I've read a good bit since the plague broke out in 2020

So, yes, it's been quite a while. I had some free time on my hands and I decided to update the blog.

I'm a Junior in college by now. It's the middle (tail-end?) of a pandemic. I've taken the semester off to focus on work, writing, and reassessing what I want to do in the future. Though the first two items take up a considerable amount of time out of my week, I've also been reading a good bit.

Isn't it funny how you go to college to learn things, and you end up feeling dumber and more illiterate than ever? I got very much off-track with my reading goals, these past two years, so here I am attempting to make up for it. Since January, I've read five books. My to-read bookshelf is weighed down with Goodwill and Thriftbooks finds, novels leant to me by coworkers, and classics that have been gathering dust on the bottom shelf for several years now. Suddenly, I can't read fast enough.

Slight issue: I'm reading fewer children's books. As mentioned, I'm working my way through a list of classics. But I'm also tackling some older YA and adult fiction. As a result, I have few updates for the Young Reader and Middle Grade portions of this blog. However, I do have several additions to the Young Adult section, plus several recommendations that I would target towards an even older audience than 16.

My more recent reads:

Gregory Maguire's Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the East

While I am by no means a musical theater genius, I do enjoy Broadway musicals--Wicked is chief among them. When I found this copy at a Goodwill bookstore, I snatched it up. Now, I know what you might be thinking: I've heard weird things about that book. And yes, I was well aware of this consensus when I purchased Wicked. It's just that I've heard mixed things (it's either fantastic or else completely horrible, according to Goodreads) and I figured I was old enough to read it for myself and come to my own, informed decision about its merits. I'm tired of people casting judgment on books (COUGH Harry Potter) without reading them first.

My verdict? Beautifully written. Maguire is a fantastic author. The world building, the layers of foreshadowing and metaphor--it's wonderfully crafted. The problem is, the story is so, so dark. This isn't WICKED the Broadway musical, where Elphaba has a happy end and is, in fact, just a misunderstood protagonist with a good heart.

This story is gut-wrenching. And twisted. There is so much darkness, especially towards the end, that I had to simply force myself to finish. This is a world without any apparent gods, morals, or redemption.

Would I recommend it? Not particularly. I'm fairly forgiving about this stuff if the book is well-written, but Wicked is so riddled with twisted moments and unforgivable acts by the protagonists, I feel unable to recommend the story to anyone, least of all a person under the age of 18.

Markus Zusak's I Am the Messenger

To be perfectly candid, I don't remember much of this book--I read it at the beginning of the year, and so much has happened since then. But perhaps the fact that it's so forgettable is telling of its merit.

I didn't dislike it. It's just that, coming from The Book Thief, this novel was a bit of a letdown. Sort of anti-climatic, with a confusing, unbelievable plot and only vaguely likable characters. It isn't bad, it just isn't great. I would still recommend it for fans of Zusak, however.

Mary Ann Shaffer's The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

It's just lovely. If you haven't seen the Netflix movie based on this novel, please do--it's got the elegance of a Jane Austen period drama and a cast of remarkable characters. It is written in the form of letters, but this isn't a confusing format for the story; you barely notice, at some point.

Would definitely recommend!

Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane

It's funny, because exactly as I was writing this section, my older sister came into the room and gave me an update on her progress in the audiobook: "This is horrifying." Which pretty much sums it up. This isn't a children's book--The Ocean at the End of the Lane reads like a nightmare you had as a young child.

Still...it's Neil Gaiman. I would still recommend it.

Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere

Clearly, I was on a Neil Gaiman kick this past year. Neverwhere hit the spot! It had elements that reminded me of both Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Gregor the Overlander--a wonderful sort of steampunk fantasy, with a satisfying conclusion. Though there is some brief mention of sex, and a fair amount of violence, I would actually be okay letting a 14-year-old read this.

Neil Gaiman's Stardust

Rather disappointing, actually. I hadn't seen the movie yet, though I did watch it right after finishing the book. I must say, the movie and the book were each disappointing in their own way. The book was just sort of alright, with a fair amount of graphic sex stuff. The movie, on the other hand, had less of that stuff, and several other issues instead. All in all, not my favorite of the Neil Gaiman books. I can't imagine why it gets so much hype.

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens

I did actually see the show first, before reading this one. One of the best book-to-show adaptions I've ever seen--they really hit the mark on the tone, the characters (David Tennant as Crowley? Brilliant), the score. A hilarious, well-written novel by two outstanding authors.

Could this entire story be seen as blasphemous? Sure. It's about angels and devils fighting over the antichrist, trying to raise this child as a normal human so as to avoid Doomsday and the end of the both their worlds. So sure, there's some potentially uncomfortable stuff going on, and I could easily choose to get all up in arms about it. Instead, I've decided to do two things:

1) acknowledge its failings, while refusing to toss out the baby with the bathwater; aside from excellent prose and just a good story, there are positive elements here including friendship and redemption.

2) the ideas about God and all things supernatural are just so utterly absurd, the only way to comprehend this story is through the lens of another world. It doesn't even feel like something going on in this universe. The angels and demons and gods of Good Omens are really just caricatures, hardly comparable to the figures on which they are based. In sum: I am not offended.

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Wow. Beautiful. Reads like poetry. Mary Shelley is a badass, need I say more?

Leigh Bardugo's Grishaworld series

This was a rec from someone at work, actually--I borrowed the first few books, then promptly ordered the set upon finishing. The series can be broken down into several categories: the initial duology, the prequel trilogy, and then a spinoff series about some side characters from the prequel.

The duology (Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom) is technically Young Adult, I suppose (but isn't YA more a genre than an age group? More on that later...). It reads like a gritty steampunk fantasy heist novel. 10/10, a brilliant cast of characters and A+ world-building.

The prequel trilogy is also excellent, but it's got more of a YA feel, with the obligatory love triangle. King of Scars is the start of a spinoff about one of the characters from this trilogy.

The entire prequel universe is not my favorite--Six of Crows is the best, in my opinion--but it's all good stuff. I would probably recommend it for slightly older highschoolers, around 16. Read it now, before the Netflix show comes out in April!

Donna Tartt's The Secret History

Not an exaggeration to say that this is probably my favorite thing I've read this year. It's such a ridiculous concept--classics students at a picturesque private school on the East coast, get caught up in Bacchic rituals in the woods, spend their entire college careers trying to cover up multiple murders. It's absurd. But it is beautiful. Donna Tartt has intelligent, poetic prose.

The themes of drugs, Bacchus, alcohol, incest, sex, and--you know--cold-blooded murder force me to abstain from recommending the book in any of our age categories. However, for readers 18+, I would highly recommend The Secret History.

Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus

This was another book that came highly-recommended. Again, I can't understand the hype. Probably due to it's third-person present-tense POV, I was unable to connect to the characters. The whole plot only made a bit of sense (a bit) in the last two chapters or so. Too many different things going on at once with the parallel plots, switching back and forth over the years (I kept having to go back and check the dates at the beginning of each chapter to piece together the sequence of events).

A good idea, I think, at its core: steampunk Victorian circus with wizards and contortionists, all that jazz. Not as well-executed as it could have been.

Terry Pratchett's The Color of Magic

I just finished this one today! Definitely fun and rollicking, very Douglas Adams. A bit too absurd for my taste, but that's just my opinion. It was well-written and humorous, with complex world-building and memorable characters. I can't speak for the rest of the (lengthy) series, but Book 1 was an enjoyable read.