I have seen so many raves about this one by people with similar tastes so I don‘t know why it didn‘t work for me. I probably wouldn‘t have read the whole thing if it hadn‘t been a novella. I liked the Australian setting and the creepiness of it but there were too many things about the mechanics of the world that were unclear to me. Funnily, I might have liked it better if it were longer.

It was kind of a given that I would love this one as Fforde is one of my fave authors but it‘s a very good standalone story that allows the reader to really see the absurdity of prejudice and racism through an equally absurd scenario. It does have Fforde‘s trademark sense of humor so if you haven‘t meshed with him in the past, you might not now. But this is such a topical subject that I think it‘s worth a try for any reader.

Just recording that I did not finish this one. Got to page 300 of 800 and decided I was done. Life is too short for this book. Well-written but so sprawling and not with the “main” character frequently enough to keep me engaged, especially in a chaotic world. I need something faster-paced and more straightforward right now.

Book 2 of 2021, this was really good with only a couple of draggy policy parts. I could listen to Obama for another 30 hours ... which is a good thing since this was only volume one of his presidential memoirs!

I‘m going to try and record all of my reads this year here since my blog is just not happening at the moment. First finished was THE PICKWICK PAPERS and, past the worst first chapter of any book I have ever read, was an interesting collection of stories within stories with lots of humor, some sadness, and a bit of good old Dickens moralizing about the poor. I‘m glad I finally got to this one!

“What have I always believed?
That on the whole, by and large, if a man lived properly, not according to what any priests said, but according to what seemed decent and honest inside, then it would, at the end, more or less, turn out all right.” #MarchMagics #TerryPratchett #Discworld

Kicked off #MarchMagics / #DWJMarch with HEXWOOD, one of my few remaining unread DWJs. (I might just have 3 left now.) This story was great and the advice from others to not expect to follow it all the first time kept me to a pace where I actually did follow it (except for a little bit at the end). Now if I could finally wrap my head around Fire and Hemlock!

The author herself warned me off of reading this trilogy a couple of years ago, telling me I might find it too hard to read in the current political climate. I thought I was more ready now, less shocked and helpless, more defiant. Wow. Still a tough read because it‘s not at all difficult to imagine the alternate history of creeping fascism actually coming to pass. Things have to change before we are doomed.

A great little mystery from 1947 and check out this cover! I loved the Cornwall setting and Mordecai Tremaine is one of my favorite amateur detectives. Part of a series but reads perfectly well as a stand-alone.

A short story collection that looks at the more disturbing sides of love. I don‘t read short stories in translation very often but probably should more. Any suggestions?

Seeing as Suede is one of my all-time favorite bands, this was a really tough read but filled in gaps in knowledge, unflinchingly looked at fame and addiction, and made me feel less bad for never having owned their last album (of their first existence). I can‘t wait for the third volume when the band reunites and makes some of the most beautiful music ever written.

A Valentine‘s Day shopping spree! All of the Discworld books are used and Small Gods is the only one of these I haven‘t read. Uriah Heep had come to my attention lately and Stormsong was a must have (although now it has to wait for a Witchmark reread first!). #marchmagics

What is March Magics? It‘s an event that I started nine years ago on my blog (as #DWJMarch) when Diana Wynne Jones passed away and many of us wanted to celebrate her wonderful stories. Then, after Terry Pratchett died in March 2015, the event expanded to become #MarchMagics and include him as well!
I‘ll be posting lots of reads and highlights and hope some of you will join in as well!

Coming soon! March Magics 2020! This is an event in its 9th year celebrating Diana Wynne Jones and Terry Pratchett in the month that cruelly stole them from us. Read whatever you want from these authors and spread the ❤️! #marchmagics #dwjmarch

There were so many ways that the Athena Club trilogy could have disappointed me because it brings together all of my favorite things. Happily, after finishing the third and final book last night, I can say that she did a FANTASTIC job! This series is in hardcover on my bookshelf and will stay there, nestled between the sources of its inspiration.

This same God presides over Seattle in the winter. I feel like everything is about to dissolve from damp!

(Clarified with help from RSC):
He that commends me to mine own pleasure,
Commends me to the thing I cannot get.
I to the world am like a drop of water
That in the ocean seeks another drop,
Who, failing there to find his fellow forth —
Unknown, inquisitive — loses himself.
So I, to find a mother and a brother,
In quest of them, ill-fated, lose myself.
#Shakespearereadalong

I preordered and got this great artwork to pair with The Thief Knot. Now I have two Milford maps on my library wall and it makes me so happy!

