Monday, December 19, 2022

2.19 Library - December Books

Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Every day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the nineteenth day of the month is "Library." I've decided I'm going to just tell you what are on my library book shelves each month.

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Paper books I have checked out:

The Evening and the Morning (Kingsbridge #0) by Ken Follett (finished reading, so good, needs to be returned)
Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
The Last Herald Mage Omnibus by Mercedes Lackey
The Kissing Bug: A True Story of a Family, an Insect, and a Nation's Neglect of a Deadly Disease by Daisy Hernandez
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston 
D'Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins 
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride
Inda (Inda #1) by Sherwood Smith
A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore

Ebooks I have checked out:

Kushiel's Dart (Phedre's Trilogy #1) by Jacqueline Carey 
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner


Books I have on hold:

Physical books

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi (this is my book club for next month, so I need it relatively soon - still pending in the system)
Black Sun Rising (The Coldfire Trilogy #1) by C.S. Friedman (am next in line for this)
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (27 of 57 for this one)

Ebooks

Hello Stranger (The Ravenels #4) by Lisa Kleypas (2 of 15)
Son of the Shadows (Sevenwaters #2) by Juliet Marillier (next in line for this one)
American Royalty (American Royalty #1) by Tracey Livesay (6 of 12)
The Empress of Salt and Fortune (Singing Hills Cycle #1) by Nghi Vo (3 of 8)
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan (11 of 233)
Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail (Bright Falls #2) by Ashley Herring Blake (37 of 48)
Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse (10 of 21)
The Friend by Sigrid Nunez (9 of 11)
Funny You Should Ask by Elisssa Sussman (12 of 166)

Have you read any of these books? What's up next for you to read?

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To see what Bestest Friend has to say about her library, go visit her at Too Legit to Quit.

16 comments:

  1. I am currently almost done with a Christmas book called The 13th Gift. It's been a nice holiday read. Then I just picked up a hold- The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. My work department is starting up a book club again, and I said I would join. This is the first book they chose, for the meeting in January. I'm not even entirely sure what it's about exactly- I just requested it! I am looking forward to having these little reading "assignments" for book club- although I'm not sure if the picks will necessarily all be the types of things I like to read. The last time we had a work book club a couple years ago, there were some GREAT picks, but we'll see!

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    1. I've only read two books by Erdrich and haven't loved either one, so I'll be interested to hear what you have to say about The Sentence. I am pretty sure she's probably just not the author for me, but I keep giving her a try because everyone else loves her. I'm excited to hear about how your work book club goes!

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  2. I've read Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, but that's it for this list. I've heard a lot about Crying in H Mart and Transcendent Kingdom and will interested to hear what you think.

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    1. Well, I definitely won't keep my opinions to myself!

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  3. We have had a month full of sickness (on and off, but mostly on) and I just can't concentrate on books. I decided to go with a DNF for a fiction book I was part way through. I felt guilty, but my heart just isn't in it right now.

    BUT, I will be getting a Kobo for Christmas, so I'm excited to read some e-books in the New Year. It feels a little less pressured since I don't have to worry about returning physical books to the library.

    I'm a bit sad I basically haven't read anything the last 3 weeks, but something had to give...and that ended up being books!

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    1. Yes, it's so easy to just download books and be good to go. At least here in the States, you can also get a lot of free books for your reader through Project Gutenberg and the like. I can't wait to hear updates on whether or not you like to read ebooks.

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  4. Our book club read Crying in H Mart last month. I gave it 5 stars and really appreciated it. Everyone appreciated it in our club (enjoy seems like the wrong verb for a sad book!). I liked Transcendent Kindgom, but didn't like it as much as Homegoing, but that would be a tough book to beat! And I really loved Tomorrow x 3. And Nora Goes Off Script. I haven't heard of the rest!!

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    1. I thought Homegoing was simply marvelous and I'm excited to start TK if it ever becomes available through the library. I'm happy to hear you like T^3 and Nora Goes Off Script because you rarely steer me wrong.

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  5. I haven't read any of these but I want to read Crying in H Mart so I'll be checking out that review when you post it.

    I'm currently reading Station Eleven and I don't have anything on deck for after that.

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    1. I don't even know if I'm going to get to Crying in H Mart because I'm reading a really long fantasy book on my Kindle and I'm worried the library loan is going to end before I can start it. We'll see and I'll definitely let everyone know what I think of it.

      Station Eleven is so good! I'm interested in how you think it hits post-pandemic. I read it pre-pandemic and have thought that it might be too traumatizing for me to revisit it now.

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  6. I loved Transcendent Kingdom! I read The Friend on Suzanne's recommendation - it's great! - and I have also read Crying in H Mart, which I didn't love.

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    1. I thought Crying in H Mart was universally loved, so I went back and read through your review. Unbearably sad sounds like it might not be a good fit for me at this point in time. Hm. Something to consider. If it's really bad, I guess I could DNF it and maybe return to it at a later time.

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  7. I'm so intrigued by Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow! It's on so many people's favorite list but the book copy isn't that appealing to me... Maybe I should just "read excerpt" from it first.
    I just finished The Weight of Ink and immediately want to go back and re-read it, but it is kind of a lengthy tome and there are so many other books in the world...
    Other than that, I'm reading The Nineties, kind of a cultural critique of that decade - super thought provoking. And I just started This Is How It Always Is, which seems to be universally loved. Also just cracked open a biography of the Brontes that is a doorstop of a book, but the first chapter was promising.

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    1. Interesting. This Is How It Always Is has great GR reviews, but my friends didn't love it. I'll be interested in hearing what you think about it.

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  8. I am so nervous for you to read The Friend! It is maybe my favorite book of all time? Is that possible? I don't know. But I hope you like it! I feel like it's... different enough that it would NOT resonate with everyone.

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  9. I have heard good things about Crying in H Mart, but I cannot do memoirs of moms dying/grief over a mom's death. It hits too closely to my biggest anxiety trigger!

    Transcendent Kingdom was a 3-star read for me. Nowhere near as good as Homegoing. But as your anti-book twin, this means you'll probably love it!

    You know how I feel about Tomorrow x 3 - again, I'm expecting you to love it since I did not. Haha.

    I tried Nora Goes Off Script but I just wasn't into the writing. I abandoned it after 60-70 pages. I will be interested to hear what you think if you read it!

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