Just read the Invisible Library series

[conuly]

(thus far, that is)

That was worth a read. It might even be worth an immediate re-read. I'm debating the issue. More library shenanigans, or do I go read Rise of Renegade X* again?

* Don't judge me. I'm aware that it's a silly series with a silly premise, but it's fun. Recently read another book that tried to tackle the same topics of superhero morality and racism allegory more seriously, and boy, that was no fun at all. Objectively I think that other book might be better written, but I just didn't like it.

Comments

[adafrog]

Sounds interesting. You've read all of them?

[randomdreams]

Only marginally related, but have you ever read Michael Chabon's book, "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay"? Superhero morality and racism, in a way.

[isis]

I wrote fic for it! :-)

I can't imagine immediately re-reading a book or series I just finished.

[archangelbeth]

Well, if you want some fanfic for Invisible Library, I did a couple of ShortSilly ones. (One of which makes no sense except to the tiny Venn Diagram of Me + Library's author. >_> )

Here's the silly one that might vaguely make sense:
http://archiveofourown.org/works/2355890
(Which you don't have to read! O:> )

[sovay]

Don't judge me. I'm aware that it's a silly series with a silly premise, but it's fun.

I'm not judging, I've never heard of the series: can I ask for more details? "Silly" is not a disqualifer.

[17catherines]

I love those books. So much fun.

[flexagon]

If you like silly but fun books, try the Midnighters books by Scott Westerfeld? Kind of ridiculous teenage horror/SF/fantasy with number theory thrown in.

[conuly]

Damien Locke is a supervillain - his mom is a supervillain, and on his 16th birthday his thumbprint will turn into a V, and with any luck he'll finally get his powers.

Except it doesn't, because his dad he never met is apparently a superhero. So he tracks the guy down for reasons, and this all ends with him living with his father's family just for two weeks.

Which culminates in him SPOILER, which doesn't make anybody happy, least of all her.

Also, he does the classic double booked date, where he's simultaneously helping his ex-girlfriend (who he's totally still in love with) steal an artifact from his stepmom while helping his new best friend (who is on a twelve-step plan to get into his pants) keep the bad guy from stealing that artifact.

In future books, he accidentally turns his best friend (now dating somebody else) evil and she blows up prom while he's in his swim trunks. And then his maternal grandfather co-opts him for a villain rights group (without asking him) which reveals actual evildoing by the superhero league, and honestly, this plot was repeated wholesale by the other book, the title of which I cannot recall (I think it might be Powerless, but there's another book with that title as well), but more SERIOUSLY. SO. SERIOUS.

The author is really good at getting the just-right combination of silly and emotional - there's some teenage angst and conflicted emotions (and just plan conflict) but it doesn't overwhelm the snark and general fun. And if the worldbuilding doesn't make 100% logical sense, it's not the sort of book where you expect it to either.

[conuly]

That's actually got to be the one Westerfeld series I'm not a fan of. I don't know why!

[conuly]

I can't imagine immediately re-reading a book or series I just finished.

Sometimes when I like a book, I'll read it over and over and over again. When I was a child, I think one year I read A Little Princess once a day for a good three months. Sometimes more than once a day - my teachers never minded much if I just read under my desk.

This maaaaaaay be an aspie thing. Or it may just be a me thing. Frequently, it's hard to tell the difference.

[conuly]

The Invisible Library books or the Renegade X ones? Yes, either way.

They're great and the first book of each series is amazingly affordable on Kindle, so there's that.

(However, I will note that the main character of the Invisible Library series can't pick up a hint if it hits her over the head. Three, four books in and she still hasn't figured out the obvious fact about herself that you'll probably work out much earlier.)

[conuly]

No, but I'm willing to give it a shot!

[conuly]

I'll give it a read!

[conuly]

:)

[archangelbeth]

Meanwhile, I'll be setting aside some other InvisLibrary fics to read, that I found whilst admiring mine so shamelessly! ^_^

[flexagon]

Funny -- that's how I got into Westerfeld to begin with. :)

Uglies/Pretties/Specials/Extras was good too, but somehow just lacked the tanginess of Midnighters, for me. Given that, any recommendations on what else I'd like? He's pretty prolific.

[conuly]

Love, love, love Leviathan - but you must have read that already :)

How do you feel about Brandon Sanderson? I'm a fan of his weirder, snarkier works - like Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians or Steelheart - but not so much of the ones where he's more standard and serious.

[colls]

The Invisible Library series is on my TBR, I don't think I've heard of the Rise of Renegade X before.

Sometimes you just want to read something fun and not worry about things like "literary merit" -- better written doesn't always mean more enjoyable.

[adafrog]

Cool.

[randomdreams]

He got a Pulizer for it, and I think it was well-deserved. It is definitely adult fiction, but it's a complex, interesting book.
Same author wrote a young adult book called Summerland, that is also great. Reminiscent of Neil Gaiman's young adult stuff.

[randomdreams]

I still do that with Pride & Prejudice, among others.

When I was taking reading class in eighth grade I got busted by the teacher for reading under the desk during class. She held her head and said "I can't believe I'm doing this."

[conuly]

All righty then!

[randomdreams]

Ok you make that sound pretty good.

[conuly]

And yet... she still did it.

(I have mixed feelings about my desk-reading at school. On the one hand, I was so bored, I already knew the material, and I got in a lot of good reading time. On the other hand, I don't care how hard it is to differentiate when it's already a gifted class, my teachers damn well should've tried to give me work on my level - and the most I ever got was lackadaisical exhortations to participate more.)

[conuly]

It is, which is why it's one of my top favorite re-reads, year after year. But I still marvel that I picked up the ARC only out of desire to mock it!

[randomdreams]

She had a valid point: I was not paying attention to a discussion about the value of classics, because I was reading trash scifi. ("Logan's Run.") But in our private discussion afterwards she also said she wished everyone else in the class wanted to read the way I wanted to read.

[flexagon]

Nope, I had not read Leviathan! Thanks to the magic of Amazon Prime, the trilogy has now arrived on my doorstep. They're kind of big, which I guess is appropriate to their name... maybe I should have Kindled them. I'll let you know how I like them, and if they remind me of anything else.

I haven't read Sanderson -- never got a convincing recommendation, generally prefer SF, and he's prolific enough to make me immediately concerned about quality. I could be convinced though.

[conuly]

Well. Sanderson - at least his snarky works such as Alcatraz and the Evil Librarians or Steelheart - is very much "love him or hate him".

The writing style is very self-aware, very snarky asides and punchy one-liners, very metaforgotten... if that's not the sort of thing you like, you're not going to like it.

If you have a Kindle, I can lend you one of his books that way, that's a light commitment, don't even have to go to the library!

[jack]

Ooh, I just read #2 in invisible library and really enjoyed them so far, I am going on.

And yay, I really love superhero books, I had Rise of Renegade X as one I probably wanted to try at some point but I wasn't sure about, but I'm really pleased anyone else has heard of it at all :)

[conuly]

It's cheap enough on Kindle. Just do not take it too seriously. If you try to do that, it'll all fall apart.