What the river knows: Book recommendations for September
A round-up of the best graphic novels and fairy tale re-tellings. Happy reading!
Dear reader,
This month’s round-up of recommendations is magical and fantastical — award winning graphic novels, fairy tale retellings, magical libraries, and mysterious quests. Come, fill your heart up with the wonder and magic of books!
Recommendation corner
Have some of the bingo prompts got you scratching your head, wondering what to read or maybe even what it means? I got you covered! Every month, I will pick 2 bingo prompts and share a couple of recommendations with you. And just so you’re not here all day reading this, I’ll link you up to Goodreads so you can check out the book and add it to your Want-to-read shelf. Here we go!
A graphic novel
A picture tells a thousand words — and graphic novels bring together words and pictures to tell some powerful stories. Here are a few of my recommendations for this prompt, from iconic graphic novels to more niche ones:
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi: In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq
Manga Classics: Les Miserables: Gorgeous artwork for a classic story adapted into a Manga edition – what more could you ask for? If you’ve never read Les Miserables, or even if you have, you’ll love this book!
Maus by Art Spiegelman: Hailed as “the most affecting and successful narrative ever done about the Holocaust” by Wall Street Journal, the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel tells the story of Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler’s Europe, and his son, a cartoonist coming to terms with his father’s story.
Verissimus: The Stoic Philosophy of Marcus Aurelius by Donald J. Robertson: A sweeping historical epic of a graphic novel on the life and philosophical journey of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, based on a close study of historical evidence, with stunning full-color artwork of award-winning illustrator Zé Nuno Fraga.
A fairy tale retelling
Once upon a time, there was a fairy tale that we loved to hear at bed time. Maybe that tale has been re-told for our adult sensibilities? And maybe we can find retellings of fairy tales from different cultures and different lands? Here are a few fairy tale retellings that I loved:
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden: Set in medieval Russia, this absolutely spell-binding novel combines elements of Russian folklore with history and mythology to weave together an atmospheric, compelling story. An absolute must-read, if you haven’t read it already!
The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman: A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic. This one crosses over into the graphic novel prompt, too!
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly: 12-year old David, who is mourning the death of his mother with only the books on his shelf for company, embarks on a Wizard of Oz-like journey. Combining fairy tales like Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretel, and Little Red Riding Hood in a more dark and sinister form, this is one heck of a compelling tale!
The Reflections of Queen Snow White by David Meredith: What happens when “happily ever after” has come and gone? An aging Snow White has been mourning the death of the king since a year. But on the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven’s wedding, can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? You can find my review of the novella here.
Share these magical books with your friends!
On my to-read list:
What can I say? I’m an enabler! In this section, I’ll share a couple of books from my TBR list. These will generally include a mix of upcoming releases and books that have been around for years but never made it into my orbit.
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer
Lucy Hart knows better than anyone what it’s like to grow up without parents who loved her. In a childhood marked by neglect and loneliness, Lucy found her solace in books, namely the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson. Now a 26-year-old teacher’s aide, she shares her love of reading with bright, young students, especially seven-year-old Christopher Lamb, who was left orphaned after the tragic death of his parents. Lucy would give anything to adopt Christopher, but even the idea of becoming a family seems like an impossible dream without proper funds and stability. Just when Lucy is about to give up, Jack Masterson announces he’s finally written a new book. Even better, he’s holding a contest at his home on the real Clock Island, and Lucy is one of the four lucky contestants chosen to compete to win the one and only copy. For Lucy, the chance of winning the most sought-after book in the world means everything to her and Christopher. But first she must contend with ruthless book collectors, wily opponents, and the distractingly handsome (and grumpy) Hugo Reese, the illustrator of the Clock Island books. Meanwhile, Jack “the Mastermind” Masterson is plotting the ultimate twist ending that could change all their lives forever.
How much more magical could it get than a contest to win a copy of the only book written by your favorite author?
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez
Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind. When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe. With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.
Magic and mysteries set in the land of the pyramids and Pharaohs? Sign me up already!
Expected publication date: 31 October
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of ancient and rare books. Books that let a person walk through walls or manipulate the elements--books of magic that half-sisters Joanna and Esther have been raised to revere and protect. But all magic comes with a price, and for years the sisters have been separated. Esther has fled to a remote base in Antarctica to escape the fate that killed her own mother, and Joanna's isolated herself in their family home in Vermont, devoting her life to the study of these cherished volumes. But after their father dies suddenly while reading a book Joanna has never seen before, the sisters must reunite to preserve their family legacy. In the process, they'll uncover a world of magic far bigger and more dangerous than they ever imagined, and all the secrets their parents kept hidden; secrets that span centuries, continents, and even other libraries . . .
Another book about books…magical and wondrous books…and libraries. What’s not to like about this premise?
For the love of poetry
One Last Day
Mary Walker
We should live at least one day like it’s the last.
Not our own last, but the last;
as if the world and time itself
is out of ideas for what comes next.
On a Tuesday, say, or a Wednesday,
you could wake into a day, uncertain.
That your lashes flicker open is a blessing,
the pillow under you head was never so soft,
the breath from your nose, a caress.
All day you dance with the unknown,
everything possible, nothing assured.
What surprise at each continued thing!
Relief at the sound of your loved one’s voice
rising and falling in the next room;
the floor, there where you left it
ready to meet each step.
A cup that continues to exist
as the water pours and pours
and the wall clock ticks again
and again.
Magic.
The cat miaows and you have an ear to hear it;
kibble still exists, and the bowl.
The cat keeps being there
keeps eating,
being there, eating,
and you laugh, delighted.
Emboldened, you whistle
and the melody remembers,
unfolding into an air that continues to carry it.
Time exists because Moonlight Sonata
keeps arriving note by note.
Do it until the sun goes down,
stay at the day’s leading edge
waiting to see what happens,
the world rising up everywhere you look,
collapsing back down as you turn away.
One moment transforms into the next
such that you forget
the day is uncertain.
And at day’s end, relief
that the bed catches you,
that the world catches you each day,
forgetting, as we do
that any one day could be the last.