January Books
A month in which I get off to a great start on that New Year’s Reading Resolution by reading through as many of my Christmas/Birthday books as I possibly can.
1. Vicious, V.E. Schwab - So I adore Schwab, but I didn’t have any interest in this book until it’s sequel (Vengeful) was published. No explanation for that. Anyway, I of course loved it. Silly me. It’s a magical rivalry gone horribly, horribly wrong. I kind of hated most of the characters, and loved the book for making me care anyway. I won’t pick up the next book until I’ve worked through more of my own backlog...but it’s going to be fun when I get there!
2. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo - I tried reading this book when it was first popular in the US, and at the time thought Kondo was nuts. So Netflix releases her series, I try it out of curiosity, wind up binging it in two days, and by 7 am the day after had all of my clothes piled on my bed. Reread the book as soon as I finished Kondoing my clothes, and was hooked. This time around I see the compassion and empathy that’s at the heart of Kondo’s work. I also see the beauty in her goal of helping people live the life they are dreaming of. I followed reading this book with a full sort of my books (hopefully to soon be another post) and we’ve kept going from there.
3. In An Absent Dream, Seanan McGuire - Her most recent Wayward Children novella. I feel like I’ve said lots and lots about McGuire (man is she prolific!), and I will say once again that this series is her deepest and most beautiful work. Start at the beginning, and keep going.
4. The Winter of the Witch, Katherine Arden - The final book of a gorgeous trilogy! Love, love, loved it! (I’ve read the first book - the Bear and the Nightingale - multiple times, and now that they are all published I’m considering another run straight through the whole thing...especially if the library has books two and three in audio!) Arden is absolutely a writer to watch. Once again, I love being presented with fairy tales that aren’t of the standard European. Arden wrapped some Russian history up in her final volume, which sent me on a bit of an internet research quest. (Russian ovens are amazing!) Super fun, you must read it.
5. Miranda and Caliban, Jacqueline Carey - I’ve wanted to read this book for years, and it did not disappoint. Yes, we know the story. This is (quite obviously) a take on Shakespeare's The Tempest (I’ve a story about seeing that in an outdoor production...and being hit by a tremendously horrible storm on the drive home...seemed appropriate.). In some ways, it’s a tad dull reading an adaptation - there’s no joy of discovery after all, especially if the author doesn’t pull much new into the work. Carey did bring me enough new to keep me interested, but truly the joy of this book was in the beautiful language. The language alone will leave you crying for Caliban.
6. A Study in Scarlet Women, 7. A Conspiracy in Belgravia, and 8. The Hollow of Fear, Sherry Thomas (books 1-3 of the Lady Sherlock series) - These came up in NPR’s annual book concierge - 2016 and 2018 (I can’t remember if the second book was in 2017.), which is always a great source of new books for me. Again, little bit of nerves about it being an adaptation. Sherlock Holmes is so very well known and adapted that it feels both overdone and worn out at times. To my great delight, I absolutely LOVED these books. Thomas has created a wonderfully unique Sherlock in her Charlotte Holmes, and I had a great time watching the pieces of the cannon come together in a new way. A word about Charlotte - when's the last time you read about a female main character who loved to eat and was plump? I swear I fell in love for that alone. I devoured the first book, immediately bought and binged the second and third, of course preordered the fourth, and am now not so patiently waiting.
9. The Daylight Gate , Jeanette Winterson - It’s a story about witches based on some real life witch trials in England. I think this might be the one big disappointment in the Christmas books as it’s been on my wish list forever and I truly thought it would be a more enjoyable read. (Winterson was a favorite in college thanks to a some recommendations from a TA of mine.). Ah well. I did enjoy the research I did into the history for my own edification.
1. Vicious, V.E. Schwab - So I adore Schwab, but I didn’t have any interest in this book until it’s sequel (Vengeful) was published. No explanation for that. Anyway, I of course loved it. Silly me. It’s a magical rivalry gone horribly, horribly wrong. I kind of hated most of the characters, and loved the book for making me care anyway. I won’t pick up the next book until I’ve worked through more of my own backlog...but it’s going to be fun when I get there!
2. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo - I tried reading this book when it was first popular in the US, and at the time thought Kondo was nuts. So Netflix releases her series, I try it out of curiosity, wind up binging it in two days, and by 7 am the day after had all of my clothes piled on my bed. Reread the book as soon as I finished Kondoing my clothes, and was hooked. This time around I see the compassion and empathy that’s at the heart of Kondo’s work. I also see the beauty in her goal of helping people live the life they are dreaming of. I followed reading this book with a full sort of my books (hopefully to soon be another post) and we’ve kept going from there.
3. In An Absent Dream, Seanan McGuire - Her most recent Wayward Children novella. I feel like I’ve said lots and lots about McGuire (man is she prolific!), and I will say once again that this series is her deepest and most beautiful work. Start at the beginning, and keep going.
4. The Winter of the Witch, Katherine Arden - The final book of a gorgeous trilogy! Love, love, loved it! (I’ve read the first book - the Bear and the Nightingale - multiple times, and now that they are all published I’m considering another run straight through the whole thing...especially if the library has books two and three in audio!) Arden is absolutely a writer to watch. Once again, I love being presented with fairy tales that aren’t of the standard European. Arden wrapped some Russian history up in her final volume, which sent me on a bit of an internet research quest. (Russian ovens are amazing!) Super fun, you must read it.
5. Miranda and Caliban, Jacqueline Carey - I’ve wanted to read this book for years, and it did not disappoint. Yes, we know the story. This is (quite obviously) a take on Shakespeare's The Tempest (I’ve a story about seeing that in an outdoor production...and being hit by a tremendously horrible storm on the drive home...seemed appropriate.). In some ways, it’s a tad dull reading an adaptation - there’s no joy of discovery after all, especially if the author doesn’t pull much new into the work. Carey did bring me enough new to keep me interested, but truly the joy of this book was in the beautiful language. The language alone will leave you crying for Caliban.
6. A Study in Scarlet Women, 7. A Conspiracy in Belgravia, and 8. The Hollow of Fear, Sherry Thomas (books 1-3 of the Lady Sherlock series) - These came up in NPR’s annual book concierge - 2016 and 2018 (I can’t remember if the second book was in 2017.), which is always a great source of new books for me. Again, little bit of nerves about it being an adaptation. Sherlock Holmes is so very well known and adapted that it feels both overdone and worn out at times. To my great delight, I absolutely LOVED these books. Thomas has created a wonderfully unique Sherlock in her Charlotte Holmes, and I had a great time watching the pieces of the cannon come together in a new way. A word about Charlotte - when's the last time you read about a female main character who loved to eat and was plump? I swear I fell in love for that alone. I devoured the first book, immediately bought and binged the second and third, of course preordered the fourth, and am now not so patiently waiting.
9. The Daylight Gate , Jeanette Winterson - It’s a story about witches based on some real life witch trials in England. I think this might be the one big disappointment in the Christmas books as it’s been on my wish list forever and I truly thought it would be a more enjoyable read. (Winterson was a favorite in college thanks to a some recommendations from a TA of mine.). Ah well. I did enjoy the research I did into the history for my own edification.
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