Book Club: November/December

[Amber Chou Wilson]

It's time for my book club! I'm a bit all over the place with what I read/want to read, so it's not really themed, but I hope it's a fun bunch of books to choose from.

First, I have one of my absolute favorite books so it would be a reread for me, but there's a sequel coming out early next year so I want to reread it anyway. It's Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. 317 pages and a historical real world combined with fantasy/fae book that I really liked.

Spoiler

A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love in the start of a heartwarming and enchanting new fantasy series.

Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world's first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party--or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, and the Fair Folk.

So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily's research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.

But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones--the most elusive of all faeries--lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she'll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all--her own heart.

My next choice is another fantasy book, it's kind of a fantasy/horror kind of darker pick by an author I enjoy. A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher. 400 pages.

Spoiler

A dark retelling of the Brothers Grimm's Goose Girl, rife with secrets, murder, and forbidden magic
Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend—unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.

After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.

Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.

I guess I'm still a bit stuck in spooky month because my third choice is also a horror/thriller type of book. I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones. 384 pages.

Spoiler

1989, Lamesa, Texas. A community driven by oil and cotton – a town where everyone knows everyone else’s business.

Tolly Driver, seventeen, a good kid with more potential than application, exists on the outskirts with his best friend, Amber. They navigate the hellscape of the teenage social scene, sticking together in a place that doesn’t know how to be different.

But when they go to a fateful party at Deek Masterton’s house – a party that ends in a series of gruesome, brutal and extravagant murders – Tolly’s world gets flipped upside-down. Because some slashers are born in violence and retribution, some were born that way – and some were just in the wrong place, at the wrong time…

For my final pick I did want to throw in something holiday related and something cuter/lighter as an option. For this I went for Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake, which is a queer romance book set around Christmas. It's 368 pages.

Spoiler

Two exes find themselves stuck at the same house for Christmas in this holiday romance by Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Iris Kelly Doesn't Date.

It's been five years since Charlotte Donovan was ditched at the altar by her ex-fiancée, and she’s doing more than okay. Sure, her single mother never checks in, but she has her strings ensemble, the Rosalind Quartet, and her life in New York is a dream come true. As the holidays draw near, her ensemble mate Sloane persuades Charlotte and the rest of the quartet to spend Christmas with her family in Colorado—it is much cozier and quieter than Manhattan, and it would guarantee more practice time for the quartet’s upcoming tour. But when Charlotte arrives, she discovers that Sloane’s sister Adele also brought a friend home—and that friend is none other than her ex, Brighton. All Brighton Fairbrook wanted was to have the holliest, jolliest Christmas—and try to forget that her band kicked her out. But instead, she’s stuck pretending like she and her ex are strangers—which proves to be difficult when Sloane and Adele’s mom signs them all up for a series of Christmas dating events. Charlotte and Brighton are soon entrenched in horseback riding and cookie decorating, but Charlotte still won’t talk to her. Brighton can hardly blame her after what she did. After a few days, however, things start to slip through. Memories. Music. The way they used to play together—Brighton on guitar, Charlotte on her violin—and it all feels painfully familiar. But it’s all in the past and nothing can melt the ice in their hearts...right?

This poll will be open for 7 days, so get your votes in quick! Once we have a winner, we'll have two months to discuss and enjoy in this thread, before the next poll begins. I hope you like these choices.

React/discuss at your own pace. All of us are differing levels of busy and differing levels of how much we can read at once, so remember to use spoilers for spoiler-related content so you don't spoil for others! Please be respectful in this regard.

Site rules apply to all discussions. Be aware that books may contain mature themes or language.

The current book club leader schedule is as follows;
Jan/Feb- Jess
March/April - Rowan
May/June - Daphne
July/August - Sarah
Sept/Oct - Mia
Nov/Dec
Anyone keen to take the lead in future should let Cyndi know!

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

lmao I was literally just checking to see if the poll was up yet u read my mind

I love all the variety in this list but for once I found it an easy vote everything I've heard about Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries has been excellent, and I've just finished slogging through a book I really didn't enjoy, so I'd love something more cheerful that's well recommended.

