Contact by Carl Sagan

Fiction

This is a hefty read, but absolutely worth it. The text is small, and the story is long, but I was so consumed with it that I read it in about three days. This is a science fiction classic, and any fan of the genre must have this on their list.

The book focuses around a woman named Ellie. We are with her for the entire span of her life, from birth until she is in her late fifties, early sixties I believe. I loved her curiosity, how she basically devoted her life to her curiosity through her education and career with her love of math, radio, and astrology. She is intelligent, determined, quite stubborn, devoted to her work, and a dreamer. The story is inspirational while also making you feel insignificant. There is a lot of science and math that goes into telling this tale, so if that is your thing you will find a great deal of enjoyment in this. Math has never been my favorite subject, or a topic that I understand very well, but I liked the story anyway. Even when I barely understood something, the story was well told and interesting and I had a great time reading regardless. If you’re worried about making the commitment to reading this, the book isn’t entirely numbers and theories, it is rich in philosophy, with questions about the universe being posed constantly. It is a real thinking book, I found myself pondering over many of the questions that were posed. Also, there is great interaction between our main character Ellie and the people in her life. Ellie has complicated relationships with most people, from the lack of respect and love she has for her stepfather, frustration over her mothers inability to understand what she does, and failing to find a satisfactory romantic partner. You get a sense of the loneliness of Ellie’s life, her work is rich and fulfilling but she lacks connection with people. 

I also loved how obvious the author makes it that he respects women and considers them equals. This book was written in 1985. The fact that Sagan decided to make his main character a woman was the first thing that impressed me. When the main character is growing up and going to school it was during a time when women were not encouraged to go to college, forget about studying anything in the STEM fields. This book really made a statement in those regards. When the story starts getting political, he also chooses to make the president of the United States a woman. 

I loved the entire book until the very end. I feel like the big secret that her mother dropped on her came out of nowhere. By that I mean there wasn’t really any hint of it, no foreshadowing, unless it was very subtle and I just didn’t pick up on it. I guess maybe there is supposed to be a lesson in it or something. I don’t really know what that lesson might be, I am struggling to see it. I can’t say much more without giving the secret away, but I feel like the way she felt about the person in question was justified and the way she felt about the person she had the strongest feelings for were rightly placed. Her father believed in her more than anyone else, he encouraged her and never told her that she couldn’t do something. Although Ellie is very strong willed, I don’t think she would have accomplished all that she did in her life if she didn’t have at least one valiant supporter in her youth. I also couldn’t make sense of the last two pages of the book. Those two pages confused me more than the book in its entirety. I feel myself wanting to go back and reread those two pages over and over until it makes sense. If you can tell me what you think it means, I’d be delighted to hear it!

Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang

Fiction

When I started reading this novel and I learned that it would be taking place in the year 1899, I was kind of bummed out. The main character in this story is a girl named Tillie, and based on what I know about the societal expectations of young, unmarried women during the time I wasn’t expecting the story to be very interesting. Think about how restricted the character Rose was in the movie Titanic, being told how to dress, how to act, who she was allowed to spend time with. Out of all the women on that ship, she seemed to be the only one unhappy with the way she was expected to behave. The unconventional Miss Tillie in this tale is very much like Rose, she fought back against what was expected of women and I loved her rebellious nature. 

Tillie has lived her entire life in the shadow of her beautiful, popular, and kind older sister, Lucy. She does not resent Lucy for being a perfect example of exactly what a lady should be, she admires her and loves her deeply. Her sister has always jumped in when their mother and grandmother made critiques of what they see as flaws in Tillie’s dress and behavior, but Lucy loves that Tillie is so inquisitive and different. Tillie’s one champion, her greatest friend and biggest supporter, goes missing and is found dead a few days later. Tillie is extremely torn from the loss of her sister, and she becomes even more sorrowful and frustrated when everyone around her seems to want to leave Lucy and the brutal circumstances of her murder in the past. Not only do the police seem to have given up on investigating, but her family, friends, and even her sister’s former fiance don’t even want to talk about Lucy at all. Tillie will not stand for this, she is determined to figure out who murdered her sister and why.

I love a rebel, and Tillie certainly is that. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for a girl in the nineteenth century to have done anything in secret. A young, unmarried woman always had to have someone with her, whether it be a maid, a friend, or a relative, they were never allowed to go anywhere alone. And the consequences for sneaking out were severe. It is comical to contemplate what was taboo back then once you consider what was normal when it came to medical care and what doctors would prescribe for various ailments. I found myself giggling with incredulousness at some of the common medicines of the day. I had a lot of fun reading this, and I would definitely read it again.

Gothikana by RuNyx

Fiction

As much as I love deep diving into a series, sometimes I just want a standalone romance novel. This was everything I was looking for. I think the last time a standalone romance left me this satisfied was back when I read Nocticadia many, many months ago. I feel like at this point in time, with science fiction fantasy romance being very trendy, it is difficult to find a good solo book, as I feel like many authors are trying to get on the epic series train. I appreciate the authors that aren’t jumping on the bandwagon and just sticking with writing good stories. RuNyx hinted that there was the possibility of an additional novel in the future, I think that I would be fine if Corvina and Vad’s story ended here. There were mentions of what their future was going towards, and while where they were headed next was definitely something I would want to see, they were planning for something that I know I would not be interested in. 

