Whenever I’m sick, I grab two things to entertain me in bed: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Pokémon Crystal. I have so much nostalgia and warmth for both of those that it’s the entertainment equivalent of a bowl of soup.

It took me two days to finish The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It’s an incredible book, and I was so absorbed in the story that I could not put it down. Any free time was devoted to that book.

I bought it after falling for the hype, read a few pages, and then saw the audiobook was available from the library. I immediately returned it and checked out the audiobook because three pages were enough for me to know that I did not need to own this book. I’m almost halfway through the audiobook and am seesawing whether or not to finish it or cut my losses. I just cannot suspend my disbelief enough to buy into this army being okay with prospective riders killing each other. My brain has stuck on that and refuses to let go.

If you want a better war+dragons book, I recommend His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novak. There’s no steamy romance in it, but it’s a better story in every way.

It hasn’t happened to me as an adult, but it did happen when I was maybe 11. I loved the series A Series of Unfortunate Events. But I was a very voracious reader as a kid, like I got in trouble in class because I would read a book instead of paying attention. So by the time the 8th book was out, I’d read enough to find some of the writing patronizing, mostly in regard to Snicket putting in a big word and then defining it. I hated that as a kid because I already knew what most of those words meant.

I’m going to revisit the series with my son when he’s a bit older—I’ll most likely be more forgiving of that writing quirk since it is a book series for children.