tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60222308341197608052024-03-19T08:48:38.836+00:00A Universe in WordsJuli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.comBlogger1777125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-83256176068338614362024-03-15T09:54:00.009+00:002024-03-15T10:04:46.900+00:00Friday Friyay: 'Love, Theoretically' by Ali Hazelwood<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgRD5tt4nBZ9l50VJeNK9cTfhsMX0Hfvidd7N0hJpVQcjRLR5oxJKINzOueHxoh5SRCAzCw-zosjfP1QTvV0atA8q2kQXGC8nmx0WogHObQBfWpnoP6HwBptFQgsBljVMlxPq4bB1aXSZJXGck9HH__iJIp9K1A7zBK8BoJBpQYbEDo2J5RBdZxxeeNzzg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="766" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgRD5tt4nBZ9l50VJeNK9cTfhsMX0Hfvidd7N0hJpVQcjRLR5oxJKINzOueHxoh5SRCAzCw-zosjfP1QTvV0atA8q2kQXGC8nmx0WogHObQBfWpnoP6HwBptFQgsBljVMlxPq4bB1aXSZJXGck9HH__iJIp9K1A7zBK8BoJBpQYbEDo2J5RBdZxxeeNzzg=w262-h400" width="262" /></a></div>Happy Friday! I finally saw <i>Dune: Part Two</i> last night and I legit feel hungover this morning from the entire experience, like, it made me feel all the things, overwhelmed me, intrigued me, and now I'm just ... drained. But thankfully, a friend lent me her library copy of a delightful (according to her) romance and perhaps that's exactly what I'm in the mood for. I'm no stranger to AO3 myself, so I have a sneaky affection for how Ali Hazelwood moved from fanfic to published. And I definitely have her book <i>Bride</i> on my TBR as well, can't wait to see how she brings <i>certain</i> tropes into print. But for this weekend, it's <i>Love, Theoretically</i>. Love me some women in STEM and academic love!<p></p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><p><i>The many lives of theoretical physicist Elsie Hannaway have finally caught up with her. By day, she's an adjunct professor, toiling away at grading labs and teaching thermodynamics in the hopes of landing tenure. By <u>other </u>day, Elsie makes up for her nonexistent paycheck by offering her services as a fake girlfriend, tapping into her expertly honed people-pleasing skills to embody whichever version of herself the client needs.</i></p><p><i>Honestly, it's a pretty sweet gig - until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and arrogant older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the coldhearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor's career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And he's the same Jack Smith who rules over the physics department at MIT, standing right between Elsie and her dream job.</i></p><p><i>Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage, but ... those long, penetrating looks? not having to be anything other than her true self when she's with him? Will falling into an experimentalist's orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?</i></p></blockquote><p><i></i></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHCiEZnIzxux3eyX9Z1RqT65pZWD6VGoT6Ek0TTwZmTG0D5TBHsmjQeXbb2lR23od3XZvXCrhUiMX1u5doJaP3qXMnYKAY80HS240hiCdto0RkiGpjAqTwcBqN632yNSrrmtHrbWZKoSWLIpq3ycnmn71wT2_4kpiV-T8GSqHECbIssA5ta8Gyhu3pQVqz" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="200" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHCiEZnIzxux3eyX9Z1RqT65pZWD6VGoT6Ek0TTwZmTG0D5TBHsmjQeXbb2lR23od3XZvXCrhUiMX1u5doJaP3qXMnYKAY80HS240hiCdto0RkiGpjAqTwcBqN632yNSrrmtHrbWZKoSWLIpq3ycnmn71wT2_4kpiV-T8GSqHECbIssA5ta8Gyhu3pQVqz=w200-h128" width="200" /></a></div><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">Book Beginnings is at home on </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at </span>Freda's Voice<span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but Anne over at <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/" style="background: transparent; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">My Head is Full of Books</a> is thankfully keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at </span><a href="https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;">Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">. </span><p></p><p><b>BB</b>:</p><p></p><blockquote>'<i><b>Prologue</b><br />In my life I have experienced regret, embarrassment, maybe even a touch of agony. But nothing, absolutely nothing prepared me for the ignominy of finding myself in a bathroom stall, pressed against the arrogant older brother of the guy I've been pretending to date for the past six months.'</i> <b>p.1</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>Lol girl, that suuuckksss! Except that it's not gonna very soon I expect. But yes, I think I can get into the vibes of this, even though I haven't sat down for an actual romance in months, if not years!</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicLbq-dQBQvUh1yjeAeXGgzAFZ5W7IsYfKNTASr0dJXtXoMZNu32SRNd3vG3b-jVNjcrkHL_dnpEO4eX8xBOP0L7JlNJB7hkEh75fgwyAyllkcQCPqv36OTyeUU8g4qVrwm78VZWhoacUFNgUwFn5az5Qs5s_fuzQoxpJFxrRzA57T_natvzFOoMQsn15Y" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEicLbq-dQBQvUh1yjeAeXGgzAFZ5W7IsYfKNTASr0dJXtXoMZNu32SRNd3vG3b-jVNjcrkHL_dnpEO4eX8xBOP0L7JlNJB7hkEh75fgwyAyllkcQCPqv36OTyeUU8g4qVrwm78VZWhoacUFNgUwFn5az5Qs5s_fuzQoxpJFxrRzA57T_natvzFOoMQsn15Y=w144-h200" width="144" /></a></b></div><b>F56</b>:<p></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>"You've been lying to him."<br />I'm taken aback. "Lying?"</i> <b>p.56</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>Oooh drama! This book is almost 400 pages, so I doubt this is the dramatic, third act break up, so clearly we're still in the "getting to know one another" phase. Don't know who is talking to her here though, perhaps it is the brother/client?</p><p><b>BBH</b>:</p><p>This week's question comes from Billy himself:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxjlsRIsh3O0uH1nT0Iw0bK7U-Y_rgu4xiImzN1dPW8ox6hEJDm_IdIavVIyLXsW9HMZRyZfJMjiD6jLEpdmCpm4eDlyrA0_9bAEhzfkP7SWZVe2wd2Fq3dw5i5xCxgQeQTrVsPIQoFgWnlj4ZM_G_AQCB-YfMr6yGZtSlnvNHI9N76VTvndy9Sta4M5oZ" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhxjlsRIsh3O0uH1nT0Iw0bK7U-Y_rgu4xiImzN1dPW8ox6hEJDm_IdIavVIyLXsW9HMZRyZfJMjiD6jLEpdmCpm4eDlyrA0_9bAEhzfkP7SWZVe2wd2Fq3dw5i5xCxgQeQTrVsPIQoFgWnlj4ZM_G_AQCB-YfMr6yGZtSlnvNHI9N76VTvndy9Sta4M5oZ=w200-h168" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><u><span style="font-size: medium;">On average, how long do you spend writing a review?</span></u></p><p>It can really differ. Some reviews I knock out in 20 minutes, while others take days. The difference usually is whether I have straightforward thoughts on a book or if it hits me in a weird way. I imagine that I'll knock out a review for <i>Love, Theoretically</i> pretty quickly because I know what to expect and I don't think it's gonna revolutionise my world. This is not meant dismissively btw. But books like <i>Three Eight One </i>or <i>Y/N</i>, those reviews took me forever because I was trying to figure out what I felt, what happened, what was relevant for people visiting my reviews, etc. </p><p>Also, if I didn't like a book, I feel like I spend more time on the review trying to make sure it's at least a little objective? Like, something I hated might be someone else's cup of tea, so I don't wanna yuck someone's yum. Or if it's a debut author, I don't want to crap all over their developing craft. When I love a book I just let all of the love, praise, and admiration pour out of me without restraining it though.</p><p><b>Update on last Friday's Read:</b> Finished reading <i>The Girl in the Tower</i> and I still absolutely love this series. Honestly, it's just so beautiful and vivid. Can't wait to dive into the final book, <i>The Winter of the Witch</i>, though I also kind of want to savour the trilogy.</p><p>So that's it for me this week! Have you read any of Hazelwood's romances? I hope you have a delightful weekend!</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-87019834617333900092024-03-08T09:00:00.000+00:002024-03-08T09:00:07.722+00:00Friday Friyay: 'The Girl in the Tower' by Katherine Arden<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_nBKdv1PA1GWG0L4_4eTmWtjNiV0SkGtxK3OFdorW87zbjJTrZ1xRtB1HGyb5RMf1c9LHKYCGIeQGaOLtoL-HaixODd-VKwLiBAgESZTHFLSb2nvu92YeVCn82hkNgUOxxgPkSd9jD4Y13K_dW8mxroKihfgOZp2TQlc0BaMVpXD_fX0xdvn8Nz8XUU-z" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1682" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_nBKdv1PA1GWG0L4_4eTmWtjNiV0SkGtxK3OFdorW87zbjJTrZ1xRtB1HGyb5RMf1c9LHKYCGIeQGaOLtoL-HaixODd-VKwLiBAgESZTHFLSb2nvu92YeVCn82hkNgUOxxgPkSd9jD4Y13K_dW8mxroKihfgOZp2TQlc0BaMVpXD_fX0xdvn8Nz8XUU-z=w263-h400" width="263" /></a></div> Happy Friday and happy International Women's Day! I have been feeling kinda weird this week, with an odd mix between feeling really good and then feeling utterly uninspired minutes later. (I think it might have something to do with the grey spring weather...) Anyways, I have a friend visiting this weekend, which will be really fun and will hopefully kick my ass back into gear! Aaaaand I've decided to reread one of my favourite trilogies, the <i>Winternight</i> books by Katherine Arden. I was obsessed with these books from the moment I devoured <i><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2017/06/review-bear-and-nightingale-by.html">The Bear and the Nightingale</a></i> in 2017, <i><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2018/01/review-girl-in-tower-winternight-2-by.html">The Girl in the Tower</a></i> in 2018, and <i><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2019/01/review-winter-of-witch-winternight-3-by.html">The Winter of the Witch</a></i> in 2019. Now I got a friend started on the trilogy, but before lending her my copies I decided to give them a reread myself. Raced through the first one in a night, so she's already got that one, so you get a taste of the second one today, <i>The Girl in the Tower</i>:<p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Bear and the Nightingale</span><span>, Katherine Arden’s enchanting first novel, introduced readers to an irresistible heroine. Vasilisa has grown up at the edge of a Russian wilderness, where snowdrifts reach the eaves of her family’s wooden house and there is truth in the fairy tales told around the fire. Vasilisa’s gift for seeing what others do not won her the attention of Morozko—Frost, the winter demon from the stories—and together they saved her people from destruction. But Frost’s aid comes at a cost, and her people have condemned her as a witch.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>In </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Girl in the Tower</span><span>, Vasilisa faces an impossible choice. Driven from her home by frightened villagers, she has only two options left: marriage or the convent. She cannot bring herself to accept either fate and instead chooses adventure, dressing herself as a boy and setting off astride her magnificent stallion Solovey.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>But after she prevails in a skirmish with bandits, everything changes. The Grand Prince of Moscow anoints her a hero for her exploits, and she is reunited with her beloved sister and brother, who are now part of the Grand Prince’s inner circle. She dares not reveal to the court that she is a girl, for if her deception were discovered it would have terrible consequences for herself and her family. Before she can untangle herself from Moscow’s intrigues—and as Frost provides counsel that may or may not be trustworthy—she will also confront an even graver threat lying in wait for all of Moscow itself.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpoFXlbHkRY6O5tIw0z4RvuaAoLTNqocMEzEZE0EB7q0icPNzPyGKXfH6vDT_vW6FaFKXQPxtnvKWkv3_A8Tqo8o7GnnKgkHjzvHsw11L6APDBtI_5-KIORMKxUUnd3glXgzYAojGqLIoXglpk2TzTGcvpF8j1z4d3cYsMU00DjPqpvr10AW5U22jMdYz1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="200" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpoFXlbHkRY6O5tIw0z4RvuaAoLTNqocMEzEZE0EB7q0icPNzPyGKXfH6vDT_vW6FaFKXQPxtnvKWkv3_A8Tqo8o7GnnKgkHjzvHsw11L6APDBtI_5-KIORMKxUUnd3glXgzYAojGqLIoXglpk2TzTGcvpF8j1z4d3cYsMU00DjPqpvr10AW5U22jMdYz1=w200-h128" width="200" /></a></div><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif;">Book Beginnings is at home on </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif;">, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; text-decoration-line: none;">Freda's Voice</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif;">, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but Anne over at <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/" style="background: transparent; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">My Head is Full of Books</a> is thankfully keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at </span><a href="https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; text-decoration-line: none;">Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif;">. <br /></span><p></p><p><b>BB</b>: </p><p></p><blockquote><p>'<b><i>Prologue</i></b></p><p><i>A girl rode a bay horse through a forest late at night. This forest had no name. It lay far from Moscow - far from anything - and the only sound was the snow's silence and the rattle of frozen trees.'</i> <b>p.1</b></p><p><b><i>I. The Death of the Snow-Maiden</i></b></p><p><i>Moscow, just past midwinter, and the haze of ten thousand fires rose to meet a smothering sky. To the west a little light lingered, but in the east the clouds mounded up, bruise-colored in the livid dusk, buckling with unfallen snow.'</i> <b>p.7</b></p></blockquote><p><b></b></p><p>I still love how Katherine Arden wrote this trilogy. It is such a fairy tale vibe throughout and I just loved how Arden described the woods and village life in the first book. In this one, we're kind of splitting our time between Moscow's bustling city life and what happens out on the countryside/in the wild, which was a really nice expansion of the world.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOTcD5BxF9G-XeeRFAswzmCyGNhVyNenouZTrmmnlZ7Mn2Gq6X9cughff6XAF0-j9phCRlQQ1wGATBk2ZKLJYun_1ZKtF2_t7fY6qZV_FTX_wBD8DQo8bTsDpvWB4iHYi81kGZPJ8ri8sR_e8K8LPkRuo_rmwNbMRsaz2jCwJenjKt6FTcYpNHiSW3Unlr" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjOTcD5BxF9G-XeeRFAswzmCyGNhVyNenouZTrmmnlZ7Mn2Gq6X9cughff6XAF0-j9phCRlQQ1wGATBk2ZKLJYun_1ZKtF2_t7fY6qZV_FTX_wBD8DQo8bTsDpvWB4iHYi81kGZPJ8ri8sR_e8K8LPkRuo_rmwNbMRsaz2jCwJenjKt6FTcYpNHiSW3Unlr=w144-h200" width="144" /></a></b></div><b>F56</b>:<p></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>But in the singing heat, the soft breath of the steam, Vasya's breath slowed, and slowed again, until she lay quiet in the darkness and the frigid knot of grief inside her loosened. She lay on her back, open-eyed, and the tears ran down her temples, to mingle with her sweat.'</i> <b>p.56</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>Vasya, my beloved. I just adore this girl so much and I was so glad Arden gave her a moment to actually sit (or float in a bath) with everything that has happened. I am surprised at how much I continue to enjoy rereading this trilogy. I'm almost a decade older than I was when I read them for the first time, and they're still hitting home.</p><p><b>BBH</b>:</p><p>This week's question was suggested by Billy himself:</p><p><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Do you use a book's synopsis for your review?</span></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0HwaqLmhqQ241ugeuxlW-r55Z51Rah5D7XCWuGwxo2pUQXEraKUu0gaAkHX42Spx_vetKoOPoVnWsD4eyCmx71KufTqoQza_BI2w0bjzUEv-IInBMYxh1DB_RvQmV2EprnupJYqP5XMp3zzv-Wx5vS9UJDeLjZ6gEpgUYlxJRfqNOTXz8vj2RT6Pdxe4U" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj0HwaqLmhqQ241ugeuxlW-r55Z51Rah5D7XCWuGwxo2pUQXEraKUu0gaAkHX42Spx_vetKoOPoVnWsD4eyCmx71KufTqoQza_BI2w0bjzUEv-IInBMYxh1DB_RvQmV2EprnupJYqP5XMp3zzv-Wx5vS9UJDeLjZ6gEpgUYlxJRfqNOTXz8vj2RT6Pdxe4U=w200-h168" width="200" /></a></span></u></div><p></p><p>Yup! If it's a NetGalley read I'll use the one they share there, or I'll just pull it from Goodreads, like I did above for <i>The Girl in the Tower</i>. I actually then do also give my own summary of the plot which... thinking about it now may be doubling it up? But I like telling people roughly what the book is about, what themes are at play, etc. without spoiling it. And so often the synopses that you find are just marketing blegh which either spoils things or does not reflect</p><p><b>Update on last Friday Read</b>: last time I shared quoted from <i>Three Dark Crowns</i> by Kendare Blake. Although I enjoyed it, I have to admit it was a bit meh. If you're gonna tease me with epic trials and queens murdering one another, don't end your first book before any of that happens, that's mean. Also, I may be too old for 16 (18?)-year old protagonists...</p><p>So that's it for me! What are you reading?</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-9033394679274256872024-03-07T16:14:00.001+00:002024-03-07T16:14:31.598+00:00Review: 'Y/N' by Esther Yi<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0w4s9I_IiiSfn1ar7fkQ9P54H7OewHJ-_7TrjR3_HZilQDpg9BA00fWzy2sb_K_qYOv8eu5tamhfUpfDn-kGUroN-SdrEpmyTKmYRquF8x3t8SGZo2w4BM2xKCyGYgt7XhiORAuG5AucEdyqnQ1aSJgs9OwcsDoZ14rTGC6-dQS17syL_PF0P9FiMI4-T" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi0w4s9I_IiiSfn1ar7fkQ9P54H7OewHJ-_7TrjR3_HZilQDpg9BA00fWzy2sb_K_qYOv8eu5tamhfUpfDn-kGUroN-SdrEpmyTKmYRquF8x3t8SGZo2w4BM2xKCyGYgt7XhiORAuG5AucEdyqnQ1aSJgs9OwcsDoZ14rTGC6-dQS17syL_PF0P9FiMI4-T=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div>Sometimes, especially when you're trying to resist it, a book, a film, a song, or a piece of art will just grip you by the neck and pin you to the wall, not letting go. And what may also happen in this situation, is that whoever is responsible for creating the beauty that has you in a grip will become all you care about. Welcome to the fandom experience, welcome to parasocial relationships. Even if you have some experience with this phenomena, however, you are not prepared for <i>Y/N</i> by Esther Yi, the weirdest book I have read in quite some time. Thanks to Astra and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My apologies for the delay!<p></p><p><b>Pub. Date</b>: 3/21/2023<br /><b>Publisher</b>: Astra Publishing House</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="x;">It’s as if her life only began once Moon appeared in it. The desultory copywriting work, the boyfriend, and the want of anything not-Moon quickly fall away when she beholds the idol in concert, where Moon dances as if his movements are creating their own gravitational field; on livestreams, as fans from around the world comment in dozens of languages; even on skincare products endorsed by the wildly popular Korean boyband, of which Moon is the youngest, most luminous member. Seized by ineffable desire, our unnamed narrator begins writing Y/N fanfic—in which you, the reader, insert [Your/Name] and play out an intimate relationship with the unattainable star.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style=";">Surreal, hilarious, and shrewdly poignant, </span><span style="; box-sizing: border-box;">Y/N </span><span style=";">is a provocative literary debut about the universal longing for transcendence and the tragic struggle to assert one’s singular story amidst the amnesiac effects of globalization. Esther Yi’s prose unsettles the boundary between high and mass art, exploding our expectations of a novel about “identity” and offering in its place a sui generis picture of the loneliness that afflicts modern life.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"></span></i></span><p></p><p>We are well and truly in an age of parasocial relationships with people you'll never know, pared with a heavy sense of disconnect to the actual life around you. Not to wax to philosophical myself, although that very much fits <i>Y/N</i>, but I think we have reached a weird point in society where we have never been more connected and have never felt more disconnected. We have so much access to the lives of others, through social media especially but also through global news which make crises at the other side of the world feel like they're taking place next door. And yet all of this input leads many of us, myself included, to also kind of withdraw from the onslaught, which means that the actual connection and contact you can have with those around you, dissipates. And this can then lead to you actually feeling lonely while not being alone. So, it's a weird time, socially. How do you approach something so weirdly complex? Through an absolutely insane book, and that is what <i>Y/N</i> is. I don't think a different approach would have worked for the themes this book is working with, but it nonetheless makes this a difficult book.</p><p>Our narrator is dragged to a K-pop boyband concert by her housemate, very much against her will, only to fall utterly in love with Moon, one of the singers. What follows is hard to describe. Our narrator becomes obsessed with Moon, starts writing self-insert fanfic (hence the title <i>Y/N</i> for 'Your Name'), and flies to Korea to track him down. Our narrator is also a young Korean-American woman living in Germany, who, I feel, is desperately looking for meaning, complexity, something real, something shattering. Her lack of a name is symbolic of how empty she feels, I think, and to a certain extent this makes it hard to relate. But I don't think Esther Yi wants you to relate or find answers. She wants you to get lost in the labyrinth of life with her character, to get so lost in the word-sauce that nothing means anything and everything means something. You have to be solidly along for the ride with <i>Y/N</i> because Yi will expect you to follow or get left behind. </p><p>I think this is Esther Yi's debut novel, which I find astounding because her voice feels so fully formed. Don't get me wrong, I sometimes had no idea what was going on in this book, but I never felt like Yi had lost the plot as well. Her writing feels very steady, even as the novel becomes more and more fantastical and absurd. The only thing I can compare it to is, to steal a line from H.G. Wells, a scientist gazing at creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. There is something clinical and detached about the writing, as if Yi is just as fascinated as we are about what is going on here, while at all times being in control of what is happening. But this approach does not lead to it feeling cold. Instead it feels like a fever dream, way too close to the skin. Esther Yi accomplishes all of that with a writing style that is incredibly dense, philosophical, and yet intentional. As you can perhaps tell from this review, I am very much in two minds about the book, always flipping back and forth. And I continue to think this may be the point. I can't wait to read something else by Esther Yi and I would wholeheartedly recommend this to readers willing to get lost.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I give this novel...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4LnwdM1XIzrWE-siizME-5fUohLfm0MTgXB-5IWhSJeZvY1BUDHssmCprIScNgsl8xP9uVfPI_UzledS33XbV7nUIM4U_Ct8LjovnUTV-5uTpzv-kG1N6u7FaTPSBoUFIX735IBVlEHfxAfH7ZgGuKT62kBtANACA7cJmJnM8dtCJBrWV7rkNzZczCT2/s3004/3%20Universes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="3004" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4LnwdM1XIzrWE-siizME-5fUohLfm0MTgXB-5IWhSJeZvY1BUDHssmCprIScNgsl8xP9uVfPI_UzledS33XbV7nUIM4U_Ct8LjovnUTV-5uTpzv-kG1N6u7FaTPSBoUFIX735IBVlEHfxAfH7ZgGuKT62kBtANACA7cJmJnM8dtCJBrWV7rkNzZczCT2/w400-h79/3%20Universes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">3 Universes!</p><p><i>Y/N</i> is utterly absurd, but in a fascinating way. Esther Yi dives into themes that are current and ideas that are timeless, into the digital loneliness of the 21st century, and the lure of obsession and meaning. </p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-39619401339405033492024-02-25T10:29:00.002+00:002024-02-25T10:29:25.213+00:00Then and Now #62 (18/2/24 - 25/2/24)<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWhtnI5jeplftFju8xFuSrmPq1giaYFIAe_GZKn8nZHhzsCF6TAbG_H6Di6nNQWND_91FFfrlU-QZ639-EeeyaYHgTOt9S4iGc-HTtQ_ia9lHIlIlbeNguLSRZAiJjsPJzQOtmcgjnYfU5ttSHpnJr2cDnCPfXyHlFUsauZauv9GI4SWnDYUYChc__jHnX" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; clear: left; color: #a93e33; display: inline; float: left; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWhtnI5jeplftFju8xFuSrmPq1giaYFIAe_GZKn8nZHhzsCF6TAbG_H6Di6nNQWND_91FFfrlU-QZ639-EeeyaYHgTOt9S4iGc-HTtQ_ia9lHIlIlbeNguLSRZAiJjsPJzQOtmcgjnYfU5ttSHpnJr2cDnCPfXyHlFUsauZauv9GI4SWnDYUYChc__jHnX=w200-h200" style="border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="200" /></a></p><p style="background-color: #fdfaf0;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Sunday! <b>T</b><b>he Sunday Post</b> is a blog news meme hosted @ <a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/" style="background: transparent; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Caffeinated Reviewer</a>. See rules here: <a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com//the-sunday-post-meme" style="background: 0px 0px transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Sunday Post Meme</a>. <span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mailbox Monday</span> is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It is hosted weekly over at <a href="https://mailboxmonday.wordpress.com/" style="background: transparent; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Mailbox Monday</a> and every Friday they do a round-up of some of their favourite, shared reads! </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Last Week</b></p><p>I missed out on writing this post for most of February, but it's been a good month so far! The semester is finally over and now I can focus on my research, which I'm looking forward to. Of course I also need to prep my seminars for the next semester, but some of the tension is gone now. I have all kinds of ideas for my PhD so I'm looking forward to getting those from my brain onto a page. I had a bit of a not necessarily writer's block, but more like a writer's hesitation? (I'm coining that.) I was worried that the ideas would turn out to be dumb once I wrote them down, but now that I've had some time to take a breather, I'm past that I think. I also took some days off to go visit family in the UK, which was necessary and fun. I got to drop by the British Museum for the first time in years, which was fun. Spending time with my family was also really nice and I got to attend a friend's baby shower and catch up a little with her. