Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: October 2023

Back again for another fun month of book suggestions? Here are the things Kristin and I have been reading since the last wrap-up. Be sure to tell us if you see any of your favorite reads, something on the never-ending To-Be-Read list, or if you know of a comparable title we might enjoy. Thanks again for reading! Write on.

Kamryn:

For the month of October, I didn’t get a ton of reading done, but I do have a couple of things to talk about.

1. The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan

Unshockingly since I’m a huge fan of the Riordan-verse, I had to go get the new Percy Jackson book as soon as it was out, so my first read for October was The Chalice of the Gods. This book backs up a little bit in terms of the timeline to before his Trials of Apollo series and follows the misadventures of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover as Percy faces the daunting task of finishing his senior year.

I really love that Rick Riordan went back to his original trio for this book because they’re just so much fun and are so familiar to the reader. I think if you read the whole Riordan-verse, comparing Percy, Annabeth, and Grover in a book like this at the end where they’re much older and have figured themselves and happiness out a little better is really interesting to compare to The Lightning Thief, where they’re all so little and tragically sad. Really interesting character development over the course of the entire ‘verse. In that same vein, Percy felt very introspective and adult in his thinking in this book, which fits a lot of where he is in his life at the moment as he tries to plan for his future.

No one is probably surprised, but I loved it. I loved being with the main trio again, I loved Rick’s usual hilarity incorporated so well with mythology. This book was actually interesting to me since it stayed pretty localized around New York, rather than spread over the whole country like normal. So, I thought The Chalice of the Gods was a good mix of new and old elements, and it added some interesting things to the cannon. Like Riordan’s last book (with Mark Oshiro), The Sun and The Star (also a great read), The Chalice of the Gods is more of a side adventure, so I don’t think you’d have too much trouble reading it without having read the entirety of the Riordan-verse. But like I said, it read like a new adventure with old friends, and it was a very funny read.

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

So, if you’ve been reading along with our previous blogs, you’ll know I’ve been doing a lot of re-reading lately. After reading The Chalice of the Gods, I was mostly through my newer books (at least the ones that are out yet mwhaha), and I wanted something good to read. Then I remembered that the movie for The Hunger Games prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, was coming out in November. Now, I have read Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series multiple times, and finished the prequel when it came out a few years later, but I wanted to do two things with this: 1) Re-read the prequel before watching the movie so I could compare, 2) Read the prequel in tandem with the original series.

I originally read The Hunger Games back in high school when it first started to get really popular, but it’s funny how much you don’t take in about the writing technique when you’re not looking for it. Granted, I might not have been much of a writer when I was fourteen and didn’t know how to look for it, but still. It was such a good decision to revisit this series.

It’s a little baffling how Collins manages such a tragic, violent tale that can still be interwoven with love, humor, and hope- things that shouldn’t be in abundance in the world she created. At the moment, I haven’t quite gotten through the first book yet, but it strikes me as fascinating- and necessary- that you see this sharp change in character as Katniss goes from the girl who doesn’t see how anything can change to the girl that literally sparks (pun intended) the entire rebellion into action.

Like I said, The Hunger Games is a really interesting series in terms of writing technique, so this might be something to talk about more at length in a later blog. As a series, it actually gets mentioned several times in Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat! Writes a Novel which is an entire book about how to correctly structure novels. I’m curious to see how the prequel lines up with reading the series- I read it by itself when it first came out, so I want to compare them while the original is still fresh in my mind. When I first read it, I thought Collins did a great job of creating a different prequel world for the story to feel new, but one that set up the threads that very plausibly create the later, more vicious world of the original series- so I kind of want to see if I still have that same impression the second time around.

Kristin:

Hey everyone, for this month, I read five books! This may sound impressive for me but it was all part of a series that I really, really love. It is The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu who also wrote Heaven Official’s Blessing. Don’t let the title scare you, this Chinese fantasy (Xianxia) novel deals a lot with mystery, light and dark powers, and of course, romance.

Volume 1 begins with the protagonist, Wei Wuxian, being brought back to life (with a first line that I believe is heavily inspired from Wicked) and into a different body. He must learn the reason why he was brought back and solve the mystery behind the town being filled with resentful spirits. Along the way he runs into an old friend whom he did not part on good terms with in his previous life, Lan Wanji.

If I’m being completely honest, getting into a new fantasy series usually takes a lot of effort on my part. There are so many names and world building and backstories to figure out before the books start making sense, and this is especially true for Xianxia novels. This isn’t a complaint, I love both series by this author but I do have to be honest and admit that it takes me a while before I truly understand who’s talking and what’s going on. Once that was accomplished I was hooked to this series. MXTX has such a brilliant way of telling character’s stories and making sure each character is unique with their personality and story. It’s funny, it’s tragic, it’s quite simply, everything.

The romance is a slow burn, but so worth the wait. I think their confession might be my favorite ever? It was so sweet and adorable and *chefs kiss*. The content in these novels is more explicit in nature, so if that is something that bothers you, the latter books (particularly the fifth) will not be for you. If that’s the case, there is a live-action and animated (donghua) version that censor the romantic elements of the story while still adhering to the main mystery. This is because in China, there is a censorship law on LGBTQ+ content. I will say that I’ve seen the donghua and it’s still so good! I was very impressed. Not too long either. I’m about the start the live-action version soon (The Untamed available on Netflix).

Our protagonist, Wei Wuxian, is a brilliant little goofball. He speaks his mind a bit too much and is a tad chaotic in nature. But he is also loyal and good and willing to walk down his own path alone, even if nobody is on his side. I always love a good, “villain arc” but it was so interesting how he was portrayed, especially with his family dynamic.

Our love interest, Lan Wanji, is also amazing. He’s calm, cool, and collected and Wei Wuxian does everything he can to try and change that. Lan Wanji is a prodigy and prominent rule-follower, honest to a fault. His character arc is also super unique especially during the time period during Wei Wuxian’s death. I’ll keep things spoiler-free but I love when love interests get their own arc and aren’t completely dependent on the main character. The pair of them have both gone through so much both together and (mostly) apart. Honestly they just both need a hug. I’m happy to report they got that hug.

Xianxia is pretty interesting, usually dealing with good and evil vibes, questioning morals, and divine abilities. I may make a separate post comparing the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation and Heaven Official’s Blessing. They’re both so similar and yet so different but so, so, so good. (and then when I read her third and last series I can obsess over that too!)

I know what you might be thinking…wow, she reads a lot of that stuff! And you’re right! I love it and I can’t stop. However I am currently reading Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton and will hopefully be speaking about it in November’s Reading Wrap-Up.

That’s all for this month! Be sure to let us know what you’re reading and we’ll see you in November! Write-on!