My god, how to describe it? LeGuin spent 5 years creating and bringing to life the post-environmental-apocalypse fictional culture of the Kesh. She invented their language and their sacred customs and their poetry and their music (with the help of a composer). Then she put it all into a 600 page tome. It's her Silmarillion. I didn't read this all in one go but came and went. By the end I knew everything about these people. Not for the casual.

I've been striking out a lot lately and feeling dissatisfied with the writing style of many of the newer authors I've been picking up. So, having remembered I liked the couple of Guy Gavriel Kay novels I've read in the past, I decided to work through his oevre. And you've got to admit, this blurb right here is a heckuva flex.

Spending my work morning tweaking a new Pandora station that I named after Phèdre nó Delaunay. I fed it some Aurora, Enigma, some French atmospheric music, and some tracks from The Witcher. We're sailing along with moody, intense music and BAM! “Stuck in the Middle with You“ which is literally the FUNNIEST song the algorithm could have chosen wrt to Phedre and Joscelin. I am dying.

I love fairytale retellings and I love this cover art by Tran Nguyen. I‘ve nearly bought this book several times but restrained myself til I could read a sample. Then I got it from the library 😆because in general I try to reserve the permanent shelf space for books I have finished and therefore I know will warrant repeat readings. If I didn‘t do that I‘d be completely swamped.

More Tran Nguyen illustration beauty from the Subterranean Press limited edition of the Kushiel's Legacy series. If I had $4000 to spend on books with pretty limited edition covers...I'd need a lot more bookshelves.

I am 100% susceptible to beautiful cover art which has led me to adding SEVERAL books to my TBR stack due to their beautiful cover art by Tran Nguyen. This is includes several by Elizabeth Lim and at least one by Wesley Chu. Hope they're good!

“This is what happens when you send a courtesan to do a diplomat's job.“
~Phedre no Delaunay

I might be misquoting here; I've been doing my re-read with audiobook so I don't have the text immediately to hand. In any case, it always makes me laugh.

“One step, and then the next.” Words to live by these days.

I do LOVE a good short story collection, and Jemisin, Leckie, and Novik have all had great ones out in the past few years. Jemisin can pretty much write any style or perspective; she‘s so versatile and her stories always manage to surprise. This is a keeper.

Workplace proximity associates.

With the success of Redwall in our house, I figured we might as well get the next few installments. We‘re going to need another bookshelf because this series doesn‘t quit.

Got my hands on the rest of the trilogy and cannot wait. #BoswellBookCompany #bookshophaul

Souvenirs from the oldest English language bookshop in Montréal, part 2. #ArgoBookshop #bookshophaul

Souvenirs from the oldest English language bookshop in Montréal, Part 1. #ArgoBookshop #bookshophaul

My son raced through this and then wouldn‘t rest until I‘d read it too. Delightful, and a classic for good reason. So thoroughly woven through with themes of being interested and engaged in the world around you.

Un-put-down-able. Is that a word? Wilson walks the line between contemporary prose and a stylized lyricism which results in a highly readable novel that doesn‘t irk my reader‘s ear for feeling too modern. I wish it had been more recently since I‘d read The Epic of Gilgamesh so that I could have placed the events of the book alongside. This was a very happy discovery and I‘ve ordered the next two books.

What to do when the kiddo gets sick two days into vacation? Stick him in bed with Redwall and hope it passes quickly.

Day 2 on vacation and already halfway through. Better order Gilgamesh for when I‘m back. (And good thing I brought a second book to read)!

I keep returning to this trilogy so it was finally time to acquire the hardcovers. Phèdre is such a warm, intelligent narrative voice and her romantic arc drips with dramatic irony. All the intimate scenes in this trilogy serve multiple purposes; she learns something, or the reader does. Indeed, many read almost like action scenes rather than explicit content. Thus, these books feel most accurately categorized as a political espionage fantasy.

Shockingly hard to get from the library, whether physical book or ebook! Finally gave up and bought it from my local independent bookseller. Excited to start it on my upcoming trip. This cover is too gorgeous for words.

The most challenging work I've attempted of one of my favorite authors. I...may not have the necessary attention span, so I've been dipping in and out between other books.

What a delight! This has been on my shelf for two years and I finally read it (mostly on a plane). The prose gently calls back to fairytale language while remaining eminently readable. I love a puzzle story. Love the characters, especially Calcifer. So glad I finally picked it up.

I finally got my hands on The Prisoner‘s Throne and read it so fast I didn‘t even have time to update any of my various book related social media. But don‘t these all look beautiful on the shelf together?

The good: World Building and Plot! McCaffrey is a master.
The bad: Outdated understanding of consent. F'lar can also be very 1960s sometimes.
The GREAT: DRAGONS. They're the voices of reason and the emotional anchors that keep the humans from becoming at times irredeemable. Pernese dragons are the platonic ideal for human-dragon bonding and set the template for all the future variations thereof in fiction.
(see long winded review on LT)

Revisiting Pern via audiobook. Aside from some of the marked blind spots of 1960s second wave feminism, the world building and writerly craftmanship still hold up. I read the #Harperhall trilogy first, then #Dragonflight, #Dragonquest, and #TheWhiteDragon when I was still in elementary school and they got me into sci fi as a lifelong reader. Coming back decades later is eye opening, sometimes alarming, and yet still vindicating.

I‘m a sucker for a special edition cover and this Christmas gift from my sister is going a long way towards curing the sour feeling I‘ve had from muscling through two different books that I ultimately did not enjoy for various reasons. The setting is richly developed and the characterizations are deep. So far so good! #oliveedition

I so thought I‘d love this book but sadly just couldn‘t buy in. Ever have that complete disconnect between all the reviews and recommendations and the actual reading experience? Will give her Bone Season series a try though.