#claire and erin have a compass

[metastation]

Welcome to Meta Station’s first recap of His Dark Materials, the perfect show for a podcast hosted by an atheist English professor and a Catholic playwright. Join us for a deep dive into the transformation of the books from page to screen, with side quests into climate change, Vatican II, Paradise Lost, gender fluidity, and Galileo. Plus, we lay out a careful plan about avoiding spoilers and then forget it immediately, of COURSE Erin knows the Milton quote Philip Pullman got the series title from, and Claire hops in the wayback machine to reminisce about being a youth minister when these books first blew up in the U.S.

Grab your alethiometer and your bottle of secret crypt wine, we’re going on an adventure!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

0:00 – Hello, New Listeners, and Welcome Back, Old Friends! 0:02 – Page to Screen Adaptation, Part I: Asriel, Lyra and Narrative Perspective 0:21 – We Stan a Relatable 11-Year-Old Who Is Sometimes a Butthead 0:27 – Page to Screen Adaptation, Part II: Dramatic Irony, Pacing Big Reveals for Television, and How Ruth Wilson Almost Convinced Us, Too 0:44 – The Gyptian Daemon Ceremony: Our Need for Ritual, the Magisterium’s Dehumanization of Religion, and the Return of Claire’s Catholicism Corner 1:10 – Pan-Daemonium 1:34 – Galileo, Climate Change, and Dust: The Politics of Scientific Knowledge 1:55 – The Magisterium, the Master, and the Moral Bankruptcy of Incentivizing Ignorance 2:02 – Erin Rambles On About Miltonian Cosmology, and All Is Right With Meta Station

[ninja-muse]

Top 100 Fantasy Book Meme

Tagged by @sigh-the-kraken

Crossing out all the ones I have read. (This is kind of a weird list and reads like a Top Voted or Most Reviewed list. There’s a lot of some authors, and some odd duplications.)

1. CIRCE (#1 New York Times bestseller) -Madeline Miller

2. American Gods -Neil Gaiman

3. The Name of the Wind- Patrick Rothfuss

4. Good Omens - Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

5. The Lies of Locke Lamora- Scott Lynch

6. The Way of Kings - Brandon Sanderson

7. The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

8. The Fifth Season - N.K. Jemisin

9. Oathbringer - Brandon Sanderson

10. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

11. A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

12. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

13, Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson

14. Norse Mythology - Neil Gaiman

15. Children of Blood and Bone - Tomi Adeyemi

16. The Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson

17. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien

18. The Obelisk Gate - N.K. Jemisin

19. Garden of the Moon - Steven Erikson

20. The Stone Sky - N.K. Jemisin

21. The Wise Man’s Fear - Patrick Rothfuss

22. The Last Wish - Andrzei Sapkowski

23. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling

24. Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson

25. Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

26. The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie

27. The Library at Mount Char - Scott Hawkins

28. The Color of Magic - Terry Pratchett

29. The Final Empire - Brandon Sanderson

30. Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

31. 1Q84 - Haruki Murakami

32. Elantris - Brandon Sanderson

33. A Clash of Kings - George R.R. Martin

34. Mort - Terry Pratchett

35. The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman

36. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling

37. Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury

38. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling

39. The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien

40. The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien

41. The Bear and the Nightingale - Katherine Arden

42. The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

43. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell - Susan Clarke, Portia Rosenberg

