Anki's 2022 Reading & Book Thoughts

I'm Anki, and I live in New Hampshire. I joined LibraryThing back in 2006, and I've been a part of Club Read (some years lurking almost exclusively) since 2016. I am looking forward to reading and talking books with everyone again!

In general, I am a mood reader, and my reading tends to gravitate toward genre fiction (primarily fantasy, science fiction, and mystery) and manga/graphic novels, with a sprinkling of non-fiction works over the year. In terms of format, about half my reading is physical books, and the other half is some split of ebooks and audiobooks.

I have developed an appreciation for read-alongs/buddy reads/book groups over the past couple years, and will be participating in several in 2022. However, beyond that, any reading plans I have for the year are primarily...numeric in nature. I find working with percentages rather than concrete lists of books makes it much easier for my mood reader self to maintain the balance I want in my reading life.

Current Reading/Listening
Christmas at Thompson Hall & Other Christmas Stories by Anthony Trollope
An Autobiography and Other Writings by Anthony Trollope
Frost on the Window: Poems by Mary Stewart
Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Flight of the Falcon by Daphne du Maurier
The Lazy Genius Kitchen by Kendra Adachi
Howards End is on the Landing by Susan Hill
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
The Good Neighbor by Maxwell King
The Shadow of Ashlydyat by Ellen Wood
Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers
Death by Shakespeare by Kathryn Harkup

---
2022 Reading by the Numbers

OWNERSHIP
   Owned: 123
   Borrowed: 41

FORMAT
   Print: 93
   Ebook: 44
   Audio: 27

CATEGORY
   Fiction: 103
   Non-fiction: 14
   Comics: 47

Total Books Read: 164

Last Year (2021) by the Numbers

OWNERSHIP
   Owned: 152 (86%)
   Borrowed: 24 (14%)

FORMAT
   Print: 105 (60%)
   Ebook: 43 (24%)
   Audio: 28 (16%)

CATEGORY
   Fiction: 110 (63%)
   Non-fiction: 14 (8%)
   Comics: 52 (30%)

Rereads: 44 (25%)
Buddy Reads: 41 (23%)

Total Books Read: 176

Last year I said I wanted borrowed books to make up between 30 and 40% of my reading. While I did better than in 2020, there is still plenty of room for improvement. In 2022 I think I will be very happy if at least a quarter of my reading consists of borrowed books. I'll still be reading plenty of books that I own, but I will hopefully not be buying as many willy nilly.

Buddy Reads

As I've stated, I am joining quite a few buddy reads for the year. Most of them are taking place on Instagram, and several of them are year-long things. I figured it would be a good idea to have a post outlining at least the year-long ones.

The Bard-Along Book Club
I'll be reading most of these. There are a couple I am less enthusiastic about at present, but we'll see how I feel when they actually come up in the year. I own/have ordered eight of the twelve, and the other four I should be able to get from the library.

✓ Jan: Shakespeare: The World as Stage
✓ Feb: The Tempest
✓ Mar: Bright Ruined Things
Apr: Hamnet
May: Hamlet
Jun: Ophelia
✓ Jul: William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily a New Hope
Aug: Romeo and Juliet
Sep: Still Star-Crossed
Oct: Death By Shakespeare
Nov: The Shakespeare Stealer
Dec: The Winter's Tale

The Disney Origins Book Club
Again, I'll be reading most of these. I own about half of them already, and nearly all the others seem like they will be easy to get from the library.

✓ Jan: The Snow Queen & The Little Mermaid
Feb: Swiss Family Robinson
Mar: Bedknob and Broomstick
Apr: The Rescuers
May: Freaky Friday
✓ Jun: Pollyanna
✓ Jul: Beauty and the Beast & Cinderella
Aug: The Jungle Book
Sep: Mary Poppins
Oct: Blackbeard's Ghost
Nov: The Apple Dumpling Gang
Dec: Peter Pan

The Palliser Series Readalong
These are already planned purchases over the course of the year because I want print editions to go along with the audiobook and ebook versions I already have.

✓ Jan/Feb: Can You Forgive Her?
✓ Mar/Apr: Phineas Finn
✓ May/Jun: The Eustace Diamonds
Jul/Aug: Phineas Redux
Sep/Oct: The Prime Minister
Nov/Dec: The Duke's Children

Inspired by Dickens Readalong
This one came up recently and just looks like fun. I already had some of the books on my TBR stack, and the rest should be easily obtained at the library. As the name of the readalong suggests, all of these books were inspired in some way by the works of Charles Dickens.

✓ Jan/Feb: Olivia Twist
✓ Mar/Apr: The Eyre Affair / Lost in a Good Book
✓ May/Jun: The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep
Jul/Aug: Complementary Magic
Sep/Oct: The Last Dickens
Nov/Dec: The Afterlife of Holly Chase

Books Read January - March
* indicates a reread

January
   1. Usborne Graphic Shakespeare: Macbeth by Russell Punter (comic, print, owned)
   2. The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen (fiction, print, owned) *
   3. The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey (fiction, print, borrowed)
   4. The Once and Future King by T. H. White (fiction, audio/print, owned)
   5. I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider (comic, print, owned)
   6. The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (fiction, print, owned)
   7. Kakuriyo, vol. 7 by Waco Ioka & Midori Yuma (manga, print, owned)
   8. Out of The Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis (fiction, audio/print, owned)
   9. Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud (non-fiction, comic, print, owned) *
  10. Mao, vol. 3 by Rumiko Takahashi (manga, print, owned)
  11. Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen (fiction, audio, owned)
  12. The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (manga, print, owned) *
  13. Gilded by Marissa Meyer (fiction, print, borrowed)
  14. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu (comic, print, borrowed)
  15. The Adventures of King Arthur by Russell Punter (comic, print, owned)
  16. Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean (fiction, print, borrowed)
  17. Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson (non-fiction, print, owned)
  18. Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte & Ann Xu (comic, print, borrowed)
  19. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, vol. 1 by Fujita (manga, print, owned)
  20. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, vol. 2 by Fujita (manga, print, owned)
  21. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (fiction, print, borrowed)

February
   1. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, vol. 2 by Kanehito Yamada & Tsukasa Abe (manga, print, owned)
   2. Borders by Thomas King and Natasha Donovan (comic, print, borrowed)
   3. The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery (fiction, audio, owned) *
   4. Olivia Twist by Lorie Langdon (fiction, print, borrowed)
   5. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, vol. 3 by Fujita (manga, print, owned)
   6. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, vol. 4 by Fujita (manga, print, owned)
   7. The Tempest by William Shakespeare (play, print, owned)
   8. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (fiction, print, borrowed) *
   9. Foxes in Love, vol. 1 by Toivo Kaartinen (comic, print, owned)
  10. Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (play, ebook, owned)
  11. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (fiction, print, borrowed)
  12. Upstairs at the White House by J. B. West (non-fiction, print, owned)
  13. The Sweet Rowan by Keira Dominguez (fiction, ebook, owned)
  14. Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy (fiction, audio/print, owned)
  15. Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery (fiction, print, owned)
  16. Those Not-So-Sweet Boys, 5 by Yoko Nogiri (manga, print, owned)

March
   1. Summer Knight by Jim Butcher (fiction, ebook, borrowed) *
   2. If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy (fiction, ebook, borrowed)
   3. The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson (non-fiction, ebook, borrwed)
   4. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, vol. 5 by Fujita (manga, print, owned)
   5. Saints: The Standard of Truth by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (non-fiction, print/ebook, owned)
   6. The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness by Joel ben Izzy (non-fiction, print, owned)
   7. Bright Ruined Things by Samantha Cohoe (fiction, print, owned)
   8. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (fiction, print, owned) *
   9. Fablehaven by Brandon Mull (fiction, print, owned) *
  10. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman (non-fiction, print, borrowed)
  11. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (fiction, print, borrowed)
  12. Watercress by Andrea Wang & Jason Chin (fiction, print, owned)
  13. The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (fiction, audio, owned) *
  14. The Way of the Househusband, vol. 7 by Kousuke Oono (manga, print, owned)

Books Read April - June
* indicates a reread

April
   1. House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland (fiction, print, borrowed)
   2. Snapshot by Brandon Sanderson (fiction, audio, owned)
   3. Into the Real by John Ringo & Lydia Sherrer (fiction, ebook, owned)
   4. The Physicians of Vilnoc by Lois McMaster Bujold (fiction, ebook, owned)
   5. I Am a Cat Barista, vol. 1 by Hiro Maijima (manga, print, borrowed)
   6. Masquerade in Lodi by Lois McMaster Bujold (fiction, ebook, owned)
   7. Mao, vol. 4 by Rumiko Takahashi (manga, print, owned)
   8. Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Revelations by Lydia Sherrer (fiction, ebook, owned)
   9. Ethan of Athos by Lois McMaster Bujold (fiction, ebook, owned) *
  10. Perelandra by C. S. Lewis (fiction, audio/print, owned)
  11. Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde (fiction, print, owned)
  12. A Fatal Stain by Elise Hyatt (fiction, ebook, owned)

May
   1. The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness (fiction, ebook, owned) *
   2. Beauty by Robin McKinley (fiction, audio/print, owned) *
   3. The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks (fiction, print, borrowed)
   4. Crowbones by Anne Bishop (fiction, print, borrowed)
   5. Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens (fiction, audio/print, owned)
   6. The Impossible Princess by Keira Dominguez (fiction, ebook/print, owned)
   7. The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd (fiction, print, borrowed)
   8. Space Boy, Omnibus 1 by Stephen McCranie (comic, print, owned) *
   9. The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H. G. Parry (fiction, ebook, owned)
  10. The Viscount's Sinful Bargain by Kate Archer (fiction, ebook, owned)
  11. Wicked Autumn by G. M. Malliet (fiction, print, owned)
  12. Delicious in Dungeon, vol. 10 by Ryoko Kui (manga, print, owned)
  13. Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, vol. 3 by Kanehito Yamada (manga, print, owned)

June
   1. Death Coming Up the Hill by Chris Crowe (fiction, ebook, borrowed)
   2. Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson (fiction, ebook, borrowed)
   3. Living-Room Matsunaga-san, vol. 1 by Keiko Iwashita (manga, print, owned)
   4. Residue by Steve Diamond (fiction, ebook, owned)
   5. Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope (fiction, audio/print, owned)
   6. The Goblin and the Dancer by Allison Tebo (fiction, ebook, owned)
   7. Seatmate by Cara Bastone (fiction, audio, owned)
   8. The Body: A Guide for Occupants by Bill Bryson (non-fiction, ebook, owned)
   9. A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber & Jane Lindskold (fiction, ebook, owned) *
  10. Lightfall: The Girl & the Galdurian by Tim Probert (comic, print, borrowed)
  11. Gourmet Hound by Leehama (comic, ebook, borrowed)
  12. Knight Owl by Christopher Denise (picture book, print, owned)
  13. Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Porter (fiction, ebook, owned)
  14. You're My IT by C. N. Holmberg (fiction, ebook, owned)
  15. The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui (graphic memoir, print, borrowed)
  16. Tweet Cute by Emma Lord (fiction, ebook, owned)

