WHAT I JUST FINISHED READING: Quiiiiiite a few things, as it happens. Last week I finished
"The Scarlet Letter" and
"Pride and Prejudice", two classics that had been on my list for a long, long time. "The Scarlet Letter" I liked a lot better than I expected, from the moment I met Hester. It's a book I know I'll reread eventually, and meditate over. OTOH, P&P started as a really nice read; I like Austen's style, and I like her character work both for those I find endearing or admirable AND those that make me want to tear my hair out xD. Halfway through, with the first proposal and the letter is when it starts really picking up, fully exploding with Lydiagate, as I've seen it called. Speaking of, I don't think there are words that would suffice to describe my hate for Wickham! What he tried to pull with Georgina in particular was so, so despicable... it's absolutely infuriating he gets away scot-free AND keeps taking money from the rest of the characters, even if it makes the story objectively more interesting and therefore better LOL.
I finished reading a couple comic runs as well; DC has me in its clutches again, tragically xD. I decided to give a go to
"Batman: The New Adventures" and read issues #1-14, aka, DC's attempt to introduce Jason Todd, aka my favourite DC character, to the Timmverse. DO NOT RECOMMEND
( spoilers from the run & what I would've preferred )Like... I know after ADITF DC turned Jason into a cautionary tale for other sidekicks full of good ol' victim blaming but. That's not The Point of Jason. He was not some psycho violent kid doomed to become a murderer or an idiot who died because he didn't listen to wise old Batman. He was a kid eager to help people and to find a loving connection that got killed for reasons beyond his control, just like everyone who comes face to face with a repentless killer. It's that simple and that sad. Smh.
I also finished reading
"Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow", which I liked far, FAR more. Superb art, interesting storyline (and a nice homage to "True Grit", although the differences in genre/rules make me think I shouldn't rewatch the film, in case the comic looks worse in comparison lol), and a Kara I utterly fell in love with like never before.
I also reread a friend's debut novel now that I have the paperback,
"When The Stars Alight", which I recommended
here. It came with a little extra scene that wasn't in the ARC that I delighted on, as it's about one of my favourite secondary characters.
WHAT I'M READING NOWWell, first of all, I've started beta-reading the final draft of
"We Will Devour The Night", the next book after WTSA. I have read a previous version and loved it even more than the first book, and I'm excited to read the non-insignificant changes that have been implemented ^-^
I'm also keeping up with my substack newsletters: we finished "Inferno" in
Divine Comedy Weekly and will start with "Purgatory" tomorrow; this week
Letters from Watson started with a new Sherlock Holmes short story; and this Saturday they'll start sending the third book in the Oz world in
Beyond the Wizard.
Other than that... comics. Comics, comics, and more comics (DC only, for now, although eventually I want to catch up with a few Image runs).
I've picked up a few issues from the latest cross-runs event,
Knight Terrors, where some new (?) villain is hunting the nightmares of the characters looking for a magical stone. My favourite so far has been Poison Ivy's two-part run (SUPER creepy, reminiscent of Stepford Wives
although obviously not nearly as great), although I have some hopes for Robin (with Tim & Jason) and Nightwing (who is trapped in Arkham after supposedly killing [redacted]).
As for current runs I'm also at day with
"The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing" (with the usual problems of a Joker story
nerfing other characters to keep him breathing, but with some great Jason moments),
"Waller vs. Wildstorm" (Lois AND Amanda Waller in the same run?),
"Tales of The Titans" (heartwarming first issue with Kory),
"Justice Society of America" (Helena Wayne travels in time, changes the past, saves her parents, and becomes stuck), and
"Spirit World" (a new nb spirit hero + Constantine + Cass as Batgirl -IDEK what hero names the batkids have rn and at this point I'm too afraid to ask).
I've also started the webcomic
"Red Hood: Outlaws" in my quest for decent Jason content (mixed feelings so far, but gr10 art. A very punchable Bruce, I have to say xD), and I read the first issue of
"Harley Quinn: Black and White and Red" , since the run is getting a sequel and I've wanted to read it for years. Loved this one; the art is amazing, Harley was written perfectly in those few pages, and Harlivy was at the heart of it in a very evocative way. And I keep re-reading over
Jason's Robin Era comics, of course.
WHAT I'LL READ NEXTThe to-do list goes:
a.) Keep up with all of the above as long as it remains interesting.
b.) Pick (back) up even more comics as the mood takes me, probably xD (it's the summer, when else will I have the time?)
c.) Finish "Angels in America", since I kind of dropped it last month to finish those other books.
This list probably looks excesive but lbr: comics are a super, super short read, thankfully!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![Photograph of a page inside the book. It shows the beginning of a chapter (XXII, the twenty second one), preceded by a small, greyscale drawing of a rabbit in a wolf's embrace, with the wolf holding a rose in its mouth. The first paragraph it's completely visible, with the first letter adorned with flowers. It says, "AMIRA ROSE SAT HIGH ON HER SOLAR THRONE, its name reflected in the gilt carvings of sun rays that ringed the head of the ivory chair. Her brown, beautiful face emitted enough rage to outshine the merciless radiance of ten thousand burning suns. Such was the fury she felt towards the accused standing opposite her." The second paragraph is partially visible, interrupted by my fingers. "Since word had travelled [...] the water of the attempt on her daughter's life she had [...] for [...] extradition. While [...] way of tenderness [...]."](https://res.cloudinary.com/dawb51qtt/image/upload/v1689711548/00_j4xhdx.jpg)
