#the secret history (audiobook) (reread)

[papervalentines]

okay finished cress. crazy ass book I love my friends so much. in order to finish winter by my made up new years deadline I would have to listen to six hours a day every day including new years eve and that's just not gonna work for me. and I want to read fairest and stars above and wires and nerve one and 2 too so I think I'm Really gonna extend my deadline to when classes start back up. and even after then at the beginning of what promises to be the most stressful quarter so far I still have my infinity train rewatch and my secret history reread. and don't ask me why i do this to myself for no reason.

[fitzrove]

Adhfjdfgj I love seeing all the book ask replies on my dash but it's making me sad that I can't rb the thing because I read like 4 and a half fiction books this year ;_;

[aliteraryprincess]

November 2024 Wrap Up

Don't mind me once again posting my wrap up halfway through the next month...

Books Read: 13

The month started off really strong and kind of dwindled a bit at the end, but that's okay. I also DNFed two books, which was disappointing (particularly Lakesedge because my OwlCrate copy is sooo pretty). But my favorite of the month was The Goblin Emperor, which is now my second favorite book of the whole year. And it was closely followed by You Let Me In. My least favorites would be the ones I didn't finish. 😆 Starred titles are audiobooks and titles marked with ® are rereads.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt - 5 stars ®

You Let Me In by Camilla Bruce - 5 stars *

The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey - 3 stars

How to Be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman - 4 stars

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig - 5 stars ®

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - 5 stars

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter - 4 stars ®

The Daisy Chain by Charlotte Mary Yonge - 4 stars

The Mirror Season by Anna-Marie McLemore - 4 stars

Sisters of Charity, Catholic and Protestant, Abroad and At Home by Anna Jameson - 3 stars

Graveyard Shift by M. L. Rio - 3.5 stars

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer - 3.5 stars

Autobiography by Harriet Martineau - 3.5 stars

Books DNFed: 2

Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone - it lacked atmosphere and character development, which are things I want in a Gothic fantasy

The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss - it was playing with structure in ways that just did not work on audiobook *

On Tumblr:

I'm doing good with continuing to post photos! Hopefully that will go on into the new year.

Book Quotes: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Book Quotes: "The Lady of the House of Love" by Angela Carter

Book Photography: How to Be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman

Book Photography: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Book Photography: The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Book Photography: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison

Book Photography: The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

aliteraryprincess' DNFs as of 2024

On YouTube:

And there's the usual amount here I'd say. We've got some Nonfiction November videos and, of course, my Victober wrap up. And I'm starting to think about my end of the year reading.

Victober Wrap Up | 6 books!

End of the Year Book Tag 2024

The Nonfiction Journey Tag

What's On My Nonfiction TBR?

Currently Reading 11/25/24

December TBR | closing out my 2024 reading!

[avidabsurdist]

Every time a new Brandon Sanderson book is released everyone updates their suggested reading order but all you need is the patience to be uninformed and enjoy the book!

But depending on your preference the best story to start with will be different.

If you want a crash course on the basics of The Cosmere's magic physics (Aka Investiture) so you can hypothesize on how other magic works I suggest the short story "The Emperor's Soul" as a starting point, it gives a solid overview of Realmic theory and covers Identity (a rather difficult idea to communicate) very effectively. (this is the start of the PhD route)

If you want something that's more like a traditional fairy tale as an intro I suggest Tress Of the Emerald Sea, which doesn't require a PhD in the shattering to understand. (though if you're going the PhD route I suggest reading this one later because if you're questioning the magic it's a far more confusing one)

Warbreaker is a good middle ground, if you're going the PhD route I suggest this second (it covers Intention which "The Emperor's Soul" doesn't), It's not a bad starting place either, it was my first book in The Cosmere and it's up for free on The Sand-Man's website. It's also all-around an excellent book.

I'm going to be (a tad) controversial and say I enjoy Elantris, it's certainly not Brando-Sando's best work but it was his first, and it's not a bad book to start with! just keep in mind that many of the issues in the book are things he improves on in later books.

Mistborn is two (soon to be 3) series, we distinguish them by 'Era' and they should be read in order if you want to make sense of what's going on.

Mistborn Era 1 (3 books) is also an excellent place to start, it's a YA-style series so you follow a teenager in a Post-(more like perpetual)-Apocalypse, but it's also an Epic high fantasy so if you like those and don't mind romance It's a good one.

"Mistborn Secret History": read this after Mistborn Era 1 if you're going the PHD route read anytime before The Lost Metal (Era 2 Book 4) for everyone else. (PhD track: if you want the most out of it I suggest also reading White Sand first)

Mistborn Era 2 (4 books) is a high fantasy Western set in the same world much later in time, 10/10 no notes, it's excellent.

