Space Station Mir

Books Read This Month 1. Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik (Temeraire Book#2) 2. Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience,and Finding Joy by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant 3. Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman 4. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert 5. American Cookie by Anne Byrn Favorite Book This Month Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman Tess of the Road appears more quotidian than its fantastical forebears. Although set in the same world where the half-dragon Seraphina wins the day along with (some) tolerance for her kind, her fully human younger sister Tess finds less kindness. Like her namesake of the d'Urbervilles, Tess is led to ruin, and then left by her family to wither. Against the religious claptrap of her upbringing, Tess's journey rises to numinous in its sheer visceral earthiness. A poignant back massage precedes a divine revelation. A childish prank of mooning reveals a man's existential pain. Tess of the Road turns bodies and souls inside out (o...

It's a Top Ten Tuesday freebie over at That Artsy Reader Girl.  1. His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik I've read the first two books in the Temeraire series and LOVED them so far. Horatio Hornblower + dragons =awesome. 2. Eragon by Christopher Paolini I read the entire Eragon series, and while I enjoyed some books more than others, I liked the series overall, and I couldn't resist the "what happens when a farm boy finds a dragon egg in a fantasy land" storyline. 3. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien I love the portrayal of Smaug and particularly his interactions with Bilbo. I wish we had gotten more dragons in Tolkien and maybe they weren't all evil. 4. The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien We don't get any dragons in LOTR, but the Silmarillion has some nasty ones--the Fingon/Glaurung battle is one of my favorites. 5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling Of course there's Norbert in the first book, but there's more fo...

Books I Read This Month 1. Uprooted by Naomi Novik 2. His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (Temeraire Book#1) 3. Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens' Agenda by Becky Albertalli 4. Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli 5. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett 6. Worlds Seen in Passing: 10 Years of Tor.com Short Fiction, edited by Irene Gallo Some definite trends here, as I stocked up on reads from favorite authors this past year and before, plus some YA books. Favorite Book This Month For the first time, I did have a hands-down favorite this month! His Majesty's Dragon is basically Horatio Hornblower with dragons, and it's AMAZING. I started reading parts aloud to my husband, and he told me to stop---because he wanted to read it for himself. I've already got the second book out of the library and I'm super excited because there are nine books out in the series. I love coming into a brand new (to me) series where I can just read the whole thing straight through! It...