🧛🏻‍♂️👻🐺🔪 Book Club for October, 🙀 Dungeon Crawler Carl, and ⏳ Time Travel

 

    In October, my book club reconvenes. Hurray! This season, we are reading Newberry Award winners. So fun! Our first book is The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I read an informative article by Eva Langston about what she gleaned from Gaiman's writing. He doesn't write down to children in ideas or language. https://evalangston.com/2018/05/13/the-graveyard-book/  I found many words that I paused to recall the meaning of, like "susurrus." (Whispering, murmuring, rustling) The book is unusual in many aspects. The story is told in short narratives occurring every two years about Nobody Owens, Bod to his friends. It starts with the death of everyone in his family when he was a baby. He unwittingly escaped to a nearby graveyard where he was adopted. A hook from the very start. How is that going to work? This book has won many awards and would be a terrific gift for any middle-grade through adult.

🧛🏻‍♂️👻🐺🔪

    I'm hooked on Matt Dinniman! The Butcher's Masquerade is the fifth in his Dungeon Crawler Carl Series. His plots move at lightning speed and are action-packed. The humor is crass at times, but his characters are maturing. The toll of continually fighting for their lives and seeing their friends killed is well portrayed. The narrative is growing beyond the dungeon and into the universe at large. What forces are causing this, and can they be stopped? The tension is high because you wonder if your favorite sub-character will die. 

😽🐐🕶️🌌👾

    A Contemporary Asshat at the Court of Henry VIII by Mary Janice Davidson was recommended by my husband. We both love a time travel story, and this one was excellent. Time travel books have different "causes." There are magical portals like a wardrobe or scientifically constructed ones like flying Delorian. This book mashes both of them together; there is a magical portal with a scientific reason. From the title, I knew I would be in the Tudor era in England, meeting Henry VIII. Davidson has done excellent research with many atmospheric details. The food descriptions were sensuous in the best way. Joan Howe is an American living a low-key life in England until she has a migraine and materializes in Tudor, England. Her mother was a Tudor fanatic so Joan has a good sense of the timeline and the key players of the court. She works hard not to change history--always the time traveler's dilemma--am I right? She gets herself back to 2023 and is commissioned to return to find those that have slipped back in time, Losties, to return them. However, everything is not as it seems.

    This was a vivacious, well-paced, intriguing book. There may be a setup for a sequel. I hope so!

⏳🏰🐴🤕

🐺🐈‍⬛🐈🐕 Every Book This Week Had Animals, At Least Metaphorically

fantasy, middle grade, dog/coyote, free dog

    There is so much I didn't know when I started The Eyes & the Impossible by Dave Eggers. I didn't realize the protagonist was a dog. I was surprised to find it was middle-grade fiction. The story is intricate and nuanced. I didn't realize it was the Newberry Award Winner for 2024, but I could see why.

    Joke--How do you know if a book about an animal is good? The animal dies in the end! For example, Sounder, Charlotte's Web, Where the Red Fern Grows, and I could go on. Here is a list from Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/675.The_dog_dies_a_cautionary_list_

    I wonder if Eggers set out to write a book where the dog lives. I liked the ongoing jokes in this book about ducks being morons and the inability to measure time and distance like a human. I listened to the audio version narrated by Ethan Hawke, for which he was nominated for an Audie. It was amazing. I found this to be a lovely, gentle book.

🐕🦆🦝🦬

 

    I am up to Dungeon Crawler Carl Book IV, The Gate of the Feral Gods, by Matt Dinniman, and I continue to be impressed. The way the previous books interlock with the current story leads me to suspect that Dinniman has the entire series plotted. The characters continue to mature, and the story has expanded beyond the dungeon. I am rooting for Carl and Donut to save the entire galaxy.

