2019 Reading Goals Wrap Up

1. Read 45 Books - Progress: 38 / 45 +10
2. Finish Lord of the Rings Challenge: Finished last quarter
3. Back to the Classics - Progress: 8.5 / 9 +2.5
4. To Be Read Challenge - Progress: 3 / 3 +1
5. Newford Part 1 - Progress:  6 / 12 +2
6. Austen Challenge - Progress: 3 / 7 +2

Top 3 Books This Quarter

Austen, Austen - Mansfield Park
Pullman, Philip - The Secret Commonwealth
de Lint, Charles - Memory and Dream

Top 3 Books This Year

Austen, Austen - Mansfield Park
de Lint, Charles - Dreams Underfoot
Arden, Katherine - The Winter of the Witch

Thoughts: Interestingly enough, two of my favorite books of the year were read in the first quarter of the year and one in the last quarter of the year. If that doesn't define this year of reading, I don't know what does. I started the year off pretty strong with 14 books. That's also where most of my children's reading came in - more about that in further thoughts about my goals below. I ended the year.... feeling better about my reading again. It just took some time to get there. 

1. Read 45 Books (originally read 52 books).
    38. I was curious as to why it was so hard for me to get even close to my goal this year. So I looked back over my last two years of reading where I managed 60+ books. And I noticed the majority of my reading was children's books. In 2017, 43 out of my 69 books were children's novels coming out to 62%. Last year 27 out of my 60 books were children's novels which comes out to 45%. This year, only 9 out of my 36 books were children's novels which comes out to 25%. Interesting. Also interesting, when I started this blog, it was to read more adult literature, as I'd been stuck in children's for a long time due to my job. But this year, I found myself struggling with Readers Advisory at work, something I haven't struggled with since I started my job. While I haven't publicly made any goals to read more children's literature, I have made some career goals to read more children's literature with a more systematic plan in place to diversify my reading within.

2. Finish Lord of the Rings Challenge.
    This is the only challenge I completed as intended from the beginning of the year. It was an interesting idea, reading the books in chronological order. Ultimately, while the exercise was interesting, I didn't appreciate it all that much. The first and second ages of Middle Earth were interesting. So was the extra information we got about what was happening during the books. But I really didn't enjoy jumping back and forth in the middle of things. I also don't enjoy the books all that much. Which is funny because I'll probably go back and read them again in 10 years. My favorite part of reading the books this time around was seeing just how much the D&D races and classes were influenced by them.

3. Read 9 (originally 12) categories in Back to the Classics
   Read 8 books fully and consciously decided to not finish a ninth that I had planned to read due to not enjoying it. This was a weird list for me. I was very excited when the year started! However, I found myself not enjoying many of the books I was reading. They were slogs to get through, and because they were slogs, I wasn't interested in reading. So I wasn't reading. I'm not sure what happened or why I wasn't happy with my book choices. I'm not sure if the challenge is coming back next year, but if it is, I have a different idea for how I want to go about completing it.

4. Read 3 (originally 12) books off my To Be Read Pile
    I really wanted to read all 12 of my books. However, for some reason, I kept putting these novels off in favor of other challenges which ended up being very uninspiring and tedious. Of the three that I read, my favorite was Ombria in Shadow. Deep Work was illuminating, and I've been using the ideas I read in it to help me be more productive overall. Born With Teeth was fine, but took a lot longer to read than I would have expected. If this challenge runs next year, I plan on revamping my list and seriously participating over priority of other challenges. 

5. Read 12 books from de Lint's Newford Collection
    Managed 6 out of 12. As this was a lower priority challenge, I ended up pushing it aside for other books fairly often. However, now that I'm reading more of them, I'm sad I did so. I like de Lint's writing, and I've enjoyed reading his books in the last month or so of this year. I'm definitely going to make it more of a priority to read these books next year.

6. Read all 6 of Austen's novels AND her unfinished works, juvenilia, and novella.
    Much like the Newford challenge, this took a very low priority in my reading this year. I read three Austen novels. They were honestly some of the most enjoyable novels I read this year. Will definitely finish this challenge next year.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Title: Mansfield Park

Author: Jane Austen

Pages: 487

Finished: December 31, 2019

First Sentence: About thirty years ago, Miss Maria Ward of Huntingdon, with only seven thousand pounds, had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram, of Masfield Park, in the county of Northampton, and to be thereby raised to the rank of a baronet's lady, with all the comforts and consequences of an handsome house and large income.

Summary: At ten-years-old, Fanny Price is invited to live with her Aunt and Uncle, the Lord and Lady Bertram, as a way to relieve her poor mother of at least one mouth to feed. There, treated as better than a servant but not quite so well as one of her cousins, Fanny grows to become a very moral and upstanding, though shy and quiet, young woman, quite unlike her two female cousins Maria and Julia.

We spend most of our time following the events of a single year. A new family comes to the parsonage, and the siblings catch the eyes of many of the members of Mansfield. Edmund is taken with Mary Crawford, and both Julia and Maria find Henry Crawford to be the paragon of the male species. Of course, Maria is engaged to the foolish Mr. Rushworth. Tom meanwhile, causes all sorts of problems.

And through it all, Fanny stays true to her morals and convictions, seeing things as they are even while bearing the remonstrations of her aunt and uncle.

Thoughts: I typically rank this number 4 in my ranking of the completed Austen novels. I'm curious to see how it stands as I finish my Austen reread. In short, I really loved this one, more than I remember.

I really like Fanny Price. She's so steadfast. She's strong in her own way. I like that she knows her morals and sticks to them, even at the attacks of pretty much everyone in her family. She doesn't let admiration or anything else cloud her judgement. I found myself frustrated at times when she felt she couldn't say something because it'd ruin someone else's reputation, even though her own was being ruined at the time. But she really was strong in her convictions.

Our heroine, Edmund, is a little more difficult. Early on, he's easy to like. He takes Fanny under his wing, welcoming her to a family that seems disinclined to really get to know her. He befriends her, teaches her, and they have wonderful talks together. It's easy to see how she falls in love with him. But when he falls for Mary Crawford and finds every possible reason to excuse the lady's bad behavior, it becomes grating to listen to. Of course, it's completely realistic. I, myself, have defended a horrendous boyfriend. I find, however, that he doesn't seem to ever really be in love with Fanny until the very end.

The supporting cast is your standard Austen affair. Mrs. Norris and Lady Bertram in particular are the two personalities that seem to be written most for social commentary and humor. While it's hard to view Mrs. Norris as anything other than odious, there's some comfort in knowing that she's always going to act the same way. We all know those people or have someone in our family where they say something, and you know it's solely to make them look good even though they have no intention of following through. And if they are forced to follow through, they do so in such bad humor. Lady Bertram, the woman of clear learned helplessness. Mr. Rushworth, as well, lends to a ridiculousness that is up there with Mrs. Bennet and many Austen supporting casts.

The cousins and the Crawfords are the anthesis to Fanny. Where Fanny is steadfast in her morals and her sense of self, Maria, Julia, Tom, and then Mary and Henry Crawford, are all people of questionable character. In general, the Crawfords seem incredibly disingenous. Looking for a good time, and not caring about hurting people's feelings. I had a very hard time believeing Henry could ever be in love with Fanny. It seemed mainly a fancy brought on out of boredom and taken to an extreme before realizing that maybe it wasn't worth it. While I think Mary truly did love Edmund, her playfulness had a bite to it that wasn't so kind. Her prejudice without any sense of self-awareness or reflection was difficult to bear.

