Rebecca WB

@rwb22

she/her. I'm into sewing, fashion, costuming, museum design & curation, history, sci-fi/fantasy, film, archaeology, anthropology, linguistics, space, dinosaurs, and travel. I don't auto-followback. Always punch Nazis, healthcare is a right, eat the rich.

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Rebecca WB@rwb22· 24d

And today I had The Glass Wall by Max Egremont. There was a lot of interesting stuff in here, but the way it was organized did NOT work for me. And he pretty much entirely skipped Lithuania, which the title suggests would be included. But I did learn a lot about an area I don't know well.

The cover for The Glass Wall: Lives on the Baltic Frontier by Max Egremont. It's a photo of a long low bridge across a medium-sized river, with an Eastern European town on both sides.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· 24d

Friday I had Travellers in a Golden Realm by Lubaaba Al-Azami. This was really interesting, most histories of the relationship between India and England I've read have focused on the period after England took control, and it was fascinating to see them as inept petitioners.

The cover for Travellers in the Golden Realm: How Mughal India connected England to the world, by Lubaaba Al-Azami. It's got a white background, with an image set in a 'cut-out' shape of an elaborate eastern window (?). The image is I think a very old illuminated image, with a huge group of Indian men looking at one man sitting up high on a balcony. They're all wearing very fancy clothing, and in the very front, behind a golden fence-ish-thing, are several men who are dressed in the clothing of other countries and carrying gifts, including a bunch of Europeans.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· 26d

And Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh. Again, love these, and I'm pleased he's finally got a romantic interest, and also pleased that it's NOT the whole point of the book/s. A great mystery, I didn't figure out whodunnit until near the end. And I adore his mother, I want more of her!

The cover for Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh. Sort of art deco rays radiate out from the bottom uo and to the sides, in the middle is an artists palette with fresh paint on it and three brushes through the thumb hole.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· 26d

Yesterday was Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh. I really like this series, Alleyn is a fun detective. It's nice for her to set one where she actually lived, but it's a bit odd that he's just taken a year off to go to New Zealand for funsies? Could he actually DO that? But it's a good twisty mystery.

The cover for Vintage Murder by Ngaio Marsh. It's in sepia tones, there are sort of art deco rays radiating up and to the sides from the bottom, in the middle is a passport and some folded cash over a map.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· 27d

And The Honey Witch, by Sydney J Shields. This was fun, but didn't really grab me, and I'm not quite sure why. Maybe because her mother was so mean about the whole thing? Weirdly, the magic parts were the parts I enjoyed least, which isn't usually how it goes for me.

The cover for The Honey Witch by Sydney J Shields. It's a painterly image, of a Georgian-style brick house viewed through a keyhole-shaped door in a brick wall, covered in masses of flowers.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· 27d

Today Stranger Things: One Way or Another by Caitlin Schneiderman, which was a gift. It was fun! I wouldn't have bought it, I'm rarely that into TV tie-ins, but I liked Nancy more as the show progressed & it was nice to get more in her head, I felt like the show ended up about her triangle not HER.

The cover for Stranger Things: One way or Another by Caitlin Schneiderhan, further text 'A Nancy Wheeler Mystery'. It's a photo collage cover, with Nancy (a white 80s brunette in a jean jacket and pink sweater) holding a flashlight in the center, behind her on the right Robin (a white 80s red-head in a jean jacket with a nerdy t-shirt), and behind her on the left two figures in full white bodysuits with dark facemasks.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· 28d

Today was Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh. I like these. they're not quite perfect golden age mysteries for me, somehow a cop having the journalist assistant brings knocks them down a bit, but they're still brilliant period pieces and clever mysteries, and I like Alleyn.

Toe cover for Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh, Alleyn mysteries #4. It's maroon and white illustration, with decorative rays radiating from the bottom out towards the sides, and in the center a jewelled goblet.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jul 11

And The Stormborne Vine by Tilly Wallace, which was a lot of fun. I'm a sucker for historical-with-magic especially if there are dragons, and this was done fairly well. It's clearly the start of a series, and I'll certainly give the next a try.

