Elizabeth Fitzgerald's Blog: Earl Grey Editing, page 45

A More Diverse Universe 2015

In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a sucker for a reading challenge. The very first one I participated in here at Earl Grey Editing was A More Diverse Universe. The challenge is run by Aarti of BookLust, and it introduced me to the brilliant Ambelin Kwaymullina’s The Tribe series. So I was very excited to see that sign ups are now open for this year.

For those unaware, A More Diverse Universe is a very simple reading challenge. It asks participants to:

Read and review one book
Written by a person of color
During the first two weeks of October (October 4th-17th)

The October scheduling for this year’s challenge is a little later than previous years and unfortunately overlaps slightly with Conflux. However, that didn’t prevent me from immediately signing up. I’ve already got a review lined up of Nalini Singh’s Angels’ Blood. I also plan to read the sequel, Archangel’s Kiss, and Thorn by Intisar Khanani during the challenge period. I’m pretty sure Mt TBR has a few more titles on its slopes if I blast through those ones… and who knows what I might pick up at Conflux? After all, as Aarti says:

Reading diversely may require you to change your book-finding habits.  It ABSOLUTELY does not require you to change your book reading habits.

Authors of diverse backgrounds write books in every genre, from science to romance, from urban fantasy to graphic memoirs.  It may take you a little longer to find these books as they don’t always get the same amount of hype and press, but you absolutely can find them.

Aarti also has some excellent resources, including a list of every book reviewed for the challenge since it started. Check out her sign-up page for more.

Will you join us? If it sounds like your cup of tea, head on over and sign up!

Loose-leaf Links for August

Loose-leaf Links is a feature where I gather together the interesting bits and pieces I’ve come across in the last month and share them with you over tea. This month I’ve been drinking quite a bit of T2’s chocolate chai.

Follow Up

Tying in to Pia Foxhall’s excellent guest post about fandom, Alis Franklin (author of Liesmith, my current read) shares what she misses about fandom. Alis also had a few things to say about sanctioned and unsanctioned fanfic in a recent interview.

Awards News

The Hugo Awards were announced last weekend. The results are particularly notable this year, with no award given for five categories. This equals the number of times no award has been presented across the entire history of the Hugos. Also significant was the fact that both the fiction awards presented went to translated works, with The Three Body Problem written by Cixin Liu and translated by Ken Liu winning Best Novel and “The Day the World Turned Upside Down” written by Thomas Olde Heuvelt and translated by Lia Belt winning Best Novelette.

This year’s Hugo Awards received an unprecedented number of votes. Statistics can be downloaded in PDF.

The Gemmell Awards were also announced at the beginning of the month, with Brandon Sanderson’s book Words of Radiance doing very well for itself.

With the Australian National Science Fiction Convention taking place at Contact in Brisbane in March, the Ditmar Awards are just around the corner. If you have work eligible or have read work you think should be considered, make sure to submit it to the 2016 Ditmar eligibility list.

On Diversity

Aliette de Bodard deconstructs the Chosen One trope with particular attention to tokenism.

Catherine Nichols shares what she learned after sending her manuscript out under a male name. The results are somewhat depressing.

Jim Hines breaks down the statistics on convention Guests of Honour by race and gender.

For Writers

Submissions are currently open for Ticonderoga Publications’ Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2015. If you had a fantasy or horror story published this year, you should consider submitting. The editors are also looking for news items.

Along similar lines, a reminder that The Book Smugglers are also taking submissions for Speculative Fiction 2015. The editors, Foz Meadows and Mark Oshiro, are looking for non-fiction reviews and essays on some aspect of speculative fiction. You can submit your own work or nominate someone else’s.

Jodi Cleghorn, editor and owner of eMergent Publishing, is running For the Asking, a 12-week creative writing course and mentorship.

A reminder from Maggie Stiefvater that if you want to be a writer, you have to do the work.

Peter Ball is experimenting with going analogue. So far it seems to be turning out well for him.

A draft program for Conflux 11 is now available. You’ll be hearing more from me about Conflux in the coming weeks.

For Readers

The table of contents for Ticonderoga Publications’ Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror 2014 has just been released. The books is scheduled for publication in October and is currently available for pre-order.

