It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, where we share what we are reading and see what others are reading as well.

Read Last Week:

  

Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood: Soo good! Review Wednesday

The Ghosts of Chicago by Adam Selzer: I loved this! I feel like I learned some cool things about Chicago, even minus the ghostie stuff. Review Tuesday

Reading This Week:

 

The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman: Our book club book for November - it seems perfectly seasonal.

The Wilde Passions of Dorian Gray by Mitzi Szerto: I won this from Librarything - it has aroused my curiosity.

Posts Last Week:

Random 5 Friday

Chicago Day 1

Book Review: The Thinking Woman's Guide to Magic

Book Review: The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic

Title: The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic
Author: Emily Croy Barker
Source: Library - but you can believe it will be on my Christmas list this year

Goodreads Summary:

Nora Fischer’s dissertation is stalled and her boyfriend is about to marry another woman.  During a miserable weekend at a friend’s wedding, Nora wanders off and walks through a portal into a different world where she’s transformed from a drab grad student into a stunning beauty.  Before long, she has a set of glamorous new friends and her romance with gorgeous, masterful Raclin is heating up. It’s almost too good to be true.

Then the elegant veneer shatters. Nora’s new fantasy world turns darker, a fairy tale gone incredibly wrong. Making it here will take skills Nora never learned in graduate school. Her only real ally—and a reluctant one at that—is the magician Aruendiel, a grim, reclusive figure with a biting tongue and a shrouded past. And it will take her becoming Aruendiel’s student—and learning magic herself—to survive. When a passage home finally opens, Nora must weigh her "real life" against the dangerous power of love and magic.

My thoughts:

I am about to reveal a secret that is really not that secret, if you know me. I love fantasy stories, elves, fairies, heroes, dragons, and wizards. A few of my favorite books and movies include The Princess Bride, The Last Unicorn, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. My husband introduced me to the Dragon Lance books, and I read those too. I go to the Renaissance Festival every year, and I every time I contemplate wearing elf ears. I even have my own "One" ring. Then I found this book. The title alone spoke to me - I mean, I am a thinking woman, and I would love a guide to magic.

This book is of course not a "guide" to magic, but a wonderful magical story. We meet Nora Fischer at a pretty low point in her life. She is a grad student who is just scraping by, and her boyfriend has recently left her. After he let her cat out to be run over by a car, of course. If it were me, I wouldn't even want him after that, but Nora does. She is invited to a wedding of a friend, where she runs into the dreaded ex, and as a result, feels pretty sorry for herself. She gets up the morning of the wedding, and takes a walk - and ends up into another world. One filled with magic and spells and wizards and fairy princes. But not all that glitters is gold, as the adage says, and the glamorous new world that Nora is living a fabulous life in, becomes a dark and twisted nightmare.

Enter Arundiel. A grumpy but powerful wizard, Arundiel takes Nora in, pretty begrudgingly. The truth of her situation begins to dawn on Nora, and she realizes she must take control of her life in some way. Her former academic life has not prepared her for life in a rural medieval village, and Nora must make her own place in this world. Nora's  curiosity and thirst for knowledge of all sorts though is not quenched by her new position as a servant, and begs Arundiel to teach her magic. I don't blame her, I would want to learn too! Although he is a bit of a grouch and curmudgeon, Nora develops a wee crush on him. (Again, I probably would too)

And then the book ended, and made me yell nooooo right out loud. This couldn't be the end, right? There must be more to the story, even after reading 563 pages, and reading those pages within a span of two days. Feeling desperate, I googled the author to see if there was a sequel in the works, and breathed a sigh of relief to know that it is coming. In like a year, I am sure, but it is still going to exist. Thank God, because I was not happy with the ending. I see the need for it, but I am not willing to accept it for all time.

I think if you are a fantasy nerd like me, you will love this book. If you like the All Souls series by Harkness, or even the Outlander books (well, like Outlander if you twist reality just a little bit more..) then you will definitely like this one. I encourage you to read it, unless you are strictly into realistic fiction. Then you may hate this book. But if you don't mind a little magic in your books, than read this book,  fall in love and come back and tell me how much you loved it. You will be enchanted, I promise.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, where we share what we are reading and see what others are reading as well.

Read Last Week:

 

Divergent by Veronica Roth: My sister in law gave me this to read, and I loved it!!! The cool thing about it is that I was in Chicago when I started reading it too! Lol. I took the faction quiz at the end, and my score placed me in Candor.

The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker: Wow, I absolutely loved this book. Like I am totally infatuated with it, and was sad when it ended - especially since I didn't care for the ending! Now I must wait for the second book, I am sure there must be a second one in the works, right? *desperation in my voice here*

Reading This Week:

Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood: I have been meaning to read this for two weeks! I am definitely reading it this week. No doubts about it. 

The Ghosts of Chicago by Adam Selzer: A little anniversary gift from my husband. (today is our 13th anniversary!) He said that "he loves me so much that he gives me books about dead people." A joke, since I have wanted to read this for months!