🐈🕶️❊🧪🪄

    I have always been a fan of bookstores. In my early teens, I would walk to the Stars and Stripes Bookstore near where I lived in Wiesbaden, Germany, to buy books. The Bookshop by Evan Friss explores the history of bookstores in America from Benjamin Franklin to Amazon especially its impact on minorities and culture. He talks about several Indie bookshops I have visited: The Curious Iguana in Frederick, MD, Busboys and Poets in Washington DC, and Browseaboutbooks in Rehoboth Beach, DE. He has an entire chapter on the number one bookstore I want to go to, Parnassus Books, in Nashville, TN. Evans's research is deep and thoughtful, creating an absorbing book that reads like fiction! 

📚📖🐈‍⬛☕️🍫

    A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur is a terrific book that fits in many categories historical romance mystery thriller. It takes place in 1506 in Korea and is based on historical records. Spoiled Iseul set out to find her kidnapped sister and set her free. Her sister has been captured by the king to join his 1,000 concubines. Hur's story has many threads that create an intricate plot with many with excillerating hairpin turns.

🐺🪽🗡️🐺

⚓️ I Read Historical, Nautical Non-Fiction Because I'm Well Rounded and an 😹 Amazing Fantasy Series 👾 🎮

    I had heard about Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman from a daughter with a middle school boy sense of humor, but then also had it recommended by Jeremy Cotter- a friend and fellow Star Trek fan. It pushed me to find it. I reserved one on Libby, I was number 212 on the list, and they offered me a lucky copy to listen to, the catch being I could only have it for seven days. It was 13 hours and 31 minutes. I can listen to books at 2x, which means it would take around six hours and 45 minutes. Maybe. I'm not great at base six math. Mission accomplished!

    Dungeon Crawler Carl is an apocalypse scenario that begins with most of the world's population dying as everything with a roof is pulled underground for its matter to be redistributed into a multi-level dungeon. Carl and his ex-girlfriend's prize-winning Persian, Princess Donut, enter the dungeon and become players in a first-person shooter game. To survive, they must level up their skills, collect loot, and charm the universe of beings who are watching. Fortunately, Carl has a cat on his team.

    Even though the story is low fantasy and, at times, ribald in its humor, the characters feel genuine as they wrestle with who to help survive and what lengths to go to survive. The writing is dark and funny. It is reminiscent of Hunger Games if it were a comedy. The dungeon has 18 levels. Book one covers set-up, level one, and level two, so it ends on a cliffhanger. 

    In book two, Carl's Doomsday Scenario, only one level is covered. I think that's how it will go. Dinniman keeps the momentum going, as does character development. Because the cat is newly sentient, she is childlike in her thoughts and approaches; however, it's not creepy that she's a successful player because she's a cat. I sense a lot of planning and thoughts have gone into these books. There is the driving core story of Carl and Donut trying to survive and other multiple stories being excavated over the series' arc. I found an interview with Matt Dinniman, the author, who predicts the series might have ten books. Book seven is coming out soon. I almost regret starting a series that isn't entirely out because I don't like to fight for copies or wait for the next book. Life is sometimes difficult, but I persevere.

Here is a link to the interview I referenced: https://beforewegoblog.com/interview-matt-dinniman-author-of-dungeon-crawler-carl/

🧌🐈‍⬛😹 👴🏻🦼👽👾 🎮

    I want to be a person who also reads nonfiction--well-rounded and erudite--however without a strong story, I fall asleep. Also, there is the sheer horror of events happening to actual people, not fictional characters. I saw The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann on several lists as one of the best nonfiction books of 2023, with this comment: it reads like a novel, so I gave it a try. I wanted to give up almost immediately. Terrible things happen. TERRIBLE. Grann says upfront that what actually happened can't be determined because the surviving accounts conflict. What? I like novels that wrap it neatly without loose ends. 

    I persevered. The tale is riveting, and David Grann masterfully fleshes out the 1742 journey of the Wager and its crew. I recommend it, especially if you like nonfiction, historical, or nautical.

⚓️🏝️😱

🫣 Intense Thriller😱, More Time Travel⏳, and Almost Done with My Latest Fantasy Series⚔️

 

    Master of the Revels is the second in a series about time travel and witches. Neal Stephenson and Nicole Galland wrote the first book, The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. The series is continued solely by Nicole Galland. Galland does an adequate job of moving the story along using the original characters. If you are a Shakespeare enthusiast, Galland's knowledge of the details of the people and theater of that time is extensive, and she weaves it into her plot skillfully. Master of the Revels is less science-y than other Stephenson's books, but if you enjoyed the first book and wonder what happened to them--the first book ended on a cliffhanger then it is worth the time to read it.

