The Glass Town Game | 
pickWhat a lovely book. Valente‘s world building is, as always, second to none, and the characters are all a delight. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey through Glass Town, with its wild imagination, and its picture of life at the time.
FINALLY reading something new again, after a bout with Covid in July. The illness didn‘t last as long as the lack of will to do anything at all but what I absolutely had to…so draining. Fingers crossed…
pickThis felt like The Phantom Tollbooth meets Alice in Wonderland, with the Bronte children as protagonists and clever literary & historical references sprinkled throughout. I saw several critical reviews saying the plot was too juvenile for adults, but the references would go over kids‘ heads. I don‘t think the book suffers from not getting the references—it‘s still full of adventure that stands on its own. I‘m inclined to enjoy it on its own terms!
Don‘t worry, Em. We‘re only in an insane, upside-down world populated by our toys, our stories, and Napoleon riding a giant chicken on fire. Nothing so bad as School.
Do you want to know the deepest, darkest secret of all? They‘re playing scenes, too, each and every one. It‘s the most marvelous and terrible thing in the world. Everyone, but everyone, is pretending to be someone else.
“I like books, and—”
“Books!” protested Emily... “Well, I would have said books, too, you know, but books are just *obvious.* That‘s like saying you like air!”
so-soValente writes beautifully. Unfortunately, I think my expectations were entirely thrown off by the masterpiece that is her Fairyland series. If I had read this prior to Fairyland, I think I would have enjoyed it much more.
#bookspinbingo @thearomaofbooks
Square 22
I‘m excited about this month‘s #BookSpinBingo board! My #BookSpin pick is from my physical TBR & is on my list for #MGMarch, and my #DoubleSpin pick is for #NewYearWhoDis—so that covers dual objectives this month. I‘m going to try for a bingo across the middle, since I have two book club reads there + my BookSpin. Here‘s to a great reading month!
I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join the fun if you want.
This is day 13 #bookstoread #tbrpile
This book is about a boy and three #GirlsGoneWild in the fantastical Glass Town. Where Napoleon is riding around on a porcelain rooster, suitcases can transform into transportation and people are more often made from iron or wood, than from blood and bones. Oh, and all of this is an imaginary world made up by the Brontë siblings.
Valente reimagines the Brontës childhood, and it is a delightful read for both young and old ?
#MOvember
I went to #readercon with a couple of friends today. We‘re in a book club together — theoretically (we meet “sporadically” but have been friends for over 15 years). We attended panels about womanhood, disability, mental health, & Otherness in speculative fiction. I listened to Catherynne Valente read one of her brilliant short stories; then, she signed a book for me. Afterwards, we hit up the beach. What a goddamn fantastic day. 🥰💖📖📚🌊☀️
A different take for #AnarchyInTheUK. In the Brontë Siblings‘ made up world of Glass Town, no one dies, Napoleon rides a porcelain rooster, suitcases can turn into wonderful modes of transportation and so much more. That sounds a bit like anarchy to me, but maybe not the worst kind ?
#MarchIntoThe70s
panI'm a fan of fiction about the Brontes in general, but this one was too out there for me. Based on the stories the Brontes are known to have invented as children, this story has them transported into the fictional Glass Town, where all kinds of adventures ensue. Perhaps my imagination just wasn't strong enough for this particular adventure! #glasstown #bronte
pickWhat a wonderful trip into my happy place—the collective imagination of a handful of my favorite authors (contemporary & classical). The reimagining of a world first invented by the fresh collective wisdom of the four Brontës, this book is both fantastical & revelatory. I love the way Valente treated the sibling interactions, the frequent nods to their published literature, and the sheer imaginative scope of their vivid created world. ?
I could share so many wonderful quotes from this book! I just love the characters, real-imagined and totally-imagined, especially Crashey, who gets the credit for the above statement.
pickIf you have never read Valente do not start with this one. (I recommend her Fairyland series as a start) If you have then this is another beautifully odd book. An imagining if the lives of the four Bronte children as only Valente could imagine it.
Wow @ReadingRover !!! What an over the top #SFMBC package!! I know, you were sending thanksgiving & Christmas goodies too 😘😘 Thank you!! The wrap & those stickers are so cute & I 💗 BlueQ socks!! The scarf is soo pretty!! And the bag & soap & candies are also so sweet & thoughtful! And then the books!! So many amazing books!! Thank you thank you!! ♥️♥️♥️ (Not pictured: this round's selection for our Speculative Fiction Mail Book Club ☺️).
pickThis was a wonderful book! I wouldn‘t have guessed that a book about the four Brontë siblings as children and their made up world of Glass town, Napoleon, suitcases you can live in, and toys come alive, would wow me the way this did, but I‘m blown away! It was a lot of fun, and I loved all the references to the Brontë‘s “later” works. Also, Branwell Brontë is the worst, and I hate/love him!
I did some #audiobaking with Les Mis earlier which resulted in this lovely rhubarb pie for me and my friend who came over for coffee. Unfortunately for me, my friend didn‘t eat very much of the pie, so now I HAVE to eat it for dinner while reading about the adventures of the Brontë siblings. There isn‘t any other option, really ? ?
