Tag Archives: The Starless Sea

Weekend Reads: Libraries

Posted on by
Reply

The library is one of my favorite places. I get more than half my books from there. This week I had to stop at the library on the way home from work and a friend commented on how that was unusual. He didn’t know a lot of people that still go to the library. (He is more of a libby person, which counts as also going to the library to me.) So, I thought this weekend would be a good time to celebrate the library. So, here are three picks where libraries feature in the plot.

Babel by R. F. Kuang

In a world where there is magic and it is found in bits of meaning that never quite get translated, Robin finds himself whisked away to England from his home in Canton so that he can prepare to go to the prestigious translation school at the University of Oxford. This is a thoughtful and devastating look at colonialism and the struggle that everyone, particularly those from outside of the colonial core, must face when they consider what is lost or gained by contributing to the empire. I loved this book and if you like dark academia vibes that make you really consider the world, this a pick for you.

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Beth and I both loved this one. In fact, this is one that I have both gotten from the library (audiobook) and from Beth’s shelves. This story follows Lazlo Strange, an orphan and a dreamer, who is raised by monks and grows up to be a librarian. During his studies, he falls in love with the stories of another place, Weep, that has a tragic history that is slowly revealed as part of the novel. When an envoy from Weep comes to his city, Lazlo does everything he can in order to become part of the delegation that will return to Weep. Strange is such a lovely soul. This was an interesting story with romance and terror and gods and monsters. If you like stories that include their own mythology, this is one for you.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

I picked this up on the recommendation of my friend Cristin (further recommended by the audiobook including narration from one of my favorite readers, Bahni Turpin), this is another adventure with its own mythology. Our protagonist, Zachary Ezra Rawlins, is a grad student who studies video games and takes some time in between semesters to indulge in one of his favorite hobbies, reading. Everyday he goes to the library and picks up some books that catch his attention. He finds in the stacks a mysterious book that doesn’t seem to be catalogued correctly and he’s launched into an adventure that takes him everywhere and nowhere. There are assassins, thieves, different timelines, lost cities, bees, secret societies, and so much more. This is a story that has stories inside of its stories and it is a wild ride.

So, there you have it. Three books that feature libraries because libraries are always strange and magical places. Do you have a favorite book that is either set in a library or features a library or librarian? Let us know in the comments!

Kate’s Favorite Books of the Year!

Posted on by
Reply

This has been a wild year of reading for me! I have done so much of it for fun! During COVID, I lost a bit of my desire to pick up books. There is still a bit of that resistance there, but with a combination of some great series, letting my whims take me, excellent recommendations from people in my life, and audiobooks, Ive managed to get back to being a reader! Alright! Let’s do this!

Best Non-Fiction: Nanette by Hannah Gadsby

I didn’t read a lot of non-fiction for fun and, funnily, they were all memoirs. Readme.txt by Chelsea Manning and Consent by Jill Ciment were excellent, and they have both brought up important topics that need to be considered and discussed, but Nanette gets the nod here for a combination of also touching on important topics that need to be considered and discussed, emotional resonance and Gadsby’s audio narration. This one had me in tears, both from happiness and sadness. It was a great read.

Best Book I picked up on a Whim: Yolk by Mary H.k. Choi

Screenshot

I don’t know I can really say this was on a whim. I put it in my library want list on a whim ages ago and when my library finally got it, I was first in line. This is a story of sisterhood and family. It is also the story of growing up Asian-American and navigating multiple sets of cultural expectations while also trying to figure out who you are. Some of the story felt so relatable and some of it felt like a brand new experience for me. I love how stories can be both mirrors and windows. Anyway, this was at times thoughtful, funny, and sad and I loved the growth journey the characters went on.

Best Bestseller I’ve had on My List for Ages: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Y’all this book was so good, seamlessly interweaving multiple tales of motherhood and family highlighting different kinds of conflicts that arise from differences in income, ethnicity, and race. I couldn’t put it down and I needed to know what happened next! The characters were well-written, the plot contained surprises. I really loved this one.

Book a Friend Recommended: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

The Starless Sea is stories within stories within stories. I loved Zachary, the main character. He was thoughtful and interesting and I was happy to have him as a companion on this journey of so many twists and turns. Putting it over the top in this category is the multiple excellent narrations, including a performance from one of my favorite audiobook readers, Bahni Turpin.