As for Maria and Julia... well, they are what they are. I suppose Maria really did feel trapped. She'd rather be free of her father's house and in a loveless marriage than stuck there til the possibility of something better came. But I was so angry at her for not taking him up on his offer to let her OUT of the engagement. It's one of those things where I have to remember just how little freedom women had back then.

Overall, I'm glad this is the book that finished out my year. Enjoyable, funny at times, and just a good read. This book counts for my Austen challenge.

In the New Year, I plan on watching some adaptations of both Emma and Mansfield Park. No reviews for them. Just something fun for me to watch. I'm also planning on finishing up the rest of Austen's novels and all her unfinished works. I've already posted my 2020 goals here, and by the end of today, a recap of 2019 will go up.

Firefly: Big Damn Hero by James Lovegrove

Title: Firefly: Big Damn Hero

Author: James Lovegrove

Pages: 334

Finished: December 21, 2019

First Sentence: So here's how it is...

Summary: The Serenity Crew take on a shipment of explosives. Before leaving port though, Mal's kidnapped by n'er-do-wells. Meanwhile the Alliance is closing in on the Tams and the cargo is getting more and more unstable.

Background:  Back in the early aughts, Joss Whedon had three shows on air: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly. Buffy and Angel were long lived. We watched Buffy as a family, and once it ended, we moved onto Angel. And when Firefly came out, we were hooked.

Of course, it was confusing. Fox aired it out of order. As kids, we assumed it was just the way the show was, though I remember my parents being a bit more frustrated than we were at continuity errors that weren't errors. Just out of order airing. More frustrating for us kids was the fact that baseball playoffs were also happening. Many times, we'd turn on the TV to watch Firefly only to be met with baseball. I've never been a sports fan, but I really hated baseball. Also, the show aired at 7PM on Friday nights. Not a huge issue. I had no life. And we often recorded shows anyway on a good old VHS player so we could watch later and fastforward through the commercials.

Even with all that, we loved Firefly, and were very disappointed when it seemingly disappeared. We bought the DVD set when it came out and watched it fairly regularly. I may say I'm a Trekkie, or a fan of Zelda or any other thing, but my true fandom identity is Browncoat. I've written Firefly fanfic. I've played Malcolm Reynolds in a few RPGs. I LOVE Firefly. And while I harbored secret hopes that it'd be back, (I remember dragging a boyfriend to Serenity when it came out. He wasn't as into it as I was.) I've long come to the conclusion that it's over. I don't want them playing around in the universe on screen anymore. I'm happy for new Star Trek, new Star Wars, new Zelda, and new Doctor Who. But I want Firefly to stay what it is.

But a book? Well, that could be fun. So when I saw this on a recently returned cart at work, I picked it up.

Thoughts: As I've said before, I LOVE Firefly. It's the shiniest show in the 'verse even if it only had half a season. My first child is named after one of the characters, and I have most of the other crewmember's names on a list for my second child.

The book... fell flat.

There was lots of good. Characterization was top notch. These are definitely the characters I know and love. I heard their voices in my head so clearly as I was reading. I saw their mannerisms. The dialogue was spot on. Definitely ten out of ten for characters. Even Badger was perfect.

The storyline was decent. I can definitely see this being filmed and made into an episode. There were no problems there.

The issue comes from translating a television show into a novel. Things that can be described with a sweep of a camera are now gigantic paragraphs of adjectives. And not well written, satirical paragraphs that read like poetry. Nope, this is straight up fanfiction writing. In fact, there are descriptions that feel like they're lifted from fanfiction I wrote. Not that I'm screaming plagiarism. There's only so many ways you can describe dusty, out of luck towns. It just read as very amateur.

One of the other issues in translating television to print is suddenly figuring out what characters are thinking. We can guess from a characters expressions and actions, maybe even their dialogue, what they're thinking. But in print, there's actual thought being conveyed. Sometimes I agreed with it, other times, not so much. Like I said, I have my own thoughts on how the characters act and what their motivations are. I have my own fanfiction.

And again, I don't necessarily think this is a bad novel. It just wasn't an episode of the show. And that's where my biggest hang up is. This is fanfiction published in novel format. Heck, I'll probably read the rest of the series even because it's more Firefly. It's easy and quick. And it definitely makes me want to watch the series again.

You can't take the sky from me. 

2020 Goals/Challenges

I thought long and hard before committing to any challenges this year. The reason for that is that I'm pregnant with my second child! It's due in May. But with that being said, I have no idea just how things are going to go between time and brain power. I considered not joining any and just being directionless, but then decided I probably wouldn't end up reading at all if I did that. So I've signed up for a few and decided to continue my others. However, I'm not going to feel bad if pregnancy/new mom brain takes me completely off track. As long as I'm reading, I consider that a win.

1. Beat the Backlist / Virtual Mount To Be Read
   Last year, I participated in the TBR challenge from Roofbeam Reader. I did poorly in it, and it's not coming back this year. So I've found some others. Both Beat the Backlist and Virtual Mount To Be Read seem like they'll fit the bill. If you scroll down, you'll see twelve books I'm going to use to start, BUT books listed in the other challenges will count as they've been part of my Backlist / Mount To Be Read. However, the other challenges are a little more specific in their rules. For Beat the Backlist, I'm on Team Borrowers. For Virtual Mount TBR I'm starting at the Mount Crumpit level which is 24 books.

2. Read "half the books" remaining on my Classics Club list

    Half is in quotes because a number of the books on my list are SUPER long. So I added together the page lengths of the books and divided it in half. In 2020, I hope to read approximately 3000 pages from my list which comes out to either three chunky books or basically all the other ones. Hopefully I can fit these into some Back to the Classics Categories as well.

3. Complete my Newford Collection Challenge
    This feels doable. I enjoy reading De Lint so I don't think this will be too difficult at all. Of course, since this is lower down on my priority list, and there are a lot of books to read, there's a fair chance that I won't get through this one. But that's okay.

4. Complete my Austen Challenge

    Last year I decided to read all of Austen's writings including novels, novellas, unfinished works, and juvenilia. Midway through the year, I added a modern book that someone had written a favorable review for. And then I dropped this challenge to low priority. It's low priority this year too, but I would like to finish it if possible.

5. Reading Classic Books
    It seemed as though Back to the Classics was not coming back this year, so I searched and found a similar challenge that I signed up for called Reading Classic Books. While I have gone ahead and fit some books I plan on reading this year into the categories, this is by no means a final list.

6. Library Love Challenge - January
    Natural challenge for me to join as 99% of the books I read come from the library. In fact, looking at the books listed below, at least 40 of them will be checked out from the library.

7. Back to the Classics
    Looks like it did come back. Categories listed below. My aim is to fit six of my books this year into the categories. I have an idea of what will go where... but of course, that depends on what I actually read! Books listed are completely subject to change.

