Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Modern Books You Think Will Be Classics In The Future.
I could digress into a whole discussion of what constitutes a classic… but I’ll spare everyone! My feeling is that “classics” are very much in the eye of the beholder. That said, I’m interpreting this week’s prompt in terms of staying power. What book from the past 20 – 30 years (or so) are likely to continue being read and appreciated in the future, and for many years to come?
I’ve decided to focus on science fiction and fantasy for this week’s list. Here are 10 books that I believe will continue to amaze and delight for many, many years!
(Note: After finalizing this list, I realized I’d done a version of this topic in 2022! At least I’m consistent… three of these books were on that list too, which didn’t only focus on sci-fi/fantasy)
Old Man’s War (series) by John Scalzi
The Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
Wayward Children (series) by Seanan McGuire
The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
A Discovery of Witches (series) by Deborah Harkness
The Expanse (series) by James S. A. Corey
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
His Dark Materials (series) by Philip Pullman
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
Do you have any favorite sci-fi/fantasy books that you can see as future classics?
My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.
Life.
The rain has returned to Northern California! How’s that for drama? I know, we definitely need rain… but does it have to come on the weekend, just when I have time to get outside?
It’s been an okay week, busy with work and other commitments — but I did squeeze in some good reading and family time over the weekend, so all is well.
What did I read during the last week?
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky: Excellent! Such a fascinating premise. I can’t wait to read more of this series. My review is here.
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman: An okay, not great early book from an author whose books I usually love. My review is here.
Goblins & Greatcoats by Travis Baldree: A short story set in the world of this author’s fantasy books. It was pretty entertaining, and from what I’ve heard, a character introduced here is featured in the new release Brigands & Breadknives, which I hope to start soon.
A Stranger in Town (Rockton, #6) by Kelley Armstrong: I’ve been loving this series, and the 6th books is just as good as I’d expected! My review is here.
Pop culture & TV:
I’ll stop my weekly rants and raves about Dancing with the Stars… other than to share this video of my favorite dance from the past week.
My son and I finally managed to catch up on The Amazing Race, and I’ve made a teeny bit of progress with The Morning Show. My TV time has been pretty limited this week, and when I do have time, it’s always a dilemma of choosing between watching screens and reading a book.
Fresh Catch:
One new book this week:
A very nice hardcover edition of Constituent Service by John Scalzi, originally released as an Audible Original (which I enjoyed very much). I’m delighted to get this hard copy, just released from Subterranean Press.
What will I be reading during the coming week?
Currently in my hands:
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters: My book group book for November… and I’m actually starting more than a week before the deadline!
Now playing via audiobook:
The House Saphir by Marissa Meyer: Really entertaining so far!
Ongoing reads:
My longer-term reading commitments (current and coming up):
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien: Another book group read, continuing our LOTR adventure. Progress (relative to the entire LOTR opus): 57%.
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: Although I only recently treated myself to an audio reread of this book, I’m about to start it yet again! This time, I’ll be reading Northanger Abbey with my book group as our newest classic read. We’ll be reading and discussing two chapters per week, starting today. Coming up this week: Chapters 1 and 2.
My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin: My newest Classics Club Spin book! I’m leaving it here as a reminder to myself. The goal is to complete our spin books by December 21st, so I still have time… but I’d better get moving!
Title: A Stranger in Town Series: Rockton, #6 Author: Kelley Armstrong Publisher: Minotaur Books Publication date: February 2, 2021 Length: 359 pages Genre: Thriller/mystery Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4.5 out of 5.
In the next riveting thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, the paranoia increases – along with the stakes – as the town of Rockton tries to solve the latest mystery at their door.
Detective Casey Duncan has noticed fewer and fewer residents coming in to the hidden town of Rockton, and no extensions being granted. Her boyfriend, Sheriff Eric Dalton, presumes it’s the natural flux of things, but Casey’s not so sure. It seems like something bigger is happening in the small town they call home.
