January 2018 reads part 2

(Continued from Part 1)

Writers Gone Wild: The Feuds, Frolics, and Follies of Literature's Great Adventurers, Drunkards, Lovers, Iconoclasts, and Misanthropes - Bill Perschel (2010)
"When Richard Burbidge was playing the lead in Shakespeare's Richard III, he arranged an assignation with a lady for after the performance. Shakespeare heard about it, got there first, and seduced her. When Burbidge arrived and sent word up that her Richard III had arrived, Shakespeare sent a message back that William the Conqueror came first."

This book is basically what the subtitle says: short blurbs about the various deeds and misdeeds of authors, arranged loosely by type in chapters. I thought it would be a fun read - and at times, it was - but a number of the incidents veer towards the serious or depressing rather than fun. All in all, while a little funny or interesting at times, the collection felt somewhat voyeuristic and thus sort of uncomfortable to read. It might be an interesting coffee-table or road-trip read, but I'd recommend just checking out full-on biographies on authors of interest if you're looking for interesting facts on certain figures.

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself - Melody Beattie (1992[2nd ed.])
"Overinvolvement of any sort can keep us in a state of chaos; it can keep the people around us in a state of chaos. If we're focusing all our energies on people and problems, we have little left for the business of living our own lives." 

This is an easy-to-read, widely-applicable self-help book. There are activities and exercises throughout that help the reader really think through and absorb what's being said, and I appreciated that the author encourages community through going to supportive meetings and/or therapy.

The author is obviously a fan of 12-step programs, and her advice, though widely applicable, is written in the frame of having an alcoholic/addict in your life. Thus, if your situation is different or if you're not a fan of 12-step programs like AA, you'll have to do a little mental work to separate that out. Overall, though I'd recommend this book to just about anyone, especially those who have a "difficult person" in their lives.

Related Reads:
Boundaries (Cloud & Townsend)

Kiss Every Step: A Survivor's Memoir from the Nazi Holocaust - Doris Martin (2009)
"I got a chilling reminder of how my life hung by a thread when, one morning, Mrs. Unucka informed me that in the middle of the night she had overheard me talking in my sleep. She couldn't understand what I was saying, but it sounded like some language other than Polish. Oh, my God! I had never expected this... All of my self-training to speak only Polish had not converted into my unconscious mind, which still operated in Yiddish, and I was in grave danger of discovery even in my sleep."

I actually briefly met the author of Kiss Every Step a year or two back at a Barnes and Noble book signing where I picked up my copy. This book was surprisingly better than I thought it would be - I didn't have terribly high expectations as it's a self-published book. Though there are some scattered typos throughout, it's well-written and well-organized as a whole.

All in all, this is a good example of a compiled family history, and its unflinching and detailed accounts from Martin and some of her family members make it worthy of being more well-known and widely-read.

Related Reads:
The Hiding Place (ten Boom)

The Sentinel [Short Stories] - Arthur C. Clarke (1983)
"But Captain Saunders, like all spacemen, was fundamentally a romantic. Even on a milk run like this he would sometimes dream of the ringed glory of Saturn or the somber Neptunian wastes, lit by the distant fires of the shrunken sun."

I'd started this book a few times in the past, but had never got past the first few stories. The stories included here (10 of them, if you include Clarke's introduction/biography) span Clarke's career, from the 40's to the 70's, and all include brief blurbs by author that I found helpful.

I haven't read any of Clarke's novels yet, so it'd be interesting to compare the short stories I've read so far with his other works. While I didn't love all the stories included in this volume (and I probably would've preferred to read his stories in a larger anthology with a greater mix of authors and types), I still found it interesting to read through the collection. I'd call this a good choice for anyone who's a fan of Clarke's, and/or anyone who's interested in how Science Fiction morphed through the 40's to the 80's.

Related Reads:
The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories

January 2018 Reads part 1

New year, new books! I'm still using Goodreads, but I'm planning on posting my thoughts here as well for the time being. And I have a large stack of to-be-read books that has built up over time at home that I'm going to try to be working through throughout the next few months, so some of this month's choices will reflect that.

