Fables Comics Introduction

If you like fairy tales and mythology, I highly recommend the Fables comics series.

For more information, see the links below:

Suggested reading order

Mini-reviews (includes pictures and a character list)

In the Deluxe Volume 13, there's a great intro blurb by Lauren Beukes, and I wanted to type it up as an extended description of the Fables comic series. Most of what she wrote was about Fables comics as a whole, and any spoilers have been redacted.

Extended Fables Introduction/Description:

Breadcrumbs and Glass and Bloody Hearts

As a culture, we believe in the fundamental simplicity of folklore. We think of fairy tales as being almost like atomic units: the most basic of all narratives. This is why they're among the first stories we tell our children, and why folklorists try and break them down into archetypal 'functions,' like physicists identifying subatomic particles. Centuries of use have worn them smooth and stripped away any excess ornamentation. Only pure plot and simple morality remain.

But... It's complicated.

You see, for their whimsy, fairy tales have always been grim (and also Grimm - although the famous brothers were only the most well-known members of a much larger population of traditional folklore collectors). Yes, there are enchanted slippers and fortune-telling mirrors, determined piggies and brave young orphans, but there's also cannibalism and murder and ogres and witches and terrible, terrible parents. Anyone who tells you otherwise is referencing the sanitized, toothless shadows of the real stories - the ones that we feed to children today because we want to protect them from the darkness.

But the truth is, if we don't confront the imaginary monsters in the safe spaces of stories, eventually we will find ourselves defenseless when the real things with teeth and claws come at us from the world's metaphorical woods - or worse, from the wilderness inside our own minds.

Bill Willingham [the main creator of Fables] has always known this. He knows that there's a reason evil queens are intent on eating hearts: because our interiors are where the truth of us lies. In the source material that he draws on (the Grimms, yes, but also Perrault, Scott, Afanasyev, and the thousand of voices speaking through Scheherazade or Anansi), morality is complex and fluid. The ground shifts beneath us. Good wins, except when it doesn't. Evil gets its comeuppance, except when it escapes unscathed to come tapping at the window another night. Determination and integrity are not always enough, because people (and fairies and genies and winds) are fickle and messy and constantly change their minds and motives.

Fables takes the stories that we thought we knew, the ones threaded into our cultural DNA, and turns them into something strange and new and magical precisely because it gets to the bloody, pounding heart of being human. (Never mind that the cast includes toys and talking animals, dragons and dryads, wolves and tigers.) It's about relationships: family, friendship, love, rivalry, enmity, how characters are tested in the dark places, and how they come out on the other side.

Of course, darkness lacks meaning if there's no light to serve as a contrast. You need whimsy and wonder and humor. You need the signature details that catch in the imagination, like the trail of breadcrumbs, the talking harp, the golden goose, and the glass slippers that should have been fur but for a mistranslation from the original French.

That mix of light and dark is something Willingham and his collaborators do extraordinarily well - particularly... [when] the status quo has been swept aside and anything can happen... Seemingly tangential stories are each rich with the elemental features of the most powerful myths and legends: sacrifice, magical tools, kings, blood, death, renewal... True to its classical roots, there isn't an obvious villain in [many stories] - just desperate individuals who do terrible, surprising things in order to accomplish what they hold as their sworn duty... There are plenty of moments that make the blood quicken. The ability to shift between horror and comedy - often within the beats of a single page - is one that Willingham (and Buckingham, and McManus, all of whom can switch genres at the drop of a head) polishes to a mirrored sheen.

As in every volume of the Fables saga, Willingham's coup de theatre is not his transformation of childhood memories into something dark and different. It's not his reimagination of [familiar fairy tale] characters... It's how he reveals the darkness and differences within folklore's archetypes that we were always present, at their cores. Stuffed toys, fairy tales, the book you're holding in your hands: all are monstrous and comforting, worrying and beguiling. They aren't smoothed out at all; they're rough and jagged.

How else could they teach you anything?

-Lauren Beukes, June 2016

Trickster's Duology by Tamora Pierce

Duology Title: Trickster's

Author: 

Tamora Pierce (American, 1954- )
Originally published: 2003, 2004

Page count: 403, 444

Dates read: 

4/28/25-5/24/25, 5/29/25-6/17/25

2024 book goal progress: 

6 and 7 out of 25

Read my other book reviews for my 2025 goals HERE.

Read my other Tamora Pierce book reviews HERE.

1. Trickster's Choice (2003) - 403 pages

Description:

Aly is from a family known for great deeds. She is the daughter of Alanna, the famed knight and King’s Champion of Tortall. But even though she is bold and brave, like her mother, her true talents lie on her father’s side, in the art of spying.

 

When Aly is captured by pirates and sold as a slave to an exiled royal family in the faraway Copper Isles, she strikes a bargain with the trickster god. If she can keep young noblewomen Sarai and Dove safe for the summer, then he will return Aly to her family. The task should be simple, but Sarai and Dove are anything but. It’s a time of murderous plotting at court, and Aly will need to rely on her training and the insights of a strange young crow-man named Nawat to survive in a world where trust can cost you your life.