44. Iron Gold - Pierce Brown

45. The Traitor Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson

46. Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson

47. Skyward - Brandon Sanderson

48. Assassin’s Apprentice - Robin Hobb

49. The Gunslinger - Stephen King

50. The Two Towers - J.R.R. Tolkien

51. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling

52. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Claire North

53. Vicious - V.E. Schwab

54. Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik

55. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon

56. The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan

57. The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett

58. Senlin Ascends - Josiah Bancroft

59. Kings of the Wyld - Nicholas Eames

60. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling

61. The Dark Tower III - Stephen King

62. Sleeping Beauties - Stephen King, Owen King

63. The Girl int he Tower - Katherine Arden

64. Sword of Destiny - Andrzej Sapkowski

65. The Graveyard Book - Neil Gaiman

66. Black Leopard, Red Wolf - Marlon James

67. Uprooted - Naomi Novik

68. The City of Brass - S.A. Chakraborty

69. The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials 3 - Philip Pullman

70. The Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson

71. Red Seas Under Red Skies - Scott Lynch

72. Reaper Man - Terry Pratchett

73. Perdido Street Station - China Miéville

74. A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L’Engle

75. Anansi Boys - Neil Gaiman

76. Dread Nation - Justina Ireland

77. A Gathering of Shadows - V.E. Schwab

78. Every Heart a Doorway - Seanan McGuire

79. Before They Are Hanged - Joe Abercrombie

80. Trail of Lightning - Rebecca Roanhorse

81. A Darker Shade of Magic - V.E. Schwab

82. Fever Dream - George R.R. Martin

83. The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan

84. Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant

85. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling

86. The Gray House - Mariam Petrosyan

87. Saga Vol. 1 - Brian K. Vaughan

88. The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

89. Storm Front - Jim Butcher

90. Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle Earth - J.R.R. Tolkien

91. A Court of Thorns and Roses - Sarah J. Maas

92. Sourcery - Terry Pratchett

93. The Waste Lands - Stephen King

94. The Once and Future King - T.H. White

95. Deadhouse Gates - Steven Erikson

96. The Black Tides of Heaven - JY Yang

97. The Magicians - Lev Grossman

98. The Drawing of the Three - Stephen King

99. Blood of Elves - Andrzej Sapkowski

100. Storm of Swords - George R.R. Martin

39/100

Tagging anyone who wants to do this!

[storytime-reviews]

Top 100 Fantasy Books Meme

Saw this on @thelivebookproject and thought it would be fun! But I don’t think I’ll get many of them! Not sure where this top 100 list is from though?

Crossed out are the books I’ve read.

1. Circe, by Madeline Miller

2. American Gods, by Neil Gaiman

3. The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss

4. Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

5. The Lies of Locke Lamora, by Scott Lynch

6. The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson

7. The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller

8. The Fifth Season, by N. K. Jemisin

9. Oathbringer, by Brandon Sanderson

10. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

11. A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin

12. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman

13. Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson

14. Norse Mythology, by Neil Gaiman

15. Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi

16. The Well of Ascension, by Brandon Sanderson

17. The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien

18. The Obelisk Gate, by N. K. Jemisin

19. Gardens Of The Moon, by Steven Erikson

20. The Stone Sky, by N. K. Jemisin

21. The Wise Man’s Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss

22. The Last Wish, by Andrzej Sapkowski

23. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling

24. Words of Radiance, by Brandon Sanderson

25. The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

26. The Blade Itself, by Joe Abercrombie

27. The Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins

28. The Color of Magic, by Terry Pratchett

29. The Final Empire, by Brandon Sanderson

30. Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo

31. 1Q84, by Haruki Murakami

32. Elantris, by Brandon Sanderson

33. A Clash of Kings, by George R. R. Martin

34. Mort, by Terry Pratchett

35. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman

36. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling

37. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury

38. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling

39. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien

40. The Return of the King, by J.R.R. Tolkien

41. The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden

42. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman

43. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, by Susanna Clarke and Portia Rosenberg

