Reading Wednesday (belated)

[troisoiseaux]

Read The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels by Beth Lincoln, an utterly delightful middle-grade novel about, basically, nominative determinism: in the sprawling, eccentric Swift family, every baby is named by open-and-point method using the family Dictionary (or available substitute, in a pinch, which was the case with Aunt Schadenfreude and, presumably, cousin Pamplemousse). For young Shenanigan Swift, being literally defined by her name is becoming irritating: sure, she has a penchant for mischief, but is that really all she is? When a family reunion at the ancestral Swift manor— rumored to be the site of hidden treasure— turns into a locked-room murder mystery, it's up to Shenanigan and her sister Phenomena to solve the case (because bumbling detective Gumshoe Swift certainly won't).

The blurb for this book compares it to Lemony Snicket (specifically, "Knives Out feel by way of Lemony Snicket") and I can totally see that; I also found myself reminded of Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society, one of my childhood favorites for its puzzles and wordplay. It's a cute, clever book, with LGBT representation— specifically, its nonbinary and transgender characters— that made my heart grow three sizes.

Finished The Surgeon's Mate by Patrick O'Brian, which features about 200 pages of various ships chasing, or being chased by, Jack Aubrey's and also a prison break. Fun read!

Comments

[lunabee34]

I just put this on the list for Fi who loves The Mysterious Benedict Society.

[troisoiseaux]

:D

How is Fi liking the Warrior Cats books, btw?

[lunabee34]

Besotted with them.

Every time she describes them to me, I just scratch my head because they sound awful to me. Ha!

Right now she's reading a saga about the Dark Forest, which she describes as cat hell.

They just sound so conservative. You have to pick a job and you can only be that job, which has very prescribed rules. You can only marry someone from your clan, so the books are full of forbidden love that is always quashed because the clans can't intermarry. And the clans are constantly fighting each other instead of doing the logical thing and working together and helping each other.

But she's eating it up with a spoon. LOL

[troisoiseaux]

They just sound so conservative.

HUH. You know, that's never occurred to me? I've only read the first couple of series (there's been like six more since I aged out), but I think the strict societal rules— which, especially vis-a-vis inter-Clan romance, are flouted constantly— and territorial fighting are more of a "how do we quickly sketch out a (cat) world in which drama can happen?" rather than intending a takeaway of, like, yes, strict societal rules/roles are good. (Also, the entire second series is about how it would be better for the clans to work together!) But, yes, there's something about Warrior Cats that children will go crazy for and leaves adults scratching their heads— my mom was also ??? about how much I loved it as a kid.

Glad she's enjoying the books, though! :D

[lunabee34]

I think it gets worse as the different series go on; she's on like the fifth or so. Because while the cats do have frequent relationships outside their clans, those relationships almost always fail--they break up because they're in different clans and they realize it won't work. And there's so many cats who become medicine cats and then want to have relationships or even start clandestine ones and then have to break up because medicine cats have to be celibate.

And the clans are constantly warring with each other and mistrusting each other.

I think it's the sheer cumulative mass of it. Like one series in isolation doesn't seem to be making any kind of point. But by the end of five of them, it's kind of like in HP: the Sorting Hat sings a song about the Houses working together and unity and then everything is the same at the end. IDK

I am possibly just an old mom. I accept this fate. LOL