There is still not a gisaeng

Be prepared this is going to basically be a rehash of last years wish list because the reading atmosphere has not changed. https://themollyweather.wordpress.com/2013/02/07/why-isnt-there-a-gisaeng/

I have been sprinkling little rants here and there to come the basic fact that I am sick. I am tired. NO MORE. The lack of diversity and variety is killing my reading.

1. Diversity in historical fiction

Okay, now that medievalpoc exists can we stop the lame excuses of not including different races in historical fiction. The lack of diversity in historical fiction has basically killed my enjoyment of historical fiction. If I have to see another story of the Tudors or any other England house when I cannot see barely one story of ancient Korea

2. Diversity in fiction in general but especially in the considered action genres such as fantasy

Most books with different race characters seem to be exclusively written in literature type of books which, is not bad. I just want to  see people of color in books with action and adventure more right now.

3. Unique supernatural creatures

I do not want to see vampire, werewolves, fairies, witches, mermaids, or any other supernatural creature that is getting played like a funky piano. I am bored already of your book please, please, please write a supernatural creature that has never been used before. Oh, yeah do not put an already used supernatural creature and just give it a new name.

 That is so lazy!

4. Unique fantasy Worlds

Why does every fantasy novel have to be about a kingdom? Does it make sense for a world that involves magic to have the people with all the magic not in power? I am just plainly getting bored with fantasy worlds that are just the same as the last one.

5. Asian dramas as books

There are many great things about Asian dramas such as the romance. They build the romance which I wish so much that authors would do.  The comedy is done so well in most Asian dramas.

6.  Sibling/ Family relationships

That are not incestuous and really actually goes into the dynamics of the relationship.

7. Controversial topics that get dealt with adequately

If you are just going to deal with such topics as feminism as black and white just do not even do it. Feminism is not all men are bad.

8. Romani culture

I would like to see more fictional books dealing with this really interesting culture.

9.  Variety in the historical places historical fiction is set in.

It would be awesome to see a new setting  such as Korea or the Philippines.

10. Dimensional characters.

I am tired of the stereotypical characters who are nice girl/boy or bad boy/girl.  Every one on this planet has different experiences that cause them to be who they are today. To dumb characters down to do whatever is really boring and lazy.

I have so many more topics for books I want to put but that is ten.

Now, authors handle it.  do not want to come back next year saying the same things!!

Bleak House Readalong in February

I’m joining another challenge because this is the year to get things done.  That and I have been feeling this compulsion to read a big book. I decided to join the Bleak House readalong in February hosted by http://reading-rambo.blogspot.com/2014/01/bleak-house-in-february.html

I guess I will talk about my history with Charles Dickens. I watched Oliver Twist with my mom which, is a very good movie by the way. Then I read/listened to the book in 2011 and 2012. I think  because I saw the movie before reading the book and I decided to listen to the book on audio solely, I ended up thinking it was okay. I will say that it is memorable in a positive way, I can quote parts from the novel and get excited about it still. Fast forward to last year I read David Copperfield which was so amazing. It is one of the top 10 books I read in 2013.  So knowing that both those books were so good I had a hard time picking the next Charles Dickens I wanted to read. What made me pick Bleak House is the two mini-series that are on Netflix and this readalong. I read a bit of this book a while back and I did not feel that immediate interest in the story. I heard that it picks up so I am hoping that it does.

The Schedule

February 4th – Chapters I through XI
February 11th – Chapters XII through XXI
February 18th – Chapters XXII through XXXII

Previews Extravaganza

I am addicted to creating themes now if you cannot tell by now. In choosing books to get at the  library I found myself facing the problem of having too many books that I want. Going to the library is an occasion that does not happen all time (even though it happened a lot more last year than I thought). I came up with the idea of having a previewing most if not all of the books I plan to get at the library. I kind of wish I would have done this before reserving some of the books I did at the library.

It might seem frivolous  going to the library in my last year of my two-year plan to read all the books I own (leaving 80). I think that it is not all that bad because I found so much joy in the books I got from the library last year. I also have major holes in the books I own.

I lack:

• Diversity
• Genres: adult fantasy, mystery, horror
• Comics/graphic novels

I just overall feel that the books I own are constricted and going to the library feels that void. I reserved some books that I only have the second or so series to so that balances things out. Also, a time will come like it always does when I cannot go to the library. I need to enjoy the library while I can go regularly.

Reserved

These are the books I already reserved at the library.

I am going to preview these (except The Walking Dead because I have prior history to make me think volume will be good too). I am also going to be previewing some other books from the library and maybe some off of my personal shelves.  I am supposed to only be getting 8-10 books from the library. So I have to narrow the books down to 9 at least leaving me room to get a random book. I also want to weed out books that are not good to save me from wasting time on bad books.

