Moving and the Current Book Stack

So, Bae and I are in the process of buying a house! Yay!  Along with everything else (paperwork, inspections, etc.) we also have to pack (boo, hiss). As a self diagnosing hoarder (I'm not really, but you never know when you need something), moving is a good thing for me. I get to go through my stuff and envision myself moving it. If it's worth the moving part, it stays. If not, then it definitely goes.

Which brings me to books. When I was younger, I dreamt about having a library. The library in Disney's Beauty and The Beast? Yeah, I definitely didn't care for the love story. I wanted those BOOKS! When I lived at home, I started collecting books, because well, I wanted to start my own library! This proved to be a terrible idea when I moved out, because I had to actually move all of those books. In those 6 years, I've had to move 5 times; almost every single year since I moved out.

Things have definitely been donated, trashed and given away. As BAE and I stare down the prospect of moving into a permanent home (5 years, anyway) with the idea of adult things like nicer furniture and durable picture frames, we're going to have to be ruthless about what we choose to get rid of versus what we keep.

And that includes books.

BAE is an English teacher, and we have so many doubles of the same books. As I was going through my books today, I realized that there were 2 copies of Schindler's List. I knew about Corrections and Catch-22, but Schindler's List was news to me. So, that's an issue.

Before going to the gym, I perused my shelves to donate books to goodwill. Some of them were easy; older books, books I didn't really enjoy and books that were given to me by people I rather not remember. However, embarrassingly enough, I stumbled across MANY books that I actually bought but never read. Some of them I simply stuck on my shelf and forgot about, and others.... I think there was a point in my life where I bought books because I thought I should buy them... and it would make me look smart to have them on my shelf.

I apologize to anyone and everyone that ever helped me move. You moved books that I bought that I thought made me look smart.

So, I have about a month before I move. There are definitely books I know I will read. However, those books that I completely forgot about and never read, I plucked them off my shelf and put them in my book stack. I bought them, so I am GOING to read them.

Look at that enormous stack of books. That is such a weird mix of books. I have some history, some manga (Korean Manga, mind you), some classic literature, some unknown fantasy and finally... religion. Man, my religion minor really paid off... because now I am reading those books. 

Ok! Off we go! 

Red She Hulk: Vol. 1 Hell Hath No Fury by Jeff Parker and Carlo Pagulayan

I picked up this comic along with the second volume of She-Hulk Disorderly Conduct. I love obscure superheroes, and Red She-Hulk, an anti-hero, looked badass to me. There was a minor discount because of comic book day, but there was no second hand anything. I will say that I got the comic book from an actual comic book store, which is a breed that is dying out faster now that Amazon is around.

So, Betty Ross. Red She-Hulk. I haven't read any of her books before, but it's a female hulk, which is pretty awesome. So apparently, she was exposed to the Gamma Radiation that Bruce was exposed to along with her father, General "Thunderbolt" Ross, who became Red Hulk. They briefly mention Bruce Banner, but their relationship is not the focus of the story. Betty is trying to stop the super soldier program that that military is putting together, but instead of derailing it, she encourages MORE funding when she kills a potential soldier and gives The Avengers a run for their money. Oh, and there is an android named Aaron, who is more powerful than The Vision and Ultron put together.

She sees a vision of the future where the super soldiers battle against humans and super heroes and they destroy the world. Even though she is wrecking and destroying everything in her path (for the greater good) and is pretty unlikeable, she's trying to save the world.

The artwork is fantastic and consistent the entire way through (unlike some issues of She-Hulk). I like how they drew Red She-Hulk, including when she went Savage Hulk. When she hulked out, she looked strong and graceful, and suited her. I am resisting the urge to say, 'feminine,' because it would be completely OK if the Red She-Hulk, or any superhero female character didn't want to look, feminine, but I felt like she was drawn without looking weird.

Anyway, the series ends about Volume 2, like She-Hulk unfortunately ended. I'm looking forward the mash up between Betty Ross and Jen Walters.

The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King

Alright, so I picked up this book at the book store in Ohio. I mostly got it because it was 6 dollars! I thought the title, "Language of Bees" was interesting, and the mention of Sherlock Holmes alternative universe seemed interesting too.

I'm normally not a Sherlock Holmes sort of person. I read a few of his books when I was studying abroad in London in college. I took a class on Victorian and Edwardian London, and it was a bonafide, legit, humanities course. I loved reading English literature and then actually going out and seeing the places where the books took place. Dickens was more notorious than Sherlock in setting the scene in London (and specific places at that), but it was still cool to see some of places Arthur Conan Doyle wrote and depicted his first Sherlock novel.