A Darker Shade of Magic - Schwab (2015)
"That was the thing about magic. It was everywhere. In everything. In everyone. And while it coursed like a low and steady pulse, through the air and the earth, it beat louder in the bodies of living things. And if Kell tried - if he reached - he could feel it. It was a sense, not as strong as sight or sound or smell, but there all the same, its presence now drifting toward him from the shadows across the street."

First, the good: At its best, A Darker Shade of Magic is a stripped-down fantasy that warrants comparison to some Neal Gaiman novels (high praise indeed!). It drew me in immediately, and I felt the world-building and explanations made sense without overburdening the reader with lots of explanation and exposition. I loved the concept of the different Londons, the magical items described, and the colorful scenes and characters dotted throughout.

However, I had some issues with the book. There was something of a YA feel to it that kept cropping up in tone and in the way the characters were portrayed (a little too heavy on the descriptors for character appearance, for one). There was a dark feeling to the blood-linked magic in the book, which I didn't necessarily dislike, but I didn't care for the (sometimes seemingly purposeless) cruelty of the various antagonists in the book. And I liked the tie-ins with the real world (the mad King George III, for instance) but felt a little cheated out of reading more of that. In the end, I was left with the feeling of wanting to like this book a little more than I did.

Overall, the book is clever rather than surprising or brilliant, and it's a generally solid pick for those who like darker-toned, realism-tinged fantasy, and I'm planning on reading at least the next book in the trilogy.

Related Reads:
Neverwhere (Gaiman)
A Court of Thorns and Roses (Maas)
Howl's Moving Castle (Jones)

More Soviet Science Fiction - forward by Isaac Asimov (1952)
"But we could put it this way, too: man's conquest of space, his knowledge of the Universe, clashed with the primitive thinking of the individualistic property-owner. The future and the very life of humanity hung in the balance for years before progress triumphed and mankind joined into one family in a classless society. Before that happened people in the capitalistic half of the world refused for a long time to see any new paths into the future and regarded their mode of life as eternal and unchanging, with war and self-destruction as man's inevitable lot."

I picked up this random little book from my late cousin's large SciFi collection over a year ago. There are five rather long short stories included here, as well as an enlightening forward by Isaac Asimov. I found the included stories a little on the dull side generally, but still intriguing as a whole due to the specific Soviet worldview and school of thought displayed throughout.

For me, the thought of what else was going on in the USSR during the time that these stories were written (the Gulag labor camps, for instance) was particularly striking and sobering. Read this to round out your knowledge of both earlier Science Fiction and 20th century Russian history and political thought.

Related Reads:
The Oxford Book of Science Fiction Stories
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich (Solzhenitsyn)

Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance - Ruth Emmie Lang (2017)
"Two weeks later, I wore a coat for the first time that year. Fall had made its presence known in the form of wet, earthy smells and shivering tree limbs shedding leaves in various shades of exotic cat. I walked to school that morning, listening to the crisp sounds that punctuated each one of my footfalls and the honks of geese flying overhead. I found it strange that there could be so much beauty in the death of all these living things. Maybe it was only beautiful because we knew they would be resurrected next spring."

I didn't actually care too much for this book, which was somewhat of a surprise and disappointment to me. I can't say I really disliked it, nor do my lukewarm feelings stem from the format of the different voices throughout the chapters (I actually thought the format was fitting and found that I related especially to one or two of the particular storytellers). I think I just was expecting something a bit different than what the story ended up actually being - maybe I was looking a little too hard for mystery and magic and missing general overall themes (misfits, choices, family, fate). But I wasn't in love with the writing style or tone, either. I'm left with feeling like this is a more average book than I was expecting, but a bit of a loss explaining exactly why. Maybe that's as good of an overview-thought as any.

Related Reads:
Maniac Magee (Spinelli)

(Continued in Part 2)

2017 Overview and Favorites

(List of all books read in 2017 here; personal Goodreads 2017 overview here)

In October of 2017, I started using Goodreads and cross-posting my reviews there. While I've liked using Goodreads overall so far (I love having the visual representation of what I've read, and it's a great way to keep track of books I want to read), I've struggled a little bit with the 5 star rating system.

In terms of what I read in 2017, I was a little surprised to look back and find that I'd read a lot more male than female authors this year (about 3/4 male, 1/4 female). I think this was largely because I finally started getting into Terry Pratchett's Discworld books and reading L. A. Meyer's entire Bloody Jack series. However, it was also interesting to me that my 2017 favorites list is split about 50/50 male/female. I'll note also that it was particularly hard for me to narrow down a list of top picks for this past year, partially because the subject matters and genres of what I read over the year was pretty varied.