 Horns- I’m actually surprised this is still at the library with the movie coming out. I need to get it before it becomes unavailable at the library.

I will probably add more books or read fewer books.  I honestly do not know how this will go. [All images are from goodreads]

January Reading Plan: In Reflection

DNF

It is not enough

A theme you will see in my January planned reading is that there is this aspect of the story that I have been wanting but just having that one thing is not enough.

1. Empress [chapter 1 and that was enough]- I was so excited because this book has Chinese royalty. It has a figure who is the first and only Chinese female ruler. She is a questionable  figure who has done many bad things to get to where she wanted to be. That would have been enough however, I am too sick of authors thinking lyrical and overly using description makes your book deep. I can sometimes hardly follow what is even going on in a chapter. Of course there is not going to be any investment from me because the story is too busy being lyrical and deep to actually tell an interesting story. It jumped around from event to event which is probably one of the most annoying devices authors use. Then I reached a point were I was waiting for the chapter to end. If that is not a sign that you are not into a book nothing else is.

2. The Good Earth [75 pages or 8 chapters]- I was so excited because the book did not seem racist ( my dealings with other books and seeing the preview for the movie made me anxious). The characters were interesting and seemed to be what I would want in a book. They had distinct personalities and I chuckled a bit at first. Then the jumping around started. Major events would happen in a page or sentence. I began to feel that something was missing. I came to the conclusion that many things were missing. Among those things is the lack of conflict or action.  I just want more action and something that excites me. I feel that this book is actually not that bad. I could functionally sit and finish The Good Earth. I won’t because I am getting the feeling that this book will make me angry later. I see all these problems that are small right now but later on become unbearable. I just don’t feel that the story or characters have me enough at 19%. The characters seemed like they were round at first until I realized the side I see is the only side I am going to see. I am a Charles Dickens and overall the classics type of characterization. That is the main reason I like A Game of Thrones because all the characters have personalities and evolution in themselves as characters. I got bothered that many characters got put to the back to when they could have went into these characters. Then I would find myself not wanting to read it. In contrast other books I felt compelled to read and read. Overall, I did not feel all the good doesn’t/will not out way the bad.

3.The Emperor’s Pearl [chapter 2]- The mystery was not interesting and overall I felt nothing.

4.Anne of Green Gables[ a bit of chapter 3]- I think that I have out grown children classics. I felt not all that impressed. It was also giving off Little Women vibes.

5.

Lady Chatterly’s Lover[chapter 2]- I liked that it showed signs of feminism. I just could not get behind the story. I just felt that it was boring as far as I read it. It seemed to not go anywhere from the reviews I saw.

6. The Swiss Family Robinson [chapter 2?]- I was so pumped about the idea of a family beating the odds on a desert island. I was into the father talking about god and faith.  I’m most of the time interested in how religion is handled in books especially if it is done well. In this books case it was not done well in my opinion. The problem is that the father is yelling at his kids about stuff that doesn’t deserve moralizing. Every five minutes. Again, I am getting really completely sick of over description. Get to the story and the characters. Maybe if there was less description there could have been more action. Last year I had a bunch of rants about the lack of action in stories that are supposed to be high in action. This is a story about a deserted island so many thing could have been done. Maybe, things were done but I left after the characters had no pizzazz, the father moralizing, and the simple fact that nothing was happening. I am not finishing a book this year on hopes and promises.

7. The House of Cain [prologue and chapter 1]- Misery probably messed this book up. Misery was so amazing dealing with the horror and action. While reading this book I felt nothing towards the story overall.

Finished

Misery

The First Men in the Moon https://themollyweather.wordpress.com/2014/01/02/318first-men-in-the-moon/

All Together Dead

Conclusion

Even though, I did not finished most of the books on the list I think this was a win. I was able  to take 10 books off my shelf permanently. It reiterated the reasons why my reading needs to go the places it is going. I felt a great feeling reading Misery. I want to continue to feel that excitement. I felt that excitement mostly with Misery and a lot less in All Together Dead. I think I still liked All Together Dead but not as much as the earlier books in the series. The First Men in the Moon was okay overall. I am just happy to see less meh/okay finishes in my reading so far. I had already thought an awesome theme for the next couple of months. I picked most of the books too. A big event has stopped all my ideas from happening.

  I am going to be going back to the library consistently which can be seen as bad or good news. I think that it is good news for many reasons which, I will get into in my next post.

Reading Resolutions

 

1. Read all the books I own until there is 80 or none [deadline: January 1, 2015]

This is the last year in my challenge to read all the books I own.

2. Read more diversely

Last year my eyes opened  to so many problems with my reading. I could not go back into ignorance because  it was making me so angry. It is a matter of my reading happiness. I want to read books that are creative and not about the same old things. I want to read awesome books that include different race characters. I want so many things that I hope I can find this year.

