I do read a lot of e books but I love the tactile pleasure of paper. I think it was the gorgeous covers looking so pretty in my Instagram feed bolstered by glowing comments by various reviewers that prompted me to buy both books on a flying visit to Sydney. I found The Binding by Bridget Collins at Abbey's and Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer at Kinokinuya. The Binding I read in one sitting, in the passenger seat on the way home back to Canberra. Echo North I finished last night, curled up on my bed with my cat Thistle.
The Binding was a surprise (I had expected more fantasy) but it was a gripping story. Echo North is a fairy tale retelling which took motifs from 2 of my favourite tales East of the Sun, West of the Moon and Tamlin.
The Binding is brutal in places, Echo North has some delightfully whimsical details and both feature magical books. While very different in style and mood I found that both books brought up ideas of forgetting and escape through stories which made me reflect on the nature of reading.
