November 9 - 15

The Hermaphrodite by Julia Ward Howe
This is a book for my early American novel class that has one of those names and covers that makes you feel a little weird to read it in public. I am, however, enjoying it for the most part. It hasn't been a struggle to get through and reads like a memoir, so of course I love it. There was a section of pages where the main character turns to God in a philosophical, rambling kind of way that I skimmed pretty generously, but other than that, it's been intriguing at the least. As for the history of the book itself, it was actually an unpublished set of manuscripts that aren't super related or even close to complete. The random sections that could be found were compiled by the man who put my edition together in the order he thought made the most sense, but there's really no set way to do it since the author never seemed to intend to publish it. It's very outside her canon, so it's even more intriguing. Reading the scattered bits at the "end" was quite interesting, and it's definitely a good thing I'm not one of those people who has issues when the author "doesn't tell you what happens at the end."


Empire of Ivory: A Novel of Temeraire by Naomi Novik
Yes! I was finally able to get the copy and time to read this! I'm only about a quarter of the way through at the moment, but there was an excellent twist that I did not see coming at all! I'm really excited to keep reading and I hope I continue to have time to do so! Temeraire is, as always, an excellent and intriguing character, and the addition to the wily young Kazilik dragon (a fire-breather!) has me groaning in frustration and smiling indulgently at her antics. The ferals are a clever addition, and quite frankly, the dragons are always the most interesting characters. This could be my own personal inclination rather than the writing, but I think in this case it's just inevitable. They're so interesting! Anyway, I'm going to go read some more of it while I have the time!