Beat the Backlist / Virtual Mount To Be Read:

1. Nights At the Circus - Angela Carter 
2. Endless Night by Agatha Christie 
3. Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow 
4. The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang
5. Water for Elephants - Sarah Gruen
6. Practical Magic - Alice Hoffman
7. The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey 
8. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
9. Heart's Blood by Juliet Marilier
10. Uprooted by Naomi Novik
11. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street - Natasha Pulley
12. The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer

Remaining Books on Classics Club List:

1. Atwood, Margaret - The Handmaid's Tale
2. Austen, Jane - Sanditon and Other Tales
3. Barrie, J.M. - Peter Pan
4. Byatt, A.S. - Possession
5. Cervantes, Miguel de - Don Quixote
6. Dickens, Charles - Martin Chuzzlewit
7. Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan - A Study in Scarlet
8. Forster, E.M. - A Room with a View
9. Shakespeare, William - Twelfth Night 
10. Shakespeare, William - A Winter's Tale (folger shakespeare library ILL)
11. Steinbeck, John - East of Eden
12. Thackeray, William Makepeace - Vanity Fair
13. Tolstoy, Leo - Anna Karenina
14. Wilde, Oscar - The Picture of Dorian Grey

Remaining Books in Newford Collection:

1. Trader (novel)
2. Someplace to Be Flying (novel)
3. Moonlight and Vines (collection)
4. Forests of the Heart (novel)
5. The Onion Girl (novel)
6. Tapping the Dream Tree (collection)
7. Spirits in the Wires (novel)
8. Medicine Road (novella)
9. The Blue Girl (YA)
10. Widdershins (novel)
11. Make a Joyful Noise (YA) (available in Crow Girls)
12. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest
13. The Hour Before Dawn (IN Muse and Reverie)
14. Old Man Crow (In The Very Best of Charles de Lint)
15. Little Grrl Lost (Find somewhere (buy?))
16. Promises to Keep
17. Dingo
18. Muse and Reverie (collection)

Austen Challenge

1. Northanger Abbey
2. Persuasion
3. Pride and Prejudice
4. Letters to Pemberley
5. Sanditon and other Stories

Reading Classic Books

1. Over 500 pages - Anna Karenina
2. POC author or main character ???
3. Set in country other than where I live - Peter Pan OR A Study in Scarlet
4. Translation - Don Quixote
5. New to you author - A Room With a View
6. Poetry ???
7. 1800-1860 - Persuasion
8. LGBT author or main character: Picture of Dorian Gray
9. Woman Author - Pride and Prejudice
10. Novella - Lady Susan
11. Nonfiction ???
12. Banned or censored: Twelfth Night

Back to the Classics

1. 19th Century Classic. - Martin Chuzzlewit
2. 20th Century Classic. - A Room With a View
3. Classic by a Woman Author. - Pride and Prejudice
4. Classic in Translation. - Don Quixote
5. Classic by a Person of Color. ???
6. A Genre Classic. - Peter Pan OR A Study in Scarlet
7. Classic with a Person's Name in the Title. - Picture of Dorian Gray
8. Classic with a Place in the Title. - Northanger Abbey
9. Classic with Nature in the Title. - A Winter's Tale
10. Classic About a Family - Anna Karenina
11. Abandoned Classic - East of Eden
12. Classic Adaptation. - Twelfth Night

Back to the Classics 2019 Wrap Up

Total Number of entries: 1 (started a 9th to make 2, but made the decision to not finish it) 

Contact: notrosesshadow [at] gmail [dot] com

19th Century Classic: Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens (1897) 

FINISHED 6/9/19 - Pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this. Neat bit of history too.

Classic by a Female Author: Daniel Deronda by George Eliot (1876) 

FINISHED 10/29/19 - Wanted to like this much more than I did. Beginning and end were fine, but bogged down in the middle.

Classic in Translation: The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi (1883) 

FINISHED 2/1/19 - rather simplistic, ridiculous, and not very fun to read. Clearly a children's book.

Classic Comedy: Emma by Jane Austen (1815) 

FINISHED 11/14/19 - While not my favorite Austen, one of my favorite books read for this challenge. I love Austen so much.

Classic Tragedy: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (1847) 

FINISHED 5/20/19 - I hate this book. I hate this book more than any other book I've ever read. 

Classic Novella: Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (1958) 

FINISHED 6/21/19 - As underwhelmed with the book as I was with the movie.

Classic From the Americas: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (1967) 

FINISHED 6/18/19 - most surreal reading experience I've had in a while. Loved the book even as I disliked most of the characters and story...

Classic From a Place You've Lived: Years of Grace by Margaret Ayer Barnes 

FINISHED 3/17/19. Better than Augie March, though the bits I enjoyed most were the actual discussions of Chicago. 

20th Century Classic: The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsanay (1925)
GAVE UP 12/16/10 - Underwhelming and uninspiring. Hard to focus on.

The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany

Title: The King of Elfland's Daughter

Author: Lord Dunsany

Pages: 240

Finished: DNF December 16, 2019

First Sentence: In their ruddy jackets of leather that reached to their knees the men of Erl appeared before their lord, the stately white-haired man in his long red room.

Summary: The Parliament of Erl decide they wish to be ruled by a fairy ruler rather than a human one. So the King sends his son to steal the daughter of the Elf King and wed her so a human son will be Otherworldly.

Thoughts: I'm returning this book unfinished. Mainly, I'm finding myself watching more TV than reading, which, as I've learned this past year, means I'm not interested in the book I'm reading. Instead of forcing my way through it, I'm going to keep going.

I wanted to like this book. Humans marrying members of Faerie are some of my favorite stories. I was thrilled. And then Neil Gaiman wrote a lovely introduction that had me even more excited about the book.

It came down to language, I think. I was interested in the story, but found parsing out the sentences wearying. Often I'd find myself two pages in with no idea what had happened, then having to go back to read again, closer. It took a long time to make it to page 73, and I just wasn't interested in continuing the slog.

The other thing I find interesting is how the story has moved along so far. In 73 pages, the prince in the land has stolen the Elf Princess away and married her, had a kid with her, and then got mad at her for not following his religion, so she's gone back to Elfland. I'm not quite sure what else is going to happen in the other 160 pages. Likely a hunt for her. But again, I'm not interested in finding out. The book reads like a history book with more flowy language.

In short, I'm disappointed. Perhaps this is a result of being pregnant and I'll do better if I try again in two years. Or perhaps this just isn't the book for me.

Read for Back to the Classics 20th Century but not finished.

Classic Club Spin #22

Edited to announce, the lucky number is #13. On my list, it's The Picture of Dorian Grey - one I was really looking forward to reading.

My actual list is 14 books long. However, I'm not really thrilled with the idea of starting my year with a doorstop of a book. I did that last year and it kickstarted a rough year of reading for me. On top of it, I'm pregnant, so I don't always have the greatest focus.

This list is comprised of all the books I'd be willing to read doubled which came out to 8 titles doubled for 16 spots. I added four blanks and randomized the whole thing. Anywhere there was a blank spot is now a free choice. Not really dreading anything, though I'll admit I'm most interested in Study in Scarlet, Room With a View, or The Picture of Dorian Grey. Will update post with the book chosen in the spin.

1. Study in Scarlet
2. Twelfth Night
3. Peter Pan
4. Handmaid's Tale
5. Free Choice
6. Sanditon and Other Tales
7. Free Choice
8. Free Choice
9. Winter's Tale
10. Room with a View
11. Winter's Tale
12. Room with a View
13. Picture of Dorian Grey
14. Peter Pan
15. Twelfth Night
16. Free Choice
17. Picture of Dorian
18. Handmaid's Tale
19. Sanditon and Other Tales
20. Study in Scarlet

The Ivory and the Horn by Charles de Lint

Title: The Ivory and the Horn

Author: Charles de Lint

Pages: 318

Finished: December 10, 2019

Summary: A collection of short stories set in de Lint's fictional town of Newford. Later in chronology than Dreams Underfoot.

