January was a great reading for me, particularly in the realm of nonfiction.
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1/1: The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann (library, 2023) - Riveting! 5/5 stars
1/1: Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent (library, 2023) - I did not guess any of the twists! 4.5/5 stars
1/1: Swordheart (The World of the White Rat) by T. Kingfisher (library ebook, 2018) - T. Kingfisher is a living legend. 5/5 stars
1/6: The Road Home by Rose Tremain (library, 2008) - Meh. I wanted to like it more than I did. 3/5 stars
1/6: The Mermaid, The Witch, and the Sea (The Mermaid, The Witch, and the Sea #1) by Maggie Tokuda-Hall (library ebook, 2020) - Interesting themes. Misleading cover. 4/5 stars
1/10: The Deep by Rivers Solomon (library audibook, 2019) - I'm glad I listened, but it wasn't perfect for me. 4/5 stars
1/10: Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer (library, 2023) - Many interesting thoughts, but also some real blind spots. 3.5/5 stars
1/12: Love at First by Kate Clayborn (library ebook, 2021) - I have loved the other two Clayborn books I've read, but this one had verrrrry boring main characters. 2.5/5 stars
1/12: One Woman Show by Christin Coulson (library, 2023) - Experimental fiction that tells the story of one New Yorker's life from birth to death through wall labels you would find describing art in a museum's exhibition. Interesting format, not a very interesting story. 3.5/5 stars
1/14: The Hills Have Spies (Valdemar: Family of Spies #1) by Mercedes Lackey (library, 2018) - Valdemar is such a wild ride. We're still with Mags, but at least his kids are slightly more interesting than he is. 4/5 stars
1/16: Accountable: The True Story of a Racist Social Media Account and the Teenagers Whose Lives It Changed by Dashka Slater (library, 2023) - Fascinating. I'm not sure I have any more answers than when I started, but this book was a ride. 4.5/5 stars
1/20: This Lie Will Kill You by Chelsea Pitcher (library ebook, 2018) - This is the first Goodreads review I saw. It about sums it up. 2/5 stars
1/21: Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) by Beth Revis (library audiobook, 2011, narrated by Lauren Ambrose) - Interesting premise, but poor execution. It's a tough comparison, but The Expanse already did the mystery/politics/"twists" in space so much better. I was patiently waiting for something exciting to happen in this one, but nothing did. 2/5 stars
1/22: Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (library, 2023) - Interesting character, mediocre story, bad ending. 3.5/5 stars
1/27: Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever by Matt Singer - (library audiobook narrated by the author, 2023) - Fascinating look at the movie reviewers Siskel & Ebert, their complicated relationship, the impact their television show had on criticism, and the legacy of At the Movies in terms of critical entertainment. Singer read the audiobook and I could feel his enthusiasm coming off the page. Thumbs up. 4.5/5 stars
1/30: The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride by Daniel James Brown (library audiobook, 2009, narrated by Michael Pritchard) - Honestly riveting. The whole thing is unimaginable. I sort of knew the story of the Donner Party, but this was an interesting perspective on it. Warning for sensitive readers that while it's not too graphic, it does discuss some really terrible situations and some taboo topics. 4.5/5 stars
Average star rating: 3.75/5 stars
Random Graphic Novel
Because of my new love of the podcast Books Unbound, the hosts' love of graphic novels is contagious, so I always check them out of the library and read them and feel "meh" about them. I think it's because I just want to read a book, not try to figure out what's going on in panels without any words on them. ANYWAY. Laura Dean Keep Breaking Up with Me by Marika Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O'Connell is one of those books. It's a lovely message about young queer love, teenage priorities, and I enjoyed it, but didn't love it.
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DNF:
System Collapse (Murderbot #7) by Martha Wells - I have ADORED the Murderbot series until this point. But this book? Has so much science? And not enough Murderbot snark? I read until page 58 before I gave it up as a bad job. What a disappointment. DNF at page 58 (23%).
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain - There were a lot of strikes against this book for me. I don't love a marriage in peril story. I don't love the 1920s as a time period (so much drinking! ignoring global issues of great importance!). But the straw that broke the camel's back was when the main character does something really stupid. It was understandably stupid, but I could NOT BEAR to read about the fallout from this mistake and I stopped listening immediately. DNF at 43% (timestamp 4:55:24 precisely).
The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza - In this book, set in contemporary times with cell phones and apps, the main character, who is younger than I am, has always had her assistant print her emails, does not know how to use the internet and refers to a ponytail as "an instant facelift." The whole thing was unbelievably dumb. DNF at 19%.
