The first part of this post will not contain spoilers for The Raven King, or indeed for any book in this series. I will clearly mark the end of the non-spoiler-y part of the post, so that you can bail before I start shrieking about specific, spoilery things. I mainly want to tell you what I love so much about this book and this series. The Raven Cycle is about figuring out how to be a person. Or more specifically, how to be a person when your world as it stands is not — is nowhere near — enough. One…
41 CommentsReading the End Posts
One day, Ajie’s older brother Paul leaves their home in Nigeria, and he never comes back. Ajie was the only one who saw him go. And After Many Days is about the loss of Paul and his presence in their family before he goes. I was reading it in between other things (you’ll be hearing about The Raven King on Monday) that frankly I cared about more, and nevertheless I thought And After Many Days was awfully good. It tells the story of a 1990s Nigerian family in a way that makes a faraway (from me) country in an increasingly faraway time feel…
21 CommentsIt’s Monday, and I had a smashing weekend! A good friend came to town so we got to break bread (and have some drinks) together and shoot the shit on Saturday. The bookstore had a surprise for me which I will share with you in a moment, although if you know me well or follow me on Twitter you can probably guess what it was. And I made French onion soup for the family on Sunday, and it came out excellent. Oh, I went to the library too. We don’t need to talk about that. I DO NOT HAVE A…
27 CommentsBefore I launch into a proper review of Oksana Marafioti’s American Gypsy, a word about terminology. Marafioti never discusses, in the course of her book, her use of the term gypsy. However, many many many Romani people consider it to be an ethnic slur; and when the word appears in the course of this book, it’s more often than not being thrown at Marafioti or at her family as an insult. So although Marafioti herself has said that she’s not opposed to the use of the term, I’m going to stick with Romani throughout this review. And so should you,…
24 CommentsHappy Wednesday, booklovers! We know you were psyched to hear about All the Birds in the Sky, but we’ve been unavoidably detained on that front. Instead, you get to hear our thoughts on two literary adaptations: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the new miniseries The Night Manager. We also take some shots at book-banners1 by way of the ALA’s Frequently Challenged Books of 2015 list. You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below or download the file directly to take with you on the go. Episode 59 Get at me on Twitter, email the podcast, and friend…
2 CommentsIt’s Monday, April 18th, and I am doing my honest best to finish my library books and return them in a somewhat timely manner. I presently have 11 books out from my university library, plus one interlibrary loan, and 2 of those are ready to be returned. I have, yes okay, 27 books out from the public library BUT I am prepared to return 9 of those when I go on Saturday. So there. (I’m fine, I don’t have a problem. You saw that 11 of those, nearly a quarter, are set to be returned?) My main current book is…
21 CommentsWell, it’s been a nice regular week! I knocked out some library books. I killed some caterpillars (my kill count stands at 29 as of this writing). I hung out with some friends. Sampled mac and cheeses from two different restaurants. Just in general living my best life. A history of Gay Batman that is everything Pop Culture Happy Hour listeners have come to expect from Glen Weldon. Also, he adorably puts an apostrophe in front of shippers, bless his heart. Speaking of gay stuff and fandoms (but I repeat myself), Clare of The Literary Omnivore wrote a brilliant and…
9 Comments