Checking in on my 2018 reading goals

It is that time of year! With just a couple more reading days left in 2018, I decided to review how I did on my reading goals.

2018 goals	Status
Read 100 books	Completed. I read 111 books this year. However, I also listened to a lot of audiobooks and was able to meet this goal only because of listening to books during my commute to and from work.
Read mostly the books I already own	Completed. 61 books out of 111 were from my own shelves/e-reader. The rest were borrowed from my local library.
Read 10 classics I've never read before	I only read 6.
Re-read 10 books	I only re-read 6 books.
Finish off 5 series I had started prior to 2018	Completed.
Read and review 7 ARCs	I read and reviewed 12 ARCs, so significantly exceeded this one.
Read 5 non-fiction books	This year was definitely a year of non-fiction for me. I read 14 non-fiction books. For someone who used to read none, this is a great accomplishment.

So, no big surprises. I did very well overall. As in previous years, the one area where I struggle is reading classics. I did read 10 classics overall in 2018, but only 6 were new to me, the other 4 were re-reads. Here is the snapshot of my year in books from Goodreads. I do like this feature and always look forward to reviewing it at the end of each year.

"An Anonymous Girl" by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

I received an e-ARC of An Anonymous Girl from NetGalley. The book is officially coming out in the US on January 8, 2019. This is a psychological thriller focused on love, guilt, jealousy, obsession as well as the issues of honesty and deceit. Since a big part of reading a psychological thriller is experiencing the sense of suspense, I cannot summarize the plot without revealing too much.

However, here are a few essentials: the main character - Jessica Farris - is a 28-year old make-up artist living in New York who decides to earn a quick $500 by participating in a morality and ethics study conducted by a psychotherapist at NYU. We slowly learn more about Jessica, as well as the guilt and secrets she harbors.

The other voice in the book is that of the psychotherapist conducting the study. The chapters alternate the points of view between the subject and the researcher. Jessica's chapters are written in the first person, whereas the researcher's are constructed in the second person - you - addressing the subject.  All the actions performed by the psychotherapist are described in clipped passive voice sentences that sound clinical and precise (e.g. "a beverage is offered" instead of "I offered her a beverage").

I devoured the book in two days, which is an impressive feat for me (I am not a fast reader). In the beginning, I had doubts about whether the book would be able to pull me in. Mostly, this was due to the fact that I did not like the main character. She immediately struck me as someone who makes questionable moral choices and I could not easily relate to her. On the other hand, such emotional divesting allowed me to focus on the plot and not feel anxious while reading. (I do feel anxiety when I read thrillers if the character seems like someone I could really relate to).

A couple of warnings: the books is focused heavily on cheating, jealousy and romantic obsession. If those are the topics you'd rather not read about, I would pass this book. 4 out 5 stars overall. A good choice to read over a weekend or on a long airplane ride.

Christmas Readings

Every December I try to read a book that is either set during Christmas or has something to do with the holiday season. This year, I picked up a non-fiction title, Christmas: a biography by Judith Flanders. Overall, this was a very interesting read and I learned a lot about the history of various Christmas time rituals and traditions observed in the Western world. The book is fairly short (245 pages) and is very easy to get through. I did have a couple minor issues with it:

1 - the book is almost entirely focused on Northern European traditions: English, German, Dutch Scandinavian and then by extension, North American.

2 - even though the book is divided into 13 chapters, the chapters have no titles and it is thus sometimes difficult to figure out the theme/subject of every chapter. The book is written in a roughly chronological order starting from the earliest known pre-Christian celebrations of the winter solstice to the present day. However, the author does not always follow a strictly linear timeline which makes it confusing. In addition, some chapters have a very clear theme: Christmas trees, Santa Claus or caroling. Thus, I do feel this book would benefit from chapter headings that would outline a clear structure of the book.

Overall, the book started out a bit slow, but then got markedly more interesting and entertaining. By the end, I was sure I will be keeping it in my home library and will probably revisit it at some later day.

I also recommend reading it alongside A Literary Christmas by British Library which is an anthology of poems, short stories and excerpts from famous literary classics. Flanders refers to many of them in her book, and I found this combination highly informative. A Literary Christmas also has beautiful illustrations that make the stories come alive for the reader. I highly enjoyed both books. 4 out of 5 stars.

Favorite Reads of 2018

It is the end of December and I am looking back at what I read in 2018. I must say I read a lot of books that were kind of middle of the way for me: neither great nor terrible. Here are five that stood out (in no particular order):

The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman
I was not a big fan of the original Golden Compass trilogy. It dragged and I struggled to get through the books. Pullman's newest release The Book of Dust was a complete opposite. I flew through the book. It is very engaging and has a likable main character. I highly recommend this book.

At the Water's Edge by Sarah Gruen
This was the first book by Sarah Gruen that I read and I fell in love with her writing. This book in particular had all the elements I like: it is historical fiction, set in Scotland near Loch Ness, there is a bit of a mystery, a forbidden romance, and a likable female character in search of redemption.

The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
I did not appreciate this book when I first read it at the age of 18. You have to have had a bit more life experience to understand the plot and characters. This time around I was completely blown away by the story and Maugham's writing. His books seemed boring when I had to read them for school. Now, I cannot wait to revisit more of his novels.

Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky Brothers
This is a Soviet sci-fi classic that was the basis for Tarkovsky's film Stalker. A must read for any sci-fi lover, this short novella packs quite a punch and tackles deep philosophical issues. I loved it.

Evicted by Matthew Desmond
This is the only non-fiction on the list. Evicted changed the way I look at homelessness and poverty in America. It had a huge emotional impact on me and gave me new insights into issues I never thought about before. A must read for all Americans.

"Shadow of the Fox" by Julie Kagawa

Shadow of the Fox is book 1 in a new YA fantasy series inspired by Japanese folklore and culture. I enjoyed this book much more than I initially thought I would. It is basically a quest story. A young girl who is a half shape-shifter (she can turn into a fox) and was was raised in a remote monastery, embarks on a mission to deliver a piece of an ancient and very valuable scroll to another monastery whose location no one seems to know. On the way, she makes new friends, encounters dangerous situations, and learns about the outside world.

The book reads like a fairy tale. There are supernatural creatures, and magicians. There are also skillful shinobi, samurai, and ronins. I had a great time reading this book. I think what makes it different is the Japanese inspired setting. I felt immersed in a different culture and the world, and will definitely be reading book 2 when it comes out next year. 4 out of 5 stars. 

"Mary B: An Untold Story of Pride and Prejudice" by Katherine J. Chen

Every now and then I stumble upon a delightful Pride and Prejudice retelling. Mary B looked promising. The novel was supposed to give us the story of the middle sister Mary, the one who would have made a great match for Mr. Collins. Thank goodness I checked this book out of the library and did not pay for it! What an absolute disappointment and a waste of time! Not only did Chen make out the characters to be nothing like they were in Austen's novel (enter whiny Darcy and selfish and rude Lizzy), her characters also behaved in ways that would be unimaginable during that time period. A maid gulping down water meant for her mistress, a young religious girl (Mary) throwing herself at a clergyman, and a son of an earl mistaking a gentlewoman for a housemaid. What was the author thinking?