All that said, here are some of the stand-out reads for me in 2017 (in no particular order). Links are to the post with the original review.

Gilead - Marilynne Robinson
Beautiful, immersive, lyrical. This was both a relaxing read with some surprisingly heavy interwoven discussion of religion. It ticks my history-buff box, too.

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
This was my "bridge" book between Gaiman (I'd previously read almost all of his books) and Pratchett (this being first thing of his I'd read).  I really enjoy the humor of both authors.With my background of being raised in strict Christian Fundamentalism, I've found it's taken me quite a long time to get comfortable reading books that discuss magic, witches, and/or religion. This book happens to contain a mix of all of the above. But it's brilliantly done, with just the right balance of humor and irreverence. This was one of the books that my husband read this year as well.

Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett
This was the first Discworld novel I picked up, and (though there have been some close contenders) it's remained my overall favorite of the dozen or so that I've read so far. I really appreciated the female-heavy character cast of the Witches storyline. We'll see if my opinion of this as the favorite holds as I read more Discworld books in 2018.

It's Okay to Laugh (Crying is Cool, Too) - Nora Purmort
There Is No Good Card for This - Kelsey Crowe & Emily McDowell
Both of these are essential reads for people who are going through a difficult life event (or who know someone that is). Not only do the two of these books come across as accessible and down-to-earth, they also offer practical advice.

The Little Friend - Donna Tartt
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke
So, first off: these were both very long and admittedly imperfect books. I wouldn't label either of them as satisfying, and there were actually portions of each that I didn't enjoy that much (for varying reasons). But despite this, I found both books very worthwhile journeys with pieces of truly stunning prose. The focus in both of these works is on the journey, not the destination. Though I'd have to recommend both these books with caveats, I'd be remiss in leaving them off my favorites list.

My Family and Other Animals - Gerald Durrell
Durrell's book is an exercise in lovely writing and stuffed full of the wonder and beauty of nature as seen through the eyes of a child. I wanted this memoir to go on and on.

Narconomics - Tom Wainwright
A thorough, eye-opening analysis of the drug trade. Though it doesn't feel entirely even, I was pleasantly surprised by the author's writing style, and I feel like it's an almost necessary read in today's political climate.


Bonus: Runner-ups (these may not have quite as wide-spread appeal as the above books, but they still stood out to me personally)

The Mint - T. E. Lawrence
T.E. Lawrence is one of my favorite historical figures, and I was excited just to get my hands on this book. An excellent, deeply personal read to round out your knowledge of Lawrence, the RAF, and WWI.

The History of Hell - Alice K. Turner
A thought-provoking, in-depth look at the history of the underworld as we perceive it today.

Deep Secret - Diana Wynne Jones
A little strange, a little quirky, and more than a little British. Unexpectedly good.

December 2017 Part 2

(Continued from Part 1)

Birds, Beasts, and Relatives - Gerald Durrell (1969)
"One day we had one of those freak storms when the sky turned blue-black and the lightning fretted a silver filigree across it. And then came the rain - great, fat, heavy drops, as warm as blood. When the storm had passed, the sky had been washed to the clear blue of a hedge-sparrow's egg and the damp earth sent out wonderfully rich, almost gastronomic smells as of fruit-cake or plum pudding; and the olive trunks steamed as the rain was dried off them by the sun, each trunk looking as though it were on fire."

This is another lovely book from Durrell, taking place concurrently with his first (My Family and Other Animals). Like its predecessor, its writing style is lyrical and beautifully descriptive, it's generally humorous and light, and it captures a sense of childlike joy and wonder as the author describes his childhood years of exploring the Greek island that he called home.

I do feel that this offering is little less kid-friendly than the previous book due to a few situations; namely, the main character inadvertently stumbling upon and witnessing a neighbor give birth, a (humorously portrayed) seance, a lengthy scene involving drunken house guests, and some scattered cursing. There are also a few of-the-time-period pejoratives (a few things in nature likened to an "oriental face," and a visiting gay friend of Durrell's adult brother described by the brother as "homo" and "queer").