Anyway, I never got on the whole Sherlock Holmes TV series bandwagon. I think Benedict Cumberbatch is incredibly overhyped and the BBC show with Moffat is just... I don't know. I didn't find it amusing or interesting. I watched the first season and when I found out how they treated Irene Adler... well, I was done that show. Elementary seems a bit better, with a female cast as Watson and a more weekly villain vibe. I haven't seen much of Elementary to come to a well rounded conclusion.

ANYWAY, back to The Language of Bees. Not only am I not a huge, "Sherlock Holmes" variation head, I normally don't read straight mysteries. If they are mysteries, they are cross genre with science fiction or fantasy. But, it was 6 dollars, and I was Ohio, so why not?

It was not what I was expecting. It is told in first person perspective of Mary Russell, who is Sherlock Holmes' wife. They arrive home from India to find Sherlock Holmes' son, Damian Adler, in their house in Sussex. Damian states that his wife has gone missing, but due to their bohemian lifestyle, it wasn't such a big deal except for the fact that this time, Yolanda, his wife, also took his daughter with her. Though his relationship with his father is strained, he needs Holmes' help because going to the Scotland Yard with his priors would get him arrested for Yolanda's presumed death.

Sherlock runs off with Damian to find Yolanda and their daughter, Estelle. Mary is left at home in the beginning of the book and goes to investigate an empty bee hive. Apparently Sherlock Holmes is a beekeeper and there is a mystery with why his hive died. Mary Russell solves the mystery, and then goes to meet Holmes in London to figure out the rest of the case.

Ok... Mary Russell is 24 years old in the book. Not a big deal. Sherlock Holmes is in his 60s. Ok... still not a big deal, but kind of odd. Mary reveals how she came to Holmes when she was in her teens, around 15, helping him out on cases. She's an orphan and as she got older, became more of an apprentice... then suddenly became his wife?

When I did some research on Laurie R. King, I discovered that it's a series of books. I thought it was strange there was NO romance between the pair. On one website, Holmes and Russell brokered a marriage in one of the books. Gee, that doesn't sound romantic at all. They also refer to each other as 'Holmes' and 'Russell.' So, she kept her last name (respect) but they still call each other by their last names? BAE calls me by my last name to be funny, but never consistently.

I did more research on their relationship, and I need to read the beginning books to get some of the romance between the pair. The website also argued Holmes homosexuality... but ok. It was very strange. I'm not sure if King thought any sort of romance between the two would take away from Russell or the book, or the focus was on the mystery instead of the relationship between Holmes and Russell.

My original thought (I usually type of a googledoc with initial thoughts, ideas and introduction of the book immediately when I finish it) was that I was more than likely not going to revisit her books. However, The Hive convinced me to give The Beekeeper's Apprentice and A Monstrous Regiment of Women. I want to read about Holmes and Russell sexy times.

The Kingmaker's Daughter by Phillipa Gregory

Like most of PG's books, this one was found at the Baltimore book fair. I wasn't really interested in The Kingmaker's Daughter, but I got it because it was a PG book, it was probably 5 dollars and I figured why not?

Eventually, I stumbled upon The Red Queen book in Ohio and it dawned on me that The Kingmaker's Daughter was another installment in the Cousins' War series. When I chose to watch The White Queen show on Starz for my second and third installment on "Which is Better?" it was advertised that those three books were adapted for the show. I could see the influences of The White Queen and The Red Queen books in the show, so I was curious to see which parts of The Kingmaker's Daughter they used as well. After She-Hulk, this book was next in line!

It's interesting to read about how much other characters perceive Elizabeth's actions as witchcraft. Since it has been so long ago since I read the book that for the entire time I read this one, all I could do was wished I reread The White Queen before reading this book. It's funny, I don't remember much of Anne and Isabel's characters in The White Queen, but maybe it was supposed to be like that? That Elizabeth Woodville paid no mind to girls who based their entire lives on her? However, I do remember parts where Anne was to take the throne, and, I'm not sure if Elizabeth who said it or if another character close to her said it, but that Anne was so thin that the dresses had to be cut down to her size.

It was also interesting to read about The Kingmaker, Warwick and the conflict between him and Edward through Anne's eyes. He was a man desperate for power, and hurt that he was betrayed by Edward. It's also interesting how the entire aristocracy is absolutely against a commoner like Elizabeth and her family to gain power and how much they are willing to scheme, back stab and die in order to get her and her family out of there.

