Showing posts with label Discworld. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Discworld. Show all posts

#IMWAYR April 26, 2021

  Hello out there. It's #IMWAYR time again, when readers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to in the past week. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. Whatever you are looking forward to in your next great read, these are fabulous places to start your search.

In March I started doing morning pages and in April that turned into poetry writing. Poetry is much harder to write. Some days I'm lucky to get one or two lines that I can live with. 

Other than that, I've been outside working in the garden. So far we have beans, peas, lettuce, shallots, onions, beets, carrots and potatoes planted. The weather turned a bit chilly last week so all we did was get the rest of it ready for when it's warm enough to put the rest of the seedlings in. 

My partner and I are excited to be getting our first jab today. 

I've posted the #MustReadIn2021 update link! You've got a couple of weeks to post your optional update if you are participating. 

Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian or Indigenous Canadian Author and or Illustrator. 

Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book. 

BLOG POSTS FROM LAST WEEK

ROAR-chestra! by Robert Heidbreder & Duýan Petričić 

#MustReadIn2021 April Update

PICTURE BOOKS

 
I can't decide if this should be fiction or nonfiction. On the one hand it teaches musical terminology, and on the other, it involves an orchestra of wild animals. The important thing about it is that it's brilliant! If you want a peek at more of the illustrations check out my full review here. 


A storm capsizes a boat. It seems like the only survivor is a duck egg that hatched inside an open violin case. When the duckling spies a floating violin he swims towards it and imprints. What follows is a series of magical, musical events.
The art in this one is bloody gorgeous! It’s so brilliant that after being immersed in the imagery of the storm, it was hard to return to the story and accept that anything or any living being could survive.

If possible I love this even more than Jabari Jumps. Everything I loved about it is here in this one, plus more. Not only does Jabari have a thoughtful supportive father, he's got a younger sister who wants to be part of whatever it is that Jabari does. In his persistent attempts to build a flying machine, Jabari learns that help and inspiration is there if you look and listen.

5 stars

The Old Truck by Jarrett Pumphrey January 7, 2020

This is one of those picture books to read more than once. It's a story of change and rejuvenation. It begins with a family of farmers and their truck. We see the members of the family age and grow up over time until eventually the truck wears out and is abandoned. Then a new farmer (maybe the original farmer's daughter) comes into the picture. She gets the old tractor running and then goes to work on the truck. Soon the farm and the old truck are back at work. 
I'm thankful to Linda Bai for telling me about this book. 

4 stars

Owls Are Good at Keeping Secrets: An Unusual Alphabet by Sara O'Leary & Jacob Grant (Illustrator) December 4, 2018  🍁

The animals in this book are presented in alphabetical order. Each page tells something about that critter. Did you know that, "Alligators think you'd like them if you got to know them?" I was happy to read that "jellyfish don't care if you think they look funny when they dance."
Jacob Grant's illustrations show each creature delightfully. But what I most like about this book is how much I can connect to each of these animal's secrets. I think younger folks will too.

This chapter book tells the story of two young Syilx girls growing up in the Okanogan Valley before contact with white people.
It cycles through the seasons of one year. We learn how the people gather different kinds of food and prepare it so it will be there for the winter when they need it. Integrated into the story is a relationship of respect for one another and the environment.

NOVELS


David Levithan looks at What might have happens after the children returned from the land of' Narnia.
Lucas' brother Aiden disappeared for six days. Then he suddenly reappeared in the family's attic. He claims to have been in the land of Aveinieu. Lucas believes him because Aiden returned with a blue, diamond shaped leaf in his hair. He's the only one.
4 stars

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig August 13, 2020

This was a lovely book to listen to. Carey Mulligan's narration was brilliant.

Nora Seed attempts to kill herself, but ends up in 'The Midnight Library" where she gets to experience what her life might have been like had she made other choices. Somewhere in the middle of it I figured out how it was going to end, but that didn't stop me from wanting to find out how it would get there.

ADULT NON FICTION


This is a sad book to finish on Earth Day. Here are a couple of quotes that tell you what the book is about. 
“Right now we are in the midst of the Sixth Extinction, this time caused solely by humanity’s transformation of the ecological landscape.”
“in pushing other species to extinction, humanity is busy sawing off the limb on which it perches.” Paul Ehrlich
It's been seven years since this was first published. I hate to think how much more devastation our species has wrought since then. 

