Reading Women Challenge Selections

I had a comment on my first Reading Women Challenge post asking about if I had picked out books in advance. I did pick all of my books in advance and I am going to share them now with you. I will note which ones I am currently reading and which ones I have finished. Which is an extremely sad amount but I still have time to finish the challenge right?

1) A book by an author from the Caribbean or India:
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

2) A book translated from an Asian language:
Love in No Man's Land by Duo Ji Zhua Ga, Hallie Treadway(translator)

3) A book about the environment:
Water Wars: Privatization, Pollution, and Profit by Vandana Shiva

4) A picture book written/illustrated by a BIPOC author:
Through Georgia's Eyes by Rachel Victoria Rodriguez

5) A winner of the Stella Prize or the Women's Prize for Fiction: 
And American Marriage by Tayari Jones  ✔

6) A nonfiction title by a woman historian: 
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold ✔

7) A book featuring Afrofuturism or Africanfuturism: 
How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin

8) An anthology by multiple authors: 
Hags, Sirens, and Other Bad Girls of Fantasy by Denise Little

9) A book inspired by folklore: 
The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty ✔

10) A book about a woman artist: 
The Passion of Artemisia by Susan Vreeland ✔

11) Read and watch a book-to-movie adaptation: 
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

12) A book about a woman who inspires you: 
Jane Addams: Spirit in Action by Louise W. Knight

13) A book by an Arab woman: 
The Women of Tantoura by Radwa Ashour

14) A book set in Japan or by a Japanese author: 
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee ✔

15) A biography: 
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

16) A book featuring a woman with disability: 
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller ✔

17) A book over 500 pages: 
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon -- currently reading

18) A book under 100 pages: 
Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

19) A book that's frequently recommended to you: 
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ✔

20) A feel-good or happy book:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

21) A book about food:
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

22) A book by either a favorite or new-to-you publisher:
the Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

23) A book by an LGBTQ+ author: 
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier ✔

24) A book from the 2019 Read Women Award Shortlists and Honorable Mentions:
The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esme Weijun Wang

BONUS
25) A book by Toni Morrison:
Sula

26) A book by Isabel Allende 
Daughter of Fortune

Current & Recent Reads

I wanted to write a quick post talking about some of the books I am currently reading and have recently finished. I have been going through a bit of a reading slump that I think was brought on by Covid-19 quarantine so I am trying to be kind to myself and get back into reading without forcing it. If anyone has any suggestions for managing reading slumps as a mood reader(I am a notorious mood reader) I would really love to get some ideas.

First I will talk about the books I have finished reading.

I listened to the audiobook The Five: The Lives of Jack The Ripper's Women by Hallie Rubenhold. It was amazing and I highly recommend it. She does not talk about the actual murders but writes 5 biographies about each of the women and focuses on how history had painted them as prostitutes when in actuality only one of them was. She also really dives into the social and cultural atmosphere of London and public welfare of the time. I read this book shortly after reading the entire Call The Midwife trilogy and I highly recommend reading the Five in conjunction with those books. It paints a fascinating picture of the East End of London and welfare.

I also listened to a couple of Audible Originals. Caffeine by Micheal pollan was interesting to listen to as an avid coffee drinker. He talks about the social and economic development and impact that coffee or rather caffeine has had on specifically the western world. My other listen was The Science of Sci-Fi. I really enjoyed as a lover of science fiction, especially how much the author talks about Star Trek. If you enjoy Sci-Fi I highly recommend giving this a listen.

Now on to what I am currently reading.

First I am so close to finishing Reclaiming The Atonement. It is a bit more of a heavy theological but there have been so many interesting bits in it. I know it is the first book and I am looking for books two and three to add. I really enjoyed Reardon's chapter where he talked about how St. Paul was educated by the tradition of the church.

