eLPy's Blog

What I Will Read in 2021 (& then some)

It feels rather ambitious to say will but I mean it. Perhaps it also feels constrictive however I choose to see this list as commitment. What I will read in 2021 is not all I’m going to read, rather these are the books that are certain. There will be others of course and I will add them as I go.

In this list of what I will read in 2021 you’ll also find the reasons, however vague some may be, as to why I’m assigning these reads this year. As the year progresses I suspect I’ll also try to meet some goals with regard to themes, like making sure a great many of the books are written by people of color or from other marginalized groups. This is important to me because the world has never been as static as much of what we find in popular culture. Nevertheless, majorities abound.

Let’s get started on What I Will Read in 2021Interference (Semiosis Trilogy, #2) by Sue Burke (hardcover) — This is the sequel to Semiosis, which I believe I finished in 2019. It’s always watching me from the shelf and I think I should read it before much more time passes.Kind of Coping by Maureen Marzi Wilson (hardcover) — If you’ve seen any of my other posts you’ll know I’ve been “currently reading” this for a while. It’s a short book, I keep forgetting to make my way back because I didn’t want to gobble it down all at once.Thick by Tressie McMillan Cottom (hardcover) — Another book I have not made it back to but I want to finish. This will be the year.In Search of Black History with Bonnie Greer by Bonnie Greer (audible) — I believe I have a chapter left in this book. I felt it deserved more of my focused attention and so I didn’t want to hurry and finish it last summer. Alas, I moved on and did not make my way back. Now I will. Perhaps I will listen to it all over again this year as I found it an important study.The Voyage of the Basilisk (The Memoirs of Lady Trent, #3) by Marie Brennan (paperback) — If I don’t finish this book once and for all I’m going to remove it from my currently reading list and start all over. I’ll admit it didn’t quite hold my attention in the way I was hoping. That said I already own the rest of this series…Farming: A Hand Book by Wendell Berry (paperback) — My great uncle leant me this book. He’s a big fan of Berry’s and is interested in what I think of his writing. So am I! The same goes for the next book.That Distant Land by Wendell Berry (paperback) — See above

Barkskins: A Novel by Annie Proulx (audio) — Been on my list and I’m very curious, seeing as I’m drawn to stories that involve trees. Oh and I’m currently listening to this (Jan 29, 2021)The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez (ebook) — I won this in a Good reads Giveaway (HOORAY!) and I am really, really enjoying it. Technically I started it in 2020, the end, but haven’t been in much of a physical book read. But don’t get it twisted, I am loving this book and Jimenez’s writing. Muse of Nightmares (Strange the Dreamer, #2) by Laini Taylor (audible) — This is the sequel to Strange the Dreamer and I would like to listen to it before too much more time passes from my listen of the first.

Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick: Stories from the Harlem Renaissance by Zora Neale Hurston (audible) — From the description: “…an outstanding collection of stories about love and migration, gender and class, racism and sexism that proudly reflect African-American folk culture.” This book landed on many Best Books and Most Anticipated Books of 2020 lists. Need I say more? The time is ripe.The Wise Man’s Fear: Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 2 by Patrick Rothfuss (audible) — I listened to Book 1 last year and don’t see any reason to put off Book 2 any longer. Although like many people I wonder what it will do to me knowing Book 3 exists only in the ether of knowledge of things to come…Kingdom of Souls (Kingdom of Souls, #1) by Rena Barron (audible) — Was on my TBR and then an Audible sale made it available for my library. And seeing as I am going to make sure I read more books by POC, well this is a great choice. I think I first learned of this book from a podcast…Saving Ruby King: A Novel by Catherine Adel West (audible) — My partner grew up on the Southside of Chicago, where this story takes place. Needless to say, while also being a book by a POC author, I am drawn to the locale.

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang (audible) — Once again fulfilling my intention to read more books by POC, I have also heard mention of Ted Chiang many times. When the chance to pick this collection up on Audible presented itself, I jumped. Plus it’s good to mix it up with short stories every now and again.

That’s what I’ve got for now. Feel free to comment at any time about anything I’ve written here. Like these authors or books, let me know! Want to do some kind of read-a-long together? We can work that out!

Be sure to follow my blog if you’d like to stay up to date with what I’m doing.

If you’d like to see what I read in 2019 CLICK HEREOh you’d like to know the 46 books I read in 2020? CLICK HEREWhat’s that, you also like gardening? Oh gosh CLICK HERE!

Black Lives Matter.

Stay Safe & Well!

The post What I Will Read in 2021 (& then some) appeared first on The eLPy Dimension.

