Mid-Month Wrap Up

It is November 14 and I've finished 3 books this month. If this trend continues, I am unlikely to finish 100 books OR 50 books from my shelves. I would be upset, but the last month or so has been a bit chaotic and I don't see that changing anytime soon. December is always crazy. This year, I have a new job and 8 bell ringing performances to throw into the mix.

Now that I've minimized all our expectations, let's look at what I've read so far in November.

Library 2035: Imagining the Next Generation of Libraries edited by Sandra Hirsh - This thing took me forever to read, even though it was like 200 pages. It was pretty thinky. Some of the essays were good. Some were just over the top. Like, really? That's really what you think is going to happen? Calm yourself. Anyway, I'm glad I read it.

Dragon's Lair by Sharon Kay Penman - This is the third book in the Justin DeQuincy series. It was great. King Richard is being held captive by the French King and Prince John is trying to take over the country. Justin is sent to Wales to find a ransom payment that was stolen on its way from Wales to the the queen. Fun other things happen along the way and Justin gets his man.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Han, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows - I struggled to place this one in history because I read it right after Dragon's Lair. It happens a couple hundred years later, but it felt the same. Anyway, this takes place in an alternate England where there are shapeshifter, but they are being persecuted. The current king's father turned into a lion and ate anyone who countered him. King Edward is 17 and bored. Then he gets "the Affliction". He asks his cousin Jane to marry a guy she's never met. Then he signs a decree making her queen after his imminent death. The guy she marries, Gifford Dudley, turns into a horse every morning. This was a surprise on the morning after their wedding. Anyway, King Edward learns he is being poisoned and escapes and the court says he died and Jane is Queen. Sister Mary didn't like that and staged a coup. This is where it really diverges from history. Practically everyone is a shapeshifter from here on out. It's fast-paced and has little Easter Eggs for older people reading the book like lines from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I had a good time with this one.

And that's it for now. Wish me luck with the rest of my challenges!