The Stormlight Archive, TheBigOne™ It is planned to be a 10-book series with accompanying Novellas. I suggest reading in chronological order including the short stories, published so far that would be:

The Way of Kings

Words of Radiance

"Edgedancer" (novella)

Oathbringer

"Dawnshard" (novella)

Rhythm of War

Start with this series if you thirst for sprawling high-fantasy novels with page counts that would make grown men weep (the Audiobook for RoW was like 48 hours long)

The entirety of Arcanum Unbounded is not required reading, (unless you're on the PhD track) but it contains both "The Emperor's Soul" and "Edgedancer", you should probably read Elantris, Mistborn Era 1, Alloy Of Law (MB Era 2 Book 1), and Stormlight (up to Words of Radiance). If you enjoy Graphic Novels and dislike spoilers/rereading stuff when you haven't finished it yet I suggest skipping the White Sand excerpt.

White Sand is also not a terrible intro, it covers a theme in B-Sandy's work that isn't directly related to the cosmere but will give you a good insight into whether you'll like his work or not: the idea that skill is developed, not just inherent. if you're like me and dislike graphic novels GraphicAudio™ (actually a company not a joke) Has an Audio rendition that has some narrative differences from the Graphic novels (iirc at least one character is a different gender) But the Graphic novels also have a random boombox on a planet with no electricity so either should be fine.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is in a similar situation to Tress of The Emerald Sea except instead of a classic European Folktale Vibe it's got a Western Interpretation of Anime Vibe, ofc it's high fantasy like all Sandon Branderson's work so it's world is inspired by Japanese culture rather than just being Japanese.

The Sunlit Man read Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Arcanum Unbounded), and at least Oathbringer (Stormlight Archive 3) before this one, unless you like being thrown into the deep end, Mistborn Era 1 & 2 would also help.

There are other routes than Ph.D., there's also the Galactic Politics route, The Secret Society route, The Worldhopper Watcher route, The Ancient History route (Aka The Shattering route) ect

if you want specific reading route recs just tell me what you're looking for I can help!

[longsightmyth]

Books read in January 2025

I said one day I'd do it and I found myself laying awake in bed instead of sleeping and went. You know what. I should do that.

A Duke In Shining Armor, by Loretta Chase

3.5 stars

I won't say this is a dud, because Loretta Chase never truly writes duds, but it is. Perhaps. A little less riveting than the Loretta Chase novels I am used to.

Ten Things I Hate About the Duke, by Loretta Chase

4.5 stars

WE'RE BACK, BABY. We stan a lady ready to fight parliament, the regent, and probably god. With an umbrella. Whilst informing an ingrate duke that he is, in fact, an ingrate. They find love through the power of Mary Wollstonecraft. Her mom defeats their enemies through politely worded social threats in one (ONE) carriage ride with the offender. Her dad leaves it in her mom's capable hands and asks if they want tea. Her meek outwardly socially conforming sister is sniffing out competent legal and parliamentary aids one at a time and delivering them to her father like a cat leaving dead mice. The sister might marry of them later if she thinks they're competent enough.

Komarr, by Lois McMaster Bujold

5 stars

Reread. Apparently when I get brain frozen I pick up Bujold or Aaronovitch. Go figure. Ekaterin is still the queen of my heart.

Daindreth's Assassin, by Elizabeth Wheatley

3.5 stars

The beginning of this was very good, but unfortunately started going downhill once the romance kicked into gear, mostly because I wasn't sold on the eternal curse-breaking devotion happening so fast. In fairness this was also about the time I swapped to audiobook, which could have accounted for it: I didn't quite jive with the delivery.

The Arbella Stuart Conspiracy, by Alexandra Walsh

0.25 stars

You read that right. Storygraph lets me give quarter stars and unfortunately I had to use them. I spent entirely too long throwing increasingly deranged snippets and summaries of what was happening at an increasingly incredulous @oldshrewsburyian AS WELL AS the bookening, who were perhaps less surprised at the poor prose, worse character development, abysmal representation of historical research, and nonsensical plot progression but only because there is literally a thread in the bad books channel called 'Myth's Bad Tudor Habit.' I really think that anyone who decides to make up from wholecloth a conspiracy theory about Kathryn Howard having secret legitimate twin tudor children, one of whom is swapped with Mary Queen of Scots at birth, must simply commit to an alternate history and current timeline. You just have to. There was too much. Lettice Knollys faked being Lizzie 1. None of the executions actually happened except Arbella Stuart was apparently burned at the stake. Her daughter wrote the 'fake history' we know today, which these 'historians' will be killed for discovering for Reasons. It's too much. You have to put some of that back OR you have to link it somehow to earth logic.