44. Iron Gold, by Pierce Brown

45. The Traitor Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson

46. Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson

47. Skyward, by Brandon Sanderson

48. Assassin’s Apprentice, by Robin Hobb

49. The Gunslinger, by Stephen King

50. The Two Towers, by J. R. R. Tolkien

51. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, by J. K. Rowling

52. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, by Claire North

53. Vicious, by V. E. Schwab

54. Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik

55. Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon

56. The Eye Of The World, by Robert Jordan

57. The Light Fantastic, by Terry Pratchett

58. Senlin Ascends, by Josiah Bancroft

59. Kings of the Wyld, by Nicholas Eames

60. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, by J. K. Rowling

61. The Dark Tower III, by Stephen King

62. Sleeping Beauties, by Stephen King and Owen King

63. The Girl in the Tower, by Katherine Arden

64. Sword of Destiny, by Andrzej Sapkowski

65. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

66. Black Leopard, Red Wolf, by Marlon James

67. Uprooted, by Naomi Novik

68. The City of Brass, by S. A. Chakraborty

69. The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials 3, by Philip Pullman

70. The Hero of Ages, by Brandon Sanderson

71. Red Seas Under Red Skies, by Scott Lynch

72. Reaper Man, by Terry Pratchett

73. Perdido Street Station, by China Miéville

74. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle

75. Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman

76. Dread Nation, by Justina Ireland

77. A Gathering of Shadows, by V.E. Schwab

78. Every Heart a Doorway, by Seanan McGuire

79. Before They Are Hanged, by Joe Abercrombie

80. Trail of Lightning, by Rebecca Roanhorse

81. A Darker Shade of Magic, by V. E. Schwab

82.   Fever Dream, by  George R. R. Martin

83.   The Great Hunt, by  Robert Jordan

84.   Into the Drowning Deep, by  Mira Grant

85.   Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by  J.K. Rowling

86.   The Gray House, by  Mariam Petrosyan

87.   Saga Vol. 1, by  Brian K. Vaughan

88.   The Silmarillion, by  J.R.R. Tolkien

89.   Storm Front, by  Jim Butcher

90.   Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth,  by  J.R.R. Tolkien

91.   A Court of Thorns and Roses, by Sarah J. Maas

92.   Sourcery, by  Terry Pratchett

93.   The Waste Lands, by  Stephen King

94.   The Once and Future King, by  T. H. White

95.   Deadhouse Gates, by  Steven Erikson

96.   The Black Tides of Heaven, by  JY Yang

97.   The Magicians, by  Lev Grossman

98.   The Drawing of the Three, by Stephen King

99.   Blood of Elves, by  Andrzej Sapkowski

100.   A Storm of Swords, by  George R. R. Martin

Lol 12/100. I do read a lot of fantasy, but a lot of what I’ve read is not on here. I have heard of probably most of these, and some are on my TBR, but it’s unfortunate that so many of the books on this list are by the same people, esp when I know I don’t wanna read their books because they don’t interest me or the writing is not for me lol. 

[sigh-the-kraken]

Top 100 Fantasy Book Meme

Tagged by @physicsofgridlock

Crossing out all the ones I have read. I bet it’s not that many because I read a lot of random junk rather than recommendations I get.

1. CIRCE (#1 New York Times bestseller) Madeline Miller

2. American Gods Neil Gaiman

3. The Name of the Wind Patrick Rothfuss

4. Good Omens Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

5. The Lies of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch

6. The Way of Kings Brandon Sanderson

7. The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller

8. The Fifth Season N. K. Jemisin

9. Oathbringer Brandon Sanderson

10. The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien

11. A Game of Thrones George R. R. Martin

12. Neverwhere Neil Gaiman

13. Mistborn Brandon Sanderson

14. Norse Mythology Neil Gaiman

15. Children of Blood and Bone Tomi Adeyemi

16. The Well of Ascension Brandon Sanderson

17. The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien

18. The Obelisk Gate N. K. Jemisin

19. Gardens Of The Moon Steven Erikson

20. The Stone Sky N. K. Jemisin

21. The Wise Man’s Fear Patrick Rothfuss

22. The Last Wish Andrzej Sapkowski

23. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J.K. Rowling

24. Words of Radiance Brandon Sanderson

25. Night Circus Erin Morgenstern

26. The Blade Itself Joe Abercrombie

27. The Library at Mount Char Scott Hawkins

28. The Color of Magic Terry Pratchett

29. The Final Empire Brandon Sanderson

30. Six of Crows Leigh Bardugo

31. 1Q84 Haruki Murakami

32. Elantris Brandon Sanderson

33. A Clash of Kings George R. R. Martin

34. Mort Terry Pratchett

35. The Ocean at the End of the Lane Neil Gaiman

36. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J.K. Rowling

37. Something Wicked This Way Comes Ray Bradbury

38. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets J.K. Rowling

39. The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien

40. The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien

41. The Bear and the Nightingale Katherine Arden

42. The Golden Compass Philip Pullman

43. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell Susanna Clarke, Portia Rosenberg

