What We’re Reading 12/9

A Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

A tale of sentient grimoires, dashing sorcerers, and a sword-wielding heroine, A Sorcery of Thorns was just the book I wanted to read. This standalone fantasy novel was chock full of wonderful characters and beautiful magic throughout, so it was no wonder that I started and finished it on the same day. I mean, c’mon, a book with a demon butler (*clears throat* Black Butler, who?) and badass librarians who sometimes have to fight the literature themselves?? There was no way I wasn’t going to absolutely love everything about this book. With a little bit of romance and a lot of action, you’ll want to read this book the first chance you get.

— Lilli

Blame it on the ‘rona, but it felt like the right time to tackle Harlot’s Ghost, Norman Mailer’s beefy 1,100-page “history” (it’s fiction) of the CIA. And while the jury’s still out, I have to admit that I’m utterly captivated by this fretful, paranoid spy novel that takes you behind the driver’s seat of the Company’s greatest failures and achievements. There’s enough Cold War-era sleuthing and J. Edgar Hoover s**t-talking for the whole family, but it’s the panicky frame narrative of an ex-agent possibly faking their own death in order to expose a delicately-orchestrated money-laundering conspiracy within the US government that’s got me going. It’s the kind of stuff Le Carré wishes he could write.

— Uriel