Related Reads:
(See review for My Family and Other Animals)

Her Privates We - Frederic Manning (1929)
"Death, of course, like chastity, admits no degree; a man is dead or not dead, and a man is just as dead by one means as by another; but it is infinitely more horrible and revolting to see a man shattered and eviscerated, than to see him shot."

Her Privates We is based on the author's experiences fighting in WWI. Written in surprisingly refined prose, the book is an illustration of both the physical and psychological aspects of war - the dehumanization, the impossibility of coping with sudden losses, the confusion of battle, the drudgery of camp life, even the capacity to find beauty in the midst of despair. It's a devastating read.

Related Reads:
All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque)
The Mint (T.E. Lawrence)
The Things They Carried (O'Brien)

Short Stories 1907-1908 - L. M. Montgomery 
"There's not much comfort, or help either, praying one way and believing another."

I would go so far as to describe this collection as "soothing." There are few real surprises in these stories, no content issues, and nearly all the endings are happy; the differing main characters of the stories serve to give a good overall snapshot of the era. This is a nice collection to peruse if you're a fan of any of Montgomery's novels.

Bonus: you can currently find L. M. Montgomery's various short story collections for free on Kindle.

Related Reads:
The Story Girl and other short-story collections (Montgomery)
Eight Cousins (Alcott)
Life's Little Ironies (Hardy)

Alias Grace - Margaret Atwood (1996)
"When you are in the middle of a story it isn't a story at all, but only a confusion; a dark roaring, a blindness, a wreckage of shattered glass and splintered wood; like a house in a whirlwind, or else a boat crushed by the icebergs or swept over the rapids, and all aboard powerless to stop it. It's only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all. When you are telling it, to yourself or to someone else."

I finished this book before I realized (from the author's afterword) that it's a fictionalized account of a real historical event. I'm not sure if my failure to realize this added or detracted from the reading experience at all (I'm generally intrigued by historical accounts and guesswork).

Alias Grace has similar themes and not a dissimilar feel to Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale; the role of women in a patriarchal society is an obvious motif. Though the story has something of a mystery feel, there weren't necessarily big surprises, reveals, or tidy explanations - it's more about the exploration of themes (the reliability of memory, mental illness, gender roles, hierarchical society) than conclusions. Atwood's prose draws you in and pulls you under before you realize what's happening.

As of this writing, I haven't yet watched the Netflix series, but I plan on doing so soon.

Related Reads
The Handmaid's Tale (Atwood)
The Little Friend (Tartt)

The Princess Diarist - Carrie Fisher (2016)
"I wish I could go away somewhere, but the only problem with that is that I’d have to go, too."

If you're looking for a complete and detailed tell-all book, you'll probably be disappointed here. Fisher largely writes about her brief relationship/affair with Harrison Ford during the filming of Star Wars:A New Hope - though this is discussed somewhat obliquely and through a sampling of her diary entries during that time. She also spends a large section of the book writing about the strange phenomenon of celebrities being paid for autographs. While the book might come off as somewhat uneven, it was interesting for me to see the difference between her diary writings as a 19 year old and the writing style of her books today. And as was a theme throughout her life, Carrie Fisher gives an unflinching look into what it's like to struggle with mental health.

This book will probably make more sense if you've read her other books in order to get more of an overall background for her life and get used to her writing style. I'd have to say that I liked Fisher's previous autobiographical books better than this one, although The Princess Diarist is a little milder in tone than those.

Related Reads
Shockaholic (Fisher)
Wishful Drinking (Fisher)
Little Girl Lost (Barrymore)

December 2017 Part 1

With the publishing of this two-part post, I've officially completed my goal of writing reviews for every book I read in 2017! I'm still a little unsure of how I'll proceed in the coming year now that I'm using Goodreads (and cross-posting my reviews there), but I do know that I want to continue recording my thoughts on what I read in some form or another.

That said, on to my quick thoughts on December's batch of books:

Waking Gods - Sylvain Neuvel (2017)
"How many people get a second chance? I got one. Look what I did with it."

This book is the second in the Themis Files series, the first being Sleeping Giants. Much of what I said for that review would be applicable here. The story is an interesting concept, but I didn't care all that much for the way it was told. And I still don't think the author did a great job with the different voices throughout the book. I'll probably read the next book in the series when it comes out, but I'm not on pins and needles for it.