Here’s What’s Update Plus Shout Outs

Hello there! I hope you’re doing well and staying safe. I know things are kind of all over the place again. Wherever you are I’m praying for you and hope that you see and hear the things you need to in order to hold some peace of mind. I hope that when you need strength you find it. When you need love, it comes to you. All in all, I’m praying for the world and that this year ends on a good note.

To help you all with that I’m going to focus on some shout outs of sorts in this post. I’ve been wanting to do a post for a long time seeing as I haven’t. I’ve got a lot of plans and ideas but, well I have a lot of plans and ideas and I’ve come to realize that I’m really only one person and there really only is 24 hours in a day. Some days though it feels like maybe we’re getting cheated out of an hour or two.

My Review of Rogue (Talon, #2) by Julie Kagawa

Information from Goodreads:

From the limitless imagination of bestselling author Julie Kagawa comes the next fantastic adventure in the Talon Saga.

Deserter. Traitor. Rogue.

Ember Hill left the dragon organization Talon to take her chances with rebel dragon Cobalt and his crew of rogues. But Ember can’t forget the sacrifice made for her by the human boy who could have killed her—Garret Xavier Sebastian, a soldier of the dragonslaying Order of St. George, the boy who saved her from a Talon assassin, knowing that by doing so, he’d signed his own death warrant.

Determined to save Garret from execution, Ember must convince Cobalt to help her break into the Order’s headquarters. With assassins after them and Ember’s own brother helping Talon with the hunt, the rogues find an unexpected ally in Garret and a new perspective on the underground battle between Talon and St. George.

A reckoning is brewing and the secrets hidden by both sides are shocking and deadly. Soon Ember must decide: Should she retreat to fight another day…or start an all-out war?

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

AudiobookPublished April 28th 2015 by Blackstone Audio, Inc.

My Rating: 3 stars



Alternate cover

TIME OUT! Please read this first:

I have not written my review for Talon (Talon, #1) and while this does not contain spoilers for book 2 (at least I don’t think so), this is a spoiler if you haven’t read book one.

My Review of Rogue (Talon, #2) by Julie Kagawa

3 stars (though maybe 3.5…oh I don’t know…)

3/5 stars

First I want to remind folks, as a booktuber has reminded me (well not directly but through her videos), that 3 stars is not bad. In fact, I like to hover my pointer over the stars so the phrases “I liked it”, “really liked it”, “it was amazing”, among others, pop up.

And I liked this book, but I did not find it amazing nor did I really like it. My hesitation over rating exists because this is a YA so a lot of what annoyed me is largely do to with the genre this fits, if you ask me. That said, love triangles are not a YA genre necessity and this story has a love triangle we first met in Talon, book 1. It’s just that this second book feels like it’s focusing so much more on the love triangle than I can appreciate. And I don’t like love triangles to start with.

What keeps me reading (listening in audio format) this series is because it’s about dragons. The idea of dragons being able to take human form is super cool and new to me. It keeps me coming back. But beyond that the story isn’t the most original, I find it predictable in a lot of ways. This second book, IMHO, was not as good as the first and again, I’m blaming the love triangle. Although there are a lot of cliches and tropes at work here. Also, one of the main characters, Ember, is annoying me but I don’t hate her.

So all in all, it’s the tropes/thropes that have me frustrated with this second book (especially). I’m also not digging the whole this guy’s actually really old – clearly so he can be given an extensive, experienced background – meanwhile there’s just something about the teenager…not sure the author was paying attention to this but it’s kind of creepy.

This book had me questioning my interest in this series, maybe it’s just not for me after all. Maybe starting book two immediately following book one was a bad idea, maybe I needed a break from this story. Do I even want to listen to book three or should I just listen/read something else in between? Book one was on my TBR for a long time, until I found it as part of Audible’s new Plus Catalog, meaning it’s a free perk of my membership. Would I have read it were it not free? Yes. Would I have picked up book two if I had to pay for it? Probably. Would I buy book three if I had to? Hm…maybe…maybe not?

I did find the ending to be satisfying. Don’t get me wrong, there are parts of the story that raise my interest and keep me holding on. With that in mind, yeah I’ll keep reading/listening. I really do want to know what’s going to happen.

What I’m Reading and Why

Hello everyone, how are you? I’m doing well thank you. The weather this weekend has been absolutely fabulous. It’s been the type of weekend that makes you fall in love with fall. Not exactly a reading weekend as I’ve been doing a lot of outside clean up but I’ve been reading nonetheless. In fact, I finished Akata Warrior, yeah! It was no fault of the book or author that it took me a few months to finish. As the book came to a close I got to thinking there might be a third installment, which would be awesome. After a quick google search I’ve learned that there will be a third book! While at times I felt a little impatient with the story, it was still a great story. Without a doubt, Nnedi Okorafor is original.