My other current reads are The Innovator's Mindset which I am reading for work. The author focuses mainly on innovation in education but there are some takeaways I have for my future in social work. My last current read is The Power of Self Compassion. I started this book as it seemed good timing with current events in the world and there are some bits about science and practice. What I am not enjoying is the guided practices maybe there are people who need that but I would much rather read about the science of why and various options for self-practice and then do it on my own. But that is just me.

What are your current or recent reads?

Dark Fantasy

I love dark fantasy novels. Maybe they are a bit trendy right now but I enjoy them. I prefer the setting to explore concepts of morality in complex situations. The darker fantasy book allows for more in-depth conversations about humanity and what makes a person human, who do we see as good and bad. Most importantly though I like the discussion on grey areas.

The Grisha Trilogy has a darker tone and explores some dark themes and Six of Crows has you following some perhaps morally questionable characters. The Savior's Champion is really a true dark fantasy that explores themes of humanity.

However, I think the book that most strongly highlights the complex themes and narratives that I love and really make a dark fantasy novel is Dragonwitch by Anne Elisabeth Stengl so I will be using that book as the foundation for my discussion. Dragonwitch is part of a series that I wouldn't overall characterize as dark fantasy but as an individual book, it is. My favorite line of the book that might actually be one of my favorite quotes ever just because it sets up the novel so well and really establishes the title character.

"Have you ever watched an immortal die? 
             You who have slain countless fey fold, tell me if you dare: Did you ever stand by and watch and immortal death? Did you see the blush of life fade to grey, the light of the spirit slowly wane? You have taken life, but have you seen it stolen from before your eyes? 
                I have" 

This just gives me chills as it really sets up the darker tone of this novel. Previous books in The Goldstone Wood series have had a much more bright tone. Not necessarily light themes but sunnier in the overall tone of the books. Not Dragonwitch. She is dark and you spend a lot more time getting to know the "villain" of the story and their backstory. The other characters that are the good guys of the story also start in a gloomy castle setting.

This is line is also our first introduction to the Dragonwitch who in previous novels is mentioned as a horrible person and a "bad guy", but this line adds another layer to her and adds depth. In the Goldstone wood world, dragons are people or fey who have given their soul to the Father of Dragons. Here we see some of why perhaps the Dragonwitch decided to become a dragon. By the end of the novel, you have a deep sympathy and love for her. Or at least I did. It didn't make her character any better of a person but rather a more sympathetic villain so to speak.

These are the two aspects of this dark fantasy novel that I love the most. There are many other aspects but I honestly need to do a reread of Dragonwitch.

What are your thoughts on dark fantasy? Do you have a favorite dark fantasy book?

My Theology/Religion Book TBR

 This year I made the goal to read 10 Orthodox books that would either relate to theology, saints, or some other way. Because I want to makes sure this goal actually happens I made a list of the 10 books I need to read. I am allowed to read other books in addition to these 10 but I have to read these 10. I find when I make a list and am specific with the titles I am more likely to actually complete.

So far I have read 3 of my goal books and am in the middle of another of my books. I have been going through a bit of a reading slump with COVID going on right now. But here is my list of 10 Orthodox books to read. I will note which ones I have completed and which one I am in the middle of reading. I might give some information on why I picked some of the books as well.

1. Grand Duchess Elizabeth of Russia by Lvubov Miller
I actually really need to get moving on reading this one as I have actually borrowed it from a friend. I always feel nervous borrowing books from people as I am such a mood reader and I feel nervous when I take too long to work through a book.

2. Reclaiming the Atonement: An Orthodox Theology of Redemption by Patrick Henry Reardon -Currently reading
This one has been on my TBR for a while and I was first drawn to it as I am still working through gaining a deeper understanding of how the Orthodox understand atonement and redemption and how it differs from the western understanding. I highly recommend this book so far from what I have read which I am about 80% through. I also ended up purchasing more of Reardon's books because I enjoy is very in-depth but at the same time accessible writing.

