The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner – A dual timeline novel involving an eighteenth century poisoner and a modern historian who stumbles upon evidence of the crimes. Sounds like fun.
Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge – I read a book years ago about some of the first female doctors and it sparked a bit of an interest in the subject. This novel is about one of the first Black female doctors in the United States.
Matrix by Lauren Groff – I’ve liked a lot of Groff’s past work. This looks like a bit of a change of pace for her.
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides – I wasn’t a huge fan of Michaelides debut, The Silent Patient (I thought it was alright but nothing special) but his follow up looks interesting, and I love the whole “dark academia” aesthetic.
2. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen- This is sometime accused of being a bit of a Practical Magic copycat, and I can see why. But really while the premise is the same (two magical sisters) this book does it’s own thing with it. It has a sequel, First Frost, too. I think the sequel takes it even further from Practical Magic territory though.
3. Circe by Madeline Miller- She’s best known as the witch who turned Odysseus’ men to pigs in The Odyssey. But in this novel Madeline Miller allows Circe to navigate her transition from a meek nymph-ish thing to a witch who is beloved and feared (and had a good reason for turning those guys into pigs!)
5. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness- I have some issues with this book too, but again it’s portrayal of witchcraft is rich and fully realized. And yes, there are vampires too. And some other creatures. But the witches were my favorite in this one. It starts a trilogy (which I still need to finish!) and is the basis for a TV adaptation as well.
6. The Witches by Roald Dahl– When I was a kid this petrified me. I had nightmares about the Grand High Witch. But I think it was the first time I remember when I actually enjoyed the fear. It was the magic of being terrified and enthralled at the same time.
7. Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor– This has been dubbed the “Nigerian Harry Potter.” While there are similarities (common in almost all “youngster learns about magic” narratives) this has it’s roots deeply in African folklore, which differentiates it. The story is continued in the sequel Akata Warrior.
8. A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan- This books is about five generations in a family of witches, beginning in the 19th century and continuing through WWII. I had a few issues with this one, but it’s worth a read, even if only for the last 1/4 when the witches help us win WWII.
9. The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson– I had an interesting response to this one. It’s about a girl who lives in a rigid, puritanical society called Bethel. When she’s lured into the forbidden woods that surround Bethel, she is given the journal of the mother she never knew, by the spirits of four mythical witches. That sets off a curse on Bethel, that the protagonist has to figure out how to break. I felt like this had some really great ideas and intentions but the execution doesn’t always live up to them. It’s the first in series, so I’m hoping the next book, The Dawn of the Coven, helps to realize some of it’s potential.
10. The Winter Witch by Paula Bracken– I enjoyed this one while I was reading it, but after I finished it, I hardly gave it another thought. It’s about a strange, silent girl who gets married in early 19th century Wales. Her oddities make the the locals think she’s a witch, and they may just be right… It’s part of a series, and I haven’t read the others, but it stands alone.
April 13: Book Titles That Sound Like They Could Be Crayola Crayon Colors (Take a moment and Google some of the crazy Crayola crayon colors that exist. Can you think of any book titles that sound like they could also be a crayon color? It might be fun to include a description of the kind of color you’re picturing.)
OK, so follow my logic on this one! I didn’t want to do the topic for this week, so I chose to do settings that I consider “colorful” (yes it’s a bit of a leap, but who cares?) For some reason some settings just resonate with you as a reader. If a book is set in a carnival, circus or amusement park it automatically gets my attention. They have a bright, technicolor surface, but that can hide darkness underneath. From the death defying acrobats to the wild animals to the games of chance, it seems like circuses, carnivals, amusement parks, side shows and fairs have hundreds of stories beneath the tent. Here are some:
The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern– At Le Cirque des Rêves, a competition is underway between two magicians. Celia and Marco have both trained since childhood for this purpose, though they don’t know it. So when they fall in love, it doesn’t bode well that only one can be left alive at the end of this competition.
2. The Circus of the Earth and the Air by Brooke Stevens– At the circus, Iris, a volunteer from the audience is steps into a magician’s box, and the box is set on fire. After the show her husband, Alex, goes backstage to find her (assuming it was a stunt!) But she never reappears. The circus itself vanishes overnight. Alex sets out to find out the truth about what happened to his wife.
3. The Book of Speculation by Erica Swyler– Simon is a librarian, living alone in his family home on Long Island. When a book dealer sends him a mysterious volume that may have some connection to his family, Simon gets caught up in the tale it tells, of a misfit living and working with a traveling circus. But he soon comes to realize that the book may reveal a curse on his family. If Simon is right, it may be the only thing that can save his sister.
