Thoughts: Kitty Steals the Show, by Carrie Vaughn

Posted on 22 April 2017 by Dove

Yes, it’s that time again. More Kitty! We will make it through. I hope you enjoy me taking worldbuilding too seriously because that’s literally all this is.

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German Reading Project: Die Tribute Von Panem by Suzanne Collins, chapter 23

Posted on 21 April 2017 by Dove

I’m sort of fudging a bit here. I didn’t take Die Tribute on holiday with me because I wouldn’t have had a dictionary without bothering Spuggy every two minutes and it would have been more hassle than it was worth. Also, I felt like I had enough homework to do what with the editing of my own story. So I’ll cut it back down to one chapter between English books, just so I don’t let too much time get between me and them.

I know, I know, I just love arbitrary rules. They help me get things done.

Best word of chapter 23:

naschen: to nibble. Reminds me of Gnasher.

And in Hunger Games-specific words, this chapter gives us the famous nightlock – or der Nachtriegel. This time the German has gone for a very literal approach, “nacht” meaning “night”, and “riegel” meaning… “lock”. The English reference to nightshade/hemlock is mostly lost (nightshade is der Nachtschatten and hemlock is der Schierling, or die Hemlocktanne for the hemlock spruce) but the literal name is still pretty effective, I think.

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Thoughts: The House of Shattered Wings, by Aliette de Bodard

Posted on 20 April 2017 by Dove

Oh man, I have the most amazing backlog to work through. It’s incredible how much you can read when you’re trying to avoid looking at your own manuscript.

The House of Shattered Wings wasn’t on my list, or my radar at all, but this incomparable fella lent it me and I couldn’t say no. I have good instincts, and Eren has good taste.

Spoiler warning.

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German Reading Project: Die Tribute Von Panem by Suzanne Collins, chapters 21 & 22

Posted on 9 April 2017 by Dove

And I’m up to date! Hopefully I’m likely to stay up to date for a while, because I’m trying to edit another of my manuscripts this month, which means I’ll be slowing down a bit on the reading. Wish me luck.

Chapter 21:

schnurren: to purr. I just enjoy onomatopoeia words in general! This being Die Tribute though, it’s not exactly a nice purring.

Chapter 22:

eine Zeitverschwendung: a boondoggle. This word had the added bonus of teaching me what a boondoggle was!

der Plumps: a thud/bonk. Close to being a perfect word.

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Thoughts: Kitty’s Big Trouble, by Carrie Vaughn

Posted on 8 April 2017 by Dove

Is it just me, or are these titles getting more and more generic as the series goes on?

Anyway, if this title makes you think “Big Trouble in Little China“, then you’re on the right track.

Blah blah blah spoiler warning for the ninth book in a series.

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German Reading Project: Die Tribute Von Panem by Suzanne Collins, Chapters 19 & 20

Posted on 7 April 2017 by Dove

Almost caught up with my little backlog again. More words than usual, because these chapters had lots of good words.

Chapter 19

ein Aussätziger: a leper. A useful word to know! …OK this is why I can’t hold a conversation in German.

ausgezeichnet: excellent. Like in Bill and Ted’s Ausgezeichnet Adventure! I’m joking. In true German fashion, the actual film is called Bill & Teds verrückte Reise durch die Zeit.

zimperlich: squeamish. A word that is legitimately good to know when reading these chapters of Die Tribute Von Panem.

Chapter 20

munter: energetic. One of those words that means very different things in German and English…

das Tohuwabohu: hullabaloo!

Dickköpfig: obstinate. What else?

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Thoughts: Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, by Stephenie Meyer

Posted on 6 April 2017 by Dove

You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.

My relationship with Twilight as a franchise is long and… not particularly complicated. I heard about it long before I read it, and it was after I caught up on Cleolinda’s amazing recaps (still worth a read to this very day!) that I decided I needed to read this thing and form my own opinion. My initial shock! and distaste! at the unhealthy relationship depicted therein became an ironic enjoyment, which allowed me to revel in internet gems like Growing Up Cullen, and then has become something… more?

So of course Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined went on the list, and I finally got around to reading it. Spoilery discussion follows.

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German Reading Project: Die Tribute Von Panem by Suzanne Collins, Chapters 16, 17 & 18

Posted on 5 April 2017 by Dove

A threefor! Since my phone broke, it’s been harder to distract myself from reading on public transport, and I also noticed that if I finished chapter 18 I could finish off Teil 2 of the book, so I pushed on through.

Best words:

Chapter 16:

das Dickicht: thicket. You can almost see how it fits together!

Chapter 17:

grummeln: to chunter

This is also the chapter where I looked up the word “blind” Just In Case. It means “blind”!

Chapter 18:

die Niedergeschlagenheit: despondency. Fulfils the need for both super long word, and Hunger Games-specific word!

Confession time: Rue’s lullaby is in this chapter and it made me sort of giggle. Like, it’s mostly done well, and it rhymes, but the third line of each stanza just feels like too many syllables squished into one place. It makes me think of this song because apparently I am Satan.

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Thoughts: Kitty Goes To War, by Carrie Vaughn

Posted on 2 April 2017 by Dove

I’ve got a little bit behind on my book thoughts lately, so prepare for a straight run of posts whenever I have time…

As always, I like to talk spoilerishly.

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Other Thoughts: The Chrysalids and the Midwich Cuckoos, by John Wyndham

Posted on 31 March 2017 by Spuggy
Left, an English farmhouse. Right, an Amish farmhouse

Midwich and Waknuk, maybe. CC by Ilamont and Andrew Smith

Back when Waterstones still did 3-for-2 deals, I picked up the entire John Wyndham collection – since his 6* novels conveniently fit the offer perfectly – read 3 and forgot about them. Oops.

Recently, I finally got round to reading the other three: Chocky, The Midwich Cuckoos (better known as The Village of the Damned) and The Chrysalids. Let’s call it the psychic child trilogy. And, without realising it, I’ve listed them in reverse chronological order – Chrysalids was 1955, Midwich Cuckoos 1957 and Chocky 1968. But in terms of their topics, it makes perfect sense to read them the other way around.

In fact, if I were a book publisher, I would publish Chrysalids and Midwich Cuckoos back-to-back, and I would tell people that they have to start reading Chrysalids the moment they finish Midwich Cuckoos. Individually these are two great books, but together they form something much more. In this blog post, I’m going to natter a bit about how these two books actually tell the same story – as if once in relief, and once in intaglio.

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