September 15-19

This week I have been reading...

The Linwoods, Volume 1 by Catharine Maria Sedgwick. 
This is one that I'm reading for my Early American Novel class, but I've been enjoying it a lot! It's very compelling and actually has a relatable plot and characters. It's pretty much a young adult novel! Awesome! It's set in the time of the American Revolutionary War and follows several sons and daughters of families who are split in alliances and beliefs between the Whigs and Tories, despite their friendship. There are relationship troubles, fits of insanity, plotting mothers, imprisonment, questioned ideals, and so much more! It's lucky that I'm so interested in it because it's a good amount to plow through in just a week!

This book is also available for free online in many places, so it's easy to read if desired. Project Gutenberg, Archive.org, and even Google Books have different versions including .mobi, .epub, .pdf, and plain old scanned pages. Give it a look!

The Black Powder War: A Novel of Temeraire by Naomi Novik
This is third book in a series that I stumbled upon and have been reading for a bit now. It's pretty cool. It focuses on the British side of the Napoleonic era of wars, but there's a twist:dragons exist and are used as a special division within the armies of each country. The basis of this story is that a ship captain finds an egg as loot on a captured French ship---an egg that is about to hatch and needs someone to try to harness it, or else the dragon will be "rogue" and not helpful to the army. Much fun and interest ensues, and each novel has so far featured a different country (or multiple!) which is quite interesting. The characters (particularly the dragons) are delightful, and it's a highly engaging look at Napoleon.