The weather is finally getting colder—my neck of the woods is finally seeing snow, and everyone is getting out the sweaters, the hot cocoa, and the holiday décor. Since we’re all planning on huddling out of the cold, why not curl up with some good reading? Here’s a quick glimpse of what I’ve read lately, what I’ve started reading, and what I’ll (hopefully) get to in the near future.
Have Read: Lumberjanes
I recently powered through the first three volumes of the Lumberjanes comic books, and the series deserves all the praise it’s collected. The comic follows the adventures of Jo, Mal, Molly, Ripley, and April, a quintet of intrepid Lumberjane Scouts at Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. The girls spend their summer doing crafts, games of tag, and staying up all night to battle three-eyed foxes, solve cryptic riddles, break an underground obstacle course, and avoid annihilation by ancient gods—and hopefully earn badges doing it. The writing is fast and fun, the art is dynamic and wonderfully expressive, especially of the girl’s emotions. If you want to have a case of the giggles, you don’t even have to examine the speech bubbles—just look at the faces the girls pull and the shenanigans they’re constantly catapulted into. It was a bittersweet day when Gravity Falls aired its final episode, but Lumberjanes helps fill the void.
Lumberjanes was created by Grace Ellis and Shannon Watters of Boom! Studios; they have written the series along with Noelle Stevenson (Wander Over Yonder, Nimona), Kat Leyh, and Faith Erin Hicks. It’s available wherever comics are sold.
Am Reading: Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers
After catching wind of an author called Dorothy Sayers, I decided to give one of her mysteries a try, and so far I’m glad I did. Whose Body? is the first novel of the Lord Peter Wimsey series, following the titular Lord Peter, British aristocrat with a nose for detection that leads him into case-cracking and murder-solving in between attending auctions for rare manuscripts and fielding calls from his mother (though you shall refer to her as the Dowager Duchess of Denver, please and thank you). Set in the 1920’s, the novel quickly launches into the case of a mysterious corpse that has inconveniently found itself (buck-naked with only some spectacles on his nose) in the bathtub of a rather anxious architect. Lord Peter suspects the anonymous body is somehow connected to the disappearance of a prominent London financier…but how? And who is the poor sap that wound up in the tub?
Lord Peter reminds me in a way of Bertie Wooster of Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster stories—possessing a delightful way with words and a cheerful manner that partly comes with being naturally good-natured, and partly comes with possessing some frivolous wealth. Hey, at least Bertie takes the opportunity to be productive!
To Be Read: Samuel Pepys: The Unequalled Self by Claire Tomalin
I’m counting this as TBR since I’m just past the introduction, and schoolwork will inevitably slow down my reading of this book. In any case, I’ve just started this and I’m already excited. Samuel Pepys was known in his lifetime as a British naval administrator during the Restoration period, but his claim to fame now is what he has contributed to the historical record through his personal diaries. Covering nearly ten years starting in 1660, Pepys provides first-hand accounts of several major events and recounting his interactions with and opinions on famous figures of the day, including Sir Isaac Newton, John Milton, and royal mistress Barbara Villiers. The diaries are also valuable for the day-to-day details they give about life during the English Restoration.
Tomalin’s biography gives an account of Pepys’ life beyond just what can be found in his diaries, and so far it’s fascinating. I look forward to learning more about the man and the era.
Hopefully this can eventually turn into a series, but let’s see how much life interferes with a bookworm’s schedule! Happy Fall, and Happy Reading!