Related Reads:
Insistence of Vision ["Mars Opposition"] (Brin)
Three-body Problem (Liu)
The Martian (Weir)

The History of Hell - Alice Turner (1993)
"Christianity would have had a much easier time without Revelation, though it would be a less colorful religion."

First, I'll note that the author is not religious and does not write from a Christian perspective (I think some might go into the book expecting a Biblical analysis of Hell). I actually appreciated this, as I felt it removed the bias I had been expecting. This book is set up and reads something like a textbook, though not in a detrimental way. For me, it got more interesting as it went on. The book also includes a good number of illustrations and reproductions of art pieces.

Overall, I thought this book was a good compilation of the various and changing viewpoints and concepts of Hell throughout the ages. Though there's surely enough material out there to write a book on each of the chapters here, I felt the author was able to synthesize and encapsulate a lot of information well. One of my slight quibbles was that I do wish the author had cited sources more throughout. The book left me with the feeling that I would be interested to discuss more deeply with a person who's studied specific time periods more.

Related Reads:
(See bibliography)

A Long Way Home - Saroo Brierley (2013)
"Despite having so many memories that I wish I could forget, there are some that I wish I could remember."

This book is an exploration of the author's journey of trying to remember and process his pre-adoption past. It's engaging, though I found the first portion of the book a little more interesting and well-written than the last. Brierley seems (and portrays himself as) well-adjusted and happy with his life and adoptive family, though he stresses that this isn't the case for everyone, and he gently brings up some common issues that vulnerable children in similar situations may have faced (abuse, trauma, hunger, potentially having families despite being assumed to be orphans). It's a worthy read for anyone, but perhaps especially for those interested in the subject of international adoption.

Related Reads:
Shantaram (Roberts)
A Long Way Gone (Beah)

A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J. Maas (2016)
"Love can be a poison."

After getting through this book, I don't think that I'll be able finish the series. I found A Court of Mist and Fury to be less tolerable than the preceding book (A Court of Thrones and Roses). There were at least five fairly explicit sex scenes - one almost right away, which threw me off since it's a YA book (is this what the kids are reading these days?). Many of the same problems I had with the first book also apply here; the main character is too perfect; the various characters aren't really well defined, and despite the peril aspects, there aren't really many surprises. There were interesting pieces of the story, but not enough to keep me fully engaged. The best I can say about it was that this book was a fairly quick and escapist read.

Related Reads:
Twilight (Meyer)

The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro (1988)
"A 'great' butler can only be, surely, one who can point to his years of service and say that he has applied his talents to serving a great gentleman - and through the latter, to serving humanity."

After reading this, I find that it's hard to come up with a worthy description of this book. It's surprisingly humorous, unexpectedly sad, and sometimes exasperating. A beautifully poignant read, and a pointed exploration into political and personal issues surrounding pre- and post-WWII Great Britain.

Related Reads:
The Road to Wigan Pier (Orwell)

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook - Christina Henry (2017)
"I didn't know how to explain to him that for all that I still looked young, I had been feeling old. The years had passed, so many of them, and they were starting to wear on me. After a while it wasn't fun to always feel like you had to have fun."

When I picked up this book, I was worried that it would be straight horror and I wouldn't be able to finish. However, while there are some violent/gruesome aspects, it wasn't as bad as I might have expected. It's well-written, and an interesting and different retelling of the classic story; here, Peter Pan is unquestioningly evil. In the end, though, the reader already knows what's going to happen - giving a "so why did I put myself through this sad retelling" feeling once the book is finished.

Related Reads:
Lord of the Flies (Golding)
Everland (Spinale)

(Continued in Part 2)

November 2017 Reads Part 2

(Continued from Part 1)

North! Or Be Eaten - Andrew Peterson (2009)
"It is only when we have grown too old that we fail to see that the Maker’s world is swollen with magic - it hides in plain sight in music and water and even bumblebees."

I had read the first of the Wingfeather Saga (On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness) last month and was less than impressed - in fact, I was almost ready to write off the series entirely. However, North! Or Be Eaten changed my mind. Though it's still very much a children's fantasy book, it's darker in tone than the first book, more action-heavy and engaging, explores more character development, and is overall better written. Plus, many of the things that had annoyed me about the first book were absent or toned down in this book. If you weren't excited about the first book in the Wingfeather series, try this one out. I'm planning on finishing the series.