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsJQO_CKTkmbMtBYC6ujeU4LcsumMVwmyATlmfrTZYYJqJHti2bvDdGjgn8pXNqJrjLxQWN_mYUx9YHRMK3FoSHqQSz9PD9RP9LsTaqQgw5L7-zTb3oOygEH-rkDIh41D3l5U_Qm8OlcZ1C-Y0j_SlYufGpgWAq-Q0JfwtOKjXNNgMSH0xPE1TITIb5aCq" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjsJQO_CKTkmbMtBYC6ujeU4LcsumMVwmyATlmfrTZYYJqJHti2bvDdGjgn8pXNqJrjLxQWN_mYUx9YHRMK3FoSHqQSz9PD9RP9LsTaqQgw5L7-zTb3oOygEH-rkDIh41D3l5U_Qm8OlcZ1C-Y0j_SlYufGpgWAq-Q0JfwtOKjXNNgMSH0xPE1TITIb5aCq=w174-h200" width="174" /></a></div><p></p><p>I don't really have a whole load of other updates or anything like that. The sun has been shining here for the past few days, peaking through the clouds quite consistently, which has done wonders for my mood. The break also meant that I finally dove back into reading and I have been devouring books left, right, and centre! So now I need to really catch up on my review writing! The good thing is that I have actually enjoyed all the books I have been reading, so hopefully I'll be able to keep the reading fever going without burning myself out or hitting a slump. I also dove into some books I've been wanting to read for a while like <i>Three Dark Crowns</i> (good fun, but not super deep) and <i>Fourth Wing</i> (enjoyed it, but didn't shake my world). </p><p>Posted since last time:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87BnuSsONQo"><i>BC</i> - Let's Get Medieval #6 - 'Wulf and Eadwacer'</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/02/friday-friyay-ninth-house-by-leigh.html">Friday Friyay: <i>Ninth House</i> by Leigh Bardugo</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-mad-womens-ball-by-victoria-mas.html">Review: <i>The Mad Women's Ball</i> by Victoria Mas, trans. by Frank Wynne</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-three-eight-one-by-aliya-whiteley.html">Review: <i>Three Eight One</i> by Aliya Whiteley</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohgZMMJ08i8&t=763s"><i>Book Central</i> #20 - My Favourite Love Letter (<i>Persuasion</i> by Jane Austen) Valentine's Day Episode</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/02/friday-friyay-giovannis-room-by-james.html">Friday Friyay: <i>Giovanni's Room</i> by James Baldwin</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKFjP3pl8d8&t=18s"><i>Book Central</i> #21 - 7 Fantasy & Sc-Fi Books To Get You Through Dreary Spring</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/02/friday-friyay-three-dark-crowns-by.html">Friday Friyay: <i>Three Dark Crowns</i> by Kendare Blake</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-fish-by-joanne-stubbs.html">Review: <i>The Fish</i> by Joanne Stubbs</a></li></ul><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Recommendation</b></p><p>I'm not the biggest Country music fan, but Beyoncé absolutely got me bopping with 'Texas Hold Em'!</p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/238Z4YaAr1g?si=atdJPVkMoQVrzkzg" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Mailbox Monday</b></p><p>Only two books from NetGalley this week!</p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i>Mimesis, Expression, Construction: Fredric Jameson's Seminar on Aesthetic Theory</i> by Fredric Jameson, Octavian Esanu</u> (Repeater Books; 3/18/2024)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgY9ENyWFX-7f_etnE9xqesA1ErH1xw0bBB2sKctu_kh4jD_QhXTjMrN5H9KhujkLlE3HI12fZemIqq_sOtqVzevqHCezKkUOUrwKND8aJvYmUMq-oyD5EmDc5_1v94nbADDuwyLmHOiXu7Ql-Ke-YNI5okAIAhpm1Q-UdeEjJgr84Nd54xkFVyn85zx10s" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgY9ENyWFX-7f_etnE9xqesA1ErH1xw0bBB2sKctu_kh4jD_QhXTjMrN5H9KhujkLlE3HI12fZemIqq_sOtqVzevqHCezKkUOUrwKND8aJvYmUMq-oyD5EmDc5_1v94nbADDuwyLmHOiXu7Ql-Ke-YNI5okAIAhpm1Q-UdeEjJgr84Nd54xkFVyn85zx10s=w250-h400" width="250" /></a></div>Transcribed and edited from audio recordings taken by Octavian Esanu of the original seminar at Duke University in 2003, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mimesis, Expression, Construction</span><span> reproduces Jameson and his students' engagement with </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Aesthetic Theory</span><span>, one of the most influential theories of modernist aesthetics.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>The first and only published record of Jameson's teaching and pedagogic style, the seminar delves into modern and modernist aesthetics through the perspectives of Kant, Hegel, Freud, Schopenhauer, and Nietzsche; Benjamin and other members of the Frankfurt School; the literary works of Thomas Mann and Samuel Beckett; the music of Schoenberg, Webern and Berg; the films of Chaplin, Vertov and Eisenstein; the aesthetic implications of psychoanalysis and biblical exegesis; classical music; and more.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Presented in the format of a play, with stage setting, student interruptions and exchanges, interjections, auditory noises, and ambient sounds, and complemented with scans of students' notes, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Mimesis, Expression, Construction</span><span> is a groundbreaking addition to the work of one of the greatest modern cultural critics.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p>I'll admit this isn't the most captivating of titles, but I think this will be really interesting for my research. Also, I love the idea of these transcribed seminars, of knowledge being passed on this way, the move from orality to literacy, etc. So yes, this one is half work, half fun!</p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i>The Wings Upon Her Back</i> by Samantha Mills</u> (Tachyon Publications; 4/23/2024)</span></p><p><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span></i></span></p><blockquote><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimHnJr-pqQs6zAsXnI2VX0i57eD0J1eBe_2gpV-rqonazd3jdVOc-HzLsMnyXED-8u9ImIHgQI3JesKJE4R98OpAPvwvEFBkpUtiQnaIYpZYCcUH-IDGNYYpjvtcYDIh_nnpY8D_6SAH9xIkabMuEf67ji6hjJMb-pUBIDsTCa1mI-OHkvfgEp_YQZkBPd" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="382" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEimHnJr-pqQs6zAsXnI2VX0i57eD0J1eBe_2gpV-rqonazd3jdVOc-HzLsMnyXED-8u9ImIHgQI3JesKJE4R98OpAPvwvEFBkpUtiQnaIYpZYCcUH-IDGNYYpjvtcYDIh_nnpY8D_6SAH9xIkabMuEf67ji6hjJMb-pUBIDsTCa1mI-OHkvfgEp_YQZkBPd=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div>A loyal warrior in a crisis of faith must fight to regain her place and begin her life again while questioning the events of her past. This gripping science-fantasy novel from a Nebula, Sturgeon, and Locus Award-winning debut author is a complex, action-packed exploration of the costs of zealous faith, ceaseless conflict, and shocking revelations.</span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />Zenya was a teenager when she ran away from home to join the mechanically-modified warrior sect. She was determined to earn mechanized wings and protect the people and city she loved. Under the strict tutelage of a mercurial, charismatic leader, Zenya became Winged Zemolai.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />But after twenty-six years of service, Zemolai is disillusioned with her role as an enforcer in an increasingly fascist state. After one tragic act of mercy, she is cast out and loses everything she worked for. As Zemolai fights for her life, she begins to understand the true nature of her sect, her leader, and the gods themselves.</span></span></i></blockquote><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span></i><p></p><p>This one is absolutely all fun, no work. Or at least I hope it will be. I love stories about loyal warriors losing faith, of people beginning to question the systems they grew up in, etc. Add to that mechanical wings and I am on board!</p><p>And that's it for me this week! What are you reading? And how you doin'?</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-86128969335043800812024-02-25T09:52:00.010+00:002024-02-25T09:52:49.388+00:00Review: 'The Fish' by Joanne Stubbs<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfkes_rIiRgwKQCe7ysLBohHZorBco_tOMUBXZLYl8zXfqkLLwoVnUaPijD9RFNgzQMHFy7eexCDjJYtX2RnRE_0OUnB-5c_igDcQH1Wut7dL97_7UyQRVqjo_4zAlOkg8NkNmhOtdaPuOZ4gEwbEzr1j-b2NIYAr0PxhYZDQ-Nv4fy1bVsxDOIyws0euo" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhfkes_rIiRgwKQCe7ysLBohHZorBco_tOMUBXZLYl8zXfqkLLwoVnUaPijD9RFNgzQMHFy7eexCDjJYtX2RnRE_0OUnB-5c_igDcQH1Wut7dL97_7UyQRVqjo_4zAlOkg8NkNmhOtdaPuOZ4gEwbEzr1j-b2NIYAr0PxhYZDQ-Nv4fy1bVsxDOIyws0euo=w262-h400" width="262" /></a></div>Our world can feel so secure, with every day following neatly after the previous one. Some things seem stable and secure. So what happens when suddenly, fish start leaving the ocean behind for jaunts on the land? What has changed? And will everything keep changing, or will we find a way to turn things back? Thanks to Fairlight Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My sincere apologies for the delay.<p></p><p><b>Pub. Date</b>: 10/6/2022<br /><b>Publisher</b>: Fairlight Books</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="; box-sizing: border-box;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="; box-sizing: border-box;">'There is a fish on the sand; I see it clearly. But it is not on its side, lying still. It is partly upright. It moves. I can see its gills, off the ground and wide open. It looks as though it’s standing up.'</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style=";">A few decades into the twenty-first century, in their permanently flooded garden in Cornwall, Cathy and her wife Ephie give up on their vegetable patch and plant a paddy field instead. Thousands of miles away, expat Margaret is struggling to adjust to life in Kuala Lumpur, now a coastal city. In New Zealand, two teenagers marvel at the extreme storms hitting their island.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style=";">But they are not the only ones adapting to the changing climate. The starfish on Cathy’s kitchen window are just the start. As more and more sea creatures begin to leave the oceans and invade the land, the new normal becomes increasingly hard to accept.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"></span></i></span><p></p><p>Climate change is bound to have an immense impact on our lives in the coming decades. Especially coastal communities will be affected and, to be very honest, this is not being properly addressed by our governments or by international bodies. With all of that on the horizon, one could ask what the point of writing books about it is. Well, storytelling is how we engage with the world around us, how we ask hard questions, and how we prepare ourselves for difficult choices. The genre of<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_fiction"> 'Climate fiction'</a>, or Cli-Fi, has arisen over the past decade or two and is used in reference to books which engage with climate change. The term Cli-Fi can apply to a pretty wide selection of books, most of them speculative in nature, from the Science Fiction, Fantasy, Dystopian, and Lit-Fic genres. <i>The Fish</i> would also fall under this umbrella term, set in our own world as it is. In her novel, Joanne Stubbs steps ever so slightly into our future, where coastal communities across the world are already threatened and humans have made some efforts to address their impact on the world. Stubbs' novel focuses mostly on the emotional and psychological impact of climate change on humans, so on the way in which it will affect the way we see our own place in the world, for example, rather than the actual consequences. I think for that it is very interesting and many of those aspects are well done by Stubbs. If you're looking for a novel to dive deep into climate science or to be unforgiving in its judgement, though, this is not that book. </p><p><i>The Fish</i> is told through three different perspectives. We start with Cathy, who lives on the coast in Cornwall with her wife, Ephie, who is a marine biologist. They are very happily married, but the sudden appearance of fish who move onto land cause friction in their marriage. Where they are fascinating things to be studied for Ephie, the fish cause a deep unease in Cathy. The second storyline follows Ricky and his friend Kyle who live in New Zealand and are in their final years of high school. They're young, dealing with growing up in a changing world, and when the fish begin to appear it forces them even further to consider where they want to go in life. The final storyline focuses on Margaret, an American expat who lives in Kuala Lumpur. She finds joy in her faith and her missionary work, but the appearance of the fish is something she cannot overlook and it causes a crisis of faith and trust, which she cannot shake. I really liked the way in which Stubbs employed these different storylines. The characters are united by certain common experiences, like a major, world-wide storm which sets off the fish-weirdness, but due to their differing locations and backgrounds, the characters are each affected in different ways. The storylines did feel a little unequal to me. I became very fond of Cathy and Ephie almost immediately and it felt like they had to most extensively sketched-out backstory and characters. Ricky and Kyle were also interesting because this story highlighted the way in which climate change affects the young, whose lives are still in front of them. They either give in to the doom of a changing world, or choose to make changes where they can. To be entirely honest, Margaret's storyline did not hit for me. On the one hand I appreciated the way in which Stubbs showed how an event like this can shake someone's faith and understanding of the world. On the other, however, I get the ick a little from the conviction that comes out of missionary work. This is a personal thing, but it meant that I wasn't as invested in Margaret's story line, even though it had a lot to offer. I think I would have preferred, however, to get a perspective from someone actually from Kuala Lumpur, for example, rather than an expat's perspective.</p><p>This is Joanne Stubbs' debut novel and I really enjoyed the premise of her novel. She's got some great ideas going on. Her characterisation is, across the field, also very well done. As I said above, some of her characters truly shine and she has a great eye for the little details that make a character come alive. <i>The Fish</i> is not a long novel, clocking in at roughly 250 books, and the pace is solid. Rather than getting detailed descriptions of everything, we hop from one perspective to another and get insights into specific moments. For me, the writing felt a little dialogue-heavy and there are some seemingly relevant story threads which aren't resolved. I did like the way in which <i>The Fish</i> attempted to tackle something as massive as climate change and the disastrous impact it will have on coastal communities through an attention grabbing premise like "fish walking on land". It catches a reader and then tries to build from there. I did feel that, considering the novel takes place at a moment when coastal communities are already affected by rising ocean-levels, that the impact is relatively mild. I appreciate that Stubbs didn't want to write a climate dystopian novel, so I'm not expecting a high body count, but the novel felt surprisingly cozy at times, considering the themes we're playing with. For a debut novel, however, I think <i>The Fish</i> shows a lot of promise and I'd definitely pick up future works by Joanne Stubbs.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I give this novel...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbx3SFSk4YUxbiFVz8T39QxoIEqxZn9oboDiTyrQQK0V7UUnvh_jQziGa8pYnhnnKfvaBxnlzEs_UwEANjorfGJzlqFRWJuMJwj6a0WKUHLRk2dS_ESnes8bgDCRU7uV8Y2I9fqC4eecGYJrAauCNBDyVo4VdoEOlQ8OVV5ERTen4C2I98nVuxsOVxPQxw/s3004/3%20Universes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="3004" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbx3SFSk4YUxbiFVz8T39QxoIEqxZn9oboDiTyrQQK0V7UUnvh_jQziGa8pYnhnnKfvaBxnlzEs_UwEANjorfGJzlqFRWJuMJwj6a0WKUHLRk2dS_ESnes8bgDCRU7uV8Y2I9fqC4eecGYJrAauCNBDyVo4VdoEOlQ8OVV5ERTen4C2I98nVuxsOVxPQxw/w400-h79/3%20Universes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">3 Universes!</p><p><i>The Fish</i> has an intriguing premise and engages with the impact of climate change on different coastal communities. While the storylines are a bit unbalanced and not everything feels fully addressed by the end, I did enjoy the novel.</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-33166966990483891722024-02-23T08:57:00.003+00:002024-02-23T09:03:20.526+00:00Friday Friyay: 'Three Dark Crowns' by Kendare Blake<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQ9F28RTxC1dkU2WMEjVa75ODIK8Xg15H0eZ4_8z4SY3rOQfnoUvo336XDhEHMTodh-DsjF1rZ8duu4UGolscqw-yoB6wqA5MMSHDhEghHQjqFqURHPvwfMAf5efdaFG1oSupeaGJIhWbNzvXwCVMIEsCC-_JReXvbhP02uotB8T800W7XMO5RCMntc3D6" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1511" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhQ9F28RTxC1dkU2WMEjVa75ODIK8Xg15H0eZ4_8z4SY3rOQfnoUvo336XDhEHMTodh-DsjF1rZ8duu4UGolscqw-yoB6wqA5MMSHDhEghHQjqFqURHPvwfMAf5efdaFG1oSupeaGJIhWbNzvXwCVMIEsCC-_JReXvbhP02uotB8T800W7XMO5RCMntc3D6=w265-h400" width="265" /></a></div> Happy Friday! For once I am happy to report that I got a whole mountain of reading done during my days off! It was truly a never-ending reading-fest. And then I got back to work and found exactly zero time to write any reviews. So I'm hoping to catch up on that during the weekend, although, now that I've caught the reading-fever once again, I also have a list of books I want to read. One of the books from the TBR I've finally decided to try and sit down with is <i>Three Dark Crowns</i> by Kendare Blake. Every since it came out in 2016, I've been dying to read it. So here we <b>finally</b> go!<p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">When kingdom come, there will be one.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>The last queen standing gets the crown. </span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">Book Beginnings is at home on </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Freda's Voice</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but Anne over at <a href="https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/">My Head is Full of Books</a> is thankfully keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at </span><a href="https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">. </span></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPOmd-Fi4QtzBd6hjG_oTN4M1hrFg3GMm75Uc4knFHADRxEJsebqxz1p6b8vabLR41rHVpabFC4a0bp-jRkgoXFnHaL0VMmbjQXCiuDUgFPM9ggjAX-qNAtF9p_7oc2OyPQPuL4VfiwkqJax-_P2laB3XNMLt1BucwFiGZ0KKi1S-EVCuADqhiRjqi0ZSY" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="200" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgPOmd-Fi4QtzBd6hjG_oTN4M1hrFg3GMm75Uc4knFHADRxEJsebqxz1p6b8vabLR41rHVpabFC4a0bp-jRkgoXFnHaL0VMmbjQXCiuDUgFPM9ggjAX-qNAtF9p_7oc2OyPQPuL4VfiwkqJax-_P2laB3XNMLt1BucwFiGZ0KKi1S-EVCuADqhiRjqi0ZSY=w200-h128" width="200" /></a></div><b>BB</b>:<br /><p></p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i>'A young queen stands barefoot on a wooden block with her arms outstretched. She has only her scant underclothes and the long, black hair that hangs down her back to fend off the drafts. Every once of strength in her slight frame is needed to keep her chin high and her shoulders square.</i>' <b>1%</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>Love the imagery of this. It immediately brings Anne Boleyn to mind for me, which is probably on purpose, so now I'm all set for tragic queens, death, and betrayal. I do know this book switches POV between the sisters quite a bit and I'm not always super good with that, as I like to find my character and stick with them, but we'll see how it goes.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyu6B3uKGEiVxqhJ6EkLlGZ6VHw3gqD9hh-10w9emgDSbBA9WghzwKOz2OIeXHAJQrLrfH_NLr4GiF3LCpKrzoj9HE92cWLs81ClyynA7f4D4XFzB1Di7FaotrcUypQJB1f7I1JajQQC2rLsCHolddBiZtlRu0V2fxZn08-JQ7J0Nk1vOTJ6rT7F4GBjMe" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjyu6B3uKGEiVxqhJ6EkLlGZ6VHw3gqD9hh-10w9emgDSbBA9WghzwKOz2OIeXHAJQrLrfH_NLr4GiF3LCpKrzoj9HE92cWLs81ClyynA7f4D4XFzB1Di7FaotrcUypQJB1f7I1JajQQC2rLsCHolddBiZtlRu0V2fxZn08-JQ7J0Nk1vOTJ6rT7F4GBjMe=w144-h200" width="144" /></a></b></div><b>F56</b>: <p></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>The Arrons are entrenched at Greavesdrake. And it is more than their poisons and their morbid artwork on the walls - still lifes of butchered meat and flowers, and black snakes curled around nudes. They have seeped into the manor itself. Now every inch of wood and shadow is also a part of them</i>.' <b>56%</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>I just loved the descriptiveness of this, of how this family has seeped into its house? I don't think I'd be a big fan of the still lifes of meat, but I am oddly intrigued by the nudes and black snakes. Don't know what that says about me, except that I have a taste for the Gothic.</p><p><b>BBH</b>: </p><p>This week's question was submitted by Elizabeth from <a href="http://silversolara.blogspot.com/">Silver's Reviews</a>:</p><p><u><span style="font-size: medium;">How do you organize your bookshelves?</span></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZeAzCJ1hGFKNhjj1H3AVzObP-a5XDMY5JgFckjVqvY5gsdT4RlIMztHvA2u7u1uBIBI7JJ91b8sBzLYYWkm8lqilNFkK8gQv203t5DshBCKcws5btt-vPcnNk0uwnfyZgL6ohwH8oKQuylhiSR1i6F88EvI-gMRFWXfEZYlE_AKCzo_0tkpaVmmrZzIot" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiZeAzCJ1hGFKNhjj1H3AVzObP-a5XDMY5JgFckjVqvY5gsdT4RlIMztHvA2u7u1uBIBI7JJ91b8sBzLYYWkm8lqilNFkK8gQv203t5DshBCKcws5btt-vPcnNk0uwnfyZgL6ohwH8oKQuylhiSR1i6F88EvI-gMRFWXfEZYlE_AKCzo_0tkpaVmmrZzIot=w200-h168" width="200" /></a></span></u></div><p></p><p>Excellent question, to which I have a disappointing and slightly hypocritical answer. See, at the university where I currently work, they have organised the university library in such a way that it's not organised by topic or field, but rather by 'Most Recent'. And I hate it. I want to be able to browse my university shelves and find related material surrounding the book I came for. And now I can't. The thing that makes me a hypocrite is that I mostly do this at home as well. </p><p>When I get a new book, I add it to the pile, which is on a shelf. Once I've read it, I might squeeze it in next to books that it reminded me of, but there is no real system in place. I have friends whose bookshelves are organized by title, or author, or actively by genre, or even by colour of the spine. My system is entirely vibes-based.</p><p>That's it for me this week! What are you reading? And how do your shelves look?</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-22409511934620443692024-02-16T09:39:00.001+00:002024-02-16T09:39:26.152+00:00Friday Friyay: 'Giovanni's Room' by James Baldwin<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnhCYD3aTFawa-MSj03lx_MGy92PyeIDry-h1uhKgELiCqOwQv84eaEliTIVnwNk5iE80-ueRGAc7RHDodGstFqWDCzUjhw_HuzhM7gPT6SccK9IIz3hqdjDsSJTGoKzvXTI9rrwq70IGKvUETadWZgrNCJpwKenP4XowOJlLmKY6TN7H5itJHXZ9OxWWE" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="307" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjnhCYD3aTFawa-MSj03lx_MGy92PyeIDry-h1uhKgELiCqOwQv84eaEliTIVnwNk5iE80-ueRGAc7RHDodGstFqWDCzUjhw_HuzhM7gPT6SccK9IIz3hqdjDsSJTGoKzvXTI9rrwq70IGKvUETadWZgrNCJpwKenP4XowOJlLmKY6TN7H5itJHXZ9OxWWE=w245-h400" width="245" /></a></div>Happy Friday! Today I'm blogging to you from London, where I'm visiting friends and family. I went to the British Museum yesterday and lived my best <i>The Secret Histor</i>y-life, so I also found myself in the mood for something classic, something heart-breaking, something ... sumptuous. Thankfully, a friend of mine lent me her Penguin copy of <i>Giovanni's Room</i> by James Baldwin, which I've been meaning to read for years. <p></p><p><span style=";"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>When David meets the sensual Giovanni in a bohemian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But his girlfriend's return to Paris destroys everything. Unable to admit to the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened – while Giovanni’s life descends into tragedy. United by the theme of love, the writings in the Great Loves series span over two thousand years and vastly different worlds. Readers will be introduced to love’s endlessly fascinating possibilities and extremities: romantic love, platonic love, erotic love, gay love, virginal love, adulterous love, parental love, filial love, nostalgic love, unrequited love, illicit love, not to mention lost love, twisted and obsessional love …</i></span></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">Book Beginnings is at home on </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;">Freda's Voice</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but we're keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at </span><a href="https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;">Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">. </span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhB1f-8uNX_AIAFZqouP7FGSdbqT9dTAF1xXxSNhK6FwMoqxEp5_7xGv99ipvbEKUrOvs79K32Hso0_u7_UzZS0_LLYnrqEgO1RbPflAq21xgqLw85crUXoKWLgp4ye1GADlrmAseClleXPbwl2DMatJ-pjmO38tUtaegpe0-CwHVvp_8Qgtk2hbbu6LJbW" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="200" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhB1f-8uNX_AIAFZqouP7FGSdbqT9dTAF1xXxSNhK6FwMoqxEp5_7xGv99ipvbEKUrOvs79K32Hso0_u7_UzZS0_LLYnrqEgO1RbPflAq21xgqLw85crUXoKWLgp4ye1GADlrmAseClleXPbwl2DMatJ-pjmO38tUtaegpe0-CwHVvp_8Qgtk2hbbu6LJbW=w200-h128" width="200" /></a></div><b>BB</b>: <br /><p></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>I stand at the window of this great house in the south of France as night falls, the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life.'