What we're reading: Lewis & Brennan
Each week we bring you a sample of the books we’re reading, the films we’re watching, the television shows we’re hooked on, or the music we’re loving.
Fiona Hardy is reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis
Last weekend, on a road trip to Phillip Island, my partner read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe aloud in the car while I drove. He and my daughter had read the previous book — the Magician’s Nephew — just before, and they knew some secrets about the book I didn’t, but it was a real joy to experience again. I’d read it as a kid, but couldn’t remember all of it, only snippets: the stone table, Turkish Delight, a lot of snow. I had forgotten how rich Lewis’ description is, how much he can warm you with descriptions of a cup of tea (no matter what urgent crisis is happening) or the sound of Aslan’s name. We were done in the three hour return trip, but it was distracting, lovely, exciting, though sometimes so exciting I had to ask him to pause if there was traffic. I sell these books constantly, and they sure don’t need me to recommend them, but after having a long drive turned into an adventure like that, I will be recommending it again anyway — especially for winter!
Lian Hingee is — finally — reading In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
More years ago that I’d like to admit I struck up a conversation with someone at a conference who told me I absolutely had to read a book called In Other Lands. I dutifully trotted off and bought a copy and then let it languish on my bookshelf for so long that this random person became a workmate and then a friend and then a former workmate (but still a friend). And it’s taken me until now to actually read it, and I just have to say: I’m sorry Jackie. I shouldn’t have put it off for so long. You were right: it’s just my Thing.
This snarky, funny, deliciously smart YA novel is about a boy who’s too clever for his own good and who ends up in a fairytale land that turns out to be a little heavier on the warfare than he’d hoped. With plenty of intelligent things to say about the undervalued importance of diplomacy and education, the absurdity of gender stereotypes, and the legacy of colonialism, this is a hilarious book that fondly skewers the very genre that it occupies.
