Hey'a, friends! How's the first week of the New Year treating you? I have one last post to wrap up my 2023 recaps: my 2023 End-of-Year Book Celebration! I always do these a little into the new year, just in case I read something amazing (or at least noteworthy) the last week of the old year. I want to make sure I celebrate all the books deserving of celebration! Also, as a reminder, this post covers books I read in the six months since my Mid-Year Book Celebration back in July — so anything I read in the first half of the year isn't included here. Doing two book celebrations lets me spotlight twice as many books, and it also saves me from going out of my mind trying to fit a whole year's reading into one post. (I know other people do it, but this is more fun for me.)

As usual, if you want the short-and-sweet top five, you can go check out my Best of 2023 (Part the Second) list on Light and Shadows. But if you want all the categories, keep reading!

2023 End-of-Year Book Celebration

As always, we start with the statistics! According to Goodreads, I read 158 books, well past my goal of 101, and 42,818 pages, which neatly doubles where I was at my Mid-Year Book Celebration. That's also twice as many pages as I read in 2022 and almost twice as many books. My average book length is 271, about the same as last year, and I actually only read five books longer than 500 pages this year — I'm out of practice with epics, it seems. To be fair, I've reread a lot of series of short books, and I also read a good bit of manga. And, once again, my average book rating is 4.4 stars.

So, my overall statistics show a good reading year. Hopefully that makes up for the fact that my specific reading goals had somewhat . . . mixed results.

• For my goal 12 books published (or written) before 1975, I've actually read 18 books in this category, which is great! However, the second half of my goal was that at least nine of them (or 75% of them, depending) not be aimed at children. In that respect, I did . . . less well. I finished six books and one short story that were written before 1975 and aren't considered children's literature. (I did read Dracula twice, sort of, but I'm only counting it once for purposes of this goal.) Granted, I'm still in the process of reading Moby Dick, Kidnapped, and Dante's Inferno, so if you include those, I have nine books and one short story . . . but the eleven children's books I read still dominate pretty heavily.
• As for my goal of reading 15 non-speculative fiction books, I again came close but didn't succeed. I read 11 non-speculative-fiction books, though two of them are sort of in a grey area (in that they could kind of go either way). Of those, three were poetry, three were general nonfiction, two were somehow about cooking, and three were children's classics. So, I had a good variety here, at least.
• And when it comes to my recommended reads list . . . despite some very good intentions on my part, I only managed to read one book on it, and that was all the way back in April. Ah well. It was a good thought, but it was all too quickly forgotten (I say in passive voice, as if I wasn't the one doing the forgetting).

For more statistics or the full list of everything I read in 2023, check out my Goodreads Year in Books or my tracking form results. Or read on for some specific books I want to highlight!

1. Best book you've read in the second half of 2023:

The fact that I read a lot of sequels and rereads in the last six months makes this question a little easier than usual — but even if that weren't the case, Wormwood Abbey by Christina Baehr and Black and Deep Desires by Claire Trella Hill would probably still be at the top. I loved both of these Gothic fantasies — one a cozy tale of dragons and mysteries and family, one full of vampires, monsters, haunting dreams, and lovely romance — and expect to reread both many times. If I had to pick just one, Wormwood Abbey might come out a smidge on top (because I will always pick dragons over vampires), but they're both so good.

As a runner up, I have to mention Steal the Morrow by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt, which is a lovely gaslamp fantasy retelling of Oliver Twist. It takes the essential bits of the original and gives them new life and a new look . . . but it's also distinct enough that even if you aren't a fan of Dickens, you'll probably like this.

2. Best sequel you've read in the second half of 2023:

This one is not actually a difficult question because Dark and Stormy by Suzannah Rowntree was so good in every possible way. The crew's schemes, the machinations of Vasily's family (all of whom are utterly mad), the dynamics between the characters, the growing feelings between Molly and Vasily, the various characters all figuring themselves and each other out . . . and the ending! I'm still not over it.

Oh, and speaking of things I'm still not over: W.R. Gingell released two new Worlds Behind books that could challenge Dark and Stormy, but Behind the Curtain is my favorite of the two and my new favorite in the series as a whole. It's so good. And I can't even say half of why because spoilers, but suffice it to say that I will never not love it when people who think they're only for causing pain find they can, in fact, do other things and do them well, and also I have never been so happy about someone non-villainous getting stabbed. Just go read the series and you'll see what I mean. (But make sure you read City Between first.)

3. Best book you've reread in the second half of 2023:

The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff are just as good the second or third time around as they were the first — they're better in some respects, since you can appreciate what the author is doing more when you're not panicking about whether or not your favorite characters will survive.

 4. New release you haven't read yet but want to:

Despite being thoroughly hyped for The Olympian Affair, I still have yet to read it, and the release date rather snuck past me without my noticing. I shall have to remedy that soon! Though I need to reread The Aeronaut's Windlass first . . .

