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what i'm reading wednesday 8/1/2025
Finally back to this! I finished quite a few (mostly short) books during the end of the year!
What I finished:
+ The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion volume 8. This continues to be my happy place, and delightfully this book was full of some Backstory Reveals about main characters that were very fun. I have no insights to share about it--I am sure it had lots of weaknesses, but I simply do not care. Beth Brower has a direct line to my id, and I am so glad.
+ Wicked Uncle, the latest entry in my Miss Silver read-through. It's funny that the last time I posted about Patricia Wentworth, I said she always has the same setup because this one was a little different! And stronger for it! A good Wentworth book.
One thing she is very, very good at is making her murder victims a person that, tbh, I don't mind seeing murdered. Like, she does take murder seriously, but often times the murder victim is such a terrible person who's ruining so many people's lives that, in the context of the story, it's a relief that they're dead. Which I don't think is a bad thing in a mystery novel.
+ The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo is a little novella about a Malay Chinese woman living in London in the 1920s. The focus was on her romantic entanglements. I liked this a lot, particularly Jade's voice, but frankly, it was not long enough--well, it actually was just as long as it needed to be to explore the romantic entanglements, but I wanted to know so much more about her life!!!! I would have loved if this was a full novel with all the other aspects of her life fleshed-out. If it was, I'm sure it would be a favorite. As it is, I came away wishing Cho would write more historical fiction novels.
+ A Garter As a Lesser Gift has been read and loved by many of you, but for those who haven't heard of it: it's a retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but instead of medieval (or pre-medieval) knights of the round table, they are an RAF squadron. A genius way to re-imagine Arthuriana imo. I can't believe how long it took me to get around to reading this, which was as delightful as everyone always said.
And now I will say something I almost never say about novellas: this was exactly as long as it needed to be! Did I wish for a million other books in this same world exploring all the other characters? I absolutely did. But this story, this retelling of Gawain, perfectly fit the novella form.
I loved especially the way the writing/prose recreated the early-to-mid-20th century style, which suited the story perfectly.
This is for you if you like: Arthuriana, retellings, bisexuality, winter stories, golden age mysteries, emotional repression with good payoff, etc.
+ Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George. This is the second Inspector Lynley book--I read a bunch of these in high school and then reread the first one a few years back and was seeing if I want to continue rereading this series. I have decided I do not. George is an excellent writer, her mysteries are good, her characterization is great, but. But.
The premise of this series is that an actual British lord (I think he's an earl? I forget) is a detective and his partner is a working class woman with a chip on her shoulder. Class conflict is baked into it. Which should be my thing. Except...George is way too sympathetic to the upper class. She thinks she's being even-handed, and idk, maybe she is. I am prepared to admit that I am a bit of a radical when it comes to this sort of thing.
But the thing is: Havers (our working class woman) is constantly assuming corruption and favoritism on the part of all the rich people in the books (same, girl, same). But she's almost always wrong! Her perspective is undermined by the fact that Lynley and his friends, who are all similarly upper class, are So Good Actually. They never use abuse their power! Some of the villains might, but our Good Ones never do. Havers assumes, she is slapped down. I do not like this.
It's just so frustrating! It would be so much more interesting if the Good Ones needed to be called out by her more. Instead, we have this main character who is angsting over his own privilege, but never actually acts on it?
I don't know how to articulate it, the class stuff just rubs me the wrong way and I get pissed. So I don't think I will reread anymore of these. Which is a shame because she really is such a good writer, and it's hard for me to find mysteries that are well written and serious enough for me.
+ The Queen's Gambit is the first in a fantasy trilogy by the aforementioned Beth Brower. I was excited to read this because of how much she taps into my id in the Emma books, but this one didn't work for me nearly as well, and I'm struggling to put my finger on why.
Basically, young queen of small country that has heretofore been protected from outside influences is threatened by a foreign empire. At the same time, a mysterious young man from that empire has shown up in her kingdom and requested asylum. You can guess why he's there.
