#sorcery and cecelia

[ofliterarynature]

Based on my recent (re)reading choices, enquiring minds would like to know:

Feel free to add when you last read them in the notes!

[chief-cook-and-librarian]

I went to the used bookstore and found these!! I'd never seen the original Sorcery and Cecelia cover, and I can't stop giggling at tree!Oliver looking like some sort of damsel in distress. I'm also looking forward to comparing the original Talking to Dragons to the updated version.

[six-of-snakes]

oooh, loving the snippet from all the words i cannot say, thats some tasty description. why not do some more for it? happy wednesday!

aw thank you, and of course! Happy Wednesday to you too!

They arrive in England on a cold, gloomy Saturday, one of those days when rainwater coats the cobblestones and turns them dark gray, when it's better to just stay inside.

Thomas insists on wandering all over. He relishes being back with booksellers, and all sorts of entertainments, and James resigns himself to soaked clothes and water trickling under his collar as he trails Thomas around.

If he's being honest, he doesn't really mind.

But still, he wishes that it was a little less… wet.

[goodgrammaritan]

From Sorcery & Cecilia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

An epistolary novel between two friends, Cecelia and Kate

Personally, I do not see that this follows at all logically, but I suppose the Marquis expects you to take his word for it. Men are like that. 

-Cecy

On the one hand, he was shockingly rude to Oliver. On the other, I have often been shockingly rude to Oliver myself, and I understand the impulse. 

-Kate 

When Mr. Tarleton and I were quite finished snubbing each other with magnificent unconcern, Mrs. Porter escorted us to the side door. 

-Cecy

I was struck with a sudden sense of unreasonable apprehension. (In addition to my perfectly reasonable apprehension, common to any girl foolish enough to lose herself at night in the woods of Vauxhall).

-Kate

...I stared at him for what seemed like years, with the stupidest expression on my face, I'm sure, because I felt stupid. For I couldn't imagine why he should say such an extraordinary thing. Finally, I realized he was waiting for me to say something. 

I said, "I can't imagine why you should say such an extraordinary thing."

-Kate

"But I don't get an explanation, do I? No, all I get is roundaboutation and arrogance!"

-Kate

James also said that if you were anything at all like me, he did not know whether to send Thomas his felicitations or condolences. 

-Cecy

There is nothing that is quite so reassuring in an awkward situation as knowing that one is well turned-out.

-Cecy

Thomas says he might have known James would display his usual masterly grasp of tactics. (I believe this is his way of saying that he is jealous of James for getting to hit Sir Hillary).

-Kate

From there he wishes to go on to several cities he thinks I ought to see. (Among other things, he insists he will perish if he cannot take me to Venice and watch me fall into a canal.) 

-Kate

[six-of-snakes]

sorcery and cecelia fandom, james x thomas, featuring various shenanigans and a failed slow burn but don't worry there's still angst

reblog and link the fanfic that you worked your absolute ass off on but not a lot of people read i’ll go first:

witcher fandom, lambert x aiden, 1920s rum runner and assassin au. entirely historically accurate.

[haveyoureadthispoll]

A great deal is happening in London and the country this season. For starters, there's the witch who tried to poison Kate at the Royal College of Wizards. There's also the man who seems to be spying on Cecelia. (Though he's not doing a very good job of it--so just what are his intentions?) And then there's Oliver. Ever since he was turned into a tree, he hasn't bothered to tell anyone where he is. Clearly, magic is a deadly and dangerous business. And the girls might be in fear for their lives . . . if only they weren't having so much fun!

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot | Author: Patricia C. Wrede / Caroline Stevermer | Publisher: Harcourt (2004)

[six-of-snakes]

WIP Wednesday time!

Filenames:

WIAFAch3

all the words I cannot say ch2

this restless darkness

Snippet: *from all the words I cannot say ch2*

When Thomas is allowed out of bed for the first time, James hovers by his side as he takes shaky laps around the doctor's tent. He's weak and not terribly coordinated, but he's alive, and he can walk. James tries to pretend that he's not staring at Thomas, at the sweep of his dark hair, his ferocious exression.

