A JET Reader (Year 3, Summer JET Final)

Summer: June 1st-August 31st

And thus ends my final days as a JET living in Hokkaido Japan. As you can see by only four books read to completion this season (the last of which was started in the Spring and finished after I returned to the US), I tried to spend most of my time visiting with friends.

These last three years have been... indescribable. To try to do them justice in a few lines here would only be  disservice (ideally, I will post a reflection in the future when I am not so emotionally compromised). But at the very least, this has set a precedence of book logging that I hope to continue~


27 Total:     25 New Books     2 Re-reads

READ:
Cast in Shadow
Cast in Courtlight
The Book of Enchantments
Raven Flight
__________________(Autumn)__________________
Cast in Honor
Bitterblue
Shadow and Bone
The Way of the Apprentice
The Trail of the Jedi
The Dangerous Games
The Way of Kings
The Master of Disguise
School of Fear
The Shadow Trap
The Moment of Truth
__________________(Winter)___________________

The Caller
The Changing of the Guard
The False Peace
The Final Showdown
Siege and Storm
Shadows of Self
Dreamer's Pool
Bands of Mourning
Tower of Thorns
Mistborn: Secret History
__________________(Spring)___________________
Uprooted
His Majesty's Dragon
Ruin and Rising
Trigger Warning
__________________(Summer)__________________

READING:
All the Light We Cannot See
Throne of Jade



PLANNING TO READ:
Cast in Secret
Words of Radiance 
Cinder

(someday...)


Uprooted (recommended by Natalie and Katie)
My friends know me well, and this tale has become a favorite of mine. From the opening pages I felt at home in the Valley and wary of the Wood at the border. While it utilized motifs found in old tales, the story was entirely unique, so that it was at once incredibly comforting and exciting to read.
From early on I was drawn into the unusual dynamic between the Dragon and Agnieszka: both entirely frustrated with the other, and yet still committed to seeing their task through. Even with taking a break about seven chapters in to read Dreamer's Pool and Tower of Thorns (at Katie's insistence that I leave the somewhat less heart wrenching book as a balm for the Blackthorn & Grim books), I was still drawn back into the story completely and felt the dire threat of the Wood just as keenly (perhaps even more so after the dark interlude).
Reading along with Agnieszka's perspective was natural and fluid. Usually first-person perspectives frustrate me and can turn me against the protagonist, but she endeavored to tell an unbiased story (except for when she admitted to being so) and carried the storyteller's air of anticipation.
As soon as I finished this book (the last few chapters accompanied by none too few tears) I immediately wanted to reread it. It's the kind of tale that feels as if it has taken root (no pun intended) inside of me, ruffling its leaves a bit to get comfortable and jarring the patterns of light and shadow, but then settling with a sigh and lending a kind of quiet unshakable strength. I can't wait to read it again (even though I plan on resisting until at least next year) but in the meantime I will bask in this contented warmth.

His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1) (Recommended by Natalie)
I see what you did there, Natalie: you drew me into Naomi Novik's writing with a stand-alone tale about a forest and a Dragon (how could I resist?) and then turned me to her series set during the Napoleonic Wars--with many dragons. That talk. And like shiny things. And are so protective of their aviators that the word "hoard" comes to mind.
Laurence may have started off as the reluctant former Navy captain, but he and Temeraire soon surprised each other with the strength of their devotion. I liked the pair of them right away, and especially enjoyed Laurence's bemusement at Temeraire's penchant for radical thinking:

Laurence: "Shall I turn Pirate king and go raiding in the West Indies, and fill a covert with gold from Spanish merchant ships for you?"
Temeraire: "That sounds exciting. Can we not?"

I'm excited to read more, and see what sort of conventions and situations bring out their stubborn streaks next. It seems like the Aviation Corps got a lot more than they were asking for or could have anticipated with these two.

Ruin and Rising (The Grisha, Book 3)
Well, I'm just glad this series is over. It's been quite the let-down, but at least not infuriatingly-so like Red Rising or Falling Kingdoms had been. There was a good story buried here, and when I was able to catch glimpses of it I remembered what had intrigued me in the first place. But this final installment continued with the trend of too many sensational massacres, and too many guys vying for the protagonist's attention. I've really come to despise love triangles. I think one of the most frustrating things with this series is that in lining up The Darkling, Prince Nikolai, and Mal the Tracker for Alina to choose from (and having her constantly dithering and unable to decide, and yet still having her be close to each one) it made her character seem unworthy of any of them and made me hopeless from the start for any sort of fulfilling resolution.
There were a few plot points that pleasantly surprised me, so it wasn't all bad. But even in those moments I was never satisfied with how the story's flow continued. Just, so much wasted potential...
All in all I will definitely not be recommending this series to anyone and will endeavor to put it from my mind.

Trigger Warning
I don't know what it is about Neil Gaiman's writing, but I feel so satisfied after reading it. Even when the stories take a darker turn, there's a lyrical feeling to his writing that carries me along as if the words themselves are whisking me away.
He mentions the prevalence of the term "Trigger Warning" being used on the internet to fairly disclose the potentiality of being disturbed by the media's content or having it "trigger" the stress of past trauma associated with it. He comments that there has even been talk that the books we read in school and university should have these warning labels as well. But I think I agree with him that the best warning is "read at your own risk". Yes, There Be Dragons, and the way can seem utterly dark and lost. But there is light, too, and the risk you might find is becoming a different You than the one who turned the first page.
True to form, he doesn't pull punches, and this collection of short stories is filled with the echos of deeply sad lives reverberating in the periphery, passing as a fog in the distance that you can see but have no ability to touch or change. He explores the concept that the method of the telling is as important (if-not-more important than) as the story itself, and while I think I still like his collection in Fragile Things a bit better, it may be because I tend to shy from his darker writings. This was purposely kept as one of the last paper bound books I had in Japan, so the reading of it spanned many months. But perhaps it is better to read short stories singularly with time to digest them between.