5. Most anticipated release for 2024:

You'd think my answer would be the new Stormlight Archive novel — but actually it's Dark & Dawn by Suzannah Rowntree. We all know I'm a sucker for these gaslamp fantasy heists . . . but I'm especially looking forward to this installment. After all the everything in Dark & Stormy, I desperately need to know what happens next! Goodreads and Amazon currently have this coming out in September, but Rowntree has said there's a chance it'll be sooner, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that.

Additionally, Christina Baehr has said that we can potentially look for all four of the remaining Secrets of Ormdale novels in 2024! Drake Hall comes out in a little over a week, and Castle of the Winds, book 3, is on Amazon and Goodreads with an April 14 release date. The other two don't have official listings yet, but are slated for July and October. I am thoroughly excited, and I don't know if I'll stop screaming all this year.

Besides these, I'm looking forward to No Man Left Behind, the conclusion of W.R. Gingell's Worlds Behind series. I'll be very sad to say goodbye to Athelas (again), Harrow, Camellia, YeoWoo, and the rest . . . but I also can't wait to see how Gingell wraps up their stories! Also, that cover is giving me Suspicions, and I will be delighted if I'm right.

Last but not least, we have more Turrim Archive novels from Jenelle Leanne Schmidt! Mantles of Oak and Iron releases next week (and I'm very belatedly reading my Kickstarter ebook copy right now), and according to the Kickstarter, we can look forward to Book 3 sometime later this year. After all the excitement of The Orb and the Airship, I'm looking forward to seeing where the rest of the story takes us — and seeing more of Captain Marik!

 

6. Biggest disappointment:

This is a reread, not a new read, but I was disappointed that Magyk didn't hold up as well as I hoped. I've spent a lot of this year rereading old favorites, and they've all still been so good on the reread, but Magyk just . . . wasn't quite doing it for me. To be clear, it's still a good book and a fun read, but it didn't enchant me the same way it did in the past.

7. Biggest surprise:

I think this is probably Second Chance Superhero by H.L. Burke. I was fairly certain I'd like it going in — after all, I have yet to encounter an SVR-verse novel that I don't like. What's more surprising is that Second Chance Superhero is solidly a romance first and a superhero story second (as opposed to equal parts of each), but it might be one of my favorite SVR books anyway.

I also have to mention Black and Deep Desires again here — not because I didn't expect to love it (W.R. Gingell and Suzannah Rowntree both endorsed it, and I met the author at the June book signing, so I was pretty sure it would be a four-star read at minimum) but because teenage me would be utterly scandalized that adult me is not only reading but recommending (and fangirling over) a novel about vampires. I'm not sure if this counts as character development or not, but it's something.

8. A book that made you cry:

No actual tears, but I do get emotional at several points in the Illuminae Files.

9. A book that made you happy:

I read Twelve Days of (Faerie) Christmas by C.J. Brightly just before Christmas, and it's such a fun, clever, sweet story with a lovely romance, a cool twist on the Twelve Days of Christmas song, and characters I quickly fell in love with.

10. Favorite post you've done this half of the year:

A lot of my posts this year have been either Doings!, reviews, or seasonal reads, so there's less to choose from than usual. But I enjoyed writing Five Years Published for the five-year book birthday of Blood in the Snow (and the start of my author career).

11. Most beautiful book you've bought/received this half of the year:

 

This is a two-way tie again. Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is the most beautiful in terms of pure aesthetics — I love the blue and pink and the art style, and I think it might be the prettiest of the Secret Projects. But the Dracula Daily hardcover is also beautiful — maybe a little less so aesthetically than Yumi (though I do think it's very nice-looking), but because of what it represents, because of the community and collaboration that sprang up around this 200-year-old book.

That wraps things up for me — but what about for you? What are the best books you've read in the second half of 2023? Also, what's the best book or series you've reread? Tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!

February 2020 Doings!

Behold! I live! I apologize for dropping off the face of the earth, blog-wise, the last two weeks. With classes, writing, social events, and the need for decent sleep all coming in front of the need to write blog posts, blogging just didn't happen. And, fair warning, I might be a bit spotty for the next couple months as well. But for now, I'm here (and on spring break!), so let's get on with the Doings of the last month!

Writing!

