There are few books of contemporary fiction that I wholeheartedly recommend, for which borrowing from the library is not enough and ownership is required. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern is one of these rare novels. It is a story of Marco and Celia, of love and magic and illusion. It is also the story of an atmosphere, and it is this that makes the book. The atmosphere of the Cirque des Reves draws you in. It truly is a circus of dreams, where the impossible happens naturally. Trees can make wishes come true, gardens can be made from ice, and evocative smells can be bottled. Each tent is more magical than the last. I’m sure I’m not the only reader who wished that the circus was real and could be thoroughly explored.

Celia and Marco are both magicians, trained by magicians who differ philosophically in what exactly that training should look like. As a result, they create a competition for their pupils. The venue is the circus. Moves are made by each side, and as they are, Marco and Celia begin to fall in love. This leads to all sorts of complications in a competition where only one side should be left standing at the end. As you would expect from any good writer, the solution to this problem is ingenious, both completely unexpected and completely inevitable.

I enjoy books where magic is woven into our normal world. The Night Circus reminded me of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke for this reason. Magic is there; you just need to know how to use it. It doesn’t require a wand or fancy spells. The world can be manipulated by your mind, real magic disguised as illusion. The twist of competing magicians who then fall in love simply provides more opportunities for the magic to shine through.

This was one of those books that I wanted to devour and savor all at the same time. I viewed the dwindling pages with dismay, wanting to stay in the world that Morgenstern had created. The characters and the story were wonderful, but it was honestly the atmosphere of this book that grabbed my imagination on the first page and still hasn’t let it go. It’s an impressive debut novel, and I’m already looking forward to what else may come from this author.

Find it on: Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  Better World Books

Our town had its Fall Festival this past weekend, which is always a fun time. Lots of craft booths and apple cider and a tractor show (I live in a farming area, in case you can't tell). The weather didn't exactly cooperate - it was cold and rainy most of the time. But the indoor activities were still a lot of fun. I love this time of year!

The Orchid House by Lucinda Riley (Loved this book!)

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (I'm enjoying it so far. I haven't read many Pulitzer Prize winners before (this is only my second one), and I'm finding it surprisingly readable. Hopefully that continues through the next 500 pages!)

The Queen of the Big Time by Adriana Trigiani (I have a feeling I'll need something a bit lighter after The Goldfinch, and I figured Adriana Trigiani was a safe bet. :)

When I was creating my list for the Classics Club, I knew I wanted to include something by Sir Walter Scott. I've already read and enjoyed Ivanhoe and Rob Roy, and I knew Scott had plenty of other books to discover. I did some investigating and settled on Waverley. It was about the Jacobite rebellion of 1745. Ever since I traveled to Scotland in 2007, I've been curious about the Jacobites.

Little did I know when I picked Waverley that I was choosing a momentous book in literary history. Waverley was Scott's first novel. Previously, he had only published poetry. Waverley and its successors were international bestsellers. It established the novel as a serious form of literature. And it created the genre of historical fiction. Before Waverley, there had been history and fiction, but it took Sir Walter Scott to combine them into historical fiction and make the genre widely popular.

Waverley tells the story of Edward Waverley, the nephew of an English lord who, pretty much through his own naiveté, finds himself fighting on the side of the Jacobites and Bonnie Prince Charlie Stuart. Like Catherine Morland of Northanger Abbey, Waverley read too many romances as a child, and now he is drawn to the romance of Scotland. He finds love and a brotherhood that changes the course of his life.

Despite being about a rebellion, there isn't a ton of action in this book. It's rather slow-paced, with plenty of notes in the back to refer to in order to figure out exactly what Scott was trying to say. This book isn't for everybody; some would probably find it boring. But I definitely enjoyed discovering Scotland in the mid-1700s and experiencing this piece of literary history.

Another quarter of the year is complete! 2014 is three-quarters done, and it's been full of lots of reading so far. This quarter included most of the summer, which had many stacks of books from the library and my Harry Potter reading marathon. Here are my stats for the past three months:

Books read: 40
Total books read: 98
Pages read: 15,125
Total pages read: 33,108
Fiction: 90%
Nonfiction: 10%
Male authors: 41%
Female authors: 59%
Audiobooks: None. Whoops.

Favorite book this quarter: One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson. I don't how he keeps writing such fascinating books, but he does it every time!

Reading Challenge Progress
Mount TBR: 25/36     69%
I Love Library Books: 50/50     100%    Challenge Complete!
Newbery: 27/30 points     90%
Color Coded: 7/9     78%
Full House: 23/25     92%
What's In a Name?: 3/5     60%
Nonfiction: 21/25     84%
European: 8/10     80%
Global: 6/7     86%
Around the World: 11/12     92%
Read It Again, Sam: 11/12     92%
You Read How Many Books?: 98/100     98%
Chunkster: 13/10     130%                  Challenge Complete!
Alphabet Soup: 22/26     85%