Here’s What’s Up – Happy Friday!

Hello hello! I’m going to keep this short and sweet, my version of all that. Lol. So here’s what’s up, Happy Friday!

I have been wanting desperately to keep up with blogs I follow, books I’m reading, and even writing for my own blog. But it’s difficult, as probably all of you know. And it’s likely a good thing that I’ve been so busy with all the other stuff I’ve got going on, including cleaning up and clearing out a lot of the less than useful stuff I have. It feels great to reclaim my life. For the sake of dropping in and letting you know I’m still around and not disappearing from the blogosphere again I’ve wanted to post a quick update, and here it is.

The point of this blog is to be a writer’s platform so people can get to know me as a person and a writer, although I don’t really post a whole lot about writing. I’ve decided that’s just fine, I don’t care. I like to talk and write about stuff I like and do as well. So what if vermicomposting isn’t writing, or photography isn’t writing, or talking about my garden isn’t writing, or reading and reviewing isn’t writing. I’m writing about it, and that’s what counts to me. When the urge strikes I write. I’m not going to beat myself up about my author blog not being about writing as much as the other stuff I write. My blog is like me, it’s a lot of things.

Here’s What’s Up this Week

Hey everyone! Real quick I want to apologize for the weird links in some of my latest posts. They should be gifs from giphy.com as you’ve seen in other posts. However they did not embed for some reason that is yet known to me. So as much as it pains me this post won’t have silly gifs, hopefully the next.

Okay I just wanted to drop in real quick and tell you some things that are up and invite you on a bit of a read-a-thon with me this weekend. In addition, join me for a writing challenge of my own creation, in other words I’m challenging myself to do a bunch of reading and writing this weekend.

My Review of Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst – 5 Stars

Information from Goodreads:

In this stand-alone fantasy, Durst introduces an imaginative new world in which a pair of strong and determined women risk their lives battling injustice, corruption, and deadly enemies in their quest to become monster-racing champions.

Life, death, and rebirth – in Becar, who you are in this life will determine your next life. Yet there is hope – you can change your destiny with the choices you make. But for the darkest individuals, there is no redemption: you come back as a kehok, a monster, and are doomed to be a kehok for the rest of time.

Unless you can win the Races.

After a celebrated career as an elite kehok rider, Tamra became a professional trainer. Then a tragic accident shattered her confidence, damaged her reputation, and left her nearly broke. Now, she needs the prize money to prevent the local temple from taking her daughter away from her, and that means she must once again find a winning kehok…and a rider willing to trust her.

Raia is desperate to get away from her domineering family and cruel fiancé. As a kehok rider, she could earn enough to buy her freedom. But she needs a first-rate trainer.

Impressed by the inexperienced young woman’s determination, Tamra hires Raia and pairs her with a strange new kehok with the potential to win – if he can be tamed.

But in this sport, if you forget you’re riding on the back of a monster, you die. Tamra and Raia will work harder than they ever thought possible to win the deadly Becaran Races – and in the process, discover what makes this particular kehok so special.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53246421-race-the-sands

AudiobookPublished April 21st 2020 by HarperAudio

My Rating: 5 Stars




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My Review of Race the Sands by Sarah Beth Durst

5/5 stars

I really really enjoyed this story. I’m not an expert on genres or categories but I wonder if this might fit as new adult…? At first I wasn’t sure that it wasn’t young adult what with the ages of several main characters but ultimately I see why they didnt call it so (kind of). I dont know but whatever it is I think it will satisfy a number of audiences.

There are a number of things I appreciated. For one Sarah Beth Durst has an awesome imagination. She loves to play with strange monsters and I think that’s great. She also wasnt afraid to cast a wide array of characters at the heart of this story. She surprised me with some of them (one in particular) and that was really refreshing. It reminded me of real life, people aren’t cut-outs, rarely do they fit in one category. All her characters are full of drive and ambition and I root for them with pleasure.

This isn’t the type of story that is ruined by figuring out the plot moves before they happen. Nope. It’s more so the case that you look forward to seeing what’s ultimately going to happen. There were some turns that ended kind of bluntly but honestly, I like that. Things aren’t long and drawn out like they could be, and many stories are. Durst keeps the story interesting, moving and satisfying.

I dare say that many times while listening to this story I was moved to emotion. I smiled A LOT. And I keep wanting to come back to calling this a kind of feel good story, and therefore satisfying. I highly recommend this story to teens, young, new and not so new adults.

