Kyrie
I was a bit apprehensive about how this would all turn out at the start of the book. With how often it was bludgeoned in early on that the main character's name was Kami, I was worried that the entire book would be more of the same.
She gave Kami a look that said she wished Kami would stop bothering her.
Normally this would not have worried Kami. Angela always looked at people with that expression, and Kami could usually talk her into doing what Kami wanted anyway. But Kami had never wanted something as much as this.
The writing does eventually reach its stride though. Names are still repeated incredibly frequently, but after the first...fourth of the book or so, I'd say, it calms down.
The story itself is a lot of fun. It's a mystery/paranormal romance combo, with a neat twist....I was going to hide the following behind a spoiler tag, but since the information is basically provided in the book's description, I think I'm okay not throwing one in. But, just so you're warned - I considered a spoiler tag for the following information.
I loved the book's take on the mental connection between Kami and her [name redacted because that is not mentioned in the book description] not-so-imaginary friend.
He assumes that they're connected because they're meant to be together, while Kami is uncomfortable with the idea of having an actual, living being able to read pretty much all of her thoughts and emotions. It was one thing when she thought he was an imaginary friend, but giving that much information and power over you to another human being...well, it's terrifying.
And instead of falling into the trope of this connection proving his soul mate theory correct just because they're a girl and a boy in a YA story who have a link with each other, both hold themselves back from falling completely in love with the other. They (or at least Kami) realize there's no real way to tell how much of their affection for each other is because of growing up with a direct mental connection to the other, and how much is just an endless feedback loop of emotion.
I've seen other books that tackle the idea of the “insta-love via connection” thing before - Verity, off the top of my head - and I enjoy it every time. Especially when so much thought is put into the real world consequences of such a link.
Then, on top of the study in soul mates and telepathy, there's still the matter of Sorry-in-the-Vale's mystery. It takes a while to build up to that reveal, which is a bit ridiculous. Pretty much everybody except for the main characters know what's going on, but nobody will say anything for fear of bringing attention to themselves.
So the mystery is less of a mystery, and more of a well-known fact that people just don't talk about.
Still. Me being who I am, I enjoyed it.
I was a bit apprehensive about how this would all turn out at the start of the book. With how often it was bludgeoned in early on that the main character's name was Kami, I was worried that the entire book would be more of the same.
She gave Kami a look that said she wished Kami would stop bothering her.
Normally this would not have worried Kami. Angela always looked at people with that expression, and Kami could usually talk her into doing what Kami wanted anyway. But Kami had never wanted something as much as this.
The writing does eventually reach its stride though. Names are still repeated incredibly frequently, but after the first...fourth of the book or so, I'd say, it calms down.
The story itself is a lot of fun. It's a mystery/paranormal romance combo, with a neat twist....I was going to hide the following behind a spoiler tag, but since the information is basically provided in the book's description, I think I'm okay not throwing one in. But, just so you're warned - I considered a spoiler tag for the following information.
I loved the book's take on the mental connection between Kami and her [name redacted because that is not mentioned in the book description] not-so-imaginary friend.
He assumes that they're connected because they're meant to be together, while Kami is uncomfortable with the idea of having an actual, living being able to read pretty much all of her thoughts and emotions. It was one thing when she thought he was an imaginary friend, but giving that much information and power over you to another human being...well, it's terrifying.
And instead of falling into the trope of this connection proving his soul mate theory correct just because they're a girl and a boy in a YA story who have a link with each other, both hold themselves back from falling completely in love with the other. They (or at least Kami) realize there's no real way to tell how much of their affection for each other is because of growing up with a direct mental connection to the other, and how much is just an endless feedback loop of emotion.
I've seen other books that tackle the idea of the “insta-love via connection” thing before - Verity, off the top of my head - and I enjoy it every time. Especially when so much thought is put into the real world consequences of such a link.
Then, on top of the study in soul mates and telepathy, there's still the matter of Sorry-in-the-Vale's mystery. It takes a while to build up to that reveal, which is a bit ridiculous. Pretty much everybody except for the main characters know what's going on, but nobody will say anything for fear of bringing attention to themselves.
So the mystery is less of a mystery, and more of a well-known fact that people just don't talk about.
Still. Me being who I am, I enjoyed it.
That's about what I expected from a ghost tour companion book.
There are so many typos - misspelled words, spacing errors, missing punctuation. Naturally, it's all because of the ghosts. They're the ones to blame.
During the last few weeks of writing, when I was working as long as twenty hours a day, I began to notice that everything that could possibly go wrong did. We would spend hours editing and correcting errors in the manuscript, only to print the finished work without any of those corrections being saved. Yes, when one is working twenty hours a day it is conceivable mistakes will be made and errors overlooked, but we re-edited and corrected the same things over and over. Additionally, the first 2,500 copies that were printed contained errors that did not appear in the original manuscript.
The first section of the book covers New Orleans ghost stories. Most of that section are stories that were collected before, in Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans by Jean deLavigne. There are a few newer additions sprinkled throughout that section, but not many.
The section on haunted hotels was the longest. It seems like pretty much every hotel down here has some sort of ghost story attached to it. I had fun reading about the Ashley House, at least - a friend of mine works at the hotel that owns the House, and used to have to give tours. She told me that she refused to give any more tours there after a special Halloween tour, where they brought in a ghost hunter and a medium. I still get the occasional ghost story from her, though.
It makes me want to proudly note that, despite the fact that both the hotel I work at, and our sister location were built in the 1800's - one originally being a bordello - neither is haunted. (Not that that stops the guests from trying to claim that they are. We seriously had a woman whose friend had to come tell us they were getting their exchange company to move them to another hotel because the woman felt “oppressive spirits” in their room.)
The second section of the book is about New Orleans Voodoo, which is not to be confused with traditional Voodoo. It was a well done section, and stayed away from taking a dismissive approach to looking at the religion. They also attempt to clear up the belief that Voodoo is inherently evil. Really, it's only the stories of Voodoo being used for revenge or death that get any attention in the media. Nobody gets as excited about Voodoo being used to heal or help people.
The third part of the book covered New Orleans' obsession with vampires. I spent most of this section laughing so hard that breathing became difficult. It's very hard to take any of it seriously. I mean, vampire lore in general is pretty ridiculous, but this book brought it all to whole new levels.
For instance, here, according to the book, is a list of things that could lead to vampirism:
- being born at certain times of the year (new moon, holy days)
- being born with a red caul
- being born with teeth (though the way it's written in the book, it makes it sound like you could be born with a red caul that has teeth)
- being born with an extra nipple
- being born with excess hair
- being born with white hair
- being born with red hair
- being born with a red birthmark
- being born with two hearts
- being born the seventh son of a seventh son
- if a child died and was weaned too early
- if a child died and suckled after being weaned
- if a child died without being baptized
- if a pregnant woman was cursed by a vampire
- if a pregnant woman was stared at by a vampire
- being fed on seven or more times by a vampire
- practicing sorcery or witchcraft
- eating sheep killed by a wolf
- leading an immoral life (prostitutes, murderers, alcoholics, rapists)
- committing suicide
- death by violence or drowning
- dying without benefits of Last Rites
- dying and not getting a burial or improper burial rites
- a cat jumping over the corpse's coffin
- a shadow falling over the corpse and/or coffin
Really, it's a miracle that everybody isn't a vampire already.
And then, there are the “psychic vampires” that drink life force instead of blood. They can do serious damage to your energetic system! Which I'm guessing is supposed to be like your nervous system, except with energy? I don't know. They didn't teach me a damn thing in health class.
Repetitive psychic attacks can cause extensive damage to the energetic system leaving the victim weak and immune deficient.
You also have descriptions of the “vampire lifestyle”, which sadly, is an actual thing down here. I blame the Interview with the Vampire movie - we get a lot of wanna-be Lestats in the French Quarter.
And “vampirology” is totally the scientific term for the study of vampires.
There are pictures in the book, as well, of Haunted History tour guides posing at various locations - occasionally with famous people who have been on the tour (and Nicholas Cage, who may actually be a vampire), bad quality images of supposed ghosts, and lots and lots of ectoplasm.
The images are all black and white, and terrible quality. It's hard to make out background details, let alone anything that's supposed to be a ghost. And the horrible quality of the images wouldn't be as bad if the running narration didn't keep raving about what AMAZING pictures the company has. It's a shame none of these “amazing” pictures made it into the book.
If you're just looking for something spooky and light to pass the time, this book is okay. But there are better options available on any of the topics covered.
That's about what I expected from a ghost tour companion book.
There are so many typos - misspelled words, spacing errors, missing punctuation. Naturally, it's all because of the ghosts. They're the ones to blame.
During the last few weeks of writing, when I was working as long as twenty hours a day, I began to notice that everything that could possibly go wrong did. We would spend hours editing and correcting errors in the manuscript, only to print the finished work without any of those corrections being saved. Yes, when one is working twenty hours a day it is conceivable mistakes will be made and errors overlooked, but we re-edited and corrected the same things over and over. Additionally, the first 2,500 copies that were printed contained errors that did not appear in the original manuscript.
The first section of the book covers New Orleans ghost stories. Most of that section are stories that were collected before, in Ghost Stories of Old New Orleans by Jean deLavigne. There are a few newer additions sprinkled throughout that section, but not many.
The section on haunted hotels was the longest. It seems like pretty much every hotel down here has some sort of ghost story attached to it. I had fun reading about the Ashley House, at least - a friend of mine works at the hotel that owns the House, and used to have to give tours. She told me that she refused to give any more tours there after a special Halloween tour, where they brought in a ghost hunter and a medium. I still get the occasional ghost story from her, though.
It makes me want to proudly note that, despite the fact that both the hotel I work at, and our sister location were built in the 1800's - one originally being a bordello - neither is haunted. (Not that that stops the guests from trying to claim that they are. We seriously had a woman whose friend had to come tell us they were getting their exchange company to move them to another hotel because the woman felt “oppressive spirits” in their room.)
The second section of the book is about New Orleans Voodoo, which is not to be confused with traditional Voodoo. It was a well done section, and stayed away from taking a dismissive approach to looking at the religion. They also attempt to clear up the belief that Voodoo is inherently evil. Really, it's only the stories of Voodoo being used for revenge or death that get any attention in the media. Nobody gets as excited about Voodoo being used to heal or help people.
The third part of the book covered New Orleans' obsession with vampires. I spent most of this section laughing so hard that breathing became difficult. It's very hard to take any of it seriously. I mean, vampire lore in general is pretty ridiculous, but this book brought it all to whole new levels.
For instance, here, according to the book, is a list of things that could lead to vampirism:
- being born at certain times of the year (new moon, holy days)
- being born with a red caul
- being born with teeth (though the way it's written in the book, it makes it sound like you could be born with a red caul that has teeth)
- being born with an extra nipple
- being born with excess hair
- being born with white hair
- being born with red hair
- being born with a red birthmark
- being born with two hearts
- being born the seventh son of a seventh son
- if a child died and was weaned too early
- if a child died and suckled after being weaned
- if a child died without being baptized
- if a pregnant woman was cursed by a vampire
- if a pregnant woman was stared at by a vampire
- being fed on seven or more times by a vampire
- practicing sorcery or witchcraft
- eating sheep killed by a wolf
- leading an immoral life (prostitutes, murderers, alcoholics, rapists)
- committing suicide
- death by violence or drowning
- dying without benefits of Last Rites
- dying and not getting a burial or improper burial rites
- a cat jumping over the corpse's coffin
- a shadow falling over the corpse and/or coffin
Really, it's a miracle that everybody isn't a vampire already.