Books Read July - September
* indicates a reread

July
   1. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, vol. 6 by Fujita (manga, print, owned)
   2. Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope (fiction, audio/print, owned)
   3. Living-Room Matsunaga-san, vol. 2 by Keiko Iwashita (manga, print, owned)
   4. The Hostage in Hiding by Henry Vogel (fiction, ebook, owned)
   5. Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim (fiction, print, borrowed)
   6. The Domestic Revolution by Ruth Goodman (non-fiction, audio, borrowed)
   7. Beauty and the Beast (fiction, print, owned)
   8. Witch Hat Atelier, vol. 9 by Kamome Shirahama (manga, print, owned)
   9. Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston (fiction, ebook, borrowed)
  10. The Candid Life of Meena Dave by Namrata Patel (fiction, ebook, owned)
  11. The Eustace Diamonds by Anthony Trollope (fiction, audio/print, owned)
  12. Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper (fiction, print, owned)
  13. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center (fiction, print, borrowed)
  14. William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily a New Hope by Ian Doescher (fiction, print, owned)

August
   1. Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson (non-fiction, audio/print, owned)
   2. Lightfall: Shadow of the Bird by Tim Probert (comic, print, owned)
   3. Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy L. Sayers (fiction, ebook, owned)
   4. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (fiction, print, borrowed)
   5. Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer (fiction, print, borrowed)
   6. Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis (fiction, print, owned)
   7. At Large and At Small by Anne Fadiman (non-fiction, print, owned)
   8. Dorothy and Jack by Gina Dalfonzo (non-fiction, ebook, owned)
   9. By the Book by Jasmine Guillory (fiction, ebook, borrowed)
  10. Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan (fiction, ebook, borrowed)
  11. The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers (fiction, ebook, owned)
  12. The Rema Chronicles: Realm of the Blue Mist by Amy Kim Kibuishi (graphic novel, print, owned)
  13. Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland (fiction, print, borrowed)
  14. Upgrade by Blake Crouch (fiction, print, borrowed)
  15. Heroic Hearts by Jim Butcher et al (fiction, print, owned)
  16. Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs (fiction, print, borrowed)
  17. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson (fiction, audio, owned) *

September
   1. Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers (fiction, ebook, owned)
   2. Two-Damage My Heart by C. N. Holmberg (fiction, ebook, owned)
   3. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip (fiction, print, owned)
   4. Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik (non-fiction, audio/print, owned)
   5. XOXO by Axie Oh (fiction, print, owned)
   6. Those Not-So-Sweet Boys, vol. 6 by Yoko Nogiri (manga, print, owned)
   7. Those Not-So-Sweet Boys, vol. 7 by Yoko Nogiri (manga, print, owned)
   8. Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope (fiction, audio/print, owned)
   9. Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend by Jenny Colgan (fiction, print, owned)
  10. The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson (fiction, audio, owned) *
  11. That Wolf-Boy Is Mine, vol. 1 by Yoko Nogiri (manga, print, owned) *
  12. That Wolf-Boy Is Mine, vol. 2 by Yoko Nogiri (manga, print, owned) *
  13. That Wolf-Boy Is Mine, vol. 3 by Yoko Nogiri (manga, print, owned) *
  14. That Wolf-Boy Is Mine, vol. 4 by Yoko Nogiri (manga, print, owned) *

Books Read October - December
* indicates a reread

October
   1. Everything Is OK by Debbie Tung (comic, print, owned)
   2. A Burglar's Guide to the City by Geoff Manaugh (non-fiction, print, borrowed)
   3. A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (fiction, print, borrowed)
   4. The Mezzotint by M. R. James (fiction, ebook, owned)

November
   1.

December
   1.

>3 shadrach_anki: Thanks for writing out your Instagram buddy reads here as well. I was curious about the Disney Origin Stories. The list is a page out of my childhood. I've read them all, most several times. Fun!

I look forward to following along.

Hello Anki. Looks like you have some good reading planned for 2022.
Where is the Palliser read-along happening? I started the series and got half-way through Phineas Redux before stalling. I need a nudge.

>9 arubabookwoman: The Palliser read-along is happening on Instagram. I linked to the announcement post in >3 shadrach_anki:, but here's the link again:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CW_qvmfh0Gq/

I really enjoy doing buddy reads on Instagram, but I realize they can be limiting as well, since you have to have an account on that service.

You read a lot of books this past year. I really like your Bard-Along club and that they integrate books on the theme of Shakespeare.

>11 dchaikin: I did read quite a few books last year! I am hoping I can do better at keeping my thread updated in 2022; I fell rather behind in the third quarter of 2021.

The woman hosting the Bard-Along club is great. She studied theater and Shakespeare in college, and she has loads of helpful information on the various plays. I'm really looking forward to all the discussions we'll be having throughout the year.

Happy New Year, Anki. It looks like you have some fun reading ahead of you.

Usborne Graphic Shakespeare: Macbeth by Russell Punter
(comic, print, owned)

As has been my wont for the last several years, my first read of the new year is some sort of comic or graphic novel (and yes, this is at least partially so my tracking spreadsheet doesn't throw "dividing by zero" errors at me). While the Bard-Along group I am part of is not reading Macbeth this year, it still felt fitting to pull this graphical adaptation of the play off my shelves. I liked the art and the costume designs used, and I think it is a fairly good adaptation of the play (which I have yet to read in full, but which I have seen performed, albeit years ago). The last four pages of the book give some history of the Shakespeare and the play, which I appreciated. Overall I am quite impressed with the Usborne publications I have read.

I would say this book is an excellent way for one to gain familiarity with the story before diving into the full Shakespearean English text.

>14 shadrach_anki: I am always impressed with the quality of the Usborne books, although I have not read any of the graphic Shakespeares. Perhaps you could add your review to the graphic stories thread too?

"partially so my tracking spreadsheet doesn't throw "dividing by zero" errors at me" - ok, that makes total sense to me.

The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen *
(fiction, print, owned)

This is my first reread for the year, and also my first buddy read for the year (being one of two stories the Disney Origins Book Club is reading in January). I have a copy of the version illustrated by Mary Engelbreit...somewhere, and those were the pictures that kept flashing through my mind as I read from my copy of The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories of Hans Christian Andersen. I was struck by how the passage of time is handled as I was reading this time around. Gerda is on her journey to find and rescue Kay for at least a year, and the fact that they are "all grown up" (take this with a grain of salt, as the story was intended for children) when they finally return home implies more time has passed.

This story was included in the reading list because it is ostensibly the source material for the movie Frozen, but the thing this reread drove home for me was how little said movie actually takes from its supposed source material. Maybe some basic thematic elements, but even that feels like a stretch to claim. It will be interesting to see how the discussion in the group goes, as I am not sure how many of the members had previously read the story.

>17 shadrach_anki: I recently saw "William Shakespeare's Long Lost First Play (abridged)" in which it was suggested that the inspiration for Frozen was The Winter's Tale :-D. I'll let you decide whether you want to mention this at bookclub ;-).

>18 rhian_of_oz: !! Exit chased by Sven?

>19 dchaikin: It was (from memory) the last in a list of Disney movies supposedly inspired by Shakespeare. I'm pretty sure at the time one of the actors was dressed as Ariel (the little mermaid) which hopefully gives you a sense of the tone of the play :-).

>17 shadrach_anki: If you have the time, I highly recommend Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu, a retelling of this story.

>18 rhian_of_oz: That sounds like a fun play to watch!

>21 markon: Oh, the cover on that looks gorgeous, and I do love a good retelling. Looks like my library has it, too, and I'll be going there soon! Adding it to my list, as it seems like a very good wintery read.

The Man in the Queue by Josephine Tey
(fiction, print, borrowed)

This is the first of the Inspector Alan Grant novels, and I first learned about them in 2019 when The Daughter of Time was mentioned on the What Should I Read Next? podcast. Thing is, I generally don't like to read series out of order, so I have several books to read before I get to that one. I actually started reading this last month, borrowed from the library. I liked seeing Inspector Grant's methods and learning about him in this first book. There are a few places where I think it shows its age (first published in 1929), mostly with regards to terminology and a few expressed viewpoints, but on the whole I found it to hold up quite well.

One of my favorite little phrases was when one man's nose was described as the apotheosis of impudence.

I've already borrowed the second book from the library.

I loved The Daughter of Time, but I haven't read any others in the series. I'm usually ok with reading out of order, except in series where there's a lot of character development. I usually don't care for these "golden age" mysteries, so I probably won't seek out this one.

I'm still dipping my toes into the realm of the "golden age" mysteries. Some of them I've quite enjoyed, others I can see why people like them, but they didn't work for me. In this case, I enjoyed it enough to continue with the series, and I plan on reading them in order.

Of course, I realized after I posted about preferring to read series in order that I am cheerfully planning on reading Death on the Nile without having read any of the other Hercule Poirot books (except Murder on the Orient Express, which is also not "in order"). So there's that.

>20 rhian_of_oz: It took me a little time to remember Ariel, the little mermaid, when I was so sure you were referencing The Tempest.

I'm here dropping off my star. Good wishes for your New Year, anki!

The daughter of Time is on my to read list as it was published in 1951.

>26 sallypursell: The play is very silly and this is one example. One of the actors is talking about Ariel from The Tempest when another one comes on stage dressed as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. :-D

Oh, I see. Thanks for the explanation.

 

The Once and Future King by T. H. White
(fiction, audio/print, owned)

At my best guess, this was sitting on my shelves for nearly twenty years, waiting to be read. I am fairly certain I started it at least once in that time, but never got very far for whatever reason. Last September a friend of mine on Instagram hosted a buddy read for this, and I decided to join in. Well, I wound up falling behind on the reading schedule, but I did keep reading (obviously). And I have...mixed feelings that I am still trying to put into words.

No reading is done in a vacuum, completely devoid of outside influence. I grew up watching Disney's The Sword in the Stone, so the first part of the book was already familiar to me from that. And then there is my surrounding reading—prior to this I read Mary Stewart's Merlin trilogy (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, and The Last Enchantment), and they were still front and center in my mind. As a result, there was...tonal whiplash when I started reading TOaFK. The storytelling styles are very different. Mary Stewart's trilogy is firmly anchored in time and place. The Once and Future King slips its chronological moorings more or less from the first page, and "anachronistic timelessness" is probably the best descriptor I can give for the storytelling style. The only thing that really seems to hold true is "not now, but long ago", with references being made to so many different time periods that I gave up trying to pin it down anywhere.

My reading was also a combination read...sort of. I have the print copy, and I also have the complete audiobook. Except the audiobook uses the standalone/original editions of the texts, and includes The Book of Merlyn, whereas my print copy is the edited/modified version. So that muddled things, but mostly toward the beginning. And I will confess that I haven't listened to The Book of Merlyn yet (see the aforementioned mixed feelings).

