H.S. Stone's Blog, page 3

Forget romantasy, what about romantorror?

Romantasy, or romantic fantasy, is huge nowadays. The bookish part of the internet is flooded by posts showcasing books by Sarah J. Maas, Rebecca Yarros, and others. Last year, Romantasy even became a category in the Goodreads Choice Awards. (The winner, not surprisingly, was Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros.)

The popularity of this genre that mixes romance with fantasy made me wonder if I've been missing the boat on other genres that are combined with romance? What about romance and horror (romanto...

Re-reading five-star books

With the number of unread books out there, I rarely get to re-read the ones I love. This year, I want to change that by turning re-reading into a reading challenge. This is partly because I want to revisit some of my favorite books, but another reason is that, after 2023's Year of Sanderson, I want to refresh my memory of the Cosmere. It will also be a good way for me to prepare myself for the release of Stormlight Archive #5 in December. 

My current plan is to re-read a past five-star book durin...

Favorite reads of 2023

 

 

2023 was truly the year of Brandon Sanderson for me. Not only did I receive four Secret Project novels (and a surprise short story) and other monthly swag from his record-breaking Kickstarter campaign, but four of his books ended up on my list of favorite reads of 2023. 

Without further ado, here are my top 10 books read in 2023:

1. The Lost Metal - Brandon Sanderson 

My favorite book from 2023 was the only Brandon Sanderson novel I read that wasn't a Secret Project. Just as The Hero of Ages was...

What I read in 2023

We've reached the end of another year, so it's time to review the books I read in 2023. At the start of the year, I set a goal to read at least 100 books, and I finished the year with 102, the same number of books I read in 2022.

The average rating for the books I read was 4.01 stars, slightly lower than the 4.04 average from 2022's books read. The breakdown by star rating was:

5 stars - 31 books4 stars - 41 books3 stars - 30 booksAs I mentioned in my last post, the reading challenge I undertoo...

Reading challenge recap - books to read before I die

The reading challenge I selected for 2023 was to read a dozen of the "classics" that everyone should read before they die. As I mentioned less than halfway through the year, it turns out the classics are not for me. For the sake of formally closing out the challenge, here are the books I read (listed alphabetically by title):

The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath  Catch-22 - Jospeh Heller  The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon Don Quixote - M...

After Z-Day #1 and #2 ebooks are 99 cents on Black Friday

On Friday, November 24, starting at 8:00 am PST, the Kindle versions of Book 1 and Book 2 of the After Z-Day series will be only 99 cents. While you can always get Book 1, Hopeless, for 99 cents, this is a 75% savings on Book 2, Relentless. 

If you miss the Black Friday price, Relentless will be $1.99 on Saturday, November 25, a 50% savings. The price increases to $2.99 on Sunday, November 26, and reverts to its normal price of $3.99 on Monday, November 27, which is still a bargain!

For all fans o...

Soulless is available for pre-order

Book 3 of the After Z-Day series, Soulless, is now available for pre-order on Amazon in ebook and paperback formats! The official release date is Friday, November 17, just in time for the holiday shopping season. :-)

 

Description: 

With San Benito Army Base overrun by zombies, Sara and her group of survivors attempt to take back the base. However, they have a more urgent problem. Sara’s infected friend will turn into a soulless zombie if they don’t make more doses of the serum to treat her.

Unf...

Owning multiple copies of the same book

I recently bought a second copy of a book I already own because it was available in a different format than the first one I had. This is not the first time I've done this. When I was younger, the books I bought were mostly paperbacks because they were smaller (and therefore easier to carry around and store) and cheaper. As I've gotten older, I've appreciated hardcovers more due to their durability and, frankly, the way they look on my bookshelves. Sometimes, I'll come across a special edition th...

Reading Time vs Writing Time

I’m an avid reader who averages about 100 books read per year. That’s roughly two books a week, which means I spend just about every minute of my free time reading. It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I love to read.

With the little free time I have available to me, I have to make a conscious choice whether to spend it reading or writing. (I certainly don’t go out partying, especially since the pandemic.) While I’d love to make more progress with my writing, I choose to prioritize reading ...

Lies, Damn Lies, and Plot Contrivances

For the past year, I've been reading more thrillers and fantasy/sci-fi rather than YA books. When it comes to thrillers, I gravitate more toward psychological thrillers, where the suspense occurs in characters' minds more so than in physical acts of violence. While you don't need an unreliable narrator for a good psychological thriller, the plot often hinges on lies or omissions of truth. One of the most popular books in the genre, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, does a superb job of this. (I won't ...