And then, there are the “psychic vampires” that drink life force instead of blood. They can do serious damage to your energetic system! Which I'm guessing is supposed to be like your nervous system, except with energy? I don't know. They didn't teach me a damn thing in health class.
Repetitive psychic attacks can cause extensive damage to the energetic system leaving the victim weak and immune deficient.
You also have descriptions of the “vampire lifestyle”, which sadly, is an actual thing down here. I blame the Interview with the Vampire movie - we get a lot of wanna-be Lestats in the French Quarter.
And “vampirology” is totally the scientific term for the study of vampires.
There are pictures in the book, as well, of Haunted History tour guides posing at various locations - occasionally with famous people who have been on the tour (and Nicholas Cage, who may actually be a vampire), bad quality images of supposed ghosts, and lots and lots of ectoplasm.
The images are all black and white, and terrible quality. It's hard to make out background details, let alone anything that's supposed to be a ghost. And the horrible quality of the images wouldn't be as bad if the running narration didn't keep raving about what AMAZING pictures the company has. It's a shame none of these “amazing” pictures made it into the book.
If you're just looking for something spooky and light to pass the time, this book is okay. But there are better options available on any of the topics covered.
I was going to try to get through the first volumes of a bunch of manga series I'd been meaning to start tonight...but I think I'm going to end up binge reading Horimiya instead.
The story takes a “don't judge a book by its cover” approach to the main characters. It's a lot of fun to watch Hori and Miyamura trying to figure out how to juggle the knowledge of each others' secrets against the facades they put up at school. And that, so far, seems to be the main drama of the series - no love triangles. No crazy stalkers. Just two teenagers trying to find a way to interact in a public space without letting other people know what they're really like.
It's not even a situation like Switch Girl, where their personalities are all that different from how they actually are. The secrets that the main characters are trying to hide aren't exaggerated. And they've got believable reasons for hiding.
It was...refreshing.
And that artwork. Man.
I was going to try to get through the first volumes of a bunch of manga series I'd been meaning to start tonight...but I think I'm going to end up binge reading Horimiya instead.
The story takes a “don't judge a book by its cover” approach to the main characters. It's a lot of fun to watch Hori and Miyamura trying to figure out how to juggle the knowledge of each others' secrets against the facades they put up at school. And that, so far, seems to be the main drama of the series - no love triangles. No crazy stalkers. Just two teenagers trying to find a way to interact in a public space without letting other people know what they're really like.
It's not even a situation like Switch Girl, where their personalities are all that different from how they actually are. The secrets that the main characters are trying to hide aren't exaggerated. And they've got believable reasons for hiding.
It was...refreshing.
And that artwork. Man.
I haven't had time to sit down and write anything even remotely resembling a review in ages, thanks to the fact that we lost two desk clerks in one two-week period. So, being one of the stronger clerks remaining, I've been picking up a metric f-ton of shifts until the replacement workers are strong enough to pick up busy shifts on their own.
But I felt the need to jot down some mental notes I had while reading this, that I'd probably end up forgetting if I didn't at least try to write something. So apologies in advance...this is probably (most likely) going to end up being a fairly disjointed “review”.
I liked Carry On. A lot. I enjoyed it for the same reasons that I enjoyed The Magicians series - it's a somewhat cynical reinterpretation of a beloved children's classic. And I'm all about that.
That being said, there were a certain amount of mental gymnastics involved for me to properly enjoy this book.
Carry On is a story based on a story from another story that the main character wrote fanfic about. And while there are some scenes from the Fangirl version of the Simon Snow story - scenes from the actual fictional book that were written in-between chapters of Fangirl, not the fanfic version of the story IN that book - Carry On is its own beast, at heart.
“Being matched with your roommate is a sacred tradition at Watford,” he said. His voice was gentle but firm. “The Crucible cast you together, Simon. You're to watch out for each other, to know each other as well as brothers.”
“Yeah, but, sir...” I was sitting in that giant leather chair up in his office, the one with three horns attached to the top. “The Crucible must have made a mistake. My roommate's a complete wanker. He might even be evil. Last week, someone spelled my laptop closed, and I know it was him. He was practically cackling.”
The Mage just sat on his desk, stroking his beard. “The Crucible cast you together, Simon. You're meant to watch out for him.”
It isn't the actual “Simon Snow as an allegorical representation of the Harry Potter fandom” story, nor Cath's fanfic of the story...while, at the same time, following the same rough idea of the story as shown in Fangirl. Which is easier to sort out in my head than it is in words. I'd be a crap wizard.
The trick is, I think, to both juggle the ideas from the story given in Fangirl, while also completely disregarding Fangirl. I seriously don't know if this is a book that works better on its own, without any sort of context, or if it makes more sense if you've read Fangirl.
I will admit that Simon and Baz's relationship works better if you completely disregard the Fangirl version of Simon Snow. It gets in the way of how events turn out - ignoring Fangirl actually improves that part of the story.
The romance feels a bit contrived if you read the story as though it's an extension of the Fangirl "Simon Snow" series. Because the two aren't actually in a love-to-hate relationship in the Fangirl version, treating it as an extension of that...I guess the best way I can sum it up is that it makes the relationship feel forced. Like, if you look at it that way, the only reason they end up together is because Cath's fanfic dictates that they end up together.
If you take the story at face value, though - holy hell.
I'd also like to note that I loved the magic system - the combination of turns of phrase, popular quotes and song lyrics, proverbs, and nursery rhymes being used as the starting points of spells, as well as the fact that everyone's magic has its own feel/scent/taste...it was very much Maki catnip.
I haven't had time to sit down and write anything even remotely resembling a review in ages, thanks to the fact that we lost two desk clerks in one two-week period. So, being one of the stronger clerks remaining, I've been picking up a metric f-ton of shifts until the replacement workers are strong enough to pick up busy shifts on their own.
But I felt the need to jot down some mental notes I had while reading this, that I'd probably end up forgetting if I didn't at least try to write something. So apologies in advance...this is probably (most likely) going to end up being a fairly disjointed “review”.
I liked Carry On. A lot. I enjoyed it for the same reasons that I enjoyed The Magicians series - it's a somewhat cynical reinterpretation of a beloved children's classic. And I'm all about that.
That being said, there were a certain amount of mental gymnastics involved for me to properly enjoy this book.
Carry On is a story based on a story from another story that the main character wrote fanfic about. And while there are some scenes from the Fangirl version of the Simon Snow story - scenes from the actual fictional book that were written in-between chapters of Fangirl, not the fanfic version of the story IN that book - Carry On is its own beast, at heart.
“Being matched with your roommate is a sacred tradition at Watford,” he said. His voice was gentle but firm. “The Crucible cast you together, Simon. You're to watch out for each other, to know each other as well as brothers.”
“Yeah, but, sir...” I was sitting in that giant leather chair up in his office, the one with three horns attached to the top. “The Crucible must have made a mistake. My roommate's a complete wanker. He might even be evil. Last week, someone spelled my laptop closed, and I know it was him. He was practically cackling.”
The Mage just sat on his desk, stroking his beard. “The Crucible cast you together, Simon. You're meant to watch out for him.”
It isn't the actual “Simon Snow as an allegorical representation of the Harry Potter fandom” story, nor Cath's fanfic of the story...while, at the same time, following the same rough idea of the story as shown in Fangirl. Which is easier to sort out in my head than it is in words. I'd be a crap wizard.
The trick is, I think, to both juggle the ideas from the story given in Fangirl, while also completely disregarding Fangirl. I seriously don't know if this is a book that works better on its own, without any sort of context, or if it makes more sense if you've read Fangirl.
I will admit that Simon and Baz's relationship works better if you completely disregard the Fangirl version of Simon Snow. It gets in the way of how events turn out - ignoring Fangirl actually improves that part of the story.
The romance feels a bit contrived if you read the story as though it's an extension of the Fangirl "Simon Snow" series. Because the two aren't actually in a love-to-hate relationship in the Fangirl version, treating it as an extension of that...I guess the best way I can sum it up is that it makes the relationship feel forced. Like, if you look at it that way, the only reason they end up together is because Cath's fanfic dictates that they end up together.
If you take the story at face value, though - holy hell.
I'd also like to note that I loved the magic system - the combination of turns of phrase, popular quotes and song lyrics, proverbs, and nursery rhymes being used as the starting points of spells, as well as the fact that everyone's magic has its own feel/scent/taste...it was very much Maki catnip.
Pat the Bunny is a really cute activity book. There's plenty of instructions to attempt to get your child to follow, and things to flip, smell, and touch. The artwork is adorable, and pretty much what you'd expect from a book published in the 1940's.
The dad might want to get his face looked at, though. There's definitely something wrong with his cheek.
Pat the Bunny is a really cute activity book. There's plenty of instructions to attempt to get your child to follow, and things to flip, smell, and touch. The artwork is adorable, and pretty much what you'd expect from a book published in the 1940's.
The dad might want to get his face looked at, though. There's definitely something wrong with his cheek.
I am hereby dubbing my 2015 “The Year of the Fandom”. Good lord. You take someone saying “Homestuck is so long, it takes a month to get through it all!” as a personal challenge, and next thing you know, you're falling into fandom holes left and right.
Homestuck, Night Vale, Twin Peaks, Gravity Falls, Sherlock, Rick and Morty, Steven Universe...my year was spent either reading small things to catch up on the holes left in my book schedule by my sudden resurgence in interest in television, or reading books BASED on those things.
Lord forbid I ever give in to my eldest younger brother's demands that I start watching Dr. Who...I won't have any free time left!I don't regret it, though. I wasn't able to read all the books I had planned to get through (I swear I'll eventually make it through the entire Discworld series!), but Gravity Falls helped restore my faith in children's cartoons, and Night Vale proved that I could, if properly motivated, sit through a podcast. It gives me hopes that, maybe someday, I'll have the patience to try audiobooks.There were a lot of books I was looking forward to reading this year, and I'm pretty sure I got to most of them - The Ruby Circle (Bloodlines #6), Carry On, Six of Crows, Winter, Welcome to Night Vale...I'm sure that's not even close to everything, but I'm dashing through this on my lunch break at work.
I also decided to finally give in and list the manga I've read on my profile. Why allow myself to count short stories but not manga? It just made no sense. So, I ended up reading more manga than I have in the past few years.I managed to (barely) hit 400 books this year on my reading challenge. I had hoped I could get it up that high after I had managed over 300 in 2014, but between my daughter and my job, I wasn't sure if I could make it. I'm very glad I did, and now that I know I can hit 400 books, I'm starting myself there for 2016, but aiming for 500 in the long run.
I am hereby dubbing my 2015 “The Year of the Fandom”. Good lord. You take someone saying “Homestuck is so long, it takes a month to get through it all!” as a personal challenge, and next thing you know, you're falling into fandom holes left and right.
Homestuck, Night Vale, Twin Peaks, Gravity Falls, Sherlock, Rick and Morty, Steven Universe...my year was spent either reading small things to catch up on the holes left in my book schedule by my sudden resurgence in interest in television, or reading books BASED on those things.