I enjoyed the dynamics between Anne and Richard after Edward dies and their fight for the throne. It starts as Richard's genuine concern for his nephew, then it's a struggle for power between Elizabeth's clan and Richard's clan, then finally their fight for control and power. Richard is seen as the loyal brother for all those years, and then he declares his brother's children as bastards.

I was particularly interested to read about when Richard III started making moves on his niece, Princess Elizabeth. In The Red Queen, Margaret Beaufort talks at length about how disgusted she is with Richard III and Princess Elizabeth and how much they flirt and how the court gossips about their relationship. In this book, Anne is absolutely convinced that Richard is the love of her life and he saved her from desitution, the tower, the abbey and possibly even death. Anne hypes him up for the entire book, and I waited for the other foot to drop.

However, it was far sadder than the other books revealed. Richard and Anne's child, Edward, dies, and Anne is so distraught there are no other children and their heir is gone. She mourns the loss of her son, and Richard tells her that his plan is to ruin his niece to reduce Prince Henry's claim to her and the throne.

Finally, however, for me, the least interesting part of the book, were the princes in the tower. I like that it is never really solved, though several clues were given to what could possibly have happened to them. Anne is guilt ridden to think that she could have possibly given the command to harm them, and then second guesses Richard's claim that he didn't harm them.

I think I will keep an eye for The White Princess, another book in the Cousins' War. I read some harsh things about it, especially the relationship between Henry Tudor and Elizabeth York.. so we'll see.

Which is better? The White Queen, second half of the season

So, I viewed most of the second half of the series, read the book, The Kingmaker's Daughter (review featured soon), and then watched the last episode of the series. As I said before, a part of me wants to re-read The White Queen, then re-watch The White Queen to see how much of all three books are used in the series.

Anyway, back to reviewing the second half of the season of The White Queen! So, after Margaret of Anjou is defeated, the romance of Richard and Anne come into play. I really like how Richard is depicted throughout the show, and how complicated he is. What I like about PG and about this show is that all the characters are not all good or all evil. They all make choices. They all have aspirations and desires, and they choose just how far they will go to achieve their goals.

So, PG has the series, The Cousins' War, and tells the War of the Roses through women's eyes, but the real star of the series is Richard III. Does he want to be King Regent to his nephew Edward? Did he or didn't he kill the Princes in the Tower? Does he or doesn't he love Anne Warwick? What is his end game with Princess Elizabeth? We never quite know where we stand with him. Throughout the series, he is clever, and he plays the long game with finally sleeping with Princess Elizabeth.

Which, by the way, is pretty skeevy and creepy. I've read a lot of criticism over that shipping and PG's writing of the pairing. Apparently the real story of King Henry and Queen Elizabeth of York is a beautiful romantic story and PG decided to go in another direction with an incestous relationship instead. I haven't read The White Princess yet to accurately judge the future relationship between Henry and Elizabeth.

Now, I didn't notice this before I read the book, but after I read The Kingmaker's Daughter, I noticed that for the show, they made Anne much more aggressive. I think it was to push things along, and most of PG's books are in first person and the reader is privy to their inner thoughts. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'm not sure how else to move the story along, so they most likely made the right choice.

They also made Princess Elizabeth much more aggressive as well. I remember in The Red Queen where Princess Elizabeth goes to live with Margaret Beaufort. Margaret comments that she is demure and she makes the right choices at all times, the makings of a real Queen, and I remember in The Kingmaker's Daughter is also graceful and demure as well. Princess Elizabeth in the show yells at Margaret and runs off to see Richard. Its to move the show along but the unfazed Elizabeth is what I was fascinated with.

I've read reviews on The White Queen, specifically the period clothing and the lack of "no teeth" and grime. To be honest, do we really need realistic historical fiction? We all know those times were dirty, cold and violent... I don't want to be reminded of it while I watch TV. "Reign" clothing is almost all historically inaccurate and it'ts great. The key is, to know that it's accurate and that it's intentional.

I also think that if one wanted to watch historically accurate shows, The White Queen would not be it. Philippa Gregory's books are centered around women's stories, and more than the chronological events that occurred, she focuses on character relationship and evolution. The White Queen does that  very well.

There are rumors about The White Princess in the works, but we'll see if that comes to fruition. I'm a fan of PG, so hopefully it comes about! There is enough media surrounding Henry the VIII and Anne Boleyn. Bring on the other royals!