First sentences:
"George Cooper, Baron of Pirate's Swoop, second in command of his realm's spies, put his documents aside and surveyed his only daughter as she passed by his study door. Alianne - known as Aly to her family and friends - posed there, arms raised in a Player's dramatic flourish."

Favorite quotes:
"You choose tools for a task by their crafting, not their look. A smith's finest hammer will be streaked with soot."

"He's thinking. It will take him a while, since thinking isn't something that comes naturally to him."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 8.7/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 9
Atmosphere   - 9
Writing Style - 9
Plot                - 9
Intrigue          - 9
Logic             - 7
Enjoyment     - 9
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Mini-Review:

I really enjoyed this story. For as much as I enjoy Alanna and Keledry's stories as fighters, I tend to (slightly) prefer stories such as Daine being a mage, or Aly being a rogue. The characters are great, and I love the depth of the culture/world building! Aly (16 years old) is Alanna's (42 years old) and George's only daughter. This story takes place about a year and a half after the last book (Lady Knight, #4 of Protector of the Small).

Though, as I have a problem with Numair and Daine being in a relationship due to their age gap and student/teacher relationship, there's a 16-year-old (not Aly) considering a proposal from a man in his mid-thirties who had dated her step-mother. This is another relationship I absolutely do not approve of, and thankfully, it isn't lasting. I DO like the cute, currently one-sided, and more subtle romance Aly has in this story, and I hope it develops more in the next book. 

2. Trickster's Queen (2004) - 444 pages

Description:

No longer a slave, Aly has risen through the ranks of the rebellion to become their master of spies. When the Balitangs are brought out of exile and into the heart of the snakes’ den, that is the Copper Isles royal court, Aly must continue to protect her charges: Sarai, the beautiful, dramatic, and rash potential queen, and Dove, the more cautious and often overlooked younger sister. Can they step out of the shadows and prove they’re a force to be reckoned with?

First sentence:
"In the winter of 462-463 H.E., the brown-skinned raka people and their many allies, part-bloods and white-skinned luarin, prepared for revolution against the luarin ruling house, the Rittevons."

Favorite quotes:

"Never complain of another's foolishness. Not if there's a chance you might put it to use."

" 'How many books can one person read?' she joked, with only a little, well-hidden wistfulness for long winter afternoons spent curled up, reading until her eyes began to blur."

"Where everyone else sees a straight line, you see a maze, and when I'm done talking with you, the maze starts to make more sense."

"Sometimes you don't have to be an oracle to read the omens of your own doom."

"We had to force that feeble laurin conspiracy of yours to act. So far, they're just an association that meets to complain about the government. You can't play with rebellion. You're either in it, or you're dead."

"That's the problem. They think gods have rules and follow them. They should dedicate their lives to the Trickster, as we do. They would not be comfortable, but they would not have this illusion that life is supposed to make sense, either."

"Sometimes aggravation is the irritant that forces a result... People are very scared by bad things that seem to have come out of nowhere."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 7.1/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 9
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 7
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 4
Enjoyment     - 7
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Mini-Review:

The prologue is about 3-4 months after the last book, and the first chapter is about 4 months after that. Even though the book says it's 6 months after the first one, but I'm probably the only one counting. Another discrepancy is that Aly and Sarai were the same age in the first book, but in the second Sarai's a year older. Inconsistencies in books irritate me.

Despite this, I did enjoy this book for its rebellion and usurping of the throne. Unfortunately, there were 3 or so very significant plot points that came out of the blue and then were just brushed over. I don't want to give specifics since they're major plot points, but I wish more time had been spent on the build-up and on the wrap-up. I also didn't like how Aly's romance proceeded. Overall, the book is enjoyable, even though some parts felt forced.

Overall Review:

The books together span exactly 2 years and 6 days. I like it when books include dates! What I don't like is that the books clearly state that the Raka people are brown skinned (look at the first sentence of Trickster's Queen above), and yet some versions of the cover art have a very pale white female on them. They're not Aly because the hair and eye colors are wrong. That means it has to either be Sarai or Dove, who are part-raka. I understand that some people of mixed race can pass as white, but I would've much preferred the representation of at least a light brown skinned female on the cover.

I have some issues with the story, particularly in the second book, but overall, I did really enjoy this story. While reading this, I also rewatched the first season of Andor, watched the second season for the first time, rewatched Rogue One and A New Hope, as well as rewatched Fullmetal Alchemist. I also attended my first protest - NoKings on June 14th. Rebellions and overthrowing the current powers seems to be very fitting for our current time in history.

Embroidery update:

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Tamora Pierce have the last words:

" 'I don't trust anyone who feels you should like them because they love themselves so much," Dove said tartly. Aly snorted. 'Don't laugh. It's true.'

