What I've been reading
"Blue Lily, Lily Blue" by Maggie Stiefvater, 3rd book in The Raven Cycle, as an audiobook. In this installment of the series,[Spoiler (click to open)]Blue's mother has disappeared, attempts to find her and Owain Glyndwr's tomb are frustrated at every turn, and it's getting harder and harder for various characters to keep secrets from one another. The stakes are very high in this book, but it still has its trademark moments of humor. Each of the main characters and many of the secondary ones are growing and changing over the course of the series. While this does feel like a lead-up to the final book in the series, it's quite satisfying on its own, like the previous two in the series. I love this series so hard. I think Maggie is an all-around good writer: characterization and character growth, scene-setting, plotting are all good to great and the prose is lovely. I also dig Will Patton as the reader for the audibooks in this series. I'm both excited for the last book and sad that my time with these characters will be coming to a close. Here's a trailer for the first book in the series.
and
"Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and Declarations of Independence" by John Hockenberry. Hockenberry's book is primarily about his life as a working journalist (NPR, ABC, etc.) who happens to be in a wheelchair. The book is both funny and angry. In some ways, Hockenberry is the prototypical crip with a chip on his shoulder, but he's so insightful about disability issues in general and his own foibles and flaws that he's very sympathetic. Some of the politics in the book are outdated by now (it was published in 1995), but overall, it is an exceptionally interesting and fun read.
My full comments on both books here.
and
"Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and Declarations of Independence" by John Hockenberry. Hockenberry's book is primarily about his life as a working journalist (NPR, ABC, etc.) who happens to be in a wheelchair. The book is both funny and angry. In some ways, Hockenberry is the prototypical crip with a chip on his shoulder, but he's so insightful about disability issues in general and his own foibles and flaws that he's very sympathetic. Some of the politics in the book are outdated by now (it was published in 1995), but overall, it is an exceptionally interesting and fun read.
My full comments on both books here.