4. Joyland by Stephen King– This book is more in the crime genre (with some supernatural crossover) than the horror with which King is usually associated. Devon Jones starts working at an amusement park in a small town in North Carolina in the summer of 1973. The first half of the book has a nostalgic feel as Devon comes to know the workers at the park. He befriends a dying boy (who has a secret), and falls for the boy’s beautiful mother. The second half gets more into a murder mystery.
5. The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman- The Museum of Extraordinary Things is not a museum at all. It’s a Coney Island freak show in 1911. Coralie Sardie is the owner’s daughter. She’s an excellent swimmer who appears as a mermaid in the show. When she encounters photographer Eddie Cohen, a runaway from his community and his job, they fall in love. But when Eddie photographs the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, he gets pulled into the mystery behind a girl’s disappearance.
6. Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz– Slim McKenzie has premonitions. He can also see what he calls “goblins” who hate and inflict suffering on humanity. When he kills one of these goblins, he runs away to join a travelling carnival. Where he discovers that goblins abound. Initially, I thought that the “goblins” were a metaphor for bad people. I thought Slim’s ability to see them was an ability to see through the civil façade that these people present. Then I realized they were actually demonic creatures, but then the explanation of their existence veers more into realm of sci-fi.
7. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen– Jacob is a veterinary student who is orphaned and penniless. When he crosses paths with the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, he is hired care for the animals. He meets the beautiful Mariana, a beautiful horseback rider married to August, an abusive animal trainer. He also meets Rosie, the “untrainable” elephant. I had my issues with this book, but the circus setting and lure is the best part.
8. Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter– Sophie Fevvers is an aerialist, and the start of Colonel Kearney’s circus. She also claims to be part swan. Journalist Jack Walser is intrigued by her story and joins the circus on its European tour to find out the truth about her, And he falls in love with Sophie (of course!)
9. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury- I think of this as coming of age meets horror/dark fantasy. When Cooger & Dark’s Pandemonium Shadow Show comes to Greentown, Illinois in time for Halloween, and Jim Nightshade and Will Halloway are a bit enthralled by the mirror maze and carousel that can make someone grow older or younger depending on if they ride it forwards or backwards. But an something sinister and evil is using the carnival as a way to harvest souls. Jim and Will, along with Will’s father, Charles, have to learn some important lessons to fight the evil force which has invaded their home.
10. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton– When you think about it, Jurassic Park is really an amusement park gone horribly wrong. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past 30 years or so, you’re probably at least semi-aware that it’s about a rich man who harnesses technology for recovering and cloning dinosaur DNA. He sets up a theme park where people can see the dinosaurs up close. But after a series of incidents prior to the opening, a team of experts come to evaluate the safety of the park. But it soon becomes clear that the people who made the park overestimated their control over mother nature.
I decided to tweak this one a bit. I will accept these books as gifts from anyone. I’m not limiting it to Santa (*hint* *hint*)
Elijah’s Mermaid by Essie Fox – This is a recent addition to my TBR, after reading about it in another top ten list: Top 10 Books About Mermaids in the Guardian. It sounds just right for me though. A gothic mystery about mermaids? A Victorian set historical novel? Yes please! The writer of the list, Monique Roffey, says that Fox writes like “the like the lovechild of Sarah Waters and Angela Carter.” Two authors I greatly admire. If I wasn’t sold before, I am now!
2. The Lost Queen by Signe Pike- This is another recent addition but I’ve heard really wonderful things about it. I also seen a lot of comparisons to a lot of popular novels from Outlander to Wolf Hall to Clan of the Cave Bear, to The Mists of Avalon, and back again. I think that sometimes comp titles can be helpful in letting readers know they’re in for a certain kind of experience (sort of a “If you didn’t like x, you probably won’t like y” kind of thing) but often they just set readers expectations in one direction, only to discover that the book goes in a different direction altogether. So I’m trying to take from those comparisons that it will be historical fiction, it’s probably on the longish side, and there will be some connections to fantasy/magic/paranormal. Actually the inclusion of Camelot and The Mists of Avalon in the (many) comp titles, and the fact that the synopsis says they the character is Merlin’s twin sister, so I think it’ll include some Arthurian elements as well.
3. Where the Light Enters by Sara Donati- I enjoyed Donati’s Wilderness series, and I liked the first in her Waverly Place series. called The Gilded Hour, even more (there’s a small link between both series). So naturally when books 2 comes out, I want it! Donati tied up some storylines at the end of The Gilded Hour, but she also left some wide open and a big question in readers minds! I want to see things resolved! Of course, that would probably open up a million new questions!
