Reading Wednesday

[cinaed]

Hey, a snow day! I was on vacation and at an anime convention this past weekend so I mostly read manga this week.

Recently Finished

 

The Sisters of the Winter Wood by Rena Rossner, which is a historical fantasy novel that combines Jewish folklore, Rosetti poem The Goblin Market, and the author's family history of surviving pogroms to focus on two Jewish sisters who have magical abilities. It was a very good read, though I misjudged both of the love interests, and side-eyed a bit of a choice at the end. Still, the sisters' relationship was great and the magical world was fascinating! 

I also read several manga. One, Beauty and the Beast Girl, was a one-shot shoujo ai manga about a monster in the woods and a blind girl who falls in love with her. It was an enjoyable read, though I'm not sure the ending was believable. Still, a happy ending is good! The other one was the first volume of 10 Dance, a yaoi manga about two male ballroom dancers who challenge each other to participate in the famous 10 count dance competition and fall in love. I really like it so far! The guys' chemistry is great, and I appreciate that their female partners also get a chance to shine and befriend each other. 

 

Currently Reading

 

I'm into the final chapters of the nonfiction novel Orphan Trains: The Story of Charles Loring Brace and the Children He Saved and Failed by Stephen O'Connor, an account of the mixed success of a 19th and 20th century child welfare program in which vagrant children of cities like NYC were sent to rural families in the Midwest. It was a fascinating, if harrowing look, at how child welfare and care has evolved, and why the program, while well-meaning, had serious flaws. It also had a lot of fascinating first-hand accounts.   

 

What's Next

 

Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster by Stephen L. Carter is due soon, so probably that one. After that, either The Pinks: The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies With the Pinkerton National Detective Agency by Chris Enss or Radiant Days, Haunted Nights: Great Tales from the Treasury of Yiddish Folk Literature by Joachim Neugroschel. 

Comments

[hokuton_punch]

Ooh, both of those manga sound fun... And Sisters of the Winter Wood sounds kinda up my alley, I should see if my library has a copy.

[chestnut_pod]

Joachim Neugroschel, yes!! Queer Jewish minority language polyglot translator OF MY HEART. I hope that's a great collection!

I also feel like I have to go digging for Beauty and the Beast Girl. I'm always up for one-shots and that sounds like a very nice piece of fluff to tuck into in between grad school reading.

I read The Sisters of the Winter Wood a couple months ago and found it… intensely distressing. Glad more Jewish fantasy is coming out in the world, but boy did it step HARD on my antisemitism anxiety triggers/generalized Jewish Grief. Which it was probably meant to do!

Anyway, I'd be interested to hear more about what you liked and what you side-eyed. Myself, I thought it was a pretty inspired choice of mash-up.

[cinaed]

I mostly side-eyed the whole 'swans mate for life and they have a destined bond with each other' thing because soulmates are not a trope I enjoy, so I was a little frustrated by the one sister's story line. Yeah, when the author's notes explained that she drew heavily on her own family's experiences, it explained a lot! A lot of the story was very harrowing. I'll definitely let you know if I find any good Jewish fantasy that hopefully isn't triggering.

...Speaking of, have you read Rebecca Fraimow's two short stories involving a Jewish family and magic? They're so good!

First story: http://www.diabolicalplots.com/fiction-15/

Sequel: http://podcastle.org/2016/12/27/podcastle-448-shaina-rubin-keeps-her-head-under-circumstances-nobody-could-have-expected/

[chestnut_pod]

Ah yes, the random Secret Princess With Soulbond thing. I have to agree with you on that one. I'd very much appreciate any others you stumble across!

I adore both those shorts and keep an eye on Fraimow's blog. Her novelette/novella thing Suradanna and the Sea is excellent too, if you're looking for more of her and haven't read it yet.

[cinaed]

Ha, I've been friends when the author for a while, and yes, Suradanna and the Sea is one of my favorite novellas. I'm honestly due for a reread!