</i> <b>p.3</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>I love how this sentence moves, the way in which it so strongly evokes an image, but how it switches into this statement of almost doom at the end. Love the excitement of night falling in a great house to the dread of the worst morning ever.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHuiuBdseZA8C0wbX0CMKioOpORDRG5NhEz7VqxuXLgB9_-0wVctwGHVProSLTT8drXuuGI0KDYSUl0vyXn6Y0dhpqoA8byjDqPaLkaQjmkloLkb_cqRXd3EWZoturz1dR1shLk6tx0AHYT-4s3vrYjt6oNO3en1nfsDfuKi4LRTVgWcTBUMllYDF4nu0K" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHuiuBdseZA8C0wbX0CMKioOpORDRG5NhEz7VqxuXLgB9_-0wVctwGHVProSLTT8drXuuGI0KDYSUl0vyXn6Y0dhpqoA8byjDqPaLkaQjmkloLkb_cqRXd3EWZoturz1dR1shLk6tx0AHYT-4s3vrYjt6oNO3en1nfsDfuKi4LRTVgWcTBUMllYDF4nu0K=w144-h200" width="144" /></a></b></div><b>F56</b>:<p></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>Here in the south of France it does not often snow; but snowflakes, in the beginning rather gently and now with more force, have been falling for the last half hour.'</i> <b>p.56</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>When I saw this quote I was like, perfect, because of how it echoes the setting, the south of France, and how it again kind of plays with expectations? It's the same kind of see-saw like the opening, I think, of establishing something and then shifting it into the opposite, or at least something other, by the end. Or am I overthinking this?</p><p><b>BBH</b>:</p><p>This week's question was submitted by Laura from <a href="https://laurasbookbinge.wordpress.com/">Laura's Book Binge</a>:</p><p><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Do you keep an active list of favourite authors - that you would spend your milk money on - to have it when they publish a book?</span></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSzexstD6AzqpF0uE_8K-gQWWS5QN51GeG8tEYR8RSzorhsWDEq4RTycYyIlxTrPj9dC709Fz3UAvmCJjbV9yK0zYDGqPjZ6iGWPK-wnxB0M8W78zZhm_s_Sh7FQL8FoQayTMUBOcUDjirCVEh1R35YXw7sWOC9qe0zDDxZRorxEtcJlxDnTrDNyTIwg-4" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSzexstD6AzqpF0uE_8K-gQWWS5QN51GeG8tEYR8RSzorhsWDEq4RTycYyIlxTrPj9dC709Fz3UAvmCJjbV9yK0zYDGqPjZ6iGWPK-wnxB0M8W78zZhm_s_Sh7FQL8FoQayTMUBOcUDjirCVEh1R35YXw7sWOC9qe0zDDxZRorxEtcJlxDnTrDNyTIwg-4=w200-h168" width="200" /></a></span></u></div><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></u><p></p><p>Great question and I can't wait to see what everyone answers! For a while most of my favourite authors were dead ones (big into the Classics as a teen and now into medieval literature, so...) but over the past few years I've begun to build a little bit of a list indeed, mostly of female authors, whose worlds and creations I really enjoy. For some I've only read one or two books, others I have been following for a while. Here are some:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Aliya Whiteley. </li><ul><li>Obsessed since <a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2014/12/review-beauty-by-aliya-whiteley.html">'The Beauty'</a> in 2014, up until <i><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/02/review-three-eight-one-by-aliya-whiteley.html">Three Eight One</a></i> this January.</li></ul><li>Monica Byrne. </li><ul><li>Both <i><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2015/09/review-girl-in-road-by-monica-byrne.html">The Girl in the Road</a> </i>and <i><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2021/09/review-actual-star-by-monica-byrne.html">The Actual Star</a></i> changed something in me.</li></ul><li>Luanne G. Smith.</li><ul><li>Weird one, perhaps, but her cozy <a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20Vine%20Witch"><i>Vine Witch</i> </a>trilogy made me feel all warm and fuzzy so now I'm a big fan.</li></ul><li>Shelley Parker-Chan.</li><ul><li>Adored <a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/search/label/Shelley%20Parker-Chan"><i>The Radiant Emperor</i> duology</a> and will therefore read whatever they write.</li></ul></ul><p></p><p>Those are just some that came to me, but they're definitely among my current favourites. I would spend my pocket money on them in a heartbeat.</p><p>And that's it for me this week! What are you reading? And who's on your list?</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-10892250226133814452024-02-15T08:51:00.003+00:002024-02-15T08:53:53.669+00:00Review: 'Three Eight One' by Aliya Whiteley<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1mlGbu3zcOdaJrHFbqR54JFQNQVeYWelHI2Y5J1MVbhD0Bm7ykti4JmrB8nF8yUCpn6rn1lFlK9W7ryMjTNRXsQV4qvQUzz-5BJhek9kccwoezr-QnIlvN-GrBY2EwJzGT2G_zAFcyD_5kn_5tjX0k1buvDkDLzIb0EIU1wcHj0DtIIg0bWD3Sg8bKCmE" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi1mlGbu3zcOdaJrHFbqR54JFQNQVeYWelHI2Y5J1MVbhD0Bm7ykti4JmrB8nF8yUCpn6rn1lFlK9W7ryMjTNRXsQV4qvQUzz-5BJhek9kccwoezr-QnIlvN-GrBY2EwJzGT2G_zAFcyD_5kn_5tjX0k1buvDkDLzIb0EIU1wcHj0DtIIg0bWD3Sg8bKCmE=w248-h400" width="248" /></a></div>Aside from the Classics, your Austen<span style="font-family: inherit;">s, Bront<span>ë</span>s, a</span>nd Tolkiens, there aren't a whole lot of authors whose name immediately has me pulling out my wallet, or Kindle. Aliya Whiteley became one for me over the last decade or so, however, as each new novel, novella, or short story from her would open up new worlds and new ways of storytelling for me. So naturally, I was excited to see what she had in store for me next, after the Sci-Fi/Speculative wonder that was <i>Skyward Inn</i>. I was not prepared for <i>Three Eight One</i>, however. Thanks to Rebellion and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.<p></p><p><b>Pub. Date</b>: 1/16/2024<br /><b>Publisher</b>: Rebellion; Solaris</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;">An astonishing literary crossover novel about the pressures of growing up and the nature of authorship.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>In January 2314, Rowena Savalas – a curator of the vast archive of the twenty-first century’s primitive internet – stumbles upon a story posted in the summer of 2024. She’s quickly drawn into the mystery of the text: Is it autobiography, fantasy or fraud? What’s the significance of the recurring number 381?</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>In the story, the protagonist Fairly walks the Horned Road – a quest undertaken by youngsters in her village when they come of age. She is followed by the “breathing man,” a looming presence, dogging her heels every step of the way. Everything she was taught about her world is overturned.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Following Fairly’s quest, Rowena comes to question her own choices, and a predictable life of curation becomes one of exploration, adventure and love. As both women’s stories draw to a close, she realises it doesn’t matter whether the story is true or not: as with the quest itself, it’s the journey that matters.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p>I'm a Medievalist, which means that when I'm not getting lost in the maze of admin, I'm exploring the intricacies of texts that are centuries old. Some are even a millennium old. While I immensely enjoy this activity, it also poses a whole variety of problems. Often medieval texts are artifacts without context. They usually don't have a title, we give one to them so we can talk about them. They don't have a named author, they don't have dates attached, they are collected alongside other texts which may or may not relate to them. They are often in formats, rhyme schemes, etc. which we cannot entirely define or explain. They tell stories, but not in a way that we're used to in the twenty-first century. Reading <i>Three Eight One</i> reminded me of reading medieval texts, pouring over them for meaning, attaching little footnotes or post-it notes to random pages and phrases with questions, exclamations, personal connections. Medieval characterisation, without going into an entire essay, often feels flat to first-time readers. We don't get the same deep-dive into the internal lives of the characters, their motivations remain opaque, their actions seem to follow a prepared path that they do not resist or chase. This is what 'The Dance of the Horned Road' represents to our main character as well, I think. A text that somehow connects and which yet is so drastically different from what she knows. This story must have meant something then, so surely it can mean something now? Even if the answer to that question is yes, we still wonder <i>what</i> it could mean. If you enjoy these puzzles, if you enjoy encountering narration which shifts and changes without giving you an explanation, you'll adore <i>Three Eight One</i>.</p><p>Rowena, from the distance of hundreds of years, combs through the vast remains of the twenty-first century, known as the 'Age of Riches', looking for meaning. In her present, life works differently, humanity works differently. There is less danger, violence, and war, sure, but is there also less... well, life? Is she as free as humans of the past were in choosing her future? As she mulls over these questions, needing to make a choice about where to take her life, she decides to annotate a story from the twenty-first century, 'The Dance of the Horned Road', which tells the story of Fairly and her quest. In Fairly's village, every teenager who feels called can set out on a quest, following the Horned Road. They are given three "cha" and must press specific button they come across on their journey. By the end, she will be different, or so Fairly is told. But what is the Horned Road, who are the Cha, and who is the Breathing Man following her? Is there a point to her journey, or to Rowena's? What is 'The Dance of the Horned Road'? </p><p>Like I said above, Aliya Whiteley has been a favourite author of mine for quite a number of years now. Each time I pick up a new book by her, I am surprised at the directions she takes me in, the questions she poses, the themes she plays with. What I enjoy about her writing and the worlds she creates is that they usually require the reader to dig a little deeper into themselves as well, into their own response to the story. It creates a quite layered reading experience, in many ways, which is brought to the surface in <i>Three Eight One</i>. It is, perhaps, her least penetrable work, in the sense that the search for meaning is so elemental to the story that you will truly have to find it for yourself. Neither Whiteley, nor Rowena and Fairly, will fully make sense of what occurs in the novel. There is no clear answer as to why all of 'The Dance of the Horned Road' is written in chapters of 381 words. It can all mean something, however, and putting that together is something each reader will have to do for themselves. It's a puzzle without a previously-defined picture to aim for, if that makes sense. In this way <i>Three Eight One</i> might not be for everyone, which is absolutely fine. But I can only say that it does reward to time and effort. Unlike other reviewers, I had no issue with the footnotes, but then I do adore a good footnote. I liked the way in which these interruptions of Fairly's narrative both engaged directly with it and did not. Rowena's life takes its own turns, which can only partially be mapped onto the organised Hero's Journey Fairly is undertaking. And yet, together, the two stories tell a tale of humanity, of questioning, of losing, of finding, and of journeying.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I give this novel...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXLeIFiBqtViHDKuRwMVoSfoWQnJPg23oD3DJjPFruuhYuxyj5Teow2mPdelDS9sRArNEs0JhsJcWhDpyhzE5ivx4QlgnkRZDkDVQH6XkwI-rp44oUI1sUesSYePvMN_kgNcJrzW0K5csNBQHrOm1LGTVFERQceFIDKgfCZ5d8uY5FdjVk5Kf4_Lxjf-7/s3984/4%20Universes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="3984" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXLeIFiBqtViHDKuRwMVoSfoWQnJPg23oD3DJjPFruuhYuxyj5Teow2mPdelDS9sRArNEs0JhsJcWhDpyhzE5ivx4QlgnkRZDkDVQH6XkwI-rp44oUI1sUesSYePvMN_kgNcJrzW0K5csNBQHrOm1LGTVFERQceFIDKgfCZ5d8uY5FdjVk5Kf4_Lxjf-7/w400-h60/4%20Universes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">4 Universes!<br /></p><p><i>Three Eight One </i>is a fascinatingly complex novel about storytelling, growing up, finding meaning, and then losing it again. It is a novel that will reward rereading, I am sure, and is another impressive piece of work from Aliya Whiteley.</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-19775250169932279752024-02-13T10:00:00.001+00:002024-02-13T10:00:14.302+00:00Review: 'The Mad Women's Ball' by Victoria Mas, trans. by Frank Wynne<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_1guyWUVbyYFVVHKJwv8MdmFCHfNLnQmH0tEQFA6r3jYPBe4bNWgRu0Teh9gzbSVGiwDEQrB1YNQ0LQ72nSI8iy4rJ-CcrdJFwPrQpcbELvqrqEbDjHImwsDtBRqQgivIlWKmQ7a_Zp_w9eBpu9hNsoTvhPSVzVMEOAk4CEQXfX-UHotQqw_9lRgRaEFF" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_1guyWUVbyYFVVHKJwv8MdmFCHfNLnQmH0tEQFA6r3jYPBe4bNWgRu0Teh9gzbSVGiwDEQrB1YNQ0LQ72nSI8iy4rJ-CcrdJFwPrQpcbELvqrqEbDjHImwsDtBRqQgivIlWKmQ7a_Zp_w9eBpu9hNsoTvhPSVzVMEOAk4CEQXfX-UHotQqw_9lRgRaEFF=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div>Every year, the <span>Salpêtrière</span><span> Asylum organises a ball for its female patients. This year, in 1885, the patients of the Asylum includes Eugenie. Her arrival at the Asylum will shake up the calm of its days and open the eyes of at least one of its nurses. I was very excited by the premise of <i>The Mad Women's Ball</i> and while the novel addresses many interesting themes, it doesn't quite pack that punch I was hoping for. Thanks to Overlook Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My sincere apologies for the delay.</span><p></p><p><b>Pub. Date</b>: 9/14/2021<br /><b>Publisher</b>: ABRAMS; Overlook Press</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span>The Salpêtrière Asylum: Paris, 1885. Dr. Charcot holds all of Paris in thrall with his displays of hypnotism on women who have been deemed mad and cast out from society. But the truth is much more complicated—these women are often simply inconvenient, unwanted wives, those who have lost something precious, wayward daughters, or girls born from adulterous relationships. For Parisian society, the highlight of the year is the Lenten ball—the Mad Women’s Ball—when the great and good come to gawk at the patients of the Salpêtrière dressed up in their finery for one night only. For the women themselves, it is a rare moment of hope.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span> </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Genevieve is a senior nurse. After the childhood death of her sister Blandine, she shunned religion and placed her faith in both the celebrated psychiatrist Dr. Charcot and science. But everything begins to change when she meets Eugenie, the 19-year-old daughter of a bourgeois family that has locked her away in the asylum. Because Eugenie has a secret: she sees spirits. Inspired by the scandalous, banned work that all of Paris is talking about, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Book of Spirits</span><span>, Eugenie is determined to escape from the asylum—and the bonds of her gender—and seek out those who will believe in her. And for that she will need Genevieve’ help . . .</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p>As some of you know, one of the themes on which my research focuses is female anger. Alongside this topic, I do also find myself very interested in madness, how it was conceptualised and understood, and how it (or the accusation of madness) affected women specifically. This has led me to many very interesting books, among which <a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2023/06/review-snake-pit-by-mary-jane-ward.html"><i>The Snake Pit</i> by Mary Jane Ward</a>, a fictionalised account of her own time in an asylum, and <a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2023/06/review-girls-and-their-monsters-genain.html">Audrey Clare Farley's <i>Girls and Their Monsters</i></a>, a non-fiction deep-dive into the "making of madness in America". Each of these books, despite their differences, opened my eyes anew to the plight of women in asylumns and the way in which madness is used to Other and to denigrate. I hoped for something similar with <i>The Mad Women's Ball</i>, which picked a fascinating time and place to set its scene. The <span>Salpêtrière</span><span> Asylum, especially under Dr. Charcot. He is a fascinating figure, a pioneer in the field of neurology who worked on a new understanding of Parkinson's disease, and also a man who hypnotized his female patients in front of (mostly male) crowds to display symptoms of their hysteria. While much of his work was beneficial, including his strong claims that hysteria wasn't a "female only" issue, his reputation nowadays mostly focuses on the latter aspect and the way in which he potentially abused the power he held over his female patients by making them "perform". I give this background to show how interesting the </span><span>Salpêtrière</span><span> Asylum is, how excellent a setting it makes for a nuanced discussion about madness, abuse of power, but also medical exploration and potential healing. Unfortunately, <i>The Mad Women's Ball </i>wasn't as nuanced as I would have liked.</span></p><p>Eugenie is a young woman, daughter of a well-to-do middle class father who thinks she should really focus on remaining quiet and getting married. Eugenie has a secret, however, which is that she can see ghosts. Upon revealing this to her grandmother, the older woman betrays her to her father and Eugenie is whisked off to <span>Salpêtrière</span><span> Asylum by her father. Either she is lying, and therefore mad, or she is talking to the dead, and therefore mad and doomed. Alongside Eugenie's tale, the novel is also narrated from the perspectives of Genevieve and Louise. Genevieve is a nurse at the Asylum and has been for decades. She is a devout believer in the science of medicine and in Dr. Charcot. Louise, meanwhile, is a patient at the asylum who occasionally takes part in Dr. Charcot's lectures, where he hypnotises her and she is kind of torn between enjoying the attention and popularity and feeling exposed. Their stories come together as the Asylum prepares itself for the annual "mad women's ball". </span></p><p>Through the eyes of these three women we get three different perspectives on life in the Asylum. Out of the three, quite honestly, I found Genevieve the most interesting. There is something Javert-like about the journey she goes through and out of the three characters, she is the only one who really grows and develops. Other characters, including those drawn from history like Dr. Charcot, feel a bit flat. Dr. Charcot specifically is much more of a villain, a real patriarchal man who dismisses women out of hand, which feels a little harsh considering some of his work. In some ways <i>The Mad Women's Ball</i> feels a little lost, to me. At just over 200 pages, it is not a long book and yet one can see that Mas wanted to tell a variety of stories. She wants to address gender, the patriarchy, class, the study of medicine, Othering, and the female experience. On top of that she brings in spiritualism. I could have done without the ghosts. Or rather, I could have done without the heavy confirmation that Eugenie can actually see ghosts. It is one of the instances in the book where I feel Mas could have created some nuance, by leaving it just open enough whether Eugenie is speaking the truth or somehow imagining it, perhaps indeed suffering from something. I appreciate that then other elements of the plot would have had to be moved about, but the fact that it is an undeniable truth means that the novel loses some of its potential. </p><p>What I hadn't expected about <i>The Mad Women's Ball</i> was for it to feel quite so fairy tale-like. That is the only real descriptor I can attach to Mas' writing style. From Genevieve's little apartment, which somehow comes across as cozy despite its starkness, to the sunlight dappling in through the asylum windows, everything somehow feels a little unreal, in the fairy tale sense. Fairy tales, in their original form at least, are quite violent, and so are some of the things that occur in <i>The Mad Women's Ball</i>, from the discussion of sexual assault to isolation and self harm. But there is also somehow this softness to much of it that meant I was never really struck by it. Part of this, I think, is due to the idea that, in an unjust and cruel world, women can find sanctuary in insanity. This is something which has been part of Feminist discourse since at least 'The Yellow Wall-Paper', in which arguably the narrator is liberated by utterly disconnecting from her patriarchal reality. The women of the Asylum find a certain comfort behind its walls, despite its deprivations, which the outside world isn't providing them with. I don't think this is wrong, it is in fact very understandable, but, again, I would have wished for Mas to provide a little more nuance to this. The sheen of the fairy tale-like also extends further to the writing, in the sense that Mas is very quick to provide you with explanations of why something is happening. In this sense there is a lot of "telling" which the novel could have done without. By having motivations, feelings, etc. explained so quickly, there is no need for the reader to really connect to the characters and dive into their personalities. However, that fairy tale-like tone does also make the novel a smooth read and it does allow for some very beautiful descriptions. Frank Wynne therefore has also done an excellent job translating.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I give this novel </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzSpNopfDEJ3TmtYMx1eaJKbKkJz5MlOa-u3akT3omJclxYUEvEafX6c6OD8FCauFBJFJl8KnyeUkK-ls1iMtqZ9wLtRhvhp860dj1LnDmwtJyBcTP3LxqwtGco1aeA7iydkKDHkvQ-GckM8-tVJiGJIkkTYkY23_kqcjdT8kjdtahnnWoDeebxk05ZPUf/s3004/3%20Universes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="3004" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzSpNopfDEJ3TmtYMx1eaJKbKkJz5MlOa-u3akT3omJclxYUEvEafX6c6OD8FCauFBJFJl8KnyeUkK-ls1iMtqZ9wLtRhvhp860dj1LnDmwtJyBcTP3LxqwtGco1aeA7iydkKDHkvQ-GckM8-tVJiGJIkkTYkY23_kqcjdT8kjdtahnnWoDeebxk05ZPUf/w400-h79/3%20Universes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">2.5 Universes (don't have a graphic for that, so here's a three)</p><p><i>The Mad Women's Ball</i> wasn't really what I was looking for. I had hoped for something that dove a little deeper, that showed a little more nuance. However, the themes Mas addresses are important and the book could be a good starting point for any reader interested in the treatment of mental illness in the past.</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-30383630038055533472024-02-09T10:13:00.002+00:002024-02-09T10:15:46.650+00:00Friday Friyay: 'Ninth House' by Leigh Bardugo<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYV4Z_A0uE3U8OmqoCFwY1xqMf0Ev7DuMKhrGHDA6PsmwO5KyBDGtytm37CZPXe48jIfQUxDowrvRcHrSRTat-mIb7jmRTpdDV-K4Cs7ZyAidaBifFbPau2nMYlnUZh4G7V4tly-hQalu6G15Wuex3kxPdiv--FLXp6oKboLT1v87s62iWaQk8xWdcamLM" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1684" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgYV4Z_A0uE3U8OmqoCFwY1xqMf0Ev7DuMKhrGHDA6PsmwO5KyBDGtytm37CZPXe48jIfQUxDowrvRcHrSRTat-mIb7jmRTpdDV-K4Cs7ZyAidaBifFbPau2nMYlnUZh4G7V4tly-hQalu6G15Wuex3kxPdiv--FLXp6oKboLT1v87s62iWaQk8xWdcamLM=w263-h400" width="263" /></a></div>The semester is over, hallelujah! Hopefully I'll finally get around to writing and reading now, although I think I'll miss my students as well. It's been a really fun semester, even if it's been super long. Just as context, in Germany we actually do "proper" semesters, meaning two semesters of 16 weeks each, rather than four semesters of 8 weeks each, as happens in many other countries. I use "proper" because, well, the <i>semi</i>- in "semester" implies two halves. Anyways, the last 16 weeks have been great, but a lot. I've decided that I deserve a break by rereading a book I loved a few years ago, <i>Ninth House</i> by Leigh Bardugo, before diving into the sequel which I haven't read yet.<p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span>Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. By age twenty, in fact, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most elite universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her?