What Am I Reading Wednesday - February 27

What I Just Finished Reading

The Girl Who Drank the Moon – Kelly Barnhill
Very deserving of its Newbery.

Victorians Undone – Kathryn Hughes
A largely well-written and engrossing book about the social mores and assumptions Victorians built into their views of bodies; if learning why a Victorian would vehemently object to the fact that a female relative made cheese in her youth had appeared in print, this book is for you. Hughes occasionally fails to examine—or even realise—her own assumptions about bodies during the final two chapters on Fanny Cornforth and Fanny Adams, missteps that are all the more stark because she's generally such an astute commentator. That said, this book is well worth reading.


What I Am Currently Reading

Intermediate Korean – Andrew Sangpil Byon
Still trucking.

Japanese Grammar – Keiko Uesawa Chevray & Tomiko Kuwahira
I hope to finish the chapter on verbs this week.

Kabbalah – Tim Dedopulos
I have made it to the chapters on Kabbalah and modern English mysticism.

Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot – Lon Milo DuQuette
This book is (rightfully) regarded as one of the best volumes on the Thoth deck, which is saying something, because half the time all DuQuette does is describe what Harris painted on a specific card.

Fire Logic – Laurie J. Marks
I hope to wrap this one up this week.

Blackfish City – Sam Miller
Miller occasionally lays his social awareness on thick, and like many sci-fi or post-apocalyptic authors relies on a clumsy narrative crutch (podcast transcriptions, in this case) to lazily deliver chunks of exposition instead of weaving them into the narrative, but I’m enjoying the read all the same.

Intermediate Japanese – Takae Tsujioka & Shoko Hamano
Well-written thus far, but a bit of a jarring transition from the presentation I’ve grown used in Chevray and Kuwahira. Kudos, though, to Tsujioka and Hamano for discussing pitch alongside the relevant grammar.

What I'm Reading Next
Maybe Witchmark, the opening chapters of which left me cold but hey, I got it for free and I’m leaning toward something lightweight this week. I'll probably also renew my push into A Beast's Heart


これで以上です。