This week, I thought I’d do a quick overview of some of my recent reads.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness–First a little fangirl moment here. I had the very great pleasure of meeting Patrick Ness the other week and he signed this book for me. I may or may not almost have cried. Who can say, really? But the point is that I read this book. And it was wonderful. I loved it. The writing was beautiful and spot on. The story was heartbreaking and lovely. I’m really in awe of how it was crafted. It was a five-star read for me. There was so much depth to it that I definitely want to read it a few more times because I know there are things that I missed. I heartily recommend it, especially to people who love fairytales, myths, and legends. (It had that kind of feel to it, for me.)

Conrad’s Fate by Diana Wynne Jones–I have read several books by Diana Wynne Jones and have really enjoyed them. I think I was just not quite in the mood for this one, though, because it was a bit of a miss. I still liked it, but there weren’t many points where I particularly wanted to pick it up. I will defend Diana Wynne Jones like you wouldn’t believe, but for me, you have to be in a very particular frame of mind or mood to enjoy her work (although I think I would have adored her books when I was a much younger reader). I was going to finish the final book of this series (the Chronicles of Chrestomanci series) right after, but decided I should wait until I’m feeling it a little bit more.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo–This book has been everywhere since it was released, and I finally read it. I don’t have that much to say about it except that there are some interesting ideas (some of them a little more intense than others). I will say that as a rabid reader and cherisher of all things books, I was horrified at the way she suggested getting rid of books. I purge my collection at least once or twice a year, so it’s not that I have a problem with giving books away, but it was clear she didn’t understand how dear a personal library is to some of our hearts. 🙂

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne and JK Rowling–Unfortunately, the less said about this, the better. I was so disappointed. I don’t know how many of the problems would not really actually be problems on stage and how many of them still would be. But…yeah. Sooooo many problems. Sooooo many things I didn’t like. And I went into it very open, wanting to absolutely love it for whatever it was. But it disappointed. Hard.

The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma–I liked the premise of this book a lot. It’s about a girl whose father read to her every single day from the time she was quite young (I don’t remember exactly, but I think she was about 9 or 10) until she left for college. It was cute. I didn’t especially enjoy it, but I have to say this for it: at the very least, it did get me thinking about the role of reading in my life and how I can try to pass that along.

What have you read lately?