#currentlyreading
I‘m #currentlyreading these two books. This is the final week of the #LesMisBuddyRead, and I‘m beginning to feel ready to be done with this book! Catherynne Valente‘s story about the Brontë siblings seemed like just the book I needed at the moment, and I‘m really enjoying it so far! ?
#31bookpics
Just snagged a copy of this last week and saw that it‘s still only 99 cents on Amazon! I‘ve been curious about this book for a while, as I love the Brontes and have enjoyed some of the author‘s other books. Now I just have to squeeze it into my backlogged TBR, lol! Anyone else read it?
"A tongue is very like a gun, which is why they nearly rhyme. Both can be fired to devastating effect, for good or evil, and both can explode in your hands, wounding your comrades instead of your enemies."
#wordstoliveby #readersofinstagram #bookishquote
The Glass Town Game brings together all the magic and wit of Valente's Fairyland series with the history and juvenilia of the Brontës. A favourite #childrensbook (discovered as an adult) and a modern take with a classic theme! #maylovesclassics @Sarah83 @Bambolina_81
pickIf you have ever loved a Brontë book or loved the stories of their lives I highly recommend this book. If not I still recommend it as a fabulous fantasy story reminiscent of narnia and Alice in wonderland. Fabulous!
Having finished that Jen Campbell book quickly (FYI so worth reading) I decided to pick up this gem my boyfriend got me back in November for my birthday
“Their house stood snugly at the very farthest, steepest, highest bit of the village, just behind the church and the crowded graveyard, for their father was the parson. Every Sunday he stood up in the chapel and told the tightly buttoned people of Haworth all about the wonders of a buttoned-up heaven and the dangers of this buttoned-down earth.”
Page 1. Oh, yes, I like this very much.
This Bronte juvenilia-inspired children‘s book fell into my Book Outlet cart while I was shopping for my #CupidGoesPostal match. 😉
pickIt still feels a bit like Fairyland-lite to me, but it's enjoyable nonetheless -- partly for getting to notice all the references to real events in the Brontës lives, and to their stories. Not as magical to me as Fairyland, but enjoyable.
Charming and inventive, but feels very much like the Fairyland books. Narration is different, but the whimsy, the rules of the world... I feel kind of deja vu-ish?
Bronte juvenilia and play come to life in this book. Valente creates a world where buttons buy lemon peel train tickets, Boney's army of frogs face off against Wellington's limes, people may be made of books or glass or brushes, where suitcases can become floating balloons or abodes, and ghosts (famous and not-so-famous) deliver the mail. I don't read much fantasy but I adored this!
#bookswithamagicalsetting #allthebooksof2017
pick#BookFriday2017 @Liberty
I went to our library book fair at B&N (that helps raise money for our Friends group which, in turn, helps support our library) to buy some Christmas presents. Theo has a cold but was gracious enough to jump in. #catsoflitsy
pickStart this book because you love the Brontes. Revel in a delightful world and rollicking tale. Relish all the Bronte references you recognize. Come to love young Charlotte, Emily, Branwell, and Anne. Cry when it ends. Appreciate the brilliance of Catherynne M. Valente. Go (re)read a Bronte novel.
All the 🌟🌟🌟
"This was why Charlotte didn't like her books. It was just exactly like listening to her aunt whisper and nag about this or that village scandal, only with a very excellent vocabulary. The best thing that could happen to anyone in those stories was to get married and then get on with only feeling things through a lace curtain."
Valente imagining young Charlotte's views on Austen. Sassy! ?
This book is great btw, a must read for Bronte fans.
I came to the coffee shop to do some organizing, some reading.
Instead I'm eavesdropping on the two women sitting by me. They're sharing how they met their second husbands. It's as good as any novel. 😀
When I heard that this book featured the young Bronte kids (including Bramwell) and an epic fantasy adventure, I was sold. Whisky and book for one, please! Popcorn not pictured.
#CurrentlyReading #KidLit #LitsyPartyOfOne
Day 29 #recentacquisitions #riotgrams Two books for young readers (or the young at heart)
pickA book that has a very Narnia feel. Four siblings realize their make believe game is real when they are transported into a world that reflects the European war with Napolean. A lyrically, beautiful children's story.
pickUtterly delightful. What a charming, inventive, beautifully written tale about family, grief and imagination. Valente has such flair and her love for the Brontës shines through and there are plenty of clever references to their lives and works. She even managed to wring some sympathy for Branwell from me (but only because he was a child)
This book is just...I love it. 50 pages in may be too early to predict 5 stars but it feels like a favourite already ❤❤ @LeahBergen do you have this one yet?
Settling in for the evening ❤📚☕
pickWonderful, classic Valente. It reminded me of the Fairyland books, Narnia, and the Phantom Tollbooth.
Hanging out with @annamatopoetry in Seattle. Bought a book (surprise) and now we are getting ramen.