I loved the first book, which is The Sword in the Stone. I will happily read that one again, albeit in its standalone format (because dangit, I want Madam Mim in the story). But I found my interest waning and my frustration rising as I progressed through the rest of the book. The latter portions lack the whimsy of the first part, and waxed philosophical when I wasn't really in the mood to appreciate philosophy.

I can see why it is considered a classic, and I am glad to have finally read it. I am also glad to have finished reading it. I do recommend the audio; the narrator does a pretty good job with the accents, particularly for the Orkney faction.

What a great experience, even if not your favorite book. Congrats on persisting and finishing. And great post.

>30 shadrach_anki: Interesting review. I have this one on my shelves and had been planning to read it for awhile - although now it is somewhere at the back end of my Arthurian project. Unless I decide to shift it around and read it at some point - who knows.

>32 AnnieMod: I do think it is worth reading. Versioning does pose an interesting puzzle, though. There are two versions of The Sword in the Stone, for example. The standalone edition, first published in 1938, is the source material that was drawn upon for the Disney animated feature of the same name. T. H. White made substantial revisions to the story when the collected The Once and Future King was produced. The encounter with Madam Mim was removed, for one thing (cutting out almost the entirety of chapter 6!), probably so that another change--which added in Morgan Le Fay--would feel less repetitive.

I would probably reach for other Arthurian titles before TOaFK, though. I find myself wondering if my reaction would have been different, and my appreciation greater, if I had read Malory first, for example.

>31 dchaikin: It does make me want to dig deeper into the source materials, as well as other retellings of the Arthurian mythos. So yes, even though it wasn't my favorite, it has been inspiring and thought provoking.

The Once and Future King gets so many rave reviews it was interesting to read by someone who had some reservations

>33 shadrach_anki: I am noting that - I have the complete edition but I need to see if I need to find the first novel on its own when I get to that. :)

I am planning to go back down to Monmouth and take up the Arthuriana from there and work up to White. So we shall see.

I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider
(comic, print, owned)

I cannot recall exactly how I learned of this 2020 release, but I can say that picking it up was a complete impulse buy. I have a fondness for comics and for books about books and reading. The art reminds me a lot of the Where's Waldo books I loved as a child. I can relate to many of the comics in this collection, and while it is a fast read, the art invites one to linger and notice a host of tiny details. I am glad to have this on my bookshelf, and foresee regular browsing of its pages in my future.

The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen
(fiction, print, owned).

As with The Snow Queen, I read this out of my copy of the complete works of Hans Christian Andersen, and it is the second January reading for the Disney Origins Book Club. I feel like I have probably read some version of this before, but an abridged one. I mean, I knew going in the general shape of the story, and how it differed from the Disney film. I was actually surprised by how many of the visuals Disney pulled from the original text. Of course, the bittersweet ending of the original doesn't match with the Disney aesthetic, nor does the lack of a "proper" villain. Andersen's sea witch is no Ursula, and honestly, I prefer that.

I think I'll continue reading through Hans Christian Andersen's other fairy tales and stories. He's Danish, so they don't qualify as Victorian, but I think I can make a case for Victorian-adjacent.

>30 shadrach_anki: I read this when I was a child. I don't remember much about it except that I loved the description of Arthur being turned into various different kinds of animals by Merlin, so he could experience flight, or understanding the world through smell (as a dog), and so on. I have a feeling that may have been a very short section of the book but it's what has stuck in my mind.

I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf or more pertinently by your lack of one.

Kakuriyo, vol. 7 by Waco Ioka & Midori Yuma
(manga, print, owned)

This is the most recently released volume of a manga series I started reading in 2019. The basic premise of the series is that Aoi Tsubaki has inherited her grandfather's ability to see ayakashi (essentially, spirits and other supernatural creatures), and when her grandfather dies, she discovers that she has also inherited the man's massive debt to said ayakashi, which results in her being taken from our world into Kakuriyo, the hidden world of the ayakashi. The manga series is an adaptation of a light novel series by Midori Yuma, which is not available in English as far as I know. There is also an anime.

Reviewing manga always feels a bit tricky to me. For the most part, story progression in an individual volume of any series is slow; there is a high probability of "not a lot happened" occurring, particularly if the series is one with multiple, interwoven story threads. It's almost like reviewing an individual episode of a television series. And in this case, it has been nearly a year since I read (or watched) anything related to this series, because the volumes come out very slowly.

Much of this volume revolves around Aoi baking bread for Yugao, the restaurant she runs in Kakuriyo. She's wanting to add bread to the menu, but she wants to make sure what she makes is to the liking of the ayakashi who will be her customers. So...market research. And the volume ends on something of a cliff-hanger, with no indications when the next volume will be released. Such is life.

Very enjoyable comments!

>30 shadrach_anki: Great review! I remember reading The Sword in the Stone with my son when he was in middle school and then we lost steam on The Once and Future King, but I'd like to revisit it at some point. I'm pretty sure there's a copy in with all the books in his room somewhere...

Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis
(fiction, audio/print, owned)

I first added this to my TBR in 2014, and I purchased a print copy in 2018. For some reason it took me another four years to actually read it. And I'm still processing it. It's not a long book—158 pages in my print copy—but C. S. Lewis packs a lot of story into that space. I can tell you that I loved the story, it's my first five star read of the year, and I was able to visualize Malacandra as I read. It made me want to try my hand at sketching (perhaps also watercolor) the fantastical landscapes. I also got echoes of Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter novels, though Malacandra is a very different take on Mars than Barsoom. I am really looking forward to continuing the trilogy.

Finally catching up with your new thread. Belated Happy Reading in 2022. Cheers!

>44 shadrach_anki: somehow I had imagined Narnia to be Lewis’s first sort of imaginative fiction. Had no idea this scifi (?) trilogy existed. Sounds fun.

>46 dchaikin: I had to check the publication dates to verify that these novels were published first. In terms of fiction, I would say that these days C. S. Lewis is definitely best known for the Narnia books, then probably The Screwtape Letters. I'm classifying this trilogy as science fiction, but it doesn't really match with the current/modern usage of the term. It's more in line with H. G. Wells, Jules Verne, Edgar Rice Burroughs, etc.

Lewis' dedication of the book reads: "To my brother W. H. L. a life-long critic of the space-and-time story" and I like that descriptor for the type of story that this is.

>47 shadrach_anki: That's still called science fiction :)

I guess my apparently hesitation stems from the fact that new science fiction being published today (with all its myriad subgenres) feels distinct and different from the science fiction that came out in the latter part of the 19th century through, oh, at least the first half of the 20th century. So my brain wants some sort of extra delineation when I'm describing it, so the people I'm speaking with have a more accurate sense of the type of story they're potentially picking up.

>49 shadrach_anki: Genres and writing evolve :) Modern science fiction is different from golden age science fiction or from pre-golden age one but they are still the same genre and even today you can find someone writing in the old styles. When I want to make sure people know what I mean, I say things like "modern science fiction (think Alastair Reynolds for example)" and "classic science fiction (think Asimov)" and things like that... Plus the genre these days is so big that even if you only mean modern, qualifying still helps (and subgenres are not always helpful either - space opera contain a lot of different types while being a single subgenre and people tend to need qualifications).

But if it helps you to split them in a different way - it is up to you of course. I was just saying that these are still science fiction ;) Some of the others may be proto-science fiction technically but Wells is definitely pure science fiction and so is Lewis when writing SF ;)

>44 shadrach_anki: Oh, that is a favorite of mine! The other two are very different. I'll be interested to know if you like them, too.

Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud *
(non-fiction, comic, print, owned)

I first read this in 2009, and it is still very much the book for gaining an understanding of comics as a medium, a knowledge of how they work, and an overview of their history (particularly in America and Europe). There is a lot of information contained in its 215 pages, and I highly recommend it...with the caveat that the reader keep in mind it was written in 1992. While the main points and fundamental principles McCloud covers have not changed, the world of comics (and the world in general) most definitely has grown and changed in the last thirty years.

In the decades since this book was written, manga has fairly flooded the US comics market, which makes the relatively brief "things developed differently in Japan" sections feel particularly lacking to me, especially since the examples McCloud uses assume (rightly enough, at the time) scant familiarity with and access to manga, and are all made as comparisons to American and European comics.

The internet as we know it has also played a huge part in the evolution of comics, and it just wasn't a thing in 1992. Today it is far, far easier for independent creators to get their work out in front of people at a relatively low cost. There are who knows how many webcomics in all sorts of genres and styles and on all kinds of platforms.

From my American perspective, it also feels like there has been a general boom in the overall availability of print comics. Thirty years ago you went to a comic shop to get your comics; regular bookstores and libraries almost never had them. Today they are readily found in both places. True, if you're wanting to collect single issues you still probably have to go to a comic shop (or online), but for just reading purposes? (Somewhat case in point, I borrowed this book from the public library because my personal copy has apparently gone on walkabout. Downside to borrowing: I discovered a previous patron had left quite a few penciled notes in a fairly heavy hand throughout the library's copy. Who does that?)

Mao, vol. 3 by Rumiko Takahashi
(manga, print, owned)

Once again, reviewing single volumes of manga is something of a challenge. This is the latest volume in Rumiko Takahashi's most recent series. It picks up right where the second volume left off, with Mao facing off against the demon cat Byoki (or at least Byoki's head).

Large portions of this volume are flashbacks to Mao's life before he was cursed, 900 years prior to the early 20th century where he currently resides (and conveniently just about a thousand years before Nanoka's time, which ties into something Byoki mentions while facing off with Mao). It is looking like not all is as it originally seemed to be, and Mao has forgotten what exactly transpired before he was cursed.

New characters are also introduced, at least two of them sporting facial injuries and bi-colored hair like Mao. Also supernatural powers. One of the new characters is definitely one of Mao's former fellow apprentices, though it is unclear at this point exactly how he has managed to stay alive (and young) for the last 900 years. The only thing that is clear so far is that however it happened, he isn't tied to Byoki.

I'm really enjoying this series so far.

>44 shadrach_anki: You may actually have triggered me to read my copy - which I've owned for...20+ years? Longer than I've been on LT, anyway. I _like_ Lewis, darn it! I just haven't been able to push myself into reading this one (or the other two in the series).

>23 shadrach_anki: I think I read The Daughter of Time first, and only later discovered it _was_ a series. And it's not really a firmly-tied-together series (though characters from earlier books do show up in later ones). I enjoy several of the others - The Franchise Affair is probably my second favorite, though it's only...well, Grant is in it. He's not the protagonist and his style of detecting is definitely _not_ on show. But it's a great story, on multiple levels. Daughter of Time is still better, in my mind.

>54 jjmcgaffey: I actually finished reading it, and then immediately suggested it for my in-person book club's book next month (we've been doing a lot of rearranging of the schedule for the group, and "in person" is going to be on Zoom, but I'm looking forward to it). I still need to read the other two in the trilogy.

For the Josephine Tey novels, I think it will be interesting to see how her writing style develops over the course of the series. Sometimes it can be hard to go back to an author's earlier works if you started at a later point, which is another reason I usually try to read things in order (assuming publication order is the same as chronological series order, which is not always the case).

Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen
(fiction, audio, owned)

This is the ninth book in the Royal Spyness series, and I listened to the audio narrated by Katherine Kellgren. It's been a few books since Georgie was summoned by Queen Mary to do a little task; in this instance, she is asked to be a companion for Princess Marina, the future bride of Prince George. Georgie and Queenie move into Kensington Palace, which is where Princess Marina will be living until the wedding. Of course, this being a mystery novel, Georgie comes across a dead body, and is involved in the subsequent murder investigation (which has to be handled very circumspectly given the identity of the deceased and the potential for scandal). The move into Kensington Palace also introduces us, finally, to the aunts and cousins Georgie has been so adamant about not wanting to get stuck with...and they are delightful and charming.

I really enjoyed this installment of the series, and look forward to reading more, though I do try to space them out more than some other series I read because there are quite a few formulaic elements that don't really lend themselves well to binge reading. Including one I hope will be going away soon: Georgie constantly wondering if she can really trust Darcy, and jumping to the worst possible conclusions whenever she hears something about him, instead of, I don't know, asking him what's going on. Leading to relationship tension and a whole bunch of frustrating things. It was particularly irksome to me in this book, because at this point in the series (and their relationship) Georgie knows Darcy does undercover work and a whole bunch of other stuff, and yet she still assumes all sorts of things, and instead of talking to him and listening to what he has to say she goes off in a wounded huff.

>50 AnnieMod: LOL on your spoiler. I agree. I am soon to read #10 so about where you are in the series.

The Life-Changing Manga of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo *
(manga, print, owned)

I seem to come back to read this manga every couple of years or so. More frequently, at any rate, than the full text book it was inspired by. I think Chiaki's story and journey are pretty relatable, if somewhat idealized for the manga format. They definitely help to present the main points of Marie Kondo's tidying method in an accessible way. Having a specific story and pictures can drive things home in a way that your standard self help book doesn't always manage.

One thing that still mildly annoys me about this book is the publisher's decision to flip it so it reads left-to-right instead of right-to-left. Especially since they didn't flip everything (like, say, the floorplan of Chiaki's apartment, which is painfully obvious to me because you literally see her in her apartment on the next page). I realize this decision was most likely made in order for the book to be "more accessible" to the target audience, which probably doesn't overlap all that much with the manga-reading audience, but it still irks me.

I also continue to disagree with Marie Kondo's general stance on books (as presented in both this manga and her other work), but I am fairly certain this is due to differing views on the primary purpose of books, and probably also on the concept of rereading. And hey, since the possibilities present in a shelf of unread books (even if those books have been on that shelf for years) are something that sparks joy for me, I feel fully justified in keeping those books until they stop sparking joy.

Gilded by Marissa Meyer
(fiction, print, borrowed)

This is a Rumpelstiltskin retelling. Or rather, it is the first half of one (the second book has a release date of 8 November 2022). It should be noted that I have had something of a poor track record when it comes to enjoying retellings of Rumpelstiltskin, but because I've enjoyed everything I've read of Marissa Meyer's to date I went and borrowed this from the library. I really like the story world she has built here. She has all the major elements of the original fairy tale, but does not stick slavishly to said original (which is, one has to admit, a rather odd story). Other legends and folklore are pulled into the mix, which gives the story as a whole a sense of weight and reality. I also like how she mixes up some of the character roles.

I will note that there are several points that get pretty dark in this book. Not in a way that is out of keeping with the story, but it's still worth keeping in mind. We're talking kidnapping and murder of children, and quite a few vivid descriptions of rather violent deaths. Also, the ending is more of a pause than an actual conclusion, and waiting at least ten months is going to be kind of frustrating. Hardly, of course, without precedent in literature, but if you're wanting a complete story it's probably best to wait until the second book is released.

I also really like the cover design for the book. It's very evocative. I may very well end up buying the duology at some point, but for now I will content myself with borrowing from the library.

>59 shadrach_anki: Admittedly this didn't need much selling for me (I've also enjoyed what I've read of her to date) but your review has cemented its place on my wishlist. I may wait until the second book is out - I have her Heartless on the TBR pile to tide me over.

>59 shadrach_anki: Interesting. I'll have to tell my daughter about this one. She and I used to share the Meyer books. Maybe I can entice her into a shared read.

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu
(comic, print, borrowed)

I can't remember where I first heard about/saw this graphic novel, but it had been on my "borrow from the library" list for a while. I liked the art, and the story was cute, but somewhat...unfocused. It tends to meander and linger on/come back to certain plot points while glossing over other things to the point where I was wondering if I'd missed something. Thematically, this feels like an urban fantasy crossed with maybe a cozy mystery and a coming of age story. Which is a lot to cram into one book. I would be interested in seeing more of these characters, but I don't know if there are any plans for more stories in this world.

The Adventures of King Arthur by Russell Punter
(comic, print, owned)

This is the second graphic novel adaptation from Usborne that I have read, and it was...okay. Condensing the whole of Arthurian legend into a hundred pages pretty much guarantees that large swaths will be cut out (I mean, Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur alone is over 900 pages of text, and that's just one source out of many). And, given the target audience, a few things were altered (they went the same basic route as Disney's Hercules with regards to Arthur's conception) or glossed over and toned down (Lancelot and Guinevere). The entire book really plays out as more of a highlights/greatest hits collection than anything else, and as such I really can't say how well it would for someone who has little to no prior knowledge of Arthurian legend. Knights show up or are mentioned without any explanation as to who most of them are or how they are related (to each other or to the story). It just felt very disjointed to me, but some of that may be due to my other recent Arthurian reading.

Like the Usborne graphic adaptation of Macbeth I read at the start of the year, this volume also has a four-page text section at the end, talking about the Legend of King Arthur. And really, it reads as something of a partial bibliography or "for further reading/viewing" section than anything else. It does cover, at least briefly, the waxing and waning popularity of Arthurian legend. I was a bit disappointed that Mary Stewart's books didn't rate a mention, but that may be because they focus more on Merlin than on Arthur (and also, with the sheer amount of material out there it's really hard to have a complete listing in a few short pages).

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean
(fiction, print, borrowed)

I cannot remember precisely how I first heard about this book, but I will admit that part of what pushed it to the top of my TBR was a desire to get the contemporary fiction badge in my public library's winter reading challenge. Of course, I was also interested in the story, which I had seen billed as The Princess Diaries meets Crazy Rich Asians (and yes, that feels like a pretty accurate summation). I also really liked the cover design, though that has very little to do with the quality of the storytelling. I found it to be an enjoyable story. While in her senior year of high school, Izumi Tanaka learns that her father is the crown prince of Japan, which makes her a princess. She gets whisked away to Japan for an extended visit to meet her new-found family, but it is hardly a smooth transition. In her northern California home town, Izumi felt like she stuck out as one of the few non-white people in school, but in Japan she finds she is too American to easily fit in. The book deals a lot with issues of belonging and culture.

There was one rather disconcerting thing about the book: realizing that while I was relating to Izumi as the protagonist, I am actually the same age as her parents. For some reason this doesn't usually come up in the YA and middle grade books I read, but this time ages were flat out stated, and since it is a contemporary novel (2021, albeit in a world with a fictional version of the Imperial Family of Japan and no covid pandemic) her parents are literally the same age demographic as I am.

A sequel will be coming out later this year, and I am planning on reading it. I also want to check out the fantasy novel Emiko Jean wrote.

Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson
(non-fiction, print, owned)

This slim biography of Shakespeare is the January selection for the Bard-Along Book Club. It is also the first thing I've read by Bill Bryson (but will not be the last). One thing this volume really highlighted for me was how little concrete information we actually have about William Shakespeare as a person. There are plenty of things people have guessed at, assumed, or flat out made up over the years. Some of them are more plausible than others, and I felt that Bill Bryson did a good job of pointing the major ones out. One of the ways he does this is by taking time to set the scene around Shakespeare. What was going on in England at the time. How the actions of notable persons (like, say, Queen Elizabeth) may have affected Shakespeare. What the theater scene looked like in London, etc. This is very much an overview and introduction rather than any sort of in-depth study, but per the preface to the book that was the general intention of the Eminent Lives series as a whole, so I was not exactly surprised.

I was somewhat disappointed that Elizabeth Gallup wasn't mentioned in the final chapter (Claimants, discussing at least some of the various "actually, this person was Shakespeare" claims that have been put forth over the years), but at the same time I realize my disappointment stems from my previously having encountered Mrs. Gallup through The Woman Who Smashed Codes last year. Had I not already read that, I wouldn't have known what I was missing. And going over every single claim in detail was well outside the scope of the text, so we're talking a minor disappointment only.

Both those sound fun. I have that Bryson but have not read it (yet). I usually really enjoy him.

Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte & Ann Xu
(comic, print, borrowed)

This sweet middle grade graphic novel tells the story of Cici, who has just moved with her family from Taiwan to Seattle. She really misses her A-má, who is still back in Taiwan. The only thing Cici wants more than to fit in at her new school is to celebrate her A-má's birthday together, but plane tickets are very expensive. Enter a kids' cooking contest with a cash grand prize that would be enough for a plane ticket! This story is full of food, family, traditions, friends, and Julia Child. All the food looked really good, and I want to try my hand at making Taiwanese oil rice, Cici's winning recipe (Spoiler? Maybe, but this is a middle grade graphic novel so it is hardly surprising that Cici wins the contest and things turn out happily). I borrowed this book from the library, but it is one I am considering adding to my personal collection.

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, vol. 1 by Fujita
(manga, print, owned)

And here we have my first full-on impulse purchase for 2022. A friend of mine mentioned this series at our last game night, and I basically went out the very next day to pick up the first couple volumes. This is a josei series, so the target audience is primarily young women, and all the characters are young adults (between the ages of 19 and 28, so far). It's also geeky slice of life romance; all the characters are into things like video games, comics, cosplay, etc, and the story follows their relationships and day-to-day activities. I'm really enjoying the story, but I am also finding it very difficult to judge what the mainstream appeal for the series would be. It seems like there would be at least some audience overlap with people who enjoyed things like Ashley Poston's Geekerella series, which also deals with geek/fan/convention culture. And this volume does have a "Best Books of 2021" banner when I look at it on the Barnes & Noble website, so that says something, at least.

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, vol. 2 by Fujita
(manga, print, owned)

My intention was to pace myself on these first two volumes and read through them with other things in between. What actually happened was more of a binge.... This second volume has an amusement park date, more video gaming, and loads of amusing and sweet scenes, including several pages covering how each of the main characters peels and eats clementines (I happened to be peeling and eating clementines when I got to those pages, which amused me probably more than it should have).

I've ordered the rest of the available volumes, and I also started watching the anime.

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
(fiction, print, borrowed)

I was inspired to pick this up after seeing a preview for the upcoming movie adaptation, and I typically like to read before I watch. Also, it happens to check off one of the categories in the Tea and Ink Society's 2022 Classics Reading Challenge, and I am semi-officially trying to complete said challenge.