Lord forbid I ever give in to my eldest younger brother's demands that I start watching Dr. Who...I won't have any free time left!I don't regret it, though. I wasn't able to read all the books I had planned to get through (I swear I'll eventually make it through the entire Discworld series!), but Gravity Falls helped restore my faith in children's cartoons, and Night Vale proved that I could, if properly motivated, sit through a podcast. It gives me hopes that, maybe someday, I'll have the patience to try audiobooks.There were a lot of books I was looking forward to reading this year, and I'm pretty sure I got to most of them - The Ruby Circle (Bloodlines #6), Carry On, Six of Crows, Winter, Welcome to Night Vale...I'm sure that's not even close to everything, but I'm dashing through this on my lunch break at work.
I also decided to finally give in and list the manga I've read on my profile. Why allow myself to count short stories but not manga? It just made no sense. So, I ended up reading more manga than I have in the past few years.I managed to (barely) hit 400 books this year on my reading challenge. I had hoped I could get it up that high after I had managed over 300 in 2014, but between my daughter and my job, I wasn't sure if I could make it. I'm very glad I did, and now that I know I can hit 400 books, I'm starting myself there for 2016, but aiming for 500 in the long run.
Then, slowly advancing to meet the Comte, he pronounced in dull yet terrible accents the curse that ever afterward haunted the house of C——. “May ne'er a noble of thy murd'rous line Survive to reach a greater age than thine!” spake he, when, suddenly leaping backwards into the black wood, he drew from his tunic a phial of colourless liquid which he threw into the face of his father's slayer as he disappeared behind the inky curtain of the night.
Classic Charles Le Sorcier.
My youngest brother is finally starting to read Lovecraft this year, so I've decided to go along with him - not necessarily reading the same thing at the same time, but working my way back through Lovecraft's catalog, one story at a time. In alphabetical order. Because my brain likes it when I set arbitrary limitations on myself like that.
Anyway, The Alchemist is one of Lovecraft's earlier stories, and it shows. There's not much to the story, outside of the immediate plot. The prose is so purple that it makes Grimace appear dull in comparison, and the story itself is just cheesily overdramatic.
I love it.
I've got to admit, the man could craft a fine sentence, though.
High up, crowning the grassy summit of a swelling mound whose sides are wooded near the base with the gnarled trees of the primeval forest, stands the old chateau of my ancestors. For centuries its lofty battlements have frowned down upon the wild and rugged countryside about, serving as a home and stronghold for the proud house whose honoured line is older even than the moss-grown castle walls.
Then, slowly advancing to meet the Comte, he pronounced in dull yet terrible accents the curse that ever afterward haunted the house of C——. “May ne'er a noble of thy murd'rous line Survive to reach a greater age than thine!” spake he, when, suddenly leaping backwards into the black wood, he drew from his tunic a phial of colourless liquid which he threw into the face of his father's slayer as he disappeared behind the inky curtain of the night.
Classic Charles Le Sorcier.
My youngest brother is finally starting to read Lovecraft this year, so I've decided to go along with him - not necessarily reading the same thing at the same time, but working my way back through Lovecraft's catalog, one story at a time. In alphabetical order. Because my brain likes it when I set arbitrary limitations on myself like that.
Anyway, The Alchemist is one of Lovecraft's earlier stories, and it shows. There's not much to the story, outside of the immediate plot. The prose is so purple that it makes Grimace appear dull in comparison, and the story itself is just cheesily overdramatic.
I love it.
I've got to admit, the man could craft a fine sentence, though.
High up, crowning the grassy summit of a swelling mound whose sides are wooded near the base with the gnarled trees of the primeval forest, stands the old chateau of my ancestors. For centuries its lofty battlements have frowned down upon the wild and rugged countryside about, serving as a home and stronghold for the proud house whose honoured line is older even than the moss-grown castle walls.
So, I decided to sign up for Owlcrate. It's a YA lootcrate dealy, and it sounded like a neat idea, so I thought I'd give it a try. I managed to squeeze in at the last minute to get my hands on an August crate.
August's book was (obviously) this one.
Romance books aren't really my thing. Every so often I'll try one, just to see if maybe I haven't found the right book to get me into the genre. But it doesn't generally work out. Even less with YA romances. I'm just not cut out for sugary sweet love stories.
But, since I spent $30 on the crate, I figured I should at least read the book.
...and I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying it.
So, okay. The plot that drives the main portion of the book - the letter writing - was incredibly obvious. I knew 14 pages in exactly who Lily's mysterious pen pal was. (I may have jumped up, thrown the book down on the bed, and pointed at it shouting, “I TOLD YOU!!!” at Raven. The poor man has the patience of a saint for putting up with my book rants.)
Lily is an unrepentant music hipster.
But, the writing flowed well. The dialogue was fun - especially the letters. I wasn't blown away by the romance, and both of the main characters had moments where they acted like complete tools, but they were interesting characters.
It was a cute, quick read. And sometimes, that isn't such a bad thing.
So, I decided to sign up for Owlcrate. It's a YA lootcrate dealy, and it sounded like a neat idea, so I thought I'd give it a try. I managed to squeeze in at the last minute to get my hands on an August crate.
August's book was (obviously) this one.
Romance books aren't really my thing. Every so often I'll try one, just to see if maybe I haven't found the right book to get me into the genre. But it doesn't generally work out. Even less with YA romances. I'm just not cut out for sugary sweet love stories.
But, since I spent $30 on the crate, I figured I should at least read the book.
...and I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying it.
So, okay. The plot that drives the main portion of the book - the letter writing - was incredibly obvious. I knew 14 pages in exactly who Lily's mysterious pen pal was. (I may have jumped up, thrown the book down on the bed, and pointed at it shouting, “I TOLD YOU!!!” at Raven. The poor man has the patience of a saint for putting up with my book rants.)
Lily is an unrepentant music hipster.
But, the writing flowed well. The dialogue was fun - especially the letters. I wasn't blown away by the romance, and both of the main characters had moments where they acted like complete tools, but they were interesting characters.
It was a cute, quick read. And sometimes, that isn't such a bad thing.
I'll be honest - even if this had been just a collection of the scripts, I still would have loved this book.
The best way to appreciate this podcast is by listening to Cecil Baldwin's wonderful performances. But - at least for me - sometimes lines or information end up slipping through the cracks when you're just listening. I can't really just listen to something - it's why I don't do audio books. When I watch movies, I need to be doing something else in order to focus on the movie. And I know that sounds kind of backwards. But if I'm not doing something like playing a game, or knitting, my mind just won't stay on whatever I'm trying to watch or listen to.(Minecraft is my go-to for Night Vale episodes.)
So, I like having the visual aid of transcripts. (The CecilSpeaks tumblr is a wonderful resource that I generally use after new episodes get posted. That way, I can go back through and see if there was something I missed. I also use it to work on my vast network of head-canons and conspiracy theories.)
But, back to the point I was trying to make. I would have loved this book if it were just a collection of scripts. However, it has the benefit of having short little introductions to each episode by cast members - Cranor, Fink, Cecil Baldwin, Dylan Marron - that give context to some of the story lines and imagery in the series.
Just a side note: it amuses me that so much of the cast came from SomethingAwful.
For instance, the candle analogy from the episode “A Memory of Europe”: was something that Cranor had started thinking about one night while drunk. Station Management's monster noises? Just a straw on a plastic lid, digitally altered. And we have Cecil Baldwin to blame for Kevin's existence. Because he just HAD to ask if they could do a scary episode, while Cranor was working on a dual perspective episode. But, as fun as the little intros were, I was actually kind of hoping for more. I mean, I knew they weren't going to go into a detailed backstory about the overarching plot of the show...but a part of me had hoped.
(I did have to physically restrain myself from popping The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe open to read the note for “Cassette”, though.)
Still. The behind-the-scenes bits were nice, as were the wonderfully bizarre illustrations by Jessica Hayworth. (She does a lot of art for the series. Like, the live show posters? That's her.)
I can't wait for the next couple of years' worth of scripts to come out - I'm dying for the story behind “Best Of”.
I'll be honest - even if this had been just a collection of the scripts, I still would have loved this book.
The best way to appreciate this podcast is by listening to Cecil Baldwin's wonderful performances. But - at least for me - sometimes lines or information end up slipping through the cracks when you're just listening. I can't really just listen to something - it's why I don't do audio books. When I watch movies, I need to be doing something else in order to focus on the movie. And I know that sounds kind of backwards. But if I'm not doing something like playing a game, or knitting, my mind just won't stay on whatever I'm trying to watch or listen to.(Minecraft is my go-to for Night Vale episodes.)
So, I like having the visual aid of transcripts. (The CecilSpeaks tumblr is a wonderful resource that I generally use after new episodes get posted. That way, I can go back through and see if there was something I missed. I also use it to work on my vast network of head-canons and conspiracy theories.)
But, back to the point I was trying to make. I would have loved this book if it were just a collection of scripts. However, it has the benefit of having short little introductions to each episode by cast members - Cranor, Fink, Cecil Baldwin, Dylan Marron - that give context to some of the story lines and imagery in the series.
Just a side note: it amuses me that so much of the cast came from SomethingAwful.
For instance, the candle analogy from the episode “A Memory of Europe”: was something that Cranor had started thinking about one night while drunk. Station Management's monster noises? Just a straw on a plastic lid, digitally altered. And we have Cecil Baldwin to blame for Kevin's existence. Because he just HAD to ask if they could do a scary episode, while Cranor was working on a dual perspective episode. But, as fun as the little intros were, I was actually kind of hoping for more. I mean, I knew they weren't going to go into a detailed backstory about the overarching plot of the show...but a part of me had hoped.
(I did have to physically restrain myself from popping The Great Glowing Coils of the Universe open to read the note for “Cassette”, though.)
Still. The behind-the-scenes bits were nice, as were the wonderfully bizarre illustrations by Jessica Hayworth. (She does a lot of art for the series. Like, the live show posters? That's her.)
I can't wait for the next couple of years' worth of scripts to come out - I'm dying for the story behind “Best Of”.
I had a lot more fun with this one than I was expecting I would.
Another book I'm reading, The Natural History of Make-Believe: A Guide to the Principal Works of Britain, Europe, and America, mentions The Water Babies, and its (probable) influence on Rev. Charles Dodgson - better known as Lewis Carroll.
And since I've been enjoying my casual perusal into the history of folklore and fantasy, I figured, “Why not?”
Well, there were several reasons why not. The story itself is incredibly dated. There are several uncomfortable comparisons made in the book, and the narrator repeatedly addresses the reader as a young British boy.
The narrative thread is all over the place, with the narrator frequently stopping all plot progression to follow marginally related tangents, my favorite of which was definitely the several page rant about whether Water Babies exist (which they may or may not, but you can't prove it!!!), where the narrator gets more and more offended by hypothetical questions.
“But there are no such things as water-babies.” How do you know that? Have you been there to see? And if you had been there to see, and had seen none, that would not prove that there were none. If Mr. Garth does not find a fox in Eversley Wood—as folks sometimes fear he never will—that does not prove that there are no such things as foxes. And as is Eversley Wood to all the woods in England, so are the waters we know to all the waters in the world. And no one has a right to say that no water-babies exist, till they have seen no water-babies existing; which is quite a different thing, mind, from not seeing water-babies; and a thing which nobody ever did, or perhaps ever will do.
