coprime

Canon: The Mighty Orinoco
Pairing: Jacques/Jeanne
Canon Level: Married

I am ridiculously into this book and couple, and I am sadly the only one. Not that I am surprised by this. The Mighty Orinoco is about a group of people traveling together to find the source of the Orinoco River, each for their own reasons. Jeanne, the lady in my default icon, disguised herself as a boy so she could go search for her missing father. While on the trip, she strikes up a friendship with Jacques, leaving him much confused until he rescues after she falls overboard and figures some things out. Jeanne is courageous and strong-willed, so it's no wonder Jacques falls head over heels for her. And it turns out I am completely weak against characters who are very confused about their feelings, most notably Jacques and his friendship with Jean/Jeanne and I do not think finding out Jeanne's gender would have made him any less confused. Verne doesn't really dwell on that aspect, but I am perfectly happy to read between the lines.

Suggested reading:
There and back again by oxymoron

...I can't believe I forgot to do this for nearly a year. Which is annoying because I got the most wonderful story last year for Yuletide.

There and back again by oxymoron is the Mighty Orinoco story I never thought I'd be lucky enough to get. Oxymoron read an entire Jules Verne novel for me! And then wrote a sublimely perfect Jeanne! I love her so much that she's my only icon here on DW, and I never thought I'd ever get anything about her because who else has ever read The Mighty Orinoco? I love it so much, and it makes me so sad that this story will never get the accolades it deserves because it is for a rarest-of-rare fandom.

I wrote Awry Plans for bribitribbit in the Lilo & Stitch fandom. I had fun writing it.

And, sadly, I made the decision not to participate in Yuletide this year. I just don't have the time and energy to do it this year.

Hello, my Yuletide Author! I'm ridiculously easy to please and am willing to read just about anything, especially in the four fandoms I've requested this year. I'm sure I'll love whatever you write, so if you've already got an idea, go forth and write! The rest of this post is for if you'd like a bit more about my likes/dislikes.

( General Stuff )

( Jennifer Estep - Karma Girl )

( Jules Verne - The Mysterious Island )

( Monsoon Wedding )

( Owly )

Why am I on your LJ Friends List?
Comment and tell me. Then post this in your journal.

1. Total number of books I've owned:
Several hundred. Not sure exactly how many, but I have twelve bookshelves full in my room. And another two bookshelves full of the books I read when I was little in the basement.


2. Last book I bought:
The Chase of the Golden Meteor by Jules Verne (which looks like it'll be tons of fun)
Not Quite Dead Enough by Rex Stout (which is one of the WWII stories, so I'm interested in seeing what Archie and Nero were up to then)
Madrox by Peter David (which was funny and noir-ish)
(I bought those three on my last trip to the store, which is why I listed all of them.)


3. Last book I read:
The first book in the Star Trek: Gateways series. It wasn't especially interesting since it was setting up the rest of the series, but it wasn't bad either. I'm on the second book now and have no clue how it ties into the first book yet though. (I think the metal, alien zombies are the same people who had the abandoned station in the first book.)


4. 5 books that mean a lot to me:
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne: It was the first Verne book I ever read, and it made me fall in love with his books. Because there were all sorts of beautiful, detailed descriptions about the underwater places they were visiting. Jules Verne is one of my favorite authors, and I try to buy his books whenever I have the money and can find one I don't have.

[Redacted for personal info]: It's the first book my mom ever got published, and the character of Mary was loosely based off of me. (I was nine when she started writing it.) I've loved all my mom's books, some more than others, but this is the one that started her romance novel career.

Richard Scarry's Biggest Word Book Ever! by Richard Scarry: I learned to read with this book. At bedtime, my parents would only read one page to me because I pointed to every last thing that was labeled and ask what it said. It was a great book too; I especially remember the one pig character whose hat had been blown away by the wind and was on each page chasing it.

Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz: When I read this in 10th grade, it really resonated with me about what it means to be Christian-- that you should love everyone (even if you don't like them) and that, no matter how a person hurt you, you should forgive them. Even though I now identify myself as agnostic, this is still a lesson I try to live by; mostly it manifests itself by the fact that I try to never hate someone or wish/do them harm.

The Bride, The Wedding, The Secret, and Ransom by Julie Garwood: Yes, these are all cheesy historical romances. Yes, I realize that they're all incredibly formulaic. (That's why I couldn't pick just one; they're all the same book at heart.) However, if ever I want to just immerse myself into fun and romance, these are the books I turn to. They make me laugh and lift my spirits, and I think I've read each book listed at least three times each.

(Huh. I just noted that the books that mean the most to me are the ones that bring me exceptional amounts of joy. It's not that I never read deep, thought-provoking things that force me to reevaluate my opinions, but I almost never have a desire to reread those books. They have no sentimental value attached. [Quo Vadis snuck into the list because it was both joyous/sentimental and thought-provoking for me.])

5. Tag 5 people and have them fill this out in their LJs:
Anyone who wants to and reads this. :)

The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne is the current book I'm reading. And I love it so. Freakin'. Much. I adore this book, which isn't that surprising since Jules is one of my favorite authors. But. This one is truly his masterpiece, I think. It's got the largest cast of characters (Eight and counting!) that I've seen in any of his books. (I've also read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Around the World in 80 Days, so what I'm saying isn't completely without basis.)

Anyways-- eight characters. Journey to the Center of the Earth only had three. And, this is the most well-developed I've seen any of his characters. They all have distinct personalities. There's Pencroff who is the doubting Thomas of the group and whose emotions are passionate but also on a pendulum. Gideon Spilett, with his own curiosity about what's going on but is much more understated than the rest of the group. And Cyrus Smith! So logical and methodical, mmm. He seems, almost, to be Jules' author avatar now that I think about it. Just-- with the amazing precision both have. There's also Neb, whose enthusiam almost rivals Pencroff's but without all Pencroff's doubting. And, of course, Harbert, whose name I just adore. So smart and willing to learn!

Gideon and Pencroff are my favorite characters, but I love them all. (And I know I said eight but only mentioned five. Others appear over the course of the novel, but I don't want to give anything vital away.)

I was honestly surprised at how distinct and realistic these characters were. In Around the World in 80 Days, there was a romance between Phileas and Aouda, which I was never able to accept. I never saw why Phileas loved Aouda nor did I even see that he, in fact, did love her. I was told it, yes, but that's not the same. So I was pleasantly surprised by how these characters had honest emotions that didn't seem forced and were shown in such a way that they were there for me to discover if I was paying attention.

Then, there's the mystery of the island. Because, yes the title is quite descriptive. I haven't solved the mystery yet, but it's really enthralling. It creeps up on you, slowly and surely. And it's so subtle at first that you don't realize there is a mystery until Cyrus and Gideon point it out to you. And by that time, you're too far gone to want to put the book down. Oh, I love this book! I love it, I love it, I love it. Ever since I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, I've adored Verne's writing style. But this book takes the cake; it's just that good.

(A final note-- I'm reading Jordan Stump's translation and am using his names for people.)