In order of interest:
Red Clocks by Leni Zumas
In this ferociously imaginative novel, abortion is once again illegal in America, in-vitro fertilization is banned, and the Personhood Amendment grants rights of life, liberty, and property to every embryo. In a small Oregon fishing town, five very different women navigate these new barriers alongside age-old questions surrounding motherhood, identity, and freedom.
I don’t know what took me so long to finally pick this book up. No. Wait. I do. Everything about this book sounded very promising, and I’ll admit the prose is beautiful and strange and - dare I say - witchy? But. I’ve always struggled with multiple narrators. Let’s just I’m very skeptical.
The Round House by Louise Erdrich
One of the most revered novelists of our time - a brilliant chronicler of Native-American life - Louise Erdrich returns to the territory of her bestselling, Pulitzer Prize finalist The Plague of Doves with The Round House, transporting readers to the Ojibwe reservation in North Dakota. It is an exquisitely told story of a boy on the cusp of manhood who seeks justice and understanding in the wake of a terrible crime that upends and forever transforms his family.
I’ve been meaning to get to this one for a while now. It’s been so long since I’ve heard about it that I’ve completely forgot what it’s even about. If anything, I know I can expect it to be incredibly uncomfortable, unnerving and very sad.
Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton
Margaret the First dramatizes the life of Margaret Cavendish, the shy, gifted, and wildly unconventional 17th-century Duchess. The eccentric Margaret wrote and published volumes of poems, philosophy, feminist plays, and utopian science fiction at a time when “being a writer” was not an option open to women. As one of the Queen’s attendants and the daughter of prominent Royalists, she was exiled to France when King Charles I was overthrown. As the English Civil War raged on, Margaret met and married William Cavendish, who encouraged her writing and her desire for a career. After the War, her work earned her both fame and infamy in England: at the dawn of daily newspapers, she was “Mad Madge,” an original tabloid celebrity. Yet Margaret was also the first woman to be invited to the Royal Society of London—a mainstay of the Scientific Revolution—and the last for another two hundred years.
It’s not October if we’re not going to sit back and read something creepy, am I right? Well, Margaret the First doesn’t sound necessarily creepy but it has the makings of a great fall read. Essentially Margaret the First is a reimagining of the very real historical figure Margaret Cavendish. It’s bound to be a bizarre, whimsical and magical read perfect for the fall season!
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter.
It has been centuries since the fall of the ten consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor that transform ordinary men into near-invincible warriors. Men trade kingdoms for Shardblades. Wars were fought for them, and won by them.
I’m not going to spend too much time talking about this book and why I want to read it. I included this one in September’s TBR which you can check out here. Anyway yeah. As you can tell I didn’t get to this one last month and I’m looking forward to reading it this month. Honestly though, it’s a chunky read and I’ll admit I’m not so sure I’ll have it read by the end of this month either.
A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos
Long ago, following a cataclysm called “The Rupture,” the world was shattered into many floating celestial islands. Known now as Arks, each has developed in distinct ways; each seems to possess its own unique relationship to time, such that nowadays vastly different worlds exist, together but apart. And over all of the Arks the spirit of an omnipotent ancestor abides.
I really hope to get to this book this month but I can’t be so sure! This is a YA fantasy novel and if there’s anything you should know about me, it’s that I don’t read YA. A Winter’s Promise is the only exception. It sounds absolutely magical, atmospheric and beautiful. I’ve heard nothing but good things about it and I’m very excited to pick it up as soon as I can.
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