Book Clubs
I’m technically in four book clubs. Only one is in the physical world, or meatspace, or whatever you want to call it. It’s actually a book club I run at the book store and we switch off between fiction and non-fiction.
This month we’re reading Packing for Mars by Mary Roach. It’s an interesting and solid book, although unfortunately dated since it was written in 2010 before the new NASA budget was approved or the Curiosity rover was even launched. (By the way, I’m a little bit in love with Curiosity. It’s just so cute. And leaves messages in its tire tracks. And it was partially built by one of my professors! Also, I’ve anthropomorphized it and it’s totally a ‘him‘.) Felix Baumgartner has done the space jump he was rehearsing for in the book. It went just fine and you can find it all over YouTube. It’s hard to know how far we are from a manned mission to Mars, but I can still hope for it. And yes, if I had the money I’d totally buy a ticket on VirginGalactic. Next month we’re reading The Cloud Atlas by Liam Callanan. No, it’s not the one they made a movie out of, although he did an accidental boost in sales. This Cloud Atlas is set in Alaska during World War II and deals, at least in part, with Japanese balloon bombs. I haven’t read it yet, so I can’t tell you too much about it. I’ll let you know how it is next month.
The other three book clubs that I’m in are all hosted on Goodreads. The first one I joined is the Sword and Laser book club. I started listening to the podcast and then joined the online book club. Sword & Laser is a sci-fi/fantasy book club hosted by Tom Merritt and Veronica Belmont. I’m something of a Veronica Belmont fangirl. Sword & Laser was on the Geek & Sundry network on YouTube last year, but did not renew their video show for a second year. However! They’re doing a kickstarter campaign to produce a second season. I’ve already backed it because I loved the video show and they have a space dragon named Lem as part of their set. How could I not back something like that? This month Sword & Laser is reading Boneshaker by Cherie Priest. It’s Civil War era steampunk. Also, there are zombies!
I followed Veronica into her next book club project, Vaginal Fantasy. It both is and isn’t what you’re thinking. It’s a sci-fi/fantasy (seeing a pattern yet?) romance book club hosted by Veronica, Felicia Day, Kayla Kazebee, and Bonnie Burton. The ladies meet once a month (on average) on a Google Hangout to discuss the month’s book and alternate pick. The club is the brain child of Felicia, who reads at a truly insane rate. This month the books are Dark Currents and Autumn Bones by Jacqueline Carey. I’ve already read and enjoyed both of them. I’m very much looking forward to getting the ladies’ thoughts on them. I’m betting Bonnie will object to the lack of “sexy times” in book one.
The last book club that I’m a member of is the Nothing But Reading Challenges group. This one is pretty much what it sounds like. There are official group reads, Buddy Reads, monthly challenges, and on-going challenges. You can be as involved or as un-involved as it suits you. I’m just a hair above being a lurker, but no one seems to mind.
I’m even thinking about starting another book club. I enjoy running a book club, but the Little Professor club members are not particularly interested in sci-fi and fantasy, which I am. That’s probably pretty obvious if you’ve been on this blog much. So, I’m considering starting another group in January that focuses on sci-fi and fantasy. I’m thinking of starting off with Hounded. Anyone in the are is welcome to weigh in or join in the fun.
But, here’s the thing about book clubs… You’re not an autonomous reader once you’re in a book club. You’re reading things that other people have had a hand in selecting. Even in the book club that I run I don’t get to be a dictatrix. I pick out a selection of books and then the club in general votes on which one to read. I have very little input in the other clubs; even in the ones where we do vote I’m just one voice among thousands. It’s a trade-off. I have a certain amount of accountability, which helps me to read things I wouldn’t normally choose to, but at the same time I have to read things that I’m not necessarily interested in. I don’t tend to read non-fiction outside of my book club obligations. The rare exception to this was The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox. It’s a fascinating examination of the efforts to decipher Linear B and the American woman who made major, though forgotten contributions to the efforts. If you’re at all interested in archaeology or linguistics I recommend it. It’s very readable, though very biased in favor of Alice Kober, the forgotten American researcher.
I’ll be honest, I don’t always finish my book club books. (I’m sure you’re shocked.) I should probably feel bad, since I don’t have to be in any of the book clubs, but here’s the thing… I finished every book I ever started all the way through college with very few exceptions (The Brothers Karamazov and Ivanhoe being two notable exceptions.) And, frankly, life is too short to read books you don’t enjoy. I’m not really better for having slogged through most of them. So now I have a pretty firm rule, unless it’s for the book club I actually run I’ll give a book 100 pages. If I can’t take it after that I get to put it aside and move on to something else. I’m probably missing out one some things, but I’ll never live long enough to read all the books I want to anyway, so I suppose if a few slip through my fingers, it’s not the end of the world.
How about you? Are you in a book club? Do you always finish the books you start?
What You Should Read #2
What You Should Read is a series I started ages ago and then never got back to. I’m hoping to make these my Wednesday posts from now on. These will be books I desperately want people to read. Some of them may be brand new, but they’ll probably be older books that I adore and have re-read many times. Please tell me what are some of the books you recommend to everyone?
Let me make a full disclosure – I love books with incredibly long titles. Some of my other favorites include The Mislaid Magician or Ten Years After: Being the Private Correspondence Between Two Prominent FamiliesRegarding a Scandal Touching the Highest Levels of Government and the Security of the Realm by Patricia Wrede and Caroline Stevermer. (You have to actually turn to the title page of both these books to get the complete title.)
I can’t really explain Flora Segunda without making it sound like A) I am on drugs, or B) the book is very silly and should not be read. Neither of these things is true. I haven’t even taken any Advil today. I can say that if you’re the sort of person who reads the title and things “What the #*&%?” then this book is probably not for you. Nor are the two sequels. But, honestly, if you’re that sort of person, I’m not exactly sure why you’re here. Because I am the sort of person who reads that title and thinks “Yes please! May I have some more?” and so those are the kinds of things I write about. (Also, pink fuzzy books, but that’s neither here nor there.)
