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.' "

Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

 

Title: The Da Vinci Code

Author: Dan Brown (American, 1964- )
Originally published: 2003

Page count: 590

Dates read: 11/3/24-11/20/24

2024 book goal progress: 23 out of 24

Read my other book reviews for my 2024 goals HERE.



Description on back of book:

The Louvre, Paris: the elderly curator of the museum has been violently murdered in the Grand Gallery. Harvard professor Robert Langdon is summoned to decipher the baffling codes which the police find alongside the body. As he and a gifted French cryptologist, Sophie Neveu, sort through the bizarre riddles, they are stunned to find a trail that leads to the works of Leonardo Da Vinci - and suggests the answer to an age-old mystery that stretches into the vault of history.

Unless Langdon and Neveu can decipher the labyrinthine code and quickly assemble the pieces of the puzzle, a stunning historical truth with be lost forever.

First sentence:
"Renowned curator Jacques Sauniere staggered through the vaulted archway of the museum's Grand Gallery."

Favorite quotes:

"The sacred feminine and the goddess have now been lost, virtually eliminated by the Church. The power of the female and her ability to produce life was once very sacred, but it posed a threat to the predominantly male Church, and so the sacred feminine was demonized and called unclean. It was man, not God, who created the concept of 'original sin,' whereby Eve tasted the apple and caused the downfall of the human race. Woman, once the sacred giver of life, was now the enemy... 

I should add, that this concept of woman as life-bringer was the foundation of ancient religion. Childbirth was mystical and powerful. Sadly, Christian philosophy decided to embezzle the female's creative power by ignoring biological truth and making man the Creator. Genesis tells us that Eve was created from Adam's rib. Woman became the offshoot of man. And a sinful one at that. Genesis was the beginning of the end for the goddess."

"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."

"Every faith in the world is based on fabrication. That is the definition of faith - acceptance of that which we cannot prove. Every religion describes God through metaphor, allegory, and exaggeration, from the early Egyptians through modern Sunday school. Metaphors are a way to help our minds process the unprocessable. The problems arise when we begin to believe literally in our own metaphors."

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

Review:

Though shorter than the first book in the series, this one could've been significantly shortened as well. I enjoy Dan Brown's writing, but he has significant pacing issues and creates unnecessary cliffhangers that are more annoyances that distance you from characters rather than creating tension and anticipation.

Overall, this was a good book! I enjoyed the characters and the riddles. The architecture and religious symbology were immersive to learn about. There are some good insights into both Christianity and paganism/Goddess worship. I found the book thought-provoking and eye-opening. I can't say too much without revealing spoilers, so this review will be short and end here.

Movie Review:

The movie was alright, but I still preferred the book. There were a couple of things that the movie changed that I liked, but the book has so many more details. An entire part of the puzzle was left out. I get it, they need to have the movie be a reasonable length, so things will be cut. Nonetheless, the book has so much more to it that it's worth reading even if you're already familiar with the story.

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:

(This is a very long quote - almost the entire chapter 55. It's a very controversial chapter regarding Christianity. The beginning and ending of the chapter were not included to avoid any spoilers being given away.)

" 'Everything you need to know about the Bible can be summed up by the great canon doctor Mertin Percy. 'The Bible did not arrive by fax from heaven.' The Bible is a work of man, my dear. Not of God. The Bible did not magically fall from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book.

Jesus Christ was a historical figure of staggering influence, perhaps the most enigmatic and inspirational leader the world has ever seen. As the prophesied Messiah, Jesus toppled kings, inspired millions, and founded new philosophies. As a descendant of King David, Jesus possessed a rightful claim to the throne of the king of the Jews. Understandably, His life was recorded by thousands of followers across the land. More than eighty gospels were considered for the New Testament, and yet only a relative few were chosen for inclusion - Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John among them.'

'Who chose which gospels to include?'

'Aha! The fundamental irony of Christianity! The Bible, as we know it today, was collated by the pagan Roman emperor Constantine the Great.'

'I thought Constantine was a Christian.'

'Hardly. He was a lifelong pagan who was baptized on his deathbed, too weak to protest. In Contantine's day, Rome's official religion was sun worship - the cult of Sol Invictus, or the Invincible Sun - and Contantine was its head priest. Unfortunately for him, a growing religious turmoil was gripping Rome. Three centuries after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, Christ's followers had multiplied exponentially. Christians and pagans began warring, and the conflict grew to such proportions that it threatened to rend Rome in two. Constantine decided something had to be done. In 325 AD, he decided to unify Rome under a single religion. Christianity.'

'Why would a pagan emperor choose Christianity as the official religion?'

