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In light of the beautiful weather and a week in which the first three days have felt like as many months, we went out to eat yesterday at a favorite local patio destination and found ourselves seated next to an ostentatiously Australian guy and his three female companions, all of them rather lit.
“What’s the biggest difference between Australia and here?” one of the women asked.
“I think,” he said slowly, “It’s how ignorant of the world Americans are.”
To which the queen bee of the group predictably responded that that was not the case. He demurred that it was, she protested again, and they continued back and forth on the point.
“All right,” he said after several rounds in this vein, “What’s the capital of Belarus? I bet you don’t know. No American would know.”
“I know the capital of Belarus,” she said.
“Oh yeah,” he said, and leaned across the table. “Prove it.”
“Belgrade,” she said, confidently.
There was a pause.
“All right, that’s not fair,” he said. “You’ve traveled. Of course you’d know.”
I looked over expecting to catch his “Aha, gotcha!” addendum, or even the knowing smile of someone who’s pulled something over on an unsuspecting subject and doesn’t plan on cluing them in.
Nope. Our man from Down Under also didn’t know what the capital of Belarus was, and apparently Belgrade sounded good to him. So that was pretty wonderful.
I also did some reading last week.
What I Just Finished Reading
The Bird King – G. Willow Wilson
This book was lovely. Elegant prose, endearing and memorable characters, and a ripping good story that has a lot to say, in very subtle ways, about love, friendship, faith, gender, you name it. This is probably one of the top five novels I’ve read this year.
What I Am Currently Reading
The Armored Saint – Myke Cole
So there’s a standard YA serving of Outsized Emotion! and Misunderstandings! and Dramatic Overreaction! to be had in this book. But there’s also a really sweet queer love story and again, a well-written fantasy setting, so I’m still along for the ride.
The Light Between Worlds – Laura E. Weymouth
During the London Blitz two sisters, Evelyn and Philippa, are whisked away along with their brother Jamie to the Woodlands (think Narnia or Fillory). The Light Between Worlds is the story of what happens when they return—the next moment in Earth time, but after five years have passed in the Woodlands. Philippa is glad to be home; Evelyn is decidedly not.
The first half of the book, in Evelyn’s perspective, was solid. Not transporting, but far better than most recent YA I’ve encountered. The second half, unfortunately, is tending toward the melodramatic and obvious, not the “surprising revelation that forces readers to reevaluate everything” I think Weymouth is aiming for. That said, I’ve still got a third left to go, so there's still time for things to get back on track.
What I'm Reading Next
Currently, it’s a toss-up between Lloyd Alexander’s The High King and Michelle Paver’s Wakenhyrst. Watch this space.
これで以上です。
“What’s the biggest difference between Australia and here?” one of the women asked.
“I think,” he said slowly, “It’s how ignorant of the world Americans are.”
To which the queen bee of the group predictably responded that that was not the case. He demurred that it was, she protested again, and they continued back and forth on the point.
“All right,” he said after several rounds in this vein, “What’s the capital of Belarus? I bet you don’t know. No American would know.”
“I know the capital of Belarus,” she said.
“Oh yeah,” he said, and leaned across the table. “Prove it.”
“Belgrade,” she said, confidently.
There was a pause.
“All right, that’s not fair,” he said. “You’ve traveled. Of course you’d know.”
I looked over expecting to catch his “Aha, gotcha!” addendum, or even the knowing smile of someone who’s pulled something over on an unsuspecting subject and doesn’t plan on cluing them in.
Nope. Our man from Down Under also didn’t know what the capital of Belarus was, and apparently Belgrade sounded good to him. So that was pretty wonderful.
I also did some reading last week.
What I Just Finished Reading
The Bird King – G. Willow Wilson
This book was lovely. Elegant prose, endearing and memorable characters, and a ripping good story that has a lot to say, in very subtle ways, about love, friendship, faith, gender, you name it. This is probably one of the top five novels I’ve read this year.
What I Am Currently Reading
The Armored Saint – Myke Cole
So there’s a standard YA serving of Outsized Emotion! and Misunderstandings! and Dramatic Overreaction! to be had in this book. But there’s also a really sweet queer love story and again, a well-written fantasy setting, so I’m still along for the ride.
The Light Between Worlds – Laura E. Weymouth
During the London Blitz two sisters, Evelyn and Philippa, are whisked away along with their brother Jamie to the Woodlands (think Narnia or Fillory). The Light Between Worlds is the story of what happens when they return—the next moment in Earth time, but after five years have passed in the Woodlands. Philippa is glad to be home; Evelyn is decidedly not.
The first half of the book, in Evelyn’s perspective, was solid. Not transporting, but far better than most recent YA I’ve encountered. The second half, unfortunately, is tending toward the melodramatic and obvious, not the “surprising revelation that forces readers to reevaluate everything” I think Weymouth is aiming for. That said, I’ve still got a third left to go, so there's still time for things to get back on track.
What I'm Reading Next
Currently, it’s a toss-up between Lloyd Alexander’s The High King and Michelle Paver’s Wakenhyrst. Watch this space.
これで以上です。
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I might look out for the Bird King then! ^_^
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After reading Iron Council, I think these might just be right lightness of being to balance Mieville out. ^_^
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