Wingfeather Tales

This is an additional book of 7 short stories within the world of Aerwiar from the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. This was one of the fun books that I put on a list for secret santa (among others) and didn’t think about until I got the present and figured I might as well reading it since I was in between books.

And I’m so glad I did start reading it! Oh, what a joy to dive back into Aerwiar and read stories of characters we know and some we don’t.

The book starts out with “The Prince of Yorsha Doon” by Andrew Peterson. This story takes place in a city we don’t visit in the original series. It is the adventure story of reinstating the proper city leadership. Quick, fun, and moral. It personally reminded me of Curdie and the Princess.

Next, “The Wooing of Sophelia Stupe” by Jennifer Trafton is magical. Every part of this story is wonderful, from seeing the original habitants of Anklejelly Manor, to experiencing the numerous animals featured in Creaturepedia, to the pure irony Pembrick is left with at the end. All around delightful.

“Willow Worlds” by ND Wilson was not especially engaging. Fun little story. Nothing Special.

“Shadowblade and the Florid Sword” by Andrew Peterson is the first Wingfeather graphic novel depicting an evening with Maraly and Gammon following the original series.

“From the Deeps of the Dragon King” by AS Peterson is the much imagined story of Podo Helmer’s escapade earning him the name “Scale Raker” from the sea dragons. It is mighty and crazy. An epic adventure with a solemn conclusion.

“The Ballard of Lanric and Rube” by Jonathan Rogers is the well known (and sung) Annieran tale referenced in the original books. Very silly and enjoyable to see brought to life.

The last and longest story in the series, “The Places Beyond the Maps” by Douglas McKelvey, is a gut wrenching novella following Sara Cobbler’s father on his journey to meet the Maker after Sara is taken in the Black Carriage. It delivers. As this story coincides with the events of the original series it is amazing to see the moments connected and brought to life in the most fantastic way. I remember the 4th book being so phenomenal and emotional as the series concluded around the world, and this story provided me with the same depth of emotion and Christian themes depicted in the language.

Overall I loved this collection and would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the Wingfeather Saga. And would recommend the original series to anyone interested in this book of extra stories. It was so enjoyable for me that I decided to switch my opening reading for 2024 from rereading the Chronicles of Narnia to rereading the Wingfeather Saga.

Read Along 2023

Here’s my book list for 2023

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams…  181 pages…… Book series to start the year, science fiction, Isaac’s book, humor…. finished 20 January… recommend

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams….  200 pages…  Book series to start the year, science fiction, Isaac’s book, humor…. finished 2 February… recommend

Don Quixote by Cervantes… 940… Classic, fiction, book you should have read in High School, over 500 pages, written in a different language….. 12 March….   recommend

Becoming Free Indeed by Jinger Duggar Vuolo…. 206…. non-fiction, Christian living, celebrity memoir, cults, published this year….  23 March…… recommend

Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams…..  199….  Book series to start the year, science fiction, Isaac’s book, humor…. finished 31 March… recommend

Share Your Story by Kate Motaung….  137…  non-fiction, advance copy, favorite author, writing…..  8 April…. recommend… review on Amazon

So long, and thanks for all the fish by Douglas Adams….  167…. Book series to start the year, science fiction, Isaac’s book, humor…. finished 15 April… 

Courageous Series by Voice of the Martyrs…..  pages…. book series, children’s books, non-fiction, biographies, historical, Christian Living…..   24 April……  recommend

Mostly Harmless by Douglas Adams….  230….  Book series to start the year, science fiction, Isaac’s book, humor…. finished 2 May

Wild Ride by Hayley Arceneaux…  181….. memoir, non-fiction, cancer survivor, astronaut, recommended by YouTubers….  12 May… recommend

Another Gospel by Alisa Childers…. 240…. non-fiction, Christian living, Youtuber author…. 29 May…. recommend

How to Write With Flair by Heather Holleman…. 115… non-fiction, writing, recommended by dad… 10 June

Lilith by George MacDonald…. 252… fiction, fantasy, book from college, classic…. 13 July