'I wasn't laughing at you,' Aly said. 'I was laughing because you put it perfectly.' "

-Trickster's Choice

"Sarai shouted, 'It's happened here! It happens here because soldiers believe the poor are a disease, not people. And they get that attitude honestly - it comes straight from the Throne! It always has and it always will, and people who are supposed to be noble in nature will let it happen, for fear of their own lives! Only one of us showed any decency today: Zaimid! The foreigner! He actually cares about people, whether they live in kennels or not!' "

-Trickster's Queen

That last quote seems very fitting in 2025 regarding the mass deportation of immigrants ('the foreigners who actually care about people') who are being put into 'kennels and treated like a disease' by Trump ('the Throne') and his MAGA cult, many of whom also use the label of 'Christian' for themselves ('people who are supposed to be noble in nature').

Protector of the Small Quartet by Tamora Pierce

Quartet Title: Protector of the Small

Author: Tamora Pierce (American, 1954- )
Originally published: 1999-2002

Page count: 1,158 total

Dates read: 2/19/25-4/6/25

2024 book goal progress: 2, 3, 4, 5 out of 25

Read my other book reviews for my 2025 goals HERE.

Read my other Tamora Pierce book reviews HERE.

1. First Test (1999) - 228 pages

Description:

In the medieval and fantastic realm of Tortall, ten years after knighthood training was opened to both males and females, no girl has been brave enough to try. Keladry of Mindelan is the first girl to take advantage of the decree. Up against the traditional hazing of pages and a grueling schedule, Kel faces one roadblock that seems insurmountable: Lord Wyldon, the training master of pages and squires. He is absolutely against girls becoming knights. So while he is forced to train her, Wyldon puts her on probation for one year. It is a trial period that no male page has ever had to endure and one that separates the good-natured Kel even more from her fellow trainees during the tough first year. But Kel Is not a girl to underestimate, as everyone is about to find out.

First sentence:
"Alanna the Lioness, the King's Champion, could hardly contain her glee."

Favorite quote:
"Gods of fire and ice, bless my new home. Keep my will burning as hot as the heart of a volcano, and as hard and implacable as a glacier."

" 'I got tired of thinking and worrying myself sick. I knew what had to be done, and I did it.' She signed happily. 'I love it when that happens.' "

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 7/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 7
Intrigue          - 6
Logic             - 6
Enjoyment     - 7
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Mini-Review:

This was a breath of fresh air after getting through the chore of my previous book. As a children's/young adult book, the language was simple and much of the story was predictable. Right now, I appreciate those things because they help me relax. One of my biggest complaints of the previous series by Tamora Pierce, was that the student started a romantic relationship with her teacher, who was about 15 years older than her. This book called that out and a character expressly said, "He's way too old for her." Overall, I enjoyed the familiar tropes of a female becoming a knight and I look forward to the rest of this quartet.

2. Page (2000) - 243 pages

Description:

As the only female page in history to pass the first year of training to become a knight, Keladry of Mindelan is a force to be reckoned with. But even with her loyal circle of friends at her side, Kel’s battle to prove herself isn’t over yet. She is still trying to master her paralyzing fear of heights and keep up with Lord Wyldon’s grueling training schedule. When a group of pages is trapped by bandits, the boys depend on Kel to lead them to safety. The kingdom’s nobles are beginning to wonder if she can succeed far beyond what they imagined. And those who hate the idea of a female knight are getting desperate—they will do anything to thwart her progress.

First paragraph:

"Fall that year was warm. Heat lay in a blanket over the basin of the River Olorun, where the capital of Tortall covered the banks. No breath of air stirred the pennants and flags on their poles. The river itself was a band of glass, without a breeze anywhere to ruffle its shining surface. Traffic in the city moved as if the air were thick honey. No one with sense cared to rush."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 6.6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 5
Intrigue          - 6
Logic             - 5
Enjoyment     - 7
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Mini-Review:

This book spans the 3 years she has left as a page and time moves quickly. The story felt like a filler that had to be done to get to the next book. Both the previous book and this one made a big deal about the exam of the pages at the end of their fourth year, but we don't ever see her do the test - it's just glossed over. The climax at the end had potential, but the build-up wasn't done well, so overall it felt pretty anticlimactic to me. Also, it's implied that Daine and Numair are still together and will stay that way despite the age difference - it's just something that bothers me.

3. Squire (2001) - 280 pages

Description:

Keladry of Mindelan has completed her four years as a page. Now at the age of fourteen and standing five foot ten, she is a squire - the second phase of training for knighthood in the land of Tortall. A squire serves and learns from a seasoned knight, then faces a final test. 

That final test is the Ordeal, which takes place in a magical room called the Chamber. There, a squire encounters parts of him- or herself that the chamber deems to be the most difficult to face - fears, failings, or unrepented wicked deeds. The Ordeal is an experience in which some would-be knights have lost their minds or their lives.

First sentence:
"Despite the overflow of humanity present for the congress at the royal palace, the hall where Keladry of Mindelan walked was deserted."

Favorite quotes:

"There was a saying: 'You need never unsay anything that you did not say in the first place.' "

"Seeing herself in the mirror, Kel thought she'd made herself into the girl she would've been had she not tried for her shield. The feeling was odd, more good than bad. Maybe I'm the same whatever I wear, she thought. It's just easier to fight in breeches."