FableCroft Publishing have also announced the table of contents for Focus 2014: highlights of Australian short fiction. I notice many familiar titles.

Speaking of short fiction, Ladybusiness have released the results of their survey on short fiction favourites for the first quarter of 2015.

After the Romance Writers of America conference, Jessica Tripler shares trends in popular romance over at BookRiot. An interesting look at what’s going on in the industry.

Finally, Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) shares a love letter to libraries that resonated with me.

The Foretelling of Georgie Spider by Ambelin Kwaymullina

Published: August 2015 by Walker Books Australia

Format reviewed: Paperback, 446 pages

Series: The Tribe #3

Genres: Speculative fiction, young adult

Source: Library

Reading Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge 2015

Available: Abbey’s ~ Amazon ~ Booktopia ~ Kobo

Disclaimer: This review may contain spoilers for previous books.

A storm was stretching out across futures to swallow everything in nothing, and it was growing larger, which meant it was getting nearer… Georgie Spider has foretold the end of the world, and the only one who can stop it is Ashala Wolf. But Georgie has also foreseen Ashala’s death. As the world shifts around the Tribe, Ashala fights to protect those she loves from old enemies and new threats. And Georgie fights to save Ashala. Georgie Spider can see the future. But can she change it?

The Foretelling of Georgie Spider is the final book in Ambelin Kwaymullina’s series The Tribe. It picks up a short time after The Disappearance of Ember Crow. Ember and the Tribe are safe for now but her brother is still waiting to destroy them. He is aided by the sadistic former government official Neville Rose, who has a vendetta against Ashala Wolf, leader of the Tribe. The future is looking uncertain to seer Georgie Spider as she struggles envision a way through the wide-spread disaster that is looming.

The book sticks to the narrative patterns set out in the rest of the series, creating a strong continuity. Returning readers will know what to expect. The book dives headlong into the action by starting at the ending and then delving into the characters’ memories to show how they arrived at that point. Although I enjoyed this approach in the previous books, there was a somewhat disingenuous note to it this time around that created some false expectations.

Like the previous book, The Foretelling of Georgie Spider is told in first person from two points of view–Georgie’s and Ashala’s. Ashala’s voice has been present from the very beginning of the series and provides an excellent anchor. However, it does tend to overwhelm Georgie’s voice; despite the title, this is really Ashala’s story more than Georgie’s. While this was a little disappointing, it was also handled well. Early on, Ashala herself recognises that something has been going on behind the scenes while she has been at the centre of all the action. The interweaving of viewpoints means we get to see how Georgie has been preparing the way for Ashala. I liked this because it shows that not all heroes have to be flashy and action-oriented.

Having said that, the action scenes were nicely handled and I especially enjoyed seeing some creative uses of the Illegals’ Abilities.

There was a lot going on in this book. Being the final book, it had to wrap up threads from the rest of the series even as it introduced new characters. While it would have been nice to get to know the new characters a little better, there was only so much space and overall I think the balance was as it should be. Honourable mention goes to Mr Puggles, the dog, as my favourite new character.

The series tackles diversity and humanitarian issues with maturity, unafraid to ask difficult questions. It holds particular relevance for Australia, given the Government’s current stance on human rights, and highlights some very unflattering aspects of Australian culture. However, it still manages to do so with sensitivity and hope. The Foretelling of Georgie Spider was a satisfying conclusion to a series I would highly recommend to both young adult and adult readers.

 

Bout of Books 14 report

Two weeks ago, I announced I was signing up for the Bout of Books read-a-thon. For those who have forgotten, here’s the pitch:

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23rd in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 14 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

This was my first Bout of Books read-a-thon, so I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I decided it would be my goal to read as much as possible. This meant reading instead of watching anime over my lunch break and less time wasted on the internet. It didn’t seem like a very big change, but I got through a surprising amount. My total count by the end of the challenge was six books:

Risk by Fleur Ferris.

A Case of Spirits by KJ Charles.

Getting Wilde by Jenn Stark.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik.

The Shab-al-Hiri Roach by Jason Morningstar.

