A note on the book in the featured photo: I read this one a couple years back. Was great.
I won’t lie, it’s been a long time since I’ve had the time to read as much as I have recently. Having a new Kindle that’s speedier than the old one certainly helps, but it also helps that my reading experience has been made even easier (and cozier) thanks to a delicious little Kindle page turner gadget and Kindle-holding arm that clips onto my headboard. My reading experience is entirely hands free. Now I can crank the AC to low, snuggle under the blankets, and still be warm and cozy as I press the button on the little transmitter that syncs up to my page turner. To think I ever bothered turning pages myself.
Gadgety-progress aside, I decided to really focus my efforts on reading more books. I’ve spent far too much time these past few years on non-fiction and I need to ensure my brain is subconsciously parsing good writing and that I’m experiencing new methods for developing story, character structure, etc. Fortunately I have a pretty good funnel given my sister is also on a bit of a reading bent. So, after Six of Crows (yet to start), I’ll probably read The Bear and the Nightingale, a recommendation straight from her.
Sometimes it’s a little depressing thinking I got out of the novel reading habit for so long. I 100% blame university and the four years I spent living in England. I had so much fun there and fun, if I’m being honest, is terrible for the writing life. No, the key is a healthy dose of boredom so that it’s easier to create writing routines. Then again, I did live. I traveled. I saw the world, especially these last few years. I poured all of my energies into running the editorial team of a magazine before realizing that the game isn’t organic content, it’s ad dollars. That was depressing. Capitalism raises its ugly head again.
Suffice to say, I’m done. And in the time I might have been begging for dollars for projects, I’ve instead read seven books, listened to another and written 15,000 words of my novel. Here’s what I read in Jan and Feb. It’s not a ton but it’s far more than I read last Jan/Feb.
The Giver
Author: Lois Lowry
I’d seen the movie years before and enjoyed it. I picked up the book because I wanted to read more dystopias from yesteryear. The ones in YA today are in general all variations of the Hunger Games, which, if I’m honest, is good but a little tired. It’s definitely why I’m branching out into adult dystopias (yay, Ray Nayler, you are on my list). Many fantasy stories are actually dystopias in disguise so it makes a lot of sense to me to stay on top of this genre, read all the classics. The book was short and a very easy read. I was surprised the telling-heavy writing style worked so well—this in spite of everything I’ve been taught about “telling not showing.” I was, however, a bit disappointed by the ending. It smacks of choose-your-own, which to me feels a little lazy. This book is part of a quartet but from what I can see, the books are all standalone. I’ll probably read the rest at some point.
The Raven Boys
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
When I was younger I read Maggie Stiefvater’s Scorpio Races, a novel about racing murderous horses that come from the sea. It was a book I utterly adored, not only because the story was so interesting, pulling as it did from folklore, but also because it had a strong sense of atmosphere and because the writing was objectively good. For a long time I meant to read other books by her, I just never got around to it. Now, many years later, The Raven Boys has further cemented my appreciation for this author’s work. This is the first book in the Raven Cycle quartet. All I can say is that if you love a bit of mystery, a bit of a ghost story feel, a bit of magical realism, and strong, interesting characters, this is for you. I learned a lot about seamless POV switching and began to think more about psychic distance as she manages it very well. Loved the occult, the slightly absurd. 5/5.
Annihilation
Author: Jeff VanDermeer
I really don’t want to write ill of books I read but I did not love this one. The premise is really interesting but the guts, not my cup of tea. If this encapsulates the cosmic horror genre, I don’t know that I want to read it. Sign me up for horror instead. And yes, I acknowledge that maybe I’m the one missing the boat here but I didn’t like it. I didn’t like that the book frequently raised questions it never answered. I didn’t like the lack of a conclusion. I didn’t love learning that it was all based on a dream and that the author really focused on transcribing his dream without attaching meaning to it. It was readable, sure, but it was also frustrating.
I decided to read the short story, The Call of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft following Annihilation because I was so baffled by why anyone would want to read cosmic horror if it really focused on nihilism. It didn’t make me want to read it any more but I think the intro to the short story explains very well what the genre as a whole is about:
“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age.”
If Annihilation is indeed an allegory for trauma and grief, I think it could be done better. I’d go so far as to call this a first draft. Again, maybe it’s just me and I’m the one out to lunch but I don’t get the appeal of books like this, or the genre. I will still probably try another cosmic horror just to gut check the theory but alas, I won’t be continuing on with the Southern Reach series.
After finishing the book I was so baffled I decided I had to watch the movie. Natalie Portman was in it and I’d read it wasn’t a faithful adaptation of the book, so surely it would be better? Nope. Possibly even worse. No idea how one accomplishes this but they did.
I think I’m going to be baffled by this book to the point of distraction for a long time. I may read the second novel on this list sometime this year, just to see. Just to see.
A Deadly Education
Author: Naomi Novik
Needing to recover from Annihilation I picked up the first book in the Scholomance trilogy. It had come as a recommendation from my mother and sister and I’d tripped across it previously in my reading. So I gave it a shot. It was great! Surprising really but great. A totally different take on a YA school story. Scrap the dark academia, the witches and werewolves, enter unique worldbuilding comprising wholly new monsters.
