M’s Comments (group member since May 31, 2022)

M’s comments from the 2025 Reading Challenge group.

I finished The Child Thief last night so I needed something lighter, so I picked up The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

SarahKat wrote:
M, ."

Thank you for letting me know I'm not alone, haha.
I'm glad you liked it too!
Also - just an FYI - I'm now well over 100 pages into Jonathan Strange and I'm not feeling like I'll slow down yet so all good things :)

Clarke's writing really is beautiful.

April is perfect 😁

Ooooh I'm so glad you enjoyed it too Lina!

I'd be happy to join you Lorraine

I am so mad.
How dare she only give us a 20 minute story like this and not a full novel!
This was absolutely magical. I personally don't think I'll count this as a "book" due to it's teeny tiny word count though haha.
I devoured this in minutes, then I read it again. Then I immediately got the audiobook (I literally never listen to audiobooks) and so I listened while Susanna read to me and I read it again.
Uuugggh, I need this to be a full novel.

I think if you've read and enjoyed Piranesi, you'll enjoy this one.
If you have not yet read Piranesi and want to go into that one as blindly as possible I think I'd be wary about the author's note...the author's note is however, really, really good too.

(view spoiler)[
As I was enjoying the whimsy of it all, my enjoyment hit a minor speed bump when Merowdis expressed her need for a human child.
As a 40+ year old woman who has had no desire for children, it's just one of those things that makes my eye roll. It's not that deep, don't be offended k :)
But then, I see, okay - this is a Christmas tale, I get it.
But then Susanna gives me a gift that brought tears to my eyes.
Merowsis' child is a bear cub. A cub that needed a mother.
She literally lives my dream of leaving it all behind to take care of animals of every kind.
I've dedicated decades of my life (and will continue) to caring for abandoned animals and am working on licensing/training to care for wildlife in the future.
I understood Merowsis so deeply and I loved every animal friend we were introduced to here.

Also this line made me cry -
"We know. We know, said Amandier and Pretty. Don’t think about sad things in the wood. Look at our lovely and loving faces, said Apple. Be comforted!"

Gosh do my "kids" bring me comfort everyday and boy oh boy did I love Piranesi.
(hide spoiler)]

Also I think I need to read Piranesi again and I'm 100% ready to read Jonathan Strange.

Evy wrote: "I gave up on Jonathan Strange… at 80% or so, just couldn’t do it anymore...."

I'm definitely keeping my expectations low for this one but I feel like it's time to really try.
At 80% I would have skimmed till the end and called it read! ;)

Lisa wrote: "Happy New Year, Mo!
That's a great list you've got planned. Looking forward to seeing what the rest of the books will be.

Wishing you the best of luck reaching your literary goals in 2025 😊.
Ha..."

Thank you Lisa :)

I'm finally gonna do it, I've finally picked up Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.
I've tried to start this a few times but never made it beyond the 3rd chapter. I'm finally into chapter 5 haha

I'd like to nominate The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean

Connection to the theme comes from the synopsis :)

"Out on the Yorkshire Moors lives a secret line of people for whom books are food, and who retain all of a book's content after eating it. To them, spy novels are a peppery snack; romance novels are sweet and delicious. Eating a map can help them remember destinations, and children, when they misbehave, are forced to eat dry, musty pages from dictionaries."

Aww the new Masthead and logo looks great!
Happy New Year all!

A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Ahhh yes, this is what I needed from Kingfisher. I was not familiar with the Grimm's story so I went into this one a little blindly, and I loved it.

Annnd I made it to 41 with
System Collapse by Martha Wells
I could not let this series hang around into the new year. It would have been wrong not to catch up before the end of the year after walking away from this series for too long. Soon as it was over, I felt the need to revisit the series from the start. I would not recommend waiting to read this one after Network Effect. I'm still not sure I understand why this isn't the 6th book, not Fugitive Telemetry...


Anyway, I made it! I needed a handful of short books to make it, but they still count lol.

I'd like to suggest Rules of Civility by Amor Towles for March or April

Glad you could join us Lorraine!

I know this is an incredibly short story but I'm still excited to get a little dip into this author again.
I read Piranesi a couple years ago and LOVED IT.
Buuut I've also tried starting Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell 3 times now and have yet to make it pass chapter 3 lol.
Here's hoping this gives me a little kick start to jump back into her work.

Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher
I wanted more from this. I'm a big fan of this author and I think this was one of her weaker stories.

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
What a disappointment! After LOVING My Best's Friends Exorcism, I went into this very excited. I was ready for a good time but with vampires and books but instead I got a boring, mediocre story about a bunch of terrible husbands and WEAK women. Hated it.

Gallant by Victoria E. Schwab
My first time reading this author and I think I started at a good place. I'm interested in reading more of her adult works as this leaned middle grade-ish to me.

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Oh Hamnet, I loved you.
This - this book got me out of a slump of bad books and brought me back to what I love so much about reading. Completely engrossing and heartbreaking. I could not put this down. This author is 100% an auto buy for me now.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King
As I started reading this I felt this wave of nostalgia. This felt like when I was a teenager and I was getting lost in King and Koontz stories. I'm almost certain I read this before but who knows. Strange and a little disorienting, I wouldn't recommend this for a first time King reader. I hear that the second book picks up immediately where we left off and that makes me excited about moving forward into the depths of this series.