44. Iron Gold Pierce Brown

45. The Traitor Baru Cormorant Seth Dickinson

46. Warbreaker Brandon Sanderson

47. Skyward Brandon Sanderson

48. Assassin’s Apprentice Robin Hobb

49. The Gunslinger Stephen King

50. The Two Towers J. R. R. Tolkien

51. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban J. K. Rowling

52. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August Claire North

53. Vicious V. E. Schwab

54. Spinning Silver Naomi Novik

55. Outlander Diana Gabaldon

56. The Eye Of The World Robert Jordan

57. The Light Fantastic Terry Pratchett

58. Senlin Ascends Josiah Bancroft

59. Kings of the Wyld Nicholas Eames

60. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince J. K. Rowling

61. The Dark Tower III Stephen King

62. Sleeping Beauties Stephen King, Owen King

63. The Girl in the Tower Katherine Arden

64. Sword of Destiny Andrzej Sapkowski

65. The Graveyard Book Neil Gaiman

66. Black Leopard, Red Wolf Marlon James

67. Uprooted Naomi Novik

68. The City of Brass S. A. Chakraborty

69. The Amber Spyglass: His Dark Materials 3 Philip Pullman

70. The Hero of Ages Brandon Sanderson

71. Red Seas Under Red Skies Scott Lynch

72. Reaper Man Terry Pratchett

73. Perdido Street Station China Miéville

74. A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle

75. Anansi Boys Neil Gaiman

76. Dread Nation Justina Ireland

77. A Gathering of Shadows V.E. Schwab

78. Every Heart a Doorway Seanan McGuire

79. Before They Are Hanged Joe Abercrombie

80. Trail of Lightning Rebecca Roanhorse

81. A Darker Shade of Magic V. E. Schwab

82. Fever Dream George R. R. Martin

83. The Great Hunt Robert Jordan

84. Into the Drowning Deep Mira Grant

85. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J.K. Rowling

86. The Gray House Mariam Petrosyan

87. Saga Vol. 1 Brian K. Vaughan

88. The Silmarillion J.R.R. Tolkien

89. Storm Front Jim Butcher

90. Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth J.R.R. Tolkien

91. A Court of Thorns and Roses Sarah J. Maas

92. Sourcery Terry Pratchett

93. The Waste Lands Stephen King

94. The Once and Future King T. H. White

95. Deadhouse Gates Steven Erikson

96. The Black Tides of Heaven JY Yang

97. The Magicians Lev Grossman

98. The Drawing of the Three Stephen King

99. Blood of Elves Andrzej Sapkowski

100. A Storm of Swords George R. R. Martin

Tagging: @captaindibbzy and @anassarhenisch

[voyage-in-the-dark]

2016 in books

(Going through my Goodreads to pick the books that made a big impact on me this year; these books are the formative influences that really shaped me each month. If I had to redo the year, I must reread these books.)

January -- Lois McMaster Bujold’s Miles in Love & The Curse of Chalion, Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy. January rereads -- Andrea K Host’s Hunting, Sharon Shinn’s Jovah’s Angel.

So, January seems to be the month I first discovered Lois McMaster Bujold. It’s so weird because it feels like I’ve known her works for forever. I have a huge soft spot for The Curse of Chalion and Miles in Love; Chalion is the first time I was introduced to the trope of the powerful and assured woman with a scandalous and uneasy reputation, causing others to fear her or feel uneasy around her because they don’t know what to do with her. I love this trope. Miles in Love was the first time I was introduced to Miles (the character, not the series), and he was so different from what I’ve usually known. Surprisingly endearing. I finally read the Mistborn trilogy and I devoured it -- it was so creative and good and that ending still guts me.

I reread Hunting and Jovah’s Angel and loved them waaay more than when I first read them.

February -- Lois McMaster Bujold’s Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, Andrea K Host’s The Sleeping Life, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Julius Caesar, Richard II, and Twelfth Night. February rereads -- Andrea K Host’s Stained Glass Monsters.

