#bbb challenge

Okay, so it's been another hot minute. In my defence... um... Stardew Valley is a really fun game?

Okay, I haven't been spending all of my time gaming, I have been reading too! So here's my (condensed and no pretty pictures) list:

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. For some reason I just didn't find this gripping, which is strange because I loved another of Pratchett's books for younger readers (Amazing Maurice). I gotta admit that the ending got the tears going though.

Reformation Divided by Eamon Duffy. I love Duffy's work as a historian and this was no exception, providing an important counterbalance to the popular Protestant/Whiggish historical narrative. Quite dense, though, not recommended to a general audience.

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. Not flawless worldbuilding (the main issue being the tension between the author trying to write a feminist critique of the St George and the Dragon story, as well as building a fully realised fantasy world, which leads to things like a black man being told his religion is wrong by someone of a superior religion and culture, he's not allowed to politely ask that people don't disrespect his religion directly in front of him, and the narrative supporting this) but extremely compelling characters and I still enjoyed it immensely. Other fantasy authors should study how to tell a broad, epic narrative without eighty billion povs from Shannon too.

All Things Made New by Diarmaid MacCulloch. Really interesting studies, especially the meta historiographical essays, but I was lacking content for some of it. I need to look for more of his books.

Voices from Morebath by Eamon Duffy. Super interesting local study, Duffy strikes a good balance between the particulars of Morebath and using it as a (possible) generalising example. Very short book that I think would be interesting to general readers too!

Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan (Powder Mage Trilogy #1). Really fun, fast paced book with varied and interesting characters, gritty without becoming grim or too dark. The first time I've ever said this, but possibly a bit *over* worldbuilt, having no less than five different kinds of magic users in one story without any apparent unifying system, making it feel a bit like everything had just been shoved in there. Still, the story was never bogged down by exposition and I remain cautiously optimistic there is some kind of explanation forthcoming in the sequel books.

This leads me onto the topic of also books, but ones I haven't yet read. With my Wheel of Time boxset 4 finally arriving, I can pick up that series again and have added books 10-14 to my reading list. On top of that, per our house rule about sequels, I'm adding the other Powder Mage books to the list, so even though I have finished (brief count) 6 books since we last spoke, these additions lead me to say...

84 books remaining!

So, life has lifed, and a couple of big books on the go, so only one thing completed this week.

Rebellion, Popular Protest, and the Social Order in Early Modern England by Paul Slack (editor). FINISHED. This was a fascinating read with super interesting analysis across various different case studies and it's really interesting from a historiological perspective to see some of older works in this line. However. I have bamboozled myself, because the reason I bought this book was because of reading a chapter of it in uni and finding it super fascinating. Only I distinctly remember the topic of the chapter I read and it??? Simply isn't in this book??? Where did it go??? What sort of phantom memory did I smoosh together, WITH THE READING LIST IN FRONT OF ME, in order to make this horrendously incorrect purchase??? Anyway no regrets 10/10 would misclick again.

No other books this week but I do have something else to report.

206 day reading streak, bitches!!

A double update because uh... I honestly forgot that I hadn't updated last weekend until like, Wednesday. And I must start this update with a confession.

I bought a book.

But listen, it's a writing craft book, so it doesn't count, right?? Right!! Listen I'm trying to work on my writing okay I need this.

Anyway because it's been a hot minute I have quite a lot of books to update on.

The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper is now FINISHED (Greenwich, The Grey King, Silver on the Tree). I am pleased to say that the series really does hold up to an adult, apart from the first book which I spoke about last time. And I still cried at the end god damn it. Really recommend these if you want a charming British fantasy series that's not... you know... That One.

The King is Dead by Suzannah Lipscomb. FINISHED. This was even shorter than I thought it was so there wasn't a lot of detail in it by necessity. It was interesting to find out about Yet Another Whiggish Historical Conspiracy Theory (the tudors seem to attract these like nothing else) which I wasn't even actively aware of, but which the author handily disproves. That alone makes it a worthwhile book.