I can tell you that Flora Segunda is set in a sort of fantasy California called Califa. The time period is somewhat fluid, encompassing features from the 17th – 19th centuries. Also, ice cream parlors. Because if I could design a fantasy world, you’d better believe that there would be ice cream parlors in it. The Huitzel Empire is Califa’s main antagonist, being a sort of super-charged, mystical Aztec empire. Turning fourteen is no joke, and never, every trust your butler. I think those are the main points… I can tell that you’re rushing out to get your copy today!
And lucky you! You shan’t have to wait several years for book three like I did. But that’s ok. It was worth it.
The Hum and the Shiver Review
Alex Bledsoe is really nice. And that makes me feel guilty. You see, I met him at JordanCon V, which was back in April, and he very graciously signed some books for me. I was excited! I had books! Signed books even! And then I got distracted by something shiny (a play and another art show) and didn’t finish The Hum and the Shiver for many months. I actually finished the book in August and just haven’t gotten around to writing it up. But! Now I am and it shall be glowing! Because I liked it very, very much. (I’ve also got the first two books in the Eddie LaCrosse series to read and I’m very excited about those.)
The Hum and the Shiver is the first book in the Tufa series and is followed by Wisp of a Thing and the short story, Shall We Gather.
The Tufa live in the mountains of Cloud County, Tennessee. They’ve been there as long as anyone knows, and they’ve never taken much to outsiders. They were there when Europeans arrived, but they don’t quite seem to be related to any of the Native American groups around the area. They’ve always been apart, making music and speaking to the Night Wind. Music is inherent to the Tufa. Some of them sing, some of them play, but they all know songs that can touch your soul. Maybe they’re a little wild and maybe they’re a little scary, but they’ve always been there and they always will be.
Smoky Mountains – National Geographic
Bronwyn is a Hyatt; a pure-blood first daughter of the Tufa and a United States Army private. She always danced to her own tune and that danced her right out of Cloud County and into the death and dust of Iraq. Somehow, she was the only survivor of a horrible mission and the Army has brought her back home as a heroine. She’s got pins and screws in her leg, and silence in her heart. Whatever happened to her is blocking the music that is every Tufa’s birthright.
Unfortunately, Bronwyn doesn’t have time for a long, gentle healing. Omens are indicating that her mother’s time is nearly up and Bronwyn herself has a haint attached to her, the ghost of another Tufa who also went with the army to Iraq and died there during the first Gulf War. The omens and the haint all indicate that Bronwyn has a very short time to learn her mother’s song before it’s lost. Her path is clearly laid out; learn her mother’s song, take her place as a first daughter, and have a daughter of her own. Soon. Family pressures, fear for her mother, PTSD, and the return of Bronwyn’s bad-news, ex-boyfriend are all swirling around in a very dangerous brew.
Meanwhile, we have Craig, the new minister for the Methodist Church just over the county line. He’s an outsider trying to make a place for himself with the Tufa. He doesn’t really know anything about their magic, or even their music, but he finds himself drawn to them. Especially to Bronwyn. The girl has a bad reputation around the area. She was once knows as The Bronwynator for her disregard for rules and conventional morality. Some people like to tell Craig about how she was always no good and that her “heroic rescue” was probably a manufactured publicity stunt. Craig doesn’t care. He sees a woman with a world of pain and a host of troubles. But to reach Bronwyn he has to first understand the Tufa. And that is something that has baffled people for centuries.
This was a fantastic book. I actually listened to it on audio so I could preserve my signed paperback. The narration is split with Emily Janice Card doing Bronwyn’s chapters and Stefan Rudniki recording Craig’s chapters. I haven’t actually heard either of them before, but they were both very good.
This is not a fast paced book. It’s full of gentle swells and dips. From a geographic perspective, it’s the rolling Smokies rather than the jagged Rockies. There are threats and danger, but there isn’t a climactic battle at the end. Don’t go into this looking for a fast, frantic story. Most of the book is about figuring out how to live a life that doesn’t quite fit. Bronwyn isn’t the Bronwynator anymore. Craig is out of his element. Bronwyn’s mother is facing the end of her life and wondering if it was worth it.
There are moments that are deeply disturbing, but they all weave together. It’s sort of like that bit of salt you have to add in baking to make the final product come out right. Or a musical dissonance that makes you feel so much better when it resolves than if it had never existed to begin with. This book is firmly on my list of favorites.
Reading Aloud
I have no voice left because tonight, I got to do something awesome. One of my major regrets about the store I work at is that we don’t have a story time. This is due to logistical issues; there just isn’t anywhere to gather a large group of kids. So, when I get invited to go do story time somewhere else I jump at the chance. And such a wonderful thing happened today. Creative Montessori School had their book fair tonight and I was invited to come and read stories. I love reading stories and I was so happy that they asked me to participate. I read six books over the course of an hour and a half. This is probably a little longer than most people are going to want to read. Also, I did voices. My throat is a little sore now, that falsetto for the Big Bad Wolf gets me every time! But I have tea with honey and it was totally worth it! Here are the books I read tonight:
Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds
Creepy Carrots was a Caldecott Honor book this year, which honors excellence in illustration. The winner this year was This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen. I have to be honest, it’s not my favorite book. Creepy Carrots, One Cool Friend, and Sleep Like a Tiger were all Honor books that appeal more to me.
Creepy Carrots is about a bunny named Jasper who loves to eat the carrots from one particular field. He eats them several times a day, every day. Eventually, the carrots fight back. They enact a scare campaign to keep Jasper from eating them and he is so terrified that he barricades the carrots into their field so they can’t creep after him anymore. Everyone is happy. Jasper has defeated the orange menace and the carrots are safe from rabbity predation. This is a fun book to read and has a very striking visual style. All of the pictures are done in greyscale with orange the only splash of color. This book is especially appropriate at this time of year.
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
I first read Miss Rumphius when I was young and then forgot about it for a long time. Fortunately, I took a Children’s Lit class for fun when I was in college and was reminded of this wonderful book. (I also read The Giver for the first time in that class and went with the depressing interpretation of the ending. Therefore, all these sequels don’t make any sense to me.)