This is only the second novel featuring Hercule Poirot that I've read (the other being Murder on the Orient Express). I definitely want to read more of them, though! I found this to be a delightfully twisty mystery, made more complex by the fact that there were several things going on, and Poirot has to figure out how they all connect (or don't). I don't want to get super specific in terms of details because I worry I'd spoil the mystery for others (assuming there are people who haven't already read it reading what I'm writing), but I will say that I wanted to go and read it through again after I finished to pick up on all the clues Christie puts in along the way. Reading this also has me wanting to go back and reread Murder on the Orient Express, which I read four years ago (and probably didn't appreciate as much as it deserved).

January Recap

So I've been tracking various aspects of my reading via spreadsheets and physical journals for years, and I've decided to look at that information a bit more to see what it can tell me. I hope to be able to gently nudge and guide my reading by taking a bit of time at the end of each month to see where I'm at.

I read a total of 21 books in January 2022, which is higher than average and nearly three times what I read last year (which was on the low end, statistically speaking). Of course, 11 of those books were graphic stories of some variety, and I can read those more quickly than a work that is entirely text.

This is the first year since 2018 that I read borrowed books in January, and I think that small change alone is going to do a lot for my borrowed books goal. Right now I'm right around the 30% mark, and it feels great. Of the books I read that I owned, 80% were books I had on my shelves at the start of the year.

One thing I started noticing near the end of January was a sense of sameness to my reading, and poking at things revealed that basically everything I had going was roughly the same pace, dealt with/was written in the 19th century, and was realistic. None of these characteristics are bad, but the combination meant that even though I was enjoying all my reading, I was also looking for something else to read (waffling instead of reading). And I realized I was semi-actively in the midst of 17 books, which is really more than I am comfortable with. So...adjustments needed on that front. Finishing stuff I've started, and paying more attention to time period and tone in addition to format as I pick up books to read.

Of course, part of why I wound up with so many books started in the first place was my love of buddy reads. In an "eyes bigger than my stomach" sort of way, unfortunately; I'm interested in far more things than I realistically have time to read in any given month. I'm probably not going to do much to change that, though. Just...be aware of it, and try to hold off on joining any more buddy reads.

>70 shadrach_anki: I read all of my mum's Agatha Christie books many decades ago and most of them have faded from memory. But two that made an impact at the time and have stuck with me until now are And Then There Were None and Crooked House.

>72 rhian_of_oz: I've read And Then There Were None before, but I hadn't even heard of Crooked House. It does look interesting; I'll have to check it out!

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, vol. 2 by Kanehito Yamada & Tsukasa Abe
(manga, print, owned)

I picked up the first volume of this series more or less on a whim at the end of last year, and I really enjoyed the story it started, enough to put the series on my "currently collecting" list. In this second volume, the titular Frieren continues her journey northward with her apprentice, Fern. The two also pick up a young man named Stark, who happens to be the apprentice of Eisen, one of Frieren's former companions.

The "beyond journey's end" aspect of the story comes from the fact that this is set after Frieren and her former travelling companions (led by a young man named Himmel) saved the land from the Demon King. Over eighty years, in point of fact. Frieren, as an elf, hasn't really changed all that much in that time, but the rest of that group have died or are unable to go adventuring anymore due to age. This gives the whole story a tinge of melancholy that I quite appreciate, and a touch of reality that is often missing from RPG-style fantasy. I look forward to seeing where the story will go.

I have Death on the Nile on audio. I listened to it years ago. I might listen again before the movie. It’s a great idea.

Borders by Thomas King & Natasha Donovan
(comic, print, borrowed)

This graphic novel was mentioned recently and I thought it sounded interesting, so I borrowed it from the library. I liked the art, and the story was decent, but I think I was expecting more from it than what I was given. The publisher description talks about a masterfully told story and thematic resonance and a whole bunch of other "let's set the bar high" things, and I'm just not seeing it. As someone who reads a decent number of graphic novels every year, I thought this was, well, average.

The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery *
(fiction, audio, owned)

I last read this a couple years ago, and I probably would have waited longer to read it again, but then the discussion groups for a buddy read on Instagram that I forgot I'd joined were created at the beginning of February. So I decided I'd pause the audiobook I was currently listening to and pull this one up again, and it turned out to be exactly what I needed. I love Valancy and Barney and the Mistawis setting. There are so many wonderful lines in this book, and the nature descriptions are an absolute delight. Rereading this was like visiting with an old friend, and having a group to discuss the book with just adds to the fun.

>76 shadrach_anki: I haven't gotten to Thomas King yet, but he keeps popping up on my radar. Looks like this is an adapatation of a short story, maybe it just isn't enough for a book.

>78 markon: The story here does feel rather...stretched in graphic novel form. I kept wanting something more. It would be interesting to compare it to the short story it was adapted from.

Olivia Twist by Lorie Langdon
(fiction, print, borrowed)

This was the Jan/Feb selection for the Inspired by Dickens Readalong. I can safely say that reading Oliver Twist is not a prerequisite for enjoyment of this book, but I am guessing that doing so would probably deepen the reading experience. The author's note at the end also mentions her deep love of the musical Oliver!, and how it served as an inspiration for her retelling. The closest I've come to the musical is singing a couple of the songs for other productions (I somehow doubt that seeing Disney's Oliver & Company when I was a child really serves to impart familiarity, even if it is also an adaptation of the Dickens novel).

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I could tell the author was having fun telling it. It just really needed a close read editing pass for word usage and errors a spell check program wouldn't catch, since they are legitimate words in their own right. Fabric is pulled taut, not taunt. Knives go in sheaths, guns go in holsters. Subjects are broached, not breeched. And while I am glad to know the waiters are in possession of their livers, you really wanted them liveried, not livered.

Then there was what I have come to term as "corset hate", but I must acknowledge that had I read this when it was published, in 2018, I probably wouldn't have even noticed it. Now, though, I find it to be jarring. Olivia is essentially having issues with the 19th century equivalent of everyday support-wear, like a bra. While tight-lacing was a fashion decision some young women made, it was not the assumed norm that fiction has made it out to be (and there was other clothing trickery going on to create the illusion of the super small waist, like hip padding).

So, vocabulary and corset quibbles aside, this was a fun YA historical romance inspired by the Dickens classic. I'd recommend borrowing it and giving it a read.

 

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, vol. 3 by Fujita
Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, vol. 4 by Fujita
(manga, print, owned)

Combining these two because I read them back to back. This series continues to be absolutely charming. Fujita uses a not-precisely-linear slice of life style that really works for the series. The long storylines in each volume will be split up by shorter vignettes, and while something like a date or a festival visit wouldn't be split up like that in real life, the result is still something that feels very true to life, because it creates the sense that conversations and activities (particularly with friends and family) are spread out over the course of days and weeks, and you pick up where you left off previously.

I also started watching the anime, which is available through Amazon Prime, and it is also a lot of fun. The character I currently relate the most to is Kabakura, but really I can relate to all of the main cast on some level.

>80 shadrach_anki:

And while I am glad to know the waiters are in possession of their livers, you really wanted them liveried, not livered.

This made me giggle.

The Tempest by William Shakespeare
(play, print, owned)

The February reading selection for the Bard-Along Book Club. I picked up a copy of the No Fear Shakespeare edition, a series I find quite helpful. The book contains the full original text of the play with a side-by-side modern translation that readers can use to check their understanding of the text. I also listened to an audio version with Ian McKellen in the role of Prospero. It's a good and enjoyable production, but it highlighted some of the challenges of following the story without visual cues. Prospero and Miranda were the only two consistently distinct characters based on voices alone, and I was listening without having the printed text in front of me.

In terms of story, I'm still wondering what possessed Prospero to look at Ferdinand and essentially go "Ahh, the son of the man who helped my brother usurp me. Exactly the person I want my beloved daughter to marry!" And I'm sure I missed story points along the way. I want to find a production version to watch.

Grave Peril by Jim Butcher *
(fiction, print, borrowed)

So, this is the third book in the Dresden Files. I started rereading the series back in 2015, then took a seven year break after the second book. No real reason; that's just how it shook out. At any rate, I first read this back in 2007, and in some ways it was practically a first-time read for me. Basically all the plot details had vanished from my mind. Except for the yellow ducky boxers, which I remembered, albeit without any real context. This volume introduces Thomas Raith, and gives the reader more insight into the different vampire Courts. I spent a fair amount of my time on this read through trying to decide whether or not Thomas knows from his introduction that Harry is his half-brother. I'm still not sure, as his actions could have been due to that knowledge, or he could have done what he did for the simple reason that he needed the wizard alive to rescue Justin.

On rereading, I liked the book. There's a lot of fun snark to be had. I'll be continuing my reread of the series, but won't be approaching the books in a back to back fashion. I read a whole bunch of them back to back in 2007 and wound up burning out on the series. So now I'm making sure to put plenty of other reading in between to avoid that issue.

February Recap

Halfway through March and I'm finally getting around to looking back at my February reading. Despite it being the shortest month of the year, I read a total of 16 books in February (approximately 4,400 pages). In terms of review/comment posts, I'm still sitting halfway through my February reading. My physical book journal is much more up to date, but getting those thoughts from the physical page and into the thread is a challenge for some reason.

I've been reading Dombey and Son at the rate of one serial installment a week, and I'm finding that to be a really nice way to approach the book. It makes for a much slower reading experience, but also a more deliberate one. I'd like to read other books by Dickens in a similar fashion.

My 70/30 split for owned and borrowed books has continued to hold true, and I'm pleased with how that is going. I think I'll be able to keep it up for the rest of the year.

Still behind on several of the buddy reads, in part because I added more in February that weren't originally on my list. Also, multiple Victorians at once is still proving to be a challenge for me. But I'll figure things out eventually.

>85 shadrach_anki: Congrats on a productive reading month. How does your physical reading journal compare to your LT thread? Do you capture different things?

>85 shadrach_anki: that was quite a month of reading. 4400 hundred pages! I'm looking forward to more thoughts on Dombey and Son.

>86 labfs39: I have some lists in my physical reading journal that I haven't really captured here in my thread, and my "books read" pages have reading dates that I don't transfer over. The bulk of my physical journal consists of my book thoughts entries, and for the most part that is what I share here (with some condensing or expansion at times).

I also have spreadsheets that I use to capture basic numbers and percentages, and I use those to update my >1 shadrach_anki: post here. However, those are digital, not physical.

Let's see about catching up on some of the reviews/commentary. I can at least do a short thing for each book....



Foxes in Love, volume 1 by Toivo Kaartinen
(comic, print, owned)

This was a completely surprise Valentine's Day gift from my husband, and it is absolutely delightful. So many of the comics reflect our relationship, with lots of tender and laugh out loud parts.

Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand
(play, ebook, owned)

I first encountered this play through the film version starring Gerard Depardieu when it was shown at the International Cinema at the university I attended. Later, I saw the movie Roxanne, which is a modern retelling of the story. But until this year I had not read the play. I read the Brian Hooker translation, which seems to be considered one of the best English versions. It's a fairly fast read, which is to be expected. And even though I knew how the story goes, I still spent most of the last act trying to read through tears. I also really appreciated the preface to the play written by one Clayton Hamilton, who was responsible for getting Brian Hooker to do the translation. One line I particularly liked in the preface was this: "It is only the realists, who write about contemporary manners and contemporary morals, who grow speedily old-fashioned; the romantics, who escape from their own period, remain forever young and ever new." Cyrano still speaks to audiences over a hundred years later.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
(fiction, print, borrowed)

I can't remember precisely when I added this to my TBR wishlist, but I went and borrowed it from the library after it kept popping up in a variety of different bookish locations in a short period of time. I had to adjust to the style of short, present tense chapters, but once I did I flew through the story. I have to admit I was not expecting a fast-paced mystery novel to provide me with thought-provoking quotes or questions about aging (though the second shouldn't have surprised me all that much, given that the whole premise of this story is following a group of septuagenarian+ sleuths in a retirement community). I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

Upstairs at the White House by J. B. West
(non-fiction, print, owned)

This made its way onto my TBR back in 2015, then onto my shelves in preparation for the Everyday Reading book club in 2021. And I did start reading it with the group, but then I fell behind and let it sit for months while I read other things. So I finished my reading one day shy of a year after starting. This was a fascinating and respectful look "behind the curtain" at the White House, from FDR to Nixon. One thing that impressed me was how little politics and political parties were mentioned. The book is about the people, not the politics. Because of how I read this I cannot really comment on pacing, and my memory of the earlier chapters is fuzzier. But the whole thing flowed well. There's a lot of information in the book. One thing I did wish for was color pictures on glossy paper. While there are photographs in my copy, they are all printed on "normal" paper in black and white, and photographs reproduced in that fashion tend to be muddy and lose detail.

The Sweet Rowan by Keira Dominguez
(fiction, ebook, owned)

This is the third magical Regency novel by Keira Dominguez, and it follows Penny, the younger sister of the protagonist from the first book (Her Caprice). I think this one might be my favorite of the three, but it is so hard to say. I really enjoyed seeing Penny learn and grow, and the romance was top-notch. I liked the background of the year without a summer and the Scotland setting, and the different kinds of magic that show up throughout the story. I read this as part of a buddy read on Instagram, led by the author, so we got a whole bunch of background information over the course of the reading. It was an absolute delight, and I am eagerly awaiting whatever Keira Dominguez writes next.

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
(fiction, print/audio, owned)

So this made its way onto my TBR back in 2020 as part of my "read more classics" initiative, and I read it as part of a buddy read. As far as I can recall, this is my first experience with reading Thomas Hardy. I really liked his descriptions of the natural world; they were lush and vivid. And I liked the book, but didn't love it. Gabriel Oak was a lovely character. Bathsheba Everdene, on the other hand, was regularly frustrating to me, and I am not sure how much of that was her and how much was how Thomas Hardy portrays women in general (I don't have a large enough sample size). Troy was just an awful man in general. I felt rather bad for Boldwood, but at the same times didn't care hugely about him. His obsession with Bathsheba seemed to come out of nowhere. The ending of the story felt rather abrupt and almost too neat. I may reread it at some point, or I may not. I am glad I've read it...and glad to be done. I do want to read more of Hardy's work (though not right away). When I do, I want it to be a buddy read, preferably with someone who knows a lot about Thomas Hardy, which should hopefully help me appreciate his work more.

Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery
(fiction, print, owned)

I got my copy of this from a library book sale in 2019, purchasing on author recognition more than anything else. This is one of Montgomery's standalone novels, unconnected to Anne or Emily, and I went into it knowing nothing about the story. I really enjoyed this story and seeing Jane come into her own. Her grandmother and aunt Irene were both terrible, albeit in different ways. The story here is split between Toronto, where Jane's grandmother and mother live, and Prince Edward Island, where her father and aunt Irene live. One thing that really struck me was the difference between Anne's PEI (at least in the earlier books, as I haven't read the later ones) and Jane's. This book was published 29 years after Anne of Green Gables, and cars, telephones, and even airplanes are all present. Also things like gas stoves. Overall it is a fairly subtle shift, from Victorian/Edwardian era Canada in the Anne books to post/interwar era Canada with Jane. Oh, I also note that motion pictures are a thing in Jane's world, as the MGM lion is mentioned at one point.

Those Not-So-Sweet Boys 5 by Yoko Nogiri
(manga, print, owned)

I picked up this series last November, and this is the latest release in English. It took me a few pages to reorient myself to the story, but then I was hooked again. Rei tells Midori that he likes her, and they start dating. But his grandmother isn't keen on that, and she interferes (shades of both Jane's grandmother in Jane of Lantern Hill and things from Tokyo Ever After came to mind immediately as I was reading). And it's looking like maybe all three boys in our main trio have feelings for Midori? I am not quite sure how to interpret Yukinojo's actions and comments at this point in time. I look forward to reading more of this series as it becomes available.

I read all of your recent reviews with pleasure. Such a lovely variety of books.

March Recap

In March I read 14 books (around 3,700 pages), none of which I have written about here yet. I'll get to it eventually. Four of my reads for the month were rereads, and one was a very long-running read, started back in February of 2020. It felt good to get that finished and off my list of current reads.

For reading projects, I'm still working my way through Dombey and Son (the group I'm doing the slow read with is scheduled to finish up in mid-May). I'm also behind on at least half of the other long running buddy reads I'm in, but I am trying not to let that stress me out.

If I had to pick only a couple favorites from the month, I would probably go with The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness (the book my in-person book group will be discussing in April), and Piranesi, which I borrowed from the library and promptly went out and bought as soon as I finished reading it because I knew I wanted to own a copy.

I'm still keeping up with my owned/borrowed reading ratio, and I am quite happy with the overall balance of my reading. I do want to figure out the best way to nudge up my reading numbers on both ebooks and audiobooks; I've been reading fewer of both so far this year than I have in previous years.

>98 shadrach_anki: I borrowed from the library and promptly went out and bought as soon as I finished reading it because I knew I wanted to own a copy

I did that with a book I read in January, I Will Never See the World Again.

I am quite happy with the overall balance of my reading

That's a good feeling. Congrats on finishing your long-running read too.

Continuing my catch up reviews/comments for my March reading....



Summer Knight by Jim Butcher *
(fiction, ebook, borrowed)

Putting eight other finished reads between Dresden Files volumes seems reasonably sufficient separation. This is the fourth volume of the series, and I last read it in 2007. While Harry's fairy godmother was introduced in the third book, this is the volume that really introduces the bulk of the fae/faerie/sidhe presence to the series, complete with the Summer and Winter courts and changelings and all the rest. I had only vague memories of the story points in this one, as with the previous books in the series. This was an entertaining read, and I will be continuing the series, but I have definitely classified this as a "borrow" series rather than a "buy" series. Luckily, my local library has all the books.

If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy
(fiction, ebook, borrowed)

I heard about this Cinderella retelling on one of the bookish podcasts I listen to, and it sounded interesting enough to check out from the library. And I read the whole thing in a day. Overall I thought it was a fun story, but I was glad I could borrow it rather than buying it. Reality TV, like beauty pageants, isn't normally my thing. I did quite appreciate the lack of an evil stepmother and stepsisters; Erica does her best to take care of and support Cindy, and Anna and Drew are not mean at all. And the basic format of the Cinderella story still works.

This is the first book in a proposed series of fairytale retellings by various authors, published by Hyperion/Disney. The second one comes out in May, and is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast (presumably drawing heavily from the Disney version of the fairytale, given the publisher). I plan on checking it out, provided I can borrow it from the library. I haven't heard what other stories may be included in the series.

The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson
(non-fiction, ebook, borrowed)

So, I've never been fly fishing, and true crime is not a genre I particularly gravitate to in my reading, but this piqued my interest when I saw it reviewed. I love the cover design; it is fascinating and eye-catching. This covers more than just the feather heist from the Tring--it goes into the history of the specimens and the plume trade, and touches on fly fishing in addition to fly tying. I still find the crime at the center of this tale to be boggling, but I think that all obsessions are mind-boggling to outside observers. Looking at pictures, salmon flies are very impressive in appearance, but to my untrained eye the ones made with common feathers are just as beautiful and impressive as those made with the "proper" exotics (hello, Victorian-era gatekeepers). I'm very glad that color pictures were included at the end of the book, and equally glad that I read this ebook on my phone so I could appreciate the color photographs.

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, vol. 5 by Fujita
(manga, print, owned)

This series continues to delight me. I love all the characters and their relationships, and seeing those relationships progress. Nao and Ko (pictured on the cover) are finally maybe dating by the end of this volume, and it is adorable. The final volume of this series comes out in May, and I am both excited and sad, because then there will be no more new material to read. Luckily, rereading is always an option!

Saints: The Standard of Truth by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(non-fiction, print/ebook, owned)

This is the first volume of a proposed four-volume set (two currently available), chronicling the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and it covers the time period from 1815-1846. It took me two years to read, albeit with quite a few breaks included. The text draws from the letters and journals of dozens of individuals, as well as other historical records. As a result there are a lot of viewpoint people to keep track of, which gives a nicely broad view of events, but also introduces a level of fragmentation to the narrative that a smaller "cast" might have avoided. Of course, it probably would have been easier to follow the narrative of the book had I not had all those gaps in my reading, which is something to keep in mind as I pick up subsequent volumes. After all, it is highly unlikely that the number of viewpoints will decrease as time progresses.

The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness by Joel ben Izzy
(non-fiction, print, owned)

This is the book my in-person book group will be discussing in April (next week, actually!). It's not a particularly long book, but there is a lot packed into this memoir of a professional storyteller who loses his voice. Each chapter starts with a different story, chosen to relate to the events in the chapter. It got me thinking back to the storytelling club I briefly participated in while at university, and it also set me wanting to dive back into my collections of folk and fairy tales. I am really looking forward to the group discussion.

Bright Ruined Things by Samantah Cohoe
(fiction, print, owned)

This was the March selection for the Bard-Along Book Club, and a new release this year. The cover is a gorgeous, Art Deco-inspired design, and the story is inspired by The Tempest, which we read in February. Loosely inspired. There's an island, and air spirits, and magic. The magical family that controls the island has the name of Prosper, which invokes Prospero from the play. But honestly, the similarities felt superficial at best. I liked the book, but didn't love it. Mae, the main character, was fine, but none of her relationships (romantic or otherwise) really worked for me. There just wasn't any of the needed development for them--I as a reader was expected to just take on faith Mae's history with the Prosper family. The ending of the book was far too ambiguous for my liking as well.

In our group discussion, it was brought up that this book also has a lot of tonal similarities to The Great Gatsby, which might explain why it didn't work for me as well as I hoped it would. I've never been fond of Gatsby.

Currently, I am deciding whether or not I want to keep this book on my shelves.