• My goal for February was to write 500 words or 30 minutes a day, five days per week. I kept that goal for the first three weeks, and then I gave myself the last week as a grace week because I had a lot to get done before I left on break. Still, I wrote a total of 16,707 words, with an average of 756 words per day, so I'd say that's pretty solid.
• Most of those words were D&D-related, unsurprisingly. I wrote a one-shot, plus three campaign episodes (one of which could have been a one-shot in its own right — that one involved homebrewing my own monster villain, which was interesting), plus the Valentine's Day short stories. For anyone who missed those, they showcased the first meeting of a pair of NPCs from my campaign from each person's perspective. Ardent's perspective was on Light and Shadows, while Tiria's was on Dreams and Dragons.
• Outside of that, I did a little more work on Blood in the Earth/Soil, which mostly consisted of finishing up the scene I'd been working on and then writing the first line of the next scene. (That next scene is what I've been working on during break; it's going well. One of the sisters who hasn't been in the spotlight much gets to play a bigger role and interact with Eun-Ji, plus plot stuff is set in motion. It's great.) I also toyed with another writing project, but ended up dropping it because it conflicted with a different novel (or novella) that I plan to write in the future.

Reading!

• I did a little better with reading this month than I did last month, which is good. I finished up my reread of the Illuminae Files around the beginning of the month. Everything I said about them last month stands; they're excellent books and I anticipate coming back to them many more times. Also, can I reiterate how much I appreciate that the authors didn't give us a grimdark ending? Or grimdark anything, really? I think it's become almost a trend for endings of YA fiction to focus almost as much on what was lost as what was gained, but you really don't get that in this series.
• How To was also excellent! I think I may have enjoyed What If? just a little bit more, but I think How To is a little more helpful in certain respects. If you're a writer who tries to get some measure of scientific realism in your stories, I'd recommend picking it up; even though most of the advice is sarcastic, there is some genuinely useful information in here (especially if you tend to write dramatic, over-the-top villains).
• At the end of February and beginning of March, I did a little early celebrating of March Magics by rereading Charmed Life and The Many Lives of Christopher Chant (the first two Chrestomanci Chronicles, nicely contained in one volume) and Castle in the Air. I actually enjoyed both of the Chrestomanci books more this time around than I did the first time — which is saying something; I really like Chrestomanci. And Castle in the Air was, of course, delightful.
• Continuing the reread trend: Redwall's been on my mind on and off throughout February, so I decided to reread Lord Brocktree to see how it held up. The answer is "surprisingly well" — the prose and technical quality of the book are nothing special, but it's refreshing to read a book where the good characters are solidly good, the evil characters are truly evil, and friendship, bravery, and appreciation of life are celebrated so honestly. I'm toying with the idea of doing a Great Redwall Reread now and perhaps even blogging about it if I have time. We'll see.
• I also reread 101 Dalmatians after we watched the movie a few days ago. That one didn't hold up quite as well, but it was still fun. There are some delightful interactions that didn't make it into the movie. And, y'know, it's a fundamentally family-oriented story and we all know that I have a soft spot for those.
• In terms of nonfiction, I've spent the better part of the month slowly reading The Design of Everyday Things, which is, contrary to what I expected, not about the history behind how various ordinary items developed into their modern forms. What is it about? User-centered design, that's what. Is it giving me flashbacks to User Experience for the Web (aka my second-least-favorite PWID class)? Also yes. But it is actually a good book, and it's honestly relevant to some of what I want to do professionally, so I'm going to finish it or go down trying.
• Not reading but still bookish: I did participate in Jenelle Schmidt's February is Fantasy Month again, though not as extensively as usual. I did manage to sort of keep up with the Instagram challenge for a few weeks, which was fun.
• Finally, a quick update on how my reading goals are going! I've read twelve books so far this year, which puts me five books behind schedule, but I should be able to catch up without too much trouble, especially if I end up rereading Redwall — those aren't short books, by any means, but they go quickly. I've also only read one non-speculative-fiction book, but I'm in the middle of a second. I'm doing a bit better on reading older books — I've gotten in four of those. I mean, they're all middle grade-ish, and three of them are by Diana Wynne Jones, and pretty much all of them were published after 1956, but still. It's progress.

Watching!

• Once again, I haven't really watched much of anything this month; I've mostly been too busy. My roommate and I did watch the third episode of Avatar season 2, but that's pretty much it.
• Well, and my family rewatched 101 Dalmatians while I was home for spring break. That was quite fun. (That's why I ended up rereading the book as well.) It's kind of underrated, and if Disney tries to make a "live action" version of it like they did with Lion King and Lady and the Tramp, I shall be immensely annoyed. (I'm already annoyed about Lady and the Tramp, but there's nothing I can do about that.) Also, the art on older Disney movies? Gorgeous.
• (I also have a new appreciation for the title sequences of Disney movies after having taken graphic design classes. I know it's not exactly graphic design, but it's related, and yeah.)

Life!

