library

No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull

Started: 2/3/22
Finished: 2/8/22

This book was a LOT. It’s the first in a series (didn’t know that when I started it), and I cannot WAIT for the next one. It was a little hard to follow, not because it didn’t grab my attention (because boy did it), but because there are a lot of characters and a lot of factions, and I wasn’t clear on all of them until the very end. It was only published four months ago, so I have NO idea when book 2 will come out, and I’m sure I will need a refresher by then. I am for sure going to read his debut novel (The Lesson) while I’m waiting.

A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny

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Started: 10/13/21
Finished: 10/31/21

I’ve been meaning to read something, anything, by Roger Zelazny, and I just haven’t gotten around to it. An article on Tor.com pointed me to this, which is broken up into one chapter per day of the month of October. The article’s author reads it, one chapter a day, every October, so after playing a little bit of catch-up (since I didn’t start on the 1st), I did, too, and I REALLY enjoyed it. It’s easy, it’s funny, and it’s Halloween-y. I might buy it and do this every year.

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

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Started: 10/16/21
Finished: 10/20/21

Sarah Gailey LOVED this book, and Tor.com praised it, so I figured I’d try it. It’s a romance that falls into science fiction because there’s a time loop/stuck in time trope involved. The characters are good, the story is good, there’s nothing not to like, and yet I’m a little meh about it. There was a little too much ending.

The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood

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Started: 9/30/21
Finished: 10/16/21

New fantasy series! It took me a little bit to get into it, then I was hooked, then I wasn’t sure I was going to finish it, and then I got hooked again. I can’t say whether this was just about my frame of mind or about slow parts in the book. Could be either, but the vast majority of it had my full attention, and I’m still thinking about it, and I’m excited about the next book, which – ugh – isn’t out yet.

The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez

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Started: 9/22/21
Finished: 9/30/21

By the time I started this one, I didn’t remember anything about it except that it was highly recommended by Jo Walton, and I’m hit or miss on her recommendations. I was expecting something literary or dense, but I was pleasantly surprised to find somewhat hard SF with beautiful imagery. Totally literary, totally genre, and really good. The core story, which takes a bit to get to, is emotional and riveting. Good stuff.

Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner

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Started: 8/29/21
Finished: 9/5/21

Recommended by an author I like, this was a surprisingly well-written very silly start of a series about a retired demon-hunter-turned-suburban-mom who has to, surprise!, fight demons again. It was both predictable and not – some of my guesses were right and some were wrong. It’s a nice palate cleanser.

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

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Started: 8/21/21
Finished: 8/29/21

There are a lot of people out there who raved about this one, about how it’s a superhero novel turned on its head, it’s about the people supporting the villain, and that’s so new and so different! It’s not THAT new, and it’s not THAT different, and I spent a lot of this book feeling like I had read it before, which isn’t really fair. We were deep within this character’s head, and I enjoyed it, and it was good. I suppose I was just (and still am, apparently) annoyed that it felt over-hyped.

All The Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

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Started: 8/19/21
Gave up: 8/21/21

I loved her Raven Cycle series, and I was totally hooked by the beginning of this one. It’s her writing – I can’t put my finger on it, but I like her writing. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get into the plot of this one. Magical realism isn’t always my thing, and this book reminded me of One Hundred Years of Solitude and all the ways I could not read it. So I gave this one up.

Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

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Started: 8/14/21
Finished: 8/18/2021

I think this is magical realism, which usually doesn’t do it for me, but it’s also mythology and it’s also a dark book about a kidnapping and it’s also a book about a teenager with problems. I’m not sure if that’s one element too many, but I really enjoyed it.

Can You Keep A Secret by Sophie Kinsella

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Started: 8/8/21
Gave up: 8/8/2021

Light read, supposed to be a fun romance, and OH MY GOD I DON’T CARE. The main character is not relatable, the situations are not funny, and I gave it up the same day I started it. Jo Walton, an author whose books I like and whose recommendations I often enjoy, is WRONG about this one (she thought it was terrific and funny).

Unseen City: The Majesty of Pigeons, the Discreet Charm of Snails & Other Wonders of the Urban Wilderness by Nathanael Johnson

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Started: 6/8/21
Gave up: 6/11/21

Another non-fiction recommendation by Sarah Gailey. Another pass by me. I don’t think it’s the quality of recommendation so much as my own general lack of interest in non-fiction.

Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi

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Started: 6/1/21
Gave up: 6/2/21

I like my fiction weird, and I’m happy to be dropped into an unexplained or unexplainable situation right off the bat, but this was incomprehensible to me. Two seemingly normal people dropped into a situation that immediately got super-weird, and they’re barely questioning it. Certainly not panicking like anyone else would. Am I supposed to be reading into it? Probably. Did I have the patience? I did not.

Stars Uncharted and Stars Beyond by S.K. Dunstall

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Started: 5/6/21
Finished: 5/25/21

I loved the Linesman series so much that I jumped at these when I saw my library had them. I didn’t love these two books quite as much, but I still really enjoyed the story. Found family, spaceships, mysteries, a ragtag crew on the run – all good stuff.