When an injured hiker stumbles from the woods, someone who seems to have come to the Yukon for a wilderness vacation but instead is now fighting for her life, it’s all hands on deck. What – or who – attacked this woman, and why?
With the woman unconscious, and no leads, Casey and Eric don’t know where the threat is coming from. Plus, the residents of their deeply secretive town are uneasy with this stranger in their midst. Everyone in Rockton wants this mystery solved – and fast.
The Rockton series by Kelley Armstrong has been excellent since the very first book, and it’s a thrill to see the connecting story threads weave together here in the 6th book, leading toward an end point still to come in the 7th and final book in the series. A Stranger in Town builds on everything that’s come before it, provides a mystery of its own to solve, and answers questions that have been percolating since the very beginning.
Once again, a quick recap of the series premise:
Rockton is a secret hidden town in the Yukon wilderness, a haven for those seeking extreme shelter from dangers in their real lives — or those who’ve committed some sort of wrongdoing and need a place to start over. Rockton, population 200, is filled with an uneasy mix of crime victims and white-collar criminals — although as Sheriff Eric Dalton and Detective Casey Butler come to discover, the town council is willing to defy its own rules for a price and allow more dangerous people to take advantage of Rockton’s protection.
A Stranger in Town starts with a frightening discovery. In the forest surrounding Rockton, Casey and Eric stumble across a severely injured hiker. She appears to be a well-provisioned but inexperienced tourist, one of the many who pay to be dropped in the Yukon for a wilderness adventure — and like many before her, finds herself in over her head. But as Casey and Eric quickly discover, this hiker wasn’t injured in a fall or animal attack — she appears to have been gravely wounded by hostiles, the pack of “wild” people, seemingly feral or deranged, who live in the forest and pose a continual threat to Rockton and other settlements. What’s more, the hiker was one of a group of four; her companions’ bodies are found nearby.
The attack highlights yet again how dangerous the hostiles are, to the point where the council — the wealthy advisory board that controls and funds Rockton from afar — are ready to shut everything down and dismantle the town, much to Casey and Eric’s dismay. But Casey has had her suspicions about the hostiles from the very beginning of her time in Rockton, and these new murders, and the council’s reaction, give her even more incentive to finally find the long-hidden answers.
If it sounds like I’m being vague… well, that’s intentional! The plot and mystery and clues are all so intricate that to talk about any in detail would mean spoiling the fun of discovering them for yourselves. What I loved about A Stranger in Town, as with the rest of the series, is seeing how the characters interact in each new situation, how much the relationships among the town residents have evolved, and how astutely Casey sees into the truth of the issues and incidents that complicate their lives.
On top of the excellent mystery and the strength of the depiction of the town’s residents, the relationship between Eric and Casey continues to be a delight. They are two strong, intelligent, complicated people. Their personal baggage can cause difficulty when it comes to their feelings and communications, yet their commitment to one another allows them to view situations, and one another, with honesty and fairness. It’s fascinating to see them work through their inner qualms and self-doubt, and to allow themselves to trust in the strength of their love even in moments of serious danger or conflict.
The plot of A Stranger in Town is terrific, and the book is impossible to put down. The mystery at hand is resolved, and there are startling revelations that go way back into Rockton’s history and explain the present challenges the town faces. This book sets up what’s sure to be a dynamite series finale, and I can’t wait to get to it!
The Rockton series ends with book #7. After that, I plan to dive into the spin-off Haven’s Rock series. Next up for me:
Purchase links: Amazon – Audible – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
The opening round of this year’s Goodreads Choice Awards is here! I’ve already worked my way through the nominees and cast my votes. Some categories seem to have a lot of very strong choices this year… although I’m still a little bitter about the elimination (a few years ago now) of the write-in option!
Books published in the United States in English, including works in translation and other significant rereleases, between November 13, 2024, and November 11, 2025, are eligible for the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards. Books published between November 12, 2025, and November 10, 2026, will be eligible for the 2026 awards.