I do realize that Chen was trying to make Mary B interesting just very misunderstood. In fact, I kept thinking she was trying to pattern her after Jane Eyre and Darcy after Rochester. Alas, Jane Eyre's appeal is not only in the strength of character, resilience and independence of spirit, it is also in her sound principles. She flatly refuses to be with the man she loves when she learns he has a wife who is still living. Mary B's version of independence of spirit is more akin to our modern notions of sexual freedom. And don't get me started on Colonel Fitzwilliam - he is nothing close to the one in Austen's novel!

I will stop the rant here. You get the picture. This book is bad. Chen should have written a completely original novel that has nothing to do with Pride and Prejudice and she definitely should not have set it in the time period she clearly does not understand. 1 out of 5 stars.

"My Favorite Half-Night Stand" by Christina Lauren

I had never read a book by Christina Lauren before, but I knew she wrote in the modern romance, chick lit and new adult genres. I did, therefore, expect an easy-to-read, fluffy romance, which would also hopefully be funny. Bridget Jones Diaries and the Shopaholic series are the unwritten standard setters for me in this genre in terms of the overall entertainment value.

First of all, I was surprised to see that My Favorite Half-Night Stand has 400 pages. It certainly did not read like it did. I finished it easily in a couple of days. Secondly, it definitely does not measure up to some of the better books in the genre, which makes me wonder what the fuss is all about with Christina Lauren's books. I will have to read some others and see if they are any better.

This novel focuses on a group of four friends (four men and one woman) who on a whim decide to try online dating in order to secure partners for an upcoming work event. The story gets a bit more complicated after Millie (the only female in the group) hooks up with Reid (one of the four male friends). They do decide that it would be better to keep their relationship strictly platonic, but then they also get matched by the dating app. As they start communicating via the app, only one of them knows the real identities behind their online personalities.

Overall, I would say this is not the worst book I've ever read, but it is definitely not the best. It is what it is: a cheesy romance novel with some cringy and hard to believe situations. It is however a quick read and helps pass the time while sitting on a long flight. 3 out of 5 stars.

I received an advanced e-copy of the novel from NetGalley.com. It will be available for purchase in December.

"The Fifth Season" by N.K. Jemisin

The Fifth Season is book 1 in N.K. Jemisin's award-winning Broken Earth fantasy trilogy. Now that I finished this book, I can honestly say it deserves all the praise and the prizes that it has received. Not only does it have a unique and interesting world, complex characters and intricate political and environmental situation, it is also structured in a very unusual way.

We follow three different timelines in the life of the main character. Her life is divided into several distinct periods, and fittingly, she even goes by a different name in each of them. This is not unlike the feeling many of us have looking back on various phases in our lives: we are not the same when we were children, young adults and so on. Granted, Essun has had much more heartbreak and loss in her life than an average person. To begin with, she is an orogene, or a person who is able to create, manipulate and quiet seismic events.

In addition to orogenes, this world is populated with stills, humans who do not possess the skill of orogeny, and stone eaters, a mysterious humanoid species of whom little is known. The continent where the book is set is misleadingly called Stillness. It is in reality nothing but still. Life on the continent is regularly interrupted by powerful seismic events, each of which is followed by a Fifth season, a period of winter, hunger and desolation brought on by a large-scale earthquake. The population lives in constant anticipation of the next big shake, and their lore has specific rules and instructions that are to be followed during a Fifth Season.

As you can guess from the title, Stillness is entering its Fifth season, and the book describes the events leading up to it and immediately following its beginning. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The writing is exceptional, the plot is intricate and from what I hear, the sequel is even better. 5 out of 5 stars.

"Mr. Dickens and His Carol" by Samantha Silva

I listened to this book on audio and it did not disappoint. The narrator has a British accent which only adds to the atmosphere of a Dickensian London. The main character in the novel - you guessed it - is Charles Dickens. His latest serialized creation called Martin Chuzzlewit is not doing well in terms of sales, and his publisher tasks him with writing a Christmas story just a few weeks before Christmas.

It was fun to follow Dickens around as he got increasingly frustrated with his family and friends who have over the years gotten used to relying on his generosity. Now that his financial situation is a bit strained he has trouble getting into the holiday spirit of giving and ends up alienating his own wife and children. He is also plagued by self-doubt wondering if he can ever write well again. He ends up fleeing his home and going back to where he started: staying in a humble inn where he penned his early works and seeking inspiration in roaming the streets of London. He also meets a mysterious young widow who unexpectedly shows him the way back to himself and to a perfect story.

This was a delightful read. I highly recommend it to everyone who likes Charles Dickens, his Christmas Carol, and everything Victorian. 5 out of 5 stars.

Another Ghost Story: "Newport" by Jill Morrow

I picked up Newport by Jill Morrow on a whim: it was on sale at a local bookstore, and I could not pass by an opportunity to read a book set locally. The narration alternates between 1921 and 1898, so if you like the Gilded Age or stories set right after WWI, this is a good one to check out. What I did not realize going into this book was that it is another ghost story, which worked out great for October!

The novel starts as Adrian de la Noye, a seasoned attorney from Boston, and a young associate from his law office, arrive in Newport to change a will of a textile magnate Bennett Chapman. Chapman in his 80s decides to marry a woman half his age, and his adult children, understandably, are against any changes in the will that would benefit "the gold-digger". As the drama unravels, new secrets about times long past come to light and at the center of it all is the ghost of the first Mrs. Chapman who is cleverly manipulating the proceedings and pushing things along to the very end.

Newport is an enjoyable and fast-paced read. I was surprised to see that it has pretty mediocre ratings on Goodreads. I personally very much enjoyed it and would read more books in a similar vein. 5 out of 5 stars.  

Spooky Reads: Middle Grade Literature

This October, to get in the mood for Halloween, I read two wonderful middle grade novels that I highly recommend to all young and young-at-heart readers.

The first one is a new release: The City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab. The main character in this novel is a girl named Cassidy who has the extraordinary ability to cross over into the realm of ghosts and interact with them. I normally do not like ghost stories, but this one was delightful. It is also set in one of my favorite cities in the world, Edinburgh, Scotland. Schwab brilliantly weaves in local history and lore into her narrative, and our heroine and her friends have a wonderful adventure uncovering an ancient evil. I do think this book could be a little too scary for some younger readers, so I would encourage the parents to be aware of that. I also believe that adults would enjoy this book just as much as I did. Five out of five stars.

My second spooky middle grade read was Nightmares! by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller. The main character in this book is a twelve-year-old boy named Charlie. His mom died when he was nine, and now he, his dad and little brother have moved into a mysterious mansion built by the town's founder and owned by Charlie's new stepmother. Charlie absolutely loathes her, in fact, he calls her his step-monster. He is also tormented by nightmares to the point that he is afraid to go to sleep each night and prefers to stay awake. The story begins to unravel when Charlie realizes that most of his friends are also plagued by nightmares and his own personal nightmare has found a way to cross into the Waking World.

This book was a lot of fun. Not only does it have wonderful illustrations, and fun adventures, it also has a great underlying message about facing one's fears and not allowing them to become so big that they engulf your entire life. Sometimes it is just a matter of looking at your thinking and trying to understand why you feel so scared. Uncovering a fear is a huge step toward getting it under control. I highly recommend this book. In fact, there are two other books in this series, but it also reads very well as a stand-alone. Five out of five stars.