DISCWORLD NOVELS


Commander Sam Vimes and his family are on vacation in the country at Lady Sybil's ancestral lands. He doesn't get much rest. There is a murder to solve, corrupt politicians to deal with, and the matter of the oppression of the goblins to resolve. While Pratchett's humour is here in this one, it's less pointed than it is in other novels. Perhaps that is just me knowing that this is the last Sam Vimes novel.

CURRENTLY 

This is what I have on the go:

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett (I actually finished it and started it all over again) 
Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne, Elizabeth Acevedo, Olivia Gatwood & Theodore Taylor III (Illustrations)
Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth
Tremendous Things by Susin Nielsen 

UP NEXT

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
The Electric War: Edison, Tesla, Westinghouse and the Race to Light the World by Mike Winchell
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel 

BLOG POSTS NEXT WEEK

Scaredy Squirrel In a Nutshell by Melanie Watt
1, 2, 3, Off to School! by Marianne Dubuc
Tremendous Things by Susin Nielsen

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

#MustReadIn2021 8/25 one in progress

#MustReadNFIn2021 4/12 

#MustReadPBIn2021 26/100 

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 15/25

Books by Canadian Authors: 36/100

Canada Reads 2021 4/5 

Discworld Series 39/41 

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 156/333

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#IMWAYR April 19th, 2021

 Hello out there. It's #IMWAYR time again, when readers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to in the past week. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. Whatever you are looking forward to in your next great read, these are fabulous places to start your search.


I'll be posting the #MustReadIn2021 update link this week so stay tuned!

Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian or Indigenous Canadian Author and or Illustrator. 

Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book. 

BLOG POSTS FROM LAST WEEK

Alice Fleck's Recipes for Disaster by by Rachelle Delaney

PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

Ten Little Dumplings by Larissa Fan & Cindy Wume (Illustrations) Jan 05, 2021  🍁

Larissa Fan's father was one of ten boys. This is a fictionalized account of them growing up in Taiwan. If one boy was considered lucky, then imagine how lucky the family was to have ten of them! If you look closely you will see that there is one other child in the family.
I like that this story begins as a narrative about the boys, and then turns into a story about that other child. I like that it is based on real people.



5 stars

Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor Feb 2, 2021

Mel is a brave little kingfisher who is determined that today is the day she will fly. She might even catch her first fish.


Since I retired I've lost track of Messner's Over and Under series. I'm glad to read this one. It makes me want to visit Costa Rica (except for the spiders, snakes and crocodiles.) I love the illustrations and the additional information in the back matter. For readers who live near Vancouver Canada, you can visit the different levels of a northern temperate rainforest and walk across similar hanging bridges at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.

NOVELS


If you are looking for books that deal with fat shaming, add this and My Body In Pieces to your library.
Ellie has always been a large sized kid. She learned at an early age to hate her body. The shame and bullying she experienced from her mother, her siblings, kids at school, and doctors was internalized. Her mother has had her on diets since before she started school.
Thankfully Ellie has two people on her side. When a new family moves in next door, Ellie becomes friends with Catalina, their daughter. Catalina's whole family accepts Ellie just as she is. Ellie's father is also supportive.
When her mother wants her to undergo bariatric surgery, her father intervenes. Arrangements are made for Ellie to see a therapist instead of a surgeon. The therapist helps Ellie start to love and accept herself. Then she helps her confront her mother.

I know this is a children's novel, but it's probably as important that parents and other adults read it. The obscenity of diet culture and fat shaming of others and ourselves has to stop.


Harmony and Robert are two grade eight students in hard situations. Although it's never acknowledged, It seems like Robert's single parent father is bipolar. Harmony's mom is an addict and alcoholic. They meet when Robert is asked to look after Harmony, a new student, and show her around the school. After an inauspicious first day the two become best friends. Harmony is in a good foster placement situation, while Robert, who lives with his father, is essentially on his own. In the end they save each other.
I adored these characters and you will too. I love the humour, the angst, and the honesty of this book.
I didn't know til reading the author's note at the end that this is based on Eric Walters' life. Harmony is also a real person. The two of them have remained friends to this day.
 