Here is a link to a review of another Stephenson's book: https://barbpruittwrites.blogspot.com/search?q=Stephenson

🎭⏳🧙‍♀️

    I found The Fury by Alex Michaelides a tense "locked room" mystery thriller. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator was stellar. The murder takes place on a remote island during a fierce windstorm. Michaelides kept me off balance for the entire story. I kind of, sort of figured out some of the big reveals, but the ending caught me by surprise. He does an excellent job of obfuscating significant clues and lulling the reader into a sense of trust only to shatter it. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say I found this book intense and compelling.

🎭🇬🇷🏝️🔎😱

    I read Daindreth's Sorceress by Elisabeth Wheatley, book four of her series Daindreth's Assassin. Wheatley is good at crafting plots that are believable and inventive for the genre, and occasionally, she produces a gem of a metaphor. She likes the word smear and uses it a lot. 

He smeared his wet hair back. She smeared sweat from her face. 

It seems like an unusual use, but it does bring a clear visual to mind. 

Vesha is a sympathetic and ruthless villain. Wheatley supports her actions with understandable desire. I can see why Vesha pursues her awful path, and I wish she would choose differently for her sake and others.

There are as many court politics as sword fights that occur, and it elevates the series.

I'm looking forward to spending my next audible credit on the final book of the series.  

🧝‍♀️🧙‍♀️⚔️

More Elisabeth Wheatley🐴 and 2 Excellent Mysteries🔎🔎

 

    I have clearly fallen down a Daindreth Assassin series wormhole. This week, I read Daindreth's Outlaw and  Daindreth's Traitor by Elisabeth Wheatley. She is strong on plot, sending the storyline in unexpected and unique directions. Her main characters, Amira and Daindreth, haven't undergone much emotional change. They are still seeking to free Daindreth from his curse and declaring their love for one another. Another character given a voice is Thadred, Daindreth's cousin and best friend, who is enslaved to him. Thadred is maturing, understanding who he is and what he might become. I found him the most complex character in books 2 and 3. The hook is firmly planted, and I want to read the entire series eventually.

🗡️🌳🐴

 This has been an excellent week for mysteries!

    I've read many mysteries and have learned what to look for to know the murderer. I still get fooled, especially in the hands of a good writer. Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister is a mystery that starts with the murder and then travels back in time to find the source. This book is everything I love--time travel, true love, self-discovery, and surprise plot twists. This book is my favorite mystery and favorite time travel book for 2024. It is a strong contender for best book of the year. 

⌛️🕰️⌚️📱

The best part about having a reputation as a crazy book person is people give you terrific recommendations. My mom's best friend, Connie, pointed me to How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin. It is a cozy mystery--not too violent, set in an English village--that's done exceptionally well. Here is the premise: weird, rich Aunt Francis has always believed she was going to murdered, so she has been gathering information about everyone in her orbit. When she dies, her great-niece, Anna, steps in to attempt to solve the murder, save her mother's home, save the village from becoming a golf course, and restore her aunt's reputation. There is a lot at stake! Anna is an aspiring murder mystery writer who faints at the sight of blood, or needles or the thought of blood or needles. It creates narrative tension as I root for this young woman to endure the process of figuring it all out before it's too late. 

🔎🧥📔🪶🔍

👹 Demons Were a Theme this Week😈

 

    All's Well by Mona Awad is one of the weirdest books I've read. I wanted to put the book down several times but was desperate to know what happened. It was creepy in a get-in-your-head way but also unique and well-crafted. Awad weaves the plots of Shakespeare's Macbeth and All's Well That Ends Well into a modern-day tale of being powerless and power-hungry and how this can lead one to betrayal and worse.

