My incredibly belated books of May…
Favorites: Kill the Boy Band ; The Blacksmith Queen ; Dial A for Aunties ; Smoke Eaters
Honorable Mentions: Clap When You Land ; Echo Wife ; Eight Flavors ; When We Were Magic ; The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall ; Red Mother
Audiobooks (12)
Novels (10)
Graphic (4)
I am now at 248 books added to my TBR so far this year, and 262 books read or DNF’d. My oldest TBR is sitting at 8 books (all nonfiction), and the one I’m reading down the quickest is sitting at 65 books. I have started to lose a bit of steam on these two particular TBRs, and have started adding in books from other lists. I will still get both of them finished before 2021 is over, so help me.
Favorites: Gory Details ; I’ll Be the One ; Finna ; Across the Green Grass Fields ; Catherine House ; Sawbones
Honorable Mentions: Magical Midlife Madness ; Qualityland ; Lifespan ; Range ; Kidnapped by a Rogue
Audiobooks Nonfiction (3) / Fiction (6)
Novels (9) / Nonfiction (1) / Novellas (2)
Graphic (1)
Looking at my favorite books, four of them (more than four if you count all of the Murderbots) are sci-fi novellas. I do love a tightly written sci-fi story that packs a punch.
Favorites
*Ormeshadow –Â Gideon has a hard life and comforts himself with stories told by his deceased father about the local dragon. A slow, lyrical, but engaging novella that feels like a normal family drama until the very end.
*Travelers –Â This is a novella about an archaeologist (written by an archaeologist!) in Chile. It’s kind of sci-fi, kind of thriller, and I had a hard time putting it down. The story was well-paced with and Nel interesting character.
*Sisters of the Vast Black – Aspects of Sisters remind me of Murderbot (though without his cynical observations). The political machinations and secrets kept me thinking WTF; I couldn’t put it down. I need the sequel to be published.
*The Duke and I – I read this in anticipation of watching Bridgerton (still haven’t watched it), and even though there are flaws, overall it was a fun book with fun characters, and I ended the book needing to know Penelope’s story (she’s great, but man was Colin an ass in her book).
*Murderbot – All of the Murderbot books are awesome. I love his cynicism, and his internal struggle with caring about the humans and their nonsense. The political machinations are wonderfully done.
Honorable Mentions: Bound to the Battle God ; Silver in the Wood ; Hope Never Dies
Adult Fiction (29)
All Systems Red
Artificial Condition
Rogue Protocol
Exit Strategy
Network Effect
Steampunk Holmes
His Human Nanny
This Is How You Lose the Time War
This Earl of Mine
Bound to the Battle God
Sworn to the Shadow God
Timeline
Prosper’s Demon
William Shakespeare’s Get Thee Back to the Future
Ormeshadow
Dim Sum of All Fears
Say Yes to the Duke
As the Cog Turns
Travelers
The Wallflower Wager
Pretty Guilty Women
Spinning Wheels
A Longer Fall
Silver in the Wood
Rebel
From Alaska With Love
Hope Never Dies
Sisters of the Vast Black
The Duke and I
Adult Nonfiction (2)
A Really Good Day: How Microdosing Made a Mega Difference in My Mood, My Marriage, and My Life
Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent’s Guide to Raising Flawless Children
YA/MG Fiction (6)
Sisterland
Red Hood
Absent
One Word Kill
Half Way Home
The Witches
I’m looking good with reading down my various Amazon TBR, and I’m surprised I haven’t lost steam yet. Though I have added 180 books so far this year, I have read/DNF’d 192 books, so I’m still ahead! My oldest TBR is sitting at 17 books (mostly nonfiction), and the one I’m reading down the quickest is sitting at 92 books (should have it done before summer is over).
Favorites: Me ; What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat ; The Last Days of Jack Sparks ; The Gravity of Us ; Ikenga ; The Return ; Spirit Run
Honorable Mentions: Velvet, Volume 3 (this trilogy should be turned into a television mini series)
Audio fiction (6) / Audio nonfiction (3)
Novels (8) / Novellas (2) / Nonfiction (2)
Graphic (4) / Manga (2)
Favorites
*The Called Us Enemy – Like March, They Called Us Enemy is a very powerful and very stressful read – but you need to read it. I loved the illustrations, and the emotions they conveyed. This is a horrible part of US history, and very prescient to the current political and social climate.
*That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story – I freaking LOVED this book. While arranged marriages are not something I know a lot about (what I do know is mostly the negative stereotypes), Fahmy was infinitely relatable in her quest to find a good match. I loved her references to Jane Austen heroines, which helped aspects of her story make sense. I loved that Fahmy’s humor had me snorting multiple times. This is easily one of my favorite books of 2020.
