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valkryorI'm really enjoying keeping these lists with commentary of what I've been reading over the year. It keeps me somewhat organized and lets me track my thoughts.
I read 75 books last year. Not too shabby. Let's see if I can read more this year.
January:
February:
March:
April:
May:
June:
July:
August:
September:
October:
November:
December:
February 2 - Okay, from the top: The Regency romances from January were...okay. Well written enough to get lost in for a few hours, but nothing that sticks once the book ends. If I had to compare them to anything, it would be cotton candy: fluffy, sweet, and gone as soon as it touches the tongue. I did not pay all that much for them, and I'm grateful.
I recommend the others, though. We'll Prescribe You a Cat was unexpected and lovely. Agent to the Stars is John Scalzi's first novel and it's quite entertaining. Ghost Station is creepy and tense and isolating (in the way that all good horror novel settings are). Thornhedge turns the fairy tale of "Sleeping Beauty" on its head for all the right reasons.
No real thoughts yet on my current read. I wanted something that wouldn't be challenging (because the world is challenging enough at the moment), and it's fitting that quite nicely thus far.
February 15 - Earl's Trip was delightfully cozy, complete with a villain who got his rightful comeuppance. Yesterday, a romance read for Valentine's Day and it was LOVELY. KJ Charles is very good at historical queer romance and it was the best way to while away the hours.
February 22 - So. Bad Decisions Book Club and I haven't even finished the Witch King. Love the world and the world building thus far, and I love the fact that Kai just wants to find his people and go the fuck home. I'm not that far in, so we'll see if that changes. And if it doesn't? I won't be disappointed.
February 27 - I had at least three nights meeting at the Bad Decisions Book Club for the Witch King. I loved how neatly it all came together at the end, and that it can be read as a stand alone, but there is a sequel coming out later this year. It's also completely different from Murderbot which I know might throw some, but I recommend it.
Followed it up with a Regency that had one of my favourite catnips: enemies-to-lovers, Lord Radcliffe vs. Miss Talbot. It was fun and rompy with enough heart to be believable.
March 11 - My reading fell off the edge of the world again. Or it was pushed, because everything is awful. Because escape is a perfectly valid survival strategy, I needed a warm hug of a book. The Spellshop is that kind of cozy, low angst read that I needed.
March 14 - Another romance, because that's all my brain can handle at the moment. Knowing the story will end with a Happily Ever After (this is Regency England, after all) is the only certainty in this dumpster fire of a world. Yes, it was enjoyable, and yes, the series, The Palace of Rogues, is worth reading.
March 25 - Something from my physical TBR for a change, and a reread at that. It also seems stupidly relevant given *waves arms around* everything.
March 31 - I am closing out the month with a historical from a series where I have read *most* of it. The only one that fell flat for me was the first. It was still well-written, but the characters worked much better (for me) as part of the cast and not the main couple. This is the last (or at least the last written) and it's a slow burn, but worth the read.
April 16 - This has been a pretty crappy month. Til Death Do Us Bard was fun, but it certainly suffered from a lack of good editing. As much as I can forgive the odd spelling mistake or missing word in a text, there were a noticeable amount of them and it was pretty damned distracting.
I am currently reading a historical romance (looks to be set early into Victoria's reign), because anything else would be too hard to follow right now. I am sad and constantly looking at the places where the cat should be, but never will be again. I don't want or need challenging/involved reading at the moment.
May 13 - Soothing my brain with my favourite antisocial anxious construct. I'm also anticipating the new series to drop, I think, in a few days. First, I revisit this world, and enjoy Murderbot's reluctance at being a real person, and not just a SecUnit.
May 14 - Murderbot! Murderbot! Murderbot! And the Bad Decisions Book Club!
May 17 - Uh, Murderbot? SecUnit? YOU NEED THERAPY. While your inorganic parts are running as optimal as ever, it's your squishy human bits that need some love. After everything you've been through, your PTSD is showing. Get some help, or I'll ask ART to sit on you. No hugs, because you don't like/want to be touched, but you're worrying your humans and that has to stop now. (I continue to love Murderbot, but am sad that this is the last of it. I both want to get it into my eyeballs as quickly as possible AND read slowly to savour Every. Single. Word.)