The cover for The Stormborne Vine by Tilly Wallace, Leaf and Scale 1. It's a multicolor silhouette image, a woman in white wearing a regency-ish gown and holding a book is surrounded by green vines with pink venus fly-traps with white teeth. Above the title float tiny pink dragons, and in the corners is a demagorgon-looking five-petalled pink flower. Behind are faint lines showing a house.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jul 11

And today I've had Cat Dragon by Samantha Birch, which was cute! I felt like the adventure was better executed than the actual reasons for the main character's actions, but it was a fun little read.

The cover for Cat Dragon by Samantha Birch, further text 'Adventure awaits...'. It's a drawing of a white brunette woman with long hair in braids, wearing a witches hat in green and a green-and purple dress with historical vibes. In front of her flies a fox-colored cat with wings and horns. They're in front of a field of big pumpkins with a sign reading 'Tangleroot Valley', with autumn trees on either side, and in the distance a green field with flowers and a cute cottage with a green roof.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jul 11

I went to Champagne, which was fantastic but also fantastically hot! On the way home yesterday I had the Book Store Witch by Ariana Jade. Cute concept, not executed to my taste.

The cover for Book Store Witch by Ariana Jade. It's a photo collage, a young white woman with digitally long blonde hair wears jeans and a coral t-shirt and holds a wand in one hand, floating books above it. She stands in front of a street of faux-tudor buildings. There are sparkles and gold glow everywhere.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jul 11

Monday was Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey. Every time I pick this up I'm 12 and finding it for the first time, so it just makes me happy.

The cover for Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey. A pale white girl with very short reddish hair wearing shades of brown trousers, shirts and a floaty scarf, sits on top of a big white horse wearing fancy blue and black livery. The background is a window onto a sunrise pine forest in front of a snowy mountain, but it's framed by pretty elaborate abstract 20s-ish blue, gold, black, and white patterns.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jul 4

Today The Starseekers by Nicole Glover. I love this series, and I love that she's going through time with them, this may be my favorite. The idea of the space race but with magic is just so cool! I'd wish for more of this specifically, but I'm sure she's going somewhen and somewhere else good too.

The cover for The Starseekers by Nicole Glover, further text 'A Murder and Magic Novel'. It's a vintage-illustration style drawing of a black woman with short hair in a yellow 50s dress and pumps. She's holding a glowing orb with a rocket inside above one hand, and standing in a busy office, a desk covered with papers, a box of rolled plans, those big flat drawers for plans, and a chalkboard with orbital calculations on it, among other science-y-looking stuff. On the desk sits a black cat, and leaning against it is a broomstick.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jul 3

Today The Perfect Heresy by Stephen O'Shea. Felt like a good time, with our own schismatic sect going on right now! Fascinating stuff, I've never really heard more than the bare mention. Their heresy was mostly pretty good by modern standards, which makes the horrific treatment they got seem worse.

The cover for The Perfect Heresy: The life and death of the Cathars, by Stephen O'Shea. It's a beige that is aged to look like an old manuscript, with text in faux-early-printed letters and a central image from an illuminated manuscript of two armored knights herding a crowd of near naked or naked people out of a castle.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jul 2

Today Dead in the Water by Carola Dunn. Love these, they're silly and fun and relaxing, with good twists and decent period detail. Also love that I've been to Henley Royal Regatta enough to actually know where they ARE at all times!

The cover for Dead in the Water by Carola Dunn, a Daisy Dalrymple Mystery. It's a vintage-20s-illustration style image of a white woman with black bobbed hair wearing a green flapper dress and holding a yellow parasol, sitting in a narrow boat, rowed by a white man we see from behind, shirtless and wearing white trousers. Behind them in the water floats a crime-scene-silhouette. I think the boat is a little too short to actually fit two people without tipping.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jul 1

Today Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle. It's my first Tingle, and also not the kind of stuff he's known for, but I really enjoyed it. Just insane concepts, but well executed. I did see one of the twists coming way early, but it was easy to believe the character wouldn't have so I didn't mind.