</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>Still searching for answers to this herself, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. These eight windowless “tombs” are well-known to be haunts of the future rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street and Hollywood’s biggest players. But their occult activities are revealed to be more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyQnjS2fZRI50FZ-8XWAH0yhYBFnXWOQBgp3d3ZhDd_PwyTC_Naj2LgQfNzJBq--UuPGRiCXdXLLTE8daYSzfoztNdtLnEm6tw3fXYvyYARPRw1q51P9G7haS3vlnL4Cs85Dq_C4cwVfUjQ0CAce6dWE5MFfgVHoZhuBtb9-Q7_MthjvVK1lhcP6RHwh-s" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="200" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiyQnjS2fZRI50FZ-8XWAH0yhYBFnXWOQBgp3d3ZhDd_PwyTC_Naj2LgQfNzJBq--UuPGRiCXdXLLTE8daYSzfoztNdtLnEm6tw3fXYvyYARPRw1q51P9G7haS3vlnL4Cs85Dq_C4cwVfUjQ0CAce6dWE5MFfgVHoZhuBtb9-Q7_MthjvVK1lhcP6RHwh-s=w200-h128" width="200" /></a></div><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">Book Beginnings is at home on </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;">Freda's Voice</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but we're keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at </span><a href="https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;">Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">. </span><p></p><p><b>BB</b>:<br /></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>By the time Alex managed to get the blood out of her good wool coat, it was too warm to wear it. Spring had come grudgingly; pale blue mornings failed to deepen, turning instead to moist, sullen afternoons, and stubborn frost lined the road in high, dirty meringues</i>.' <b>1%</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>I've only gotten to chapter 5, so far, but I once again am really enjoying the way in which Bardugo describes a setting, a feeling, a season. Also, love the contrast between the blood and early spring, it immediately keys you into the fact that Alex is a character of contradictions and extremes, even if she would prefer for things to be calm.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_5kl8QmAmuZ6O0SBnkDGsnsblw-Eco0CBKOZlCW1E4_RxJbJhIRqjKSVpXPGbX9WX5BhfhF5rV6h9Lk0LQxr98NJusy_BLxMbu3S_JpqWfGgfeIU7obtwAXUrlxoncxMkLhnXuQHsTKZAmKUxggMGMlhQyUtO37eIWszwb0yS1hAkqenuCKvJ46E2acgl" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj_5kl8QmAmuZ6O0SBnkDGsnsblw-Eco0CBKOZlCW1E4_RxJbJhIRqjKSVpXPGbX9WX5BhfhF5rV6h9Lk0LQxr98NJusy_BLxMbu3S_JpqWfGgfeIU7obtwAXUrlxoncxMkLhnXuQHsTKZAmKUxggMGMlhQyUtO37eIWszwb0yS1hAkqenuCKvJ46E2acgl=w144-h200" width="144" /></a></b></div><b>F56</b>:<p></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>Alex hadn't been back to Manuscript since the Halloween party.'</i> <b>56%</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>Manuscript is, if I remember correctly? And I think something went down at the Halloween party, except I can't really remember. It's so funny how some things in a book will absolutely stick in your mind, while others, even if they might be important and/or relevant, will completely disappear. </p><p><b>BBH</b>:</p><p>This week's question was submitted by Elizabeth over at <a href="http://silversolara.blogspot.com/">Silver's Review</a>:</p><p><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Do you post Happy Publication Day posts for books you read?</span></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjaN3GQP9JHqnfoI-JEqC4tKEmxvr7QuzblPzNB1-r6X50aC_nUVJXCrASO_F3_jJRyl7lf9Fj0xMaj32Bboi_xvYWu-ZIFW8aGEQrm0Ho65YmTYWHkmaVdYt3qrTEOTsnMBe3mbPLua3w5GmAWSiQ0dFzfP7SDLJE4vC4JwwNe962UeirQ4SkxtDTmTAE" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjjaN3GQP9JHqnfoI-JEqC4tKEmxvr7QuzblPzNB1-r6X50aC_nUVJXCrASO_F3_jJRyl7lf9Fj0xMaj32Bboi_xvYWu-ZIFW8aGEQrm0Ho65YmTYWHkmaVdYt3qrTEOTsnMBe3mbPLua3w5GmAWSiQ0dFzfP7SDLJE4vC4JwwNe962UeirQ4SkxtDTmTAE=w200-h168" width="200" /></a></span></u></div><p></p><p>Oh God, I used to, back when I also managed to actually posts reviews for books on or around their publication day. These days I'm lucky if I get a review out in the same month as the publication day. Admittedly, I'm a lot busier, i.e. actually employed rather than a student, so it makes sense that my priorities when it comes ti managing publication days has shifted a bit? But sometimes I do try to keep an eye on it and share something, especially when I really enjoyed the book.</p><p>That's it for me this week! What are you reading? And do you celebrate pub. dates?</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-23241214273852968882024-02-04T12:14:00.005+00:002024-02-04T12:14:36.115+00:00Then and Now #62 (29/1/24 - 4/2/24)<p style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWhtnI5jeplftFju8xFuSrmPq1giaYFIAe_GZKn8nZHhzsCF6TAbG_H6Di6nNQWND_91FFfrlU-QZ639-EeeyaYHgTOt9S4iGc-HTtQ_ia9lHIlIlbeNguLSRZAiJjsPJzQOtmcgjnYfU5ttSHpnJr2cDnCPfXyHlFUsauZauv9GI4SWnDYUYChc__jHnX" style="background: transparent; clear: left; color: #a93e33; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWhtnI5jeplftFju8xFuSrmPq1giaYFIAe_GZKn8nZHhzsCF6TAbG_H6Di6nNQWND_91FFfrlU-QZ639-EeeyaYHgTOt9S4iGc-HTtQ_ia9lHIlIlbeNguLSRZAiJjsPJzQOtmcgjnYfU5ttSHpnJr2cDnCPfXyHlFUsauZauv9GI4SWnDYUYChc__jHnX=w200-h200" style="border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="200" /></a></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">Happy Sunday! </span><b style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">T</b><b style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">he Sunday Post</b><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;"> is a blog news meme hosted @ </span><a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Caffeinated Reviewer</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">. See rules here: </span><a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com//the-sunday-post-meme" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; box-sizing: border-box; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Sunday Post Meme</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">. </span><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mailbox Monday</span><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;"> is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It is hosted weekly over at </span><a href="https://mailboxmonday.wordpress.com/" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Mailbox Monday</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;"> and every Friday they do a round-up of some of their favourite, shared reads! </span> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Last Week</b></p><p>Happy Sunday and happy February! I don't know what it is, but January at once feels soooo long and yet was also over in the blink of an eye. I cannot wait for next week, when the semester is over and usddenly I'll regain hours of my time to recover and to <b>write</b>! Like, I have so many ideas for my thesis just running through my head and I have not found the hours yet to put them on the page. And that needs to happen, because otherwise I'm not getting that Dr. title anytime soon. I do also just need to catch up on sleep and rest though, so that is also happening.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAK8zKV2vid7J-9zjnXs8frVsJSRszBHQYyQMXFDz2ITrOyWM2xb0Djcr_4BOqo7vj3ZXn-V6DGiaPdja0cnyXMebG2KwuzvtjhSYqBiJHZ2kV9XWAAbwK-QbzFCsU60XAg3C05HqG7amtoLPpYqExyW54H3Jj4QMZZx_kkkU5j6oZU0ndxMg58SJgoO9z" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhAK8zKV2vid7J-9zjnXs8frVsJSRszBHQYyQMXFDz2ITrOyWM2xb0Djcr_4BOqo7vj3ZXn-V6DGiaPdja0cnyXMebG2KwuzvtjhSYqBiJHZ2kV9XWAAbwK-QbzFCsU60XAg3C05HqG7amtoLPpYqExyW54H3Jj4QMZZx_kkkU5j6oZU0ndxMg58SJgoO9z=w174-h200" width="174" /></a></div>But the week was good, busy, productive. I do feel like I was only partly aware of everything that happened, but I enjoyed the teaching, enjoyed the workshop I took part in, and had a good leaving lunch for a colleague. I have also managed to carve out some extra space for reading and therefore I also managed to actually write some reviews (cue the shock, horror, gasp). I'm still desperately struggling to catch up on reviews, which will continue to take time, but at least I'm making the time to read. It's insane that sometimes I forget how much I love diving into stories? Don't know if you ever have that, but hey, I'm here to tell you that I have once again really enjoyed just devouring, or perhaps being devoured, by SciFi and Fantasy books. <p></p><p>Posted since last time:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMMCmyE1t4g&t=164s"><i>BC </i>#19 - How to Read A Lot (Listener Question)</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/01/review-princess-floralinda-and-forty.html">Review: <i>Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower</i> by Tamsyn Muir, narr. by Moira Quirk</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/01/review-stations-of-tide-by-michael.html">Review: <i>Stations of the Tide</i> by Michael Swanwick</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/02/friday-friyay-three-eight-one-by-aliya.html">Friday Friyay: <i>Three Eight One</i> by Aliya Whiteley</a></li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Recommendation</b></p><p>This is random, but I have never been able to get into Sara J. Maas' books, but I have always been curious what the hype is about. I talked about this with a friend and she recommended the videos below and I have been obsessed all week xD </p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_hCdrM4JPVs?si=02yp_WvBcPEz5R65" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Mailbox Monday</b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i>The West Passage</i> by Ja</u><u>red </u><span style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Pechaček</u> (Tor Publishing; 7/16/2024)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9Q7Hzg_Ih0Bsm4EjlCsyaBlORHw4-D0lEMcbTJ-Fx_D7wAc3H7bbJvloSNQpbe8ek-OMXPRFEBUVZ_6H61l8RDUQY14WHRSQ3D9wHMdJdUyQMXXdFs-6z7a_U1BLGTi3pKj5iPy8bA03yU7QmExDsM2zWl6kx8COuZi7zJYptYJ1qAM0Mhx1VL5KPKfmg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="391" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh9Q7Hzg_Ih0Bsm4EjlCsyaBlORHw4-D0lEMcbTJ-Fx_D7wAc3H7bbJvloSNQpbe8ek-OMXPRFEBUVZ_6H61l8RDUQY14WHRSQ3D9wHMdJdUyQMXXdFs-6z7a_U1BLGTi3pKj5iPy8bA03yU7QmExDsM2zWl6kx8COuZi7zJYptYJ1qAM0Mhx1VL5KPKfmg=w262-h400" width="262" /></a></div>A palace the size of a city, ruled by giant Ladies of unknowable, eldritch origin. A land left to slow decay, drowning in the debris of generations. All this and more awaits you within <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The West Passage</span>, a delightfully mysterious and intriguingly weird medieval fantasy unlike anything you've read before.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>When the Guardian of the West Passage died in her bed, the women of Grey Tower fed her to the crows and went back to their chores. No successor was named as Guardian, no one took up the fallen blade; the West Passage went unguarded.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Now, snow blankets Grey in the height of summer. Rats erupt from beneath the earth, fleeing that which comes. Crops fail. Hunger looms. And none stand ready to face the Beast, stirring beneath the poisoned soil.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>The fate of all who live in the palace hangs on narrow shoulders. The too-young Mother of Grey House sets out to fix the seasons. The unnamed apprentice of the deceased Grey Guardian goes to warn Black Tower. Both their paths cross the West Passage, the ancient byway of the Beast. On their journeys they will meet schoolteachers and beekeepers, miracles and monsters, and very, very big Ladies. None can say if they'll reach their destinations, but one thing is for sure: the world is about to change.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hi, I am so here for giant Ladies of unknowable, eldritch origin!!! That is like... one of my favourite things so I cannot wait to get into this book soon. Also, as a medievalist and a fantasy nerd, I think <i>The West Passage</i> was written for me.</span></p><p><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i>Calypso</i> by Oliver K. Langmead</u> (Titan Books; 4/2/2024)</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiGfGKlSGY0dW3nLmjjkMRvBe95VntSHnDR6GEf0727Wb2eZX9XmKIOwi3JRKTcuP2UNIykUTVUcZmbTgDN-y-xrnzM6Gg6ypw_5d9QYSoS2_xq_F-Pj-kjlnBo3wa8gymfvA_-B3Fy9BCBtsd2PPoGCJie9aQ5HekWgXBGQud9lstFF2TweTlSOQ2ftzM" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="337" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgiGfGKlSGY0dW3nLmjjkMRvBe95VntSHnDR6GEf0727Wb2eZX9XmKIOwi3JRKTcuP2UNIykUTVUcZmbTgDN-y-xrnzM6Gg6ypw_5d9QYSoS2_xq_F-Pj-kjlnBo3wa8gymfvA_-B3Fy9BCBtsd2PPoGCJie9aQ5HekWgXBGQud9lstFF2TweTlSOQ2ftzM=w303-h400" width="303" /></a></div>A ground-breaking, mind-bending and wildly imaginative epic verse revolution in SF. A saga of colony ships, shattering moons and cataclysmic war in a new Eden.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Rochelle wakes from cryostasis to take up her role as engineer on the colony ark, Calypso. But she finds the ship has transformed into a forest, populated by the original crew’s descendants, who revere her like a saint. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>She travels the ship with the Calypso’s creator, the enigmatic Sigmund, and Catherine, a bioengineered marvel who can commune with the plants, uncovering a new history of humanity forged while she slept. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>She discovers a legacy of war between botanists and engineers. A war fought for the right to build a new Earth – a technological paradise, or a new Eden in bloom, untouched by mankind’s past.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>And Rochelle, the last to wake, holds the balance of power in her hands.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p><span>When I read the blurb for <i>Calypso</i> something in my brain just went <i>yessss</i>. I adore how SciFi and Fantasy play with religion, with how societies build and rebuild themselves. Also, love all of this taken place on board of a space ship and that bioengineers and botanists are gonna be very important.</span></p><p><span><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i>The Book of Love</i> by Kelly Link</u> (Head of Zeus; 3/14/2024)</span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieKmRgN0fMuPDE2-WkaW4PdSLCgbQphO_7SGn_2ZqSPyq5XvmuQUxl2ppbqn6ZO0J7p2rQiT7McVRpkwkwcbra8QwCnfPdk4DAekQ0jIPJ26Z9ivNLu4uR_usEIyEXe4psL0lh6DinJOBtRHPg1LQwgAe2xa6JnXhb-CLQAaFa1cgUIq368UztyWVqgcAC" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="397" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEieKmRgN0fMuPDE2-WkaW4PdSLCgbQphO_7SGn_2ZqSPyq5XvmuQUxl2ppbqn6ZO0J7p2rQiT7McVRpkwkwcbra8QwCnfPdk4DAekQ0jIPJ26Z9ivNLu4uR_usEIyEXe4psL0lh6DinJOBtRHPg1LQwgAe2xa6JnXhb-CLQAaFa1cgUIq368UztyWVqgcAC=w257-h400" width="257" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Laura, Daniel and Mo disappeared without trace a year ago. They have long been presumed dead.</i></span><p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Which they were.</i></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>But now they are not.</i></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>And it is up to the resurrected teenagers to discover what happened to them.</i></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Revived by Mr Anabin – the man they knew as their high school music teacher – they are offered a chance to return to the mortal realm if they can solve solve the mystery of their deaths, learn how to use the magic they now possess, and identify the mysterious fourth soul that crossed back over with them.</i></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></p><p>This feels a little different than my normal reading and initially the title made me skip over it. I know, bad me, I shouldn't judge a book by its title. The blurb really intrigued me, however, mysteries taking place across dimensions or realms? Intrigued to see where this is gonna go.</p><p>And that's it for me! How was your week?</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-39017352525912857292024-02-02T09:37:00.001+00:002024-02-02T09:37:52.593+00:00Friday Friyay: 'Three Eight One' by Aliya Whiteley<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHmef83i5tCqcMBhQzsHIkZzqi5d2BuQX-qlia9soG9LaaccjTYC_rFTXZs5InWITyLHqRjXY-TXikLDTfEDkNYCFmgOGz5ySVW-9l9VWI2L6Zkz8XQKteyuMUIQYxkGEuFRDJcmH6kE8eKX2WixOksqyPdkPbbNH2_Rbv7gPgCIyOuUUuI1BpIEnrVcb0" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiHmef83i5tCqcMBhQzsHIkZzqi5d2BuQX-qlia9soG9LaaccjTYC_rFTXZs5InWITyLHqRjXY-TXikLDTfEDkNYCFmgOGz5ySVW-9l9VWI2L6Zkz8XQKteyuMUIQYxkGEuFRDJcmH6kE8eKX2WixOksqyPdkPbbNH2_Rbv7gPgCIyOuUUuI1BpIEnrVcb0=w248-h400" width="248" /></a></div>Hi y'all, it's Friday and it's almost the end of the semester! I am honestly so knackered but I have so many books I am looking forward to reading during the semester break. I'll have loads of thesis writing which I also need to do, but I definitely plan on taking reading breaks as well. One of the books I'm currently loving is <i>Three Eight One</i> by Aliya Whiteley. Whiteley is an insta-buy author for me, I adore her work and have for years.<p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;">An astonishing literary crossover novel about the pressures of growing up and the nature of authorship.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>In January 2314, Rowena Savalas – a curator of the vast archive of the twenty-first century’s primitive internet – stumbles upon a story posted in the summer of 2024. She’s quickly drawn into the mystery of the text: Is it autobiography, fantasy or fraud? What’s the significance of the recurring number 381?</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>In the story, the protagonist Fairly walks the Horned Road – a quest undertaken by youngsters in her village when they come of age. She is followed by the “breathing man,” a looming presence, dogging her heels every step of the way. Everything she was taught about her world is overturned.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Following Fairly’s quest, Rowena comes to question her own choices, and a predictable life of curation becomes one of exploration, adventure and love. As both women’s stories draw to a close, she realises it doesn’t matter whether the story is true or not: as with the quest itself, it’s the journey that matters.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaGMZboxki1ZcFFQ7dqK-8synJiUMH97DpU-xSBfO5HREPwdEpqbsvpquAYT-Z6LigLg76D0YVlPIjofHpCjDePmJOOHK9Joga62-MdgQaOMjEAXCWtFZ9pvDNq08BjySou43wcFvhYBWxMYyfIXj2p2tGn2mqYoBYsIxgBhgYEgaFvkoY2cL7z3vXX2bT" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="200" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjaGMZboxki1ZcFFQ7dqK-8synJiUMH97DpU-xSBfO5HREPwdEpqbsvpquAYT-Z6LigLg76D0YVlPIjofHpCjDePmJOOHK9Joga62-MdgQaOMjEAXCWtFZ9pvDNq08BjySou43wcFvhYBWxMYyfIXj2p2tGn2mqYoBYsIxgBhgYEgaFvkoY2cL7z3vXX2bT=w200-h128" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">Book Beginnings is at home on </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Freda's Voice</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but we're keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at </span><a href="https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">. Quotes have been taken from the ARC so may differ from the published book.</span></span><p></p><p><b>BB</b>:<br /></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>I remember the first time I dreamed all the numbers had disappeared.'</i> <b>1%</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>What I love about Whiteley's writing is how she'll always give you something to ponder over. In this case, Rowena, is dreaming of numbers disappearing, although at the beginning of the story you have no idea where she is going with that. But I immediately connected to her sense of confusion and to her hope to find herself in or through literature.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvTZ9TD7pne_DVjj0yAaIEKNp0WrWSarHi0euo9S2xfCY1fWpCzqnGEFkw-mJslZKNY1sjYWvpXMzuNhkGX_yJQgoSQtZOAvl3ZzE01lPHZMuYlQVPMloJYhp0qIlE1Vhds1kQp7_Hb91YQWSCTKPfxa0yAMA2Q-eTkPcAHF6blNpr6Vwpa4pdyKl85UwD" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvTZ9TD7pne_DVjj0yAaIEKNp0WrWSarHi0euo9S2xfCY1fWpCzqnGEFkw-mJslZKNY1sjYWvpXMzuNhkGX_yJQgoSQtZOAvl3ZzE01lPHZMuYlQVPMloJYhp0qIlE1Vhds1kQp7_Hb91YQWSCTKPfxa0yAMA2Q-eTkPcAHF6blNpr6Vwpa4pdyKl85UwD=w144-h200" width="144" /></a></b></div><b>F56</b>:<p></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>There is no way to answer this, and I'm not expecting Ken - whoever he is - to have an answer either, but he might have a snack, at least, and I am hungry for something other than my own supplies.'</i> <b>56%</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>At this point in the narrative we're on the journey with Fairly, somewhere on the Horned Road. I don't want to give anything away, but I love the way Whiteley plays with language and narrative in Fairly's story. </p><p><b>BBH</b>:</p><p>This week's question comes from Deb over at <a href="https://www.readerbuzz.blogspot.com/">Readerbuzz</a>:</p><p><u><span style="font-size: medium;">What was the last book you read in one sitting?</span></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmAlrFKcEK0sFM-njLoIxaxegTY4E-zIsN4IbSYeTSHr7-nEK7fF3gVqP3liIxx8ouql-9RsG-reHuDqtPG-C1vgWznCoLSamwCQ1wFuQXu75mW2Oh81GjyS2eYAzFJYkHpPXQuDHtjinIGq7leiLUYNx92ORqNF4cWOeXeNEqBRBn-1hHX6txZAWOxfVB" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmAlrFKcEK0sFM-njLoIxaxegTY4E-zIsN4IbSYeTSHr7-nEK7fF3gVqP3liIxx8ouql-9RsG-reHuDqtPG-C1vgWznCoLSamwCQ1wFuQXu75mW2Oh81GjyS2eYAzFJYkHpPXQuDHtjinIGq7leiLUYNx92ORqNF4cWOeXeNEqBRBn-1hHX6txZAWOxfVB=w200-h168" width="200" /></a></span></u></div><p></p><p>Back in the day, when I wasn't quite as dedicated to my dayjob as I am to the job I have currently, I pulled loads of all-nighters, or at least long-nighters, during which I'd read a book through. Nowadays, it's more of a weekend thing and even then I have to take breaks to get some work done, answer some emails, etc. (Yeah, it's a balance I need to work on.) Long story short, the main books I really manage to read in one sitting these days are thrillers, cause they're short and sweet. The last one of those was <i>One of the Good Guys</i> by Araminta Hall. BUT last weekend I did also settle down with a Sci-Fi book which sucked me in so much (and was short enough) that I flew through: <i>Stations of the Tide</i> by Michael Swanwick. </p><p>That's it for me this week! What are you reading?</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-88962065178483753122024-01-31T13:26:00.003+00:002024-01-31T13:26:50.907+00:00Review: 'Stations of the Tide' by Michael Swanwick<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhbsxmaByxsfo5aiK-hr6Pl4DQYslqdrKQDKvqo-oQzP8Tboao0rNJMAAdCXtNsGhQNNh1EE_NsSRLaaTDlsUdp6zcUJ0ZqPvuPUSlMv3occ-0TMhp2vJm4TJA3dtV62c0yVL5zut_0S9q2FESltWRERvCEfOKBnaHJ0Bl05x2JMa8L6vBZmZLfaHmeKeY" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjhbsxmaByxsfo5aiK-hr6Pl4DQYslqdrKQDKvqo-oQzP8Tboao0rNJMAAdCXtNsGhQNNh1EE_NsSRLaaTDlsUdp6zcUJ0ZqPvuPUSlMv3occ-0TMhp2vJm4TJA3dtV62c0yVL5zut_0S9q2FESltWRERvCEfOKBnaHJ0Bl05x2JMa8L6vBZmZLfaHmeKeY=w260-h400" width="260" /></a></div>On Miranda, the Jubilee Tides are incoming, which will drown most of the planet under its Ocean. But before that happens, a bureaucrat needs to hunt down a man who may be a magician and who may have stolen proscribed technology. With its rerelease of Swanwick's 1991 book, Tor Books invites readers into a galaxy of changing worlds, magic, technology, and seduction. Thanks to Tor Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</div><p></p><p><b>Pub. Date</b>: 01/23/2024 (1991)<br /><b>Publisher</b>: Tor Books</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span face="Raleway, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span face="Raleway, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Tor Essentials presents new editions of science fiction and fantasy titles of proven merit and lasting value, each volume introduced by an appropriate literary figure.</span></span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span face="Raleway, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;">From author Michael Swanwick—one of the most brilliantly assured and darkly inventive writers of contemporary fiction—comes the Nebula award-winning masterwork of radically altered realities and world-shattering seductions.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span face="Raleway, sans-serif">The "Jubilee Tides" will drown the continents of the planet Miranda beneath the weight of her own oceans. But as the once-in-two-centuries cataclysm approaches, an even greater catastrophe threatens this dark and dangerous planet of tale-spinners, conjurers, and shapechangers. A man from the Bureau of Proscribed Technologies has been sent to investigate. For Gregorian has come, a genius renegade scientist and charismatic bush wizard. With magic and forbidden technology, he plans to remake the rotting dying world in his own evil image-and to force whom or whatever remains on its diminishing surface toward a terrifying, astonishing confrontation with death and transcendence.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span face="Raleway, sans-serif">This novel of surreal hard SF was widely compared to the fiction of Gene Wolfe when it was first published, and Swanwick has gone on in the two decades since its first publication to become recognized as one of the finest living SF and fantasy writers.