Related Reads
A Series of Unfortunate Events (Snicket)

Time Out for Happiness - Frank Gilbreth Jr (1970)
"'You can't run by me like that, ma'am, You know ladies aren't admitted.'
'I didn't know, Lillie stammered. Then she added, 'What shall I do? I'm the speaker.'
'At the University Club? he chortled. 'If you are, lady, I'm Fanny Brice. This club is for men only.'
And then he put her back out in the rain, where, New York fashion, there weren't any cabs."

Most people are probably aware, at least in name, of the book Cheaper by the Dozen.Written more like a biography, this book is something of a companion book to that classic, and the author (Frank Jr, the eldest boy of the family) takes on a more familiar tone as he relates some pieces of family history and delves into more background and details of the events related in Cheaper by the Dozen and its followup Belles on Their Toes. Most pointedly for me, the history related here really drove home how difficult it was at the turn of the 19th century for women to break into the "men's world" of STEM-related fields.

This book will make  more sense if you've already read the author's original novels (co-written with one of his sisters), but would probably still be an interesting read to those intrigued by American history and the inception of time-motion study.

Related Reads
Cheaper by the Dozen (Gilbreth)
Bells on their Toes (Gilbreth)
Papa Married a Mormon (Fitzgerald)

How to Be a Heroine - Samantha Ellis (2014)
"For a moment I have the alarming thought that maybe I want heroines so I can be their best friend and loyal sidekick without ever facing the challenge of becoming a heroine myself."

This book is part-autobiography, part-English paper. Ellis writes about how her book heroines - from childhood to present day - have shaped her, and goes back to some of her childhood heroines and studies them with a more critical eye. I related to, although didn't necessarily agree with, the author's strong relation to childhood book characters (I'm quite opposite in that I found a kinship with Jane Eyre, while Ellis always strongly related to Cathy Earnshaw). Though I didn't know all the books or authors mentioned, I was still able to follow along, and the book made me think more deeply about how book characters have really influenced me throughout my own life.

Related Reads
Cut Me Loose (Vincent)
The Shelf (Rose)
Reading Lolita in Tehran (Nafisi)

Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov [ed. by Robert Chandler] (2013)
"Deep, deep in the forest, between blue forget-me-nots, I'll catch you on my hook, hook you on my line. And soon, stranger, soon, you'll be dancing to my pipe, dancing to my tune."

This compilation includes a rather staggering amount of Russian fairy tales from a wide variety of authors/collectors of oral folktales. The book is divided into different sections, each of which includes detailed backgrounds of the featured authors. This setup, along with the book's inclusion of a strong introduction and helpful footnotes, makes this anthology a must if you're interested in fairy and folk tales and/or Russian Literature of any genre. I found myself recognizing many of the stories from other fairy tale compilations I've read from different parts of the world. The nature of folktales makes some sections of the book feel repetitious, but that's to be expected.

Related Reads
The Juniper Tree: And Other Tales from Grimm

We Never Talk About My Brother [Short Stories] - Peter S. Beagle (2009)
"But it is a curious thing, how certain horrors are so vastly horrible to think about that they simply do not take hold on your imagination at the time, but go almost unnoticed - sooner or later to wake you screaming, surely, but not now."

Given my previous reads by Peter S. Beagle (most notably The Last Unicorn), I was expecting this to be a more fantasy-heavy compilation, but the stories included here are quite mixed and show a wide range of types and genres. I liked all of the stories and really enjoyed a number of them. This is a very worthwhile collection for Peter S. Beagle fans and newcomers alike.

Related Reads:
The Line Between [Short Stories] (Beagle)

Lila - Marilynne Robinson (2014)
"She liked to hear people tell stories. The saddest ones were the best. She wondered if that meant anything at all."

This is the third and final novel of the Gilead trilogy. I found it not quite as good as the preceding novels, but still worth a read. Robinson has a talent for making her characters achingly relatable and strangely understandable.

Related Reads
Gilead (Robinson)
The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck)

November 2017 Reads Part 1

We're coming up on the last month of the year and I'm in the middle of a number of series that I still want to finish (or at least continue). This is unusual for me as I don't generally like to start more than one or two series at once... I need to pay better attention as to what books are the first-of-series before I dive into them!

