November/December 2024 Reading Wrap Up

22 Dec 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

December isn’t quite over yet, but I want to leave some time to get an end-of-the-year post done. I also never got around to a November reading post, so I’m combining both months in this post for today. As with my other posts, the paid links here go to support this blog, so please click on any you’re interested in.

I’m continuing to be more distracted than I would like and have been taking longer than usual to finish what I’m reading. My Goodreads Challenge tells me that I could still make by 2024 goal if I would just read 5 books a DAY, LOL.

Books I Finished: The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera, The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart, Dawn by Octavia Butler (audiobook) (paid links). I’m still working on reviews for these – the internet ate the one I had nearly finished for The Gods Below, and I was so disheartened by that that I have yet to rewrite it.

Books I’m Still Reading But Should Finish This Month: The Boys Vol. 1 Omnibus, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn by Mark Lawrence, The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness (audiobook) (paid links). I should finish The Boys today and I’m really enjoying The Book That Wouldn’t Burn. The Black Bird Oracle is a disappointment and I’ve been strugging to get through the last few hours of the audiobook.

Books I’m Reading But Won’t Finish This Month: The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon (audiobook), Daughter of Redwinter by Ed McDonald. I took a break in my Outlander listening to get through a couple of other books. I have one more I want to read before I pick The Fiery Cross back up. I hadn’t intended to read Daughter of Redwinter until the new year, but I was stuck out of the house without a book! This was one that I received courtesy of NetGalley some time ago, the e-book was already in my Kindle app, and I had planned to start it in a few weeks anyway.

Next Up: Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie, Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, Sorcery and Small Magics by Maiga Doocy (paid links). I think I’m supposed to have Ancillary Justice read by next week for a book club, so I should start that one soon! Great Circle is NOT science fiction or fantasy and is that other audiobook that I’m planning to listen to before I get back to the Outlander series. Sorcery and Small Magics looks like a lighter read than the books I’ve been consuming lately, so I’m looking forward to that.

New Books:

Oh boy – I received an email from the Science Fiction Book Club several weeks ago that made it sound like they were going to be out of business in the coming months. I had 2 credits sitting on my account and went shopping, only to find several other books also at steep discounts. Here are the ones I picked up:

I also had a few books arrive from subscription box services:

I used a couple of Audible credits to pick up Columbus Day, book #1 of the Expeditionary Force series on my brother’s recommendations. I enjoyed Alexander Darwin’s first book, The Combat Codes (review here), and want to continue the series. I usually try to stick with the same format, but I have too many books and this was available in audio, so I’ll switch it up for book #2 – Grievar’s Blood (paid links).

A Look at January: I’m starting to put together my reading plans for 2025, and like always, it’s chaos, with way too many books that I want to read, new releases, books I said I’d review, book club picks, and spur of the moment reads that sow disorder throughout my year.

I decided that for January, I’d try to focus on a few NetGalley reviews that have sat for too long. This is why Daughter of Redwinter was on my radar. I also have Knife Children by one of my favorite authors, Lois McMaster Bujold on that same list. I don’t know why I haven’t read this yet since I love all her books and already read the core series on which this story is based. House of Blight by Maxym M. Martineau isn’t out until April and is another NetGalley pick, but one I only recently received. I’ve read one of her earlier books, Kingdom of Exiles and you can find that review here (paid links).

I’m also anticipating the January 21 release of Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, the third and final book in her ridiculously popular Empyrean series. You still have a little time to catch up with the earlier books, Fourth Wing (review here) and Iron Flame (review here) (paid links).

If I have any time left in January, I’m also going to try to read The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong and Perfectly Wicked by Lindsay Lovice, which I already mentioned earlier in this post (paid links).

Now it’s time for me to get back to reading!

June & July 2024 Reading Wrap Up

20 Aug 2024 1 Comment

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

For some reason, my blog always suffers a slump in the middle of the year. I think that I become overly distracted by the variety of summer activities. My reading also suffers, with my Goodreads reading challenge showing that I’m 37 books behind schedule (not that I ever set a realistic goal, but that’s a separate issue).

For June and July, I continued to read some long books, finishing these below:

The House in the Cerulean Sea was the shortest of the group at 394 pages. The others came in at 1011 pages for Lord of Chaos (The Wheel of Time #6), 640 pages for Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2), and 43 hours and 46 minutes for the audiobook edition of Voyager (Outlander #3) (paid links). I should be putting reviews up soon.