The Shape of Darkness by Laura Purcell
A fine little murder mystery but doesn't hold a candle to The Silent Companions. I wanted creepy, I wanted suspense. Sadly, this did not deliver. I imagine someone reading this author for the first time and liking this one.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden
Ah yes, another dud to add to my list of mediocre reads in 2024. This should have been right up my alley. Everything about this should have been a story I'd eat right up. Nope! I honestly should have just DNF'd this one but I really wanted to like it. The "love" story that developed in here was cringe and completely unnecessary.

The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan
Okay so the title is misleading buuut this was still good. A solid 3.5 for me. I enjoyed the setting, character and atmosphere. I was glad that I picked this up.

Graveyard Shift by M.L. Rio
I did not enjoy the first time I read this author so I thought I'd pick this up and see if a little novella was more my speed. I think the 3.2 rating on goodreads is appropriate for this. Middle of the road, good but not great. I'm not sure I actually like this author...

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Ya'll are absolutely out of your minds. This? This is the best fantasy novel you've ever read? No.
I don't believe you. You need to read more fantasy my friend because this was boring. I understand it's an introduction but so was The Blade Itself and that was stellar so no, this was not good and the more I think about it, the more I'm put off by it being so praised as it is. I could not read more than 10-15 pages at a time because I would LITERALLY FALL ASLEEP.
I'm not listening to any of ya'll anymore. Liars lol.

Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
So, so good. I could not believe what I was reading as we made it to the end. I was not ready and am still anxious to get into this author's stand alones now.

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry
I am and will likely always be a sucker for most Peter Pan retellings. This was far more violent than I was expecting, but I really liked it. I could read a whole series of this. I imagine her Alice in Wonderland book is trippy as hell.

Never Whistle at Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology by Shane Hawk
Beautiful cover got me again. I bought this new because I think I had a giftcard...I should have bought something else. Most of these stories were okay but nothing quite dark or meaningful enough to remember.

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed
Oooh how I wanted this to be good. I was not into this writing style. Again, a beautiful cover drew me in but left me wanting.

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner
This started off really strong but then became really predictable and forgettable. A part of me would be curious to see if the second book is better but it's not at the top of my list.

My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
My first time reading this author and I could not put this down. I was so excited to read this and I basically blew through it in a day which is not like me at all.

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
I am someone who found Ninth House to be completely boring so I went into this one with little hope. Ended up loving it. I thin k the setting and time period just worked for me. I'd like a second part to this one for sure.

The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara
Ohh this author is unlike any other I've ever read. I think if this story was written by a different author, I wouldn't have enjoyed it, I wouldn't have been so riveted. Absolutely devastating but not in the same way as A Little Life. This author is an auto buy for me, 100%.

The Shadowed Sun by N.K. Jemisin
I've got nothing to say here except that I love this author and everything she writes.

Progress:

3/15

1. The Child Thief by Brom

Pages: 481
Date Read: 1/12/25

2. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

Pages: 849
Date Read: 4/20/2025

3. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Pages: 605
Date Read: 3/16/25

4. Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
Pages:
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5. A Column of Fire by Ken Follett
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6. The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
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7. The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin
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8. The Stand by Stephen King
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9.
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10.
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11.
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12.
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13.
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14.
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15.
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I just want to sit back, relax, and get lost in something. I'd like to sit with new characters for a while and really get to know them and the world they're in.
I'm coming for some big tomes.

Cheers reader friends.

Wow - I really abandoned this, lol.
Let's see what I remember from this year of reading :)
I'm at 38 currently - not counting 2 short stories...

Here we go -

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne
I had fun reading this, but it's honestly not that good. Especially when compared to other fantasies I read later in the year. At one point he repeated the same exact description of an action two different characters made and it was like 4 pages in between. It made me stop, flip back those pages because I thought it was a me problem. Nope. It's just no distinction between characters. The ending was absolutely killer though so I do want to keep reading the series....

Network Effect by Martha Wells
I don't remember what happened here but I know I had a good time reading it.

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Hooo boi this is where shit get's really good. I expected a lot from this one and it delivered. Dark and violent. I liked it A LOT.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
I needed something lighter while I was reading Abercrombie and this fit the bill perfectly. This was completely charming, and I immediately watched the show when I was finished. I really should read more of this author. I'm sure I'll be just as enamored.

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
I shouldn't have read this one in the order that I did because this one knocked me off the Murderbot train. I didn't understand where the heck we went back to or why.

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I wanted to like this reeeaall bad. I wanted this to be dark and smoky. I wanted this to have atmosphere! Sadly, it did not and fell flat for me. I really want to like this author but I don't know what it is about her characters...I just don't care about them.

Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
I think I liked this one the best. It was a bloody good time.

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
There's nothing amazing about this one, it's just a good book. It's a good story with good characters and I had a good time reading it. I like this setting and it makes me want to read more books like it. I would definitely be on the lookout for the next installment.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
I honestly hated this and it greatly disappointed me. I waited a long time to get my hands on this and I was into it A LOT at the beginning. But this author lost me with her writing. I don't believe for a second that she knows what she's writing about.

11/22/63 by Stephen King
I wanted to read this for a long time but I was intimidated by it's length. I'm sure others would agree - she's a beast. It certainly didn't feel quite so large once you were in it. I really liked this even if I didn't completely love the love story.

I'd like to suggest The Child Thief by Brom for January

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

Connection to the theme:
A watch tells time :) and I think there's a timepiece in here that's important to the story...