We analyze statistics from the millions of books added, rated, and reviewed on Goodreads to nominate 20 books in each category. For the Audiobook category, nominations are based on the millions of titles added, rated, and reviewed both on Goodreads and Audible.
Opening round official nominees must have an average rating of 3.50 or higher at the time of launch. A book may be nominated in no more than one genre category, but can also be nominated in the Debut Novel and/or Audiobook categories. Only one book in a series may be nominated per category. An author may receive multiple nominations within a single category if they have more than one eligible series or more than one eligible stand-alone book.
So which books are nominated, and which did I vote for?
Let’s take a look at the opening round:
Category: Fiction
Of the 20 books nominated, I’ve read two:
I spy another four books on my to-read list:
… plus a few others that I’d consider maybe-someday books.
On my TBR: As with the previous two categories, quite a few of the other books look good to me, but I haven’t actually added any to my reading lists yet.
I don’t vote in categories where I haven’t actually read any of the books, so this year I skipped:
Debut Novel
Young Adult Fiction
Nonfiction
Memoir
History & Biography
Most of these categories have at least a book or two that I’d like to check out… we’ll see how that works out!
Wrapping it all up:
Did you vote in the opening round yet? Do you see any of your favorite books among the nominees?
I’d love to hear your recommendations for nominated books on my TBR lists or others I haven’t considered!
Overall, how do you feel about this year’s options? Any categories you wish they’d bring back? Any books you loved that really should have been nominated? Please share your thoughts!
Title: Britt-Marie Was Here Author: Fredrik Backman Narrator: Joan Walker Publisher: Atria Books Publication date: 2016 Print length: 324 pages Audio length: 9 hours 18 minutes Genre: Contemporary fiction Source: Library Rating:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
From the best-selling author of the “charming debut” (People) A Man Called Ove and My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, a heartwarming and hilarious story of a reluctant outsider who transforms a tiny village and a woman who finds love and second chances in the unlikeliest of places.
Britt-Marie can’t stand mess. She eats dinner at precisely the right time and starts her day at six in the morning because only lunatics wake up later than that. And she is not passive-aggressive. Not in the least. It’s just that sometimes people interpret her helpful suggestions as criticisms, which is certainly not her intention.
But at 63, Britt-Marie has had enough. She finally walks out on her loveless 40-year marriage and finds a job in the only place she can: Borg, a small, derelict town devastated by the financial crisis. For the fastidious Britt-Marie, this new world of noisy children, muddy floors, and a roommate who is a rat (literally) is a hard adjustment.
As for the citizens of Borg, with everything that they know crumbling around them, the only thing that they have left to hold on to is something Britt-Marie absolutely loathes: their love of soccer. When the village’s youth team becomes desperate for a coach, they set their sights on her. She’s the least likely candidate, but their need is obvious, and there is no one else to do it.
Thus begins a beautiful and unlikely partnership. In her new role as reluctant mentor to these lost young boys and girls, Britt-Marie soon finds herself becoming increasingly vital to the community. And, even more surprisingly, she is the object of romantic desire for a friendly and handsome local policeman named Sven. In this world of oddballs and misfits, can Britt-Marie finally find a place where she belongs?
Zany and full of heart, Britt-Marie Was Here is a novel about love and second chances and about the unexpected friendships we make that teach us who we really are and the things we are capable of doing.
After finishing Fredrik Backman’s most recent book, My Friends — a true masterpiece — I decided to go back and read the remaining couple of his books that I’d somehow missed. But now that I’ve read Britt-Marie Was Here, I realize that his earlier books may not work for me quite as well as the more recent ones.
In Britt-Marie Was Here, we meet the prickly, socially awkward Britt-Marie who, after 40 years of marriage, leaves her husband and decides to start a life of her own. She’s spent all these year catering to her husband and keeping their home spotless, and has simply taken his word for it when he tells her that she’s not good with people. Now, she’s determined to find her own path, and starts by hounding the poor woman at the unemployment office until she’s finally offered the only available position — acting as caretaker for an abandoned community center slated for closure shortly, in the forgotten, run-down town of Borg.
