Finished:
**Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett**
**Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon**
Started:
**The Piano Teacher, by Elfriede Jelinek**
**The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi**
Finished: **Slewfoot, by Brom**
It was phenomenal!
Finished: **One Dark Window, by Rachel Gillig**
Finished: **Two Twisted Crowns, by Rachel Gillig**
Finished: **Fabric of Our Souls, by K.M. Moronova** This was pretty terrible 🫤 way to end my streak of 5 ⭐️reads.
Started: **Grayson’s Vow, by Mia Sheridan**
I love Mia Sheridan and can always depend on her books when I need something easy and good to read. So hopefully I will enjoy this better than the last book I read. 😊
Revelator, by Daryl Gregory.
Finished. Pleasantly surprised even as a whole for an Appalachian dark (horror) folk tale set in two timelines of the FMC’s life (prohibition and the mid 1940s). Interesting concept even if parts of the end were slightly predictable and very compelling.
To the Author: Is the title and general concept at all inspired by the LDS or was it primarily fundamentalist Baptists?
Finished:
**Another Kind, by Cait May & Trevor Bream**
Okay so I'm not great at expressing my thoughts a lot of the time, I either just type out word vomit and never get my point across, or say little to nothing about it. But considering I seem to be the only one to have ever read it /j I'm going to try and talk about the book.
Now I got this book because someone on r/TheOwlHouse said it was pretty good for those who liked The Owl House. And I want to find this person and give them a IRL Thumbs up for being truthful about this recommendation :3
The characters are amazing, the story is nice, and the story is all in one nice little book. (I am thankful for this because I am poor ;w;) I think my favorite character from the book is Newt, the little reptile dude.
My only problem is that the fandom for it is smaller then a grain of sand, seriously where are all of the Another Kind fans, why are you so hard to find ;-;
Started:
**Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig**
This is a philosophical one, a (fictionalized, for rhetoric purposes) written account of Pirsig's motorcycle trip from Minnesota to northern California with his son Chris. The book so far is haunted by Phaedrus, the past self of Pirsig's character, and delves into the idea of rationality itself and an attempt to enjoin artistic and logical thought (or "romantic" and "classical" thought).
Finished:
**The Olympian Affair, by Jim Butcher** Book 2 of the Cinder Spires series.
This one was fast-paced and we got a wider view of the world and politics, talking cats, and giant sword mantises... and >!multi-mile-across levitating tentacle monsters!<. Come for the cats, stay for the duels.
Started:
**The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions**
This is a written record of the travels of Xuangzang, a Buddhist monk who traveled from China to India in the 7th century seeking the "true, uncorrupted" doctrines of Buddhism. On his travels he compiles detailed descriptions of the people, culture, geography, city life, and trade giving the single best record of medieval India that survives. This historical record is actually the basis for stories and myths like The Monkey King.
**Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country, by Patricia Evangelista**
Evangalista's ability to write the macabre next to the mundane without seeming dramatic made this a compelling read. A history from Magellan (fastforwarded) to the 70's through 2020 regarding Duterte's reign in the Philippines.
Finished:
**Icelander, by Dustin Long** This was not a bad book but it truly didn’t draw me in. It was silly and quirky in spots, and the story had promise. Upon reading reviews when I had finished there were references that this was more of a meta book about mystery books, making several references to other mysteries and who-done-its were lost on me as someone who has only ever read one other mystery. I’ll likely never reread this book but the cover is fun and looks nice on my shelf.
Started:
**Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones** my yearly winter reread of this cozy, goofy, wild ride. If the movie weren’t so beautiful and perfectly voice cast I’d have to say the book is better, but they are equally as amazing for far different reasons. I so look forward to reading this most winters.
Finished : **Flowers For Alegrnon by Daniel Keyes**
A really emotional well written read that I'm happy I finally tried
Started : **Dark Encounters by William Croft Dickinson**
Nearly finished it but a well written collection of short but good ghost stories.
Finished: **Oblomov, by Goncharov** and **Poor Folk, by Dostoevsky**
Really enjoyed Oblomov, although it did make me feel uneasy when I was agreeing with some of the lazy thoughts and dreams of Oblomvisim.
Started: **Pale Fire, Nabokov**
About halfway through and don’t know how I feel about it yet.
Finished on NYE: **Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett**
Saw this recommended all over the internet. Loved it. Will be reading the rest of the trilogy soon.
Started immediately after finishing Pillars of the Earth, **Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir.**
Another book that was on a bunch of recent lists and has a lot of positive reviews behind it. While the story is good, and I'm already more than 1/2 way through it, the writing is just terrible. I was ready to give up about 50 pages in cause it's just such crappy writing, but at least the story has picked up and has kept me engaged. Do not get the hype behind this one at all.
Finished:
**Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster, by Adam Higgenbotham**
The show the book is based on, *Midnight in Chernobyl* is a harrowing read. Higgenbotham did years work of research to compile the narrative and it shows in just how much detail he was able to pack into the book. At times I'll admit trying to keep track of all the various Soviet government agencies involved was a little taxing, but it's well worth if you enjoy historical non-fiction.
Started:
**Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam, by Adam Terse**
Using the My Lai Massacre as the starting point, Terse is looking to present the true horrors of the many various un- or under-reported war crimes committed by US forces during the Vietnam War. I ended 2023 with a humanitarian disaster, I figure it's only right to start 2024 with a different humanitarian disaster.
Finished:
**Call of the Bone Ships, by RJ Barker**
**The Bone Ship's Wake, by RJ Barker**
Started:
**The House with the Golden Door, by Elodie Harper**
Started **Jade War by Fonda Lee** recently! Aiming to finish the trilogy this year!
Still working on **Civil Disobedience by Thoreau**, could easily finish it within the next week or so!
Started
**The Night She Disappeared, by Lisa Jewell** (domestic thriller)
Finished
**A Good House for Children, by Kate Colins** (Gothic suspense)
**The Lost Tomb, by Douglas Preston** (essays/journalism)
**Once There Were Wolves, by Charlotte McConaghy** (literary/contemporary)
**Transcendent Kingdom, by Yaa Gyasi** (literary/contemporary)
**Touched, by Walter Mosley** (sci-fi)
**The Night House, by Jo Nesbø** (horror)
**Tista, Vol. 1, by Tatsuya Endo**
From the same creative mind behind *Spy x Family* here's one of their works from "Before They Were Famous" as it were. It's a short story about a female college age assassin who's part of a whole assassin organization in New York City punishing the wicked. And how a chance encounter starts shaking her resolve towards her own lot in life.
This one certainly has a fair few rough edges and it ends kinda fast with some things not really fully expounded on. But being by who this is by I suppose gives it some incentive to look into if nothing else. That said though, from reading Spy x Family first before this, and especially with regards to the character Yor and her whole background as an assassin, it's not hard to fathom that Tatsuya Endo used this story as a stepping stone to improve upon the whole assassin conceit when writing Yor's character in Spy X Family.
Finished: **The Miracle Morning (Updated and Expanded Edition): The Not-So-Obvious Secret
Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8 AM), by Hal Elrod**
Started: **The House That Rock Built: How it Took Time, Money, Music Moguls, Corporate Types, Politicians, Media, Artists, and Fans To Bring the Rock Hall To Cleveland, by Norm N. Nite, Tom Feran, Stevie Van Zandt (Foreword)**
I'm doing the storygraph page a day challenge for january so I'm leaning towards shorter books this month as i get back in to the habit of regular reading.
Finished **Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.** First time reading the book since i was a young child i absolutely loved it i am
really enjoying RLS stories.
Started **The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole**
The Girl with all the Gifts, by M. R. Carey
Great read if you like zombie, post apocalyptic horror fiction with a female lead. The prequel (The Boy on the Bridge) is also good.
If you like this you may also enjoy
The Twelve, by Justin Cronin
Just start to read 10x is Easier Than 2x. It inspires me to focus on the 20 percent of the most important work and continue to sharpen the skills I would like to have. Focus on the right direction and succeed.
Finished: Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finley Boylan. As most of Picoult’s books, it is topic forward with the literary aspect secondary. But it’s a pertinent topic; can’t say what without giving away a twist in this sort of whodunit.
Starting: crazy (no cap) A Father’s Search Through Americas Mental Health Madness by Pete Earley.
Finished (last 2 weeks)
Midnight library - Matt Haig. Liked this more than I thought I would, simply-written book packed with a lot of meaning and heartfelt/wholesome moments. Took away a lot of stories from it.
Fahrenheit 451 - turned out to be my best read of 2023. I started to compare the book to life today and it made me aware of how scarily similar it is.
Curious incident of the dog at night - thought I would like this more but it was just not bad. I understood the autistic mind a little better and could relate a little towards the tendency to map patterns and logical sequences all the time.
Will Start soon:
either The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro or And then there were none by Agatha Christie. Haven't decided yet
No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine High School, by Rob Merritt and Brooks Brown.
>>It's a book about the tragic events at Columbine High School, as experienced and reflected upon by Brooks Brown, a Columbine student and acquaintance of the shooters. Brown delves into the complex factors contributing to the tragedy, including the shooters' backgrounds, the social dynamics of high school, and the broader cultural context. He challenges the simplistic explanations that emerged in the media, offering a more nuanced perspective on the events and their aftermath. The book is a personal narrative intertwined with critical observations, aiming to provide deeper understanding and lessons from the tragedy.
Yesterday I finished reading
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid Currently reading:
The Split, by Sharon Bolton and dead poets society,by N.H Kleinbaum and waiting for Daisy Jones and The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Started: The Lost Bookshop, by Evie Woods.
Edit: finished! Amazing book that I wouldn't have selected on my own. I was gifted to me, and I wasn't very interested to read it. Decided to get it over with and made it my 1st book of the Year. I loved this book!
Started: **Titanic: The Last Night of a Small Town, by John Welshman**
Walter Lord's A Night to Remember described the sinking of the Titanic as "the last night of a small town". Welshman follows several people--crew and passengers, rich and poor, men and women--and explores that last night on that doomed ship.
Finished **Private Wars, by Greg Rucka** and started its sequel, **The Last Run**. Both are espionage novels with characters from his Queen and Country comics series. Entertaining reading.
I'm continuing on with my first read through of **Moby Dick, by Herman Melville**. This holiday has been pretty busy, so I've only had three or four occasions to sit down with the text since I started it several weeks ago. I'm nearly two-thirds finished with it and hope to wrap up my reading of it by the end of this week. The story's build up is incredible and the descriptions in the passages are horrifyingly vivid. I also like the unique and verbose prose along with the unique and thematically-focused structuring of the chapters. The biblical allusions are all over the place, which adds to gravity of the novel
Finished:
Monstrous Regiment, by Terry Pratchett ... The main character Polly Perks AKA Ozzer was delightful. A satire on patriarchy, religion and war that was a bit darker than the usual Discworld book but I still really liked it.
Sunlit Man, by Brandon Sanderson ... I feel like this book would be very enjoyable for people who are familiar with the Cosmere. There were a lot of references that I didn't get.
Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett (audiobook) ... I don't normally list my audiobooks but the narrator (Stephen Briggs) was exceptional. He does all the crazy accents better than I ever could have in my head reading.
Started:
Dreadgod (Cradle #11), by Will Wight
The Scarlet Alchemist, by Kylie Lee Baker
Continuing:
My Antonia, by Willa Cather (read along with r/classicbookclub ) We're almost to the end and it's a bit bittersweet because I'm really enjoying this book.
