What are you reading in January 2021?

[Chris, Moderator]

It's a brand new year! What are you reading in January 2021?

[Nyssa]

Happy New Year! May 2021 bring you peace and happiness.

My goal is to complete/catch up with The Black Dagger Brotherhood & Black Dagger Legacy series, this year.

Since there are currently 24 novels in all, I am rereading Dark Lover now, and will then reread Lover Eternal.
After that, I'll take a mini-break with a short story or two before moving on to my reread of Lover Awakened.

[Tamir]

Got me a bunch of audiobooks in the latest Audible end of the year deals. Just started Ilium, and after that I'll be rolling a dice (or probably just following my gut, or any recommendations y'all might have) to choose between: How Long 'til Black Future Month?, Wild Cards I, All Systems Red or listening to Gardens of the Moon which I read but haven't listened to the audiobook version (I want to reaquaint myself with it before moving to the next books in the series).

I also started listening to Six of Crows but wasn't hooked and went on to start and rather quickly finish Ghost Story instead. But I'll probably give it another go at some point.

[Random]

I've been kept very distracted and busy over the 10 days or so (in a very good way) and so its taken me longer to finish my reread of This Alien Shore.

I want to read This Virtual Night but I also want to read The Doors of Eden with the group because I have really liked everything of his I have read so far.

I'm torn on which I want to read first.

[Mary]

Bones of the Past by Drew Hayes Still plugging along (It is, after all, 840 pages.)

[Ryan]

Currently reading The Space Between Worlds, don't like it so far, but I'm only in the very beginning.

Ilium is on my radar, how is it?

This Virtual Night is also a must-read for me, I loved This Alien Shore. I'll buddy read it with you.

[Lindsey]

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success (for my IRL book club... not impressed so far and I sincerely wanted to like it!)
Green Arrow: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1
Alexander Hamilton

And like Random, I'm re-reading This Alien Shore before I read This Virtual Night. Friedman is on my very short automatic pre-order list and I'm frustrated that I haven't had time to get to it!

[MadProfessah]

ILIUM is definitely not my favorite Dan Simmons book but I’m glad I read it.

[Paul]

Tamir wrote: "Got me a bunch of audiobooks in the latest Audible end of the year deals. Just started Ilium, and after that I'll be rolling a dice (or probably just following my gut, or any recommenda..."


That audible sale was a killer, wasn't it? I bought so many audiobooks! :D

[Shel, Moderator]

I've been trying to work through Between the World and Me but it is slow going and hard to find the mental energy for such an emotionally difficult read. I do intend to finish it, but I'm putting it aside in favor of Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, which was one of my Chanukah gifts and is the PERFECT antidote for the funk I've been in this week. Lady Cordelia is one of my favorite fictional characters ever.

I'll be starting Senlin Ascends next.

[Paul]

This month is going to be filled with goodreads group choices again. I've just finished The Humans by Matt Haig and also have his latest book, The Midnight Library queued up.


I'm about halfway through the audiobook of Adrian Tchaikovsky's The Doors of Eden and have just begun Heir of Sea and Fire by Patricia A. McKillip.


Other possibilities are:

The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou


I very much doubt I'll read all of those, but let's see how it goes!

[Christine]

I finished The Deep which apparently is a novella written from a ballad. It was enjoyable. Now I'm about the start The Best of All Possible Worlds

[Mary]

Knight Watch by Tim Akers

[John]

Just finished The Baron of Magister Valley by Steven Brust, nearly finished listening to the audiobook of Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson. Re-reading The Bonehunters by Steven Erikson, and also reading The Queen's Gambit that the Netflix series was based off of. Next up in audiobooks is Ring Shout by P. Djeli Clark.

[Sumant]

Started reading Wars of light and shadow from December, currently reading second book in that series, The ships of Merior.

[Shel, Moderator]

Sumant wrote: "Started reading Wars of light and shadow from December, currently reading second book in that series, The ships of Merior."

If you search our archives, the group read the series together way back in 2010-2011 and Janny Wurts led the discussions herself, which was good fun! You should take a look.

[Sumant]

Yes read some fantastic summary for book one.

[Shel, Moderator]

You inspired me to go back and take a peek at the old discussions and now I want to read it again :) Not going to happen anytime soon, I don't think, but someday!

I'm about halfway through Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen and enjoying it tremendously. A few days ago I finished reading Stardust out loud to my son at bedtime, and we just started The Lost Hero last night.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Shel wrote: "Sumant wrote: "Started reading Wars of light and shadow from December, currently reading second book in that series, The ships of Merior.”.."

That was a series we read before it was finished (and it still is not quite finished, as far as I know). The downside for me is that I will have to reread the books I had previously read (through book 8, Stormed Fortress) in order to fully appreciate the entire story. Now, I know I will thoroughly enjoy that reread, but I really don’t like to reread because there are so many books I’ve never read that are just waiting for me.

[Shel, Moderator]

Yes, I think I will wait to read them all again for the last book to be published. Pretty sure there's just one more.

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

What a way to start the year—The Madness Season by C.S. Friedman, a stand alone science fiction book. 10/10! A grand world-and-time-spanning tale, and yet a very intimate story of what it means to be human. Friedman writes truly alien aliens and worlds, a tight and complex plot, with thought-provoking, sometimes chilling, themes. Highly recommended.

[Mary]

Rowan Farm by Margot Benary-Isbert

[Mary]

A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles by Thomas Sowell

[Shel, Moderator]

I'm about halfway through Senlin Ascends. It's been slow going, but not due to lack of enjoyment, just been a crazy week. I'm really loving the worldbuilding!