Thoughts: I'll start with thoughts of the collection of a whole followed by thoughts on the individual stories for those who wish to read a wall of text.

There was a significant increase in continuity, call backs, and further exploration of familiar characters in this collection than any other de Lint I've read so far. Six of the fourteen stories specifically continued or related to stories from the first collection, Dreams Underfoot. Two others were vaguely connected to each other. It was neat seeing the connections and finding familiar characters. For two books that were read quite far apart from each other, I was surprised at how much I remembered of the previous iterations with these characters.

One thing that shook me, for some reason, I always though of Newford on the west side of the continent. In at least two stories, it was made clear the city is on the east side.

The stories I liked, I really really liked. The ones I didn't... yeah. While I appreciate that de Lint explores the dark side of humanity, I don't particularly enjoy reading it. Particularly now that I'm pregnant. I like things lighter. So, as with any collection, there are stories that really stick out as some of my favorites, and others that I just read and want them to be over.

Anyway, onto my thoughts on individual stories.

Waifs and Strays - When I started reading this, I recognized the characters, which meant I had to go digging through Dreams Underfoot. Sure enough, there they were. Obviously, getting back on one's feet is not so easy as we see in this continuation.
Mr. Truepenny's Book Emporium and Gallery - One of my most favorite stories in Dreams Underfoot is the story "The Moon is Drowning While I Sleep." In "Mr. Truepenny," we meet Sophie again. Now she's discussing a man she seems to have brought into being by dreaming him. Perhaps due to her fairy blood that she's not sure she believes she has. I like that she still has Jeck in her life, even if it is in the world of sleep. Wherever that is. Also, this feels similar to the creatures in Memory and Dream who come across when an artist paints them into being.
The Forest is Crying - First story not to harken back to characters from Dreams Underfoot. In fact, I'm fairly certain all the characters in it are new. Interesting use of time travel or spirit walking. I'm not sure which. I like when things come out all right in the end.
The Wishing Well - This is one of the stories that I was done with. As someone who has been through dark times, not like this but my own version, and has come out the other side with the help of therapy, I find it difficult to be around people who aren't ready to accept help yet even though they so clearly need it. I'm not a good person to help. And as I read this one, I found myself continually thinking, "You need therapy. Now. Please go get help." This is also the longest story.
Dead Man's Shoes - So totally de Lint. Creepy exactly what I expect out of him.
Bird Bones and Wood Ash - I feel like we're getting to the dark point in the book. Story after story is dealing with really tough and depressing topics. Which is part of what makes de Lint so effective. We meet Dennison from earlier again in this story.
A Tempest in Her Eyes - I like this one. Call back to Dreams Underfoot and just a good, old fashioned fairy encounter.
Saxophone Joe and the Woman in Black - Hm.... short and to the point. But not my favorite ultimately. Callback to a character from one of his darker books I read earlier this year.
The Bone Woman - This feels very de Lint-y. I suppose all his stuff is de Lint-y considering her wrote it, but this one has the right ratio of Otherwordly, real, and emotion.
Pal o' Mine - ... Another sad one. And one of those ones where you feel like there's nothing you can do because you can't help someone who doesn't want to help themselves, even when they're crying out for help. Just super tough.
When Desert Spirits Crowd the Night - Another Sophie story! I love Sophie stories and her dream worlds! I just hope she learns to accept them.
Dream Harder, Dream True - Sophie again! But not... this one is how Sophie's parents met. And for as short as it is, it's lovely.
The Pochade Box - Ooooo, connections and continuations. Jilly meets Tommy and Maisie from our very first story of the novel. Sometimes I feel Jilly is almost too good to be true. How can she be so wise? How can she know so many people? But when I read stories where she's more of the center, I realize I don't care. I just love her. Also, I want to read more with these people. I need Maisie closure.
Coyote Stories - This one went above me. I'm not entirely sure if Albert and Coyote were the same person or... what. Perhaps I'll read it again and come back to edit this. Or maybe just sitting with it will bring the knowledge I'm looking for.
The Forever Trees - An interesting study of friendship and what happens when you break it with a hint of Otherwordly in the Hundred Acre Woods. Also a sad ending to to set of stories.

Ombria in Shadow by Patricia McKillip

Title: Ombria in Shadow

Author: Patricia McKillip

Pages: 298

Finished: December 2, 2019

First Sentence: While the ruler of the ancient city of Ombria lay dying, his mistress, frozen out of the room by the black stare of Domina Pearl, drifted like a bird on a wave until she bumped through Kyel Greve's unguarded door to his bed, where he was playing with his puppets.

Summary: Trying to summarize this is difficult. It's a book of political intrigue as a ruler dies and people clamor to figure out who has the crown next. It's a book of fantasy as the regent, an evil woman with possible sorcery spies on everyone and ensorcels. Underneath the city is a whole other city where spirits and shadows live. And through it all is the threat of the city changing. Of the Undercity becoming the Upper City and vice versa.

Thoughts: Reading an McKillip novel is like floating on a river. You have to let the experience take you, otherwise you're going to flounder. Her writing is lyrical and poetic. Often, I really enjoy her novels, but I have to admit once I'm done, I forget them. It's like I got to experience Faery, but then it fades. Does that make sense?

Anyway, this was interesting timing. I read this after finishing a DeLint novel and before starting a collection of DeLint short stories. I feel like I keep mixing the two up. Oh, the styles of the two writers are completely different. But the way the Shadow City interacts with Ombria feels very similar to how Otherworldy Beings interact with Newford. Having just finished DeLints Memory and Dream where paints step out of their painting and then to encounter something similar happening in this book was an odd moment of dejà vu.

That's not to say I didn't like it. I really enjoyed the journey with this one. It's been a while since I really found myself wanting to read. This book pulled me back to reading. I found myself bringing it with me everywhere so I could snatch a paragraph or two whenever there was time.

Read for the TBR challenge. 

Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint

Title: Memory and Dream

Author: Charles de Lint

Pages: 400

Finished: November 24, 2019

First Sentence: Katharine Mully had been dead for five years and tow months, the morning Isabelle received the letter from her.

Summary: A book of artists, magic, memory, and abuse. Isabelle has turned her back on her previous work, her abusive mentor, and most of her friends. But when a letter from her now dead friend shows up right around the same time that that same friend's books are about to be republished, Isabelle's past comes roaring back.

Thoughts: Whew. This is the first "normal" de Lint I've read in a while. His normal stuff is lighter than the books he wrote under his pseudonym, but they're by no means light.

The story is engaging and the characters really multifaceted. While you get the idea that the bad guy is the bad guy, the amount of mind games he plays and the way he plays them really makes the reader second guess what's happening. In fact, there was definitely a point where I didn't feel I could really trust anyone. Of course things come around again.

The non-linear storytelling is interesting too. The story starts in 1992. The reader knows little other than Isabelle has received a letter from her friend Katharine, something bizarre considering Katharine died five years ago. The reader also knows Isabelle's painting style has taking a 180 degree turn and she has reservations about painting in her old style. Then the story shifts back to 1973 and we start to see Isabelle's beginnings with her mentor, the controlling and abusive Rushkin. From the beginning, we hear about various events from Isabelle's past in the "present day" section which are then slowly revealed in the past section.

Isabelle, herself, is an odd person. Throughout the novel, things happen, and it becomes clear that she may or may not be telling the full truth about stuff. She may be rewriting history. Whether she truly believes it, or not, it in question through much the story.

