Reading...A Study in Charlotte

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro is a delightful re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes. Imagine that James (Jamie) Watson and Charlotte Holmes are teenagers whose family legacy goes all the way back to the infamous Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. Imagine that Jamie and Charlotte are teenagers, and finally meet at a Connecticut boarding school where murder and attempted murder bring them into the thick of what one might consider a fated partnership.

There are many adaptations, re-tellings, and twists on the Sherlock and Watson story, and this one more than holds its own. I liked the idea of Holmes and Watson being real people whose families are connected for generations. You get a modern day Holmes trained in deduction and science and logic from birth, a teenager who consults with Scotland yard, but who's family legacy also includes a bit of neurosis, emotional detachment, mental illness, and drug addiction. I like that you get a Watson who is an aspiring writer, whose youthful fascination with the story of Charlotte Holmes turns into a genuine -- if unconventional -- relationship and deep bond.

There are other small gems in the story: Jamie's dad, Charlotte's brother, a couple of boarding school friends and one genuinely caring dorm mother. There are a lot of bits of humor and levity, just enough to offset some of the heavier elements like Charlotte's drug addiction and an (off camera) instance of sexual assault.

All in all, a great read if you like mysteries and boarding school and fated if slightly unconventional relationships. An especially great read if you like Sherlock Holmes.

Reading...Strange the Dreamer

I've decided that Lanie Taylor is basically a wizard. You know the story-within-a-story where the things an author writes come true? Taylor's writing is that way -- just magical. She writes captivating stories set in fantastical worlds that I can see unfurling across the page. Taylor's writing is lush and decadent. In the hands of a different author, it's the kind of writing that might seem overwrought, but Taylor's stories are the perfect vehicle for that kind of evocative prose -- they're fairy tales.

Strange the Dreamer is the story Lazlo Strange, a boy orphaned by war and raised by dutiful but somewhat uncaring monks in the city of Zosma. He finds solace in his imagination, and in stories. And for Lazlo, one story stands out above all the rest: the story of Weep, the legendary unseen city across the vast desert called the Elmuthaleth. Caravans full of stories and marvelous treasures would entice the countries on this side of the Elmuthaleth. Adventurers would set out to attempt the dangerous dessert crossing, but none returned, as outsiders were forbidden in the Unseen City and put to death. But two hundred years ago, all the caravans stopped coming, and people began to forget about Weep. For Lazlo, it was the story of all stories, a mystery that captivated him so much it helped him earn his nickname "Strange the Dreamer," and just a little bit of ridicule among his eventual colleagues at the Great Library.

Until one day, a company of legendary warriors from the Unseen City rode into Zosma, and everything changes. Lazlo is given the chance to accompany the Tizarkane warriors and the scholars they've recruited to help them solve a mysterious problem in Weep. It's the adventure he's always dreamt of, and one that will give him more questions than answers.

Strange the Dreamer is a story that lives in the gray areas -- where good people do bad things, where centuries of oppression and torture breed hate and fear, and where sometimes there is no clear path forward. It's a story about hoping and striving for the best, but sometimes having to face the worst.

Clearly, I loved this book. It's a duology, and I can't wait for book number two! But, I realize fairy tale-esque fantasy isn't for everyone. But if that IS your jam (or you are open to trying it) here's an excerpt from the book that I think represents it really well:

All his life, time had been passing in the only way he knew time to pass: unrushed and unrushable, as sands running through an hourglass grain by grain. And if the hourglass had been real, then in the bottom and neck --  the past and present -- the sands of Lazlo's life would be as gray as his robes, as gray as his eyes, but the top -- the future -- would hold a brilliant storm of color: azure and cinnamon, blinding white and yellow gold and the shell pink of svytagor blood. So he hoped, so he dreamed: that, in the course of time, grain by grain, the gray would give way to the dream and the sands of his life would run bright. 

Now the bird. The presence of magic. And something beyond the reach of understanding. An affinity, a resonance. It felt like...it felt like the turn of a page, and a story just beginning. There was the faintest glimmer of familiarity in it, as though he knew the story, but had forgotten it. And at that moment, for no reason he could put into words, the hourglass shattered. No more, the cool gray sift of days, the diligent waiting for the future to trickle forth. Lazlo's dream was spilled out into the air, the color and storm of it no longer a future to be reached, but a cyclone here and now. He didn't know what, but as surely as one feels the sting of shards when an hourglass tips off a shelf and smashes, he knew that something was happening.

Right now. 