A Civil Campaign, by Lois McMaster Bujold

5 stars

You can't read Komarr and not follow up with A Civil Campaign, even if you, like me, read A Civil Campaign before Komarr on the first reading round.

The Goblin Emperor

5 stars

There's a new one in the series out this year, okay? Was I NOT supposed to read about Maia doing kindnesses until he accidentally gains the eternal loyalty of a lot of people, including a political fiancee who is eternally twenty feet too far away to stab people trying to assassinate him and mad about it?

Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, by Lois McMaster Bujold

5 stars

Have you accepted our lady and savior Alys Vorpatril into your heart? You should. The book wasn't even technically about her and she still managed to steal the show in her grief and anger and love and loving angry grief. Also she raised her son to be a wifeguy, and boy is he.

My Inconvenient Duke, by Loretta Chase

3.5 stars

Once again I reiterate: this was not a dud. In fact parts of this were really great. Loretta has started interacting more and more with the fact that she is writing historical romances about English Nobility and what that historically... meant. It's possible this one was my own fault, as I went in expecting a second chance romance with a pragmatic lady unafraid to get her hands dirty. That's... not really what this was, and probably waiting for that to happen made me enjoy this less than I might have otherwise.

Long Live Evil, by Sarah Rees Brennan

5 stars

This was published last year and I preordered it and owned it and had to wait to read it because Sarah Rees Brennan's books take some Emotional Commitment and I was pretty sure this was gonna take some brain power and some heart power and possibly some help in the form of the power of friendship and I was CORRECT. A+. We love a man who can follow instructions. We love all of these characters in this house. We love an examination of what stories mean and when characters can become real to us-the-readers and also a good dance number about being evil.

Anyway it's a good time! Prepare to leak snot and saltwater.

[bermudianabroad]

Everything I Read in 2024

*reread* didn't enjoy would recommend short stories, novella or multi-author anthology (with editor credited) listened to audiobook version

Favourites of the Year: The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff; James by Percival Everett; Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh (Fiction) / Midnight in Chernobyl by Adam Higginbotham (Non-Fiction)

And, without further ado and in no particular order, the rest under the cut. Links to goodreads pages.

Thoughtful thoughts to follow.

Graphic Novels/Non-Fiction

1. Heimat: A German Family Album by Nora Krug (trans. from German) 2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, artist Renee Nault 3. Squire by Nadia Shammas and Sara Alfageeh 4. Fatherland by Nina Bunjevac 5. Palestine by Joe Sacco

Fiction

1. West by Carys Davies 2. *The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy* 3. *The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster* 4. Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq 5. Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart 6. All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby 7. The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff 8. Cold Enough for Snow by Jessica Au 9. The Storm We Made by Vanessa Chan 10. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee 11. Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford 12. Glitterland by Alexis Hall 13. These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever 14. Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 15. Hunger by Lan Samantha Chang 16. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Mosfegh 17. Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh 18. Greek Lessons by Han Kang (trans. from Korean) 19. *The Complete Short Stories by Muriel Spark* 20. Idol, Burning by Rin Usami (trans. from Japanese) 21. The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh 22. The Mercies by Kiran Milwood Hargrave 23. The Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura (trans. from Japanese) 24. James by Percival Everett 25. American Dirt by Jeanie Cummins 26. Open Secrets by Alice Munro 27. Utopia Avenue by David Mitchell 28. The Question Mark by Muriel Jaeger 29. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan 30. Olive Ketteridge by Elizabeth Strout 31. Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (trans. from Palestinian Arabic) 32. There Are Rivers in the Sky by Elif Shafak 33. Dark Constellations by Pola Oloixarac (trans. from Spanish) 34. Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Anthology of Dark Fiction ed. Shane Hawk 35. Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid 36. On Java Road by Lawrence Osborne 37. Recitatif by Toni Morrison 38. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson 39. How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang 40. The Darkest of Nights by Charles Eric Maine 41. History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund

Non-Fiction

1. Midnight in Chernobyl: The True Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster by Adam Higginbotham 2. The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting Up A Generation For Failure (!!!!) by Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff [emphatic exclamation points blogger's own] 3. Flaneuse: Women Walk the City in Paris, New York, Tokyo, Venice and London by Lauren Elkin 4. The Fall of Yugoslavia by Misha Glenny 5. Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster at the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham 6. The Falcon Thief: A True Tale of Adventure, TREACHERY, and the HUNT for the PERFECT BIRD by Joshua Hammer [emphatic CAPITALISATION blogger's own] 7. What Does Israel Fear From Palestine? by Raja Shehadeh 8. The Anxious Generation: How the Great 'Rewiring' of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt 9. The Serviceberry: An Economy of Gifts and Abundance by Robin Wall Kimmerer 10. Don't Let's Go to the Dog's Tonight: An African Childhood by Alexandra Fuller