WIP Wednesday Game

It’s WIP Wednesday, time for a little accountability, sharing your work, and getting a kick in the pants.

Here’s how it works:

In a reblog (or new post w/ rules attached), post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs; not titles, file names.

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to post!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can't share from (for example, an event fic), write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post. If you tag me in your post, I will send you an ask request!

If you’re reading this, you’re invited!

If you see someone posting a WIP Wednesday Game snippet, send them an ask! Make them write.

Requested/Friend event mentions under the cut! If you'd like to be pinged next week, let me know!

friends @fiore-della-valle @redbirdblogs @greenbergsays @idkfandomwhatever @luckyspike @obaewankenope @mad-madam-m @sleepymccoy @eriquin @sosobriquet @qprstobin @spacebarrette @andavs @zainclaw @anonymousdandelion @flameraven @fractalgeometry / Requests @aparticularbandit @madnessfromthemountains @makeroftherunes @not-orpheus @1attheedge @preetsramblings

[i-got-the-feels]

Porsche Pachara Kittisawatd

dedicated to lovely @domsaysstuff whom I have endlessly ranted to when working on these web weaves

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross and David Kessler/Keith Ablow/Unknown/Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven/Kiera Cass, The Heir/ J.K. Rowling/John Mark Green/G. N. Solomon, Blood So Black/ Sorcery & Cecelia, Caroline Stevermer/Richelle Mead, Last Sacrifice/Haruki Murakami/Anais Nin/Carrol Bryant/Hanif Kureishi/C.J. Carlyon, The Cherry House/Che Guevara/Emilie Autumn, The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls/Glenn van Dekken/Tony Kushner/Unknown/Unknown/John Green/John Irving/Obert Skye, Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo (Leven Thumps, #1)/Victor Hugo/Jack Weatherford, The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire/Becky Chambers, To Be Taught, If Fortunate/Shane Koyczan/Elie Wiesel/Natalie C. Parker, Steel Tide (Seafire, #2)

[ofliterarynature]

Did you know one of the authors wrote a companion book to the Kate & Cecelia series? Currently reading Magic Below Stairs by Caroline Stevermer, where young orphan Frederick is hired to be footboy to the mysterious Lord Schofield, and gets tangled up with a brownie, a curse, and magic along the way. This was a quick and entertaining read, and I’d be delighted to read even more in this world!

[six-of-snakes]

anyone out there a sorcery and cecelia fan? anyone? I feel like I never see people who are into these books...

[utilitycaster]

thanks for the book answer! would you share your fiction favorites in general?

Hi anon,

I'll post a few but I think to clarify - this is also kind of just going to be a list. I meant more like...are you looking for book recs? If so are you looking for specific things (eg: queer characters, fantasy and if so which subtype, sci fi and ditto, literary fiction, etc.) Or do you just like, want a list of books I have liked.

Anyway this is a list of a handful of books/series/authors that I'd count as favorites, loosely grouped, but I didn't go into any details about anything.

Fantasy I read a teen and has permanently shaped how I interact with fantasy fiction; some of this is YA

a large swathe of what Diana Wynne Jones has written

The Belgariad and Mallorean by David Eddings

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix

Sorcery and Cecelia by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede (this came up on the comfort reads panel I watched yesterday and it is indeed a comfort read for me) and Mairelon the Magician by Patricia Wrede (set in the same sort of world)

Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I read some of the Patternist series by Octavia Butler as a teen but then didn't revisit it until adulthood

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Piranesi is very different and also excellent but that came out when I was an adult, but it's still a favorite)

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (I also read a bunch of her fairy tale-based books which I don't know if I'd call them favorites still but I do think they're an influence)

Sandman by Neil Gaiman

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Middlegrade/YA fiction I read as a kid that also permanently shaped something

Several Ellen Raskin books but especially The Westing Game

Elizabeth Enright's books but especially the ones about the Melendy family and Gone-Away Lake

Fantasy and SF I read as an adult and would consider exceptional/a favorite

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisen

The City and the City by China Mievelle

The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

Phedre's trilogy of the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey (have not read the others in the series so this isn't saying they're bad, I just can't speak to them)