May 26 - Back-to-back romances. A Victorian historical with satisfying mysteries and engaging leads. Oh, and while there was the use of 'entrance' *grumble*, there were quite a few on-the-page and well-written sex scenes. Yes, please! Now I'm reading a paranormal about a demon with magically induced amnesia and the witch who loathes him. It's fun and fluffy and charming thus far.
June 19 - Finally got around to reading something from my physical TBR. I enjoy Bujold's writing a great deal, but this one took a bit to hook me into the world and invest me into the characters. It was a good read with a satisfying conclusion. Recommended.
June 26 - A short novella (novelette?) romance that I did not pay for. It was...okay. I wouldn't have been all that impressed if I had payed cash money, but as I did not, it was fine. I've read a lot of fanfic that was similar: quick to read, enjoyable in the moment, but not all that great.
June 30 - I closed out the month with a historical romance because the world is on fire and I have been stuck in a rut for a while. I can't say I'm out of the rut, but the read was enjoyable and fun.
July 29 - My reading (and writing) has really dropped off. It's not what is making my brain happy these days, apparently. Ah, well. At least historical romances are still a decent way to wile away the hours.
August 15 - I don't normally read fantasy romance, but it was on sale and enjoyable, so here we are. I wish I could figure out what the hell happened to my desire to read because it's gone out for coffee and hasn't come back.
September 19 - The decision to finish a book is stronger than my need for sleep. With the school year upon us, I tend to run to the sleep-deprived, so what's a little less, amirite? I'll sleep when I'm dead. *heh* To that end, the Witcher series went on sale recently, so I picked them up and have plunged back into Geralt of Rivia's world. As the books were written thirty years ago, I wish I had found them a lot sooner, as I think they would have been formative in a way that books read during adolescence/early adulthood often are. At least I can still read and appreciate them now.
November 1 - I have one more book in the Witcher series, but as it takes place before Ciri (BC *heh*) and the Saga is resolved, then I think I shall let it stay unread for a little while, and focus on something else. But that ending to Lady of the Lake? Oof. Good? Yes. Completely inline with the characters and how they would act/react? Also yes. But it's bittersweet and a bit of a gut punch. Still, the series has been well worth the read.
November 3 - Yesterday spent reading Morbidly Yours was so, so worth it. It started with a meet-cute involving body bags, and ended with people using their damn words and understanding. At one point, I even cried. It was lovely and sweet and highly recommend.
November 21 - A Victorian historical this time. Interesting premise, although slightly ruined by two people who just omit things for *waves hands* reasons. Miscommunications happen, true, but knowing a thing and not telling a thing because you can? Hard pass. I know that this kind of thing drives a lot of romance plots; as a reader, it's tiresome and frustrating. Can we stop with this nonsense already?
December 2 - This is the second actual book book that I've picked up. It's a novel (hah!) experience, given how much I rely on my ereader/tablet for reading material as of late. I have gone from superhero-novel-aimed-at-twelve-year-olds to alternative-history-Cold-War thriller. It's a bit of a whiplash, but I'm invested in wanting to read, so I'll take it.
December 29 - I don't know how much more reading I'm going to get done this year, so it might end with a contemporary historical about two friends who fake date for social media to save a Christmas tree farm. It was sweet and low angst, although I would have preferred to have two POVs instead of just one. That seems to be a trend and I'm not here for it.
I read 75 books last year. Not too shabby. Let's see if I can read more this year.
