3 Things I’m Reading Now

I have a GoodReads account, and while I do update it, it’s mostly just a record for me of various titles I’ve read (I reset it this year, so it’s a bit empty at the moment). I usually rate the titles, but I don’t take the time to submit reviews. I figure, hey, that’s why I have a blog.

I love, love, love to read, and I have most of my life. I still have vivid memories of my mother re-reading Lambert the Lion to me for the umpteenth time as a toddler, or picking up the newest Babysitters Little Sister book in the grocery store and reading the entire thing before my mother checked out. Reading, in short, is a big part of my life, and therefore a big part of this blog.

So here’s three things I’m reading now.

 The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

“[Rincewind] had always held that panic was the best means of survival; back in the olden days, his theory went, people faced with hungry sabre-toothed tigers could be divided very simply into those who panicked and those who stood there saying “What a magnificent brute!”

I am brand-spanking new to Discworld. Fantasy is most of what I read, and I always heard my fellow readers speaking in hushed tones about Discworld and the surrounding mythology. I have to admit, when I tried to approach it, it was intimidating, like I couldn’t quite find the beginning. Finally in 2015 I found The Color of Magic at my local library, and I dove in head first! I was angry I had ever delayed once I got into the series for two reasons: 1) I should have started much sooner, and 2) no one ever told me that Discworld is a little like Douglas Adams and Tolkien had a turtle-shaped love child. The Light Fantastic is only book two, but I intend on seeing this series to the end. I’ve been told there are some Death-centric books later on and I can’t wait to read them.

Star Wars: Verily A New Hope by Ian Doescher

“Mos Eisley spaceport. Never shalt thou find / A hive more rank and wretched, aye, and fill’d / With villainy. So must we cautious be.” (3.1.9-11)

I watched Star Wars for the first time when I was 10ish (which was a great movie year for me, as I also discovered Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Singing in the Rain, and Demolition Man). I really enjoyed the first trilogy, but the my burning torch for the fandom wasn’t lit until my best friend introduced me to the Expanded Universe and my little mind was blown. (Of course it helps that the first thing I read was the Last Command trilogy by Timothy Zahn, but still.)

Fast forward like fifteen years, and my brother gives me the Shakespeare Star Wars trilogy for Christmas and I felt like a kid, well, at Christmas! I’m only in Act III, but I’m thoroughly enjoying myself. I never fancied the histories, preferring the comedies and tragedies, and I’ve never been a scholar, but the wonderful thing about what Ian Doescher has done is that you don’t have to be an English major or Shakespearean devotee to get the humor and parallels.

Archibald’s Next Big Thing by Tony Hale and Tony Biaggne (illustrated by Misty Manley and Victor Huckabee)

“Archibald’s morning always started off the same way it would end:

in an egg.”

So the Oscar Nominees all got a signed copy of Archibald’s Next Big Thing in their gift bag. To that I scoff with a loud “HA!” Because one of my best friends in the entire world already gave me a signed copy. (I really have the best friends. As in ever.)

I know what some of you are thinking. This is a child’s book! It’s all of what, eight pages? Are you serious? Only adults who write kid’s books actually read them! Are you a pervert? To which I say: so what, it’s actually 72, yes, inaccurate, and no. Archibald is a wonderfully illustrated picture book that tells a story that anyone can relate to. Personally, I never thought I’d identify so closely with an animated chick.

Oh, and an added bonus? It comes with a Flat Archibald that you can take along on your own Next Big Thing.