Loved this one! The settings are so much fun and I enjoyed the characters and their unconventional interactions. I do think it‘s best if you‘ve at least read some other Cosmere books - while the story absolutely still works, some of the narration won‘t make sense otherwise.

Leave it to Pratchett to write a book about gender roles that is… somehow both nuanced and charming? I mean, you generally expect a book with this premise to be “ultra-skilled girl shows up stupid men who won‘t let her join the boys‘ club.” And it is that. Sort of. But it‘s also much more than that, and frankly way more respectful to women (and women‘s historical skills more generally) than most of the established tropes.

This was exactly the book I needed to read over the Christmas break. I‘ve started implementing these principles and it‘s already improved my teaching.

I‘m not really sure what it was about this book… there wasn‘t any content I disliked, but by the time I got halfway through I was just bored. Just didn‘t work for me.

I picked this up on a whim from a used bookstore. My favorite part so far? Unlike some resources, the writing and formatting is ADHD-friendly! No huge blocks of text or lengthy, unnecessary explanations.

A delightful (if rather cynical) tale of wizards, magic, and tourism. Nearly Tolkien-esque levels of worldbuilding, with a snarky writing style that reminded me of Douglas Adams. I enjoyed getting to explore a fantasy world that was really fresh and unexpected. The Luggage may have been my favorite character.

A brilliant woman writing about brilliant women at Oxford in the pre-WWII period. I‘m rereading this (via audiobook, anyway) and loving it. I‘d forgotten that the first half (at least) is entirely from Harriet‘s point of view. It‘s a refreshing change - we get a little deeper into her head than we do Wimsey‘s.

For some reason I thought this was one of the Harriet Vane books. It is in fact the first Wimsey novel, and (despite the lack of Harriet), it‘s a brilliant mystery. We also get Bunter at his most devious, which I enjoyed immensely. Sayers‘s characters are always superb - and it‘s interesting to note the development from the duchess‘s significant role here to the whole sections written from Miss Climpson‘s or Harriet‘s point of view in later works.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ An all-time favorite (and the audiobook was perfect for a crochet project). Here we have the remarkable character of Harriet Vane, and of course the inimitable Lord Peter. But every character, even the minor ones, is so vivid. I felt like I stepped right into Lord Peter‘s world. As a side note, I‘ve never read a book about a gentleman detective where the ladies did so much of the sleuthing. Miss Climpson is a boss!

Sanderson somehow keeps raising the stakes - book #4 and it just gets more intense. I really appreciated Navani's character arc in this one. And it's impressive how everything starts to tie together and reveal more about how the world of Roshar (and the Cosmere) works without compromising character development or plot. It doesn't drag, despite the length - if anything, sometimes there's almost too much going on to keep track of it.