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1. I absolutely adore my ridiculous children. Fiona is reading War and Peace. It's the book with the most AR points, and we kept telling her that she was probably not going to like it or understand it well, which just fueled her desire to read it more. Joke's on us, I guess, because she's moving through it a pretty fair clip, and while I'm certain that a significant amount of it is going over her head, she seems to be understanding the plot well enough (we debrief what everyone is reading over dinner every evening).
2.
A Century of Poems - TLS 100 by The Times Literary Supplement
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well, this makes clear that I do not share taste in poetry with the editors of the Times Lierary Supplement, all however many of them served for the 20th century. Lol
So many war poems, which I get given the time period, but I am not a fan of most war poetry. Also so much rhyming, way more than I'd anticipated.
I did like some of the poems, but on the whole not for me.
View all my reviews
3.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I absolutely loved this book. Blew through it in two days because I couldn't put it down.
El is such a great POV character. I love all the political machinations of the students, the way magic functions, the way the school functions--all of it. So much fun.
I literally laughed out loud when I read the last line of the book because *chef's kiss* what a perfectly wonderful cliffhanger ending for the first book. Just so much fun.
View all my reviews
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
OMG This book is so good. Those last two paragraphs! What a hell of a cliffhanger to end on.
I love seeing EL learn to have friends and rely on others for help and allow herself to be vulnerable.
I also love that the ultimate plan ends up being getting everyone out and getting rid of the reason they needed to go there in the first place.
This better have a satisfactory ending--Orion, ahem--in the final installment. I'm just saying. LOL
View all my reviews
The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book and the whole series.
I feel like it is in many ways a commentary on/response to the Harry Potter series. In HP, Harry loves Hogwarts and thinks of it as home, but Hogwarts is horribly dangerous and no sane parent in RL would really want to send their kids there. In Scholomance, that danger is acknowledged and a reason is given for people being willing to send their kids to such a dangerous place--it's actually more dangerous on the outside. I also was so ready in HP after the Sorting Hat sings its song about all the houses coming together in unity for that to actually happen, but no one in Slytherin comes forward to help during the Final Battle, and the epilogue demonstrates that the status quo has just been upheld. Albus Severus is terrified of being put in Slytherin because it's still the house of bad wizards. In Scholomance, all the students with every reason to be selfish and even malicious come together to help one another. And even after they're out of the school, many of those students can see that there's a better way forward, and they're willing to work together for it. That's what I wanted and didn't get out of HP.
I love the reveal that El's grandmother made the prophecy slantwise.
I love that she rescues Orion (I mean, I suspected she would because that's the kind of series this is, but still, love).
I also love that she has some kind of relationship with Liesel. I did not see that coming at all, and I love it. In fact, I love that the whole relationship status thing is ambiguous at the end. I'm kinda digging the idea that El has a more casual relationship with Liesel while they're out hunting maw mouths and a deeper one with Orion when he joins them when school isn't in session.
Highly recommend this series.
View all my reviews
4.
The Best Cook in the World by Rick Bragg
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I kept finding myself in the pages of this book as I read it. My people are not mountain Southern, but some things about being Southern are universal. The backstory of poverty and wringing a living out of the land with backbreaking work in Bragg's memoir could easily describe many aspects of the backstory on both side of my family. Most especially, though, reflected here is that truth that no matter how poor my grandparents were or how stingy my parents were when I was growing up to avoid poverty we still ate well. Like Bragg, my family was almost self-sustaining in eating what we grew, caught, and raised, and we ate like kings. Still do.
View all my reviews
5.
The Man Who Thought Himself a Woman and Other Queer Nineteenth-Century Short Stories by Christopher Looby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This collection of short stories is divided into four sections: queer places, queer genders, queer attachments, and queer things. Most of the stories in the queer things section don't seem to be queer to me (especially the Melville one where the protagonist is obsessed with his chimney and the Hartman story where a little waif girl drowns herself in the sea). Many of these stories are sad and/or violent, but a few of them are happy and hopeful--notably the Walt Whitman and the Mary Wilkins Freeman. The titular story of the book is incredibly fascinating.
View all my reviews
I have a PDF copy of this book, so if you'd like to read me, PM me and I'll email it to you.
2.
A Century of Poems - TLS 100 by The Times Literary SupplementMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Well, this makes clear that I do not share taste in poetry with the editors of the Times Lierary Supplement, all however many of them served for the 20th century. Lol
So many war poems, which I get given the time period, but I am not a fan of most war poetry. Also so much rhyming, way more than I'd anticipated.