January:
- The Earl's Holiday Wager - Theresa Romain
- We'll Prescribe You a Cat - Syou Ishida (translated by E Madison Shimoda)
- The Baron's Marriage Gamble - Theresa Romain
- Agent to the Stars - John Scalzi
- Ghost Station - SA Barnes
- Thornhedge - T Kingfisher
February:
- Earl's Trip - Jenny Holiday
- The Duke at Hazard - KJ Charles
- Witch King - Martha Wells
- A Lady's Guide to Fortune-Hunting - Sophie Irwin
March:
- The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst
- The Beast Takes a Bride - Julie Anne Long
- The Zombie Survival Guide - Max Brooks (reread)
- Someone Perfect - Mary Balogh
April:
- Til Death Do Us Bard - Rose Black
- The Lady He Lost - Faye Delacour
May:
- Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
- Compulsory (short story)
- All Systems Red (reread)
- Artificial Condition (reread)
- Rogue Protocol (reread)
- Exit Strategy (reread)
- home: habitat, range, niche, territory (short story, reread)
- Fugitive Telemetry (reread)
- Network Effect (reread)
- System Collapse (reread)
- Compulsory (short story)
- Tall, Duke, and Scandalous - Amy Rose Bennett
- Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch - Sarah Hawley
June:
- Spirit Ring - Lois McMaster Bujold
- Prince of Beasts - Lyonne Riley
- Love is a Rogue - Lenora Bell
July:
- Viscount in Love - Eloisa James
- The Counterfeit Scoundrel - Lorraine Heath
August:
- Behooved - M Stevenson
- Zomromcom - Olivia Dade
September:
- Sword of Destiny - Andrzej Sapkowski
- Blood of Elves - Andrzej Sapkowski
- Time of Contempt - Andrzej Sapkowski
October:
- A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel - KJ Charles
- Baptism of Fire - Andrzej Sapkowski
- Tower of Swallows - Andrzej Sapkowski
- Lady of the Lake - Andrzej Sapkowski
November:
- Morbidly Yours - Ivy Fairbanks
- The Duke Gets Desperate - Diana Quincy
- The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious - Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
December:
- The Apollo Murders - Chris Hadfield
- Lovelight Farms - B K Borison
February 2 - Okay, from the top: The Regency romances from January were...okay. Well written enough to get lost in for a few hours, but nothing that sticks once the book ends. If I had to compare them to anything, it would be cotton candy: fluffy, sweet, and gone as soon as it touches the tongue. I did not pay all that much for them, and I'm grateful.
I recommend the others, though. We'll Prescribe You a Cat was unexpected and lovely. Agent to the Stars is John Scalzi's first novel and it's quite entertaining. Ghost Station is creepy and tense and isolating (in the way that all good horror novel settings are). Thornhedge turns the fairy tale of "Sleeping Beauty" on its head for all the right reasons.
No real thoughts yet on my current read. I wanted something that wouldn't be challenging (because the world is challenging enough at the moment), and it's fitting that quite nicely thus far.
February 15 - Earl's Trip was delightfully cozy, complete with a villain who got his rightful comeuppance. Yesterday, a romance read for Valentine's Day and it was LOVELY. KJ Charles is very good at historical queer romance and it was the best way to while away the hours.
February 22 - So. Bad Decisions Book Club and I haven't even finished the Witch King. Love the world and the world building thus far, and I love the fact that Kai just wants to find his people and go the fuck home. I'm not that far in, so we'll see if that changes. And if it doesn't? I won't be disappointed.
February 27 - I had at least three nights meeting at the Bad Decisions Book Club for the Witch King. I loved how neatly it all came together at the end, and that it can be read as a stand alone, but there is a sequel coming out later this year. It's also completely different from Murderbot which I know might throw some, but I recommend it.
Followed it up with a Regency that had one of my favourite catnips: enemies-to-lovers, Lord Radcliffe vs. Miss Talbot. It was fun and rompy with enough heart to be believable.
March 11 - My reading fell off the edge of the world again. Or it was pushed, because everything is awful. Because escape is a perfectly valid survival strategy, I needed a warm hug of a book. The Spellshop is that kind of cozy, low angst read that I needed.
March 14 - Another romance, because that's all my brain can handle at the moment. Knowing the story will end with a Happily Ever After (this is Regency England, after all) is the only certainty in this dumpster fire of a world. Yes, it was enjoyable, and yes, the series, The Palace of Rogues, is worth reading.
March 25 - Something from my physical TBR for a change, and a reread at that. It also seems stupidly relevant given *waves arms around* everything.
March 31 - I am closing out the month with a historical from a series where I have read *most* of it. The only one that fell flat for me was the first. It was still well-written, but the characters worked much better (for me) as part of the cast and not the main couple. This is the last (or at least the last written) and it's a slow burn, but worth the read.
April 16 - This has been a pretty crappy month. Til Death Do Us Bard was fun, but it certainly suffered from a lack of good editing. As much as I can forgive the odd spelling mistake or missing word in a text, there were a noticeable amount of them and it was pretty damned distracting.
I am currently reading a historical romance (looks to be set early into Victoria's reign), because anything else would be too hard to follow right now. I am sad and constantly looking at the places where the cat should be, but never will be again. I don't want or need challenging/involved reading at the moment.
