What have you been reading this December?

[Michelle]

I agree it is!

[Audrey]

Great news! I just got the beta files for Farilane and will start on it tomorrow. I'm so excited.

[Michelle]

Lucky you!!

[Andrea]

Classical Mythology: A Very Short Introduction was more about what mythology is, than a review of the myths themselves. I must admit that it didn't do much to improve my view of psychology, if Freud took the Oedipus tale and based every on it. Of course young boys wants to have sex with their mothers and kill their fathers, just 'cause there was ONE story out there about where that happened, and "want" isn't even part of that tale, Oedipus defeated the sphinx and became king of Thebes, the fact his mother became his wife was just part of the package back then, whether he actually wanted her or not...think it says more about Freud's mind than it does about anything else :)

That said, I was checking out the Canongate Myths series and discovered that OpenLibrary had more of them, and one was actually about Freud and the Oedipus myth so started reading - Where Three Roads Meet: The Myth of Oedipus - by Salley Vickers just to see what a modern author decides to do with the idea.

I also finished the Lye Street novella.

[Andrea]

Finished God of Clocks, so in addition to the complex concept where form doesn't have meaning only will, this one throws in time travel and paradoxes. I felt it didn't wrap up every character's storyline, my favorite character in fact, who I thought at the start was the protagonist but turned out he really was more a side character.

To finish off the series, reading Damnation for Beginners by Alan Campbell on OpenLibrary

For dead-tree books, starting on the second book in the Magnus Chase series with The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan. Most of what I have left is Riordan and Jim Butcher now :)

Still have 10 books on my to-read list with a little more than a week left of the year, but that includes a couple companion books to go with the Magnus Chase series, short stories and graphic novels, so maybe...maybe will still get them all in!

[Jim]

I just finished one of the latest of L.E. Modesitt Jr.'s most recent books, Quantum Shadows. It was an interesting SF story steeped in mythology & religion that was a little too much like the US political situation to be anything but depressing. Good story, though. I like that sort of blend. Still, I only gave it a 3 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Tony]

I have finished the Warhammer novel The Burning Shore, the first of the Florin and Lorenzo novels - chronologically at least, although not the first published I believe. The Warhammer Fantasy setting isn't as grimdark as the 40K setting, but it's not cupcakes and rainbows either. This is a good story that has elements of military fiction and eldritch horror. I quite enjoyed it.

[Robin]

The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries by Otto Penzler. In fact I have been reading it for the last few Christmases. I just pick it up round about now, read a few stories until Boxing Day or maybe just beyond, then tuck it away again for next year. However, I think this will be the year I actually finish it. ☺

[Michelle]

I just finished a mammoth re-read of The Wars of Light and Shadow series by Janny Wurts, and I loved every minute of it! She is almost finished the last volume. Yay!!

[Mary]

The Order of Things by James V. Schall

[Tony]

I have started reading Eight

[Andrea]

Finished The Hammer of Thor, lots of fun. Started on For Magnus Chase: Hotel Valhalla, Guide to the Norse Worlds which I'm already halfway through (it's not great as a reference since it's half made up...pretty sure Thor's thunder was him working at an anvil and not his tremendous farts...but then I could sorta see the Vikings going with the fart thing too...), and after that will start the final book in the trilogy The Ship of the Dead by Rick Riordan

I also finally finished A Taste of Honey, interesting worldbuilding, same world as the Sorcerer of Wildeeps but otherwise unrelated.

Now that finishes my TBR on my ereader, but A Taste of Honey came in a four pack of novellas (free from Tor at one point) so I might as well finish the other three. The first in the set is The Lamb Will Slaughter the Lion by Margaret Killjoy...after reading the blurb seems this is a pretty good match for a god/demon themed year. There's a spirit that turns bad which pretty much the definition of a demon :)

However I can't resist, since found this Norse-themed book on OpenLibrary, part of the Canongate series - The Hurricane Party by Klas Östergren

So with the Tor novella and OpenLibrary last minute additions, that brings my to-read up to 8 with only 6 days left of the year! Good thing I have the whole next week off of work :)

And on the side, I'm going through Tor's blogs posts related to the Voyager Rewatch (since I've been rewatching it myself with my Mom) and the Lovecraft Reread...some of those Lovecraft posts take longer to read than the stories themselves, but lots of interesting comments, definitely some Lovecraft experts out there. I'll finish neither by the end of year.

[Pierre]

I finished Redemption Ark and liked it as much as the first book of the series. I am starting now Absolution Gap.

[Andrea]

Three days left!

I finished The Ship of the Dead, so wrapping up the Magnus Chase series by reading - 9 From the Nine Worlds by Rick Riordan

Since the Riordan book a collections of short stories, I'll also start on my final novel of the year - Battle Ground by Jim Butcher

So down to 6 "books" (only two are novels and one of the two is 70% done...Battle Ground is also short, seeing as it is the second half of a single slightly longer than average Dresden book) to try to get in by the end of the year. Seeing as COVID has squashed any potential for parties and things, I'll have quite a bit of reading time available...might make it...

