2023 Reading Stats & 2024 Reading Goals

2023 was another great reading year. So many fun books, even a handful of rereads. Overall, I finished a total of 224 books, with a combined total of 73,517 pages. My highest month read was August, with 27 books read. 

I also kept track of the number of pages of each book read. I don't feel that Storygraph's stats go quite deep enough, so I wanted to see what my range is in ranges of 100 pages. Seems I read generally between 200-499 pages, with 300-399 being the highest amount, though just barely. I read 60 books that were between 200-299 pages, 63 between 300-399 pages, and 45 between 400-499 pages. 

My genres this year, as always, the top two are Romance and Fantasy, but the other eight genres of the top ten I read this year in order, were Historical, Supernatural (gotta love those vamps), Contemporary (I've found it fascinating how much this shows up, as I never used to pay attention to how many Contemporary stories I've read), Mystery, Urban Fantasy (which when combined with the other Fantasy above makes that my #1 genre), Sci Fi, Humor, and Retellings. I might need to rework how I track genres a little more, but I think I'm pretty happy with it turned out this year.

The last two years, I've also been keeping track of the newer books I've been reading. This year, I finished a total of 49 books published between January 2022 and December 2023. Not bad at all. If I did my calculations right, that would be about 22% of the books I read this year. Very respectable. I've also been making lists for myself to read from each month, and this year, those books amounted to 132 books of my reads, which accounts for 59% of my reads this year. Between the two, that's covered a lot of what I've read this year, so I guess I've done pretty well.

I did my Book Brackets for the second year in a row, and had great fun with it. I did one favorite book for each month, and compared with the first six months with the last to continue the brackets.

• January was Darius by JR Ward, July was Radio Silence by Alice Oseman, and Radio Silence won that round.
• February was Dark Mater by Blake Crouch, and August was A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske. This was a very close race, but Dark Matter won that round.
• March was Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune, and September was Slippery Creatures by CJ Charles, and Under the Whispering Door won that round.
• April was Ravensong by TJ Klune, and October was Lore Olympus Volume 4 by Rachel Smythe, and Ravensong won that round
• May was Brothersong by TJ Klune (can you tell who I was reading en masse this year?) and November was A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows, and as wonderful as Strange and Stubborn Endurance was, Brothersong was amazing, so it won that round.
• June was How to Belong with a Billionaire by Alexis Hall, and December was Subtle Blood by CJ Charles, and that round was won by Subtle Blood.
• Radio Silence went against Dark Matter, and Dark Matter won once more.
• Under the Whispering Door went against Ravensong, and Under the Whispering Door won.
• Brothersong went against Subtle Blood, and Brothersong won.
• And of the three semi-finalists, Brothersong was the ultimate winner.

And honestly, I can't wait to read more TJ Klune in 2024!

I've already got a list of the upcoming releases for 2024 that I would like to try:

• Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire
• Zachary by Louisa Masters
• Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff
• The Beloved by JR Ward
• Space Oddesy by Catherynne M Valente
• The Darkness Within Us by Tricia Levenseller
• Celestial Monsters by Aiden Thomas
• Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune
• Father Material by Alexis Hall

And I've also made a list of 10 goals for myself for 2024:

• 200 books read
• 50 books with POC main characters read
• 20 series finished
• 20 paper books read
• 10 classic books read
• 10 new-to-me authors read
• 10 books featuring creature humanoids that are not vamps or weres read
• 5 nonfiction books read
• 3 DNF'd books finished

Also, I have to say, I really love the color of the Goodreads challenge this year.

So how did your reading go this year? Any big surprises or new favorite authors?

Ace Rep Book Recs!

Happy Pride Month! And happy Pride Weekend to those who are celebrating specifically this weekend.

I myself am Asexual (aka Ace), though it's not something I talk about much, though I am starting to talk about it more with both friends and family. It just doesn't come up a lot, really. Specifically, I believe I am demisexual, which is to say that I only tend to feel romantic attraction when I know someone well. And even then, I don't tend to have strong need for more than closeness.

I wish I'd known this sooner, as I'm several years past fifty, and am only just fully starting to understand all this in the last ten years. So forty years without a recognition that I was anything other than straight. I'll just say it's caused me some issues, and leave it at that. For those uncertain about the meaning of Asexuality or unfamiliar with the idea of what it might mean, check out the Wikipedia page on Asexuality, or Aven for more detailed information.

For me, it's only in the last twenty or so years I've seen any representation of Asexual protagonists in media of any kind, though there were always two that stood out for me before I understood it was a label I could even apply to myself. As it is, I realized that it's only very recently I've found books that feature main characters on the Asexual spectrum. So I thought I'd put together a list of books for those interested in reading stories featuring characters that represent the Asexual experience. 

