I have something scandalous to confess- I haven’t been gaming much the last few weeks. At first, I didn’t have as much free time as usual. And then, I hit one of those periods when I feel a ravenous hunger for books. I still haven’t escaped it, but I am easing my way out by playing a bit of Nancy Drew here and a bit of Hades 2 here and there. But mostly, I’ve been reading. A lot.
Summer Gaming Plans…Or Not
Some Cozy Fantasy
I’ve found a delightful new fantasy series by Heather Fawcett. Two books have been published: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands, with a third one expected next year. Emily Wilde, our protagonist, is a grumpy but brilliant professor of fairy studies in a world where real magic exists. Each book is its adventure with all sorts of characters showing up. I really loved both books, and I’ve certainly recommended them to a lot of my friends. The language is lively, the stories are whimsical and cozy, and genuine friendship is at the heart of it all.
I’ve also been reading a new series by Charlie N. Holmberg, whose style I like very much. The new series, called Whimbrel House, is set within an alternative version of our world, where we have houses, some of them enchanted and magical and living. As such, a particular branch of the government is tasked with keeping them safe and working. The series is about one of those unique magical houses and its new owner and their adventures. All of the books are very cozy and, yet again, about the power of friendship and the strength we get from our loved ones.
Some Non-Fiction
As a long-time admirer of all things Edwardian and Victorian, especially books in that setting, I’ve heard plenty about the language of flowers, but never in great detail. So, I was quite lucky to find Jessica Roux’s Floriography: An Illustrated Guide to the Victorian Language of Flowers. It’s a gorgeous book with beautiful illustrations and lyrical explanations about the meaning of each flower. It also allows for the possible pairing of flowers so that you can create your own secret messages with each bouquet you gift. This September, there’s another book coming by the same illustrator about birds, Ornithography: An Illustrated Guide to Bird Lore & Symbolism.
Another new book I recently picked up is Taking to the Air: An Illustrated History of Flight by Lily Ford. It’s a non-fiction book about how humanity learned to fly, from the very prototypes of aeroplanes to modern planes. While the book never gets overly technical or goes into greater detail, it’s still informative enough. It also has plenty of illustrations.
Le Guin’s Earthsea
My birthday was at the beginning of June, and a friend of mine gifted me a new illustrated and complete edition of Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea. I’ve read Earthsea more times than I care to admit (though probably not more than Lord of the Rings), but with a new edition, I had a perfect excuse to read it all yet again, and it was as glorious as ever. I freely admit that as a body of work, it’s not the best Le Guin has written – that honor probably should go to The Left Hand of Darkness and the whole of the Hainish Cycle, but still, Earthsea is a beautiful way to introduce younger readers to fantasy.
It has all the winning ingredients of a good adventure book – mysteries, magic, a good but not faultless hero, a heroine, and dragons. At the same time, it also has Le Guin’s writing style, which is rich, lyrical, and dreamy. It is such a distinct style that it easily transcends the English language, and with a good translator, it can also be felt in other language editions.
I always have a huge list of books to read, and it’s always growing. It’s much faster to add books to it than to read them, after all.
Outdoors in the Summer Time
Still, there are summer games coming out soon, and then there are art projects waiting to be picked up again, and summer festivals to go to, and summer movies to see. The mountains and the forests are waiting to be explored. And then, there are meteor showers and super moons waiting to happen in August and planetary oppositions in September to observe. It means planets will be closest to the Earth and highlighted by the sun. This is a great time to view these giant, bright planets in the night sky with the help of a telescope or binoculars.
All in all, I don’t expect to spend too much time inside. I want to soak up as much fresh air and bright sun as possible before winter comes again. There will be enough time for gaming then. Have a great summer!
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