Midweek Mishmash: Alternate World Ed.

There have been some issues regarding leaving messages here, and I believe it has been going on for some time but has gotten worse of late.  I have gotten a little help from Typepad and it sounds like there is a coding problem occurring behind the scenes in the way I have my comments set up--and how they display on various browsers.  I have turned off the type of commenting which allows me to respond per comment (nesting?), but that should hopefully enable everyone to leave a comment more easily.  If there continue to be problems, please do let me know (literarycat@hotmail.com).  I will just create one comment/response going forward, so you may need to scroll down to find a reply). 

I am contemplating changing my blogging platform.  Aside from needing a fresh look, and wanting to change my URL (Torres went away as my surname a long time ago), I think there must be other places I can blog that will be easier and perhaps more intuitively friendly for what I want to do these days.  If you are a blogger and have any suggestions, I would love to explore the possibilities!

In search of . . .  Yes, I need a grand, good, new reading distraction.  I am becoming increasingly disturbed by the news and what is happening--the total lack of civility and honesty in the way things are going these days.  Living in a pandemic is already challenging, but watching all the shenanigans (ad nauseam) on every channel and news outlet is becoming increasingly toxic, and I can't take anymore in.

Books and movies have long been my release and place to hide away and be part of something better and different (or maybe not better but with a happier outcome).  I am very much enjoying my current stack of books, but I was thinking that maybe a novel in the fantasy genre would be a good outlet for my emotions these days.  I am thinking of an alternate world perhaps, or maybe one not so unlike the one we are living in.  A world ruled by darkness where there seems to be no light, but a hero (or better a heroine) comes along and must fight a battle to overcome the evil that has taken control of the world.  What first came to mind is Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series.  I read Over Sea, Under Stone years ago and bought the second book in the quintet of books but never got around to it.  So I have pulled out Over Sea... and will reread it while I try and track down where I put the second book!

As I am not a regular reader of the fantasy genre, I would appreciate suggestions.  I like the Arthurian tone to the Cooper novels, but it can be anything.  I do have the epic, The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, but I think it might be too much to try and read it along with my other books at the moment.  

I've also got some time to think about what to read for the Margaret Atwood Reading Month this coming November.  I have been so out of the loop this year with the virtual reading world that there have been numerous readalongs I am sorry I missed out on, but this is one I can plan for.  Maybe a reread of The Blind Assassin or one of her other earlier novels, or maybe some short stories or essays.  This is the kind of planning and things I want on my mind these days!

Happy news.  I finished another section of A Suitable Boy!  These two sections have been more uphill going and tackling them has been an accomplishment in my reading life (silly as it sounds, but you have to appreciate these small battles, right?).  One section was about a character's banishment to the countryside, and this last section taking place in part in a courtroom.  There were some quite dramatic moments which pulled me in, and I will write about section 11 in the next few days.  However, now I am back with Lata and her mother and sisters and am turning pages quickly and moving right along.  

My other good distraction is movies!  I am looking forward to some new and forthcoming films and series as well as an older movie or two.  I am excited to watch Enola Holmes this weekend.  You can see the trailer here.  I think the film is based on YA books?  But visuals have a lot to offer in this case!  I am hoping to be able to stream Ammonite with Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan (another book adaptation?--already pulled my copy of Tracy Chevalier's Remarkable Creatures).  We are in a weird place now with theatrical releases as some movie theaters are open, but not all.  And I won't be going to the cinema anytime soon as covid cases are on the rise.  But Nest looks fantastic and it seems to be in theaters only?

I'm excited about PBS's forthcoming Flesh and Blood.  And yay, another season of the Great British Baking Show (how they managed to film with the pandemic is amazing).  Optimistically I hope to be able to watch the film adaptation of A Suitable Boy (when I finish reading!), and I have been quietly (in the background) been reading Junichiro Tanizaki's The Makioka Sisters (so good, but an undertaking, too).  I can't wait to finally watch the 1983 film adaptation.

So, the world outside might be topsy turvy but inside my own little bubble I can just let in the better things.  I hope you are finding inspiration or distraction from your books and movie watching, too.

Comments

[cath]

Maybe you could take a look at the Boudica series by Manda Scott, Danielle, We very much liked the first book of the series. It's historical fiction.

[Mystica]

I am certainly reading not much TV watching. The days are still drifting by and every Friday I cannot understand how another week has gone by. Almost at the end of September now.

[Constance]

I do think the Susan Cooper series is a good idea, although I have not reread it for ages (but did get her to sign some of them a few years ago). I am a very selective fantasy fan but I would also recommend Graceling by Kristin Cashore or The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski.

Louise Penny's books have been a great comfort over the last six months. I was not initially a fan but now I am obsessed with them.

I am irritated by Blogger and have been tempted to move to Wix, a platform I had to use for a project a few months ago. Take a look.

[Smithereens]

Hurray for new comments and for your movie selection! I know of the YA series about Enola Holmes, there's also a comic book adaptation in French. i'm also all for escapism these days, my own recent choice was western romance. My own platform is wordpress, it's a big thing so it doesn't have big technical issues. I have kept a free account for all these years and I have appreciated that they don't pester me with urges to get a paying account. I think any platform needs some time to get used to.

[BuriedInPrint]

Yay, I think we've stumbled on a reading project after all...I've had the Susan Cooper books on my list for ages!

Thanks, also, BTW, for including a link to MARM (Margaret Atwood Reading Month). We're going to have a BINGO (for fun, nothing serious) later this month, before the event actually launches for November.

Have you read the Philip Pullman books? (Beginning with Northern Lights or The Golden Compass, depending on the country of publication.)