I would recommend listening to this as an audio book. My only gripe is that I didn’t care for how the narrator performed the trainer’s daughter. She reads her almost baby like though I do believe her daughter is 11 years old. Other than that I thought she did a great job performing this book.

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Have you read or heard of this book? New release as of this April so it’s possible you have yet to even hear of it, but now you have! Check it out! While you’re at it you might want to check out Sarah Beth Durst’s other books, of which she has A LOT. I’ve not read them all but I am a fan of the Queens of Renthia series.

Let me know what you think!

If you’re interested in what else I’ve reviewed (shared my opinion on) CLICK HERE!

If you want to know what I’m currently reading or recently finished CLICK HERE!

Thank you for your time and interest!

Black Lives Matter.

P.S. This summer I shared a comment on another blog that was in disagreement with that blogger’s thoughts. Maybe I was wrong to go on bashing a book they professed to love, maybe I should have kept my thoughts to myself (if you don’t have anything nice to say…). Maybe I exhibited poor etiquette and it was simply wrong time, wrong place. But I want you to know that I respect your opinion on books I’ve read even if it’s different than mine. (If I don’t respect it, I’ll be sure to let you know.

My Review of Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, #1) by Cassandra Clare – 3 stars

Information from Goodreads:

In a secret world where half-angel warriors called Shadowhunters are sworn to fight demons, parabatai is a sacred word. A parabatai is your best friend and battle partner. Parabatai can be everything to each other–but they can never fall in love.

Emma Carstairs ia a Shadowhunter, the best in her generation. Together with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, she patrols the streets of Loa Angeles, where faeries–the most powerful of supranatural creatures–teeter on the edge of open war with Shadowhunters. When bodies–both faerie and human-turn up, bearing marks that match those found on Emma’s own murdered parents, an uneasy alliance is formed. This is Emma’s chance for revenge–and Julian’s chance to get back to his brother, a prisoner of the faerie Courts. All they have to do is solve the murders within two weeks… and before the murderer target them.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27788505-lady-midnight

Paperback, 669 pages — Published March 8th 2016 by Margaret K. McEldeberry Books

My Rating: 3 Stars




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My Review of Lady Midnight (The Dark Artifices, #1) by Cassandra Clare

3/5 stars

This book frustrated the heck out of me. Overall I’d say Cassandra Clare certainly can write and come up with some cool story ideas but but but BUT this book just wasn’t for me. I’ve not read any of her other books. I found this and started reading before I knew of the others. And at this point I will not continue with any others. (There were some sample chapters at the end of this story that I will admit piqued my interest a bit although not enough to chase them down now.)

The overall concept. angel-human hybrid race, is great, I was all in for this. And from the start it seemed like an interesting batch of characters. The forbidden love aspect is pretty clear from the beginning. Not everything has to be a surprise to be interesting. However it dragged and dragged. And that’s what I really didn’t like about this. So much attention was paid to relationships, especially that of Julian and Emma and Julian and the kids, that I felt like the plot suffered as a result. Of course it’s not uncommon for a story to be character driven but I can’t say I felt it was even that driven. It frustrated me and felt repetitive to keep reading how people felt for each other when we already got the point. For me these feelings equated to a whole lot of tell and not enough show.

My biggest complaint, and IMHO the biggest disservice to the story, was the length. At 669 pages this was not small book. I think the whole story would have been MUCH better were it half that. This is another reason I’m not particularly interested in continuing with the series, too much time spent on day to day life and relationships. But if that’s your thing, and you’re okay with action popping up like garnish, then by all means I’d recommend this. Otherwise, I regret to say that I don’t.

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Have you read this book, this series, or any of the other many many books by Cassandra Clare? (Gotta hand it to her, she’s putting in work!) What did you think?

P.S. This summer I shared a comment on another blog that was in disagreement with that blogger’s thoughts. Maybe I was wrong to go on bashing a book they professed to love, maybe I should have kept my thoughts to myself (if you don’t have anything nice to say…). Maybe I exhibited poor etiquette and it was simply wrong time, wrong place. But I want you to know that I respect your opinion on books I’ve read even if it’s different than mine. (If I don’t respect it, I’ll be sure to let you know.

My Review of The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1) by Patrick Rothfuss – 4.5 stars

Information from Goodreads:

older alternate cover edition of 

“My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I have burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during the day. I have talked to Gods, loved women and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me.”

So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature – the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man’s search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend. 

Audible Audio, Unabridged, 28 pages — Published May 15th 2009 by Brilliance Audio (first published March 27th 2007)

Alternate cover



My Rating: 4.5 stars




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My Review of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

My Rating: 4.5/5 stars but not enough to roll to 5 stars since partials aren’t allow.

