A Fan's Playground

I've been on and off for years about whether to read this book, because I've heard that it's really amazing but also that it's a hell of a read, emotionally speaking. But recently I was encouraged to read it, so I gave it a try, and both things are indeed true about it, and in my opinion it is worth it! You know how it is, I sobbed wholeheartedly for the last 50 pages of the book because I cared SO MUCH and it got me SO BAD.

Code Name Verity is a work of historical fiction set in WWII featuring two young women who are best friends, working on the side of the Allies, one as a pilot and the other as a spy. I loved Maddie and Julie SO MUCH, and they love each other so much too, and war really really sucks!!

I absolutely did look up spoilers before going in, so that I could brace myself for what would be coming, and I'm glad I did. I think it would be an even harder read without that knowledge!

Anyway it's a brilliant book and I highly recommend it, as long as you are ready to be punched in the gut by feelings!

This book is definitely in the Literature genre, despite having strong elements of fantasy. But as Literature goes it's really quite good.

It's a retelling of the Rapunzel story, from the perspective of a) the author of the story, one of the French salon fairy-tale writer women of the 17th century, b) the Rapunzel character, and c) the witch character.

Kate Forsyth is clearly interested in grounding the story firmly in a historical setting, though one where magic is real. This is great. I love how many historical details Forsyth weaves into the story to bring the time period alive, and how the magic feels a natural part of that world because the people of the time at least somewhat believed in this kind of magic.

I also loved that this was a novel where all of the main characters are women.

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WELL I am now finished the Rivers of London series so I suppose I will post about the last four books all at once here since it feels weird to keep posting one at a time as if I'm not already done. Here we go!

( Whispers Under Ground, by Ben Aaronovitch )

( Broken Homes, by Ben Aaronovitch )

( Foxglove Summer, by Ben Aaronovitch )

( The Hanging Tree, by Ben Aaronovitch )

Okay I've finally admitted that there's no point to continuing to try to read through this series in order, given that I've been freely reading fanfic from throughout the entire timeline of the saga. So I felt like giving this book a try and so I read it even though I am skipping over a number of books to do so. At some point I'll come back to at least some of the books I skipped. Probably. *

It was particularly interesting to approach this book after having read a novel-length fanfic that covers the events of the book from Byerly's side of things (A Bit Too Much Good Work by a_t_rain, very good, highly recommended). So I went in knowing basically what to expect from the plot, but Ivan and Tej make for very different pov characters that Byerly and Rish. It was great, but in a very different way than that fic is great.

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At any rate the world doesn't stop having good books in it just because everything else is horrible.

Here's a collection of short book thoughts about some books I liked, that aren't substantive or spoilery enough thoughts to get their own posts.


The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex

A reread. Still an impressively successful and delightful book! A kid's book about alien invasion(s), told from the point of view of a young biracial girl, with the conceit that it was written by her for a school project with a goal of it ending up in a time capsule. Tip is a really engaging narrator, and the themes the book is addressing are all well handled, and it's just all SO GOOD. I have a lot of feelings.

Also http://archiveofourown.org/works/1087542 is pretty much exactly right for what happens after the book imo. I love this fic. (though really I ought to read the ACTUAL Smek sequel at some point I think. There is one now!)


Quilting: Poems 1987-1990, by Lucille Clifton

An interesting collection of poems written by an African-American woman. Worth reading, though I have nothing to say about it because I'm not comfortable enough yet with poetry to have the words to describe it.


Dogsbody, by Diana Wynne Jones

A well written and charming book, as is to be expected from DWJ. I'm not the right audience for it, since I don't particularly care one way or another about dogs, and our main character is fairly thoroughly a dog for much of the book. But DWJ is a good enough writer to keep me invested despite this, and I did care an awful lot about Kathleen!


The Emperor's Soul, by Brandon Sanderson

A reread. I still love this book. But do I have anything else to say about it that I didn't say last time? No.


The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Squirrel, You Really Got Me Now, by Ryan North, art by Erica Henderson

A total delight, just like the last two Squirrel Girl tpbs! I love Ryan North's sense of humour, and Erica Henderson's art is perfect for the story. Doreen and her friends are all amazing, and I love just about everything about this book.

However. The last two issues in this collection are a two-part crossover with Howard Duck. The first part (done by the Squirrel Girl team) was just about as good as the rest of the series but the second part (done by the Howard Duck team) I just wasn't as into. It wasn't as funny or as charming, and I didn't like the art as much, and I just didn't care as much. It's too bad that this is the note the book ended on, because the rest of the book had me gleeful all the way through.

Gosh, what an interesting book. And like, it's not actually a very plotty book but I'm pretty sure I have to put everything I have to say behind a spoiler cut.

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Or: Austenland does gothic romance. It was a really fun book! And overall rather charming, which is not a word I would usually expect to use for a gothic. But I was glad to have checked the end early on in the game so I knew ( spoilers )

So hey remember how I read Blood of Tyrants and was all "....did I miss a book?" Yes, I missed a book. I missed this one. And I finally got around to reading it! AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO SAY YOU GUYS. These books. They're just....? IDK I AM ENDLESSLY CHARMED AND DELIGHTED.

I read this book almost a week ago at this point and inexplicably did not write down my thoughts immediately after reading. All I did was write a note in my phone of one point I wanted to be particularly sure I remembered to mention. That point: "dragon interpersonal politics are my fave." THEY ARE. Every time I've opened my notes app for the last week I have seen this and been delighted. Dragons interacting with each other with their various agendas and personalities and cultures are the best.

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Gosh June was a good month for me, quality-of-book wise. The below four are all really great, as were most of the others I read earlier this month! A big contrast with May, which was nearly all books I was pretty meh about.

( The Emperor's Soul, by Brandon Sanderson )

( The Martian, by Andy Weir )

( Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson )

( The Book of Small, by Emily Carr )

YOU GUYS I WENT TO THE LIBRARY AND GOT OUT BOOKS. This...should not be as unusual as it is. For the past I don't even want to know how long, I've been almost exclusively reading either a) books off my bookshelf, b) books off my sister's bookshelf, c) books my sister got out of the library for herself, or d) books I borrowed from other people. NO MORE. I HAVE THE POWER TO SEEK OUT NEW BOOKS ON MY OWN. Once upon a time I was at the library every single week......... those days are long past but maybe a new era is dawning? Where I go to the library maybe once every couple months? That seems reasonable.

Here are some of the books I got out and proceeded to read!

( Darkbeast, by Morgan Keyes )

( Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, by Mary Roach )

( Klee Wyck, by Emily Carr )