March Nightstand Books + February Adventures and Episodes
Alas! February has drawn to a close, and now a new month is upon us!
But it was an incredibly fun February is Fantasy Month event! I’m still catching up on READING blog posts, so if I haven’t swung by and commented, never fear, I’ll make it over soon. Thank you so much to everyone who participated, commented, posted, shared photos, and just generally made me feel like not-a-failure for everything being a little different this year.
In fact, I think laid-back worked way better than my frantic hectic posting-every-day, and we shall probably stick to this sort of schedule in the future!
Today, I’m combining my end of the month Adventures and Episodes post with the monthly Nightstand Books post, as we were on a quick and short family vacation over the final weekend of February.
Reading
Whispers from the Depths by C.W. Briar
water-bending powers // people enslaved for having powers/being different // masterfully beautiful ending
You can read my more comprehensive review HERE, but I’m a little conflicted about this one. On the one hand, there were achingly beautiful moments and lessons for today… and this book boasts one of my new all-time favorite quotes (which I’ll share below). But on the other hand, the world-building was a little scarce and the actual story often felt tedious and repetitive as the characters are trying to get out of a sort of maze, and at one point you think they’re out, just to have them end up even deeper inside the maze than they were before.
So, I’m giving it 3.75 dragon eggs.
Hold the blade in your chest, lodged between your ribs so that he cannot harm another. Justice, like crops, requires time to grow. The Heavens bear witness to more than any single man. Trust them as the captain of vengeance, and let the armies serve as their agents when blood must flow.
This is a difficult teaching, the student said.
It is difficult, but it is of chief importance. 'Tis fear, arrogance, and selfishness that cause one to guard their breast from a foe. Fear of who they are, arrogance of their status compared to one's own, and selfishness to hoard one's life for himself. Surrender is not always defeat.
Hear me, son. Rare is the brave warrior who fights while cowards bow. Rarer still is one who bows courageously. The world has plenty of men who will march for conquest, but it lacks men who surrender themselves for the victory of all.
This is more than a difficult teaching, the student said. What you ask is terrifying.
It is, and it is terrifying to the wicked. Violence seizes the day but impoverishes the people. Kindness wins the people, and gives years upon years to the generations. ~C.W. Briar, Whispers from the Depths
Powerful stuff, y’all.
Stars Descend by Kara Jaynes
space elves // mystical marriage bond // vampires // beauty and the beast vibes
I enjoyed this one a lot more than I had expected. The main protagonist only made me want to shake her a couple of times (which is rare for a 1st person book), and I really grew to care about the rest of the cast… enough to immediately buy the second book the minute I finished reading this one). 4 dragon eggs
The Midnight Show by Sarah Pennington
12 Dancing Princesses retelling // really enjoyed the sort of 1920s vibes // well-thought out world, sort of similar to our own, but clearly different // Bastian Dennel the private eye was a great character and I really enjoyed the parts of the story from his POV // Dayo Temitrope kind of struck me as a jerk for most of the book, but I liked that she seemed to be softening later in the story and the friendship that develops between her and Bastian // I also liked the way the 12 dancing princesses were handled so that the cast never got so enormous
4 dragon eggs
Longbourn: Dragon Entail by Maria Grace
Sequel to Mr. Darcy’s Dragon // Pride and Prejudice retelling // this book is where the story began to deviate more from the original with some unique twists and turns // audio book // fantastic narration
5 dragon eggs
Entwined by Heather Dixon
12 dancing princesses // family themes // fatherhood // sisters!
So far, this is my favorite book I’ve read this year. 5 dragon eggs (I’d give it six if I could). I’ll be doing a more comprehensive review of this one at some point.
Writing
Most of my writing time in February was spent here on the blog with my Fantasy Month posts.
I finished listening through Yorien’s Hand and we got the edits all implemented and I hit “APPROVE” over at ACX, so now we wait for their quality control checks. With any luck, the audio book should be available by the end of March.
I finished proofing the files for Minstrel’s Call and sent the request for edits to my narrator. So the major effort of proofing the audio is finished!
Watching
We watched season 1 of Star Trek: Enterprise with the kids, and I am being reminded of why this is my favorite Star Trek show. Oh, I love these characters and the story and just everything!
Derek and I started watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. This is our third attempt at this show, and I said if we couldn’t get through the first three episodes this time, we should just throw in the towel. Several of you assured me that it does in fact, get better, and so we’ve stuck with it. We did manage to finish season 1 and are now into season 2 and it has gotten slightly better, but I don’t think it has any shot of breaking into my top 3 Star Trek favorites.