Facing the Mirror by Jaye McKenna.

I was already two-thirds of the way through Risk when the challenge started and most of the other books are pretty short. Still, it has gone a long way towards getting me back on track with my reading goal for the year (I’m aiming for 80 books). Mt TBR has also grown significantly this month and so the challenge also helped mitigate the damage. It would be nice to keep this up on a permanent basis but although the changes I made to squeeze in more reading weren’t onerous, they are not sustainable. I also flagged over the weekend, hardly reading anything.

This suggests to me that Bout of Books will make a good occasional boost to my reading practice and I’m glad it is run three times a year. The next one will run 4-10 January 2016, making it a good way to kick off my reading for the new year. I will definitely be signing up.

Did you participate in Bout of Books? How did you go? If you didn’t, how do you make time for reading?

The Rebel Returns by Becca Lusher

Published: June 2015

Format reviewed: E-book (mobi)

Series: Tales of the Aekhartain (Dark Rebellion #2)

Genres: Historical fantasy

Source: Smashwords

Available: Amazon ~ Kobo ~ Smashwords

Disclaimer: The author is a friend. I have done my best to give an unbiased review. This review contains spoilers for previous books.

Nawaquí Caligo may have fallen, but his struggle goes on. Stranded on a remote world with only loyal Noctis for company, Caligo is changed but not defeated.

The road ahead is long, full of shadows and loss and regret. Can he find a way to free himself from thoughts of blood and revenge, or is he doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past?

The darkness is coming and this rebel’s fight is far from over yet.

After defying Mask and using his Aekhartain powers against the Saxon army, Caligo finds himself stripped of his wings and banished to another, barren world. His loyal buzzard Noctis has likewise been stripped of his avian form and is now grounded in the form of a giant black hound. It is this punishment most of all that Caligo cannot forgive.

I found it interesting to read a story largely from the villain’s perspective. Because Nawaqui is definitely a villain now. Where before he might have been perceived as misguided and his reasons understandable, he descends into villainhood by refusing to take responsibility for his actions. This transition takes place in an isolated environment and is therefore dealt with narratively by utilising a split personality. Caligo tries to hang onto his humanity while Nawaqui seeks to embrace the darkness. There was a similar feel to the depiction of Gollum in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. A repetitious inner dialogue blames the loss of Caligo’s wings on the other Aekhartain (“it’s mine, they stole it from me,”) and his love/hate dynamic with them is similar to that between Gollum and the hobbits.

This transition lasted perhaps a little longer than I was comfortable with but the story recovers nicely by moving into a more dynamic phase. Shaiel and Demero return and we get to see a little of how Caligo’s betrayal has affected them.

But the real star of the show is Noctis. It is clear the author has dogs of her own because Noctis’ canine characterisation is spot on; I often smiled, having seen similar behaviour in my own dogs. His easy change of form makes an excellent foil for Caligo’s internal struggle and his loyalty to the Aekhartain of Shadows went straight to my heart.

Demero also provided an excellent foil for Caligo. They are shown as two sides of the same coin–of near identical backgrounds but very different outlooks. This theme, started in The Dark Rebel and strengthened in The Rebel Returns, provided the basis for a strong and emotional ending.

Overall, I found it a slightly stronger book than The Dark Rebel, and one I thoroughly enjoyed. The Dark Rebellion duology has opened up a number of avenues for more Tales of the Aekhartain and I can’t wait to see what will be next.

Brewing Community with Pia Foxhall

Photo by Chris Fitzgerald. Used with permission.

Brewing Community is a series of guest posts in which readers, writers, artists and fans are invited to share their experiences of community. Whether online or in person, these groups bring a great deal of support and sometimes stress to their members. The aim of this series is to share the joy and find ways to brew stronger communities. If you have some experiences you’d like to share, please let me know.

Regular readers here will know I’m quite a fan of Pia Foxhall’s fantasy erotica series Fae Tales. What you may not know is the series originally started as fanfiction.  Today I’ve invited Pia to share her thoughts on community and fandom.