"So long as there are nobles and commoners, the wealthy and the poor, those with power will be heard, and those without ignored. That's the world... The world is imperfect, but you do more than your share to set things right. Next time, report the wrongdoing. Even if nothing is done because the one reported is too powerful, a record will be made. When he does it again, the record will show he won't stop."

"When in doubt, Kel had been taught, shoot the wizard."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 7.1/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 7
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 5
Enjoyment     - 7
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Mini-Review:

So far, this is my favorite book in the quartet! I did really like it, though there were some logical things that had me scratching my head. I love how this series is pulling in multiple characters from the previous 2 quartets set in Tortall. One thing I didn't like was that this was was a bit more graphic regarding gory fighting and had multiple swears. I much prefer the gore glossed over and creative insults rather than outright swearing - which the book has as well. It just feels more fitting for what is clearly a children's chapter book, even though she's 17 by the end of it.

4. Lady Knight (2002) - 407 pages

Description:

Kaladry of Mindelan has finally achieved her lifelong dream of being a knight. But it isn't turning out as she imagined at all. With the land of Tortall at war with the Scanrans, she has been assigned the enormous responsibility of overseeing a refugee camp. To add to the burden, Kel has had a vision in the Chamber - a vision of the man behind the horrific battle machines that her fellow knights and friends are now fighting without her. She is torn between a duty she has sworn and a quest she feels could turn the time of the war.

First sentence:
"Keladry of Mindelan lay with the comfortable black blanket of sleep wrapped around her."

Favorite quotes:

"Threats are the last resort of a man with no vocabulary."

"They never say it's one thing to be given command by your superiors and another to be given it by the men under you."

" 'Mistresses, have you ever noticed that when we disagree with a male - I hesitate to say 'man' - or find ourselves in a position over males, the first comment they make is always about our reputations or our monthlies?' One of the women snorted. Others snickered. Kel looked at the man, who was momentarily speechless. 'If I disagree with you, should I place blame on the misworkings of your manhood?' "

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 8.1/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 9
Atmosphere   - 9
Writing Style - 8
Plot                - 8
Intrigue          - 9
Logic             - 6
Enjoyment     - 8
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Mini-Review:

I enjoyed this book. I liked the characters, the refugee camp, and the battle machines. I wish we had seen more of the machines and that there had been more of a battle with the mage in the end. The ending was built up so much that I guess it couldn't help but be anticlimactic. I still liked this story overall, though.

Overall Review:

Overall, I really enjoyed this series. Two things bothered me, though.

The first is that Tamora Pierce had the opportunity to end the horrible relationship that started in the last book (The Realm of the Gods) in the last quartet (Immortals), but didn't. Here's the link to that series, and a quote from the review of that book:

"The BIG problem is a 16-year-old having relations with her teacher who's about 15 years older than her. I understand this age gap in relationships was common historically - but the target audience is today's middle schoolers. Will they be aware of this knowledge? Even high schoolers could start thinking, 'Maybe a relationship with one of their teachers isn't too bad.' This book has the potential to groom teens (females in particular) into thinking that having relationships with someone significantly older than you and/or someone in an authority position, like a teacher, is acceptable - and it absolutely is not. There was 0 romance in the other 3 books and then this disgusting relationship was crammed down your throat - and much of it felt very forced and out of left field. The romance should have been with another minor or just left as it was - with no romance at all."

My second issue is the inconsistency of the passage of time in the books. It bothered my OCD that the first book spanned 1 year, the second book 3 years, the third 4 years, and the fourth book 3 months (with an epilogue 3 months after that). In the third book, a little more than half of it is her first year as a squire (10/20), the second year is a little under a third (6/20), the third year is 1/20, and the last year, which isn't even a full year, is about a fifth of the book (4/20). It irks me that some years are given so much more attention than others. I'd much prefer if each year was a single book, or each book was 2 years - but it stayed consistent for the entire series (there would be 4 or 8 books). Then when she became a knight, it could've been its own separate series. I wanted more details - it feels like so much is skipped over in the 'shorter' years.

Embroidery update:

   

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Tamora Pierce have the last words:

This is between Kel and her mother, Ilane, having a 'birds and the bees' talk:

" 'Noble families are so determined to keep their bloodlines pure that they insist their daughters remain virgins before marriage, poor things. You don't see that nonsense in the middle and lower classes. They know a woman's body belongs to herself and the Goddess, and that's the end of it.'

Kel was trying to remember if she'd ever heard the matter put in quite this fashion. She hadn't.

Ilane continued, 'I've often thought the nobility's handling of sex and marriage in their girls is the same as that of horse breeders who try to keep their mares from being mounted by the wrong stallions... You can't say this to noblemen, of course. The good ones are too romantic to like it, and the bad ones don't care.' "

-Squire

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Title: The Lost Symbol

Author: Dan Brown (American, 1964- )
Originally published: 2009

Page count: 654

Dates read: 1/12/25-2/19/25

2024 book goal progress: 1 out of 25

Read my other book reviews for my 2025 goals HERE.