One kick I got out of this book is that its premise is essentially a daydream I've had for years. I like to imagine, "What if I was the queen of a small kingdom that was surrounded by mountains and ocean and so basically un-attackable, and I could set up the society in any way I wanted, what would I do?" (Obviously I would never, ever want this to be reality as it goes against all my principles, but it's fun to lay in bed at night and be like, "And then I would invite in the fantasy!Jews and make them full citizens, and then I would slowly introduce gender equality, and then I would...")
Of course, in this book, the kingdom becomes attackable, which is where the plot comes from. But still. I laughed.
I really don't know what it is about this that didn't enrapture me, and I do think I'll read the second two books, because I actually don't know where it's going to go from where it ended. But this was a useful reading experience in that it taught me that Brower is not a writer who is going to work as well for me every time as she does with the Emma books. I imagine I'll always check out what she publishes, but I won't necessarily assume I'm going to love it madly.
+ And then last night I finished The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which somehow I didn't read back in my Poirot phase during middle school? I feel like I really would have remembered this one because it's Christie at her best. I did figure out whodunit a few pages before the reveal, but I genuinely hadn't up until then and I can only imagine how people reacted to it when it was published!
On the down side, hate getting smacked in the face with a sudden, completely and totally unnecessary bit of antisemitism. BOO!
What I'm reading now:
The Ultimate Hidden Truth of the World, David Graeber's posthumous collection of essays. I'm sure I will have more to say when I'm done, but I will say this now: every time I start to think maybe I'm not an anarchist, I read Graeber and I'm like, "Oh, yeah, I definitely am." I'm probably not a good anarchist because I'm also an incrementalist in a lot of ways, but wow, I really do believe that free association and lack of coercive violence should be the cornerstones of human life and society!
And now, a meme:
1. Best book of the year? You know me, I can never pick just one. I refer you back to this this post
2. Worst book of the year? I can't come up with an answer to this. If a book is bad, I stop reading it. A few of the books I read this year were mediocre, but none of them were terrible.
3. Most disappointing book of the year? The Woods at Midwinter probably, because I was just...expecting more. It's a short story being passed off as a book, and it's not even a very good short story? Idk. Like I said at the time, I don't resent paying Clarke for it because she's given me so much joy in other books, but it felt like a cash-grab, tbh. I don't get why it was published.
4. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of the year? The Anthropocene Reviewed. I still can't get over how much I loved it.
5. Book you recommended to people most in the year? Probably the Emma M. Lion books. Or The Anthropocene Reviewed.
6. Best series you discovered in the year? The Emma M. Lion books, definitely.
7. Favorite new authors you discovered this year? Let's say Felicia Davin for fiction and Erik Larson for non-fiction. I had read Devil in the White City before, but I kind of thought it was a one-off as far as quality goes. Not so! Now I will read everything he's published.
8. Most hilarious read of the year? I'm not really a funny book person, so most years I wouldn't have an answer, but I do have an answer this year, and it is David Mitchell's Unruly.
9. Most thrilling, unputdownable book of the year? Isaac's Storm omg and it's nonfiction about something that happened over a century ago!
10. Book you most anticipated this year? Talia Lavin's Wild Faith
11. Favorite cover of a book you read this year?
for the visual joke
because the old-fashioned style perfectly tells you what kind of book it is
12. Most memorable character of the year? Young Hawkes from Emma M. Lion or the narrator from Tamsin
13. Most beautifully written book of the year? O Caledonia
14. Book that had the greatest impact on you this year? Probably The Anthropocene Reviewed again.
15. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL this year to finally read? So many! Tamsin, for one, or The Question of Palestine or Farthing or A Garter as a Lesser Gift
What I finished:
+ The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion volume 8. This continues to be my happy place, and delightfully this book was full of some Backstory Reveals about main characters that were very fun. I have no insights to share about it--I am sure it had lots of weaknesses, but I simply do not care. Beth Brower has a direct line to my id, and I am so glad.