The narrator of Miss Rumphius is telling the story of her great-aunt, Miss Alice Rumphius. I especially liked that because I had two living great-aunts myself as a young lady, and my Aunt Mable seemed like she would fit right in to this story. When Alice was little she lived with her grandfather and declared that she would travel to far away places and then, when she got old, she would come back to live by the sea. But her grandfather tells her that there is one more thing she must do; she must do something to make the world more beautiful.
Alice becomes a librarian (see why I like her) and helps books and people find each other for many years. Then, she retires and travels around the world and sees lions, and camels, and kangaroos -oh-my! When she eventually stops traveling she settles into a cottage near the sea, but she still hasn’t figured out how to make the world more beautiful. Luckily, a spring walk after a long, confining illness gives her an idea. The wind and the birds have distributed the lupine seeds from her garden and created a beautiful field of flowers just over the hill. Miss Rumphius decides that she can help spread the seeds even further and starts to take long walks, casting seeds about. When spring comes again the entire area is covered in blue, and purple, and rose-colored flowers. She has finally found a way to make the world a more beautiful place.
I love this idea. I also love the illustrations in this book. I will say that this book, and two further down on my list, are a little long if you’re reading to very small or very hyper kids. My audience got a little restive tonight and so I found myself paring down some of the longer paragraphs.
Up and Down by Oliver Jeffers
Oliver Jeffers is one of my favorite author/illustrators and appears twice on tonight’s roster. He also illustrated the Day the Crayons Quit, which is up next. Up and Down is the fourth book in THE BOY series, which includes How to Catch a Star, Lost and Found, and The Way Back Home. I’ve read all of those to classes before as well as Stuck, This Moose Belongs to Me, The Great Paper Caper and The incredible Book Eating Boy. 
Please, do yourself a favor, if you like cute, awesome things… go buy this man’s books! He also has an amazingly beautiful picture book on coping with loss called The Heart in the Bottle. Those of you who actually know me may have just gone, “But don’t you have a tattoo of a heart in a bottle?” Yes, I do. It’s from this book. That’s how important it was to me.
Up and Down is about the Boy and his friend, the Penguin. They do everything together. But now, the Penguin wants to fly. And he wants to do it on his own. His quest leads him away from the Boy for a little while, but when it matters most, the Boy is there to catch him and then they can go home and play their favorite game (backgammon). The illustrations are adorable. The story is heart warming. There is nothing not to love about this book! Even the moms and dads at the book fair were looking at these illustrations!
The Day the Crayons Quit by Drew Daywalt
The Crayons have gone on strike! They’ve all written letters to their owner, a little boy named Duncan. Red is tired of having to work all the time, even on the holidays! White feels under used. Purple wants more neatness and paying attention to the lines. Blue is worn to a nub, Pink feels unappreciated, and Peach is NAKED! Many of the other crayons have complaints as well. Except for Green. Green is doing just fine, thanks so much.
Each color gets a one page illustration and a hand, or rather crayon written letter. The story goes fast and is very fun to read. Of course, I like it even more that it has Oliver Jeffers illustrations. I’m something of a fan, you might have noticed…
Duncan does manage to solve the crayons problems and even gets an A+ on his final coloring project!
Little Red Riding Hood by Trina Schart Hyman
This is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. Trina Schart Hyman is an amazing illustrator! It is, unfortunately, way too long for the audience I had tonight. But, I skimmed a little and distracted them with the amazing pictures. The same holds true for Saint George and the Dragon which is the last book I read tonight. The story is a basic rendition of Little Red Riding Hood. There aren’t any surprises outside of the illustrations, which are breathtaking. I highly recommend adding some of Trina’s work to your library. I’ve got about five of her books right now. Little Red Riding Hood was a Caldecott Honor book in 1984.
Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges
This Saint George was kidnapped by fairies as a tiny baby and has only returned to the mortal lands because the Fairy Queen has sent him to fight the dragon. He rides into battle with Una, the princess of the beleaguered England. Her pure heart and steadfast faith help Saint George to find the strength to defeat the dragon. Again, this book was much, much too long for my audience tonight, but it’s stunningly beautiful. I really wish I could get a poster of any of the interior pages. It won the Caldecott Medal in 1985 and if you can see why… 
So, those are the books I read tonight. Here is a quick list of other books I love reading aloud:
Snowy Valentine by David Peterson
Incredibly sweet, amazingly beautiful story about finding the perfect Valentine gift. David Peterson also does the Mouse Guard books, which are graphic novels about medieval warrior mice. They are amazing!
The ELEPHANT AND PIGGIE books by Mo Willems
All of these books are amazing! There are somewhere around 20 stories about Gerald and his friend Piggie. It doesn’t matter which one you read, although We Are In A Book is my favorite.
Dinosaur vs… by Bob Shea
I like all of these books, but Dinosaur Vs. the Library is probably my favorite. I get to roar like a dinosaur. And for some reason, I always read these books while doing an Eddie Izzard impression. It just works really well, watch this and then replace “BUNCH OF FLOWERS” with one of the lines from the book… “Dinosaur vs… PLATE OF SPAGHETTI!”
What are your favorite books to read out loud? I wish I had the opportunity to read actual chapter books to people, but I don’t right now. Maybe I can borrow someone’s child…
Also, thank you everyone who entered my Hounded Giveaway! The winners have been chosen and notified by email. Look for another giveaway to start next week!
Confessions of a Bookseller
Ok, confession time…
Yes, this is partly because I don’t have a book to review. I mean, I’ve read some books. I’ve read some awesome books. But they’re not out for months and months and months and you’d probably get mad at me for reviewing them now. It’s kind of a ‘nah, nah, nah, nah, nah, I got to read it’ sort of a thing… right? Or do you want reviews of books that aren’t out yet. Because I can totally gloat about all the advance copies I get… if you really want me to. Otherwise, I’ll wait until closer to the release date to review the things I’ve read recently.