Description on back of book:
When Langdon's mentor, Peter Solomon - a prominent mason and philanthropist - is kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving his friend's life is to accept the mysterious invitation into an ancient world of hidden wisdom.

First sentence:
"The Otis elevator climbing the south pillar of the Eiffel Tower was overflowing with tourists."

Favorite quotes:
"The word occult, despite conjuring images of devil worship, actually means 'hidden' or 'obscured.' In times of religious oppression, knowledge that was counter-doctrinal had to be kept hidden or 'occult,' and because the church felt threatened by this, they redefined anything 'occult' as evil, and the prejudice survived."

"The difference between Masonic spirituality and organized religion is that the Masons do not impose a specific definition or name on a higher power. Rather than definitive theological identities like God, Allah, Buddha, or Jesus, the Masons use more general terms like Supreme Being or Great Architect of the Universe. This enables Masons of different faiths to gather together... In this age when different cultures are killing each other over whose definition of God is better, one could say the Masonic tradition of tolerance and open-mindedness is commendable."

"Masons meditating with skulls and scythes are no more unnerving than Christians praying at the feet of a man nailed to a cross, or Hindus chanting in front of a four-armed elephant named Ganesh. Misunderstanding a culture's symbols is a common root of prejudice."

"Our forefathers were deeply religious men, but they were Deists - men who believed in God, but in a universal and open-minded way. The only religious ideal they put forth was religious freedom... America's forefathers had a vision of a spiritually enlightened utopia, in which freedom of thought, education of the masses, and scientific advancement would replace the darkness of outdated religious superstition."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 4.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 5
Atmosphere   - 6
Writing Style - 3
Plot                - 6
Intrigue          - 5
Logic             - 3
Enjoyment     - 6
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

This book was pretty meh, especially compared to the first two books of the series - Angels and Demons, and The Da Vinci Code. The first two books had crucial, controversial critiques of Christianity, which I greatly appreciated. In this story, despite Masons accepting all religions, the book celebrates the Bible. I had hoped we would find a library of pre-edited and lost sacred texts from around the world, but the ending was very disappointing. I also guessed the biggest plot twist in the book from very early on.

Dan Brown needs to stop with his unnecessary cliffhangers. It makes the books unreasonably long and instead of driving the book forward, it just becomes annoying. He also left out critical information as part of cliffhangers, which left me as the reader not as invested in the story as I would've been if I had just been given the information from the beginning. This book should have been half its length - a lot of it just could've been removed.

Overall, it was OK and I still appreciated some of the philosophical points made at the end. Nonetheless, the tone was very different than the previous two books and it feels like it doesn't quite fit into the series. It almost seems like Dan Brown got too much backlash from Christians, so he had to write a more Christian-friendly book - though it may not appear so due to the quotes I've chosen.

Embroidery update:

It'll look better (I hope) when more books are read and the star has more spokes around it.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Dan Brown have the last words:

"From the Crusades, to the Inquisition, to American politics - the name Jesus has been hijacked as an ally in all kinds of power struggles. Since the beginning of time, the ignorant have always screamed the loudest, herding the unsuspecting masses and forcing them to do their bidding. They defended their worldly desires by citing Scripture they did not understand. They celebrated their intolerance as proof of their convictions. Now, after all these years, mankind has finally managed to utterly erode everything that had once been beautiful about Jesus."

"You and I both know that the ancients would be horrified if they saw how their teachings have been perverted, how religion has established itself as a tollbooth to heaven, how warriors march into battle believing God favors their cause. We've lost the Word, and yet its true meaning is still within reach, right before our eyes. It exists in all the enduring texts from the Bible to Bhagavad Gita to the Koran and beyond. All of these texts are revered upon the altars of Freemasonry because Masons understand what the world seems to have forgotten - that each of these texts, in its own way, is quietly whispering the exact same message. 'Know ye not that ye are gods?' "

2025 Reading Goals

My goal is to read 20-25 books in 2025!

I don't have any book clubs or challenges I'm partaking in this year. I want to crack down on my TBR shelf. This will probably be a series year - finishing and starting!

I'm thinking of possibly doing a craft like in crocheted snake above, but would want to translate it to embroidery in some way. I also like the idea of showing the length of the book as well. Maybe instead of genre, I'll have each series be a color - since most will likely be fantasy in some way. A peppermint swirl-type pattern might work for embroidery. The tricky thing is that embroidery is a finite space, unlike crochet.

Update 2/7/25 - I've decided on a star pattern! It initially will have 20 spokes - 1 for each book, but more can be added between the first ones. I will update you with pictures at the bottom of this blog post.

I'll edit this page throughout the year and link my reviews to the titles as I complete them.

Without further ado - here's my list of possible books to read!

SERIES TO FINISH:

Note: I'm taking a pause from the Valdemar Universe by Mercedes Lackey (American, 1950- ) in order to finish Tamora Pierce's Tortall Universe and to allow Lackey some time to publish more books in the most recent series in her universe.

