Hi, Friends!
Oof. This summer is officially kicking my butt. I’m now in the last 36 days of residency (17 clinical days left!) — which means the pressure is on to see patients, give feedback, and write reports. I’ve been working 8:30AM to 11:00PM for the past three weeks, with a break around dinner time.
While I’m not exactly thrilled with the situation, I normally find times of stress to be associated with some form of personal growth — even if it’s just reaffirming what’s important to me. This time around, I’m learning a lot about professional boundaries and managing workloads, which I hope will serve me well in the future.
… I’ve also re-discovered the joy of late night stress baking 🍪 And it is amazing.
I’ve managed to maintain a pretty solid reading routine over the past few months: mostly audiobooks, and mostly during my commute. Here’s a quick summary of what I’ve been reading lately:
The Book: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
What happens? Similar to Uprooted, Spinning Silver is a dark fairy tale inspired by Slavic folklore. The story follows Miryem, the daughter of a moneylender, who – after boasting about her ability to transform silver to gold – attracts the attention of the Winter King.
Thoughts: Win! Spinning Silver was beautifully written, with a cast of morally grey characters and an alluring magic system. It also follows an intriguing structure: the story was slow to build, but soon enough reaches a resolution which – in most fairy tales – would signify the end. Instead, the story launches forward into new and surprising directions. It was a twisting delight to read!
Rating/5: 💰💰💰💰
The Book: His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
What happens? It’s the Napoleonic wars. Except, there is an aerial division manned by dragons.
Thoughts: Yes, that’s right folks: dragons. I had previously heard great things about this series, but the covers — very early 2000s — always deterred me. (Hey, I fully confess to being a superficial reader!) When it came available as an audiobook, I hesitantly selected it … and proceeded to be blown away. The characters were exceptional, the story was fun, and there were some serious break-your-heart moments.
Now, if only they would release a special edition with prettier covers …
Rating/5: 🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉
The Book: Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab
What happens? Book 3 of City of Ghosts brings Cassidy and Jacob to New Orleans. But – just like Edinburgh and Paris – their vacation soon takes a dark turn. Cassidy is being hunted by reapers, who are super unhappy that she escaped death.
Thoughts: The thing I dislike most about this book is that – at least for the moment – it marks the end of the series. Cassidy and Jacob are such a delight to read about, and I was so excited to see them in cities like Prague, Venice, Cairo, and Tokyo.
Sigh. A girl can dream.
Rating/5: 👻👻👻👻
The Book: From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout
What happens? Poppy is The Maiden: A sacred woman destined to serve the gods, who is supposed to embody purity and meekness. However, as her date of Ascension approaches, things start to fall apart. Poppy is far from the timid Maiden she’s supposed to be … her home is under threat from The Dark One … and her new personal guard, Hawke Flynn, has dark hair and dimples 😍
Thoughts: (OK, @Sophie – you win. These books rocked my socks.) Blood and Ash was not fine literature … far from it. But the story was immersive, the characters fun, and it was just the sort of fantasy-romance I was looking for. I’ve ordered a set of hardcovers for my shelf.
Rating/5: 🗡🗡🗡🗡
The Book: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire by Jennifer L. Armentrout
What happens? Poppy has been kidnapped by The Dark One … and is determined to make things as hard as possible for him. But, everything changes when she learns about her own grisly purpose and witnesses the brutality of the Ascended. Poppy and The Dark One form an uneasy partnership, both hoping to free their respective brothers.
Thoughts: Once again, not fine literature — what’s up with all this repetitive dialogue? But, gosh darn, I’m snared.
Rating/5: 💍💍💍💍
The Book: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas
What happens? Half-fae Bryce Quinlan’s world imploded a year ago, after the brutal murder of her best friend. Drifting and traumatized, she jumps at the chance to solve the murder … if it was only that easy.
Thoughts: This was my first full re-read … though I somewhat regret doing it now vs. closer to the release of Book #2. (Look, these books are long!) Similar to my first reading, I really struggled with the first third of the book — exposition city. But the final third? Yeah, devastating 😭
Rating/5: 🌙🌙🌙🌙
Book: Talon by Julie Kagawa
What happens? Ember is a dragon, sent on an undercover assignment to learn about humans. Garret is a dragon hunter, tasked with identifying – then killing – dragon targets. So, of course, they fall in love.