So, today, we’re going to have some confessions. There are some things that people assume about people who work with books. Especially people who, like me, work at an independent bookstore. Lots of those things are true. Many others were disproved hilariously in the fantastic Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops. We love this book at the store! And there’s a tumblr! You’re welcome for that.
But! I’m not here to talk about awesome booksellers who have written awesome books. I’m here to talk about me! And the things that make me feel a little bit guilty as a bookseller.
1. I hate Anna Karenina.
That’s right. I said it. I hate that book. And that character. This is especially troubling since I also majored in Russian Literature in college. Really ridiculous amounts of money were paid over for me to become conversant with the literature of that really really large nation. And I liked most of it. But Anna… she’s just such a wet blanket. I’m sorry. I’m sure it’s tragic and all that, but honestly, the only person I really feel for in that book is Anna’s son, Sergei. I don’t even particularly like Kitty and Levin, who are supposed to be the happy foil for Anna and Vronsky. But, I just don’t like Levin and Kitty never really registered on me. So…
Although, if it means anything, I really like War and Peace. Even after I had to xerox two copies of it for an independent study in college. That took more than a little while, in case you were wondering.
2. I have an e-reader.
Sort of. I have an iPad that has several book apps on it including iBooks, Kindle, Kobo, and Adobe’s Bluefire Reader. This isn’t really a revelation if you’ve followed my reviews since I’ve reviewed things that are ebook only. I started with the best of intentions. Yes, yes, I know. The path to hell is paved with good intentions. And frozen door-to-door salesmen according to Good Omens. The first several books I got were yet more copies of some of my favorite books like A Fistful of Sky. Then I found out that some authors were putting out exclusive digital content so I started getting that. (By the way, if you haven’t read How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea by Mira Grant and you’re at all interested in zombies I highly recommend that you do! Two words – zombie kangaroos!)
I mostly use the Bluefire Reader for digital advance copies for work. It’s cheaper for the publishers to send us digital files rather than physical ARC’s. We can also get digital ARC’s for books that won’t have physical copies printed. So, I get more books, but they don’t take up extra space. This is really important for me, because I have a book/bookshelf problem. I have sixteen bookshelves in my house of various sizes and they’re all full. Then there are the stacks of books on my dining room table, desk, bedside table, and kitchen counters. So it’s probably smarter of me to splurge on ARC files rather than piles (f you’ll forgive the wordplay).
3. I never finished reading Harry Potter.
I know! Ok, I know. But the thing is, (because, of course there’s a thing) I was going through some stuff when Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix came out. I read Sorcerer’s Stone when I was in college. I don’t remember exactly what year it was, but I think it was 1999 because I don’t remember having to wait very long for Chamber of Secrets to come out. I went to my first midnight release party for Goblet of Fire dressed as Professor McGonagall. So, it’s not that I wasn’t into the books. But 2003 was a kind of dark time for me. I was in grad school and was having issues with my health, depression, and anxiety. So… yeah, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was not the sort of thing I needed to be reading. I had too much of my own angst, I couldn’t really deal with Harry’s too. And I just never went back. By the time I really thought about picking the books back up I knew pretty much all the plot points. People talked to me about the books since they knew that I liked them, so I was never really out of the Potter world. I might have gone back at some point, but when I get a magical fiction urge I’m much more likely to head for Diana Wynne Jones or Eva Ibbotson than I am to pick up JK Rowling. Maybe it’s because Harry is a boy and I like stories about girls. Although, Enchanted Glass and Conrad’s Fate are both about boys and I love them. Maybe it’s because when I read the early Harry Potter books, I think about the influences on them like Tolkien or Roald Dahl so I just go read their books again. I’m not sure, but I just haven’t felt the urge to pick up the Harry Potter books again. Maybe I just don’t like magical realms entered through a train platform though, because I haven’t re-read The Secret of Platform 13 either…
I did host a midnight release party for the final Potter book! (I’m trying to redeem myself. Please don’t hate me!) I made house scarves and a felt Sorting Hat. And I stayed up really late and made cupcakes, so I’m a good bookseller. Right?
I think three confessions at a time is probably enough. Are there any book related confessions you want to get off your chest? I won’t judge you. I promise.
Cosplay
Cosplay has become much more of a household word in the wake of San Diego Comic Con becoming a mainstream media event and shows like “Heroes of Cosplay” and “Fangasm” airing on SyFy. Now, like the shows, hate the shows, think they’re destroying fandom; no matter what your opinion you can’t really deny that cosplay is more well known. It’s not longer something your embarrassing second cousin does at a Star Trek convention. There are even stores that sell items for casual or everyday cosplay. (I have a Darth Vader dress. I love it so hard!) If you’re interested in cosplay at all, I HIGHLY recommend this documentary – Cosplay: Crafting a Secret Identity by Georgia Public Television. It’s not as shiny as “Heroes of Cosplay,” but I think it’s a more honest look into the cosplay community.
There are professional cosplayers, and people who make replica props from movies and video games. There’s an entire (awesome) website dedicated to the art and craft of replica prop making.
For obvious reasons, most cosplay and prop making is centered around visual media; comics, movies and tv, and anime. But, I wanted to talk about cosplay from books. Cosplaying a character from a book can present unique challenges, but it also provides you with a great deal of freedom. The author describes the character, but the interpretation of that description is much more
DragonCon 2011
open. Even the description of a specific outfit can be open to many different pattern variations. Hence, you can have something like the picture to the left. Both of these ladies are cosplaying Alexia Tarabotti from Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series. (The parasols make the outfits, don’t you think?) But they’ve taken very different approaches.
I am, among other things, an actress, so I suppose it’s natural for me to look at my favorite characters in books and see them as roles I might someday step into. I actually once wrote a short story around that concept, so it’s not a stretch for me to go from reading a book to trying to live it, at least for a weekend at a convention. To date, I’ve only done one cosplay from a book. For two years at DragonCon I dressed as Miss Ivy Hisslepenny from the Parasol Protectorate books.
