So here's the problem with not writing up my thoughts immediately after finishing a book: I FORGET WHAT THEY ARE. So here, have some extremely abbreviated book thoughts. Sigh.

Captive Prince book 1

I reread this book immediately following the news of the series being acquired by an imprint of Penguin. I have intentions of rereading Captive Prince book 2 as well before both books get taken offline!

It was really interesting to reread it with knowledge of at least some of what happens later -- it meant I knew what characters to be paying attention to, and so forth.

It's a very compelling book!

(also I keep on misreading the title as "The Lost Prince". No, no, that's a very different book. Although now I'm deeply curious how a crossover might go? PROBABLY TERRIBLY BUT I CAN'T HELP WONDER.


As Wide as the Waters: The Story of the English Bible and the Revolution it Inspired, by Benson Bobrick

This was a book I picked up super cheap somewhere, I no longer remember the details. But I thought it sounded interesting so I bought it. And, well, sorta kinda worth it? But frustrating in a number of ways!

Mostly, I guess, my problem was that the author was too credulous and too adulatory of the "good guys" in his story. Also he was very Eurocentric. Also I was very skeptical of his argument that there would be no modern democracy without the English Bible. MAYBE someone could have convinced me of this? But after a whole book of the author being like "This person is PERFECT IN EVERY WAY" I was like yeah I do not trust you to be nuanced.

The prose was readable, though, and there were some interesting details.


Mike & Psmith, and Psmith in the City, by P.G. Wodehouse

AMAAAAZING. Such charming books! Psmith is my FAVE (of course) but Mike is great too! He's a relatively ordinary example of the human male but a really decent one and that makes him special. And lovely.


First Test, and Page, by Tamora Pierce

WOW SO I AM NOT EVEN RATIONAL ABOUT THESE BOOKS, I LOVE THEM SO MUCHHHHH. Kel is my forever girl. I love Kel to a million itty bitty bits! And I love how this series is full of showing the deep unfairnesses in society because of power and privilege, including that sometimes there are no easy answers! And Jon isn't perfect as a king! But mostly KEL KEL KEL ILU KEL. KELLLLLL.


The Annotated Secret Garden (The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the annotations by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina)

The introduction for this edition was great -- I enjoyed learning more about Frances Hodgson Burnett! But the annotations were mostly pretty boring/useless/annoying. Ah well. The story itself is still good! I love the characters and so forth. But as always I rather dislike the ending section of the book where Colin uses Magic to make himself better. Because yeah, I can see that in his particular case he did not actually have anything physically wrong with him and so positive thinking could help him. But I strongly dislike the implication that this sort of stuff has wider-reaching abilities to fix things than that. Ughhhhh. So yeah, the whole business with Magic makes me like Colin rather less than I might otherwise. I am on Team Martha and Team Mary and Team Mrs Sowerby and Team Ben Weatherstaff, really.

(so wow, no wonder I'm not into fandom's ot3 here: I'm not overly into two of the three characters involved in it! I'm sorry Dickon, but your entire characterization is on the subject of Good With Animals and I am just not very into animals.)