Hey y’all! I have a very clear theme for my reading this month. If last month was recommendations, then this month is books I’ve bought recently. I haven’t been buying books for a while in part to save money and in part because my bookshelf is full and I don’t have the library set up yet. Last week though, I went on a bit of a splurge for independent bookstore day and got 8 new books from my favorite local store(s). And then yesterday I also happened to order 3 books from Book of the Month. AND, I have one or two from last month that I’m in the middle of. You see where I’m going with this? 😅
I have a lot of books on my shelves that I should read!!! Especially all the newly purchased ones; especially all of the ones I purchased a while ago and haven’t got around to reading yet. So, here I go for the month!
Whoops, they’re done already by the time I’m posting this
I have a plan again this month, for the first time in what feels like a long time. ^.^ And it’s mostly thanks to all of y’all! I got so many great recommendations from people when I was asking where all the good books have gone, since I’ve mostly okay reads this year… but nothing outstanding.
BUT THAT’S ALL ABOUT TO CHANGE.
Because now I have a list of books to read through that are promised by at least some people to be great! (Plus they’re mostly books already on my shelves, so even better 🤣)
Thanks for the suggestions ^.^
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay: recommended by Jyvur Entropy (in all honesty I already finished this one because yeah it was that good)
We Have Always Lived in the Castleby Shirley Jackson: recommended by Sam (this one has been on my shelf for years and I just never got far enough into it!!)
Duneby Frank Herbert: recommended by Kevin Hall (maybe it’s time I finally commit to this classic!)
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn: recommended by Mei-Mei (a book I was excited for but still haven’t read yet)
Hey y’all! In contrast to Throwback Thursday, I like to use Fridays to look forward to an upcoming release that I’m excited about! Today’s is Zara Hossain is Here by Sabina Khan. Expected Release: April 6, 2021
Why wait on this one?
As always, I’m about cultures besides my own, although Zara Hossain is dealing with racism and hate from those in her new home in Texas. I super hope Tyler Benson, the ringleader of it all, learns his lesson and maybe even switches sides — or at least gets what he’s given. -_-
Strong women are the best. Allowing Zara to fight and be brave, even though it’s bullshit that anyone still has to, is a relief. If they’re in a bad situation, at least they have some ways to stand up. And I hope this book shows the hope that others WILL stand with them, with the oppressed and mistreated.
Zara’s family has been waiting on their green card for almost a decade, and the craziest part about that is how common that actually is. A friend of mine went through the process with her husband, and even that took YEARS for them to get when he’s from New Zealand, a country with good relations with pretty much every other country. I love the insight to the process, as it’s something most Americans will never go through, and understanding the many barriers to moving to the US legally will help breed empathy and understanding, which in turn reduces hate and fear.
Summary
Seventeen-year-old Pakistani immigrant, Zara Hossain, has been leading a fairly typical life in Corpus Christi, Texas, since her family moved there for her father to work as a pediatrician. While dealing with the Islamophobia that she faces at school, Zara has to lay low, trying not to stir up any trouble and jeopardize their family’s dependent visa status while they await their green card approval, which has been in process for almost nine years.
But one day her tormentor, star football player Tyler Benson, takes things too far, leaving a threatening note in her locker, and gets suspended. As an act of revenge against her for speaking out, Tyler and his friends vandalize Zara’s house with racist graffiti, leading to a violent crime that puts Zara’s entire future at risk. Now she must pay the ultimate price and choose between fighting to stay in the only place she’s ever called home or losing the life she loves and everyone in it.
Sup y’all! It’s the start of a new month, and here’s my currently planned TBR:
It’s, uh, not looking great. 🤣 Monthly read lists are still pretty new for me, so this doesn’t actually feel that weird. But I really don’t have a plan at all for the next month. Frankly, that’s probably a good thing, because we’re (HOPEFULLY, OMG) wrapping up the work at the house in February. So anything I plan will probably be totally derailed anyway.
January’s basically went off track as well. I read a bunch of books I just picked up randomly, and didn’t touch several of the books I had been planning to read. Didn’t even think about them. Just wrote them down and then breezed on by to get something else from the library to read. 🤣
So who knows what February will bring, really. Besides, hopefully, this new house.
Hey y’all! I do recognize that it’s already almost halfway through the month, but nonetheless here is my TBR! In reality I probably wouldn’t have stuck to it anyway, so it doesn’t matter if I post it early in the month or not. 😂 Here are some of the books I’d had in mind to start off the year. 🙂
BOTM Delayed
Well in December I got two books from Book of the Month, Memorial and The Office of Historical Corrections.I didn’t read either of them in December because I was going all-in on challenge books and newer releases, so they’re on the list for January! Which works out, actually, because I’m not interested in any of this month’s BOTM selections.
So! I officially finished my last “obligated” read this morning (one to finish a challenge I was working on this year). So what that means for me is the excitement of eleven days to fill with… something… some kind of… books to read?