May 13 - Soothing my brain with my favourite antisocial anxious construct. I'm also anticipating the new series to drop, I think, in a few days. First, I revisit this world, and enjoy Murderbot's reluctance at being a real person, and not just a SecUnit.
May 14 - Murderbot! Murderbot! Murderbot! And the Bad Decisions Book Club!
May 17 - Uh, Murderbot? SecUnit? YOU NEED THERAPY. While your inorganic parts are running as optimal as ever, it's your squishy human bits that need some love. After everything you've been through, your PTSD is showing. Get some help, or I'll ask ART to sit on you. No hugs, because you don't like/want to be touched, but you're worrying your humans and that has to stop now. (I continue to love Murderbot, but am sad that this is the last of it. I both want to get it into my eyeballs as quickly as possible AND read slowly to savour Every. Single. Word.)
May 26 - Back-to-back romances. A Victorian historical with satisfying mysteries and engaging leads. Oh, and while there was the use of 'entrance' *grumble*, there were quite a few on-the-page and well-written sex scenes. Yes, please! Now I'm reading a paranormal about a demon with magically induced amnesia and the witch who loathes him. It's fun and fluffy and charming thus far.
June 19 - Finally got around to reading something from my physical TBR. I enjoy Bujold's writing a great deal, but this one took a bit to hook me into the world and invest me into the characters. It was a good read with a satisfying conclusion. Recommended.
June 26 - A short novella (novelette?) romance that I did not pay for. It was...okay. I wouldn't have been all that impressed if I had payed cash money, but as I did not, it was fine. I've read a lot of fanfic that was similar: quick to read, enjoyable in the moment, but not all that great.
June 30 - I closed out the month with a historical romance because the world is on fire and I have been stuck in a rut for a while. I can't say I'm out of the rut, but the read was enjoyable and fun.
July 29 - My reading (and writing) has really dropped off. It's not what is making my brain happy these days, apparently. Ah, well. At least historical romances are still a decent way to wile away the hours.
August 15 - I don't normally read fantasy romance, but it was on sale and enjoyable, so here we are. I wish I could figure out what the hell happened to my desire to read because it's gone out for coffee and hasn't come back.
September 19 - The decision to finish a book is stronger than my need for sleep. With the school year upon us, I tend to run to the sleep-deprived, so what's a little less, amirite? I'll sleep when I'm dead. *heh* To that end, the Witcher series went on sale recently, so I picked them up and have plunged back into Geralt of Rivia's world. As the books were written thirty years ago, I wish I had found them a lot sooner, as I think they would have been formative in a way that books read during adolescence/early adulthood often are. At least I can still read and appreciate them now.
November 1 - I have one more book in the Witcher series, but as it takes place before Ciri (BC *heh*) and the Saga is resolved, then I think I shall let it stay unread for a little while, and focus on something else. But that ending to Lady of the Lake? Oof. Good? Yes. Completely inline with the characters and how they would act/react? Also yes. But it's bittersweet and a bit of a gut punch. Still, the series has been well worth the read.
November 3 - Yesterday spent reading Morbidly Yours was so, so worth it. It started with a meet-cute involving body bags, and ended with people using their damn words and understanding. At one point, I even cried. It was lovely and sweet and highly recommend.
November 21 - A Victorian historical this time. Interesting premise, although slightly ruined by two people who just omit things for *waves hands* reasons. Miscommunications happen, true, but knowing a thing and not telling a thing because you can? Hard pass. I know that this kind of thing drives a lot of romance plots; as a reader, it's tiresome and frustrating. Can we stop with this nonsense already?
December 2 - This is the second actual book book that I've picked up. It's a novel (hah!) experience, given how much I rely on my ereader/tablet for reading material as of late. I have gone from superhero-novel-aimed-at-twelve-year-olds to alternative-history-Cold-War thriller. It's a bit of a whiplash, but I'm invested in wanting to read, so I'll take it.
December 29 - I don't know how much more reading I'm going to get done this year, so it might end with a contemporary historical about two friends who fake date for social media to save a Christmas tree farm. It was sweet and low angst, although I would have preferred to have two POVs instead of just one. That seems to be a trend and I'm not here for it.
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