Borg is miles from nowhere, and seems to mainly consist of a pizzeria that’s also the local grocery store, post office, and car repair shop. The recreation center is just next door, and in just as desperate need of cleaning as the pizzeria, so Britt-Marie gets to work. She’s incredibly awkward and rubs the locals the wrong way right from the start — and yet, she’s not fazed when the curious local kids show up to check her out. Somehow, almost against her will, she gets involved, and soon, she’s formed abrasive yet fond relationships with the adults of Borg while also getting roped into acting as the kids’ soccer coach.
If you like your stories quirky and heart-warming, then there’s a lot you’ll enjoy about Britt-Marie Was Here. Backman’s storytelling is always a delight, and his wordplay and descriptions are just as clever as we’d expect. I especially love how this author captures so much depth about life and emotions in seemingly simple sentences:
She has not run down the stairs like this since she was a teenager, when your heart reaches the front door before your feet.
However… Plotwise, Britt-Marie Was Here feels a little bland. I’ve read plenty of books already about outsiders finding connection and community in a peculiar small town, so this book didn’t especially stand out for me. What’s more, I found the timeline hard to believe: Britt-Marie spends three weeks in Borg, and somehow manages to change everyone’s lives for the better, create new hope for the children and their soccer team, and encourage the townsfolk to become their best selves. In three weeks? As I said, perhaps I’ve just read too many of these outsiders-transform-a-community stories, but I just wasn’t buying it.
On top of my issues with the story, I really struggled with the audiobook narration. The narrator’s delivery was a challenge for me, especially the rhythm and tone of her speaking voice. Something about it just didn’t click, and I often found myself puzzling over what I’d just heard or having to go back and repeat sections — or double-check them against the printed edition.
This is a cute story, and there are some moments I truly enjoyed, but between the narration and the sense of having read too many similar stories already, Britt-Marie Was Here was only a so-so audiobook experience for me.
I do think the author’s style and subject matter have developed spectacularly over the years, and his later books feel much deeper to me. I believe I have just one more of his early novels, and possibly a few shorter pieces, left to read, but after Britt-Marie, I’ll probably hold off for a while before delving further into his backlist.
Purchase links: Amazon – Audible – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
Title: Children of Time Series: Children of Time, #1 Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky Publisher: Orbit Publication date: June 4, 2015 Length: 600 pages Genre: Science fiction Source: Purchased Rating:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
A race for survival among the stars… Humanity’s last survivors escaped earth’s ruins to find a new home. But when they find it, can their desperation overcome its dangers?
WHO WILL INHERIT THIS NEW EARTH?
The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age—a world terraformed and prepared for human life.
But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind’s worst nightmare.
Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth?
Children of Time is a big, detailed, complex work of science fiction. It requires focus and concentration… and is absolutely worth the effort.
In Children of Time, humanity’s time on Earth has come to an end. While expanding out beyond the solar system and exploring other worlds, factions at home and throughout Earth’s space colonies go from adversarial politics to all-out war. The few remnants of humans on Earth find ways to survive an ice age, only to discover, as the ice finally recedes, that the ice actually protected life from the toxins that now doom them all to extinction — unless they can recreate the ancient tech of their space-faring ancestors and journey to a new planet to start again.
Meanwhile, the earlier humans’ space exploration included an ambitious terraforming agenda, journeying to far-flung solar systems to seed likely planets with the potential for new homes for humanity. As we learn early on, though, even this undertaking comes to ruin due to the factionalism and wars that devastate life on Earth.
One scientist heading a terraforming project succeeds, however… in a way. The pioneer of a project known as exaltation, Dr. Avrana Kern’s mission is to seed a terraformed planet with monkeys and a nanovirus to speed their evolution — then have the humans remain in suspension for centuries until the monkeys have evolved enough to support human settlement on their planet. But thanks to the war between humans, something goes very, very wrong with her plans.