Thoughts: When I finished the Talon Saga back in the spring, I didn’t anticipate picking up these books again … but, then I got the itch. I loved Kagawa’s description of the dragons, and the relationship between Ember and Garret as they discover each other.
Rating/5: 🏄🏼♀️🏄🏼♀️🏄🏼♀️
Book: Rogue by Julie Kagawa
What happens? Ember is on the run from Talon — the evil dragon totalitarian bureaucracy. Garret has been captured by the Order of St. George — the noble but misguided dragon hunting organization. And Riley — the rogue dragon — has just about had it with hatchlings.
Thoughts: I’m mostly here for the scene where Ember and Riley break Garret out. I love Garret’s reaction. I can’t ride you! I’ve kissed you!
Rating/5: 💋💋💋
Book: City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty
What happens? Nahri is an orphan living on the streets of Cairo, with a mysterious past, a talent for languages, and an uncanny ability to sense illness. Everything changes after Nahri accidently summons a (super hot) warrior and pack of ghouls … and learns that she is descended from an ancient race of magical healers.
Thoughts: This is officially a re-read for me … though, it’s been long enough that most of the details were fuzzy. I was absolutely wow’d by Chakraborty’s writing, world building, and character development. This is such an intricate and thoughtful story, and is – by far – my very favourite #OwnVoices series.
Rating/5: 🧞♀️🧞♀️🧞♀️🧞♀️🧞♀️
The Book: Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty
What happens? Copper picks up a few years after the events of Brass. Nahri, now wed to the Crown Prince, fills her days working in the palace infirmary … but, is slowly suffocating under the rules, restrictions, and constant surveillance. Meanwhile, across the land, discontent is stirring and political rivalries brewing. And a certain *super hot* warrior might not be as dead as everyone thinks.
Yes, I ship them. And I refuse to change my mind.
Thoughts: Yup. Amazing. Like, really amazing. Copper is a worthy sequel to Brass … with so much more world and character development, and so many things coming together. My only complaint is the length. This book was long, and it felt it. It took me nearly seven weeks (and three library renewals) to get through.
Rating: 🏥🏥🏥🏥
The Book: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
What happens? The Lost Apothecary is one of those women-separated-by-time-tell-their-interconnected-stories historical fictions. The book is told from three perspectives. First, Caroline, the American in London 🙄 She’s not! like! the! other! girls!, and really likes history. Second, Nella, the apothecary’s owner-operator. She used to dispense medications to heal … but, after a pretty horrific ghosting episode, decides that she is going to dispense poisons instead. Lastly, Eliza, a 12-year-old servant who winds up implicating Nella in a murder.
Thoughts: For a book about an 18th-century apothecary that sells poisons to kill unfaithful husbands … this was really, really boring. And historically inaccurate.
Rating/5: ☠️☠️
The Book: Essentialism by Greg McKeown
What happens? The basic premise of this book is that people confuse their wants, needs, responsibilities, obligations, and social pressures – with the result being over-commitment – with the result being exhaustion, resentment, and a poor job performance. The book argues that everyone would be better off if we said “no” more often.
Thoughts: *sigh* For a book about essentialism, there was a lot of filler. (And so many rhetorical questions. Like, paragraphs of them.) Six hours could have easily been reduced to 30 minutes; and the full book to an essay.
I appreciated the overall message of you-can’t-have-it-all-so-make-sure-you-carefully-consider-what-you-say-yes-to — it’s a piece of advice I’ve been working to incorporate into my own life. But, other tips were clearly directed toward the I’m-rich-enough-to-afford-a-yacht-and-home-upstate sort of crowd. Very few people have the ability to spend a year in Southern France sorting out their life; or say no to a job because it doesn’t speak to them; or book two weeks off work to think.
On that note … This book is corporate tosh. It’s one of those pseudo-inspirational business/leadership texts that reinforces (and celebrates) dominant capitalist narratives. Not once does it critically question why people are so overworked/exhausted. Not once does it engage in thoughtful exploration of alternative ways of being.