[rosewoodconch]

RWCH Readathon 2024: Day 18

Princess in Practice - Chapter 1

Back to the insanity of the real world consequences of portmans

I really like how much its clear that Lottie is uncomfortable by Saskia being in the basement

Like yeah thats wild

And the idea of keeping her identity secret by limiting photography is smart, but clearly is useless by book 3 - its really not even thought about passed this chapter and that makes me kind of sad

I know we dont know this yet and neither does anyone really, but if that tiara is in some of the sole surviving portraits of a mysterious runaway princess, I feel like at least one person at these wvents would recognise it

Like cmon you think none of those journalists and royal commentators didn't study art history or royal history???

Olga is an icon ngl

I like that jamie stands out by dressing simple

Jamie staying close to make sure nothing goes wrong makes so much sense

"None of them true" i swear it said she had snuck out at least once

Simeon!!!!

Oh not the statue oh my god

I really like our reintroduction to the king and queen. Their appearances match how they react to lottie too i think. The queen is welcoming and willing to play the part and to be honest also kind of takes in lottie. The king on the other hand has a sense of duty and treats lottie the same as jamie, as not much more than a means to protect ellie

I wanna find the note that connie made about how she imagined this art man furiously scribbling a sketch of lottie to make the statue but i dont remember where it was posted! I'll hunt for it and put it in a reblog if i can find it!

Im audiobooking, and i dont remember how to spell his name so im so sorry he will just be the art man

It must be really strange having someone else taking your childs place and trying to perform

I always picture the statue as being genuinely like 2 stories high but i feel like thats a bit much

Where is Ellie this whole time? Just in her room?

No because thats so so funny though. I wanna see art mans reaction when the real princess is revealed. Like this poor man, so much work and effort and it turns out its some girl from cornwall

Jamie also trying to hold it together really just makes this scene so incredible

I always forget how funny this scene is until i reread it but it really shows the wider consequences of lottie being a portman. Imagine if we in the real world found out that for example, Prince William didnt actually look like that and the man we all thought was him is actually just some kid he met at eton?

Thats insane yknow?

[bibliophileiz]

2, 3, and 20!

2. Did I reread anything?

Yep! The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison on my own, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and Life of Pi by Yann Martel (audiobook) for a class. I was in high school or college when I read those before, and I think I have more empathy for the kids in TBE and Ruth in NLMG than I did then. Also I think Martel's take on zoos and religion has held up well.

I also listened to a bunch of Harry Potter audiobooks on CD while driving this summer after a friend who was moving gave me a crate of them. Given the sort of person JK Rowling has revealed herself to be the last few years, I was listening especially for how empathy works in the books. I have so many thoughts about them now but I'll save them for another post.

3. Top 5 Books

Ok so I have a hard time comparing fiction and NF so I'm just gonna do five of each:

Fiction The Color Purple by Alice Walker The Briar Club by Kate Quinn You Should Be So Lucky by Cat Sebastian The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch by Melinda Taub What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah

Nonfiction The Devil's Element by Dan Egan Unraveling by Peggy Orenstein The Secret History of Bigfoot by John O'Connor The Queens of Animation by Natalia Holt World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukamatathil

20 What did I anticipate and did it meet expectations?

The two books I most anticipated were The Briar Club by Kate Quinn, which was fantastic, and The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, which was disappointing. I've restarted it several times as recently as this morning, and after 70 plus pages officially gave up. There are two many characters (generally flat) and not enough plot, and the writing is all over the place. Moreno-Garcia is fantastic--I love Mexican Gothic--but this is not her best.

Thanks for the ask! I could talk about books all day!

[lizziestudieshistory]

2023 Reading Summary

I'm late...again... It's hardly a surprise. However, I've finally looked at my reading for 2023. The only stats I tracked this year was the genre, and even this was a simplified version because I decided I don't care. I spent most of my time this year recording what I thought about the books I read not the data surrounding them. And, if I'm honest, I don't think I'll even bother with the genre in 2024.

The Numbers

In total I read 84 books, which considering I've been working or training full time all year is surprising for me. On average I tend to read 60-70 books in a normal year, usually towards the lower end, so almost 20 books over that is a very pleasant surprise.