"Medicus" by Ruth Downie

Medicus is another book I read that is set in Roman Britain. The main character - Gaius Petreius Ruso - is a military doctor assigned to the Twentieth Roman Legion stationed in Deva, modern day Chester, England. Ruso is recently divorced and overburdened with family debts. Upon his arrival in Britain, one of the first cases he is presented with is examining the body of a drowned female. No one seems to know who she is until a soldier identifies her as a local barmaid. Ruso is certain the girl had been murdered. But the killer, whoever he was, left no clues, and the legion officials are in no rush to investigate a murder of a local prostitute. A few days later, another girl from the same bar turns up dead. Through a series of circumstances, Ruso gets embroiled in untangling the mystery.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read. The book is filled with humor and I found myself chuckling in several places throughout the book. The mystery is not really anything to write home about. I guessed who the bad guy was pretty early in the book. I am also not certain how historically accurate the book is. The author definitely did her research into Roman-day medicine, attire, etc. There are more books in the series, and I might check them out as well. 4 out of 5 stars.

"The Eagle of the Ninth" by Rosemary Sutcliff

This month I decided to pick up a couple of books about Roman Britain. The first of these is a modern children's classic by Rosemary Sutcliff called The Eagle of the Ninth.  In it, we follow a young centurion Marcus Flavius Aquila, who soon upon arrival in Britain is forced to leave the service due to an injury received in a skirmish with local tribesmen. Marcus has a much more personal connection to Britain than most. His father was a cohort commander of the Ninth Legion which disappeared without a trace during a march to Caledonia (modern day Scotland). During his stay with his uncle, Marcus hears of a rumor that the Eagle born as the standard of the Ninth Legion has been sighted in one of the druid places of worship. Marcus decides to embark on a mission to recover the Eagle and finally learn what happened to the four and half thousand legionnaires who marched under the Eagle of the Ninth.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It does a great job re-creating the atmosphere of the second century Britain. Where it falls a bit short is in character development. In particular, Marcus' slave-turned-friend Esca lacks complexity. As a rule, I do not like the trope of a native becoming a sidekick to a conqueror. I think Esca's motivation to help Marcus could have been explored a bit more. Nonetheless, this was a very enjoyable read, and I will continue with Sutcliff's other novels in the Dolphin Ring Cycle.

"The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle" by Stuart Turton

This book was one wild ride. I saw someone describe it as a cross between Agatha Christie and Downton Abbey. I couldn't agree more. The setting is a long-abandoned estate located deep in the woods and far from any civilization. Lord and Lady Hardcastle host a large party to celebrate the return of their daughter Evelyn who had for many years lived in France. The party is held on an anniversary of their son's death who was murdered at a lake near the estate almost 20 years ago. The same guests who were present at the time of his death, are re-assembled here now. But on the night of the party, the guest of honor Evelyn will die.

Now comes the Agatha-Christie-with-a-twist element of the story: Aiden Bishop has 8 days to solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle. He will relive the day of the murder 8 times, and he will do so while inhabiting 8 different guests present at the party. This book is unpredictable, action packed, creepy and unputdownable. Even though I zoomed through certain sections of it, it is quite a chunker at over 500 pages, and took me over a week to read.

If you are someone who likes murder mysteries, I highly recommend this one. It is original, and very well and realistically written. I could not guess who the murderer was, and there are so many twists and turns that you have to hold on to your seat to the very end. 5 out of 5 stars from me. I cannot wait to see what else this author has in store!

I received an e-ARC of this book from NetGalley. The novel will officially come out in the US tomorrow, September 18th, 2018.

Reading Autobiographical Essays: Chabon and Sedaris

I recently discovered a new genre that I enjoy: autobiographical essays. I first ventured into the genre when I picked up David Sedaris' Calypso which came as part of my Book of the Month subscription. This book was delightful. Sedaris reflects on everything from tracking steps on his Fit-Bit to talking to strangers to our inevitable mortality. Some of the essays in this book are laugh-out-loud funny and some tend to be more introspective and melancholy in nature. The stories are interconnected and the same characters re-appear over and over again. So by the end of the book,  you feel like you really got to know Sedaris' family. He makes poignant observations and captures essential details of others' personalities and quirks. I highly recommend this book.

The second essay collection that I just recently finished on an audiobook was Pops: Fatherhood in Pieces by Michael Chabon. The book begins with an account of a conversion Michael Chabon had in his youth with an unnamed famous writer, who advised him not to have kids if he ever wants to be a successful author. Well, Chabon has fathered four children and according to him, was the most prolific in putting out novels while enjoying a happy family life. His essays focus on the lessons he's learned about being a parent, on his relationship with his children and the love he has for his own father and the memories he cherishes of spending time with him now that his dad is no longer here.

I highly recommend both of these books. They are fairly short but pack an impressive punch. I will definitely be reading more from both of these authors. 5 out of 5 stars to both collections.

"Roadside Picnic" by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky

If you like sci-fi, you must have heard of the film and video game Stalker. Roadside Picnic was the basis for both. In fact, the Strugatsky brothers also wrote the screenplay for the movie adaption, but lots of things were changed during the filming.

What I find fascinating about this now truly iconic novella is the premise that some sort of aliens pass through our planet and merely stop to have "a roadside picnic". They leave behind a bunch of picnic leftovers (trash) and move on. They don't look to wipe us out or to conquer. We do not make any kind of contact with an alien species. Instead, the earth now has several "zones" where this alien trash wreaks havoc on the environment. Stalkers are basically smugglers, adventurous die-hards who sneak into the zone and carry out alien "swag" that humans then re-purpose for use in everyday life. Some of it is useful (e.g. never-dying batteries), some - we do not understand at all. But ultimately, as one of the characters aptly puts it, we might be just using their microscopes as hammers.

Of course, this being a Russian novel, written in 1970 during the height of the Cold War, there are lots of political and philosophical undercurrents readers will enjoy deciphering. Let's begin with the term the Zone. In the book, this is the area where anomalies are at their strongest and where alien tech can be smuggled from. It is fraught with danger and yet, Stalkers cannot resist its pull. This addiction to getting an adrenaline rush like no other is one reason our main character Red keeps going into the Zone. In Russian, the term Zona (the Zone) is a widely used slang term for prison, or labor camp. Our character keeps going there, risking his life, but also constantly seeking some higher meaning. He asserts in the last chapter that he never sold his soul. You can read this to mean that people get imprisoned for being true to themselves, for standing up for what is right, for not giving up on their principles.

The theme of finding truth in the Zone is particularly palpable in the film. The Zone is the only thing that is in color. Outside of it, the movie is monochrome. The characters look like prisoners with their shorn hair and shapeless clothes. Also, in the film, the three people venturing into the zone are: the smuggler, the writer and the professor. Most Soviet political prisoners were intelligentsia (writers, scientists and other intellectuals), and people re-presenting anti-establishment, i.e. the smugglers, those who distributed western music, banned literature, and other "anti-soviet" merchandise.

