I am currently reading a book of poetry (Come on All You Ghosts by Matthew Zapruder, 72/108 pages), a book in French (Le Lion, La Sorcière Blanche et L’Armoire Magique by C.S. Lewis, translated by Anne-Marie Dalmais, 144/186 pages), one of the Top 100 Children’s Books (Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis, 118/243 pages), and I will be picking out a new English-language, non-kid’s novel soon, having recently finished The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. Whichever book I finish next will be my 52nd for the year!
The Grace Keepers by Kirsty Logan, A-: This melancholy but beautiful novel is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which the sea has risen so high that there’s hardly any land left. The only people who live on land are those who are born there and those who are rich enough to afford to buy their way onto it. Everyone else lives on the sea. One of the main characters is a young woman who’s part of a “dampling” (sea-dwelling) circus that voyages from island to island to earn food. Her circus act involves a tamed bear that she lives with in a small coracle hitched to the other circus ships. The other main character is a young woman who is, in effect, a funeral director for damplings. She lives alone, on her own small island, with little company except for “graces,” which are a type of bird used in the funeral ceremony. In this ceremony, the body of the dead dampling is dropped into the sea, then a grace is caged on the surface above. When the grace dies, the period of mourning ends. That aspect of the story is horrible, almost enough to make me not want to finish the book. The character struggles with the morality of that part of her job herself, often feeding the graces even though she’s not supposed to and doesn’t have food to spare. IMHO, this would just prolong the birds’ suffering, but I can see why she’d still feel compelled to feed them (and of course, symbolically, this means that mourning is supposed to be short, but she’s making it last longer for some reason). Each of the women has a secret, which will be revealed as the exigencies of life and death bring them together. While the story overall was sad, the ending was vaguely hopeful.
The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel) by Michael Scott: Twins Josh and Sophie get mixed up in the war between good and evil and the battle for possession of the Codex, a book of powerful magic. On their side, the immortal alchemist Nicholas Flamel, his wife Perenelle, and the warrior Scathach. Against them, the immortal John Dee, and other agents of evil, including the Morrigan and Bastet. This was a fast and fun read, but I don’t have time to continue with the series right now. Though Nicholas Flamel is also mentioned in Harry Potter, there is otherwise no connection between the two series.
Danny and I loved the Nicholas Flamel series, although I was a little frustrated by the final book. And I will say Michael Scott is lovely in person if he’s ever doing a promotion near you guys.
Also, congrats on finishing 51 books so far! I keep picking things up and putting them down, so I’m currently at … 37? 38? My goal for the next six weeks is to finish at least some of what’s on the go, but also to read some of the winter holiday-themed books I own and what I’ve got out from the library. It’s a really good thing I don’t have a day job…
Danny and I loved the Nicholas Flamel series, although I was a little frustrated by the final book. And I will say Michael Scott is lovely in person if he’s ever doing a promotion near you guys.
Also, congrats on finishing 51 books so far! I keep picking things up and putting them down, so I’m currently at … 37? 38? My goal for the next six weeks is to finish at least some of what’s on the go, but also to read some of the winter holiday-themed books I own and what I’ve got out from the library. It’s a really good thing I don’t have a day job…