I did like some of the poems, but on the whole not for me.
View all my reviews
3.
A Deadly Education by Naomi NovikMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I absolutely loved this book. Blew through it in two days because I couldn't put it down.
El is such a great POV character. I love all the political machinations of the students, the way magic functions, the way the school functions--all of it. So much fun.
I literally laughed out loud when I read the last line of the book because *chef's kiss* what a perfectly wonderful cliffhanger ending for the first book. Just so much fun.
View all my reviews
The Last Graduate by Naomi NovikMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
OMG This book is so good. Those last two paragraphs! What a hell of a cliffhanger to end on.
I love seeing EL learn to have friends and rely on others for help and allow herself to be vulnerable.
I also love that the ultimate plan ends up being getting everyone out and getting rid of the reason they needed to go there in the first place.
This better have a satisfactory ending--Orion, ahem--in the final installment. I'm just saying. LOL
View all my reviews
The Golden Enclaves by Naomi NovikMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I really enjoyed this book and the whole series.
I feel like it is in many ways a commentary on/response to the Harry Potter series. In HP, Harry loves Hogwarts and thinks of it as home, but Hogwarts is horribly dangerous and no sane parent in RL would really want to send their kids there. In Scholomance, that danger is acknowledged and a reason is given for people being willing to send their kids to such a dangerous place--it's actually more dangerous on the outside. I also was so ready in HP after the Sorting Hat sings its song about all the houses coming together in unity for that to actually happen, but no one in Slytherin comes forward to help during the Final Battle, and the epilogue demonstrates that the status quo has just been upheld. Albus Severus is terrified of being put in Slytherin because it's still the house of bad wizards. In Scholomance, all the students with every reason to be selfish and even malicious come together to help one another. And even after they're out of the school, many of those students can see that there's a better way forward, and they're willing to work together for it. That's what I wanted and didn't get out of HP.
I love the reveal that El's grandmother made the prophecy slantwise.
I love that she rescues Orion (I mean, I suspected she would because that's the kind of series this is, but still, love).
I also love that she has some kind of relationship with Liesel. I did not see that coming at all, and I love it. In fact, I love that the whole relationship status thing is ambiguous at the end. I'm kinda digging the idea that El has a more casual relationship with Liesel while they're out hunting maw mouths and a deeper one with Orion when he joins them when school isn't in session.
Highly recommend this series.
View all my reviews
4.
The Best Cook in the World by Rick BraggMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I kept finding myself in the pages of this book as I read it. My people are not mountain Southern, but some things about being Southern are universal. The backstory of poverty and wringing a living out of the land with backbreaking work in Bragg's memoir could easily describe many aspects of the backstory on both side of my family. Most especially, though, reflected here is that truth that no matter how poor my grandparents were or how stingy my parents were when I was growing up to avoid poverty we still ate well. Like Bragg, my family was almost self-sustaining in eating what we grew, caught, and raised, and we ate like kings. Still do.
View all my reviews
5.
The Man Who Thought Himself a Woman and Other Queer Nineteenth-Century Short Stories by Christopher LoobyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
This collection of short stories is divided into four sections: queer places, queer genders, queer attachments, and queer things. Most of the stories in the queer things section don't seem to be queer to me (especially the Melville one where the protagonist is obsessed with his chimney and the Hartman story where a little waif girl drowns herself in the sea). Many of these stories are sad and/or violent, but a few of them are happy and hopeful--notably the Walt Whitman and the Mary Wilkins Freeman. The titular story of the book is incredibly fascinating.
View all my reviews
I have a PDF copy of this book, so if you'd like to read me, PM me and I'll email it to you.
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Go Fiona!!!
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On the strength of your rec, I've placed a hold on the first Scholomance book.
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Yes!! I mean, Naomi was active in HP fandom at one time, and I think this series was absolutely meant to be a kind of corrective. I loved these books.
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I loved them, too. Very creative.
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the peanuts movie that came out in 2015 gives a better explanation of why he does, other than; the teacher must hate the poor kid.
i've never attempted to read it & have no interest, so good for her!
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And I like telling the kids about what I'm reading, too.
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Fiona is reading War and Peace.
Wow, that's amazing! :D
I really enjoyed your reviews, especially the Noviks. <3
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Hopefully I'll have some more reviews soon; I'm on to House of Mirth!