Roadside Picnic is also eerily prophetic if you view the Zone as an epicenter of an ecological disaster. When the book was being written, the Chernobyl disaster was still 16 years in the future. But reading the novel, the abandoned city of Chernobyl is what kept coming to my mind, and I did not even know that Chernobyl is prominently featured in the Stalker video games!

Overall, a great piece of Sci-Fi. I highly recommend it. 5 out of 5 stars.

"Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City" by Matthew Desmond

Lack of social safety net for its citizens is the sad truth about the US which I struggle to understand. Desmond's book is the result of his research focused on the rental market in Milwaukee. Specifically, he is zeroing in on the poorest tenants (both black and white), most of them are on SSI, who rent barely livable properties and yet spend 70 to 80% of their monthly income on rent.

Extreme poverty in the United States is real, and yet, as a society, we choose to do nothing about it. In fact, we close our eyes to it. We avoid those neighborhoods, we do not hear about them on the news (unless a shooting is reported), and our politicians definitely do not feel any urgency to deal with this crisis.

For an average middle or upper class American, it is easy to think that "those people" are just lazy, they don't want to work, or live in poverty by choice. In Desmond's book, all the people he comes in contact with struggle from some sort of mental or physical illness. There are single mothers whose husbands/boyfriends are in prison or simply absent. There is addiction, domestic violence and child abuse. On top of all that, they have trouble keeping a roof over their heads. Children are constantly forced to change schools (if they even go to school!). Basic survival and constant need to deal with one desperate situation after another is the daily reality for these families.

This book had a huge emotional impact on me. It is a required reading for the incoming freshman class at the University where I work, and I think it is a great choice for young people to read and discuss. In fact, this should be a required reading for all Americans. I want to think that all of us are by nature compassionate and able to emphasize with others. As one of the richest countries in the world, how can we allow such extreme poverty and desperation to exist right around the corner?

Re-Reading Classics: “Emma” and “Persuasion” by Jane Austen

Continuing my project of re-reading some favorite classics, including among others, Jane Austen, I have recently finished her Persuasion and Emma. Neither one stood out to me when I first read them 20 years ago. In fact, I barely remembered the plots of both of these novels. On the second re-read, my much older self definitely preferred Emma. 

To me, Emma seems much more relatable and real. She is vivacious, fiercely loyal to her family and friends, but also young and naive. Her lack of experience is seen in mistakes she makes about people’s dispositions and attachments. She thinks she knows what she wants in life (never to marry and always remain the mistress of Hartfield). She is also sure which male acquaintance admires her particular friend Harriet Smith. She makes blunder after blunder, until she finally sees the depth of her own misjudgment and learns to listen to and understand her own heart.

In contrast, Anne in Persuasion is older, sadder and wiser than Emma. She’s been deeply disappointed in love and is thus very cautious about attachments. Anne is level-headed and good, a true lady in conduct and intentions. I did enjoy Persuasion very much. But of the two, Emma was more to my taste.

Both novels have unforgettable casts of great characters and Austen’s signature humor and keen observations on manners and morals of the day. I did like both novels and rated them 5 out of 5 stars. I also watched the BBC four-part series Emma and highly recommend it.

"Spinning Silver" by Naomi Novik

Spinning Silver is Naomi Novik's newest fantasy novel inspired by Eastern European folklore. It is a stand alone and has nothing to do with her previous novel Uprooted. We follow three female heroines: Miryem, a daughter of a Jewish moneylender, Wanda, a peasant girl who lives with her two brothers and an abusive father, and Irina, a daughter of a duke who's been nothing but a disappointment to her father.

There are also two opposing magical forces in the novel: the Staryk, or winter people, who bring cold and snow to the country of Lithvas, and a fire demon who possesses the tsar and sustains itself by devouring others. Our three heroines get caught in the middle of this epic conflict and must overcome numerous challenges to survive and keep their loved ones safe.

What I love about Novik's characters is that they are ordinary girls. None of them are beautiful or have super powers. They must rely on their natural talents, strength and ingenuity to outwit the magical beings. Moreover, Novik basically equates overcoming of challenges through natural talent and intelligence alone to having magical superpowers. She says in the novel: "A power claimed and challenged and thrice carried out is true; the proving makes it so." The magic that Wanda and Irina experience comes to them from the love of their mothers - I just loved that. Wanda's mother is able to restore Sergey to health and Irina discovers a talent she received from her mother that helps hide from the fire monster.

I also loved the way Novik tackled antisemitism in her novel. The danger, bigotry and hatred that surround Miryem and her family are palpable. It was so good to see her as the ultimate hero in the novel.

Novik's writing itself is akin to spinning. Her narrative is meticulous and unrushed. It takes detours, provides glimpses into scenery and is overall more like looking at pictures than reading words. You could imagine an old woman spinning wool by the stove and slowly telling this tale to kids.

Her story line is very well constructed and everything in it is logical. There are no miraculous rescues or sudden changes of rules. Her characters have to work hard and the way magic works continues to be logical to the very end. The reader thus never feels cheated or tricked. There is also no instant love in this story. In fact. the only kind of love present for most of the novel is love of family and your own people. Respect and deep romantic love need to be earned in Novik's universe and thus feel more authentic and worth having.

This story is multi-layered and each character deserves to be discussed in their own right. This would make a great pick for a book club or any sort of discussion group. Spinning Silver is a definite new favorite of mine. 5 out of 5 stars.

"The Romanov Empress" by C.W. Gotner

It was refreshing to read a book about a Romanov Empress that did not focus on the last Romanov family. Rather, this is a story of the last tzar’s mother Maria Fyodorovna. We follow her as a young girl moving from Denmark to Russia to marry the tzar’s heir. Overall, this is a fictionalized account of Maria Fyodorovna’s life. So it is by no means serious historical fiction. Those who prefer well-researched and more comprehensive accounts of historical events will be disappointed. This is more of a light-weight loose historical retelling with many dramatized sections.

I read an advanced reader’s copy and it did have a lot of inaccuracies in the use of Russian patronymics and in one place a proverb was written in a very bad Russian. These are the kinds of details that irk me as a reader and show the author’s carelessness with research. If he takes so little care with the language, one can only assume that historical facts are probably just as muddled. I hope these were corrected in the final published version, but I did not check.

That said, I think the novel gives a very basic introduction to the life of the Russian imperial family, and those who enjoy historical drama, will undoubtedly like this novel. To me, it lacked historic authenticity and was overall a bit too shallow. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

Re-Reading Classics: "The Painted Veil" by W. Somerset Maugham

I first read The Painted Veil in college for an English class. At the time, I did not enjoy it. I did not appreciate the beauty of Maugham's language and I definitely did not understand the issues he raised in this short but very poignant novel. Now, re-reading it in my 40s, I finally appreciate both the depth of the message and the beauty of its execution.

The main character Kitty Fane is a recently married, bored, shallow and love-starved Englishwoman living in Hong Kong. She did not marry for love. Her mother had once had high hopes for Kitty to make a great match. But Kitty, while pretty and popular, failed to secure a marriage proposal from an acceptable suitor. Thus, in her late 20s, with a married younger sister, and faced with increasing pressure from her mother, Kitty accepts Walter Fane, an unremarkable scientist who takes her to the place of his job in Hong Kong.