Best Book that has been on my Shelf and I finally Read this Year: The Queer Principles of Kitt Webb by Cat Sebastian

This romance novel was a delight! I tore through it and finished it in time to pick up its sequel at the same independent bookshop I bought it at, The Ripped Bodice! 10/10. bookshop and 10/10 novel I took too long getting to. I liked the characters, I liked the intrigue, I liked the spice, I liked the ending. This was wonderful!

Best Series (Plural) I started this Year: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik, and This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron

I started so many good ones this year. Kitt Webb, of course. But also the Gideon the Ninth series, Spoiler Alert, This Poison Heart, His Majesty’s Dragon , Renegades , The Beautiful , The Brown Sisters and Three-Body Problem . Since most of these I either binged (The Gideon books and the Poison Heart) or I completely finished (Kitt Webb, Three-Body Problem) it is fair to say I enjoyed all of them. But there were some stand outs.

Part sci/fi and Part fantasy, these books have mystery, sword play, and fiery heroines that are delightful.

An Alternative history with dragons! Temeraire was described to me as the best baby boy of characters before I read it and I couldn’t agree more. I want nothing but the best for this sweet dragon and his handler Laurence, who find themselves in the middle of a war between England and Napoleon’s France. The only reason I haven’t gotten to the rest of the series is that the other books in my library hold queue keep getting in my way.

I was so taken in by Briseis and her moms and the mystery at the heart of these books that having to wait for the second one to come available at the library was torture. Briseis is a wonderful heroine and these books interweave myth with the modern in a really fun way.

Honorable Mention, Best Book about a House: The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas

I read a lot of books this year that featured houses. A House with Good Bones, The House Across the Lake , and Nothing But Blackened Teeth just to pick a few. But Cañas’s gothic novel set after Mexico’s war for independence scratched all the itches for the gothic horror genre. Beatriz is an interesting narrator, although not as naive as you’d expect and that was a nice twist. I enjoyed this immensely and would definitely recommend it.

This has been a great year for reading and I already have things queued up for the new year (including reviews of things I started this year, but haven’t posted yet!) Beth and I hope you have a Happy New Year and we hope to see you in 2025 for more from our endless stacks!

Quick Review: The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (read by Dominic Hoffman with Dion Graham, Bahni Turpin, Fiona Hardingham, Allan Corduner, and Jorjeana Marie)

Posted on by
2

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a grad student who studies video games. In between semesters, he takes some time to immerse himself in another thing he enjoys, reading books. Every day, he goes to the campus library, has a wander, picks up some books, and heads back to his room to read. One day he finds an unusual book that doesn’t seem to have an author or any of the usual things you find in a book, like a title page that has publisher information on it. It intrigues him, so he checks it out. He starts reading it immediately, but he is caught up short when he finds himself in the story. He is in the story. A section of the book is about him as a child. This sends Zachary into a tailspin and into full research mode. He has to find out who wrote the book and where it came from. His investigation takes him on an adventure with mysterious masquerades, secret societies, dangerous assassins, thieves, and, eventually, A Starless Sea. This vague description does not do this book justice. But I don’t want to tell you anything else because the book is an adventure you absolutely deserve to go on.

This book was recommended by my friend Cristin and I borrowed the audiobook from my local library. It was so good. It has a story within a story within a story structure and as you spiral down through the stories you meet so many interesting characters with flaws and goals that just made me want to keep reading. I loved Zachary. I loved Dorian, an enigmatic older man who tells Zachary a story and sets him on a path that takes him deep into a secret world. I loved Katrina Hawkins (her parts of the book read by Bahni Turpin, one of my favorite audiobook narrators), Zachary’s friend and chronicler of what happens in the real world after Zachary goes on his adventure. I was touched multiple times by the interactions between the characters and, I’m not going to lie, I definitely cried.

If you like books about stories, stories within stories, or magical realism, I recommend this book. If you like adventures with mystery and romance, I recommend this book. It was a truly good time. The audiobook in particular is fun. The book’s story-within-a-story-within-a-story structure lends itself to multiple different styles of narration and Random House Audio didn’t skimp on that. Dominic Hoffman reads Zachary’s story line. Dion Graham reads Sweet Sorrows, Bahni Turpin reads the excerpts of the secret diary of Katrina Hawkins, Fiona Hardingham reads the Ballad of Simon and Eleanor, Allan Corduner reads Fortunes and Fables, and Jorjeana Marie reads Another place, another time. I really liked that each new story was treated as its own stand alone entity. It really added to the whole production.