3. Delve more into these genres: horror, adult fantasy, mystery, and just explore more genres

Among the many problems with my reading last year I know that I was focusing my reading on genres that were not for me.  I need to read the genres that are consistently overlooked in my reading. The crazy thing is I feel that I kept going even though I kept repeatedly for years knowing that certain genres were not doing it for me. While  I like ranting I do not want to spend this year ranting and wasting my time on books that are not for me.

4.

I need to be on top of things

I need to be conscious of what I want as a reader. Last year, I spent a lot of time barking up the wrong tree and going around in circles. I need to be brutally honest and direct. I do not want to spend this year like I spent 2013.

5. Stop putting books on the hook or side.

Odds are you do not like x book now and will not like it in some magic future were that makes all its problems go away.

6. DNF even more books

I finished a lot of books that did not deserve a finish. This year I need to embrace dnfing because it is my best friend.

7. Plan more while not losing mood reading

I need to be scoping out books and planning themes more. I think creating themes will be fun while serving the purpose of helping me choose what I need to read.

8. Read more than one book this year from my favorite authors

9. Don’t pressure myself to read!

Non-book Related

10. Support my other hobbies a lot more.

 

January 2014 Reading Plan

What is the theme of this month? I do not have an exact theme like I did last time but if I had to name one it would book to movie/tv. Of the 10 books 7+ of the books have an adaptation. I know that having these movies/shows to look forward to will push me to finish books. I also have 2 books set in China and one book dealing the Chinese American immigrant experience.

1. All Together Dead [#115]

Genre: paranormal romance

I am trying to read all the Sookie Stackhouse books I own this year. I have six left to read so I will try to read one every other month.  I already started this book a while back. I am hoping that this book gets better because what I read so far was not it.

2. Lady Chatterley’s Lover[#488]

Genre: classic, erotica

I’m keeping it pg-13 with the book cover.

3. The Good Earth[#29]

Genre: Historical fiction

I am scared that this not going to be enjoyable, there is a  possibility of it being racist and dealing with the immigration experience poorly. I mean Shanghai Girls  did happen last year. I am giving this book a chance because Shanghai Girls was not good all because of the writing. That and I have the movie coming up soon to record.

4. The First Men In the Moon[#472] – I finished this today.

Genres:Sci-fi, classic

5. Misery [441]

Genre: horror

Yes, I will be reading this book while I am still in the middle of The Stand. I already started it and it is nice. For some reason I was surprised that Stephen King was taking care of business in the first twenty pages.

6. The Emperor’s Pearl[#347]

Genre: mystery/historical fiction

I actually saw the most recent movie for this series before getting this book.

7. Empress [#369]

Genre: historical fiction

This was picked for my randomizer challenge. I am excited to see royalty or  just a historical fiction novel that is not set in England.

8.The House of Caine [#136]

Genre: horror

I  started this and it is okay. I am pushing it back because there is a stronger need for me to read Misery right now.

Audiobooks

I found out that they were airing the series for these two books so I need to read these also.

9. Anne of Green Gables[#506]

It is rounded up 10 hours.

10. The Swiss Family Robinson[#496]

Genre: Adventure

This one is 13 hours rounded up.

318:First Men in The Moon

Synopsis

“When penniless businessman Mr. Bedford retreats to the Kent coast to write a play, he meets by chance the brilliant Dr. Cavor, an absentminded scientist on the brink of developing a material that blocks gravity. Cavor soon succeeds in his experiments, only to tell a stunned Bedford that the invention makes possible one of the oldest dreams of humanity: a journey to the moon. With Bedford motivated by money, and Cavor by the desire for knowledge, the two embark on the expedition. But neither are prepared for what they find—a world of freezing nights, boiling days, and sinister alien life, in which they may be trapped forever.”

Review

I just feel that this book was an overall meh with a few occasions of good. In the beginning the promise of seeing the dynamics of a friendship made me so happy.  The friendship aspect I was expecting did not happen. Actually, an event happened closer to halfway through the book that annoyed me. I will not get into it because it is a spoiler. I will say that it was a development that I did not care for. H.G. Wells kind of made up for this even a bit later on. He could not however make up for the connection that I never felt. I could blame it on listening to this book on audiobook almost exclusively. I could say that this simple action caused me to lose parts. It could be that it was overly descriptive  too. Whatever happened I did not fully ever get into the story or the characters. I just feel like I missed something. I think the best part of the story is the last couple of chapters.  There was a part towards the ending that made me actually annoyed with a character. I stayed annoyed until the author showed that there are two sides to the story which I support. Now that it is over I feel nothing. I think that H.G. Wells has done better.

Comments: So as the first book I finished this year in 2014 it was okay.