Tag: Orilium Readathon

On the Sixth Day of Lightfall (Readathon)

~ EMM

I did not end up staying up late last night finishing Manslaughter Park, but I did finish reading it this morning. And… I was RIGHT about whodunit! Ha! It was a very satisfying conclusion, and not just because I guessed correctly. I had lots of thoughts about it during my run today. I think I basically drafted an entire review in my head. But I didn’t write it down and after lunch and a shower, I completely forgot about it. I will now attempt to recreate my thoughts.

I really enjoyed this adaptation. When I read the author’s note at the end, I realized something more about what it was that drew me to Mansfield Park when I initially read it. I really like a story featuring a character with a strong moral code. It doesn’t even really matter what it is, so long as they are consistently driven by it. I equally enjoy paladins and mercenaries, mobsters and military. I like it even better when that character’s moral code and worldview are challenged and they have to decide how they are going to behave in the face of that. For a recent example, take Some Desperate Glory, which I loved.

I think this is also why I don’t like polemics. I want to see the character struggling on the page. I don’t want to be lectured and told how the author wants me to think about the moral or ethical dilemma.

And this is why I like Mansfield Park. Fanny Price is very driven by her morals. She makes decisions that I might not make in her place, because she insists on sticking to her moral code, even when it’s uncomfortable for her. And this adaptation kept that aspect of the story in place beautifully.

Now that I’m done at Old Tails Bookstore, stop one on my Old Favour Pass journey, it’s time to wander over to Wallice’s Wonderful Winter Wanimals to visit the winged winter stoats! In other words, I’ve started A Holly Jolly Ever After. Nothing like a little Christmas smut to get you in the mood for the holidays!

So far, the first few chapters have reminded me how much I enjoyed A Merry Little Meet Cute, and also how much I have completely forgotten most of the details of that story. This starts off very much like a continuation from that book. More than I think you usually get from the standard connected-but-stand-alone contemporary romance novels. I think I’m going to be okay not remembering stuff from the first book, but I also think it might be fun to read them back to back. Something I might consider for next year, if there is a new release in this series and I’m feeling up for a re-read.

Oh, hey! It just hit me that I finished reading my first book for the Lightfall Readathon! I think that means I get a stamp on my punch card! Fun! I’m going to go do that now while I’m waiting for my lemon bars to finish baking. (What? Who’s stress baking? Certainly not me…)

Last thing before I go, if you’re looking for some fantasy new releases to add to your TBR, I’m participating in this 12 Days of Fantasy book sale that starts today. Check it out if you’re interested.

On the Fifth Day of Lightfall (Readathon)

~ EMM

Today was another LONG day of adulting with not a lot of writing. Sigh.

It started in the dark, but the sunrise was pretty great…

sunrise on the ferry

I had to head over to one of the other islands for an annual doctor exam, but the inter-island ferry commute and waiting around allowed me lots of time to read Manslaughter Park! Reading also helped distract me from my irrational doctor visit anxiety. I’m now about two thirds through the book, and I think I know whodunit. I’ve had a suspicion about one character since the beginning (I’ll put my guess at the end of this post since it may be a spoiler). I’m kind of hoping I’m right, because I think that would be an excellent twist.

But, now that I’m done running errands and checking things off my to-do list, I want to try to get at least a little writing / editing done before I collapse into bed and get back to reading. Given where I’m at in the story, tonight may end up being a “bad decisions book club” night where I stay up WAY too late just so I can finish the book.

In other news, I’ve been very preoccupied with organizing the chaos that is currently inhabiting my brain. This is requiring a pinch of journaling, a growing to-do list that needs sorting, and a lot of thinking about how I want to structure my planning system for 2024. I think I have the start of a plan, but it’s not quite fully baked yet. So, I’ll save that for a future blogmas post.

