12 July 2020
Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan, on Audible.
I discovered the Magnus Chase series during a deep-dive of Song of Achilles fan art and Greek myth memes, which led me to gorgeous Pinterest art of a green-haired genderfluid character named Alex. I’m about 25% through the story and haven’t met Alex yet, but Magnus is a great narrator and interesting character with tons of backstory to uncover.
The chapter titles are awesome, and there have been a bunch of moments so bizarre that I’ve laughed out loud. The voice of Magnus and the world-building feels unexpectedly fresh and exciting, possibly because I haven’t read the first in an epic fantasy series in a long time, but I’m super into it either way. This book is 15 hours long, and I’m loving every minute of it.
Touch by Courtney Maum, on Audible.
I’m just not getting the time to sit down and read (as Suzanne puts it) with my eyeballs these days; so the only reading I can do is through audiobooks. I got Touch on audio recently, because I was fascinated while reading it ages ago (when it was the Belletrist book of the month) and wanted to continue the story. One of the moments that stuck with me is the idea that modern society needed a new gesture after smoking was banned in public places and deemed unhealthy for the public, and so… the ‘swipe’ was born. The swipe gesture we use now in everything: Your phone, iPad, ordering tickets at the cinema, playing video games. Amazing, right?!
Touch has been a great listen. I love the social commentary, and the insights into future tech and trend forecasting; it’s given me a new perspective on things I come across daily. There’s a definite The Circle vibe happening at the point in the story I’m reaching now.
Float Plan by Trish Doller, on Goodreads. [Releases March 2, 2021]
Float Plan was a total spontaneous situation. I haven’t heard about it or seen the cover around, but it was in a NetGalley ‘Read Now for 24 hours’ email I received and when I read the description I was in. I began reading immediately while making dinner and couldn’t put it down even while I ate my meal. It’s the perfect blend of grieving, adventure, apprehension, self-discovery, and this wonderful lovely man encouraging and supporting Anna along the journey.
The description doesn’t mention that her husband died by suicide, which is where a lot of her grief sits. I don’t know if it’s just my experience that makes the words not as heavy, but somehow the honesty we get from Anna (about her experience with Ben’s depression and losing him this way) feels totally spot-on true without the story feeling weighed down by it at all. It could be the sunsoaked ocean-view setting, but the writing’s magic regardless. Float Plan has some excellent PS I Love You vibes, and reminds me of Shai and Sam Claflin in Adrift (2018) but obviously only the lovely bits before things get dark, Lol. I’m really enjoying the story so far, I kinda don’t want it to end.