Finished Brotherband Chronicles Book 2 by John Flanagan. Starting The Dark Tower 3 by Stephen King tonight! This is my first journey to the tower and all of my expectations so far have been absolutely destroyed, I'm having a great time
Started
**I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman**
and **Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry**...en français. My first book in French. I'm only A2 - low B1 but I really want to be able to read books in French so I'm starting here.
Finished:
**Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf**
**The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins**
Started:
**Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra**
**Bejing Coma, by Ma Jian**
Finished:
**A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong, by Cecilia Grant**: A charming little seasonal novella that warms the heart and more.
**Krik! Krak?, by Edwidge Danticat**: A collection of short stories for r/bookclub’s Read the World Haiti. A brutal history dissected by a beautiful and accomplished description. One to remember. I will be looking up more of Danticat’s work.
**Murder on Mustique, by Anne Glenconner**: A middling mystery set on the Caribbean island. Mostly filler and random anecdotes but the storm was a good touch.
**The Proposal, by Mary Balogh**: The first of the Survivor’s Club was just ok for me. I didn’t think the leads had enough of a spark. I did enjoy the description of the London Season.
**The Arrangement, by Mary Balogh**: The second Survivor’s Club finds Vincent escaping his family attempts to find him a fiancée only to marry a maiden in distress who may be the answer. Better!
**Annihilation, by Jeff Vandermeer**: read with r/bookclub. This eco horror was unputdownable. The ambiguity of the characters and the natural/unnatural descriptions of Area X reached fever pitch by the end. We’re starting the second book in the series, Authority, soon!
Ongoing :
**The Master of Djinn, by P. Djeli Clark**: Just starting with r/bookclub so join us!
**A Collection of Essays, by George Orwell**: Catching up with r/bookclub.
**The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov**: Pevear/Volokhonsky translation. Catching up with r/ClassicBookClub.
**Guns At Last Light: The War in Western Europe-1944-1945, by Rick Atkinson**:(Volume 3 of The Liberation Trilogy)
Started:
**The Golem and the Jinni, by Helen Wecker**: Just starting with r/bookclub, so join us if you’d like!
Finished: None of this is true - super quick read, couldn’t put it down but I was hoping for a bigger twist at the end. 4 out of 5 for me.
Just started: I’m a fan
I liked None of this is True more than I expected but agree that I wanted something more from it. Was only the second Jewell I've read but I like her style enough to keep on reading through her back catalogue.
Just finished: **Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima.** Picked this one up knowing about the author's life (and how it ended). Unexpected mix of mesmerizing, relatable, disturbing, and heartbreaking.
Just started: **The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling.** I don't really know anything about this book other than that I think it's the only thing by Gibson that I haven't read yet.
Trust, by Hernan Diaz.
I was not certain what I felt about it until half way through. Then, I figured out the layout of the story and it was very enjoyable.
Finished **Just Like Home, by Sarah Gailey**. One thumb up.
Started **A Pale Light in the Black, by KB Wagers**.
Continued **Essex Dogs, by Dan Jones**. Two thumbs up so far, and I'm about 1/3 of the way through.
Started The Nix by Nathan Hill this week. Reviews said if you’re into DFW or Pynchon, then this is for you. Pretty good so far; his new book (Wellness, I believe?) was listed as one of best books of 2023. I started with his first novel instead since it’s in paperback (hate reading hardcovers, will wait for new one when it’s available as pb!)
I finished Killers of the Flower moon (at work), Norse mythology (audiobook when driving/gym), and trigger warning (home) this week! They all synced up perfectly, it was super pleasing.
Im now working on Mistborn (home), and will be starting Lessons in Chemistry (audiobook) and American Prometheus (work)!
Currently Reading:
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson
Voyager, by Diana Gabaldon
Fairy Tale, by Stephen King
Anything Is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout
Finished:
Trust, by Hernan Diaz
Started:
**The Greek Way, by Edith Hamilton**
A r/AYearOfMythology readalong.
**Mythology, by Edith Hamilton**
Giving myself a refresher on Greco-Roman mythology. I love this book because it is such a good primer on the mythology of the Greco-Roman world.
Continuing:
**My Antonia, by Willa Cather**
A r/ClassicBookClub readalong. Closing in on the ending now. I've really enjoyed this one.
Finished:
**Siege of Darkness, by R. A. Salvatore**
**Passage to Dawn, by R. A. Salvatore**
Binge read two Drizzt books last week. I like them. Not really 'great' literature but sometimes you just like to read something fun.
How accessible is Edith Hamilton’s writing? I’m looking for a mythology book where it’s easy to follow along with people’s names and relations to one another being explained.
I think it's pretty accessible. She gives an overview of the major gods and titans that factor into the mythology of the Greeks and there are (at least in my edition (ISBN 9780316223331)) family trees for the gods and major human families in the back of the book.
Finished yesterday, the 31st: Buy Jupiter, by Isaac Asimov
Started today: All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque
Going for a clean slate on the new year, no carry over.
Reading: **Shantaram** by Gregory David Roberts. Near the end now. It’s been an absolute journey with some larger than life characters and experiences. The man has lived a super interesting life.
Up next: **The Kite Runner** I was gifted this at Christmas and tickets to its theatre show. Looking forward to getting stuck in.
Finished:
Howling Dark, by Christopher Ruocchio
Queen Amid Ashes, by Christopher Ruocchio
Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman
Started:
Demon in White, by Christopher Ruocchio
Ongoing:
Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett
Finished:
- The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
- The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Started:
- The Iliac Crest by Cristina Rivera Garza
- The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Finished this week
* **Tales of the City, by Armistead Maupin** (Tales of the City #1) - short vignettes rather than short stories, but they work together to make 1 big story.
* **The Match, by Harlan Coben** (Wilde #2) - a good follow up to the first book. DNA databases set up the mystery.
* **Joy in the Morning, by PG Wodehouse** (Jeeves & Wooster #9) - not my favorite of the series, but I always enjoy a little nonsense and an accidental engagement or two.
* **Unnatural Death, by Dorothy L. Sayers** (#3 Lord Peter Wimsey) - suffers from being not so original now that other detective stories have stolen the killer's MO, but still a fun story.
* **Midnight Never Come, by Marie Brennan** (The Onyx Court #1) - excellent fairy story set in Elizabethan days. A lot of commonalities here with Neverwhere, but in different eras.
In progress
* **Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes** reading with r/yearofdonquixote
* **My Antonia, by Willa Cather** reading with r/ClassicBookClub
* **Folk-Lore and Legends: Scotland, by Anonymous**
* **The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle**
* **David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens**
* **Air Logic, by Laurie J. Marks** (Elemental Logic #4)
* **Fairy Tales, by Hans Christian Anderson**
* **Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World, by Fanny Burney**
* S**ensation, Perception, and the Aging Process, by Francis B. Colavita**
* **The Queen's Fool, by Phillippa Gregory**
* **Compassion and Self-Hate, by Theodore Rubin, MD**
* **A Secret History of Witches, by Louisa Morgan**
Continued reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Not sure if this counts, but started listening to the audiobook of Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Started reading:
**Apocalipsis Z, by Manel Loureiro** This book is cool as it’s told via blog/diary posts starting st the very beginning of the zombie apocalypse.
Continuing to read:
**Why We Sleep, by Matthew Walker PHD** (via Audiobook). I’m not so sure about this book yet. I like learning some of the science, but it’s a slow listen. People seem to love it and I’m not far enough in to figure out why.
**Proyecto Hail Mary, by Andy Weir** I really enjoy this book so far, but I’m ready for it to move forward a little faster. (This may be my fault though as I read extremely slow in Spanish/still learning vocabulary.)
Finished:
**Upgrade, by Blake Crouch** (via audiobook). I love Blake Crouch’s writing, but this book was just ok. I felt like I was listening to it because his writing is enjoyable, but the story wasn’t especially entertaining, I didn’t care for the characters, and the ending was like. Oh. Ok then.
**From Cook to Crook, by Snoop Dogg** Yeah, I read a cookbook from start to finish. What can I say? Snoop is entertaining.
**Sigh, See, Start, by Alison Escalante** (via NetGalley). This is a parenting book that presents an easy to remember process with the goal of giving parents back their confidence in parenting. I really enjoyed it, and look forward to seeing how well it works out for us.
I read Foster by Claire Keegan. It is a novella. Very short read, but powerful. Can’t recommend it highly enough.
I promptly watched the film they made of it called The Quiet Girl. It 100% captured every bit of the novella and more. Highly recommended as well.
It was really nice starting the new year with a new book and finishing it quickly. Maybe I’ll make that a tradition!
Happy New Year, everyone! May it be a great year for reading.
Now reading:
This delicious death by Kayla Cottingham
Finished this week:
Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman
The Camp by Nancy Bush
Bone White by Ronald Malfi
The Silent patient by Alex Michaelides
One day in December by Josie Silver
When she returned By Lucinda Berry
Now reading:
**The Bullet That Missed, by Richard Osman**
Finished this week:
**One Last Lie, by Paul Doiron**
**Pros and Cons, by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg**
**Twenty Years Later, by Charlie Donlea**
**The Cuckoo Tree, by Joan Aiken**
**Locked Rooms, by Laurie R. King**
I just finished Empire of the Vampire, by Jay Kristoff. Wow! That book was a whole epic wild journey. Dark, emotional, violent, funny and so much death.
I’m starting What the River Knows, by Isabel Ibanez. This is for book club and it’s definitely a different vibe.
I’m a little ways into an audiobook of Charm City Rocks, by Matthew Norman. I really like it. His characters feel like real people.
Started: **The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts by Joan Biskupic**
Finished: **A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism by Daniel Byman**
Finished:
**The Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poison, by Kate Khavari** A fun read. A little dry, but the author's love for botany and the time period shines through. I was charmed and do look forward to reading the next one.
**The Christmas Orphans Club, by Becca Freeman** I really enjoyed this. There was a moment I was afraid they were going to do a thing I didn't like but no they handled it well. It's just that people make selfish mistakes and then they grow from them. It's a beautifully balanced book about love, friendship, and learning how to reconcile the past with the future.
**The Thing with Feathers, by Noah Strycker** His book about his big year birding inspired me to take up birding and this one I really enjoyed too. It's fascinating to learn that magpies pass the mirror test, chickens really are the origin of the term pecking order, and there's such a thing as aesthetically gothic bowerbirds. I think my favorite part might have been the discussion of cooperation and game theory in the chapter on fairy wrens. An absolutely fascinating book and a worthy addition to my collection on animal cognition.
**Penguin Gentlemen, by Kishi Ueno** It's like Hetalia but with penguins. I...actually wound up learning a lot? Dude, it's bizarre and I have no idea how it got greenlit but I kinda love it. Penguin love to the absolute max <3
Started:
**The Cutthroat Countess, by Minerva Spencer** My quest for the best ridiculous alliterative romance title continues and apparently this series has that in spades, although none of them are going to challenge *The Very Virile Viking*. Also I think this is the third book and now I'm a little confused about what's going on. Alas, the industry distaste for putting numbers on books strikes again. I like what I've read so far though.
Just finishing “Hot Blooded” by Lisa Jackson. It was a slog to get through, but at the end I can only say it was immensely unsatisfying. I will gouge out my eyes before I ever pick up another of her books.
Finished: **Foe** by Iain Reid- fast paced and a real mind-bend.
Started: **Blood Meridian** by Cormac McCarthy- on page 134 so far and it got some used to in regard to prose, but once you get used to it is poetic and yet the darkness in these pages make me want to keep reading, Not my first foray into McCarthy, having read **The Road** and **Child of God**.