3. Bread & Water, Wine & Oil: An Orthodox Experience of God by Meletois Webber
So part of why I selected this one is because I was able to purchase it on audible for an audiobook. I try to either listen to church music on my way to services of a theology book. I also have been experimenting with if listening to theology books will help me to read more of them. I was intrigued by the description of this book however as I am always looking to better understand how Orthodox views of God differ from other Christian views.

4. Orthodox Worship: A living Continuity with the Synagogue, the Temple, and the Early Church -Finished
I got this one as it was recommended to me by Audible but I really was interested by it because ever since I read Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist (Catholic author but so much good material) I have been interested in understand the Jewish origins of Orthodox theology and practice. I feel like I need to reread this book actually as I do not think I fully processed all of the information in the book.

5. When the Church Was Young: Voices of the Early Fathers
Another Audible selection but I recently saw Hank Hanigraf did a podcast on this book so now I am extra intrigued by it. I will say that I am interested in gaining a better understanding of the early church and the theologians of the time.

6. At the corner of East and Now: A Modern Life in Ancient Christian Orthodoxy by Frederica Mathewes-Green - Finished
This one I selected mostly because I find Mathewes-Green to bean and easy to read author and I wanted something a little more soft and easy to read. Perhaps a bit less hard-hitting than other books on my list. It was also on Audible and the author was also the narrator which was very enjoyable.

7. Everywhere Present: Christianity in a One-Storey Universe 
This one I selected because it was on Audible. I can't remember if there was any other reason for selecting this book but I am interested in reading it.

8. The Orthodox Church by Kallistos Ware
My parents read this book when we became Orthodox and I have wanted to read it for a while and it is a bit of a classic in the Orthodox world but I have not gotten around to it so this year will be the year that I read it. I even ordered my own copy to annotate from Powell's bookstore.

9. Resurrecting Easter: How the West Lost and the East Kept the Original Easter Vision by John Dominic Crossan & Sara Crossan - Finished
So I purchased this book from Bookoutlet when I found it accidentally and I was very interested to read a non-Orthodox person's view on Western versus Easter Pascha/Easter. This book also focuses on religious art history which I was very intrigued by. I will say that there were some interesting tidbits in it about the history of how the Resurrection is portrayed. I would recommend this book.

10. Christ in the Psalms by Patric Henry Reardon
I selected this one originally because of the author and it seemed a good one from my reading list, however, after reading his other book I am even more excited to read this one. I am also intrigued by it more now having read bits and gained a better understanding of Christ being in the Psalms and the Orthodox Church's relationship to the Psalms. I am planning to read through the book of Psalms while reading this book as well.

What are some of your reading goals? Do you make specific goals with a specific list of books or do you make a goal and then go without a plan.

Accessibility & Reading

With my reading revival this past year I have also been meditating on accessibility to reading. There are a few different ways I think about accessibility and reading and I wanted to start a conversation and thinking about how we think about reading and how we access reading material.

the first way I think about accessibility and reading is perhaps the one we think of first and as the most "obvious" because of our current social conversations of accessibility. That is how well can people who are differently-abled able to access books. I was at the library last summer and while I was browsing I wondered about why there isn't a section of brail books in regular local libraries? I know that there is a library of brail books in Seattle but what if you don't live near Seattle and cannot access that library? In order to read books do you have to purchase a book in brail? What is the cost of brail books? These were what I have wondered. Mainly thinking about how can we make books more accessible in brail to local communities.

The other side of accessibility and disability/differently-abled that I have been meditating on relates to my own sister. She cannot read herself but she loves books and in fact sleeps with a copy of A Little Princess. She knows that we love Harry Potter and she wants to feel included in having read the books. Now with audiobooks, she listens to books every day. She will talk to me about what she listened to in Harry Potter and will actually re-listen to her favorite books even her favorite parts. It amazed me how much more accessible storytelling became to her now with audiobooks.

