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Alien Clay, Adrian Tchaikovsky. That sure was an Adrian Tchaikovsky novel! It succesfully did what it did but I've read enough Tchaikovsky that I didn't feel like it really stood out.
Chroniques du Pays des Mères, Élisabeth Vonarburg. Still having to resist from reading ahead of book club pace, but also this past week I went and reread/skimmed everything I'd already read to help keep track of all the plot/worldbuilding details. Our protagonist has just left home for the first time and I'm curious to know what comes next.
Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: An Introvert's Year of Living Dangerously, by Jessica Pan. Saw this recommended as a self-help book, and thought I'd try it. It's very readable -- the author is the sort of shy introvert that I can easily relate to, and I appreciated that her writing voice was very confident in discussing her anxiety. This sort of self-help memoir is a bit odd in that she's trying to position herself as an everywoman, but reading between the lines it's clear that she wasn't just working to break out her shell so she could make more friends and overcome anxiety, but also so that she could write a book based on it; which seems like it has advanages both in motivation and in getting access to expert professionals to provide advice.
To Ride a Rising Storm, Moniquill Blackgoose. Sequel to To Shape a Dragon's Breath. At heart these are school stories, and even when they're not at school the focus is still on the characters and relationships, with a lot of social commentary about colonialism in an AU North America, with the political plot and the dragons and alchemy, while present, being less of the focus. I liked the new characters here, in particular the Jewish ones. (This AU, instead of "Jewish", uses a different word with Slavic etymology; I'm aware there's a related word in Russian that's an offensive slur; I wasn't bothered but some people migh be. Anyway AU Judaism does not seem to have any noticeable differences from our world.) This book ended on a rather abrupt cliffhanger, so now I can't wait for the next one.
Chroniques du Pays des Mères, Élisabeth Vonarburg. Still having to resist from reading ahead of book club pace, but also this past week I went and reread/skimmed everything I'd already read to help keep track of all the plot/worldbuilding details. Our protagonist has just left home for the first time and I'm curious to know what comes next.
Sorry I'm Late, I Didn't Want to Come: An Introvert's Year of Living Dangerously, by Jessica Pan. Saw this recommended as a self-help book, and thought I'd try it. It's very readable -- the author is the sort of shy introvert that I can easily relate to, and I appreciated that her writing voice was very confident in discussing her anxiety. This sort of self-help memoir is a bit odd in that she's trying to position herself as an everywoman, but reading between the lines it's clear that she wasn't just working to break out her shell so she could make more friends and overcome anxiety, but also so that she could write a book based on it; which seems like it has advanages both in motivation and in getting access to expert professionals to provide advice.
To Ride a Rising Storm, Moniquill Blackgoose. Sequel to To Shape a Dragon's Breath. At heart these are school stories, and even when they're not at school the focus is still on the characters and relationships, with a lot of social commentary about colonialism in an AU North America, with the political plot and the dragons and alchemy, while present, being less of the focus. I liked the new characters here, in particular the Jewish ones. (This AU, instead of "Jewish", uses a different word with Slavic etymology; I'm aware there's a related word in Russian that's an offensive slur; I wasn't bothered but some people migh be. Anyway AU Judaism does not seem to have any noticeable differences from our world.) This book ended on a rather abrupt cliffhanger, so now I can't wait for the next one.