The Posthumous Papers of the Manuscripts Club by Christopher de Hamel. FINISHED. I didn't enjoy this book as much as his previous one, mainly because of fewer pretty book pictures, but it was still fascinating to see the history of manuscript making and collecting through the ages. Plus I teared up at a scene at the end when the author imagines all his figures getting to sit down to dinner together to discuss manuscripts. It was strangely wholesome. Books are just the best, okay.

The King's Bedpost by Mary Aston. FINISHED. Another one of those short, highly specific history books, this time about one specific painting. I read a bit of this in undergrad and was fascinated by it because the painting in question had been held up in my A-level class as an example of propaganda from Edward VI's reign, but Aston categorically proves that it cannot be Edwardian, but instead is Elizabethan, which completely changes the meaning of the painting. The book is about exploring what meaning the painting would have had to contemporaries and who it may have been made for. This had the opposite problem of The King Is Dead in that it was a bit too meandering and could have done with sticking closer to the point about the painting, as it became harder to follow the threads of the author's argument after several biographies and examples of use of Old Testament imagery in contemporary woodcuts. It was still a fascinating read nonetheless.

And for my next trick!

I mentioned before that I had some books on the Reformation to explore, and I have started on two of those, Reformation Divided by Eamon Duffy, and All Things Made New by Diarmaid MacCulloch. I'm a big fan of Duffy's work already and have seen MacCulloch lecture so I'm expecting both to be really interesting.

Fiction wise, I am still waiting on the next set of Wheel of Time books to arrive, so I've been entertaining myself recently with this lovely edition of The Wee-Free Men by Terry Pratchett (tragically, it looks like these editions are hard to come by so I won't be able to complete the set if I want the rest of the Tiffany Aching books).

Hopefully the next update will be more timely, but until then...

83 books remaining!

I've managed to read a lot this week because of doing very little else and so I have a fair bit to report!

Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time #9). FINISHED. I am in what is supposedly prime slog territory but I honestly don't see it. There's stuff going on throughout this whole book and it keeps up the excitement and intrigue the whole way through. This is in contrast to Jordan's previous books where I have constantly felt like most sub plots could have been condensed to far fewer chapters. I mean it's still Jordan's heavily introspective style, it's not a fast paced book, but the activity is constant. I finished this in 4 days which is by far the fastest yet for any of the books. Loved it.

New Spring by Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time prequel). FINISHED. Meanwhile this book is definitely in the grand tradition of Jordan 'taking 12 chapters to say what could have been accomplished in 3'. Don't get me wrong, I loved the worldbuilding in this book, and the opportunity to get Lan POV and younger Moiraine was a sheer joy. But the actual plot here was very, very slim. In the editions I'm reading New Spring is about 2/3 of the length of Winter's Heart but it absolutely does not have 2/3 of the plot content. I hope Jordan doesn't return to this form in the subsequent main series books; it was nice for a prequel as a diversion but I don't think I could cope with it again for a 800+ page novel.

The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson. FINISHED. This is a typical Bryson book, which is absolutely a compliment. It's full of fun facts, hidden wonders of the British countryside, and Bryson's wry but nonetheless warm humour.

Now as promised I did start The Dark Is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper and so far I've made it through the first two books. (Also, look at these editions! Aren't they beautiful?)

Over Sea, Under Stone. FINISHED. Honestly I was a little disappointed by this one, it's a perfectly fine example of the children's adventure books of the time period, with slightly more menace, but nothing extraordinary. I was worried the series wouldn't live up to how I had remembered them from childhood, except...

The Dark Is Rising. FINISHED. Now this is why I fell in love with this series. This book instantly transports you with a sense of otherworldliness, making the ancient battle between the Dark and the Light feel real and powerful. Cooper's imagined world really comes to life in this book and I'm excited to continue it. I would strongly recommend starting with this book if you are thinking of reading the series, and then doing Over Sea, Under Stone as a prequel. The first book honestly makes more sense that way anyway.

And now, for my next trick...