A Sorceress Comes To Call sounds fun too but I'm more interested in the premise of Emily Wilde's, I was actually looking at the summary of I Was A Teenage Slasher last night but I'm a bit horrored out after said boring book I just finished, and I'm notoriously not a big fan of Christmas in general, so easy pick for me

 

[Stefan Archer]

Having read the Emily Wilde book at the beginning of the year, I've put my vote for I was a teenager slasher, so I read one of his other books and really enjoyed it.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

Small reminder that this poll is closing in 2 days, so vote for the book you want to read!

 

[Willow Cullen]

ooh this is a tough pick Daph. Thank you for the options.
theo nly one i would be disapointed with is the teenagte slasher as we have had two months of slightly horror books and i dont like horror

the encyclopedia of fairies sounds good and very sweet and lighthearted for summer.
I was actually reading make the season bright's blurb the other day and it reminds me of one i read in july called "kiss her once for me" (which really got me into a christmas mood for a few weeks
Sorceress Comes to Call sounds interesting, and yes i know i dont like horror. but if it is fantasy i can take things a little darker.

The only one the library has is the sorceress comes to call, but it has a 3-month wait. so that isn't really useful. so it looks like I will have a good excuse to treat myself next week when I am at the bookshop. Picking up my subscription.

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Yaaaay I'm excited for this one! Once again I've just finished a book so I'll be starting this one before the month actually begins wonder if i can finish it before the month begins.....................

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

I've put a hold on the winning book, but it's like a month out so I'll be joining in later as per usual.

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

I got a copy of Emily Wilde from my old local bookshop. and it was actually on the staff recommend shelf. so i am looking forward to it.

can i please put my name down for sept/oct next year if it is still open?

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

I'm kind of glad this book won, not going to lie. Using book club as an excuse to make people read my favorite book


Curious, what format are you guys reading it in? I have a physical copy myself.

 

[Amodeus Jones]

i picked up a physical copy- or i will in a few days lol

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

It'll be an e-book for me once it arrives.

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

I started the book today and immediately read more than half of it, it helps that it's one of my favorites I'm reading it for the third time now.

I figured I'd say some non spoilery thoughts first, then add a spoiler. I'm also planning to ask a few book club kind of questions during the two months that you can answer if you want. I'll add one to the end.

Non spoiler thoughts:

I just really enjoy the way this book is set up. The main character is very fun to read about in my opinion and I really like the setting / premise of the story. A scholar searching out Fae lore is very interesting and I love the way the story is mixed with her findings and information she knows.

Note that the chapters don't have numbers or titles but only dates, so I'll be referring to them by the date at the top.

Spoilers for the first few chapters (until 29th October)

Spoiler

The dynamic between Wendell and Emily is so fun to me, I love their opposite approach to social situations and the way they compliment each other. I think them interacting is one of my favorite things about this book

Spoilers until the point I'm currently at (until 20th of November)

Spoiler

The sequence where Emily goes to save the girls from the Fae realm is one of the things I remember most when I think back to this book. I feel the buildup is done so well, the eerie feeling and the unreal atmosphere of the Fae realm are really well done in my opinion, as well as the subtle but huge reveal about Shadow not being a normal dog. The way it plays out is just so interesting to me and I felt like I was on the edge of my seat even though I've already read this book and know how it ends.

My first question if an easy one to answer no matter what point you are at in the book:
The book is setup as Emily's journal that she writes in, including footnotes. Do you enjoy this format or does it pull you out of the story?

I have my own thoughts but I'll answer how I feel later

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

I finished this book yesterday and I LOVED it!! I read it as an ebook bc ol' Grandpa Trasheyes needs to zoom his words in nice and big but the footnotes were well programmed so I could just open 'em without losing my place, which was good.

The book is setup as Emily's journal that she writes in, including footnotes. Do you enjoy this format or does it pull you out of the story?