The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin

Arcadia by Iain Pears

The Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Night Watch books from Discworld by Terry Pratchett; I have read like, one other Discworld book and it didn't have Sam Vimes in it so I didn't really care

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delaney

Literary fiction/not sf I read as a teen or adult

(there's notably a lot less of this because I do lean heavily towards fantasy but)

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

[rainystarters]

* ☔ : dialogue from the novel SORCERY & CECELIA by patricia c. wrede and caroline stevermer. ( adjust pronouns, etc. as needed. )

" so i set a trap, as you see, and you have fallen in. " " i find that most amusing, don't you? " " it's no concern of yours. just mind your own affairs. " " what a rude thing to say! " " you are odious. " " i didn't mean to snoop. " " what are you doing skulking about in these bushes and spying on us? " " assignations are not at all the thing for a young lady of quality. " " you are the most unprincipled man i have ever met. " " you aren't planning to do anything...indiscreet, now, are you? " " only—i was admiring the way you tie your cravat. " " how dare you accuse me of any such thing. " " i thought i told you to stay in well-lit ballrooms. " " ill met by moonlight, my dear _____. " " nothing elegant, but it ought to do the trick. " " you shed hairpins the way hansel and gretel shed crumbs. " " now let us return to light, safety, and society. " " i never meant to flirt with any of you. " " you must stay the night, at least. " " are you concerned what the local gossips will say? " " well, but one must be practical, after all. " " in that case, we must clearly do something. " " will you take some more tea, _____? " " do you really dislike me so much? " " i wish you would accept it as the first of many things i wish to give you. " " are you foxed? " " i need a fiancée rather urgently. " " you'll be perfectly free to cry off when the season is over, you know. " " i'm neither rich nor titled, and as for prospects... " " i hardly think our marriage will last long enough to inconvenience either of us. " " don't play the innocent with me. " " i won't let you tangle me up with your sardonic remarks. " " i believe i owe you an apology, _____. " " what are you planning to do, drown me? " " i don't know what to make of you. " " lie down until you've got your breath back. " " you're the one who almost got killed. don't you have any sense? " " i had no idea you were a wizard. " " oh, dear, i am so dreadfully sorry! i can't imagine how i came to be so clumsy. " " what _____ tells me is none of your affair. " " please use your common sense for once and stay home. " " you said you could handle things by yourself. plainly you are mistaken. " " thoughtful behavior from a man who looks as though he'd like to kill me himself. " " save a waltz for me at the ball next week. " " it is one of the most unethical, immoral uses of wizardry imaginable. " " that is hardly a lady's mount. " " so this is where i find you, playing cards and drinking claret. " " a lady has no knowledge of such pursuits. " " i wish i could insult you in turn, but you are looking very healthy indeed. " " remember the promise i made you once, that i would dance at your funeral? " " i do not think i would ever expect you to do anything sensible. " " just because you dislike magic, you think everyone who uses it must be wicked! " " these magical bonds can sometimes prove painful. " " how dreadful to be caught up in a game and have no idea of the rules. " " i won't offer you such a pleasant fate now. " " it will be amusing to witness their reaction to your death. " " what do you know about anything except to hurt people? " " i like the idea of marrying you. " " you can't steal my magic! "

[itmightrain]

Favorite books I read in 2023

The Ones I Loved

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo - (genre: horror) idk what to tell you about this book, but you should read it. It's about ghosts and grief and Nashville and relearning how to be alive. The romance in it is gay and slowburn. If you love the All For the Game series, this book is for you.

The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri - (genre: fantasy) One of the cleverest fantasies about empire and rebellion I've read in a long time. The female characters are fantastic and complicated, and it's so fun to be inside their heads. The gay romance at the heart of this book is tender and fucked up in all the best ways. Highly, highly recommend.

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by K.J. Charles - (genre: regency romance) Lovers to enemies to allies to lovers! A poor lawyer inherits an Earldom and discovers that the leader of the local smugglers is someone he is intimately familiar with. Very sweet and well written gay regency romance.

