pedanther

I've just finished reading an omnibus of George MacDonald's novels The Princess and the Goblin and The Princess and Curdie. I was reading them mainly out of a kind of historical interest, since The Princess and the Goblin was pretty famous and MacDonald was a pioneer of the kind of allegorical children's fantasy that inspired Narnia. And, to jump straight to the conclusion, it's a good thing I wasn't reading them for fun, because they weren't much.
( Read more... )
So, in some respects, I want to be charitable toward MacDonald. And I might well have liked these books if I'd come to them as a child. After all, I loved Narnia. And I loved other things that turned out, when I revisited them as an adult, to have terribly patronising narration. (MacDonald's narration really is astonishingly patronising.) But I don't like them now.

Fiction books
G K Chesterton. The Scandal of Father Brown (e)
G K Chesterton. The Secret of Father Brown (e)
Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener. Atomic Robo and the Dogs of War (e) (re-read)
P C Hodgell. The Sea of Time (e)
T Kingfisher. Bryony and Roses (e)
T Kingfisher. Toad Words and other stories (e)
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Necessity's Child (e) (re-read)
Tony Nicholls. Aladdin: The Story of a Boy (e)
Tony Nicholls. Humpty Dumpty: The Egg's Files (e)
Tony Nicholls. The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood (e)
Ursula Vernon. Castle Hangnail (e)

In progress
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Dragon Ship (e) (re-read)
George MacDonald. The Princess and Curdie
Tamora Pierce. Cold Fire (e)
Terry Pratchett. Witches Abroad (e) (re-read)

Non-fiction books in progress
Jung Chang. Empress Dowager Cixi

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Matt Fraction, Christian Ward. Ody-C volume 1

Fiction books
Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener. Atomic Robo: The Savage Sword of Dr Dinosaur
T Kingfisher. Nine Goblins (e)
T Kingfisher. The Seventh Bride (e)
Sharon Lee. Carousel Seas (e)
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Ghost Ship (e) (re-read)
Terry Pratchett. Moving Pictures (e) (re-read)
Patricia C Wrede. The Magician's Ward (e)
Patricia C Wrede. Mairelon the Magician (e) (re-read)

In progress
Brian Clevinger, Scott Wegener. Atomic Robo and the Fightin' Scientists of Tesladyne (e) (re-read)
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Necessity's Child (e) (re-read)
George MacDonald. The Princess and the Goblin
Tamora Pierce. Street Magic (e)
Terry Pratchett. Reaper Man (e) (re-read)

Non-fiction books
Simon Singh. Big Bang

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Jung Chang. Empress Dowager Cixi

Fiction books
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. I Dare (re-read)
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Saltation (re-read)
Robert Lopshire. Put Me in the Zoo (re-read)
Tamora Pierce The Healing in the Vine (e)
Terry Pratchett. Eric (e) (re-read)
Terry Pratchett. Guards! Guards! (e) (re-read)

In progress
Sharon Lee, Steve Miller. Ghost Ship (e) (re-read)
George MacDonald. At the Back of the North Wind
Terry Pratchett. Moving Pictures (e) (re-read)

Non-fiction books in progress
Simon Singh. Big Bang

( short, screen, and stage )
( books bought and borrowed )

Top of the to-read pile
Kylie Chan. White Tiger