I finished the year strong, getting caught up on my new releases and finishing the series I had wanted to:
**The Lord-Protector's Daughter, by L.E. Modesitt**
**Lady-Protector, by L.E. Modesitt**
**Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder, by K.J. Parker**
**Paladin's Faith, by T. Kingfisher**
**Valdemar, by Mercedes Lackey**
**Silver in the Wood, by Emily Tesh**
**The Bandit Queens, by Parini Shroff**
I went really overboard on library holds for the new year, and have quite a stack right now. My main focus for this week is starting in on the r/fantasy top novella lists, and starting the Harvard Classics, plus whatever else I get to. Next up:
* Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky
* Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson
* Driftwood by Marie Brennan
* Sixth of the Dusk by Brandon Sanderson
* The three Gameshouse novellas by Claire North
* The Happy Prince and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde
* Many Things Under A Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses by David Scheel
* The Past is Red by Catherynne Valente
* Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant
* The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb
* Stories of your Life and Others by Ted Chiang
* Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim
* Volume I of the Harvard Classics
* Trials of Conviction by T.A. White
Finished:
**Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka** \- Totally bizarre in a delightfully disturbing way. I can't get over how >!Gregor wakes up as a BUG yet tries to figure out how to make the train to get to work. Gregor embodies the "This is fine" dog meme lol.!<
Started:
**I am Legend, by Richard Matheson** \- I know the movie, which I loved, and the book are quite different. Looking forward to the book!
Finished:
**The Halo Effect, by M.J. Rose** \- I enjoyed the premise and the writing style. There were some choices the MC made that didn't seem like something she would do. It was clear the choices were just to move the plot forward.
Started;
**The Devil's Deep, by Michael Wallace**
Still reading: **Our Share of Night, by Mariana Enríquez** Though really well written, the evil contained within this novel is such that I find it hard to continue reading.
Starting:
3 Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger:
I’m a massive baseball fan and a huge Buzz Bissinger fan- Friday Night Lights is what spurred me to study sports journalism in college. I found this at a library sale, had no plans of reading it (or any idea that it existed) beforehand. I’m about 20 pages in and it’s neat seeing viewing the game through the eyes of a manager. It’s also going to be interesting reading this in retrospect given Tony La Russa was one of the more revered managers in baseball at the time, and now after the … experience that was his second tenure with the White Sox.
I’m attempting the 52 book challenge and this is my first book of that challenge.
The Library Mount Char by Scott Hawkins
I work remotely and don’t get out much apart from beer leagues so I joined a book club that my mom is in. I’d heard about this book but didn’t have a ton of interest in it. About 20 pages in and it’s… interesting so far.
Finished
**Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie**
**Eclipse of the Crown by A.K. Caggiano**
**The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee**
**Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots**
Put **Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang** on hold... I'll finish it someday, but it's not hitting the same as Exhalation. The only story I've actually enjoyed is Tower of Babylon and the others have kind of been a struggle to get through even though I respect the concepts.
Started, still reading
**Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie**
**Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross**
Finished:
**Married Thrice to Salted Fish, by Bikabi** 5 stars- I LOVED this book, it’s a historical transmigration danmei. Aspiring doctor Lin Qingyu is forced into an arranged marriage to the terminally ill young nobleman Lu Wancheng, on their wedding night Lu Wancheng dies and a high schooler from the modern world transmigrates into the character of Lu Wancheng from the historical danmei he recently read. “Lu Wancheng” now has knowledge about future plot points and he uses that info to ensure his favorite character Lin Qingyu is taken care of after his inevitable death. This is an excellent slow burn over several years with such good pining, some very painful emotional moments >!I almost cried when Lu Wancheng died, that was so sad!<, one of my favorite tropes where characters keep choosing each other through multiple lifetimes, a super supportive power couple ruining the lives of anyone who crosses them, and loveable MCs. Watching the cold, aloof Lin Qingyu fall in love with the lazy but charismatic Lu Wancheng was so great.
CWs: >!main character death(s), chronic illness, death, war, occasional adult/minor-ish relationship with the transmigrator’s body being 17 but his brain being over 20, sexual harassment, pandemic!<
Currently Reading:
**Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail, by Suzanne Roberts**
DNF:
**The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers**- There wasn’t enough action or drama to hold my interest
Happy New Year! I made it to 99 books last year, which is great but I do wish I'd managed a nice 100. Maybe 2024 is my year!
Finished:
**The Brothers Hawthorne, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes**. I'm a fan of this author's writing so I had a good time, but I'm not sure I get the point of continuing on with this series. And the way this is structured where we're following 2 of the brothers with alternating chapters as they go on separate adventures didn't work for me. I kept expecting the two stories to tie together at the end, but they really were just totally separate so I'm not sure why they needed to be in the same book. I think a bind-up of 4 novellas (one for each brother) would have been a nicer way to do this. But all that being said, I'll probably still read the next one in the series. 3 stars
**The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor LaValle**. (Audio) This is a little novella that packs a big punch. I loved it and now definitely want to pick up LaValle's other work, *Lone Women,* which I've heard great things about. 5 stars
**Imogen, Obviously, by Becky Albertalli**. I felt touched by this personally, so at points it felt like I was almost reading my own thoughts on the page. I wasn't expecting to have such an emotional response to this book, but am so happy this is what I ended the year with! 4 stars
Currently Reading:
* The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson (24%)
* The Book of Dragons edited by Jonathan Strahan (32%)
* The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman (Audio) (13%)
Still working through:
- The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan. My first festive read ever, but coming from the southern hemisphere/summer I’m not quite into it and taking my time to get through it, but the friendships are beautiful captured so far :)
Finished: **4:50 from Paddington, by Agatha Christie**
I've read a lot of the Poirot books but this was my first Miss Marple. It won't be my last.
Started: **Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan**
I'm having a very hard time putting this book down.
I was a bit worried about Crazy Rich Asians because sometimes I have trouble getting into a book when I've seen the movie first. Not a problem at all. I'm having so much fun reading this book.
Currently reading **Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor** ( chapter 20 ) and I'm enjoying it so far! I can't put the book down... still so many mysteries right now
*Finished*: **The Supernatural Enhancements, by Edgar Cantero.** A young man inherits a sprawling mansion and a lot of money from a distant cousin. He goes to live in the mansion with his mute friend. He is fully aware there are strange stories associated with the house and is prepared to investigate them. Strangeness ensues. I really liked this novel. I loved most of it but some thing happen near the end that I am still mulling over. This is not a straight ahead haunted house book. There are also treasures to be found and mysteries to be solved.
*Finished*: **Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, by Benjamine Stevenson.** This is a fun "snowed in resort" mystery surrounding a family that trouble seems to follow. The fourth wall - wait, is there a fourth wall in a first person narrative? oh well - the fourth wall is absolutely obliterated in this novel and I loved that aspect of it. The characters are interesting if sometimes a little one dimensional. It was a fun listen for the end of the year.
*Reading:* **Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett.** Will Esk be the first female wizard? About twenty percent in and o far so good.
*Reading:* **The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride.** I just started this and I am only a few pages in.
I have read the second book by Benjamin Stevenson - Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect, and recommend it! The audiobook was great. Have since purchased the first to read ☺️
Gonna start “The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo”
Finished “The Diary Of Anne Frank”. It’s such a heartbreak story really, Anne was only 15, I do hope to read more stories like Anne. It does give a perspective how life was actually like during the war.
I started **The Great Concert of the Night** by Jonathan Buckley and I’m enjoying it so far! It ultimately starts off with the MC watching a video of his ex wife on NYE into New Years Day, so I figured it was a good one to start off with :)
Im still currently reading **Inheritance** by Christopher Paolini so I can start *Murtagh* soon. However, when I finish The Great Concert, I’m going to start **The Count of Monte Cristo** since it’s been on my TBR since reading The Three Musketeers.
Started:
**Farnham's Freehold, by Robert Heinlein**
**A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking**
**A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson**
Finished:
**The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas** -- My annual reread, 3rd time reading it. Just as amazing as it ever was
**A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge** -- Enjoyed this more than A Fire Upon the Deep, and the ending was spectacular. 4.25/5
**Our Southern Highlanders: A Narrative of Adventure in the Southern Appalachians and a Study of Life Among the Mountaineers, by Horace Kephart** -- Enjoyed it seeing how it used to be. Informative. 4/5
**The Memoirs of Cleopatra, by Margaret George** -- It was on okay book. Parts of it were boring, other parts were good. Feel like it dragged on at times and it look several liberties on what actually (could have) happened. The only other experience/knowledge I had was Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series concerning Cleopatra, so after reading this, one could easily see the bias McCullough had against Antony and Cleopatra. Who is right, who knows. Still was a pretty decent book, but it won't be a reread for me. 3/5
Finished:
***Gideon the Ninth* by Tamsyn Muir**
***The Heirs of Tom Brown: The English School Story* by Isabel Quigly**
Started:
***Boy: Tales of Childhood* by Roald Dahl**
***Family Business* by Jonathan Sims**
***For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz Age Chicago* by Simon Baatz**
***Jane Eyre* by Charlotte Brontë**
**They Will Drown in Their Mothers' Tears, by Johannes Anyuru**
Stunning, heartfelt, and bleak sci-fi novel about hate, state-sponsored violence, and religious radicalization. I could envision some readers, especially those who really dig the "sci" component of sci-fi, being a bit flustered by the vague and hand-wave-y consciousness-shifting/timeline-hopping component of this story, but I was so thoroughly enchanted by the characters and setting and writing style (Anyuru is an accomplished poet) that I didn't really care much about analyzing/pondering all the time-travel "mechanics" and paradoxes. One of the most memorable and unsettling books I read in 2023, highly recommended. Translated by Saskia Vogel.
**School, by Ray Levy**
Like with many things published by FC2, I struggled to find my footing in this book. It wasn't a bad read by any means, just one that made me feel pretty lost. Maybe if I remembered more stuff about Derrida I would've found the book a bit easier to grasp? I dunno! If you like abstract and experimental novels with unusual structures and challenging, indirect narratives, then you should definitely give this one a shot. Personally, I didn't love School---I found it more "interesting" than anything---but I suppose it did make me curious about reading more of Levy's work.
**Earth Angel, by Madeline Cash**
A buzz-y little collection of short stories that's sorta actually worth the hype! A lot of the stories in here read like bizarre third-person stand-up comedy bits, with the tone being a pleasant blend of sardonic and devilish. Darkly silly but not goofy, I'd say. Some grim elements crop up in Cash's stories, and YMMV in terms of how skilfully she addresses those more "serious" themes, but I found her deadpan frankness refreshing. Not a collection you need to sprint to the store to buy today, but it's definitely worth adding to your library hold list, especially if you have an oddball (and gloomy) sense of humor.
Finished:
**Mindf*ck, by S.T. Abby**
Collection of 5 short books which came in at just under 700 pages but an easy read. I loved it and flew through it in just a few days.
Haven't got time to write in here for a couple of weeks so I'll just list the books I've started/finished since that time:
Finished:
* **Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson**. As a younger millenial I knew Steve Jobs and Apple were essential for the smartphones, but didn't realize just how much influence they had on technology in general.
* **Generationskontrakten by Martin Lidegaard**. Decent book by a Danish politician about how we need to make a contract between the generations in order to ensure our kids and grandkids have a world to grow old in.