• Most of this month was, to be honest, taken up by either classes, homework, or writing. As such, my main impression of most of it was of being busy and tired.
• (Not that classes and homework are bad things, of course. I actually got to design the branding for a fictional university for one of my PWID classes, and it was SO MUCH FUN. Like, yes, it was tiring and it took effort, but there's a reason I want to go into branding and marketing if at all possible.)
• My roommate and I did make it down to Orion to take advantage of their drink of the month and their Valentine's blooming tea special. So that was fun. The blooming teas look pretty cool, and they come in this adorable glass teapot and it made me quite happy. (Also quite warm, as it was snowing that day. I was distinctly displeased.)
• On an exciting note, I went to the spring career fair that Cedarville hosts and actually had several very good conversations! I'm not sure if anything will come of them, but I'm hopeful. And the companies that seem to have the highest potential would both mean I'd be spending a lot of time around engineers and scientists, which I would honestly be fine with and would probably even enjoy. (I mean, I already hang around STEM people a lot; why not continue the habit?)
• On a less exciting note, I officially stepped down as an Inklings workshop leader this month. This is a decision I've been contemplating for several months, and I finally made up my mind after the TDK Academic Integration Conference (which I'm not talking about here because it was largely frustrating for me for entirely personal reasons, but some good things did come out of it). My workshop group has only had one person regularly show up (other than me), and it's been frustrating for both of us — and workshop, in general, has been taking up more emotional and mental bandwidth than I can spare ever since the start of the school year. I feel bad about not seeing the year through, but I think that this was best for everyone (especially since the one person who did come to workshop can now move to a group with actually active people in it).
• I also spent several afternoons in Centerville so my roommate could take a series of exams that she needs to get into grad school. That wasn't great for my productivity, but it was a nice change of pace. And now she's done with that, and we celebrated with a trip to Lola's Mexican for chimichangas, which were, as always, delicious.
• And this past week, I've been home on spring break — thank goodness! I've enjoyed being able to relax and spend time with my family and not have anywhere particular to be. It's possible that I should have been more productive over break than I was, but at the same time, I've gotten a reasonable amount done, and I needed the chance to rest.
• As per the usual, being home meant trying a new sourdough recipe. This time, it was crusty sourdough rolls, and they turned out super well (as you may have seen on my Instagram). If not, behold the deliciousness:

March Plans

• I'm going back to my January writing goal of 300 words or 30 minutes of writing per day, five days per week. 500 wasn't unbearable, especially with how much I was writing D&D stuff, but I think this will be more manageable. Plus, next month is Camp NaNoWriMo, so I don't want to exhaust my writing inspiration in March and then have nothing left when April hits.
• I also have lots of books to read, especially since I've gotten ahold of ARCs for several upcoming releases: the Wingfeather Saga rereleases, Moonscript, and Let the Ghosts Speak! I think this is the most ARCs I've ever had at one time, haha. (On the downside, I'm behind on the Wingfeather Saga ones because I can't figure out how to get the ARCs from Netgalley to my Kindle. The emailing thing doesn't seem to have worked. It's a problem.) Plus, of course, I have plenty to reread, and I may try to join in with the Fellowship of Fantasy book this month. We'll see.
• More importantly than either of those: classes still exist. I want to have my Honors final project at least drafted, if not completely done, by the end of the month, and there's the usual deadlines in other classes as well.
• In terms of social activity: D&D will continue to be a thing. Also, my friend group is doing a second cheese night the night we get back to Cedarville, and I'm psyched about that. And part of the TDK Quizbowl group — myself included — is going to a tournament at the end of the month, which I'm really looking forward to. (Not just because that means I get to be back in Virginia for a weekend, but also because it's going to be fun.)

How was your February? How do you feel about rereading books you used to love? What movie do you never want to see Disney remake in "live-action"? What plans do you have for March? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah Pennington

January 2020: First DOINGS of the DECADE!

Hey'a, everyone! It is the last day of January and a Friday, and that means it's time for the first Doings post of the decade! WOOT WOOT. I have no idea why I'm making such a big deal about this, but it's something different, so we're going with it. Anyway. January's been one of those months where it feels like it's actually two or three months stuck into one, so that's been interesting. We'll see how much I remember to recap.

Writing!

• So, as far as writing quantity goes, I'm doing great. My goal was 300 words or 30 minutes of writing per day, five days a week, and though the start of the month was a little rough, I had some really good days and I currently have a really nice streak going. My total for the month so far is 24,214 words, not counting whatever I write today.
• The majority of that has been on D&D stuff, both because that has a closer deadline (I need to have a new session every Friday) and because D&D is currently easier to write than my novel. Around the beginning of the month, I planned out all the episodes for the semester, so I just have to expand my summaries into actual playable session outlines.
• I've gotten some done on Blood in the Earth/Soil, but not as much as I'd like. Again, D&D is higher priority and easier, and all the bits of my novel that I'm really excited about seem very far away. I mean, yes, they'd be closer if I worked on the bits that I'm writing now, but . . . yeah. I did manage to finish one notebook and start a second, though, which is exciting!
• (D&D is going great, though. We've had two sessions so far this month — we had to call off one because of someone's birthday — and everyone seems to be having a good time. And I'm putting Plans in motion, and everyone just hit level 5 and it's all very exciting for me.)

Reading!

