✎ CS Book Club ✐

[wayhaught]

welcome! laurie anderson halse sounds familiar, did she write speak?

[onion]

welcome! laurie anderson halse sounds familiar, did she write speak?

yes she did! another great book ^^

[OutlawQueen]

Has anyone even read Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore? It's honestly the best books I've ever read. I struck a cord, probably 'cause I was just coming out of a rough time. Also, I've never read a book plotted out that way Jane, Unlimited is. There's a this overarching mystery about what happened to Jane's Aunt Magnolia, but the story isn't linear. At one point in the story Jane gets this choice to follow 5 different characters, then the book splits off into what would have happened has she followed each separate character, and they're all told in different genres: Spy, Horror, Mystery, Fantasy and Sci-fi (no particular order to my listing). You can see how the other stories play out in the background as Jane's different actions effect events differently and the reader gets this insight to what is actually goinging on and what the Aunt might have been involved in.

I event went to panel when this book came out. Convinced my mom to drive me 6h to lower-state New-York (I'm in Canada btw) and missed 2 days of school (but not the online classes lol those would be too hard to make up). It was the best vacation of my life XD.

Anyways I suggest anyone should pick it up.

@blakebelladonna Wintergirls sounds good, I'll keep an eye out for it at my library/second-hand book shop.

[silveriver]

OutlawQueen that sounds like a really cool book! I'll keep a lookout

Sidenote, you can practice your German on me if you like

[_rιyα_]

pizza hat <-- do not remove this!
Username: blakebelladonna
Pronouns: it/its/itself
Your favorite book and/or author: wintergirls by laurie anderson halse
Why is this your favorite?: it captures a young girls struggles perfectly and really hits home for me!
What genres do you like? mystery, fantasy, existential, etc
Fun fact about you: i often fall for the main character of a book if its a girl owo
Anything else?: thank you!

aah wintergirls is such a good book! I think I've read it about seven times, and every time it has such an impact >.<

[onion]

pizza hat <-- do not remove this!
Username: blakebelladonna
Pronouns: it/its/itself
Your favorite book and/or author: wintergirls by laurie anderson halse
Why is this your favorite?: it captures a young girls struggles perfectly and really hits home for me!
What genres do you like? mystery, fantasy, existential, etc
Fun fact about you: i often fall for the main character of a book if its a girl owo
Anything else?: thank you!

aah wintergirls is such a good book! I think I've read it about seven times, and every time it has such an impact >.<

gosh ikr?! honestly my favorite book, ive read it countless times too! every time i catch something i didnt catch before. i just love it so much, i had to get a copy for myself.

and @outlawqueen
you should look in the teens/young adult section for it, its really good!

[Purrsuasive]

pizza hat <-- do not remove this!
Username: kittncakes
Pronouns: she/her
Your favorite book and/or author: Maybe Stephen King?
Why is this your favorite?: I read part of his book IT, and even though I didn't end up finishing it, it was like... one of the best and most interesting books I've ever read.
What genres do you like? young adult, horror, mystery
Fun fact about you: I'm really hard to impress when it comes to reading. Still trying to figure out my one true favorite book/author ;-;
Anything else?: n/a

Since the theme this month is fantasy, I wanted to shout out two books I recently picked up. Wicked Fox by Kat Cho and The Girl King by Mimi Yu. Wicked Fox is about an 18-year-old gumiho (9-tailed-fox) that has to eat the energy of men to survive. She ends up saving a boy from a goblin and falling in love with him. From my understanding, it seems like she'll have some kind of conflict between her immortal life as a gumiho and her affection for this boy. The Girl King is about two sisters of a kingdom and one is the heir. Unfortunately, their father chooses a new heir and basically chaos ensues.

I'm really excited to give both books a shot!

[OutlawQueen]

pizza hat <-- do not remove this!
Username: OutlawQueen
Book name: The Pillars of the Earth
Author's name: Ken Follett
Genre: Historical Fiction/Epic
Stars out of 5: ★★★★★
Your review (at least 3 sentences): (Just copied my GR review because it sums everything up.)
I finally read the 1000 page book about the building of a cathedral! And I can see why there is no other way to describe it. While the driving force of the pot is the attempt to build the Kingsbridge cathedral, what makes this book truly epic is what happens because of it. This book is about grit and determination during a civil war. It is about the humble, everyday people and lords, both affected by the wars of kings and empresses. It's about political manipulation and determination. But most of all it is about all the years spent building the Kingsbridge cathedral, the lives and loves and horrors that went into it.