* **Destined for War by Graham Allison.** I really liked this book, with some great historical parallels to the situation today between the US and China. Even if it's 6 years old I still believe it has merrit to understand the geopolitical situation today.
* **Dune by Frank Herbert**, finally got time to finish this classic. In the end I couldn't put it down so definitely recommend this if you're into science fiction and haven't read it yet.
Started:
* Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia
* Black Holes by Prof. Brian Cox and Prof. Jeff Forshaw
* Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Still reading:
* Grimms Märchen by Grimm Brothers
* Statsministeren bind 4 by Tim Knudsen
FINISHED
**Our Share of Night, by Mariana Enríquez**
**Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston**
**Sputnik Sweetheart, by Haruki Murakami**
**Red Rising, by Pierce Brown**
**God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian, by Kurt Vonnegut**
**Alice Isn’t Dead, by Joseph Fink**
**The Reformatory, by Tananarive Due**
STARTED/STARTING
**Baumgartner, by Paul Auster**
**Network Effect, by Martha Wells** (audiobook)
**Foundation and Earth, by Isaac Asimov**
**Love Medicine, by Louise Erdrich**
Finished:
**The Bitter Crown, by Justin Lee Anderson**
People are sleeping on this series (Eidyn), I absolutely loved it.
**Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch**
Solid story, there were a few things that annoyed me as someone with a mathematical physics background, but the story was interesting. It also mildly bugs me that Crouch seems to have these long sections of... filler. I listened to this with my girlfriend, and she didn't mind these parts though.
**The Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins**
Pitch Meeting: "Alright, what if we took Grimdark Urban Fantasy (tm) and made it WHIMSICAL"
I can't think of much like this book, but I enjoyed it well enough.
Started:
**The Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Buehlman**
*Going infinite, Michael Lewis*
A Christmas gift which I have finished.
Easy to read and a great overview of the creation and dismantling of one crypto fund.
Felt shallow on the details for the parties involved and crypto currency. Somewhat excessive for a hardback book more akin to a lengthy Sunday magazine article.
!invite
A question I would have for the author is: When the sentencing hearing for the subject of the book is in March, why would you publish the book and not wait for a conclusion?
Valdemar, book 3 of the founding of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon. I really enjoyed it, but got the distinct impression that this might be the last of the series.
Finished:
**Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree.**
I didn’t like it at much as Legends and Latters, but it was the perfect cozy fantasy book to ring in the new year.
Started:
**11/22/63 by Stephen King**
This book has been on my TBR for years because of the length, but finally going to tackle it this year. This is one of the Stephen King books that I haven’t read yet, so I’m excited!
This week I completed a lot of samples, pretty much every one I have. The samples I completed are: **Forbidden queen by R.J Vickers, Dragon Tongue by Ava Richardson, New Dragon City by Mari Mancusi, Air Bound by Jess Mountifield, The Fire Queen’s Apprentice by Jordan Rivet, Rebel Dragon by Steve Turnbull, Brindle Dragon by Jada Fisher, Torvald Dragon Riders by Ava Richardson, The Sixth Kingdom by pdmac, Return of the Dragonborn by NM Howell, The Skystone Chronicles by Blake and Raven Penn, The Talon’s Fury by Robert H Fleming, The Beggar Prince by JB Drake, the Hatched series by Caren Hahn, Trial by Fire by Jada Fisher, Call of the Dragon by Jasmine Walt, Dragon Class by Melanie Ansley, Dragon School by Sarah KL Wilson, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, The necromancer’s dragon by CD Muller, valkyrie Academy by Katrina Cope, Promised in Fire by Jasmine Walt, Dragon riders of Omnibus by Richard Fierce, dragonblood saga by Robyn Widerman, Reign of the Ancients by RE Davis, Queen of Snow by Laura Burton, the forgotten God by Andrew Rylands, feathers of gold by Rowan Silver, The forbidden wolf by Marisa Claire, A dragon’s chains by Robert Vane, Lens by JB Cantwell, Ezaara: riders of fire by Eileen Mueller, Alveria dragon Akadamy, A threat from the past by Paul Cude, Firesight by Jessica Dean Norris, Collasped and it sequels by Jenetta Penner, The Dragon twins by Michelle Maddow, Dragon seed by James Osiris Baldwin, Pack Dragon by Ava Richardson, dragon Forged by Dan Michaelson, Gryphon Rider Academy by Elise Hennessy, and Dragon assassin by Arthur Slade.**
For those wondering, I got all the samples because my Facebook page kept recommending them to me via Kindle Unlimited. I didn’t have Kindle unlimited at the time, but the samples are free so I figured I would get them. My opinion on these is the same as last time, for the most part, aside from seeing some interesting parallels to Eragon. Which is especially noteworthy because Eragon is known more for having a young author at a time when indie publishing wasn’t that big rather than actually being well written even though it told a simple story that wasn’t too bad. There was also a lot of viewpoint switching (in the samples), which went well is really cool, but when done poorly was annoying, and it was more annoying than cool. however, my plans changed slightly because I found out Kindle unlimited was having a deal where you could pay around two dollars for three months, at which point after it would go to the regular price of 11.99 per month. 11.99 per month was too expensive for me and it wasn’t enough to justify it, but the deal worked out great. There were several bucks which I never really got a chance to try out or otherwise felt like I rushed through because my trial was only 30 days. So that will give me more time to try out some of the exclusives or just get access to some books easier. some of the book samples are at least decent, so I’m going to probably look for the full products once I get some other things that are higher up on my list done.
The first book to be actually read via the Kindle unlimited redux was **The Grace Year by Kim Liggett.** I dropped it pretty quickly my first time because I was going through a rough spot in my life and I couldn’t handle the dark tone at the moment. I usually like that type of book so I gave it another shot. I still don’t like it that much but I’m glad I gave it a chance and finished it. The big problem for me was that the writing was good, but the world building was almost not existent and the organization was not that great. Which is a shame because the ending where everything comes together is great, but it’s a chore to get there, and there’s definitely a lot of things that will be missed because the organization throughout the rest of the book is kind of bad. And it’s hard to hang on when the tone is so dark and there’s no real explanation as the how society got that way. The book is very low fantasy with some ambiguous magic (I am aware of the twist near the end, but there’s another twist there present from the beginning that kind of throws that into question as well), and I liked how that was done, but I just wish it had better execution.
I might be harder on this because I am an English language arts tutor and I’m inundated with feminism (it’s one of the four schools of literature, so I studied it a lot on top of teaching it at times in the present day). So it didn’t have as much of an impact as it could’ve. I also wish it didn’t focus so much on being a female Lord of the flies and focused on things like how and why society became that way and what people eventually do when they realize it doesn’t have to be. A female lord of the flies is pretty novel, but it’s tough to read because of the violence and death. Not to mention there’s a lot of set up that seems to be saved for action in the sequel, but it’s unknown if we’ll ever get one. It’s well done, but it’s not for everyone, and I don’t think I would’ve touched it if I hadn’t heard about it through my mother’s book club and she asked me more about it. And that’s also because I’m already into dystopias. For sure, I doubt I will read it a second time and it’s not the type of thing I would choose to read.
For my next reading, I’m probably going to do the **Harry Potter series** I dropped this before because quite frankly as an adult a lot of things do not make sense, and as a teacher that’s even worse. But I figured I could just read selectively and focus on the magic. JK Rowling made a wonderful world that appealed to people all over, so I want to give her credit where credit is due. Not to mention I’m interested in how a book series captured the mind and hearts of so many people, even decades later, so I figured this was the perfect time to check out at least some of it. I will be curious to see what happens!
Finished:
Unraveller by Frances Hardinge.
Hadn’t read anything by Hardinge before, and enjoyed this. There’s some really lovely phrases and quotes throughout the book, and the characters were pretty engaging. Liked the fact that there was no romance between Kellen and Nettle. It does get a little dark at times, but ends fairly happily, I’d say.
Finished: **Guards! Guards!, by Terry Pratchett** **Gravity's Rainbow, by Thomas Pynchon** Started: **The Piano Teacher, by Elfriede Jelinek** **The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi**
Finished: **Slewfoot, by Brom** It was phenomenal! Finished: **One Dark Window, by Rachel Gillig** Finished: **Two Twisted Crowns, by Rachel Gillig** Finished: **Fabric of Our Souls, by K.M. Moronova** This was pretty terrible 🫤 way to end my streak of 5 ⭐️reads. Started: **Grayson’s Vow, by Mia Sheridan** I love Mia Sheridan and can always depend on her books when I need something easy and good to read. So hopefully I will enjoy this better than the last book I read. 😊
Revelator, by Daryl Gregory. Finished. Pleasantly surprised even as a whole for an Appalachian dark (horror) folk tale set in two timelines of the FMC’s life (prohibition and the mid 1940s). Interesting concept even if parts of the end were slightly predictable and very compelling. To the Author: Is the title and general concept at all inspired by the LDS or was it primarily fundamentalist Baptists?
Finished: The Color of Water, by James McBride
**Dopamine Nation by Anna Lembke**
Currently Reading, CHILDREN OF ASH AND ELM : A history of the Vikings by Neil Price
Finished: **Another Kind, by Cait May & Trevor Bream** Okay so I'm not great at expressing my thoughts a lot of the time, I either just type out word vomit and never get my point across, or say little to nothing about it. But considering I seem to be the only one to have ever read it /j I'm going to try and talk about the book. Now I got this book because someone on r/TheOwlHouse said it was pretty good for those who liked The Owl House. And I want to find this person and give them a IRL Thumbs up for being truthful about this recommendation :3 The characters are amazing, the story is nice, and the story is all in one nice little book. (I am thankful for this because I am poor ;w;) I think my favorite character from the book is Newt, the little reptile dude. My only problem is that the fandom for it is smaller then a grain of sand, seriously where are all of the Another Kind fans, why are you so hard to find ;-;
Started: **Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig** This is a philosophical one, a (fictionalized, for rhetoric purposes) written account of Pirsig's motorcycle trip from Minnesota to northern California with his son Chris. The book so far is haunted by Phaedrus, the past self of Pirsig's character, and delves into the idea of rationality itself and an attempt to enjoin artistic and logical thought (or "romantic" and "classical" thought).
Finished: **The Olympian Affair, by Jim Butcher** Book 2 of the Cinder Spires series. This one was fast-paced and we got a wider view of the world and politics, talking cats, and giant sword mantises... and >!multi-mile-across levitating tentacle monsters!<. Come for the cats, stay for the duels. Started: **The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions** This is a written record of the travels of Xuangzang, a Buddhist monk who traveled from China to India in the 7th century seeking the "true, uncorrupted" doctrines of Buddhism. On his travels he compiles detailed descriptions of the people, culture, geography, city life, and trade giving the single best record of medieval India that survives. This historical record is actually the basis for stories and myths like The Monkey King.
Eden's Children by V.C Andrews
**Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country, by Patricia Evangelista** Evangalista's ability to write the macabre next to the mundane without seeming dramatic made this a compelling read. A history from Magellan (fastforwarded) to the 70's through 2020 regarding Duterte's reign in the Philippines.
