Witches and Wizards

Witches and Wizards

This blog posts includes reviews of books about witches and/or wizards. No, this doesn't mean exactly what you think it means. All of these authors are American.

The Specter of Salem

32. The Specter of Salem: Remembering the Witch Trials in Nineteenth-Century America [2008] by Gretchen A. Adams [Kindle]

This is an academic book by a friend of mine about how the Salem witch trials have served as a metaphor in subsequent American history. While I am an academician, I am not in a book field and I have no particular expertise in history, yet I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

What a fascinating chronicle of Salem's effect on subsequent events, American politics, and the events of a nation. Salem is cited in myriad ways with various results, in the political history of the country, not always accurately and not always fairly. Nonetheless, the events of 1692 and following continue to intertwine with later events and movements.

The writing is superb, the e-book is mostly well-presented (I read this on my Kindle), the whole reading experience is fascinating and fraught with new ideas and meaning.

This book is good reading for anyone interested in the early history of the US, the use of metaphor in political suasion, and in the continuing history of the country and how it is shaped by the past.

I am no historian, of course, but this is a fascinating read.

Witch Hunt

37. Witch Hunt [2012] by Annie Bellet [Kindle] 

This is a little novella that starts out a fantasy/adventure series.

A mute elven princess on a quest to win back her voice, a pixie goblin, a swordsman, a warrior woman, a blue-skinned half-orc shaman, a mini-unicorn, and a mist lynx... all traveling together, stumble upon a town in need and do their best to help.

While it's too short to be satisfying in the way a full-length book is, it is nonetheless an interesting read and perfect for a short-term sitting. It makes me want to try out some of the author's other books.

I wish I could remember who suggested this author to me...

Magic's Pawn

38. Magic's Pawn [1989] by Mercedes Lackey [Audible] 

This is the first in a trilogy that I will read complete at some future point.

This book is almost a four. The only thing holding me back is the annoying narrator (I listened to it on Audible.com), really. I think reading the book is probably even more satisfying than the audiobook.

The development of the protagonist from unhappy boy to powerful mage is fraught with conflict and missteps, like any person at this age, no doubt, but so much more complex due to the family and societal values and norms forced upon him. It's fantasy but it's also a metaphor for life today for any young person who doesn't fit in with mainstream life. The underlying homosexual themes are important to the story but do not overwhelm it.

Unfortunately, the next two books in this series have the same narrator, so I will forego the audiobook option on those.

Thank you, Becky-Anne for the recommendation!

Books Completed in 2015
I have read (or listened to) 51 books so far in 2015! Here is a list of completed books (most) with links to their info page on Goodreads and to the reviews I have written on Goodreads and Amazon (or Audible).  More links added as the reviews go live (some have been posted but are not yet live on Amazon or Audible).  I'm getting the blog up to date in the coming week or two with all the reviews and comments.

52. Cinder [2012] by Marissa Meyer [Audible].51. The Hangman's Daughter [2008] by Oliver Pötzsch [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
50. Out from the Underworld [2015] by Heather Siegel [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
49. Inkheart [2011] by Cornelia Funke [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon.
48. Legion [2012] by Brandon Sanderson [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible.
47. The Reader [1995] by Bernhard Schlink [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon.
46. Station Eleven [2014] by Emily St. John Mandel [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon.
45. My Brilliant Friend [2012] by Elena Ferrant [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon.
44. Cold Comfort Farm [1932] by Stella Gibbons [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
43. Rabbit Proof Fence [1996] by Doris Pilkington [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
42. The Daughter of Time [1951] by Josephine Tey [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
41. Outlander [1991] by Diana Gabaldon [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
40. Illegal Action [2007] by Stella Rimington [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
39. Secret Asset [2006) by Stella Rimington [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
38. Magic's Pawn [1989] by Mercedes Lackey [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
37. Witch Hunt [2012] by Annie Bellet [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
36. Three Wishes [2003] by Liane Moriarty [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible
35. The Evolution of an Empire A Brief Historical Sketch of Germany [1892] by Mary Platt Parmele [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
34. Dear Committee Members [2014] by Julie Schumacher [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
33. Dept. of Speculation [2014] by Jenny Offill [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
32. The Specter of Salem: Remembering the Witch Trials in Nineteenth-Century America [2008] by Gretchen A. Adams [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
31. Command Authority [2013] by Tom Clancy [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
30. Emerald Green [2010] by Kerstin Gier [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
29. Sapphire Blue [2009] by Kerstin Gier [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible; Amazon
28. Ruby Red [2009] by Kerstin Gier [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible; Amazon
27. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants [2001] by Ann Brashares [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible; Amazon
26. Dying for a Cupcake [2015] by Denise Swanson [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
25. The Bees [2014] Laline Paull [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
24. Bossypants [2011] by Tina Fey [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
23. Night Rounds [1999] by Helene Tursten [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
22. 13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy [2006] by L. A. Starks [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
21. Detective Inspector Huss [1998] by Helene Tursten [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
20. Crocodile on the Sandbank [1975] by Elizabeth Peters [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
19. Redemption in Indigo [2010] by Karen Lord [Audible] Review: Goodreads; Audible; Amazon
18. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August [2014] by Claire North [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
17. The Mysterious Howling [2009] by Maryrose Wood [Kindle] Review: Goodreads; Amazon
16. My Life in Middlemarch [2014] by Rebecca Mead [Audible]. Review: Goodreads; Audible
15. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up [2010] by Marie Kondo [iBooks].
14. The Wreath [1920] by Sigrid Undset, translated by Tiina Nunnally [Kindle].
13. The Riddle-Master of Hed [1976] by Patricia A. McKillip [Audible Audiobook] [review: Goodreads; Audible]
12. If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O [1990] by Sharyn McCrumb [Audible Audio] [review: Goodreads; Audible]
11. The Knitting Book [2011] by Frederica Patmore and Vikki Haffenden [hardcover].
10. Americanah [2013] by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche [audible.com audiobook] [review: Goodreads; Audible]
9. The Handmaid's Tale [1985] by Margaret Atwood [Kindle]. [review: Goodreads; Amazon]
8. The Lady Astronaut of Mars [2012] by Mary Robinette Kowal [Kindle]. [review: Goodreads; Amazon]
7. At Risk [2004] by Stella Rimington [audible.com audiobook] [review: Goodreads; Audible].
6. The Dispossessed [1974] by Ursula Le Guin [Kindle]. 5/5 stars [review: Goodreads; Amazon]
5. The Story of My Life [1902] by Helen Keller [Kindle] 4/5 stars [review: Goodreads; Amazon].
4. Middlemarch [1872] by George Eliot (aka Mary Anne or Marian Evans) [Kindle]. [review: Goodreads; Amazon]
3. Interpreter of Maladies [1999], short stories by Jhumpa Lahiri [audiobook]. [review: Goodreads]
2. Knitting for Beginners [2014] by Susan Wilters [Kindle]. 2/5 stars [review: Goodreads; Amazon].

1. Among Others [2011] by Jo Walton [Kindle]. 5/5 stars [review: Goodreads; Amazon].