More complete review coming soon… well okay more like eventually.

While I really enjoyed this book, it really is a great epic tale, really well written I actually can’t decide if this is a four or a five for me. When it was great it was great but being as long as it is means there’s a lot of time that’s meh, again, well-written, but less interesting. That’s all I’m saying for now.

In the meantime, here are some notes I archived from while I was listening to the story:

I won’t get into how this was an accidental purchase, because I do somewhere else. But here we have another epic fantasy. It reminds me a lot of Lord of the Rings. My patience for long long long stories is just not there. This is a good and interesting story, for sure, well-written and all that. But it’s really super long and probably, again I say this, wouldn’t be hurt if a lot of scenes were cut out or cut down.All in all it’s no where near DNF, but when I think about how everyone complains that the third book in this series (this first book published in 2007!) has not yet even been ANNOUNCED, I get nervous. What if I love these first two and have to just sit empty handed? Okay maybe not empty-handed because I have so many books to read. Stay tuned…Update: This story certainly is epic. It’s long and it’s very well-written. I give it four and half stars only because it’s SO DARN LONG. It’s great sure, think Lord of the Rings like I said before. The characters are dynamic and distinct. I could see and feel the events as they happened. But it really takes us through IT ALL. Lol. I do recommend it. I’m really glad I went with the audible version. The narrator puts on a great performance, different voices and all.




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Have you read this series? What did you think? Please don’t spoil the second book for me though, I have the second also as an audible just not sure when I’ll get around to it. I guess it should be sooner than later. In that case I’ll add it to the 20 Books of Summer 20 list (if it isn’t there already).

How do you feel that Patrick Rothfuss has yet to announce the third book? Does it bother you when writers take a really really long time to finish a long-anticipated book?

Thanks for your time and interest!

If you’d like to see what else I’ve reviewed (shared my opinion of) CLICK HERE.

And don’t forget to see what I’m currently reading and recently finished.

P.S. This summer I shared a comment on another blog that was in disagreement with that blogger’s thoughts. Maybe I was wrong to go on bashing a book they professed to love, maybe I should have kept my thoughts to myself (if you don’t have anything nice to say…). Maybe I exhibited poor etiquette and it was simply wrong time, wrong place. But I want you to know that I respect your opinion on books I’ve read even if it’s different than mine. (If I don’t respect it, I’ll be sure to let you know.

My Review of What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra – 5 Stars

Information from Goodreads:

What the Woods Keep is the stunning debut of Katya de Becerra, who combines mystery, science fiction, and dark fantasy in a twisty story that will keep you mesmerized right up to the final page.

On her eighteenth birthday, Hayden inherits her childhood home—on the condition that she uncover its dark secrets.

Hayden tried to put the past behind her, and it worked. She’s getting ready for college, living in a Brooklyn apartment, and hanging out with her best friend and roommate Del. But now it’s all catching up with her: her mother’s mysterious disappearance a decade before, her father’s outlandish theories about a lost supernatural race, and Hayden’s own dark dreams of strange symbols and rituals in the Colorado woods where she grew up.

As soon as Hayden arrives at her hometown, her friend Del in tow, it begins: Neighbors whisper secrets about Hayden’s mother; the boy next door is now all grown-up in a very distracting way; and Hayden feels the trees calling to her. And among them, deep in the woods, Hayden will discover something incredible—something that threatens reality itself.

An Imprint Book 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36686071-what-the-woods-keep

Hardcover, 384 pages — Published September 18th 2018 by Imprint

My Rating: 5 Stars




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My Review of What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra

5/5 stars

For me this was a quick read and for that I’m grateful. This was an easy yet very interesting read. It was simple enough to follow along easily but strange enough to keep you wondering. Katya de Becerra has a new fan! This story is full of mystery and intrigue. She gives you just enough to hold on, like a snack, but not keep you starving. The story moves at a good pace overall given all the little clues and nuggets she leaves along the way. She uses letters, notes, diary entries and the like throughout the story, inserted like photocopies. They’re the source of a lot of important information and a brilliant way to provide that info (like background) without doing an info dump or exposition. More than halfway through the book I did want the story to hurry up and get to the heart of the matter but I think that was more my anxiousness than anything else.

On top of how well the story is written, the concept is pretty darn cool. I don’t know (yet, I’ll go searching after I write this) but I hope this is a series because I will certainly be following this story, as well as the author.

Big Heck Yeah 5 stars to What the Woods Keep by Katya de Becerra!