Sue's Saturday Suggestions #73

Interesting Books

Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger, review at Fantasy Faction

Does one need four fully grown foxgloves for decorating a dinner table for six guests? Or is it six foxgloves to kill four fully grown guests?

Sophronia's first year at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality has certainly been rousing! For one thing, finishing school is training her to be a spy (won't Mumsy be surprised?). Furthermore, Sophronia got mixed up in an intrigue over a stolen device and had a cheese pie thrown at her in a most horrid display of poor manners.

Now, as she sneaks around the dirigible school, eavesdropping on the teachers' quarters and making clandestine climbs to the ship's boiler room, she learns that there may be more to a school trip to London than is apparent at first. A conspiracy is afoot--one with dire implications for both supernaturals and humans. Sophronia must rely on her training to discover who is behind the dangerous plot-and survive the London Season with a full dance card.

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh, review at Sarah Says Read

Note: I have long been a fan of the website and the story of moving house with the amazingly stupid and neurotic dog caused me actual bodily harm because I laughed so much! :D

In a four-color, illustrated collection of stories and essays, Allie Brosh’s debut Hyperbole and a Half chronicles the many “learning experiences” Brosh has endured as a result of her own character flaws, and the horrible experiences that other people have had to endure because she was such a terrible child. Possibly the worst child. For example, one time she ate an entire cake just to spite her mother.

Brosh’s website receives millions of unique visitors a month and hundreds of thousands of visitors a day. This amalgamation of new material and reader favorites from Brosh's blog includes stories about her rambunctious childhood; the highs and mostly lows of owning a smart, neurotic dog and a mentally challenged one; and moving, honest, and darkly comic essays tackling her struggles with depression and anxiety, among other anecdotes from Brosh's life. Artful, poignant, and uproarious, Brosh’s self-reflections have already captured the hearts of countless readers and her book is one that fans and newcomers alike will treasure.

I have listed these titles in earlier SSS posts: check out my SSS Books Page for links to more reviews:

Fortune’s Pawn by Rachel Bach, review at The Book Smugglers

Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey, review at Only The Best Sci Fi & Fantasy

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, review at Vampire Book Club

Author Interviews

Rachel Bach at Fantasy Book Critic

Rachel Bach at The Book Smugglers