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span face="Raleway, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">With a new introduction by John Clute, author of </span>The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span face="Raleway, sans-serif" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"></span></i></span><p></p><p>A while back I first read <a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2023/10/review-city-of-bones-by-martha-wells.html"><i>City of Bones</i> by Martha Wells</a>, a fantasy book from the '90s, now rereleased. As someone who adores Fantasy and Sci-Fi, and especially as someone who tells themselves that they know quite a bit about the genres, I was amazed at the new worlds and inventiveness that had already been brought to this genre and, which still felt incredibly fresh and new. In the case of <i>Stations of the Tide</i> it was especially the freedom of the narrative, of the way in which Swanwick takes the reader by the hand and simply drags them through his world, which amazed me. Swanwick never overexplains, and for some readers he might not give enough information, but I enjoyed the confidence he placed in me by assuming I would follow. Also, Swanwick seems to be the kind of author who knows when to tell you something, so if he doesn't want you to know something, you won't know it. Not because he is tricking you or trying to trip you up, but because he wants to take you on a particular journey with moments and milestones he has planned for you. It is incredibly rewarding to follow Swanwick on this journey as you explore the marshes of Miranda, discover new technology, and experience the thunder of the Jubilee Tides. </p><p>The bureaucrat, never known by any name, arrives on Miranda, hoping to settle this issue with stolen technology ASAP so he can get out before the Jubilee Tides come in and cover the planet under the Ocean for the coming century. But the bureaucrat isn't entirely prepared for what he is about to face. Miranda is rife with beliefs, superstitions, traditions, and secrets, none of which he is clued in on. Supported by his trusty suitcase, which can create the things he needs for him, and an on-planet partner, Chu, the bureaucrat begins tracing the footsteps of Gregorian. Gregorian promises eternal life and transformation to his followers, but whether he is really a magician or just a conman is unclear. So begins the bureaucrat's race against time, but it is really the reader who is in for the wildest journey. If you pare it all the way down, <i>Stations of the Tide</i> is a mystery story in space. The bureaucrat has a mission, finding Gregorian, and everything he does is technically in the service of that. And yet, it is also a story which engages with questions about control, power, who gets access to what, love, nature, and more. Like the bureaucrat, we sometimes lose sight of the mission, but Swanwick will confidently guide you back to the main trail, when necessary. I will say that because of this you are not necessarily invested in any of the characters <i>themselves</i>. The bureaucrat purposefully doesn't have a name, I think, as we never really know him enough. As the reader you'll be fascinated by him, you'll be intrigued, but you're not empathizing, per se. Similarly, the characters around him are all so intriging and so individual, and yet almost function like masks or figures which appear and then disappear almost like in a dream.</p><p>As I said above, I really enjoyed Michael Swanwick's writing. His descriptions of Miranda are brilliant, at once giving you a clear picture and yet also transmitting a certain kind of ambience. What got me most, however, was the way he seamlessly switches between describing flora and fauna, the grounded reality of the lives lived on Miranda, to the high-abstract technology and concept of the non-planetary lives. The bureaucrat can visit oracles, for example, or can seemingly project his consciousness into agents or surrogates elsewhere, and he has a suitcase that seems intelligent. Swanwick fills his story world with all kinds of fascinating details which give the world a lot of depth. There is a game of "Suicide", for example, which is never fully explained and which still manages to tell you a lot about the characters. As the reader, you're entering this story world unprepared and once the novel ends, you'll have learned a lot, without necessarily understanding everything, or anything. This might not work for all, but it is a thrilling experience. It is also worth mentioning that <i>Stations of the Tide</i> is rather explicit when it comes to sex and sexuality, which never bothered me but may surprise some readers.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I give this novel...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBCCYiwGqIeQUnuu4a0G7E6dFdBrnhqGmhwoURetMqP6ByqoyBAE7uP96N-dEbakSNiHV0fld0VFbB1kvN76FnE5YuPDfreq4qkkZY1cStQUvmtgbsDjuYHxuadMt9rpT8Dkvh_RCi1PFXuFSKsesH9_CcK9ZFUT9YitbBIVRL7MPpPIwZqvzdwbcxhQg/s3984/4%20Universes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="3984" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiBCCYiwGqIeQUnuu4a0G7E6dFdBrnhqGmhwoURetMqP6ByqoyBAE7uP96N-dEbakSNiHV0fld0VFbB1kvN76FnE5YuPDfreq4qkkZY1cStQUvmtgbsDjuYHxuadMt9rpT8Dkvh_RCi1PFXuFSKsesH9_CcK9ZFUT9YitbBIVRL7MPpPIwZqvzdwbcxhQg/w400-h60/4%20Universes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">4 Universes!</p><p><i>Stations of the Tide</i> is a thrilling Science Fiction novel which feels like a free fall, but is incredibly well-structured. Swanwick will have you following him down each and every path he chooses, taking in the sights and being astounded.</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-77073967180294133142024-01-28T13:47:00.002+00:002024-01-28T13:47:34.333+00:00Review: 'Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower' by Tamsyn Muir, narr. by Moira Quirk<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3D5C1vVOcX6Srs2mzCsX5PgTvnoAUQnBf9Vhlf0CB10P1t_6jl_R40INy2C_jxCdiuic1dzMzmL4JcFZTnV5KvhU_2ELLf5JsDZZLMiIsQ4WsFM04G53KwMm28PCDfQiWxh_ZRNh6PaCnvgQ7Q30pn31R2v1ykKyAHoXp5nUq89_Sv0EbsWES9DTdL-3c" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="500" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj3D5C1vVOcX6Srs2mzCsX5PgTvnoAUQnBf9Vhlf0CB10P1t_6jl_R40INy2C_jxCdiuic1dzMzmL4JcFZTnV5KvhU_2ELLf5JsDZZLMiIsQ4WsFM04G53KwMm28PCDfQiWxh_ZRNh6PaCnvgQ7Q30pn31R2v1ykKyAHoXp5nUq89_Sv0EbsWES9DTdL-3c=w275-h400" width="275" /></a></div>What makes fairy tales such a delight, including fairy tale adaptations, is the way in which its familiar elements can be moved around, swapped out, or turned upside down. One can be endlessly creative with fairy tales, if one gives it a good go. And Tamsyn Muir gives it one hell of a go in <i>Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower</i>, an absolutely delightful romp of a novella. <p></p><p><b>Audible Pub. Date</b>: 11/30/2020<br /><b>Publisher</b>: Recorded Books Inc.</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";">When the witch built the forty-flight tower, she made very sure to do the whole thing properly. Each flight contains a dreadful monster, ranging from a diamond-scaled dragon to a pack of slavering goblins. Should a prince battle his way to the top, he will be rewarded with a golden sword—and the lovely Princess Floralinda.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span style=";">But no prince has managed to conquer the first flight yet, let alone get to the fortieth.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span style=";">In fact, the supply of fresh princes seems to have quite dried up.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span style=";">And winter is closing in on Floralinda…</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"></span></i></span><p></p><p>Princesses quite simply have the bad luck that sometimes a witch will pick them up and place them at the very top of a tower. In Floralinda's case, she has extra bad luck because the tower has forty flights and contains all kinds of creatures and monsters. But not to worry, so the witch, because princes will come a-flocking once they find out she's up there. And they do, except none of the princes either makes it up the stairs or ... comes out again. They stop coming, eventually, and now Floralinda has to figure out her next move. Stay up there and wait, most likely to die, like a princess should, or find her own way down? Assisted by a wayward fairy, called Cobweb, Floralinda is about to find out what tales and assumptions are true. Floralinda starts the novella as a delightfully insipid princess who is a darling, but not super bright. But then, princesses aren't necessarily expected to be bright, so we can't fully blame her. I absolutely adored the way she developed throughout the story, however, as Muir manages to strike a balance where we see Floralinda actively grow, without her necessarily being fully aware of it. Floralinda wants to get out. That this might have consequences on her character is not even a thought in her mind. By having Cobweb pop up, we also get an extra perspective on Floralinda, which was really intriguing. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcAdpATa9B1fvvkvsqZURe6EooCQIFVfS3W4IwVJbEIAkA-DGKPX9elSLHexS6enXKkmVmdWGYh282R5m5KYd7_M0Z7HlXx9igtPS2-sLI5SxcyVEU4_mNnTvQqpaWxogF5aBt-G2P15eoeHNnLAmDP59j-0ffP73297ZAW9_lCifXMU0f3Z-Q971Jcu6-" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcAdpATa9B1fvvkvsqZURe6EooCQIFVfS3W4IwVJbEIAkA-DGKPX9elSLHexS6enXKkmVmdWGYh282R5m5KYd7_M0Z7HlXx9igtPS2-sLI5SxcyVEU4_mNnTvQqpaWxogF5aBt-G2P15eoeHNnLAmDP59j-0ffP73297ZAW9_lCifXMU0f3Z-Q971Jcu6-=w200-h200" width="200" /></a></div>Tamsyn Muir writes wickedly delightful characters, including a charming narrator in this novella who snarks away at every opportunity. It is like having your favourite, child-free, single aunt tell you a fairy tale over a glass of wine, or three. The first part of the novella does a lot to build up Floralinda's character, the way in which she is set in the archetype of a princess, but has the possibility to blossom into something else. Once she begins actively considering fighting her own way out, the pace definitely picks up. While each floor of the fourty gets described, many pass quickly but never too quickly. While this may sound repetitive, I actually really enjoyed finding out what Tamsyn Muir, I mean, the witch, had hidden away on every floor of the tower. We get all kinds of fairy tale creatures show up, each slightly different than we know it. The next bit might be a bit <b>spoilery</b> so skip to the next paragraph to avoid. What I also really liked was how the novella played with Floralinda's changing character, how it drew on ideas of what is and isn't a monster, of what happens when you "break character", so to say. While <i>Princess Floralinda</i> is only a novella, it packs a whole lot of fun into its pages and anyone who enjoys romping through fairy tales will enjoy this tale as well.<p></p><p>Moira Quirk is also the narrator for Muir's <i>Locked Tomb</i> series, which means I was already familiar with the delightful way in which she brings Muir's snarky prose into life. Quirk still surprised me, however, with the way in which she narrated <i>Princess Floralinda</i>, bringing both pathos and huge amounts of humour to the tale. At roughly 4 hours, it is a delightful audiobook which I will definitely be listening to again.<br /><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;">I give this novella...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw65jnJVmYRDn-qnMZrJblmtEtFMapjBeeu2bN7tRCXnbe_KwnalEf-YaiaIVRNJibZwfClIOvLG55FGdfdA-979JVGDG-G3GEvtHPjhXD6NIRjlSbdeOUNLrmMmdriA1mUH2D78DxXzmC4ivItpGWZIdOmkLAuJxlrsY8FFRtfx6hdPBUS-GsCGBV25ny/s3984/4%20Universes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="3984" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw65jnJVmYRDn-qnMZrJblmtEtFMapjBeeu2bN7tRCXnbe_KwnalEf-YaiaIVRNJibZwfClIOvLG55FGdfdA-979JVGDG-G3GEvtHPjhXD6NIRjlSbdeOUNLrmMmdriA1mUH2D78DxXzmC4ivItpGWZIdOmkLAuJxlrsY8FFRtfx6hdPBUS-GsCGBV25ny/w400-h60/4%20Universes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">4 Universes!</p><p><i>Princess Floralinda</i> is delightful in every way. From the characterisation of Floralinda herself, to the pace, the tone, the dialogue, and the narration, I had a great time with this novella. While very different in content to the <i>Locked Tomb</i> series, you'll still find the same snark and attitude here for which Muir has become beloved.</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-6083416544028453282024-01-21T13:08:00.002+00:002024-01-21T13:08:44.300+00:00Then and Now #61 (14/1/24 - 21/1/24)<p style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWhtnI5jeplftFju8xFuSrmPq1giaYFIAe_GZKn8nZHhzsCF6TAbG_H6Di6nNQWND_91FFfrlU-QZ639-EeeyaYHgTOt9S4iGc-HTtQ_ia9lHIlIlbeNguLSRZAiJjsPJzQOtmcgjnYfU5ttSHpnJr2cDnCPfXyHlFUsauZauv9GI4SWnDYUYChc__jHnX" style="background: transparent; clear: left; color: #a93e33; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWhtnI5jeplftFju8xFuSrmPq1giaYFIAe_GZKn8nZHhzsCF6TAbG_H6Di6nNQWND_91FFfrlU-QZ639-EeeyaYHgTOt9S4iGc-HTtQ_ia9lHIlIlbeNguLSRZAiJjsPJzQOtmcgjnYfU5ttSHpnJr2cDnCPfXyHlFUsauZauv9GI4SWnDYUYChc__jHnX=w200-h200" style="border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="200" /></a></p><p style="background-color: #fdfaf0;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Sunday! <b>T</b><b>he Sunday Post</b> is a blog news meme hosted @ <a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/" style="background: transparent; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Caffeinated Reviewer</a>. See rules here: <a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com//the-sunday-post-meme" style="background: 0px 0px transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Sunday Post Meme</a>. <span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mailbox Monday</span> is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It is hosted weekly over at <a href="https://mailboxmonday.wordpress.com/" style="background: transparent; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Mailbox Monday</a> and every Friday they do a round-up of some of their favourite, shared reads! </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Last Week</b></p><p>I kind of completely fell out of blogging the last two weeks of 2023 as I finished off work for the year and then very much cocooned myself into my sofa and did absolutely nothing. I did have a lovely and mostly calm holiday period, though, and I was so glad I actually took the days between Christmas and NYE off. I intended to do some sneaky work still, but eventually didn't, which was good cause I really needed the mental headspace. Since then, work has been manic, hence why I have also been slow in getting back to blogging. I've been quite productive, however, getting thesis writing done, prepping teaching, translating texts, it's all getting done! I've got some deadlines coming up, both for conferences and for a thesis chapter, but once the semester is over in two weeks, I'll have plenty of time!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEig6brhj5uIdCc_8e37L8xF3XyjeGcH-YtmK17ecSNdFINbhlkk65g50MVqhnXpHoMIVvpcJP_ifY0tEgPCUj6ZNdGCdlWncHvoqSGHf_ZnMOT5MwNtil6g9G5lJn80RARj3zzaBzSwFqMpXUuIlQ8Vl_QEhENMbkltkzYssZKg_I47pr4nVdaa18WTdpiB" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEig6brhj5uIdCc_8e37L8xF3XyjeGcH-YtmK17ecSNdFINbhlkk65g50MVqhnXpHoMIVvpcJP_ifY0tEgPCUj6ZNdGCdlWncHvoqSGHf_ZnMOT5MwNtil6g9G5lJn80RARj3zzaBzSwFqMpXUuIlQ8Vl_QEhENMbkltkzYssZKg_I47pr4nVdaa18WTdpiB=w174-h200" width="174" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><p>I did also do some reading, of course, during my days off, although not half as much as I intended to. BUT I finally found a book club, through a friend, and guess what? They're just setting off on reading <i>The Fellowship of the Ring</i>, which is ideal. I'm really excited for our first meeting on Tuesday!</p><p>I've also caught up on some films and shows the past few weeks. <i>Dune</i> came onto the German Netflix, so I watched that. Then I watched Snyder's <i>Rebel Moon</i> which honestly... was not great. It's fine, but it is not really cohesive or gripping as a story. Up next was the second <i>Avatar</i> film, which was fine and very pretty to look at. I did also start watching the <i>Percy Jackson</i> series and that is just absolutely delightful. While I'm not really the target audience anymore I'm still very much enjoying it and have emotionally adopted the main three characters. And I have also begun watching <i>The X-Files</i> which is honestly a delight, even though you can see that it's a bit dated. But I have officially decided to match Scully's wardrobe once I get that PhD! </p><p>Posted since last time:</p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/01/review-lore-by-alexandra-bracken-narr.html">Review: <i>Lore</i> by Alexandra Bracken, narr. by Fryda Wolff</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/01/review-honjin-murders-detective-kosuke.html">Review: <i>The Honjin Murders</i> by Seishi Yokomizo, trans. by Louise Heal Kawai, narr. by Akira Matsumoto</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J86SlFZmsRY&t=111s"><i>BC</i> #18 - <i>The Honjin Murders</i> by Seishi Yokomizo</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/01/friday-friyay-such-fun-age-by-kiley-reid.html">Friday Friyay: <i>Such a Fun Age</i> by Kiley Reid</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2024/01/review-one-of-good-guys-by-araminta-hall.html">Review: <i>One of the Good Guys</i> by Araminta Hall</a></li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Recommendation</b></p><p>As my thesis deals with anger and monstrosity, I've been listening to a lot "classical music playlists for villains" as inspiration while I'm writing. This one came up yesterday and I added it to my Watch Later for next week's writing sessions.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hMOV7Irzpgc?si=fqBMYT5Bezknq60y" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Mailbox Monday</b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i></i></u></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjW8wX0w-UCfZnv5KexKGRyrW7DTAPD8PL_pBBCT30R5sH84eE6pYA0PzI9kNxpMqdMfP4d71IWQ5Ir4XY4xADSj6F6gj62twueWo465nVS9_TP1O9kBHNsJvXEHC9c3ZuTEnxKl8fjM35HAHwMGAT3hNlYvZ09c889QDqKkS7yrxzADgFxvH2nzX0hDbsZ" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjW8wX0w-UCfZnv5KexKGRyrW7DTAPD8PL_pBBCT30R5sH84eE6pYA0PzI9kNxpMqdMfP4d71IWQ5Ir4XY4xADSj6F6gj62twueWo465nVS9_TP1O9kBHNsJvXEHC9c3ZuTEnxKl8fjM35HAHwMGAT3hNlYvZ09c889QDqKkS7yrxzADgFxvH2nzX0hDbsZ=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></i></u></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i>Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth</i> by Ingrid Robeyns</u> (Astra Publishing House; 1/16/2024)</span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span>How much money is too much? Is it ethical, and democratic, for an individual to amass a limitless amount of wealth, and then spend it however they choose? Many of us feel that the answer to that is no—but what can we do about it?</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Ingrid Robeyns has long written and argued for the principle she calls "limitarianism"—or the need to limit extreme wealth. This idea is gaining momentum in the mainstream – with calls to "tax the rich" and slogans like "every billionaire is a policy failure"—but what does it mean in practice?</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Robeyns explains the key reasons to support the case against extreme wealth: </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></i></span></p><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 2rem;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It keeps the poor poor and inequalities growing</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It’s often dirty money</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It undermines democracy</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>It’s one of the leading causes of climate change</i></span></li></ul><ul style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 2rem;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Nobody actually deserves to be a millionaire</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>There are better things to do with excess money</i></span></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The rich will benefit, too</i></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span>This will be the first authoritative trade book to unpack the concept of a cap on wealth, where to draw the line, how to collect the excess and what to do with the money. In the process, Robeyns will ignite an urgent debate about wealth, one that calls into question the very forces we live by (capitalism and neoliberalism) and invites us to a radical reimagining of our world.</span></i></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span></p><p>I saw this book recommended over on LitHub and then saw it was still available for request on NetGalley, so I jumped at the chance. So far, it's blowing my mind and constantly has me somewhere between enraged and intrigued.</p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i>Womb City</i> by Tlotlo Tsamaase</u> (Kensington Books; 1/23/2024)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiu_c94nJXp2iAolFccNmyhb2HJQ_0FXms_oKZcbGhYUc_MEshwVRjp-Jk8wjAWU5xWs6bPBB1u1WNkBFnldBURAvQZChXZ-13SIEdb37k3tFf_g5qzqPn8J1WMV6x_Ne65pVpNRgusBcfXHFFgXWExsJFwzItKTtgW84YOtknbglXbDjnzv1fQmHnLhlBU" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiu_c94nJXp2iAolFccNmyhb2HJQ_0FXms_oKZcbGhYUc_MEshwVRjp-Jk8wjAWU5xWs6bPBB1u1WNkBFnldBURAvQZChXZ-13SIEdb37k3tFf_g5qzqPn8J1WMV6x_Ne65pVpNRgusBcfXHFFgXWExsJFwzItKTtgW84YOtknbglXbDjnzv1fQmHnLhlBU=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div>Nelah seems to have it all: fame, wealth, and a long-awaited daughter growing in a government lab. But, trapped in a loveless marriage to a policeman who uses a microchip to monitor her every move, Nelah’s perfect life is precarious. After a drug-fueled evening culminates in an eerie car accident, Nelah commits a desperate crime and buries the body, daring to hope that she can keep one last secret.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>The truth claws its way into Nelah’s life from the grave. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>As the ghost of her victim viciously hunts down the people Nelah holds dear, she is thrust into a race against the clock: in order to save any of her remaining loved ones, Nelah must unravel the political conspiracy her victim was on the verge of exposing—or risk losing everyone. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Set in a cruel futuristic surveillance state where bodies are a government-issued resource, this harrowing story is a twisty, nail-biting commentary on power, monstrosity, and bodily autonomy. In sickeningly evocative prose, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Womb City </span><span>interrogates how patriarchy pits women against each other as unwitting collaborators in their own oppression. In this devastatingly timely debut novel, acclaimed short fiction writer Tlotlo Tsamaase brings a searing intelligence and Botswana’s cultural sensibility to the question: just how far must a woman go to bring the whole system crashing down?</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p>Another book I saw recommended on LitHub! I am super-intrigued by this Afrofuturist novel and how it seems to be combining horror and dystopia and cultural commentary all in one go! I might actually get into this one this weekend already!</p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i>Someone You Can Build a Nest In</i> by John Wiswell</u> (DAW; 4/1/2024)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipgYG0IX2nwRxxURj5fVF76O2D7xb03Puud4fKXXDWtQ5owRGiuecon0eWcsluzwfEFTSceaUWncV_Z2J7ZQTxiAkk43_9SChm0JIPc444RFognDGk8fqhv91VjNer1X1t8r_2AQmbeU-B35523R4aDd3F74K33Ztn2qCTJHkYTZmGXX8CGaMNEOVs3xKS" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="385" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEipgYG0IX2nwRxxURj5fVF76O2D7xb03Puud4fKXXDWtQ5owRGiuecon0eWcsluzwfEFTSceaUWncV_Z2J7ZQTxiAkk43_9SChm0JIPc444RFognDGk8fqhv91VjNer1X1t8r_2AQmbeU-B35523R4aDd3F74K33Ztn2qCTJHkYTZmGXX8CGaMNEOVs3xKS=w265-h400" width="265" /></a></div>Shesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she's fallen in love.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span> </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals: a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth. </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span> </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>However, the hunters chase Shesheshen out of her home and off a cliff. Badly hurt, she’s found and nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. Homily is kind and nurturing and would make an excellent co-parent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen’s eggs so their young could devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, she realizes humans don’t think about love that way.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span> </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Shesheshen hates keeping her identity secret from Homily, but just as she’s about to confess, Homily reveals why she’s in the area: she’s hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Has Shesheshen seen it anywhere?</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span> </span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Eating her girlfriend isn’t an option. Shesheshen didn’t curse anyone, but to give herself and Homily a chance at happiness, she has to figure out why Homily’s twisted family thinks she did. As the hunt for the monster becomes increasingly deadly, Shesheshen must unearth the truth quickly, or soon both of their lives will be at risk.