January Retrospective

 January was a big reading month for me. Out of my list of 25, I read 19, I put two aside for some other time, and ejected one and will be taking it to trade out in my next trip to 2nd and Charles. 19 books is a lot for anyone. 

This month I read through all of my TBR recommendations and finally let myself read some graphic novels that have been waiting for quite some time. I've been sitting on the Fable series for about 10 years which seems silly in hindsight. There was always something more pressing, or new, that got in the way. I began to worry that actually reading the series would be disappointing after all that waiting. I'm only four volumes in, but so far it is in no way disappointing. 

I'll be doing some individual posts for my TBR books in the near future. However, along with the new, I've finally allowed myself to reread some of my favorite books from my adolescence. There is always a danger doing that, that they won't hold up to the beloved memory. In this case, I'm glad to say that Mercedes Lackey's "Magic's Price" series was every bit as wonderful as I remembered. I might even write a series post for it later. 

Other particularly notable reads of the month are Naomi Novak's Spinning Silver and the Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spiderman  volumes 1 and 2. It was a good month all told with some excellent reads

Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones

 

The tragedy of this book is that I don't think as many people know it exists as it truly deserves. First published in 1986, Howl's Moving Castle was turned into a Miyazaki film in 2004. Miyazaki did a superb job adapting the story to the point that most people seem to be unaware of the source material which is, as I've said, a shame. No matter how good and faithful an adaptation is, the novel will always still have more depth and that's true here as well.

The story is about Sophie Hatter who is a somewhat over serious and self-defeated oldest of three sisters. She runs afoul of the Witch of the Waste and ends up sheltering with the beautiful, but vain, Howl whose nasty reputation is a deliberate misdirection on his part to avoid work and responsibility. The whole story is set in a fantasy kingdom that is taking conscious pokes at several common fairy tale motifs such as the successful sibling always being the youngest.

As is often the case, this is a story about love. However it is also a story that deliberately plays with, and breaks, many of the common fairy tale archetypes. Because of this, the major characters are all well-developed, well-rounded characters with interesting character arcs.

I originally bought a copy of this for my sister-in-law as a present. She wanted it and was having a hard time locating a copy. The most recent 2001 edition has since gone into reprints and is readily available now. While I'm sure younger kids would like the basic story of Howl's Moving Castle, much of the nuance playing with genre expectations would require a more experienced audience. Nevertheless, the book is appropriate for any age that can tackle the language in it.

Miyazaki's film adaptation is faithful to the source material, but cuts out most of the side plots, side character development, and focusing almost entirely on Sophie. While it is one of my favorite movies, it sacrifices almost all of the subtlety that I love in the novel. So, watch the movie by all means but make sure you read the book too.

2021 Goals and a list for January

I don't know if it's the crazy disorder of 2020 or turning 40 this last year, but I have been increasingly looking around at my life and my home and identifying things that I would like to make better. I'm not going to go off on a massive introspective rant here (promise) but one of the things I've become aware of is my magpie like habit of collecting books that I then allowed to sit around on shelves and in stacks on the floor without reading. There are just so many interesting books out there that there is always a new shiny. I get distracted, and I forget about the old ones.

At a conservative estimate I have about 1500 books sitting in my physical 'to be read' stacks. (I haven't done a full count, it could easily be 2000 or more in reality). In light of this, I'm going to focus this year on reading books that I already own. The exceptions are the book recommendations I get through TBR.co, anything I need to read for professional reasons (English teacher after all), or anything I'm given or handed by friends and family (I am not going to wait a year to read a gift or hand back something people have lent me.) Otherwise, anything I buy this year is going in a box until next January. Should do wonders for the budget, lol.

I'm going to put together lists of 25 or so books each month to read or try. Since I've been collecting these books over my entire adult life, it's entirely possible if not probable, that I'm going to realize that I have no interest in reading something that I picked up on clearance when I was 22. So hopefully, this will also serve to start reducing the clutter as I gift, sell, or donate such things.

Wish me luck!

January

1. Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man vol 1 by Bendis, Pichelli, Samnee, and Marquez (Finished 1/13/2021)
2. Miles Morales: The Ultimate Spider-Man vol 2 by Bendis, Pichelli, Samnee, and Marquez (Finished 1/18/2021)
3. The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich
4. The Guest List by Lucy Foley (TBR) (Finished 1/29/2021)
5. American Monsters by Linda S. Godfrey
6. Pale Demon by Kim Harrison (Finished 1/5/2021)
7. A Night Without Armor: Poems by Jewel (removing from the collection)
8. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Winne Jones (on loan) (Finished 1/11/2021)
9. Exile's Valor by Mercedes Lackey (Finished 1/2/2021)
10. Magic's Pawn by Mercedes Lackey (Finished 1/18/2021)
11. Magic's Promise by Mercedes Lackey (Finished 1/19/2021)
12. Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey (Finished 1/22/2021)
13. Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy (TBR) (Finished 1/6/2021)
14. Klaus: How Santa Claus Began by Grant Morrison (Finished1/1/2021)
15. Klaus: The New Adventures of Santa Claus by Grant Morrison (Finished1/1/2021)
16. A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey (TBR) (Finished 1/9/2021)
17. Spinning Silver by Nomi Novik (Finished 1/16/2021)
18. The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk (TBR) (Finished 1/12/2021)
19. Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
20. Fables Vol 1: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham (Finished1/2/2021)
21. Fables Vol 2: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham (1/5/2021)
22. Fables Vol 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham (1/6/2021)
23. Fables Vol 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham (Finished 1/7/2021)
24. Crafting Novels & Short Stories by Editors of Writer's Digest
25. Sister Light, Sister Dark by Jane Yolen

 I'm putting this out a little late and I haven't really decided if I'm going back to a regular blog, but I find I miss blathering on about my reading so I'm going to give it a try for a little while. We'll see how it goes.