3.5 stars

The Midnight Bargain by C.L. Polk & Moira Quirk (Narrator) Oct 13, 2020  🍁

I'm not sure I would have picked this up if it wasn't a Canada Reads (CR) contender this year. It's a feminist, romantic, historical, fantasy set in an alternative regency England.
I almost abandoned this in the early part of it, but persevered because getting to CR is high praise. I ended up finishing it because I became so invested in the characters.
Beatrice Clayborn's family is on the edge of penury. If she doesn't find a suitable match in her 'bargaining' season, the family will be ruined. Beatrice has no desire to be wed because it means she will have to give up her goals for magic. Even when the man of dreams, Ianthe, wants to marry her, she refuses.
I like the magical parts of this book. I especially liked Nadi, Beatrice's spirit. It was a bit hokey in places, but overall a fun read.
The narration was delightful. Moira Quirk is also the narrator of Gail Carriger's series: Finishing School, and Custard Protocol. If you liked those you will like this. 

Alice and her father end up on a cutthroat cooking show set against the backdrop of a Victorian Fair. The week away from home provides all kinds of opportunities for Alice to become a different person. All it takes is a little courage, determination, and willingness to look deep within herself. 
Warning! At the end of this book you might want to dig out your stand mixer and start to cook. You can read my full review here. 


This is a sequel to Going Postal. I liked getting to spend time with Moist von Lipwig and his girlfriend Adora Belle Dearheart and her Golem Trust. This time Moist ends up as acting Chairman of a bank, the actual one being the previous Chairman's dog. The bank's corrupt family goes out of it's way to get rid of him. Moist ends up confessing his criminal past to everyone.

I was delighted to see more of Patrician Havelock Vetinari in this one too. I can see why people reread the Discworld, since the more I read, the more I see how convoluted it all is.

CURRENTLY 

This is what I have on the go:

The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert
Woke: A Young Poet's Call to Justice by Mahogany L. Browne, Elizabeth Acevedo, Olivia Gatwood & Theodore Taylor III (Illustrations)
Snuff by Terry Pratchett
Apple: Skin to the Core by Eric Gansworth
I've read ROAR-chestra! by Robert Heidbreder couple of times and will have a blog post about it next week. 

UP NEXT

A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus
Tremendous Things by Susin Nielsen
The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as Told to His Brother) by David Levithan

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS

#MustReadIn2021 8/25 one in progress

#MustReadNFIn2021 3/12 one in progress

#MustReadPBIn2021 22/100 

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 14/25

Books by Canadian Authors: 36/100

Canada Reads 2021 4/5 

Discworld Series 39/41 

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 144/333

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#IMWAYR March 29, 2021

Hello out there. It's #IMWAYR time again, when readers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to in the past week. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. Whatever you are looking forward to in your next great read, these are fabulous places to start your search.

Today's post is two weeks of reading. 
It's been a time. We rushed around like mad last week to get the house ready for our two sons and oldest grandkids who came for a four night sleepover. I sewed matching outfits for the grandkids and me, but forgot to get a photograph of all of us together. 
I've been going to physiotherapy for my knee and back. I've been stretching, exercising, and starting to take small walks. I've also been eating too much junk food. 
This week I am planning for life to get somewhat back under control. 
I'll probably wait to give up sugar until after April 1, when my husband and I celebrate 44 years of married life. 

Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian or Indigenous Canadian Author and or Illustrator. 

Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book. 

BLOG POSTS FROM LAST WEEK

My Body in Pieces by Marie-Noëlle Hébert & Shelley Tanaka (Translation)

Butterflies Are Pretty ... Gross! by  Rosemary Mosco & Jacob Souva (Illustrations)

PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

Spring Stinks: A Little Bruce Book by Ryan T. Higgins January 5, 2021

I read this numerous times with my grandkids while they were visiting. We laughed out loud again and again.

4 stars

Hug? by Charlene Chua September 1, 2020 🍁

It turns out that there is such a thing as too many hugs. We liked this one.

My grandkids and I read this one over and over and over. It was such a hit that when they saw the ad on the last page for the next installment, they wanted to read it right away.  Arlo is a cocksure crow who's just moved to the city. Pips is a little yellow bird who shows him around. We loved learning about crows in this delightful graphic novel for younger readers.


I wanted to love this more than I do. I read it with my granddaughter who was very excited to see a book about a girl, just like her, who had eyes that kiss in the corners. We had fun talking about the girl in the book having a little sister too. Maybe it was because other people distracted us, but the book didn't hold her attention to the end. Perhaps the Chinese mythology was alien to her Korean background?
I read it again by myself when she wasn't here. I appreciate the flowery, lovely language, but wonder if it was too much for my granddaughter? I would love to try it again with just her and me.