Of course I will be continuing with The Dark Is Rising Sequence, which I expect to finish, they are children's books so they're easy reads. I don't expect the next Wheel of Time books will arrive for another two weeks so I will probably pick out some fiction books at random.

As for historical books, I have a bunch of books about the Reformation I've been eyeing up, but I'm not quite ready to get into them just yet, so I'm picking up a relatively short one in the meantime.

The King is Dead by Suzannah Lipscomb. No this is not yet another book I bought just because it looked pretty, why would you say that? This is honestly a time period which, like any child who's been through the British school system, I know quite a lot about already, so I'm not expecting to get a lot out of it, but I'm always willing to be surprised!

Until next time...

A quick update this week as its been a long one and I'm not up to a detailed post.

A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time #8). FINISHED. Enjoyable, but you can see the story getting away from Jordan. Mat didn't appear for the whole book after having a building dropped on him and the culmination of the weather plotline came at the beginning of the book after leaving the plot thread dangling for two whole books, leaving this book with no real climax.

The History of the World in Bite-Sized Chunks by Emma Marriott. FINISHED. Very good for what it is, a very broad overview. Pleased to see the links between different chapters to help get a sense of connection.

'Exterminate All the Brutes' by Sven Lindqvist. FINISHED. This is a really brutal book but I'd call it almost required reading. It's very short, less than 200 pages, but in that short space unravels every lie told in Europe about the 'surprise' of Nazi genocide, when Europeans had been conducting African genocides for decades. It's difficult but important reading.

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I'm not sure about my next reads this time. After I finish book 9 of Wheel of Time, I'm at a loose end because I'm waiting for the next box set to be reprinted by the publisher, so I might not get it until mid-late August.

I have some lovely copies of the classic British children's fantasy series, The Dark Is Rising Sequence, which I have been planning to revisit for a while so I may jump into that. Not sure on non-fiction yet, so I suppose next week's update will be a surprise for everyone involved!

Had a productive week this week and three books were finished!

The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain by Ian Mortimer. FINISHED. Really enjoyed this one. For some reason, the period descriptions here felt more vivid compared to the other books in the series. Great detail as always.

The Great Cities in History by John Julius Norwich (editor). FINISHED. This was a quick and easy read as each chapter about the cities was only 3-6 pages. That said I was a bit disappointed. The breadth was incredible but the depth shallow and there was no sense of "world history" in terms of linking anything together or analysis. Still, I will be combing through the bibliography for choice picks, and it introduced me to cities/cultures I knew nothing about before.

A Crown of Swords by Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time #7). FINISHED. I can sense the series is starting to drag a bit here - it felt particularly egregious that the weather plotline resolution was put off for yet another book. I'm still enjoying the series though and especially the Rand/Min interactions in this book, which were adorable and actually felt like a normal relationship.

Upcoming books!

A History of the World in Bite-Sized Chunks by Emma Marriott. Sticking to the world history and "rummaging through the bibliography for good finds" theme... I'm also trying to get through some of the shorter books on my list - this one is under 200 pages.

The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson. I've read lots of Bryson's works and really enjoy his ability to convey his enthusiasm about learning new things and his sense of humour, so I'm sure I will enjoy this one too.

Winter's Heart by Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time #9). Not sure if I will get round to this one as I haven't gotten that far into Path of Daggers yet, but Path of Daggers is very short by WoT standards, there's a fairly good chance.

It is update time once again! I have finished two books since last week, but one of them was a truly massive book, so I am very pleased with myself.

Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel. FINISHED. Oh my god this is a beautiful book. Literally everyone who even remotely likes books should read this. There is something so humbling and fulfilling about knowing that you exist in the same world as thousand year old books and someone spent hours of their life doing these beautiful pictures, knowing that these books have their own history and have been admired through the ages. The truly universal experience of humans looking at a book and going "it pretty...precious..." - plus the author's wry humour and enthusiasm for the topic is so infectious and keeps this a joy to read throughout. You really should experience this. Note: get a physical copy. Trust me, you will want to go back and forth between pictures as Hamel discusses them and points out new things to you. A kindle edition just won't cut it here.

