CURRENTLY READING

Welcome to the November edition of the Community Coordinator Potpourri blog series! This month we're talking about books we're either currently reading or always enjoy going back to. As we're all clearly lovers of fiction here, feel free to take this also as a slight recommendation list for books to ask for for the holidays.

M A L F O Y S A N G E L

So my favorite book is The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen Woodiwiss but since it has some content that may be triggering for some readers, I'm here to talk about The Mallory-Anderson series by Johnna Lindsey. This regency-era romance series follows the Mallory family and once the Anderson family comes into the picture, it follows them too as they find love around the world. There's kidnapping, debutante balls, and even a few pirates thrown into the mix.

I am a sucker for romance novels and my favorites are historical romance. This series ticks all the boxes for me and I come back to the books time and time again. The series spans multiple generations and multiple branches of the family and I love getting to read all the love stories for the characters that I met in book one. It is one of the few series that I can read over and over again and I love that each book can stand alone and still be a continuation of the previous books. 

R O N S G I R L F R I D A Y

Currently Reading: The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer

I've been on a major Heyer binge lately, tearing through about a dozen of her Georgian- and Regency-era novels in the past four months. After starting out with a bunch of her more popular, better-known books, I'm currently reading The Reluctant Widow. The heroine Elinor, meaning to take a post as a governess, finds herself at the wrong house, where Lord Carlyon persuades her ("Hey, so, while you're here...") to marry his mortally wounded cousin... for reasons. Elinor is married and widowed within the span of several hours, and there follows a mystery involving murder, treason, and Elinor and Carlyon repeatedly butting heads.

Unfortunately, I don't love this one quite as much as I've loved Heyer's other books. I've found it a bit slow and less... sparkling, I suppose. But it's not without its bright spots. Heyer excels at writing characters who are delightful idiots, and in each of her books there's usually one supporting character I end up adoring even more than either of the two romantic leads. In this book it's Carlyon's youngest brother Nicky, who's probably about 20 years old, well-intentioned but lovably naive, and has recently been "rusticated," meaning suspended and sent home from university because he did some dumbass thing and got in trouble.

I hate to have to give such a lukewarm review considering I've loved so many of her books. I'd really recommend checking them out if you're into historical romance (though, it's of the non-bodice-ripping variety). They're cheeky and witty, with farcical plots and zany misunderstandings, and I regularly giggle out loud while reading them. The Nonesuch and False Colours are probably my favorites, and Venetia is worth reading for a fantastic supporting character alone (I stan Aubrey Lanyon), not to mention its subversion of the "reformed rake" trope.

S H A D O W Y C O R N E R

Currently Reading: Dune by Frank Herbert

This has been recommended to me for the last ten years, and I've finally gotten around to it, and it is wild. Straight from the beginning it captures you and pulls you into the world-building, with a very memorable opening scene and a quote that stays in your mind for days to come.

The atmosphere of Dune as a setting is very unique. It's a harsh desert planet with an extreme lack of water and giant sandworms lurking underneath the surface, yet you still want to be there, to explore it. The relationships between various characters are full of tension and complexity and each new scene and dialogue is satisfying to read, yet leaves you eager for more.

I'm only halfway through, but I'm really enjoying it so far, and also I love the writing from a craft perspective, too.

R E N A C E R A

Just finished: The Rise of Kyoshi and The Shadow of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee

Every fan of the Avatar universe should read these novels. Yee adds so much to the canon and builds Kyoshi as an Avatar to be reckoned with. Every character is vivid and brilliant, and I fell in love with all of them. Kyoshi is so unique as an Avatar, different from both Aang and Korra, but in ways that make her just as interesting as either of them. Her companions on Team Avatar are compelling, and if there's one critique I'd level at the series, it's that I wish I'd have gotten to know them even better between the two novels.

Finally, I have to shout out the intricate plot elements in these books. The political intrigue, bureaucratic machinations, and conflicts with spirits combine to make a landscape that Kyoshi navigates with sheer force of will. She's a stellar badass, but she's also compassionate and kind. Her fiercest supporter, the beautiful, intensely capable firebender, Rangi, is everything anyone would ever want in a friend and partner. Their adventures are awesome, and I couldn't recommend these books more.

J U L S

My currently reading list includes the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. My initial exposure was watching the first movie on Disney, The Lightning Thief. So, I decided to buy the series of the first five books (I had a lot of time, I was 'hiding out' from the Corona) and I was glad I did.

The books are amazing, and so different from the movies. Better, actually. Just like any movie made from a book, there were so many elements missing or changed to facilitate the movies. (The biggest change I didn't like was how they introduced the Cyclops into the second book - A Sea of Monsters. The book way was such a better lead up, and gave us more of chance to bond with the character before the 'big reveal' of who he was to the main character.)

The stories deal with the children of the Greek Gods and their mortal parents in the modern day world. It starts out with Percy at school on a field trip at a museum where he with his best friend, Grover and the rest of the students plus two teachers. From there, the story just explodes with action. It also deals with the dynamics of finding out one of your parents is a God, how to deal with that knowledge and learning how to fit in at a camp where everyone else is a demigod also.

There is a whole slew of books to read in this collect, the first series is five books entitled The Lightning Thief, A Sea of Monsters, The Titan's Curse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and the Last Olympian. Each book progressing the story until its conclusion.

The cast of characters expands and the story goes on in further collections, going from the Greek, to Roman, Egyptian and Norse Gods. I can't wait read some more.

M A G E M A D I

Currently Reading: Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I am highly enjoying this book so far! It's YA science fiction written entirely through the epistolary format, which I find to be incredibly challenging but these two do it so well! The variety of chat logs, email-type messages, directives, interview transcripts, etc. really adds to the tension of the story as we follow our protagonists Kady Grant and Ezra Mason trying to figure out what's really going on after getting on two separate ships after their planet Kerenza IV was attacked by a competing mining company.

While it is YA science fiction and therefore has a romance subplot for these two eighteen year olds, the romance is done in a fun way that just adds to their characters and makes their decisions, especially regarding the other, that much more involved. The ships that Kady and Ezra are on are being pursued by the dreadnought that decimated Kerenza IV, but they're in deep space and won't reach safe harbor for nearly a year, all while this warship is pursuing them. I'm only a little over 100 pages in to this 500 page book but the conspiracy theories about a possible outbreak and the AI on Ezra's ship already abound and I can't wait to find out more!

Thanks for reading the blog and we hope if you haven't read these books yet that you check them out yourselves! If you have read them, please let us know what you thought of them in the comments!