😈🎭💊

    One of my daughters pointed me to Elisabeth Wheatley's channel on YouTube called Book Goblin. It's very accurate and funny. Here is a link:

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ly9s9YzkvsE?feature=share

    Wheatley's channel also features books she has written. I've looked on Libby to find them and have yet to be successful. I pictured Wheatley as a self-publisher. However, I did find her books on Audible and spent a precious credit to listen to Daindreth's Assassin, the first in the Daindreth's Assassin series. She could have benefited from a better editor. She rocks the plot, and her characters strive to be more than stereotypes. I enjoyed the book and am wrestling with the question of how many credits do I want to use on this five book--quintology?--series. I'm guessing that her writing, especially dialogue, will improve with time. I would like to access her books less expensively but should suck it up and support a creative making it work.

⚔️🥷👹

🤯📚Mind-blowing Sci-fi from China and an Epistolary Novel

 

    Death's End is the final installment of Cixin Liu's series The Three-Body Problem. The final book was translated by Ken Liu. This series is mind-blowing. Liu introduced me to new ideas concerning strategy, space travel, and human psychology. He has a dark view of humanity, depicting it as easily panicked and capricious in its moral compass. The central figure of Death's End is a compassionate woman who continually tries to make loving and kind decisions only to find that it plunges Earth into further danger. Lius wrestles with leadership styles and breaks them into masculine and feminine, which is unfortunate. Liu's plot roams over a wide range--culture, gender, technology, space exploration, string theory, multiple universe theory, power, and physics--all in service of the plot. Death's End is a space opera involving enormous stakes. 

    Sometimes, writers who are terrific at science could be better at character development, and I think Liu's characters, especially the women, are somewhat one-dimensional. His females could be interpreted as weak and the cause of humanity's dangers. I have seen reviews where Cixin Lui is called misogynistic. My take is that he is unfamiliar with the interior lives of others—men and women--causing his books to be plot-driven, not character-driven. Even with all that, this is a fantastic series.

Here is a link to my other reviews of the series:

https://barbpruittwrites.blogspot.com/search?q=three+body

🤯🔭🤯🚀🤯🪐🤯🛸🤯👽🤯

    Julie Schumacher's short book, Dear Committee Members, is snarky and poignant. It is written as a series of letters—primarily recommendations for jobs at the request of former students—in which an aging English Professor, Jason Fitger, gives much more than advocacy but also an opportunity to air his grievances with academia. In a short work, Schumacher critiques the waning budgets of English departments as compared to economics and other sexier departments. She makes a strong case for the humanities. It's quite clever and well done. There are at least two more books featuring Professor Fitger, and I'm looking forward to reading them.

👨‍🏫📚📓🖊️

🏰🦄👠❤️‍🔥 Fantasy, Contemperary Fiction, and Christian Self-Help

 

   Cursed by Marissa Meyer is the second in a fantasy duology. Here is a link to my review of the first, Gilded. Meyer commands the story arc so well. There are zigs and zags that I didn't see coming but were within the realm of the story. This second book fits well with the first, and I wonder if it was all one work at first. Being a fairy tale, I believed it would have a happy ending, but Meyer didn't shy away from dark, dismal places. I asked myself if this fairy tale was more of the Grimm variety. 

🏰⚔️🧌🦄

    I had never read the book by Lauren Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada, which spawned the movie, so this week I did, and I also rewatched the movie (SO GOOD!) The book shows Andy giving up her soul a piece at a time, much like the movie. However, the book has several subplots that the movie doesn't, and the ending is changed. I thought the book would be an easy, breezy romp, but it delves into a body-shaming culture and a not-at-all-cute abusive relationship. I found it worth the read because what was kept and ditched was surprising.. 

🍿 😈👠🗽

I recently attended a Marriage Enrichment Conference sponsored by the Allender Center. I decided to read Bold Love by Dr. Dan B. Allender and Dr. Tremper Longman III, a book that's been on my shelves for years. I'm not sure how to classify this book--Christian self-help is probably the closest to what it is. Allender and Longman make the case for a love that isn't meek in its approach to loving difficult people. It's not tough love, per se, but more about valuing yourself in the equation. The cover (see above) boasts, "Know the difference between loving an evil person, a fool, and a normal sinner." Ouch. This book is helpful and challenging. I felt convicted about how I've failed to love others but also encouraged that there are hopeful pathways toward healing. It took me several weeks to read it, and I'm glad I took it slowly to absorb it and think about their proposals. I would like to reread it because the material does not have the usual message of "forgive and forget." It's made me think.