+ Wicked Uncle, the latest entry in my Miss Silver read-through. It's funny that the last time I posted about Patricia Wentworth, I said she always has the same setup because this one was a little different! And stronger for it! A good Wentworth book.
One thing she is very, very good at is making her murder victims a person that, tbh, I don't mind seeing murdered. Like, she does take murder seriously, but often times the murder victim is such a terrible person who's ruining so many people's lives that, in the context of the story, it's a relief that they're dead. Which I don't think is a bad thing in a mystery novel.
+ The Perilous Life of Jade Yeo is a little novella about a Malay Chinese woman living in London in the 1920s. The focus was on her romantic entanglements. I liked this a lot, particularly Jade's voice, but frankly, it was not long enough--well, it actually was just as long as it needed to be to explore the romantic entanglements, but I wanted to know so much more about her life!!!! I would have loved if this was a full novel with all the other aspects of her life fleshed-out. If it was, I'm sure it would be a favorite. As it is, I came away wishing Cho would write more historical fiction novels.
+ A Garter As a Lesser Gift has been read and loved by many of you, but for those who haven't heard of it: it's a retelling of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, but instead of medieval (or pre-medieval) knights of the round table, they are an RAF squadron. A genius way to re-imagine Arthuriana imo. I can't believe how long it took me to get around to reading this, which was as delightful as everyone always said.
And now I will say something I almost never say about novellas: this was exactly as long as it needed to be! Did I wish for a million other books in this same world exploring all the other characters? I absolutely did. But this story, this retelling of Gawain, perfectly fit the novella form.
I loved especially the way the writing/prose recreated the early-to-mid-20th century style, which suited the story perfectly.
This is for you if you like: Arthuriana, retellings, bisexuality, winter stories, golden age mysteries, emotional repression with good payoff, etc.
+ Payment in Blood by Elizabeth George. This is the second Inspector Lynley book--I read a bunch of these in high school and then reread the first one a few years back and was seeing if I want to continue rereading this series. I have decided I do not. George is an excellent writer, her mysteries are good, her characterization is great, but. But.
The premise of this series is that an actual British lord (I think he's an earl? I forget) is a detective and his partner is a working class woman with a chip on her shoulder. Class conflict is baked into it. Which should be my thing. Except...George is way too sympathetic to the upper class. She thinks she's being even-handed, and idk, maybe she is. I am prepared to admit that I am a bit of a radical when it comes to this sort of thing.
But the thing is: Havers (our working class woman) is constantly assuming corruption and favoritism on the part of all the rich people in the books (same, girl, same). But she's almost always wrong! Her perspective is undermined by the fact that Lynley and his friends, who are all similarly upper class, are So Good Actually. They never use abuse their power! Some of the villains might, but our Good Ones never do. Havers assumes, she is slapped down. I do not like this.
It's just so frustrating! It would be so much more interesting if the Good Ones needed to be called out by her more. Instead, we have this main character who is angsting over his own privilege, but never actually acts on it?
I don't know how to articulate it, the class stuff just rubs me the wrong way and I get pissed. So I don't think I will reread anymore of these. Which is a shame because she really is such a good writer, and it's hard for me to find mysteries that are well written and serious enough for me.
+ The Queen's Gambit is the first in a fantasy trilogy by the aforementioned Beth Brower. I was excited to read this because of how much she taps into my id in the Emma books, but this one didn't work for me nearly as well, and I'm struggling to put my finger on why.
Basically, young queen of small country that has heretofore been protected from outside influences is threatened by a foreign empire. At the same time, a mysterious young man from that empire has shown up in her kingdom and requested asylum. You can guess why he's there.
