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What I Just Finished Reading
The Will and the Wilds – Charlie Holmberg
The first half of this book just did it for me—the setting, the worldbuilding, the conflict. At her best, Holmberg writes high fantasy about small people: stories in a LoTR setting that focus on the commoners and not the Fellowship. Things veered a bit off course in the novel’s latter half as Holmberg focused on what were to me the less interesting elements of story and setting, and rushed a romance through to its conclusion. Still, while it didn’t achieve the excellence of The Paper Magician or Followed By Frost, The Will and the Wilds was a solidly enjoyable book.
What I Am Currently Reading
Kushiel’s Dart – Jacqueline Carey
Friend after friend has gone gaga over this book since it published, and I’ve made periodic attempts to read it since. But female bondage and submission are Not My Thing and even at the time, the types and extent of the sexual content—the fact of which itself was a big selling point for many bookfriends—were not particularly revelatory to me after years in XF fandom.
Still, one of this year’s goals is to complete and remove perennial shelf sitters from my library, and so I forge on.
A Liberated Mind – Steven Hayes
Buddhism updated with modern visualization exercises.
The Starless Sea – Erin Morgenstern
Only one chapter this week. I may be running out of steam for the time being.
おまけのこ – 畠中 恵 (Omake no Ko – Hatakenaka Megumi)
In this week’s story, the byobunozoki makes a midnight visit to Ohina to try to retrieve a medicine box her daughter walked off with during their get-well visit to Ishitaro. Ohina, assuming she’s dreaming, strongarms the byobunozoki into assuming the role of therapist as a precondition for its return. Cue a lengthy (and for Japan, surprisingly progressive) conversation about women’s irrational dependence on cosmetics as a form of mental armor.
What I'm Reading Next
No new books this week; I’ll probably just keep on keeping on.
これで以上です。
The Will and the Wilds – Charlie Holmberg
The first half of this book just did it for me—the setting, the worldbuilding, the conflict. At her best, Holmberg writes high fantasy about small people: stories in a LoTR setting that focus on the commoners and not the Fellowship. Things veered a bit off course in the novel’s latter half as Holmberg focused on what were to me the less interesting elements of story and setting, and rushed a romance through to its conclusion. Still, while it didn’t achieve the excellence of The Paper Magician or Followed By Frost, The Will and the Wilds was a solidly enjoyable book.
What I Am Currently Reading
Kushiel’s Dart – Jacqueline Carey
Friend after friend has gone gaga over this book since it published, and I’ve made periodic attempts to read it since. But female bondage and submission are Not My Thing and even at the time, the types and extent of the sexual content—the fact of which itself was a big selling point for many bookfriends—were not particularly revelatory to me after years in XF fandom.
Still, one of this year’s goals is to complete and remove perennial shelf sitters from my library, and so I forge on.
A Liberated Mind – Steven Hayes
Buddhism updated with modern visualization exercises.
The Starless Sea – Erin Morgenstern
Only one chapter this week. I may be running out of steam for the time being.
おまけのこ – 畠中 恵 (Omake no Ko – Hatakenaka Megumi)
In this week’s story, the byobunozoki makes a midnight visit to Ohina to try to retrieve a medicine box her daughter walked off with during their get-well visit to Ishitaro. Ohina, assuming she’s dreaming, strongarms the byobunozoki into assuming the role of therapist as a precondition for its return. Cue a lengthy (and for Japan, surprisingly progressive) conversation about women’s irrational dependence on cosmetics as a form of mental armor.
What I'm Reading Next
No new books this week; I’ll probably just keep on keeping on.
これで以上です。
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