What I Got:

• Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong
• Just Like You by Nick Hornby

What I Read:

• The Dream Thieves (reread) by Maggie Stiefvater
• Two Can Keep a Secret (audio) by Karen M. McManus
• Blue Lily, Lily Blue (reread) by Maggie Stiefvater
• Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson & Jay Cooper
• Incredible Doom, Vol. 1 (ARC) by Matthew Bogart & Jesse Holden
• The Raven King (reread) by Maggie Stiefvater
• The Cousins (audio) by Karen M. McManus
• “A Very Declan Christmas” by Maggie Stiefvater
• “300 Fox Way Holiday Piece” by Maggie Stiefvater
• Zen Is Right Now (ARC) edited by David Chadwick
• Gather Round Me: The Best of Irish Popular Poetry edited by Christopher Cahill
• The History of England: By a partial, prejudiced, and ignorant Historian by Jane Austen & Cassandra Austen

The abundance of short books and stories I read this month is a product of my desire to prolong my reread of The Raven Cycle. I just didn’t want it to end. Most people read faster when they’re rereading something, but I always find myself reading even slower to notice new details or just to stay in a favorite story longer.

This time around, I found a new level of appreciation for Gansey. I mean, I love all the characters. I just always have a different favorite character each time I read the series. Last time it was Ronan, the time before that it was Noah, etc. The way Gansey becomes more self-aware throughout the series is so well done, and this time around it just hit me hard that Gansey cares so freakin’ much about his friends that it hurts. It’s easy to see how the trauma of his first death created this obsessed scholar and passionate friend. And, I mean, his crush on Blue is so cute. I’ve always been a fan of subtle flirting in books, and no one does it better than Maggie Stiefvater.

Another fun new thing about this reread was seeing Declan as he is portrayed in TRC after having read the first two books in The Dreamer Trilogy. Because we usually see Declan when he’s interacting with Ronan or Gansey, it’s easy to dislike him in TRC. But there are moments—like when he tries to get both his brothers safely to DC—that make it clear that he’s just as loyal as Ronan, and has just as much reason to act the way that he does as Ronan.

I also read two TRC short stories Maggie Stiefvater put out years ago one night when I couldn’t sleep. They were both delightful. “A Very Declan Christmas” was especially interesting to read, again because of the new series. It’s a scene that shows Declan and Ronan as young kids, acting like brothers in their complicated Lynch family way. Linking that youthful Declan with the Declan in the new series is surprisingly easy.

While I was staying with my parents and sister, I found a stack of books my sister had checked out from the library. On the top was Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village. I was immediately intrigued.

I have to say, I’ve never been so entertained while almost being murdered.

This book has a definite Lemony Snicket feel to it, but it definitely has its own twist. It’s a very clever book, too, though it’s short. Can’t wait to go to a Murder Village when I finally take a trip to the English countryside (which is actually a thing I want to do.) This guide takes you on a tour of the Village and the Manor, introduces you to the residents of both, and explains the traditions/events that go on in an extremely amusing manner, especially if you’re familiar with the tropes of cozy mysteries. The illustrations are to die for. (Sorry, I’ll see myself out…)

Speaking of mysteries, I am finally caught up with Karen M. McManus’s books (besides the one that literally just came out). I love listening to her books on audio because they’re always so well done. And she never disappoints me. Her YA thrillers/mysteries are always fun to read.

I have three main things to say about Two Can Keep a Secret, which is about a pair of twins who are forced to move to their mother’s childhood home in a small town where their aunt went missing. And now another young woman has gone missing, and the main suspect of the last murder is back in town. Okay, onto my three comments:

1. Some things were easy to predict but the actual culprit I couldn’t narrow down to one person. But when they were revealed—damn I was shook and also kinda horrified. 

2. There is one scene that I found a little over the top compared to other parts of the plot. But other than that it had good pacing and the atmosphere was perfect for the story. 

3. Malcolm (the previous murder victim’s ex-boyfriend’s younger brother) is such a good character. He subverts the “teenager tries beer for first time and hates it” trope by just going for it. He asks a date to go to a clown museum with him. He’s horrible at sleuthing. He can forgive someone thinking he might be a murderer. And he really knows how to smooth over a conversation even if he’s super uncomfy. 