❤️❤️‍🔥❤️‍🩹

🪿🏰⚔️ So Much Fantasy! 😍

   This will be a week of fantasy for me, and I’m so excited!

😍

 

 Marissa Meyer was new to me and was recommended by one of my daughters, who shares my love of fantasy. Gilded is a retelling of the story of Rumplestiltskin. Meyer creates an imaginative world with a plucky heroine. Sirelda is a poor miller’s daughter who lies to the king of the Undead, the Erlking, telling him she can spin straw into gold. Sound familiar? From that familiar fairy tale, Meyer creates an intricate plot with unforeseen twists and turns. She is not afraid to “kill her darlings,” which gives the story an edgy intensity. Gilded is part of a duology. I’ve got her second one Cursed, locked and loaded. Stay tuned.

💛🧝‍♂️🤴⚔️🏰

    After going a while without any T. Kingfisher, two books become available in the same week! Score! Here is a link to the many, many other T. Kingfisher, AKA Ursula Vernon books I’ve reviewed: https://barbpruittwrites.blogspot.com/search?q=kingfisher. A Sorceress Comes to Call is a take on the fairy tale The Goose Girl. I was unfamiliar with it, so I looked it up on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Goose_Girl), and it’s a Grimm tale. 

😂

This book has horror elements making it one that I prefer to listen to during daylight. I admire Kingfisher’s ability to tell a story from multiple voices, playing them off each other. She also chooses unlikely heroes like a fifty-year-old spinster with knee trouble and an overwhelmed fourteen-year-old fighting a powerful evil sorceress. 

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    Paladin’s Faith is fourth in the Saint of Steel series, and I think there will be more. This book features previous characters, Margarite, the cynical spy, and Shane, the self-loathing Paladin. The more I read of Kingfisher, the more I appreciate her damaged characters who struggle to make their way in the world trying to do more good than damage. Each book in the series revolves around a quest and a romance, making for a spicy, intriguing read. So good!

🗡️👀😈🏰

🦠😷🤒 Memoir, Short Stories, Murder Mystery, Fantasy, and Sci-fi--The Post Has It All!

    Due to a series of unforeseeable events--COVID--I was unable to post last week. This is two weeks' worth of books.

🦠😷🤒

 

     Reading books by people of color and other backgrounds than mine help me grow in my understanding of the dialogue surrounding race. I get to see and feel through another's eyes. Marcie Alvis Walker's excellent essays about growing up in the '70s and '80s with a mentally ill mother, in her hateful grandmother's home, the only black child in an all-white school are gripping, eloquent, and heart-wrenching. 

👩🏾‍🦱📚☕️

    Amor Towles's book of short stories, Table for Two, could be a lot better. I'm guessing some of his earlier work was added not for its excellence but to fill out the page count. However, his last story is worth the effort. It relates to a captivating character, Evelyn Ross, in his book Rules of Civility. 

☕️💔☕️

    Lindsey Davis is a master of mystery. Death on the Tiber continues her series with informer Flavia Albia as she faces the terrors of her past. Even though the plot takes place in Ancient Rome, the characters face human struggles common to every age: crime, abuse, children, relationships, and conflict. Her mystery is well crafted, and the plot moves quickly and steadily. I find her quite reliable.

Here are other reviews about Lindsey Davis: https://barbpruittwrites.blogspot.com/2024/04/theology-murder-and-fantasy-typical-week.html

🔍😵🔎

        House of Salt and Sorrow by Erin A. Craig retells the fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I like a reworked fairy tale, but this one didn't appeal to me. The pace was plodding, and I became annoyed at how long it took for things to happen. Craig has built a clever, robust world, but it lacked spark. 

