2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2018
>
Tori's 100 in 2018
date
newest »
newest »
Wishing you the best of luck with your goal Torri & happy reading!Will you be posting your reads here?
I am going to put up monthly summaries, I think :-) Thank you for the encouragement!
Tori wrote: "I am going to put up monthly summaries, I think :-) "Cool, looking forward to it!
Hoping you had fun getting lost in some pages in your first month!
So, here is my review of January reading:1) Empire's End (Star Wars Aftermath Trilogy)
Good finish to an excellent series, but the writing style (or lack thereof) made it a little hard to get through... felt very invested in the characters and plot, and really, I shouldn't complain about writing when we all know these books are not written for literary merit...
2) The City of Brass
This is my favorite fantasty of all time. I am absolute trash for this character-wise/world-wise BUT. The writing is superb and not trite whatsoever... So happy to have read this and am stoked for the next book.
3) The Witch's Daughter
This was not my thing at all, and I ended up mostly skimming the last 50 pages... I just wanted it to be over! It really felt like the goody-two-shoes of the witch genre, with a very black/white good/evil hackneyed plot that just did not at all work for me.
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
4) Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening
This was a Read Harder book for me, but I instantly fell in love with the art, characters, and the fascinating world. I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did, and I have to admit to a certain disdain for American comics before, but I am a convert now. Shall be following this series closely.
5) Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha
This was technically a re-read, but since I read it in high school, I thought I would count it... Just heartbreaking and so precocious without being cliched... Not a light read by any means, but wonderful.
6) Wishful Drinking
Again, a book that seems like it could be an easy, fun one, but ended up being bittersweet and almost depressing... Carrie Fisher had a really hard time of it, and all her funniness really was just armor against the world (I did really LOL a lot, but through tears.)
7) The Windfall
It took me a while to warm up to this, but once I did, I found myself feeling really protective and maternal about all of the characters... Such huge changes and drastic steps taken. It would be enough to make anyone temporarily nuts, and while I did find myself feeling like "Enough is enough, come the eff on", Basu is compassionate and I felt like she made me as a reader become so as well.
8) The Girl in the Tower
Did I mention that I am trash? Because this is my favorite fantasy series (well... this and City of Brass are maybe tied...) and I LOVE the Russian setting, the magic, and the sort of lustiness that surrounds the story without ever straying into tired romance.
Death and the Maiden is a huge thing in literature and art for younger women these days, and it's so encouraging!
9) The Sisters Brothers
This book is a bit difficult to pin down for me... Not a whole lot happens. The characters are a bit inscrutable. And the narration is a bit exasperating at times. But somehow it worked for me. There were moments of such achingly beautiful prose that I actually underlined some spots. And the narrator is such an empathetic guy that, as often as I wanted to throttle him, I wanted to hug him too.
10) Monstress, Vol. 2: The Blood
Again... from the can into the compactor. I enjoyed this second book in the series, but I felt like there were some loose ends/things that vanished into the woodwork that made continuity for me feel a bit shaky. I am guessing the key to these comic book thingies is reading them as close to each other as possible so that it doesn't seem like a huge jump.... just get in the world and stay.
You're doing great Tori!Have The Winternight Trilogy on my TBR, looking forward to it.
You are doing great! Hoping March is a smashing success for you.
Staying on target so far, with 10 books in February too. Although some of them were a bit short, so I felt like I was cheating a bit.Without further ado (and numbered for the overall goal),
February round-up!
11) Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel
Really big fan of Star Wars and LOVED Rogue One so was keen to read the "back story"; not the best writing, but enjoyable look into the minds of major Star Wars players. The beauty/drawback of Star Wars is that the truly heart-wrenching/mind-blowing stuff happens offscreen in the books, so if you really want to appreciate the series, you have to delve into the world wholeheartedly. This book made me a Tarkin fangirl, for whatever that's worth...
12) Rebel Rising
I think it says a lot about the state of Star Wars and Disney when the YA books manage to pack a better, more solid punch than the "adult" tomes. Not to mention have more artistry in their writing and better emotional resonance. Really loved this one.
