Bibliomancy for Beginners Hangout Video: “The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making” by Cathrynne M. Valente

Welcome to this week’s Bibliomancy for Beginners! This week we read my pick, The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by the fantastic Cathrynne M. Valente. As you may or may not know, I took a writing class from Ms. Valente last year and fell in awe. This should be a good one! Stop by next week when we read Possession by A. S. Byatt!

Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket), who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. The new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than September. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn’t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. September is already making new friends, including a book-loving Wyvern and a mysterious boy named Saturday.

With exquisite illustrations by acclaimed artist Ana Juan, Fairyland lives up to the sensation it created when the author first posted it online. For readers of all ages who love the charm of Alice in Wonderland and the soul of The Golden Compass, here is a reading experience unto itself: unforgettable, and so very beautiful.

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Top Ten Books At The Top Of My Summer TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and the Bookish!

As you all may or may not know, I’m really booked up on my blog right now. (Pun intended.) This means that I am going crazy with the books I need to read, and I’d like to get caught up before I go back to school. So these are the next 10 reviews you can expect to see on the blog!

June 20th – A Different Kind of Love

I know I wrote this whole thing about not writing dark things yesterday, but sadly my pencil decided to jump onto that bandwagon again today! Don’t even ask me where it came from because I’ve never felt this way before, but there you have it. Perhaps I will have happier messages tomorrow!

A Different Kind of Love

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Chaining me to the wall
And locking me away
Because the outside is dangerous

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Blind folding my eyes
To block out the light and the dark
So my sight would stay unblemished

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Telling me everything about me is awful
So that I would be too afraid
To share it with the world

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Silencing the truth of my heart
So I could lie to myself
That all this is good for me

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Belittling myself always
And hating my own soul
So I could love another

I wasn’t aware that love meant
Learning to stand up for myself
And let go

June 15th – My Corner

Today’s poem started out when my mom told my, for the millionth time, to “Get out of my corner.” ‘My corner,’ by the way, is my room, where she says I spend far too much time without even a window up. Well, maybe that’s true… I promise I’m going outside after I post this, I promise! 😀

My Corner

I like my corner
This is my domain
Where I am the master
And what you say
Does not go

You would have me leave my corner
For you say all this time here
IS not good for me
And that I should
See more than its walls

You tell about my corner
Threaten to throw away
All that keeps me here
And say that I am
Only hurting myself

But you should love my corner
For someday I
Will leave it forever
And you’ll only be able to
Wish I was sitting there

June 3rd – Mine

Today may not be a sunny day outside, but it is inside because it’s my brother’s birthday! Even so, it would appear that my poetry today was doomed to be darker. Somewhere along the way today I was thinking about my work and how I feel sharing it with others, which is why today’s poem ended up being about possession.

Mine

It is mine

I made it

Kept it safe

Gave it food

Let it breathe

–

It is mine

It will hide

Block out everyone

See no light

Allow none near

–

It is mine

I created it

Made it shine

Let it sing

Taught it dance

–

It is mine

It would travel

See the world

Become most famous

But never will

–

It’s not afraid

But I am

So it won’t

It will stay

Love its cage

–

It is mine