Wednesday Reading Meme
Mar. 26th, 2025 05:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rosanicus What I've Just Finished Reading
Two books this week! I read The Missing Page (the next Steeley adventure) on the train to London, which was an enjoyable little yarn. I really do love Tubby's narration, it feels so companionable, if a bit lacking in homoerotic thoughts about Steeley this time. The mystery, such as it was, was fine, and I liked Mrs Ridgeley a lot. I think WEJ's biases about women come out a lot more in these books, especially regarding which ones he treats respectfully and which he doesn't. Usually the sign of a Bad Woman is that she's old, large and drunk, which is a bit of a stock character now in Steeley despite only being four books in.
On the train back from London, I read Fighting Proud: The Untold Story of the Gay Men Who Served in Two World Wars by Stephen Bourne, as recommended byblack_bentley while we were perusing the IWM bookshop. Buying it helped to ameliorate the impact of the two Canelo Biggles editions I also picked up (Secret Agent and Goes to War, two faves) and I really loved the reading experience. It's a moving overview of the lives of a number of queer servicemen (the book briefly acknowledges the existence of bisexual men and then uses gay as an umbrella term), including two members of the Endurance expedition, and I was extremely pleased by the inclusion of a chapter on Ken 'Snakehips' Johnson, who I became briefly obsessed with after reading Moon Over Soho for the first time and still have in my Spotify rotation. It's what I wanted Bad Gays to be structurally, but clearly has the aim to inform rather than analyse. I think I'd quite like to read an analytical companion to this book now!
What I'm Reading Now
LMAO I'm not really reading anything at the moment due to work feeling a bit like a slow-motion car crash (very stressed, bullying situation being dealt with, children all falling out simultaneously, new planning structure still to implement...) but I have hopes for finally reading Persuasion which has been hanging about one chapter down for about three years.
What I Plan To Read Next
Making plans for these things is generally useless BUT I did receive a copy of Where The Golden Eagles Soar from Archie this weekend so I might crack that open.
London was delightful, by the way! It was lovely to meetgattycat and tweague, and to see black_bentley and Archie again. Getting the VC gallery tour from BB is an experience not to be missed, so it's a shame the gallery is closing this year due to what I can only assume is Tory nonsense.
Two books this week! I read The Missing Page (the next Steeley adventure) on the train to London, which was an enjoyable little yarn. I really do love Tubby's narration, it feels so companionable, if a bit lacking in homoerotic thoughts about Steeley this time. The mystery, such as it was, was fine, and I liked Mrs Ridgeley a lot. I think WEJ's biases about women come out a lot more in these books, especially regarding which ones he treats respectfully and which he doesn't. Usually the sign of a Bad Woman is that she's old, large and drunk, which is a bit of a stock character now in Steeley despite only being four books in.
On the train back from London, I read Fighting Proud: The Untold Story of the Gay Men Who Served in Two World Wars by Stephen Bourne, as recommended by
black_bentley while we were perusing the IWM bookshop. Buying it helped to ameliorate the impact of the two Canelo Biggles editions I also picked up (Secret Agent and Goes to War, two faves) and I really loved the reading experience. It's a moving overview of the lives of a number of queer servicemen (the book briefly acknowledges the existence of bisexual men and then uses gay as an umbrella term), including two members of the Endurance expedition, and I was extremely pleased by the inclusion of a chapter on Ken 'Snakehips' Johnson, who I became briefly obsessed with after reading Moon Over Soho for the first time and still have in my Spotify rotation. It's what I wanted Bad Gays to be structurally, but clearly has the aim to inform rather than analyse. I think I'd quite like to read an analytical companion to this book now!What I'm Reading Now
LMAO I'm not really reading anything at the moment due to work feeling a bit like a slow-motion car crash (very stressed, bullying situation being dealt with, children all falling out simultaneously, new planning structure still to implement...) but I have hopes for finally reading Persuasion which has been hanging about one chapter down for about three years.
What I Plan To Read Next
Making plans for these things is generally useless BUT I did receive a copy of Where The Golden Eagles Soar from Archie this weekend so I might crack that open.
London was delightful, by the way! It was lovely to meet
gattycat and tweague, and to see black_bentley and Archie again. Getting the VC gallery tour from BB is an experience not to be missed, so it's a shame the gallery is closing this year due to what I can only assume is Tory nonsense. 
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Date: 2025-03-26 07:07 pm (UTC)The London trip sounds so delightful, I was sorry to miss it <333