For sure. Although to be honest there is better science fiction, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a fantastic book.
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BIG fan of period history here!! I’ve read a few Philippa Gregory but can’t remember which ones off the top of my head. Only slightly obsessed with Henry VIII
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SO GLAD TO MEET ANOTHER FAN OF PHILLIPPA GREGORY. I revel in her storytelling. And yes, only SLIGHTLY obsessed with the Plantagenets as a whole. Elizabeth of York captured my attention almost instantly.
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I think I read The Other Boleyn Girl and maybe The White Queen?? I don’t remember though. But same, she’s up there with Diana Gabaldon as far as being able to get so completely absorbed that I don’t even realize thousands of pages have gone by.
Also, highly recommend Margaret George’s The Autobiography of Henry VIII. Another long one but so good!!
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Yes! Those were such cornerstone books in the series! I feel like The Other Boleyn Girl was a story that foils over The White Queen, but I digress.
Thank you for the recommendation, I’m always looking forward to adding more books to my collection.
To reciprocate, The Women of The Cousins War is also another more historically based book of hers that goes in-depth about the real lives of Elizabeth Woodville, Margaret Beaufort, and Jacquetta of Luxembourg
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Currently Reading
- The Monarch Papers volume 2
- The Magicians - Lev Grossman (Reread, I’m not finding it as engrossing as I did last time so have abandoned in favour of… The Secret History of Whiches, The Binding, Scent of Magic, Touch of Power and now TMP… I’ll get back to it and probably have to go back to the start, has anyone else had this? I feel completely underwhelmed by it on this read through, the writing feels stuffy and endlessly drawn out. Last re read I couldn’t put it down, it carried me along and felt, well magical.)
- Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett (audio book)
Edit: removed recommended, found a more appropriate thread Here 
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That’s how I felt about The Magician King after reading The Magicians.
Edit: The Magician’s Land was pretty redeeming.
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@Augustus_Octavian
I’m glad it’s not just me. It’s a while since I’ve read them all.
I’ve stalled when at their first adventure in Fillory. But I love the none Brakebills magic arc that brings Julia(?) back into the story
Maybe just not the right time to be reading it, it is a fantastical cross cherry picking some of the best bits of other magical series and adding reality that others just skim past.
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I totally agree! I would totally leave all the Fillory stuff behind, and just read book upon book about students at Brakebills and hedgewitches out in the world. The fact Quentin, Penny and Alice skipped a year irritated me, because that was my favorite part!
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I’ve just started giving Kamisama Kiss (graphic novels count, surely?) and Zuleikha by Guzel Yakhina a try. I’ve also had Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys sitting on my shelf for ages; I finished American Gods years ago so it should probably be next.
Is anyone here a fan of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern?
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I’ve heard good things about Kamisama Kiss but never read it. How is it so far?
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@Sellalellen I’m enjoying it more than I expected to, but there are quite a few Shinto-specific terms that might throw you for a loop if you aren’t used to them. Even given past obsessions with xxxHolic and Gate 7, I find myself checking the glossaries fairly regularly.
The main romance hasn’t really grabbed me yet, but I’m picky about those, and it does seem to be exploring the concept of a human girl becoming a kami (and what that would entail) quite well.
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Cool. I just finished Mizutama Honey Boy so I might read that one next. That’s good to know about the Shinto terms. People haven’t mentioned that to me before.
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They aren’t terribly important to know off the top of your head, but I like keeping track of the history and legends around each being as much as I can, to compare with the narrative choices the author made. Onibi-warashi, shinshi, and tochigami are the most common, but some plot lines benefit from knowing specific stories, like volume 7 and the story of Izanami and Izanagi. Luckily most of them are fairly searchable online these days.
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Google sure is great for that. A little while ago I was reading a manga that followed an Oiran in the red light discrict of Edo, and I think I spent most of my time in the first chapters googling various ceremonies and the meanings of specific hairpins and all that. After a while though, I could understand without referencing Google every time.
Oiran Girl is a good manga, but so much of the drama is hairpin related and every kind has some sort of symbolism attached.
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I think I remember seeing that series, I might check it out.
As a resource, I’ve actually found reading Case Closed/Detective Conan very informative. It shows a lot about modern Japanese culture, but quite a few cases also involve historical figures, mythical creatures, and other Japanese trivia that get explained for the benefit of its younger main audience.
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@Tornus I am ever so slightly OBSESSED with The Night Circus! I created a whole playlist to listen o while reading it, and I try to always drink coffee or hot chocolate with nutmeg when I read it to really get in the zone with sound, taste and aroma 
Currently reading The Monarch Papers v1, and just getting to the end of The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty. It’s utterly delightful - I’ve never really read any fiction set in and around Egypt, and this which is full of djinn and weaves in Arabian myths & folklore was just stunning. Can’t wait to read the next instalment!
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Hey all! I’m currently reading Red Rising by Pierce Brown. One of my good friends suggested it to me, and the story is quite captivating. The author’s writing style is very short and to the point, which I’m not used to!
Not to give any spoilers out, but the first few chapters are like their own rollercoaster. It’s kept me reading for sure! I’m about to get started on TMP though.
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KamiSama Kiss is a slow burner, tbh, it takes a bit to get going but once it does it draws you in.
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Love the Red Rising trilogy, I’m on book two now.
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