LUCKILY, I’ve been doing this thing all year where every Friday I post about a book I’m excited to read (Fast Forward Fridays!). Today I spent some time running through all the ones I’ve posted this year and seeing what I haven’t read yet. Libraries are the absolutely best and mine had my back yet again. My new year-ending tbr is full of books released this year that I was excited about — and I still am!
Top 3 for goals:
Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena, because oooooh I adore her and can’t wait to see what she does with fantasy and magic!!
Arctic Fury by ?? because it just came out and I’m able to get a copy to read with no wait. We just got a big dump of snow, so an arctic adventure will perfectly suit!
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo is a sequel to an earlier release this year that was mystical and beautiful and everything a good read should be. I’m so excited to return to the world!
Hey y’all! In contrast to Throwback Thursday, I like to use Fridays to look forward to an upcoming release that I’m excited about! Today’s (well… yesterday’s, if I hadn’t forgotten what day it was) is The Part About the Dragon Was (Mostly) True by Sean Gibson. If you like parodies and epic adventures, this may be for you too! Expected Release: December 15, 2020
Why wait on this one?
Right off the bat, this story style draws me in. The blurb gives a sense of camaraderie, like I’m being spoken to directly by Heloise the Bard (of renowned storytelling fame). If the writing style in the rest of the book is anything like that, I’m all about it.
An epic adventure! Tolkien set the bar, and I love seeing new takes on familiar stories and plots by new authors. Any book with dragons is going to catch my attention, but include some wayward motley crew of travelers, joined only by one common purpose to save the land despite their humble origins? SOLD.
The only way to improve upon the aforementioned theme, personally, is to throw a whole lot of tongue-in-cheek twists of the usual formula into the story. I absolutely adored the whole Champions of the Dragon series which was like a spoof on The Lord of the Rings. I get the sense that The Part About the Dragon was Mostly True will have a very similar flavor of humour and drama to it. Bucking expectations while also sticking to a familiar formula to create something (somewhat paradoxically) pretty original. And at the very least, entirely delightful.
Summary
Sure, you think you know the story of the fearsome red dragon, Dragonia. How it terrorized the village of Skendrick until a brave band of heroes answered the noble villagers’ call for aid. How nothing could stop those courageous souls from facing down the dragon. How they emerged victorious and laden with treasure.
But, even in a world filled with epic adventures and tales of derring-do, where dragons, goblins, and unlicensed prestidigitators run amok, legendary heroes don’t always know what they’re doing. Sometimes they’re clueless. Sometimes beleaguered townsfolk are more hapless than helpless. And orcs? They’re not always assholes, and sometimes they don’t actually want to eat your children.
Heloise the Bard, Erithea’s most renowned storyteller (at least, to hear her tell it), is here to set the record straight. See, it turns out adventuring isn’t easy, and true heroism is as rare as an articulate villager.
Having spent decades propagating this particular myth (which, incidentally, she wrote), she’s finally able to tell the real story—for which she just so happened to have a front-row seat.
Welcome to Erithea. I hope you brought a change of undergarments—things are going to get messy.
This month’s theme I would like to call “doing whatever I want.” Although that said… there are a few books I’m reading as giveaways, and challenges, and books of the month… 😂 But still — it’s what I want to read! ^.^
I’m not really sure how my reading time will look this month, with a full time job again and holidays and possibly closing on my house and all. But if current status is any indication, it might go okay?
Giveaways
Remember forever ago when I accidentally found out I had won a giveaway for Skyhunter? It finally showed up. 😂 So I guess I’ll finally read that one now! I also just finished Cuttle which was pretty dang good once I reset my expectations. (Why did I think it was nonfic? No idea. But it was a tough adjustment. xD)
I’ve got a plan again this month for what I’ll read. These plans are sometimes a bit silly though, because by the time I write this post to share it, I’ve usually already finished a few of them. 😂 Today is no different, but I’ll include the books here anyway as I’m excited about them! It’s a tidy planned set of nine this month. 😊
The best obligations
These books are each ones I’m reading for A Reason Not Only My Own. I mean, to be real, I’m still the one deciding and benefiting here, but they’re in the list for more than just “I wanted to” reasons!
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson is one that I already finished because I couldn’t resist plowing through it once I had started. I went in somehwat blind from a recommendation from my friend Elise (thanks again!), and WOW was this a fabulous recommendation! I really love it, as you can see in my review. 🙂
Lucky little me got an offer from the author to read and review this gem, and wow is it absolutely blowing me away! It’s been so exciting right from the start, and I feel like there’s never a good place to put it down because there’s always a crisis happening! I absolutely love it so far. The world and the characters are meeting perfectly. I can feel the cold and the relentless wind of the Wastes, and I’m looking over my shoulder for the bone children in pursuit. LOVING THIS.
Words I’ve Learned:
this one also then taught me “antipyretic” — two for one!
Lines that linger
In Karth-Aemon’s armor even ugly men looked beautiful.
“Are you ready to die?”
“Always. Remember that, Knight, if you remember nothing else of me.”