Another show that I’ve been watching with the kids is Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street (it’s on Amazon Prime). This show is absolutely darling. It’s got some fantastical vibes and honestly reminds me a LOT of Eerie Indiana (anyone else watch that show? It was one of my favorites as a kid). The kids are just charming, and it’s got some good messages interwoven throughout the episodes. I love the solid friendships in this show.
Derek and I were very excited about Young Justice season 3, but sadly, this has not lived up to the first two seasons in any way. The first two seasons are excellent, but season three is far more violent and graphically gory than the first 2 seasons, and the themes and subject matter just aren’t as super-hero-y. The writing got lazy and it’s kind of just turned into X-Men, at this point. Also, halfway through the season they started inserting a lot of content I don’t appreciate and isn’t at all kid-friendly. We will not be finishing or keeping this season.
Life-ing / Gaming
February was our snowy, bitterly cold month. Usually we get the sub-zero temperatures in December or January, but this year they came in the middle of February. This made for some long days inside (as -25 isn’t really idea for playing outside). But it only lasts for a week or two, and then things get back to normal.
We got a good amount of snow, which made everything pretty. We went sledding a couple of times and the kids built some things out of snow. I think there is a snow-woman in our front yard and a couple of squirrel-hotels in our back yard. Every year I want to make snow-aliens and put glow sticks in their eyes… but I never get around to it. Maybe next year. (Or if we get another good snow in March….)
Last week, the temps rose to the mid-40s and yeah… we were running around outside without coats on.
We played a lot of board games in the month of February, so that was fun. I’m looking forward to sharing a few of our favorites with you here on the blog.
Some of the games we played included
Forbidden Desert
Munchkin
Risk Jr.
Code Names (Disney Version)
Dragon Realm
Dungeon!
Sentinels of the Multiverse
Ghost Fightin’ Treasure Hunters
Splendor
Arda Academy is also plugging along and school is going quite well here in the North Woods. We are continuing to use Sonlight for most of our homeschooling curriculum and really enjoying it. The massive amounts of reading and stories suit our family quite nicely.
The last weekend of February we took a short family vacation/get-away to the other side of the state. My cousin and her family run this delightfully rustic resort and it was such a pleasure to get away from “normal” for a bit and just enjoy the scenery, hang out in a beautiful little cabin, play board games, and let the kids run around outside with their second-cousins.
Even in the off-season, it was lovely. The snow-covered woods, the friendly welcome (which I’m sure they give everyone, and not just family) and just getting out of dodge was so so so very good for us. A weekend away from screens was also quite lovely, and left me feeling refreshed and ready to get back to more authorly pursuits.
March Plans
I don’t have a ton of plans or goals for this month. But I am diving back into editing The Orb and the Airship and hoping to at least make a big dent in the 25k words I lost in December. I’m hoping to have this rewrite finished by the end of May or sooner. But I’m taking it slow… trying not to bite off more than I can chew… and other various cliches… and though they might be cliches, they are also true.
I’ve got a few books on my Nightstand (as pictured above) that I’m currently reading and hope to finish:
City of Thirst by Carrie Ryan and John Parke Davis - This is the sequel to The Map to Everywhere, which was one of my favorite reads last year. I started it a couple of weeks ago but got a little distracted by some other books. I need to finish it this month, though, because it’s due back at the library on March 30th.
Snuff by Terry Pratchett - I think this is the last City Watch book (cue hysterical sobbing). I’m going to miss hanging out with this cast of characters, so we can read through this one slowly and just savor it. (Yes, I know there are other Discworld books with fabulous other characters… but there’s a period of mourning to observer when one finishes a series or a character arc).
Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones - This is a re-read for me, but it’s been a while. This is my favorite Diana Wynne Jones book (and the first one of hers I ever read). Cat and Gwendolyn have special places in my heart, and I’m excited to read this during March Magics this year!
The Tethered World by Heather L. L. FitzGerald - This is part of my attempt to catch up on reading all the Fellowship of Fantasy Book Club picks I’ve missed. I’m currently 10 books behind if you count the current March pick (which I am also planning to read this month).
Not pictured:
The Healer’s Rune by Lauritia Matuska - This month’s FoF Book Club pick
Netherfield: Rogue Dragon by Maria Grace - the third and final book in the Pride and Prejudice and dragons retelling trilogy I’ve been enjoying in audio book form!
Your turn to talk! What did you read or watch in February that you particularly enjoyed? Have you read or watched any of the books or shows I mentioned? Play any good board games? To my fellow authors, how is the writing going? What exciting things have been happening in your lives? Any big plans for March? I’d love to hear from you!
Have you played any of the board games I mentioned? I am adding board game reviews to my regular blogging repertoire, which ones would you most like to hear about first?