monday memories – clariel

Emma of Miss Print and Nicole at The Book Bandit have started a new weekly feature called Monday Memories.  To participate, all you have to do is take a photo of one of your books (or a library book that means a lot to you) and talk a bit about why it made an impression.  Today I'm going to talk about Clariel by Garth Nix.

True story: I haven’t read this book yet. 

Given that I’ve re-read Sabriel and the other Abhorsen stories over and over (too many times to count!), you’d think I would have already jumped into this one.  Especially since I picked it up at Book Expo America in MAY, and it is October now.  Somehow this book has become a charm.  In my head it has become the thing that’ll pull me out of a terrible day, the antidote to reading malaise, the cure for all that ails me! 

I may be putting too much pressure on this book.  I’ll stop, I swear. 

Oh look at that – it’s me meeting Garth Nix in person and getting his signature.  I was SO EXCITED (I’m in the middle, that’s my sister on the right, beeteedubs)… it doesn’t show in the photo, but my heart was beating like mad and I almost forgot how to speak.  I just… authors are my rock stars, you know? 

So yeah.  Even though I haven’t read this book, it means a lot to me.  It’s potential wonder, the continuation of a favorite universe, and the meet-and-greet of the year.  Dear book, I don't know you yet, but I love you.

If you'd like to see more Monday Memories posts, head over to this week's link list.

waiting on wednesday (73)

Today I’m participating in "Waiting On" Wednesday, a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. Its purpose is to spotlight upcoming book releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.

I read Garth Nix’s Sabriel, the first book in his Old Kingdom series, when I was in high school.  My main prerequisites for checking a book out from the library (my primary means of book discovery) at that point were that the cover look cool (granted, totally subjective) and that the book be substantial/long.  I read very quickly in those days (ah, I miss them!), had few distractions, and craved as long a reading experience as possible.  It is important to note that during this same period I read many James Michener and Leon Uris epics – solely due to page count.  Follies of youth and all that.

Anyway, Sabriel was a huge favorite, and so were the following books, Lirael and Abhorsen.  I actually asked for (and received from an obliging brother) a box set of the Abhorsen books for my nineteenth birthday.  An Old Kingdom novella was included in Nix’s collection of short stories Across the Wall, and that also joined my Garth Nix shelf.  What I am trying to say… is that I am flipping obsessed with this series, and the fact that there’s a new story coming out this year makes me want to spaz out like a child on Mountain Dew for the first time.  I have no idea how I will stay sane until Clariel’s release date (which is October 14, from HarperCollins).  So so so so so so so excited!!!

Clariel is the daughter of the one of the most notable families in the Old Kingdom, with blood relations to the Abhorsen and, most importantly, to the King. When her family moves to the city of Belisaere, there are rumors that her mother is next in line for the throne. However, Clariel wants no part of it—a natural hunter, all she ever thinks about is escaping the city’s confining walls and journeying back to the quiet, green world of the Great Forest.



But many forces conspire against Clariel’s dream. A dangerous Free Magic creature is loose in the city, her parents want to marry her off to a killer, and there is a plot brewing against the old and withdrawn King Orrikan. When Clariel is drawn into the efforts to find and capture the creature, she discovers hidden sorcery within herself, yet it is magic that carries great dangers. Can she rise above the temptation of power, escape the unwanted marriage, and save the King?

What books are you waiting on?