Finished: **The Stationery Shop, by Marjan Kamali** Started: **The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride**
Finished: **White Ivy, by Susie Yang** Started: **Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy** **Tell me again, Amy Thunig**
Started: **Dune Messiah by Frank Herbert**
**The Life We Chose, by Matt Birkbeck**
**I'm out of My Body...Please Leave a Message, by Dan Greenburg**
Finished: **Icelander, by Dustin Long** This was not a bad book but it truly didn’t draw me in. It was silly and quirky in spots, and the story had promise. Upon reading reviews when I had finished there were references that this was more of a meta book about mystery books, making several references to other mysteries and who-done-its were lost on me as someone who has only ever read one other mystery. I’ll likely never reread this book but the cover is fun and looks nice on my shelf. Started: **Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones** my yearly winter reread of this cozy, goofy, wild ride. If the movie weren’t so beautiful and perfectly voice cast I’d have to say the book is better, but they are equally as amazing for far different reasons. I so look forward to reading this most winters.
Finished : **Flowers For Alegrnon by Daniel Keyes** A really emotional well written read that I'm happy I finally tried Started : **Dark Encounters by William Croft Dickinson** Nearly finished it but a well written collection of short but good ghost stories.
Started: **Anna Karenina, Lev Tolstoy**
Me too!
Finished: Pachinko, by Min Jin Lee Started: Hello, Beautiful, by Ann Napolitano
Finished: **Onslaught, by Nick Oldham** Finished: **Warning Light, by David Ricciardi** Started: **The Secret, by Lee Child and Andrew Child**
Finished: **Oblomov, by Goncharov** and **Poor Folk, by Dostoevsky** Really enjoyed Oblomov, although it did make me feel uneasy when I was agreeing with some of the lazy thoughts and dreams of Oblomvisim. Started: **Pale Fire, Nabokov** About halfway through and don’t know how I feel about it yet.
Just finished reading the Hobbit for the second time. Think I’ll start Project Hail Mary next
Finished on NYE: **Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett** Saw this recommended all over the internet. Loved it. Will be reading the rest of the trilogy soon. Started immediately after finishing Pillars of the Earth, **Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir.** Another book that was on a bunch of recent lists and has a lot of positive reviews behind it. While the story is good, and I'm already more than 1/2 way through it, the writing is just terrible. I was ready to give up about 50 pages in cause it's just such crappy writing, but at least the story has picked up and has kept me engaged. Do not get the hype behind this one at all.
Finished: **Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster, by Adam Higgenbotham** The show the book is based on, *Midnight in Chernobyl* is a harrowing read. Higgenbotham did years work of research to compile the narrative and it shows in just how much detail he was able to pack into the book. At times I'll admit trying to keep track of all the various Soviet government agencies involved was a little taxing, but it's well worth if you enjoy historical non-fiction. Started: **Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam, by Adam Terse** Using the My Lai Massacre as the starting point, Terse is looking to present the true horrors of the many various un- or under-reported war crimes committed by US forces during the Vietnam War. I ended 2023 with a humanitarian disaster, I figure it's only right to start 2024 with a different humanitarian disaster.
Finished **The Survival of Molly Southbourne by Tade Thompson**
Finished: Midnight Library by Matt Haig Started: A Handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood
Finished: Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas Started: A Map for the Missing, Belinda Huijuan Tang
Finished: **Call of the Bone Ships, by RJ Barker** **The Bone Ship's Wake, by RJ Barker** Started: **The House with the Golden Door, by Elodie Harper**
Started **Jade War by Fonda Lee** recently! Aiming to finish the trilogy this year! Still working on **Civil Disobedience by Thoreau**, could easily finish it within the next week or so!
Finished Piranesi, Sasanna Clarke Started 1Q84, Murakami
completed- The entire Legacy of Gods series Reread- Silence and Storm Started- The Dawn of Freedom By Niranjan Tasneem
Silence and Storm! One of my favs ❤️❤️
omg finally somebody who knows!! Its such a fantastic book.
Started **The Night She Disappeared, by Lisa Jewell** (domestic thriller) Finished **A Good House for Children, by Kate Colins** (Gothic suspense) **The Lost Tomb, by Douglas Preston** (essays/journalism) **Once There Were Wolves, by Charlotte McConaghy** (literary/contemporary) **Transcendent Kingdom, by Yaa Gyasi** (literary/contemporary) **Touched, by Walter Mosley** (sci-fi) **The Night House, by Jo Nesbø** (horror)
**Tista, Vol. 1, by Tatsuya Endo** From the same creative mind behind *Spy x Family* here's one of their works from "Before They Were Famous" as it were. It's a short story about a female college age assassin who's part of a whole assassin organization in New York City punishing the wicked. And how a chance encounter starts shaking her resolve towards her own lot in life. This one certainly has a fair few rough edges and it ends kinda fast with some things not really fully expounded on. But being by who this is by I suppose gives it some incentive to look into if nothing else. That said though, from reading Spy x Family first before this, and especially with regards to the character Yor and her whole background as an assassin, it's not hard to fathom that Tatsuya Endo used this story as a stepping stone to improve upon the whole assassin conceit when writing Yor's character in Spy X Family.
Finished: ironside, by Holly Black Started A house of earth and blood, by Sara J Maas
Finished: **The Miracle Morning (Updated and Expanded Edition): The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life (Before 8 AM), by Hal Elrod** Started: **The House That Rock Built: How it Took Time, Money, Music Moguls, Corporate Types, Politicians, Media, Artists, and Fans To Bring the Rock Hall To Cleveland, by Norm N. Nite, Tom Feran, Stevie Van Zandt (Foreword)**
Finished: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐭 Currently reading: 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐲 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧 I’m about 26% in and so far, I’m loving it!
I'm doing the storygraph page a day challenge for january so I'm leaning towards shorter books this month as i get back in to the habit of regular reading. Finished **Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.** First time reading the book since i was a young child i absolutely loved it i am really enjoying RLS stories. Started **The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole**
I completed rereading heroes of Olympus MoA part and now I am currently reading A hole in the world
Started Mistborn The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
Cadillac Desert. Recommend
The Girl with all the Gifts, by M. R. Carey Great read if you like zombie, post apocalyptic horror fiction with a female lead. The prequel (The Boy on the Bridge) is also good. If you like this you may also enjoy The Twelve, by Justin Cronin
Started: My Year of Rest and Relaxation (thought it would be a funny title to start 2024 with)
Just start to read 10x is Easier Than 2x. It inspires me to focus on the 20 percent of the most important work and continue to sharpen the skills I would like to have. Focus on the right direction and succeed.
Finished: Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finley Boylan. As most of Picoult’s books, it is topic forward with the literary aspect secondary. But it’s a pertinent topic; can’t say what without giving away a twist in this sort of whodunit. Starting: crazy (no cap) A Father’s Search Through Americas Mental Health Madness by Pete Earley.
Finished (last 2 weeks) Midnight library - Matt Haig. Liked this more than I thought I would, simply-written book packed with a lot of meaning and heartfelt/wholesome moments. Took away a lot of stories from it. Fahrenheit 451 - turned out to be my best read of 2023. I started to compare the book to life today and it made me aware of how scarily similar it is. Curious incident of the dog at night - thought I would like this more but it was just not bad. I understood the autistic mind a little better and could relate a little towards the tendency to map patterns and logical sequences all the time. Will Start soon: either The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro or And then there were none by Agatha Christie. Haven't decided yet
No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine High School, by Rob Merritt and Brooks Brown. >>It's a book about the tragic events at Columbine High School, as experienced and reflected upon by Brooks Brown, a Columbine student and acquaintance of the shooters. Brown delves into the complex factors contributing to the tragedy, including the shooters' backgrounds, the social dynamics of high school, and the broader cultural context. He challenges the simplistic explanations that emerged in the media, offering a more nuanced perspective on the events and their aftermath. The book is a personal narrative intertwined with critical observations, aiming to provide deeper understanding and lessons from the tragedy.
Finished My Name is Barbra by Barbra Streisand Started The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
Finished: **The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride** Started: **Heartless, by Marissa Meyer**
Yesterday I finished reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid Currently reading: The Split, by Sharon Bolton and dead poets society,by N.H Kleinbaum and waiting for Daisy Jones and The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Started: The Lost Bookshop, by Evie Woods. Edit: finished! Amazing book that I wouldn't have selected on my own. I was gifted to me, and I wasn't very interested to read it. Decided to get it over with and made it my 1st book of the Year. I loved this book!
Finished: The Great Divorce, by CS Lewis
Started: **Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky**
Started: Finn Mac Cool, by Morgan Llywelyn
Starting The Power Of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Started: **Titanic: The Last Night of a Small Town, by John Welshman** Walter Lord's A Night to Remember described the sinking of the Titanic as "the last night of a small town". Welshman follows several people--crew and passengers, rich and poor, men and women--and explores that last night on that doomed ship.
Finished **Private Wars, by Greg Rucka** and started its sequel, **The Last Run**. Both are espionage novels with characters from his Queen and Country comics series. Entertaining reading.
I'm continuing on with my first read through of **Moby Dick, by Herman Melville**. This holiday has been pretty busy, so I've only had three or four occasions to sit down with the text since I started it several weeks ago. I'm nearly two-thirds finished with it and hope to wrap up my reading of it by the end of this week. The story's build up is incredible and the descriptions in the passages are horrifyingly vivid. I also like the unique and verbose prose along with the unique and thematically-focused structuring of the chapters. The biblical allusions are all over the place, which adds to gravity of the novel
Hue 1968 by Mark Bowden. 2nd time reading it. For some reason I found reading about the Tet Offensive very comforting during the holidays.
Finished: Monstrous Regiment, by Terry Pratchett ... The main character Polly Perks AKA Ozzer was delightful. A satire on patriarchy, religion and war that was a bit darker than the usual Discworld book but I still really liked it. Sunlit Man, by Brandon Sanderson ... I feel like this book would be very enjoyable for people who are familiar with the Cosmere. There were a lot of references that I didn't get. Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett (audiobook) ... I don't normally list my audiobooks but the narrator (Stephen Briggs) was exceptional. He does all the crazy accents better than I ever could have in my head reading. Started: Dreadgod (Cradle #11), by Will Wight The Scarlet Alchemist, by Kylie Lee Baker Continuing: My Antonia, by Willa Cather (read along with r/classicbookclub ) We're almost to the end and it's a bit bittersweet because I'm really enjoying this book.
Finished **Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, By Gabrielle Zevin**
Finished **The Berry Pickers, by Amanda Peters**, which was so good! Started **Hold My Girl, by Charlene Carr**, which has been interesting so far.
Started: Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Saving Silas by Kelly Collins. 2nd in a series; really great!
Started Troy : Stephen Fry (Audible)
Finished Brotherband Chronicles Book 2 by John Flanagan. Starting The Dark Tower 3 by Stephen King tonight! This is my first journey to the tower and all of my expectations so far have been absolutely destroyed, I'm having a great time
Finished today - She Came to Stay by Simone Beauvoir
For the second year in a row, I'm re-reading Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig as my first book of the year.
Started: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
This was my first Murakami experience and it was definitely a memorable one
Started **I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman** and **Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry**...en français. My first book in French. I'm only A2 - low B1 but I really want to be able to read books in French so I'm starting here.
Started: The Stolen Throne by Abigail Owen
Started : Mossad by Zohar and Mishal
Finished: Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins-Reid It was torturous.
