Majel > Recent Status Updates

I really, really respect that the author is taking her time really *showing* the motivations of the heroine for *why* she wants to fight. So many of these types of books just start with "my group hates their group," but here, the author really has the reader live the movitaton. Good work!!!

I'll never look at a flower the same 😅
I like the audiobook where he pronounces all these molecules lol

Giddy kipper

Notching
Prating

Solipsistic

Helpmeet

"Wrack"

"Adventuress." Another cool word.

Hirsute. Got me again!

Already a new word on pg 6 : cri de coeur
You got me, Hall, you got me

Commonplaces: B. An interesting sherlock holmes take, but nothing really special
Seven: A. Hard to understand, but cool world building and interesting characters.
Blessings: A. Funny and quirky. A feminist retelling.
Lord Dunsany's teapot: B. Well written and interesting, but Im pretty loss as to WTF is up with the teapot.
Seven Years From Home: F. So over-written, unclear, convoluted, uninspiring MC, forced myself.

Araminta: A; loved it
After Hours: reminded me I dont want to read the scholomance; the school and world magic dont make sense
Vici: A++++++ a thousand percent, I could listen to Anthony be a bumbling asshole all day
Buried Deep: B+, i am confused a little by the writing of what actually was going on, but love a retelling
Spinning Silver: A; I even sorta liked it more than the book it became

Fuck Regan and Fuck CEOs. Guillotine!!!!!

A fantastic audiobook narrator. Very engaging.

And we learn that Antarctica is in averge 9,000 feet high in elevation. What?!?!?

Devastating. Sickening. Tragic.

A testament to the author. Suddenly I realized my image of Marian and Jamie had changed to thirty year olds compared to the small 11 year olds when we first meet them. A testament to the authors maturing of the characters voices and descritpions of their appearances, both in narrative and in thru the eyes of other characters.

Jesus, the sycopahntic rhapsodized musings of people high on mushrooms trying to make LA seem magical. Fuck off.

Although i enjoyed the interlude of Jamie's time in seattle, it strikes me that Shipstead bestows opportunity and respect upon Jamie, and meanwhile, every female main character is opppressed, sexually abused by men. So she *can* envision a social underclass characters chancing upon dignity and opportunity. Just not Matilde, Annabel, Hadley, or Marian. Its clearly a choice, then, to write every woman's victimization.

"Hectored"

This is the most likeable Hadley has ever been. " after my utter failure to fly a plane, I'd only become more determined to be Marian. I needed the relief of being someone who wasn't afraid. It helped that she wasn't completely alien, that we were both products of vanishment and orphan hood and negligence and airplanes and uncles."

The scene of Hadley taking a discovery flight is so well done. I just love an outsider's perspective on flying. And you compare that to how she wrote Marian's first flight, and it shows masterful skill of voice. Shipstead described the same exact experience from two wholy, entirely different character perspectives. Loved it, loved it.

25% in to a very long book and finally she starts learning to fly. Why is this so long???

Finally we get to an airplane. Im enjoying the early 1900s passages a lot more than the modern passages. I even like the author's descriptions of the geological history of the area or the feel and workings of steam liner ships. But the modern character is abrassive, buffeted by the partiarchy and abuse and is jaded. I will say, there is a little too much of abuse of women, as well.

I like this quote a lot. "Boys who want for nothing but still found something to take"

I liked Leigh Bardugo's other duology, but not really enjoying this one. Its really, really dark. Human sacrifice, child rape, overdose. None of the humor or charisma of the Six of Crows duology. The time jumps and flashbacks are too frequent and too far apart, it's confusing. And also, the narrator is awful; she sounds soft, plodding, whispery, fragile. Is she trying to give mysterious? She should be giving edgy.

Its like the author had written a beginning, but then the editor said no, and so the author scrapped the entire thing and hastily rewrote the beginning chapters. The narration and descriptions are uneven. The beginning without almost any dialogue so I don't have much of a sense of who the main character is, setting and people without much description. And full of contradictions in descrptions for the protagonist.

Best part is pg. 225.

Im so surprised by the frequent repetition i wondered if it was serialized, published one chapter at a time. How often we hear about doc roberts being a klan member but the only doctor, chona being a "cripple," Moshe is from the old country, etc. Where was the editor?

You can tell an author spent so much less time on the sequel than the first one. Gone are the poetic beginnings of each chapter, gone are the particularly complex and dark description of magic or people. I mean, the author fast-forwarded, montage-like, thru the Shepard King's memories of creating the cards. Pure exposition. Not utilized well, such as for more creepy reveals or King's character development.