 

Every mile counts

Travel survival skill: sleep when you can, where you can.
Nailed it.

This post was inspired by a book launch campaign from Tsh Oxenreider with the release of her new book At Home in the World (which I just started reading). I'm too late for the official launch-week "party," but I figure it's never to late to talk about something that's occupying brain space and capturing my interest!

I’ve always enjoyed traveling. Maybe it was the frequent trips to visit grandparents a few hours away. Or being an avid reader, visiting numerous places through the pages of books. Or maybe it was the two week road trip my family took when I was nine, driving from our home in Missouri to Michigan, Niagra Falls, New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Tennessee, and Atlanta. Maybe it was seeing my Dad come home from a trip to China, full of stories and excitement from experiencing a new culture and connecting with people from across the globe. Aside from those few experiences, my family’s travel was mostly limited to trips to see grandparents and great-grandparents. But we took advantage of opportunities when we could:  a trip to Spain with my Dad in high school. A senior trip to England and Scotland. A family camping trip through Oklahoma and North Dakota. And those experiences planted the seed of wanderlust, a desire to travel and see and experience other places.  Fast forward a couple of decades, I've logged more miles and continued to take advantage of seeing new places when I can. The travel bucket list just keeps growing, and my husband and I slowly get ourselves into a position to continue see more of the world.

These days, any kind of dream factors in two sweet kiddos – a three year old and a one and a half year old. Travel is on my mind lately because I recently listened to a couple of podcasts talking about travel, in particular traveling with children. One constant theme: to have kids who are good travelers you just have to ….travel. Like most things in life, if you want to get better at something, or if you want it to be easier, you have to practice. At first, I thought to myself: well, better get busy planning family trips! And then the other day, as I was packing suitcases for a weekend trip to visit cousins in Austin I realzed: this was the sixth time in the past six moths that I’ve packed suitcases for a trip. A two-legged trip to Missouri in December to visit family, followed immediately by a vacation in North Carolina in January, a week in the country with the grandparents, followed two weeks later by a week in Florida (Disney World!). Back to the grandparents’ for Easter, the aforementioned last-minute trip to Austin, and most recently a weekend road trip to Oklahoma  for a half marathon. And there you have it: practice. And I realized, practice doesn’t have to be glamorous. Travel doesn’t have to be glamorous. Maybe it’s “just” going up to Nana and Grandpapa’s, but that’s still learning to be comfortable away from home. Maybe it’s “just” a trip to Oklahoma, but it’s still experiencing something beyond your neighborhood (and for a three year old from Texas, Oklahoma is probably pretty exotic). It’s getting used to flying, riding, and watching. It’s getting to a point I can pack for three in an hour (30 minutes if it’s just an overnight). It’s knowing what things I’m so thankful I packed, and what things just took up space.

It’s family together time, it’s (mostly) a lot of fun, and it’s growing travel and life skills one mile at a time.

Reading and listening

1. This post could accurately be titled "A Monday list" but I'm feeling a little rebellious this afternoon.

2. A few days ago I just finished listening to the podcast "S-town." It's a seven episode podcast by the producers of Serial and This American Life. It's like listening to a short novel, or creative memoir. I saw it described somewhere as a "true life Southern Gothic," and I think that's applicable. If you like stories about people and how we're all a little more complex below the surface, then you may enjoy this story. I say may, because unlike most novels, "S-town" doesn't wrap up in a nice tidy package. It starts out as one story, and turns into something else. But it is fascinating, and creative, and you'll want to talk about it.

3. Right now I'm reading Good Faith, by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons. It's a thought-provoking look at how to navigate those the intersections when Christian beliefs collide with opposing beliefs. It's goal is to give people insight into how to hold fast to convictions, while still loving their neighbors and treating people who disagree with respect and kindness. In a culture where it seems that disagreements always lead to fighting, and where everyone is divided into "us" and "them," this book seems exceptionally timely. So far, I'm really enjoying it. Some of the things they talk about aren't rocket science (listen to people before speaking, for example), but it's presented in such a way that makes it resonate and sink in just a little more. And there are a few ideas that create a bit more of an "a-ha!" moment.

4. We've got a date night planned for this month. Nothing too exciting: dinner and a movie. BUT, we're trying out a restaurant called Q-shi, a barbecue/sushi fusion, that we randomly saw featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives . Sounds a little weird but also a little awesome. Then, of course, we'll be headed to see Guardians of the Galaxy 2.


Happy Monday!