The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Sisters of the Raven Barbara Hambly, 2002 Premise: The rains have never been this late before. Men's magic is inexplicably fading, but will the women discovering their own powers be allowed to take their place? (FYI: This is part of my current project to read all the books I bought cheap years ago and judge them mercilessly so as to free up bookshelf space.) This book is sort of weird to read now. It's not a bad fantasy yarn with a somewhat Arabian-Nights flavor - djinns and deserts and harems and a very sexist society. The women don't even have real names; it's a whole thing. Take from that what you will. The plot follows a group of women who are some of the first to discover that they have magic, just as the men who have always had magic are losing theirs. It's got a tense and scary plot, often brutally violent, with some surreal and weird turns.  Hambly's penchant for moderate, realistic characters means that this doesn't turn into a rousing girl-power f...

Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home Heather "Anish" Anderson, 2019 Premise: A memoir about losing and finding yourself on the trail. I think parts of this book will be with me for a while. A popular suggestion on lists of "books like Wild" or "memoirs about hiking" or "memoirs from outdoorswomen" (all lists that pique my interest), Thirst follows Heather Anderson (trail name Anish) on her attempt to set a record for hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in the fastest known time.  The story of that hike is beautifully interwoven with scenes from her life that lead up to it and reflections on her experience. At times Anish seems impossibly strong, at others foolish. Average people don't feel driven to run ultramarathons and walk for days on end. Her account feels honest, searching, vital.  She mentions a few times that she was chronicling her journey online in real time at the time, and sometimes I wished for a few more of those in-the-moment snippets. The n...