It's a magical world

I was digging through my filing cabinets to answer a question for thistleingrey the other day (yes; I am one of those people who saves her school notebooks. I could probably get rid of the ones from middle school, though) and came across my eighth grade reading journal. It's hilarious on multiple levels, the most obvious being that the entries form a pattern: one will read, "Dear [teacher name redacted], I started [insert book name here] today…" and the next will begin, "Dear [teacher name redacted], I finished [insert book name here] today…" The other thing is that my reading journal consists almost entirely of plot summaries. And they're not even very good plot summaries! So, yes. As a reviewer, I have had a long apprenticeship in my craft (I'd rate myself at the journeywoman level now), but there has also been a definite learning curve.

So, for my own amusement and because it turns out I read some decent books in eighth grade, I've extracted the non-plot summary bits for some and am posting them here, with some contemporary commentary.


( David Weber, On Basilisk Station )


( Michelle West, The Uncrowned King )


( Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass/Northern Lights )

I love Michael Chabon, and I also kind of despise him. Either way, I wish he were a woman.

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( The Final Solution )

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( A map to an imaginary country )