TORTALL UNIVERSE by Tamora Pierce (American, 1954- ) - extensive series

orange

Protector of the Small Quartet:

     -First Test (1999) - TBR

     -Page (2000) - TBR

     -Squire (2001) - TBR

     -Lady Knight (2002) - TBR

(Bone's Day Out (2014) - Short Story in Protector of the Small Omnibus, library?)

Trickster's Duology:

     -Trickster's Choice (2003) - TBR

     -Trickster's Queen (2004) - TBR

The Bekah Cooper Trilogy:
     -Terrier (2006) - TBR
     -Bloodhound (2009) - TBR
     -Mastiff (2011) - TBR

Extra Stand-Alones:
     -Tortall and Other Lands (2010) - Short Story collection - TBR
     -A Spy's Guide to Tortall: From the Desk of George Cooper (2017) - library?

Note: I don't plan to read the Numair Chronicles since it only has 1 book that hasn't been added to since 2018 and I'm personally not a fan of Numair as a character.

FABLES COMICS by Bill Willingham (American, 1956- ) - extensive series

light blue

     -105 comics (2012-2015, 2017, 2021, 2024) - TBR

     -Fairest in All the Land (2013) - graphic novel, TBR

     -Fables #150: Farewell (2015) - graphic novel, TBR

ROBERT LANGDON by Dan Brown (American, 1964- ) - 5 books

gold

     -The Lost Symbol (2009) - TBR

     -Inferno (2013) - TBR

     -Origin (2017) - TBR

AMERICAN GODS by Neil Gaiman (English, 1960- ) - 2 books, 2 novellas

coral/red

     -The Monarch of the Glen (2006) - novella, library?

     -Black Dog (2016) - novella, library?

     -Anansi Boys (2005) - TBR

SERIES TO TEST / START:

KATE DANIELS by Ilona Andrews - 10+ books

*Pseudonym for husand and wife team of Ilona Gordon (Russian, 1976- ) and

Andrew Gordon (American, 1970- )

purple

     -Magic Bites (2007) - TBR

     -Magic Burns (2008) - TBR

A COURT OF THORNES AND ROSES by Sara Maas (American, 1986- ) - 5 books

yellow

     -A Court of Thornes and Roses (2015) - TBR

     -A Court of Mist and Fury (2016) - TBR

GRACELING REALM by Kristin Cashore (American, 1976- ) - 5 books

*I only own the first 3 books and those will be rereads.

pink

     -Graceling (2008) - TBR

     -Fire (2009) - TBR

ONE-OFF BOOKS:

dark blue

     -The Christmas Box (1993) by Richard Paul Evans (American, 1962- ) - TBR

     -Twelve Classic Stories of Christmas (2020) by multiple authors - TBR

     -The Carpet People (1971) by Terry Pratchett (English, 1948-2015) - TBR

     -A Treasury of Dragon Stories (1997) by multiple authors - TBR

     -The Poppy War (2018) by RF Kuang (Chinese-American, 1996- ) - TBR

          *Technically series but I only own the 1st book out of 4

CONCLUSION

I'm not going to get to all of them, but I like to have options - limited options because otherwise there's decision paralysis. Let me know if you have read any of them before and what you think of them! If you have any books you plan to read this year, let me know that too!

Now I'm off to go read.

BOOK TRACKER EMBROIDERY

I will use a star pattern to track my books, similar to a temperature blanket. Each spoke of the star represents a single book and each author/series will be assigned a color. From the center of the star moving outward, the length of each spoke will be measured in mm, and 1mm equals 10 pages. So, it will be a colorful star with different-length spokes.

Update 3/3/25 - I have 2 updates for you today. The first is that the fabric I'm using is a loose weave, so the edges fray a lot. I first tried painter's tape, but it fell off. I looked into fabric tape but it's all double sided, so that wouldn't help. I researched other ways to prevent fraying and decided to try duct tape, but that didn't stick either. After additional research, I took a scarp of the same fabric and tried burning the edges - that worked so I did it on my piece. It's not straight edges anymore, which bothers me, but it's not fraying anymore!

The second update is that I intentionally kept this design extremely simple. To try to give it a little flare, I was putting a French knot at the end of the star spokes (you should be able to see it in the first 2 pics), but that was making the spokes not as tight on the fabric as I liked. I decided to go back and redo the few that were already done and just did a basic lazy daisy stitch instead. I also decided to measure the page count from the end of the white spokes instead of from the center of the circle, so the spokes are a little longer now.

Tortall Series by Tamora Pierce - orange

Fables Comics by Bill Willingham - light blue

Robert Landon Series by Dan Brown - gold

American Gods Series by Neil Gaiman - coral/red

Kate Daniels Series by Ilona Andrews - purple

Court Series by Sara Maas - yellow

Graceling Series by Kristin Cashore - pink

One-Off Books - dark blue

2024 Reading Wrap-Up

I had a goal of reading 20-24 books this year and I read 24! Yay!