For this list, I am sticking to main or central characters. More specifically, characters whose POV we get in these stories. Some of these authors are openly Ace, while others are not, but either way, just having more Ace representation in stories is just wonderful to see. I hope everyone will find something here to read that will give them a better understanding of how it feels to be Asexual. And for those who are Asexual, I hope you find something new here to enjoy!

TJ Klune is an up and coming author who writes in a number of fantastical genres, and has said in interviews that he is gay as well as Ace. Many of his characters fall in the Ace spectrum. And for those who need to know it, every book of his I've read always leaves me with happy feelings, regardless of how dark it gets.

• The Tales of Verania series, published 2015
  Book 1 - The Lighting-Struck Heart
  Book 2 - The Destiny of Dragons
  Book 3 - The Consumption of Magic
  Book 4 - A Wish Upon the Stars
  Sam of the Wilds, the main character, reads to me as demisexual. He's got a massive crush on a guy, but he's also horrified by any kind of sex talk, even after he gets together with him.
  This one has a lot of gay representation on several different levels.
  I've only read the first two books in this series, but I definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys high fantasy, gay romance, and a humorous tone.
  I will say that this one is very adult, so if sex talk is too much, this might be one to pass up.
• Heartsong
  Book 3 of the Green Creek series, published 2019
  Kelly Bennett is the Ace character in this, and the mate to the main character. There is implication of sex, though it never goes into too much detail. I will say this is my favorite of Klune's major Ace characters so far, though I have not read them all.
  This one is Werewolves and general supernatural subjects. There is not only gay but bi and lesbian rep as well in this series, including an AroAce (Aeromantic Asexual) character, though he does not get a story of his own in this series, and his sexuality is not mentioned until the last book.
  Warnings for dark subjects and lots of nudity and sexual implication for those who are sensitive to that.
• In the Lives of Puppets
  Standalone, published 2023
  TJ Klune's most recent book, and the main character in this is stated as Ace, though I don't feel it quite as strongly as I do with Sam and Kelly. 
  This one is Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction, but is pretty PG. The story itself is inspired by both Pinocchio and  Wizard of Oz. If you need something lighter, this is probably the one of the three listed here that I would recommend picking up.
• One last book I want to list here is How to Be a Normal Person, though I have not read this one yet. I do know that the main character is Ace, and that this is a gay romance duology, so if you like his stuff, there's at least one more main character of his you can check out.

I generally mostly read series, so I've discovered a number of series have Ace rep in their line sooner or later, even when the stories are a string of romances. Here are the ones I've managed to gather for this list.

• The Perfect Assassin by KA Doore
  The Chronicles of Ghadid book 1, published 2019
  Amastan specifically says that he is Asexual in this one, though I have only read the first book in this series, so I don't know if we follow him through this series, or it moves to another character after this. I will say the story focuses more on the mystery he is trying to solve over his sexual attraction to someone he meets during the course of his investigation, but it is there, both the rep and the romance. The romance aspects are very light in this, though, and I don't think they do more than kiss.
  Lovely high fantasy story, lots of queer representation in this world.
• The Lady's Guide to Petticoats & Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
  Book 2 of the Montague Siblings trilogy, published 2018
  Felicity Monatgue is Ace, though it is never explicitly stated in the text, given the time period of the story. She's also in the first book, but this is the story that gives us her POV, and we can see her befuddlment at other people's ideas of relationships and romance.
  Historical, a slight bit of steampunk elements, pretty much no romance for her, and fairly safe for all readers, I think. Gay couple in the background who were the central characters of the previous book.
• Something Fabulous by Alexis Hall
  Book 1 of the Something Fabulous duology, published 2022
  Though it is not explicitly stated, I do think Valentine is demisexual. He's almost certainly Ace, and has no clue why he should have any interest in other people, let alone for sex, until he is dragged across the English countryside to catch up with his wayward fiancee by her brother.
  Another historical, this one is high humor to the point of slapstick, with a central gay couple, and  a scattering of gay and lesbian characters along for the ride. I have not read the sequel, though I believe that one is about his fiancee and her non-binary lover.
  This one is very sexy, and only for those who are up to adult themes.
• As You Are by Sophie O'Dare
  Tails x Horns book 3, published 2021
  This is the book that made me realize we are finally getting real Ace rep in romance. Juro is so Ace, and completely believes he's broken and doesn't deserve better than the broken life he has. Until he meets Shig. 
  This one is a soft fantasy world where people go through three stages of life before being adults: as children, they are sexless until the age of 8, after which they become a boy or a girl. then in their mid to late teens, they grow either horns, which make them more agressive, or a tail, which makes them passive. 
  Lots of gay rep in this series. It's a fabulous world, but I will say that it is also highly sexual, so if those kinds of details bother you, this probably won't be for you. 
• Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
  Book one of the Wayward Children series, published 2016
  This is a Portal Fantasy series, and each book of this series covers a different main character, with this first being the Asexual rep of the series, though there is a lot of LGBTQIA rep throughout the books. The world is our earth, but each character has found themselves in another world, and then returned home feeling like they no longer belong on earth any more, so they come to stay at a school for children who have gone through one of these strange doors. Think of the Pevensie children, or Alice, Dorothy, or Wendy. Those are the kinds of characters you find in this series. All the stories are short, and McGuire keeps the romance to a PG13 level.
• Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray
  Book 3 of the Diviners series, published 2017
  Ling Chan is the Ace character in this series. She doesn't show until the second book, and doesn't reveal she's Asexual until the third, but the fact that she's there is glorious, especially with the amount of LGBTQ+ rep this story has with the central characters.
  I will say that the supernatural themes of the story are very dark, so this one may not be for everyone, but the historical rep is fabulous, and if you're okay with darkness, it's definitely worth checking out.
• And last but definitely not least:
  The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins
  Book 1 - The Hunger Games, published 2008
  Book 2 - Catching Fire, published 2009
  Book 3 - Mockingjay, published 2010
  The biggest tragedy of the movie representation of these is that we do not get to see from Katniss's POV, and so we miss the Ace rep in the movies, and it became all about the "love triangle" that the Capitol Media kept pushing. But Katniss just saw her best friend and a boy she knew from home. Not love interests. Neither of them. The reason she's so confused the entire time is because everyone keeps pushing this romance agenda on her. She's just there to save her sister and try to survive. She never signed up to be in a romance. As the actress who played her sister said, she wasn't in love with either of them. It was all about her love for her sister.
  Dystopian YA. Definitely not for everyone, but if you can stomach the darkness, it's an amazing series.