Posts Last Week:

A Chilly Fort Wayne Morning

Born Wicked

Book Review: Born Wicked

Title: Born Wicked
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Source: Library

Goodreads Summary:

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

My thoughts:

I kept seeing this book around all over last year, and I always wanted to read it but then would forget about it. This year, when I was looking through my journal of books I want to read, I saw this one again and it reminded me. I am so happy to have rescued this from my TBR list! I really enjoyed it, so much more than I had imagined I would.

In this world that Spotswood has created, all women are suspect. They are watched closely for signs of witchery,  and taught about the evils of witchcraft. In this world, women can easily be witches, and witches need to be dealt with. Or so the Brotherhood wants everyone to believe. The prejudice of this world that Spotswood has imagined is very frightening, and makes the reader think, could this have become our reality, if history had been different?

Unfortunately for Cate, she and her two sisters really are witches, and their mother is dead. Cate is the oldest, and takes her job as protector of her two younger sisters extremely seriously. Her biggest fear is that they will be discovered as witches, and sent to the asylum, a prison ship, or even be killed. She feels that the best way to keep them all safe is to keep her sisters and herself home as much as possible, without too much outside interference. But the rules of her time dictate certain proprieties be observed. Their father hires a woman from the Sisterhood to become their governess - and Cate also has just a few weeks until she must declare whom she is marrying, or if she is joining the Sisterhood as well. Cate feels that this would be a disaster, for how would she hide her magic, especially as her powers are growing? Cate also has the ability most feared by the Brotherhood and the world, and this must be hidden from society at all costs.


Lucky for Cate, she has a very interested suitor for her hand in marriage. But is she having second thoughts about him? Has another caught her eye? And what is this about a prophecy? You will have to read to find out!

A Chilly Fort Wayne Morning

 

 

 

 

I had an opportunity to visit Fort Wayne, and I was super excited. For me, this was a big deal. I would drive down Jefferson by the now defunct base on my way to the city, nestled in a neighborhood of abandoned houses and truck yards. A fort that has been around since about 1860, and here it still stands, far longer than the more recently built homes around it. You can see a few barrack buildings from the road, and the rest is lost to view.  Great iron fences surround the grounds, and I always wanted to go behind the gates and see these buildings up close. It has personal meaning to me as well - when my father shipped off with the Marines to boot camp during the Vietnam War, he left from here.  I could just picture my young idealist father standing in the gym, waiting to leave his family and his home, anxious and nervous but wanting to serve his country.

The day we went it was raining, and I didn't want to take my actual camera. So it was iPhone to the rescue once again.

 

View from the hill overlooking the old barracks. I feel like this looks like it could be England!

 

My friend Hippy walking through the tunnel

 

The armory

The back of the old barrack. 

The fort now hosts many different events, including war reenactments and ghost hunts led by Metro Paranormal Investigations. This sounds terrifying, but I might just have to do it.  Restoration work has also been happening on the grounds, which is evident by the differences between a few of the buildings. Some are fallen in like the ones you see pictured here, while others are fully restored, and either open to visitors or being used as offices by those who work at the fort.

For more information, visit Fort Wayne's website. Or better yet, visit the fort itself! It is an amazing place to visit, and you will be glad you did. 

**originally posted on Detroit Magpie
*all content and photos property of me

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey, where we share what we are reading and see what others are reading as well.

Read Last Week:

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson: This book was ok - I liked it but I didn't go mad for it. 

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke: Same with this book - I loved certain parts of it, but others were just so-so. 

Reading This Week:

  

Help for the Haunted by John Searles: I have been wanting to read this, and just got it in from the library. Belle from BookBelle also said that I would love it, and I believe her when she says that! I am excited to read this.

Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood: I waited all week for this hold to come in and it never arrived. It looks like I am going to have to buy the kindle version so I can read it since I don't want to wait any longer. :)

Random 5 Friday

Random 5 Friday is hosted by Nancy at Rural Journal

 

 

 1. I made no knead bread the other night, and I very pleased with the results! I think there is nothing more therapeutic and spiritual than baking bread.

2. My husband, brother, sister-in-law and I attended the huge Detroit Halloween party, Theatre Bizarre. It is six floors of halloween fun. My sister-in-law Chrissy and I went as ravens. We bought these cool masks from Sundries and Plunder on Etsy.

{Eastern Michigan Campus - Photo Source}

3. Last week I mentioned that I was rethinking my plan for my new degree. I had originally planned on getting a degree in Paralegal Studies. I did some soul searching, switched my major to Writing with a minor in Classical Studies, and now I feel much better. Before, I felt like I was wearing someone else's clothes. Now, I feel like everything fits just right, and I am so excited to begin!

4. I am looking forward to Saturday morning, and visiting Eastern Market in Detroit. My favorite time to go is in the fall, with the air crisp, the fall harvest overflowing on the tables, and the bright oranges and reds of the autumn flowers on display. 

5.  I am so happy that soup season is fully upon us! I made a root vegetable, sugar snap pea, and white bean soup last Sunday, which turned out amazing! It was warm, hearty, filling and spicy, and I could eat it again right now! It was perfect for a chilly evening.