The biggest surprise has been my change in most read genre! I've only recorded 4 genres, classic, nonfiction, fantasy, and general fiction, these broke down to:

Classic 53%

Fantasy 31%

Nonfiction 12%

General fiction 4%

Fantasy is usually my top genre with over 50%, so this is a change (I don't think it will be permanent). However the largest shock is the nonfiction! I never read nonfiction for fun, but I guess this is a change from leaving university. I don't have to learn for work anymore, so I'm now looking into these things for fun as the mood takes me. I am disappointed these haven't been history books, however, I'm hoping to change that in 2024 and it has been nice learning more about literature in 2023.

Top Three Books

I tried to do a top 5 but the gap between 3 and 4 was too large, so I've narrowed it down to a top 3.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin

Evelina by Fanny Burney

I loved all of these books in different ways, and I think I've done a mini review of each in the months I read them. However, if anyone wants detailed thoughts then I'm more than happy to talk about any of these books.

Biggest Surprises

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

Silas Marner by George Eliot

Goblin Market and Other Poems by Christina Rossetti

Fugitive Prince by Janny Wurts

All of these were excellent, they just weren't quite in my top three.

Most Disappointing

Witches: James I and the English Witch-Hunts by Tracy Borman

The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy by Robin Hobb (I DNFed this series after Fool's Quest and I'm heartbroken, but I have major issues with this trilogy in a way I couldn't keep reading as it was destroying my love for Fitz.)

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (this is standing in for all of the secret project books)

Goals (Sort Of...)

To continue the surprises... I've only listened to 4 audiobooks, so most of those books were read physically or through an ebook. This is huge for me as I used to consume about a third of my books through audio, it's a massive improvement because I don't retain them very well. Listening to fewer audiobooks was a big part of my informal (in other words unwritten) reading goals and I'm very happy to have got it down this far. I do think it'll go up again next year because I've got a lengthy commute to work now, but I've also broken the habit of sitting at home listening when I could easily read the book myself and get more out of it.

I did as well with not worrying about numbers or data surrounding the books I'm reading. I deliberately retired my spreadsheet this year and only kept up with my reading journal. After a week or so I didn't miss it in the slightest. I'm not a hard data/stats kind of person, but I am easily persuaded to keep these sorts of records. I started keeping a spreadsheet in 2019 where I track genre, pages, author gender, and format in addition to the book information, by 2022 I was tracking book info, series, genre, format, author info (just too much to list), pages, month read, where I bought the book, if it was a tbr, new or library read, reread or new to me, and rating. It was too much! It was hard work, I was MISERABLE, and I didn't care. It was performing to the standards of what you see in the reading community online... So, I ditched the spreadsheet and I've been much happier. I've read better books because I haven't had my stats in mind, and I've read more. I had more time to actually read because I haven't been spending an inordinate amount of time researching books and entering data into a spreadsheet! I'm definitely making this a permanent change.

I've also used my ereader a lot more this year, I have no numbers to back this up but I've naturally been reaching for it regularly and it has done me good. I've not only read more frequently and for longer periods of time, but I've been more comfortable while reading (no more back, neck, or arm strain from 1000+ page fantasy tomes!) and I've tried books I was hesitant about buying physically because I could access a digital copy. I did have a massive problem with my ereader in November because my Kobo Libra 2 started to have battery changes that nothing resolved and then it died completely. Unfortunately I lost a lot of my reading data, including my notes, which has upset me. But I have saved my elibrary and bought a "new" device (it's a Boox Nova 3) so I can still read - I might discuss getting a Boox separately. However, I am much more cautious about note taking through a device and I'm sticking to recording everything in my physical journal.

This brings me nicely onto my reading journal. I wanted to overhaul my journal this year because my old journal format was growing stale and uninspiring to use. I was often leaving it for weeks at a time and often scrambling to write up 5 or 6 books in one go because I'd forgotten to do it as I was reading. So, I worked through several different styles of journal and found a new, more flexible, and engaging style that can fit my changing moods throughout the year. I'm definitely going to discuss this at a later date, so I won't say much here. But I am very happy to have a new journal system and I'm excited to get into it properly this year.

[lesstheshadow]

august is for nostalgia and rereading and this year was a good one. i feel like making a little reviews post

mostly sff, starting off with my pitiful one new read, then a bumper crop of rereads!