🌊🐙💃🏻

    The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu is the second in a sci-fi trilogy. Here is a link to my review of the first, The Three-Body Problem. 

  https://barbpruittwrites.blogspot.com/2024/06/its-all-about-sci-fi-and-fantasy.html

The Dark Forest had a different translator than the first book, and the transition into English could have been smoother; however, the story was incredible. There is a concept in Christianity of the depravity of humans. It doesn't mean we don't always choose to be self-serving over philanthropic, but the possibility and likelihood are there. The Dark Forest turns on the premise that the way to survival in the universe is to remain undetected. Once other worlds know of our existence, we become a target. The best we hope for is an uneasy détente. Even with this bleak premise, the book is fascinating in the way it examines humanity. The characters' struggles with moral dilemmas feel genuine and compelling. As a fan of sci-fi, I very much enjoyed the excellent writing, the sciency bits, and the philosophical depth.

🚀🪐🔭🦌🌳

🪆A Graphic Novel about Putin, a Historical Fiction💦, and Diving into a New Fantasy Series ❤️🔥

 

    When I start a giant book, I worry I'm not equal to the task of reading it. This seemed especially possible because I abandoned the last large book I tried to read. However, Abraham Verghese's historical fiction book, The Covenant of Water, hooked me from the start. It begins in 1900 with a twelve-year-old Indian girl whose father has died marrying a forty-year-old man. I trepidatiously read on, prepared to once again abandon a book, but I was in good hands. Verghese swept me along, and I was captivated. The Covenant of Water is a five-star book. The characters, the story, and the telling overwhelmed me. I wasn't ready for it to end. There are several enthralling facts and ideas intertwined in the plot. A Christian Church in  India is believed to have been started by St. Thomas--Doubting Thomas--around 52 AD. The main characters are members of this church. 

This denomination still exists today: https://www.syromalabarchurch.in/?fbclid=IwAR0e4DV5lsTz4PfkIdP5tIxexQRU3axgX_qy_obMs_wLzO4xdpPG66FcCMM.

Verghese's writing is solid and evocative. This is a candidate for the best book of the year and definitely the best—and largest—book I've read this summer.

⛪️⚕️🏞️ 💦

   One of my Darling Daughters recommended Graceling by Krisin Cashore. It is a high fantasy book, the start of a series. The worlds people imagine are staggering, and Cashore cooked up a good one. For an unknown reason, some in this world have supernatural powers, a grace. They are called Gracelings. They are easy to spot because they have two different colored eyes. Cool right? Katsu has a grace that enables her to kill people. Her uncle, one of the seven kings, uses her as his enforcer. She hates it. Then she meets another Graceling, Prince Po, who understands and doesn't fear her. It helps Katsu to imagine more for herself: restoring, instead of destroying, leading her to undertake the most powerful enemy, someone like herself, to save others.

    The second book in the series is a prequel that reveals the villain in Graceling's backstory. Fire is about a woman called Fire who has monster blood in her veins, making her irresistible to others. Some are driven to possess her, others to destroy her. Her father used his power to destroy and wanted her to do the same, but Fire desires a different life for herself. This book stands on its own. I find Cashore imaginative and robust in her world-building. The heart of the book, though, is about relationships that harm and those that heal. Good stuff. I will be reading more of the series.

⚔️👁️❤️🔥💘

    Accidental Czar: The Life and Lies of Vladimir Putin by Andrew S. Weiss and Brian "Box" Brown is the strangest book I'll read this year. It is a historic nonfiction graphic novel about Putin. I learned much, not just because I know practically nothing about the inner workings of Russian politics. I have people in my life who strongly believe that Russia influenced the 2020 election, helping Trump win. I found that hard to fathom, but with my newfound understanding, I think it's true. Accidental Czar is written by Weiss, an expert on Russia who advised Presidents Clinton and George Bush. The format lends itself to picturing Putin as a Russian superhero and an American supervillain. I gained insight into why Russia views Ukranian autonomy as a threat. I feel more informed after having read this comic about Putin.

🪆🪆🪆