[Tony]

I have finished Eight. The first thing I would say is that if you are an arachnophobe, you may want to think twice before reading this book.

This is an adventure novel, set in the Amazon jungle, and it has the pacing and story elements of an Indiana Jones movie. It does require a big chunk of suspension of disbelief, as our heroes survive ever-increasingly over-the-top scenarios. If you're happy to switch off the critical thinking part of your brain, this book is a lot of fun.

[Michelle]

I am indeed an arachniphobe, so I won't be reading this!

[Andrea]

A friend gave me a copy of This Book Is Full of Spiders which I haven't gotten around to yet, debating if I ever will...

Finished 9 from the Nine Worlds, cute idea to have Thor doing a kind of marathon through each world so he shows up in every story.

5 more books to go with 2 days left!

[Michelle]

Andrea wrote: "A friend gave me a copy of This Book Is Full of Spiders which I haven't gotten around to yet, debating if I ever will...

Finished 9 from the Nine Worlds, cute idea to have Thor doi..."

Ewww!

[Michelle]

Almost done with Ptolemy's Gate. I like it, but still think that the Lockwood & Co. series by the same author is probably his best work.

[Andrea]

Finished Hurricane Party, it worked really well reading that in parallel with Riordan's take on Norse mythology. It filled in the details of the myth which is the basis of the climax of Riordan's trilogy, while at the same time being a completely different take, the setting being a future dystopian Sweden (it had vibes of 1984 with an "everyday" man getting involved in things beyond him)

4 more books to go with 1.5 days left!

It's interesting having that empty spot on my floor where I usually have my pile of books to read for the next couple months. I'm resisting the urge to put something there, trying to hold off till the 1st. Not that I don't already know which 4 books I'll be starting things off with. Also got the BINGO challenge in the back of my mind :)

[Audrey]

⚔ Michelle wrote: "Almost done with Ptolemy's Gate. I like it, but still think that the Lockwood & Co. series by the same author is probably his best work."

I read Bartimaeus before Lockwood. It's a tough call which is better. I did not expect that ending (Ptolemy's Gate).

[Rosenblue(promoting non-biased,honest reviews & a dislike button on GR)]

I'm currently reading Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter X Hunter and finishing up on other reads to end off December.

[Jim]

The Wasp That Brainwashed the Caterpillar: Evolution's Most Unbelievable Solutions to Life's Biggest Problems by Matt Simon was a very funny take on some of evolution's works & quirks. It would be great for a teenager to learn just how fascinating it can be. I gave it a 5 star review here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Mary]

Kakuriyo: Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Vol. 7 by Waco Ioka

[Mary]

Night Shift Dragons by Rachel Aaron

[Barbara]

Reptile Memoirs by Silje O. Ulstein

In this dual timeline story set in Norway, three roommates adopt a python in 2005, and an 11-year-old girl goes missing in 2017.

Good book for thriller fans looking for something different. 3.5 stars

My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Gary]

Finished reading Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey. It is book nine and the last of The Expanse Series. Great book, great ending for the series. I am reading The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower #2) by Stephen King. I plan to read The Jekyl Island Club by Brent Monahan next.

[K.G.]

I am reading The Field of Reeds, Book One, In Shadows by the one and only Robin Tompkins and his sister, Madeleine Purslow! Hope this finds you all in a very Happy New Year!

[Andrea]

Whew, finished Battle Ground and wrapped up with the microfiction on Butcher's blog - The Good People. I had read all the others last year but this one had spoilers for Battle Ground so I had to wait. Battle Ground was essentially one giant non-stop battle for nearly 400 pages, I've gotten used to that with the Dresden books but it was bit overwhelming. And in each book he has to take down something bigger and badder...running out of bigger things (we're up to Titans now) and there's something like five more books to go? The Good People was really cute though, in a Nightmare Before Christmas kind of way :)

That leaves 2 books and less than 7 hours left of the year

One is a half finished graphic novel, Sandman Overture, which is a reread anyway but no reason why I can't finish it today, I still have to stay awake for the ball to drop after all (we tune in to Anderson Cooper at Times Square on and off while passing the time).

The other is the novella The Lamb will Slaughter the Lion...it's over 100 pages and my eyes are tired from the Battle Ground marathon, well, it was a last minute addition, and only because it was part of a 4 pack where I only wanted to read 1 :)

[Robin]

Cheers KG... But you will never finish it in five minutes!☺

[Jim]

Since 2014, I've summed up my year's reading in the year on Goodreads. I update it occasionally through the year with the books that really strike me & I always list quite a few. 2021 on Goodreads was no exception, even though I wasn't able to read nearly as much as usual. Here's my review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Andrea]

Finished Overture. With less than 2 hours to go I'll start on that novella, will see if it's able to keep me awake. It's flagged as horror though so not sure I want that to be the last thing I read before I go to bed!