Misc books: Aiken, Kelly

Nightfall, by Joan Aiken. I would never have guessed she'd written this if her name wasn't on the cover. Short, readable, yet intensely stupid thriller about a woman trying to regain lost memories of a childhood trauma and so getting involved in an old unsolved mystery. The plot depends on everyone in it being an idiot-- not realizing, for instance, that twins commonly look alike.

Reforming Lord Ragsdale, by Carla Kelly. A sweet, touching Regency romance about an English aristocrat who's been depressed and drinking heavily since losing an eye in the war in Ireland, and Emma, the strong-willed Irish indentured servant who drives a bargain with him (when he's dead drunk) that he'll free her if she can reform him and get him married off. You can see where that's going.

The appeal of this is that the characters are the opposite of the ones in Aiken's book: they behave intelligently and out of reasonable motives. Perhaps Lord Ragsdale's slow growth of a social conscience is totally historically implausible, but it was portrayed believably, and I liked that Kelly tackled the social issues of the time rather than pretending they didn't exist. The power imbalance between the romantic couple is handled thoughtfully and well, and I liked that they genuinely cared for each other and that Kelly didn't resort to random nastiness or contrived misunderstandings to keep them apart. And the scene when he tells Emma he's taking her to Mass really got to me.

Why oyceter is cool

You write perceptive, articulate, and often quite funny posts about all sorts of fascinating topics, from romance pet peeves to cross-cultural issues to children’s lit.

I’m particularly taken with your posts on food— not only do you describe it deliciously, but you’ve given serious thought to the way what we eat connects with our feelings about our childhood and how we fit into the society we’re living in. (You have the makings of an article on the topic, at the very least- seriously, you should think about it.) And if it wasn’t for you, I would never have known that I’m a Third Culture Kid.

I adore your adorable rats, and would love to see more rat photo blogging from you.

You seem like a sweet, thoughtful, unpretentious person, and I wish you lived in Los Angeles so we could have dim sum together. And so I could come over and watch anime and play with Fitz-rat and Fool-rat.

Why oyceter is cool

You write perceptive, articulate, and often quite funny posts about all sorts of fascinating topics, from romance pet peeves to cross-cultural issues to children’s lit.

I’m particularly taken with your posts on food— not only do you describe it deliciously, but you’ve given serious thought to the way what we eat connects with our feelings about our childhood and how we fit into the society we’re living in. (You have the makings of an article on the topic, at the very least- seriously, you should think about it.) And if it wasn’t for you, I would never have known that I’m a Third Culture Kid.

I adore your adorable rats, and would love to see more rat photo blogging from you.

You seem like a sweet, thoughtful, unpretentious person, and I wish you lived in Los Angeles so we could have dim sum together. And so I could come over and watch anime and play with Fitz-rat and Fool-rat.

Why yhlee is cool

You’re a talented writer and a fiercely intelligent person, and you give great link. You’re passionate about so many things— books and TV and music and math and science— and you write about your many interests with so much humor and intensity that even when I think I’m not interested in something you’re writing about, I always end up reading what you have to say about it anyway. And then I get interested. You’re an honest-to-goodness Renaissance woman.

In a situation where most people just throw up their hands and give up on writing, let alone submitting, for the next few years, you are not only continuing to write, not only continuing to submit, but actually selling your work. And applying for, being accepted into, and attending highly competitive writer’s workshops. And taking difficult and courageous steps in your personal life. And in the middle of all that, you still manage to burn CDs for your friends. You may not feel like it, but trust me: you are one of the most disciplined and tenacious people I’ve run into in my life, and some day those qualities will pay off big-time.

And I like your sketches.

Oh, and happy birthday! (And thanks for the typically wonderful CD mixes—as I’ve mentioned before, I love your taste in music.)

Why yhlee is cool

You’re a talented writer and a fiercely intelligent person, and you give great link. You’re passionate about so many things— books and TV and music and math and science— and you write about your many interests with so much humor and intensity that even when I think I’m not interested in something you’re writing about, I always end up reading what you have to say about it anyway. And then I get interested. You’re an honest-to-goodness Renaissance woman.

In a situation where most people just throw up their hands and give up on writing, let alone submitting, for the next few years, you are not only continuing to write, not only continuing to submit, but actually selling your work. And applying for, being accepted into, and attending highly competitive writer’s workshops. And taking difficult and courageous steps in your personal life. And in the middle of all that, you still manage to burn CDs for your friends. You may not feel like it, but trust me: you are one of the most disciplined and tenacious people I’ve run into in my life, and some day those qualities will pay off big-time.

And I like your sketches.

Oh, and happy birthday! (And thanks for the typically wonderful CD mixes—as I’ve mentioned before, I love your taste in music.)