One kick I got out of this book is that its premise is essentially a daydream I've had for years. I like to imagine, "What if I was the queen of a small kingdom that was surrounded by mountains and ocean and so basically un-attackable, and I could set up the society in any way I wanted, what would I do?" (Obviously I would never, ever want this to be reality as it goes against all my principles, but it's fun to lay in bed at night and be like, "And then I would invite in the fantasy!Jews and make them full citizens, and then I would slowly introduce gender equality, and then I would...")
Of course, in this book, the kingdom becomes attackable, which is where the plot comes from. But still. I laughed.
I really don't know what it is about this that didn't enrapture me, and I do think I'll read the second two books, because I actually don't know where it's going to go from where it ended. But this was a useful reading experience in that it taught me that Brower is not a writer who is going to work as well for me every time as she does with the Emma books. I imagine I'll always check out what she publishes, but I won't necessarily assume I'm going to love it madly.
+ And then last night I finished The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which somehow I didn't read back in my Poirot phase during middle school? I feel like I really would have remembered this one because it's Christie at her best. I did figure out whodunit a few pages before the reveal, but I genuinely hadn't up until then and I can only imagine how people reacted to it when it was published!
On the down side, hate getting smacked in the face with a sudden, completely and totally unnecessary bit of antisemitism. BOO!
What I'm reading now:
The Ultimate Hidden Truth of the World, David Graeber's posthumous collection of essays. I'm sure I will have more to say when I'm done, but I will say this now: every time I start to think maybe I'm not an anarchist, I read Graeber and I'm like, "Oh, yeah, I definitely am." I'm probably not a good anarchist because I'm also an incrementalist in a lot of ways, but wow, I really do believe that free association and lack of coercive violence should be the cornerstones of human life and society!
And now, a meme:
1. Best book of the year? You know me, I can never pick just one. I refer you back to this this post
2. Worst book of the year? I can't come up with an answer to this. If a book is bad, I stop reading it. A few of the books I read this year were mediocre, but none of them were terrible.
3. Most disappointing book of the year? The Woods at Midwinter probably, because I was just...expecting more. It's a short story being passed off as a book, and it's not even a very good short story? Idk. Like I said at the time, I don't resent paying Clarke for it because she's given me so much joy in other books, but it felt like a cash-grab, tbh. I don't get why it was published.
4. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of the year? The Anthropocene Reviewed. I still can't get over how much I loved it.
5. Book you recommended to people most in the year? Probably the Emma M. Lion books. Or The Anthropocene Reviewed.
6. Best series you discovered in the year? The Emma M. Lion books, definitely.
7. Favorite new authors you discovered this year? Let's say Felicia Davin for fiction and Erik Larson for non-fiction. I had read Devil in the White City before, but I kind of thought it was a one-off as far as quality goes. Not so! Now I will read everything he's published.
8. Most hilarious read of the year? I'm not really a funny book person, so most years I wouldn't have an answer, but I do have an answer this year, and it is David Mitchell's Unruly.
9. Most thrilling, unputdownable book of the year? Isaac's Storm omg and it's nonfiction about something that happened over a century ago!
10. Book you most anticipated this year? Talia Lavin's Wild Faith
11. Favorite cover of a book you read this year?
for the visual joke because the old-fashioned style perfectly tells you what kind of book it is12. Most memorable character of the year? Young Hawkes from Emma M. Lion or the narrator from Tamsin
13. Most beautifully written book of the year? O Caledonia
14. Book that had the greatest impact on you this year? Probably The Anthropocene Reviewed again.
15. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL this year to finally read? So many! Tamsin, for one, or The Question of Palestine or Farthing or A Garter as a Lesser Gift
no subject
I'm not quite sure what's she's doing though, and having only read the one book, I might still be being unfair. But you're not alone anyway!
So glad you enjoyed Roger Ackroyd and had got this far without the world spoilering you first. That's pretty cool. <3
no subject
It was pretty cool! I also can't believe I made it this far in life without either reading it or being spoiled about it!