Dissatisfied with her station in life and her marriage, Kitty falls in love with a married man. Walter of course finds out and is absolutely devastated by his wife's unfaithfulness. Moreover, he is crushed by her choice of a lover: a selfish cynic known for his numerous dalliances. Kitty is also disillusioned once her lover refuses to divorce his wife and marry her instead. Walter at this point resolves that they should go to a region of China with a raging cholera epidemic.

Even though the world seems to be crashing around Kitty, faced with heartache, disappointment and also very real human suffering, she undergoes a complete character transformation. For the first time, she sees her husband in a different light and also reevaluates her own choices and motivations. This is a story of redemption, forgiveness and overcoming disappointment and loss. Even though Kitty is not a very likable character, I found her to be quite relatable. I credit Maugham's talent for the ability to make her so lifelike and complex. 5 out of 5 stars. A powerful and beautiful read.

Re-Reading Classics: "Lady Susan" by Jane Austen

In my early 20s, I read all of Jane Austen’s novels. In the years since then, however, I’ve only re-read two: Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility. The other day, sort of on a whim, I picked up Austen’s Lady Susan on audio book. I am ashamed to say that I remembered nothing of the plot or the general structure of the novel. In fact, I was surprised and intrigued to discover that it is an epistolary novel, i.e. written entirely in the form of letters.

What struck me in particular was how dark the novel was compared to her other works. To be sure, in many Austen’s novels some of the characters are not nice people. Take George Wickham or Caroline Bingley for example in Pride and Prejudice! However, such unpleasant characters are mostly employed by Austen as background personalities and are there to expose human weaknesses, flaws, to create conflict in the plot and to nicely contrast with the main heroes of the story.

Not so in Lady Susan. The title character, Susan Vernon is in every sense a manipulative, selfish and highly unlikable creature. She spins lies and makes up schemes with little regard for anyone’s feelings or happiness other than her own. She is a terrible mother, a heartless sister-in-law, and an ungrateful house guest. I am not even mentioning the ease with which she breaks men’s hearts and even marriages. She also remains unremorseful in her actions and considers herself to be fully justified in taking advantage of other people and selfishly using them for her purposes.

I also really liked the format of the novel. It was fun to read the story through the eyes of various characters as they corresponded with each other. After reading this novel, I am now inspired to start re-reading all of Austen’s works just to see what else I’ve forgotten. My guess would be a lot! Five out of five stars. A short but very powerful read.

2018 Mid-Year Reading Goals Check-In

July managed to sneak up on me. I did not even realize yesterday was July 1 until I had to check my calendar for this week. Since we are at a half-year point, I thought it would be a good time to check in on my reading goals for the year and see how I've been doing so far. I will also answer the questions from the mid-year book freek-out tag that I did in 2016 and really enjoyed.

1. Best book you’ve read so far in 2018. 
At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen.

2. Best sequel you've read so far in 2018.
The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman

3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to.
Circe by Madeline Miller

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year.
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. It comes out this month, so I do not have to wait long!

5. Biggest disappointment.
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

6. Biggest surprise.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - I LOVED this book, listened to it on audio, and I have to admit  it is one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to.

7. Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)
Sara Gruen - I already read two of her books this year and look forward to reading more.

8. Newest fictional crush.
Jamie Fraser - sigh. Yes, I have fallen down the Outlander hole. It will be a while before I climb out. I am only on book one of this humongous series.

9. Newest favorite character.
Baru Cormorant - wish I was that good with strategy!

10. Book that made you cry.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.

11. Book that made you happy.
The Siren by Kiera Cass. It was also a surprise. I did not expect to like it as much as I did.

12. The most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received)
Anne of Green Gables - I bought an old illustrated version of it at a thrift store. It is a gorgeous edition with full-page colored illustrations and it is in an excellent condition.

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year?
Looking over my goals for the year and progress to date, here is where I stand:

Goals for 2018	Progress to Date
Read 100 books	On track: I read 52 books so far
Read mostly the books I already own	Doing ok here. So far I read 28 books from my own shelves (as opposed to the library)
Read 10 classics I've never read before	This is the biggest problem area so far. I've only read 2 new to me classics: Lysistrata and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Re-read 10 books	Another problem area. I've only re-read one so far - The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham
Finish 5 series I had started prior to 2018	On track: I've finished 3 series, so 2 more over the next six months should be doable
Read and review 7 ARCs	Completed. I fact, I have read and reviewed 8, and have 2 more on deck from Netgalley, so will definitely surpass this one.
Read 5 non-fiction books	Completed.

So it looks like I really need to step up with classics and re-reads. At this point, I doubt that I will meet those two goals, but we'll see.

"Furyborn" by Claire Legrand

This is another YA fantasy novel about two queens separated by time. In fact, the points of view alternate each chapter between Rielle, the blood queen who lived 1,000 years before, and Eliana in the present, who does not know her destiny but is plunged into the world of violence and war.

This book is a first in the series or a trilogy and certainly has a lot of potential. It kept giving me the Queen of the Tearling vibes. There is a great evil in the world, the future seems bleak, the pages are filled with death and violence and all hopes rest on the prophecy of the sun queen who will defeat the evil forces. I did not like the first book in the Queen of the Tearling trilogy, and I think many people will not like Furtyborn either. It is too long, and definitely not a page-turner. But it lays the foundation of what's to come in the the rest of the series and creates the context for the world, belief system, mythology and history. I just hope that the sequels are really good, otherwise, the entire series is going to be a huge flop.

In short, if you like epic fantasy, queens, prophecies, magic, time travel - this book has all of these elements. It also has some steamy scenes that seemed a bit out of place to be honest, but nonetheless if you like romance in fantasy, this book has it as well. It just somehow fails to grip the reader. The characters are not well-fleshed out and I did not feel any attachment to them. I will definitely check out the sequel, but am a bit apprehensive at this point. 4 out of 5 stars (mostly for the complex world and potential).

"99 Days" by Katie Cotugno

With the weather finally warm and sunny, all I want to read are fluffy contemporaries about summer, friendships, and love. Katie Cotugno is the author whose name I hear a lot from various book-tubers so I decided to check out one of her books. Unfortunately, this one was a huge miss for me.

99 Days is about a girl named Molly who just recently graduated from a boarding school and comes home for the summer (99 days to be exact) before going off to college. When Molly abruptly left for the boarding school a year ago, it was not because she wanted to be there. She left because she had to, and now that she returned, her past comes back to haunt her.

Overall, it was hard for me to relate to the main heroine for most of the book. She kept making the choices I could not understand, and even though the entire book is written from her perspective, she spends zero time analyzing her actions or impulses and just continues to drift along. I guess the entire story is a picture of what NOT to do. Many situations in the book are written as though Molly is unable to think rationally or have any sense of propriety. For example, the scene when Patrick drags her behind a tree at a birthday party and they start kissing even though her boyfriend is literally 20 feet away is completely incomprehensible to me. Cheating in itself is bad enough, but such blatant disregard for anyone else's feelings and lack of any sort of decorum is mind-boggling. I did like how the book ended, and this alone bumped the rating up to 2 stars. If you are just looking for a light summer romance book, do not pick this one. It is pretty frustrating to read. 