4. Readings: Seventeen Writers Revisit the Books They Love by Anne Fadiman- I love the idea of this and I’m curious about how and why these writers decided what to reread. I’m totally conflicted about rereadings: there’s a lot I want to reread, because I suspect I’ll read it differently now. But I also don’t want to ruin any memories of books that might not live up to them. Plus can I justify rereading when there are so many books out there I haven’t read? I have no answers to these questions, but I’m curious how these writers answer them. Plus, I always love a good book about books!
5. Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman– I’m sure I’ve mentioned this book on this blog before, but that’s because I really want to read it! I love Practical Magic and Rules of Magic, and I generally like Alice Hoffman as a writer, so why wouldn’t I want the prequel? Hopefully I’ll get it soon so I can stop blogging about it and start reading it!
6. A Wild Winter Swan by Gregory Maguire– I’m actually iffy on Maguire’s work. I didn’t care for Wicked, so I never bothered with the sequels. I did enjoy Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, Mirror, Mirror and Hiddensee. So I really don’t know what to expect from this! But I want to read it because a) fairy tale retelling b) The Wild Swans is a favorite of mine and c) it’s set in NYC. So it has quite a bit in it’s favor already, as far as I’m concerned.
7. Fallen Angel by Kim Wilkins– This was recommended a while back in a tweet from Australian author Kate Forsyth (can’t find the tweet now). It’s also released under the title Angel of Ruin. However it has not been released in the US. Not to worry though, I’ve got my Aussie friend on the lookout for it! Hopefully when I finally get to read it, it’ll be worth all the effort!
8. The Tiger Catcher by Paullina Simons– About a year ago I won a goodreads giveaway (that I have no memory of entering!) for the sequel to this book. But based on what I’ve read about it, it’s the kind of thing that should be read in order. This is the first book in the trilogy. The second has been sitting on my shelf for a while, waiting for me. I do hope that I actually want to read the second after reading this one!
December 15: Books On My Winter 2020-2021 TBR (or summer if you live in the southern hemisphere)
But I thought that since I’ve done so many TBRs, I’d go through them and comment on what I’ve actually read.
Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey– This is one I readalong and I’m glad I did read it that way, because I don’t know if I’d have made it through if I didn’t have that holding me accountable! I was very unsure of how to rate this (I eventually gave it 3/5 stars on goodreads) because, while I can see what others enjoy it and it had qualities I enjoyed, I don’t think it’s for me. (Mentioned in: TBR Procrastination)
2. The Chelsea Girls by Fiona Davis– This was another 3 star read, but that was more or less in line with my expectations. I love historical fiction set in NYC, and the period stuff was great, but I found it lacking in terms of plot and character. (From: Upcoming releases for the 2nd half of 2019)
5. Autumn by Ali Smith- It’s hard to explain precisely why someone should read Ali Smith’s Seasonal Quartet, but they should! Each book is a stand alone but connections emerge if you read them all . It’s very alert to where the world is right now. (From: Fall TBR 2017)
6. The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell– This is definitely a good Halloween read. Not everyone in my book club enjoyed it as much as I did though. So take my recommendation with a grain of salt, I suppose! (From: Fall TBR 2017)
9. Idaho by Emily Ruskovitch– I remember that I loved this book but on amazon and goodreads there was a very so-so reaction amongst other readers. It was ambiguous, which I liked, but I guess not everyone did. (From: Winter TBR: 2017)
10. The Bear and the Nightengale by Katherine Arden– This is one of the rare cases where I liked a books sequels better than the book itself. Not that it was a bad book by any means! It was very good! I just felt like the story opened up a little more in the second and third novels. (From: Winter TBR 2017)
4. Majesty by Katharine McGee-American Royals was a total guilty pleasure, and it turned out to be just what I needed when I read it. Hopefully the sequel will be the same.
5. Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow– I love the connection between magic/witchcraft and women’s suffrage. Perfect for an election year, when it’s more important than ever that we all vote!
7. Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade– I love the idea of this. An actor, unhappy with how his character has been written, takes refuge in the word of fan fiction. When he agrees to a publicity date with a fan, he realizes that she’s also his fandom friend in fanfic world. I think that this draws parallels between the love an artist has for his/her work and the love a fan has for something. I’m interested to see how it plays out.
8. Mad & Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency by Bea Koch– I love the idea of delving into the women of this period who are often left out of regency novels, and even much of written history. Don’t get me wrong, I love Jane Austen, but the regency wasn’t all about white women! This books looks at women of color and LGBTQ women, who have been too often overlooked by history.