Gail Carriger describes several of Ivy’s dresses in her books and there’s even (now) a manga that has illustrations, but I didn’t have enough faith in my sewing abilities at the time to make up a particular gown. So, I started from the other direction. Ivy’s most defining characteristic is that she has atrocious taste in hats, so that’s where I started. I made the most absurd confection of a hat that I could think of (I even added a teacup to it for goodness sake!), and then I built the costume around the hat.
I’m currently planning a costume from Mary Robinette Kowal’s Glamourist Histories. It was amazing to actually get to talk to Mary when she was here and discuss ideas for the costume. She helped me think of ways to actually mimic the affects of glamour with practical effects so I could add that to my costume. We’ll see if my fabrication skills are up to the challenge…
The wonderful thing about cosplay is that no matter what your source material, you can connect with a story you love on a new level. You can put yourself inside the skin of a character and really feel like them. And, typically, at a convention or fan gathering, everyone goes with you. I get called by my character’s name more often than I hear “great costume.” I am Ivy or the Baroness, or Princess Leia for a little while and it’s epic!
Are there any costumes you want to make? Are there any props from a story that you’d love to have in your house? Tell me all about them in the comments!
Comfort Reads
I mentioned in my last post that I re-read books frequently. I’ve even started a new shelf on Goodreads to keep track of the books I’m rereading. Feel free to check it out if you’re curious. I thought I’d do a post today about the books I turn to over and over. Sometimes, I just don’t have the energy to start a new book; the unknown can be daunting. Other times, I’m just feeling sad and I need the literary equivalent of a hug. I’ve had a difficult few years lately and there have been times that my books have been as much a part of getting me through the day as the support of my friends has been. In a very real sense, books have been my friends. So, I thought I would introduce you to some of them…
My original 1989 copy of Howl’s Moving Castle
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
This book was the subject of my very first post on this blog. Diana Wynne Jones is a perennial favorite of mine. I mourned her passing like I would that of a beloved aunt. Overkill? Maybe, but her books have been with me since I was in elementary school. They’re worn, and torn, and filled with homemade bookmarks that have been left at favorite passages for decades.
I’m not sure I can even guess how often I’ve returned to the world of Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer. At a guess, once at least once a year since 1989. Let’s call it twenty-five times. That’s actually probably low-balling it, but I haven’t kept close track. I’ve read the other two books in the series, Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways. Of the two, House of Many Ways is the one I return to. I don’t believe I’ve ever re-read Castle in the Air. It helps that both Howl’s Moving Castle and House of Many Ways have very well done audiobooks available.
If you’re already familiar with Howl and Sophie, I recommend moving on to Enchanted Glass, The Pinhoe Egg, and Conrad’s Fate. I like the first four books in Chrestomanci Chronicles too, but again, I haven’t returned to them as many times as I have the others.
2001 edition
Which Witch by Eva Ibbotson
This is another one that’s been with me for a long time. I’ve had a paperback copy since Scholastic published it in 1988. I can no longer read that copy because the spine has cracked into two pieces. But I can’t throw it out; it’s the copy that I had all the way through my childhood. I bought a second copy in 2001 when Scholastic reissued it in paperback. There is an audiobook of this as well, but I haven’t listened to it yet.
Our protagonist is Arriman the Awful, the darkest wizard in England. But, it’s not easy being a national figure. He has a legacy to maintain and, unfortunately, it looks like he’s going to have to maintain it by… well… marrying and producing an heir. Now, he’s not against marriage in general, but you see, in order to have an heir of darkness he’s going to have to find a wife seeped in darkness, and that means a witch. Arriman has announced a contest to find the darkest, blackest witch in England. But, England is a little short on toothsome witches. There’s the one with the pig familiar and the dirty wellies. There’s the one with the hairy mole, the twins with scaly legs, and the serial widow with the necklace of teeth. None of these are quite what one would want to see over one’s morning kippers. Then there is Belladonna. Belladonna has golden hair, limpet blue eyes, and, unfortunately, the sweetest, lightest disposition you could ever hope to see. There’s no way she could possibly win the competition, but maybe, with a little help from an unusual familiar and a young boy she can fake it long enough to find true love with the handsomest of warlocks.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I’ll be honest… I hated my first Jane Austen novel. It was Sense and Sensibility and I tried to read it right after the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet movie came out in 1995. But then! I discovered Pride and Prejudice, both the (in)famous BBC miniseries with Colin Firth and the novel itself. I loved Pride and Prejudice! I got a Dover edition (pictured to the left) and read it three times in one summer. I also plowed my way through Persuasion (loved it), Emma (liked it), Northanger Abbey (liked it), and Mansfield Park (hated it).
I have copies of the books, in some cases I have multiple copies. I have my original paperbacks of Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion as well as the beautiful Penguin Clothbound Classics editions. During college, I kept a copy of P&P with me during all four years. One January I had to fly back to campus a couple of days early because a giant storm was supposed to come in and close down the airport. I had housing for the extra days, but the dorms weren’t open. The expected storm came in and dumped a foot and a half of snow onto western Massachusetts. I couldn’t get to my copy of Pride and Prejudice and I had to read it right now! So, I hiked a few blocks through the snow to get to the Odyssey Bookshop and buy a second copy of the book. My dorm was literally across the street from the bookstore. I passed two libraries on my way (both the college library and the public library), but I couldn’t get into any of them for 36 hours. So, I went and bought another copy so that I could read it in my bunk bed that night. This is one of the reasons I hate, hate, hate getting rid of books. These impulses will come over me and I just have to read the book or go a little mad.
There are lots of audiobooks of Pride and Prejudice available, but I prefer this particular one narrated by Kate Reading. There is also a fantastic Persuasion narrated by Geraldine McEwan. (She was the new Miss Marple when ITV rebooted the series in 2004.)