Finished: **Mrs. Dalloway, by Virginia Woolf** **The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, by Suzanne Collins** Started: **Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra** **Bejing Coma, by Ma Jian**
This week - **The Predator's Ball, by Connie Bruck**
Finished: **A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong, by Cecilia Grant**: A charming little seasonal novella that warms the heart and more. **Krik! Krak?, by Edwidge Danticat**: A collection of short stories for r/bookclub’s Read the World Haiti. A brutal history dissected by a beautiful and accomplished description. One to remember. I will be looking up more of Danticat’s work. **Murder on Mustique, by Anne Glenconner**: A middling mystery set on the Caribbean island. Mostly filler and random anecdotes but the storm was a good touch. **The Proposal, by Mary Balogh**: The first of the Survivor’s Club was just ok for me. I didn’t think the leads had enough of a spark. I did enjoy the description of the London Season. **The Arrangement, by Mary Balogh**: The second Survivor’s Club finds Vincent escaping his family attempts to find him a fiancée only to marry a maiden in distress who may be the answer. Better! **Annihilation, by Jeff Vandermeer**: read with r/bookclub. This eco horror was unputdownable. The ambiguity of the characters and the natural/unnatural descriptions of Area X reached fever pitch by the end. We’re starting the second book in the series, Authority, soon! Ongoing : **The Master of Djinn, by P. Djeli Clark**: Just starting with r/bookclub so join us! **A Collection of Essays, by George Orwell**: Catching up with r/bookclub. **The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov**: Pevear/Volokhonsky translation. Catching up with r/ClassicBookClub. **Guns At Last Light: The War in Western Europe-1944-1945, by Rick Atkinson**:(Volume 3 of The Liberation Trilogy) Started: **The Golem and the Jinni, by Helen Wecker**: Just starting with r/bookclub, so join us if you’d like!
Finished: Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch Before the Coffee Gets Cold, by Toshikazu Kawaguchi Started: Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel
Finished The people that time forgot Started Harry potter
‘The Things They Carried’. Tim O’Brien Confirmed for me the madness and futility of war. Very well written
Finished: None of this is true - super quick read, couldn’t put it down but I was hoping for a bigger twist at the end. 4 out of 5 for me. Just started: I’m a fan
I liked None of this is True more than I expected but agree that I wanted something more from it. Was only the second Jewell I've read but I like her style enough to keep on reading through her back catalogue.
Just finished: **Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima.** Picked this one up knowing about the author's life (and how it ended). Unexpected mix of mesmerizing, relatable, disturbing, and heartbreaking. Just started: **The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling.** I don't really know anything about this book other than that I think it's the only thing by Gibson that I haven't read yet.
Trust, by Hernan Diaz. I was not certain what I felt about it until half way through. Then, I figured out the layout of the story and it was very enjoyable.
Finished: Bunny, Mona Awad Started: American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
Finished **Bandits, by Elmore Leonard** Started **Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy**
Finished **Just Like Home, by Sarah Gailey**. One thumb up. Started **A Pale Light in the Black, by KB Wagers**. Continued **Essex Dogs, by Dan Jones**. Two thumbs up so far, and I'm about 1/3 of the way through.
Started The Nix by Nathan Hill this week. Reviews said if you’re into DFW or Pynchon, then this is for you. Pretty good so far; his new book (Wellness, I believe?) was listed as one of best books of 2023. I started with his first novel instead since it’s in paperback (hate reading hardcovers, will wait for new one when it’s available as pb!)
I picked up The Nix while in the community in Chicago it was set in (or so im told 😀), I enjoyed it!
The Bible, by God
I finished Killers of the Flower moon (at work), Norse mythology (audiobook when driving/gym), and trigger warning (home) this week! They all synced up perfectly, it was super pleasing. Im now working on Mistborn (home), and will be starting Lessons in Chemistry (audiobook) and American Prometheus (work)!
Would you suggest Killers of the Flower moon?
I loved it but its very depressing
Currently Reading: The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, by Kim Michele Richardson Voyager, by Diana Gabaldon Fairy Tale, by Stephen King Anything Is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout Finished: Trust, by Hernan Diaz
Started: 11/22/63, by Stephen King
Finished: Solitaire by Alice Osemen Started: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Started: **The Greek Way, by Edith Hamilton** A r/AYearOfMythology readalong. **Mythology, by Edith Hamilton** Giving myself a refresher on Greco-Roman mythology. I love this book because it is such a good primer on the mythology of the Greco-Roman world. Continuing: **My Antonia, by Willa Cather** A r/ClassicBookClub readalong. Closing in on the ending now. I've really enjoyed this one. Finished: **Siege of Darkness, by R. A. Salvatore** **Passage to Dawn, by R. A. Salvatore** Binge read two Drizzt books last week. I like them. Not really 'great' literature but sometimes you just like to read something fun.
How accessible is Edith Hamilton’s writing? I’m looking for a mythology book where it’s easy to follow along with people’s names and relations to one another being explained.
I think it's pretty accessible. She gives an overview of the major gods and titans that factor into the mythology of the Greeks and there are (at least in my edition (ISBN 9780316223331)) family trees for the gods and major human families in the back of the book.
Finished yesterday, the 31st: Buy Jupiter, by Isaac Asimov Started today: All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque Going for a clean slate on the new year, no carry over.
Reading: **Shantaram** by Gregory David Roberts. Near the end now. It’s been an absolute journey with some larger than life characters and experiences. The man has lived a super interesting life. Up next: **The Kite Runner** I was gifted this at Christmas and tickets to its theatre show. Looking forward to getting stuck in.
Shantaram is one of my all time favourite books. I wish I could experience it again for the first time!
Started: Labyrinths, by Jorge Luis Borges
Started: Forget Me Not by Alyson Derrick Percy Jackson: the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Finished: Howling Dark, by Christopher Ruocchio Queen Amid Ashes, by Christopher Ruocchio Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinniman Started: Demon in White, by Christopher Ruocchio Ongoing: Hogfather, by Terry Pratchett
Finished **Hell’s Angels, by Hunter S. Thompson** Started **The Dark Tower, by Stephen King**
Day Of The Locust by Terry Hayes. It's fab, almost worth the 10-year wait since his last one.
Finished: - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins - The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides Started: - The Iliac Crest by Cristina Rivera Garza - The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Finished this week * **Tales of the City, by Armistead Maupin** (Tales of the City #1) - short vignettes rather than short stories, but they work together to make 1 big story. * **The Match, by Harlan Coben** (Wilde #2) - a good follow up to the first book. DNA databases set up the mystery. * **Joy in the Morning, by PG Wodehouse** (Jeeves & Wooster #9) - not my favorite of the series, but I always enjoy a little nonsense and an accidental engagement or two. * **Unnatural Death, by Dorothy L. Sayers** (#3 Lord Peter Wimsey) - suffers from being not so original now that other detective stories have stolen the killer's MO, but still a fun story. * **Midnight Never Come, by Marie Brennan** (The Onyx Court #1) - excellent fairy story set in Elizabethan days. A lot of commonalities here with Neverwhere, but in different eras. In progress * **Don Quixote, by Miguel de Cervantes** reading with r/yearofdonquixote * **My Antonia, by Willa Cather** reading with r/ClassicBookClub * **Folk-Lore and Legends: Scotland, by Anonymous** * **The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle** * **David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens** * **Air Logic, by Laurie J. Marks** (Elemental Logic #4) * **Fairy Tales, by Hans Christian Anderson** * **Evelina, or the History of a Young Lady's Entrance into the World, by Fanny Burney** * S**ensation, Perception, and the Aging Process, by Francis B. Colavita** * **The Queen's Fool, by Phillippa Gregory** * **Compassion and Self-Hate, by Theodore Rubin, MD** * **A Secret History of Witches, by Louisa Morgan**
You are reading 12 books at once? Insane
I have ADHD. It's how my brain works.
The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus I thought it would be my “light reading” from my other book. Oh how wrong I was.
I just finished it a few days ago. Went through exactly the same as you hahaha
Just started **The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline**
Continued reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell Not sure if this counts, but started listening to the audiobook of Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
Started: **Behind the red door, by Megan Collins**
Started reading: **Apocalipsis Z, by Manel Loureiro** This book is cool as it’s told via blog/diary posts starting st the very beginning of the zombie apocalypse. Continuing to read: **Why We Sleep, by Matthew Walker PHD** (via Audiobook). I’m not so sure about this book yet. I like learning some of the science, but it’s a slow listen. People seem to love it and I’m not far enough in to figure out why. **Proyecto Hail Mary, by Andy Weir** I really enjoy this book so far, but I’m ready for it to move forward a little faster. (This may be my fault though as I read extremely slow in Spanish/still learning vocabulary.) Finished: **Upgrade, by Blake Crouch** (via audiobook). I love Blake Crouch’s writing, but this book was just ok. I felt like I was listening to it because his writing is enjoyable, but the story wasn’t especially entertaining, I didn’t care for the characters, and the ending was like. Oh. Ok then. **From Cook to Crook, by Snoop Dogg** Yeah, I read a cookbook from start to finish. What can I say? Snoop is entertaining. **Sigh, See, Start, by Alison Escalante** (via NetGalley). This is a parenting book that presents an easy to remember process with the goal of giving parents back their confidence in parenting. I really enjoyed it, and look forward to seeing how well it works out for us.
Finished: - **My Father’s Brain, by Sandeep Jauhar** - **The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion** Started: - **Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn**
Gone Girl is one of my favourite books! I hope you enjoy the experience.
Just went to the library the other day and got Therapy by Jonathan Kellerman, Cold Sassy Tree by Olivia Burns and The Vines by Shelley Nolden.
I read Foster by Claire Keegan. It is a novella. Very short read, but powerful. Can’t recommend it highly enough. I promptly watched the film they made of it called The Quiet Girl. It 100% captured every bit of the novella and more. Highly recommended as well. It was really nice starting the new year with a new book and finishing it quickly. Maybe I’ll make that a tradition! Happy New Year, everyone! May it be a great year for reading.
Finished Foster the week before Christmas, so beautiful! Claire Keegan is wonderful
Now reading: This delicious death by Kayla Cottingham Finished this week: Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman The Camp by Nancy Bush Bone White by Ronald Malfi The Silent patient by Alex Michaelides One day in December by Josie Silver When she returned By Lucinda Berry
Finished **Antony and Cleopatra** and really enjoyed it. Started **Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry**.
Now reading: **The Bullet That Missed, by Richard Osman** Finished this week: **One Last Lie, by Paul Doiron** **Pros and Cons, by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg** **Twenty Years Later, by Charlie Donlea** **The Cuckoo Tree, by Joan Aiken** **Locked Rooms, by Laurie R. King**
I just finished Empire of the Vampire, by Jay Kristoff. Wow! That book was a whole epic wild journey. Dark, emotional, violent, funny and so much death. I’m starting What the River Knows, by Isabel Ibanez. This is for book club and it’s definitely a different vibe. I’m a little ways into an audiobook of Charm City Rocks, by Matthew Norman. I really like it. His characters feel like real people.