"LIFEL1K3" by Jay Kristoff

LIFEL1K3 is a heart-pounding non-stop-action sci-fi novel with multiple unexpected plot twists and suspense-filled situations. The setting is the future where cyborgs, robots and androids are commonplace, The main character Eve has had a share of her own body modifications. After a near fatal gun shot to the head, she has had a series of chips inserted into her skull that help her remember her childhood.

When I initially picked up the novel, I did not think I'd like it. I was afraid it would be too sci-fi for me. However, a few pages in, I was hooked. Eve and her sidekicks Lem, Kaiser and Cricket are likable, hilarious and just plain fun to watch. Thus, the novel has an engaging and interesting plot and a great cast of characters.

I also loved the nod to the legend of the miraculously saved Romanov princess Anastasia. If you are not familiar with the story, the last Russian emperor, his wife and five children were brutally murdered and dumped in an abandoned mine in Siberia by the bolsheviks in 1918. Over the years, there were countless rumors that the youngest girl Anastasia miraculously survived and lived under an alias in the West. The last name of the main character in Kristoff's book - Monrova - is an anagram of Romanov. Her name is Ana - short for Anastasia. The father's name is Nicholas and he keeps referring to her as "Princess". The names of the other siblings also closely match the Romanovs': Olga (Olivia in the novel), Tatyana (Tania), Mary (Marie) and the boy Alexey (Alex in the book). Ana's childhood was spent in what she refers to as a modern-day palace. She was sheltered from the outside world and basked in luxury until a tragedy occurred that led to the murder of her entire family.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. 5 out of 5 stars. I received an e-ARC from Netgalley.

"Notice Me" by Emem Uko

This is a contemporary YA novel that is perfect for fans of boy bands and overall the music industry and the making of a band. The main character Anders becomes a lead vocalist almost by chance and the band he is a part of is catapulted into fame almost overnight.

I liked the beginning of this novel. The surprise message an author receives from a mystery celebrity was a good way to pull a reader in. However, once the identity of the celebrity is established the book abruptly switches to past events and recounts in excruciating detail his journey to fame and his everyday life as a member of a popular boy band.

One thing I could not understand was where most of the novel was taking place and why it was not revealed. Anders gets recruited by a foreign entertainment company that specializes in creating and promoting bands. You can sort of guess from the text that it is based in Asia (I would say Japan or Korea), but the author never identifies the country or the language, and I could not understand why. I think it takes away from the book and creates an annoying distraction (at least it did for me).

In addition, after the initial set-up that included a hint at unrequited love, we move into a detailed account of Anders' life as a lead singer of a boy band and do not come back to the love interest until the last quarter of the book. Moreover, there is no literary tension of any kind until about half way of the book and I did start to wonder whether anything interesting would happen any time soon. The plot definitely gets more interesting tn the second half of the book, despite the fact that the author still tends to be very detailed in her accounts of individual events.

I would say this book will appeal to anyone who likes boy bands, nice likable characters, detailed accounts of celebrities' lives and unsuspecting Cinderella stories, where an insanely popular musician falls in love with an ordinary fan. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.

"Ghost Talkers" by Mary Robinette Kowal

This was another pick by a local Sci-Fi and Fantasy book club that I am a member of. Ghost Talkers is billed as perfect for fans of Naomi Novik's Uprooted and the show Downton Abbey. Although, I am a fan of both Novik's novel and the TV series, I did not get distinct vibes of either one.

Ghost Talkers is a historical fantasy/mystery novel set in Europe during WWI. As you can guess from the title, ghosts and mediums are real and both are in fact in England's service in the Great War. Here are the points that I really liked about this book:

• The historical setting. I thought Kowal did a great job creating the atmosphere of a British military base in France during WWI. The attitudes and notions of characters were also on point for the era, and even the language, I thought, was contemporaneous to the setting.
• The main character Ginger. As a medium serving in the Spirit Corps, Ginger is not strictly part of the military. However, she accesses information provided by ghosts of British fallen soldiers that is of vital strategic importance to the British military forces. Ginger gets her fair share of not being taken seriously by the military brass not so much due to her occupation (in this world no one questions the reality of ghosts and mediums) as due to her gender. But she is obstinate, determined and in the end no one has doubts about her abilities, intelligence and strategic thinking.
• The mystery twist. Apart from being a historical fantasy, this novel has a major mystery plot line. There is a traitor in the British camp and both Ginger and her fiance (who works for the military intelligence) are on a mission to find and neutralize the spy before vital information about the Spirit Corps' operation is leaked to the Germans. The mystery line was not predictable, which is always a huge plus. I did not figure out who the traitor was and was just as blown away as Ginger when it happened.

Now on to the things that I thought did not work so well:

• Side characters. There were several characters introduced early on about whom we got a fair amount of details but who never reappeared in the story. I am talking about the newly arrived mediums. Some of them seemed interesting enough to warrant a bigger role in the narrative so I was a bit confused that we never went back to them. 
• The romance. I don't want to spoil anything, but let's just say ghost stories are not quite my thing.
• The attempt at diversity. Kowal introduces a West Indian medium in the story, as well as an East Indian regiment that ends up playing a critical role. Although both the West and East Indians make major contributions to the war effort in the novel, the racial discrimination they suffer is painful and indisputable. Even though I salute Kowal for thinking of introducing some diversity to her characters, they were still relegated to playing a second fiddle. We do not get much of a background story on them and they are not as well developed as they could be. Token diversity is what I kept thinking when reading the novel. I would really like them to be a bigger presence in the story as that would provide a very interesting and unexplored perspective.

Overall, I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars. I do recommend it particularly if you like historical fiction and ghosts. I do like the former but not so much the latter. I am, however, curious about Kowal's other books and hope to get to them at some point soon.

"Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Since I really enjoyed Sara Gruen's At the Water's Edge, I decided to pick up her popular Water for Elephants, which I've had on my shelf for several years. What a treat! The novel has two parallel timelines. One is set in a modern-day nursing home, where a "90- or 93-year old" Jacob Jankowski is living out his days. The other is Jacob's trip down memory lane to the spring of 1931, when as a student at Cornell University, he was about to graduate and start his career of a veterinarian in his father's vet practice. Those plans vanish in an instant when his parents are killed in a car accident and Jacob learns that they were entirely broke. He is so crushed by the news that he does not sit for his finals and instead runs away with a circus.

I loved this book. I also really enjoyed the voices of both Jacobs. As a young man traveling with the circus, he is idealistic, naive and loyal. He makes friends, falls in love and eventually finds his way in life. He also witnesses lots of suffering and injustice. His 3-month stint with the Benzini Brothers show is truly a wilderness experience, from which he emerges restored and ready to live.

The old Jacob is frail and forgetful, but still full of life and spirit. Even at this old age, he fights to preserve his dignity and right to make his own decisions. Books about old age and frailty scare me. The idea that someone who was full of life and energy is now helpless and weak is very depressing. Jacob Jankowski, however, is not one to tolerate pity. He might be old, but he is still alive and not afraid to remind of this to others.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys historical fiction. It has a cast of unforgettable characters, a dramatic and complex story line and an epic romance. 5 out of 5 stars.