Dona Quixote: Rise of the Knight by Rey Terciero….   243….  fiction, graphic novel, inspired by another book, netgalley….  16 July…..  recommend

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte….  431….  fiction, classic, female author, recommended by friends….. 23 July…..  recommend

Children of the Phoenix by Oskar Kallner….  180….  children’s book, netgalley, science fiction, YA…..  25 July

Easy to Believe by John Hendricks…. 131…  non-fiction, Christian living, cults, book from a friend……  31 July…. review on Amazon

2am at the Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino….  260….. fiction, NC bookstore, picked for title and summary, magic realism….  6 August

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald…..  238….  fiction, favorite author, fantasy, children’s lit, classic….. 31 August…. recommend

Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis…  audiobook….  fiction, Christian living, classic, favorite author, recommended by friends…..  4 September….  recommend

Gay Girl, Good God by Jackie Hill Perry…. 193….  non-fiction, memoir, Christian living, homosexuality, celebrity…. 24 September…..  recommend

Being Henry by Henry Winkler…  audiobook…. celebrity memoir, non-fiction, netgalley……  30 September…..  recommend

Take a Step with Him by Karen Brough….  246….  non-fiction, favorite author, advanced copy, Christian living…… 30 September…..  recommend

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande…..  263…..  non-fiction, humanity, recommended by dad, old age…. 3 November  recommend

Awake and Alive to Truth by John Cooper….  116…. non-fiction, Christian living, celebrity author….. 8 November

Dear Future Mama by Meghan Trainer….  204….  non-fiction, celebrity memoir, motherhood, published in 2023….  12 November….  recommend

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix….  218…..  fiction, fairytale retelling, reread from childhood, YA…….  19 November….  recommend

Sister’s First by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush…..   244….  non-fiction, celebrity memoir, twin authors, NC bookstore….  25 November…..  recommend

Christmas Stories by Max Lucado…..   286….  fiction, Advent, multiple stories…..  30 November….  recommend

Counting the Cost by Jill Duggar Dillard….  267… non-fiction, celebrity memoir, cults, Christian living, published this year….  6 December…..  recommend

The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald….  audiobook…..  favorite author, fiction, fantasy, continued story, children’s lit, classic…..   8 December….  recommend

Doors by Susan Zeder….  50….  play, fiction, Children’s….  10 December

Museum by Tina Howe….. 54…..  play, fiction, social commentary, favorite author….  14 December

33 books! And that’s not all the children’s books included. I haven’t read that many books since I started keeping track of what I read each year. How exciting! 3 audiobooks, 13,544 pages, 6 memoirs, 9 Christian Living, 2 plays

Children’s Books: Pancake the Cat: From Funny to Fearless, Sally’s New Look, I Can’t Believe They’re Gone, Go Tell Everyone, Crow Helps A Friend, Last to be Chosen

And yes, I am still posting some reviews of some of the books I read in 2023 so if you don’t see a link to a book it might be coming in 2024.

The Princess and Curdie by George MacDonald

For those of you following along, here’s another George MacDonald book! This is a second story following Irene and Curdie after the events with the Goblins concluded. And it delivers!

My goodness, I enjoyed this book so much. The library only had an audio version available so I listened to it on my way to and from work during the week. The only downside to that was the inability to underline so many phenomenal lines I heard. There is such a gospel- centered thread of language throughout the novel. So many parallels and beautiful descriptions that make me want to know more about MacDonald because of the evidence of his salvation in his language.

This story continues after the events with the Goblins in the first book. It features Curdie and Irene’s great great grandmother interacting at the beginning making me think the reader would not see Curdie reunited with Irene and her father after they rode off in the last book. I do enjoy the Old Princess and her magical ways, but I was quite eager to see the dynamic duo together again. The Old Princess sends Curdie off on a mysterious journey with lots of cryptic instructions and he does encounter Irene and her father where trouble is waiting for Curdie. In quite a fun and majestic way, Curdie helps Irene and her father overcome the numerous obstacles keeping them from success. Along the way we hear many one liners that directly relate to the Christian life. Even in the conclusion alerting the readers that we will not get anymore Curdie and Irene stories we see such a replication of Biblical events that furthered my appreciation for MacDonald and his works. Also I am more excited to continue my efforts in reading his work and learning more about him. I would certainly recommend this book!