The book was published in 1993. It always amazes me just how sensitive and completely properly de Lint manages to peg things like abuse and sexual assault. He writes the characters so convincingly. He writes the feelings so convincingly. There's a point where a girl is dealing with the after effects of reporting a rape, and it could have been written today.

We met quite a few of our favorites again though. Jilly plays a role, which makes sense considering this is a book about artists. The Riddell brothers have a passing role. I really like how characters keep showing up in Newford. And the geography. It's fun to hear about the same streets or restaurants. The world building is fun. Also, he namedropped Jane Yolen. It is interesting to me, too, how he usually has a character that in some way seems to be an extension of himself. Very meta.

I did find one thing about the writing to be... I wouldn't say annoying... but it pulled me out of the story. Let me just quote a bit to show you what I mean. To give some context, Izzy's mentor hit her in a fit of rage, but then they talked about it. Then the following happened:

She was in such good spirits as she took the bus back to the university for an afternoon class that she completely forgot about what had happened in the studio earlier that day. Until the next time he hit her.

de Lint used this technique a lot in this book. A foreshadowing of types, but it felt clumsy. Or something. Like I said, it took me out of the experience the few times I was reading. 

I enjoyed reading this though. Yes, there was darkness, but in general, things turn out okay in de Lint novels. I like how he sets up the fantasy in a real world setting. In fact, because the rest of the world is so real, it makes it all the more believable. While Dreams Underfoot is still my favorite so far, this was quite a good addition to the world of Newford.

Read for my Newford challenge.

Emma by Jane Austen

Title: Emma

Author: Jane Austen

Pages: 495

Finished: November 14, 2019

First Sentence: Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.

Summary: It's a Jane Austen story. Social graces, foibles, happy ever afters. The specific story for this one includes Emma, the rather spoiled daughter of the hypochondriac Mr. Woodhouse. She has a very high opinion of herself and will happily stick her nose in other people's business. And in the end, she happily finds herself a husband.

Thoughts: This is my least favorite of Austen's completed novels, and even with that distinction, it's still one of the better books I've read this year. The social commentary is on point as ever. So many of the characters are utterly ridiculous. Miss Bates and her constant chatter, which Austen writes out quite will to show the point. Mrs. Elton and her hypocrisy. Mr. Woodhouse who is endearing even in his silliness simply because of Emma's devotion to him.

This is one of those books where iI feel the side characters are better than the main. I don't like Emma. I just... don't. She's very reminiscent of a friend I had in high school. Unlike the other main characters in Austen novels, she's incredibly selfish with little to recommend her. Of course she comes 'round right in the end, and I suppose her devotion to her father is endearing, but how little regard she shows to others is frustrating. On the other hand, it perhaps makes her one of the most believable Austen heroines around. She's 21 after all. Hasn't had full brain development yet.

I did feel like I caught way more subtext this time around. Of course, I do know the story, so it was much easier to catch. I really wish I could read this again for the first time NOW rather than when I was a teenager. I think I'd catch so much more!

One of my favorite books this year so far. Read for Classics Club and Austen Challenges even though I've pretty much given up.

Daniel Deronda by George Elliot

Title: Daniel Deronda

Author: George Eliot

Pages: 800

Finished: October 29, 2019

First Sentence: Was she beautiful or not beautiful? and what was the secret of form or expression which gave the dynamic quality to her glance?

Summary: Two separate stories intertwine with each other through the book. We start with Gwendolen Harleth, a spoiled young women who's always had everything she wants. She flirts shamelessly, and doesn't seem to care how she hurts people. And then her family loses all their money and she's forced to accept a marriage proposal from the sleazy Henleigh Grandcourt. What follows is an unhappy marriage and a woman who clearly wants and NEEDS out.

At the same time, Daniel Deronda struggles with who he is. He suspects Sir Hugo is his father, though he isn't sure. One day, he saves a woman from committing suicide in the Thames. The young woman, Mirah, happens to be Jewish. As Deronda helps her find her brother, he starts learning things about himself, his past, and who his people are.

Thoughts: Like most Victorian literature, this is a book with a whole lot of pages to discuss few plot points.

Interestingly enough, when the book started, I was very much done with Gwendolen. I found her to be completely unlikeable and really didn't want to read anymore about her. Daniel's story was significantly more interesting. He also had a better temperament that made him more likeable. However, around book 4, the story line became bogged down. I found myself thinking, "Yes, we get it." more often than not.

The final two books sailed by pretty quickly though. I don't know if it's because the plotline picked up or because I realized I was close to done and just wanted to get there.

In general, I liked the bones of the story. The individual hooks caught me. It was interesting to read a Victorian novel viewing Jewish people in a sympathetic light. However, the wordiness without the Dickens sarcasm to temper them a bit made the book difficult for me to get through. Of course, I'll admit that could simply be due to basically my entire brain this year. I feel like most of my books have been duds.

This book counts as my Classic by a Female Author in the Back to the Classics Challenge AND it also knocks another book off my Classics Club list. 

The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman

Title: The Secret Commonwealth

Author: Philip Pullman

Pages: 633

Finished: October 24, 2019

First Sentence: Pantalaimon, the daemon of Lyra Belacqua, now called Lyra Silvertongue, lay along the windowsill of Lyra's little study-bedroom in St. Sophia's College in a state as far from thought as he could get. 

Summary: 20 years after the events of La Belle Sauvage, and 8 years after the events of The Amber Spyglass, we meed Lyra again. This time 20-years old. Things are not as good as one may have thought though. The Magisterium still has authority over everything, and now they want more. Policies are being put in place to make Lyra more accessible to those who want to hurt her. And oddly enough, rose plantations in the Far East are being attacked. On top of it, Lyra and her daemon, Pan, are quarreling. As things get more and more unstable, Pan leaves her, and it's up to Lyra to go find him, and figure out what Roses have to do with everything.

Thoughts: This is a complex book. Where as His Dark Materials was a bridge between Middle Grade and YA, The Book of Dust Trilogy is firmly YA. Politics play a much bigger part in this story. It's set so specifically in Lyra's world. And it just goes to show that, just because you stop one threat doesn't mean they're all gone.

I feel the need to start with the fact that now was not the right time for me to read this book. I really wanted to like it, and I think I would have if I had read it maybe three months earlier or ten months later than now. But being pregnant, it was just heavier than I find myself wanting to read at the moment. On top of it, there were things that mirrored what's going on in my world a little too closely that made it very uncomfortable. It wasn't an escape so much.

A few quotations:

"The other side's got an energy that our side en't got. Comes from their certainty about being right. If you got that certainty, you'll be willing to do anything to bring about the end you want. It's the oldest human problem, Lyra, an' it's the difference between good and evil. Evil can be unscrupulous, and good can't. Evil has nothing to stop it doing what it wants, while good has one hand tied behind its back. To do the things it needs to do to win, it'd have to become evil to do 'em." 

"Revealing the truth in the way I've described it would not work. There are too many habits, ways of thought, institutions, that are committed to the way thins are and always have been. The truth would be swept away at once. Instead, we should delicately and subtly underminde the idea that truth and facts are possible in teh first place. Once the people have become doubtful about the truth of anything, all kinds of things will be open to us."

Those two quotes were absolutely chilling. Here's the thing. As I am writing this review, Donald Trump is President of my country and there is a serious call for impeachment. And these two quotes just remind me of every bit of his presidency so far. Even if he's not smart enough to delicately and subtly change the idea that truth and facts are possible, those around him are. There was a whole thing about Alternative Facts at the beginning of his term. And that man is certainly bull-headed in his ideas that he is right. His side is right. And that there's absolutely no wrong way to go about it. Ugh. I feel gross just typing all this. Needless to say, the book was really close to home in a lot of ways, and I wasn't really up for that at the moment.