Exhalation, Ted Chiang (scifi short stories)

gorgeous GORGEOUS stories in here. love how Chiang sets up and explores his worlds — he's using science fiction in the ways I find most interesting, to explore who we are as people in the present as well as possible futures. a personal ranking of the stories

Favourites: The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling (exploration of memory + writing as a form of technology); Dacey's Patent Automatic Nanny (for the emotional punch in a very short space)

Great: Anxiety is the Dizziness of Freedom, The Lifecycle of Software Objects, Exhalation

Good: Omphalos, The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate

OK: What's Expected of Us, The Great Silence

Stormlight reread: The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance (plus Mistborn: Secret History) by Brandon Sanderson (epic fantasy)

Decided to read Secret History and mostly regretted it. One of the rare Brandon Sandersons I read rather than audiobooked, and turns out I really hate his writing style when I have to read the words with my eyes. I still have a soft spot for Kelsier but the only thing that kept me reading this book was I knew it had lore implications

Luckily had a lot more success and fun with the Stormlight Archive books! Decided to reread the series in advance of Wind and Truth, and thankfully they made me remember what I do like about Sanderson's writing. He has a great ability to craft and world and use it and his characters to really propel a story. I have been logging some serious hours on the 17th shard forums reading theories it's so much fun <3

Going to read Warbreaker for the first time next, then return to the Stormlight reread!

Discworld reread: Hogfather, Lords and Ladies, Jingo, Maskerade, and Carpe Jugulum, Terry Pratchett (fantasy comedy)

I've been working my way through the whole discworld series again and I'm going to save most of what I have to say for a longer post I need to make about just that but! I definitely feel that in the mid to late teens of the Discworld series you can really feel Pratchett hitting his stride. He knows what he wants to do with his characters and ideas, and reading these books is satisfying like a key turning in a lock. As ever, an endless font of hope and joy and laughter.

Imperium, Robert Harris (historical fiction, ancient Rome)

A retelling of the life of Cicero (book 1 of 3) which I first read as a teenager, I read this on the beach and in the airport and it was the right book for that. pacily written and I will always love Cicero my horrid little man. some weird politics hiding in this one but mostly just a fun time

thank u for reading my silly thoughts tell me if you'd like to read more of these posts <3

[meghiemoo]

Confession time, I tried reading Gideon the Ninth a couple years ago and it made NO sense I was so confused and either hated all the characters or, more likely, couldn't keep track of who was who I was so fucking confused the entire time. What happened? Got no fucking idea. I think maybe there was character named Gideon? It might have been in space? Bones? Unclear. I hated the experience. I have never been so confused or unable to comprehend what was going on while reading. I think an advanced medical textbook in french would make more sense.

And like I see book reviewers and stuff talking about The Locked Tomb series now and I was like "I know it's a bit cerebral and confusing, but it seems like that is part of the point and people still liked it like why didn't I? I sometimes like weighty stories?? How come I hated it so viscerally?" And I looked back at the Libby history to figure out when I read it and like, guys, I read Gideon the Ninth in January of 2021 after having been in a months and months long reading slump since May that I had only broken in December with Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe; then I read the ENTIRITY of the ACOTAR series that was out at the time (4 books and according to my history i read one of them in 2 days dear lord this was before the hype and i was IN it); reread of Avalon High; and finally started January with Red, White, and Royal Blue.

And i followed my romance and middle grade easy reading experiences that were gently getting me back into reading with fucking Gideon the Ninth. No fucking shit I was confused I was not genre savvy at that moment. I was like in basic predictable trope land.

Anyway I saved myself from a reading slump because apparently I just fucking reread Demon King series and started it's sequel. Which I was slowly able to work my way back up to reading from there.

I guess I should try it again, but the memories of it are so painful. I've never felt so stupid 😅 I was like do I have comprehension skills at all? Do I even speak English? I remember feeling embarrassed listening to the audiobook alone in my car because I had no idea what the fuck was happening 😐

[multifairyus]

Genuine question about the Legendborn series do you know how many books are set to be in the series ? Or is that it just those two that have come out ? Also if someone wanted to get into the series how would you persuade them to read it?

The Appeal of the Legendborn Cycle Series

According to Deon’s website, it was planned as a trilogy…the wording makes me hold out hope for more books, especially since it was announced in February that we’re getting a TV series

Onto how I’d persuade them to read it: whew boy do I have THOUGHTS

Tl; dr:

1. Magic system is enhanced by being grounded in reality; the book itself stays grounded by being easy to read while maintaining mystique and intrigue

2. Complex character interactions that arise naturally from strong characterizations and a dynamic plot allow for compelling love interests/a believable love triangle.

3. Themes of grief, identity, heritage, and agency are elevated by the unique perspective of a teenage black girl in the American south.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

• It’s a YA book, young adult. IDK how old you are or the people you wanna persuade. Most people stop reading before finishing high school and aren’t likely to pick up books that a) require a lot of background/genre knowledge to understand b) dense syntax and complicated plots. The Legendborn Cycle (TLC) being YA counters both of these issues. It’s audiobook is an excellent way to consume it, since ~500 pages is a big ask for people who aren’t readers all. Emotive with distinctive character voices.