*Harrow the Ninth – So Harrow opaque and confusing AF. Harrow takes what we read in Gideon and turns it on it’s head. If you can handle being confused for a large chunk of the book (like you probably were with Gideon), it’s worth the ride. I love how Muir uses language, though if you are squeamish, some of the descriptions can be a bit macabre (but “necromancer” should give that away). I don’t want to have to wait until 2022 for Alecto the Ninth to be published.
Honorable Mentions: The Importance of Being Earnest, Cemetery Boys
List of Tasks
Favorites
That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story – I freaking LOVED this book. While arranged marriages are not something I know a lot about (mostly the negative stereotypes), Fahmy was infinitely relatable in her quest to find a good match. I loved her references to Jane Austen heroines, which helped aspects of her story make sense. I loved that Fahmy’s humor had me snorting multiple times. This is easily one of my favorite books of 2020.
Check, Please!, Book 2: Sticks & Scones – This is the second half of Jack and Bitty’s story. I wish this wasn’t the end because it just so stinking cute and gives me warm fuzzies. The dynamics, and humor, between characters is fun, and even if there are situations that feel a bit optimistic, I just want to squish all the characters with love.
Honorable Mentions: The Adventure Zone ; Beauty ; Witch Hat Atelier ; Cats of the Louvre ; New World ; Heartstopper
Manga (7)
Deadman Wonderland, vol 1-2
Witch Hat Atelier, vol 1-4
Our Dining Table
Graphic Fiction (28)
Nuclear Winter, vol 1-3
Witchy (YA)
Kim Reaper, vol 2: Vampire Island
Cosmoknights, vol 1
New World
A Girl in the Himalayas
Heartstopper, vol 1 (YA)
The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins
The Adventuer Zone: Pedals to the Metal
The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited!
War and Peas
Cats of the Louvre
Death Wins a Goldfish
Beauty, vol 1-5
Isola, vol 1-2
Coda, vol 1-2
Die, vol 1: Fantasy Heartbreaker
Die, vol 2: Split the Party
Southern Cross, vol 1
Check, Please!, Book 2: Sticks & Scones
Graphic Nonfiction (6)
Science Comics: Cats (MG)
Almost American Girl (YA)
That Can Be Arranged: A Muslim Love Story
Year of the Rabbit
Grass
Hyperbole and a Half
Picture Book (1)
Stormy Seas: Stories of Young Boat Refugees
Another month of heavy reading and heavy DNF’ing. I am trying to get rid of 3 of my 10 Amazon TBR lists this year. Of the 35 books I read in February, 24 were TBRs. Luckily for me 6 of the 8 books I used for PopSugar this month were from my TBR.
Favorites: Black Sun ; Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America ; Fatality in F ; the Bridgerton Books* ; Something is Killing the Children ; All the Bad Apples
Honorable Mentions: Night of the Mannequins and Bent Heavens. Both were horror/thriller/WTF is going on. Night was some good psychological horror, and Bent ratcheted up exponentially at the end. Bent wasn’t the greatest writing in the world, but that reveal…
*The exception is When He Was Wicked. I did not care for Francesca, and the the dynamic between her and Michael made me want to smack both of them upside the head.
Audio Fiction (8) / Nonfiction (3)
Novels (12) / Novella (1) / Nonfiction (1)
Graphic (9) / Manga (1)
I read (and DNF’d) a lot of books in January. Instead of centering my choices around the PopSugar and Read Harder challenges, I focused on reading down my various TBR lists. Out of 31 books, 25 were TBR books. I was also able to use four of the books for the PopSugar challenge.
Favorite Reads: Syria’s Secret Library, Spacer’s Cinderella, Hench, Suck It Up Buttercup, Murder in G Major, A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow
Audio Nonfiction (8)
Audio Fiction (12)
Novel (4)
Graphic (7)
An extremely belated post for my December reads. My favorites were: The City & the City, Sisters of the Vast Black, and The Duke and I. Honorable mention to: The Eight and Gods of Jade and Shadow .
Audio Fiction (7) / Nonfiction (3)
Novels (2) / Novella (1)
Graphic (6)
We didn’t give or receive many books this Christmas, but we definitely have a solid split between fantasy/sci-fi and nonfiction – adults on the left; kids on the right.
Left Side:
Adrift on the Sea of Rains by Ian Sales
A Short History of Drunkenness by Mark Forsyth
Simply Simpatico by the Junior League of Albuquerque (New Mexican food cookbook because I’ve been feeling nostalgic for my childhood)
Chicano Eats: Recipes from My Mexican-American Kitchen by Esteban Castillo
Right Side:
Top Elf by Caleb Zane Huett
The Curse of the Werepenguin by Allan Woodrow
The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles de Lint
Revenge of the Werepenguin by Allan Woodrow
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2 by Francesca Cavallo and Elena Favilli
Not Pictured (because they’re running late):
Lolly Willows: Or the Loving Huntsman by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Team Dog: How to Train Your Dog – the Navy SEAL Way by Mike Ritland
Books & Bibliotheks 