February was the month when I read a lot more Shakespeare than I’d ever had, for one of my modules. To this day, Twelfth Night remains one of my favorite plays -- there’s a liveliness, quickness, and sweetness that none of the other plays have. I am so heart-eyes over Viola. Macbeth is my favorite tragedy. The Sleeping Life also came out and it was great -- I’d read and reread Stained Glass Monsters obsessively while waiting for the sequel; SGM is one of my favorite novels by Host, mostly because Rennyn Claire is the trope of the powerful, enigmatic, and supremely self-assured and capable woman. I only wished TSL was longer. 

February was also my first venture into classical plays -- Oedipus the King is one of my favorite Greek tragedies. Admittedly, I’ve literally only read 2. I’m amazed at the power and force of it. Gentleman Jole was so good. I love Cordelia. I love love love Cordelia so much and I was so happy to have a novel with her; Jole was a wonderful protagonist. Very sweet, very sincere, very moral.

March -- none.

I read very little this month; spent most of my time watching films. Got into Marvel, watched a lot of superhero films this month.

April -- Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Jane Austen’s Emma, Nicole Kornher-Stace’s Archivist Wasp. April rereads -- Ilona Andrews’ Silver Shark.

Lol obviously I have to reread a romance each month. Stop me. Anyway, Archivist Wasp is one of the best books of the year for me. It was beautifully written, and I love Wasp so much. I love her wayward kindness, I love the compassion that she struggles to hide, I love her relationship with the soldier.

May -- Homer’s The Odyssey, CS Pacat’s Captive Prince trilogy, Ada Limon’s Bright Dead Things, NK Jemisin’s The Shadowed Sun & The Awakened Kingdom. May rereads -- Erin Bow’s Sorrow’s Knot, Lynn Flewelling’s Tamir Triad, Robin McKinley’s Deerskin, Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest.

So, this was an eventful month. I reread a lot of fantasy/fairytale retellings. I loved all the things that I reread way more than the first time I read them: Sorrow’s Knot was beautiful and hopeful and aching; Tamir Triad was a very solid fantasy while also giving me food for thought when it comes to gender; Deerskin is just one of my favorite books despite the brutality and the awfulness, because of the bond between the princess and her dog, and the gradual healing and catharsis that happens -- it’s gentle and good and is just really healing to read; Daughter of the Forest was the first of multiple Marillier books that I made my way through. I enjoyed Daughter the most, made my way through Heart’s Blood and Heir to Sevenwaters as well, whereupon I noticed the pseudofeminism and subtle misogyny, which was very, um. Not fun.

I also first read the Captive Prince trilogy -- I have some reservations about the trilogy, but it was good; and I had a lot of fun talking to my sister about it (which was the main reason why I read this). The Odyssey remains one of my favorite plays of Greek tragedy because of Penelope and Circe. Who cares about Odysseus lol. I love subtle and cunning women who slide under the narrative. Bright Dead Things was one of the first few poetry collections I read all the way through and I am very fond of it. I also made my way through NK Jemisin’s works (Shadowed Sun, Shades of Inheritance, Awakened Kingdom, etc). They prove my growing suspicion that NK Jemisin is talented as hell and writes fantastic stories.

It’s not on the list up there, but this is the month I spent some time rereading Linda Howard’s romance/romantic suspense novels and came to the realization that I honestly detest the adult het romance genre. It’s a lot of ‘alpha’ males who are honestly just threatening and gross, but are seen as hot, and the novels just perpetuate the whole rape culture thing and sexism and misogyny and it just goes on. Ugh.

June -- none. June reread -- LJ Smith’s Nightworld,

Didn’t read much again apparently. Oh yeah, I went overseas twice and watched a lot of movies. This is the month I watched Hellboy II, Snowpiercer, Under the Skin, Now You See Me 2, and got into Hamilton.

I reread most of my LJ Smith books (they were such favorites of mine when they were younger) and I found that I still love the story with Keller, and the one with Jez and Morgead. Still some of my favorite romances.

July -- Nora Sakavic’s The Foxhole Court, Nnedi Okorafor’s Akata Witch. July rereads -- CLAMP’s Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles.