I had requested The Paris Wife a few months ago but then got bogged down on another book and ran out of time to read it before the due date, so I ended up returning it without having started it. I DO generally enjoy old fashioned time periods in books, so I don't think that would bother me. I forget where I heard of the book but had it on my list. I feel like I'd enjoy a book set in Paris, too! I may eventually try it again but have other books in my queue at the moment.
ReplyDeleteKyria was a big proponent of The Paris Wife and I feel like I let her down. LOL. I just couldn't read it anymore.
DeleteYou did not let me down! Different strokes for different folks! Plus I can barely remember the book, so I can't even defend myself!
DeleteI have the book Indifferent Stars Above on my bookshelf and I guess I should read it. The Wager sounds really good too. I'm starting book 3 in the Marie Brennan/Lady Trent series. I'll let you know how it is. Happy reading. hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteI wonder if I would have had the same reaction to The Indifferent Stars Above if I'd read the physical book instead of listening to the audiobook. I can't wait to hear your take on it.
DeleteYour average seems a bit higher this month! Yay. I enjoyed The Paris Wife, even though I am not a Hemmingway fan, but now I am trying to remember what the incredibly stupid thing was! If it was marrying Hemmingway in the first place, I agree!! Hah. I think it was a little bit of that "car wreck" feeling for me; I hate the situation, but can't help but keep reading! I did enjoy the stories of the 20s in Paris as well, although I sometimes wonder, didn't they have jobs? The starving artist scene was interesting.
ReplyDeleteMy average was pretty high! Those great non-fiction reads really upped my average. So I'm just going to say that the scene in the train was when the incredibly stupid thing happened. Hopefully that's vague enough that it's not a spoiler. If you don't remember this particular scene, then you're not as sensitive as I am to the consequences of personal stupidity.
DeleteI read The Paris Wife a long time ago so I barely remember it, except for my strong dislike of Hemingway as a person. I have Strange Sally Diamond out from the library - it's next on my list to read, just have to finish what I've got first - and then the Indifferent Stars one just came in. I got it on your recommendation, will report back.
ReplyDeleteOh, Strange Sally Diamond! It will be interesting to hear what you think about such a dark book.
DeleteOh good- you've reminded me that I want to read Accountable. I checked, saw that they had it at our library, and when I got there it was checked out. I could literally see the empty spot on the shelf where someone had obviously just taken it- grr! I ended up getting a couple other books that I'm making my way through (in addition to MBF of course) but I'll get back to Accountable. I should just put a hold on it.
ReplyDeleteAccountable is definitely worth a read, especially with a teen in the house!
DeleteOooh! Opposable Thumbs sounds so interesting. Putting the audiobook on hold now. I really enjoyed Strange Sally Diamond! And even though I have read The Paris Wife, I cannot remember ANYTHING about it, which indicates to me you aren't missing much.
ReplyDeleteOpposable Thumbs was fascinating. The two of them had such a complicated relationship and it was riveting to hear how it would turn out, even though I KNEW how it would turn out.
DeleteI didn't DNF System Collapse but I definitely didn't love it as much as the previous ones. Hopefully the next one will be back on track.
ReplyDeleteHow did it go so far off course? Come ON, Martha Wells, we know you can do better than this.
DeleteOut of your list the one book that I want to read is Opposable Thumbs. I liked the Paris Wife well enough, though I've liked some of her other books better. It's been long enough since I read it that I can't remember a particular stupid thing that she did.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll like Opposable Thumbs. I really liked the author's narration. I don't want to give away spoilers about The Paris Wife, but the stupid thing took place on a train. Again, it was understandable, but I just cringed with embarrassment and couldn't listen any more. I wonder if I would have been able to power through it if I'd been reading instead of listening to the audiobook.
DeleteI listened to The Paris Wife on AUDIO CDs, hahaha. I remember it being a bit of a slog. I think I gave it 3 stars. Just terrible people doing terrible things over and over again.
ReplyDeleteCDs!!! What a world we used to live in.
DeleteI didn't much like the Paris Wife either. I have some issues with historic fiction "biographies." And they weren't particularly nice people. It got old. But wow -- that's a super impressive list! I just posted my January books-- a whopping 3! (OK, two were pretty long.... still.....)
ReplyDeleteHa. I am not sure where all the time came from in January to read all those books. I'll be lucky to get five or six books read this month at the rate I'm reading. Oh, well. It comes and goes in waves based on how busy I am doing other things!
DeleteWow. SO MANY BOOKS. Looks like you had quite a few that you did like, which is good. I'd be interested in the Siskel & Ebert book myself; I grew up watching them critique movies.
ReplyDeleteAnother 5 stars for a T. Kingfisher novel. I really need to reado some of her work this year.
ReplyDelete