Reading list

I've been listening in the car, as I commute, to a reading of The Magicians by Lev Grossman.  You might think of this as Harry Potter for grown-ups.  There is a lot of superficial similarity, but the characters are going to college for magic, not prep school.  Therefore, more sex and violence.

I find the writing striking, at times, especially use of modern idioms without seeming contrived.  I liked this description of the beginning of a magic class, though Lokys thought it dull.

The study of magic is not a science, it is not an art, and it is not a religion.  Magic is a craft.  When we do magic, we do not wish and we do not pray.  We rely upon our will and our knowledge and our skill to make a specific change in the world.

It's the sort of book Vaiva would have liked, though she was such a voracious reader that there wasn't a lot that she did not like.