• I really haven't read a lot in January — I've been knitting, and I haven't had many gaps between classes and such in which to sneak a few chapters.
• I finished King of Scars literally the day before Christmas break ended, and I have kind of mixed feelings about it. In all fairness, I really should have realized that, no duh, reading Nina's POV would be a constant reminder of that one bit at the end of Crooked Kingdom that I really disliked. Somehow, Zoya ended up being the best POV character in the story, which is impressive given how much I disliked her in the original trilogy.
• Two of my other main reads were retellings: Shadowkeeper (Hades and Persephone crossed with Castor and Polux) and A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Beauty and the Beast). Shadowkeeper was a great concept with an execution that was ok but could have been better (though it's still worth the 99 cents that it currently costs as an ebook). A Curse So Dark and Lonely has been on my TBR list for a while and is definitely one of the better Beauty and the Beast retellings I've read. The characters were great, and, wonder of wonders, people actually tried to communicate with each other after they argued instead of being huffy and stubborn. WILL WONDERS NEVER CEASE. Also, it's excellently twisty.
• I'm finishing up the month by rereading the Illuminae Files, which I intended to do over Christmas break but didn't have time to read. I thought I'd just hold off on them until my next break, but then I ended up with a spare hour Monday afternoon during which I was too tired to do anything productive, and I was right next door to the library, so I figured I'd see if they had the first book . . . and they did, so I reread it in three days, and it was just as good as I remembered it. I think the reread was made better not just by the fact that I could pick up hints and clues and such but also by the fact that I took the AI class last spring and watched 2001: A Space Odyssey as a part of that, so I was reading the bits about AIDAN kind of in light of what I'd gotten then. I'm currently partway through Gemina, which is also as excellent as I remembered. (Actually better, since I'm attached to Nik this time around.)
• I'm also keeping one of my reading goals and reading outside the speculative fiction genre! Currently, I'm reading How To: Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems, which is the most recent book by Randall Munroe (aka the guy behind XKCD and What If?). It is, as you might expect, excellent and hilarious and highly enjoyable. Absolutely would recommend.

Watching!

• I really didn't watch a whole lot this month. I saw about two-fifths of The Scarlet Pimpernel (the one with Ian McKellen in it) and thought it wasn't bad, though I didn't get to the part that I actually wanted to see (aka the part that's the book proper and not the flashback material put in chronological position). It was long and late and I wasn't feeling well, though, so I didn't finish.
• The roommate and I have also started watching (rewatching in her case) season two of Avatar: The Last Airbender. We've gotten through the first 2 episodes, which includes the "Cave of the Two Lovers" episode. That . . . was a thing. Also, Sokka in that episode is basically me during a lot of D&D.

Life!

• In case anyone was curious: the homemade artisan bread that I was working on when I posted my last Doings post was delicious. The loaves fused oddly, which wasn't great, but they tasted amazing. Definitely going to make those again once I'm home.
• But there will not be any baking for a while because, guess what, I'm back at Cedarville.
• For my last semester.
• Please insert the appropriate nervous screaming noises here. (If you've lived in the same dorm as me for any length of time, you probably have a pretty accurate idea of what that sounds like.)
• Anyway, yes. It's my last semester. I'm enjoying most of my classes, and even the two classes that I'm not crazy for, I like the people there and I'm glad to be taking one last class with them, if nothing else.
• But I'm basically in two web design classes (Web Design II and my independent study) and it's a lot, but I'm really enjoying it. Coding and scripting and such are weirdly satisfying in a way that graphic design and writing aren't, and I can't really explain why, but yeah. It's great. I like it. There's about a 30% chance that I'm going to find a way to work these skills into my PWID professional project (read; basically a pre-capstone project), though it kind of depends on what my professor and I decide.
• I'm also back in a class where the amount I talk during discussions actually affects my grade, and it's surprisingly hard to adjust after a full semester (possibly a full year?) with no classes like that.
• Outside of classwork: my roommate got Sentinels of the Multiverse (aka one of my favorite strategy games ever) for Christmas, so we've been playing that a fair bit whenever we both have a decent chunk of spare time. I've gotten to test out different heroes, which is fun. My favorites are definitely Fanatic (basically a paladin with wings; she smites evil a bunch and occasionally heals people) and Chrono-Ranger (time-traveling cowboy and bounty hunter whose effectiveness is directly proportional to how many bounties he has out at any given time). I've also determined that how much I enjoy playing a character is determined as much by aesthetic as it is by mechanics.
• My online D&D group is also still going strong. We had some MAJOR REVELATIONS dropped on us, not last session but the session before that, and some of us are still processing that, but we have a very clear objective in front of us right now, which is nice! And it does not involve negotiating with dragons other than the one in the party! Which my character is very happy about!
• Also this month was CU Lead, which is a leadership conference that all org officers are required to go to. It was not a fabulous day — it rained, some of the vital conference information was only available in an app that I couldn't download, and there were a lot of people. But it was a lot more helpful than last year's conference, with more practical advice and less theory and devotional-type stuff, so that's good.
• Additional not-terrible thing: CU Lead was the Saturday before MLK Day, and for the first time ever, we got MLK Day off from classes. So we had that day to make up all the homework and social stuff we didn't have time for on Friday, at least. And the chem club had a game night that evening, which was fun. (Oddly, the chem club game night was more fun than the Inklings game night this past week, even though I knew fewer people by far. I think it has to do with the personality dynamics of the people in the club.) And my roommate and I went to the Mexican restaurant down in the town for lunch, which was completely and utterly delicious.

