Eddis, Attolia, Sounis

Here are some things I've been reading lately:

Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. After Italy, I watched the movie and read the book. Funny how the two are NOTHING alike but each good in its own way. Ah, how I long for a villa in Tuscany! One that's already renovated, that is.

The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield. I forget if someone in one of the chats recommended this or not, but it was a super-cute, funny British book from the 30s.

The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley. I forgot to tell Semper about this but it takes place in Scotland and tells of an archeological dig funded by an eccentric who is determined to discover what happened to the Ninth Roman Legion. Very romance-y but the history made it good.

Amongst Our Weapons by Ben Aaronovitch. Most recent in the Rivers of London series. I liked it but I kind of feel like the series needs to move along toward its epic fight-between-good magic-and-and evil magic conclusion.

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Diary of a Princincial Lady sounds like fun!

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filkferengi

If you're in a mood for Italy, read through some of Jo Walton's monthly reading lists over on tor.com. She goes to Italy every summer and hangs out with Ada Palmer [author of the Terra Ignota series and member of the Norse-themed filk band Sassafrass]. She also reads lots of novels set in Italy and writes amazing recommendations.
https://www.tor.com/author/jo-walton/

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I will definitely take a look—I’d love to read more books that have an Italian setting.

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I just spent a happy half hour reading her book rec lists for the past several months--so fun! What an eclectic reader she is! How in the world does she fine time to write? Anyway, thanks, I signed up for the Tor newsletter to remind me to go each month and read her latest list. Now it's off to my library's website to look for some of the titles I discovered.

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semperlego.livejournal.com

Let us know your favorites!

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Well, so far I'm reading Journey by Marta Randall, after her recommendation:

Journey, Marta Randall (1978) This is the book I’ve been looking for, the mythical book that is like The Crow Road on another planet. Why didn’t anyone tell me? This is the story of a family, parents, siblings, love, romance, children—but on another planet and with aliens, humans rescued from another failing colony planet, spaceships, economics, threats of war, all the things you have in science fiction but focused on the Kennerin family and their planet Aerie.

This is a terrific book, if a little oddly structured, and I don’t understand why it didn’t get more attention. Was it before its time? Am I the only person who wants there to be books like this? Buy this as fast as you can and read it so we can have the conversation about whether this is a thing we can do in genre. There’s a sequel called Dangerous Games which I’m reading right now and which will therefore appear in next month’s post.

I'm halfway through and it's compelling and thought-provoking with some lovely writing. It reminds me a little of Ray Bradbury, but not as vibrantly descriptive.

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Last month I re-read Cordelia Underwood, or the Marvelous Beginning of the Moosepath League by Van Reid. Charles Dickens + P.G. Wodehouse + Garrison Keillor + 1890s Maine = Van Reid.

Just today I finished The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny, so now I've read through the Chief Inspector Gamache series. At least until the next one is published.

After seeing Megan's posts about CrossingCon, I finally got my hands on some T. Kingfisher. My son and I both enjoyed A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking and I have some more of her titles on my nightstand.

I've read through #6 (Fatal Enquiry) in the Barker & Llewelyn series by Will Thomas, which I recommend.

When I read Under Lock & Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian, I thought it might be a good choice for some here. The main character comes from a line of stage magicians and has parents who build secret rooms into houses. Amateur sleuth mystery, but with some (lower case) thiefy vibes.

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The Van Reid book sounds right up my alley! Really, all these recommendations sound ver good.

I’ve been working my way through the Louise Penny books for a few years, pacing myself because I’m going to be so sad when I’m all caught up.

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I read a new release called The Darkening by Sunya Mara last month, which I really enjoyed. It's your usual flavour of YA fantasy, but I personally thought it was so well-done, and I'm really looking forward to the sequel next year.

I also read the last book in Intisar Khanani's Dauntless Path series, and it was a wonderful ending to the trilogy. I was a little blindsided by the ending (the romance went in a direction I wasn't prepared for) but overall, I was really happy with the series as a whole.

It's been getting harder and harder for me to find new books to enjoy, so I started doing rereads which is highly unusual for me. First up was The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope, which I know is a favourite in this community as well. It's been about ten years since I first (and last) read it, so I was pleasantly surprised to find it a lot more delightful than I remembered. I didn't quite recall Christopher Heron to be such a sass. Also, I had a lot of feeling about Kate and her character arc in the end, and I so so wish the book had gone on a little longer.

Next up, I'm about to reread Sabriel by Garth Nix, and hopefully I will use this opportunity to finally segue to the rest of the Old Kingdom series, which I've never read before.

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Thanks for the reminder about Khanani's Dauntless Path. I just put it on hold!

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Yay, I hope you like it! I'm eager to hear your thoughts of it. So few people I know has read it.

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It may be a bit. We have on order, but all the vendors are still slow with delivery. I'll try to remember to come back and comment.

Thorn wasn't my favorite, but I think it may just be that The Goose Girl doesn't do it for me? I found it awfuly slow. Which completely made sense given the characters, but still wasn't my favorite reading experience. I really liked The Theft of Sunlight, though!

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A Darkness at the Door is a lot more similar to The Theft of Sunlight, so you don't have to worry! Especially if you enjoyed that bit in Theft where Rae and Bren were sleuthing around. Much of Darkness has that vibe.

I really liked the slowness in Thorn, but I understand what you mean. Alyrra was kind of directionless for most of it, but I empathized a lot with that.

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semperlego.livejournal.com

So, I just put a hold on Shadowy Horses--sounds perfect!
Also, I recently finished another recommendation from Checkers: Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier which was great.
I am also loving Will Thomas' Barker and Llewelyn series, just finished Some Danger Involved, and looking forward to #2. A nod to the Librarian for that rec!!
I also listened to Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, which I had been wanting to read for such a long time. I thought it was fantastic to listen to (b/c Steve West!) but such a great story that I ordered the physical copy and can't wait to enjoy it again.
I am also listening to The Lord of Stariel by AJ Lancaster, but had to put it on pause for Sword at Sunset, so the jury is still out on that one.
Thanks for all the great rec's, my TBR list is now back in double digits.

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Have you tried Makiia Lucier's Tower of Winds duology? I liked Year of the Reaper, but I enjoyed those two a lot more. Isle of Blood and Stone especially. I just love the way she writes her world and her characters.

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