The Complete Works of Tamora Pierce (More or Less)
Ok, technically, I can’t really count all of Tamora Pierce’s books since I do not frequently re-read a few of the books. Strangely, the ones I don’t go back to include the original series that made me love her. I love the Song of the Lioness quartet, but I’ve only read them three or four times. This is compared to the ten or so times I’ve read the Protector of the Small, or the Magic Circle books. But she’s never written a book I don’t love. When I got Terrier I read it, then the audiobook came out so I finished the paper copy and then immediately listened to it on audio.
Most of Tammy’s books are on audio and they’re all done really well. The Magic Circle series is recorded by Full Cast Audio and they’re amazing!
Aunt Dimity Series by Nancy Atherton
Again, I’ve done a post on the Aunt Dimity series already. And, I’m currently listening to one of the audiobooks (Aunt Dimity Beats the Devil) again. Sadly, I can’t recommend the audios anymore unless you can somehow find the two that were recorded by Christina Moore. The new narrator is terrible! Aunt Dimity is genteel, English, and spectral. Her protegé, Lori, is stubborn, American, and refreshingly earthly. The books are cozy mysteries, but almost never involve a murder. They detail human nature, romance, kindness, community, and family. That sounds maudlin, but they’re not. Lori is blunt enough that the series doesn’t devolve into saccharine sentiment. Dimity is there for me as much as she’s there for Lori.
I could keep going. Sorcery and Cecelia, Lillian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who series, the (almost) complete works of Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and Ngaio Marsh. There are graphic novels I re-read almost obsessively (Zita the Spacegirl, Courtney Crumrin, and Polly and the Pirates). The Rook by Daniel O’Malley and Angelmaker by Nick Harkaway are well on their way to joining this list. I do feel that a book should be out more than three years before I officially add it to my comfort reads list. Strangely enough, the Joe Ledger series by Jonathan Maberry is also on my comfort reads list. But I think that’s specific to me. I’m not sure that scientific horror would make most people feel warm and fuzzy.
What are your comfort reads? Is there a book or books that can cheer you up; that you turn to when you’re feeling down?
Reading Progress
My goal for this year is to read 110 books that are new to me. You see, I re-read. Frequently. I am, at this very moment, listening to the audiobook of The Rook by Daniel O’Malley. This would be the third or fourth time I’ve read it since it came out in January of last year. The last book I listened to was Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer. I’ve read or listened to that one probably six times in three years. But, I am a bookseller and that tends to mean that I need to be up on the latest books, or at least, not try to handsell the same ten books over and over. So, I set myself these challenges. So, here’s how I’m doing so far this year:
1. Point of Honour by Madeline E. Robins 5/5
2. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson 4/5
3. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi 5/5
4. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan 4/5
5. Without a Summer by Mary Robinette Kowal 5/5
6. Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter 3/5
7. Trapped by Kevin Hearne 5/5
8. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi 5/5
9. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie 4/5
10. Alien in the Family by Gini Koch 4/5
11, Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger 5/5
12. Alien Proliferation by Gini Koch 4/5
13. Storm Front by Jim Butcher 3/5
14. Redshirts by John Scalzi 5/5
15. Alien Diplomacy by Gini Koch 4/5
16. The Quest of the Warrior Sheep by Christopher Russell 3/5
17. Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye 3/5
18. The Wells Bequest by Polly Shulman 4/5
19. The Far Traveler by Nancy Marie Brown 2/5
20. The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail by Richard Peck 4/5
21. The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer 4/5
22. Club Monstrosity by Jesse Petersen 4/5
23. Kilts & Kraken by Cindy Spencer Pape 5/5
24. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. .Valente 4/5
25. Steam & Sorcery by Cindy Spencer Pape 4/5
26. Moonlight & Mechnicals by Cindy Spencer Pape 4/5
27. Photographs & Phantoms by Cindy Spencer Pape 4/5
28. A Beautiful Friendship by David Weber 5/5
29. Wednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George 5/5
30. Hunted by Kevin Hearne 5/5
31. Motor City Fae by Cindy Spencer Pape 3/5
32. Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey 4/5
33. Carnal Innocence by Nora Roberts 3/5
34. Sweet Revenge by Zoe Archer 3/5
35. Ink by Amanda Sun 4/5
36. Aunt Dimity & the Lost Prince by Nancy Atherton 4/5
37. Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon by Nancy Atherton 4/5
38. Cards & Caravans by Cindy Spencer Pape 3/5
39. Death on Demand by Carolyn Hart 3/5
40. Wind, Sand and Stars by Antoine de Saint-Exupery 4/5
41. Tethered by Meljean Brooks 4/5
42. The Sasquatch Escape by Suzanne Selfors 4/5
43. You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop by John Scalzi 4/5
44. Blackout by Robinson Wells 5/5
45. Haunting Jordan by P.J. Alderman 3/5
46. Midnight Blue-Light Special by Seanan McGuire 5/5
47. Whiskey Beach by Nora Roberts 4/5
48. A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair 4/5
49. Frogged by Vivian Vande Velde 5/5
50. The Masterharper of Pern by Anne McCaffrey 4/5
51. Larceny & Lace by Annette Blair 4/5
52. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman 5/5
53. The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman 5/5
54. Ghost Ship by P.J. Alderman 3/5
55. The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman 5/5
56. A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman 5/5
57. Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson 5/5
58. Mrs. Pollifax on Safari by Dorothy Gilman 5/5
59. The Arrivals by Melissa Marr 4/5
60. A Question of Magic by E.D. Baker 5/5
61. The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox 4/5
62. Death by Diamonds by Annette Blair 4/5
63. Cloaked in Malice by Annette Blair 3/5
64. Skirting the Grave by Annette Blair 4/5
65. House of Secrets by Chris Columbus 3/5
66. Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station by Dorothy Gilman 5/5
67. Mrs. Pollifax & the Golden Triangle by Dorothy Gilman 5/5
68. Mrs Pollifax & the Hong Kong Buddha by Dorothy Gilman 5/5
69. Dangerous Curves Ahead by Sugar Jamison 3/5
70. The Clockwork Scarab by Colleen Gleason 4/5
71. Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson 5/5
72. Parasite by Mira Grant 5/5
73. The Woman of Nell Gwynne’s by Kage Baker 4/5
74. Nell Gwynne’s on Land and at Sea by Kage Baker 4/5
75. A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander 4/5
76. Tulle Death Do Us Part by Annette Blair 4/5
77. Mrs. Pollifax & the Whirling Dervish by Dorothy Gilman 5/5
78. And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander 4/5
79. How Green This Land, How Blue This Sea by Mira Grant 5/5
80. Mrs. Pollifax & The Second Thief by Dorothy Gilman 5/5
81. A Dark & Stormy Night by Jeanne M. Dams 3/5
82. Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger 5/5
83. Mrs. Pollifax & the Lion Killer by Dorothy Gilman 5/5
84. Cloche and Dagger by Jenn McKinlay 4/5
85. Mrs. Pollifax Pursued by Dorothy Gillman 4/5
86. Dreaming in Chinese by Deborah Fallows 4/5
87. Some Like it Hawk by Donna Andrews 5/5
88. Hen of the Baskervilles by Donna Andrews 5/5
89. A Question of Honor by Charles Todd 4/5
90. Steadfast by Mercedes Lackey 4/5
91. Murder & Mendelssohn by Kerry Greenwood 5/5
92. Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce 5/5
93. Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman 5/5
94. The Lonely Lake Monster by Suzanne Selfors 4/5
95. The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler 5/5
96. Hunting Shadows by Charles Todd 4/5
97. Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson 4/5
98. Autumn Bones by Jacqueline Carey 5/5
So, I need twelve more books to reach my goal before the end of the year. I think that is very doable. If you’d like to see everything I’ve read, including all my re-reads feel free to check out my Goodreads page. I’ve got two different shelves tracking my progress this year. This one is for books over 170 pages and this one is for everything. Do any of you have suggestions for what I should read next?
