the refuge of books

MerMay is almost over, and I haven't drawn anything new, but I have an old picture of mer-Lucian. 🫧

🐲 Dragons of Light edited by Orson Scott Card

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟/5

Thirteen authors and thirteen illustrators join to bring you dragons, in all their bright and terribly variety, collected by Orson Scott Card. Among them include authors like George R.R. Martin paired with illustrator Alicia Austin; Jane Yolen paired with artist Terri Windling; and more!

Fun fact! I LOVE George R.R. Martin’s story “The Ice Dragon”, which comes in many varieties as a children’s story. But the original story was first published in this collection, and had some moments not suitable for children. I found that I like the edited, children’s version better because I thought the original rape and violence wasn’t necessary to complete the story.

Anyway! As I read through this collection, I found that only 4 out of 13 stories were worth giving more than 3 stars to. Most of the stories felt mediocre or like the dragons played a minimal part, which was disappointing. The 4 stories I really enjoyed were “The Ice Dragon” by George R.R. Martin (obviously); “As Above, So Below” by John M. Ford; “Cockfight” by Jane Yolen; and “Dragon Touched” by David Smeds.

“As I learned more and more about the workings of creativity through watching myself and my students, I realized that my main function as a teacher was to destroy the bindings attached to the idea of creation. It was to have people recover their natural instinct to play, to invent, to listen to their intuition.”

I last read...

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

what I wanted: a book that really makes me think

what I got: an interesting thought experiment

18/06/2026 | buddy reading?

I last read...

Delicious in Dungeon Volume 1 by Ryoko Kui

what I wanted: this was a gift, so I had no idea what to expect!

what I got: a fun premise and cute art