• TLC subverts and/or reimagines major writing tropes in a way that is satisfying and compelling, not just as a “gotcha” to shock the audience. Getting into HOW exactly is major spoiler territory, but in general you could mention secret magical societies, lines of succession, love triangles, magic systems…you can’t build a story without tropes, but using them in interesting ways is how you circumvent it being cookie cutter.

• Very solid worldbuilding. It’s Urban Fantasy without forgetting the “Urban” part. While the plot doesn’t focus much on Onceborns, the fact that TLC touches on how a magical institution would last for centuries as a secret keeps things grounded without getting bogged down with worldbuilding details that don’t come into play later. Getting into Bloodmarked is spoiler territory…but you could mention how TLC has draws analogies between the consolidation, conservation, and enforcement of power within the Legendborn world and within real life society. That’s the focus in the first book. The second book sets up main characters to have even more dynamic character arcs as their worldview expands alongside the reader.

• Thus far, nothing feels like fluff or filler. All the worldbuilding, character dynamics/interactions, and plot threads are followed through, or set up for something later on. Callbacks and echos galore. Lots of rereading value.

• Bree, Nick, and Sel’s relationships are interesting BECAUSE of the plot, not the other way around. Their feelings for each other are informed by revelations in what they do *outside* of pining for each other. The “insta first love golden retriever” Nick and “secretly dedicated argumentative black cat” Sel have more depth than those tropes would imply. The same traits that manifest as romance to Bree, but look different to side characters—and especially to each other—while still being consistent overall. The fact that the two HAVE so much history with each other is entirely because of plot reasons, which means it will always carry weight in how they interact with each other and with Bree. You can argue that one romance is more compelling than the other (I am an unabashed Brelwyn/BreeSel endgame shipper) but you can’t argue that there is an actual dilemma for the main character, Bree—which is all that matters for a compelling love story, triangular or otherwise. AND it doesn’t subsume the whole plot—it’s adventure first and a romance second with plenty of room to fill in details yourself.

Okay I think that’s a good enough answer to your question without straight up ranting about how much I love this damn book series lol. Hope that was helpful!

[aliteraryprincess]

April 2023 Wrap Up

Butters insisted that he must be in the this month's wrap up pic! 😆 April went by way too quickly. Time's just flying by!

Books Read: 15

Look at all these books! I mean, sure, a lot of them are rereads or picture books, but that's fine! My favorite of the month was Little Thieves, which is just a new favorite in general. My least favorite was The Ingenue, but it was still an enjoyable read. Starred titles are audiobooks and ones marked with ® are rereads.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - 5 stars ®

"The Lifted Veil" by George Eliot - 3 stars

The Ingenue by Rachel Kapelke-Dale - 3 stars

Snow White by the Brothers Grimm, retold by Paul Heins, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman - 5 stars ®

Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave retold by Marinna Mayer, illustrated by Kinuko Y. Craft - 4 stars

The Goose Girl by the Brothers Grimm, retold by Anthea Bell, illustrated by Sabine Bruntjen - 3 stars

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf - 4.5 stars ®

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen - 5 stars

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - 4 stars

Many Furs by the Brothers Grimm, retold and illustrated by Jacquelyn Ilya Sage - 3 stars

Snow White & Rose Red by the Brothers Grimm, retold by Kallie George, illustrated by Kelly Vivanco - 4 stars

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden - 5 stars

The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter - 4.5 stars ®

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys - 4.5 stars ®

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard - 5 stars ®

On Tumblr:

It's just all polls. I'm having way too much fun with them.

March Wrap Up

Fairy Tale Retelling Authors Poll

Elizabeth Gaskell Book Poll

Jane Austen Book Poll

Charles Dickens Book Poll

Hyperspecific Poll

Shakespeare Tragedy Poll

Shakespeare Comedy Poll

Shakespeare History Poll

On the Blog:

There's one thing here! Yay! But it's still not the Fairy Tale Friday post for Snow & Rose...oops...

Review: The Ingenue by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

On YouTube:

But hey, there's a Fairy Tale Friday post here at least!

April TBR

The George Eliot Project: Adam Bede

March Wrap Up - 7 books!