The cover for Lucky Day by Chuck Tingle. It's in the style of a playing card, but in brilliant colors and also kind of evil. So on top is a King with the traditional long medieval hair but in green, sticking a sword through his head with the hand giving a middle finger with the finger cut off, and the top bloody from poking his eye out. Rabbit heads are impaled on the crown's spikes, and he's on fire. On the bottom is a crowned skull, four-leafed-clovers on the spikes of his crown, sticking a sword through his head with traditional long medieval hair but in blue, with purple tentacles coming out of the mouth and eyeholes, one holding an eyeball.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 30

The heat melted my brain and my MIL came to visit, so today I've had Ordinary Jack by Helen Cresswell. A classic, I love this series, it's so evocative of a time and place and family completely different from my own, and so funny.

The cover for Ordinary Jack by Helen Cresswell. Inside a red frame, a middle-class white British family is shown in a line drawing: two parents, two grandparents, four children (two girls and two boys), a housekeeper, an aunt and uncle and a cousin. In the center and in front of the others is the younger boy, about ten, whose head is surrounded by a box inside which the image is all in color.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 30

It is going to be REALLY hard to find anything we want as much as this:

A stupidly fancy room, looking at the oak beams, decorative plasterwork, Victorian skylight, and fancy-ass brass chandelier.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 25

And Never the Wind by Francesco Dimitri. This I think should have been in litfic not SF/F, it was beautifully written and completely not for me. A family drama, with only tiny hints of supernatural.

The cover for Never the Wind by Francesco Dimitri. It's a navy background with shiny stars and constellations on it, with a shiny frame with grape leaves in the corners. Inside water runs in blue stripes, there are bricks or a cobbled road in beige, there's a dog or wolf in white, there are grapevines in fold, there are swirls of white wind, and there's a beigy-gold-y tower at the top. It's all silhouettes, with the title on a crumpled piece of paper like it's a note.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 25

Today Pagans by James Allistair Henry. Just, wow. I love a mystery, and this was a good one, but I adore one that's not here-and-now, and this was a fantastic alternate universe take on a London in the 2020s where history was completely different. INCREDIBLE world-building, I am desperate for more!

The cover for Pagans by James Alistair Henry, extra text reads "Two Cops. One Killer, Hundreds of Gods." A white splotch over most of the black cover resolves at the top into a city skyline. In the center, a cleft in that skyline leads to a drop, red with a Celtic pattern. Below it stand two tiny people in silhouette.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 24

Today A Fellowship of Games and Fables by J. Penner. Cute. These are getting more cozy and less plotty as they go, which is less for me, but it was still a fun read and a satisfying ending.

The cover for A Fellowship of Games and Fables by J Penner, Adenashire book 3. IT's for a bluey-greeny-whitey watercolor-y background with snowflakes all over. Around the edges, a pair of stried mittens, some leaves, a candy cane, a plate of muddins, a bobble hat, a scarf, a plate of sweet bread, a snowman and a pine tree, a plate of American scones, another candy cane, a cup of tea, a knitted sweater, and an old-fashioned rail sled.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 23

And gloriously, just as I finished that, Platform Decay by Martha Wells arrived! Yay, new Murderbot! Loved it, love what she's doing with the world and the character, as always my only complaint is that it's not longer. Happy sigh, I may need to reread them all soon.

The cover for Platform Decay by Martha Wells, a Murderbot book. It shows Murderbot, completely covered in a white spacesuit, hanging from an orange ladder by one hand, with a background of an enormous white space structure and a window onto stars.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 23

And Uncharmed by Lucy Jane Wood. It was cute. I liked the commentary on perfection, but I also felt like it had room to say a lot more meaningful things, and didn't try for them.

