Week 6

Whoa, it’s February. Somehow. Shit.

#7: THE WICKED KING by Holly Black

Jesus, I have been wanting to read this book for MONTHS.

I read The Cruel Prince almost a year ago, and really liked it, and then took ages to get to this one because there were always more pressing things on my to-read list. One of my intentions for 2021 is to do less of that, and to read the things I actually WANT to be reading.

Anyway. Good news, this book didn’t disappoint the long wait!

Genuinely, here Black delivered on all of the promises of the first book, while basically losing all of its weaknesses. There’s no silly manipulative romance plot, no frustrating period of school days to take up space and time, and while the infuriating betrayal from book one is still a factor, it’s less so.

Instead, we have time to focus on what I was really interested in: the political intrigue. Furthermore, I found it really exciting to see the advancement of Jude’s character arc, and I found myself genuinely very invested in the romantic element, which I was lukewarm on in the first book.

When I reached the end and realized that I would have to wait a couple weeks for the next book to come in from the library, I could have screamed in frustration. That, to me, is a very good sign.

#8: LEAD FROM THE OUTSIDE by Stacy Abrams (formerly called MINORITY LEADER)

So, I usually don’t review non-fiction on this blog. Not because I don’t read it, but because I wanted this to remain focused more on fiction and spec fic in particular, and I didn’t want it to get bogged down in all the therapy books I read for my Real Job.

However!

This book is great, and I wanted to do my part to promote it. I picked it up out of interest in learning more about Stacy Abrams and how she does what she does, and was taken aback by how broadly applicable so many of her points are. It’s not just about politics, and not just about leadership - she provides a blueprint for achieving any number of goals.

In particular, I thought the idea of “Work-Life Jenga” to be really interesting, and definitely struck a chord. I thought I was failing by being unable to balance things properly, and struggling with that. The idea of treating it like playing a game of jenga (and, indeed, cheating at that game) feels like a new way of conceptualizing the problem.

If you have any goals or ambitions, I heartily suggest taking a look at this one. Some of the stuff feels maybe a bit obvious at times, but having it all laid out like this is really cool, and all the cooler when Abrams injects it with her own personal anecdotes.