13) Ruby
Holy f**k. This book. It just blew me away. I can't say it's "enjoyable" in the sense that it makes you feel good or it's entertaining, exactly... but it is so vital and necessary. Every American should read this book. I loved it, even if it was brutal and hard to get through because of content. So much metaphor here. I want to unpack it all and understand.
14) Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
The first couple chapters annoyed me, but then suddenly I was taken in completely and utterly by Eleanor and her heartbreaking life. I am 100% trash for her and want to be her best friend now. Just tops.
15) Sing, Unburied, Sing
This was another along the lines of Ruby, brutally beautiful and heartbreaking. This wasn't a fun read by any stretch of the imagination, but the microcosm of this world easily pans out into the macrocosm of the America we so often try to deny. Excellent read.
16) Hero at the Fall
I had read the other books in the series, so felt obligated to read this one... And it really was just that, obligation, that propelled me to the end. I just wasn't feeling it... the series started out strong, but I got very distracted by differing tones and stylistic choices, and also saw many chance for the story to go deeper that it just straight up dropped. A disappointing finish for sure!
17) Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
Was really looking forward to this, but then found myself bored to death. I can see where the author wanted to go with this, or at least the reader response she hoped to elicit, but all I felt for the entire story was a whole lot of "Meh." Probably won't bother with the next one! Which is such a shame because this world is fucking amazing.
18) The Hazel Wood
Aware and sharp, this book was a pleasant surprise. I loved the characters and the slow unfolding, and I also loved the fairy tale elements that brushed up against the reality I know but also were new and startling. The current pop culture references like Harry Potter also made me nod along in recognition, like the main character was a person I might know, and that just made me really relate to everything even though the whole thing was so farfetched in the best possible way.
19) A Closed and Common Orbit
This was also a pleasant surprise. Character-driven sci-fi is a very new thing for me (rather, I had no idea it existed until this book) and I was shocked to cry and laugh with these characters, as well as get waaaaay too emotionally invested in them all. It also had its cerebral moments of what makes humans human? Should technology be respected as sentient even when it's thought not to be? I live in Japan where old people sometimes have robot dogs that they treat "like people" and honestly, somehow, that made this story hit home all the more for me.
20) Columbine
This book would make a Columbiner out of the most prim and proper person... I don' know. Dave Cullen is a contentious figure, but I liked his perspective even if almost all of it, especially the parts about Dylan and Eric, were 100% speculation and Capote-esque creation. Still, I learned a lot through Cullen's journalistic efforts... but it really was like hopping into a rabbit hole. You just want to know more and dig deeper, but then you might not ever get back out and that's just too much for me.
A book is a dream that you hold in your hand. I hope that April brings you many more five star reads. Do you have a stand out book so far this year?
Blagica wrote: "A book is a dream that you hold in your hand. I hope that April brings you many more five star reads. Do you have a stand out book so far this year?"Thanks so much for the push, Blagica! I am just going to put up my March Round-up now :-)
The Month of March... crazy reading!This month I actually took some time off at the end to just go through some of my recent "Library" purchases. I have a personal "Library", which is to say, just some books that look AMAZING and I want to stockpile for my dream library someday. But I wouldn't necessarily count them towards my reading challenge as I didn't "read" them so much as fondle and ogle them...
Anyway, enough of that! On to the summary!
21) A New Dawn
Going now a bit more chronologically with the Star Wars stuff. I really found this quite a fast and good read! Kanan is a complex guy and he has a lot of baggage to sort through; Hera is also fascinating and their interactions were pretty sexy to me for some reason. This is also the first timeline-wise appearance of my personal queen and goddess Rae Sloane... why is she so amazing? Seriously, whip me and call me your slave. Ahem.
22) Lost Stars
I wasn't going to read this, as it purportedly doesn't add much to the "lore" side of Star Wars, but I was hooked from the first few pages. I also may have cheated a bit and read some of the manga, which is being serialised online through the Line Messaging app here in Japan. Suffice it to say, the manga was DELICIOUS and I really wanted to read the original story.
It's refreshing to read about "regular" folks in the Star Wars universe, who are far removed from the Jedi mumbo jumbo and the Skywalker legacy. Ciena and Thane are star-crossed lovers and their story HURTS, and is farfetched af, but it's just the kind of complicated (ideologically and love-wise) that I want to see from SW. Really hope these characters are revisited somehow later and we find out what happens to them... I would venture to say this is the best-crafted and most well-written Star Wars novels I have come across. Can Claudia Gray just write them all please?