'Constantine was a very good businessman. He could see that Christianity was on the rise, and he simply backed the winning horse. Historians still marvel at the brilliance with which Constantine converted sun-worshipping pagans to Christianity. By fusing pagan symbols, dates, and rituals into the growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid religion that was acceptable to both parties.'

'Transmogrification. The vestiges of pagan religion in Christian symbology are undeniable. Egyptian sun disks became the halos of Catholic saints. Pictograms of Isis nursing her miraculously conceived son Horus became the blueprint for our modern images of the Virgin Mary nursing Baby Jesus. And virtually all elements of the Catholic ritual - the mitre, the altar, the doxology and communion, the act of 'God-eating' - were taken directly from earlier pagan mystery religions.'

'Nothing in Christianity is original. The pre-Christian God Mithras - called the Son of God and the Light of the World - was born on December 25, died, was buried in a rock tomb, and then resurrected in three days. By the way, December 25 is also the birthday of Orisis, Adonis, and Dionysus. The newborn Krishna was presented with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Even Christianity's weekly holy day was stolen from the pagans.'

'Originally, Christianity honored the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday, but Constantine shifted it to coincide with the pagan's veneration day of the sun. To this day, most churchgoers attend services on Sunday morning with no idea that they are there on account of the pagan sun god's weekly tribute - Sunday.'

'During this fusion of religions, Constantine needed to strengthen the new Christian tradition, and held a famous ecumenical tethering known as the Council of Nicaea - the birthplace of the Nicene Creed. At this gathering, many aspects of Christianity were debated and voted upon - the date of Easter, the role of the bishops, the administration of sacraments, and, of course, the divinity of Jesus.'

'I don't follow. His divinity?'

'My dear, until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by his followers as a mortal prophet, a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless. A mortal. Jesus' establishment as 'the Son of God' was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicea.'

'Hold on. You're saying Jesus' divinity was the result of a vote?'

'A relatively close one at that. Nonetheless, establishing Christ's divinity was critical to the further unification of the Roman empire and to the new Vatican power base. By officially endorsing Jesus as the Son of God, Constantine turned Jesus into a deity who existed beyond the scope of the human world, an entity whose power was unchallengeable. This is not only precluded by further pagan challenges to Christianity, but now the followers of Christ were able to redeem themselves only via the established sacred channel - the Roman Catholic Church

'It was all about power. Christ as Messiah was critical to the functioning of Church and state. Many scholars claim that the early Church literally stole Jesus from His original followers, hijacking His human message, shrouding it in an impenetrable cloak of divinity, and using it to expand their own power.

'The vast majority of educated Christians know the history of their faith. Jesus was indeed a great and powerful man. Constantine's underhanded political maneuvers don't diminish the majesty of Christ's life. Nobody is saying Christ was a fraud, or denying that He walked the earth and inspired millions to better lives. All we are saying is that Constantine took advantage of Christ's substantial influence and importance. And in doing so, he shaped the face of Christianity as we know it today.

'The twist is this. Because Constantine upgraded Jesus' status almost four centuries after Jesus' death, thousands of documents already existed chronicling His life as a mortal man. To rewrite the history books, Constantine knew he would need a bold stroke. From this sprang the most profound moment in Christian history. Constantine commissioned and financed a new Bible, which omitted those gospels that spoke of Christ's human traits and embellished those gospels that made Him godlike. The earlier gospels were outlawed, gathered up, and burned.'

'Anyone who chose the forbidden gospels over Constantine's version was deemed a heretic. The word heretic derives from that moment in history. The Latin word haerericus means 'choice.' Those who 'chose' the original history of Christ were the world's first heretics.'

'Fortunately for historians, some of the gospels that Constantine attempted to eradicate managed to survive. The Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the 1950s and, of course, the Coptic Scrolls in 1945. These documents speak of Christ's ministry in very human terms. Of course, the Vatican in keeping with their tradition of misinformation, tried very hard to suppress the release of these scrolls. And why wouldn't they? These scrolls highlight glaring historical discrepancies and fabrications, clearly confirming that the modern Bible was compiled and edited by men who possessed a political agenda - to promote the divinity of the man Jesus Christ and use His influence to solidify their own power base.'

'It's important to remember that the modern Church's desire to suppress these documents comes from a sincere belief in their established view of Christ. The Vatican is made up of deeply pious men who truly believe these contrary documents could only be false testimony. That's understandable. Constantine's Bible has been their truth for ages. Nobody is more indoctrinated than the indoctrinator.'

'What he means is that we worship the gods of our fathers.'

'What I mean is that almost everything our fathers taught us about Christ is false.' "

[This is brilliantly written, I would only change the very last word in the quote to 'distorted' or 'modified' instead of blatantly 'false.']