9. Before She Was Helen by Caroline B. Cooney– I loved Cooney’s YA novels when I was younger, so I was excited to see that she had a new book for adult readers out soon. I also like that this book focuses on a protagonist in her 70’s. So many books focus on 25-35 year olds exclusively!
10. A Wild Winter Swan by Gregory Maguire– I’ve had mixed success with Maguire as an author, but I’m eager to see what he does with one of my favorite fairy tales, The Wild Swans set in 1960s NYC.
1.Majesty: American Royals II by Katharine McGee: September 1, 2020. I just finished American Royals. It was a soap opera that imagined an America if George Washington had been king instead of president, and his descendants had inherited the throne. It was totally trashy but sort of the mindless thing I needed at the moment. This is the sequel. I’m sure in the coming months there will be a time that I need another mindless, trashy soap opera.
6.The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow: October 13, 2020: I’ve actually never read anything by this author but the premise of this really intrigues me, so I’ll give it a try.
8. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig– This is just another book where I really like the premise: a book for the life you lived and one for the life you could have lived.
January 22: Books I Meant to Read In 2018 but Didn’t Get To
So I decided to do something a bit different. Since I’ve been kind of stressed lately I’m sharing some of my favorite comfort reads. These are great for when you need cheering up.
This is a rare case where I prefer a film adaptation to its literary source because the film developed some things that the book didn’t. But that also makes the film a bit heavier. The book its lighter than air, which is why its a great cure for a bad moon.
From a literary point of view, Pride and Prejudice is obviously far superior, but from a “happy” perspective the modern craziness of this appeals to me. I recognize Bridget’s overwhelming life with family, job, friends, dating etc, and while Bridget is too over the top to be realistic, that recognizability helps me to relate a bit.
I prefer Dodie Smith’s I Capture the Castle, but I don’t consider it a “happy” book in the same way, because a few parts make me sad. This one is… sillier. But ultimately it’s about resilience. When a wealthy-ish man must flee the country for legal reasons his four kids must figure out how to exist in the world without Daddy’s money. The things they come up with aren’t always moral, are sometimes shocking, but usually goodhearted.
This spoof of gothic, melodramatic novels always makes me smile. I love Flora Poste, the Londonite who comes to Cold Comfort Farm and tries to fix the lives of her relatives who live there from her Uncle Amos who preaches fire and brimstone; to her cousin Seth who loves movies, but does nothing around the farm but impregnate the the serving girl; to Aunt Ada Doom who hasn’t been quite right since she “saw something nasty in the woodshed…”
Any Jane Austen has a certain comfort factor. What I love about Emma though is that it’s full of imperfect people with good intentions. People are silly, petty, frivolous, but no one is really bad.
Major Pettigrew is a cranky old man who falls in love with someone very unexpected in the comedy of manners. It fits in very well with my love of authors like Jane Austen, Barbara Pym, Stella Gibbons, etc.
I had trouble picking just one Ibbotson novel for this list, since most of her books are great comfort reading. I went with this one because it’s got a nice “slice of life” quality. It’s set around a square in Vienna in 1911. We get to know it, and the characters that live there, and they come to feel like friends.
This novel, about an orphan girl who makes a home for herself never fails to make me smile. It’s reminiscent of The Secret Garden, but less broody and gothic.
A lot of the time (especially when things are stressful) I feel like if I just had a bit of magic things would be easier. But this book is a nice reminder that that probably isn’t the case! Still the fact that it’s got a tight knit family at its core makes it a great comfort read.
1. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton– This has been on my TBR for a while. It’s about a young man who goes to New Zealand in 1866 to word in the goldfields, but he and his coworkers get caught up in a series of mysterious events. It definitely seems like the kind if thing to tackle over many a cold evening, curled up in my pajamas with a cup of tea!
2. The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin– I like the premise of this one: if you knew the date of your death, how would that inform the choices that you make in life? This book is four siblings who learn when they’ll die. It follows them as they try to live the rest of their lives with that information.
3. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman– This is a prequel to Practical Magic. Enough said! Actually I think of Practical Magic as a “fall” book but I can imagine reading this on a snowy day and getting a warm magical glow.
4. The Revolution of Marina M by Janet Fitch- This is another one I’ve really been looking forward too. I loved Janet Fitch’s White Oleander, and I’m very curious to see how she does with historical fiction. Plus, the Russian setting seems very wintery to me.