And speaking of baking… I have a somewhat ambitious holiday recipe I want to try. The baking supplies I needed arrived today, so now I can actually get started on this project. The recipe involves multiple steps that need to happen over the course of several days. I’d like to wait to do the baking part over the weekend, so I need to have a look at the instructions again and figure out when I need to get started. Pictures, process, and results to be documented in a future post…

Now, what I really want to do is get back to reading so I can see if my guess is right. But first, a little writing and some dinner prep.

Potential spoiler is in white text below… Stop reading now if you don’t want to know my guess for whodunit. (Alternatively, highlight the text on the next line if you want to know.)

I think Edmond is the killer.

On the Fourth Day of Lightfall (Readathon)

~ EMM

Today has been a busy day, packed with catching up on everything I neglected while I was gone for the weekend. I made a little more progress with Manslaughter Park this morning, and I’m about to read a bit more before I go to sleep. But, other than that, I haven’t had much time for reading today.

I’m beginning to wonder when the Crawfords are going to show up, and what role they are going to play. I have a hunch that they are going to arrive within the next few chapters, and I suspect they are going to probably be debt collectors. A couple of chapters ago, Lizzie Bennett (who happens to be Sir Thomas’s lawyer), said the debt collectors were on their way and would likely take up residence until they were paid.

On the Third Day of Lightfall (Readathon)

~ EMM

Another long travel day today, so this is going to be a very short update. I’m still enjoying Manslaughter Park, but something feels off about Tom’s character at the moment. In the scene where the will is read, Tom is acting like a total jerk. I feel like Maria and Julia were the jerks, not Tom (or Edmund, obviously). And his behavior especially doesn’t sit right with me when he’s leaning on misogynistic arguments with his sister (like she can’t possibly own a business, she needs to get married, etc.). It just doesn’t feel right. Unless maybe the author is setting him up to be the killer? That would be an interesting twist on the Sir Thomas / Tom dynamic from the original book…

I was curious about this book because 1) I love a cozy mystery, but also 2) there aren’t a ton of Mansfield Park retellings out there in the world. I think that’s because it’s generally the least liked of the Jane Austen novels. Mostly because everyone hates Fanny. She’s not my favorite Austen character, either, but I think that’s because she ends up being sort of a tool for the narrative that allowed Austen to make more direct commentary on things like class, society, and politics in Mansfield Park that in her other, more popular novels.

What’s interesting about reading this book is that, in addition to comparing it to the original, I keep comparing it to my own (unpublished) Mansfield Park retelling. I’ve been working on that book on and off for MANY years now. I think I started it back in 2009, maybe? Coincidentally, the Tom character in my book is also gay, but Yates is not his boyfriend. And I also tweaked the family tree so that my Fanny character and my Edmund character were not technically related, just raised in close proximity. But these are, I feel, the obvious choices to make when modernizing this novel.

I’ve been really wanting to get back to that story, and I think that’s exactly what I’m going to do. But first I want to finish the novel I’m currently working on. In the meantime, I’m going to go back to enjoying Manslaughter Park and trying to figure out whodunit (before Fanny does).

On the Second Day of Lightfall (Readathon)

~ EMM

Not a lot of reading got done today because the day started with a very rainy holiday 5k where I set a new best time for myself!

I mean, that little yeti is just adorable! This is possibly the best race shirt I’ve ever received.

So I ran, hung out with friends, ate a lot of delicious Christmas cookies, enjoyed two different fires in fireplaces, got to play with a cat, and went out to dinner at my in-laws’ local tavern. Basically, it was the perfect winter Sunday. Or it will be as soon as I get my pj’s on, climb into bed, and get back to the book I’m reading.

I haven’t made much progress yet, but I will say, Manslaughter Park had me hooked as soon as I read the dedication (“To all the readers who thought Fanny Price deserved better.”). I’m excited to see what this author does with this retelling.

On the First Day of Lightfall (Readathon)

~ EMM

Finished reading Full Moon Over Freedom and now I get to pick my first read for Lightfall!

It’s been a long day. After driving all morning and visiting with my in-laws. I’m finally sitting down near their Christmas tree to squeeze in a little reading before dinner.