Rating/5: ⚫️⚫️
The Book: The Deep by Rivers Solomon, Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes
What happens? The Deep is one part literary experiment, one part social analysis, one part mermaid adventure. The story was inspired by a grisly and horrific part of human history: during the slave trade, pregnant African women were regularly tossed over the sides of ships. The Deep asks what would have happened if their babies were born – transformed – and survived.
The story centres on Yetu, a historian, who holds within her the memories / lives / deaths of thousands of ancestors. It’s an immensely heavy burden, and Yetu is at risk of losing herself when provided the opportunity to escape. The story is highly poetic and introspective as it drifts between memories, mythologies, and social reflections … It’s less about the plot, and more about questioning memory, identity, trauma, and cultural history.
Thoughts: I’m mixed. On one hand, I can appreciate that this is a unique story, and there were parts of it that were so gorgeous. On the other … it just didn’t hook me 🎣 (OK, I’ll see myself out.) The story felt unbalanced: like it was constantly being distracted by secondary thematic concerns (e.g., oil exploration, Yetu’s sensory profile, mating practices). It took me nearly 2 weeks to work through the 4-hour audio book. I actually found the segment at the end – which talks about the book’s creative process – to be the most interesting.
Rating/5: 🧜🏿♀️🧜🏿♀️🧜🏿♀️
The Book: Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
What happens? Sicily. Emilia is a witch who wants nothing more than to live a quiet life — and possibly start her own restaurant. Her plans are upended after her twin, Vittoria, is brutally murdered. Desperate for answers, Emilia summons a demon to help her solve the murder … A demon who just happens to be Wrath, Prince of Hell.
Thoughts: Look, we have a male protagonist who is …
✔️ Tall and ripped
✔️ Dark haired
✔️ Tattooed
✔️ Powerful
✔️ Snarky
✔️ Secretly in love
✔️ Morally grey
… which means auto-win, right?
Kingdom of the Wicked read like a stereotypical YA, with a relatively standard plot, character development arc, and cliffhanger conclusion. But, I liked it. It was a nice mental break between two heavier books, and there was enough going on to keep me entertained.
Rating/5: 🍝🍝🍝
The Book: The Haunting of Vancouver Island by Shanon Sinn
What happens? As you might have guessed from the title … The Haunting of Vancouver Island is a collection of ghost stories from Vancouver Island. Rather than told in traditional narrative form, the book triangulates data from multiple sources — historical documents, eye witness accounts, First Nations mythologies, and personal reflections.
Thoughts: OOOOOOOOOOOK. Well, probably not a good thing to read about haunted forests that *watch you* the day before going camping in said haunted forest.
I am very happy to report that I was not sasquatch bait.
Restless night aside, I enjoyed this book. It had a relatively grounded style that took the topic – and the history – seriously.
Rating/5: 🏚🏚🏚
The Book: Attack on Titan, Volumes 1-5 by Hajime Isayama
What happens? Alright. For whatever reason, I thought Attack on Titan was a far-future sci-fi drama, where opposing armies were waging war on a planet called Titan.
… I was wrong.
Well, I was right about the future stuff.
But the story takes place on post-apocalyptic Earth …
And the titans are a race of giants who enjoy snacking on humans for breakfast. <Insert Llamas with Hats joke here.>
And the rest? Well, I’ll leave that for you to discover.
Thoughts: I know this is probably sacrilege … but, here we go. Forget the books. Just watch the TV show. Seriously. The manga was fine – I guess – but nothing beats the action-packed full-colour masterfully-scored panic-inducing anime.
Rating/5: 🐎🐎🐎
The Book: Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
What happens? What would happen if parallel worlds existed? And what would happen if kids were in the habit of stumbling in and out?
Wayward Children — currently at 7 books, with 3 more announced — is a collection of novellas about world-hopping children … and all the associated fallout. Book 1, Every Heart, tells the story of Nancy: who found herself in a death realm, and who is desperate to return. Struggling to adapt to life on Earth, Nancy is sent to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children, a school, sanctuary, and rehabilitation centre for kids like her.
Thoughts: Every Heart came highly recommended by a trusted reading friend … so, of course, I went into it with super high expectations. While the book didn’t blow me away, it was a delightfully dark portal fantasy. I haven’t picked up Down Among the Sticks and Bones yet, but it’s on my list.
Rating/5: 🚪🚪🚪
The Geeky Jock 