Book Shelf Clean Out: Bruce Coville

Book shelf clean out: Bruce Coville

I loved these two series.

The Magic Shop books were fantasy about kids getting magical creatures they had to care for. It was my introduction to "little magical shop that wasnt there yesterday." I so badly wanted to be Jeremy and have my own dragon ^_^ there was another in this series too but I must have just borrowed it from the library.

The Aliens Ate My Homework series was sci fi. It was about a kid who gets pulled into adventures with some nonhuman aliens. Among other concepts, it talked a out how the worst thing you could be was cruel. It talked about the importance of finding a code of conduct that worked for you. It had cool aliens with cool alien jobs, including a Mr Snout who could mentally bond with people. There were relationships I didnt really understand (not in a sexual way just like they were aliens!). There was a guy who has modules that his friends click into and iut of his brain to give him different uhhh behavior patterns. There is a funny height joke. There was a talking plant who went by Phil O Dendron. The family characters (mom and siblings) come back during the series and clearly have been doing some character growth offscreen.

Book shelf clean out: The adventures of Charley Tooth

This one was weird and I liked it. The protagonist Charley accidentally ends up on an interstellar adventure(?) What I remember most is that the scifi alien setting really did feel interestingly alien. I don't remember much about the plot or the characters, but I remember it wasnt much like anything else I had already read. Lovely book.

Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood

I loved this one, and it was interesting because it's not by an author I know. But i found it so fascinating.

Spoilers I guess?

The protagonist starts off as this mysterious girl living alone in the tanglewood, a mysterious forest. She eventually leaves the tanglewood and goes on an adventure. She has vines and leaves in her hair, and it later turns out she is the tanglewood. Her journey affects the seasons of the lands she visits. As she travels, the plants in her hair change. I don't remember a lot of it (obviously) but this is probably one of the first books I read where a character was also a place/thing

Yes I just finished this one! I hope lots of people read it and it develops a thriving fandom. It DOES feel like a very tumblr-friendly work

If Found, Return to Hell by Em X. Liu

Loved, loved this fantasy novella! The protagonist works a soul-sucking corporate job at the call centre of One Wizard, redirecting customers whose spells have gone wrong. When they unexpectedly get to investigate a call, of course it turns out to be less routine than it seems...

The story uses Chinese mythology in a modern-with-magic setting: talismans, Courts of Hell, spirit possession...all the good stuff. It's set in a nameless city in China (I think).

Don't get put off by the second-person narrative ("you"). It's not gimmicky and you soon stop noticing. I think the author used it to avoid gendering the protagonist. They're nonbinary themself, and a number of characters have non-typical genders.

Despite the beginning, the book's tone is ultimately warm and hopeful. It's about opening yourself to caring for others, and the rewards that come from that.

Really, this book is so Tumblr: gender is irrelevant, love is real, found families support each other, and everything you learned from watching The Untamed et al. will come come to good use.

Super quick recommendation:

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal.

I gobbled it up, cover to cover, in about 6 hours. It has everything: space, women being awesome, a lovely and supportive marriage, friendships, a historical setting with a twist, bits that make me cry, bits that make me cheer (internally), a moment where I said out loud "EAT SHIT" to the surprise of my spouse who was watching TV at the time, characters of color, Jewish characters, people learning to be compassionate to each other and support each other, solidarity, a great plot, characters who like math, and SPAAAAAAACE.

This book is GREAT and I'm glad I had time to read it. It has sequels too.

I attempt a more coherent recommendation soon but suffice to say YES go check out THE CALCULATING STARS by MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL

Well fuck Balin

This is one of my favorite lines! It makes me smile every time

thoughts with spoilers for murderbot 6

Reasons "Well fuck Balin" is a great line

JollyBaby going "nah Balin is a manager" and MB being like "wait Balin doesn't lift heavy things because it's a manager? UGH" is just funny and relatable

It's also MEMORABLE

This means that later on, when we learn more about Balin, I'm not like "uh whomst the fuck?"

(I have a so-so memory and frequently struggle to keep track of different characters' names)

AND it's important that we remember Balin

I seriously think this one line is just... really incredible from a "how does the story fit together" point of view.

It's memorable, but it doesn't draw too much attention to itself. It's short and unobtrusive.

It's memorable because it's funny. It's not obvious like a character, I dunno, ominously standing in the shadows with its eyes/indicator lights turning red.

It helps the story function. Imagine how much worse the story would function if Balin was completely unmemorable.

And that's why "Well fuck Balin" is one of my favorite murderbot lines of all time.