I only brought my Kindle on this short weekend trip, so I’ve been trying to decide between heading straight to the Wanimals store and reading the holiday romance on my TBR (A Holly Jolly Ever After), or starting at the Old Tails Bookstore and going with the cozy mystery (Manslaughter Park).

I think I’m not quite ready to start another romance just yet, so I’m going with the cozy mystery! Also, who am I kidding? Of course the bookstore would be my first stop on this festive holiday visit to Old Favor Pass!

Here we go! Happy Lightfall to all who are participating in this fun readathon!

Lightfall Reading Journal Spread

~ EMM

Did I miss yesterday’s post? Yes, I did.

The day got away from me, and then we spent the evening hanging out with my niece while her parents went to a work holiday party. It didn’t help that I hadn’t picked a topic for yesterday’s post, and I didn’t like any of the back-up topics I’d brainstormed.

Then I decided to set up a spread in my reading journal (such as it is, currently), but the color printer that we have refused to print anything from my computer. So, I decorated the pages I intended to use with some wrapping paper scraps, and then I gave up.

This morning, I finally got the map and passport and my TBR printed (using a different computer). Now that it’s all set up, I can finally share it with you.

I printed out the map with the prompts and my TBR as well as the Old Favor Passport. I considered gluing the passport into the spread, but I don’t expect to fill up all those circles this year. Instead, I think I might make a washi backing for it and then keep it in the back pocket of my 2024 planner (which I will also be using as my reading journal next year). I’m also planning to do some doodling in the leftover white space.

Once I have that all set up, I’ll post a picture. Probably as part of my daily Lightfall Readathon updates which will be starting on Saturday! And that’s not all… there will be a second post coming today. This is just a make-up post from yesterday. So, check back later for my actual day eight post…

Celebrating Lightfall! (aka Magical Readathon time!)

~ EMM

As soon as I’m finished writing the draft of this novel, I want to bury myself in books and just read non-stop until the end of the year.

Realistically, I know that I’m not actually going to be done after I finish this draft, but I think I can manage to carve out at least one week to celebrate Lightfall (aka participate in another Orilium Magical Readathon). It sounds like EXACTLY what I need.

So, even though I should be writing right now. I’m taking a moment to consider my Lightfall TBR.

The reading prompts are given by store you may want to visit in Old Favour Pass. You can visit as many or few of them as you like.

Here’s what I’ve added so far…

I am probably not going to have time to visit every store during this eleven day readathon, but I sure am going to try!

The Old Tails Bookstore — Book you wanted to read this year but had not had the chance yet.

For this one, I’m picking something that is a genuine WANT to read and not something I feel like I NEED to read. (Let’s just put aside the million reasons I feel like I need to read something. Getting into that would require an entire post. Maybe I should dive into that at some point, but not today.)

You probably would not be surprised to hear that this task was harder than it should have been for me. Ultimately, I picked Manslaughter Park, which is a Jane Austen murder mystery retelling. This is one I have had my eye on since it was very first announced. It was released in June (!), and I still haven’t gotten around to reading it, yet.

Smith & Friends & Sons Arcane Goods & Such — Last book you added to your want to read list (not counting books not published yet).

Phew. An easy one. Or so I thought until I looked at the number of pages.

As I’m writing this, the currently available book that I most recently added to my TBR is the most recent FairyLoot special edition hardcover, Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare.

Would you believe I’ve never read a Cassandra Claire book? I’ve added several to my TBR over the years. I think I may have even purchased one or two. But I’ve not ready any of them. So, this would be my first Cassandra Clare book. But, folks, it’s over 600 pages! That might really make it hard to read anything else during this readathon.

Wallice’s Wonderful Winter Wanimals — Snow or ice on the cover.

This one is easy. Definitely going to have to be A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. I will be stopping to see the winged winter stoats at WWWW for sure!

Shank & Shawl Legitimate Retailer — Steal a book from someone else’s TBR.