I’ve also been working on some writing projects over the summer. I’ll have a flash fiction story appearing in a holiday issue of Abyss & Apex in December. I have a couple of short stories that I need to revise and submit to magazines. The larger project is that I’ve been outlining a 5-book epic fantasy series that’s been in my head for a long time. I have a rough outline of the first book for some of the characters, but I can’t start writing until I have done more of the planning. I’m also toying with writing a proposal for a non-fiction academic book (in case I don’t have enough to keep me busy).

Going forward with my reading plans, I just finished reading The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey. I’m currently reading Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander book #4) as an audiobook and Moon Shot: The Inside Story of America’s Race to the Moon by Alan Shepard and Deke Slayton on my Kindle (paid links).

After that, these are some of the books that I might read next:

How have your reading plans been going for the summer? Do you have any must-read books that you would suggest? Let me know in the comments (above).

March 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

02 Apr 2024 1 Comment

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Help, help! I’m in a reading slump!

March wasn’t a very good month for me in terms of reading. I was distracted by other things in my life and I didn’t have as much time to devote to books, unfortunately. What did I actually finish reading in March? Just these two books:

I did review The Combat Codes by Alexander Darwin here. And I should have a review of The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten up soon (paid links).

I am still in the process of reading a few others which you can see here:

I didn’t make any further progress on The Anatomy of Story by John Truby, but I still plan to get back to this one. My audiobook listening habit also struggled, so I haven’t finished the second book in the Outlander series, Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon. As of the time I’m writing this, I have a little under seven hours left to go. I started reading the Utopia Science Fiction anthology last week, but I was not in the right mood to read short stories and ended up finally starting The Skull Throne by Peter V. Brett, which is book 4 in The Demon Cycle (paid links).

What’s ahead for April? And how do I break out of my reading slump?

I rearranged what I originally had on my April list, since I didn’t get to most of what I had planned to read for March. Here are the books that I now have on for this month:

I put them roughly in the order I think I might read them. The Core is the fifth and final book in The Demon Cycle, so I expect I’ll want to finish that series once I get through book 4. I think I’ll probably get back to The Sandman series of graphic novels for a quick read and then move on to book 5 of The Wheel of Time – The Fires of Heaven. I expect Iron Flame to be a quick read, and after that I don’t know if I’ll actually get to the other books during April. I should be able to at least start Voyager, the 3rd book in the Outlander series, but since each one is longer than the last, I don’t know if I’ll finish it this month (paid links).

On top of those goals, I have been debating whether I should read some of the fiction nominated for the Nebula Awards. That will be the topic of a post later this week, so I’ll leave my thoughts on that until then.

As far as getting over my reading slump, that’s hard because I do have some travel plans this month. One trip involves a long flight, so that usually gives me some free time to read, but otherwise the logistics of packing and planning always takes time.

What are you reading in April? How are your reading goals for the year going so far? Let me know in the comments (above).

February 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

28 Feb 2024 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I love doing these end of the month/year types of posts and it’s time for another one – yay! However, February didn’t go as well for me in terms of reading. At the time that I’m writing this, I’ve only finished the first three books pictured below (Fourth Wing, God Emperor of Dune, Starling House). I still expect to get through Every Heart a Doorway and Color and Light by the end of the month (paid links).

Books that I read in February 2024

You can find my reviews for the ones that I’ve finished here:

I have been reading two other books that I don’t expect to finish by the end of the month. Those are The Anatomy of Story by John Truby, which is essentially a class on creating a blueprint of the plot and characters for your screenplay or novel. It is dense and I’m working through it slowly. The other book I’m partway through is the second in the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, Dragonfly in Amber (paid links). I’m listening to the audiobook and I still have over 18 hours to go.

Books I have started, but haven’t finished yet.

Looking back at my January 2024 Reading Wrap-Up post here, I had also planned to read these books pictured below. I didn’t start either The Foxglove King (481 pages) or The Combat Codes (484 pages) because they were longer works and I had other novels that I needed to finish within a time frame for book club discussions (paid links). I also would like to read the Utopia Science Fiction Magazine anthology where my story (Selection Error) appears, so all three of these books will be pushed to the top of my reading list for March.

Books I had planned to read in February, but didn’t start yet.

If I look at my original reading list for March 2024, it contains the following 8 books:

Books I’m planning to read in March 2024

These are all parts of series! Additionally, I don’t think any of them are ones I’m reading for book clubs. I have put them in order of priority, with the series that I’ve already started listed higher. The last three on here, Scorpica by G. R. Macallister, Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff, and The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu are all by new authors to me, and are each the first books of a series (paid links).

I know that I won’t realistically get through all of these, but that never stops me from looking at more books and coveting them. I’ll continue to post reviews as I go, interspersed with reviews of books that I read last year.