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde *
(fiction, print, owned)

This book and its sequel are the Mar/Apr selection for the Inspired By Dickens book group that I'm in on Instagram. This is my third time reading this book, and I had somehow completely forgotten just how much Dickensian content was in here! Though I should note that when I last read it in 2018 I had read almost no Dickens, let alone any other Victorian literature. Heck, I hadn't even fully read Jane Eyre, and that's central to the plot! So I felt much more prepared for this read-through. I know there are bound to still be references I've missed, but it was so fun to read through and see "familiar faces" I've met in the last several years of reading. This is one of those books where I have to wonder how an audiobook version would work; there are certain elements in the later chapters where typesetting plays a part.

I really enjoyed revisiting this madcap alternate 80s England where time travel is a thing, people can have pet dodos, and there are Will Speak machines on corners that will dispense lines of Shakespeare when you put in your money. And I'm definitely looking forward to continuing the series, at least through the second book.

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull *
(fiction, print, owned)

Continuing a semi-trend of picking up books I last read years ago, and at least somewhat in honor of middle grade March, I pulled this off my book card. I last read it in 2006, and at the time I gave it five stars. I probably wouldn't go as high now, but it's still a very solid read and a good start to a series. That said, I found the capture and trading of fairies to be...problematic on this read-through (I cannot remember if I had any reaction to this the last time I read the book). I mean, they're sentient beings. But also supernatural/magical ones that are fairly incompatible with mundane mortality. So a certain level of urban fantasy handwavium for the sake of plot progression applies. I think it probably wouldn't have bothered me nearly as much if one scene had been altered or removed (specifically, the introduction of Maddox the fairy broker/trader who comes to the preserve with several fairies in cages), but had it been removed entirely then Seth probably wouldn't have tried to catch a fairy, which kicked off most of the later plot elements in the story. So I will just live with my discomfort regarding that particular piece of world-building and move on to further books in the series.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
(non-fiction, print, borrowed)

I must have added this to my TBR after rereading Ex Libris, but the dates don't quite add up for that to be the case. It may also have shown up on one of the various bookish sources I follow. Regardless of how it crossed my path, I found this to be a fascinating and emotionally wrenching look at how cultures can collide. Lia Lee, a Hmong girl with severe epilepsy, was born only a few months after I was, which added a certain level of surrealism to my reading. Prior to reading this book I knew very little about Hmong culture, and I would say that my knowledge level is still pretty minimal. There were a lot of history elements I never learned about before reading this book.

As this was published in 1997, I found myself wondering how things have changed (or not) in the last 25 years. From online searches I know Lia Lee passed away in 2012, and most of her life (26 years) was spent in a vegetative state. It sounds like she was cared for at home for most/all of that time, which I can barely even imagine.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
(fiction, print, borrowed/owned)

I read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell back in 2019, and I added this book to my TBR about a month after its release in 2020. I knew it was unconnected to her other work, and I recall being intrigued by the faun/satyr on the cover and the description of the House. Then it came to my attention again via the Currently Reading Podcast, and I saw that the library had a copy available, so I bumped it to my "read this next" slot. Thanks to reviews, I knew this book was going to be odd. Not in a bad way, but in a "take it slow and let things unfold" way. There are Narnia references, and the nature of the House reminds me of Garth Nix's Abhorsen books, specifically the descriptions of Death (as a place). I loved the tone of this novel, and how I as a reader got to unravel the mystery along with Piranesi. And see the wonders of the House from his perspective.

And as soon as I finished reading the library copy I went and bought a copy to own, because I knew it was a book I would want to reread and mull over. I also talked it up to a whole slew of people. I could see this being a good book group selection, and it's one of my favorite reads so far of the year.

Watercress by Andrea Wang & Jason Chin
(picture book, print, owned)

This picture book is the 2022 Caldecott Medal winner and a Newbery Honor book. And for quite some time it was unavailable for purchase (at least in a physical form) due to shipping and supply chain issues. The story told is a simple one on the surface--a young girl and her family stop by the side of the road to gather watercress, and the girl is horrible embarrassed by the whole process as it is just one more thing that makes her different from her peers. The story touches on a lot of deeper issues without being heavy-handed or preachy about it, which allows readers to approach those issues as they are ready to. As expected with a Caldecott Medal winner, the art is phenomenal. It really captures a sense of time and place in the story. The last page of the book contains notes from both the author and the artist, which really deepened my appreciation for their work.

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson *
(fiction, audio/print, owned)

I first read this in 2008, and had forgotten most of the details of the story in the intervening years. Not to the level of making this practically a first-time read, but it was close at times. This picks up roughly a year after the final events in the first book of the trilogy. I have to say that rereading this after reading so many other titles in Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere was an interesting experience. I'm seeing a bunch of linkages between series, like the similarities between the Allomantic pulses in this series and the various Rhythms of Roshar in the Stormlight Archive novels. And some plot elements I picked up on almost immediately, like where TenSoon replaces OreSeur. I also found myself wanting to reread Mistborn: Secret History to see what Kelsier was doing. There were some things I had been mentally placing in the third book that actually happen in this book.

I'm really looking forward to finishing this trilogy, and to reading the second series. Part of my impetus for this reread is the upcoming release of The Lost Metal in November. While these books aren't nearly as long as the Stormlight Archive titles, they're still fairly chunky fantasy novels.

The Way of the Househusband, volume 7 by Kousuke Oono
(manga, print, owned)

In this volume, Tatsu works at least part time in a cat cafe, collects dues for the neighborhood association, and goes camping (among other things). His old yakuza life and habits continue to bump into his current househusband one in hilarious ways. The major selling point for this series is the sheer absurdity of the juxtaposition of elements. Extreme levels of drama surrounding...choosing cat toys. Or preparing a meal while camping. Haiku competitions. That sort of thing.

-----
And that wraps up my March reading. Huzzah! I am mostly caught up now.

>107 shadrach_anki: My wife and I both love this entire series. We got to see Jasper Fforde do a reading in San Francisco many years ago. He was delightful in person.

>106 shadrach_anki: I read The Great Gatsby last year in preparation for reading a new fantasy retelling of Gatsby. I didn't like any of the characters in Gatsby very well, and didn't enjoy the book. But Nghi Vo's The chosen and the beautiful is a different propostion, and I'm enjoying it so far. The story is told from the point of view of Jordan, Daisy's friend, who in this story is the adopted Vietnamese daughter of a wealthy white couple. I'm finding it refreshing so far. And I'm intrigued with the magic she does fairly early in the book during her first meeting with Daisy as children.

>109 shadrach_anki: I read that too - many years ago. Another Hmong book that has stayed with me is The Song Poet: A Memoir of My Father

>110 shadrach_anki: I keep taking that off my tbr and putting it back on.

>109 shadrach_anki: I enjoyed The Spirit Catches You as well. I hadn't known what happened to Lia Lee after the book ended. How sad.

>114 rocketjk: I've started the second book. How delightful that you were able to see Jasper Fforde do a reading!

>115 markon: I might have to take a closer look at that one. The trick, as always, is timing.

>116 dianeham: I'll have to check out that other memoir, because it sounds fascinating. As for Piranesi, knowing there was a mystery element in there as much as a fantastical element helped to push it up on my list, and then I really just fell in love with the descriptions.

>117 labfs39: Yeah, her story does have a sad ending. And I can't help but wonder how Hmong/western doctor relations have changed, and what things like the last two years have done to those relations.

April Recap

Given that we're in the last full week of May, it is time and past for a recap on my April reading. For the most part, it is much the same as the first three months of the year. I read a total of 12 books in April (around 4,000 pages). One of those was a reread, and two were borrowed from the library. Half of my reading for the month was ebooks; this can be attributed to the Spring Challenge currently running on Kindle (why yes, I am rather easily motivated by earning rewards, even if the rewards are pictures of bookmarks).

I still need to write about all my April reading in more depth on this thread; we'll see when that actually happens. Standout reads for the month were Into the Real; The Physicians of Vilnoc; Love, Lies, and Hocus Pocus: Revelations; and Lost in a Good Book. So a lot of science fiction and fantasy. I also continued to enjoy slow reading Dombey and Son, which is very different thematically from the rest.

On the buddy read/group read front, I find myself needing to reassess some of my plans. I haven't been keeping up as well as I had hoped to overall, though I am still enjoying the discussions. The whole situation with overlapping Victorians seems to be my primary sticking point (that and getting distracted by other books, which is a perennial...well, not really problem, but it definitely factors into things).

::dusts off thread::

Well, I went from being "mostly caught up" with my reviews/comments in #113 to having four months and 68 books go by. So obviously plenty of reading has been occurring, but not a lot of writing about that reading (at least outside of my physical book journal).

Reading stats for May-July:
May
books read: 13
total pages: 4944
total audio (minutes): 183 (or 1547 depending on how I count the combo reads)

June
books read: 16
total pages: 4434
total audio (minutes): 1503 (or 1797, combo reads)

July
books read: 14
total pages: 2768
total audio (minutes): 2855

Year to Date
books read: 119
total pages: 31,695
total audio: 175 hours, 54 minutes

I'll get to book comments...at some point. Currently trying to decide if I should go back to April, or just pick up with August.

>120 shadrach_anki: Pick up in August and then fill back in when and if :) At least that seems to work better for me when I get that behind - otherwise there is just too many titles and... it stalls. Just saying :)

Welcome back!

Glad to see you here!

All right, picking up with my August reads...I'll try to go back and touch on the other ones later.



Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson
(non-fiction, print/audio, owned)

I got this as a birthday present in 2015, and I did start reading it around that time, but as with many things distraction happened. Fast forward seven years--I finished listening to The Domestic Revolution and wanted another science/history title in the same general vein. This definitely fit the bill.

Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of cooking and/or eating, and they have titles like Fire, Measure, Grind, and Ice. The Fire chapter had some overlap with The Domestic Revolution, but not the depth (or authorial experience). On reading this, I have to wonder which recent food and cooking innovations will last long term; which things currently viewed with suspicion will become mainstream; and what will fade into general obscurity.

The Domestic Revolution by Ruth Goodman
(non-fiction, audio, borrowed)

Since I referenced this in my comments on the previous book, I figured I'd do a bit of jumping back in time to talk about this July read. I am not sure how I first heard about this book, only that it got added to my TBR wishlist in July of 2021. Then it wound up as a group read for July of this year in one of my myriad reading groups, and my library had the audiobook, so I added it to my reading rotation.

Coal usage at a domestic scale (or really any scale, to be honest) is not something I had given, well, any thought to prior to reading this book. A goodly amount of this book is spent discussing things that changed when coal came into widespread use in England, so I also learned about wood and peat and pre-coal cleaning/cooking and timber rights and all sorts of fascinating stuff that tickled my world-building heart. The audio quality of the book was good, but I think this is definitely something that works better in print. For any included images if nothing else, but there were a number of specific terms I wanted to see written out.

I've added this to my list of books I want on my physical shelves (for world-building reference purposes if nothing else). I find that specialist popular history/science books like this tend to be more interesting to me because they give a certain level of depth without (usually) straying into jargon. Basically, you don't already need to be an expert in the subject in order to appreciate the book, and most of them have a decent bibliography if you want to learn more about the subject. Which is another reason to get the print version; bibliographic material never makes it into the audio.