But let's get to the rest of the book, shall we?

One of the things that was rough for me, though I should have expected it considering, is that I wanted everything to be okay after the events of His Dark Materials. Lyra and Will allow the flow of Dust to keep going and learn how to close up the gates to other worlds. Except... and here's the thing I missed... it's great for the BIG PICTURE and does nothing to the nitty gritty of Lyra's world. the Magisterium still exists and still needs complete control over everything.

On top of it, there's the tension between Lyra and Pan. It was tough. Overall, I found myself wanted to shake Lyra and tell her to "just listen to what your other half is telling you!" For someone who was so sure of everything that happened, it was so hard to see her turn her back on it all for the "reason" of the philosophers she was reading.

Also, while I knew this was not the final book, I did find myself getting frustrated when nothing was answered by the end. It's an absolute doorstop of a book. Lots of ideas and issues were brought up. And there was always a TON of pages left. And then, all the sudden, the number of pages left weren't enough to tie-up the story. I get it. It suffers middle book syndrome. Still frustrating.

And all that makes it sound like I hated this book. I really didn't. I actually can't wait to read it again once I have some time away. And perhaps better headspace. Perhaps when the next one comes out, I should read it the way I read Harry Potter - reading all the ones beforehand. We'll see.

Not sure what I'm reading next or when another review will go up. I hope to get through at least four more books this year.

The Good News!! And Updates

Guys! Guys!! I'm pregnant! Due May Day. !!!!!!! 

Which is completely, totally, and amazingly awesome! I'm finally feeling human again after the first trimester. My 4-year-old is so excited to be a big sibling. Really it's great.

Except one tiny little thing... my focus is absolutely nil. I remember this with my first pregnancy. I ended up reading what I would call popcorn literature because it was about all I could focus on. (Seriously, I ended up reading all the Sookie Stackhouse books.) 

So looking at my goals and my reading challenges, I'm calling it quits. I want to read all these books, but now is not the time. Even the book I was super looking forward to reading is taking a long time to get through. 

If anyone has any recommendations for light reads, I'm all ears. 

The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell

Title: The Five Love Languages of Children

Author: Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell

Pages: 212

Finished: October 4, 2019

Summary: Gary Chapman, along with colleague Ross Campbell, outline the 5 Love Languages Chapman came up with and discuss how they exhibit in kids, how parents can use them to fill their kids' love tanks, and disucsses how this affects things such as anger, dicipline, etc.

Thoughts: This book... We'll start with the good. The idea of the five love languages is an attractive one. I can say right now, I feel way more loved when my husband sets up the coffee maker for me before he leaves for work, or when he decorates the house for a holiday than I do when he gives me hugs and kisses. Basically, I can go through the five languages of love and see how I prefer one to the other.

So with this book, the authors discuss how our children also tend to gravitate more towards one language than the other four, and if you "speak their language", you'll help fill their emotional love tank which will help them be more stable.

It sounds good. And the idea that unconditionally loving your child will help them be more regulated isn't a new one. I don't even have a lot of issues with the idea of categorizing different ways of expressing love. It's very helpful to see examples of the ways love can be expressed in ways that aren't useful for me personally, but could be for my child.

But I had some big issues with this book.

1) It's super religious. Like, instead of referencing any sort of studies that could potentially further their claims, the authors cite bible passages. Once the bible citations started, I noticed there was a definite more conservative Christian bent to the book. Wives were more likely to be home. Some discussions about kids that honestly didn't seem healthy even as the book is claiming to be about your child's emotional health. How teens having sex is a way of disobeying their parents and eing passive-aggressive. After doing some research, I realized Dr. Gary Chapman's doctorate is in philosophy. He's a marriage counselor, but none of his degrees are in counseling. He's also a pastor at a Baptist Church. Dr. Ross Campbell was harder to find information on, but he seems to be an actually psychiatrist. However, he's also SUPER religious and it really shows.

With decent critical thinking skills, it's possible to pull out decent information from the book, but the lack of studies and the constant leaning on the bible and other bits of Christianity made me question a lot about this book.

2) A lot of their stories about people discovering their kids' love languages sounded like things you'd read on r/thathappened. Yes, some of it was likely true, but they all felt embellished to be the best they possibly could. Perhaps I'm being cynical, but really, it was interesting.

Like any parenting book, there is some decent information in here. However, I don't know that I'd necessarily recommend it to someone unless I knew they had the critical reading skills to read it. The religion could be a huge turn off to non-believers, to people of other religions, and to Christians who just don't believe what the authors believe. I also think it really reads a little fear-mongery. I didn't get scared. Mostly I was able to look at my own behaviours towards my child and say, "Yeah, we can do better here." But I can see some... many parents could read this and go, "Yep. I'm the worst parent ever. I don't have time for any of this."

TL:DR Some good ideas buried under a lot of padding and religion meant to tug on heartstrings. 

2019 Goals Quarterly Check-in 3

1. Read 45 Books - Progress: 28 / 45 +8
2. Finish my Lord of the Rings in Chronological Order project - Progress: 100%
3. Back to the Classics - Progress: 6 / 9 +0
4. To Be Read Challenge - Progress: 2 / 3 +1
5. Newford Part 1 - Progress: 4 / 12 +1
6. Austen Challenge - Progress: 1 / 7 +0
7. Other Books Read:  2

Top 3 Books This Quarter

Newport, Cal - Deep Work

Tolkien, J. R. R. - The Fellowship of the Ring
Christie, Agatha - And Then There Were None

Top 3 Books This Year

Austen, Jane - Sense and Sensibility
de Lint, Charles - Dreams Underfoot
Arden, Katherine - The Winter of the Witch

This quarter was really uninspiring. Which is basically the theme of the year. However, I did finish one of my goals for the year. LotR is finished and I can wait another ten years before rereading them. The three books in my top three for the quarter were the only three I really enjoyed which is really frustrating. And as of yet, none of the books I've read have topped the three in my first quarter which are still at the top of the year.

So.... three months left and I have ALL of these books to read if I'm going to finish my already revised goals:

1. Emma by Jane Austen (1815) (495 pages) (BttC) (PRC) (Home)
2. King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsanay (1925) (301 pages) (BttC) (LinkInn)
3. Ombria in Shadow by Patricia McKillip (2002) (304 pages) (TBR) (EPL)
4. Memory and Dream (novel) (400 page) (Newford) (EPL)
5. The Ivory and the Horn (collection) (338 pages) (Newford) (WorldCat)
6. Trader (novel) (352 pages) (Newford) (LinkIn)
7. Someplace to Be Flying (novel) (384 pages) (Newford) (EPL)
8. Moonlight and Vines (collection) (384 pages) (Newford) (EPL) by end of October
9. Forests of the Heart (novel) (400 pages) (Newford) (LinkIn) (EPL)
10. The Onion Girl (novel) (512 pages) (Newford) (EPL)
11. Tapping the Dream Tree (collection) (541 pages) (Newford) (EPL)
12. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (1814) (536 pages) (Austen) (Home)
13. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (1817) (280 pages) (Austen) (Home)
14. Persuasion by Jane Austen (1817) (312 pages) (Austen) (Home)
15. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813) (408 pages) (Austen) (Home)
16. Letters from Pemberly by Jane Dawkins
17. Five Love Languages for Children

Clearly that's not happening. So, I'll just start reading and see how far I get! Not going to read in a certain order or with any priorities in mind. Will just go how my mood takes me and we'll see what happens. Wish me luck for the end of the year!