Bring on your TBRs, people! I haven’t seen many Lightfall TBRs posted, yet. So, I may skip this store unless I find something good to borrow from someone else’s list. Alternatively… I may use this as a way to sneak in my buddy read book for December (once we figure out what that’s going to be). Now there’s an idea…

Owlcat Craft Cafe — Listen to audiobook whilst crafting (or craft in the title)

So many options! I may change my mind later, but I’ve been trying to get to Bloodmarked for a while now. So much so that I considered it for The Old Tails Bookstore prompt. But, then I saw this prompt, and it’s a much better fit here. I listened to the first book on audio and that worked well for me. So, I think I’m going to grab Bloodmarked on audio from the library and listen to it while I (finally) finish my Star Wars cross stitch bookmarks.

Occult Premonitions — Prompt based on a random tarot card.

Judgement is the card I got from the random card generator. This card felt eerily familiar until I remembered it was Justice not Judgement that I got for the Autumn Equinox TBR.

It took me a minute to get past the giant angel and the naked dead rising from their graves to notice that there’s a sea and some mountains there. Scrolling through the book covers on my the top of my TBR, Shanghai Immortal jumped out at me. Something about that cover felt right for the vibe of this card. So I’m going with that one.

And bonus points if you noticed that several of these books are NOT on my end of the year TBR. I will have an update on how that’s going at the end of next week. I am hoping to finish a few more books before the month is over. But if I want to do that, I need to get back to writing the novel and not this blog post.

While I finish this draft, let me know in the comments if you’re participating in this readathon and, if so, where to find your TBR!

Orilium Readathon Grades (aka Reading Wrap-Up)

~ EMM

Well, here we are. Halfway through September, and I have yet to post my readathon wrap-up. Partly that is because I was gone for the first week of September, and I’m only now kind of back into my normal(ish) routine.

But also (and it pains me to write this) for the first time in the history of my participation in the Magical Readathons, I did not finish all my classes (prompts). I’m pretty bummed about it.

If you remember from my TBR post, I had six books I needed to read, plus one bonus book for the Impling quest. I ended up reading only three books, and I did not get an Impling. Womp womp.

Here’s what I read (vs. didn’t get to):

I started with the books for Psionics & Divination, and I finished both of them pretty early on in the month. Five Dark Fates by Kendare Blake was a very satisfying end to the Three Dark Crowns series that made me regret waiting so long to read it.

After finishing that, I moved on to The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler, which I enjoyed, even though it is a polemic (and I don’t usually like polemics). I thought a lot of the discussions about consciousness were very interesting, and it made me want to throw specific passages at my tech-geek friends just to hear what they had to say about it. Instead, I recommended the book to several of them and am hoping they read it so I can hear their thoughts.

Then, I started both Jade City by Fonda Lee and A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin. The later was a MUCH faster read, so I finished it first. Unfortunately, I had an advanced review copy, and realized after reading it that I really wished I’d read the final version. It’s one of those books that (for me) was a delight to read but didn’t stick around in my brain very long. So, I’m thinking I may get the final version and re-read it at some point.

As for the rest, I am still reading Jade City (and very much enjoying it). I only read the first chapter of Shanghai Immortal, and I never started The Daughter of Doctor Moreau (or Partners in Crime, which was the book I picked for the Impling quest).

I haven’t had much time to read in the past few weeks for a variety of reasons that mostly boil down to falling back into bad social media scrolling habits that I thought I’d broken earlier this year. Apparently, you have to be ever vigilant with that stuff. Annoying.

Even more annoying is that I didn’t even manage to hit my Goodreads reading goal for the year! I’m at 51 books read, total. ONE book shy of my goal! *shakes fist at self for time wasted on the internet*

Oh well. I can still finish my Adventure in Aelida challenge, and maybe bust a few more books off my Fairyloot hardcover backlog in the process. And I’m pretty confident that I can finish at least one book between now and the end of the year. 🙂

If I can just remember how to focus again, we’ll be all good!

Orilium Autumn Equinox Readathon TBR

~ EMM ~ 2 Comments

August is almost here! Which means that it’s time for the Orilium Autumn Equinox!