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel by K.J. Charles - (genre: regency romance) A grumpy, embattled new Earl with a heart of gold meets a lonely, competent smuggler-turned-secretary with a ulterior motives. I can't overstate how much I loved this book, the characters and their relationship, the way they make each other's lives better and fuller, the way they come to make each other better people gah it's so good ;-; make sure to read the first book in this series first, even though it focuses on other characters

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar - (genre scifi/fantasy) I went into this book knowing nothing about it besides the meme, and I highly recommend that approach. It is gay, the writing is very lyrical and flower, and you will need to let go of the typical scifi genre expectation that the world in which the story takes place will be explained to you.

The Ones I Enjoyed a lot

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher - (genre: horror) relatable 30-something divorcee and 50-something gay barista find a passageway to another world. The world they find...is bad.

The Black Death: New Lessons from Recent Research by Dorsey Armstrong - (genre: nonfiction) summary of the latest research on the plague! V interesting and well explained. Originally a video but the audiobook is available on Hoopla.

Life in a Medieval Village by Francis Gies and Joseph Gies - (genre: nonfiction) great little deep dive into the daily life of Medieval peasants from how the legal system worked to marriage customs.

Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie - (genre: scifi) the main character is the AI consciousness of a ship trapped in one of her ancillary bodies and her sidekick is one of her former lieutenants who was accidentally frozen for 1000 years and is having a very hard time about it.

Sorcery & Cecelia by Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer - (genre: regency era fantasy romance) this was a re-read from my childhood and it held up!

The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English by Hana Videen - (genre: nonfiction) did you know that "lady" evolved from the old english word for "loaf maker" and "lord" evolved from "loaf guardian"?

Role Model by Rachel Reid - (genre: romance) gay hockey romance between a hockey player and his new team's social media manager. Pretty standard romance novel but fun!

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh - (genre: fantasy) the green man of the forest is minding his own business when a young man shows up on his doorstep. english mythology vibes, also gay.

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid - (genre: romance) gay hockey players, enemies to lovers/fuck buddies to lovers romance. if this was originally geno/sid rpf i would not be surprised.

[snackerdoodle]

books I read in 2023

I had a huge reading year this year because of my gruelingly long commute. The list below the cut is mostly for my own edification, but I’m a nosy person who supports other nosy people, so if you want to know what I’ve been up to, have at it. Almost everything I read this year was from the library.

1/12 A Charmed Life, Diana Wynne Jones

1/18 The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School, Sonora Reyes

1/24 The Life-Changing Magic of 

Tidying Up, Marie Kondo

1/25 Hotel Magnifique, Emily J. Taylor

1/30 Spark Joy, Marie Kondo 

2/2 The House in the Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune

2/8 The Golden Enclaves, Naomi Novik

2/8 Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, Ashley Herring Blake

2/15 The Nile, Toby Wilkinson

2/23 The Painted Queen, Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess

2/28 Ella Enchanted, Gail Carson Levine

3/5 Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters

3/12 Lord of the Silent, Elizabeth Peters

3/16 Marie Kondo’s Kurashi at Home, Marie Kondo 

3/20 Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life, Ruth Franklin

3/20 The Art of Simple Living, Shunmyo Masuno

3/26 The Bird’s Nest, Shirley Jackson

4/11 Life Among the Savages, Shirley Jackson

4/12 A People’s History of the United States, Howard Zinn

4/18 The Yellow Wallpaper and Other Stories, Charlotte Perkins Gilman

4/21 Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto, Tricia  Hersey

5/1 Last Night at the Telegraph Club, Malinda Lo

5/3 Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail, Ashley Herring Blake

5/10 Fight Like Hell: The Untold Story of American Labor, Kim Kelly

5/11 Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings, Joy Harjo 

5/12 Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race, Reni Eddo-Lodge

5/15 The Lottery and Other Stories, Shirley Jackson

5/18 The Lives of Christopher Chant, Diana Wynne Jones

5/29 A Little Devil in America, Hanif Abdurraqib

6/3 A Marvellous Light, Freya Marske

6/6 Ducks, Kate Beaton 

6/8 Wild and Wicked Things, Francesca May (awful. Every character was an idiot. Why did I finish this)

6/10 Breathing Lessons: A Doctor’s Guide to Lung Health, Meilan K. Han, MD

6/19 The Three Body Problem, Cixin Liu

6/19 A Fortune for Your Disaster, Hanif Abdurraqib (I liked this even more than the last one I read. Maybe because it was an audiobook read by the author.)