Agents of Hel by Jacqueline Carey
Jacqueline Carey is probably most well-known for her Kushiel’s Legacy series. These novels are set in a fictionalized medieval Europe and the protagonist is a divinely touched, masochistic courtesan. It’s not exactly for everyone. The books are dense and rich, but they can be a little daunting. The first book, Kushiel’s Dart is 1015 pages in the mass market edition. That’s a commitment. But, if you’re into medieval fantasy I highly recommend the series.
Agents of Hel, on the other hand, is Carey’s new urban fantasy. I should have mentioned it in my Alternate History post, but I forgot. The set up is this:
The town of Pemkowet is unusual; it is the hub of the American supernatural tourist industry. Why? Around the time of World War I Hel, the Norse goddess of the dead, moved her court from Scandinavia to Pemkowet and established Little Niflheim in a sunken city under the dunes outside Pemkowet. This underworld made the sleepy Midwestern resort town attractive to supernatural entities (think Sunnydale and the Hellmouth from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer).
Daisy Johanssen works at the Pemkowet Police Department as a file clerk and their resident X-Files expert. She has unique qualifications for the position; she is the daughter of an incubus and a human. She can sense magic, but has no powers of her own. Well, unless she claims her birthright as a hellspawn. Of course, if she does that there is a chance that the Inviolate Wall keeping Heaven and Hell from starting Armageddon might fall. So, she probably shouldn’t do that. Daisy also has official sanction from Hel to act as her agent. That means that she is the equivalent of a supernatural sheriff. Felicia Day’s book club will be discussing both books this month. Here are the Goodreads pages for Dark Currents and Autumn Bones.
In Dark Currents, the peace of Pemkowet is shattered when a college student is drowned in the river. Signs point to the killer being a member of the eldritch community. It doesn’t help that the victims parents are rabidly anti-magic and could cause trouble for the entire eldritch community.
Daisy has to work with her high school crush, Officer Cody Fairfax, to try to solve the murder. She also has vampires, a ghoul motorcycle club, and occasional communications from her father to deal with.
Autumn Bones is the second book in the series. Daisy has successfully managed her first case, and gotten a nice, human boyfriend named Sinclair. So, of course, everything has to go wrong. Sinclair is from an old obeah family in Jamaica and they want him back. He has turned away from their traditions and likes his new life in Pemkowet. However, his family is willing to go to great lengths to get him back. Their actions could rip the veil between the living and the dead, and Daisy only has until Halloween to set it right. If she fails, she won’t only lose her position as Hel’s agent, she could lose everything she cares about. Once the dead are free Pemkowet itself could be destroyed.
This series is really excellent. The Norse mythology is fascinating and Carey does a good job with the romantic elements. There are three men in Daisy’s orbit, but we don’t find ourselves in a Janet Evanovich situation with Daisy ping-ponging back and forth between them endlessly. Granted, we are only on the second book, so the which-one-will-it-be tension could be stretched out over a few more books, but there is remarkably little angst. These are not the Anita Blake books with Anita agonizing over Richard vs Jean-Claude for six books before eventually ending up with everyone and his brother/cousin/ex-college roommate. Daisy is pretty aware of her feelings and the practical issues surrounding them. I would put the Agents of Hel series much more on the level of Seanan McGuire’s InCryptid series. They’re fun, they’re a little bit hot, but they are self-aware enough that there is refreshingly little angst.
I also feel that Jim Hines would approve of the covers. Daisy isn’t contorting herself into implausible positions to show off all her assets at once. She’s not wearing ridiculous shoes, or incredibly impractical outfits. So please, give this series a shot. The first book is out in paperback now from Roc and the sequel is in hardcover.
Just a friendly reminder, my Hounded giveaway is still running! Enter now to win a copy of the first Iron Druid novel by Kevin Hearne!
Secret History and ANOTHER Giveaway!
We talked about what Secret History was in the last post, so I won’t go into it too much here. A quick recap- a secret history is set in the world you’re familiar with, but shows you all the things you never knew were going on behind the scenes. Also, there’s a handy Wikipedia article if you want more information. That could be the Illuminati (Dan Brown), or the machinations of our secret vampire overlords (Seth Grahame-Smith). I’d like to give you a little bit of a Secret History reading list.