How do you choose what to read next? Let me know in the comments (above).

Books to Read in 2024

01 Jan 2024 1 Comment

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

It is a little after midnight on New Year’s Day as I’m starting to write this post. I have been cramming books onto my 2024 to-be-read list in a mad rush, like there is some sort of rule that once the ball drops in Times Square, I won’t be allowed to add any more for the year. I mean, that’s not true at all, but part of me feels like I have to have a plan for the year finalized by January 1. Well, here is my (once again) very unrealistic list of 113 books I plan to read for 2024:

How did I come up with this list? There are several considerations that go into this (paid links below):

What else goes into my choices? Well, I am trying not to start any new series. But on the list above, I also have several new series… what can I say? I am inconsistent. To be fair, some of the series on here are ones where I read the first book many, many years ago but was unable to finish the series (because it hadn’t all been published yet or because I got distracted by other books).

In that vein, I’m going to continue on my read-through of Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series. I’m also going to read Dune #4-6, which I had put aside after reading #1-3 in 2022 (paid links).

As the year goes on, I’ll add even more books to this list, perpetuating my never-ending pile and pushing more of these off to 2025. I need more hours in the day.

Of all these books, which ones are up first for the year? Well right now, I’m already reading the first of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series in audiobook format. I’m also about a third of the way through Not Like Us by Doc Honour, a writing critique partner (paid links). After that, here is what I have planned:

Let me go back to the numbers now. I have 113 books on my list for 2024. Even given that some are shorter novellas or graphic novels, that still comes out to about 9.5 books per month, or more than 2 books per week. And some of these books aren’t short, so what is realistically going to happen?

I usually end up reading somewhere between 40 and 50 books each year. I tend to read several books at once, so one goal I’m making for this year is to try to minimize how often I start a new book without finishing others. I feel like I’ll be more engaged in a book if I’m not splitting my attention between several of them. (However, I will still have an audiobook going while reading something in print).

Off to do some reading now…

How do you choose which books you’re going to read? What books are you most excited about reading in 2024? Let me know in the comments (above)!

2023 Wrap-Up and Best Reads

29 Dec 2023 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

The year has almost come to an end and it’s time to look back at my reading for the year. This is one of my favorite types of posts to write, so let’s get to it! Here is my graphic of all the books I have finished so far in 2023, for a total of 46!

While I had set an unrealistic goal to read 100 books for the year back in this post, 50 is a more reasonable amount for me. As I’m writing this post, I have a few more days remaining in the month, with two more books that I should definitely be able to finish. I may grab a couple of graphic novels or a shorter novel and binge read to see if I can hit 50 by the end of the year.

How did my 2023 reading break down in terms of genre and formats?

  • 20 books were stand-alone fiction novels.
  • 18 were audiobooks.
  • I had one DNF (did-not-finish) book that actually doesn’t appear on this list.
  • 2 were non-fiction, and one of those I hope to finish in the next few days is as well.
  • 2 novels were not in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and 1 was on the border of genre.
  • I finished (or kept up with) the books in 8 different series.
  • I started to read 5 new series.
  • 3 were graphic novels.

Here are my favorite books from the year with some comments and links to full reviews below:

Rule Of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
  • Fairy Tale by Stephen King was a wonderful stand-alone fantasy novel (paid link). You can find my review here.
  • I finished listening to The Witcher series (audiobooks) this year with The Lady of the Lake (paid link). While I’ve read that the ending is controversial, I thought it was appropriate to the series. You can read my review here.
  • The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip is an older book and was also a type of fairy tale story (paid link). You can find my review here.
  • In my ongoing read of Leigh Bardugo’s books, my favorites were the Six of Crows duology which I just reviewed here and here, as well as the next two books, Rule of Wolves and King of Scars, which I will be reviewing soon (paid links).
  • I also read Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series, and while I thought that the ending fell a bit flat, the second book, The Last Graduate, was a harrowing read (paid link). My review is here.
  • Babel was a long stand-alone novel but its themes have inspired conversations about real-world events since I read it (paid link). This is a tragic story but was very well-done, and I highly recommend reading it. You can find my review here.
  • Elder Race is a novella that combined science fiction and fantasy into one story and was a nice introduction to this author’s work (paid link). I haven’t had a chance to review it here yet.
  • The two non-genre novels that I read, Where the Crawdads Sing and Horse were both very good, so if you’re looking for a break from sci-fi/fantasy, these are solid reading choices (paid links). My reviews are here and here.
  • Shannon Chakraborty won my reading heart with her Daevabad trilogy which I reviewed here, here, and here (paid links). So when she released the first book in a new series, I had to pick it up immediately. The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi was such a fun adventure story, and I’ll be writing a full review soon. You could also read this as a stand-alone story.
  • The last book on this list is a dieselpunk adventure comic/graphic novel which I just finished this week. Skies of Fire (#1-4) was produced as a Kickstarter and I really enjoyed reading this. I’ll have a review up soon.

