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Stuff I read: February 2013
Things I read lately:
Books
The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst. I wanted so badly to like this, and I honestly had pretty low expectations, but it did not meet them. Feisty Romance Heroine #27 and Stoic Romance Hero #32 Do Things AND I WAS SO BORED. Also instead of being a whole book with a coherent arc it was pretty much just the same plot repeated, like, five times: They ~somehow end up almost having sex and are then improbably interrupted and then they go back to being all businesslike and hating each other and then without warning, oops, they almost have sex again, THIS WAS LITERALLY THE ENTIRE PLOT OF THE BOOK, it went back and forth so fast I swear I got whiplash. Moral of the story: Next time I feel like a super fanfic-y trope, I think I'll just read fanfic.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I FINALLY FINISHED THIS YOU GUYS I FEEL SO ACCOMPLISHED. Despite its length and rambly-ness and lack of anything even remotely approaching a traditional narrative (or maybe because of those, IDEK) I really enjoyed this. And I would definitely recommend it if you're into the genre, BUT also I would recommend waiting until you're really in the mood for it IT IS JUST A TINY BIT OF A COMMITMENT.
Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden. I still love this a lot, though it didn't get much of a reaction on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
beforetv. I mean, I guess I understand, because it is very much Australian YA and has a fairly distinctive style, but still disappointed because it is so great <3. Still deciding if I want to do a whole re-read; I have a few other things to read at the moment, so I have a while to decide.
Heist Society by Ally Carter. Another re-read, and I think I liked it even more the second time around? (I actually think the reason I didn't 1000% love it the first time was because of the dodgy formatting on my ebook? I've been trying to hunt down a physical copy for ages but still haven't succeeded, though I do have the third book.) Anyway, this was probably my favourite this month, super excited to read the rest of the trilogy now.
Comics
Nomad: Girl Without a World & Young Allies. I enjoyed these, the latter more than the former, I think. I still need to read Rikki's backups from Captain America (and Spider-Girl, which is sitting next to me right now). They are definitely adorable superhero girlfriends, though.
Ms Marvel & Captain Marvel. CAROL <3 <3 <3 <3 SHE IS THE BEST SO IN LOVE RIGHT NOW. Ms Marvel wasn't perfect; Carol, though amazing, isn't the most super consistently written character - there's a slight disconnect between Ms Marvel and Captain Marvel, which is not unsurprising - and the series sort of veered off a bit after Civil War (which is my standing complaint with most titles), but I still really loved it. And I think I'm the only person ever who actually likes Simon/Carol? IT'S OKAY I HAVE MADE PEACE WITH MY UNPOPULAR COMICS OPINIONS BY NOW. I would definitely recommend Captain Marvel to anybody looking to pick up a new comic, btw, it's only ten issues so far and just started a new storyline with issue #9, so it's easy to jump into. And I think I'm actually a fan of the rotating art style, if nothing else so far it's been a nice visual representation of the different storylines.
New Avengers & Mighty Avengers. Okay, first of all, I REALLY DID NOT LIKE MIGHTY AVENGERS. I struggled through more than half its run before finally giving up, I just don't get it? Usually Bendis is really great, just ... not this time. The first couple of trades were okay, and then it just - actually, I have no idea what it did, but it was really not about the Avengers any more. I WAS PROMISED CAROL DANVERS ADVENTURES WHILE LEADING THE AVENGERS, THAT IS SO NOT WHAT I GOT. New Avengers (v.1, 2005) was a lot better, but still went off the rails a bit after Civil War, I JUST WANT FUN AVENGERS SHENANIGANS IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK.
Batman: Gates of Gotham. Um, this was okay? I don't have much to say about it other than that.
Daredevil. I've only read the first trade so far, but this was pretty much as good as advertised. I have a bit of a soft spot for Daredevil, so I'll probably keep reading.
Spider-Woman: Origin. Jess <3. Okay, so her backstory is kind of a mess, but this did a good job of straightening it out a bit, STILL NOT HAPPY WITH THE SECRET INVASION RETCON THOUGH.
Avenging Spider-Man. I started reading this, predictably, because I was promised Carol, but I've been enjoying it even apart from that. I'm not really sure where it fits into current continuity, though? (Although I'm not totally caught up, so that may be revealed later.) Because Peter is still Spider-Man, but it's also crossed over with a bunch of ongoing titles, so. CONTINUITY, WHO KNOWS.
Civil War/Secret Invasion/Siege. I generally enjoyed these - I still think Civil War is a big old mess whose biggest crime was the heavy-handed and straw man-tastic way it handled what could have genuinely been a very cool premise; like, I feel like there was a lot of nuance in the initial premise that could have been explored, and a lot of good arguments to be made on either side and a point to be made of how it slid increasingly towards an outcome that was never meant to be, but instead it took the two most extreme viewpoints on either side an hammered (H.A.M.M.E.R.-ed?) them into the ground via superheroes punching each other in the face a lot. Sigh. I enjoyed Secret Invasion a lot more, though; Siege was just okay in its own right, though it did (FINALLY) wrap up the whole Civil War thing, so I liked it for that.
Currently Reading:
I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You. Still, I know! I got sidetracked by Heist Society, whatevs.
The Eyre Affair. Re-reading, definitely enjoying. It's a nice change of pace for bedtime reading after JS&MN.
Comics: Captain Marvel, Hawkeye, Young Avengers, Journey Into Mystery, Fearless Defenders, Nova, Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man. NO DC ONGOING TITLES. I'm still following a few New 52 titles in trades, but none as they come out, I just do not have the emotional investment for that.