The Return of the King AND Lord of the Rings Challange Recap

Title: The Return of the King

Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

Pages: 340

Finished: September 29, 2019

First Sentence: Pippin looked out from the shelter of Gandalf's cloak.

Summary: The war of the Ring culminates in numerous battles while Frodo and Sam bumble their way through Mordor to destroy The Ring. Then they travel the long way back to the Shire where things aren't all right.

Thoughts: I want to like it. I really really do... but... Gah! The first part of the book is all the battle prep. Our fellowship is torn more asunder than it already is. Then there's the battle. Another long, forever battle. Then we move through the second part of the book where Tolkien makes sure we really see just how hopeless Frodo and Sam's journey is as they trudge through Mordor for days and days and days with little food or water. Then suddenly everything is good and we get to see exactly what everyone is doing at the moment The Ring is destroyed in their own chapters. Then comes the long march home.

Seriously. People complain about how the movie had all those fake endings. Clearly they haven't read the book. It just keeps going and going. Oh this seems like a good stopping point! Oh... nope. Now we have to part with these people. Oh good, here's a good stopping point. Nope, time to go to Rivendell. Oh here's a good point... By the time they got to the Scouring of the Shire, I was just done.

At least the Grey Havens was done well. I cried. I was moved. I was happy for them...

BUT THEN I HAD TO KEEP GOING!

Because my journey didn't end there. Nope, I still had 30 pages to bounce around between the Appendices, Unfinished Tales, Silmarillion, and Fellowship. Yes. Fellowship. The entire thing ended with a bit of dumb exposition at the end of the prologue in Fellowship.

My thoughts on the core books (Hobbit plus Lord of the Rings.) Honestly? I like Fellowship, but the rest... I just don't care about. In Fellowship you really see how much everyone cares for each other. The journey is fun even as it's dark. There's respite. Things haven't gotten dark yet. While you still see how much everyone cares for each other in the latter two books, they just don't have that magic. Instead they have endless battle scenes. I don't like detailed battle scenes. And by Return of the King, the book just overstays its welcome. I felt that way with Hobbit too. Yay! They took back the mountain and the Dragon's dead... oh wait... there's a whole 'nother part with all these armies?

My thoughts on the auxiliary books. Hm. This is a bit tricky. I liked the stories when I was able to read longer parts of them. It was nice to have context for things. Especially Numenor and the Istari. But many times, these stories were broken up into paragraphs here or between multiple books. So we'd learn a bit about the Istari and then pop into LOTR for a good long while, then pop back to the Istari for another paragraph or two.

My thoughts on the format of the actual chronological order reading. As I said before, I wasn't a big fan of jumping between books. Here's the thing. I'll probably read these books in another 10 years. They're not bad. More inspiring than other books I'm reading. Just not my favorites. But if I do so again, I won't be following this format. I'd rather have full stories at a time. It'll mean more repetition and things may not be chronological, but I'm okay with that.

The thing I enjoyed most while reading through this was seeing how much Gary Gyrax was inspired by Tolkien when he devised Dungeons & Dragons. I started playing D&D in high school, and I always played a ranger because of Aragorn. But while reading the book, Aragorn would do something and I'd be like, "Oh, that's this spell or that feat or...." And same with the other characters. You can read the books and then read the race and class system in the Players Handbook and basically name LOTR characters.

If you want to follow this path yourself, the chronology can be found here: Chronological Tolkien

A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

Title: A Little Princess

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Pages: 324

Finished: September 25, 2019

First Sentence: Once on a dark winter's day, when the yellow fog hung so thick and heavy in the streets of London that the lamps were lighted and the shop windows blazed with gas as they do at night, an odd-looking little girl sat in a cab with her father and was driven rather slowly through the big thoroughfares.

Summary: Sara Crewe, daughter of the rich Captain Crewe in India, starts Boarding School in England under the tutelage of Miss Minchin. There she becomes the star pupil and favorite of many of the younger students for her kindness. When she turns 11 (or 10?) disaster strikes. Her father dies, penniless. Infuriated, Miss Minchin turns Sara into a scullery maid. The little girl tries to imagine her way out of the drudgery, but things start looking up when an Indian gentleman moves next door.

Thoughts: Hm... This was a really quick read. Quicker than Secret Garden. That being said, it hasn't aged as well as The Secret Garden has. It seems there's been a shift in society in the last five or so years that has made a number of things seem really "of their time". And while I am educated enough to understand that that's what the time was and that's how things are, it doesn't make it any less problematic or frustrating to read/watch/listen to.

Basically, I wanted to like this story, but I find myself frustrated with it. Sara is so incredibly perfect. And while I don't mind Mary Sues as much as other people do (particularly because people don't have issues with men being perfect in media) I found her to be a bit too precious. She handled unfair criticisms with grace far above her years. She was incredibly intelligent.

 Kind to everyone. I mean, she's the person we aspire to be, but no one is faultless.

The classicism was tough to handle too. And I know that's my 21st century self talking, so I try to look past it, but it really doesn't age well.

I DID appreciate the ending though. I will admit, I'm more familiar with the 1990s movie and the Shirley Temple movie, both of which end in a dramatic search for her father who hasn't actually died while Miss Minchin tries to get her arrested as a thief... or something. In the book, it's her father's friend who lives next door. She's eventually found out because she returns the missing monkey and the story comes out.

I'm not sorry I read the book. It was a welcome reprieve from my current reading projects. And while I do appreciate it for what it was, I don't really feel much of a need to read it again.

Read for Classics Club Spin 21

Classic Club Spin 21

EDITED: Spin Number is Number 5! A Little Princess! I'm excited to read it even if it's not Daniel Deronda. Looks like my next 5-ish weeks of reading are cut out for me!

Woot! Another Club spin! For those who haven't seen a spin before, it's this fun game the Classics Club does to help inspire us to read our lists. Members who wish to participate list 20 books from their classic club list and put them in a blog post. Then, the Club pulls a number between 1 and 20 out of a hat. Whatever title that corresponds to is the book you then read between when the number is pulled and the deadline, in this spin, October 31st.

My list is a little weird. I have enough books on my list to make 20.However one of them is going to be next year's project, and three more are just super thick, so I plan to space them out due to the number of doorstops I have on my reading list this year. So, that brings my list down to 12! In order to fill it out, I added in six books from my Back to the Classics Challenge that aren't on my Club list, but that are still classics. List is categorized as follows: Books I Can't Wait to Read, Books I Keep Putting Off, Books I'm Neutral About, Books From My Back To The Classics Challenge.

Daniel Deronda is on there five times because it's taking me ages to read and I need inspiration to finish. Out of all of these, I would most prefer Daniel Deronda, though I'd be pretty happy with Return of the King or Emma as all three are started and then haven't actually been read.

Also, it's worth noting, I tried to take out most of my giant books because the next Book of Dust novel comes out in October and I plan on reading that right away. It's huge. I'm excited. So I wanted to make sure whatever I did have was something I could finish in the time allotted OR something that I had already started and just wanted to finish.