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>And the bigger challenge remains: surviving her toxic in-laws long enough to learn to build a life with, rather than in, the love of her life.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p>Absolutely adore the premise of this book, of the twisted nature of the romance and the fascinating conception of monstrosity here. I'm so intrigued by the whole of it!!</p><p>So that's it for me this week! How was your start of the year?</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-12037236827583323472024-01-12T12:38:00.000+00:002024-01-12T12:38:12.193+00:00Friday Friyay: 'Such a Fun Age' by Kiley Reid<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcDt3jjk13vpg-qb4ddrApdAvoQjfaZ3ZDmzidXhJLKRfBMSXgKXPWVXTpQGcVdy-ZnOu65JckehRRySkzsvciQs3OXmfFWGKrBEKADiuBETOedW8pbUhHBw62IEj1KQY9ZsHWCztOTtt3QIO_5dEVF351Y4gyCa9IYxe_WgMad__6J6oMmS03NNDIwQAM" style="clear: left; display: inline; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1510" data-original-width="1000" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgcDt3jjk13vpg-qb4ddrApdAvoQjfaZ3ZDmzidXhJLKRfBMSXgKXPWVXTpQGcVdy-ZnOu65JckehRRySkzsvciQs3OXmfFWGKrBEKADiuBETOedW8pbUhHBw62IEj1KQY9ZsHWCztOTtt3QIO_5dEVF351Y4gyCa9IYxe_WgMad__6J6oMmS03NNDIwQAM=w265-h400" width="265" /></a>Happy Friday! It's been almost unbearably cold here, with temperatures of -7 Celsius during the day. Thankfully the university decided to turn the heating on for most of the day, so my fingers didn't quite freeze off in the office, but still, I look forward to it hopefully going above 0 at least after the weekend xD This weekend I'm also planning on doing absolutely nothing, except going to a friend's game night and reading. One book I've finally decided to get a copy of is <i>Such a Fun Age</i> by Kiley Reid. I've heard so much about this book, and now the time has come to read it for myself!</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span>A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Such a Fun Age </span><span>is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo them both.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains' toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store's security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix's desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix's past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>With empathy and piercing social commentary, </span><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Such a Fun Age</span><span> explores the stickiness of transactional relationships, what it means to make someone family, and the complicated reality of being a grown up. It is a searing debut for our times.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYiYfNj1TqtQiob4W6zBUfYgNwpmms075j7Qr4mqIUJJzZH8s5GeA8U-RqMefCfs1vHr6ih5G_3CSdk971rWpsdyeMhmC3g1vaR10V85PNlNu1tz6PDuMjUC1XtK0e0XRGbFNRoTbjlyGPb2_F63EuhCAeT2gooYn-E5Darpy8U4vs5q1_y5uSk_ZkaV8f" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="200" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjYiYfNj1TqtQiob4W6zBUfYgNwpmms075j7Qr4mqIUJJzZH8s5GeA8U-RqMefCfs1vHr6ih5G_3CSdk971rWpsdyeMhmC3g1vaR10V85PNlNu1tz6PDuMjUC1XtK0e0XRGbFNRoTbjlyGPb2_F63EuhCAeT2gooYn-E5Darpy8U4vs5q1_y5uSk_ZkaV8f=w200-h128" width="200" /></a></div><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">Book Beginnings is at home on </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;">Freda's Voice</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but we're keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at </span><a href="https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px; text-decoration-line: none;">Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 16px;">. </span><p></p><p><b>BB</b>:</p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>That night, when Mrs. Chamberlain called, Emira could only piece together the words "...take Briar somewhere..." and "...pay you double."</i> <b>1%</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>Well, that's quite a phone call to only catch pieces of! Emira is at a party here, hence why she is only catching half of it, but I'm wondering how far into the story, kind of, we already are at this beginning. Like, is she already baby-sitting for them and this is an emergency? Are we going to flashback to how it all started? Maybe I'll just start reading now...</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiALLjHPNeFcs1LZMgWNVjOIYB5sBKaqUyZIawVbVQ9nTWXGpFLqFo_MIYMK0TivbyvG-sIqu0uZQVCgBLs7VRqjkJuGEDrcBnLSuqJJPOoxNZ0aMWuIZDm3O8UaWYs4BjurewT8EeriXvI3dt-WxV3iV2JSpZUKoViAYMJgdmPPfeN1jJST5gzyJPvFwNR" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiALLjHPNeFcs1LZMgWNVjOIYB5sBKaqUyZIawVbVQ9nTWXGpFLqFo_MIYMK0TivbyvG-sIqu0uZQVCgBLs7VRqjkJuGEDrcBnLSuqJJPOoxNZ0aMWuIZDm3O8UaWYs4BjurewT8EeriXvI3dt-WxV3iV2JSpZUKoViAYMJgdmPPfeN1jJST5gzyJPvFwNR=w144-h200" width="144" /></a></b></div><b>F56</b>:<p></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>Had someone told Tamra that Emira wanted to go to grad school? Because no one had told Emira. She'd gone to undergraduate school to figure out what she wanted to do ... wasn't graduate school for the student who had succeeded?'</i> <b>56%</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>I can so absolutely imagine a situation like this because whenever I told people I was studying literature, especially medieval literature, they were like 'oh well that'll be really useful when you teach English' and I was like ... or not? Who said that was the goal? Only in my case I didn't have to fight up against any kind of class or race-judgement, only a judgement about the use of what I was interested in.</p><p><b>BBH</b>:</p><p>This week's question comes from Billy himself:</p><p><u><span style="font-size: medium;">How many books are on your "to be read" list?</span></u></p><p>Please don't make me reveal how many unread books I have on my NetGalley sheld *hides face in shame* I went absolutely overboard requesting books in 2021 and 2022 so I fell massively behind, even on books from earlier, so if we're counting NetGalley, a few hundred... If we're only looking at books I have on my TBR on Goodreads or StoryGraph, that's also a couple of hundred but there is no pressure there, no one is expecting me to read those and share my thoughts. I'm currently working on finding a balance in working on my backlog, while also reading books, like for example <i>Such a Fun Age</i>, which I've been wanting to read for a while. But yeah... I am quite ashamed of my NetGalley shelf, it's an absolute disaster. I'm working on it though!</p><p>What are you reading? And is your TBR list more under control than mine?</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-17949242131106161212024-01-11T09:21:00.006+00:002024-01-11T09:21:36.781+00:00Review: 'One of the Good Guys' by Araminta Hall<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvaVm6uHyvWdNJVPYV8K1qA0rycZbXuvceJCRrjECW_ZcWGQsHUkq29kIu4zMmMbo-r1kd0xTdXbw1qx1F4l_Lq7I56L04lyyoLIXKWOJw58iGCvXMRuN9wrwPWnoOTZurczVNBuPNfZvZpvQb8AaAkH6mvDiyYrIsNh7_UUAwBKeOMQcWruUojktLav_e" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjvaVm6uHyvWdNJVPYV8K1qA0rycZbXuvceJCRrjECW_ZcWGQsHUkq29kIu4zMmMbo-r1kd0xTdXbw1qx1F4l_Lq7I56L04lyyoLIXKWOJw58iGCvXMRuN9wrwPWnoOTZurczVNBuPNfZvZpvQb8AaAkH6mvDiyYrIsNh7_UUAwBKeOMQcWruUojktLav_e=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div>When are you safe, as a woman? When you've isolated yourself away from society in the countryside? In the comfort of your own home? When your every step is broadcast on social media, providing loads of witnesses? Perhaps the answer is never. The women in Hall's <i>One of the Good Guys</i> confront these questions and the role fear plays in all their lives in a novel that will certainly start a conversation. Thanks to Zando, Gillian Flynn Books, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. <p></p><p><b>Pub. Date</b>: 1/9/2024<br /><b>Publisher</b>: Zando; Gillian Flynn Books</p><p style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Newly separated from his wife and desperate to escape the ghosts of his failed marriage, Cole leaves London for a fresh start in the countryside. He accepts a job as a wildlife ranger and settles into his cozy seaside cottage, relishing the respite from the noise, drama, and relentless careerism that curdled his relationship along with his mental health. Then he meets Leonora, the reclusive artist living next door, and is instantly charmed by her warm and gentle spirit.</i></span></p><p style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>But as the two forge a connection on the cliff’s edge they call home, two young women activists raising awareness about gendered violence disappear while passing through. Cole and Leonora find themselves in the middle of a police investigation and resulting media firestorm as the world learns of what happened, and as the tension escalates, they quickly realize that they don’t know each other that well after all.</i></span></p><p style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A propulsive page-turner with razor-sharp sociopolitical insight, <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">One of the Good Guys </span>asks: if most men claim to be good, why are most women still afraid to walk home alone at night?</i></span></p></blockquote><p style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></p><p> The question this book asks, why most women have fear when most men claim to be good, is an incredibly important one and one I have often discussed with friends. If we all know women who have experienced sexual assault and violence, or have even experienced it ourselves, then how come we don't really know the men who do this? Not many men go around saying yes, I have intimidated women, yes I have abused women, which kind of makes sense. But it creates a pervasive sense of fear which clouds the lives of many women. Even if it is not an hourly or daily thing, I think the lives of many women, myself included, are often coloured by a knowledge we may be in danger. This is a debate which needs to be had and one in which men need to, first and foremost, take a listening role, before being the ones to jump into action. So often I have sat in a pub, train, or bus and heard a group of boys or men say absolutely disgusting things about women, with the full knowledge it would not be safe or pleasant for me to interrupt and stop them. Men should be doing this themselves. I know plenty of men who are uncomfortable with misogynistic talk and action, who would not want to engage in that behaviour themselves, but the group pressure means they do engage with it or, at the very least, do nothing to stop their male friends from behaving that way. That needs to change to create a safer environment, not just for women, but also for men themselves. This issue of fear and intimidation needs to be widely discussed, but I also think it needs to be handled with a certain amount of nuance to make sure as many people, men, women and everyone else, can be included in the conversation. While <i>One of the Good Guys</i> brings up many interesting points, it does lack a bit of nuance in this area, which means it runs the danger of turning some people away from an important conversation.</p><p>At the start of <i>One of the Good Guys</i>, Cole has left his life in London behind after everything exploded alongside his marriage. Mel, his (still) wife, hounds him about signing the papers while he tries to reconnect with himself in the isolation of the countryside. There he meets Leonora, seemingly also on the run from the stress and fakeness of busy city life. But tragedy strikes in the silent countryside when two young women, on a journey to raise awareness about violence against women, go missing and pretty quickly it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems. The novel is split into three parts. The first is from Cole's perspective and gives us a glance inside his mind as he finds his footing in the country and meets Leonora. The second is from the perspective of Mel and depicts their marriage and its downfall through her eyes. The third part is technically Leonora's, except that it is largely told through other media as well, such as podcast transcripts, social media posts, press releases, and the booklet accompanying her art show. This structure does work quite well as it gives you different point of views on the central issue of fear and violence. </p><p>The main issue, however, is that these parts do not feel well-balanced in my eyes. The central part, depicting Mel's experiences, was the most gripping for me as it really seemed Hall had found a sharp but careful nuance in depicting how Mel looses herself in the marriage and all that comes with it. Parts of it were heart-rending. The first part, focusing on Cole, was an interesting start but I think every reader will immediately pick up on the fact this man is off. While that may be the point, there is a certain lack of self-awareness in the character of Cole that means I found it hard to take his perspective seriously. (Compare to <i>Lie With Me</i> by Sabine Durrant, where the main male character is an ass, but kinda knows it, and is therefore conflicted to a certain extent.) The third part is also not exactly subtle or nuanced. And this is where my own conflictedness comes in. I recognise a lot of the elements Hall plays with, the fear that can grab you as you walk past a dark alley, the sudden awareness of your own physicality when men act a certain way, the struggle of finding out what you want separate from what you're told to want. All of these elements are at play in <i>One of the Good Guys</i>, but there is not really any space for you to sit with it, if that makes sense. The end of the book is very crowded with opinions, statements, etc. and while this is incredibly effective in showing the noise and divisiveness of discourse today, it also doesn't help you as the reader. The ending of the novel, however, in which Leonora's art show is depicted, is incredibly effective because it allows for nuance, personal experience, and meditation on the themes. I would have loved more of that. Now, <i>One of the Good Guys</i> runs the risk of drowning its own messages in the noise. And again, I feel kind of bad about that because the criticism seems to so closely align with what the book is arguing against. </p><p>As a thriller, <i>One of the Good Guys</i> is very effective, providing the reader with characters who are all darker shades of grey and plenty of twists and turns. As a book about important social issues, however, it loses potency at various points throughout the story. Araminta Hall is undoubtedly a good thriller writer and I would love to read more by her. I also think Hall undoubtedly believes strongly in the cause she is describing in the novel. Whether this format is the best way to raise awareness, I don't know. And yet, I have just spent a few hundred words talking about it and <i>One of the Good Guys</i> has raised important questions. So, to an extent, it does work as a conversation started.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I give this novel...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5mpucRvCp6J91jvvdYp7GTXeCMPRuLEBzdBoqPwSZIrX7l0evSNRcHJ_WE8wQQZXgy86ivz1KpHs5oXPYn88HnJ3qJBgKlwMC8fF-d6gEXxQGHeTXkN1znN80lWRBPfC3Z4qBq8i7xBDd7JOCczBbG8XYelWSLPKF6UlGoyOi5hewBGSZ_zCk8KQvuHw/s3004/3%20Universes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="3004" height="79" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5mpucRvCp6J91jvvdYp7GTXeCMPRuLEBzdBoqPwSZIrX7l0evSNRcHJ_WE8wQQZXgy86ivz1KpHs5oXPYn88HnJ3qJBgKlwMC8fF-d6gEXxQGHeTXkN1znN80lWRBPfC3Z4qBq8i7xBDd7JOCczBbG8XYelWSLPKF6UlGoyOi5hewBGSZ_zCk8KQvuHw/w400-h79/3%20Universes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">3 Universes!</p><p>I appreciated a lot of the things <i>One of the Good Guys</i> was trying to do. While some elements are very successful, others felt a little too unnuanced considering the potency and importance of the debate the novel is trying to have.</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-44050375127343059922024-01-05T13:41:00.003+00:002024-01-05T13:41:33.826+00:00Review: 'The Honjin Murders' (Detective Kosuke Kindaichi #1) by Seishi Yokomizo, trans. by Louise Heal Kawai, narr. by Akira Matsumoto<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5bwoXPult_NBTrreIUJFDArf3TZDHeQMOA8NXsIO_qf63-52ncMRW5LoMnJnSUKPQ_XbwxXOiEvO0GGyfDAo16K_1wICxN4gy1IKFQJwEVVfhjZ8vyoquJikXAydP0654UhucjBSn7QZWZavgN1uAbkjmbdCUb0kBwIiPY7zBmnm0dcJJvBwvtoZtRDXy" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="922" data-original-width="600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi5bwoXPult_NBTrreIUJFDArf3TZDHeQMOA8NXsIO_qf63-52ncMRW5LoMnJnSUKPQ_XbwxXOiEvO0GGyfDAo16K_1wICxN4gy1IKFQJwEVVfhjZ8vyoquJikXAydP0654UhucjBSn7QZWZavgN1uAbkjmbdCUb0kBwIiPY7zBmnm0dcJJvBwvtoZtRDXy=w260-h400" width="260" /></a></div>A wedding between the heir of an important family and a school teacher should have been the talk of the town, except that the wedding night became a massacre. Since then, the so-called Honjin Murders have captivated the entire town. Now, our narrator is here to reveal the mystery to us and introduce us the scattered, but charmingly odd, detective Kosuke Kindaiche. I absolutely adored this audiobook, narrated by Akira Matsumoto. <p></p><p><b>Audiobook Pub. Date</b>: 9/1/2021<br /><b>Publisher</b>: Bolinda Publishing</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 600;">One of Japan's greatest classic murder mysteries, introducing their best loved detective, translated into English for the first time.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span style=";">In the winter of 1937, the village of Okamura is abuzz with excitement over the forthcoming wedding of a son of the grand Ichiyanagi family. But amid the gossip over the approaching festivities, there is also a worrying rumour - it seems a sinister masked man has been asking questions around the village.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span style=";">Then, on the night of the wedding, the Ichiyanagi household are woken by a terrible scream, followed by the sound of eerie music. Death has come to Okamura, leaving no trace but a bloody samurai sword, thrust into the pristine snow outside the house. Soon, amateur detective Kosuke Kindaichi is on the scene to investigate what will become a legendary murder case, but can this scruffy sleuth solve a seemingly impossible crime?</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"></span></i></span><p></p><p>Last year my first book was a Japanese locked-room mystery and I decided to make it a tradition and do the same this year, except I did it with an audiobook. I read one of Yokomizo's <i>Kosuke Kindaichi</i> mysteries, <i>Death on Gokumon Island</i>, before and decided to start at the beginning of the series this time with <i>The Honjin Murders</i>. When I read my first locked-room mystery I was, honestly, a bit befuddled. I'd never really read them before so the format was new to me, as was the style of Japanese thriller writing. I became immensely intrigued by it though and enjoyed how weirdly interpersonal the writing is. In the first chapter of <i>The Honjin Murders</i>, we get the narrator telling us about his fascination with this case, how it reminded him of other crime stories he has read, how he collected his material and scoped out the locations himself. Those first pages build up such a personal connection, while also immediately making you suspicious of everything. These suspicions are confirmed at the end when the narrator reveals certain nuances of his own writing. Everything is a clue in these books!! And they are delivered to you as clear clues, pointed out to the reader with a blinking sign saying "this is important", except that you have no idea why. Honestly, these Japanese locked-room mysteries are an absolute treat and everyone should give them a go.</p><p>Our narrator has a locked-room mystery to share with us, a tale of bloody death and secrets, and he's honestly quite excited to tell us about it. He has collected all the relevant information and parcels it out carefully to make sure we have everything necessary to figure out the mystery for ourselves. On their wedding night, the eldest son of the Ichiyanagi family and his bride are found covered in their own blood in the annexe. The shutters and doors were locked and there are no footprints to be found on the snow-covered ground. What happened? Who did it? Earlier that day a stranger has asked about the family's house, a stranger with only three fingers. A bloody handprint with only three fingers is also found at the scene, making him an immediate suspect. The police is stumped, however, as more information is revealed. Enter Kosuke Kindaichi, a young detective with a love for thrillers and an eye for detail. Not only will he notice what no one else has seen, but he will also ferret out the motivations and secrets of the entire family. I mightily enjoyed this mystery and loved getting Kindaichi's background story in this novel as well. </p><p>In <i>The Honjin Murders</i> Seishi Yokomizo explores a Japan before World War II and before globalisation. With his tale set in the Japanese countryside, he takes his time to explore the social structures, power imbalances, and hierarchies which were at play during the late 1930s. It is also worth noting he wrote this book in the 1940s, and as such this work is also an insight into the culture of the time. While this information might feel superfluous, it is incredibly important in allowing you to understand the crime. I was quite shocked by the eventual reason for the murder, in part because it is stated so clearly and because it feels like something from a different age. But it is contextualised by the rest of the novel and is condemned, even if perhaps modern readers would like a more explicit condemnation. Getting an insight into Japan's history through these novels is incredibly interesting. Also, I love the intertextuality of this book, how Yokomizo plays with the thriller/detective genre and our expectations. Louise Heal Kawai does another brilliant job translating this novel, making sure to keep the tone of Yokomizo and the way in which he describes Japan, while also making it accessible to Western readers. Akira Matsumoto, or Akira Bradley, is an excellent narrator for these audiobooks. His different voices for the characters and his careful reading of all the different facts and pieces of information mean that it is a little easier to follow the mystery along. He grew up in Japan but moved to Australia in his teens, and his Australian accent is absolutely delightful to listen to.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I give this novel...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkHcNZIVTYPlzY3_g2sZbMG4w7Ha9-BgRLZRBH6iXEa7vCSk-r5Yz0UUaKum5Do7mHufnJhjoNkub2jAZIjBoqCno8a9epansKpCuxJ-K7BZt9NpPhX1LbMKTsgcGHejBpFBEjV0Pdp4hSChZc_lbHPqYr9mc21AOsd7UHaru-cr0k6KZKVJFy5b76kGj/s3984/4%20Universes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="3984" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkHcNZIVTYPlzY3_g2sZbMG4w7Ha9-BgRLZRBH6iXEa7vCSk-r5Yz0UUaKum5Do7mHufnJhjoNkub2jAZIjBoqCno8a9epansKpCuxJ-K7BZt9NpPhX1LbMKTsgcGHejBpFBEjV0Pdp4hSChZc_lbHPqYr9mc21AOsd7UHaru-cr0k6KZKVJFy5b76kGj/w400-h60/4%20Universes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">4 Universes!</p><p><i>The Honjin Murders</i> is a fascinating locked-room mystery which doesn't just thrill but also informs. After reading this first book I can totally see why Yokomizo gained such a fan-following in Japan and why his Kosuke is so beloved. I can't wait to read his other books!</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-53756296145443962022024-01-05T12:58:00.009+00:002024-01-05T12:58:53.794+00:00Review: 'Lore' by Alexandra Bracken, narr. by Fryda Wolff<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuEt9_sqMWNnBjHj7i_Z62SXQ1lOH09_E220hbAD6HdyiXRT-nmQyygikSej3iF_BlLd-PZkymi-3Dfo8XLPTTFZucXzmReqHrMrVk_cLDPtgaZV0zo1OiApVklua3l3OgPBlToMWWIofg0hjtCj9QbM1o6IuE3mI8xXqGAYOzk0ZxioueARjUI-DB1VHK" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2000" data-original-width="1325" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhuEt9_sqMWNnBjHj7i_Z62SXQ1lOH09_E220hbAD6HdyiXRT-nmQyygikSej3iF_BlLd-PZkymi-3Dfo8XLPTTFZucXzmReqHrMrVk_cLDPtgaZV0zo1OiApVklua3l3OgPBlToMWWIofg0hjtCj9QbM1o6IuE3mI8xXqGAYOzk0ZxioueARjUI-DB1VHK=w265-h400" width="265" /></a></div>Imagine if your entire life you've trained to take part in a a contest with the gods, with the one goal to slay them and ascend yourself. When tragedy strikes you have to leave that life behind, except that it comes to find you nonetheless. Meet Lore and the predicament she finds herself in! I have seen <i>Lore</i> around for years now, always wanting to read it and never getting around to it. And then for Christmas I treated myself to the audiobook and had a lovely time.<p></p><p><b>Audiobook Pub. Date</b>: 07/01/2021<br /><b>Publisher</b>: Quercus Children's Books</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span>Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family's sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt's promises of eternal glory. For years she's pushed away any thought of revenge against the man--now a god--responsible for their deaths.