I really should try to remember to do this quarterly at least, because… I want to? IDK why I ‘should’ but eh, moving on. Here are some things I’ve read so far this year and enjoyed.
Frankenstein And The Patchwork Man by Jack Heath
I know Jack in passing from mutual acquaintances, having asked him in to schools I was teaching at for various authorial events, and being writer colleagues in the same city. So when I saw he’d been selected to write a Doctor Who book, I was THRILLED, and told him so, which lead to the understanding that I am going to host his launch party for said book next month, lol. Anyway, I was given a copy of the book so I could read it ahead of the launch and MWAH it’s everything I wanted it to be. I blew through this in like two hours this week – picture me curled up on large cushions on the floor in the sun, just devouring this lovely feel-good high-action on-brand adventure. If you like reading + Doctor Who, you’ll love this book.
Decrypted by Lindsay Buroker
I got thoroughly hooked on Buroker’s Emperor’s Edge world last year when life conspired to first of all hand me a Kobo and second of all a serious illness that meant sleep was challenging (more so than usual, anyway) and reading before bed genuinely helpful in getting me to sleep. I burned through the Emperor’s Edge series, which is Buroker’s first series (first one available for free), and DAGNABBIT found myself just as enamoured with the endearing FMC who can talk her way into anyone’s good graces as all the characters in the occasionally implausible situations in the first couple of books, lol. The characterisation is delightful and the plot unfolds with glorious twists and turns throughout the series, so when it came to an end I naturally had to dig out the Encrypted/Enigma/Decrypted prequel trilogy. I read Decrypted in one sitting (we shan’t discuss how late at night that occurred) and, of course, loved it as much as I expected to, which is to say I’m devastated that I’m out of books in that world to read and am about to figure out which of Buroker’s worlds to plunge into next. Try it if you like steampunk-ish fantasy, teams of unlikely allies, grumpy/sunshine dynamics, plot twists that work better than they ought to, truly novel worldbuilding and a chatty, kind-hearted heroine just trying her best to clear her name by doing increasingly outlandish things.
Wait, that’s the main series. Try the Encrypted/Enigma/Decrypted trilogy if you like lovers-on-opposite-sides-of-the-war, high-tech mysteries in extreme climates, low-key mind-based magic, expertly drawn worlds and social dynamics, and a truly fun character – a linguist who can’t resist a puzzle, often gets stuck inside her own head, and manages to team up with the right person to save the day.
It’s worth noting that there are the odd occasions throughout the sprawling world series where racial profiles were deployed in a way that I personally wouldn’t have done, though the Encrypted/Enigma/Decrypted trilogy ends up with some plot twists that demonstrate more nuance in this regard in the end.
Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
This isn’t the first Sanderson I’ve read, but I do seem to be making a habit of reading everything BUT the series he’s most well known for, ha. Alcatraz is his upper middle grade quintet and oh. my. goodness. I absolutely blew through these in, like, five days, and they are not only fun and funny and clever, they do things with story that it never even occurred to me was possible. YMMV as they’re a) middle grade and b) really stylistically FUN and c) chock full of literary allusions that your average middle grader wouldn’t get, so they are clearly there to entertain the adults, which I don’t mind but you might. These are so good though. Just really fresh and genuine and original and clever and fun, omg, yes. I’m buying these for my nephew for his upcoming birthday.
The Silmarillion – J. R. R. Tolkien (search on your favourite platform)
This is one of those ones that I thought I’d read before but then the further I got into it the more I realised that maybe I actually hadn’t? I’d definitely read the Ainulindale before (the first story in the book), but probably not the others. This read came on the heels of my first ever re-read of The Lord Of The Rings, which I first read back in 2004 when The Return Of The King was just finishing its run in cinemas and I was touring New Zealand with a few friends in celebration of graduating from high school, ha. Anyway, I got bit by the bug last year, rewatched all the extended versions of the films and then watched them all again with cast commentary on, then dug out the book to reread. I started in on the appendices at the end of the book and figured that honestly just reading The Silmarillion would be a better next move since I wanted to linger in that world, and here we are. Not only do I now have incredibly fond memories of reading this book in our outdoor swing at sunset through March as the seasons shifted from ‘must sit in the shade so I don’t fry’ to ‘hello where is the last of the sun I must absorb it’, Tolkien draws the mythos of his world so deftly that I keep finding myself thinking on it at odd moments still months later. If you like mythology, give this a go. It’s written like a myth, so less dialogue and more description, more sweeping summaries and less deep point of view, but gosh it’s gorgeous and glorious. Truly a master at work.
Pride And Prejudice – Jane Austen (in the public domain – read for free!)
Another classic which I DEFINITELY have read before, many a time, although weirdly it’s never appeared on my list of books I’ve read before?? I know the book so well I have large sections memorised (or approximately so), so my list is definitely lacking there. So strange. Anyway, if you are the kind of person who can handle reading 1800s English, this is literally one of my favourite books. You absolutely mustn’t forget that it’s satire and that Austen is freaking funny. Yes, you have to know the language and the period well enough to get the humour, but urgh. So funny. Such sarcasm. At the very least, go watch the 1995 Colin Firth BBC mini-series production; I’ve used that to convince swathes of teenage boys that they can, indeed, appreciate Austen for what she is even if they won’t exactly be fans. “Better than I thought it would be” is usually the reflection, lol.
That’s my top picks of things I’ve read so far this year. What have you been reading and enjoying?
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