 

Spaces of Liberation

I didn’t realise I was occupying fandom spaces when I first started learning from fandom spaces because the term hadn’t been invented yet. I first became a part of fandom in the late 80s, when I began mail-ordering X-Files fan magazines, and a world of fanfiction, fanart, meta and speculation opened up to me. I knew I enjoyed reading fanfiction, it gave me something I couldn’t seem to get as an avid reader of traditionally published literature. Over the years, I became a part of it in rambling comment threads on Livejournal and Dreamwidth about characters and their development. I saw it in articles, in author’s notes, in the rise and fall and rise (and fall?) of fanfiction.net (FF.net) and the creation of the Organisation for Transformative Works (OTW) and one of its projects: Archive of Our Own (AO3).

Fanworks – fanart, fanfiction, fanvideos, cosplay and more — originated in primarily female and queer spaces. It was a space where a person could take two straight characters in a heteronormative world and queer them (if they wanted, het (heterosexual) fiction exists as well), queer the culture, place their work into the world (or a new universe) and have people come to them not only with praise, but with comments like ‘I relate to this’ or ‘I wish this had happened in the canon.’ Around this act of freely sharing creativity and getting commentary-as-love as a form of payment, community built.

Fandom spaces are transformative spaces. They can even be the early adopters of increased cultural awareness. I first realised I was gray-asexual from a fanfic and the subsequent comments about romantic asexuality versus aromantic asexuality. I learned about issues to do with representing ethnicity, minority and oppression through intense, emotional debate in fandom spaces, and in fanfiction itself. My social awareness – still growing – has expanded more from fandom spaces than anywhere else. I tend to see these social justice subjects trickle through into mainstream writing spaces sometimes months, or even years later. Though the veil between these spaces is thinning. More often these days, traditionally published and self-published original content authors are proudly announcing their fandom beginnings and attachments, and are more willing to talk in transformative terminology.

I’m an original fiction and fanfiction author. I’ve devoted love equally to both. Socially, I get more from fandom spaces. I love the authors of original fiction I’ve met – incredible, hard-working people. But I get acceptance as a queer person writing queer literature in the often queer spaces of fandom that are also filled with incredible, hard-working people. It’s not only my words that are embraced there, but who I am. There’s not many places in the world I can go and be accepted for being gray-asexual, panromantic, polyamorous, childfree, genderfluid, kink-friendly and disabled, and experience acceptance for every one of those things. In a healthy fandom space, I can expect it.

Most people in fandom understand that writing fanfiction is an act of love, not an act of love that is tied to making a profit. It divorces itself from capitalism, and, as such, opens itself up to liberated creation. It has a wonderful gifting culture. There is a freedom in devoting hours and hours to something that will never see a cent of payment. There’s no business-oriented catchphrases like ‘you’re only as good as your last book.’ Marketing lingo is shoved out the door, it’s unwelcome and stifling in these places. It’s not about money, it’s about writing what you’re not seeing in the world around you, or even just writing something for yourself.

There is liberation in writing the kinds of characters, genres or stories that you desperately want to read, but that many publishers aren’t getting behind because those stories aren’t meeting their formulas and requirements. In the world of fandom, stories aren’t first and foremost categorised by genres like ‘action,’ ‘adventure,’ ‘drama,’ ‘science fiction,’ but by emotional terms like ‘fluff,’ ‘hurt/comfort,’ ‘angst,’ or even PWP (porn without plot, or confusingly these days: porn with plot).

I’ve read thousands of original books in my lifetime, and I have found original literature that’s made me cry, shake, laugh and stay up until dawn. Some of it resonates in very deep, fundamental places. But when I’m tired or heartsore, when I’m sick with chronic illness or feeling disconnected and misunderstood, it’s fanfiction I turn to.

It’s not all sunshine. There’s been growing trends towards mob mentality, callout culture, even – rarely – doxxing those who aren’t following ‘fandom rules,’ which are mercurial at best. Because fandom as a collective can veer towards the self-reflective, I’m confident this will change over time. After all, writing a Mary Sue (think a female Batman – can do just about anything and is loved by just about everyone) was considered a cardinal crime of fanfiction. Now, most understand that Mary Sues are self-inserts by people who often never had a ‘female Batman’ type character to grow up with. We understand that there are misogynistic trappings in the way one can aggressively go after a woman who writes a woman self-insert, while hypocritically loving the male equivalent (Iron Man or Batman, as an example) in the mainstream media. Evolution is a part of fandom space.