Having recently read Silent Spring, I read this to learn more about how Rachel Carson became the kind of woman who would initiate an environmental movement. I was fascinated from start to finish. Interestingly, my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter came to sit beside me and wanted me to read it to her. I was sure she would be bored by the text heavy pages, but she stayed with it, even interrupting me to ask questions.


If all you want to know about butterflies is that they are pretty, then don't read this book. If you wonder if you might want to know more, you can read my full review here. 


Marie-Noëlle Hébert's graphic autobiography addresses her relationship with her body. It's not an easy read. Any woman who has ever dieted and or exercised to try and lose weight, will connect with much, if not all of this book. Read my full review here. 

I've had this book on my to read list for ages and ages and am only now getting around to reading some of Erdrich's work. I wish I hadn't waited so long. My grandmother's people, the Menominee, are from around the same area. Reading this was like a glimpse into what life might have been like for our ancestors. I'm looking forward to finding out more about Omakayas so I've added the rest of the series to my list.


Tired of his family treating him like a baby, Henry Khoo has a plan. He's going to sneak off and fly solo to Singapore to spend time with his father. Henry's good at keeping secrets. He's been writing a snarky cartoon blog about people at his school. Unfortunately, someone has figured out that he's the creator. 
Before the trip is over Henry does serious soul searching, makes a couple of new friends, learns to stand on his own two feet, and is ready to take responsibility for his actions.


Sunny was born in New York, but now lives in Aba, Nigeria where her parents were from. That she's albino means she can't go out into the sun, can't play soccer, and has to deal with bullying schoolmates. Luckily she has two good friends, Orlu and Chichi. They introduce her to the magical world of the Leopard People. Orlu, Chichi, Sunny and Sasha, another American Black teen, form the youngest ever Oha Coven. They are tasked with tracking down and destroying Black Hat Otokoto, an evil Leopard man who has been kidnapping and killing children in the area.
If I wasn't already a Nnedi Okorafor fan from her Binti series, I sure would be after finishing this.

5 stars

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas & Dion Graham (Narrator) Jan 12, 2021

I pretty much adored this book. Dion Graham's narration was brilliant. If I had access to my copy of The Hate U Give, I'd start it all over again.
It seems inevitable that Maverick Carter will turn out like his father, a gang leader who is in prison for life. Maverick deals drugs to help his mother who works two jobs. Then he discovers that a one night stand has turned him into a father. When the baby's mother leaves the child with him, he has to grow up fast. A supportive neighbour gives him a job working in his store and helping out in his garden so goes straight. Being a parent ends up being the making of him. His older cousin, who's caught up in the gang life, tries to support him emotionally and financially so he doesn't have to be part of it. It's still not easy, and when tragedy strikes, things get a lot worse before they get better. Maverick is tested mightily on his journey into adulthood.

MEMOIR


Between Joe Sasakmoose and Willie O’Ree, I’ve learned a lot of hockey history in the last month or so. Willie grew up in a middle class family in New Brunswick. He experienced racism, but it wasn't overwhelming. He played just about every sport he came across but loved baseball and hockey most. Dealing with racism at a baseball camp in the Southern United States made him decide to make hockey his game. He was blinded in one eye early in his career, but kept it a secret and still ended up playing for the NHL. Willie O’Ree now lives in California, but has retained his Canadian citizenship. 


“For the enemy is not Troll, nor it is Dwarf, but it is the baleful, the malign, the cowardly, the vessels of hatred, those who do a bad thing and call it good.”
I appreciated this book much more this time than when I first read it in 2018. Maybe it's because I know the Discworld and all the characters much better. I've come to adore Duke Samuel Vimes, Commander of the City Watch, so that might have a lot to do with it. In this book Vimes has to deal with racism between trolls and dwarfs, and vampires and werewolves. When an important Dwarf appears to have been murdered by a troll, Vimes has to solve the case before war breaks out. He also has to be home to read Where's My Cow? to his young son at 6:00 pm exactly.
"If you could go for five minutes, then you'd go to ten, then half an hour, a couple of hours...and not see your son all evening. So that was that. Six o'clock, prompt. Every day. Read to young Sam. No excuses. He'd promised himself that. No excuses. No excuses at all. Once you had a good excuse, you opened the door to bad excuses.”

