Reading Railroad: October’s Reading

Everything I read in October. I made up for the slow reading in September last month!

Novels

Except the Queen by Jane Yolen and Midori Snyder. Published in 2010. Adult fantasy. Two fae sisters, Meteora and Serana, happen upon the Fairy Queen with a mortal man and their child tucked away safe in the grass. They flee the queen’s wrath, but when one makes a gossipy mistake, the queen finds them and curses them to live apart in the mortal realm as two old women. For those who love fae and fairy. My full review is on Goodreads. 4/5

 

Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter. Published in September 2016. YA fantasy. It’s current day Brooklyn, but not quite the same Brooklyn we know, for the nights feel endless and stretch on and on and on, and there’s a convenience store chain called Babs Yagg, if you dare to go in it. Anyone ‘caught’ stealing has their head cut off. Vassa’s not a normal 16-yr-old. She carries with her a secret magical doll, Erg, that her mother gave her. Arriving at the store, Vassa is tricked by Babs Yaggs into working there for 3 nights. She knows she’s doomed to have her head cut off, but maybe with Erg’s help she can make it out. I didn’t quite believe the characters, though it’s a creative idea. My full review is on Goodreads. Thanks to Tor/Forge and Goodreads First Reads for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. 3/5

Faithful by Alice Hoffman. Published in November 2016. Contemporary fiction. It’s release day for this one! You can read my full review on this blog. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. 4/5

 

 

Rumpled by Lacey Louwagie. Published in 2014. Fantasy. A quick read — novella-length — that explores an alternate version of Rumpelstiltskin. I’m in a Goodreads book group with Lacey, so I wanted to give her retelling a read. 4/5

 

 

Bohemian Gospel by Dana Chamblee Carpenter. Published in 2015. Historical fiction. Mouse lives in a convent, but she’s not allowed to attend church or to be baptized. People whisper she’s a witch, but her surrogate father Father Lucas assures her she’s a child of God. But she knows she’s different. She can see people’s souls, and when she looks for her own, she sees nothing. She also has unusual healing powers, which come in handy when the young King Ottakar winds up at the abbey after being shot by an arrow. She saves him, and in return he makes her his ward, and takes her with him to Prague. Those who love historical fiction and magic should give this a try. I work with Dana, so I’m so glad I enjoyed this. My full review is on Goodreads. I may post it on this blog at some point. 4/5

Lilith by George MacDonald. Published in 1895. Fantasy. While I was expecting a Christian fantasy, I wasn’t expecting it to be an allegory. Some people may love religious allegories; I’m not a fan. I can definitely see how MacDonald inspired C.S. Lewis. 2/5

 

 

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. Published in 1972. MG light horror. Through the eyes of a group of trick-or-treating boys, Bradbury explores the Halloween traditions of several cultures, and the ending is perfect. While written for middle grade readers, it was fun for me to read too. Bradbury’s descriptions of Fall and Halloween are evocative; you can really tell he loved this time of year. This is my favorite Ray Bradbury so far! Perfect Halloween read. 4/5

Short Story Collections

The Rose and The Beast: Fairy Tales Retold by Francesca Lia Block. Published in 2001. YA short stories. While most of these stories are terribly depressing (dealing with sexual violence), they also have a jerky, happy quality — a tone that resembles teenage girl talk. It reminded me a bit of Kate Bernheimer. If you like your fairytale retellings to add details and turn archetypes into 3 dimensional characters, this isn’t a collection you’ll enjoy. But if you like retellings that keep the peculiar flatness of the originals, coupled with a modern setting and disturbing content, then this is right up your alley. I read this in a single sitting, so it’s a fast read. My full review is on Goodreads. 3.5/5

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz. Published in 1989. MG horror stories. I listened to this on youtube the day before Halloween, and remembered almost all of the stories! Brought me right back to childhood. Can you believe that no one in one of my college classes had ever heard of it!? 4/5

 

Nonfiction

Steering the Craft by Ursula Le Guin. Published in 1998. 10 craft exercises in 10 chapters. These craft exercises help break down the elements of writing so the writer is more conscious of these elements as they’re writing. I did all 10 exercises, and feel more conscious of the physicality of my writing than I did before. Another plus to these exercises are that they can be done again and again. While you won’t have a short story ready for submission after reading this, you will have the skills (or improved skills) to write one. My full review is on Goodreads. 4/5

Short Stories

These are all free to read online by clicking on the links.

The Pigeon Summer by Brit Mandelo. Published in May 2016 by Tor.com. J.’s best friend and soulmate has died, and si doesn’t know how to continue. Plus, si believes si’s being haunted. Interesting use of gender-queer pronouns. I liked that about it, and J.’s struggle with grief felt very real. I wish the speculative element had been emphasized more. 3.5/5

 

The Cleverest Daughter by Sarah Marshall. Published in 2016 by One Throne Magazine. A story of abuse combined with a lovely retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. It took a few readings of the beginning for me to figure out who was saying what, but I enjoyed it. 4/5

The Magician and Laplace’s Demon by Tom Crosshill. Published in 2014 by Clarkesworld Magazine. An AI meets its match in a magician, but it’s not going to let a magician outsmart it. Interesting concept and well-written. 4/5

 

 

Wine by Yoon Ha Lee. Published in 2014 by Clarkesworld Magazine. To save their planet a decision is made, but the cost is too much for some. Interesting character development — would like to read more in this world. 4/5

 

 

Happy reading in the month to come!