6/22 Disjointed, Diana Jovin (ed) (skipped parts that were totally unrelated to me and some things that were also too technical)

6/22 The Lavender Scare, David K. Johnson

6/26 Enquête au collège, Jean-Phillipe Arrou-Vignod 

6/28 The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner

7/3 Last Call, Elon Green

7/12 Cache Cache Petit Fantôme

7/13 Le Petit Prince, Antoine de Saint-

Exupéry

7/13 La fille qui navigua autour de féérie dans un bateau construit de ses propres mains, Catherynne M Valente

7/14 Lost in the Moment and Found, Seanan McGuire

7/14 Ich mag dich gesund sagte der Bär, Janosch

7/25 The Lies of Locke Lamora, Scott Lynch

7/31 The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi, Shannon Chakraborty

8/10 A Restless Truth, Freya Marske 

8/16 Camp Damascus, Chuck Tingle

9/6 The Body in the Garden, Katherine Schellman

9/11 Silence in the Library, Katherine Schellman

9/13 When Things Get Dark, various 

9/19 Death at the Manor, Katherine Schellman

9/25 Sorcery and Cecelia, Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

10/3 The Grand Tour, Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer 

10/6 Murder at Midnight, Katharine Schellman

10/12 The Mislaid Magician, Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer

10/18 Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies, Elizabeth Winkler

10/18 Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen, JK Rowling

10/25 Poisoner in Chief: Sidney Gottlieb and the CIA search for Mind Control, Stephen Kinzer

11/1 Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date, Ashley Herring Blake

11/3 Nothing But Blackened Teeth, Cassandra Shaw

11/9 Unfuck Your Habitat, Rachel Hoffman

11/11 Safe and Sound, Mercury Stardust 

11/12 Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD (revised and updated), Susan C. Pinskey

11/18 Red Seas under Red Skies, Scott Lynch

11/20 In With the Old: Classic Decor A to Z,  Jennifer Boles 

11/23 Habitat: The Field Guide to Decorating, Lauren Liess

11/24 Vermeer: The Complete Paintings, Norbert Schneider 

11/29 The Conscious Closet, Elizabeth L. Cline

12/4 Leech, Hiron Ennes

12/6 The Star that Always Stays, Anna Rose Johnson 

P12/14 The Republic of Thieves, Scott Lynch

12/15 An American Sunrise, Joy Harjo

12/20 The Wife Upstairs, Rachel Hawkins

12/22 How to Keep House While Drowning, KC Davis

12/30 The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, Margareta Magnusson 

Gave up on: The Woman Who Would Be King, Kara Cooney (too speculative/fictionalized)

A Scatter of Light, Malinda Lo (nothing really wrong, it just wasn’t holding my attention at all)

14 histoires pour avoir peur mais pas trop quand même (turned into full cast audio and the music between stories was really annoying)

Manhunt, Gretchen Felker-Martin (not in the right headspace maybe, maybe just not for me)

American Cozy, Stephanie Pedersen (got annoyed at how much of the information hinged on living in a huge suburban home with 18 closets and a husband and multiple children you can make do your chores for you)

The Curated Closet, Anuschka Rees (not bad just not what I was looking for)

[malkaleh]

I just realised my definition of ‘comfort read’ is possibly different definition but have a list!

The Immortals Quartet

Lord of the Rings/Silmarillion/Hobbit

Spinning Silver

Six of Crows/Rule of Wolves/King Of Scars

The Circle of Magic books

A Little Princess

The first book in Anne Bishops Black Jewels series

Kingdom of Ash

Sorcery and Cecelia

YBEB and a specific Sorcery and Cecelia fic

An ASOIAF AU fic

Gilded Wolves

Pellinor Series