Ides of March Reading Meme
What I Read This Week
The Shamer's Daughter by Lene Kaaberbol
It's a medieval mildly-fantastical world where people with special eyes have the power of seeing into people's souls and knowing their misdeeds. Shamers are consequently at the same time valued but not very highly esteemed.
Our heroine is the youngest (she's like ten! which is pretty young for the protag of a YA book) daughter of the Shamer of this village who gets called to the local lord's town because said local lord and his whole family have just been bloodily murdered and his heir and nephew? step-son? I can't remember. is the one they find drunk out of his mind red handed and holding the knife. But when protag's mom looks into his eyes, she can see he didn't do it. DIFFICULTY.
The evil vizeer-like uncle (who is totally guilty and stands to inherit now that the other young guy is out of the way with all those 'murders' on him, obvs) brings our protag in as a bit of emotional leverage to get the Shamer to say dude is guilty or to even manip his mind so that even HE thinks he's guilty. They lock protag girl in with dude for the night, to force the Shamer's hand.
Oh and also there are dragons. Did I mention the dragons that are sort of like very nasty watch werys? Dragons. They were part of the dowry of evil uncle's wife. ANYWAY. Girl and dude bond, they try and not get killed, things happen, book one ends!
adventure children's children's book Danish daughter dragons eventyr fantasy fantasy fiction fiction gifted guilt Hcg J magic novel paper political intrigue read series shame shamer shamer chronicles skönlitteratur telepathy to-read unread YA/children's young adult young adult fiction
For a 240 page book, I am relaly suprised at how grim and dark the political intrigue is! Much more adulty young adult than I would have thought. I've totally ordered the rest of the quartet from the library. We'll see if I continue them! It's pretty cool that these were originally in Danish.
Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
It's Dealing With Dragons! You guys know this book right? [chorus of yes-es] Thought sooooooo :DDD
For anyone in the cricket-chirping silence, look at all those yesses by people you esteem! Totally convincing, no?
This is one of those fairy tales retold with a TWIST books, but from before those books were A THING. It is the first of four and they are all GREAT AND PEERLESS.
Cimorene is the youngest daughter of a king and queen and she doesn't fit in with her stereotypical-princess sisters. She likes sneaking lessons in fencing and magic and learning how to cook cherries jubilee, not dancing or etiquette.So when she's faced with the idea of engagement to a boring if shiny prince she decides to run away and gets herself a job as the princess of a very excellent lady dragon, named Kazul.
adventure children children's children's fiction children's literature dragon dragons Enchanted Forest Enchanted Forest Chronicles fairy tale fairy tales fantasy favorites fiction humor juvenile magic novel own paperback princess read series sff teen to-read witches wizards YA Fantasy young adult
This is a humerous book, it is a witty book, it is a FUN book. A++ Bookage.
Dread wizard plans, making friends with sensible witches, chocolate mousse, getting interrupted from cataloging treasure stores and libraries by princes who want to rescue you... Great stuff.
I would not recommend the audiobook as a shining peerles example of its dicipline thought. The full-cast audio thing WEIRDS me out and the pauses between speakers are nonexistent which leas to some very odd pacing moments. It's not unlistenable, It's just...not the best.
On the other hand! You can TOTALLY experience this book as read and reacted-to by Mark of Mark Reads on his youtube channel.
I'm going through a BIT of a Mark Reads period right now. I listen to him reading and reacting to a new chapter of Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones every weekday and it brings me SO MANY FEELINGS.
Also watching Mark read Neil Gaiman's A Study in Emerald and watching him realize IN REAL TIME what was going on in it? PRICELESS. I was making little noises of delight and clapping my hands.
Fudoki by Jij Johnson
This is a story in a story and is quite a bit more...literary? than I normally go. The outer story is an elderly princess/half-sister to an emperor writing down a story in some notebooks as she and her attendants clear away the years and years of stuff she's accumulated before she leaves the palace to go enroll in a convent and finish out her life. The story she's writing down is the story of a cat (still a new-ish thing in Japan) who loses her family/clan to a fire and starts on a journey. A little bit into the cat's journey the cat is transformed into a woman.A very badass lady warrior who has a pretty epic journey meeting interesting people and doing warrior things.
animals Asia Asian cat cats fairy tale fantasy fantasy fiction fiction folklore Heian era historical historical fantasy historical fiction Japan Japanese japanese folklore kij johnson kitsune mythology novel read in 2007 romance sff signed to-read transformation unread war warrior women
The word that keeps coming into my head when I try to describe Fudoki is 'lyrical' - it's written so prettily, but also in a sort of dreamlike way. I found it super interesting without being suspenceful or urgent. Super great historical and mythic detail. Killer coverart. Solid stuff.
Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman
THIS BOOK IS MADE OF WHIMSICAL JOY. If you read and loved The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish and The Wolves in the Walls, here is a slightly wordiers, slightly more advenced book in the same DELIGHTFUL vein. (Especially Wolves) Timetraveling stegosaurus sientists! Volcanoes! Pirates! Aliens! Magical talking ponies and piranhas (that are not magical talking piranhas)! All the sorts of things your dad might encounter if he goes out to the corner shop to buys some milk and takes a REALLY LONG TIME getting back.
2013 adventure aliens children children's children's fiction children's literature dinosaurs family fantasy fathers fiction hardcover humor illustrated juvenile kids middle grade milk Neil Gaiman pirates read read in 2013 science fiction tall tales time travel to-read vampires volcanoes young adult
I URGENTLY require the audiobook of this. I bet it's a scream. I'm glad I was reading on of the illustrated versions though - they are some absolutely SMASHING illustrations. So scribbly and fun. If you stop by the childrens section of a Place Of Books, you should totally grab this and sit down and read it! \o/
What I'm Reading Now
I am reading along with Mark of Mark Reads as he reads Deep Secret - his gleeeeeee when they got to the bit with the fantasy/sci fi convention was amazing.
I am also re-experiencing the LOVELY Seraphina by Rachel Hartman as an audiobook.
I am also-also vaguely still listening to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell, but that is very back-burner since I just downloaded a crop of ten new eAudiobooks from the library. One of them had DRM on it that wanted to prevent me from transferring it to any apple device. THE VERY NERVE, I say! #rude
What I'm Reading Next
My next book-book I plan on reading is Marcus Sedgwick's MidwinterBlood - it was pretty reoccurring on YALSA's lists that came out in late January (It won the Printz) and I quite liked this summary: On a remote, mysterious island in Scandinavia, two souls seek each other out again and again through seven stories that span centuries.
Also at http://isweedan.dreamwidth.org/125676.html -
comment(s) there.
The Shamer's Daughter by Lene Kaaberbol
It's a medieval mildly-fantastical world where people with special eyes have the power of seeing into people's souls and knowing their misdeeds. Shamers are consequently at the same time valued but not very highly esteemed.
Our heroine is the youngest (she's like ten! which is pretty young for the protag of a YA book) daughter of the Shamer of this village who gets called to the local lord's town because said local lord and his whole family have just been bloodily murdered and his heir and nephew? step-son? I can't remember. is the one they find drunk out of his mind red handed and holding the knife. But when protag's mom looks into his eyes, she can see he didn't do it. DIFFICULTY.
The evil vizeer-like uncle (who is totally guilty and stands to inherit now that the other young guy is out of the way with all those 'murders' on him, obvs) brings our protag in as a bit of emotional leverage to get the Shamer to say dude is guilty or to even manip his mind so that even HE thinks he's guilty. They lock protag girl in with dude for the night, to force the Shamer's hand.
Oh and also there are dragons. Did I mention the dragons that are sort of like very nasty watch werys? Dragons. They were part of the dowry of evil uncle's wife. ANYWAY. Girl and dude bond, they try and not get killed, things happen, book one ends!
adventure children's children's book Danish daughter dragons eventyr fantasy fantasy fiction fiction gifted guilt Hcg J magic novel paper political intrigue read series shame shamer shamer chronicles skönlitteratur telepathy to-read unread YA/children's young adult young adult fiction
For a 240 page book, I am relaly suprised at how grim and dark the political intrigue is! Much more adulty young adult than I would have thought. I've totally ordered the rest of the quartet from the library. We'll see if I continue them! It's pretty cool that these were originally in Danish.
Dealing With Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
It's Dealing With Dragons! You guys know this book right? [chorus of yes-es] Thought sooooooo :DDD
For anyone in the cricket-chirping silence, look at all those yesses by people you esteem! Totally convincing, no?
This is one of those fairy tales retold with a TWIST books, but from before those books were A THING. It is the first of four and they are all GREAT AND PEERLESS.