Without giving too much away, I’ll just say that the story of what happens on this planet is utterly fascinating. Essentially, an unintended species is infected by the nanovirus — and over the course of Children of Time, we see an intensely interesting version of human evolution as played out by another species entirely. Thanks to the relatively short life span of this species, many generations pass over the course of the decades and centuries that follow — and we see them evolved from basic hunting skills to complex reasoning, strategy, building, communication, religious ideology, and eventually, highly advanced biochemistry and technology.
Meanwhile, in alternating chapters, we see the final remnants of the human race aboard the ark ship Gilgamesh, following the star maps and recovered documents of the last space-exploring humans in a desperate search to locate the old terraformed planets. Because they mainly exist in suspension, millennia pass during the Gilgamesh’s journey. We see familiar characters as they come out of suspension, often after decades or centuries have passed, in order to deal with new threats or discoveries. The concepts of time and what constitutes a life span are investigated in strange and wonderful new ways.
I don’t want to go too far into specifics, as there’s a real joy in seeing just how inventively the author spins out this story. The chapters alternate between life on the Gilgamesh and life on the planet, and it’s done so well that by the time the inevitable conflict between the two arrives near the end of the book, it’s impossible for a reader to favor one side over the other.
I’m thrilled that I’ve finally read Children of Time. Despite the book’s length, it’s so engrossing that the pages just fly by. For science fiction fans, this book is a must!
There are two more volumes in the series currently available, with a fourth set for publication in early 2026. On the one hand, Children of Time does wrap up very well, so I’d say it’s perfectly fine and satisfying to approach it as a single-volume stand-alone. On the other hand, I enjoyed Children of Time so much that I’m eager to read more set in this sci-fi universe!
Up next: Children of Ruin
Purchase links: Amazon – Audible audiobook – Bookshop.org Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Books I Enjoyed that Were Outside My Comfort Zone.
I don’t know that I have a particular comfort zone when it comes to reading. I read across genres, and wouldn’t say that certain types of books or topics make me uncomfortable. Still, there are books that are more unusual choices for me, and those are the books that I’m highlighting today.
Here are ten books that are not my typical reads! For a variety of reasons, these books were out-of-the-ordinary when it comes to my reading habits… and I’ll share why!
1. The Roommate by Rosie Danan (review): I enjoyed this contemporary romance, but it was WAY more spicy (i.e., extremely explicit) than anything I typically read.
2. The Blind Side by Michael Lewis: If you’d asked me in advance if I’d consider reading a book about football, the answer would have been no! Not a football fan, and really, little to no interest in reading about sports. And yet, after hearing an interview with the author, I decided to check out the book, and found it surprisingly fascinating.
3. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow (review): After geeking out on Hamilton (the musical), I decided to read the biography that inspired it. I would not normally pick up a massive history/biography like this… but I’m glad I did.
4. Vietnam: A History by Stanley Karnow: Yet another massive history book that I picked up thanks to pop culture! I went through a phase (many years ago) where I was very into both TV shows and movies set during the Vietnam War, and decided I needed to go deeper. As a fiction reader to the depths of my soul, reading a big history book like this was definitely an unusual step, but it paid off.
5. Red Earth and Pouring Rain by Vikram Chandra: A book group I participated in many years ago picked this book, and I was not prepared for the writing style or subject matter! I stuck with it for the sake of the group discussion, but this was not a typical read for me by any means.
6. An Immense World by Ed Yong: I do like to pick up pop science books from time to time. This one was a gift, and was much more science/detail-heavy than what I might typically read. I’m glad I was gifted this one — I might not have picked it up otherwise, and I found so much of it really fascinating.
7. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: An unusual reading experience for me, in that I only succeeded in finishing this book on my 3rd (or possibly 4th) attempt. At various times in my life, I’d started this book, only to quit somewhere around the halfway mark. For a long time, I considered this my own personal unreadable book… and then finally decided that I was going to give it one more try and actually finish it, no matter what. I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t love it, but I’m still glad that I made it happen.