P.S. Murderland, the name of the town’s theme park, is super on the nose but, like, was I mad at that? Not even a little. 

Now, onto The Cousins, which is definitely my favorite KMM book so far. This had a definite We Were Liars feel to it–rich family, secluded island, deadly secrets, etc. But with KMM’s writing instead of e. lockhart’s. The vibes were pretty different is what I’m trying to say. 

It took me a minute to get into this book, but once I did, I was hooked. Karen M. McManus has mastered the art of the end-of-chapter cliffhanger and it made me so furious but also, like, kudos to her for being able to do that several times throughout the story without it seeming like a gimmick.

Damn, I can’t say I saw that ending coming. Wow. Twist after twist coming at me like hail in a hailstorm. Although, I don’t spend a lot of time in hailstorms (that is to say that I don’t read a lot of mystery/thrillers), so my awe at the big twist should be taken with a grain of salt. I just thought it was so clever.

Also, this audiobook’s narrators were particularly good at bringing the characters to life, and their imitations of other people speaking weren’t too over the top, which is something that always bothers me. 

I read a black-and-white ARC of Incredible Doom, Vol. 1 randomly one night. It was an alternative lifestyle, punk rock, early Internet story that actually had non-white characters. A miracle! The book was good, especially with its use of chat rooms to create community, but I can’t say I was intrigued enough to keep going in the series.

Zen Is Right Now is an ARC that was given to me with a note describing it as “approachable mindfulness and compassion. Yay encouraging the good.” I would say this book is more like a loose collections of stories and sayings involving and attributed to the Zen master Shunryu Suzuki. Some stories were funny, some confusing, some profound, and some all of the above. If I were a practicing Zen Buddhist, this would probably be a book I would reread or leave on my nightstand, but even though I’m not, I did get something out of the book.

The last two books I have to discuss were found in the nonfiction section of my favorite public library. I was enjoying myself and wandering around the British/Irish/Scottish/Welsh/English history section and grabbed a bunch of books, walking away with the two discussed below plus a book about the network of passages under London, which I haven’t read yet.

For some reason, I really enjoy reading Irish literature, which is why I chose Gather Round Me in my library quest. It was fun to read if difficult at times. I liked that the editor compiled the poems as if they were describing a day, from morning to night. It’s a clever way to put them together. For a random book of traditional Irish poetry I found at the library, I’d count it as a success!

I’m now also really intrigued by “dinnseanchas,” which the editor describes as “the lore of place-names.” Because I just finished rereading The Raven Cycle, I couldn’t help but think about the Welsh equivalent of this idea that is so prevalent in Gansey’s search for Glendower. It’s definitely something that I think would be fun to look further into.

Jane Austen’s The History of England, as the subtitle suggests, is a cheeky take on an apparently popular series of books read by students at the time. This book offers a facsimile of teenage Jane Austen’s take on English history. Jane’s sister Cassandra drew some just as cheeky portraits of the Kings and Queens of England Jane discusses.

I think I would have found this funnier with a better understanding of British history, but nevertheless, Jane Austen’s sarcasm amused me to no end. It was also fun to read the text in Jane Austen’s handwriting (with the aid of the included transcript). It’s definitely the work of a teenager who was tired of school (for the moment, at least) and wanted to poke a little fun at the seriousness of it all. 

This month’s reading felt dominated by The Raven Cycle even after I’d finished my reread, and I couldn’t help but try to group things together in my head. If it wasn’t a mystery (which included The Guide and KMM’s books), it was going to be grouped together with TRC—especially because this series can be profound (like Zen Is Right Now), poetic (like Gather Round Me), and historical (like Jane Austen’s The History of England). It even centers a tight-knit group of friends living “alternative” lifestyles (like Incredible Doom).

I always feel like TRC clings on longer than other books I read, which makes a lot of what I read next feel mediocre. In order to curtail this, I’m starting December with Our Violent Ends, which  will be a new favorite if it’s anything like the first book in the duology. Let’s see what the last month of 2021 brings!

*This post was written quickly, so apologies for any errors!