The second aspect of accessibility that might be less obvious to us is just thinking about how people access books. I remember growing up when our local library did a Bookmobile that would come to our neighborhood on a bus and my sisters and I could walk to it. It was an important part of my development as a reader growing up. Sadly that program went away and I worry that without it people who live in more rural areas or do not live close to a local library will not have easy access to library books. I also think about how accessible bookstores are both in location and pricing. I certainly do not wish for writers to not earn a living or to have quality publishing but owning books and growing up with books in the house was important to me and I want others to have access to it.

What do you think about accessibility and reading? Do you have any observations?

Reading women Challenge 2020

If you have never heard of the Reading Women podcast you really should check them out. For the past couple years they had done a reading challenge to push you to read outside your comfort zone and to diversify your reading. I have wanted to participate and this year I have decided to do it. Here is a link to their goodreads page with the list of the challenges and a community of people who also might have suggestions for books to full fill parts of the challenge.

Here is the list of challenges!

CHALLENGES
All books read for this challenge must be by or about women. Please note that the spirit of this challenge is not to read books by men.

1) A Book by an Author from the Caribbean or India
2) A Book Translated from an Asian Language
3) A Book about the Environment
4) Picture Book Written/Illustrated by a BIPOC Author
5) A Winner of the Stella Prize or the Women’s Prize for Fiction
6) A Nonfiction Title by a Woman Historian
7) A Book Featuring Afrofuturism or Africanfuturism
8) An Anthology by Multiple Authors
9) A Book Inspired by Folklore
10) A Book About a Woman Artist
11) Read and Watch a Book-to-Movie Adaptation
12) A Book About a Woman Who Inspires You
13) A Book by an Arab Woman
14) A Book Set in Japan or by a Japanese Author
15) A Biography
16) A Book Featuring a Woman with a Disability
17) A Book Over 500 Pages
18) A Book Under 100 Pages
19) A Book That’s Frequently Recommended to You
20) A Feel-Good or Happy Book
21) A Book about Food
22) A Book by Either a Favorite or a New-to-You Publisher
23) A Book by an LGBTQ+ Author
24) A Book from the 2019 Reading Women Award Shortlists and Honorable Mentions

BONUS
25) A Book by Toni Morrison
26) A Book by Isabel Allende

Are any of you doing any reading challenges this upcoming year? If so which ones?

The Lost Queen

I was really excited to read this book and I think I must have misunderstood what it was about. I thought it was a fantasy book that was going to be like an Arthurian legend type. It was actually historical fiction which I also like but at the same time I read it when I was in the mood for a particular type of book and it was not that.

That being said. I had not thought much about this part of history and it is actually interesting to think about the Christianization of Britan. However, the author has this story taking a very negative view of Christianity which is the author's prerogative and I don't actually mind reading critiques of Christianity but I don't particularly enjoy reading antiChristian content that is more focused on bashing. But again this could be a personal bias.

I just don't know if I enjoyed this book or not. I felt like it dragged on a bit and I also wanted to know what was happening. I didn't feel a strong connection to the main character and the story frustrated me at times as well. I also felt like relationships lacked depth which made the love triangle very hard to believe.

I haven't yet decided if I want to read the next book. If I do I think I will do it on audio book from the library if I can. It was a lot of energy to read the physical book and I would rather spend it on a book physical book that I really want to read the physical copy of.

The Waking Forest

I read The Waking Forest over the summer and I am not sure what to make of it. I checked it out because I had heard of it and it had popped up in my Instagram. I had no idea what the book was about and had no expectations. I will admit that the expectations I had were very low. I am pretty sure I wanted to read it because I liked the cover so much.

I was a bit confused by the beginning of this book and eventually figured out the plot. The book seemed very flowy and loose and also very much like a fairy tale. I am not sure it was quite my cup of tea. I prefer more structure and more character development.

The romance that was also in this book felt super insta-love. They met in a dream and then he appeared in the attic later and then they were suddenly in love. I just struggled with the whole premise and how we jumped into the story and I wanted more development. The relationships also didn't feel quite genuine. Everyone was close and loved each other dearly but it felt like there was no foundation for the relationship.

