Books Archives

What I’m reading: Vol. 104.

October 18, 2018

Good morning, my darlings!

My goodness – autumn is really here, isn’t it? In Maryland we’ve got full on falling leaves, crisp breezes, and gourds on our stoops. I love this time of year, although it often feels all too brief. Soon I’ll be whining about the cold, but right now I’m super excited about scarves and cardigans.

Talking about fall weather was a silly way to start this post, actually, because I’m about leave it! I’m heading South to Miami today, to bring you live coverage of the illustrious Italian Pavilion at the JIS Miami trade show!

I’m super excited about this project. I’m going to be partnering with the Italian Trade Agency (like I did in Vegas!) to bring you an exclusive look at some of the best extraordinary Italian jewelry for sale on American soil.

Follow me on Instagram to see the action as it’s happening, or stand by for a full recap here on the blog when I get home!

xoxo,
Becky

What I’m reading:

The Witch of Willow Hall by Hester Fox: I tried to read this book late last night…but there was a creepy part about a possible ghost and it was too scary to read alone while hopped up on cold meds at 2 am so I had to put it down!! A promising start besides my wimpiness, though. I look forward to reading this some more during daylight hours.

Thief of Cahraman: A Retelling of Aladdin by Lucy Tempest: I didn’t particularly like the beginning of this book, but I was on a bus so I kept reading and it really picked up. It’s not the most original plot ever created, but it has enough twists to it that it’s interesting and the main character is feisty in a way that makes the story feel fresh. Silly but quite enjoyable, with powerful female friendships at the forefront.

Thief of Cahraman is being billed as “for fans of The Selection” but I like this book MUCH more than I liked any of The Selection series (read my review of The Selection here). The primary difference – #spoileralert – is that the heroine of The Selection is an irritating idiot and while the Thief of Cahraman has a bold and resourceful young woman at its center.

Internets:

From Liz Taylor to Joan Crawford, the secret history of celebs’ diamonds.

HAPPY 35TH ANNIVERSARY, ALANNA THE LIONESS.

Fantastic Animals – The surreal creations of Julien Tabet. These are extremely cool.

Oldest bones ever found belonged to Neanderthal child whose fingers were ‘chewed by a giant bird.’

Author of first English novel kept it hidden for ten years – here’s why.

10+ Illustrations Of Hilda: The Forgotten Plus-Size Pin-Up Girl From The 1950s.

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Books that make me feel better.

September 28, 2018

I’m drafting this post while keeping one eye on my Twitter feed: a stream of baffled, angry, scared, furious tweets from some of the smartest women I know who are going half insane trying to make sense of what’s happening with the Supreme Court right now.

Around 5 pm, the conversation shifts. Call-to-action quotes, exclamations about male privilege and cries of pain give way to the topic of healing, or at least of soothing. People start sharing photos of the comfort food they’re eating for dinner, talking about the baths they’re planning, the fuzzy blankets they’re unfolding.

Books that make me feel better

The world is hard and it’s important to stay informed about what’s going on, but when the news is painful and upsetting you need a way to help yourself feel normal again afterwards. I’m not talking about burying your head in the sand, but having a way to recover so that you can do things like sleep and not cry or punch strangers is essential.

Here are some books that make me feel better. It’s a mix of fantasy, sexy sexy romance, heartfelt YA, books I loved when I was younger, and several that are a mix of these categories. Maybe they’ll make you feel better, too.

Everything Tamora Pierce has written, especially the Tortall books

When I do a TP reread, I start with Alanna the Lioness and read straight through: always Alanna and Daine, sometimes Kel and the newer series too, although I’m much less attached to the later characters. I also love the Circle of Magic books and some of that series sequels, although I don’t love them all equally.

Ella Enchanted

Once upon a time, I was being interviewed for a prestigious position in a Fiction MFA program. The interview was going well until they asked me to name my favorite book and I said Ella Enchanted. I stand by my pick. Ella Enchanted is a creative, highly empowering, feminist interpretation of a classic fairy tale and I’m so glad that I found it when I was a child (and I still love reading it today.)

If you already know and love Ella, I recommend giving Summers at Castle Auburn a chance too.

Good Omens

Good Omens is a collaboration between Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, and if you’re familiar with those two authors I bet that description was enough to get this on your library hold list. It is a strangely comforting, utterly absorbing, and frequently entertaining tale of the apocalypse. You can read my full review here.

Seraphina

This book is a series now, but the first novel is the one I love the most. I usually just reread the first book and then pretend that the sequels still haven’t come out yet. This is a story that is ostensibly about dragons, but is really about self-acceptance and it resonates deeply with something inside me.

Luck in the Shadows

This is an utterly fantastic little fantasy series that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. The series goes on for a bit now, but it’s the first three books that I find myself reading over and over again. Glorious world-building, engaging story, and a squee-worthy m/m romance.

If you like this, you should also read the author’s other series, The Bone Doll’s Twin. It’s creepier but just as good.

Fangirl and Carry On

Eleanor & Park is the Rainbow Rowell book that’s gotten the most buzz. I liked E&P but it didn’t punch me directly in my heart (with love and understanding) the way that Fangirl did.

Fangirl is a coming of age story about two sisters, from the point of view of Cath, the anxious, shy, fanfiction-writing sister who is having a harder time adapting to college. Carry On is Fangirl’s companion piece: it’s the fanfiction opus that Cath writes during Fangirl.

When I heard that Rainbow Rowell was going to publish her character’s book as a standalone novel, I thought it sounded stupid. But I was completely wrong. Carry On is glorious both in its own right and as an addendum to the Fangirl story. I actually may need to reread them both this weekend after thinking about them this much. They’re just so good.

Kirsten Cashore’s Graceling Realm

I love the three companion books of Kristen Cashore’s Graceling realm. They’re not strictly sequential, but if you want to keep things chronological you should start with Graceling, then read Fire, and finish with Bitterblue. You can read my full review of Fire here.

Three books, three very different strong heroines, three thrilling and inspiring adventures. I actually don’t know how I’m gong to choose which book to read after I finish writing this post.

What I’m reading: Vol 103.

September 11, 2018

Good morning, my darlings!

Mr. DitL and I have run away to Greece!! That’s right: we’re snatching a luxurious 10 days of vacay before I hop on over to Italy to see heart-wrenchingly gorgeous jewels at the VicenzaOro show.

I’ve always wanted to visit Greece and this is going to be my first time!! As a kid I was obsessed with this big yellow book Greek myths and I’ve wanted to see the Acropolis in person pretty much ever since I knew what it was. And now, assuming nothing went terribly wrong with our travel plans after I wrote this blog post, I’m there right now.

This is the last blog post you’ll get from me until I’m home again, but I will be Instagramming up a storm (especially on my Instagram story) so come find me over on the ‘gram if you want to keep up with my adventures as they’re happening. As always, I’ll also be putting together a nice juicy recap blog post for you after my return home.

xoxo,
Becky

What I’m reading:

D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths. Yep, this is the same book I linked to above!! I told Mr.DitL all about how much I loved this book as a child and he insisted that we track down a copy so that he could read it too. Because he’s the best.

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson. This book is spectacularly weird and SO well done. A wonderfully bizarre concept stunningly executed; urban fantasy YA with main characters of color and well executed size diversity, this book is a must read for anyone who loves good, unique stories. I’m actually not going to tell you anything else about the plot except that it’s a book about best friends, high school mean girls, and also zombies (but not your usual kind of zombies). Just go read it! Possibly for Halloween: it’s a great spooky season book.