Rating Books, Negative Reviews and the Book that Inspired This Post: "Space Opera" by Catherynne M. Valente

I recently realized that the overwhelming majority of my reviews are positive or very positive in nature. It is very rare for me to (a) give an extremely low rating to a book, and (b) write a review that is entirely negative. After all, someone took the time and effort to write a book. So I in turn try very hard to find something positive in their work. Such an approach, although well-intended, could be misleading to those who are trying to decide whether or not to read a certain book.

I have already reviewed a book by Catherynne M. Valente on my blog. However, I chose not to rate it at the time rather than give it a very low rating. I did, however, provide reasons as to why it was not for me. Well, I have now made a second attempt to read a book by this author.

Space Opera is supposed to be a humorous sci-fi novel set in a world where the intergalactic community decides on whether or not a newly discovered species is "sentient" and thus worthy of existence via participation in an intergalactic talent show. The book starts out with aliens arriving on Earth and informing the humans of these terms.

I am not sure, I am fully qualified to talk about this book as I gave up on it at the 60% mark on my e-reader. The book reads like a mash-up of Douglas Adams and Dr. Seuss but with a marked absence of a plot or characters. At about 30% mark, I realized I could not keep all the various species and planets straight in my head. At 50% - they were an endless blur with no visible end to descriptions.However, I was still hoping for our human characters to finally do something. Nope, no such luck! At 60%, I just stopped caring. And I never DNF ("do not finish") books... There is always a first. I am still marking it as "read" since this was the time I'll never get back. One out of five stars.

"At the Water's Edge" by Sara Gruen

As often happens, I had no plans to read this book, but it was available on audio from my library and I downloaded it to listen to during my daily commute. I ended up really enjoying it. The book is set during World War II. The main character Maddie Hyde is a young Philadelphia socialite who is busy floating from party to party in the company of her husband Ellis and his friend Hank. Unfortunately, their carefree lifestyle is about to come to an end because Ellis' parents threaten to cut off their financial support. Ellis and Hank decide to embark on a fool's errand and travel to Scotland looking for the Loch Ness monster, a venture Ellis' father had attempted in his youth just to spectacularly embarrass himself in front of the entire world.

Maddie was a surprisingly likable and relatable character. Having found herself in Scotland, she begins to re-evaluate her life, marriage and choices. At the heart of it, she is just a lost young woman who desperately wants to be loved and respected. She is also tired of her idleness. When she meets Meg and Anne, the two women who work at the Inn where she is staying, she is humbled by how much they've suffered and how hard they have to work, and yearns to help. The horrors of war and lack of simple necessities wake her up to finally face the horrors of her own life: from childhood abuse and neglect to loveless marriage and more abuse and neglect, but this time from her husband. This book is a story of one woman trying to survive and be happy. It kept me interested and engaged and I could not keep but root for Maddie. 5 out of 5 stars. I will definitely be reading more books by Sara Gruen.

"The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give is a YA contemporary inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. A 16-year old Starr witnesses her friend Khalil being shot by a white police officer during a routine traffic stop. Khalil was unarmed and did not do anything threatening towards the officer. Now Starr is suddenly thrown into the spotlight as the only witness to the murder.

This is a very powerful and timely novel. It is also phenomenally well written. The characters are superbly developed and relatable. I listened to this book on audio and I highly recommend this format. The narrator was outstanding. She did a great job changing voices - there are a lot of dialogues in this book - and I never had any trouble following them. If you are considering picking up this book - and even if you are not - please read it. It is poignant, heartbreaking and powerful.

5 out of 5 stars. Hands down: the best book I've read this year so far.

"Twenty-One Days" by Anne Perry

Twenty-One Days was my first Anne Perry book. Perry, from what I understand, is a prolific mystery writer. Lots of her mysteries feature the same main characters. In particular, she had a long running series featuring Charlotte and Thomas Pitt. Twenty-One Days is the first Daniel Pitt mystery.

Daniel is Charlotte and Thomas' son. He is a young lawyer who is just starting out his practice at a prestigious London law firm. Perry does a great job with the historical setting of the novel. It is a 1910 Britain, and definitely has that feel. Crime solving is not what it is now. Forensic science is nascent. Women are still unable to vote. Domestic violence is not illegal.

The novel starts out with Daniel winning a criminal case in which we was defending a man accused of murder. He successfully proves that the man was innocent by using the innovative for the day analysis of fingerprints. He then gets assigned to assist in another case. Here, a man is on trial for allegedly murdering his wife. The jury finds him guilty and he is due to be hanged in 21 days. So Daniel has that much time to prove the man is not guilty.

I must say, the setup in this novel was brilliant. It really got me interested and engaged. I am usually not one for a cozy mystery. There is too much tea drinking and some portions of the story are too slow moving. However, this novel did have an interesting twist. Sections of it also gave me Downton Abbey vibes. Daniel goes to the accused man's house and spends some time with the servants there. The butler in particular seemed written from Carson in Downton Abbey. Another nice parallel with Downton Abbey is that the women in the novel are very Sybil-like, i.e. fiercely intelligent and not afraid to go against established conventions and fight for women's rights.

Overall, I rated this novel 4 out of 5 stars. It is interesting, well-written and has a wonderful atmosphere of the early 20th century Britain.

I received an e-ARC from NetGalley.com.

"School for Psychics" by K.C. Archer

School for Psychics by K.C. Archer is the first book in a new urban fantasy/paranormal series. The world in this book is very much like ours except there is a secret school that trains young people with psychic abilities for future careers in law enforcement and national security. The main character is Teddy Cannon, a twenty-four year old woman who earns her living by playing poker in Las Vegas casinos. Unfortunately, her ability to read her opponents and thus garner unusually frequent winnings has caught the eye of casino security personnel and she is banned from all the establishments on the Strip. Teddy, however, is determined to play one last time in order to win enough to pay her debts to the Russian mob. She wears a disguise and things are looking as though she might just pull this off, when quiet suddenly she is unable to read her opponent and loses all of her money. She then meets the man responsible for this loss - Clint Corbett, a psychic FBI agent and a teacher at the secret school she is invited to enter.

Things I liked:
 - The school setting. I am always up for any sort of magical school setting. It always takes me back to my love of Harry Potter and the more of the story takes in a school the better, as far as I am concerned.
- The characters in this book are in their early to mid-twenties. This was really refreshing. Urban fantasy/paranormal books tend to fall into one of the two extremes: books featuring teenagers who suddenly discover hidden abilities or paranormal erotica with adult characters. This book is neither, which I really appreciated
- The plot included conspiracy theories, a secret society, a heist, and even a murder investigation. I enjoyed how fast things moved along and I stayed interested and vested in the story.
- The band of Misfits was a lot of fun. I enjoyed the friendships in this book. It was nice to see Teddy meet new people and gradually learn to trust them.

Things that could be better:
- The characters felt flat. Teddy in particular was not well fleshed out. We are told throughout the book that she has problems trusting people. This is never very well explained. Yes, she was adopted, but grew up in a loving family. I also never understood how she got into gambling, why she owed a lot of money to the mob, and most importantly why she needed to play poker in Vegas where she was clearly banned. Couldn't she drive down to Reno or any other casino for that matter?
- The plot twists were quite predictable and the big reveals were not surprising. If anything I was surprised that Teddy missed what was right in front of her.
- Teddy's psychic abilities kept evolving throughout the book. In the very beginning all is able to do is read people and know when they are lying. Once she enters the school she learns she is a telepath and is also a telekinetic. It is interesting that she did not know about these abilities before.