Below you will find the books I read in order of my ranking of them:

1 and 2. Fables Comic Series by Bill Willingham (American, 1956- )

     -90 comics and 1 short prose story (2009-2014)

     -The Wolf Among Us (2014) - video game

     -Werewolves of the Heartland (2012) - graphic novel

I have no ranking on this one due to the series being too long. Nonetheless, this is an incredible series that retells the stories of fairy tale characters. It is a long series with multiple spin-offs... and there are a LOT of characters. Part of what I love is learning about characters I'm familiar with from my childhood, and another favorite part is learning about other fairy tales from around the world that I'm not familiar with. I also like how, though it's mostly comics, the series is very much mixed-medium. I'm hoping to finish this series over the summer of 2025!

Here's a quote from Bufkin the Flying Monkey, Baba Yaga, a djinn, and the Magic Mirror:

3. American Gods (2001) by Niel Gaiman (English, 1960- )

8.6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This is actually a bit similar to Fables, except instead of retelling fairy tale character stories and saying where they are now. We get where the Old Gods (such as Odin) are now and who the New Gods are (such as Technology). The story is good and I plan to read the other book in the series and possibly the two novellas.

"There's never been a true war that wasn't fought between two sets of people who were certain they were in the right. The really dangerous people believe that they are doing whatever they are doing solely and only because it is without question the right thing to do. And that is what makes them dangerous."

Bonus (just because I love the imagery and how poetical this feels):

"The house smelled musty and damp, and a little sweet, as if it were haunted by the ghosts of long-dead cookies."

4 and 5. Angels and Demons (2000) and Da Vinci Code (2003) 

by Dan Brown (American, 1964- )

8.3/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

I love the puzzles and insights enclosed within these books. They're controversial and very thought-provoking. I enjoyed these a lot and plan to read more of the 7-book series next year.

"Very little in any organized faith is original. Religions are not born from scratch. They grow from one another. Modern religion is a collage... an assimilated historical record of man's quest to understand the divine." -Angels and Demons

"History is always written by the winners. When two cultures clash, the loser is obliterated, and the winner writes the history books - books which glorify their own cause and disparage the conquered foe. As Napolean once said, 'What is history but a fable agreed upon?' By its very nature, history is always a one-sided account." -Da Vinci Code

6. The Narrow Road Between Desires (2023) by Patrick Rothfuss (American, 1973- )

8/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This is a part of the Kingkiller Chronicle series and is actually an expansion of a novella (The Lightning Tree) that I read last year. You really only need to read one of the two, so I would recommend this one due to it having more details. It tells the tale of what a day in the life of Bast looks like. 

"Bast laughed again. He knew he shouldn't, but there were times when it was either laugh or break wide open because he was too full. It would have been like holding back a sneeze. Sometimes the world was so perfectly revealed to be a joke, a picture, and a puzzle all at once. Laughter was the true applause you offered to the world for being beautiful."

7, 8, 9. The Mage Storms Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey (American, 1950- )

     -Storm Warning (1994) - TBR
     -Storm Rising (1995) - TBR
     -Storm Breaking (1996) - TBR

7.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This trilogy is part of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar Universe. I love this fictional universe, but I will likely take a break from it next year to finish up another deep-dive series and allow some of her new book/s in the series to be published.

"It is a man's deeds that define him. A good deed done in the name of the Dark is still done for the Light, but an evil one done in the name of the Light is still quite evil, and a soul could be condemned to Darkness for it. I have always felt that, before I passed judgment on any man because of the god he swore by, I would see how he comported himself with his fellows - what he did and how he treated them. If he acted with honor and compassion, the Name he called upon was irrelevant." -Storm Warning

"I want to make my own decisions, and if they're all the wrong ones, then I'll learn from them. I want to be an adult, not a child. I don't want to be led along the safe path! The safe path is never new, and the safe path never teaches you anything others don't already know!" 

-Storm Rising

"Please remember that religions are made up of people, most of whom have very little control over what their priests decree is doctrine. Keep in mind that given that the priests and the people have free will and the means to exercise it, gods may not always be able to control their priests either. So what the priests say, and the people believe, is not always the whole truth. Any God is far more than His people make Him. It is the responsibility of the priest to lead them to that understanding, so that they do not attempt to limit Him to what they know." 

-Storm Breaking

10. Greymist Fair (2023) by Francesca Zappia (American, 1993- )

7/10 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

This is a fairy-tale-esque story that was more teen/young-adult than adult. I was expecting it to be more gritty and for adults, but it was still good overall. Through personification, there's an approachable understanding of the concept of Death for teens, which was neat for me to see.

"Death comes for us all, eventually. Forgetting your fear of it can help for a time, and you can live, but Death is not evil. We will all go with Death one day. We don't have to fear them until then, but we also shouldn't ignore them. Death exists just as we do."

11, 12, 13. Father Brown Collections by GK Chesterton (English, 1874-1936)

    -The Donnington Affair and Father Brown's Solution (1914) - shorter

    -The Incredulity of Father Brown (1926)

    -The Secret of Father Brown (1927)

    -The Scandal of Father Brown (1935)

6.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5

These are collections of short mystery stories based on the detective Father Brown. It's a good occasional read if you're looking for something quick to read.

"You must remember that in a murder case the guiltiest person is not always the murderer."