Up Next:
The rest of the Heist Society and Gallagher Girls books <3
At some stage, the latest Dresden Files and Wheel of Time books.
New Avengers v.2, Spider-Girl, Gillen's JiM run.
Books
The Marriage Bargain by Jennifer Probst. I wanted so badly to like this, and I honestly had pretty low expectations, but it did not meet them. Feisty Romance Heroine #27 and Stoic Romance Hero #32 Do Things AND I WAS SO BORED. Also instead of being a whole book with a coherent arc it was pretty much just the same plot repeated, like, five times: They ~somehow end up almost having sex and are then improbably interrupted and then they go back to being all businesslike and hating each other and then without warning, oops, they almost have sex again, THIS WAS LITERALLY THE ENTIRE PLOT OF THE BOOK, it went back and forth so fast I swear I got whiplash. Moral of the story: Next time I feel like a super fanfic-y trope, I think I'll just read fanfic.
Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. I FINALLY FINISHED THIS YOU GUYS I FEEL SO ACCOMPLISHED. Despite its length and rambly-ness and lack of anything even remotely approaching a traditional narrative (or maybe because of those, IDEK) I really enjoyed this. And I would definitely recommend it if you're into the genre, BUT also I would recommend waiting until you're really in the mood for it IT IS JUST A TINY BIT OF A COMMITMENT.
Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden. I still love this a lot, though it didn't get much of a reaction on
beforetv. I mean, I guess I understand, because it is very much Australian YA and has a fairly distinctive style, but still disappointed because it is so great <3. Still deciding if I want to do a whole re-read; I have a few other things to read at the moment, so I have a while to decide.Heist Society by Ally Carter. Another re-read, and I think I liked it even more the second time around? (I actually think the reason I didn't 1000% love it the first time was because of the dodgy formatting on my ebook? I've been trying to hunt down a physical copy for ages but still haven't succeeded, though I do have the third book.) Anyway, this was probably my favourite this month, super excited to read the rest of the trilogy now.
Comics
Nomad: Girl Without a World & Young Allies. I enjoyed these, the latter more than the former, I think. I still need to read Rikki's backups from Captain America (and Spider-Girl, which is sitting next to me right now). They are definitely adorable superhero girlfriends, though.
Ms Marvel & Captain Marvel. CAROL <3 <3 <3 <3 SHE IS THE BEST SO IN LOVE RIGHT NOW. Ms Marvel wasn't perfect; Carol, though amazing, isn't the most super consistently written character - there's a slight disconnect between Ms Marvel and Captain Marvel, which is not unsurprising - and the series sort of veered off a bit after Civil War (which is my standing complaint with most titles), but I still really loved it. And I think I'm the only person ever who actually likes Simon/Carol? IT'S OKAY I HAVE MADE PEACE WITH MY UNPOPULAR COMICS OPINIONS BY NOW. I would definitely recommend Captain Marvel to anybody looking to pick up a new comic, btw, it's only ten issues so far and just started a new storyline with issue #9, so it's easy to jump into. And I think I'm actually a fan of the rotating art style, if nothing else so far it's been a nice visual representation of the different storylines.
New Avengers & Mighty Avengers. Okay, first of all, I REALLY DID NOT LIKE MIGHTY AVENGERS. I struggled through more than half its run before finally giving up, I just don't get it? Usually Bendis is really great, just ... not this time. The first couple of trades were okay, and then it just - actually, I have no idea what it did, but it was really not about the Avengers any more. I WAS PROMISED CAROL DANVERS ADVENTURES WHILE LEADING THE AVENGERS, THAT IS SO NOT WHAT I GOT. New Avengers (v.1, 2005) was a lot better, but still went off the rails a bit after Civil War, I JUST WANT FUN AVENGERS SHENANIGANS IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK.
Batman: Gates of Gotham. Um, this was okay? I don't have much to say about it other than that.
Daredevil. I've only read the first trade so far, but this was pretty much as good as advertised. I have a bit of a soft spot for Daredevil, so I'll probably keep reading.
Spider-Woman: Origin. Jess <3. Okay, so her backstory is kind of a mess, but this did a good job of straightening it out a bit, STILL NOT HAPPY WITH THE SECRET INVASION RETCON THOUGH.
Avenging Spider-Man. I started reading this, predictably, because I was promised Carol, but I've been enjoying it even apart from that. I'm not really sure where it fits into current continuity, though? (Although I'm not totally caught up, so that may be revealed later.) Because Peter is still Spider-Man, but it's also crossed over with a bunch of ongoing titles, so. CONTINUITY, WHO KNOWS.
Civil War/Secret Invasion/Siege. I generally enjoyed these - I still think Civil War is a big old mess whose biggest crime was the heavy-handed and straw man-tastic way it handled what could have genuinely been a very cool premise; like, I feel like there was a lot of nuance in the initial premise that could have been explored, and a lot of good arguments to be made on either side and a point to be made of how it slid increasingly towards an outcome that was never meant to be, but instead it took the two most extreme viewpoints on either side an hammered (H.A.M.M.E.R.-ed?) them into the ground via superheroes punching each other in the face a lot. Sigh. I enjoyed Secret Invasion a lot more, though; Siege was just okay in its own right, though it did (FINALLY) wrap up the whole Civil War thing, so I liked it for that.
Currently Reading:
Up Next: