Reading Life – Page 3 – Books Dani Likes

Week in Reading 1/7-1/13

This was another really good week in reading and I made good progress on my January TBR and my yearly goals.

1/7: Read to page 180 in The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.

1/8: Finished reading The Frozen River. I want to buy a copy of this and create a book club kit for it. This is a really strong historical fiction title that I think will have broad appeal.

1/9: Started reading Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros. I made it to page 73. I’m not as hooked as I thought I would be and I forgot more details than I thought that I would.

1/10: I started and finished Lore Olympus: Volume Three because it was due back to the library soon. It deals with some pretty heavy themes, but I really like the character work and the play on Greek mythology. Read to page 128 in Iron Flame. Still a little disappointed in the story.

1/11: Started reading Obsidio. Read to page 544. I so badly wanted to finish this one, but I was just too tired.

1/12: Finished Obsidio. I know the series is just the same story over and over, but I still enjoyed it. Read to page 188 in Iron Flame. Started and finished Little Boy Blue by M.J. Arlidge. Read 1% of Throne of Glass. This was my biggest reading day of the year so far because I needed to stay awake for a while and reading helped me do it.

1/13: I read to the 11% mark in Throne of Glass. This is a re-read for me, and it is taking me some time to really get back into the story.

All in all, a really good week in reading with 4 books completed. These numbers will probably drop pretty dramatically when I have to go back to work in February, but I’ve had to spend a lot of time keeping myself awake these past few weeks while I’ve been acting as caregiver for a loved one, and reading has really helped me stay sane when I’m so tired.

December Reads

I finished a whopping 10 books in December thanks to a last minute surge at the end of the month. Honestly, this may be the year that having a plan for my reading actually helps me read more instead of de-motivating me. I was so excited for my January TBR that I ended up starting it at the end of December, so I think as long as I give myself some leeway, I think this could work for me.

*Links open the book’s page in Goodreads*

Smash It! by Francina Simone, 368 pages, published: 2020, genre: YA contemporary. A young woman, influenced by Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes, decides to change her life. She tries out for the school musical, says yes to a date, moves on from an old crush, makes new friends, and more. Lots of angst, sex positive, body positive. Some problematic dialogue. Rating: 3 stars.
Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel, 311 pages, published: 2020, genre: psychological thriller. This was a wild ride that I did not expect to finish so quickly. It took me a minute to get into it because the characters all creeped me out. I didn’t know much about the Gypsy Rose Blanchard case, but I kept picturing her as I read from the perspective of the main character. I liked how gritty the descriptions of Rose Gold’s adult life were. It makes perfect sense that people would just expect her to snap to a normal life, but it was impossible for her. Very dark. Deeply uncomfortable read for so many reasons. Rating: 3 stars. The author’s next release dealt with a cult and I can’t figure out if I want to go back inside her mind or not.
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby, 341 pages, published: 2023, genre: crime noir. The first black sheriff in a small Virginia town, Titus Crown, ends up with a serial killer on his hands when secrets refuse to stay buried. I loved how towards the end we get a chapter that just has perspectives of people who have been impacted, because I feel like that’s something we don’t get very often in crime fiction (it literally covers every character in town who has been directly impacted). Rating: 5 stars. I will definitely be picking up Cosby’s backlist.
The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence, 384 pages, published: 2020, genre: fantasy. A young girl, Yaz, of the Ictha clan, is a little different from the rest of her clan. She feels she is weak and will be offered as a sacrifice to the Gods. The plunge that was supposed to take her to her death will unveil a well of secrets. There are myths, stories, secrets: all buried under the ice. This read a little slow at times, and you can see some of the threads that are going to be pulled later, but ultimately this was an enjoyable read with good twists. Rating: 4 stars.
The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton, 416 pages, published: 2022, genre: middle grade fantasy. Ella Durand gets to go to the Arcanum Institute to train as a Marveller, the first Conjurer to get to do so. It is not smooth sailing as prejudice and a larger plot come into play. This is Harry Potter for a new generation and it handles issues of racism and classism with subtlety and care. Rating: 4 stars.
The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston, 368 pages, published: 2023, genre: romance. In New York City, Clementine (Lemon) is grieving the loss of her aunt who once told her about a magical apartment that could slip 7 years into the future and the past. She doesn’t believe it until it happens to her. Her life was going to plan…and then she meets a man from the past who changes everything. This is a cool take on the movie The Lake House. I picked this up because I loved The Dead Romantics by the same author, but this didn’t quite hit me the way that her first book did. Rating: 3 stars.
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel, 320 pages, published: 2016, genre: sci-fi. Told in a mixed-media format. I listened to it mostly as an audiobook and it had a great full cast. It tells the story of a scientist named Rose who discovers a giant hand when she is a little girl. It features a mysterious and powerful man and an alien descendant who sounds like Billy Crystal. It’s fun and there’s lots of intrigue. This was a re-read. Initial rating when I read it in 2020:5 stars. 2023 rating: still 5 stars.
Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel, 336 pages, published: 2017, genre: sci-fi. We continue with the mixed-media format following Rose, Kara, Vincent, and our favorite shadow man. Things get much more geo-politically complicated in this one. Lots more people die. It takes place almost 10 years after the events of the first book. Plans that began then are starting to have a big impact on the story. Rating: 5 stars.
Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel, 336 pages, published: 2018, genre: sci-fi. What an ending! Lots of heartache. Less science in this one and more politics, but it still read like fact. I think Neuvel has a good grasp of human emotion and intuition. It’s not hard to imagine it all going down exactly this way if it were to occur in real life. Rating: 4 stars. **SERIES COMPLETE**
Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany by Jane Mount, 224 pages, published: 2017, genre: non-fiction. There’s not a lot to say about this one. It has a really pretty art style and is a collection of facts about books, authors, stories, bookstores, and libraries. It’s the kind of book that you can pick up over and over again because the facts won’t stay with you, but are enjoyable to read. This would make a great coffee table book for a book lover. Rating: 4 stars.

Total books: 10

Total pages: 3,404

Average rating: 4

This was my best reading month of 2023 and I am so proud of what I was able to accomplish even during the hectic holidays. I truly think that reading keeps me a little more grounded in times of stress (way more so than vegging out with TV or YouTube) and I’m grateful that I was raised to be a reader.

Week in Reading 12/31-1/6

This was a remarkably good week of reading for me, helped by a few days off of work and a desperate need to procrastinate from my stresses.

12/31: I finished Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel. Why did I wait so long? That was awesome. You better believe I’m going straight to Only Human next. —Later that same day…Okay, I finished Only Human right before midnight. A great way to end the year and my 10th book this month. Great trilogy. Will definitely be keeping the physical copies to read again in the future, but I highly recommend the audiobooks as well.

1/1: I started and finished the manga for Ascendance of a Bookworm by Miya Kazuki. I wanted a quick win to start off this year after the end of last year was so productive. I want to read the novel versions too, but getting my hands on them may be tough. Read to page 143 in The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny. Why does she write Three Pines in such a way that I wouldn’t mind living in a town with so much murder?

1/2: Read to page 241 in The Brutal Telling. Lots going on today and tomorrow. I need reading to be a refuge.

1/3: Listened to 14% of Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanna Fluke. I didn’t realize how short this one was going to be. 14% is chapter 2. I also finished The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny. It was an excellent story, but sad.

1/4: Finished Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke. My least favorite entry in that series so far. Really short. Plot felt flimsy. Ending came out of nowhere. I also started and finished Giant Days, Vol. 7. This continues to be a great storyline with great art. I can slip right back into the story without worrying that I’ve forgotten something.

1/5: Started and finished Giant Days, Vol. 8. Busy day, super tired. Hard to motivate myself to read. Began The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon. Read to page 29.

1/6: Continued reading The Frozen River. Read to page 108. Enjoyed a quote from page 39, “Memory is a wicked thing that warps and twists. But paper and ink receive the truth without emotion, and they read it back without partiality. That, I believe, is why so few women are taught to read and write. God only knows what they would do with the power of pen and ink at their disposal.” I’m really enjoying the writing so far, even though I don’t normally reach for historical fiction as a preferred genre. This is the first book that wasn’t already on my January TBR, but I’m on a time crunch to get this one back to the library because there’s a holds list for it. I read a book by this author many years ago called I Was Anastasia, which I remember enjoying. Nothing groundbreaking, but the subject matter interested me because Anastasia was one of my favorite animated films as a child.

December 2023 Books Acquired

December was a more moderate month for me in terms of book shopping. I did make another trip out to the really great book warehouse with their 70% off sale, but since this was my second trip and I had better expectations, I was able to control myself.

*Links open to the book’s Goodreads page*

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell- I’m not generally a big Lisa Jewell reader, but this one got so much buzz that I wanted to grab a copy when it came up as an option from Book of the Month. I was going to try to get it from the library, but the holds list was pretty long.

A Winter in New York by Josie Silver- I’m regretting this one a little bit now, but I also chose this title from Book of the Month. I wanted a fun winter romance, but I’ve seen some reviews of this one come in and they haven’t been great. Ultimately, I’ll decide for myself, but I’ll admit that I am less excited about this one than I was at the beginning.

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen- This was my last Book of the Month selection last month and is supposed to be a Nutcracker retelling. I may actually wait until next year to pick this one up because it feels like something you should read leading up to Christmas, not several weeks after it has already passed.

Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft- This completed a series that I had purchased the first few books in last month at the warehouse. The Babel series was really popular back in 2020-2021 and I missed the first wave on it, but I’m hoping that I’ll find some time to fit this series in this year. Unfortunately, this series is not included in my formal series plan at the moment.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers- This series has been recommended to me so many times over the years and I’m anxious to give it a try.

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne- I have no idea why I am purchasing all of John Gwynne’s backlist (and frontlist for that matter). I’ve only read one book by him. I really liked it, but mostly, collecting these titles has been a matter of luck because of how many of them have been at the warehouse sale these last two months. I love the style of these books, that wonderfully floppy large paperback with pages that are not-too-thin.

The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne- see above.

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie- This was another series that I was able to complete fortuitously thanks to the book warehouse. Joe Abercrombie has been highly recommended to me. I will also be a good test for me to figure out if I really like grimdark fantasy.

Week in Reading 12/24-12/30

This was a remarkably good week in reading considering the crazy scheduling of the holidays. I finished 3 books this week (thanks in large part to audiobooks and a lot of traveling) and I really enjoyed each of them. *book links go to Goodreads*

12/24: I finished The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton. This was on my NetGalley Shelf of Shame for a while and is a middle grade fantasy featuring POC main characters. I really enjoyed this one and will be posting a full review soon. I also started The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston. Poston wrote one of my favorite reads from earlier this year, The Dead Romantics. I made it to the 27% mark in The Seven Year Slip.

12/25: Yes, I read on Christmas. I made it 75% of the way through The Seven Year Slip. This book was an incredibly fast read, because I was REALLY distracted while I was making my way through it. The way it talks about grief is going to stay with me for a long time.

12/26: I finished The Seven Year Slip today. I didn’t end up loving it as much as I did The Dead Romantics, but I will still pick up future titles from this author. I love the way she throws a little magic/sci-fi into her storytelling. She writes emotion really well and if you’re not hungry when you start reading this one, you will be by the time you finish.

12/27: I listened to 49% of Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel. I thought I was remembering the majority of the story because this is a re-read for me, but I definitely forgot some of the plot points later in the story and I really can’t remember how it ends anymore.

12/28: I made it to the 72% mark in Sleeping Giants. It’s even better than I remember. It’s also really fast, and not just because I’m listening on 2x speed.

12/29: I finished Sleeping Giants. When I read it for the first time in 2020 I rated it 5 stars, and I would not change that rating now.

12/30: I couldn’t wait until my official January TBR started, I had to start Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel today. I was able to get it on audiobook from my library immediately, so I dove in. I made it to the 50% mark on the first day. It has the same full-cast audio as Sleeping Giants and I really would recommend that as the superior way to consume these books.