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore's decision to bind her fate to Athena's and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost--and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p>As a Greek mythology lover I somehow found myself straying away from actually reading any adaptations of Greek mythology. I very much enjoyed the first wave of books which took up Greek myths and legends and reinvented them for a new age. Now it feels like every Greek heroine has received her own "upgrade" which either turns her into the perfect victim or a girl boss. I know that judgement is unfair, but there are so many of them that I'm beginning to wonder what each of them is adding to the conversation. Also, in my research I spent a lot of time with interesting female characters from the past and I like exploring them in all their nuance. Bringing modern conceptions about gender, power, etc. into the balance doesn't always help, and I'm therefore hesitant with these books. I have been burned, is what I'm saying, so while I wanted to read <i>Lore</i>, I was very hesitant. Turns out that for what it is, it is great fun.</p><p>Lore has left the world of gods, warriors, and the Agon behind. Her family was brutally murdered during the last one, eight years ago, and although she is burning for revenge, she knows she is better off far away from all of that. She found refuge with a kindly old man in New York and has even found a friend, Miles. But on her way back from a fight, she finds the goddess Athena bleeding to death on her doorstep. On top of that, she finds out that her best friend, whom she thought dead, is very much alive, and now Lore is right back in the middle of all the chaos and violence. Over the days of the Agon, Lore reconnects with old friends and enemies, faces dark memories, and has to choose where her loyalty truly lies. I enjoyed Lore as a main character. She is clearly highly capable and skilled, but she is also incredibly torn and conflicted, which ensures some lovely tension throughout the novel. Lore has a lot of things buried in her past and I enjoyed how Bracken moved back and forth in time, with the past always informing the present. The characters surrounding Lore are also interesting, although they are at times a little rote, especially the "bad guy" of the book. Athena was very intriguing and I enjoyed Bracken's take on her.</p><p>Going into <i>Lore</i> I wondered how Alexandra Bracken would balance her adaptation of Greek myth, where the focus would lie. I was very happy to see that <i>Lore</i> is mostly character-driven. The mythology is in service of the tale Bracken wants to tell about Lore herself and so she gives herself the freedom to play with the ideas of the gods and heroes as well. One thing that did strike me is that it is amazing Lore is in any way standing at the halfway point of the book. There is so much fighting and running and hardly any sleeping and healing. The recovery period of these characters is insane and kind of threw me out of the tale. In fact, I did also slightly lose track of the number of days that are meant to pass. The romance-element of the story was also not necessary for me, but that is a me thing. Overall I did very much enjoy <i>Lore</i> and am definitely going to check out more books by Alexandra Bracken. Fryda Wolff was also excellent as a narrator. I've enjoyed her narration before and I liked how she brought Lore's internal conflict alive. Her narration of the action scenes was also excellent.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I give this novel...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9QJ39ozHAcan6HhwohbdPldjiCdtRr6v7GRioWVQuebZO3Nxo9_wJdiiN04HmgXQQRG6__HMikNOwg-mwXPRYhB35JEHq3Ma3TvQVkw31GM8Scr4jv6uSr6rsqrdiZy1Ouo1BuffpKKmUrKhzutTHiBU3rcSpwCIm9DbeGF5YaCG3p88t59UEkpA8sL8/s3984/4%20Universes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="3984" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9QJ39ozHAcan6HhwohbdPldjiCdtRr6v7GRioWVQuebZO3Nxo9_wJdiiN04HmgXQQRG6__HMikNOwg-mwXPRYhB35JEHq3Ma3TvQVkw31GM8Scr4jv6uSr6rsqrdiZy1Ouo1BuffpKKmUrKhzutTHiBU3rcSpwCIm9DbeGF5YaCG3p88t59UEkpA8sL8/w400-h60/4%20Universes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">4 Universes!</p><p><i>Lore</i> is a delightful novel which plays with elements of Greek Mythology, while solidly telling its own story. Bracken has a great knack for action scenes and creating atmosphere through her descriptions. </p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-77374157391802900532024-01-05T11:24:00.001+00:002024-01-05T11:24:12.934+00:00Friday Friyay: 'Spice Road' by Maiya Ibrahim<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-QZ9pZETjjswsboyOAwRnF7AXWfervc3WkYkI_ZK3hSH5XPDVNWwia-TjO8aExDRNIL4bMB6Mzla6_hp3B0fZ7a8U35f-bVbxuYDyB_56G4z8jkfHKHEwd_KdUPhv79Z_Fo5bm92dRb3X7_0rSFHdgOrJEv77AWxGAaB3FlGeLts0xyid_qTm09apbYJs" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="264" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi-QZ9pZETjjswsboyOAwRnF7AXWfervc3WkYkI_ZK3hSH5XPDVNWwia-TjO8aExDRNIL4bMB6Mzla6_hp3B0fZ7a8U35f-bVbxuYDyB_56G4z8jkfHKHEwd_KdUPhv79Z_Fo5bm92dRb3X7_0rSFHdgOrJEv77AWxGAaB3FlGeLts0xyid_qTm09apbYJs=w263-h400" width="263" /></a></div>Happy Friday y'all! I had ab absolute nightmare of a day yesterday, one of those real "gotten up on the wrong side of the bed" kind of days. But I somehow managed to see the humour in it all, even as I broke my french press and therefore had to wait till I was at work to have my first coffee of the day. Thankfully I had a lovely lunch set up with a colleague and managed to buy a new french press and a book! And it is that book I'm sharing today, <i>Spice Road</i> by Maiya Ibrahim.<p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span>In the hidden desert city of Qalia, there is secret spice magic that awakens the affinities of those who drink the misra tea. Sixteen-year-old Imani has the affinity for iron and is able to wield a dagger like no other warrior. She has garnered the reputation as being the next great Shield for battling djinn, ghouls, and other monsters spreading across the sands.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>Her reputation has been overshadowed, however, by her brother, who tarnished the family name after it was revealed that he was stealing his nation's coveted spice--a telltale sign of magical obsession. Soon after that, he disappeared, believed to have died beyond the Forbidden Wastes. Despite her brother's betrayal, there isn't a day that goes by when Imani doesn't grieve him.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>But when Imani discovers signs that her brother may be alive and spreading the nation's magic to outsiders, she makes a deal with the Council that she will find him and bring him back to Qalia, where he will face punishment. Accompanied by other Shields, including Taha, a powerful beastseer who can control the minds of falcons, she sets out on her mission.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span>Imani will soon find that many secrets lie beyond the Forbidden Wastes--and in her own heart--but will she find her brother?</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">Book Beginnings is at home on </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Freda's Voice</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but we're keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at </span><a href="https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">. </span></span></p><p><b>BB</b>:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWH0OyGsQseAVD1ussl4rHUo7jAYp8FH6zw7trC65gSESOzROAWxs6aEE8tCwVWQ9NsjHv8W9mMmUSnUZGIy_h8fsbXVT8iKWX5cLeNzU6acf-eEy3i3wk4ANTump0CP9ap0iBG79KZQywdBEQlo1fRRRjrEipZIFtGIGl39Pf5D5xcrhPjAfMYpQAVE2C" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="200" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhWH0OyGsQseAVD1ussl4rHUo7jAYp8FH6zw7trC65gSESOzROAWxs6aEE8tCwVWQ9NsjHv8W9mMmUSnUZGIy_h8fsbXVT8iKWX5cLeNzU6acf-eEy3i3wk4ANTump0CP9ap0iBG79KZQywdBEQlo1fRRRjrEipZIFtGIGl39Pf5D5xcrhPjAfMYpQAVE2C=w200-h128" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i>'We will fight, but first we will have tea.</i>' <b>p.1</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>I read this in the store and immediately walked over to the counter to pay for the book. It was exactly the kind of vibe I needed, so I'm very much looking forward to diving in this weekend! Saturday is a holiday in my region, so everything is closed, so I'll have nothing to do but read :)</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFgT2V-6d_tjweDgYEturC3owjCnxIanHPY3Nj62h0Os_FMwwMp9ra0eWdv_MBWPF-R3u5q6OBor0zjT0tn7K4dmMv0G5cSX8oyRLNKRtpgRKpOLxiP99SLGd1sKoPs2gClJKYgPBNhgtY6WAFtH0Yv6bKNAvjLWDdwh1Z9lZz_phdntW-pCnv3G8vTBHx" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjFgT2V-6d_tjweDgYEturC3owjCnxIanHPY3Nj62h0Os_FMwwMp9ra0eWdv_MBWPF-R3u5q6OBor0zjT0tn7K4dmMv0G5cSX8oyRLNKRtpgRKpOLxiP99SLGd1sKoPs2gClJKYgPBNhgtY6WAFtH0Yv6bKNAvjLWDdwh1Z9lZz_phdntW-pCnv3G8vTBHx=w144-h200" width="144" /></a></b></div><b>F56</b>:<p></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>Her peach-hued cheeks inflate with a snort. "If by <b>internal crisis</b> you mean he fell in love with someone and wants to help them, then I agree."'</i> <b>p.56</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>I don't know who has fallen in love (though I'm suspecting the brother) and why it is an issue, but I adore calling it an "internal crisis" because that feels very true. Also, just realised this is the first in an upcoming trilogy, so if I enjoy it, I'll have more to look forward to!</p><p><b>BBH</b>:</p><p>This week's question was suggested by Billy himself:</p><p><u>Do you anticipate any upcoming 2024 books? If so, what are they?</u></p><p>I used to be so good at keeping up to date with what was coming out etc. and now it's just what I saw on Netgalley and requested, for the rest I have no idea xD So hopefully by hopping around I'll gather some recommendations! One of the books I've requested that I am looking forward to finally digging in is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/176443191-three-eight-one?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=gTvZ6INU6U&rank=1">Aliya Whiteley's <i>Three Eight One</i></a>. But that's all I've got at the moment. And I guess if I enjoy <i>Spice Road</i> then the second one of that is also on the list.</p><p>So that's it for me this week! What are you reading? What are you anticipating?</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-65548997948887376112023-12-29T10:15:00.002+00:002023-12-29T10:15:19.014+00:00Friday Friyay: 'A Memory Called Empire' (Teixcalaan #1) by Arkady Martine<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiusJEGm220C4RUZQC-i_CY-Ti-NIgbbbStu8iXX6uC1tXCXEgy0iUmKNWViBtvin5eiu-pqHbNwp0Iiw5J3ftHzXc4dkmd5rcE74B2ht54YNTwvc8rUbBifSDRPLickdoHRgniqiiuQijQceqVh3Wy6t_hbf-7ZNFracbI3WNShq_EswznDNIchAQPYGmB" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1144" data-original-width="740" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiusJEGm220C4RUZQC-i_CY-Ti-NIgbbbStu8iXX6uC1tXCXEgy0iUmKNWViBtvin5eiu-pqHbNwp0Iiw5J3ftHzXc4dkmd5rcE74B2ht54YNTwvc8rUbBifSDRPLickdoHRgniqiiuQijQceqVh3Wy6t_hbf-7ZNFracbI3WNShq_EswznDNIchAQPYGmB=w258-h400" width="258" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Happy Friday! I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays. finally requested some days off, which means I've been enjoying sofa time and not doing anything this week. I spent Christmas at my mom's, which was nice, and now I'm glorying in not having anything to do. I only took off 5 days this year and I'm now realising that's not enough, because I really needed these days of decompressing and calm. One of the books I'm reading this weekend is <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37794149-a-memory-called-empire?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Jhkj9Pyzp3&rank=1"><i>A Memory Called Empire</i> by Arkady Martine</a>! I've wanted to read this book for ages and my sister gifted it to me for Christmas, so now I can dive in! </div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"></span><blockquote><span style=";">Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px;" /><span style=";">Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.</span></blockquote><span style=";"></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5yRl_lZEk8YuVikpPwGNElyJv8_xVBP-ItOajhSKtY3-Fo_ICSxO6_8o7bBaszdpRAzD9_nxiVQbj9trLe--PVCc2oF5Qnq4FufZPvQ5iIoEBjTD0bVKSvdrXGN5guduykJKRSC-2GzyoPl31PLNizRpch_Jcii08uocrEfZJiYZGjGK4ZAJJtSK2QMoz" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="200" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj5yRl_lZEk8YuVikpPwGNElyJv8_xVBP-ItOajhSKtY3-Fo_ICSxO6_8o7bBaszdpRAzD9_nxiVQbj9trLe--PVCc2oF5Qnq4FufZPvQ5iIoEBjTD0bVKSvdrXGN5guduykJKRSC-2GzyoPl31PLNizRpch_Jcii08uocrEfZJiYZGjGK4ZAJJtSK2QMoz=w200-h128" width="200" /></a></div><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: inherit;">Book Beginnings is at home on </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: inherit;">, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Freda's Voice</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: inherit;">, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but we're keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at </span><a href="https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; font-family: inherit; text-decoration-line: none;">Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: inherit;">. </span><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: inherit;">All quotes are taken from an ARC and may be different in the published </span><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0; font-family: inherit;">book.</span></div></div></div><p><b>BB</b>:</p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><p><i>'<b>Prelude</b></i></p><p><i>In Teixcalaan, these things are ceaseless: star-charts and disembarkments.</i></p><p><i><b>Chapter 1</b></i></p><p><i>And from behind the curve of the large gaseous planet at coordinate B5682.76R1, the Emperor Twelve Solar-Flare arose on the bow of her ship, and she was a radiant blaze flooding all of the void.'</i> <b>p.1</b></p></blockquote><p><b></b></p><p>Ok, so I love both of these openings. First of all, the word <i>ceaseless</i> is hitting me in a really nice way, I like it more than <i>endless</i>, which she also could have used. And I am also very much here for a female emperor, even if the practice of empire is wrong. </p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj35lUTWO1wozL94NVI9HH8IhmNDLQRg0l00s2KEHp0UV1J5Z6THyEXWvYAx55HHnQwfp_wYTDoZgB2xNLe4aBFT1XqrU_CNrzIKpHIN2bkytgvoaFXStSY5-HzPFk7HlO5hPsZ5d9b5IfHJrHi_GvO8WeuWrFY_B8Fyw2Dm3c8u-wJI2B4ACXh2VpUorJR" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj35lUTWO1wozL94NVI9HH8IhmNDLQRg0l00s2KEHp0UV1J5Z6THyEXWvYAx55HHnQwfp_wYTDoZgB2xNLe4aBFT1XqrU_CNrzIKpHIN2bkytgvoaFXStSY5-HzPFk7HlO5hPsZ5d9b5IfHJrHi_GvO8WeuWrFY_B8Fyw2Dm3c8u-wJI2B4ACXh2VpUorJR=w144-h200" width="144" /></a></b></div><b>F56</b>:<div><i></i><blockquote><i>'"Insatiably curious and often in large amounts of trouble, especially if it involves interesting forensics or peculiar medical practices," Three Seagrass said.'</i> <b>p.56</b></blockquote><b></b></div><div>I think this is about our main character, Mahit, which means I already adore them. I enjoy a character that has niche interests and is willing to get into trouble just to find out more. I think I'm actually going to dive into this book straight after posting this xD</div><div><p><b>BBH</b>:</p><p>This week's question comes from Billy himself:</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh64oXfOjwWxMSbXH5AmLdTMM2LW9g78a8nvKRklQl1Em64gAImMHtrBHMi4EiesZn4q9xuEI79Q7Vds5efKbLEyfz4Z7df080JfLaiflirLDpUt7PYHGfVBbTCuc-qvlOseCoqf4YHUudgTPraSlF-r15nVbj8qhKBOsgLd4YqsXW2ODL5Wc_0-JH-iKP1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh64oXfOjwWxMSbXH5AmLdTMM2LW9g78a8nvKRklQl1Em64gAImMHtrBHMi4EiesZn4q9xuEI79Q7Vds5efKbLEyfz4Z7df080JfLaiflirLDpUt7PYHGfVBbTCuc-qvlOseCoqf4YHUudgTPraSlF-r15nVbj8qhKBOsgLd4YqsXW2ODL5Wc_0-JH-iKP1=w200-h168" width="200" /></a></div><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Did you exchange gifts for Christmas with other book lovers?<br /></span></u><p></p><p>Technically no? I would say many members of my family enjoy reading but it is a whole bit lower on their priority list than it is on mine, so I don't know if they would qualify themselves as book lovers. But they do know I'm a book lover, hence why I did receive a book or two for Christmas! And I am also planning on gifting a book to my mum, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43890641-hamnet?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_6"><i>Hamnet</i> by Maggie O'Farrell</a>. We spoke about it a bit while I was visiting her and I think she enjoyed it, so I'm looking for the German translation now.</p><p>And that's it for me this week? What are you reading? </p></div>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-69070647330550513102023-12-21T12:35:00.005+00:002023-12-21T12:35:43.920+00:00Review: 'The Crane Husband' by Kelly Barnhill<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgN6w3zf2ZK2oWwpCxMpNug7Z3ls0QmzJWByCyr44Q887e3VQHSLSnapEmCT0vb5QDRJWRq0NjdBKCJfu2LFYHbVALa5v4BnXVYAtjMIS3Mcyt_DW9X4W6vqcbHkfcRY9X734QaRQQHQR_N0RT4Tbdo6ZBpiqX2wAEU2BwYXinXx64j2p7XdmwqbPswT5r0" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgN6w3zf2ZK2oWwpCxMpNug7Z3ls0QmzJWByCyr44Q887e3VQHSLSnapEmCT0vb5QDRJWRq0NjdBKCJfu2LFYHbVALa5v4BnXVYAtjMIS3Mcyt_DW9X4W6vqcbHkfcRY9X734QaRQQHQR_N0RT4Tbdo6ZBpiqX2wAEU2BwYXinXx64j2p7XdmwqbPswT5r0=w250-h400" width="250" /></a></div>Aside from trying to read as many fairy tales and fantasy books as possible, I also like to read as many books a spossible in which women undergo strange, animalistic transformations. Thankfully, these tow interests often overlap, but not always. In the case of <i>The Crane Husband</i>, we find the oddest of things happening in the bleakest of realities. In her sharp and often painful novella, Barnhill explores gendered violence<p></p><p><b>Pub. Date</b>: 2/28/2023<br /><b>Publisher</b>: Macmillan-Tor/Forge</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="; box-sizing: border-box;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="; box-sizing: border-box;">“Mothers fly away like migrating birds. This is why farmers have daughters.</span><span style=";">”</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style=";">A fifteen-year-old teenager is the backbone of her small Midwestern family, budgeting the household finances and raising her younger brother while her mom, a talented artist, weaves beautiful tapestries. For six years, it’s been just the three of them—her mom has brought home guests at times, but none have ever stayed.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style=";">Yet when her mom brings home a six-foot tall crane with a menacing air, the girl is powerless to prevent her mom letting the intruder into her heart, and her children’s lives. Utterly enchanted and numb to his sharp edges, her mom abandons the world around her to weave the masterpiece the crane demands.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style=";">In this stunning contemporary retelling of “The Crane Wife” by the Newbery Medal-winning author of </span><span style="; box-sizing: border-box;">The Girl Who Drank the Moon</span><span style=";">, one fiercely pragmatic teen forced to grow up faster than was fair will do whatever it takes to protect her family—and change the story.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"></span></i></span><p></p><p><i>The Crane Husband</i> is a retelling of the Japanese f<span style="font-family: inherit;">airy tale <i lang="ja-Latn" style="; color: #202122;">Tsuru Nyōbō</i><span lang="ja-Latn" style="; color: #202122;">, which is retold by the protagonist's father to her on his death bed. A man marries a crane woman, who uses her feathers to create silk brocade. He sells this, while she becomes more and more ill. When he finds out the truth, he asks her to stop but she says she is making the sacrifice for love. In <i>The Crane Husband</i> there is a crueler variation of the tale, also found in Japan, which involves betrayal. Barnhill's novella uses this tale of love, sacrifice, and betrayal in order to explore the themes of generational trauma, mother-daughter relationships, and creativity. Our unnamed protagonist, a young teenager forced to become responsible too soon, sees how her mother creates stories and tapestries out of nothing, how she is capable of creating utter beauty, and yet how she also willingly seems to subject herself to violence for the sake of love and creativity. Seemingly the question is how far one will go in creating and living one's story.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ja-Latn" style="; color: #202122;">Our narrator lives on a farm with her mother, a famous but reclusive weaver, and her younger brother, Michael. Her father died years ago and since then our narrator is responsible for pretty much everything, from selling her mother's weavings online to buying groceries and getting her brother into bed. But that's fine. It isn't fine, however, once her mother brings home a humongous crane as her lover. The house becomes imbued with violence as the two move from bedroom to studio, leaving blood and feathers behind. Our narrator knows this story must come to an end, one way or another, and she just hopes she can keep her little brother safe. Barnhill conceives of a very grounded and realistic surrounding for her fantastic tale, with ever encroaching farm megacorps and stressed teachers. The switch between this and the fantastical events within the house create something of a whiplash which captures the experience of forcibly growing up too soon. I found myself unable to stop reading as I felt myself become ever more enclosed in this claustrophobic world with our narrator. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="ja-Latn" style="e; color: #202122;">What was most stunning to me about <i>The Crane Husband</i> was the way in which Barnhill managed to mingle reality and fantasy. When her mother returns home with a crane, who wears shoes, it feels like you've entered a fable or folk tale. The violence and sense of threat that follows is very real, however. As are the conversations with truancy officers and teachers. Is our narrator looking at a crane or a man? Does it even matter, if she already knows he's a threat? But the fluidity of this figure, the way he stalks through the house and the fields, the way he injures, that is all due to the masterful way in which Barnhill plays with perception and the idea of story-telling. Because in the end our narrator is telling this story and by the end of the novella we must question how reliable she is. Is she telling the story "as it happened" or, as one might fear, is she following in her mother's footsteps and dreaming up beauty amid horror? <i>The Crane Husband</i> engages very directly with domestic violence in ways that are quite affecting. While the structure around it may be fantastical, Barnhill doesn't shy away from depicting both the physical violence and the psychological horror of the situation. This will make it a difficult read for many, but that nonetheless makes it an important read. </span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;">I give this novella...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2RQW3LVE_1gY_K2zNKSaUDoK2t13NJpJnUm6PoU_UAFnR9TFfLno4iXxGLGJyMepFnUlLrsO_CPbO4bhOu7E3ASYGnECCMNIstBkCsy2L-Yww6NRrcneQ276aTW6d7ANy9hG1ruQSv6IXwBPKFs3bRrwii7_nfacSCsQOO5v18AmdnpRq7msAKnaAglT/s3984/4%20Universes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="3984" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe2RQW3LVE_1gY_K2zNKSaUDoK2t13NJpJnUm6PoU_UAFnR9TFfLno4iXxGLGJyMepFnUlLrsO_CPbO4bhOu7E3ASYGnECCMNIstBkCsy2L-Yww6NRrcneQ276aTW6d7ANy9hG1ruQSv6IXwBPKFs3bRrwii7_nfacSCsQOO5v18AmdnpRq7msAKnaAglT/w400-h60/4%20Universes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">4 Universes!</p><p><i>The Crane Husband</i> is a fascinating piece of fiction in which the boundary between the real and the fantastic, pain and love, girl and woman are incredibly fragile. It's not an easy read, but a very worthwhile one.</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-63036168330780198962023-12-19T12:30:00.003+00:002023-12-19T12:30:49.061+00:00Review: 'Nettle & Bone' by T. Kingfisher<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgn4bxnNLOa_Y_CoTbyZ-JWKgylktT7aIahGSgLrpkQUXbMpSvHgw49PNqGMWiuO43bUJxwaFudtWybES47JDuHfuRoUkJLNivVtBSJjL16CTJtUm-3TeX2rBhbXKNVGbPEsS4sbPeNm4vFqzYOczIpuYnGZMir2NrBfr0u_WuN7pVv7Wtt7izFLKeX7F-5" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgn4bxnNLOa_Y_CoTbyZ-JWKgylktT7aIahGSgLrpkQUXbMpSvHgw49PNqGMWiuO43bUJxwaFudtWybES47JDuHfuRoUkJLNivVtBSJjL16CTJtUm-3TeX2rBhbXKNVGbPEsS4sbPeNm4vFqzYOczIpuYnGZMir2NrBfr0u_WuN7pVv7Wtt7izFLKeX7F-5=w258-h400" width="258" /></a></div>By now it has become a very annoying personality trait that I will just not read books in a timely fashion, even when I'm fully aware I'll enjoy them. Meet <i>Nettle & Bone</i>, with which I've done exactly the same thing. Not until I found myself face to face with a 7-hour train journey last weekend did I finally dive in. And of course, I loved it. Thanks to Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.<p></p><p><b>Pub. Date</b>: 4/26/2022<br /><b>Publisher</b>: Macmillan-Tor/Forge</p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">This isn't the kind of fairy tale where the princess marries a prince.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style="box-sizing: border-box;"><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" />It's the one where she kills him.