I stuck to my reading resolution pretty well in April: all books read were from either my to-read stack or my Goodreads list. However, I ended up getting an armful of new books to add to the pile during the San Diego Book Crawl and the Encinitas Street Fair last weekend ... so I guess it all evens out?
Fairest - Gail Carson Levine (2006)
"I saw myself in my mind's eye. Blushing made me as garish as blood on snow."
This YA fantasy novel is set in the same universe as Ella Enchanted, which was one of my childhood favorites. However - and perhaps it's because of the not-entirely-fair comparison factor - this novel was ultimately disappointing for me. I did appreciate some of the creative story elements (like singing playing a vital role in the society), and the plot line didn't take as obvious a turn as I had expected. On the other hand, not much felt new here, and some things just felt forced - the name-dropping of characters from Ella Enchanted as well as the main romance, for instance. I came away with the feeling that Fairest almost works best as a side story to Ella Enchanted rather standing on its own.
Related Reads:
The Two Princesses of Bamarre (Levine)
Mirror Mirror (Maguire)
Organizing & Preserving Your Heirloom Documents - Katherine Sturdevant (2002)
"We can view our ancestors as writers, the authors of their own documents that we now treasure. Thus, we may be their biographers; as we research and annotate their documents, we can view them as lives in need of biography and their writings as genres of literature."
This is basically a textbook for the family-papers hobbyist. In organized fashion, the author goes through a wide variety of topics of relevance, from how to sort and organize family papers and photos, how to determine what might be of interest to potential readers, advice for dealing with specific random items (like cookbooks and ledgers), and much more. Sturdevant gears her advice towards assuming readers are looking to publish their family documents in some format (privately or publicly), and thus includes sections on things like copyright considerations. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she also heavily recommends ultimately donating important or significant papers to historical societies, libraries, or similar places that will have the resources and means to store them correctly.
It's useful to know that while there are tips and guidelines included here about how to best treat and store things like old documents and albums, the aim of this book is to get someone started on their personal family documentation journey, not to lay out exhaustive and in-depth preservation methods. I'll also note that some of the advice is dated; the final section on ebooks and the lack of emphasis on online research are the most obvious examples. Overall, I'd call this book a decent starting point for anyone interested in or tasked with going through family heirloom documents.
A long list of additional resources (probably also somewhat dated) is listed in the appendix.
The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden (2017) [re-read]
The Girl in the Tower - Katherine Arden (2018)
The Winter of the Witch - Katherine Arden (2019)
"Just ask Baba Yaga: the more one knows, the sooner one grows old."
The Winternight Trilogy books are a painstakingly-researched, masterful blend of fantasy and history. Set in medieval Russia, there is heavy emphasis on the struggle between religion and ancient traditional practices and beliefs (sometimes involving blood-magic), as well as explorations of class and gender. Ultimately, Arden succeeds in bringing this period of history to life through her strong and believable characters and their everyday and exceptional experiences.
Note that the books in general are fairly dark and serious in tone, and they include a good bit of violence that is sometimes fantasy/horror-type.
Related Reads:
American Gods (Gaiman)
Spinning Silver (Novik)
A Darker Shade of Magic (Schwab)
The Snow Child (Ivey)
Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov (ed. by Chandler)
Lawrence of Arabia: The Selected Letters [edited by Malcolm Brown]
"I'm not, I think, a lonely person; though often and generally alone. There is a distinction."
T.E. Lawrence (better known as Lawrence of Arabia) wrote a startlingly vast number of letters over his lifetime, keeping up regular correspondence with many famous contemporary authors and political figures. And while he saved precious few of the letters written to him, most of the recipients of his letters kept and later donated them to libraries and museums. The result is that many collections of Lawrence's letters now exist in archives.
In this particular book, broken up into seven sections (from "The Early Years to 1914" to "The Final Weeks: February-March 1935"), editor Malcolm Brown assembles key letters written throughout Lawrence's lifetime, making this selection an exemplative rather than an exhaustive one. Brown includes a helpful introduction to each section as well as some explanatory notes throughout. While I feel it's probably best read after or alongside a biography to get the full impact and context of the letters, this collection will nevertheless leave its readers with a sense of having gotten to know Lawrence more fully.
A couple of minor notes about this particular edition: because my volume is a paperback, the number of pages (nearly 600) means there's a lot of wear in the binding (mine cracked partway through despite my careful handling). There are also a few scattered typos throughout the footnotes.
Related Reads:
A Prince of Our Disorder (Mack)
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Lawrence)
The Mint (Lawrence)
Lovecraft Country - Matt Ruff (2016)
"It is what it is. Life isn't fair, Ruby. You need to understand, Ruby. Lord, how she tired of hearing that! Life wasn't fair, but still it would be nice if, just once in a while, someone else had to do the understanding."
