Reading Railroad: November’s Reading

Everything I read in November. I’m a week late posting this, but I wanted to post about holiday gift ideas first (which you can find here and here).

Novels

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. Published in 2008. Epic Fantasy. This novel probably needs no introduction, and is easily the book that’s been recommended to me more than any other. An innkeeper, Kvothe, who’s not really an innkeeper but a powerful magician who’s done…something…agrees to tell his story for the chronicler to write down. The Name of the Wind is day one of his life story, where you find out about his parents, his time as a beggar, and his admittance in the university where he starts learning magic. At the university he makes friends, enemies, and there’s one lady that haunts him. Overall, a well-written fantasy. I’ll be reading the rest of the series. My full review is on Goodreads. 4/5

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. Will be published in January 2017. Adult historical fairytale fantasy. From the day Vasilisa Petrovna is born, in the heart of winter, her family knows she’s different, though they still love her with a fierce devotion. Her mother dies during childbirth, and her father travels to Moscow where he finds a new wife, Anna, a relation of his previous wife, who like Vasilisa has the sight. Both can see chyerti and domovoi — guardian spirits and creatures from Russian folklore — though when Anna sees them she sees demons, while Vasya sees them for what they truly are. A fun novel given to me to read by Netgalley for an honest review. The full review will be posted here in January. 4/5

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire. Published in April 2016. YA fantasy. A door appears — a tiny door tucked into the porch railing that shrinks you when you open it, a rainbow door that leads you to a nonsense, rainbow world, a door that leads you to the land where Death is lord. But this isn’t a story about those portal worlds, rather about what happens after the portal world becomes your home and then spits you back out into reality, where your parents think you’ve been kidnapped for months or years, and their home can never be yours again. These teens are sent to Eleanor’s Home for Wayward Children. Everyone in the home has been through a portal world, and everyone wishes to find their door again and return. Nancy is a new student whose portal world was where Death reigned. This could be a new home for Nancy, but when a student dies, and then another, her new home is threatened, unless the students can figure out what’s happening. A fun read, and first in a series. I’ll be reading the others. I posted a slightly longer review on Goodreads. 4/5

Cinder by Marissa Meyer. Published in 2012. YA science fiction and fairytale retelling of “Cinderella.” Cinder is a cyborg in New Beijing, but cyborgs aren’t considered ‘humans’ by many. An incurable plague is killing many in New Beijing and around the world, and cyborgs are often taken to be tested on. But so far Cinder’s managed to stay out of the way of the doctors. Cinder’s stepmother treats her cruelly, as does one of her stepsisters, but the other stepsister is kind, and Cinder has an android who’s her friend. She works as a mechanic, and when the handsome Prince Kai brings his broken android to her to fix, and the evil Lunar Queen comes to try to manipulate Kai into marriage, everything starts to change for Cinder. A fun though predictable YA. First in a series. My full review is on Goodreads. 3.5/5

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher. Published in 2014. YA fantasy and fairytale retelling of “Bluebeard.” When a wealthy magician proposes to 15-yr-old Rhea, a poor miller’s daughter, her family has no recourse but to accept. But she’s not his first wife. How will Rhea free herself from the marriage? How about the other wives? A fun, quick read. 4/5

 

 

The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis. Published in June 2016. Adult post-apocalyptic thriller. When Elka’s seven, a super storm hits and kills her grandmother. Years earlier her parents left to search for gold, so now Elka’s in the woods by herself. She sets out on her own and is eventually found by a man she calls Trapper, and Daddy in her head. He raises her, teaches her wood lore and how to hunt. She loves him and he seems to love her in his own way. The one rule is she’s never to speak of him to anyone else. When she’s seventeen, she goes to the closest town to pick up some supplies, and sees a wanted poster with the face of Trapper on it. He’s wanted for multiple murders, and it’s not until then that she realizes he’s a serial killer. Magistrate Lyon is after him for killing her son, and when she sees Elka’s reaction to the wanted poster, she realizes Elka knows the man. Elka escapes into the woods on a mission to find her long lost parents, but two hunt her — Magistrate Lyon and Trapper. Very exciting read. You can read my Goodreads review here, but I may post a review of it on this blog soon. 4/5

Short Stories

I link to the free stories when they’re available.

The Contemporary Foxwife by Yoon Ha Lee. Published in 2014 in Clarkesworld Magazine. On a faraway planet, there’s a knock at the door, and it’s a foxwife. Great use of folklore in a sci-fi setting. 4/5

 

 

 

“Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang, read in Stories of Your Life and Others. Originally published in 1998. This is the short story the film Arrival is based on. I originally read this in preparation for watching the movie, but I’ve been so busy I haven’t had a chance to see it yet. However, the story is fantastic. It asks, In what ways can language shape cognitive functions? When aliens come to earth, linguist Louise Banks is asked to join a team of researchers to decipher their language, but as she learns their language, the way she perceives the world around her changes too. This one really snuck up on me. One moment I was casually reading, the next I had tears in my eyes. I can’t wait to see the movie! 5/5

Let the Century to Sit Unmoved by Sarah Pinsker. Published in Strange Horizons in May 2016. There’s a pond in a small town and sometimes the people who jump in don’t come out. Yet the main character jumps anyway, as many teens do. I liked the concept and voice, but it was more like world building than an actual story. 3/5

No Matter Which Way We Turned by Brian Evenson. Published in People Holding in May 2016. An evocative flash fiction piece about a girl with no front. 4/5

 

Happy reading in the month to come!