 

Lightfall: The Girl & the Galdurian by Tim Probert
Lightfall: Shadow of the Bird by Tim Probert
(comics, print, owned)

I saw these graphic novels on my Instagram feed, and I was intrigued by the title and the cover art. I borrowed the first one from the library (in June, and I later purchased a copy), without really knowing anything about it other than the title and cover. This is a middle grade fantasy set in a different world, and Bea finds herself having to go on a quest. She is accompanied by Cad, who is looking for the other Galdurians.

I really like both Bea and Cad, and I also am very impressed with the art. Bea experiences anxiety, and that anxiety is rendered visually on the page.

The second volume picks up where the first one left off. Bea and Cad's quest has changed/expanded, and things are turning to to be not nearly as straightforward as they seemed at first. One of the characters in the story communicates in images rather than words, so I had to really take my time at several places to fully comprehend what was going on. And while the second volume does have a solid conclusion, it is also something of a cliffhanger. So I want the third volume now, but I also realize that it will be a while before it is released since the second one only came out in April, and the first one was released in 2020.

I purchased copies of the first two volumes as a birthday present for my oldest niece, in addition to the copies I got for my own shelves.

Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy L. Sayers
(fiction, ebook, owned)

I found myself wanting to read more Dorothy Sayers after I started reading Dorothy and Jack (a biography of sorts, about her friendship with C. S. Lewis). This short story collection was chronologically next in my reading of the Lord Peter Wimsey books, so I pulled it up on my Kindle. And I enjoyed the stories, but I felt they were lacking a bit in the depth department. There just isn't really the room in a short story for more than a single narrative thread, or for a whole lot in the way of character development. I did appreciate that not all the mysteries were murder-related. Most still involved deaths, but focused on things like figuring out confusing wills and strange bequests. Or pirate treasure.

These days, it seems that in order to get mystery series that aren't solely focused on murders (creating a disturbingly high body count in quaint English villages), one has to turn to middle grade fiction. And it's not that I dislike middle grade fiction--far from it--but it is sort of limited in terms of protagonist ages and overall story complexity. So these short stories were a pleasant outing in that direction, and I would love to find more mysteries for grown-ups that aren't just about murders.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
(fiction, print, borrowed)

So, this book. I have complicated feelings. I heard about it from the MMD Summer Reading guide, and it sounded fascinating. Video games and Shakespeare and friendship. Covering an extended period of time, starting in the 80s. It also showed up all over Instagram, and it was the B&N Summer Book Club pick. The cover is amazing, featuring an image detail of Hokusai's The Great Wave. I put a hold on the book at the library, and then was tempted to buy a copy in a B&N hardcover sale because I didn't want to wait (there were a lot of people in front of me in the hold line). Ultimately I held off on buying, and I'm glad I made that decision. Because for me, this wound up being an over-hyped book.

I liked the book on the whole, but did not love it, and had I bought it at new release hardcover price I think I would have enjoyed it less. Sadie and Sam, the protagonists, both make a number of questionable decisions over the course of the story that seemed more there to cause drama than anything else (meaning a different decision would have served the story equally as well). Structurally the book jumps around in time, which made things hard to follow occasionally, and introduced some anachronistic (by my memory) terminology that threw me out of the story.

Also, I wish I'd had warning of several graphic aspects of the story, mostly involving injuries/medical stuff. None of the reviews and posts I'd seen prior to reading the book mentioned that, so I was a bit blind-sided by it.

Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer
(fiction, print, borrowed)

This was the July book for the Everyday Reading book club, and I borrowed it from the library. The cover is gorgeous and very shiny/holographic; taking it outside in the sunlight was semi-dangerous on the eyes because of how reflective it was, especially with the library protective plastic. It is...definitely YA fantasy with at least a touch or two of dystopia. And I found myself mentally poking holes in the political structure, and also questioning levels of technological development (likely exacerbated by my recent non-fiction reading). It reads quickly, but I still took a two week break with about a hundred pages to go while I read other things.

So I liked it well enough, but I didn't love it. There are quite a few questions left unanswered at the end, but that's not entirely surprising as it is the start of a series. The second book is set to release in about a month, and I might borrow it at some point, but honestly I'm not in a huge rush.

Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis
(fiction, print, owned)

I started this as part of a buddy read in 2021, then fell behind on my reading and got distracted two-thirds of the way through the book for a year. Consequently, my book thoughts are less detailed than I would like.

This is a retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth, told from the perspective of Psyche's older sister. It is set in the kingdom of Gloam, and for most of the book the really familiar beats of the myth are somewhat obfuscated. I really do need and want to reread the book without that massive gap in the middle of the process. And probably with access to reference materials, as I am certain there were all sorts of allusions and references I missed in this initial reading.

C. S. Lewis is an author that requires a lot more focus than most of my reading, and I have to remind myself to take my time whenever I read something by him.

At Large and At Small by Anne Fadiman
(essays, print, owned)

I started reading this collection of familiar essays at the very end of last year, and took a leisurely eight months to complete it, reading an essay or two at a time. The scope of the collection is quite broad, from butterfly collecting, Charles Lamb, and ice cream (all separate essays) to the culture wars, mail, and moving. Even the topics I was not hugely interested in were rendered fascinating, and now I want to seek out more essay collections. I also want to revisit Ex Libris, which was my introduction to Fadiman's writing.

Dorothy and Jack by Gina Dalfonzo
(non-fiction, ebook, owned)

This was picked up on a whim (and a good Kindle sale) after I read a number of really good quotes from it shared on a bookish Discord server I'm a member of. The subtitle of the book is The Transforming Friendship of Dorothy L. Sayers and C. S. Lewis. Reading it has deepened my appreciation for both authors, and increased my desire to read (or reread) more of their works.

This is not an extensive biography of either author; rather it is a portrait of their long-standing friendship, as the subtitle indicates. There are a lot of quotes from letters that Sayers and Lewis wrote all through the book, and I made liberal use of the highlight function on my Kindle.

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory
(fiction, ebook, borrowed)

This is the second book in the Meant To Be series, and is a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, set in the world of publishing. Like the first book in the series (Julie Murphy's If the Shoe Fits), I borrowed this from the library via Hoopla and read it in a single day. I liked all the fairly subtle nods to the Disney film--honestly, this works just as well as a stand-along story as it does as a fairytale retelling (I think it helps that Isabelle, our heroine, goes by Izzy and not Belle). Is this deep, profound literature? No. But it was a fun read, and a good retelling. I enjoyed the writing, and I learned a bit about surfing (that was actually useful in another context a few days later, oddly enough).

I don't know if Disney-Hyperion has plans to continue the Meant To Be series, but if they do I'll definitely check them out.

Thank You For Listening by Julia Whelan
(fiction, ebook, borrowed)

I seem to have a thing for contemporary romance novels set in the bookish/publishing world, as this is at least the fourth one I've read this year. This one is centered on the world of audiobook narration and production, with a side helping of Hollywood. Sewanee Chester is an actress who became an audiobook narrator after a life-altering accident. When she first started narrating, she read Romance novels under a pseudonym, but by the start of the story she had moved beyond that phase of her career. Except then she resurrects that pseudonym to narrate one last work, at the request of the recently deceased author, working opposite the hottest (and most secretive) male narrator of Romance, Brock McNight.

This is a slow burn romance that also features a lot of other relationships (best friends, parent/child, grandparent/grandchild, a bit of found family). If, like me, you prefer stories without on-page sex, know that there is one scene you will definitely need to skip, around the halfway point of the novel. I knew about it going in, and chose to read the book in print for that very reason. Though I've heard it is excellent on audio, read by the author, who is a popular audiobook narrator in her own right.

OK, this isn't a book bullet, it's a book barrage...

I adored Consider the Fork, so I must read The Domestic Revolution. The Lightfall books look interesting, though like you I think I'll start out borrowing them from the library. Lord Peter is always wonderful (there's one huge book with all his short pieces, called just Lord Peter), particularly because, as you say, the mystery is not necessarily a murder. Most of the books are, though - the short pieces are more likely to be puzzles. I have Till We Have Faces and have had for years, never got around to reading it - I never saw that it was a Cupid and Psyche story (I thought it was more essays like Mere Christianity, and hadn't mustered the interest). So I'll read that one soon. I love essay collections that are all over the map, with good writing, so I definitely need to get Fadiman's book - and if I like it, I'll probably go find more by her. Dorothy and Jack sounds fascinating - I enjoy both authors. I love modern retellings of fairy tales, particularly if they're good stories in themselves as well as echoes of the fairy stories (have you come across Shattering the Glass Slipper? Newly issued anthology of fantasy and SF (mostly fantasy) short stories of fairy tales with a twist. I loved it (I got it from the Kickstarter)) so I need both books in Meant To Be. And the bookish romance sounds at least interesting.

Sheesh!

>135 jjmcgaffey: ^_^;; Sorry for the barrage?

I've been having a really good reading year.

I hadn't come across Shattering the Glass Slipper, but it definitely looks interesting! I've added it to my ever-growing list of books to check out.

Well. Three more months, and another 48 books un-commented upon here. I'm even behind in my physical book journal, but slowly catching up.

August
books read: 17
total pages: 3872
total audio (minutes): 2638
favorite reads: Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson; Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis; Wings of Fire: The Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland; The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

September
books read: 14
total pages: 2754
total audio (minutes): 2188
favorite reads: Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers; The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip; Stuff Matters by Mark Miodownik; XOXO by Axie Oh; Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope; The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson

October
books read: 11
total pages: 2450
total audio (minutes): 2606
favorite reads: Everything is OK by Debbie Tung; Spy x Family, vol. 1-2 by Tatsuya Endo; The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope; Case of the Curious Crystals by Shanna Swendson; Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson

November
books read: 11
total pages: 2277
total audio (minutes): 1933
favorite reads: The Glass Universe by Dava Sobel; Forever Fantasy Online by Rachel Aaron; In Plain Sight by Dan Willis; Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, vol. 4-6 by Kaneihito Yamada; The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins; Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg

Year to Date
books read: 164
total pages: 40,267
total audio: 310 hours, 5 minutes

Welcome back, Anki. Nice to hear from you. You've read a lot this year, I can understand it being hard to keep up. Even the summaries you gave are interesting though. Thanks!

Nice to see you here. Looks like it's been a great reading year.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens *
(fiction, audio, owned)

Reading and/or listening to this classic story has become a December tradition of mine. In previous years I've listened to an excellent version performed by Tim Curry, but this year I decided to try Hugh Grant's 2020 performance. It is also quite good, and I will probably switch between them in the future, along with watching one or more film adaptations of the story.

It's really interesting with a story like this to see all the variations in performances, and what gets emphasized or not. How the lines are delivered, and in the case of the film adaptations, what parts may be left out. And even what things may be added in (thinking of the two musical versions I am familiar with: Scrooge with Albert Finney and The Muppet Christmas Carol).

>139 markon: It has been a pretty great reading year, and continues to be. I'm hoping to finish several more things before the end of the year, but I'm not stressing overly much about it. I'll finish what I finish, when I finish it.