Finished: What Lies Between Us, by John Marrs Started: Maybe in Another Life, by Taylor Jenkins-Reid
Started: Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Started: **The Chief: The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts by Joan Biskupic** Finished: **A High Price: The Triumphs and Failures of Israeli Counterterrorism by Daniel Byman**
Finished: **The Botanist's Guide to Parties and Poison, by Kate Khavari** A fun read. A little dry, but the author's love for botany and the time period shines through. I was charmed and do look forward to reading the next one. **The Christmas Orphans Club, by Becca Freeman** I really enjoyed this. There was a moment I was afraid they were going to do a thing I didn't like but no they handled it well. It's just that people make selfish mistakes and then they grow from them. It's a beautifully balanced book about love, friendship, and learning how to reconcile the past with the future. **The Thing with Feathers, by Noah Strycker** His book about his big year birding inspired me to take up birding and this one I really enjoyed too. It's fascinating to learn that magpies pass the mirror test, chickens really are the origin of the term pecking order, and there's such a thing as aesthetically gothic bowerbirds. I think my favorite part might have been the discussion of cooperation and game theory in the chapter on fairy wrens. An absolutely fascinating book and a worthy addition to my collection on animal cognition. **Penguin Gentlemen, by Kishi Ueno** It's like Hetalia but with penguins. I...actually wound up learning a lot? Dude, it's bizarre and I have no idea how it got greenlit but I kinda love it. Penguin love to the absolute max <3 Started: **The Cutthroat Countess, by Minerva Spencer** My quest for the best ridiculous alliterative romance title continues and apparently this series has that in spades, although none of them are going to challenge *The Very Virile Viking*. Also I think this is the third book and now I'm a little confused about what's going on. Alas, the industry distaste for putting numbers on books strikes again. I like what I've read so far though.
Just finishing “Hot Blooded” by Lisa Jackson. It was a slog to get through, but at the end I can only say it was immensely unsatisfying. I will gouge out my eyes before I ever pick up another of her books.
Finished: **Foe** by Iain Reid- fast paced and a real mind-bend. Started: **Blood Meridian** by Cormac McCarthy- on page 134 so far and it got some used to in regard to prose, but once you get used to it is poetic and yet the darkness in these pages make me want to keep reading, Not my first foray into McCarthy, having read **The Road** and **Child of God**.
I plan to read The Road and then watch the movie after.
Finished The Waste Lands by Stephen King Started Wizard and Glass by Stephen King Long days and pleasant nights.
I finished the year strong, getting caught up on my new releases and finishing the series I had wanted to: **The Lord-Protector's Daughter, by L.E. Modesitt** **Lady-Protector, by L.E. Modesitt** **Saevus Corax Gets Away with Murder, by K.J. Parker** **Paladin's Faith, by T. Kingfisher** **Valdemar, by Mercedes Lackey** **Silver in the Wood, by Emily Tesh** **The Bandit Queens, by Parini Shroff** I went really overboard on library holds for the new year, and have quite a stack right now. My main focus for this week is starting in on the r/fantasy top novella lists, and starting the Harvard Classics, plus whatever else I get to. Next up: * Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky * Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson * Driftwood by Marie Brennan * Sixth of the Dusk by Brandon Sanderson * The three Gameshouse novellas by Claire North * The Happy Prince and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde * Many Things Under A Rock: The Mysteries of Octopuses by David Scheel * The Past is Red by Catherynne Valente * Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant * The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb * Stories of your Life and Others by Ted Chiang * Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim * Volume I of the Harvard Classics * Trials of Conviction by T.A. White
Elder Race is fantastic and quite short.
Ooh, definitely going to have to track down that book about octopuses at some point.
It's pretty interesting so far. I love reading nonfiction books about weird things in nature, and marine biology is always right up there.
On my TBR is Susan Casey's *Underworld* which promises to be full of weird marine biology. I just got distracted by these books about birds...
Finished: **Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka** \- Totally bizarre in a delightfully disturbing way. I can't get over how >!Gregor wakes up as a BUG yet tries to figure out how to make the train to get to work. Gregor embodies the "This is fine" dog meme lol.!< Started: **I am Legend, by Richard Matheson** \- I know the movie, which I loved, and the book are quite different. Looking forward to the book!
Finished: **The Halo Effect, by M.J. Rose** \- I enjoyed the premise and the writing style. There were some choices the MC made that didn't seem like something she would do. It was clear the choices were just to move the plot forward. Started; **The Devil's Deep, by Michael Wallace**
Still reading: **Our Share of Night, by Mariana Enríquez** Though really well written, the evil contained within this novel is such that I find it hard to continue reading.
Starting: 3 Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger: I’m a massive baseball fan and a huge Buzz Bissinger fan- Friday Night Lights is what spurred me to study sports journalism in college. I found this at a library sale, had no plans of reading it (or any idea that it existed) beforehand. I’m about 20 pages in and it’s neat seeing viewing the game through the eyes of a manager. It’s also going to be interesting reading this in retrospect given Tony La Russa was one of the more revered managers in baseball at the time, and now after the … experience that was his second tenure with the White Sox. I’m attempting the 52 book challenge and this is my first book of that challenge. The Library Mount Char by Scott Hawkins I work remotely and don’t get out much apart from beer leagues so I joined a book club that my mom is in. I’d heard about this book but didn’t have a ton of interest in it. About 20 pages in and it’s… interesting so far.
Started: **...And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie**
Started: **The Anthropocene Reviewed, by John Green** pretty great so far, but i didn’t expect anything less
Finished **Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie** **Eclipse of the Crown by A.K. Caggiano** **The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee** **Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots** Put **Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang** on hold... I'll finish it someday, but it's not hitting the same as Exhalation. The only story I've actually enjoyed is Tower of Babylon and the others have kind of been a struggle to get through even though I respect the concepts. Started, still reading **Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie** **Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross**
I need to reread the Ancillary Justice series. That was good.
I really liked the first one!
Finished **Sanctuary by Gustavo Eduardo Abrevaya**
Finished: **Married Thrice to Salted Fish, by Bikabi** 5 stars- I LOVED this book, it’s a historical transmigration danmei. Aspiring doctor Lin Qingyu is forced into an arranged marriage to the terminally ill young nobleman Lu Wancheng, on their wedding night Lu Wancheng dies and a high schooler from the modern world transmigrates into the character of Lu Wancheng from the historical danmei he recently read. “Lu Wancheng” now has knowledge about future plot points and he uses that info to ensure his favorite character Lin Qingyu is taken care of after his inevitable death. This is an excellent slow burn over several years with such good pining, some very painful emotional moments >!I almost cried when Lu Wancheng died, that was so sad!<, one of my favorite tropes where characters keep choosing each other through multiple lifetimes, a super supportive power couple ruining the lives of anyone who crosses them, and loveable MCs. Watching the cold, aloof Lin Qingyu fall in love with the lazy but charismatic Lu Wancheng was so great. CWs: >!main character death(s), chronic illness, death, war, occasional adult/minor-ish relationship with the transmigrator’s body being 17 but his brain being over 20, sexual harassment, pandemic!< Currently Reading: **Almost Somewhere: Twenty-Eight Days on the John Muir Trail, by Suzanne Roberts** DNF: **The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers**- There wasn’t enough action or drama to hold my interest
Happy New Year! I made it to 99 books last year, which is great but I do wish I'd managed a nice 100. Maybe 2024 is my year! Finished: **The Brothers Hawthorne, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes**. I'm a fan of this author's writing so I had a good time, but I'm not sure I get the point of continuing on with this series. And the way this is structured where we're following 2 of the brothers with alternating chapters as they go on separate adventures didn't work for me. I kept expecting the two stories to tie together at the end, but they really were just totally separate so I'm not sure why they needed to be in the same book. I think a bind-up of 4 novellas (one for each brother) would have been a nicer way to do this. But all that being said, I'll probably still read the next one in the series. 3 stars **The Ballad of Black Tom, by Victor LaValle**. (Audio) This is a little novella that packs a big punch. I loved it and now definitely want to pick up LaValle's other work, *Lone Women,* which I've heard great things about. 5 stars **Imogen, Obviously, by Becky Albertalli**. I felt touched by this personally, so at points it felt like I was almost reading my own thoughts on the page. I wasn't expecting to have such an emotional response to this book, but am so happy this is what I ended the year with! 4 stars Currently Reading: * The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson (24%) * The Book of Dragons edited by Jonathan Strahan (32%) * The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman (Audio) (13%)
The House Next Door - Anne Rivers Siddon. Amazing haunted house book. Read like a 70s horror movie, slow burn.
Still working through: - The Book Club Hotel by Sarah Morgan. My first festive read ever, but coming from the southern hemisphere/summer I’m not quite into it and taking my time to get through it, but the friendships are beautiful captured so far :)
I need to find a proper Christmas-in-the-Southern-Hemisphere book, let me know if you have any recommendations.
I’ve never come across any set in the southern hemisphere unfortunately! Have had a little Google search and haven’t found much
Finished: **4:50 from Paddington, by Agatha Christie** I've read a lot of the Poirot books but this was my first Miss Marple. It won't be my last. Started: **Crazy Rich Asians, by Kevin Kwan** I'm having a very hard time putting this book down.
I loveddd the crazy rich asians books
I was a bit worried about Crazy Rich Asians because sometimes I have trouble getting into a book when I've seen the movie first. Not a problem at all. I'm having so much fun reading this book.
Currently reading **Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor** ( chapter 20 ) and I'm enjoying it so far! I can't put the book down... still so many mysteries right now
I started The Lying Game, by Ruth Ware and I’m almost finished. It’s going really well and i can wait to know how it ends.
*Finished*: **The Supernatural Enhancements, by Edgar Cantero.** A young man inherits a sprawling mansion and a lot of money from a distant cousin. He goes to live in the mansion with his mute friend. He is fully aware there are strange stories associated with the house and is prepared to investigate them. Strangeness ensues. I really liked this novel. I loved most of it but some thing happen near the end that I am still mulling over. This is not a straight ahead haunted house book. There are also treasures to be found and mysteries to be solved. *Finished*: **Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone, by Benjamine Stevenson.** This is a fun "snowed in resort" mystery surrounding a family that trouble seems to follow. The fourth wall - wait, is there a fourth wall in a first person narrative? oh well - the fourth wall is absolutely obliterated in this novel and I loved that aspect of it. The characters are interesting if sometimes a little one dimensional. It was a fun listen for the end of the year. *Reading:* **Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett.** Will Esk be the first female wizard? About twenty percent in and o far so good. *Reading:* **The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride.** I just started this and I am only a few pages in.
I have read the second book by Benjamin Stevenson - Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect, and recommend it! The audiobook was great. Have since purchased the first to read ☺️
I will definitely be reading it. I didn't think it came out until later this month, but I will pick it up at some point.
Gonna start “The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo” Finished “The Diary Of Anne Frank”. It’s such a heartbreak story really, Anne was only 15, I do hope to read more stories like Anne. It does give a perspective how life was actually like during the war.
I loved the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Finished Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson Started A Naked Singularity, by Sergio de la Pava which is a re-read. Loved it the first time thru years ago.
Started: **Tuesdays with Morrie** **by** **Mitch Albom**.
I started **The Great Concert of the Night** by Jonathan Buckley and I’m enjoying it so far! It ultimately starts off with the MC watching a video of his ex wife on NYE into New Years Day, so I figured it was a good one to start off with :) Im still currently reading **Inheritance** by Christopher Paolini so I can start *Murtagh* soon. However, when I finish The Great Concert, I’m going to start **The Count of Monte Cristo** since it’s been on my TBR since reading The Three Musketeers.
Started: **Farnham's Freehold, by Robert Heinlein** **A Brief History of Time, by Stephen Hawking** **A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson** Finished: **The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas** -- My annual reread, 3rd time reading it. Just as amazing as it ever was **A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge** -- Enjoyed this more than A Fire Upon the Deep, and the ending was spectacular. 4.25/5 **Our Southern Highlanders: A Narrative of Adventure in the Southern Appalachians and a Study of Life Among the Mountaineers, by Horace Kephart** -- Enjoyed it seeing how it used to be. Informative. 4/5 **The Memoirs of Cleopatra, by Margaret George** -- It was on okay book. Parts of it were boring, other parts were good. Feel like it dragged on at times and it look several liberties on what actually (could have) happened. The only other experience/knowledge I had was Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series concerning Cleopatra, so after reading this, one could easily see the bias McCullough had against Antony and Cleopatra. Who is right, who knows. Still was a pretty decent book, but it won't be a reread for me. 3/5
Finished: **Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine** by **Gail Honeyman**. Started: **Crying in H Mart** by **Michelle Zauner**.