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>Marra — a shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter — is relieved not to be married off for the sake of her parents’ throne. Her older sister wasn’t so fortunate though, and her royal husband is as abusive as he is powerful. From the safety of the convent, Marra wonders who will come to her sister’s rescue and put a stop to this. But after years of watching their families and kingdoms pretend all is well, Marra realizes if any hero is coming, it will have to be Marra herself.</span><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /><span>If Marra can complete three impossible tasks, a witch will grant her the tools she needs. But, as is the way in stories of princes and the impossible, these tasks are only the beginning of Marra’s strange and enchanting journey to save her sister and topple a throne.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span></span></i></span><p></p><p>Fairy tales are a lovely thing to play with, aren't they? I loved fairy tales as a child, loved the slightly vague way in which they operated, which allowed me to fill in all the corners, all the gaps, all the questionmarks with my own ideas. I also liked that they felt open to questions, that you could dig into the why of things. While fairy tales seem obvious at the surface, they really represent a whole lot more. Adapting fairy tales has also become very popular and, I must admit, not all of them work for me equally. Perhaps that's because I started with Angela Carter and her imagination was quite simply stunning. Since then I've read many more fairy tale adaptations, most of which attempt to do something exciting and new with the material. While I appreciate the desire for new, when it is forced, then it also pushes the tale outside of its own border, if that makes sense. In <i>Nettle & Bone</i>, T. Kingfisher creates a fairytale world in which elements can be played with but in which the rules are existent. Rather than a world in which a woman can be a anything she wants, Kingfisher creates a world where women still have to find ways to covertly play the game, where they are in danger, and where they have to find allies. For me, that raises the stakes, makes me more interested, because that is how the world still is. So it's a world that makes sense, but within which Kingfisher can play with all the grey areas, talk about violence and pain, and create joy.</p><p>Marra is in a pickle at the start of <i>Nettle & Bone</i>. In the midst of her second impossible task, she finds herself constructing a dog out of bones. But it will be worth it, if it will help her kill a prince. Marra is the third daughter of a king and queen and has called a convent home for the last decade or more. Her older sisters have been married to the prince and have definitely gotten the worse end of the stick. Although shy and hesitant about the wider world, Marra decides something has to be done and so sets out. Along the way she encounters a dust-wife, a possessed chicken, goblins, a killer, and more. What I absolutely adored about this book is that T. Kingfisher never forces Marra to be anything she isn't. While she does sometimes mourn her own hesitancy and unknowing, Marra never has to become more than she is. Rather, throughout the book, she comes to realise the various skills she already has, even if they are mostly human. For example, there are some scenes in which there is a focus on her knowledge about knitting, her skill in that handiwork, and how it doesn't seem very important in the grand scheme of things, and yet it is a real skill she has which can be useful. I just really enjoyed how Kingfisher builds up Marra into a character that feels like an adult and feels well-rounded and solid in a fantasy world.</p><p>Like I said above, I really enjoyed how T. Kingfisher built her storyworld here. The opening scene drops you right into the heart of the matter, with Marra's trials already halfover and with the mission already underway. Throughout the rest of <i>Nettle & Bone</i> Kingfisher continues to play with the expectations of readers. Importantly, it is only our interpretations which are undermined, never the coherence of the storyworld itself. In that sense Kingfisher reminds me of Diana Wynne Jones. If we expect one thing, it's on us for underestimating the way in which this world can support multiple other solutions. Kingfisher also populates her world with a delightful set of characters, from the dust-wife, to a fairy godmother, and a man who provides some lovely tension. Each of these characters is surprising in their own way and I genuinely came to care for all of them. I also enjoyed the settings of the story, from a poisoned land to a gleaming city, deserted stretches to bustling streets, each ofwhich is described with glorious and odd detail. All in all, I had an absolutely delightful time reading <i>Nettle & Bone</i> and raced through it. And now I am on the hunt for more books by T. Kingfisher so the joy does not end.</p><p style="text-align: center;">I give this novel...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1L0C6EBG7aK1Ja8PFlC_obw85kX1ldEe71XyArFNxQiUg9MoMNJUW0jse4oBl2ddIRjbUd0GDLaU4hsRyGJzekSAbbfKMnyMrWJ5lWdmzMjtnW68ap_D8KaydaM0NsPwukLz3aCe9NVd9dtL1SruPCe2Fk3c9yMzy8Fa9UwhNtKrjXPkS8r1ficbrOeRx/s3984/4%20Universes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="3984" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1L0C6EBG7aK1Ja8PFlC_obw85kX1ldEe71XyArFNxQiUg9MoMNJUW0jse4oBl2ddIRjbUd0GDLaU4hsRyGJzekSAbbfKMnyMrWJ5lWdmzMjtnW68ap_D8KaydaM0NsPwukLz3aCe9NVd9dtL1SruPCe2Fk3c9yMzy8Fa9UwhNtKrjXPkS8r1ficbrOeRx/w400-h60/4%20Universes.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: center;">4 Universes!</p><p><i>Nettle & Bone</i> is a gloriously fun fantasy read, which plays with readers' expectations about how a fairy tale is allowed to take shape. With a solid storyworld and a delightful set of characters, Kingfisher finds a way of highlighting both the danger and the reward inherent to the fairy tale and I can't wait to read more by her.</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-9906081386497434442023-12-10T09:22:00.006+00:002023-12-10T09:22:32.846+00:00Then and Now #60 (27/11/23 - 10/12/2023)<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWhtnI5jeplftFju8xFuSrmPq1giaYFIAe_GZKn8nZHhzsCF6TAbG_H6Di6nNQWND_91FFfrlU-QZ639-EeeyaYHgTOt9S4iGc-HTtQ_ia9lHIlIlbeNguLSRZAiJjsPJzQOtmcgjnYfU5ttSHpnJr2cDnCPfXyHlFUsauZauv9GI4SWnDYUYChc__jHnX" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; clear: left; color: #a93e33; display: inline; float: left; font-family: Lora, serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; outline: 0px; text-align: center; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgWhtnI5jeplftFju8xFuSrmPq1giaYFIAe_GZKn8nZHhzsCF6TAbG_H6Di6nNQWND_91FFfrlU-QZ639-EeeyaYHgTOt9S4iGc-HTtQ_ia9lHIlIlbeNguLSRZAiJjsPJzQOtmcgjnYfU5ttSHpnJr2cDnCPfXyHlFUsauZauv9GI4SWnDYUYChc__jHnX=w200-h200" style="border: 0px; height: auto; max-width: 100%;" width="200" /></a></p><p style="background-color: #fdfaf0;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Happy Sunday! <b>T</b><b>he Sunday Post</b> is a blog news meme hosted @ <a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/" style="background: transparent; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Caffeinated Reviewer</a>. See rules here: <a href="https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com//the-sunday-post-meme" style="background: 0px 0px transparent; box-sizing: border-box; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Sunday Post Meme</a>. <span style="border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-weight: 700; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Mailbox Monday</span> is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It is hosted weekly over at <a href="https://mailboxmonday.wordpress.com/" style="background: transparent; color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Mailbox Monday</a> and every Friday they do a round-up of some of their favourite, shared reads! </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Last Week</b></p><p>Still kinda struggling with something that's not really a reader slump, but more of a "omg where is the time going, I haven't touched a book in weeks"-thing. I'm really hoping to get back to blogging more, but that kinda requires me to also get back to reading... I've got a week's worth of holiday coming up though, between Christmas and New Year's, so I'm hoping to get some more reading done then! I have been Christmas baking though, and next week I'm meeting up with some of my family, so I'm very much looking forward to that as well. Get some family time in while also going to a conference and engaging in some interesting exchange about research ideas.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLRt2n9O5kNj2SRb7lTMUkCiD8gbiNJBnsX43Iy-j63kbLWRAxA-NeQYXGd7MIhWtSFeDZj--5kh2Fz2Rlgsew0s4kyca75cA4l74huAS34Deb1k_Eh1QZz_zhBCc0kH7iRVkAnsS3C-9EV5JXCjupmEkNMq-SJCCbHZTQ7JR4GY-HtG6f9X6JPMTyV7GM" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="172" data-original-width="150" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiLRt2n9O5kNj2SRb7lTMUkCiD8gbiNJBnsX43Iy-j63kbLWRAxA-NeQYXGd7MIhWtSFeDZj--5kh2Fz2Rlgsew0s4kyca75cA4l74huAS34Deb1k_Eh1QZz_zhBCc0kH7iRVkAnsS3C-9EV5JXCjupmEkNMq-SJCCbHZTQ7JR4GY-HtG6f9X6JPMTyV7GM=w174-h200" width="174" /></a></div><p></p><p>It was a good week, aside from that! We had another warnstrike on Tuesday and then yesterday the good news came through that in negotiations a deal has been reached and we will get a salary raise. While I'm doing good with the salary I get, I'm still on a part-time position, and therefore part-time pay, with the expectation of full-time work. (Aah Academia, you're great.) And some of my fellow PhDs are actually on student assistant contracts which get them a few hundred Euros a month, which is <b>not</b> enough to live on. So I'm glad a deal has been made to get those student assistants into our tarifs, so they will get better deals, and that many of our demands were met. Negotiations are always a give and take, and I think our negotiation team was also very aware that just walking away from negotiations if not all demands are met was not really a possibility, as many of us don't really have the means to strike long-term. So I'm glad about that! The rest of the week was busy, but I finally rounded off all of the marking and am still very much enjoying teaching.</p><p>Posted:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWEnumoiB6Y"><i>Book Central</i> #16 - 'Many Years Ago, I Was Standing in a Meydan' by Sema Kaygusuz</a></li><li><a href="https://universeinwords.blogspot.com/2023/12/friday-friyay-sundial-by-cartriona-ward.html">Friday Friyay: <i>Sundial</i> by Catriona Ward</a></li></ul><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Recommendation</b></p><p>This video by HBomberGuy on YouTube has been causing some waves, but for all the right reasons for once. Plagiarism is an incredibly important topic in academia, of course, but the reason I thought this video was important was because we give some online voices waaaay to much lenience when it comes to citing their sources and making sure that the information they spout is true! The video is 4-hours long, so I did have it on in the background while doing other things, but I would still recommend it.</p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yDp3cB5fHXQ?si=sPpmlPSf7Y9sC2XZ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><p style="text-align: center;"><b style="background-color: #f1c232;">Mailbox Monday</b></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i>Mouth: Stories</i> by Puloma Ghosh</u> (Astra Publishing House; 6/11/2024)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEN0LyThekqqPDEDptQzARSfZYy5u_RncTEAIIeH4RcB7cEdItMsnHuoXQgkB7UHr4cMUJjApwpLKLGRx8R5WLAs8dReBPYvRhzONsRpH3I6WyCxK85uOhpJ3YYIvA4Jk_iAiZwgQyCKehDujTjZzFfiVetPsa9a6XSsZUSsgR7Er-V7yON6eZFXY95-gy" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="383" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgEN0LyThekqqPDEDptQzARSfZYy5u_RncTEAIIeH4RcB7cEdItMsnHuoXQgkB7UHr4cMUJjApwpLKLGRx8R5WLAs8dReBPYvRhzONsRpH3I6WyCxK85uOhpJ3YYIvA4Jk_iAiZwgQyCKehDujTjZzFfiVetPsa9a6XSsZUSsgR7Er-V7yON6eZFXY95-gy=w267-h400" width="267" /></a></div>In this debut collection, Puloma Ghosh uses the speculative as a catalyst to push her stories and characters beyond what reality allows. Exploring grief, intimacy, sexuality, and bodily autonomy, </span><span style="; box-sizing: border-box;">Mouth </span><span style=";">leans into the bizarre and absurd while reaching for the truth. </span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style=";">In "Dessication," a teen figure skater with necrophiliac tendencies is convinced the only other Indian girl at the rink is a vampire. A woman returns to Kolkata in “The Fig Tree,” where she is haunted by her deceased mother or a shakchunni, or both. “Nip” bottles up the consuming and addictive nature of infatuation while “Natalya” is a hair-raising autopsy of an ex-lover. And in “Persimmons,” a girl comes to terms with her own community sacrifice.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style=";">Blurring the lines of conventional reality and giving fangs, talons, and singular sharpness to the otherwise ordinary, awkward, and unmentionable, </span><span style="; box-sizing: border-box;">Mouth</span><span style=";">’s surrealism is both unique and captivating. Puloma Ghosh reaches into otherworldly spaces while exploring the everyday struggles of isolation, longing, and the aching desires of our flesh.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"></span></i></span><p></p><p>I was really intrigued by the cover of this, how the mouth is echoed by the unpeeled clementine, and what it says about freshness but also vulnerability? And then I read the blurb and I was like "Oh yeah, I need this in my life!", so I'm very excited to dive into this collection!</p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i>Orbital</i> by Samantha Harvey, narr. by Sarah Naudi</u> (RB Media; 12/5/2023)</span></p><p style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></p><blockquote><p style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwiBJIH5e_a7WTyExINCcBqQH6Yg9diqJVkzU_5u9N4xfvX5ToKzIAIbLZVvjbNlD3CEHIzPlG5Bu70MHYy9mogG3ylg07zvy6TwcOK_d39L-3elnKSoFiM0O71Rs4Iqvg6ur3sY_ezNDul1iHDkyksMz0HwmFD9jBhv9DmKNhkhNnULAFRoUw_apPbbk4" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="255" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjwiBJIH5e_a7WTyExINCcBqQH6Yg9diqJVkzU_5u9N4xfvX5ToKzIAIbLZVvjbNlD3CEHIzPlG5Bu70MHYy9mogG3ylg07zvy6TwcOK_d39L-3elnKSoFiM0O71Rs4Iqvg6ur3sY_ezNDul1iHDkyksMz0HwmFD9jBhv9DmKNhkhNnULAFRoUw_apPbbk4=w400-h400" width="400" /></a></i></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>A slender novel of epic power, <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Orbital</span> deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men hurtling through space—not towards the moon or the vast unknown, but around our planet. Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts—from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan—have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet. Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate. So are the marks of civilization far below, encrusted on the planet on which we live.</i></span><p></p><p style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Profound, contemplative and gorgeous, <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Orbital </span>is an eloquent meditation on space and a moving elegy to our humanity, environment, and planet.</i></span></p></blockquote><p style="; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></p><p>I'm currently reading another book by Samantha Harvey, so when I saw this audiobook available for request on NetGalley I thought, why not dive into space with Harvey for Christmas? I've only listened to the first chapter or so, but I think I'm enjoying it!</p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><u><i>Projections</i> by S.E. Porter</u> (Tor Publishing Group; 2/13/2024)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"></span></i></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style="; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiGjrWakFwtrtCHTSccZX8FvRGd_2wl6IcEi-l8YmEchFq3cRMUCbHeysLviJHLnbQYmpnq8fRr5_Ie1r2PS58bCLruhGaHxmluumk5RFWkYRp0SFO9AeY585BzxnwCDBbT9ohzWeX__9I6UT0OMgNEgoBBiQDmonoff1j4GJZ9PaKYw_FGa6btTts99rK" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjiGjrWakFwtrtCHTSccZX8FvRGd_2wl6IcEi-l8YmEchFq3cRMUCbHeysLviJHLnbQYmpnq8fRr5_Ie1r2PS58bCLruhGaHxmluumk5RFWkYRp0SFO9AeY585BzxnwCDBbT9ohzWeX__9I6UT0OMgNEgoBBiQDmonoff1j4GJZ9PaKYw_FGa6btTts99rK=w258-h400" width="258" /></a></div>S.E. Porter, critically-acclaimed YA author of <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Vassa in the Night</span>, bursts onto the adult fantasy scene with her adult novel that is sure to appeal to fans of Jeff VanderMeer and China Mieville.<br style="box-sizing: border-box;" /></span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style=";">Love may last a lifetime, but in this dark historical fantasy, the bitterness of rejection endures for centuries.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style=";">As a young woman seeks vengeance on the obsessed sorcerer who murdered her because he could not have her, her murderer sends projections of himself out into the world to seek out and seduce women who will return the love she denied—or suffer mortal consequence. A lush, gothic journey across worlds full of strange characters and even stranger magic.</span><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><br style="; box-sizing: border-box;" /><span style=";">Sarah Porter’s adult debut explores misogyny and the soul-corrupting power of unrequited love through an enchanted lens of violence and revenge.</span></i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><span style=";"></span></i></span><p></p><p>Another book that grabbed me by the throat (haha, pun intended) with its cover. I was immediately intrigued, and then I also just loved the idea of a woman wanting to avenge her own death? Like, that's so cool? So yeahhh, another book I'm hoping to dive into over Christmas!</p><p>And that was my week! What are you reading?</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6022230834119760805.post-422825618953907092023-12-07T15:00:00.002+00:002023-12-08T15:59:28.905+00:00Friday Friyay: 'Sundial' by Cartriona Ward<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAphPkgNyWZKtc2qIpNpZqqBeYYlDqVObenjyvnKON3fYLEIeK7807vqP0OT1RN8QLLgtvK7ZDL51CtbAtFtGHs1Qb6hqjuUDnTUJHjbejlF51ImCuJfd0rT4tqdL95Su-5kuI0B4gPLQT7xfP9WQFuDfIxDtf-13GUzr8dVBdsk9zYVHrfWkUuea6-L6v" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="390" data-original-width="255" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgAphPkgNyWZKtc2qIpNpZqqBeYYlDqVObenjyvnKON3fYLEIeK7807vqP0OT1RN8QLLgtvK7ZDL51CtbAtFtGHs1Qb6hqjuUDnTUJHjbejlF51ImCuJfd0rT4tqdL95Su-5kuI0B4gPLQT7xfP9WQFuDfIxDtf-13GUzr8dVBdsk9zYVHrfWkUuea6-L6v=w262-h400" width="262" /></a></div>Happy Friday! We're in December and Christmas is around the corner and so is a new year! I'm very slowly emerging from something of a reading slump, where I just didn't really have the desire or energy to really get into a new book. But that is changing, in part because I remembered I had a review copy of another Catriona Ward book patiently waiting for me! <i>Sundial</i> is bringing me back to life.<p></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></span></p><blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: 800;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>You can't escape the desert. You can't escape Sundial.</i></span></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Rob fears for her daughters. For Callie, who collects tiny bones and whispers to imaginary friends. For Annie, because she fears what Callie might do to her. Rob sees a darkness in Callie, one that reminds her of the family she left behind. She decides to take Callie back to her childhood home, to Sundial, deep in the Mojave Desert. And there she will have to make a terrible choice.</i></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Callie is afraid of her mother. Rob has begun to look at her strangely. To tell her secrets about her past that both disturb and excite her. And Callie is beginning to wonder if only one of them will leave Sundial alive...</i></span></p><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>From the bestselling author of <span style="box-sizing: border-box;">The Last House on Needless Street</span> comes a stunning thriller exploring the toxicity of the mother-daughter bond, and the power of the past to twist the present.</i></span></p></blockquote><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 1rem; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">Book Beginnings is at home on </span><a href="https://www.rosecityreader.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Rose City Reader</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">, hosted by Gilion Dumas, and Friday 56 at </span><a href="http://www.fredasvoice.com/" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Freda's Voice</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">, hosted by Freda. Freda is taking a break at the moment, but we're keeping the spirit going! I'll also be joining the Book Blogger Hop, hosted by Billy over at </span><a href="https://www.coffeeaddictedwriter.com/p/blog-page.html" style="background: rgb(253, 250, 240); color: #a93e33; text-decoration-line: none;">Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer</a><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">. </span><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">All quotes are taken from an ARC and may be different in the published </span><span style="background-color: #fdfaf0;">book.</span></span></p><p><b>BB</b>:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi70uMO3eutQ6DZG3IETQx7nNEt7Y-D30jmy7Pz5RQcGclDKt4Zl-ivamRZWy8RCOFA2vPzcUMa_j0rOYxhZOzubEzz2fDXmmiOgX16dwG6QpH2jcKt808Hsh-IdOcCsEtZPlayNJDMPqGTha82LecY_FBPrPqY-eGL_ILl4-JPKs0SMd6SgVHT4L0UNe2o" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="128" data-original-width="200" height="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi70uMO3eutQ6DZG3IETQx7nNEt7Y-D30jmy7Pz5RQcGclDKt4Zl-ivamRZWy8RCOFA2vPzcUMa_j0rOYxhZOzubEzz2fDXmmiOgX16dwG6QpH2jcKt808Hsh-IdOcCsEtZPlayNJDMPqGTha82LecY_FBPrPqY-eGL_ILl4-JPKs0SMd6SgVHT4L0UNe2o=w200-h128" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p></p><blockquote>'<i>It's the chicken pox that makes me sure - my husband is having another affair.'</i> <b>1%</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>I saw this opening line and knew I was in for something of a rollercoaster ride because how do you even think of something like this?! Honestly, Catriona Ward keeps surprising me, blowing me away, and keeping me on the edge of my seat with every book of hers I read.</p><p><b></b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjt0EHBJwTsMEOUaCqctf5XUP0TeX8jHDodZpeMqlu-Uq25i7k5mikvjCXMtCCBZ2pPfXW0PX8_remv-g8JQsYbeDWfVTHhtYF7RLusbB-xqywJBz4v9X94Of4mDZph-U0ymHy0TnlgJ_jRTK4o6dSuKu1efUq1fn6mn8WgyFzHYcdLePiOl2infZMr2CgW" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="144" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjt0EHBJwTsMEOUaCqctf5XUP0TeX8jHDodZpeMqlu-Uq25i7k5mikvjCXMtCCBZ2pPfXW0PX8_remv-g8JQsYbeDWfVTHhtYF7RLusbB-xqywJBz4v9X94Of4mDZph-U0ymHy0TnlgJ_jRTK4o6dSuKu1efUq1fn6mn8WgyFzHYcdLePiOl2infZMr2CgW=w144-h200" width="144" /></a></b></div><b>F56</b>:<p></p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i>'"You used to say you'd always protect me." Even to me, my voice sounds bitter. "What a crock."</i>' <b>56%</b></blockquote><b></b><p></p><p>This is pretty much where I've gotten to in the book so far and while I kind of suspected that the drama this quote refers to would happen, it still got me. Catriona Ward is really good at writing family relationships, the ways they can become stronger in crisis or fracture irrevocably. I also just adore how she writes women, with all the sharp edges and warmth that make up a fully-developed character.</p><p><b>BBH</b>:</p><p>This week's question comes from Billy himself:</p><p><u><span style="font-size: medium;">Where do you like to read the most?</span></u></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><u><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2cKGgZYBNGvLJYNxLgRL9Yk9_f2zm0FN_YyXrjwU7RHderOwF_7W3Pqn3p-_TNmrhDZ3pGEqVyTX0L8f3IbLWzguDQ4GA4yVkFJBSBh8JA9x6EAdQjt4b5eqqXEMcbP0MEgV2tTRAvpdot6U_vGAqkIZrRIuJOaObSieICjdmxY6UfQyfE8HvF7l3lsBD" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="200" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg2cKGgZYBNGvLJYNxLgRL9Yk9_f2zm0FN_YyXrjwU7RHderOwF_7W3Pqn3p-_TNmrhDZ3pGEqVyTX0L8f3IbLWzguDQ4GA4yVkFJBSBh8JA9x6EAdQjt4b5eqqXEMcbP0MEgV2tTRAvpdot6U_vGAqkIZrRIuJOaObSieICjdmxY6UfQyfE8HvF7l3lsBD=w200-h168" width="200" /></a></span></u></div><p></p><p>On a perfect day, I'm curled up on the sofa, in a position that will lead to backpain later in the evening, with a book and my cat, snacks and a cup of tea nearby, with the sun shining in. That is where I like to read the most. But I do also very much like reading while traveling, on the train or on a plane, knowing that I have time to fill anyway and nothing to do until we reach my destination. I also like reading in bed, although usually then the reading doesn't last very long.</p><p>And that's it for me this week! I'm gonna do my best to hop around everyone's answers either today or tomorrow!</p>Juli Rahelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15367150240867758577noreply@blogger.com2