I’ve felt like it’s been officially spring here for a few weeks now, but it’s now officially official as of the end of last week. The winter quarter is over, finals and all. Which means… it is time for the Winter reading list. It’s shorter than normal, partly because I just did this in January. Partly because when I do a lot of my own writing, I tend to do less reading. And partly because life has been a little crazy lately as Brian and I spend all our weekends planting out the front beds and waging a gopher war in the back yard. All my raised beds are lined in chicken wire now. So there. (crossing my fingers that holds them.)
The time has come. Here’s everything I have read since January and what I thought of it:
- The Color of Magic, by Terry Pratchet – Oh, I don’t know. It wasn’t bad. It felt more like it was done for funny than actually because it had a good plot arc or compelling story. It was funny, but I quickly got impatient with Rincewind and his inane tourist.
- Good Poems: American Places, by Garrison Keillor – Left me melancholy and nostalgic in the best way. I would recommend wholeheartedly, and I don’t like poetry usually.
- English Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs – Not what I was expecting, and not really new at all (despite author claims). Feels like the French stuff rehashed. It was well written, but didn’t offer more than other standards in the same genre.
- Desperate Duchesses, by Eloisa James – I enjoyed it, as I do all of James’ stuff. There’s a reason I’m on a quest to read everything she’s ever written. The heroine in this one was a bit silly, but not as silly as some I’ve read. And it all worked in the end to a satisfactory conclusion.
- Aspects of the Novel, by E. M. Forster – You know, I got just as much out of the beginning of this book as ever, but got super tired of slogging through old novel excerpts in the end of it for not as much analysis as I’d like. Great for the information, but definitely work to read.
- Pippa’s Cornish Dream, by Debbie Johnson – Meh. It was fine, but it wasn’t anything unusual. I liked the fact that the heroine was so spunky. I think the real reason it didn’t work for me is because I didn’t like the guy much.
- Emily Climbs, by L. M. Montgomery – I LOVE Emily and her cats and her writing. A favorite of mine, that I’ve read more times than I can count. It makes me feel like the writing struggle is real, and surmountable with enough work.
- Emily’s Quest by L. M. Montgomery – Every time I read this, I am less of a mess. I mean, Emily really makes a lot of the strife she suffers for herself. Still, it’s not an easy read, though it’s beautiful.
- Clarkesworld Year 3 Anthology, by Neil Clarke – I mean, they’re well written with some beautiful and heartbreaking ideas. But I realized that I just am not a fan of short stories. Oh the irony, right, as I try to write them? I know.
- Silver on the Road by Laura Anne Gilman – My new favorite thing (!!!). It’s like my Deadlands game came to life and featured a super awesome heroine who sold her soul to the devil and now channels his magic to protect the territory. Best thing EVER. I’m sad the other 2 books aren’t out yet, because I’d get them in a heartbeat. I can’t wait until October.
As always, happy reading!
, by Rainbow Rowell: Georgie McCool has always put her career as a scriptwriter front and center, and her husband Neil has picked up the slack. When she and best friend Seth have the chance to pitch the script of their lifetime, if they can write it in five days, Georgie knows Neil will be upset. But he’ll probably roll with Georgie’s assessment that they can’t bring the girls to his family’s house for Christmas like they planned. Georgie didn’t forsee that Neil would be more than pissed. He takes the girls to his parent’s house, leaves Georgie in California, and then is strangely unavailable. Frantic, Georgie calls Neil from an old rotary phone in her bedroom to find that she’s dialed 20 years in the past. But can she save her marriage from decades away?
, by Terry Pratchett: Tiffany Aching accidentally joins the dark mummer’s dance, and then has to contend with Jack Frost, who thinks she’s his new girlfriend. Embarrassing snowflakes in Tiffany’s shape, a cornucopia spilling out all sorts of things you just don’t want, the Nac Mac Feegles, and relations with the human boy Tiffany has a thing with are just some of the problems she faces. But now that Tiffany has dethroned the goddess of spring, will Summer ever come again?
, by Ursula K. LeGuin: Genly Ai has agreed to go as an emissary to the planet deemed Winter to see if he can get them to join the ecumenical society of planets. It is first contact, and Genly is more than aware that he could be killed or imprisoned. Winter is a world where most humans there are genderless until they mate, and over the course of a lifetime can be both male and female. The planet is as unforgiving as it’s icy landscape, with a strange code of behavior called shifgrethor, and Genly is getting nowhere with his quest. He places his trust in Prime Minister Estraven, who is then accused of treason and cast out of the kingdom. But Genly and Estraven meet again in a work camp on the outskirts of civilization, and together they undertake a perilous journey over icy wastelands so that they can be free.
Casey E. Hamilton 