Overall, I gave this book 3 out of 5 stars. It was enjoyable, but a lot of plot twists were too predictable. I received an e-ARC of this book from NetGalley.

"La Belle Sauvage," Book 1 in The Book of Dust Trilogy by Philip Pullman

I was not a fan of Pullman's His Dark Materials. For whatever reason, I had trouble getting into each of the three books, and even though I did like the story and the characters reasonably well, it was not a good reading experience for me. So I was not overly optimistic about La Belle Sauvage, which is the first book in a new trilogy set in the same world. But boy, was I wrong. I really enjoyed this book.

La Belle Sauvage is set in the same world as The Golden Compass. Lyra is just a baby (six or eight months old), and is put in a priory to be cared for and raised by the nuns. The main character in this book is a boy named Malcolm. His parents are innkeepers and he lives across the river from the priory. Malcolm is precocious, friendly and curious about the world around him. He helps out at the inn and enjoys chatting with Oxford scholars who frequent the establishment. He also knows the nuns and helps the carpenter who is making shutters for the priory windows. I really enjoyed spending time with him,

La Belle Sauvage is the name of the canoe, which Malcolm takes out on the river when he goes into town. The canoe ends up playing a major role in the book as Malcolm sets out to save baby Lyra when a big flood hits the area, demolishing the priory. Malcolm and Lyra are joined on the quest by Alice, a serving girl who works at the inn owned by Malcolm's parents. She and Malcolm generally do not get along. But thrown together by the turn of events, they make a great team and both grow tremendously as characters.

The book is suspenseful, fast-paced, unexpected, but also filled with deep philosophical questions such as: is matter conscious, what are the dangers of theocracy, how can a truly evil person be attractive, etc. I loved the characters, the world and the plot. 5 out of 5 stars.

Philip K. Dick "The Man in the High Castle"

The book club I belong to chose this book, otherwise I would have probably never picked it up. I had read Ubik by PDK, and I was not a fan of his writing. After reading The Man in the High Castle, I am firmly of the mind that he is not my author.

The Man in the High Castle is based on the premise that the Nazis have won WWII. The United States is divided into the Japanese territory (West of the Rockies) and the German territory - to the East. There is an area in between that is neutral. Most of the events in the book take place on the West coast.

Even though the premise is interesting, the alternate reality painted by PDK was not convincing. It is supposedly 1962, less than 20 years since the war was won, yet the American population is completely assimilated into the Japanese culture. There is not even a trace of resistance to the Nazi/Japanese occupation, and the overall complacency of the characters given continued atrocities committed by the Nazis around the world is utterly revolting. I also found the ending strange and wholly unsatisfying. No matter how many  positive reviews I read, I remain unconvinced. This book was disappointing and I do not think I will be reading any more PDK's books. 2 out of 5 stars.

"Red Clocks" by Leni Zumas

Red Clocks is set in a near future America where abortion and invitro fertilization are no longer legal. The book really resonated with me in that it gives us a glimpse into what could potentially become a reality for all of us. The book is written from the perspective of four different women.

Even though perspectives alternate throughout the book. I personally felt that Ro, or the Biographer, was the main voice in the novel. Ro is a single high school teacher, who has been working on a biography of a little known female arctic explorer. She is in her early forties and is desperately trying to get pregnant. At her age and with invitro fertilization no longer available, getting pregnant is next to impossible. In addition, we learn that in a few months time a new law will come into effect, which will make adoption impossible for her. Only married couples will be able to adopt from that point on. As Ro struggles to accept the fact that the dream of motherhood will never come true for her, she also realizes that she, along with millions of others, passively stood by as lawmakers made decisions which now intimately affect her and preclude her from becoming a mother.

In addition, we meet one of Ro's students, a girl named Mattie, who at sixteen wound up pregnant. She is scared, frustrated, and seemingly without options in regards to this pregnancy. By law, she cannot have an abortion. She has to either keep the baby or give it up for adoption. Mattie herself was adopted when she was a baby, and is left to forever wonder who her biological mother was and why she made the decision to give her up. Thus, the possibility of giving her unborn baby up for adoption is painfully personal for Mattie.

Next, we meet Susan, a mother of two, who is trapped in an unhappy marriage and is borderline suicidal. By law, she is supposed to be the one worthy of being a parent. However, as we see from her example, married couples are not always the best parents.

Finally, there is Gin, the Mender, an odd healer (a "witch") living in the woods, who provides poultices and potions to those who cannot afford medical care or require a service that is no longer legal in the United States. When Gin gets arrested for allegedly injuring the High School Principal's wife, all the various characters are brought together to play a part in this modern day witch trial.

I really enjoyed this book. I understand that some readers struggled with Zumas' experimental style of writing. But it did not bother me. I enjoy reading books that are written in a non-conventional way and make me look for unexpected connections between characters. I found the subject matter of this book poignant and relevant, and characters realistic and relatable. 4 out 5 stars.

Reading Favorites Through the Years: "Jane Eyre"

I read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte for the first time when I was 12 or 13. I had seen the BBC mini-series with Timothy Dalton and was utterly swept up by this Gothic tale of forbidden love. I then re-read this novel multiple times and my perspective on the plot and the characters kept changing throughout the years.

At 13, the book was mostly a beautiful love story to me. A dark and brooding Rochester, a man with a complicate past and a self-proclaimed sinner in need of redemption, falls hard for a pure, innocent, but also gritty and passionate, governess Jane Eyre. Appalling as they were, I did not care much for the scenes at Lowood, the charitable institution where Jane was raised and educated. I also found the section on Jane's flight from Thornfield and her interactions with newly found cousins quite tedious. I read the book for the romantic story line only.

Reading this book in my mid-twenties, I was surprised how much I enjoyed the entire novel, not just the romance aspect of it. I really took my time and savored Jane's friendship with Helen Burns. I also surprisingly quite liked the scenes that included St. John Rivers. The discussion of duty versus following one's heart as well as the importance of close family ties was something I found relevant and interesting in my mid-twenties.

The last noticeable shift in my perspective on this novel occurred two years ago, when I re-read Jane Eyre yet again in July of 2016. I was shocked to discover that Edward Rochester was not the great romantic hero I used to imagine him to be. Yes, it is unfortunate that he was stuck with an insane wife. But this is not an excuse to wallow in self-pity and be callous towards others. He acted selfishly towards Jane. His entire plot to deceive her was utterly devious. I was also appalled by his treatment of his ward (and likely illegitimate daughter) Adele. I even felt sorry for his mentally ill wife whom he treated more like an animal than a human being (yes, I understand — such were the times). Finally, I found Bronte's characters — aside from Rochester who is utterly gray — to be too black and white. I am not by any means saying that I hated the book on this final re-read. On the contrary, I really appreciated the complexity of issues and the depth of the moral conflict presented by Charlotte Bronte.

Overall, as my personal life experiences changed and became more complex, I discovered new depths and perspectives in this classic novel. My appreciation of it not only changed, but grew and I look forward to seeing what new discoveries are in store for as I continue to re-read some of my beloved stories.