Though the author does write in great chunks—big long paragraphs without much breathing room—there’s so much character in the writing that you find you don’t notice it much. It doesn’t even feel dense.
If you’re looking for a unique premise, great character and worldbuilding, this is the one. It’s also a good example of how to write an angry protagonist that doesn’t piss you off (take heed J. K. Rowling, as Harry was incredibly unpleasant in Order of the Phoenix).
The Outlaws Scarlet and Browne
Author: Jonathan Stroud
I didn’t technically read this one. This was an Audible listen. I started it because I needed something to listen to when making dinner and because if there’s one thing I’ve realized about Stroud, it’s that he’s an absolute master at dialogue and conveying character through dialogue.
I figured if it was anything like Stroud’s Lockwood and Co. it would be right up my alley. Lockwood and Co. is actually one of the few series I’ve both read and listened to. It just has to be done as the books are very well performed on audio. The Brits have a real tradition of doing this well and the narrators know how to adopt many voices that go a long way to also giving you a feel for the characters. Really, it’s the same thing I tell people to do with Trevor Noah’s book, Born a Crime. You have to both read it and listen to it.
As a whole, I thought the book was interesting—the underlying mystery and the good character interactions kept me going—but I’d also go so far as to say it felt a little “young” for me. I also wanted more characters on the page as in Lockwood and Co as this gives a sense of dynamism.
Starter Villain
Author: John Scalzi
For years, I’ve heard my nerdier friends talking about Scalzi, most often about Old Man’s War. Given I had my own long list of books to plough through, I never picked it up. That all changed when over Christmas, perusing Barnes and Noble, I tripped across Starter Villain. Though the cover initially drew me to it, it was the first page that had me hooked, and admittedly that distracted me from another book I was reading at the time. I only meant to read a couple of pages to see what this Scalzi craze was all about. Two days later I finished the book. I enjoyed it. It did get a bit slow in the middle (ironically Scalzi admits to being sick at the time) but picked right back up. It’s mostly dialogue, which is not usually my jam, but I found myself not too bothered by it. It definitely falls squarely in the absurd space. A couple of weeks later I still find myself thinking back on the sentient cats and the arsehole intelligent dolphins. Will definitely be reading more of his stuff.
The Dream Thieves
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
The second book in the Raven Boys Cycle, Dream Thieves had the opposite problem to Raven Boys— it started a bit slower. But, in typical Maggie fashion, picked right back up and was just as captivating as the first book. I really don’t want to give too much away as these are at the heart of it, mystery books, but if you like a blend of the occult, magical realism, and fantasy, these will be right up your alley. I’ll definitely be reading the third though I’m trying not to race through the series I’m picking up, and to diversify what I read.
The Last Graduate
Author: Naomi Novik
The second book in the Scholomance series, this one is just as good as the first. Heck, the way the first book ends makes it almost impossible not to continue on to this one. And if the mystery of what’s going on with the protagonist and her maybe love interest’s magic is not enough mystery, then there’s a new mystery (or two) to add to the mix, as well as a few never-before-seen monsters.
These books are unlike anything else I’ve read. I also love that the author is one of the founders of Archive of Our Own (AO3). Hopefully she and the team figure out how to stop all the AI crap. Why people want to pass themselves off as authors or writers when they’re not doing the writing themselves is anyone’s guess. Isn’t that why we write? If all you want to be is a curator, please start your own site for people who want to read curations. I want real stories by real people. When you allow AI writing on a site like AO3 that already requires an investment to find a good story, you allow who would be otherwise bad writers to get away with hiding themselves for a short while which means you invest time, which means you waste time as they are very quickly outed when you start feeling the lack of emotional depth, the consistency in writing, the circular nature of the story, the emotions, etc. AI/LLM is
A note on one other book
I’ve noticed of late there’s a cozy book and tea shop genre popping up. This should be right up my alley, after all, who drinks more tea than I? Who better appreciates a proper scone? Who could spend an entire day in a library and come out feeling healed better than I? Indeed.
So, knowing I was surely a shoe in for a cozy tea/bookshop-type read I bought Spellshop. The first chapter was interesting enough but after that (and I’m only 60 pages in), I have to admit, I’m bored. I know this sort of slow meandering coziness is a cup of hot chocolate for some but the lack of conflict and the feeling that the protagonists are being acted upon rather than doing the acting makes it a very slow read. I’m going to finish it because that’s what I do but I’m struggling. I do also think a healthy dose of conflict can be just as cozy, as can strong and memorable characters that take action. Also, I would have loved for Caz the sentient plant to have more of a sense of humor. I feel a bit cheated of it. Calcifer in How’s Moving Castle is very funny, as is the Skull in Lockwood and Co. I kind of think it’s an unspoken rule. If you make a non-sentient character sentient, it needs to earn its place via humor. Anyway, more on this when I get around to finishing it.
And now, back to the Kindle. I’ve just had a new couple of recommendations dropped in my lap so time to add them to the list: The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.