Overall 2.5/5 stars.

Review: The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue

I was skeptical of this book at first even though I kept hearing so many wonderful things about it. I listened to it on audiobook and at first I hated the main character. I found him very difficult to relate to and pretty much a lot of things I don't like, but as the book progressed he grew on me and grew as a character and now I quite like him.

The main character is a bisexual young man in Europe in the 17th century. He is also in love with his best friend. There were so many themes of talking about sexuality, race, and gender and how they all intersect and oppression. There is even some discussion around ableism. Those were fantastic to read about. There is a trigger warning for some strong homophobia and abuse.

The story itself required a bit of a suspension of disbelief there is an also sci-fi-like element and a big mystery and the characters are running around Europe causing all kinds of havoc. I did find myself laughing out loud in my car while listening as the book was so funny. I recommended this book to many of my friends as a wonderful story.

I do wish there had been more talk about substance abuse and addiction and the intersection of those with trauma. Those elements were all there but just not discussed or explored as thoroughly as they could have been in this book. overall this was a solid 4/5 stars for me. I look forward to reading the spin-off sequel A lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy.

Review: The Grisha Trilogy

I finally got around to reading the Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. I am torn on how to rate this. I enjoyed it but it didn't wow me the way Six of Crows duology did. I think this is Bardugo's first series or at least one of her earlier writings but and I think you can tell. I will say that if you want to read King of Scars you do need to read this series or else Kind of Scars will make no sense.

I think the thing that made me the most confused about this book is the religion. I felt like Leigh Bardugo tried to base the religion of Ravka on the Russian Orthodox Church without actually understanding the Russian Orthodox Church or its connection with Russian culture. I cannot don't expect things to match exactly when you are parodying but there were things like the roles of saints and the Apparate that confused me and I was unclear how they related to the church. Maybe it is because I am Orthodox that it didn't make sense and wouldn't bother someone who isn't Orthodox.

I struggled to related to Alina and spoiler I do not agree with Alina and Mal being the final couple. I totally wanted Alina to be with Nicolai because Nicolai was the best character in this whole series. Honestly, the series would be 10 times better if there was more Nicolai. I read through these books pretty quickly so I might need to reread to have a more clear picture of what wasn't quite clicking for me about these books.

Side note: I specifically bought these covers because I wanted the onion domes. I am really disappointed that the new covers do not have onion domes.

Classism, Unions, And North & South

I love North & South. I first watched the 2005 miniseries and then I read the book. I love both versions and think the miniseries conveyed the essence of the novel very well. What most intrigued though when I first watched the show wasn't the romance. Not that the romance didn't interest me or wasn't good, but it wasn't what made North & South just top notch. What made me love North & South was the discussion of labor unions and conversations about class.

If you are unfamiliar with North & South it is set in Milton during the industrial revolution. Specifically, Milton is a town that is made up of multiple cotton mills that are run by a few rich men and then most of the lower classes work for them. The conflict that happens in the book is that mill workers go on strike specifically facilitated by the union leader Nicolas Higgins. The strike is eventually broken but the mill owners are wary of those involved in the union and specifically the leaders. Eventually, Nicolas Higgins and Mr. Thornton (main male protagonist) come to see eye to eye and understand each other. Mr. Thornton is made to better understand the plight of the workers and Higgins becomes less of a radical union leader.

That Higgins seems to compromise his beliefs about workers rights in favor of supporting "masters" more irks me. I can theorize that Elizabeth Gaskell wouldn't want to incite any strong communist leanings and could probably be understood and more of a centrist. She wanted "masters" to treat laborers better but laborers should know their place in society.

As a young teenager, I didn't particularly understand the labor movement or the purpose but reading this book helped me to understand the labor movement and the need for workers rights. That the "masters" lived in luxury and style while their workers struggled to survive in cesspits of filth is abominable. That the "masters" also willfully ignore their worker's struggles and don't listen to the idea that well-fed and well-treated workers make for an overall better profit is frustrating. The themes and ideas from this novel are still relevant today in a society that is more and more anti-union and anti-workers rights.

