
<li>Danerys, who is extra-blond, has dragons</li>
<li>Joffrey, who is a boy-king and maybe crazy, has a whiney voice and at some point dies</li>
<li>There are wolves and the actress who plays Sansa adopted hers and it was bad at acting</li>
<li>Cersei, who is also blond, is into incest</li>
<li>Jon Snow is somebody's bastard</li>
<li>Lots of people die with relative frequency and people are often shocked</li>
<li>There is a character named Arya and people like her</li>
<li>Sean Bean wears a lot of furs. I don't know who he is.</li>
<li>GRRM likes to kill his characters and torture his readers. Also, people think he writes too slow.</li>
<li>Somebody maybe dies at a wedding? </li>
<li>There is a Wall, which I think is basically Hadrian's Wall but magic, and it is serious business.</li>
<li>It's loosely inspired by the War of the Roses, and Lancaster/Lannister and York/Stark. </li>
</ul>
<br />
As I go I am also adding things I realized later on that I already knew. (For example, when I got to "Blackwater," I went, "Oh yeah, I remember reading an article that HBO spent a lot of money on special effects at Blackwater!") I'm putting these in their own section, for the sake of completeness.<br />
<br />
One of my nerd-interlocutors commented that I was really good at predictions. I think I have three advantages here:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Wide reading in the source materials, including the SFF genre in
general and epic and grimdark fantasy in particular; British history;
and religious epics. I've been reading fantasy since I was old enough to
read independently, just about everything I could get my hands on. I no
longer read <i>bad</i> fantasy, and I've gotten more selective about
fantasy that's really long but just good, not great -- but in general
I've hit all the high points. I like British history quite a bit and
studied the Tudors fairly intensively in college (adjunct to studying
theology). I'm not terribly familiar with the War of the Roses but I'm
aware of the broad outlines. Fantasy in general, and fantasy with
religious systems in particular, always borrows broadly from the world's
great religious and mythological epics (it's all very <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Campbell" target="_blank">Joseph Campbell</a>!).
I have a BA and a masters in theology, and I taught comparative
religion as an adjunct professor for a few years, so these things tend
to stand out to me.</li>
<li>Point of View switches throw me out of the narrative. My objection
to them is purely personal -- they are a legitimate literary tool that
can be used to great effect -- I just don't <i>like </i>them. In any
book with POV switches, I get thrown out of the narrative, and I have
put books aside because of it; I just can't get "into" them when they
switch frequently. This is why I gave up Wheel of Time way before the
rest of you, and the biggest reason I gave up Game of Thrones the first
time around. So every time I start to get wrapped up in the story in
GoT, the story stops and goes somewhere else and I come crashing back to
reality with thoughts like, "Um, that's not how boobs work," or "Wow,
that was some heavy-handed foreshadowing." I think I would notice a lot
less of it if I could get more wrapped up in the narrative, as GRRM is a
good storyteller.</li>
<li>I'm reading suspicious, since this turned into The Prediction
Challenge before I was 25% of the way through the first book! So I'm
constantly looking for clues GRRM's going to kill someone or be sneaky.</li>
</ol>
Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-25186142075382229562014-04-22T08:39:00.001-07:002014-04-22T08:39:49.656-07:00Internet Things I Recently Did That Are Kinda PopularI put together this collection of <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/lpetelle/art-in-the-goldfinch/" target="_blank">all of the art mentioned in The Goldfinch</a>, which is making the rounds on the internet.<br />
<br />
I also put together this Sporcle quiz of "<a href="http://www.sporcle.com/games/LPetelle/upworthy-novel-titles" target="_blank">Upworthy Novel Titles</a>" that you might enjoy. (Other people mostly wrote the clues, I just compiled them!)Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-83391960019989896712013-12-20T09:37:00.003-08:002013-12-20T09:37:38.982-08:00The Sun-Drenched Chaos of FamilyI have a piece up today at Brain, Child magazine, the closing piece for their "What Is Family?" series for the holidays, about my childhood vacations with my extended family at the beach. You can check it out <a href="http://www.brainchildmag.com/2013/12/the-sun-drenched-chaos-of-family/" target="_blank">here</a>!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.brainchildmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Petelle-214x300.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Petelle" border="0" class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-7452" height="200" src="http://www.brainchildmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Petelle-214x300.png" width="142" /></a>"They were always smiling, my aunts and my uncles. The years seemed to
drop away from them at The Beach. They have all grown wrinkles and
bellies and gray hair with age, but still when they smile I am
transported back to the eternal summer of The Beach. At The Beach they
were children, teenagers. Uncle Dick knew the best way to dig a hole in
the sand. Uncle Bob told the same joke over and over—and we always fell
for it. Aunt Ellen would nearly always give in, with a look of
disapproval that was never effective because her eyes were twinkling,
when we teased her for an extra donut hole. And my mother seemed like a
girl, laughing and teasing, more carefree than she ever seemed at home."Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-81602164407769052142013-06-04T09:31:00.002-07:002013-06-04T09:31:52.967-07:00Gardening and D&D with childrenI've posted two short essays, one about creating a landscape in our backyard to encourage children's imagination and curiosity about the natural world, and one about playing a preschool version of D&D and its educational advantages. They are linked in the "pages" section on the left.Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4156815529406081408.post-79452099267479165202013-04-28T10:53:00.000-07:002013-04-28T14:44:17.355-07:00I am just getting this set up so watch this space for actual content!Laura Petellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11307357788306736375noreply@blogger.com1