Deep Secret - Diana Wynne Jones (1997)
"'It says,' he said, 'I Am A Hobbit.'" He bowed and walked away. 'In Elvish,' he added as he left."

Confession: this isn't a book that I would've picked out based on the cover or the brief description. But score one for friend recommendations - I'm really glad this was pointed out to me. I found Deep Secret a surprisingly different SciFi-tinged fantasy novel, very English in its wry humor. I often take issue with books that switch points of view between characters, particularly if they're all in first person, but I actually enjoyed the different voices here. And while I struggled to see at first how a book that mashed together centaurs, SciFi conventions, and royal politics could form something cohesive, I was pleasantly surprised.

The only other book I'd previously read by Diana Wynne Jones had been Howl's Moving Castle. I was a bit at a loss where to start with her other works, and now I feel like I've had a good jumping-off point.

Related Reads
Good Omens (Pratchett and Gaiman)
Dune (Herbert)
A Wrinkle in Time (L'Engle)

Home - Marilynne Robinson (2008)
"You must forgive in order to understand. Until you forgive, you defend yourself against the possibility of understanding."

This is a companion novel to Gilead, a favorite that I read earlier in the year. Since Home takes place concurrently, I found myself wishing I'd read it sooner after Gilead so I could make better connections between the books and the core characters. Though Home is written largely from the third-person point of view of Glory, one of Boughton's daughters, not in first-person stream-of-thought journal entries of John Ames as in Gilead, I still found it piercingly relateable, and as deeply calming and lyrical in style as its predecessor.

Related Reads
Gilead (Robinson)
The Little Friend (Tartt)

Everything, Everything - Nicola Yoon (2015)
"Just because you can’t experience everything doesn’t mean you shouldn’t experience anything."

I came into this book with no background, although I'd been seeing a lot of hype around it for some time. It's Young Adult Fiction, which I somehow wasn't expecting, and the format is of journal entries interspersed with occasional lists, drawings, and chat records.

The style wasn't what bothered me, though; it was the romance portion of the plot that seemed too forced and like it was the only catalyst for change (the "girl falls in love and everything changes" trope). The "twist" near the end vaguely disappointed rather than surprised me. Overall, I didn't find the book a bad read - it was easy to get through without feeling overly light, for one, and it's definitely a strong first novel from the author - I just felt it could've gone further in terms of plot.

Related Reads
The Blue Castle (Montgomery)

The Sun is Also a Star - Nicola Yoon (2016)
"Do you think it's funny that both of our favorite memories are about the people we like the least now?" I ask.
"Maybe that's why we dislike them," she says. "The distance between who they were and who they are is so wide, we have no hope of getting them back."

I liked this book better than Yoon's first novel (Everything, Everything). The format here switches between viewpoints of not only the two main characters, but also other minor characters that they run into throughout the day. It feels like there's a lot that could be said about this book; in brief, it explores cultural differences, fate, small actions leading to potentially life-changing consequences, family, and love at first sight.

Related Reads
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Diaz)
Americanah (Adichie)

A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas (2015)
"You didn't tell me this would happen."
"You didn't ask. So how am I to blame?"

Okay, I have to say it... I wanted to like this more than I did. The first part of the book was very reminiscent of The Hunger Games, though that in itself wasn't necessarily what bothered me (in fact, Fayre's struggle of survival in the real world was one of the highlights for me). For one thing, the characters - especially the main one - seemed too perfect and one-note. But it was the romance portion that was my main sticking point. I found myself honestly confused as to why the main characters were suddenly in love with/attracted to each other. It seemed very forced to me, even with the later (fairy-tale inspired) "explanation" for it. And there was so many instances of sexual tension and situations that I was beginning to feel like I was reading a bodice ripper.

With all that said, I was still intrigued enough by the world and overall story to continue the series. As I read, I was feeling more and more like it would be a struggle to finish, but the book picked up for me in the second half. I'll try to reserve my overall judgement until I get through the entire series.

Related Reads
The Hunger Games (Collins)
Lords and Ladies (Pratchett)
Uprooted (Novik)
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (Clarke)

(Continued in Part 2)