Review: To Kill A Kingdom

This book originally caught my eye because it was described as a Little Mermaid retelling. I love the Little Mermaid and have loved it since I was a little girl, so of course, I was interested in this book. I will say that the resemblance to the little mermaid is very slight and I would say that the Little Mermaid was more a jumping off point for the story because it is completely its own story and I LOVED it.

The main characters are Lyra who is the daughter of the Siren queen and Elyan who is a prince but also a pirate/siren hunter. Through a series of events, Lyra is punished by her mother and turned into a human and ends up on Elyan's ship with his crew. I don't want to spoil too much of the book but that is the basic framework of the story.

I listened to this book on Audible and I have to say that that also impacted my experience of the book because it was read by two different people for the two different perspectives. The woman who read for Lyra was just amazing. When she read the title of the chapters which was always the name of the character it set the tone of the chapter. When toward the end her reading of the name conveyed urgency and emotion.

The story was quick paced and also explores what it means to be human and also what love is. The is a lot of political drama happening as well. The romance that is in the story is important and part of the plot but I wasn't put off by that. I think it actually added to the richness of the story.

Overall this book was amazing and I would highly recommend picking it up and the audiobook version from Audible is wonderful.

Favorite Reads

I read several books last year but I have to say that my top three favorites were The Savior's Champion, Crooked Kingdom, and Blood Water Paint.

The reason these three I have chosen as my top three favorites from the last year are how they have stood out and how I still think about them.

Crooked Kingdom stood out to be because spoiler it made me cry. I was upset. I still haven't quite got over the ending. It also stood out to me because of the ideas around prejudice and changing one's perspective and ideas about another group of people. The diverse cast of characters is also something I think about a lot. I hold it up as an example of books should be diverse. I hope to read more books with just as many diverse and wonderful characters.

The Savior's Champion stands out to me because mainly that fantastic concent scene. I am still not over it. It just blew me away. It is hard to not be spoiled for any other book and how other author's write about consent. I also really enjoyed the plot of the story and am very excited for the next book the Jenna is writing.

Where to even begin with Blood Water Paint? It is just so unapologetically feminist in every page that I still think about individual quotes. I think about the feminist retellings of Judith and Susanna. I also loved reading Artemesia's voice as she tells her story and the challenges she faced. I loved how the author moved between telling the story in prose and poetry.

What have been your top 3 favorite books from the past year?

No....Sorry Not a Feminist Story

I don't remember where I heard about this story but I was interested in fairytale retellings and this story is a Red Ridinghood retelling. I thought it would be great, there were werewolves which harkens back to some of the oldest versions of the fairytale. It also popped up as being mentioned as a possible feminist read. Honestly, I have never been so disappointed in my life over a book.

Where do I start?

First, let's start with the older sister and her friendship with the 18 almost 20 something-year-old dude. They seemed close it seemed like a logical romantic pairing. But The older sister is disfigured from a werewolf attack as a child. I thought this would be great let's show how disability or conventional beauty doesn't matter. Wrong. Instead at the end of the story, the older sister goes off to happily hunt werewolves by her lonesome. Supposedly this is best for her. I just was so disappointed. Rather than the older sister learning to open up to others and to allow herself to be open to love from another she is just sent off and shooed out of the story to make way for the "real" romantic pairing.

Now we get to the part I really hate. The younger sister. She is around 13 I think in the book and so hyper-sexualized. She also has a crush on the older boy. I say boy but really he is a man a full grown adult. I at first thought okay harmless crush happens. I also as a 13-year-old had crushes on much older dudes but knew nothing would ever happen and that any actual relationship would be wildly inappropriate. Not in this story. Nope. In fact, the two actually "fall in love" with each other. There is no mention whatsoever of the huge age gap or the fact that their relationship is actually illegal in some states. I just could not believe what I was reading.

