recent reading …
I’ve fallen behind on my ROOT reads project, mostly due to fascinating new books from NetGalley and the library. This cyclically affects my reading focus; I’m not too worried about being able to meet my 2015 ROOT reading goal. If I’ve not been reading my own books, what have I been reading?
I received A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin from NetGalley. After reading it as my lunchtime reward over a few days, I skimmed some reviews on goodreads and discovered Gail Carriger and her YA series The Finishing School Series the first three of which I inhaled. I’m now reading her The Parasol Protectorate Series and am impatiently waiting for library holds to come in so I can continue reading. I’ve mostly read steampunk short stories before and now that I’m more familiar with similar stories in the genre, I’ll work on a full review of A School for Unusual Girls (which will be released May 19, 2015).
I forget where I first heard of Buried Giant but I have seen discussions about it in many places, such as Mythic Retreat: Rebecca Rukeyser interviews Kazuo Ishiguro and Lost Toys and Flying Machines: A Talk with Kazuo Ishiguro. I listened to this as an audio book and I look forward to revisiting it in print. There are many interesting layers to this story and I found it quite enjoyable. It endeared itself to me when I heard of the kerfuffle about it being easily shelved in many different genres, not just one.
I am a known Mercedes Lackey fangirl. I was excited to discover and read House of the Four Winds. This was an interesting story and I look forward to following additional adventures of the princesses of Swansgaard. If each sister is as thoughtful and determined as Clarice, it will be an enjoyable journey.
Leah Cypess concludes her Death Sworn series with Death Marked. We follow Ileni, a trained yet powerless sorceress, to the very heart of the Empire she was raised to distrust. Here she makes discoveries and meets new people that challenge her beliefs and expectations.
Uprooted by Naomi Novik is a departure from her Temeraire series. I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and may have stayed up a few extra nights to finish reading, I sometimes miss marathon all-day/night reading sessions! In this book, Naomi draws on her Polish folklore heritage and has crafted a dark fairytale that flows thick with tradition and legend. Agnieszka is surprised and confused to find herself the focus of the Dragon’s attention and with determination discovers her strengths. Uprooted will be released May 19, 2015.
What new book have you read that kept you up late?