If you've followed this blog for very long, you'll have figured out that fantasy is my favorite genre, followed by historical fiction and science fiction. These are huge genres that have a lot to offer, and it's easy to spend most-- or all-- of a reading life within a single genre. But I like to … Continue reading Six Books I Didn’t Expect to Love
favorite books
Book Review: The Goblin Emperor
The Goblin Emperorby Katherine AddisonFantasy448 pagesPublished in 2014 After an airship crash kills Emperor Varenechibal IV and his eldest three sons, Varenechibal's fourth and ill-favored son Maia ascends to the imperial throne as ruler of the elflands. The only child of a loveless political marriage, Maia was relegated to a dreary former hunting lodge after … Continue reading Book Review: The Goblin Emperor
June Summary, July Preview
Are we a week into July? Yes we are. Is it too late for a preview of July? Nope. Sure isn't. June! Overall a pretty good month except for the two and a half week heatwave that started out the month (seriously. Memorial Day weekend was cool, cloudy, and rainy. Then we hit June and … Continue reading June Summary, July Preview
Tag: Twenty Questions
Mary at Mary and the Words tagged me yesterday, so I'm going to do this today. She saw it on Jessica's blog, The Awkward Book Blogger, and from there could not track down the original source. I didn't know what else to write about this week, so let's do a tag! How many books are … Continue reading Tag: Twenty Questions
Mid-Year Summary
The first six months of 2020 have now passed and... wow. It's been a wild six months. January and February felt so normal-- and so long ago. Now there's COVID-19 and quarantines, the Black Lives Matter protests that blossomed in the US and around the world, murder hornets, and now a gigantic dust cloud has … Continue reading Mid-Year Summary
Best Books of 2019
I had put off putting together my 'Best Of' list for the year, as I had a couple of new-to-me titles I wanted to read before bidding farewell to 2019, and I didn't know how they would be. But after a lazy winter Sunday with no plans and a snowstorm that kept me home all … Continue reading Best Books of 2019
Fear is the Mind-killer: Rereading Dune
(Warning: major spoilers for Dune) I bought my first copy of Frank Herbert's Dune in a used bookstore in Minnesota. I was twelve years old, had two dollars in my pocket, and some time to kill while my mother shopped next door. To this day, I don't know why I picked up that worn-out paperback … Continue reading Fear is the Mind-killer: Rereading Dune
Top Books of 2018
As 2018 draws to a close, we all look back at the things we did and try to figure out the best and worst of it all. With 155 books read so far this year, I have a lot of titles that I read and loved. Unsurprisingly, most of these books are fantasy or science … Continue reading Top Books of 2018
The Critic and The Great American Read
Last spring, when I heard about PBS's The Great American Read where Americans would vote for their favorite books from a list of 100 titles, selected via a survey of Americans across race, gender, and class lines, I was unduly excited. Large-scale book events like this make me happy. After the 90-minute special that launched … Continue reading The Critic and The Great American Read
Top Five Friday: Top Five Favorite Mystery Series
While I was deciding if I wanted to read more of Leonardo Padura's mystery novels starring Lieutenant Mario Conde (the answer? Probably not, given Conde's misogyny), I was thinking about what factors made me like a mystery series in general. A non-misogynistic detective, obviously, but what else? A dark, atmospheric tone? Witty repartee among the … Continue reading Top Five Friday: Top Five Favorite Mystery Series
Traveling in Books 