The plot is a fairy tale wrapped in heavy-handed moral dressings.
But for once, going into the book knowing what to expect helped. I knew the book was going to be kind of preachy, and heavy-handed. So I had fun with it.
I had a lot more fun with this one than I was expecting I would.
Another book I'm reading, The Natural History of Make-Believe: A Guide to the Principal Works of Britain, Europe, and America, mentions The Water Babies, and its (probable) influence on Rev. Charles Dodgson - better known as Lewis Carroll.
And since I've been enjoying my casual perusal into the history of folklore and fantasy, I figured, “Why not?”
Well, there were several reasons why not. The story itself is incredibly dated. There are several uncomfortable comparisons made in the book, and the narrator repeatedly addresses the reader as a young British boy.
The narrative thread is all over the place, with the narrator frequently stopping all plot progression to follow marginally related tangents, my favorite of which was definitely the several page rant about whether Water Babies exist (which they may or may not, but you can't prove it!!!), where the narrator gets more and more offended by hypothetical questions.
“But there are no such things as water-babies.” How do you know that? Have you been there to see? And if you had been there to see, and had seen none, that would not prove that there were none. If Mr. Garth does not find a fox in Eversley Wood—as folks sometimes fear he never will—that does not prove that there are no such things as foxes. And as is Eversley Wood to all the woods in England, so are the waters we know to all the waters in the world. And no one has a right to say that no water-babies exist, till they have seen no water-babies existing; which is quite a different thing, mind, from not seeing water-babies; and a thing which nobody ever did, or perhaps ever will do.
The plot is a fairy tale wrapped in heavy-handed moral dressings.
But for once, going into the book knowing what to expect helped. I knew the book was going to be kind of preachy, and heavy-handed. So I had fun with it.
I've absolutely got to save a link to Ursula Le Guin's essay from this book. I don't want to lose the words when I've got to grudgingly return this book to the library.
I'd originally grabbed this for the short stories by Patricia McKillip, Susanna Clarke, and Neil Gaiman, only to realize - slightly disappointed - that I'd already read those particular short stories. Lady of the Skulls, “John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner”, and Snow, Glass, Apple respectively.)
But, I don't mind rereading those. Their authors are on my list of favorites for a reason.
There was a story by Gregory Maguire that I hadn't read yet, “Scarecrow”, which was a lovely, more traditional look at the land of Oz.
I'm hunting down books by Steven Millhauser and Robert Holdstock, thanks to their stories - “The Barnum Museum” (which hits that same sweet spot for me that The Night Circus did) and “Mythago Wood” (which has wonderful imagery of primeval forests).
I've absolutely got to save a link to Ursula Le Guin's essay from this book. I don't want to lose the words when I've got to grudgingly return this book to the library.
I'd originally grabbed this for the short stories by Patricia McKillip, Susanna Clarke, and Neil Gaiman, only to realize - slightly disappointed - that I'd already read those particular short stories. Lady of the Skulls, “John Uskglass and the Cumbrian Charcoal Burner”, and Snow, Glass, Apple respectively.)
But, I don't mind rereading those. Their authors are on my list of favorites for a reason.
There was a story by Gregory Maguire that I hadn't read yet, “Scarecrow”, which was a lovely, more traditional look at the land of Oz.
I'm hunting down books by Steven Millhauser and Robert Holdstock, thanks to their stories - “The Barnum Museum” (which hits that same sweet spot for me that The Night Circus did) and “Mythago Wood” (which has wonderful imagery of primeval forests).
- Jason Sizemore
- Ursula Vernon
- Lettie Prell
- Chikodili Emulamdu
- Jennifer Hykes
- Ferrett Steinmetz
- Damien Angelica Walters
- Dave Creek
- Carrie Cuinn
- Lucy A. Snyder
- Samson Stormcrow Hayes
- Zebulon Huset
- Anton Rose
- Greg Leunig
- Bianca Spriggs
- Annie Neugebauer
- J.J. Hunter
- Russell Dickerson
I really enjoyed Jackelope Wives, but I think I prefer this companion story.
Jackalope Wives was a lovely bit of mid-western US folklore...but Tomato Thief steps things up by throwing in some Russian fairy tales, as well. (A blend of the firebird legend, and Koschei the Deathless.)
And I'm finding that I really enjoy the idea of train gods. Or, just trains being mythical creatures in general, I suppose. I did love the imagery of Where the Trains Turn.
Crossing my fingers that if there's another companion story in the set, it's about the train gods.
I really enjoyed Jackelope Wives, but I think I prefer this companion story.
Jackalope Wives was a lovely bit of mid-western US folklore...but Tomato Thief steps things up by throwing in some Russian fairy tales, as well. (A blend of the firebird legend, and Koschei the Deathless.)
And I'm finding that I really enjoy the idea of train gods. Or, just trains being mythical creatures in general, I suppose. I did love the imagery of Where the Trains Turn.
Crossing my fingers that if there's another companion story in the set, it's about the train gods.
Ouch. My heart.
It Devours was somehow even more amazing than the first Night Vale book.
March 15, 2017:
We have a title and release date! AND a description!
January 17, 2017:
Yesssssssss....
Ouch. My heart.
It Devours was somehow even more amazing than the first Night Vale book.
March 15, 2017:
We have a title and release date! AND a description!
January 17, 2017:
Yesssssssss....
2017 was a bit of a mixed bag for me.
My original reading challenge was 400 books - the same amount I managed to read in 2016. Unfortunately, life - babies, mainly - got in the way of me being able to read as much as I would have liked. With Baby #2 six months old now, and on his way to a normal sleeping pattern, I'm hoping that I'll be able to make up for that this year.
Some of my other goals for 2017 were to read more non-fiction books (check) and to clear out some of my monstrous TBR lists. Which...er...I did cut out a lot of books that I was iffy about reading, or that I'd lost interest in. But for the most part, all I really did was shuffle everything around into a handful of incredibly specific TBR lists, to fool myself into thinking that I've got less to read than I actually do.
Starting with 2017, I've decided to keep a list of my top 5 favorite reads of the year (taken from my Favorites shelf before it gets dismantled and repurposed into the Favorites shelf for the new year). In the end, these were the books that I ended up feeling the most strongly about:
1. The Property of Hate - I saw this webcomic mentioned in a group that someone I follow is in. And since every other comic that I follow seems to be going to permanent hiatus, I was looking for something new to read. And HOLY HELL was this worth it. The story has a Phantom Tollbooth feel to it, and the artwork is AMAZING. It made me hunt down everything else Sarah Jolley has created, and it was not a mistake. (Side effect: I'm thinking about starting to read Duck comics now...that woman has sold me on Gladstone Gander.)
2. It Devours! - Big shock there. I was excited for this book the second it was a possibility. Night Vale is one of those series that just so perfectly fills a hole in my life that I never knew existed until the first time I listened to the podcast. I love the look it takes at faith vs science, and the character development for Carlos. I swear his arc in the book broke my heart.
3. The Secret History of Fantasy - Dude. This anthology is to blame for so many books being added to my newly shuffled-around TBR lists. But the main reason it makes my list of favorite books for the year is solely because of the Le Guin essay near the end. Despite how it may seem based on this list, I'm not often moved to emotion by what I read. But this was another read that made my heart feel things. And I'm a sucker for fantasy as a genre.
4. Winter Tide (The Innsmouth Legacy #1) - I need to spend more time reading HPL-fic...especially in this particular vein. I adored Lovecraft Country last year, and Winter Tide was amazing in its own right. I mean, the main character is a woman from Innsmouth, who is naturally part Deep One.
5. Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners - This was one of the books I hunted down as part of my resolution to read more non-fiction. I borrowed it from my library, but it was so much fun that I need to get myself a physical copy, so I can keep it forever and ever and ever. This was honestly one of the funniest books I read this year.
Honorable Mentions: These books didn't make the top 5, but they were memorable in their own ways.
* The Hating Game - It's very rare for me to find a romance novel that I actually love.
* From Holmes to Sherlock - A fascinating look at the sheer scope and dedication of the fan base. (The first story was published in 1887, and the fandom has never died.)
* Meddling Kids - I wish I could have loved this book more than I did...such potential.
In 2018, I plan on focusing some more on clearing out the endless TBR piles. Well, to try, anyway. I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that I'm not going to end up adding three books for every one I actually read.I'm also going to finally get around to reading all of the Sherlock Holmes stories...because it's getting a bit ridiculous at this point that I've read so many books about the writing of Sherlock Holmes without having read any of the stories. (Except Blue Carbuncle - that one got read a couple of weeks ago because of Christmas.)
We'll see how this goes! Here's hoping for a happy 2018 - I mean, it can't be worse than 2017. Right?...right???
2017 was a bit of a mixed bag for me.
My original reading challenge was 400 books - the same amount I managed to read in 2016. Unfortunately, life - babies, mainly - got in the way of me being able to read as much as I would have liked. With Baby #2 six months old now, and on his way to a normal sleeping pattern, I'm hoping that I'll be able to make up for that this year.
Some of my other goals for 2017 were to read more non-fiction books (check) and to clear out some of my monstrous TBR lists. Which...er...I did cut out a lot of books that I was iffy about reading, or that I'd lost interest in. But for the most part, all I really did was shuffle everything around into a handful of incredibly specific TBR lists, to fool myself into thinking that I've got less to read than I actually do.
Starting with 2017, I've decided to keep a list of my top 5 favorite reads of the year (taken from my Favorites shelf before it gets dismantled and repurposed into the Favorites shelf for the new year). In the end, these were the books that I ended up feeling the most strongly about:
1. The Property of Hate - I saw this webcomic mentioned in a group that someone I follow is in. And since every other comic that I follow seems to be going to permanent hiatus, I was looking for something new to read. And HOLY HELL was this worth it. The story has a Phantom Tollbooth feel to it, and the artwork is AMAZING. It made me hunt down everything else Sarah Jolley has created, and it was not a mistake. (Side effect: I'm thinking about starting to read Duck comics now...that woman has sold me on Gladstone Gander.)
2. It Devours! - Big shock there. I was excited for this book the second it was a possibility. Night Vale is one of those series that just so perfectly fills a hole in my life that I never knew existed until the first time I listened to the podcast. I love the look it takes at faith vs science, and the character development for Carlos. I swear his arc in the book broke my heart.
3. The Secret History of Fantasy - Dude. This anthology is to blame for so many books being added to my newly shuffled-around TBR lists. But the main reason it makes my list of favorite books for the year is solely because of the Le Guin essay near the end. Despite how it may seem based on this list, I'm not often moved to emotion by what I read. But this was another read that made my heart feel things. And I'm a sucker for fantasy as a genre.
4. Winter Tide (The Innsmouth Legacy #1) - I need to spend more time reading HPL-fic...especially in this particular vein. I adored Lovecraft Country last year, and Winter Tide was amazing in its own right. I mean, the main character is a woman from Innsmouth, who is naturally part Deep One.
5. Unmentionable: The Victorian Lady's Guide to Sex, Marriage, and Manners - This was one of the books I hunted down as part of my resolution to read more non-fiction. I borrowed it from my library, but it was so much fun that I need to get myself a physical copy, so I can keep it forever and ever and ever. This was honestly one of the funniest books I read this year.