Cimorene is the youngest daughter of a king and queen and she doesn't fit in with her stereotypical-princess sisters. She likes sneaking lessons in fencing and magic and learning how to cook cherries jubilee, not dancing or etiquette.So when she's faced with the idea of engagement to a boring if shiny prince she decides to run away and gets herself a job as the princess of a very excellent lady dragon, named Kazul.
adventure children children's children's fiction children's literature dragon dragons Enchanted Forest Enchanted Forest Chronicles fairy tale fairy tales fantasy favorites fiction humor juvenile magic novel own paperback princess read series sff teen to-read witches wizards YA Fantasy young adult
This is a humerous book, it is a witty book, it is a FUN book. A++ Bookage.
Dread wizard plans, making friends with sensible witches, chocolate mousse, getting interrupted from cataloging treasure stores and libraries by princes who want to rescue you... Great stuff.
I would not recommend the audiobook as a shining peerles example of its dicipline thought. The full-cast audio thing WEIRDS me out and the pauses between speakers are nonexistent which leas to some very odd pacing moments. It's not unlistenable, It's just...not the best.
On the other hand! You can TOTALLY experience this book as read and reacted-to by Mark of Mark Reads on his youtube channel.
Click to viewI'm going through a BIT of a Mark Reads period right now. I listen to him reading and reacting to a new chapter of Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones every weekday and it brings me SO MANY FEELINGS.
Also watching Mark read Neil Gaiman's A Study in Emerald and watching him realize IN REAL TIME what was going on in it? PRICELESS. I was making little noises of delight and clapping my hands.
Fudoki by Jij Johnson
This is a story in a story and is quite a bit more...literary? than I normally go. The outer story is an elderly princess/half-sister to an emperor writing down a story in some notebooks as she and her attendants clear away the years and years of stuff she's accumulated before she leaves the palace to go enroll in a convent and finish out her life. The story she's writing down is the story of a cat (still a new-ish thing in Japan) who loses her family/clan to a fire and starts on a journey. A little bit into the cat's journey the cat is transformed into a woman.A very badass lady warrior who has a pretty epic journey meeting interesting people and doing warrior things.
animals Asia Asian cat cats fairy tale fantasy fantasy fiction fiction folklore Heian era historical historical fantasy historical fiction Japan Japanese japanese folklore kij johnson kitsune mythology novel read in 2007 romance sff signed to-read transformation unread war warrior women
The word that keeps coming into my head when I try to describe Fudoki is 'lyrical' - it's written so prettily, but also in a sort of dreamlike way. I found it super interesting without being suspenceful or urgent. Super great historical and mythic detail. Killer coverart. Solid stuff.
Fortunately, The Milk by Neil Gaiman
THIS BOOK IS MADE OF WHIMSICAL JOY. If you read and loved The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish and The Wolves in the Walls, here is a slightly wordiers, slightly more advenced book in the same DELIGHTFUL vein. (Especially Wolves) Timetraveling stegosaurus sientists! Volcanoes! Pirates! Aliens! Magical talking ponies and piranhas (that are not magical talking piranhas)! All the sorts of things your dad might encounter if he goes out to the corner shop to buys some milk and takes a REALLY LONG TIME getting back.
2013 adventure aliens children children's children's fiction children's literature dinosaurs family fantasy fathers fiction hardcover humor illustrated juvenile kids middle grade milk Neil Gaiman pirates read read in 2013 science fiction tall tales time travel to-read vampires volcanoes young adult
I URGENTLY require the audiobook of this. I bet it's a scream. I'm glad I was reading on of the illustrated versions though - they are some absolutely SMASHING illustrations. So scribbly and fun. If you stop by the childrens section of a Place Of Books, you should totally grab this and sit down and read it! \o/
What I'm Reading Now
I am reading along with Mark of Mark Reads as he reads Deep Secret - his gleeeeeee when they got to the bit with the fantasy/sci fi convention was amazing.
I am also re-experiencing the LOVELY Seraphina by Rachel Hartman as an audiobook.
I am also-also vaguely still listening to Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell, but that is very back-burner since I just downloaded a crop of ten new eAudiobooks from the library. One of them had DRM on it that wanted to prevent me from transferring it to any apple device. THE VERY NERVE, I say! #rude
What I'm Reading Next
My next book-book I plan on reading is Marcus Sedgwick's MidwinterBlood - it was pretty reoccurring on YALSA's lists that came out in late January (It won the Printz) and I quite liked this summary: On a remote, mysterious island in Scandinavia, two souls seek each other out again and again through seven stories that span centuries.
Also at http://isweedan.dreamwidth.org/125676.html -
comment(s) there.