CURRENTLY 

This is what I currently have on the go:
Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor (audiobook)
A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (a book club title)

UP NEXT

My next audiobook will be All Our Relations, Finding the Path Forward by Tanya Talaga.
I'm a week behind on my Netgalley reviews so I plan to read and review Tough Like Mum by Lana Button, The Doll by Nhung N. Tran-Davies, and Rescue at Lake Wild by Terry Lynn Johnson.

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS 

#MustReadIn2021 7/25 

#MustReadNFIn2021 2/12 

#MustReadPBIn2021 18/100

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors 9/25

Books by Canadian Authors: 27/100

Canada Reads 2021 3/5 

Discworld Series 33/41 

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 113/333 

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#IMWAYR March 1, 2021

Hello out there. It's #IMWAYR time again, when readers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to in the past week. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. Whatever you are looking forward to in your next great read, these are fabulous places to start your search.

I am still walking at least six days a week. I'm now up to 8.5 kilometers. I plot out routes to see different parts of the community and country around our small town. I plug an audiobook into my ears and head out. I feel disgustingly healthy, but mostly I am full of joy. In rediscovering the landscape of my youth I'm connected to the planet in a way I never was living in the city. I might even learn to love the prickly pear cactus. 

Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian Author and or Illustrator. 

Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book. 

BLOG POSTS LAST WEEK

Last week I had hoped to read and review a Netgalley title, The Incredible Nellie Bly a graphic novel by Luciana Cimino. It was downloaded onto my device and I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately, the text was painfully blurry at best, and mostly impossible to read.

PICTURE BOOKS

4 stars

Find Fergus by Mike Boldt 🍁

This was lots of fun. I really wish my grandkids were here for me to read it with them. Fergus is a bear who at first is not very good at playing hide and seek. With a little help from the author and reader he gradually improves. Eventually Fergus ends up challenging us to find a list of things hidden in the pages of the book.


Picture books in rhyme are difficult to pull off. This one works - mostly. The structure of the first part is different from the rest and it threw me off a bit. The second time round went better. I do love the idea that when we are loved, that love is with us all the time no matter what we do and where we go. The neon bright illustrations show happy children in diverse families.


To everyone who wrote about this book, I thank you. Gwendolyn Brooks' biography is told in poetry and prose. Suzanne Slade's words are interspersed with Brooks'. Not only are they a joy to read, Cozbi A. Cabrera's illustrations are just stunning.
Reading this makes me want to read more of Brooks' poetry.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

4 stars

Twins by Varian Johnson & Shannon Wright (Illustrator)

This is delightful. When Francine and Maureen start grade six, they end up being in separate classes for the first time in their lives. As the two of them become interested in different things, tension between the two of them arises. It gets even worse when both of them end up running for class president.
I like a lot about this. I like the diverse group of friends. While the twins are Black, it's their twinness that drives the story here. I appreciate that a large component of what drives the problems between the two girls has to do with secrets the family was keeping from each other. Hopefully they all learn to be more honest with each other. This would make a great series. 

4 stars

Measuring Up by Lily La Motte & Ann Xu (Illustrations)

Cici, young girl from Taiwan, has just moved with her parents to Seattle, Washington. While Cici makes new friends, she also has to deal with all kinds of microaggressions. She misses her A-má (grandmother) terribly and comes up with a plan to win a cooking contest so she can afford to bring her to be with them on her 70th birthday. She makes a new friend through the contest and learns a lot from her. I love that she goes to the library for help with cooking potatoes and the librarian sends her home with Julia Child. (We have that book here. Potato pancakes will be on the menu this week I think.) If like me you want to try out Cici's oily rice, you can find the recipe here: https://lilylamotte.com/

NOVELS


Stories are powerful. Terry Pratchett wrote, "People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it's the other way around." This book is about the stories that make us who we are. It's about the stories that don't get told and the stories that do. It's how the stories of our ancestors and countries are integrated into our modern lives.
Two half Korean girls and their Mother return to the small town in Washington State where their Halmoni lives. One one of the daughters, Lily, negotiates with a giant tiger that only she can see. She bargains with it to heal Halmoni, who is dying, but tigers are tricksters who rarely give you what you think you want. In the end, they get what they need.