[Christine]

I finished The Best of All Possible Worlds which I was lukewarm about (bad sentence construction). Now on to This Is How You Lose the Time War

[Christine]

I'm an impatient reader; I just finished a book which seemed more like several vignettes with no plot and then moved on to a book which never grabbed me (I only gave This Is How You Lose the Time War a couple pages before giving up). On to A ​Sky Beyond the Storm

[Lindsey]

I finished Mindset but got derailed by the excellently fun How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse and A Curious Beginning. Now I'm reading the second Veronica Speedwell mystery, A Perilous Undertaking.

[Mary]

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Vol. 1 by Waco Ioka

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

After the high of The Madness Season, I read 2 pretty good books: Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell, 7/10, and A Crown Disowned by Andre Norton and Sasha Miller, 8/10. This is book 3 of the 5 book Cycle of Oak, Yew, Ash, and Rowan, but it felt like the conclusion of a trilogy. I’m hoping the next 2 books are more than just tacked on appendages.

Next up is the conclusion of our fantasy series read, Harpist in the Wind by Patricia A. McKillip.

[Shel, Moderator]

I finally finished Senlin Ascends last night - loved it, and am off to the spoiler thread for discussion!

I'm not sure what's up next. I have a biography of Harry Houdini that I was just gifted and I might start that.

[Jim]

Currently reading A Closed And Common Orbit by Becky Chanbers
An engrossing story.

[Lindsey]

I finished A Perilous Undertaking (and put books 3 and 4 on order) and moved on to the third Invisible Library book, The Burning Page.

[Liander (The Towering Pile)]

I'm currently reading Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden, and loving it!

I'm also rereading A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle and listening to the audiobook of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou.

[Ryan]

I love the Wayfarer's series. Enjoy, Jim! The third volume is even better in my opinion, but not by much as they're all excellent.

[Justine]

Happy New Year to everyone. I've been MIA from this group for quite awhile but I'm happy to be back.

This month I started my reread of The Expanse, starting with Leviathan Wakes. I only read up to book 6 previously, and since the series will finish this year I figured it was a good time. I'm also rereading/finally finishing The Great Library series by Rachel Caine, who sadly passed away last year. I just finished book 2, Paper and Fire. Both series are holding up on reread for me.

Also on the go I have the audiobook of Empire of Wild by Metis author Cherie Dimaline. It's very good, but a bit NSFW if, like me, your job includes driving your kids around in the car while you listen to audiobooks 🙄

Also working on The Best Science Fiction of the Year Volume 5: Volume Five. I usually like Clarke's anthologies. I just recently finished The Book of Dragons, which was probably one of my favourite anthologies ever.

[MadProfessah]

Whoa!! Rachel Caine died??? Sad to hear that. I guess I’ll get around to reading that last The Great Library book after all.


Definitely not gonna continue the Stillhouse Lake series though.

[Justine]

I haven't read those, but I do like The Great Library. It is a YA series though, in case that isn't your thing.

[Jim]

Ryan wrote: "I love the Wayfarer's series. Enjoy, Jim! The third volume is even better in my opinion, but not by much as they're all excellent."

Got that one on my Kindle also.

[Random]

Finally finished The Doors of Eden last night and enjoyed it.

Started This Virtual Night this morning. Hoping to finish it by the end of the month to make room for This Is How You Lose the Time War.

[Mary]

Reincarnated as a Sword (Light Novel) Vol. 1 by Yuu Tanaka

[Liander (The Towering Pile)]

Escaping Exodus was AMAZING, as it turns out.

Now I'm reading Winter, book 4 of the Lunar Chronicles series by Marissa Meyer. I was buddy reading this series in the spring and kind of burned out on Scarlet and Cress, but after a break from it I loved Fairest and am loving Winter!

[MadProfessah]

About to start DOORS OF EDEN!

[Justine]

♡♡♡

[Mary]

Methodical Realism: A Handbook for Beginning Realists by Étienne Gilson

[Mary]

Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents by Rod Dreher

[Shel, Moderator]

I haven't checked in with this thread in a while! I read Houdini: The Elusive American, which had been a bonus parent gift with a book subscription service my kids get - it was interesting but kind of dry. Houdini himself was a fascinating individual, I wish the writing had been as engaging as Houdini's actual history.

I'm about halfway through This Is How You Lose the Time War in preparation for next month's read, and I'm finding that I enjoy it more when I stop trying to understand it :) Really looking forward to finding out what everyone else thinks!

[Kathi, Moderator & Book Lover]

Harpist in the Wind by Patricia A. McKillip, 9/10.
A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George, first of the Inspector Lynley mysteries, 7/10.
The Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell, 7/10.
Dragon Blade: The Book of the Rowan by Andre Norton and Sasha Miller, 8/10
Currently reading Great North Road by Peter F. Hamilton, which, at over 1000 pages, will no doubt take me to the end of the month.

[Random]

Finished This Virtual Night last night.

(view spoiler)[Did anyone else feel that the events on Hydra seemed to end abruptly? Oh, and if there isn't a next book, I will be shocked. (hide spoiler)]

Starting This Is How You Lose the Time War at some point today.

[Mary]

All Men Dream of Earthwomen and Other Aeons by John C. Wright

[Shel, Moderator]

I finished This Is How You Lose the Time War and thought it was lovely. Will save the rest of my thoughts for next week's discussion!

I am not sure what I want to start next.