Time to drag out the ginormous Modern Library/RSC Shakespeare time for the #Shakespearereadalong of A Comedy of Errors! Act I discussion is next Sunday so there‘s plenty of time to still join. (@merelybookish has the details post)

I really enjoyed this part-bio of Arthur Conan Doyle and part-journey through the evolution of Sherlock Holmes through time and different media. It‘s a chunky 500 pages but goes by quickly. I realized that I‘m more of a Sherlockian than I thought I was, having read or watched a good three-quarters of what was mentioned in this book (and having attended the SH exhibition where I got this cool bookmark)! 🕵🏼‍♂️

Got to see William Gibson tonight at Third Place Books to celebrate the release of Agency, sequel to The Peripheral. The premise sounds interesting and I‘ll grab the first off of the husband‘s shelf sometime soon!

You know that thing where you love a series so much that you hoard the most recent book but then you accidentally hoard it for too long, so long that you forget how good the series is, and you start wondering if you even want to read it but then you do anyway and you‘re like “argh! how did I forget this series was so good?!?!” No? Just me? 😉 I definitely remember now how much I love the Invisible Library series.

First time away from the house since last Saturday! Celebrated the melting snow with a quiet lunch and my book. Am loving this one and it‘s flying by too fast.

Snow day number two. I shoveled so now I get to read. I have been hoarding this one but now there‘s a newer one in the series so I‘m free to dive in!

It took me a bit to get into this one but, once I did, I got caught up in its somewhat unique way of spooling out answers and (faulty) solutions. I also liked Dr. Fell, the “amateur” detective of the story. I kept picturing Sydney Greenstreet in the role!

True story: received a belated holiday present today (The Book of Forgotten Authors by Christopher Fowler) and, while peeking through the author/chapter list, realized that my current book is actually by one of them! (John Dickson Carr — thanks to Penzler American Mystery Classics for making him less forgotten!)

This series just makes me happy. This is book two and I absolutely adore the way all of my years of fall RIP reading have paid off! When I immediately recognized MR James‘ whistle-monster when it appeared in this story, I felt like a genius. Plus, references to 80‘s music and Monty Python with amazing messages of internal strength and found family? I love it all.

What to do ... reread one a month until the May release date of the Murderbot novel or just binge them at some point?

I really don‘t like dystopias that are too believable as a near-future direction for our current world. They are stressful, especially in today‘s ever-deteriorating world. But, with two lesbian leads, lots of forbidden rock music, and believable human interactions, this book made me feel like there can always be hope in any future. I loved Pinsker‘s short story collection and this novel is a great start to her full-length career.

The broad interpretation of “time travel” and the 1000 page size had this in progress on my nightstand for almost five years! I am finally through the whole thing (with just a handful of skipped stories) and I am especially grateful to the editors for one thing — introducing me to Kage Baker and her Company novels.

Second read, this time on audiobook. I love this story even more than before. Heartbreakingly beautiful. It is slow and deliberate and lyrical with secret smiles hidden throughout. And the audiobook is really well done.

I don‘t know why I haven‘t heard more about this book. It defies genre, it mixes history and present, it has a touch of magic/science, and it was a fantastically fun adventure/mystery! The sequel comes out next week and I‘m quite excited to see what comes next (even though this book very satisfactorily wraps up — almost unique in a series book).

“... like many corrupt men a remorseless cross-examiner when pursuing the faintest whiff of corruption in others.”
Sound familiar?

To read well, that is, to read true books in a true spirit, is a noble exercise, and one that will task the reader more than any exercise which the customs of the day esteem.

I don‘t think I‘ve ever laughed out loud twice in the first paragraph of a book before but the early profanity and the “interbreast sweat” had me dying last night! ARC from @DoubledayBooks

"... I've never been out of England. Except in my head, of course. And in books. I think that should count, but for some silly reason it doesn't. ..." -Lizzie

The dedication ...

"I don't mean to be critical, sir, but you tend toward profligacy."
"Nonsense, Simmons. I don't buy anything but books. You cannot possibly tell me I've squandered my fortune upon books."
"Squander is not the word I would have used, sir. But it was the books that did it, I believe."

I love spooky and dark non-fiction reads but the best is The Poisoner's Handbook! #AllHallowsRead

Once you've seen it, you can't unsee it. #toomuchphotoshop

Though it has one of the most maddening narrators ever (is anyone really THAT awkward?), I stayed up until 5am to finish. For anyone who has debated how to interpret classics & how much authors' lives need to be considered. Also for fans of academia.

"The more I listened, the more hopeless I felt. There would be no contradicting someone of his caliber. The great reward given to intelligent people is that they can invent all the rules and equate any dissent with stupidity."

"This was not an office. It was a small library, two stories high, with thin ladders and impractical balconies and an expensive ceiling featuring a gaggle of naked Greeks. It was the sort of library you'd marry a man for."

"Her greatest work and only novel was Wuthering Heights, considered the most romantic book ever by those who had never read it carefully."

I have a feeling that the series improves from book to book as each character is more fully fleshed out & the end game is exposed. This was book two, where we got to know Joseph better and learned more about The Company. Loved the CA natural history.