8. Death of an Eye by Dana Stabenow (review): If not for being a fan of the author (I love her Kate Shugak series!), I probably would have skipped right by this book. A mystery set during Cleopatra’s reign, there was so much about the time period and setting that I had to Google while reading that it took real perseverance to see it through. It was a good read, but the subject matter made it an unusual choice for me.
9. Reading Shakespeare for myself, not for a class! A catch-all category here… I’ve now read Shakespeare plays a few times over the past several years, just for my own enjoyment. Again, definitely not something I’d consider part of my typical reading habits! I’m looking forward to continuing — there are still plenty left that I haven’t read or studied.
10. Moby Dick by Herman Melville: At some point a few years ago, I decided that I had to read Moby Dick. Just because. Maybe as a point of pride, to be able to say I’d done it? Overall, it was a rewarding experience… but the endless chapters about different types of whales? Definitely not something I’d ever thought I’d spend that much time on!
And finally…
One extra book — this is one from my to-read pile that truly feels outside my comfort zone… mainly because I keep hearing how hard it is to get through it!
Have you read The Silmarillion? Thoughts on whether it’s worth the effort?
Have you read any of the books on my list? Do you have any particular books that were unusual reading choices for you?
My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.
Life.
Once again, the week just flew by! Work has been intense and busy… ’nuff said about that.
Outside of work, I managed to fit in some good outdoor time on our surprisingly sunny November days this week. A couple of walks, some outdoor dancing — just what I needed!
What did I read during the last week?
Villette by Charlotte Bronte: This was a group read with my book group, and all I can say is — thank goodness that’s over with! Such a frustrating book, although it had its more interesting moments.
Elizabeth of East Hampton by Audrey Bellezza and Emily Harding: A really fun retelling of Pride and Prejudice! My review is here.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix: Wow! Fantastic horror with a lot to say, and utterly compelling storytelling. My review is here.
Pop culture & TV:
I know I’ve mentioned before that I watch Dancing with the Stars, partially because it reminds me of my dad, but also just because I do enjoy watching dance performances. It can be really fun to see people with little to no dance experience learn and grow from episode to episode. That said, this season is making me especially annoyed. There’s a clear favorite to win (Whitney, dancing with awesome pro Mark) who get top scores every week… but – but – BUT she is someone who has a competitive dance background and was a dance major in college. How is that fair against people who either literally never danced before or had some sort of injury that affected their ability to dance or any of the other (much more compelling) backstories of other contestants? It feels rigged… plus I can’t stand how heavily audience voting counts, making the results pretty much a popularity contest from week to week.
Argh. So why, you may ask, do I keep watching? Easy — the dancing can be so much fun! I like many of the so-called “stars” this season, and the pros are always amazing. But if Whitney and Mark win, I may start throwing things!
Other than that, I’ve been casting around for a new show to try, and just started The Morning Show over the weekend. It’s good! I know I’m a few years behind — I’m excited to see what all the buzz is about.
Fresh Catch:
I received an Amazon gift card last week, and treated myself to these three books:
I’ve already read The Everlasting (review), and loved it so much that I needed my own copy. Alchemy and a Cup of Tea is the 4th (final?) book in the Tomes & Tea series, and since I have the other three, I thought I should round out the collection. I was really on the fence about The Rose Field, but I’ve decided to bite the bullet and read it (after I do a re-read of The Secret Commonwealth).
All in all, I’m happy to have all three of these to add to my shelves!
What will I be reading during the coming week?
Currently in my hands:
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky: This is a BIG book, and it requires a lot of concentration, so I haven’t made quite as much progress as I’d hoped. (I realized that I can’t stay up late reading in bed with this book, because my tired brain doesn’t absorb it well enough!) I’m fascinated by what I’ve read so far, and I’m happy that I’m finally reading this book after planning to get to it for years now.