February Plans

• I have two basically-final projects that I plan to start this month (my Honors colloquium project and my aforementioned professional project) and it's so weird to think about that. Plus, of course, I have the usual projects and reading and such.
• Writing-wise, I plan to keep going with roughly the same goal as I had this past month, but I'm upping the amount a little to 500 words or 30 minutes of writing, 5 days a week. I could probably go even higher if I wanted to, but I don't want to overdo anything, especially since I don't know how much time class projects will take up.
• That writing, by the way, will hopefully include at least one, maybe two, Valentine's Day short stories (because it sounds like fun and I currently don't get to write any romantic scenes in my WIP). Watch for more about that on my Facebook page sometime today or tomorrow.
• February also means Blind Date with a Book at the Cedarville University library, which I am super psyched for! I'm curious how they're going to handle it this year, but I'm sure it'll be great. I'm going to read so many books this month, haha.
• Outside of that, D&D and orgs and such will probably proceed as per the usual. I do have a couple D&D and other tabletop RPG one-shots that I'm either running or participating in, which I'm excited for. (The one-shot I'm running is set in Eberron, which means I get to be steampunky and I get to mess around with an artificer NPC, so that'll be super fun.)
• And, yeah. That's pretty much it. But I think it should be plenty to keep me busy.

How was your January? Have you been able to keep any of your resolutions or goals from the start of the New Year? What plans do you have for February? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade) 

Books I'd Give to My Characters

Hey'a, everyone! There's just a week and a half left before Mechanical Heart's release day! I'm both excited and nervous, especially since I still have stuff to prep for the blog tour. (Prewriting blog posts kind of slowed down when Camp NaNo hit, for obvious reasons.) Anyway, for today's Friday 5s post, I thought I'd borrow an idea from my friend Emma over at Awkwordly Emma. In the past, she's periodically done "Books I'd Give to Characters from X" posts. I'm putting a little bit of a twist on it, though: the characters I'm giving books to are the main cast of Mechanical Heart! Granted, this could be a little tricky since, out of the four main characters, only one (Grace) is a really big fiction reader . . . but I'm up for the challenge, and I think it'll be a good way to let y'all get to know them a little before their story comes out. To that end, we've also got character art by the wonderful H.S.J. Williams here, which I'm super excited to share with y'all. So, let's get started!

Books I'd Give to the Mechanical Heart Characters

1. For Breen: the Illuminae trilogy. Breen is the trickiest of these characters to pick something for. She has the least formal education out of any of the characters (one of several unfortunate side effect of being stuck in a clock tower for half your life), but she's clever enough that that might not stop her from reading whatever she chooses. She has more time on her hands than some characters (though not as much as some Rapunzels in other stories), but when given the choice between a book and her inventions, she'll probably pick the latter. In the end, I've decided to give her the Illuminae trilogy (along with some kind of primer on common elements of sci-fi, like, y'know, space ships and wormholes and aliens and stuff, seeing as that sort of thing hasn't been thought of in her era). It would give her a fairly sizable escape from her ordinary life (what's further from a clocktower than a spaceship?), and the format is such that she could easily read as much or as little as she wanted to. Plus, she'd find the technology fascinating, even if it is advanced super far beyond anything she's familiar with.

2. For Josiah: the first Mistborn trilogy. Josiah's first reaction to the Mistborn trilogy would be "In what world do I have time to read 1,800 pages of fiction?" But once he tried it — probably at least partially in audiobook form; he very much prefers listening to things to reading them — he'd see quite a lot of his culture and its issues in those of Luthadel, and he'd see himself in Elend in many respects. In addition, he would appreciate the philosophical issues that the characters work through over the course of the book. And while he might not be fully on board with the methods of Kelsier and his crew, he can recognize and enjoy them as well-developed characters.

3. For Luis: The Complete Sherlock Holmes. Luis, like Breen, will almost always pick his inventions over a book — not that he dislikes reading, but he has so many ideas and so little time to make them in that there's just no question of priority. And while he would probably enjoy the Illuminae trilogy as much as Breen would, he would probably also enjoy a good mystery — ideally, one that's short and sweet, based in logic, and wrapped up nicely at the end. And if it features a highly satisfying friendship between the main characters, all the better. So, yeah. He's getting The Complete Sherlock Holmes — because you can't go wrong with a classic. (He almost got the Knight and Rogue series, but I think certain elements of Fisk and Michael's friendship might hit just a little too close to home for him for that series to actually be a stress-reliever.)

