A Beautiful Month of Books
Drumroll, please.... 2019 Reading Goal 82/80! Huzzah!
1. The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl, Theodora Goss - This is the third book in the Athena Club series, and while I didn't enjoy the second book much I still felt compelled to keep reading. Fortunately, this one - while not living up to the legacy of the first - is miles better than it's predecessor. Goss must have had a better editor this time around, because the book was more focused and fun. Worth the read for sure. Kind of hope she's done with the series.
2. Mothers, Daughters and Body Image, Hillary McBride - I listen to The Liturgists podcast, of which McBride is one of the hosts. (It's an amazing podcast - all about the world as viewed through the lenses of science, religion, and art.) McBride is a therapist, and I have really enjoyed and valued her contributions on the podcast. Her book has been on my to-read list for a bit, and it felt natural to read after listening to the Liturgists episode on what it is to be a woman. What I really loved about this book is that McBride approached the subject from a different angle than what I've typically seen. She sought out women who had a healthy and positive relationship with their bodies and based her research on what had gone right in their lives and with their relationships with their moms to create that relationship. (McBride is herself someone who's had an eating disorder.) The resulting book is one that I found both helpful and profoundly hopeful. I also saw myself and my girls in so many places that I was often left in tears while reading. If you are struggling with your own body image, and/or if you want better for your girls than what you inherited, this is the book for you.
3. The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern - We've waited 8 years for another book from Morgenstern, she of the marvelous The Night Circus. (Which I have multiple copies of, thank you very much, and read about every other year.) Morgenstern has said that it took her a long time to get her first book and it's characters out of her head, and given how beautifully her second book came out I'm glad she gave herself the time. With the exception of one perfect hat tip to her first book, The Starless Sea is all it's own. There is still the gorgeous language, the characters you fall in love with, and the dreamy atmosphere that truly makes you feel like you've been transported to another world. Morgenstern's writing is so beautiful that it makes me weep. I am fortunate enough, thanks to my local bookstore, to have a signed first edition. (Also, I must find myself a necklace with a bee, a key and a sword...)
And here's where I fell down the rabbit hole. End of year book lists have started to make their rounds, and I pulled about 10 recommendations from the Tor.com newsletter.
4. To Be Taught, If Fortunate, Becky Chambers - This was already on my wish list, though, as I adore Chambers. (Seriously, even if you don't think you like SciFi, you should read her.) I read this perfect little novella in one day, and then wished I could do it all over again. The best books invite you to ask yourself deep questions, and I find myself still pondering over several that this brought up. Many thanks to the friend who thought to recommend Chambers to me. I can't wait to see what she writes next.
5. The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Alix E. Harrow - This was already on my wish list, although I can no longer remember where I first encountered the suggestion. Having a second recommendation from Tor...I bought it immediately, and jumped into it right away. I literally just finished it 30 minutes ago, and I immediately went to Facebook to put out the recommendation. (Which is something I have only done a few times before - always for books that I KNOW people will love.) It's my pick for best of the year, just that simple. Doors must be very popular right now, and it's interesting that I wound up reading two books this month about Doors. (I'd be willing to bet that Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children novellas started the trend, although these were probably in the works before her first was published. Such literary trends are fascinating to me.) Such a beautiful book, for so many reasons. Beautifully constructed, gorgeous language, multiple plot surprises (which almost never happens to me), characters that are so real that they jump off the page, and an ending...well, an ending that left me jumping out of my chair and pacing the house in excitement. That doesn't happen often.
And now, my friends, I have an epic book hangover. After such an amazing month I just don't know what to read next - or how anything else will compare!
1. The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl, Theodora Goss - This is the third book in the Athena Club series, and while I didn't enjoy the second book much I still felt compelled to keep reading. Fortunately, this one - while not living up to the legacy of the first - is miles better than it's predecessor. Goss must have had a better editor this time around, because the book was more focused and fun. Worth the read for sure. Kind of hope she's done with the series.
2. Mothers, Daughters and Body Image, Hillary McBride - I listen to The Liturgists podcast, of which McBride is one of the hosts. (It's an amazing podcast - all about the world as viewed through the lenses of science, religion, and art.) McBride is a therapist, and I have really enjoyed and valued her contributions on the podcast. Her book has been on my to-read list for a bit, and it felt natural to read after listening to the Liturgists episode on what it is to be a woman. What I really loved about this book is that McBride approached the subject from a different angle than what I've typically seen. She sought out women who had a healthy and positive relationship with their bodies and based her research on what had gone right in their lives and with their relationships with their moms to create that relationship. (McBride is herself someone who's had an eating disorder.) The resulting book is one that I found both helpful and profoundly hopeful. I also saw myself and my girls in so many places that I was often left in tears while reading. If you are struggling with your own body image, and/or if you want better for your girls than what you inherited, this is the book for you.
3. The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern - We've waited 8 years for another book from Morgenstern, she of the marvelous The Night Circus. (Which I have multiple copies of, thank you very much, and read about every other year.) Morgenstern has said that it took her a long time to get her first book and it's characters out of her head, and given how beautifully her second book came out I'm glad she gave herself the time. With the exception of one perfect hat tip to her first book, The Starless Sea is all it's own. There is still the gorgeous language, the characters you fall in love with, and the dreamy atmosphere that truly makes you feel like you've been transported to another world. Morgenstern's writing is so beautiful that it makes me weep. I am fortunate enough, thanks to my local bookstore, to have a signed first edition. (Also, I must find myself a necklace with a bee, a key and a sword...)
And here's where I fell down the rabbit hole. End of year book lists have started to make their rounds, and I pulled about 10 recommendations from the Tor.com newsletter.
4. To Be Taught, If Fortunate, Becky Chambers - This was already on my wish list, though, as I adore Chambers. (Seriously, even if you don't think you like SciFi, you should read her.) I read this perfect little novella in one day, and then wished I could do it all over again. The best books invite you to ask yourself deep questions, and I find myself still pondering over several that this brought up. Many thanks to the friend who thought to recommend Chambers to me. I can't wait to see what she writes next.
5. The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Alix E. Harrow - This was already on my wish list, although I can no longer remember where I first encountered the suggestion. Having a second recommendation from Tor...I bought it immediately, and jumped into it right away. I literally just finished it 30 minutes ago, and I immediately went to Facebook to put out the recommendation. (Which is something I have only done a few times before - always for books that I KNOW people will love.) It's my pick for best of the year, just that simple. Doors must be very popular right now, and it's interesting that I wound up reading two books this month about Doors. (I'd be willing to bet that Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children novellas started the trend, although these were probably in the works before her first was published. Such literary trends are fascinating to me.) Such a beautiful book, for so many reasons. Beautifully constructed, gorgeous language, multiple plot surprises (which almost never happens to me), characters that are so real that they jump off the page, and an ending...well, an ending that left me jumping out of my chair and pacing the house in excitement. That doesn't happen often.
And now, my friends, I have an epic book hangover. After such an amazing month I just don't know what to read next - or how anything else will compare!
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