Where the writing down of things all began…
2021 was really the first time I ever tried writing down my thoughts about reading. And since this blog wasn’t here in 2021, I thought I’d share those thoughts with you now. Here’s a little tasty-taste of what you’re in for with my nonsense. Please enjoy.
“A thing I did this year that I’d like to share: I read! I read a bunch of books!This is new and exciting. I wasn’t a big reader until about 2 years ago when I put in a concerted effort to read more. 2019 I read 10 books in the last quarter, so I decided that in 2020 I would try to read 40! It did not work out. My math was off. But! I did read 28, which is pretty impressive for me, I’d say.I mostly read fantasy, poetry and kids books. And from that group here are some of my best and least-best choices.
Best of the best, MVP, now-in-my-top 3 favorite books of all time:
Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner.
This is a stand alone murder mystery fantasy novel. It’s got a wholly unique setting, complete with fashions that I NEED the author to publish some art of, please. It’s got a strong female protagonist with her own personality (wow!), female friendships, age appropriate relationships, the subversion and re-imagining of gender roles, and some gayness, too! The magic system is very similar to physics and I love how it’s presented. I love this book so much 10/10 highly recommend.
When the World Didn’t End, by Caroline Kaufman.
Generally pleasant and well written thoughts and poems about the (cis)woman’s experience. I have read a lot of poetry about women healing from bad breakups and abusive relationships, and although the author was pretty young when she wrote these, they felt more mature than a lot of other poetry on the subject. Very nice read if you’re doing some healing of your own.
I thought this was a kids book. THIS IS NOT A KIDS BOOK. I REPEAT:DO NOT GIVE THIS BOOK TO CHILDREN. It’s the story of a British family moving out to a small village and the adventures that Lanny has now that he’s closer to nature. It is told from the perspectives of the adults in his life. There is a magical/fairy tale aspect to the book so I think it’s considered Magical Realism (?)CW: there is discussion of child abuse. The child in the book is not actually abused, but the topic does come up.It’s a very compelling read, and I still think about it a lot.
The Winter of the Witch, by Katherine Arden.
The third in a trilogy. Set in medieval Russia, it’s got the vibe of a folklore fairy tale. However, the main character is very much a Mary-Sue, which was mostly forgivable in the first two books because of the amount of world building and lore that was presented. This last book was more character driven, so it fell flat (much like her personality!). I got so frustrated and bored I put it down multiple times and picked up other books and finished them in it’s place. I only finished it because it was my last book of 2020 and I wanted to finish it, damn it!If you’re into, like, horses or whatever you might like reading this one, but also, don’t.
Overall I managed to read some pretty cool books last year. Here’s to more good ones this year!Honorable mentions:
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Second favorite book of the year. KNITTERS: There is knitting magic in this book and it is fabulous. Truly could not put this book down. It explained how math looks like witchcraft! Cannot recommend enough.”
And there you have it, some pretty spoiler free reviews of some things I read an eternity ago. What a time to be alive.
In conclusion, it probably doesn’t get any better than this, but it might! who knows, I don’t! stick around to find out.
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