The Iron Druid Series by Kevin Hearne
These books are a little bit like the Percy Jackson books in that gods are real and their followers, avatars, worshipers, and various off spring are here on Earth with us. They generally keep a pretty low profile though. Every now and then, something big will happen, but for the most part us normal humans go about our daily lives with no idea that the really amazing lady we just passed was actually a version of the Virgin Mary or that famous lawyer is a werewolf. Or that bookstore owner is the world’s last druid.
Atticus O’Sullivan is a druid. Who owns a new age bookstore. In Arizona. And he’s just a smidge over 2,000 years old. Oh, and he has a talking dog named Oberon. You’re right. That’s just silly. I’m sorry. The dog doesn’t really talk. He communicates telepathically with Atticus. He’s also one of the best characters in fiction today. Oberon, not the druid. I know, I know. Atticus is the protagonist. But seriously, once you read these books, you’ll be in love with Oberon too.
Atticus isn’t just a druid. Or an old dude. In fact, he looks 21 and judging by the covers of the books, he’s kind of smoking hot. He’s also a wanted man (and not just by his lady readers). You see, Atticus stole a sword. A very, very, very powerful sword. From a god of the Tuatha Dé Danann. And he’s been angry about it ever since. Atticus has given him the slip for millenia, but time is running out. It doesn’t help that Tempe has attracted more than its fair share of supernatural inhabitants who all seem to want something from Atticus too. I don’t want to tell you too much because, of course, you’re going to go read it. If you haven’t already, that is.
‘But Sara,’ you might say, ‘I’ve got too many books already. I can’t go buy Hounded right now.’ That’s ok. I’ve got you covered! Because Del Rey was amazingly awesome and sent me a TON of stuff for my Star Wars Reads Day event, I have extra promo copies of Hounded to give away. And I am giving away FIVE of them in my Hounded giveaway just click-through to get to the Rafflecopter page. You can enter by tweeting about the giveaway or by leaving a comment on this post, or both! If that’s not good enough, if you want to try before you buy, so to speak, you can read the first SIX chapters of Hounded on Kevin’s website.
The Rook by Daniel O’Malley
The easiest way to explain The Rook and my elevator pitch for selling it at the bookstore is, “James Bond meets the X-Files.” I reviewed the book last year in this post. The world is as you know it, but there is a secret organization working in the United Kingdom to manage the supernatural. You never have to hear about a house in the suburbs growing, as it might be, purple people eating fungus because the Checquy (pronounced something like ‘shekay’) are on the scene to deal with it before it eats the neighborhood. Our protagonist, Myfanwy (Mifany), wakes up with no memory. Notes in her pocket lead her to information detailing her previous life as a Checquy agent. She is, in fact, a Rook; all the Checquy ranks are ordered after a chess set. The reader learns about this secret world as Myfanwy herself does. This eleminates the need for an info dump early in the book and makes it very enjoyable. It also allows the reader to swallow some of the more outre aspects of the secret history, because the protagonist is boggling right along with you.
Also, because Daniel O’Malley and his publisher are cool, you can read the first four chapters on his website for absolutely free! Yay! Free things!!!
Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
I’m not going to go too deeply into the plot on this one, because I assume that most of you have a working knowledge of Harry and his world. Hogwarts and the wizarding world exist right alongside everything we know. There’s even a Platform 9 3/4 in King’s Cross Station now. Events from the wizarding world leak over into the Muggle or mundane world. Grindewald was a major force during WWII, for example. Voldemort’s reign of terror involves attacks on muggles, which are understood as tragic accidents or terrorist attacks. Sadly, the cool things don’t tend to bleed over into our world much, but that’s why it’s secret history and not straight up fantasy.
The Milkwood Triptych by Ian Tregillis
This series deals with a very different World War II. A Nazi scientist has discovered a way to make ubermensch by stimulating the brains of children with electricity. Of course, the children must be put into life threatening situations for their powers to manifest, even with the electricity. And most of them do not survive the process. The ones that are left are… broken as humans, but still usable as weapons by the Reich. The powers include pyrokinesis, invisibility, intangibility, electrical manipulation, geomancy, and clairvoyance. In an effort to combat an enemy they cannot understand British forces turn to dark magics to protect the islands. These forces must be paid in blood and pain. At what point does the cost become worse than the consequence of giving up?
This series is dark and not at all for the faint of heart. But it’s amazing and beautifully written. The sequels are The Coldest War and Necessary Evil. Ian is also a lovely gentleman. I met him at a convention a few years ago and he was really nice. He also read the first chapter of Something More Than Night, which I have been waiting for ever since. It’s a noir mystery set in Heaven! And it’s coming out this December! And it’s beautiful!
The Promethean Age series by Elizabeth Bear
This series deals, in part, with the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Playwrights spin words and magic together to help bolster the queen’s reign. However, Kit Marley (Marlowe) has been murdered and Will Shakespeare must take his place, but he cannot wield magic. Marley is resurrected using fairie magic, but at what cost? This book, like most of the secret histories that I enjoy, weaves fantasy elements into the history. Is it so hard to believe that the author of A Midsummer Night’s Dream really did interact with the fairie court? Ink and Steel is the first book and its companion is Hell and Earth, which features Queen Mab instead of Good Queen Bess on its cover.
There are lots of historical thriller secret histories, but I haven’t actually read any of them personally. Ken Follett has several WWII novels that could be considered secret history. Heck, much of history actually is secret history. There are things going on behind the scenes that we don’t find out about until much, much, much later. That’s one of the reasons that this genre works so well for thrillers.
In other media, Doctor Who is a great example of secret history. The Doctor is mucking about in our history all the time. Dating myself a bit, both Highlander and Forever Knight are tv shows from the 1990’s with great secret history. Dollhouse (until the very end and Epitaphs 1 and 2), Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Chuck are all more current examples of secret histories. I don’t actually watch much tv, or I’m sure I’d have more. So, tell me, what is your favorite secret or alternate history story? Is it a movie, book, tv show, graphic novel, concept album, work of art?
Medusa's Library 