Fall Have-Read List

Alas, I meant to post this yesterday since it was the First Day of Winter officially but I had a lovely deviation from my plan for the day. The deviation was to spend the afternoon with my mother and grandmother at the Fredrick Meijer Gardens. They have an incredible train display this time of year, with buildings from all over Grand Rapids built in miniature out of sticks, dried leaves and all sorts of plants. There are also trees decorated in different themes that represent many countries around the world. Both are impressive, and children are highly amused by the train track. It's a great outing, and if you get a membership, you can visit Fredrick Meijer any time you want, which means you can do to the Christmas displays, the butterflies in March, walk the trails in summer, and attend the craft shows in the fall.
I have been trying to improve my reading, and did somewhat better than last year but I'm still far behind what I should be. I used to have the time to just devour books, but without a set schedule in my life, this has been so much more difficult than it ought to me and I have been missing out on a lost of great books. I did read some really fantastic novels though!

Ilyon Chronicles #3: Samara's Peril by Jaye L. Knight

What a surprising addition to the Ilyon Chronicles! There were many twists in here I did not expect at all, and some surprising elements to the plot as well as characters. I appreciated this genuinely original approach, and applaud Knight for staying true to the world and placement of her characters. It was sweet to see relationships strengthen and grow throughout the story, and each character also emerged not just stronger individually, but also spiritually and as a team. I'll bet she had a blast writing Kaden and those dragons! You just can't go wrong with dragons! I think I will stop here for fear of telling you too much. Just go read it for yourself!

A Study in Scarlet, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
You're not gonna be too happy with me for this, but in all honesty this was not my most favorite thing to have read this year. Sorry. I really like Sherlock, but for my first Sherlock Holmes story, it was a rough start. I liked it at first, but that bit in the middle with the Mormons and the Ferriers, well, it lost my interest. It was a clever story, but changing moods and scenes so abruptly totally through me for a loop and I did not finish the book with that delightful, tingly excitement like I just read the best thing ever! I know, I am a terrible Sherlock fan for thinking this.

A Scandal in Bohemia, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
I really liked this one! It was a lot of fun, and didn't take long at all to read. If you haven't tried reading Sherlock Holmes, you should!

The Lady Janies #1: My Lady Jane, by Cynthia Hand

I was not sure how I was going to like this one. I have great admiration for the strong woman who became queen for a (debatable) length of only nine days. It was Mary, Bloody Mary, who threatened to behead her if she did not recant her Protestant faith and accept Catholicism, but the learned young woman refused. Though her ending is tragic, her life of faith is remembered. So, when I picked up this book, at first I was pretty irritated that they flippantly fictionized her life in such a way (erasing all mention of Protestant/ Catholic tension and substituting it with a strange magic that allows people to become animals). However, I also applaud creativity (as long as it is not at the expense of God's Holy Word), and as a story, I do think it was well done. The prose was intriguingly fresh and modern despite that it takes place in the 1800s, the characters well-developed and redeeming. Most of them were open to growth and learning, even if they tried not to be. The world was vivid and new, also intriguing in light of the fact that it's not set in a "new" place or time. I would still prefer a historial fiction piece on Lady Jane any day, that at least attempts to preserve a picture of her as a strong Protestant, but this was a fun, new world to explore.

I also tried something different in order to attempt multi-tasking: I listened to audio recordings of Rudyard Kipling in the hopes that I could finish another classic and some crochet Christmas Stockings at the same time. Although listening to books is still not my preferred method of digesting written words, I think I might try it again sometime. I just need to be sure not to choose long books.
I finished all three of the Mowgli stories from The Jungle Book as well as The White Seal. I wish I had read them when I was a child, because I think I would have been enchanted by them at that time.

What books stood out to you this past autumn? Have you read any of these and what were your thoughts? I'd love to know if anyone else read these same books and has an opinion on them, too!