Books, Schools, and Swords

This last week I sped through an amazing book. The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman had everything I love in a book. It was a fantasy with dragons and mystery with a Holmsian type character. I would literally put the book down and think only of that book until I could read it again. This is probably the best book I've read all year and I am ashamed that I've seen it around and didn't get to reading it until now. I finished the book Saturday night and rushed to the library Monday morning to discover the second one wasn't there. It was heartbreaking because we'll be out of town for a week or so and all I want to do is read that book. I'm going to put it on hold the last few days were out of town so when we get back I can snatch it up. Please, read this book if you're a fantasy fan. 

I think the best part of the book for me was the main character. She didn't follow many common character tropes I could think of and was just a kind, clever, always seeking improvement type of character that made me care for her a whole lot. Another part of the book I really enjoyed was how the dragons were explained. There are similarities that I saw between Cogman's dragons and the dragons I enjoy writing about. 

Because we'll be in the car for about twenty-eight hours this next week, I picked up an audiobook that my husband and I started reading together. It's called Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover. It's a book about a woman who grew up as a survivalist in Idaho. I've enjoyed a few non-fiction books in my lifetime but I honestly haven't read many. This one has been intriguing and if you enjoy reading memoirs or are interested in what it would be to grow up without receiving an education and living as a survivalist, I would recommend this. The writing is awesome and there have been various times we have sat in our driveway listening to the book because we have to hear what happens next. 

In the evening I've been reading When Women Were Warriors by Catherin M. Wilson. This has been a fun book because women are the stars. Being a woman, it's refreshing to read a book where it isn't all cool men with a couple of partly developed, often tropey women. I mean, those couple of women are often alright in books but it's fun to read a book that's honestly way different from most other books in that regard. I haven't gotten very far but I'm enjoying it a lot. 

I honestly haven't been playing a lot of video games this week because I enjoyed reading The Invisible Library so much. I did play some Octopath and have enjoyed the tough decisions that the main character must make. It really makes every stage of the game feel important. All of the text at first surprised me and I've read that as being a major critique of the game. But I've honestly enjoyed it. I play games a lot for the story and this is a story and characters I'm enjoying.

Thank you for reading my blog. What is the best book you've read this year? What kind of characters do you wish to see more in books? 

Keep dreaming and daydreaming of all the wonderful worlds in your head.