4 stars

Binti by Nnedi Okorafor & Robin Miles (Narrator)

The only problem with this book is that it's a novela and too short. I feel like I barely got to know Binti and it was over.
Binti, a gifted mathematician, leaves her desert home and people to go to Oomza University on another planet. On the way the ship is attacked by the Meduse, an alien race at war with these people. Everyone except Binti is killed, but she is saved by her edan, a piece of ancient technology she had brought with her from Earth. It enables her to communicate with her captors and she ends up brokering a tentative peace between the two groups. In the process, she is transformed. If the next one had only been available I would have started it right away. I immediately put it on hold. 

DISCWORLD NOVELS


This is my second time reading this. I liked it even more than the first time round. I find this is true with all of Pratchett's novels. The first time I focus on the story arc. The second time I revel in the details and humour.
On the eve of his first child's birth, Sir Samuel Vimes, commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch, gets caught up in a magical storm and ends up travelling back in time. He brings with him Carcer Dun, a psychopathic serial killer. Ankh-Morpork is in the middle of a revolution and both men get caught up in it. While Vimes is trying to maintain peace, Carcer Dun joins forces with the revolutionaries.
There is a saying by Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, "The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same." That's the big idea behind this book, except that through it all, Pratchett manages to make us care about all the individuals caught up in the foibles of history, however flawed they are. (Except for Carcer Dun) The more I read about Sam Vimes, the more I come to adore him - not quite, but almost as much as Tiffany Aching.

I very nearly started this all over again as soon as I finished it. I think it's the fourth time I've read it. The Tiffany Aching series spurred me into reading more of Pratchett's Discworld collection. This one is appropriate for readers from grade 4 up.
While a Feegle is introduced in one of the earlier novels, in this one, we get to really know the 'Wee Free Men.' They are Pictsies, a kind of Gaelic fairy folk. Don't get them confused with pixies or other fairies if you want to keep your teeth. This boisterous bunch of six inch, blue skinned, kilted little people love to steal, drink, fight, and tell lies. This group, the Nac Mac Feegles, make their home in a mound on the Chalk and consider Tiffany to be the witch of the land and their big wee hag.
Tiffany, only nine, manages to rescue Wentworth, her little brother, and Roland, the Baron’s son, from the Queen of the Elves. It is a gripping adventure wherein a talking toad, the Nac Mac Feegles and an iron frying pan play important roles in the rescue.

Three years after The Wee Free Men, Tiffany sets off to be an apprentice to the older witch, Miss Level. In this coming of age tale she starts to come to grips with who she will become. She struggles to fit in with the coven of younger witches led by the bossy, bullying, leadership of Annagramma Hawkin, and ends being laughed at. Tiffany's secret trick of stepping out of her body has attracted the attention of a hiver. It manages to take control of her body and abuses her power.
With the help of the Nac Mac Feegles and Miss Level, they manage to drive the Hiver off. Then Tiffany and Granny Weatherwax work together to put an end to it. The ending is not at all what you might expect.
When the hiver has control of Tiffany, she does the kinds of things that she might think of doing, but would never actually do. When she's finally dealt with it, she takes responsibility for what happened under its control.

As an older reader reading these books, it's like watching a grandchild grow up. It took great restraint not to just start the next one in the miniseries. 

CURRENTLY 

I'm reading a netgalley title, Call Me Indian: From the Trauma of Residential School to Becoming the NHL's First Treaty Indigenous Player by Fred Sasakamoose. I've started Aggie Morton, Mystery Queen: Peril at Owl Park by Marthe Jocelyn. The Pratchett novel I'm listening to is Going Postal. I'm also listening to Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots.

UP NEXT

My partner took my copy of The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert to read last week so I'll start it when he's done with it. I hope to get to Beetle & the Hollowbones by Aliza Layne and finish up the picture books from the library. I now have a lot of audiobooks ready to listen to. The Project by Courtney Summers is next in the queue. 

PROGRESS ON MY READING GOALS 

#MustReadIn2021 5/25 

#MustReadNFIn2021 2/12 

#MustReadPBIn2021 14/100

Books by Canadian Indigenous Authors: 7/25 one in progress

Books by Canadian Authors: 19/100

Canada Reads 2021 1/5 one in progress

Discworld Series 31/41 

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 80/333 

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