Honorable Mentions: These books didn't make the top 5, but they were memorable in their own ways.
* The Hating Game - It's very rare for me to find a romance novel that I actually love.
* From Holmes to Sherlock - A fascinating look at the sheer scope and dedication of the fan base. (The first story was published in 1887, and the fandom has never died.)
* Meddling Kids - I wish I could have loved this book more than I did...such potential.
In 2018, I plan on focusing some more on clearing out the endless TBR piles. Well, to try, anyway. I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that I'm not going to end up adding three books for every one I actually read.I'm also going to finally get around to reading all of the Sherlock Holmes stories...because it's getting a bit ridiculous at this point that I've read so many books about the writing of Sherlock Holmes without having read any of the stories. (Except Blue Carbuncle - that one got read a couple of weeks ago because of Christmas.)
We'll see how this goes! Here's hoping for a happy 2018 - I mean, it can't be worse than 2017. Right?...right???
New Collected Rhymes
Rhyme of Rhyme
Wild on the mountain peak the wind
Repeats its old refrain,
Like ghosts of mortals who have sinned,
And fain would sin again.
For "wind" I do not rhyme to "mind,"
Like many mortal men,
"Again" (when one reflects) 'twere kind
To rhyme as if "agen."
I never met a single soul
Who SPOKE of "wind" as "wined"
And yet we use it, on the whole,
To rhyme to "find" and "blind."
We SAY, "Now don't do that AGEN,
"When people give us pain,
In poetry, nine times in ten,
It rhymes with "Spain" or "Dane."
Oh, which are wrong or which are right?
Oh, which are right or wrong?
The sounds in prose familiar, quite,
Or those we meet in song?
To hold that "love" can rhyme to "prove"
Requires some force of will,
Yet in the ancient lyric groove
We meet them rhyming still.
This was our learned fathers' wont
In prehistoric times,
We follow it, or if we don't,
We oft run short of rhymes.
- Andrew Lang
Rhyme of Rhyme
Wild on the mountain peak the wind
Repeats its old refrain,
Like ghosts of mortals who have sinned,
And fain would sin again.
For "wind" I do not rhyme to "mind,"
Like many mortal men,
"Again" (when one reflects) 'twere kind
To rhyme as if "agen."
I never met a single soul
Who SPOKE of "wind" as "wined"
And yet we use it, on the whole,
To rhyme to "find" and "blind."
We SAY, "Now don't do that AGEN,
"When people give us pain,
In poetry, nine times in ten,
It rhymes with "Spain" or "Dane."
Oh, which are wrong or which are right?
Oh, which are right or wrong?
The sounds in prose familiar, quite,
Or those we meet in song?
To hold that "love" can rhyme to "prove"
Requires some force of will,
Yet in the ancient lyric groove
We meet them rhyming still.
This was our learned fathers' wont
In prehistoric times,
We follow it, or if we don't,
We oft run short of rhymes.
- Andrew Lang
The more Zora Neale Hurston I read, the more she becomes a personal hero of mine.
I really respect her work as a folklorist. I'm upset that it's taken me this long to get around to reading more of her work.
The first half of Mules and Men is a written narration of Zora's interactions with the people she was collecting the stories from, as well as the stories themselves. The second half of the book documents Zora's investigation of hoodoo culture in New Orleans. She doesn't go into too much detail, though, and mainly focuses on the various teachers she worked with, and the workings they were asked to perform while she was with them. She would later do a more thorough study of hoodoo in Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica, which covers the subject better than this collection.
The more Zora Neale Hurston I read, the more she becomes a personal hero of mine.
I really respect her work as a folklorist. I'm upset that it's taken me this long to get around to reading more of her work.
The first half of Mules and Men is a written narration of Zora's interactions with the people she was collecting the stories from, as well as the stories themselves. The second half of the book documents Zora's investigation of hoodoo culture in New Orleans. She doesn't go into too much detail, though, and mainly focuses on the various teachers she worked with, and the workings they were asked to perform while she was with them. She would later do a more thorough study of hoodoo in Tell My Horse: Voodoo and Life in Haiti and Jamaica, which covers the subject better than this collection.
2018 was a terrible year. Personally, and just in general.
The year started with my mom dying, and only went downhill from there. The only upsides have been that I've found I've got a wonderful, supportive group of friends, and I'm closer to moving out of my cramped, broken apartment than I've ever been. (I got my first car this year, as well as all of the bills that come with it.)
But I know that 2018 wasn't kind to a lot of people. So I'll just get on to the books.
I said in 2017 that I wanted to cut down on some of my TBR. I stuck to my guns, and most of the books I've read were from one of my...4 TBR lists? I think I'm up to 4 lists: Want to Read (for physical books I own), To-Read-Kindle, Library-Hold, and Recommended. I finally feel like I've gotten them all to manageable levels.
I also started going to my local library again. It definitely helps that my library got renovated this year, and is so much more up-to-date! They've got self-check outs now, they moved the “Hold” section out from behind the circulation desk, so that people can pick up their own books, AND they've got these really fancy scanners that you just set a stack of books on, and the entire stack gets scanned at once.And of course, all of this happens as I'm finally getting ready to move out of the state. But that's fine. Where I'm going, the libraries are super nice. (I scouted ahead of time.)
It was difficult choosing a Top 5 list this year. I didn't read as much as I usually do, and I was more focused on cleaning off those dusty TBR shelves, so I didn't have as much freedom as the past couple of years, where I could just pick exactly what I wanted to read at that moment. It also made me start keeping notes on why certain books were on my shelf...some of them have been sitting around for so long, I've forgotten why I wanted to read them in the first place. But, they were on the list, so I read them.
I had to go over everything I read before I started writing this end of year review, just to try to find a few more books to pad the list out.
1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - I finally did it. I finally started reading the Sherlock Holmes stories. I didn't make through all 56 stories, like I was planning, but it was a good start. I made it through Memoirs. I ended up enjoying more of the stories in Adventures, which is why this one makes the list.
2. I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer - This book is heartbreaking. So, it fits in well with the rest of 2018. It took me until November to be able to get my hands on a copy of this book from the library. I read it in a single sitting. This one hurt to read, especially when you get towards the end of book, where Michelle's friends who put it together write about how they tried to honor her voice, because she wrote in such a way that it didn't feel like you were reading a book written by an author - it felt like you were talking to a friend. And I could totally see that.
3. Homestuck: Book 1: Act 1 & Act 2 - I enjoyed Homestuck, and it's even more amusing with Hussie's commentary. I'd forgotten a lot of the tiny details from the start that didn't have much to do with the plot. And Homestuck's magical power of providing crazy instances of synchronicity...like John's obsession with Harry Anderson, who died on April 16th this year. Which, since the book was published for John's birthday on April 13th, means that I was reading about Hussie talking about writing about Harry Anderson the day Harry Anderson died. And if that doesn't sum up the feeling of reading Homestuck, I don't know what does.
4. Spinning Silver - I figured I'd end up enjoying this one. I really liked Uprooted. But as the story unraveled, I found myself cheering for the various ways the story re-imagined the fairy tales that went into it. I loved the way it all came together. I loved this book.
5. The Cruel Prince - This one actually shocked me with how much I ended up enjoying it. I didn't expect I'd like it as much as I did...it was the awesome fairy court portrayal that did it. I'm a sucker for books with complex, morally gray, varied species of fairies. I need The Wicked King. NOW.
Honorable Mentions: I had to scrape to come up with these this year.
*The End (Series of Unfortunate Events #13) - See, I'm straight-up cheating, here. This one was a re-read that I decided on because of the beautiful Netflix adaptation. I couldn't entirely remember how the Series ended (though it turns out I remembered the important parts). In The End (hehe) I enjoyed the entire Series just as much as I did when I first read them 12 years ago. God, I feel old...
* Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale - I really liked this essay, but the real reason it made my Honorable Mentions list doesn't have as much to do with the book as it does the awesome conversations it spawned with my friend Renee. Out of nowhere, she started talking about how she misses nursery rhymes, and how she thought that not teaching our children nursery rhymes or fairy tales does them a disservice. So, when this book mirrored the exact sentiment she was trying to convey, I bought a copy so that I could reference various quotes for her. I'm slowly working on turning her into a Book Friend™ - she's been talking about dusting off her Kindle, and you KNOW I'm all there to help her enable her book habit.
* Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction - I love reading books about books, and I grew up with most of these series. (Well, Goosebumps. I was an avid Goosebumps collector as a kid. I read a couple of BSC books back in the day, but I've only recently been introduced to the insanity that it Sweet Valley High.)
And that's it. For 2019, I'm going to continue working on my TBR lists. Maybe this is the year I'll actually get through the backlog books, and keep the TBR lists to current or upcoming titles. (Not holding my breath on that actually happening, but...)I'm not going to repeat last year's mistake of saying that there's no way 2019 can be worse than 2018. Clearly, 2018 took that as a personal challenge. So, all I'll say is, here's hoping that 2019 is a better year.
2018 was a terrible year. Personally, and just in general.
The year started with my mom dying, and only went downhill from there. The only upsides have been that I've found I've got a wonderful, supportive group of friends, and I'm closer to moving out of my cramped, broken apartment than I've ever been. (I got my first car this year, as well as all of the bills that come with it.)
But I know that 2018 wasn't kind to a lot of people. So I'll just get on to the books.
I said in 2017 that I wanted to cut down on some of my TBR. I stuck to my guns, and most of the books I've read were from one of my...4 TBR lists? I think I'm up to 4 lists: Want to Read (for physical books I own), To-Read-Kindle, Library-Hold, and Recommended. I finally feel like I've gotten them all to manageable levels.
I also started going to my local library again. It definitely helps that my library got renovated this year, and is so much more up-to-date! They've got self-check outs now, they moved the “Hold” section out from behind the circulation desk, so that people can pick up their own books, AND they've got these really fancy scanners that you just set a stack of books on, and the entire stack gets scanned at once.And of course, all of this happens as I'm finally getting ready to move out of the state. But that's fine. Where I'm going, the libraries are super nice. (I scouted ahead of time.)
It was difficult choosing a Top 5 list this year. I didn't read as much as I usually do, and I was more focused on cleaning off those dusty TBR shelves, so I didn't have as much freedom as the past couple of years, where I could just pick exactly what I wanted to read at that moment. It also made me start keeping notes on why certain books were on my shelf...some of them have been sitting around for so long, I've forgotten why I wanted to read them in the first place. But, they were on the list, so I read them.
I had to go over everything I read before I started writing this end of year review, just to try to find a few more books to pad the list out.
1. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - I finally did it. I finally started reading the Sherlock Holmes stories. I didn't make through all 56 stories, like I was planning, but it was a good start. I made it through Memoirs. I ended up enjoying more of the stories in Adventures, which is why this one makes the list.
2. I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer - This book is heartbreaking. So, it fits in well with the rest of 2018. It took me until November to be able to get my hands on a copy of this book from the library. I read it in a single sitting. This one hurt to read, especially when you get towards the end of book, where Michelle's friends who put it together write about how they tried to honor her voice, because she wrote in such a way that it didn't feel like you were reading a book written by an author - it felt like you were talking to a friend. And I could totally see that.