Lastly, did I read the books that I had planned to read on my post from the beginning of 2023? The answer to this is always, NO, but where did I go off track? Here are some thoughts on that:

  • I had meant to read more of the Sandman series of graphic novels, but only got through one more in 2023.
  • I also had meant to continue my read-through of The Wheel of Time, but only read book #4 in 2023.
  • I didn’t get to read any more of the Dune books, but there was also a natural end-point after Dune Messiah.
  • There were several series on my list that I’ve been meaning to finish for several years. I still didn’t make any progress on these.
  • I didn’t read any classics in 2023, even though I had a few on my list.

Here is a visual of some of those books that I didn’t get to, but still plan to read soon:

That’s my recap of my reading year for 2023! How did you do in your own goals? What were your favorite books for the year? Let me know in the comments (above).

10 Authors I Haven’t Read Yet

20 Nov 2023 2 Comments

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I had the idea for this post from another book blog that I follow and I thought it would be an interesting topic in regard to my own reading. My goal in creating this list was to think of ten authors that I am dying to read, but haven’t had time to get to yet. I started with a longer list and then pared it down to just these ten:

  1. Iain M. Banks – I have read the blurb for the first book in this author’s Culture series (paid link) and I honestly can’t tell what it’s about other than something with a sprawling intergalactic story which is something I generally love. This is a series with 9 books so far.
  1. Pierce Brown – this author is best known for the Red Rising Saga (paid link) which started out as a trilogy and has now grown to six books. Caste warfare on a dystopian Mars????? Yes, please!
  1. P. Djeli Clark is an author that I was not terribly aware of until I listened to him talk in a writing class sponsored by Orbit Books. He spoke about scene structure and sounds like an author who writes diverse and compelling stories (paid link).
  1. James S. A. Corey is a pen name for authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck who are best known for The Expanse series (paid link). This science fiction epic was the basis for the television series on Amazon Prime of the same name which is currently in my queue to finish. I plan to read the books once I’ve finished the show.
  1. Diana Gabaldon is best known for writing the Outlander series of historical time-travel romance novels (paid link). I watched the first season of the television show and loved it (but then got distracted – I don’t stick with tv very well). My mother is a huge fan of both the books and the show and if I don’t read this series soon she’ll probably disown me. It currently sits at nine books and is supposed to be complete with the tenth volume.
  1. Ann Leckie wrote the Imperial Radch trilogy of science fiction novels (paid link) that won the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Awards and was also recommended to me by friends. I picked up the first book but haven’t had the time to start it yet. So many books, so little time…
  1. Sarah J. Maas – I’m torn on this one because I’ve heard mixed reviews of her writing. I first heard of her Throne of Glass series, and now the author’s more recent series (A Court of Thorns and Roses) (paid links) has been added to the list of banned books in some conservative parts of the country – which makes it crucial to read it, right?!?! These are fantasy romance with faeries and probably some magic and swords. As long as the writing isn’t too painful, I’ll probably at least have fun with these.
  1. Seanan McGuire has written a ton of books. Her series include the October Daye, Wayward Children, and Alchemical Journeys books (paid links). The good news is that I’m planning to read Every Heart a Doorway for a book club discussion in the next few months. This series involves children and portals.
  1. Silvia Moreno-Garcia has written several stand-alone novels. Many appear to have a more gothic flavor to them, which is something that I have not read a lot of. I don’t know if I’d like these, but she has received awards and acclaim, so I’m open to taking a look. I already picked up Gods of Jade and Shadow a few years ago and haven’t had time to read it (paid link).
  1. V.E. Schwab is the last author on my list. She has written the Shades of Magic trilogy which explores parallel Londons in a threatened multiverse. Her more recent book, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue looks like a stand-alone novel about a woman who wins immortality but, in exchange, is forgotten by everyone she meets (paid links).

Have you read any of the authors on my list? Which one should I read first? What authors would be on your list? Let me know in the comments (above).

February Reading Wrap-Up

03 Mar 2023 Leave a comment

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

February was a tough reading month for me. I was busy with travel and work obligations, so I didn’t finish reading as many books as I had hoped. Looking back at the details, I only finished these two books below:

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The Lady of the Lake is the 7th (publication order) book in The Witcher Saga and concluded the main plot of the series. You can read my review of this book here. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip is a stand-alone novel that has a fairy-tale-like feel. I will be writing a full review of this one soon.