The cover for Uncharmed by Lycu Jane Wood, further text 'She's practically perfect, in every witch way'. A white woman in a pink gingham sundress with long blonde hair half up in an enormous pink bow stands in an arched window with open wood shutters, with a pink swirl carrying a three-layer chocolate and strawberry cake coming out from her hand. A white cat in a pink bow sits next to her. The window is surrounded by foliage and pink roses.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 23

Today I've had Weird Medieval Guys by Olivia M Swarthout. It's cute. Not a serious book, but I do love the silly little manuscript illumination scribbles, and this collects a lot of them together and covers some bits of history with them.

The cover for Weird Medieval Guys by Olivia M Swarthout. It's for a red spine and a cream background, and has several weird medieval manuscript illustrations: a bat with like ten feet, a cat-snail, a white guy in a red long tunic on a black horse, and four white guys waving swords at another one wearing a crown.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 22

Today I had Shadow of the silk Road by Colin Thubron. It was well written, but large chunks of it were history, and I was hoping for a straight travelogue, so it wasn't really what I wanted it to be. And he didn't seem to... I don't know, enjoy it?

The cover to the Vintage Voyages edition of The Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron. It's a orange and reddish map of a bit of the silk road that runs through China.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 21

And The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan. Very interesting! The detective didn't perfectly click with me, but the mystery was good and twisty and I really enjoyed the possibly mystical elephant just... being there.

The cover for The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vasoon Khan. It's got a red frame around a yellow interior, with city skyline top and bottom, a big brown mustache and a little grey elephant with tiny tusks in the middle.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 21

Today I went for an old favorite, Cat-A-Lyst by Alan Dean Foster. It's all a little bit silly, but I just love the ideas of cats as all-powerful aliens!

The cover for Cat-A-Lyst by Alan Dean Foster, further text 'The fur flies in a purrfectly out-of-this-world adventure'. It's an illustration of an enormous glowing egg, covered in carvings and sitting on a three-legged plinth with elaborate carvings (weirdly European in origin although they shouldn't be) surrounded by piles of gold and emeralds in a cave. A small black-and-white cat stands with front feet up on the plinth looking up at a grey cat sitting on top.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 20

Today I've had Cast in Blood by Michelle Sagara. I love this series, but I'm starting to feel like the overall arc is coming in for a landing and I'm not sure that's going to go as I would like it to. Or perhaps like she's not sure where she's taking it? I kind of miss the 'crime of the week' feel.

The cover for Cast in Blood by Michelle Sagara. It's a painting of a white woman wearing black skintight leather and a long red cloak, with exposed tattooed arms, holding a big sword in a double-handed grip, weirdly back over one of her biceps like she's doing some kind of exercise with it. She stands in a glowing green circle on a stone floor, in a stone room with an arched doorway, the wood door open to show a green-tinged city in the distance.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 20

And A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennet. I ADORE this world, he's doing such interesting stuff here, and I love having a mystery that's set in a completely different world, and he does that so well. Can't wait for the next one!

The cover for A Drop of Corruption bu Robert Jackson Bennet, further text reads 'An Impossible Murder An Empire on the Brink'. It's very artsy, with two people in dark silhouette against a yellow sky with a greenish spire in the distance. One is probably a man and one is probably a woman, but both are wearing long coats and really I'm only pretty sure of that from the text. As a frame around them there are green and blue plants (ferns, mushrooms, climbing tendrils, something-that-looks-like-achilea) with yellow highlights, closing in to a circle around the top of the spire.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 20

Yesterday I had Excellent Intentions by Richard Hull, which was a fantastic experiment in golden age mystery writing! The whole thing was set in the trial, with flashbacks to the investigation, but we didn't find out who was in the dock until the end.

The cover for Excellent Intentions by Richard Hull, a British Library Crime Classic. It's a vintage-30s-travel-poster-style image of an autumn forest, with birch trunks in the foreground and lots of orange leaves visible across a rolling hilly landscape.

Rebecca WB@rwb22· Jun 17

Today I had The Last Soul Among Wolves by Melissa Caruso, which was perfection. Already sad that I have to wait for the next one! Such an interesting and unique world, and I love the characters.