I’m aware of the shame and stigma that some original content authors direct towards fandom spaces and fanfiction writers specifically. I’ve experienced it. I often try to keep my fandom life and my original fiction life separate, but it’s getting harder over time, especially as I have launched an original fiction career out of a fanfiction space. I’ve realised that I’ve become fiercely protective over fanworks and fan spaces and their right to exist. I celebrate transformative culture and the potential acceptance to be found there. It’s not a perfect space, but it’s a liberating, transformative one.

PIA FOXHALL lives in Western Australia. She studied writing and scriptwriting at university, and has published speculative fiction and cover illustrations under a variety of names. Pia Foxhall writes dark gay fantasy romance and erotica, and runs a successful Patreon account. Most of her original and fanfiction work is freely available on AO3 under the username not_poignant. Currently, she is pursuing a dual publication career (self-publication and traditional publication), and spends time enjoying fandom and her fanbase over at Tumblr.

Shifting Loyalties

A couple of months ago, I had the good fortune to do some work for Wyrd Games.  One of the projects was Shifting Loyalties, an expansion for their Malifaux miniatures game. Along with some new rules, it contains some great new stories that I was delighted to edit. Shifting Loyalties is out now. If you like Southern gothic horror and steampunk fantasy mashups, you might like to check it out. And if miniatures isn’t your thing, perhaps you might prefer their RPG Through the Breach.

Rat Queens and Dungeon World

In my review of Rat Queens, I mentioned that I’m a tabletop RPG geek. So I was absolutely thrilled when I saw this last month:

Yes, it’s true, I’m writing a Rat Queens RPG with the assistance of @skinnyghost and the guts of @Dungeon_World.

— Kurtis Wiebe (@kurtisjwiebe) July 7, 2015

Let me tell you why this is awesome news. A warning: this is going to get fangirly.

Reason being Dungeon World is my current favourite RPG. Like most RPGers, I started out roleplaying with Dungeons & Dragons. I stuck with it for thirteen years. Then, at the beginning of last year, my gaming group started branching out into newer systems. This is a direct result of our GM discovering RollPlay on YouTube. The channel hosts several tabletop RPG campaigns that are played and recorded online. One segment particularly caught our interest: Research and Development. Every 6-8 weeks, the Game Master and a core group of three players would invite a guest to join them in playing a different RPG. And thus we found Dungeon World.

Like D&D, Dungeon World is a fantasy roleplaying system. However, the two systems have some significant differences. Dungeon World is designed to have a stronger focus on roleplaying and story-telling. As such, there are fewer rules and those that are there are intended to promote a more fluid, creative style of play. This sort of system works well for a Rat-Queens-inspired adventuring group. A complicated manoeuvre such as the one Betty, Dee and Violet pull off against the troll that ambushes them would require a complicated series of dice rolls in D&D. This slows down play and the numerous rolls make for a higher chance of failure. In Dungeon World, it is reduced down to just a couple of rolls, giving the players plenty of space to narrate their awesomeness.

Violet, Dee and Betty kick some troll butt in Rat Queens: Sass and Sorcery

Should a Dungeon World player fail one of these rolls, they get the consolation of gaining experience points. I love the philosophy behind this: that we learn from our mistakes, not from wholesale slaughter. This means that the focus shifts from simply killing monsters (and sometimes people) to a character’s personal development, and makes for a much more rewarding game from my story-loving perspective.

The simplicity of the rule system makes it a great introduction for beginners. My group consists of three experienced RPGers and one newbie who came from a computer gaming background. One adventure in and you’d never guess that we hadn’t been playing the system for years, let alone which one of us was the newbie. This is especially surprising because our newbie chose to play a spellcasting class, which traditionally have been the hardest to wrap one’s head around. So if Rat Queens has inspired you to try RPGs, Dungeon World is an great place to start and it will make an excellent base for a Rat-Queens-specific RPG.

