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Not too much to write about this time either, because mystery hunt.
Across the Green Grass Fields, Seanan McGuire. Part of a series, but could also be read as a standalone portal fantasy, since it's introducing a new character. Some fun centaur/unicorn/other animal creature worldbuilding! The our-world bits were well-written, but I'm not sure how well they tied in with the portal stuff, thematically. I'm curious what the series will do with Regan once we have her backstory. Despite some flaws, McGuire does better at doing commentary on the portal fantasy genre than Philip Pullman, mostly because she's experienced coming of age/adolescence as a girl.
The Two Noble Kinsmen by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher. Play readaloud. New to me, though I already knew the plot from Chaucer's Knight's Tale -- except that my memory had decided to replace that play's unsatisfying ending with one where at least Emilia gets to stay single. I'm now curious as to the history of this fandom/what the historical ship battles were like. The main way that the play departs from its source material is by adding the Jailer's Daughter, who pretty much steals the show, and gets some good mad scenes, even if her subplot resolution involves some ethicaly dubious mental health care practices. Can tell it's not all Shakespeare from various aspects, including numerous admiring descriptions of male bodies, by both men and women.
Across the Green Grass Fields, Seanan McGuire. Part of a series, but could also be read as a standalone portal fantasy, since it's introducing a new character. Some fun centaur/unicorn/other animal creature worldbuilding! The our-world bits were well-written, but I'm not sure how well they tied in with the portal stuff, thematically. I'm curious what the series will do with Regan once we have her backstory. Despite some flaws, McGuire does better at doing commentary on the portal fantasy genre than Philip Pullman, mostly because she's experienced coming of age/adolescence as a girl.
The Two Noble Kinsmen by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher. Play readaloud. New to me, though I already knew the plot from Chaucer's Knight's Tale -- except that my memory had decided to replace that play's unsatisfying ending with one where at least Emilia gets to stay single. I'm now curious as to the history of this fandom/what the historical ship battles were like. The main way that the play departs from its source material is by adding the Jailer's Daughter, who pretty much steals the show, and gets some good mad scenes, even if her subplot resolution involves some ethicaly dubious mental health care practices. Can tell it's not all Shakespeare from various aspects, including numerous admiring descriptions of male bodies, by both men and women.