Ursula K. Le Guin's Catwings series (not entirely fantastical), illustrated, for young readers?

Guy Gavriel Kay's Fionavar Tapestry (there are Arthur connections)?

Margery Sharp's Rescuers series? (Very tame, but delightful and somewhat comic, if old-fashioned.)

Mary Stewart's classic for children, The Little Broomstick?

Jo Walton's Among Others, realism but with a love of fantasy built-in?

Okay, okay, I'll stop now. LOL

I completely understand your desire to spend some time in another place these days!

[Marg Bates]

I am so jealous that you get to see the new season of the Great British Baking Show. I have no idea when we are going to see it.

Good luck finding a new blogging home.

[Kathy A Johnson]

I could not understand the hullabaloo about The Great British Baking Show...until I watched it! My husband and I both love it and have been watching the seasons backwards, though saving the latest one that just came out for last. It's so soothing, and the people are so nice! It is a real comfort watch. Who knew there were that many different kinds of baked goods?
I am all about the comfort right now, too, as it just feels as though the real world is breaking my heart. I've been reading the Emily of New Moon series, and watching the Agatha Raisin series on Hoopla AND starting to read the Agatha Raisin books. Even though the books and TV show are a bit different from each other, I am enjoying them both so far.
I don't often read fantasy, but I did enjoy The Bear and the Nightingale trilogy (hang in there through the fist half of "Bear"--it gets better!)

[LindaY]

Have you tried the Peter Grant books yet ("Rivers of London," "Midnight Riot" in the US)? The author is Ben Aaronovitch.

My favorite version of Agatha Raisin so far has been the radio version with Penelope Keith. It pops up every so often on BBC Radio 4X.

[Danielle]

Cath--I am completely unfamiliar with the books, though I know the name Boudica. A quick peek and the first book looks really interesting--I might have to look for a copy-thanks!

Mystica--Yes, time is really strange now. I go into work only three days so my weeks are broken up into weird chunks and working from home is very strange. I can't believe we are so far into the year now and already the days/light is getting shorter. I am in a weird limbo of reading and movie watching. I used to go to so many movies in the theater, but now I am watching all kinds of older movies on TV and watching some new things on Netflix. I guess whatever gets us along in the year and through all the stresses!

Constance--I read the first Cooper years ago and am enjoying the reread--I seem to have forgotten so much of the story. This time I will try an read the whole set as they are not terribly long books. Thanks for the other fantasy suggestions--I am not familiar with either author so will enjoy looking them up! I read the first Louise Penney mystery and have the next book--I have two coworkers who read or listen to them and love the series. I really need to pick up that second book--she seems pretty universally admired! And thanks for the Wix tip. I am so out of the loop these days and am not sure what the best new platform is to blog--I think I do need a change however...

Smithereens--I am glad to hear commenting is easier now. I feel bad that people might have left a message but were turned away by Typepad not cooperating! I know a lot of people use Wordpress--I will look at the free option as well. I am not that fancy here as you see, and I am not a daily blogger, so I think something simple might work just as well! I loved Enola Holmes--well worth the watch if you get the chance. I hope they do another one. I am not sure I will look for the YA books, but I would love it if the graphic novel was published here sometime! I have some escapism books going now too! Just started The Rescuers and am well into the Susan Cooper fantasy novel so they are keeping me entertained!

[Danielle]

BiP--Hey, that's great. I will email you later today (am catching up online today finally!). I am into the first Cooper book, which is a reread and have the second one on the TBR. I do have The Golden Compass--no doubt also bought at a moment when I was feeling drawn to a little fantasy--as yet unread of course...
Am happy to give a shout out for MARM--and am glad you announced it early (for people like me who are perpetually behind!). I think I might definitely reread The Blind Assassin, but if I plan well maybe something else as well. But you never know and plans change, but I have it in the back of my mind. We had a discussion about GGK not that long ago, didn't we? But I think I was mixing him up with someone else. Must check my shelves and see what I have. And thanks for the suggestions. I know you have also read Naomi Novik and I *know* I have one of her books and was looking for it earlier in the week but can't find it...of course with the Cooper I am okay at the moment.
And Yes, life just seems to be getting crazier by the minute!

Marg--Hi! Are you in Australia? I was totally surprised that there was even a new series with the pandemic! It was quite something that they pulled it off. The entire production company must have had to work in isolation!! I am very lucky indeed--this is perfect for TV escapism and it looks pretty normal. And yay for normal. I need to start looking around now for another blogging platform since I will have time off from work during the holidays to transfer things over.

Linda--I have the first Peter Grant book and I pick it up often. It looks quirky and fun and I must get to it!! I have a coworker who loves the Agatha Raisin books. I have the first but have not watched the TV adaptation. I am never quite sure whether to watch adaptations--or to watch before or after (and sometimes it becomes--instead of the book...).

Kathy--Isn't the baking show terrific! Before it started airing here and UK bloggers were talking about it I also wondered what the attraction was as I don't generally go for cooking shows of any type. But I make an exception for the baking show. It is a competition but without any of the nastiness--all very civil and fun!! I have wondered about the Arden/Bear books. We have the first two (or maybe three?) at the library and I always look at them. Thanks for the heads up! Did you ever watch the Anne of Green Gables series on Netflix? I just watched the first episode by chance and really liked it. I only watched a few episodes of the first season as I want to read the books first! And yes, it is very demoralizing every day watching the news. I have limited my intake drastically. Every day something new and shocking!

[Kathy A Johnson]

I have not watched the Anne series, because I read some things about it when it first came out that made me think I might not like it--but maybe I should give it a try. I do love the books so much!