3. Homestuck: Book 1: Act 1 & Act 2 - I enjoyed Homestuck, and it's even more amusing with Hussie's commentary. I'd forgotten a lot of the tiny details from the start that didn't have much to do with the plot. And Homestuck's magical power of providing crazy instances of synchronicity...like John's obsession with Harry Anderson, who died on April 16th this year. Which, since the book was published for John's birthday on April 13th, means that I was reading about Hussie talking about writing about Harry Anderson the day Harry Anderson died. And if that doesn't sum up the feeling of reading Homestuck, I don't know what does.
4. Spinning Silver - I figured I'd end up enjoying this one. I really liked Uprooted. But as the story unraveled, I found myself cheering for the various ways the story re-imagined the fairy tales that went into it. I loved the way it all came together. I loved this book.
5. The Cruel Prince - This one actually shocked me with how much I ended up enjoying it. I didn't expect I'd like it as much as I did...it was the awesome fairy court portrayal that did it. I'm a sucker for books with complex, morally gray, varied species of fairies. I need The Wicked King. NOW.
Honorable Mentions: I had to scrape to come up with these this year.
*The End (Series of Unfortunate Events #13) - See, I'm straight-up cheating, here. This one was a re-read that I decided on because of the beautiful Netflix adaptation. I couldn't entirely remember how the Series ended (though it turns out I remembered the important parts). In The End (hehe) I enjoyed the entire Series just as much as I did when I first read them 12 years ago. God, I feel old...
* Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale - I really liked this essay, but the real reason it made my Honorable Mentions list doesn't have as much to do with the book as it does the awesome conversations it spawned with my friend Renee. Out of nowhere, she started talking about how she misses nursery rhymes, and how she thought that not teaching our children nursery rhymes or fairy tales does them a disservice. So, when this book mirrored the exact sentiment she was trying to convey, I bought a copy so that I could reference various quotes for her. I'm slowly working on turning her into a Book Friend™ - she's been talking about dusting off her Kindle, and you KNOW I'm all there to help her enable her book habit.
* Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction - I love reading books about books, and I grew up with most of these series. (Well, Goosebumps. I was an avid Goosebumps collector as a kid. I read a couple of BSC books back in the day, but I've only recently been introduced to the insanity that it Sweet Valley High.)
And that's it. For 2019, I'm going to continue working on my TBR lists. Maybe this is the year I'll actually get through the backlog books, and keep the TBR lists to current or upcoming titles. (Not holding my breath on that actually happening, but...)I'm not going to repeat last year's mistake of saying that there's no way 2019 can be worse than 2018. Clearly, 2018 took that as a personal challenge. So, all I'll say is, here's hoping that 2019 is a better year.
Running thoughts while reading this book:
“Wait - haven't they used the Sario Rip time-travel plot before?” * scrolls through summaries of the previous books* “
Yeah, there we go. The Forgotten (Animorphs #11). This makes me think so much of The Forgotten. And why do none of them seem to remember that they've been in a Sario Rip before?”
“How is Tobias the only one who recognizes the dinosaurs? Like...how? I mean, I get the rest not knowing the names of everything...but really? It should not take that long to figure out that you're being attacked by dinosaurs, and not some remote, undiscovered reptiles. Especially when - I cannot stress this enough - THEY HAVE TIME-TRAVELED BEFORE. This is a thing they know can happen!”
“Sario Rip? More like saurio R.I.P., amiright???”
“Did Ax ever pay attention in school? Every time something alien comes up, he immediately starts on about how they covered that in school, but he didn't really pay attention to the lesson that day. And again - he's already told them about Sario Rips. Why does no one remember the Sario Rips???”
In all seriousness, though, this one was fine. The lack of dinosaur recognition by everyone but Tobias was a bit strange, and it was obnoxious that the ending basically just hit a reset button on everything that happened, but I did like the moral dilemma that the kids ended up facing. So, there's that. :/
Running thoughts while reading this book:
“Wait - haven't they used the Sario Rip time-travel plot before?” * scrolls through summaries of the previous books* “
Yeah, there we go. The Forgotten (Animorphs #11). This makes me think so much of The Forgotten. And why do none of them seem to remember that they've been in a Sario Rip before?”
“How is Tobias the only one who recognizes the dinosaurs? Like...how? I mean, I get the rest not knowing the names of everything...but really? It should not take that long to figure out that you're being attacked by dinosaurs, and not some remote, undiscovered reptiles. Especially when - I cannot stress this enough - THEY HAVE TIME-TRAVELED BEFORE. This is a thing they know can happen!”
“Sario Rip? More like saurio R.I.P., amiright???”
“Did Ax ever pay attention in school? Every time something alien comes up, he immediately starts on about how they covered that in school, but he didn't really pay attention to the lesson that day. And again - he's already told them about Sario Rips. Why does no one remember the Sario Rips???”
In all seriousness, though, this one was fine. The lack of dinosaur recognition by everyone but Tobias was a bit strange, and it was obnoxious that the ending basically just hit a reset button on everything that happened, but I did like the moral dilemma that the kids ended up facing. So, there's that. :/
There were no running pony jokes in this one. THANK GOODNESS.
I'll take the running Evil Overlord list over pony jokes any day.
This book in general had a more mature tone than the first. There aren't as many jokes and crammed in moments of snappy dialogue. The writing gives the more serious moments a chance to settle in and breathe, without immediately undercutting the scene. Callum and the rest of the group are forced into more morally grey situations. They do right things for the wrong reasons, and wrong things for the right reasons. I always love seeing fantasy worlds that aren't strictly Good vs Evil, and I love even more seeing them in books written for children.The plot is still a bit erratic, though, especially at the start of the book. The first few months of the time at the Magisterium flash by - several months pass while the book focuses on Havoc's daily walk routine. And once the main plot kicks in, all semblance of this being a “magical boarding school” gets thrown out of the metaphorical window.
In general, the book is an improvement on The Iron Trial. I was going to just ignore this series, but I came across the next few books, so I suppose I'll continue on with it.
There were no running pony jokes in this one. THANK GOODNESS.
I'll take the running Evil Overlord list over pony jokes any day.
This book in general had a more mature tone than the first. There aren't as many jokes and crammed in moments of snappy dialogue. The writing gives the more serious moments a chance to settle in and breathe, without immediately undercutting the scene. Callum and the rest of the group are forced into more morally grey situations. They do right things for the wrong reasons, and wrong things for the right reasons. I always love seeing fantasy worlds that aren't strictly Good vs Evil, and I love even more seeing them in books written for children.The plot is still a bit erratic, though, especially at the start of the book. The first few months of the time at the Magisterium flash by - several months pass while the book focuses on Havoc's daily walk routine. And once the main plot kicks in, all semblance of this being a “magical boarding school” gets thrown out of the metaphorical window.
In general, the book is an improvement on The Iron Trial. I was going to just ignore this series, but I came across the next few books, so I suppose I'll continue on with it.
I'm just going to put this here:
“Unless you want to wind up like Severin of Fairfold, encased in glass for centuries while mortals line up to take pictures with his body, you're going to stay awake.”
Confirmed same universe as Dark Part of the Forest.
I'm dead. This was an amazing sequel. It took all of the best parts of the first book, and ramped up the stakes.
I need Book 3. NOW.
I'm just going to put this here:
“Unless you want to wind up like Severin of Fairfold, encased in glass for centuries while mortals line up to take pictures with his body, you're going to stay awake.”
Confirmed same universe as Dark Part of the Forest.
I'm dead. This was an amazing sequel. It took all of the best parts of the first book, and ramped up the stakes.
I need Book 3. NOW.
Running Interjection Tics Count:
53 - “of course”
33 - “you see”
32 - “it seems”
34 - “they say”
10 - “it turns out”
I have so much fun getting these tallies. Like the previous two books in the series, The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures and The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals, if you're a fan of either the Lore podcast, or folklore in general, you'll like this book.
Running Interjection Tics Count:
53 - “of course”
33 - “you see”
32 - “it seems”
34 - “they say”
10 - “it turns out”
I have so much fun getting these tallies. Like the previous two books in the series, The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures and The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals, if you're a fan of either the Lore podcast, or folklore in general, you'll like this book.
“Beware the woods and the dark, dank, deep. He'll follow you home, and he won't let you sleep.”
This book was a perfect spoopy read for me. Lots of creepy imagery, disturbing local urban legends, an atmospheric AF setting, and that POV character rep. Glorious.
It also reminded me a lot of Vicious, by Victoria Schwab, which I also really, REALLY enjoyed. And it wasn't just because of the whole superhero thing. Although that was definitely a big reason I kept thinking of Vicious as I read this book.
The final third of of the book had a few pacing issues. There were definitely moments that would have hit harder if there'd been more build-up to them. But the ending did a really good job of bringing closure to the story at hand, while leaving room for potential sequels. And I really hope there's a sequel.
“Beware the woods and the dark, dank, deep. He'll follow you home, and he won't let you sleep.”
This book was a perfect spoopy read for me. Lots of creepy imagery, disturbing local urban legends, an atmospheric AF setting, and that POV character rep. Glorious.
It also reminded me a lot of Vicious, by Victoria Schwab, which I also really, REALLY enjoyed. And it wasn't just because of the whole superhero thing. Although that was definitely a big reason I kept thinking of Vicious as I read this book.
The final third of of the book had a few pacing issues. There were definitely moments that would have hit harder if there'd been more build-up to them. But the ending did a really good job of bringing closure to the story at hand, while leaving room for potential sequels. And I really hope there's a sequel.
2019 was a crazy busy year for me. I moved out of state, got a new job, discarded that job and got yet another one (I've now had 3 whole jobs!), made new friends, and introduced my kids to actual winter. Considering I had all that going on, I'm impressed that I managed to get as much reading done as I did!
This year, I decided to start keeping track of where my TBR started and ended for the year. I started with 300 books between my various TBR piles...and ended with 307. Which really, considering how often I throw new books on the TBR pile, I think is a hell of an accomplishment. Honestly, this is the most under control my TBR has ever been, and I have high hopes for 2020. Since this is the end of the decade, as well as the end of the year, I've got two different lists this time around - my favorite reads of the year, and my favorite reads of the decade. (Just because I can!)
1. The Wicked King/Queen of Nothing - This was originally just going to be The Wicked King, but then Queen of Nothing magically decided to grace us with its presence early! Man. The Cruel Prince was on my list last year, but the sequels (esp. Wicked King) definitely stepped up the game. I'm heartbroken that the series is over, but it's prompted me to start going through Holly Black's backlog. Because damn it, I adore the way the woman writes fairy stories!!!
2. The Buying of Lot 37/Who's a Good Boy? - This should come as a shock to no one.
3. In An Absent Dream - I've been reading Seanan McGuire's Doorway series almost since the very start. I like a good portal fantasy. This would absolutely have been my door.
4. Serphina - I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to reading Seraphina. And really, I only read it because Tess of the Road was published a couple of years back, I wanted to read it because the cover was pretty, and I found out that it was set in the same world as Seraphina. So I turned reading Seraphina into a prerequisite to reading Tess. I'm so glad I did read it. The dragons are so much fun - they're honestly one of the most interesting dragon portrayals I've seen in a while.
5. The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern.And, because my list wouldn't be complete without a couple of honorable mentions...
Honorable Mentions
* Wayward Son - This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. And it was good. The sheer Americanah of it all was just chef's kiss. It's just...it was so short. Not much was really resolved by the end. It felt more like a novella than a full book. And I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at that.