4. For Grace: Howl's Moving Castle and sequels. Grace is the biggest reader out of the Mechanical Heart cast. She's not particular about genre, or even if it's fiction or nonfiction; she just wants something that's interesting and well-written and has good characters and that she can talk about with people when she's done. (Honestly, it's hard to say if she enjoys reading the book or talking about it afterwards more.) That means the challenge with her isn't so much thinking of a book she would like but rather figuring out which book she would enjoy most. So, what book do you give to the girl who loves everything and, in a sense, has everything? For a girl who's read everything she could and is constantly searching for something unique? For a girl whose world includes magic, but has a notable lack of wizards? When you put it like that, the answer's clear: Howl's Moving Castle and sequels. Because when in doubt, Diana Wynne Jones is almost always the answer, and if you haven't yet met Howl, Sophie, and Calcifer, what are you doing with your life? (And before you think less of me or Grace for the fact that she got Howl while everyone else got heavy books: Grace will absolutely borrow everyone else's books the minute they're done with them, so she's kind of getting all the books here.)

5. For all four characters: Illusionarium. Illusionarium was one of the first steampunk books I read, and while it didn't outright inform any elements of Mechanical Heart, it did inspire me in part to write my own steampunk novel. So, in a sense, by reading this, Breen, Josiah, Luis, and Grace are discovering a part of where they came from — not that they'd know that. But I suspect that most of them would enjoy the story anyway.

What about you? What books would you give to your characters? And what impressions do you get of the Mechanical Heart cast based on what you see here? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

P.S. Please let me know if all the images are or aren't showing up — my internet is being wonkier than usual today. Thanks!

End-of-Year Book Freakout 2018!

Aaaaand it's back! The End-of-Year Book Freakout! I'm not calling it a tag anymore because I havne't been tagged and I'm not tagging anyone, haha. I think I've had a reasonably good reading year — my average rating was 4.1, which isn't bad. Though, let's be real, it's been a really long year, and I can barely remember what I read in July. Thank God for Goodreads. (In my defense, I read 107 books this year, and about 45 of those were since July.) And technically 2018 isn't quite over, so I'll probably get another book or two in by the first of January . . . but I wanted to get this up now.

1. Best book you've read in the second half of 2018:

Ok, full disclosure: a lot of my favorite books that I've read this half of the year have been rereads. So that's kind of sad. That said, one of those rereads does count:

 The Worth of a King by Kendra E. Ardnek

Just read my review for all my fangirling, but this is tied with LDTD for my favorite of Kendra's books. Delaney and pre-scale Amberite are the best parts, but political intrigue, masked assassins, and the adorable romance that is Delsida all make the book doubly awesome.

A few other pretty awesome reads:

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Heistyness and sharp-edged friendships and diversity make this super fun. (Plus, the story starts in a Netherlands-esque city, which is really cool.)

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Not an easy book to read at all times, but an exciting and thought-provoking one. More contemporary than fantasy, but it's so Hank-ish that I'm ok with that.

2. Best sequel you've read in the second half of 2018:

Obsidio by Amie Kaufman

I fully expected this to rip out my heart and crush it into small pieces — that seems to be the trend with series finales — and, I mean, it did. But it also had some moments of pure triumph and relief and happiness that I loved. The gang's all together, plus we've got the con-artist newbies, and Kady's dad is just fathering everyone and I don't know. It made me happy at the same time as it killed me with plot twists.

And the runners-up:

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

Except for one twist that I'm INTENSELY MAD about and the fact that this one is slightly gayer than the first one, I loved Crooked Kingdom just as much as Six of Crows.

The Plastic Magician by Charlie Holmberg

Getting to see another magic type in action was super fun! And it was nice to have a plot that was centered on something a little less high-stakes than black-magic murderers on the loose.

3. New release you haven't read yet but want to: 

The Mortal Word by Genevieve Cogman

This was one of my Christmas gifts this year, and I can't wait to get back to the worlds of the Invisible Library! Now the question is: do I reread the whole series before I read this one? Or just the last book?

Bitter Winter by Jaye L. Knight

Not going to lie, I kinda forgot that this book was coming out until I got the email about the blog tour. And it's anyone's guess if I'll actually read this soon or if I'll wait until it's been out for six months. Based on the past, the latter is more likely.

4. Most anticipated release for next year: 

Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Eugenides is baaaaaack! And it's the end of the series, which is tragic, but it is what it is. I'm just glad we get one more installment, and I'm super excited to see how it goes.

