Sarah Jamila Stevenson's Blog: Blog - Sarah Jamila Stevenson, page 5
January 14, 2025
January 12, 2025
Winter Reading Recap
I’d been meaning to read The Book of Stolen Dreams by David Farr for a little while—it was one of those titles that languished for a bit in my saved list on the library app. Better late than never, since I really enjoyed it and thought it was delightful. This MG fantasy adventure reminded me a bit of Philip Pullman or Joan Aiken with a dash of Lemony Snicket. Told from the alternating viewpoints of siblings Robert and Rachel, the story follows the two as they flee the rule of a power-grubbing tyrant and race to keep a magical book out of his hands. The grimness of the setting and larger-than-life adventure kept me turning the pages, and I’m pleased that there’s a sequel I haven’t read yet.
I was intrigued by Liar’s Test by Ambelin Kwaymullina, a YA fantasy by an Aboriginal author—I hope more such books enter the market, though that may be a long shot. With this particular book, I was very intrigued by the many elements clearly inspired by Aboriginal beliefs and traditions. Main character Bell Silverleaf is determined to restore the status of her people, the Treesingers, when she’s unexpectedly thrown into a competition to rule the kingdom—the Queen’s Test. If she can win the Trials, she will be the ruler of the Risen—the very people who invaded generations ago and oppressed the Treesingers. Is that what she wants? Does she want to win the game, or upend it entirely? I really liked a lot about this book—it was fast-paced, the fantasy elements were novel and kept me engaged, and the secondary story about friendship and trust had a lot of warmth to it. I actually think this story needed to be a bit longer, though—the world-building was fascinating enough that I wanted a bit more time and detail invested in it here and there. Also, I felt like we could have gotten to know the narrator a bit more deeply, particularly before the Trials began. I wanted to feel more connected to her and her world. Overall, though, I found this to be an interesting read with a fresh approach. Here’s a fascinating interview with the author on The Nerd Daily.
On a very different note, I finally (she said sheepishly) read Sing, I by Ethel Rohan, who was in the same creative writing MFA program with me and Tanita. I’d classify the genre as literary women’s fiction, perhaps. The book is set in Half Moon Bay, a seemingly idyllic coastal California town—one which was rocked by a recent real-life tragedy less than two years ago, a fact which had uncomfortable resonance as I read. Main character Ester Prynn (YUP) is kind of muddling along in life, her marriage unsatisfying, her teenage son increasingly remote. Then the convenience store where she works gets robbed by a gunman wearing a mask (the implications of masks are an interesting theme lurking in the story) and it turns seemingly everything in her life upside down as she comes to terms with what she suffered and witnessed. The gunman isn’t caught, and continues to commit crimes, which only worsens Ester’s anxiety and existential restlessness. At the same time, her world is expanding and growing as she joins a local women’s choir, meets new friends, and finds a new job as a restaurant hostess. A brush with work romance opens her eyes to what could be, but also to what she already possesses.
Source: Dispatches From Wonderland
January 7, 2025
December 17, 2024
December 10, 2024
Big Yikes #156
you too can be a yike$coin gazillionaire!
[LATE POST DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES LAST WEEK]
November 24, 2024
On the Joys of Comfort Re-reading
(I made this post’s featured image using Adobe Firefly’s AI generator. To see the prompt, check out the alt text. I was rather amused, myself, since I was provided with Asian and Black versions too, after not specifying any particular race or ethnicity.) Anyway, on to the post!
One of my favorite fall and winter activities is cozying up with a book while I’m nice and warm indoors—and if I’m truly in need of comfort, I’ll often turn to a much-loved title and give it a re-read.
This is something I’ve done since I was a child, actually. There were certain books I turned to again and again—because I loved them; because they felt safe, like an old friend; because I could escape into them; because I felt as if the stories themselves understood me in a way I couldn’t articulate. In some fundamental way they had become real, and I wanted to inhabit that reality for a while.
I wanted to become part of the story, too.
Instead of being stuck at my dad’s during a required visitation after my parents divorced, I wanted to be James rolling away inside a giant peach, away from Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker, going on adventures and finding friends who understood me. Instead of being plain old boring me, I wanted there to be something special about me. A psychic power like in The Girl with the Silver Eyes. (Don’t ask how many times I attempted in vain to move things with my mind.) The ability to commune with dolphins like in A Ring of Endless Light. There were so many more, too.
I also re-read books when I wanted to laugh.
There have been so many of those over the years. Anything Roald Dahl. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Good Omens. Numerous compilations of Bloom County and Life in Hell.
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I still re-read books when I’m in need of comfort. There are so, so many wonderful books that I’ve read over the years since my childhood and teen years, books which have been become loved and treasured. Books that I turn to when I don’t feel like reading anything else. Books that I want to hug close to my heart. Books that are more than just this one writer’s inspiration—that bring me somewhere compelling and vivid, that turn me into someone compelling and vivid, even if just for those minutes spent reading.
At the moment, I’m re-reading Connie Willis’s Oxford Time Travel books. This is my first actual re-read of these, and it just felt like the right time, as it were. (I’m glad I didn’t re-read Doomsday Book during the Pandemic, though…IYKYK.) I’ve re-read ALL of Tamora Pierce’s series multiple times. I’ve been through the Graceling books at least twice now. (Girls Who Kick Ass is evidently a theme I find comforting.) I’ve been through the President’s Daughter series a few times, most recently last month. I dip back into the occasional Diana Wynne Jones; doesn’t matter which. Any and all are terrific.
So there you go.
What are your go-to comfort re-reads?
Source: Dispatches From Wonderland
November 19, 2024
November 12, 2024
November 5, 2024
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