TFC is up here mainly because it made me realize I really love team-stuff where everyone works together (this is honestly what I remember from the book -- the moments where everyone played together). Oh, and also it’s another bonding thing between me and my sis. Akata Witch was just so different from the usual stories, it was so good. 

But the highlight of this month is definitely Tsubasa. It was a formative influence, and rereading it now, I am still so heart-eyes over it. Okay, I LOVE IT!!!!!

August -- George Orwell’s 1984, Joan Wolf’s The Road to Avalon & The Edge of Light, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Kate Elliott’s Jaran. August rereads -- JK Rowling’s Order of the Phoenix to Deathly Hallows.

1984 is a huge formative influence. It changed the way I think about dystopia and oppression and propaganda. Jaran is one of my favorite love stories of all time; I was heartbroken by and also loved Avalon and Edge of Light -- and they made me pick up The Once and Future King. I love this kind of male protagonists. And of course, the bulk of the month was taken up by Harry Potter. I love this series with all my heart. It shaped so much of my life when I first read it; rereading it again, it made me refine my mental perception of Harry (he’s a lot angrier than I remember lol, also a lot more wonderful), and understand/judge/perceive the characters, events, and their stories in a new light. Ginny is still super hot.

September -- Intisar Khanani’s Memories of Ash, Rabindranath Tagore’s The Home and the World, Jasper Fforde’s Shades of Grey. September rereads -- none.

Memories of Ash made me realize I love Intisar Khanani’s works, and it also made me realize I love these stories with strong bonds of friendship, loyalty, kindnesses, and camaraderie, and are romance-free. The Home and the World is beautiful and also heartwrenching, and it... I can’t explain why it has such a special place in my heart, but it does. 

October -- Kate Elliot’s Spiritwalker trilogy, Rachel Aaron’s No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished, Emily Martin’s Woodwalker, Bliss Carman’s Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics. October rereads -- Rachel Aaron’s Nice Dragons Finish Last & One Good Dragon Deserves Another.

Cold Fire is one of my favorite romances ever; I love the Heartstrikers series -- they’re so good. I realize I really love those stories where there are lots of likeable characters who are all kind and supportive and friends with each other; I honestly could’t care less about romance in these stories, but they’re so hard to find. And so I end up looking endlessly for good love stories, because good love stories have the same effect as those. Woodwalker because I realized I really like stories where there is a HUGE plot-twist at the end that changes everything, that frames/reframes the way you look at things. I love these stories. Carman’s book of poetry is here because it introduced me to Sappho and also I love her writing, it’s beautiful.

November -- Yoon Ha Lee’s Ninefox Gambit. November rereads -- Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice.

These two books are the highlights of my year, without a doubt. I love both to bits. I already wrote a huge and long post about Ninefox Gambit that is probably suffused with my love for it. And I have so little experience with dystopia and apocalyptical stories that it gives a new framework with which to think of things. P&P made me realize no other love story will ever match up to it, ever, probably. My favorite love story of all time. It made me realize that there can be so much UST or URT between two characters even though the book is SO clean there isn’t even a hug. Or a touch.

December -- Suzanne Collins’ Gregor series, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Martha Wells’ The Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy. December rereads -- Tamora Pierce’s Mastiff, Eliza Crewe’s Soul Eaters trilogy.

Some of my favorite books of the whole year are all here -- the Gregor series is <33333 Hunger Games pale in comparison because the Gregor series feels so much more... heartfelt. I felt so much for all of them; I still remember the events as clearly as if I’d read them a couple of days ago; I still grieve for some of the characters, and I still miss some of them. My main takeaway was, again, a framework for dystopia and apocalyptical stories. The third book -- that thought experiment with the baby Bane is still so... raw. 

Martha Wells is the best thing to happen to me in the end of 2016/start of 2017. I’ve already worked my way through her entire backlog and I. love. all. her. worlds.

-----

So, the best books of the year for me are definitely: 

Archivist Wasp

Jane Eyre

The Fall of Ile-Rien

Gregor

Ninefox Gambit

Pride & Prejudice

1984

Memories of Ash.