Like Tom and Jack's attempt to build a vast cathedral that will last until the Day of Judgement, Ken Follet as written a novel of epic proportions. This book was brilliant, complex and everything but boring. There were so many levels to it, from the building of the cathedral to monestarean (is that a word) politics to a romance so sweet and well-developed that it was impossible not to root for. There are an unparallel range and depth to them, and these subplots are brought to like the vast cast of characters. There are vile villains, cunning men of power, strong, independent women and more. The characters were fleshed out and strong and could stand independent of each other, but make the best soup when all poured together. Many of these characters earned my respect as I read, for they were cunning and unafraid, but not flawless.

Follet's writing was so compelling. It hooked me from the beginning, with its very necessary prologue (well I guess you could read the book without reading the prologue, but this is one of those rare books where the prologue becomes important to the plot later on). There was n filler content. Surprising, I know. This book is a literal brick and could be used a weapon if the paperback weren't so floppy (and thus easier to hold and read). Every sentence Follet wrote in the book carried some weight to it, advancing either the main plot or the sub-plots.

Some might argue that the sub-plots outshone the real plots, but I don't believe this. In fact, they drove the main plot forwards. There are many instances where the building of the cathedral would have halted and never been continued if there hadn't been an alternative made possible by a sub-plot. A character that stuck around, or a favour owed. Everything and everyone was important to the progression of the story. Take a minor character away and the whole thing will just fall short. It's like a card house: if you take away a supporting character, it tumbles, if you remove the top cards, it's not complete.

Sometimes I find that men aren't very good at writing from the female perspective, but Follet has that mastered too. His female lead, the Lady Aliena, is easily one of my favourite characters. William Hamleigh puts it marvellously on page 907 "He had ruined her father, [censored], taken her castle, burned her wool, and exiled her brother, but every time he thought he had crushed her she came back up again, rising from defeat to new heights of power and wealth." Aliena is a smart, logical character, unlike her childish brother. She is bound to oath the swore to her father and worked tirelessly to achieve it. She doesn't let her gender get in the way of what she is capable of. But Aliena is still flawed. She's a bit too headstrong and too selfless when it comes to the oath. She can be rash and cold, lashing out at those around her. But she acknowledges her mistakes as well, which in my mind is much more admirable than someone who never slips.

And the antagonists were just wow. Despicable and vile, yet full characters in their own rights. Some are just cunning, power-hungry folk with unyielding goals and a lot of power or plain bullies. But then there's William Hamleigh, the cause of many of Kingsbridge's problems. A man obsessed with honour and fame and has a lethal streak. He is in love with violence and war, loves to exert power over the helpless. William's perspectives were both utterly despicable and oddly interesting to read. He is filled with such hate and loathing that one could practically smell it in the air.

Prior Phillip is that last character to stand out to me amongst the masses. He was so determined and level-headed. His cunningness could almost, at some times, be taken as innocence, luck, and smarts. He so seamlessly manipulated the events to his favour that the characters did not know that they were being manipulated until it was too late. But the Prior is not the enemy here. He is the smart Prior of Kingsbridge, doing his absolute best to make something of the poor town while men like William Hamliegh oppose him at every turn. His quiet way of working events and thinking things through made him one of the most compelling characters out there, and his good nature and love of Kingsbridge and all its people made him loveable and I couldn't help but root for him.

And let's just have a moment of silence for one of the best romances ever. I can't believe the story is over. Another plus for it being so long. I got so immersed in it, in all of it. The lust, the passions, the desire. Both romantically and other. This book is one wild ride through 12th century England.

There are so many more characters and so many more aspects to this book. I can not possibly touch on them all, I'm afraid. You'll just have to take my word for it. The 1000 page book about the building of a cathedral is one of the best things you'll ever read. It appeals to the history buff, but fans of epic fantasy will find this medieval-set epic an absolute gem. Anyone who loves a good political story or a good romance will find something desirable in this brick of a novel. Just try it, you'll love it. If you couldn't tell from this review, I do.

Who would you recommend this book to?: Fans of Historical-fictions, epics, gritty/medieval fantasy and deep romances.
[b}Anything else?:[/b] There are TWs for the book so look into that before you read.

[wayhaught]

welcome kittncakes! i just met someone the other day who loves stephen king. it's not for me but thats ok!!

thanks for the review outlawqueen! i love how thorough it is

[koolkatkoolkat123]

I'm a big fan of King, I'll never get tired of reading The Stand