Now playing via audiobook:
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman: After reading My Friends last month (amazing!), I decided to try to catch up on this author’s earlier books that I hadn’t read yet. I’ve gotten about halfway through this audiobook, and I’m finding it sweet so far.
Ongoing reads:
My longer-term reading commitments (current and coming up):
The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien: Another book group read, continuing our LOTR adventure. Progress (relative to the entire LOTR opus): 55%.
My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin: My newest Classics Club Spin book! I’m leaving it here as a reminder to myself. The goal is to complete our spin books by December 21st, so I still have time.
Spell the Month in Books is a monthly meme hosted by Jana at Reviews from the Stacks. To participate, find a book title that starts with each letter in the month’s name, make a list, share your link, and that’s it! You can share anytime by the end of the month. Some months have additional themes, but feel free to participate however you’d like!
This month’s theme is Nostalgia! I’m spotlighting books that hold fond memories for me — some from my childhood, some that I’ve enjoyed with my children, and some that just make me remember how happy I was when I first read them.
Here are my NOVEMBER books:
N:
No Flying in the House by Betty Brock Nostalgia factor: I was OBSESSED with this book as a child! Especially the “fact” that you could tell if someone was actually a fairy by seeing if they could kiss their own elbow. Did I spend a lot of time trying? Of course I did!
O:
On the Banks of Plum Creek by Laura Ingalls Wilder Nostalgia factor: I’m including this book as a stand-in for the entire Little House series — which I enjoyed during my own childhood and then enjoyed all over again once my daughter was old enough to be interested.
V:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle Nostalgia factor: Endless times reading this book with my kids! And always so much fun, especially when they’d read aloud with me.
E:
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine Nostalgia factor: One of my daughter’s favorites! She insisted that I read this one the second she finished it.
M:
Merry, Rose, and Christmas-Tree June by Doris Orgel Nostalgia factor: I remember loving this book! I don’t remember the entire story, but I know there were three special dolls. As a kid, I didn’t know enough to be excited that the illustrations were by Edward Gorey, but as an adult, that makes me even more determined to track down a copy!
B:
Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown Nostalgia factor: Nightly read-alouds with my kids… and just so sweet and charming
E:
The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King Nostalgia factor: I’ve read this at several points in my life, and each time it’s been a great experience. This wasn’t my first King novel by any means, but I have such warm memories of how I felt while reading it.
R:
Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley Nostaglia factor: At one point, many years ago, I could not get enough of Robin McKinley’s fairy tale retellings (and I still think they’re amazing) — and then had the joy of seeing my daughter become just as crazy about them.
Wishing everyone a very happy November! If you spelled the month in books, please leave me a link to your post — I’d love to see it!
They call them wayward girls. Loose girls. Girls who grew up too fast. And they’re sent to the Wellwood Home in St. Augustine, Florida, where unwed mothers are hidden by their families to have their babies in secret, give them up for adoption, and most important of all, to forget any of it ever happened.
Fifteen-year-old Fern arrives at the home in the sweltering summer of 1970, pregnant, terrified and alone. Under the watchful eye of the stern Miss Wellwood, she meets a dozen other girls in the same predicament. There’s Rose, a hippie who insists she’s going to find a way to keep her baby and escape to a commune. And Zinnia, a budding musician who knows she’s going to go home and marry her baby’s father. And Holly, a wisp of a girl, barely fourteen, mute and pregnant by no-one-knows-who.
Everything the girls eat, every moment of their waking day, and everything they’re allowed to talk about is strictly controlled by adults who claim they know what’s best for them. Then Fern meets a librarian who gives her an occult book about witchcraft, and power is in the hands of the girls for the first time in their lives. But power can destroy as easily as it creates, and it’s never given freely. There’s always a price to be paid…and it’s usually paid in blood.
