protean depravity

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Only it was never the best of times. 2024 is my personal 2020 and made me miss pandemic times we were sitting in peace at home, watching movies and reading books.

All the Protean Depravity columns have a deeply ritual (or shall I, less flatteringly, say repetitive?) character, and although I'd love to add more new, flashy, and exciting things to my blog, I also find comfort in little traditions. The wrapping up column, in which I look back at my reading challenges of the past, and most anticipated books in the upcoming year, is one of those comfort writes. The other main one being the best titles of the year, which is due next week, so hold on tight for that! But before, let's wrap up this year's reading. Among all the chaos and bad luck I had last year, there is one accomplishment that I'm proud of - I finished ALL my reading challenges I pledged to finish, and I'm a little proud of that. I have to add that I was very careful not to put too much on my plate and sometimes read as little as four or seven books per challenge, but that technique helped me finishing them, some of them even quite early in the year.

So, I definitely need to start wrapping up everything 2024 and to look into the future, and that involves writing the last short reviews of the year, focusing on the End of the Year list, and plan new challenges for 20. Hope you enjoy them as always, despite the abominable weather.

On the verge of her cousin Keziah's marriage, Bata, a girl who lives in a small Nigerian town with her family, has a kind of episode during which she steps into another dimension and, dressed as an awesome warrior-bride, kicks the ass of an evil ghost bride, who apparently formerly was engaged to her cousin's groom. See, Bata has been different all her life, suffering from nightmares which keep the whole household awake - and make them resent her a little bit. Before she is subjected to an exorcism by the town's medicine man Dibia, she is snatched by a magnificient spirit who takes her to Ibaja La, the land of ghost brides, and informs her that she is a sort of chosen-one, and she has a paranormal mission she needs to fulfill as a Bride-Sentinel. Of course, for a ten year old girl coming from a family in which things are less than ideal, a household divided into itself, a house in which she always has been the odd one, to arrive in a sort of wonderland of young women in ...