“Afterworlds”
by Scott Westerfeld. Gift from the boy for my birthday. After going to his event at
Queensway Chapters, I finished up so the boy could read it. Both stories worked, and I liked how you could see the effects of "real life" on the way the "novel" came out. The struggle with the ending was great, especially.
“American
Slavery, American Freedom: the Ordeal of Colonial Virginia” by Edmund Morgan. Someone
(I thought it was TNH but can’t find it now) linked to an article about how
giving out parcels of land in Virginia colony had led eventually to slavery,
and in the comments section people were arguing about whether this book (published
in 1975) was a reliable source. I love listening to historians argue. Even
their bickering is smart. If I was going to do a post-grad degree just for
kicks I’d do a history one, so I can learn to think like them. Anyway, the book
was available at the library, so I requested it. I was somewhat daunted by the
400+ pages, but then had no trouble reading 100 pages in a sitting. Not only
was it all facty, but well-written too!
It also provided needed background for Wind/Water/Salt, so it was like doing research!
“Sabriel”
by Garth Nix (reread). Man, I like this book. She goes along for about 400
pages looking for her father and then finds him and he’s all like “okay, we
don’t have much time, you need to do this, do that, do this, then I’m gone
forever.” No hug, nothing. Awesome.
“Lirael”
by Garth Nix (reread). The problem was, I read the first
section and got to the part with Sam in Ancelstierre, and I was so like “I
don’t care” because I just wanted to see what Lirael was up to next. I almost
skipped the whole section out of frustration. But then I started really wanting
to know what the heck was wrong with Sam, considering he seemed so together at
the start of the section, and then fell apart, and that kept me going. Then the
Lirael sections were the ones that were annoying, but shortly the two were
together and it was no trouble finishing the book. he Disreputable Dog has got
to be one of the best sidekicks in literature, though Mogget is pretty awesome
too.
“Abhorsen”
by Garth Nix (reread). I didn’t remember whole portions of this
book, so I must have read it very quickly the first time. I did however
remember the Disreputable Dog at the end. I know I enjoyed the book more this
time. This is basically a series about zombies, though the word never comes up.
I’m really glad Clariel came out, compelling me to revisit this series, which
is one of my favorites.