1. Picture of Dorian Grey
2. Peter Pan
3. Daniel Deronda
4. Daniel Deronda
5. Little Princess
6. Persuasion 
7. Daniel Deronda
8. King of Elfland's Daughter
9. Possession
10. Study in Scarlet
11. Daniel Deronda
12. Handmaid's Tale
13. Pride and Prejudice
14. Daniel Deronda
15. Northanger Abbey
16. Room with a View
17. Emma
18. Sanditon and Other Tales
19. Return of the King
20. Mansfield Park

SO. EXCITED!!!

Perhaps it's because my books have been so uninspiring this year. Or perhaps it's just because I adore his books. But I just found out today that Philip Pullman's second Book of Dust is coming out on October 3.

The Book of Dust: The Secret Commonwealth.

Lyra is 20 years old. 

The couple reviews I saw all said it's amazing.

I made my coworker who orders fiction order it right away so I could put it on hold. I cannot wait for this book to fall into my hands. I'm so, so, SO excited! Now to muscle my way through my current reads.

The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

Title: The Two Towers

Author: J. R. R. Tolkien

Pages: 398

Finished: September 10, 2019

First Sentence: Aragorn sped on up the hill

Summary: Beginning right where Fellowship left off, the story follows the various splits in the party. Merry and Pippin, kidnapped by Saruman's orcs manage to escape into the Fangorn Forest. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas follow their trail in hopes of finding their companions. Frodo and Sam ally with Gollum in order to attempt to get into Mordor. And a mysterious white rider shows his face.

Thoughts: Due to the way the chronology works, I've already dipped into Return of the King, so I'll try to keep my thoughts focused on this book and its form.

First, the book is formatted in two parts. Part 1 is the story of Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. Part 2 is the story of Frodo and Sam.

I was very wrapped up in the first six chapters of the story. I enjoyed seeing Merry and Pippin try to solve their issues. I love Treebeard and the Ents so much. I really like the Rohirrim. But then the Battle of Helms Deep happened... Good Lord was that dull. Once that was over, things picked up. I enjoyed the reunion of the hobbits with the "big folk." I will say, I was a bit sad for them that the hobbits were split again due to Pippin's curiosity. But go Pippin for being fairly strong.

The Frodo/Sam chapters were not quite as thrilling. The most exciting would be the bit where they meet up with Faramir. Faramir is lovely. And strong. I love Faramir. But the rest of it is really frustrating. There's nothing like seeing One person get totally snowed by someone and not listening to their friend. I found myself super frustrated with Frodo.

Still, I do love Sam and how loyal he is to his master.

Overall, Two Towers suffers from the fact that it's the middle of the story. Things have to stay in a weird stasis so they can be wrapped up in the conclusion.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Title: Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

Author: Robin Sloan

Pages: 288

Finished: August 20, 2019

First Sentence: Lost in the shadows of the shelves, I almost fall off the ladder.

Summary: A millennial suffering from the Great Recession of '08 finds himself working for an eccentric old man in his eccentric used bookstore. Soon, our protagonist, Clay, discovers that this store is more than it seems. Clay, with the help of his friends and a computer uncovers a seeming cult.

Thoughts: First of all, I liked this. We read it for my family book discussion. It's an easy read. Easier than I usually choose for adult books. The story was simplistic and fairly predictable. Many people said it felt unrealistic, but to me it seemed like a typical adventure story. You have to suspend some of your disbelief for it to work. I was able to do that.

Many people complained that the protagonists friends had all the necessary skills needed to do what needed to be done. Again, that didn't bug me because I happen to know people who seem to "know people" who help them with shit. I figured Clay was one of those people who happens to be good at picking acquaintances with specialized skillsets.

Also, I like reading books about books. I know that's silly. I don't own a lot of books, and I get really annoyed at the reverential treatment of books, but I still really like books. So that was a bonus for me.

I guess the fact that I don't have much to say about this book would turn people off. Like I said before, it was a really nice break from what I've been reading. Easy, pleasant, quick... Fun. I wouldn't call it great reading by any account, but it wasn't bad.

Lastly, one of the biggest complaints I saw was that it's billed as an adult book but people felt like it was more of a YA book. It honestly felt like a weird in between. The main character is about my age. So almost like a "New Adult" or "Post-College" or even "Millennial" book. I don't know. Definitely worked for me.

Regarding the rest of my reading, this month has been largely taken up by the LoTR project and Daniel Deronda. It looks like, if I keep reading at the pace I'm working on, Deronda should be finished by end of September and LoTR by end of November. I'm also working my way through Emma at the moment which I hope to have done by first week of September. I'm excited about the rest of my books for this year. 

Lord of the Rings August Check-In

Wow! Hard to believe I've read another 145ish pages in this challenge. This month took me through all but two chapters in The Two Towers and one chapter in Return of the King. There was a short stint in the Unfinished Tales as well, but nothing that added much to the story.

In the Two Towers we learned of the aftermath of Helm's Deep. Merry and Pippin reunite with Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn as well as Gandalf at Isengard. Sadly, Pippin's curiosity gets the better of him. He looks into the seeing stone thrown down from the Tower by Wormtongue. Gandalf takes him and rushes to Minis Tirith.

Here the point of view switches to Sam and Frodo. We learn they are not very good at navigating mountains, and so are forced to capture and use Gollum as their guide. The journey is long and Frodo seems to be suffering much. Luckily, the fall in with Faramir, brother to Boromir, in Ithelien. After some rest, and some food and drink, they're off to the route that Gollum wishes to take them. Faramir is unhappy about it, but Frodo says he has no choice. While there's more to the story, according to the chronology I'm following, I then switched to Return of the King.

Upon switching, we bring up Pippin and Gandalf. I'm going to be straight here. I was super disappointed that the beacons of Gondor were mentioned in about two lines. Out of all the scenes in The Lord of the Rings movies, the lighting of the beacons is my absolute favorite.

I'm starting to see the end to this giant undertaking, and it's quite exciting. I find myself enjoying the character interactions far more than the battle scenes. I know last month, I mentioned Helm's Deep just about made me quit. I'm concerned there will be a ton of battle scenes in Return of the King as well which might slow the whole process down. But all the character bits are quite fun. 

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Title: And Then There Were None

Author: Agatha Christie

Pages: 247

Finished: August 11, 2019

First Sentence: In the corner of a first-class smoking carriage, Mr. Justice Wargrave, lately retired from the bench, puffed at a cigar and ran an interested eye through the political news in The Times. 

Summary: Ten strangers accept an invitation to stay at a house on Soldier Island. Upon reacing the island, they are informed, by recording, that they have all committed grievous murders and will suffer retribution. As each guest reacts to said information, people start dying. It quickly becomes apparent the murderer is one of the guests.

Thoughts: My first experience with this story was in it's theatrical form. My high school put on "10 Little Indians" in the early Aughts. I'm happy to see the title has been changed to "And Then There Were None." I picked up the novel now because my husband and I will be seeing the play again this upcoming Friday.

In general, I found there was really only one character I remembered. I don't know if characters were changed in the play or if that one just really stuck out to me. The character "stung by a bee," was the one I remembered.

I'm not much of a mystery reader, but I'll admit I couldn't put this down. I read it in the car as we road tripped up to a wedding. Suffered beastly motion sickness as a result, but it was worth it. The red herring completely caught me and tripped me up.

I liked the addition of the rhyme. I kept trying to figure out how that would play in (the bear in particular being a tricky one) to the deaths. And most of those I actually did have correct from what I remembered from the play.

Out of the two Agatha Christie books I've read, I prefer this one to Orient Express. I'm also really looking forward to the play on Friday!