So, which is better? I think it's a good adaptation of 3 books (!!!) and they got really good actors for the show, but I have to say... the books are better! They have much more content, 1st person perspective is invaluable and the nuances are also very fun. The actors are cute in the show and the smexy times are fun... but The White Queen, the TV show, is not as good as The White Queen, The Red Queen and The Kingmaker's Daughter books.

She-Hulk Volume 2: Disorderly Conduct

The second and final volume of She-Hulk. This final volume focuses on Jennifer Walters as an attorney running her own law firm rather than She-Hulk the superhero. Captain America comes into her firm looking for representation... and he's also 90 years old! They don't describe or explain how he got 90 years old, and it was only after BAE told me that I understood. I'm not sure if they should have wasted time explaining how he got so old, but maybe it was assumed that I would have read other comic books such as the Captain America ones?

Anyway, Steve Rogers wants Jennifer to represent him in a case where a dying man laid claim that Steve Rogers murdered his younger brother in the '40s. The lawsuit is in California, and Jen calls her friend Matt Murdock to lend her office space to work out of. However, Murdock, Daredevil, turns a cold shoulder to her, and soon she figures out why: Matt is representing the plaintiff.

There are cool flashbacks to little Steve Rogers and his friends, along with THE NAZIS and ROBOT NAZIS. Steve Rogers puts a lot of faith in his two superhero lawyer friends along with the law for the truth to come out. However, the comic does not reveal whether Rogers is found guilty or not.

The secret of the blue folder is also revealed, with an epic fight between Titania and She-Hulk. In the first volume, there was such a build up over the blue file, and in the second volume, it was solved quickly in the final two issues. I knew that the 2nd volume was the final one, and I think they rushed to finish the story. It's a shame.

Angie Huang continues to be mysterious and when Shulkie begs for her to stay at the end of the book, she does. Oh, and there is a nod to Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D where Jennifer Walters are the Inhumans' lawyer.

The art is consistent and She-Hulk looks strong, beautiful and intelligent. There are a lot of other characters, such as Ant-Man, with the return of Hell Cat. I love She-Hulk and she is easily my favorite superhero of all time. I have Red She-Hulk... I don't know much about that story line, so hopefully I get my Shulkie fix!

God of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs

So the second book of john carter titled Gods of Mars. So the Therns are a real thing, but they don't make an appearance until the second book. In fact, all of the space traveling explanations happened with this book that happened in the movie, so I guess they combined parts of the second book with the first book for the movie. To be honest, I think the second book would have made a far better movie. However, there is a lot more racism in this book.

So the book largely deals with religion and the falsity of religion. The valley of Issus is where the red and green men of Barsoom go when they are ready to die and go to heaven. What they don't realize and what John Carter stumbles into after 10 long years, is that it's a place where people get eaten alive. Plant men were introduced and the Therns, who enslave people that come to the valley of Issus. If one comes back from the valley of Issus, however, they are killed immediately so it doesn't get out that the valley is not what it's cracked up to be.

John Carter stumbles into that and meets up with Tharks Tharkus who wants to go down the valley of Issus. They run into Plant men,Therns and white apes. There is a lot of fighting with Tharks and John all excited to be together again. However, all John carter wants to do is see his boo.

However, the first born race comes into town. They are a race of black men who are vicious and also steal people for slaves and for their living goddess Issus. Oh yes, you read that right. Race of black violent men who can't control themselves around women. They are pirates too. So Burroughs naturally writes more racist shit. Oh, and they are cannibals and have gladiator fights. They also enslave people and at one point, Burroughs notes that the entire race, the women especially, don't do anything. The slaves do it.

Burroughs describes more of the planet this time and admits that though John was there for 5 years, he saw little of the planet. There is also a middle earth sort of deal like Dinotopia. Which is cool, i guess. There is lots of fighting and men who devote their lives to John Carter or women that wanna bang John Carter. John sheepishly admits many times he isn't a ladies man, but he so is.

There is a tragic end to the story, and I had to read the first chapter of the next book in order to confirm that De'Ajah Thoris didn't die. I didn't think Burroughs would do such a thing, considering John gets mostly everything he wants. However, there was a finality to the last few sentences, so I quickly scanned the chapter. Phew, Burroughs didn't kill her off.

Overall, Burroughs is a racist. I'm going to keep plugging through the rest of the books, because gosh darn it, I bought them!