Because Books - July and August

 July 

Ahem...let's talk about that time I left my iPad on the farm because stress had me super scattered, and so was without my personal library for a month.  It was a nightmare.  

And please, no arguments about why paper books are the best.  To each, his own, and ebooks are a LOT easier on my eyes.  

1. The Hidden Palace, Helene Wecker (audio) - You may remember that I closed out June with a reread of Wecker's The Golem and the Jinni.  I did so because of this brand new, utterly beautiful book!  Happily ever after isn't always simple, actions have consequences, and people change and grow.  Rather than rehashing the characters and plots from the first book, Wecker allows her Golem and Jinni to be beautifully human as they follow a broken road into the future.  Highly satisfying.  

2. The Goblin Emperor and 3. The Witness for the Dead, Katherine Addison (audio) - I adored the Goblin Emperor when I first read it a while back, but it's been a while, and so I reread it in preparation of The Witness for the Dead's publication.  I adored the Goblin Emperor as much if not more the second time around.  It's a wonderful, beautiful book.  Unfortunately, while I appreciated the Witness for the Dead it just didn't live up to my expectations.  Addison's world-building is top-notch, but these are very different books and the second just doesn't carry the emotional weight the first book did.  It was almost - but not quite - like reading books by separate writers.  In fact, I think if I'd read them separately I would have enjoyed The Witness for the Dead much more.  

4. The Wolf and the Woodsman, Ava Reid - Girl walks into a bookstore, tells heart-sister/store manager she needs a book, heart-sister/store manager without hesitation grabs a new book off of the shelf....and it's perfection.  No, it's nothing new.  I could list where else I've seen many of the elements in this book.  However, it is beautifully written and sometimes what you want is a newish trip through the familiar.  It's exactly what I needed.  

5.  The Regrets, Amy Bonnaffons - I don't know quite what I suspected from this - another 2020 NPR Concierge pick.  If I'm remembering correctly, I thought it would be a lighter book than it ended up being.  Utterly different than anything I've ever read before, this book is powerful in its depiction of intimacy and grief. I want to read it again sometime - maybe in a different stage of life - because I have a feeling it will show me something new each time I approach it.  

August: 

1.  Elatsoe, Darcie Little Badger - I.  Loved.  This.  Book.  I sigh, typing that phrase.  Elatsoe is high on a bunch of best of 2021 lists, and it's well-deserving of the accolades.  It's brilliant fantasy - especially if you like dogs, and especially if you like stories from other cultures.  And can we talk about the fact that there's no teen romance?  What a relief!  (Ordinarily I'm game....but this was refreshing.)

2. A Psalm for the Wild Built, Becky Chambers (audio) - A new Becky Chambers book is a must for me, but for some reason, I didn't connect as strongly to this book as to all of her others.  I feel like I need to approach it in a different frame of mind.  (And you should still read every single thing Chambers has written.) 

3. For the Wolf, Hannah Whitten (audio) - I was apparently not done with fairy tales about girls and wolves.  Truly, I liked this one better.  

4. Any Way the Wind Blows, Rainbow Rowell (audio) - Here's the thing.  Books don't always address the trauma that's inevitably left in the wake of whatever grand adventure(s) they are working through.  (In fact, the only other I can think of off the top of my head is the 3rd book of Sarah Kazloff's 9 Realms quartet.). I think Rowell did a really smart thing by revisiting Simon Snow and the gang to go into what happens after.  She maybe didn't dive in as deeply as I'd like - but this is, after all, a Simon Snow book and only so much seriousness can be tolerated.  I appreciated it very much.  

5. The Merciful Crow and 6. The Faithless Hawk, Margaret Owen - The Faithless Hawk made it onto the NPR Concierge last year as a sequel that could stand alone.  I, of course, can't do that and had to start with the first book.  OMG.  They are brilliant, amazing books.  You know how much I like it when I find something original, and these books are truly different from anything I've ever read.  Fantasy built on a caste system that feels sadly true to life - while focusing on found and built family.  I LOVED these books.  

7. She Who Became the Sun, Shelley Parker-Chan (audio) - Should have been my cup of tea.  Was not.  I was left feeling really let down, in part because I couldn't connect with the characters.  It's one thing to build a character who's single-minded, determined, and ambitious.  Books are happily littered with those.  BUT, you have to have some vulnerability somewhere so that readers can connect.  If you don't have that, the character just becomes unlikable.  It was hard getting through the whole book, but I kept hoping it would get better...and then it didn't. 

And here's a mini-rant to throw in.  It's super common these days to advertise a book with a blurb that follows along these lines:  For fans of X, who also love Y.  For me, this has become a major turn-off because inevitably the book being advertised isn't near as good as the two it's being compared to.  It sets up expectations that are unfair for the new book, and I think it's a lazy way to promote content.  I will admit, I hesitated when I saw that used for She Who Became the Sun.  Should have listened to my gut. 

8. Slippery Creatures, 9. The Sugared Game and 10. Subtle Blood, K.J. Charles - Romance novels usually aren't my thing, but I needed something light and breezy to read and these were just the ticket!  Slippery Creatures made the NPR 2021 Book Concierge, and so I'd bought it when it went on sale.  Wasn't even all the way through when I bought the two sequels!  Historical LGBTQ romance which is also a bit cloak and dagger?  Super fun, and perfect for my vacation week!

11. Six Crimson Crows, Elizabeth Lim (audio) - Lim is another author who I now automatically preorder.  She did a really interesting thing in this book by combining European fairy tales with Chinese mythology.  Truly, I'm a sucker for variations of the 7 Swans, and I delighted in how novel this version felt.  My only disappointment?  It turned out to be the first book, and now I have to wait for more.  

12.  Once There Were Wolves, Charlotte McConaghy (audio) - This book caught my attention at our brilliant local bookshop, but I was nervous about trying it out so I found it in our library.  It's a story about sisters, and trauma, and nature and healing.  And oh yes, there's a bit of a murder mystery too.  I was surprised by just how deeply this book touched my heart.  

13. Raybearer, Jordan Ifeuko - It's also been on a million 'best of' books.  An African-based YA fantasy this time, my goodness did it deliver on all of its accolades! I honestly am gobsmacked that this is a debut novel.  The worldbuilding is lush and full, and the characters are brilliantly developed.  I read it in a rush and then immediately grabbed the sequel.  (TBC)

Unfinished: 

1.  We Ride Upon Sticks, Quan Barry (audio) - An example of an NPR Concierge book not being my cup of tea.  Not sure why - on paper, it was a good fit - just never grabbed my attention.  

2.  A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine (audio) - I decided to try it just to see if the storyline would catch my heart this time.  Instead, I had trouble getting interested at all.  

3.  The Space Between Worlds, Micaiah Johnson (audio) - I checked out the audio three times.  It's an important book, and it has big things to say.  I just couldn't get through it.