(It also means that it’s nearly time for back-to-school sales on stationery… but that’s not what this blog post is about… so I’m going to ignore that temptation for the moment and get back to the topic of this post… Readathon Time!)

During this session at the Orilium Academy, I will be working to level-up in my chosen calling of Story Weaver. To do that, I need to achieve the following grades in the follow subjects.

  • Ordinary in Inscription
  • Qualified in Psionics & Divination
  • Distinguished in Lore

To achieve Ordinary I have to read one book based on the Ordinary level prompt for that class. For Qualified I have to read two books based on the corresponding prompts for that class. And Distinguished is three books. So, I have the moderately-challenging task of reading six books in the month of August!

Here’s what’s on my TBR:

Inscription

To achieve Ordinary in Inscription, I need to read a book from my end of the year TBR. I am going to pick something from my FairyLoot hoard for this one. I’m keeping a few of them to fill the final prompts for the Adventure in Aeldia quest. I’ve decided that I want to try for an Owlcat. In case you’re curious, here’s how that’s been going for me so far…

I was going to pick The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi because it’s the shortest of the bunch, and I don’t want to get bogged down in a long physical book and risk not finishing the rest of my TBR. But, I’m already planning on reading a gothic horror novel for a different prompt, so I think I’m going to try the second shortest, which is one of the more recent additions to the stack, Shanghai Immortal by A.Y. Chao.

Psionics & Divination

The first prompt for Psionics & Divination is a little complicated. For “Introduction to Tarot” I had to pick a card using the random tarot card generator linked from the video. Then I had to pick a book that had one of the symbols on the card in the title or on the cover. I got Justice which has a crown, a sword, scales, and maybe also a throne. I have a few options that might work for this one, but right now I’m thinking I might try to FINALLY finish the Three Dark Crowns series by Kendare Blake. I only have the last book, Five Dark Fates, left to read, and it has swords (and maybe a crown?) on the cover.

The second prompt for Psionics & Divination is “Reading the Future,” or read a book set in the future. For this one I’m going to read The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler. This is one of the books that was nominated for the Nebula award for best novel, and it sounds really good.

Lore

Then, I have three prompts I need to complete for Lore. The first is “Tale of the Guide,” or read a book recommended by a bookseller. For this prompt, I went to the Powell’s Staff Picks page and scrolled through the list to see what jumped out at me. I’ve been meaning to read Jade City by Fonda Lee for a while now. According to Amazon, I purchased the book for Kindle in December of 2017. It’s probably about time I get around to reading it, huh? Especially if it’s a bookseller pick.

The second Lore prompt is “Cursed Cloaks,” or read a book with clothing on the cover. I haven’t found any books on my TBR with clothing not on a person on the cover. So, I’m going with A Lady’s Guide to Scandal by Sophie Irwin. It has an illustrated cover that feels like it’s featuring the (historical) clothing more than the people. So, I’m going with that one.

The final Lore prompt is the most difficult of the bunch for me. It is “The Underworld 101,” or read a horror book. I don’t like horror. But one of the Hugo nominees for best novel is a gothic horror, and it’s written by an author I like. So, I am going to try The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia for this prompt.

Here’s what my reading journal spread looks like for this readathon.

Now, there’s also this impling summoning quest that I would like to do as part of this readathon. But the 6 books I need to read for my Story Weaver calling already represent 2553 pages of reading (or about 82 pages per day on average).

The impling summoning quest, assuming you can find one book that satisfies all the prompts, requires reading at least another 400 pages. But, if I do decide to take on one more book for this quest, I think Alisha Rai’s Partners in Crime will satisfy all the prompts (between 400 and 450 pages, one letter appears only twice, released this year or last year, blue on the cover, read from this author before). I just need to start reading it at night (which is the final prompt). I’m hoping that, because it’s a contemporary romance, it will be a fast read, and I can squeeze it in with the rest of my TBR.

Are you participating in the Orilium Autumn Equinox readathon? Are any of these books on your TBR? Let me know what you think about my selections in the comments.