The George Eliot Project: "The Lifted Veil"

Currently Reading 4/18/23

The Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag 2023

May TBR

Fairy Tale Friday: The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

[tempest-melody]

Book Review: The Secret History

Title: The Secret HistoryAuthor: Donna TarttPublication Date: 1992Publishing House: Vintage Contemporaries I’ve read this book before but it has been a while. It hadn’t been on my list of things to reread until recently when I went down a rabbit hole about the dark academia aesthetic. I do have a copy of this book but the reread was as an audiobook from the local library. If you want to know…

[pumpkinspice-prouvaire]

1, 2, and 10 for the book ask

book you’ve reread the most times? Les Mis tbh lol. I read it once when I was like...17??? And got absolutely nothing from it because I wasn't really in a place where I could properly appreciate classic literature like I am now. And then I read it last year and was like HEY THIS SHIT FUCKS ACTUALLY. And now I'm doing Les Mis Letters so that's another read! I'm considering reading it via audiobook next year as well just so I can be really smug about reading it three years in a row lmao

top 5 books of all time? AHHHHHH BESTIE WHY WOULD U ASK ME THIS. Ok I have tried my best these are no particular order: 1. Exciting Times- Naoise Dolan 2. The Secret History- Donna Tartt 3. Panenka- Ronan Hession 4. Home Fire- Kamila Shamsie 5. Project Hail Mary- Andy Weir Honorary mention to Les Mis because thanks to that brick my brain chemistry has been altered permanently hehe. Also the answer to this will probably change tomorrow.

10 I have answered! Thank u for asking <3 <3 <3

[weedlovingweed]

i didn't do many things consistently this year but i DID read a lot... discovered audiobooks and went from 5 books read last year to 30+ this year! so i thought i'd make a little post about them.

my favorites:

the secret history by donna tartt

one of my favs of the year. perhaps a new fav of all time. made me realize how much i love books that tell you what happens right at the beginning and then lead you there...

piranesi by susanna clarke

just finished this one and it snuck in as a favorite for the year... wonderful amazing everything i could have wanted from it... perfect fantasy perfect Book About A House perfect ending...

o caledonia by elspeth barker

god i loved this book. it's bleak for sure but has absolutely everything i'd want in a book: death at the very start that the story leads up to (like secret history), girl who is overly smart & hateful of other people (especially for her time period), really really reminded me of the women in shirley jackson's books and that was exactly what i wanted...

circe by madeline miller

might be one of my favorite retelling / greek myth inspired books i've read!!!

a day of fallen night by samantha shannon

i loved priory but day of fallen night was way more well put together, the protags stories aligned so so well, miserable and wonderful, grand scope realized, desperately want more roots of chaos books. also the audiobook is AMAZING and priory's was... not great

leech by hiron ennes

ohh this book is so so good. so much of the reasons it's good are spoilers, but it's such a cool sci-fi fantasy horror meshed story, the protag being a hivemind parasite doctor is so cool... wonderful book

least favs:

the goldfinch by donna tartt

DNF, got like 3/4 through and could not stand it any longer... i HATE not finishing books, but i listened to literally 30 hours of this book and it was pissing me off enough i had to drop it.

the library at mount char by scott hawkins

i saw someone say that this author is clearly inspired by neil gaiman in the worst way and i completely agree. reminds me of the parts of american gods i forced myself through. (i never finished that one because it fucking sucked. couldn't get past the first chap or so of dead wife bullshit) i really liked caroline and really didn't give a fuck about the two men

the very secret sex lives of medieval women by rosalie gilbert

thought this would be interesting but instead it's full of TERRIBLE jokes

(other books i read under the cut)

the witchcraft of salem village by shirley jackson 3.5/5 (nonfiction) gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir 4.5/5 harrow the ninth by tamsyn muir 4/5 nona the ninth by tamsyn muir 5/5 (nona was my fav) i'm glad my mom died by jennette mccurdy 4/5 (tough read) the priory of the orange tree by samantha shannon 5/5 the jasmine throne by tasha suri 5/5 the oleander sword by tasha suri 5/5 (fav of the series) the lotus empire by tasha suri 4.5/5 bitterthorn by kat dunn 4/5 (fairytale lesbians) the luminous dead by caitlin starling 4/5 (sci-fi horror) the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson (re-read twice) 5/5 we have always lived in the castle by shirley jackson (re-read) 5/5 our wives under the sea by julia armfield 4.5/5 (so unsettling and sad) salt slow by julia armfield 5/5 braiding sweetgrass by robin wall kimmerer 5/5 (aligned so well with my myth class!) gentlest of wild things by sarah underwood 3.5/5 the witch of colchis by rosie hewlett 4/5 (i love medea she did nothing wrong) rules for vanishing by kate alice marshall 4.5/5 (very like the left right game) grey dog by elliott gish 4/5 (mad woman book. yippie!) parallel myths by j.f. bierlein (read for class) norse mythology by neil gaiman (read for class)

in total i read only books by women (and one? nb person) except the two for school and my most hated book/last book of the year (mt char), and 16 books about lesbians/bi women (if i don't count my hill house rereads. which, i DO consider it to be a gay women book).

my goal was 15 books and i more than doubled it! for 2025 i am gonna set the goal at 20, but hopefully exceed that by a good bit too! also i really like reading books by and about women <3 and by and about lesbians <3 wahoo