Despite only having finished these two books, I still managed a fair amount of reading. I just finished The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix today (technically in March). I’m also almost done with the second volume of The Sandman by Neil Gaiman and Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski.

The Wheel of Time has become a slog, but I’m persisting on my read-through. I remember having this same experience when I read these books for the first time. The first three books were exciting and well-paced, and then The Shadow Rising (book 4) just drags. I am making progress though and I’m hoping to get a review done soon.

The only other book I’m reading is Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee. This book is an advance copy that I received courtesy of Net Galley, but I have only just started this one.

For March, I’m going to finish The Shadow Rising, Season of Storms, and Perilous Times. After that, I’m not exactly sure what will be next, but you can see some of the options in the graphic below.

That’s it! What are you planning to read for March? Let me know in the comments (above).

January Reading Update

31 Jan 2023 2 Comments

by Clare in Books, Reviews Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Since I set my reading goals pretty high for 2023, I thought it might be interesting to check in at the end of each month to see how I did. For January, I had hoped to read these 9 books (which was also a completely unrealistic goal for me):

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So – how did I do? I finished reading and reviewed 4 of these:

As for the others, I have literally 49 minutes left in the audiobook for The Lady of the Lake, the final book in The Witcher Saga, so I should finish that one today. I’m really curious but also anxious and a little scared to see how the series ends because of lines like this:

Because a story where the decent ones die and the scoundrels live and carry on doing what they want is full of shit.

– Geralt of Rivia

I have also started volume 2 of The Sandman graphic novel by Neil Gaiman. I had expected this to be a faster read, but the second installment is significantly longer than the first one.

I also started The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan, but I don’t expect to have time to finish that one until at least next week. I have to say that it was nice to jump back into The Wheel of Time and refresh my mind about where the story left off with all the characters.

I did not have time to start Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales or the audiobook of Season of Storms (a Witcher series prequel), but those will be my next reads as I start off February.

What else is on my list for Februrary? Nine more books!

I’m planning to get back to reading all of the Dune series written by Frank Herbert with God Emperor of Dune. I have two books on my list for book clubs: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip and The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (an author new to me).

Perilous Times by Thomas D. Lee is a new release that I obtained courtesy of NetGalley, while The Middling Affliction by Alex Shvartsman is a novel that I helped support via Kickstarter, written by a local author friend of mine. I have previously reviewed his earlier novel, Eridani’s Crown (review here).

I enjoyed the first book in Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series (A Deadly Education) so much that I need to finish that series with The Last Graduate and The Golden Enclaves. And lastly, I’m planning to read Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo in audiobook format because I need to expand my knowledge of the Grishaverse.

Otherwise, my computer is limping along but takes about 10 minutes to start up. I should probably start shopping for a new system. And… I have just started a fitness challenge (week 1) and I have a fencing competition in Manhattan this weekend so I’m staying busy!

How are your reading goals going for 2023 so far? Have you read anything really good yet? Let me know in the comments (above).

An Update on Books and Reading Goals

21 Jul 2022 1 Comment

by Clare in Books Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I just realized that we are halfway through 2022, so I thought this might be a good time to stop and look back at how the year has been going.

First – reading goals! I had set an unrealistic goal to read 89 books this year, when I normally struggle to get through 50 in that time frame. As of today, I have finished 23 books, which puts me at 23% of that original goal, but not far off the mark for reaching 50 this year.

Here is a graphic of what I’ve read so far in 2022:

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My plan to read one book from Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time series every month has gone astray, along with reading one Dune book every month. I have made it through half (3 of 6) of the Dune books by the original author, and only 3 of 14 of The Wheel of Time.

As always seems to happen, I have picked up books I didn’t originally have on my 2022 list, and then branched off into new series and authors. I think that for 2023 I will have to focus on finishing some series that I’ve started.

What am I reading now? Look – pretty covers! I am listening to the next book in The Witcher series – The Time of Contempt. On Kindle, I’m reading Lover Unbound, a book in The Black Dagger Brotherhood series which is sort of a guilty pleasure (sexy vampires, yeah), and In a Garden Burning Gold which I received courtesy of NetGalley for review.

After I finish those, next up are these options:

All of these are continuations in a series, except for The Water Dancer. I think I have a series problem!

Which should I read first? Let me know in the comments above. What other books and series have you read this year and enjoyed? Help me add to my ridiculous to-be-read list!

Find my book reviews here.

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