“A dystopia that does not have any elements of the dystopia that I like.” - Kayte

”Way too rich and privileged to put themselves into. Love letter to European food. Didn’t wanted them to even be together by the end of the book by halfway through. Couldn’t root for them.” - Bree

”This was a book read for an AP history class in high school (low-hanging fruit, I know, I haven't hate-read anything lately). This is the same Gary Paulson who wrote the Hatchet, yes, so I expected a lot more from the book than it had. It's all about life in a farming community, which consists mainly of coffee, farming, coffee, barn dances, coffee, harvesting, and more coffee. Oh, and sometimes people lost limbs in the thresher machine. This is not a bad glimpse at history but it did not, however, keep my interest.” - Jordan

They did not age well, all the spicy scenes are all rape and rapey orgies. The dragons are raped. - Jen
The dragons are sleeping with dragons. For clarity.

Interesting premise but sooooo sleazy. Very creepy 1970s/1980s writer vibes. - Fallin

”She is forgotten for a reason.” There was not nearly enough material to write an insightful book on Matilda. The main issue however was the lack of editing, the textbook like format of the book. And the random photos that were entirely in the wrong chapter. Also the author used her own vacation photos and they didn’t always have context to the book. For instance “lots of photos of the leper house when it was only mentioned in one sentence.” - Fallin

Preface: I watched the movie before the book and have tickets to see the movie for a second time.
It is classified as horror but it is really not. It’s a story in reverse and “a beautiful portrait of a life lived.” - Kayte

“Explored what makes a life worth living.” “Showed how beautiful an individual’s life can be.” - Bree

”Hannah Montana the movie but make it indigenous.” The “native” popstar but she doesn't actually know her own culture. Very heartwarming and sweet. Well written. Fantastic pacing. - Bree

Kayte and Elaine reminded me of this book yesterday, so it had to be toasted. This book has steampunk, biopunk, alternate history, and a coming-of-age story, so it's really written just for Jordan. The story follows a re-imagining of the prelude to World War One, where the Triple Entente (the Allies to North American folks) learned to genetically engineer beasts as machines from Charles Darwin. They have bio-engineered balloons, tanks, and an airship based on a whale with a whole ecosystem of bio-engineered creatures that maintain it. The world is so fun to explore, even before meeting the main characters: Deryn is a girl disguised as a boy who joins the British Air Service to serve on the whale-airship, and Aleksander is an Austro-Hungarian prince who winds up entangled with the whaleship crew including Deryn. The Austro-Hungarians are part of the Central Powers, and they've developed along the steampunk avenue instead. The main machinery we see is their mechs, that are basically tanks on legs instead of tracks, and if I have anything to criticize about this book (trilogy) it's that we should have seen more of the steampunk side. It's a fantastic alt-history book with a well-planned ecosystem, and if you're like me, you might just read it for the mental imagery of a whale floating in the sky alone.
- Jordan

Discusses archaeological digs and the development of wool through the ages. Also why wool was important to society. - Jen

”This was a story that was made by the title. I would have been disappointed in the ending if not for the fact that it was called A Fable for the End of the World.” While this book was written and edited before this year (and before the US election last November) and released earlier this year as I was reading the story it was describing things that were actually happening at the time. Very eerie. It also had a great foundation for the dystopian world it was taking place in. The only other one I found that solid was The Selection by Keira Cass. - Fallin

Very easy to read and engaging for nonfiction. One of the many highlights of this book: “An 18 year old girl, 7 months pregnant, defends the papal residence manning the canon wall.” And that’s just the beginning, seriously, this woman is so worth reading about. - Fallin

”This is another book where the title is perfect. The thread [of women’s history] is woven into the tapestry. It doesn’t discount men in history and is accessible even to those who haven’t studied ancient history. Things that would have been a footnote in our textbooks are now expanded to actually tell us more. It discusses the common woman, famous figures, and women of myth.” - Fallin