Passions Between Women by Emma Donoghue. FINISHED. A really fascinating book that does a lot of important work pushing back against assumptions about conceptions of lesbianism/wlw in the past, especially the idea that "people didn't know about it", which the book roundly disproves by drawing on various different literature and pictures from the time. What was touched on but I would have liked to see more of was the availability of some of these different representations to different classes, etc, but it was nonetheless a really fascinating and worthwhile read.

Onto next reads!

The Posthumous Papers of the Manuscripts Club by Christopher de Hamel. Yes, I enjoyed the author's other book so much I decided to jump straight into the next one, haha. It feels like it makes sense to read them close together since I recognise many of these names from Meetings With Remarkable Manuscripts, so I'm looking forward to seeing the 'other side' of manuscript collection.

The Great Cities in History by John Julius Norwich (editor). One of the areas I consider myself weak in is world history, but it's such a broad topic that it can be difficult to know where to start. I'm interested to see what I can learn from a niche topic like this. Covers cities from across the whole world and various time periods.

The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan (Wheel of Time #8). Not much to report here. It's the next wheel of time book. We're definitely entering the territory often known as "the slog" so I'm interested to find out if it lives up to that title.

I missed an update last week because I've been so busy, and sadly don't have a lot of progress to report for this week either... but you know what, at least I'm reporting on it!

Femina by Janina Ramirez. FINISHED. Really interesting examples and analysis throughout. I feel like this would be especially good for folks less familiar with this period of history for introducing you to figures that are less well known, although I did know quite a few of them due to my own reading. One thing I really liked about this in particular was the strong link to the doing of history in the present and the reflection on the way we use history for our own needs and to understand our own modern society. It was very refreshing to have a popular history book confront this so baldly because it really is an important part of doing history, and part of what makes books like this one so important, but I think less understood by the wider public. Highly recommended.

Notes from the Burning Age by Claire North. FINISHED. This book is several different genres in a trench coat, to the point where I can't even tell you all the genres because one of them is a plot twist. But if you want a fantasy science-fiction solarpunk dystopic political thriller (etc) then I strongly recommend this book. If you are scratching your head at that incomplete list of genres and wondering how that can possibly be accurate then I also strongly recommend the book as an experience worth having.

Before We Go Live by Stephen Flavall. FINISHED. This is a memoir by Slay the Spire streamer jorbs, who I am a long time fan and watcher of. I have always valued jorbs's sense of humour and perspective and so when I heard he had published a book I was eager to read it. I did not anticipate quite how hard-hitting this book would be. It deals with professional and personal abuse, the toxic world of gaming, misogyny, and the healing power of being loved by cats. In many ways, it's a very brave and sensitive piece of work, especially as jorbs/Flavall shares his personal struggles in it, at the same time as sharing how being watched by thousands of people 8+ hours a day for a living has created some issues around privacy because... like duh, of course it has. I think what keeps this feeling like an ultimately hopeful book is the central narrative around jorbs's incredible friendship with Hannah, and his own personal dedication to spreading kindness and understanding. Also cats. I'm not sure you will get much out of it if you are not familiar with the online gaming sphere, but I very much recommend reading it anyway.

Since I still have 4 books ongoing, no 'next reads' in this post, just the books I have picked up since I was last here.

Passions Between Women by Emma Donoghue. A study of British lesbian culture and representation from the late seventeenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth, so far it has been a really interesting read and questions a lot of assumptions about the wlw historical experience (because the author takes a broad approach to 'lesbian' identity and includes the experience of all lovers of women). I didn't post a picture of this one as the cover of my edition risks breaking tumblr's NSFW policies.

The Time Traveller's Guide to Restoration Britain by Ian Mortimer. If you've seen my previous posts you'll be familiar with this author's name already. A guide to life in Restoration Britain (mostly England, really, despite the title) as though you were travelling back in time, covering many questions about day to day living and culture which don't come up in traditional histories.

Until next time...