This book is a compelling read by any stretch of the imagination. Author Matt Ruff blends life under Jim Crow with science fiction and horror; the resulting story is a mix of the harsh realities of racism and the struggle against a powerful and ancient secret society - elements of which are sometimes difficult to separate.
Lovecraft Country's long chapters read somewhat like short stories. The book doesn't have a perfect plot line (sometimes one gets the impression that Ruff could've pushed the bounds of the story further), but it's an engrossing and thought-provoking read nonetheless.
For more context, you can listen to a 2018 podcast where the author discusses the book (and the fact that an HBO show based on the book is forthcoming).
Related Reads:
Let Me Tell You (Shirley Jackson)
Welcome to Night Vale podcast and books
Fairest - Gail Carson Levine (2006)
"I saw myself in my mind's eye. Blushing made me as garish as blood on snow."
This YA fantasy novel is set in the same universe as Ella Enchanted, which was one of my childhood favorites. However - and perhaps it's because of the not-entirely-fair comparison factor - this novel was ultimately disappointing for me. I did appreciate some of the creative story elements (like singing playing a vital role in the society), and the plot line didn't take as obvious a turn as I had expected. On the other hand, not much felt new here, and some things just felt forced - the name-dropping of characters from Ella Enchanted as well as the main romance, for instance. I came away with the feeling that Fairest almost works best as a side story to Ella Enchanted rather standing on its own.
Related Reads:
The Two Princesses of Bamarre (Levine)
Mirror Mirror (Maguire)
Organizing & Preserving Your Heirloom Documents - Katherine Sturdevant (2002)
"We can view our ancestors as writers, the authors of their own documents that we now treasure. Thus, we may be their biographers; as we research and annotate their documents, we can view them as lives in need of biography and their writings as genres of literature."
This is basically a textbook for the family-papers hobbyist. In organized fashion, the author goes through a wide variety of topics of relevance, from how to sort and organize family papers and photos, how to determine what might be of interest to potential readers, advice for dealing with specific random items (like cookbooks and ledgers), and much more. Sturdevant gears her advice towards assuming readers are looking to publish their family documents in some format (privately or publicly), and thus includes sections on things like copyright considerations. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she also heavily recommends ultimately donating important or significant papers to historical societies, libraries, or similar places that will have the resources and means to store them correctly.
It's useful to know that while there are tips and guidelines included here about how to best treat and store things like old documents and albums, the aim of this book is to get someone started on their personal family documentation journey, not to lay out exhaustive and in-depth preservation methods. I'll also note that some of the advice is dated; the final section on ebooks and the lack of emphasis on online research are the most obvious examples. Overall, I'd call this book a decent starting point for anyone interested in or tasked with going through family heirloom documents.
A long list of additional resources (probably also somewhat dated) is listed in the appendix.
The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden (2017) [re-read]
The Girl in the Tower - Katherine Arden (2018)
The Winter of the Witch - Katherine Arden (2019)
"Just ask Baba Yaga: the more one knows, the sooner one grows old."
Note that the books in general are fairly dark and serious in tone, and they include a good bit of violence that is sometimes fantasy/horror-type.
Related Reads:
American Gods (Gaiman)
Spinning Silver (Novik)
A Darker Shade of Magic (Schwab)
The Snow Child (Ivey)
Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov (ed. by Chandler)
Lawrence of Arabia: The Selected Letters [edited by Malcolm Brown]
"I'm not, I think, a lonely person; though often and generally alone. There is a distinction."
In this particular book, broken up into seven sections (from "The Early Years to 1914" to "The Final Weeks: February-March 1935"), editor Malcolm Brown assembles key letters written throughout Lawrence's lifetime, making this selection an exemplative rather than an exhaustive one. Brown includes a helpful introduction to each section as well as some explanatory notes throughout. While I feel it's probably best read after or alongside a biography to get the full impact and context of the letters, this collection will nevertheless leave its readers with a sense of having gotten to know Lawrence more fully.
A couple of minor notes about this particular edition: because my volume is a paperback, the number of pages (nearly 600) means there's a lot of wear in the binding (mine cracked partway through despite my careful handling). There are also a few scattered typos throughout the footnotes.
Related Reads:
A Prince of Our Disorder (Mack)
Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Lawrence)
The Mint (Lawrence)
Lovecraft Country - Matt Ruff (2016)
"It is what it is. Life isn't fair, Ruby. You need to understand, Ruby. Lord, how she tired of hearing that! Life wasn't fair, but still it would be nice if, just once in a while, someone else had to do the understanding."
Lovecraft Country's long chapters read somewhat like short stories. The book doesn't have a perfect plot line (sometimes one gets the impression that Ruff could've pushed the bounds of the story further), but it's an engrossing and thought-provoking read nonetheless.
For more context, you can listen to a 2018 podcast where the author discusses the book (and the fact that an HBO show based on the book is forthcoming).
Related Reads:
Let Me Tell You (Shirley Jackson)
Welcome to Night Vale podcast and books