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (trilogy of five) by Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of the books I heard about, but never read for myself. It is the science fiction story of a man who escapes Earth while it is being destroyed by Vogons. He accompanies an alien who has been on Earth gathering material for the hitchhiker’s guide. We follow the pair through many adventures across time and space.

This is actually a series of books, not just one. Douglas Adams wrote the first three books as a trilogy, but decided to add two more books semi-arbitrarily due to the popularity of the trilogy and demand for more. This is why it is still called a trilogy instead of a series. Very silly, I know.

I was pleasantly surprised by the silliness in this series. In my very limited experience with science fiction I did not expect this renown novel to make me laugh so often. The surprise of frivolity was great to keep me invested in this story.

The premise of other worlds outside the Milky Way allows for endless adventure and displays of creativity. We follow Arthur Dent, the human, into space with his buddy, Ford Prefect, whom he previously believed to also be a human, only to find out that Ford is in fact from Betelgeuse Five, not Earth. Arthur and Ford get picked up by Zaphod Beeblebrox and Trillian McMillan to round out our four main characters. Oh, and I guess I shouldn’t leave out Martin, the depressed robot, even though he wouldn’t be surprised to be left out, but that’s another story. We follow this group all throughout space and time trying to find the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.

Adams plays with time travel in the most absurd way by the end of the series. In the first book, travel is strictly just through space. In the second book we discover that the Restaurant at the End of the Universe is actually a place in time, not space at all. The restaurant serves dinner to customers who enjoy a spectacular view of the destruction of the entire universe before skipping off to their regular time in space. It is quite a fascinating idea that this restaurant only exists in a time of thirty minutes somehow suspended in a time warp. Don’t think about it too long! The third book doesn’t deal too much with time travel, more with trying to save the universe from destruction. So the original trilogy focuses on space and not time travel, as expected. The fourth book depicts a weird glitch in reality that isn’t quite time travel, but creates some interesting ramifications for the future. It is the fifth book where everything goes haywire. The characters travel through both time and space willy-nilly and are simultaneously living in an alternate reality with another version of only one character, but no mention of other characters’ alternate reality versions.

Now, you can guess that the last two books follow the same rhythm of chaos in other aspects. The fourth book is a fun romance set in a funky, alternate, but this is current, reality with no explanation of how this is reality. It continues the frivolous path in a sweet manner that I can excuse the inconsistencies as a fun addition to the trilogy.

The fifth book is just crazy, in a bad way. It was a nice try, but it makes no sense. I don’t believe these characters would continue on in the way Adams suddenly presents them. The writing is clever, and ties lots of loops through moments in other books, but it is not a worthy addition to the series. In fact, it actually takes away from the original trilogy and the only redeeming moment in this book is the ending where everyone dies and you know there is no chance of any more frivolous books being added to the series. It is the most unrealistic (for the world Adams has already created) nonsense. I don’t believe the time travel, I don’t believe Arthur’s fate, I don’t believe Trillian’s occupation or offspring, I don’t remember what ever happened to Zaphod, and I don’t believe that Vogons have some ultimate plan for destruction when the Earth no longer needed to be destroyed.

Altogether I can recommend reading the original trilogy and stopping right there. The last two books are annoying and unnecessary. I would also warn readers that the last two books develop more adult content that is uncharacteristic of the first 3, which is certainly a factor of the books getting worse and the addition of adult content is not believable with the characters we know and love.

There are some delightful moments and quotes, but the toughest part of the trilogy of five is the utter despair throughout. It is obviously written by someone without any clear understanding of God or his place in the universe. There are so many moments of derision toward God and confusion about the world and any kind of purpose. This is where we see Adams’ worldview overtake this fiction story time and time again in his writing. The whole premise of each book is riddled in hopelessness; pointlessness. Adams is more direct in some scenes and vague in others, but he clearly has no hope or understanding of life, much less the joy of a life united in Christ.

Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke

Inkheart is another book my husband read as a teen and recommended for me to enjoy.