Corvina is a young woman headed to university for the first time. Although she is a few years older than your typical college student, she has lived a very sheltered, solitary life. Her interaction with other people has been very limited and she prefers to exist in the background. Despite trying to remain on the edges of college society, one person can’t take his eyes off of her. She tries to avoid him, but there is something almost chemical drawing them together. 

So this story contains forbidden college romance, dorming and classes in an ancient, mountain top castle, spooky woods and a placid lake, troubled pasts, mysteries, a secret society with malicious intents, and so much more. I could literally not have asked for anything else  in a book, this had everything I love and everything I wanted. It did contain the much abhorred virgin trope, but I found myself not being bothered all that much by it in this instance. I guess the story was just that good for me that I was able to overlook it. I know not many of you come here and read my reviews, but if you have any book suggestions that are similar to Nocticadia and Gothikana, please let me know, I would love to find more books like these.

The Black Farm by Elias Witherow

Fiction

I think I picked the absolutely most perfect book to start off my reading for this month. Being that it is October, horror and thriller novels are the only ones that I thought would do for the theme. The first chapter was devastating, the couple having lost all hope and having decided to act on the only solution they could think of. The second chapter was disgusting, horrifying, and brutal. I was appalled and intrigued by what was to come if those first few chapters were only the prelude of upcoming misery and terror. What an opening, I was almost dreading what I was going to be reading if the first few pages grossed me out that much. The author was correct when they stated that this book was not for the faint of heart, I could tell that much was true only twenty pages in. 

The first few chapters are indeed the most brutal, in my opinion. But I found myself saying ‘gross’ or ‘ew’ out loud several more times. I was more vocal while reading this book than I have been in a long time. This book literally has all the triggers, it was in turns stomach churning, depressing, violent, graphic, and hopeless. The entire time I was reading it I was thinking that there is no way anything good was going to happen to our lead character or any of the characters in the story. I was honestly shocked with the outcome, because throughout the entire story it just felt like things were leading towards a particularly grim resolution. I found myself wondering if the author was in an ok place when they wrote this, because it seems like only a very troubled mind could have come up with many of the scenes. You will know what I am talking about if you ever decide to pick this up. I would suggest that you yourself be in an ok place mentally when you read this because it can be off putting, and that’s putting it nicely. And maybe don’t read it right before bed. I didn’t have nightmares exactly, just very unusual dreams, when I did read it right before going to sleep. The story just fills you with an awful desperation in your soul along with feelings of dread for its entirety. I don’t know if I will ever be able to find another book like this. If you have suggestions, please let me know! I think that as of right now, this is officially the most disturbing book that I have ever read. Is it sinister that I want to try to find something to top it? 

Better Watch Out by Kate SeRine

Fiction

I have reached the end of this series. The last Transplanted Tales book is a very short novella, less than one hundred pages. And, like the other novella in this series, Grimm Consequences, we get an additional look at two of the lead characters from one of the full length novels. Lavender and Seth have been enjoying a quiet life in the west coast village where they first met. But after five years of peace and happiness, chaos once again barrels into their lives.

It’s a few days before Christmas, and Seth senses that something is off. He thinks that he has just grown a little restless, his entire life before Lavender was spent either on the run, in hiding, or being on the receiving or giving end of violence, he is not used to his existence being easy and blissful. Only hours after opening up to his wife about his cabin fever, his instincts prove to be true when several children go missing. The wolf shifting sheriff immediately goes on the hunt to find the children and those who have taken them. 

I liked getting introduced to even more tales in this very short story, this time they came from Icelandic folklore. One of my favorite things about reading is that when I pick up a book I either learn something new or I read about something that I in turn decide I want to know more about. It makes me excited for all the research I get to do looking for my next read. And as excited as I got at the inspiration to research the tales and stories of other cultures, I found myself wanting more from this series. I feel like more than can be written here, the author said so herself in the dedication. I would gladly read another full length book about any of the characters we have already been introduced to, or entirely new ones. There were two loose ends at the end of Ever After, one being that the Huntsman completely disappeared again, and the second being that Fabrizio is still missing. I would love to see Fabrizio released from the curse that has him trapped in the mirror, that would make an amazing book, I am sure of it. Gideon did mention in the epilogue that they had narrowed down where the mirror was last seen, they need only to track down who bought it. Or, perhaps a book that focuses on one of Lavender’s sisters is a possibility, particularly one about Lily, whom it seems was beginning to pursue a romantic relationship with Merlin.

For now, I will keep my eye on Kate SeRine’s website to see if there is any news about her continuing the series in the future. And while I wait, perhaps I will read some of her other books. This series was definitely worth my time.