Saturday Reads - Three Books Finished!

I have recently finished up the last book of one trilogy, finished another book which is a side story to a trilogy and then one nonfiction book.

The first one which completed a trilogy was The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden.

Set in early Russia, the series follows Vasya, the witch, from her childhood to adulthood. Weaving in Russian history and folklore with lots of snow and ice, the whole series was a fantastic read. Coming into her own as far as her magic is concerned, battling with demons and priests, Vasya literally comes through fire to triumph.

The second book I finished is a side book to the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness, Time's Convert.

While not the roller coaster ride of the original three books, starting with The Discovery of Witches, this one follows the transformation of Phoebe into a vampire and Marcus, her soon-to-be-official-mate.

The book flips between the issues Phoebe goes through as she is turned into a vampire and must learn in order to blend in the world today and Marcus' own conversion at the time of the Revolutionary War to present time. Thrown in you still get Diane and Matthew and the twins, along with how the twins are coming into their own magical powers as infants. How do you cope with babies who can't understand their own powers?

Finally, a bit of a 'zen' moment with Wabi Sabi by Beth Kempton.

A Westerner living in Japan, Kempton attempts to explain what 'wabi-sabi' means and how to live 'a perfectly imperfect life'.

Going through various areas in your life, from possessions to money to relationships, she explains how your wabi-sabi experience is going to be different from someone else's experience. 

One thing which really hit a chord with me, especially in the context of other things I am trying to do in my life, is about acceptance.

"Acceptance is not about giving up or giving in. It's about surrending to the truth of what is happening and then playing an active role in deciding what happens next."

There are also exercises to do at the end of the chapters, several of which I copied in order to really think about as I do them. 

One thing I really enjoyed was reading the book itself was very calming and enjoyable. Very 'zen'.

So that's it for now. I'm in the first third of the latest Robert Galbraith book, Lethal White. Great read so far.