* The Priory of the Orange Tree - I read this one too late in the year. Another great dragon book. Mostly wanted to give it a shout-out for being over 800 pages long, and never feeling like it.
* Sawkill Girls - Sawkill Girls had one of the best atmospheres of all my reads this year. It didn't quite make it to my top 5, but it was definitely definitely up there.And there! Those are my favorite reads of the year.
Now, we move on to a larger list. I tried to keep my Favorite Reads of 2010 List short. I really did. But after a solid day of pouring over my 5-star reads from the past 10 years, I still ended up with waaaaay too many books. So, I did what I do best - I broke that list into 3 different lists! That left me with a decent balance of favorite manga, comics, and regular, non-picture-filled books. (I may have cheated just a bit, by including entire series and counting them as a single book - but again, this is my list. And I couldn't really just pick ONE book in a series. In most cases.)
Manga
1. Puelle Magi Magika Madoka - I'm not a fan of the magical girl genre. I wasn't into Cardcaptor Sakura or Sailor Moon as a kid. So when my husband wanted to watch Madoka with me, I rolled my eyes, but agreed. Because I love him. (And because he's generally got pretty good at knowing what I'd be interested in watching.) And HOLY SHIT, was it not what I was expecting. (Maybe the understatement of the century. I don't think anyone was expecting Madoka to go the way it did.) I love Madoka so much that I've got, not one, but TWO Kyubey plushies. And I don't really collect plushes or figures. And of course, after watching the anime, I had to read the manga. Madoka is by far the manga/anime that has stuck with me the most.
2. Death Note - Aside from just being an all-around A+ manga/anime, Death Note was the first anime that my husband and I watched together, back before we'd even started dating. And it was a perfect anime series, with absolutely no live action remakes. Nope. None, whatsoever! * whistles merrily *
3. Spice & Wolf - It's just a nice, fluffy manga/anime.
4. Arki - Another manga that I read because of the anime. I like the randomness.
5. Wakako Zake - I know it's probably weird that I included Wakako Zake on this list. It's not a huge, widely commercialized manga. There's no action, and barely a story. It's a food manga, but not one of those where the protagonist is sent to an alternate world to wow the locals with food from the real world/learn how to cook normal dishes with crazy ingredients. For the most part, the narrator doesn't cook. She doesn't even talk very often. The majority of each chapter is her going out to eat something different, and enjoying a good meal and a drink. But damn, if there isn't something almost therapeutic about just reading about this woman appreciating good food and beer.
Comics
1. Nimona - Nimona is just so well-written, and so interestingly drawn! It made me start following Noelle Stevenson's work. (Which thank goodness for that, or I'd have missed Wander Over Yonder and She-Ra.)
2. The Property of Hate - I found PoH from a Goodreads friend posting in a group. And I am forever thankful for that person for introducing me to PoH, and Sarah Jolley in general.
3. Monstress - The artwork just blows me away, every time. It's such a dense, beautiful comic.
4. Spider-Man/Deadpool - It's everything I've ever wanted in a superhero comic.
5. Gravity Falls: Journal 3 - Gravity Falls was perfect, and this book is perfect. I'd also like to point out that my Journal 3 review is, by far, my most-liked review.
6. Saga - It lives up to its name.
7. Homestuck - I'd started off reading it just to prove it could be read in less than a month...and I ended up really enjoying it. So many iconic moments. I'll never be able to listen to How Can I Live the same ever again.
8. Rick & Morty vs Dungeons & Dragons - Jerry is actually not a punchline in this one.
9. Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened - I miss Allie Brosh. Nobody else does comic essays quite the same as she did.
10. 17776: What football will look like in the future - This was compared to a lot of things when it came out...namely Homestuck. But it's really well-written, and made me interested in football. Gotta give the story props for that.
Books
1.The Night Circus - I just loved everything about The Night Circus. The atmosphere, the perfect descriptions, the back-and-forth romance...EVERYTHING. It's overwhelming, and hard to put into words, sometimes, how much this book resonated with me.
2. Welcome to Night Vale - Just...all of Night Vale. I was never big on podcasts. I can't just sit and listen to something, I've got to be doing something with my hands, and then I miss out on half of what's going on because I'm not entirely paying attention to what's being said. It's why I can't really do audio books, even though they'd be crazy convenient for my daily commute. But Night Vale made me pay attention to it. Every now and then, you'll run across a story that's exactly what you need, at exactly the right time. Night Vale was a story that I didn't realize I'd been waiting for until I'd heard it.
3. The Cruel Prince - Look who's back on the list! I'm counting the entire series as this entry, because it's my list, and I can do what I want! But seriously, like I said early, I really, REALLY like Holly Black's takes on fairy stories. As a folklore enthusiast, I'm big on proper Fae depictions. They bring me so, so much joy.
4. Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) - I read. I read a LOT. I read a lot of different genres, by a lot of different people. I'm not generally one of those people who read to see themselves in the story. It just doesn't really happen for me. Except. Sydney Sage. God damned Sydney Sage. This book had me - robot, stone-hearted ME - bawling my eyes out. Because I've never been more represented by a character than by Sydney Sage. It's actually a little intimidating how much I can relate to Sydney. And seriously, my husband is basically Adrian. It's SCARY.
5. Six of Crows - It was going to be Shadow & Bone or this series, and Kaz Brekker wins. I'm so sorry, Darkling.
6. The Lies of Locke Lamora - I blame The Lies of Locke Lamora for how much I enjoyed Six of Crows. What can I say? I love a witty thief, and a good heist story.
7. Fangirl/Carry On - Fangirl really only made the list because of the context it provides for Carry On. I seriously read Carry On three times in a row when it first came out. Enemies to lovers tropes, FTW!!!!!!!!!!
8. How's Moving Castle - This was a tough one. I spent a good couple of days pouring over all of my favorite reads from the last decade, and got to the point where I had to break the list down into sub-categories. So Howl's Moving Castle ended up competing against The Princess Bride for the spot on the list as “book that gently pokes fun at fantasy tropes but is also a love story”. Howl's Moving Castle barely squeaked by, but at the end of the day, I've got to pick Howl and Sophie over Buttercup and Wesley. (It's Sophie. At least 80% of my decision was Sophie.) And Dianna Wynne Jones is just AMAZING.
9. The Raven Boys - I read Shiver back when it was popular, and was pretty disappointed. So when people started talking about The Raven Boys, I was...skeptical. But, I was making it a point to try to read books that people were hyped about, mostly as a tactic to find more things to read. And I was not disappointed. I still can't quite pinpoint why Raven Boys works for me when Shiver doesn't - but I think a lot of it has to do with atmosphere. I love the idea of the ancient, magic forest, and a hunt for a long-dead king.
10. Traitor's Blade - Greatcoats makes the list because it's just well-written, with amazing characters. Reading it reminded me a LOT of Lies of Locke Lamora. I loved the characters, the dialogue, and the world of the Gentlman Bastards, but then, it got trapped in development hell. Greatcoats has everything I loved about the Gentleman Bastards. And I just don't run into characters that I like as much as Falcio very often.
And, there we go! If you actually read all that, thanks for sticking around! I'm impressed. I know I tend to ramble, sometimes incoherently...Anyway. New year, new decade. I'm gonna keep whittling away at my TBR list. My biggest goal this year is to try to end the year at a smaller TBR than I start with. But I'm also going to give myself permission to just...DNF a book if I don't like it. Up to this point, I've just been forcing myself to finish everything I start, because leaving a book feels like losing. I think for 2020, I can admit that sometimes, I just don't like a book. And that's fine. I don't have to force myself to read something that isn't working for me.Knowing myself, I'm probably not going to stick to that. Not really. I'm a completionist at heart. But I should spend more time reading books that I actually ENJOY reading.
2019 was a crazy busy year for me. I moved out of state, got a new job, discarded that job and got yet another one (I've now had 3 whole jobs!), made new friends, and introduced my kids to actual winter. Considering I had all that going on, I'm impressed that I managed to get as much reading done as I did!
This year, I decided to start keeping track of where my TBR started and ended for the year. I started with 300 books between my various TBR piles...and ended with 307. Which really, considering how often I throw new books on the TBR pile, I think is a hell of an accomplishment. Honestly, this is the most under control my TBR has ever been, and I have high hopes for 2020. Since this is the end of the decade, as well as the end of the year, I've got two different lists this time around - my favorite reads of the year, and my favorite reads of the decade. (Just because I can!)
1. The Wicked King/Queen of Nothing - This was originally just going to be The Wicked King, but then Queen of Nothing magically decided to grace us with its presence early! Man. The Cruel Prince was on my list last year, but the sequels (esp. Wicked King) definitely stepped up the game. I'm heartbroken that the series is over, but it's prompted me to start going through Holly Black's backlog. Because damn it, I adore the way the woman writes fairy stories!!!
2. The Buying of Lot 37/Who's a Good Boy? - This should come as a shock to no one.
3. In An Absent Dream - I've been reading Seanan McGuire's Doorway series almost since the very start. I like a good portal fantasy. This would absolutely have been my door.
4. Serphina - I'm not sure why it took me so long to get around to reading Seraphina. And really, I only read it because Tess of the Road was published a couple of years back, I wanted to read it because the cover was pretty, and I found out that it was set in the same world as Seraphina. So I turned reading Seraphina into a prerequisite to reading Tess. I'm so glad I did read it. The dragons are so much fun - they're honestly one of the most interesting dragon portrayals I've seen in a while.
5. The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern.And, because my list wouldn't be complete without a couple of honorable mentions...
Honorable Mentions
* Wayward Son - This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. And it was good. The sheer Americanah of it all was just chef's kiss. It's just...it was so short. Not much was really resolved by the end. It felt more like a novella than a full book. And I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed at that.
* The Priory of the Orange Tree - I read this one too late in the year. Another great dragon book. Mostly wanted to give it a shout-out for being over 800 pages long, and never feeling like it.
* Sawkill Girls - Sawkill Girls had one of the best atmospheres of all my reads this year. It didn't quite make it to my top 5, but it was definitely definitely up there.And there! Those are my favorite reads of the year.
Now, we move on to a larger list. I tried to keep my Favorite Reads of 2010 List short. I really did. But after a solid day of pouring over my 5-star reads from the past 10 years, I still ended up with waaaaay too many books. So, I did what I do best - I broke that list into 3 different lists! That left me with a decent balance of favorite manga, comics, and regular, non-picture-filled books. (I may have cheated just a bit, by including entire series and counting them as a single book - but again, this is my list. And I couldn't really just pick ONE book in a series. In most cases.)
Manga
1. Puelle Magi Magika Madoka - I'm not a fan of the magical girl genre. I wasn't into Cardcaptor Sakura or Sailor Moon as a kid. So when my husband wanted to watch Madoka with me, I rolled my eyes, but agreed. Because I love him. (And because he's generally got pretty good at knowing what I'd be interested in watching.) And HOLY SHIT, was it not what I was expecting. (Maybe the understatement of the century. I don't think anyone was expecting Madoka to go the way it did.) I love Madoka so much that I've got, not one, but TWO Kyubey plushies. And I don't really collect plushes or figures. And of course, after watching the anime, I had to read the manga. Madoka is by far the manga/anime that has stuck with me the most.