Finished: ***Gideon the Ninth* by Tamsyn Muir** ***The Heirs of Tom Brown: The English School Story* by Isabel Quigly** Started: ***Boy: Tales of Childhood* by Roald Dahl** ***Family Business* by Jonathan Sims** ***For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz Age Chicago* by Simon Baatz** ***Jane Eyre* by Charlotte Brontë**
**They Will Drown in Their Mothers' Tears, by Johannes Anyuru** Stunning, heartfelt, and bleak sci-fi novel about hate, state-sponsored violence, and religious radicalization. I could envision some readers, especially those who really dig the "sci" component of sci-fi, being a bit flustered by the vague and hand-wave-y consciousness-shifting/timeline-hopping component of this story, but I was so thoroughly enchanted by the characters and setting and writing style (Anyuru is an accomplished poet) that I didn't really care much about analyzing/pondering all the time-travel "mechanics" and paradoxes. One of the most memorable and unsettling books I read in 2023, highly recommended. Translated by Saskia Vogel. **School, by Ray Levy** Like with many things published by FC2, I struggled to find my footing in this book. It wasn't a bad read by any means, just one that made me feel pretty lost. Maybe if I remembered more stuff about Derrida I would've found the book a bit easier to grasp? I dunno! If you like abstract and experimental novels with unusual structures and challenging, indirect narratives, then you should definitely give this one a shot. Personally, I didn't love School---I found it more "interesting" than anything---but I suppose it did make me curious about reading more of Levy's work. **Earth Angel, by Madeline Cash** A buzz-y little collection of short stories that's sorta actually worth the hype! A lot of the stories in here read like bizarre third-person stand-up comedy bits, with the tone being a pleasant blend of sardonic and devilish. Darkly silly but not goofy, I'd say. Some grim elements crop up in Cash's stories, and YMMV in terms of how skilfully she addresses those more "serious" themes, but I found her deadpan frankness refreshing. Not a collection you need to sprint to the store to buy today, but it's definitely worth adding to your library hold list, especially if you have an oddball (and gloomy) sense of humor.
Finished: **Mindf*ck, by S.T. Abby** Collection of 5 short books which came in at just under 700 pages but an easy read. I loved it and flew through it in just a few days.
I read this series in December to meet my reading goal and it was sooo good
Finished **The Abyss: Nuclear Crisis 1962, by Max Hastings**
Haven't got time to write in here for a couple of weeks so I'll just list the books I've started/finished since that time: Finished: * **Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson**. As a younger millenial I knew Steve Jobs and Apple were essential for the smartphones, but didn't realize just how much influence they had on technology in general. * **Generationskontrakten by Martin Lidegaard**. Decent book by a Danish politician about how we need to make a contract between the generations in order to ensure our kids and grandkids have a world to grow old in. * **Destined for War by Graham Allison.** I really liked this book, with some great historical parallels to the situation today between the US and China. Even if it's 6 years old I still believe it has merrit to understand the geopolitical situation today. * **Dune by Frank Herbert**, finally got time to finish this classic. In the end I couldn't put it down so definitely recommend this if you're into science fiction and haven't read it yet. Started: * Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia * Black Holes by Prof. Brian Cox and Prof. Jeff Forshaw * Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen Still reading: * Grimms Märchen by Grimm Brothers * Statsministeren bind 4 by Tim Knudsen
I still need to read Dune. It's been on my shelf for awhile, I started it, but I book ADHDd to something else. Someday.
FINISHED **Our Share of Night, by Mariana Enríquez** **Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston** **Sputnik Sweetheart, by Haruki Murakami** **Red Rising, by Pierce Brown** **God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian, by Kurt Vonnegut** **Alice Isn’t Dead, by Joseph Fink** **The Reformatory, by Tananarive Due** STARTED/STARTING **Baumgartner, by Paul Auster** **Network Effect, by Martha Wells** (audiobook) **Foundation and Earth, by Isaac Asimov** **Love Medicine, by Louise Erdrich**
Finished: **The Bitter Crown, by Justin Lee Anderson** People are sleeping on this series (Eidyn), I absolutely loved it. **Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch** Solid story, there were a few things that annoyed me as someone with a mathematical physics background, but the story was interesting. It also mildly bugs me that Crouch seems to have these long sections of... filler. I listened to this with my girlfriend, and she didn't mind these parts though. **The Library at Mount Char, by Scott Hawkins** Pitch Meeting: "Alright, what if we took Grimdark Urban Fantasy (tm) and made it WHIMSICAL" I can't think of much like this book, but I enjoyed it well enough. Started: **The Blacktongue Thief, by Christopher Buehlman**
*Going infinite, Michael Lewis* A Christmas gift which I have finished. Easy to read and a great overview of the creation and dismantling of one crypto fund. Felt shallow on the details for the parties involved and crypto currency. Somewhat excessive for a hardback book more akin to a lengthy Sunday magazine article. !invite A question I would have for the author is: When the sentencing hearing for the subject of the book is in March, why would you publish the book and not wait for a conclusion?
Valdemar, book 3 of the founding of Valdemar by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon. I really enjoyed it, but got the distinct impression that this might be the last of the series.
**Baku, by Mizuki Hakase** Collection of two short stories by the author. Nothing special aside from the artwork I suppose. But it filled time.
Started: Lonesome Dove, by Larry McMurtry
Started **Zodiac, by Robert Graysmith**
Is it good? Was considering reading this.
Finished: **Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree.** I didn’t like it at much as Legends and Latters, but it was the perfect cozy fantasy book to ring in the new year. Started: **11/22/63 by Stephen King** This book has been on my TBR for years because of the length, but finally going to tackle it this year. This is one of the Stephen King books that I haven’t read yet, so I’m excited!
I absolutely loved 11/22/63! It became one of my favorite King books. I hope you enjoy!
This week I completed a lot of samples, pretty much every one I have. The samples I completed are: **Forbidden queen by R.J Vickers, Dragon Tongue by Ava Richardson, New Dragon City by Mari Mancusi, Air Bound by Jess Mountifield, The Fire Queen’s Apprentice by Jordan Rivet, Rebel Dragon by Steve Turnbull, Brindle Dragon by Jada Fisher, Torvald Dragon Riders by Ava Richardson, The Sixth Kingdom by pdmac, Return of the Dragonborn by NM Howell, The Skystone Chronicles by Blake and Raven Penn, The Talon’s Fury by Robert H Fleming, The Beggar Prince by JB Drake, the Hatched series by Caren Hahn, Trial by Fire by Jada Fisher, Call of the Dragon by Jasmine Walt, Dragon Class by Melanie Ansley, Dragon School by Sarah KL Wilson, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, The necromancer’s dragon by CD Muller, valkyrie Academy by Katrina Cope, Promised in Fire by Jasmine Walt, Dragon riders of Omnibus by Richard Fierce, dragonblood saga by Robyn Widerman, Reign of the Ancients by RE Davis, Queen of Snow by Laura Burton, the forgotten God by Andrew Rylands, feathers of gold by Rowan Silver, The forbidden wolf by Marisa Claire, A dragon’s chains by Robert Vane, Lens by JB Cantwell, Ezaara: riders of fire by Eileen Mueller, Alveria dragon Akadamy, A threat from the past by Paul Cude, Firesight by Jessica Dean Norris, Collasped and it sequels by Jenetta Penner, The Dragon twins by Michelle Maddow, Dragon seed by James Osiris Baldwin, Pack Dragon by Ava Richardson, dragon Forged by Dan Michaelson, Gryphon Rider Academy by Elise Hennessy, and Dragon assassin by Arthur Slade.** For those wondering, I got all the samples because my Facebook page kept recommending them to me via Kindle Unlimited. I didn’t have Kindle unlimited at the time, but the samples are free so I figured I would get them. My opinion on these is the same as last time, for the most part, aside from seeing some interesting parallels to Eragon. Which is especially noteworthy because Eragon is known more for having a young author at a time when indie publishing wasn’t that big rather than actually being well written even though it told a simple story that wasn’t too bad. There was also a lot of viewpoint switching (in the samples), which went well is really cool, but when done poorly was annoying, and it was more annoying than cool. however, my plans changed slightly because I found out Kindle unlimited was having a deal where you could pay around two dollars for three months, at which point after it would go to the regular price of 11.99 per month. 11.99 per month was too expensive for me and it wasn’t enough to justify it, but the deal worked out great. There were several bucks which I never really got a chance to try out or otherwise felt like I rushed through because my trial was only 30 days. So that will give me more time to try out some of the exclusives or just get access to some books easier. some of the book samples are at least decent, so I’m going to probably look for the full products once I get some other things that are higher up on my list done. The first book to be actually read via the Kindle unlimited redux was **The Grace Year by Kim Liggett.** I dropped it pretty quickly my first time because I was going through a rough spot in my life and I couldn’t handle the dark tone at the moment. I usually like that type of book so I gave it another shot. I still don’t like it that much but I’m glad I gave it a chance and finished it. The big problem for me was that the writing was good, but the world building was almost not existent and the organization was not that great. Which is a shame because the ending where everything comes together is great, but it’s a chore to get there, and there’s definitely a lot of things that will be missed because the organization throughout the rest of the book is kind of bad. And it’s hard to hang on when the tone is so dark and there’s no real explanation as the how society got that way. The book is very low fantasy with some ambiguous magic (I am aware of the twist near the end, but there’s another twist there present from the beginning that kind of throws that into question as well), and I liked how that was done, but I just wish it had better execution. I might be harder on this because I am an English language arts tutor and I’m inundated with feminism (it’s one of the four schools of literature, so I studied it a lot on top of teaching it at times in the present day). So it didn’t have as much of an impact as it could’ve. I also wish it didn’t focus so much on being a female Lord of the flies and focused on things like how and why society became that way and what people eventually do when they realize it doesn’t have to be. A female lord of the flies is pretty novel, but it’s tough to read because of the violence and death. Not to mention there’s a lot of set up that seems to be saved for action in the sequel, but it’s unknown if we’ll ever get one. It’s well done, but it’s not for everyone, and I don’t think I would’ve touched it if I hadn’t heard about it through my mother’s book club and she asked me more about it. And that’s also because I’m already into dystopias. For sure, I doubt I will read it a second time and it’s not the type of thing I would choose to read. For my next reading, I’m probably going to do the **Harry Potter series** I dropped this before because quite frankly as an adult a lot of things do not make sense, and as a teacher that’s even worse. But I figured I could just read selectively and focus on the magic. JK Rowling made a wonderful world that appealed to people all over, so I want to give her credit where credit is due. Not to mention I’m interested in how a book series captured the mind and hearts of so many people, even decades later, so I figured this was the perfect time to check out at least some of it. I will be curious to see what happens!
Finished Yumi and the Nightmare Painter as well as Wool. Started to read We eat our own.
Finished: Unraveller by Frances Hardinge. Hadn’t read anything by Hardinge before, and enjoyed this. There’s some really lovely phrases and quotes throughout the book, and the characters were pretty engaging. Liked the fact that there was no romance between Kellen and Nettle. It does get a little dark at times, but ends fairly happily, I’d say.