-The Donnington Affair, Father Brown's Solution

"Beware of the man you forget, he is the one man who has you entirely at a disadvantage. Beware of the woman you forget, and even more so. A lot of men, especially men like you and your employer, could go on saying for days that something ought to be done, or might as well be done. But if you convey to a woman that something ought to be done, there is always the dreadful danger that she will suddenly do it."

-The Secret of Father Brown, The Song of the Flying Fish

14. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2005) by Stieg Larsson (Swedish, 1954-2004)

6.6/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5

This book sucked me right in with its mystery - it's very intriguing and draws readers in. Unfortunately, it's way too violent, gory, and sickening for me. I will not be continuing the series and have no interest in watching the movie.

"Friendship - my definition - is built on two things. Respect and trust. Both elements have to be there. And it has to be mutual. You can have respect for someone, but if you don't have trust, the friendship will crumble."

15, 16, 17, 18. The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce (American, 1954- )

     -Wild Magic (1992)
     -Wolf-Speaker (1994)
     -Emperor Mage (1995)
     -The Realms of the Gods (1996)

5.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5

I enjoyed the Tortall Universe when I was a kid, but, unfortunately, I'm not enjoying them as much as an adult. Nonetheless, I hope to finish off the books in this universe next year.

"Evil people say evil things to make good people cry and doubt. Don't let them get that hold on you." -Wild Magic

19. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store (2023) by James McBride (African-American, 1957- )

5.7/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5

This was an OK story to, but not what I normally read - fantasy. I know many people have really liked this one and it deals with many issues such as racism, ableism, sexism, religious discrimination, and classism. What McBride tried to do was admirable, but I don't think he quite pulled it off.

"She spent hours reading about socialists and unions and progressives and politics and corporations, fighting about a meaningless flag that said 'I'm proud to be American,' when it should have said, 'I'm happy to be alive,' and what the difference was, and how one's tribe cannot be better than another tribe because they were all one tribe."

20, 21, 22, 23. Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce (American, 1954- )

     -Alanna: The First Adventure (1983)
     -In the Hand of the Goddess (1984)
     -The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (1986)
     -Lioness Rampant (1988)

4.9/10 - ⭐⭐⭐/5

I enjoyed the Tortall Universe when I was a kid, but, unfortunately, I'm not enjoying them as much as an adult. Nonetheless, I hope to finish off the books in this universe next year.

"You're brave to admit you don't know everything and then do something about it." 

-The Woman Who Rides Like a Man

24. I Saw Three Ships (1969) by Elizabeth Goudge (English, 1900-1984)

4.4/10 - ⭐⭐/5

This is a very short Christmas story. If it was twice as long so the characters could've been fleshed out more, it would've been a really good story. As it is, it leaves much to be desired.

"Her spirits, which had been high, fell a little as a sense of time touched her. How slowly it crawled and yet how fast it flew. She had been young and now she was old and the years between had vanished as though they had never been."

Other books I read, or started and decided to not finish:

-Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale (2010) by Joss Whedon and Zack Whedon - comic, finished

-You Were Born for This (2020) by Chani Nicholas - astrology, finished

-The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge (2001) by Mark Brown / Charles Dickens - play, finished

     (I played Mrs. Cratchit!)

-Idylls of the King (1859) by Lord Alfred Tennyson - King Arthur, didn't finish

What was your favorite book you read this year?

I saw Three Ships by Elizabeth Goudge

Title: I Saw Three Ships

Author: Elizabeth Goudge (English, 1900-1984)
Originally published: 1969

Page count: 53 pages (with pictures throughout)

Dates read: 12/6/24-12/9/24

2024 book goal progress: 24 out of 24

Read my other book reviews for my 2024 goals HERE.




Description on back of book:
The morning star still shone, and when Polly opened the window the air was crisp and cool. As she leaned out, breathing in its freshness, all the cocks began to crow. And then her lips parted and the tingling blood sent a warm flow of warm flow of warmth to her fingertips. She leaned out farther, her eyes wide, for three ships were sailing towards the harbor. One had a red sail and one had a brown sail, and one had a sail like the wing of a swan.

First sentence:
" 'But we always did it at home,' said Polly."

Favorite quotes:
"Her spirits, which had been high, fell a little as a sense of time touched her. How slowly it crawled and yet how fast it flew. She had been young and now she was old and the years between had vanished as though they had never been."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 4.4/10 - ⭐⭐/5
Characters      - 5
Atmosphere   - 4
Writing Style - 4
Plot                - 3
Intrigue          - 6
Logic             - 4
Enjoyment     - 5
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

This was a cute, short story, but so short it felt pretty meh. I wish it was twice as long in order to develop the characters and plot a bit more.

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Elizabeth Goudge have the last words:

" 'The Wise Men might come,' said Polly. 'I was always expecting them at home, but they didn't come. I expect we were too far inland. They might come here. You wouldn't want to lock your door on the Wise Men, would you?'

'Don't talk nonsense, child,' said Dorcas impatiently. 'And there are no wise men. I have never met a man yet who was not foolish.' "