This book disappointed me on so many levels. It had the opportunity to explore so many much more appropriate and different ideas. I also felt lied to that this would be a feminist read. It was really the opposite.

Review: Furyborn

I keep going back and forth on whether to continue with this series or not. I have to admit it was the hardest book for me to finish. Currently, my plan is to try and continue on audiobook but if the next books never make it to audiobook I don't think I will continue otherwise.

First off, the worldbuilding is fantastic, and the whole concept is really very original. The idea of it was what made me fascinated and want to read it in the first place. Blood Queen and Sun Queen, angels and saints, magic, and all that jazz. It is a well-constructed world. The characters not so much.

I didn't like Elyana. I have no patience for her. I think what frustrated me was that we are told she killed people and did the terrible things she did to survive but I wasn't really shown that. It made it hard for me to believe. Also if she had that kind of talent why not use it to fight the empire in a gorilla warfare kind of way? It wasn't clear to me why she made the choices she did. We were also told that at heart she is a good person but all I ever saw was a selfish person who was willing to sacrifice the lives of hundreds of people who were fighting for a cause of justice just because she couldn't deal with facing the suffering of people and selfishly wanted to just do her own thing. I just have not patience for that kind of character.

As for Rielle, I actually related to her way more. She seemed like a much more complicated and interesting character and I actually felt like her actions told me more about her as a person. Where we are told things with Elyana but never shown all of Rielle is shown through her actions. I want to like this book so bad but I disliked one of the main characters so much that it makes it hard for me to want to continue reading.

Another thing that irritated me is Elyana not believing the "big reveal" when it is revealed to her. Honestly, I knew it by chapter 3. So for a character to not believe and willfully not is just irritating as a reader. It is so obvious to literally the reader and every other character but Elyana didn't want the believe it and flat out refused.

Have you read Furyborn? What did you think?

Healthy Relationships Please

I don't understand this fad to have toxic, abusive, and manipulative relationships in books? I think they are supposed to be so romantic and such but really they are incredibly problematic. I am very tired of reading about them and would very much like to read about a healthy relationship between adults who respect each other.

If what you want is conflict in a relationship you don't have to make it toxic to create conflict. Even healthy relationships have conflict, it is the nature of being in a relationship with another human being. What we need are examples of healthy couples working through conflict with each other. Do I expect partners to treat each other perfectly all the time? No. But do I expect them to own up to their faults and ask forgiveness and work through the issues like adults in a healthy relationship would? Yes.

There are so many examples of unhealthy, toxic, and abusive relationships in media that girls read about and see, and they are told that this is romantic and how they should expect to be treated. I am tired of this. I want to see women in books who stand up to men who are horrible to them and treat them like sh*t. I want them to say that they are better than that and will find better. Girls need examples of women setting boundaries and speaking up for themselves. Boys need to see that treating women horribly isn't acceptable and won't be tolerated.

I mostly want to see examples of healthy relationships in action. How partners would actually treat each other. No emotional manipulation, no controlling behavior, and mutual respect. Is this really to much to ask from writers?

Review: Middlemarch

I first watched the BBC production of Middlemarch and was fascinated by the story. It intrigued me enough that I knew I would want to read the book eventually. However, I found the size of the book and that it was a classic to be a bit of a problem. I struggle with really long classical books (see Charles Dickens).

As I have said before I started and Audiobook journey and this was one of the books I picked up to listen too. It did not disappoint. I greatly enjoyed the plot.

I will say that it is a 35-hour long book. It takes a lot of time to read through and listen. The plot takes a while to take shape and there are many characters to follow with many different stories. I will admit that I got lost a few times and had to remind myself who was who and who was in love with whom.

Dorothea was an interesting character and the introduction of the book was in fact quite feminist. In the discussion of how women were expected to behave and what was expected of them. I got annoyed with a few characters who I thought were ridiculous and had no clue about how the real world worked. Just out of touch with reality.

I am going to look for more books by George Eliot in the future.