23) Celtic Tales: Fairy Tales and Stories of Enchantment from Ireland, Scotland, Brittany, and Wales
I am a sucker for myths, fairy tales, and folklore, and when I found out about this new series from Chronicle I knew I was going to cave and invest in it.
Caveat: All these tales are "adapted" from mostly secondary sources written years ago and available in the public archive, so it almost seems crazy to buy a book of something I could find online... But that might be the point. I don't have the time or the wherewithal to do that, and these editions are LAVISH so I am ok with shelling out for a fabulous package.
That said, most of these tales are a bit flimsy and maybe I am just too far removed from their original cultural context, but I don't "get" most of them either... Why is this guy carrying around a corpse? What is the metaphor? I am not sure.
Still, enjoyable, and again... GORGEOUS. Those end papers alone are worth the money.
24) We Have Always Lived in the Castle
I never quite found the "spooky" here. I can see where it could be construed as spooky, but I just found everything sad and ominous, with a touch of tragedy. If that is what constitutes spooky to the hoi polloi, then I hate to think of the bubble everyone must be living in.... Sigh.
Merricat is absolutely nuts and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her and everyone who has to tiptoe around her mental illness to prevent something really tragic from happening. Why doesn't Constance put Merricat out of her misery? Why doesn't someone actually HELP these poor girls? I just cannot understand... this has to be one of the worst indictments of small towns and small minds. Maybe I am too softhearted for this kind of story.
25) The Last Jedi - A Junior Novel
This was 100% a Reylo (Kylo Ren and Rey ship)-motivated read. Michael Kogge's writing is spotty at best, but considering I am not of the target audience age-group here, I cannot complain.
But I really just wanted to see what may have been added to the mix re: extras not seen in the film, and that's pretty much all I can say about it!
26) The Last Jedi
This is one of the better-written Star Wars books so far, but still feel flat in some places. But again, we are not here for the writing. We are here for the Reylo, and this book delivered on its promised extra-extra-ness in spades. And light sabers. My space babies will love again another day; I believe it.
27) The Little Mermaid and Other Fairy Tales
I just can't get enough of these Minalima-designed books. Combined with my fairy tale lust and adoration of all things classic style... clearly I am the target market for these and I am all too happy to oblige... GIVE ME ALL THE BOOKS.
Anyway...
I am glad that they are using the original texts for these stories and not glossing over the gruesome bits. I feel like a lot of people these days are afraid to expose children to original fairy tales but that is doing a disservice to both kids and the original stories. Very glad that this beautiful volume might become the introduction, and start, for children of all ages to fall in love with real fairy tales.
28) The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra
I have steadfastly thought myself "not a mystery person" so I was a bit shocked when I found myself sucked in to this story. It's not really a clever yarn, nor does it possess any great literary merit, but there is something to be said for just a mental vacation story. This series is definitely my "mental vacation" of choice.
Uncomplicated but culturally interesting fare. Have already ordered the next few in the series.
29) A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Have been picking at this text for ages, but for some reason, I picked it back up the other day and suddenly I was reading something as relevant to my life today as it had to have been for women when it was written.
We think we have our rights and so much freedom, but the patriarchy is still crushing us and we are still held up to impossible standards of behavior and living. Was this written in the early 18th century? Because it could have been written today and would still be truth.
What a wake-up call.
30) Godsgrave
These books are so kick-ass and so in-your-face. I love this story, even though it is a bit of a literal fuckfest and so overly bloody, I definitely just stopped counting the bodies after the first few chapters.
Mia is the sort of heroine that I actually root for, and for once, the secondary characters are just as fascinating. I appreciate the trope-smashing-while-still-following-the-trope and the cavalier way the players in the story approach sex and life.
Rollicking good fun, even if it is just fluff coated in blood.
You are doing great! I hope May is a fantastic month filled with books and sunshine!
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Lost Stars (other topics)A New Dawn (other topics)
Godsgrave (other topics)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (other topics)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi: A Junior Novel (other topics)
More...
Doing quite well so far, but I`d really like to try to do 10 books a month...