Yet somehow Epictetus's father was always cheerful.
"Who had it better than us?" he liked to ask.
"Um everyone?" she would reply.
"We have our health, we have each other" he'd say with a smile.
"I love life and all it brings me. Simple as that"
Ryan Holiday, The Girl Who Would Be Free: A Fable About Epictetus
@bookstodon
Highly, highly recommend the historical fiction series "Olav Audunssøn" by Sigrid Undset (if you can't read Norsk, get the translation by Tiina Nunnally, which is what I have). I've read Vows (part 1) and it already promises to be a highly enjoyable read (if a sad/tragic story). The scenery and the historical setting come alive.
Happy #DecRecs 17, my friends! Today's recommendation is 'Scales and Sensibility', by Stephanie Burgis, a delightful regency romp with magic, imposters, romance, and of course dragons. Incontinent dragons.
@bookstodon Highly recommend the long-running (and still running...i.e. not finished) After Cilmeri series by Sarah Woodbury. It's historical fiction/alternate history set in medieval Wales, where Wales is never consumed by England. Fairly light reading and quite fun!
@bookstodon
I really can't recommend Gordon Doherty's Empires of Bronze series enough - it's written really well and he clearly has done his research. What's really fascinating is that the story is ultimately a sad one - the Sea Peoples essentially end up wiping out most Bronze Age civs (other than the Egyptians), but the story has a hopeful ending. The author also does a great job of separating fact from fiction.
Read COME TUMBLING DOWN by Seanan McGuire if you love horrifying murder worlds, reanimation, lightning, body swapping, revenge, heros, actions having consequences, bone ponies, the last vestiges of sanity, cruel light, killing dark, deep sea terrors & endings.
Oh, forgot to mention--my review of 'The Betrayals' by Bridget Collins (which I've RAVED about on here--you may have seen some toots) is up on Nerds of a Feather!
Heroes do The One Right Thing. With rising fascism, sometimes The One Right Thing doesn't exist; and usually heroes don't either. In this book, we see what happens when weak, flawed people do a small, right thing.
Read IN AN ABSENT DREAM by Seanan McGuire if you love ordinary & remarkable children, goblin markets, birds, besties, delicious pies, wanting & needing, losing yourself in books to avoid the pain of reality, loopholes, pencils, fair trade, being sure, sisters & debts.
Read BENEATH THE SUGAR SKY by Seanan McGuire if you love girls falling from the sky, human statuary, confectionery delights, turtles, quests, soda pop, time travel, spirits, nonsense, mermaids, bones, bakers, and righting wrongs.
Looking for chapter book/graphic novel recommendations for my kids! They're 4 and 2, we're reading a series right now for 6 years and up, so that age is great too.
They like fantasy it seems, we're reading about dragons right now and they love it, but open to anything! Thank you 😊 📚
Found this gem in a free library while camping. Written by King under the alias Richard Bachman, Blaze was released in 1973, shortly before the book Carrie would launch his career. King dusted off the book and published it in 2007...
Anyone else noticing how many stories placed during the pandemic are hitting the new fiction section lately? Really telling of the publishers' general timeline, but damn if I'm ready to revisit to 2020 yet.
where tf are all the dark comedies and witty little satires? need some recommendations
Read VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE by Isabel Cañas if you love interesting vampire lore, supernatural western historical romances, colonialism narratives, sneaking around at night, class dynamics, young love, big dreams, grief, salt, rosemary, coming home, Yanquis as villains, and desert road trips.
Just finished book 4 in the Empires of Bronze series and man it was good. Highly, highly recommend the series. It is well thought out, descriptive (to the point of revulsion at some of the war and torture scenes), and full of twists and turns. It feels like one of those great series where the whole storyline was plotted out well before the first word was put on paper. Absolutely recommend.