Grady Hendrix writes marvelously inventive horror novels, with psychological and physical terrors around every corner. Here in Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, the greatest horror is not in the supernatural elements, but in the treatment of the pregnant teens sent in disgrace to the Wellwood Home.
“You are here because you acted like a barnyard animal,” Miss Wellwood said. “You took the glory of your womanhood and threw it in the mud.”
The girls at the home are young, and at the complete mercy of their families, the staff of the home, and the doctors. They are never allowed to forget just how awful they are, how little they matter, and how little control they have over anything that happens to their bodies. They are all utterly ignorant as well — they know what they did to get pregnant, but have no idea what childbirth actually entails.
“You all don’t need to worry yourselves about what’s going to happen when you go to the hospital,” he said. “Because it’s none of your business. You just do what the doctors say and you’ll be fine.”
Fern is distraught when her father angrily bustles her off the home and leaves her there without even a good-bye. “Fern” isn’t even her name — all girls are given new names upon arrival, to preserve anonymity and to make the entire experience as separate from their real lives as possible. All Fern wants is to go home, to forget this ever happened, and to get back to her school, her friends, and the senior play.
But the harsh realities of pregnancy are impossible to ignore, especially once Fern witnesses another girl go into early labor in the bathroom and has to face the awful truth of what lies ahead for her. When the biweekly book mobile shows up, Fern asks the librarian for a book on what really happens during childbirth — which would be considered contraband at the home, where pleasant middle grade books seem to be the only allowed reading material.
The book the librarian passes along is anything but benign children’s fiction. Instead, she hands Fern is a hidden copy of a book titled How to Be a Groovy Witch (how awesome is that?!?!). The book’s contents are mostly incomprehensible, but Fern, Rose, Zinnia, and Holly are able to figure out a spell to cure Zinnia’s unrelenting morning sickness… by transferring it to someone else, with shockingly effective results.
The girls are drawn in by the lure of witchcraft and the power it promises, not seeing until it’s too late that nothing is given for free.
In this world there is one truth: everything has a price, and every price must be paid. Perhaps you will not pay it today, maybe you can put it off until tomorrow, but one day there will be a knock at your door in the middle of the night, a voice in the darkness beside your bed, a letter laid upon the table when you believe yourself to be alone, and it will contain a bill that must be paid, and you will pay it in blood.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is an absolutely compelling read. It’s a little on the longer side, but it flies by. The girls’ terror and helplessness feel palpable, and the book is a stark reminder of how far we’ve come in so many ways… and how awful it would be to move backward.
There are several gross-out scenes resulting from the girls’ spells, as well as scenes of supernatural power and strange, other-worldly phenomena. Some parts can be truly scary. And yet, the most horrifying scene is a hospital delivery. Nothing goes wrong medically, but it’s a detailed, horrible depiction of what labor and delivery in the 1970s entailed for so many women. That, to me, is the truly disturbing part of this book. Well, that, plus the girls’ utter lack of agency, the casual cruelty of the adults controlling them, and the soul-crushing sense of shame forced on them from every direction.
They said she could go back to her old life. They said it wouldn’t hurt. They said she’d never have to think about it again. They lied.
I loved the girls’ character development, and how each of them struggles to find strength to face their own particular hell. The girls’ power truly lies in their connection and support of one another, even more so than in the gifts they discover through the book and the librarian’s coven. Despite their individual suffering, they still find joy and friendship, as they band together to take back control and figure out how to survive.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls is a moving, powerful, absorbing read. The depiction of the historical time and place feels spot-on. 1970s slang and attitudes provide some needed moments of fun and entertainment, despite the overall seriousness of the subject matter. (It’s shocking to see the pregnant girls constantly smoking cigarettes… but hey, it’s 1970!)
Grady Hendrix writes terrific horror, always with unique, clever twists and set-ups. I believe I have one more of his books yet to read (and I’m looking forward to it!); meanwhile, I’m thrilled that I finally got my hands on Witchcraft for Wayward Girls. Highly recommended.
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Bookshelf Fantasies 