5. The Cage-maker by Nicole Seitz– This novel is about a 21st century blogger who inherits an exquisitely detailed birdcage from an unknown relative. In a hidden compartment in the birdcage she finds letters, journal entries, and newspaper articles that tell the story of her family. It’s a bit love story, a bit gothic thriller, a bit historical fiction, and it definitely seems like the perfect read for a cold night.
7. The Lonely City: Adventures in the Art of Being Alone by Olivia Laing- I think more attention is being paid to being alone lately, which is good. In some ways it’s a new thing. I don’t mean feeling alone. That’s existed for about as long as people have! But more people are opting not to marry and have families, or putting that off for the future. That leads to more young people physically being alone. This book looks at loneliness through the lives of iconic artists. It also addresses how technology factors into all this. Does it allow us to connect to the outside world, or trap us behind our screens, and keep us from interacting? To me winter has the potential to be a lonely season. You’re indoors keeping warm, rather than in public space. So this seems like a great read to keep me company.
8. Idaho by Emily Ruskovich– A friend of mine recommended this very highly. It’s told from multiple perspectives and is about a woman whose husband is losing his memory. As his mind fades, she becomes increasingly interested in finding out what happened to his first wife. In some ways I see winter as a season where things fade or are buried by snow. For that reasons it’s also a time when people don’t see things or only see parts of them. So it seems like this would be an appropriate book for a season where things are so uncertain.
9. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden– This is a retelling of Vasilisa the Wise, a Russian fairy tale. It’s set in Russia in the 1300s, which I definitely picture as a sort of deep winter world, where people huddle together to stay warm. I imagine them telling stories to pass the time by the fire as they do that (I’m sure the real fourteenth century Russia was a lot less pleasant than I’m imagining it!). This would be one of the stories that they tell. It’s the first in a trilogy called the “Wintersnight trilogy” so I think I’m on the right track here.
10. Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey– This series has been recommended to me over and over again. The initial trilogy (later books continue the story in another generation) is made up of three big books set in a vivid, complicated world. Perfect for a season when you’re trapped inside by a snow storm and want to escape somewhere else.
I decided to list books on my TBR with a sort of “autumnal” feeling to them.
1. Autumn by Ali Smith– This is the first in a quartet of of stand alone books that are described as “separate, yet interconnected and cyclical”. I’m going to try to read them during the seasons for which they are intended! I’m also intrigued because this book is said to be about the platonic relationship between a man and a woman at very different points in their lives. I think that’s a topic that’s often unexplored.
2. The Break by Marian Keyes– Mostly I just want to read this because I tend to like Marian Keyes. This book is about a man and woman in a generally happy marriage. So the woman is surprised when her husband announces that he wants to take a six month “break” and go to southeast Asia. Mid-life crisis? Perhaps. But a break isn’t a break up. But will these two reunite and be the same people left?
4. The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell– This is said to be a ghost story inspired by Susan Hill and Shirley Jackson. I love both of those authors and consider both to be very good fall reading. Hopefully this will be too!
5. The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman– I’m a fan of Hoffman in general, and her Practical Magic, is a seasonal fall fave. So naturally I’m excited to check out this prequel!
6. The Revolution of Marina M by Janet Fitch– I love Janet Fitch, and I love historical fiction. I don’t know how Fitch will do with the genre, but I’m excited to see. Even though this takes place in Russia (which I tend to associate with winter rather than fall, though I’m sure they have fall too…) it’s being released in early November.
8. Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Trump’s America by Samhita Mukhopadhyay and Kate Harding– By the time this book comes out it’ll be about a year since the 2016 election. I’m holding off on Hilary Clinton’s What Happened, because I think it’s still too raw to read the intelligent, reflective, well considered words of the woman who should have been president. But even though I have a self protective instinct to bury my head in the sand, we do live in the real world and we can’t hide from it all the time. This book looks at how women in such a divided country can unite and support one another. It features contributions from 23 leading feminist writers from all walks of life.
9. Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History by Tori Telfer– With a few notable exceptions, murder, especially serial murder, is generally considered a man’s game. We’re often fed a narrative that women are the victims of serial killers rather than being serial killers themselves. Statistics do show that most serial killers are male, but there are notable exceptions and they’re often relegated to easy explanations: hormones, witchcraft, femme fatale, black widow, a man made her do it…. It’s sort of interesting how even with something like murder, we try to place people into categories with which we’re comfortable.
10.Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdich- I consider Erdich to be another “autumnal author” and this is dystopia, which is a genre I associate with fall (death/endings I suppose). In this book, evolution has reversed itself, which is a concept that I find interesting.
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Fran Laniado- Author 