 

Adam Koebel

Moving away from the system, the other reason that Kurtis Wieber’s tweet is such good news is his co-author. @skinnyghost is the Twitter handle for Adam Koebel, one of the creators of Dungeon World. I also came across Adam through RollPlay, where he runs a sci-fi space epic called Swan Song and an 80s-flavoured cyberpunk called Mirrorshades (which is probably my favourite RollPlay show). As you’d expect of a RPG designer, he lives and breathes games. But what makes him a perfect creator for a Rat Queens RPG is his inclusivity. In D&D terms, he chooses a chaotic good alignment and asks the fans on his forums to do the same:

We are anti-sexism, anti-racism and anti-homophobia.

We punch up, not down.

We believe in discussion, not argument.

Even though human consciousness might be a cosmic joke, we’re respectful and decent to one another.

We don’t make fun of people for what they love.

We hold each other accountable for this stuff.

Adam is queer himself and always makes an effort to include a diverse range of characters in the games he runs. This makes me confident the diverse content of Rat Queens will be treated with respect and appropriately incorporated into the new RPG.

If you’re into RPGs, either as a player or as a GM, I highly recommend Adam’s RollPlay segment with Steven Lumpkin on GMing called Being Everything Else. It covers topics such as the role of narrative in RPGs, where to get inspiration as a GM and introducing new players to roleplaying. He also has a fantastic discussion of player vs player dynamics on Roll20’s YouTube channel.

Needless to say, I think the Rat Queens RPG is in very good hands and I can’t wait to grab a copy when it’s done.

I’m also curious to see whether this will start a rush of new players among the people I know. What about you? Is a Rat Queens RPG something you’d be interested in playing?

Earl Grey Editing’s Blog Anniversary

Caramel mud cupcake from Jazz Apple Cafe.

Today is a very special day for me because it marks one year since the very first post went up here on the Earl Grey Editing blog. And what a year it has been!

When Melissa Hartfiel of Fine Lime Designs first designed the website for Earl Grey Editing, she asked me if I wanted a blog. I said no. Blogging regularly seemed like a lot of work and I didn’t want a sporadically-updated blog making my business website look untidy. However, as I encountered more book bloggers on Twitter and other parts of the internet, I came around to the idea. I began to yearn for a space that was less ephemeral than Twitter, somewhere that would allow me to participate more meaningfully in all those reading challenges. I was looking for a place where I could bring together my IRL writing group, my online writing groups and the tribe of book bloggers I was getting to know. A home base.

After a while, I came back to Melissa and asked her to go ahead with setting up the blog. A few weeks later, I made my very first post. A couple of weeks after that, I got my legs under me and I haven’t missed a beat since.

It has certainly been a steep learning curve and I am very grateful to the people who have helped me along the way. One of Melissa’s other lives involves being the co-founder of Food Bloggers of Canada. Unsurprisingly, the FBC website is about blogging as much as food, and had some very useful content that helped me get started. Lynn O’Connacht was (and continues to be) very generous with her time and advice, always fielding my sometimes-panicked questions with grace. The Book Gannet helped me navigate the strange world of NetGalley and Shaheen of Speculating on Speculative Fiction had some useful posts on ARCs (which, I admit, I’m still getting the hang of).

Blogging regularly has been as much hard work as I expected. What I didn’t expect was how much I’ve enjoyed it. Not only has it introduced me to new friends, but it has helped my photography improve (because all photos on this blog are mine, unless otherwise stated) and has diversified my reading. It has also frequently given me an excuse to camp out on my couch with a book and call it work. I call that winning.

Thank you to all my readers for joining me on this adventure. I hope you’ll stick with me for the next stage.

Bout of Books 14

 

You know that I’m a sucker for reading challenges (it’s because I need all the help I can get with Mt TBR!). So I was disappointed to discover Bout of Books just a little too late to join their 13th round in May. Luckily for me, the challenge is run three times a year!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 17th and runs through Sunday, August 23rd in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 14 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

There’s still time to sign up, if you’d like to join in.

Since this is my first time participating in Bout of Books, I’m not quite sure what my goals are… other than to squeeze in as much reading as possible!

Will you join me?