2. Death Note - Aside from just being an all-around A+ manga/anime, Death Note was the first anime that my husband and I watched together, back before we'd even started dating. And it was a perfect anime series, with absolutely no live action remakes. Nope. None, whatsoever! * whistles merrily *
3. Spice & Wolf - It's just a nice, fluffy manga/anime.
4. Arki - Another manga that I read because of the anime. I like the randomness.
5. Wakako Zake - I know it's probably weird that I included Wakako Zake on this list. It's not a huge, widely commercialized manga. There's no action, and barely a story. It's a food manga, but not one of those where the protagonist is sent to an alternate world to wow the locals with food from the real world/learn how to cook normal dishes with crazy ingredients. For the most part, the narrator doesn't cook. She doesn't even talk very often. The majority of each chapter is her going out to eat something different, and enjoying a good meal and a drink. But damn, if there isn't something almost therapeutic about just reading about this woman appreciating good food and beer.
Comics
1. Nimona - Nimona is just so well-written, and so interestingly drawn! It made me start following Noelle Stevenson's work. (Which thank goodness for that, or I'd have missed Wander Over Yonder and She-Ra.)
2. The Property of Hate - I found PoH from a Goodreads friend posting in a group. And I am forever thankful for that person for introducing me to PoH, and Sarah Jolley in general.
3. Monstress - The artwork just blows me away, every time. It's such a dense, beautiful comic.
4. Spider-Man/Deadpool - It's everything I've ever wanted in a superhero comic.
5. Gravity Falls: Journal 3 - Gravity Falls was perfect, and this book is perfect. I'd also like to point out that my Journal 3 review is, by far, my most-liked review.
6. Saga - It lives up to its name.
7. Homestuck - I'd started off reading it just to prove it could be read in less than a month...and I ended up really enjoying it. So many iconic moments. I'll never be able to listen to How Can I Live the same ever again.
8. Rick & Morty vs Dungeons & Dragons - Jerry is actually not a punchline in this one.
9. Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened - I miss Allie Brosh. Nobody else does comic essays quite the same as she did.
10. 17776: What football will look like in the future - This was compared to a lot of things when it came out...namely Homestuck. But it's really well-written, and made me interested in football. Gotta give the story props for that.
Books
1.The Night Circus - I just loved everything about The Night Circus. The atmosphere, the perfect descriptions, the back-and-forth romance...EVERYTHING. It's overwhelming, and hard to put into words, sometimes, how much this book resonated with me.
2. Welcome to Night Vale - Just...all of Night Vale. I was never big on podcasts. I can't just sit and listen to something, I've got to be doing something with my hands, and then I miss out on half of what's going on because I'm not entirely paying attention to what's being said. It's why I can't really do audio books, even though they'd be crazy convenient for my daily commute. But Night Vale made me pay attention to it. Every now and then, you'll run across a story that's exactly what you need, at exactly the right time. Night Vale was a story that I didn't realize I'd been waiting for until I'd heard it.
3. The Cruel Prince - Look who's back on the list! I'm counting the entire series as this entry, because it's my list, and I can do what I want! But seriously, like I said early, I really, REALLY like Holly Black's takes on fairy stories. As a folklore enthusiast, I'm big on proper Fae depictions. They bring me so, so much joy.
4. Silver Shadows (Bloodlines #5) - I read. I read a LOT. I read a lot of different genres, by a lot of different people. I'm not generally one of those people who read to see themselves in the story. It just doesn't really happen for me. Except. Sydney Sage. God damned Sydney Sage. This book had me - robot, stone-hearted ME - bawling my eyes out. Because I've never been more represented by a character than by Sydney Sage. It's actually a little intimidating how much I can relate to Sydney. And seriously, my husband is basically Adrian. It's SCARY.
5. Six of Crows - It was going to be Shadow & Bone or this series, and Kaz Brekker wins. I'm so sorry, Darkling.
6. The Lies of Locke Lamora - I blame The Lies of Locke Lamora for how much I enjoyed Six of Crows. What can I say? I love a witty thief, and a good heist story.
7. Fangirl/Carry On - Fangirl really only made the list because of the context it provides for Carry On. I seriously read Carry On three times in a row when it first came out. Enemies to lovers tropes, FTW!!!!!!!!!!
8. How's Moving Castle - This was a tough one. I spent a good couple of days pouring over all of my favorite reads from the last decade, and got to the point where I had to break the list down into sub-categories. So Howl's Moving Castle ended up competing against The Princess Bride for the spot on the list as “book that gently pokes fun at fantasy tropes but is also a love story”. Howl's Moving Castle barely squeaked by, but at the end of the day, I've got to pick Howl and Sophie over Buttercup and Wesley. (It's Sophie. At least 80% of my decision was Sophie.) And Dianna Wynne Jones is just AMAZING.
9. The Raven Boys - I read Shiver back when it was popular, and was pretty disappointed. So when people started talking about The Raven Boys, I was...skeptical. But, I was making it a point to try to read books that people were hyped about, mostly as a tactic to find more things to read. And I was not disappointed. I still can't quite pinpoint why Raven Boys works for me when Shiver doesn't - but I think a lot of it has to do with atmosphere. I love the idea of the ancient, magic forest, and a hunt for a long-dead king.
10. Traitor's Blade - Greatcoats makes the list because it's just well-written, with amazing characters. Reading it reminded me a LOT of Lies of Locke Lamora. I loved the characters, the dialogue, and the world of the Gentlman Bastards, but then, it got trapped in development hell. Greatcoats has everything I loved about the Gentleman Bastards. And I just don't run into characters that I like as much as Falcio very often.
And, there we go! If you actually read all that, thanks for sticking around! I'm impressed. I know I tend to ramble, sometimes incoherently...Anyway. New year, new decade. I'm gonna keep whittling away at my TBR list. My biggest goal this year is to try to end the year at a smaller TBR than I start with. But I'm also going to give myself permission to just...DNF a book if I don't like it. Up to this point, I've just been forcing myself to finish everything I start, because leaving a book feels like losing. I think for 2020, I can admit that sometimes, I just don't like a book. And that's fine. I don't have to force myself to read something that isn't working for me.Knowing myself, I'm probably not going to stick to that. Not really. I'm a completionist at heart. But I should spend more time reading books that I actually ENJOY reading.
It wasn't exactly what I was expecting (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell II: Electric Boogaloo), but I loved it! It reminded me a lot of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, which means I've come full circle, since I started reading Erin Morgenstern because her writing made me think of Susanna Clarke.
It wasn't exactly what I was expecting (Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell II: Electric Boogaloo), but I loved it! It reminded me a lot of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, which means I've come full circle, since I started reading Erin Morgenstern because her writing made me think of Susanna Clarke.
Here we are, at the end of another year. And good lord, this year. It amazes me how it seemed to fly by, even though this year was actually 10 years packed into one.I didn't manage to read as much as I would have liked this year. This is the first year in a while that I didn't even manage to hit 300 books read, but I've come to terms with it.My TBR started with 307 books, and ended with 291. So my concentrated efforts to clear out books I've been meaning to read actually gained some ground this year, at least!I had to work a little to put together my favorite reads list this year, but here goes:
1. Bloodline (Whyborne & Griffin #5) - I'd started reading the series back in 2018, and I'd told myself that if I ever caught any of the rest of the books on sale, I'd jump on them because I'm a sucker for a good HPL-fic. Well, Threshold (Whyborne & Griffin #2) went on sale at the end of 2019, and after reading it I gave in and bought the entire series outright. From there, I basically binged the entire series and ended up with a book hangover that lasted an entire month. Bloodline was the point of no return for me - the overarching plot started picking up, and my investment in the series went through the roof. This series brought me so much joy this year that when I saw Unhallowed (Rath & Rune #1) come out, I wept actual tears of joy.
2. Piranesi - I didn't realize that Susanna Clarke was writing this book. I was a little iffy on it, being a completely different beast from Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I mean, I can actually fit this book in my purse! But daaaaaammmmnnnnn, the woman can write. Piranesi is gloriously atmospheric, and does a lot with its short page count. After the Whyborne and Griffin series, this is the book that broke my heart the most this year.
3. Truly Devious - The entire set-up for the the Truly Devious series (or the first trilogy, at any rate - not sure where the 4th book is going) was captivating. It has a great central mystery, an awesomely secluded setting, and I 1000% approve of Stevie's book organization system. Sorting books “by feel” is my go-to system.
4. Life of Melody - It's not often that a comic, let alone a webcomic, makes its way onto my favorites read list. But look - Life of Melody is adorable. It's dark, but sweet, and it was such a relief in this dumpster fire of a year that it's more than earned its spot here.
5. Legendborne - I'm always there for new takes on the Arthurian legend, and Legendborn definitely tried something new. At the same time, it goes DEEP into Arthurian lore. Also, just A++ use of Lancelot.
Honorable Mentions*
The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your House - I feel bad putting a Night Vale book down in the honorable mentions, but...Faceless Old Woman didn't hit me the same way Night Vale books usually do. Not bad, by any stretch - just different.
Here we are, at the end of another year. And good lord, this year. It amazes me how it seemed to fly by, even though this year was actually 10 years packed into one.I didn't manage to read as much as I would have liked this year. This is the first year in a while that I didn't even manage to hit 300 books read, but I've come to terms with it.My TBR started with 307 books, and ended with 291. So my concentrated efforts to clear out books I've been meaning to read actually gained some ground this year, at least!I had to work a little to put together my favorite reads list this year, but here goes:
1. Bloodline (Whyborne & Griffin #5) - I'd started reading the series back in 2018, and I'd told myself that if I ever caught any of the rest of the books on sale, I'd jump on them because I'm a sucker for a good HPL-fic. Well, Threshold (Whyborne & Griffin #2) went on sale at the end of 2019, and after reading it I gave in and bought the entire series outright. From there, I basically binged the entire series and ended up with a book hangover that lasted an entire month. Bloodline was the point of no return for me - the overarching plot started picking up, and my investment in the series went through the roof. This series brought me so much joy this year that when I saw Unhallowed (Rath & Rune #1) come out, I wept actual tears of joy.
2. Piranesi - I didn't realize that Susanna Clarke was writing this book. I was a little iffy on it, being a completely different beast from Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I mean, I can actually fit this book in my purse! But daaaaaammmmnnnnn, the woman can write. Piranesi is gloriously atmospheric, and does a lot with its short page count. After the Whyborne and Griffin series, this is the book that broke my heart the most this year.
3. Truly Devious - The entire set-up for the the Truly Devious series (or the first trilogy, at any rate - not sure where the 4th book is going) was captivating. It has a great central mystery, an awesomely secluded setting, and I 1000% approve of Stevie's book organization system. Sorting books “by feel” is my go-to system.
4. Life of Melody - It's not often that a comic, let alone a webcomic, makes its way onto my favorites read list. But look - Life of Melody is adorable. It's dark, but sweet, and it was such a relief in this dumpster fire of a year that it's more than earned its spot here.
5. Legendborne - I'm always there for new takes on the Arthurian legend, and Legendborn definitely tried something new. At the same time, it goes DEEP into Arthurian lore. Also, just A++ use of Lancelot.
Honorable Mentions*
The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your House - I feel bad putting a Night Vale book down in the honorable mentions, but...Faceless Old Woman didn't hit me the same way Night Vale books usually do. Not bad, by any stretch - just different.