What are we reading over break?

I just finished The Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson.  A thousand pages of epic high fantasy, and it went pretty quickly.  Interesting characters, some more compelling than others, and unique magic systems that have a lot of potential.  Two characters in particular allow it to scrape a pass on the Bechdel test.  Near the end of the book was a revelation so shocking that I would read the sequel right now if it were out yet.

Also, Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened was a big winner in our family this year.  Several of us gave it to each other.  I laughed and cried, sometimes at the same time.  I’m happy to support this artist!  (Currently bathroom reading for #2.)

#2 finally got a chance to have some mental space outside of Georgette Heyer rereads!  Sure, she’s only up to children’s literature but…

Unfortunately, her first pick was Wednesdays in the Tower.  She has literally three shelves double stacked of books she hasn’t read before and she picked this one because she liked Tuesdays at the Castle so much.  Wednesdays in the Tower is a lovely HALF of a book that ends exactly on a cliffhanger.  The next book doesn’t even have a title yet.  So wait to start this one until Thursdays off the Cliff (or whatever she decides to call it) at least gets a release date you can live with.

#2 was also jonesing for some Blossom Culp, which is possibly Richard Peck’s greatest series.  #1 was delightful enough to get her the entire set both new and used.  It was every bit as enchanting as #2 remembered, perhaps even a bit more as I get more of the adult jokes that probably went over my head when I read and reread these books from the library.  The first is The Ghost Belonged to Me, but the first from Blossom’s perspective is Ghosts I Have Been.  And for those of you who grew up in the 1980s, it’s interesting thinking about how this generation would read The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp… her going from 1914 to the 1980s would be like us going to the 1950s… an odd thought.  Kind of like when you watch Back to the Future.

Finally, we recommend The Book Shopper: A Life in Review by Murray Browne if you like books even half as much as we do.

Do you?

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20 Responses to “What are we reading over break?”

  1. Leah Says:

    I do love books! Over break, I read Certain Women by Madeleine L’Engle — it’s one of her adult novels and quite intriguing. Sad but good.

    I am currently reading Mr. Penumbra’s 24 hour bookstore and really enjoying my experience. It’s been tough to turn out the lights these past few nights.

  2. Liz Says:

    Corelli’s Mandolin. Next up: Sophie’s Choice. And the series on the Haitian Revolution by Madison Smartt Bell (fiction). And so many more! ALL OF THE BOOKS! :)

  3. chacha1 Says:

    Since I read 182 books last year, I think we can safely say I love books as much as you do. :-)

    I just finished “A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury” by Edith Pargeter, which is one of the best historical novels I’ve ever read. It is a Ripping Yarn and several kinds of love story and a much better medieval adventure than Le Mort d’Arthur.

    Bought it because I was doing a little research that reached back to the rebellions of Owen Glendower and Henry Percy (“Hotspur”) against Henry IV in the early 1400s, and it was the best-reviewed book of any sort about that period. Read it now because I was watching “The Hollow Crown” on PBS while doing bookkeeping entries. I was shocked, shocked I tell you, by how much Shakespeare dehistoricized those particular histories.

  4. Ana Says:

    I’ve been reading non-fiction (pop psych and pseudo-science) and YA reads lately. I’m making my way through all of John Greene, and now I’m hooked on Rainbow Rowell. I read Quiet, Gretchen Rubin’s new one, and I’m working on Willpower (which is inciting rage and runtiness, not sure I’ll finish it…taking a lot of willpower just to continue, so in that way it is fitting). I started Stardust by Neil Gamain (I’ve never read any of his stuff before and I’ve heard such good things) but I can’t get into it…I’ll keep plowing through. I haven’t read any fantasy for a long long time though it was ALL I read for years.

    • Ana Says:

      rAntiness. The runtiness was already present.

    • Rosa Says:

      I loved Eleanor & Park and loved it so, so much. Then I read Attachments and it felt oddly dated, not even specifically by the Y2K thing, until I figured out what felt anachronistic about it – the job climate, in tech and newspapers specifically (both fields I’ve worked in) but just in general that feeling that “if i don’t like my job I’ll just get another”. It was a weird realization.

  5. CG Says:

    Oh, I love Blossom Culp (and own the first two books). I resisted reading The Terrible Future all these years because I didn’t want it to end…kind of silly. I guess I should read it now.

  6. Rosa Says:

    I got the two latest of Barbara Hambly’s Benjamin January books for Christmas, so that’s mostly what I read over break. I also got The New Jim Crow and that’s been slower going, but very rewarding.

  7. Linda Says:

    The Way of Kings look like a great read and it was only $2.99 in the Kindle store! :-) Thanks for the recommendation!


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