Book Round-Up: Supersized Edition

 The Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vásquez Gilliland: A romance novel with a touch of fantasy. It has been advertised as magical realism, but it's not really that because of the efforts to make sense of and explain the magic. I liked the plot and the characters, but once again the melodramatic, YA-influenced style of writing kept me mildly annoyed. Occasionally, though, a different narrative voice shone through that was much more engaging. I may someday read the rest of the trilogy.

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery: These really are a comfort-read for me. As a girl I was intrigued by the depictions of college from almost a century ago, although there was less of that than I remembered. And it was amusing to see Anne delude herself about Gilbert for almost four years; what an ending, though!

Ragnarok by A.S. Byatt: Another novella in the Canongate Myth series. Byatt relates the myths of the Norse gods through a young English girl who has evacuated to the countryside during WWII, and her version is beautiful, visceral, and bleak.

Swordheart by T. Kingfisher: This is the third of Kinfisher's novels set in the Temple of the White Rat world, after the Clocktaur books. Like all of her novels so far, it has wonderfully rich world-building, endearing characters, serious topics handled with a light touch, and plenty of humor.

60 Songs that Explain the 90s by Rob Harvilla: A fun series of essays on popular songs from the 1990s, linked thematically. The essays are more impressionistic than critical, and had me seeking out a bunch of songs I haven't listened to in years.

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher: Kingfisher has feet of clay! The fourth in the Temple series and the first in the Saints of Steel subseries. These books qualify as romantasy, meaning the romance is the primary story, but unfortunately this romance did not interest me too much; the beats were just too similar to Swordheart. The fantasy part, on the other hand, was great, and will be continued in the next novel.

Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett: A wonderful conclusion to the series. I'm 90% sure Fawcett wrote this in response to certain popular romantasy series out there, because while Wendell might be tall and a fairy king, but he is blond, genial, friend to the fairy equivalent of the working class, and kinda lazy, rather than dark and brooding. And when he has his big, angry show of power, and Emily points out that based on her research he will regret it, he's happy to take her advice. I hope Fawcett writes more fiction for adults.

Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart: An unexpected discovery in the little free library across the street from me, it's a thoroughly enjoyable romantic thriller with gothic elements and a dozen allusions to literature including Jane Eyre.

Paladin's Strength by T. Kingfisher: The second Saints of Steel novel had a much more interesting love story. And it was so much fun -- Nuns! Paladins! Gladiators! Bears! Really creepy golems!

Book Round-up

The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi: This was an interesting novel -- a mathematician devises seven necessary conditions for a mystery and writes seven short stories to illustrate them before disappearing from the public eye. Eventually a young editor seeks him out to get his permission for a reissue, and the novel consists of the seven stories alternating with their conversations about them. There are, of course, twists to be had and secrets to be revealed. It serves as a minimalist contrast to the maximalist Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone, which elaborated the (technically unnecessary) tropes that populate most mysteries.

The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George: an unexpected treat mailed to me by an acquaintance. That it was a sweet paean to good books and a simple life was a given; that it was also wise and funny was not. It's magical realism, too, so of course this was perfect for me.

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery: my next (out of order) purchase to replace my tattered paperbacks. As an adult I have a newfound appreciation for both Montgomery's characterizations and her sense of humor.

The Sinister Pig by Tony Hillerman: I didn't love these as much as the earlier ones; too much time spent with the bad guys and not enough for Bernadette Manuelito to do. I did enjoy it, though.

Book Round-Up

 Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh: This satire of "Bright Young Things" between the Wars is sharp and brutal, even laugh-out-loud funny, but as the book progresses it also gets bleaker (Waugh got divorced while he wrote this). I admired it, and I'm glad I read it, but I wasn't in the right headspace to spend so much time with vapid, superficial people. Warning: the n-word shows up a couple of times, which I was not at all expecting.

The Echo of Old Books by Barbara Davis: I'm mad that I read this. It has an interesting premise -- used bookdealer Ashlyn can pick up psychic impressions from books, especially the two she's found that tell both sides of an unhappy love story -- but it was terribly executed. The star-crossed lovers at the heart of the novel were snobby and insufferable, there was fatshaming and slutshaming (meanwhile the "slut" had the most interesting story, and the most integrity, of the bunch), the magic realism aspect was non-existent after the first few chapters, and, worst of all, the author wrote a terrible, offensive portrayal of suicide. I am mystified that this book is as well-reviewed as it is.

Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery: A palate cleanser! I adored the Anne stories as a child, but my paperbacks from the 1980s are falling apart so I'm treating myself to new, hardcover versions. I started with this one because it is my favorite and because it is the hardest to get, as it is not yet in the public domain. Montgomery really is an excellent writer -- perceptive, both clear-eyed about and forgiving of people's faults, and genuinely funny.

Once Upon a Prime: the Wondrous Connections Between Mathematics and Literature by Sarah Hart: Of course I'd be all over a book that unites math and literature. Hart displays both a deep enthusiasm for literature and math and a delightfully dorky sense of humor that made this a fascinating, engaging read. And now my list of books to read is even longer.

White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link: One of my favorite authors is back! The short stories in this collection are riffs on classic folktales. Link has a talent for this sort of thing, incorporating modern details like jazzercise, brunch spots, and cellphones while keeping the dreamlike fantasy, and even horror, of the original tales.

Book Round-Up: Belated Christmas Edition

 A Surprise for Christmas and other Seasonal Mysteries, ed. by Martin Edwards: Another collection of Golden Age mysteries put out by the British Library. I don't know why Christmas and cozy mysteries go together, but they do.

The Great Christmas Knit-Off by Alexandra Brown: It's your standard city-girl-whose-life-is-falling-apart-relocates-to-quirky-village tale. Done well, they can be fun and comforting, but this one was too slapstick for my tastes. Why do so many books (and movies) like this revel in humiliating the protagonist repeatedly, before she finally gets the man, new job, and new home? It did inspire me to crochet (not knit) a Christmas pudding, though:

 My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories, ed. by Stephanie Perkins: Some of these YA short stories were great (like Kelly Link's, one of my favorite authors, and Rainbow Rowell's). Some were ... not. For a genre that has a reputation for being inclusive and progressive, there were a whole lot of stereotypes.

Christmas with L.M. Montgomery and Christmas with Louisa May Alcott: These were adorable chapbooks collecting 2-3 short stories by the authors in question. I preferred the Montgomery stories, because they seemed intended for adults. Next year I want to pick up the others in the series -- Dickens, O'Henry, and Hans Christian Anderson.

I finished all of these before the end of the Christmas season, I swear.