On the one hand, this collection of stories and scraps written by Jane Austen when she was in her early teens is a bit of a slog for someone who doesn't care for the epistolary format or the effusive language and style used throughout. On the other hand, I needn't tell you, dear reader, that these early yet noble scribblings of the now Esteemed Authoress brought forth an outpouring of appreciation and bursts of true and utter enjoyment, yes even Verbal Expressions of Mirth that required Explanation for those sharing proximity and rightfully wondering at my lack of silence upon finding the occasional gem that was, in respect to the Whole and to my previous Expectations and to the tender age of the writer, so excessively diverting. What Satire! what Wit! what seed of Genius!

If you enjoy Austen's novels, epistolary formats, and tomfoolery and lampoonery, then this is certainly a collection that's worth the short time it will take you to read it.

Neverwhere is an urban fantasy by Neil Gaiman, one of the first novels he wrote, and I swear I read it and liked it years ago. Turns out that was also a fantasy. Not the liking part — it's very good! — but I hadn't actually read it before, which I didn't realize until I began listening to this [excellent] audiobook version. And as good [excellent, really] as the audiobook is, I wish I had read the print book first. I absorb and enjoy stories better when I read them myself, and probably would've given the book 5 stars if I had read it years ago as I should have.

So this isn't a real review of the book, except I will say: It's very good. If you didn't read it years ago, when you should have, go and read it now. Familiar, modern London is sitting atop a parallel, fantastical, medievalish London Below ... and you're missing it. That's very pre-Door Richard Mayhew of you. Sure, you're safe from Croup and Vandemar, but you're missing the Marquis, the floating market, the rat-speakers, the Angel Islington, the pigeon-keeper Old Bailey, Hunter, the Night's Bridge, and more.

As for the audiobook, it's narrated by Gaiman and, as I've mentioned, it's excellent. This is Gaiman's preferred (revised) version of the story and he's a pitch-perfect narrator, giving each character a unique tone and cadence (and, often, accent). I listened in bits and pieces, during household chores and the like, but I'd love to listen again on a nice long road trip. Nothing to do but drive and get so caught up in the tale that an entire giant state has flown by and you're at your destination and a little sad to hit pause because you know another astonishing piece of this new world is going to be revealed within minutes. Perfect. Sign me up.

This is not an easy read in the normal sense of that description, but it's a far more accessible telling of this tragic tale (the "longest of all the lays of Beleriand") than the originally published accounts in The Unfinished Tales and The Silmarillion. If you've read and enjoyed those or sagas of a similar style, you may enjoy this one. It's also pretty short in terms of Tolkien and epics. It is a tragedy, though, so be aware of that going in.

Between Morgoth, his possessed dragon Glaurung, inescapable curses, marauding orcs, betraying dwarves and men, and impetuous and misplaced pride and misunderstanding, there's no shortage of darkness in the tale. There is also friendship, however — and heroism and epic adventure and resolution. And some surprisingly good and relevant quotes:

Spoiler

"Grief is a hone to a hard mind."

"Neither are you [Morgoth] the most mighty; for you have spent your strength upon yourself and wasted it in your own emptiness."

"Whenever I say that I will do this or that, it looks very different when the time comes."

"One night as they lay lurking in the fireless dark, Turin looked on his life, and it seemed to him that it might well be bettered."

"Her heart did not fail her, and she took thought."

I'm not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to read a dark and tragic saga in the dead of winter, but I mostly enjoyed being in the Tolkien universe again for awhile.

This is a coming-of-age, coming-of-understanding, coming-of-forgiveness novella—and a really quite good one. The tale starts with the improbable, yet somehow perfectly realistic situation of an unexploded bomb crashing into a school and ending up on a young student's desk during a drill. This student happened to be under his desk at the time because he was the only one who did the drill correctly. Perfect, I thought. That's *exactly* how life happens.

Even given the improbable yet perfect opening scenario, "Duck" didn't feel as manipulative nor as discomfitting as some coming-of-age stories do (to me). Much of the credit for that probably goes to the author's writing style, which is engaging yet somehow comforting. I had no idea what the tale was about or what sort of things I'd be encountering, so I read tentatively at first. By the time I was done, my journey of growing confidence and trust as the reader felt like a part of the story.