Spoiler

This was actually the ONLY part of the book that didn't really work for me. The footnotes were good, but the journal framing took me out of it a few times. Emily doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would write in such a prosaic style, so I tended to keep forgetting I was reading something she had supposedly written herself until it was referenced and I would catch myself like ????? I feel like her writing style would be much stiffer and more academic. It also would have made it more impactful when Wendall took over writing, if there had suddenly been a dramatic stylistic change in the prose. I DID really love the style the book was written in, it's very well written, it just doesn't feel like the kind of thing Emily would write herself.

More general thoughts;

Spoiler

That is literally my only criticism though, because all around I LOVED this book. The approach to fae lore is so fun and leans in to the differences and inconsistencies found even from one town to another. It does a good job of not trying to 'modernise' ancient beliefs by trying to make them make sense. The fae are allowed to be big and small, terrifying and helpful, rulebound and whimsical all at once. The worldbuilding is really brilliant, and I really enjoyed that aspect.

Emily herself is a fantastic protagonist, I really enjoyed her whole character. I'm autistic & her autism coding really shone through for me, she's a great example of an autistic character written with realistic struggles & strengths. I especially appreciated her complete inability to understand whether or not people like her, that one in particular is TOO REAL. It fed beautifully into her dynamic with Wendall, whose heart-eyes are projected across the SKY to everyone EXCEPT Emily.

Wendall is also brilliant too. When I read his first letter I was picturing a sort of middle-aged academic type, so I was a bit blindsided when he showed up. I suspected he was fae right off the bat, and I'm glad that reveal wasn't held off for TOO long, I think it would have gotten a bit grating. Him proposing to Emily like that cracked me up, and her response was just perfect, their dynamic is brilliant. Wendall reminded me a lot of Howl (from the book, not the terrible movie) which I loved.

I found the changeling storyline interesting considering Emily's very strong autistic coding. There's a fairly common theory these days that changeling stories actually come from parents trying to make sense of autistic children. I would have really enjoyed some element of Emily trying to relate or connect with the changeling, largely because that's one of my favourite sort of niche bits of info about fae lore. Not sure exactly how it would have worked in the context of the larger story though, so I get it.

Man I could keep going for ages, I just really really loved this book. Gorgeous pick!

 

[Ainsley Lynch]

Goodreads you gotta book a month with Cyndi if you wanna pick

(The recommendations were Erasure, The Shining, Ready Player One, Children of Time, The Poppy War, One Dark Window, Heartless Hunter, Tress of the Emerald Sea, All the Colours of the Dark, and The God of the Woods)

 

[Professor Elvera Le Fey]

I am really looking forward to this book it sounds right up my street. And I usually really like journal style books. However it is not going to be right away. I currently have two books in the go (the lost apothecary and somewhere betond the sea) and in November my usual reading time is replaced by Christmas card writing time. But the physical book is sitting there waiting for me to get to it.

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

My copy came in yesterday, and I've just finished a book so I'll be starting soon!

 

[Amber Chou Wilson]

I'm really glad Rowan liked it! I finished my reread a few days ago and I'm still absolutely in love with this book.

So I'm back with a new question, if you read the book later feel free to just answer which ones you want (or ignore them) this is again a non spoilery one, I'll spoiler tag later ones that delve more into the plot.

The book deals a lot with Faerie lore, how did you think this worked with the story? Did you enjoy the background stories or did it feel like it distracted from the main lot?

 

[Cyndi Kingsley]

The book is setup as Emily's journal that she writes in, including footnotes. Do you enjoy this format or does it pull you out of the story?

Between each chapter, I'm honestly forgetting that it's a journal I think it's the writing style, which I'm thoroughly enjoying but agree with Rowan that it doesn't quite feel like how I'd expect the main character to write. I also keep forgetting to click on the footnote when I get to it so I've been reading them at the end of the chapter.

I think I'm up to October 30th? I'm enjoying the world building and the dynamics between the various characters. It's a fun read so far!