5. Biggest disappointment:

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

I wanted magical heistyness and snarky friendships and time-manipulation magic in an urban historical fantasy setting. And, ok, I got three of those four, but the most important of the four was replaced by angst and suspicion of everyone except the right person and it was just a mess. Why did I read this book.

One runner-up in this category, sadly:

 Dagger's Sleep by Tricia Mingerink

To be fair, this wasn't a bad book as far as characters and plot go — Alexander annoyed me immensely, but otherwise, both those categories were fine. But the worldbuilding drove me crazy in that I couldn't make it make sense in my head.  

  

6. Biggest surprise:

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

I did not expect this to be as much contemporary as it was. I also didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, given that it is more contemporary and, between the two Green brothers, I prefer John. But I actually really liked the book, even if I did have to put it down for extended periods once or twice because I could see the train wrecks coming.

Another surprise: the fact that Skyward wasn't another instant favorite as Sanderson books usually are. It was a good book, but a bit . . . I don't know. It lacked the Sanderson spark. Still, it's far better than the Alcatraz books, so I plan to stick with the series. 

7. Favorite new-to-you author:

Kathryn McConaughy isn't actually on my Goodreads shelf because I beta-read Overpowered and haven't had a chance to read the final version yet. (By which I mean that she kindly sent me a finished copy, but I haven't had time to read it, not that I don't have it.) But Overpowered, even in its unfinished state, is awesome, and Kathryn knows her stuff when it comes to the Biblical era. I look forward to reading more of her work! 

8. Newest fictional crush/ship:

Sadly, authors continue to pair off all the crush-worthy male characters. On the upside, I have a few new ships to fangirl over!

• Delsida (Delaney and Obsidia) from The Worth of a King.
• Kaz x Inej from Six of Crows.
• Also Nina x Matthias from Six of Crows.
• And Jeremy and Gwen from The Seven Drawers. Those two are adorable.
• Yeah, mostly just those four.

9. Newest favorite character(s):

• Delaney from The Worth of a King.
• The whole crew from Six of Crows.
• Alvie from The Plastic Magician.
• Gwen from The Seven Drawers.
• Daemyn Rand from Dagger's Sleep.

10. A book that made you cry:

A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews

No actual tears, true, but definitely pain. Beck needs to be hugged and kidnapped from both his mother and his author.

Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

I should not have read the end of this book in a public place, especially since I was already upset and stressed from other causes. That's all I'm saying.

11. A book that made you happy:

The Electrical Menagerie by Mollie E. Reader

This is a delightfully steampunky mystery, and while it does have its share of angst, it also has quite a bit of heart and humor. The main character duo is fabulous, the plot is exciting, and it's just generally a good read all 'round.

 

12. Favorite book to film adaptation you've seen this half of the year:

 Uhhhhh I rewatched Mary Poppins back in August. Does that count?

13. Favorite post(s) you've done this half of the year:

Oooh! I do have a few fun ones to share here.

• PWID Major FAQS (in which I answer the most common questions I get about my major).
• Hero's Perspective: Delaney (in which I interview my favorite character from Worth).
• Why I'm Now Self-Publishing (a response to an early post of mine, explaining the thought process behind my new plan).
• Blood in the Snow Meet the Characters(featuring character art that I love immensely).
• "Types of Tears" (a poem I wrote after noticing how my roommate and I reacted differently to a very similar event). 
• "A Symphony of Thanks" (Thanksgiving special short story featuring Callie from Fight Song).
• "The Promise Star" (Christmas special short story, featuring a legend from the world of Blood in the Snow).

14. Most beautiful book you've bought/received this half of the year:
Can I count Blood in the Snow? I know it's my book, but I am absolutely in love with the cover, and technically I did buy copies of it.

Other than my own book, my aunt bought me Illuminae for my birthday, and it both has an awesome cover and an awesome interior.

And though I haven't read The Enchanted Sonata yet, I love its cover and interior as well.

15. Any other books you want to babble about for any other reason?
Normally, I use this space to talk about the books I still need to read that I've been meaning to read for ages. But this time, I'm going to talk about all the awesome books I've reread lately.

The DragonKeeper Chronicles by Donita K. Paul

Over Christmas break, I've reread all but one of Donita K. Paul's Amara and Chiril books. I wanted to see how they held up, since I loved them and drew so much inspiration from them when I was younger. Thankfully, most of them have been just as good or better than I remembered.

 

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvate

Some people's stress-fueled college decisions involve alcohol, excessive sleep, and worse. Mine involve rereading books about rich boys and psychic girls and dead Welsh kings. I regret nothing.

 

Scholar's Plot by Hilari Bell

And speaking of college decisions . . . I don't even remember why I reread this book, but I'm glad I did — it was just as good on the reread as the first time around. Also, I miss Michael and Fisk.

What were your favorite 2018 reads? Any favorite rereads? Or major disappointments? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)