I was going to make a whole section on singles, but once I did a separate list about TJ Klune, at this moment, I only have one. 

• Loveless by Alice Oseman.
  Standalone, published 2020
  Georgia discovers as she heads off to college, that though she loves the idea of romance, she's not interested in more than reading about it. She realizes through the LGBTQIA group on campus that she is AroAce, and starts to realize what that means. 
  Between her best friend, her roommate, and the LGBTQIA group, there's lots of LGTBTQ rep here, and this one's pretty PG, so it's safe for most any Ace reader.
• I will say that I also want to read Radio Silence by her, as the MC in that is also Ace, so there's another for my reading list.

But...the very first Ace rep I really remember reading was in online comics. I'll put these in order of when I found them. They definitely lean into sexy, but I highly recommend them all. Unlike the other links in this post, which link to the Goodreads page for the book, these links will take you to the comics themselves.

• Shades of A by Tab Kimpton
  Published 2014
  Anwar gets dragged to a kink night by a friend and makes friends with a Queer who is definitely not binary, and very kinky. A surprising romance ensues.
  Chris is a mix of a lot of things, though some of the phrasing would definitely not be considered acceptable any longer. Very high levels of spice in this one, so be aware of both going into this.
• Girls with Slingshots by Danielle Corsetto
  Published 2008
  While the main character in this is definitely straight, one of her best friends is a very queer woman with a very Ace girlfriend. Absolutely gorgeous comic, and just lots of fun.
  Lots of sex talk in this one, so definitely on the high end of the spicy spectrum.
• Avialae by Lucid
  Published around 2014? (can't find confirmation of date, as Goodreads doesn't think this a valid book, so they keep deleting it)
  About Gannet, a teenage boy who wakes up one morning to discover he has wings growing on his back, and Gilbert, the boy who helps him hide it from everyone. Gilbert is definitely Demisexual, as it takes him a long time to cue in to romantic cues from Gannet, despite how often he comes on to him.
  There is lots of Queer rep in this with both M/M and F/F pairings, as well as a secondary character who also says she is Asexual. Again, a very high level of spice in this one.

It makes me very happy to see so much rep across the spectrum of Asexuality from AroAce to Demi, but it also makes me sad how new these stories all are. Before this, the only two characters in any media I could easily have pointed to as Asexual would have been Sherlock Holmes and the Doctor from Doctor Who (and who has since been stolen from us because of course no one could possibly be Asexual forever I guess?). I know I'd seen others, but they were few and far between, so it's nice to see that so many are being written about.

A quick list of ten Ace books I'm hoping to read soon:

1. How to Be a Normal Person by TJ Klune
   Contemporary. Gustavo meets a new friend, Casey, who wants nothing more than to spend all his time with Gus.
2. Radio Silence by Alice Oseman
   Contemporary. About a girl named Frances who is hiding from herself, until the day she meets Aled, and realizes she wants things to change.
3. Beyond the Black Door by AM Stickland
   Fantasy. Kamai can soul-walk, but her mother told her never to go through the Black Door.
4. Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
   Fantasy/Supernatural. Elatsoe can see ghosts, and her cousin who was recently murdered tells her their family is in danger.
5. Tarnished Are the Stars by Rosiee Thor
   Sci Fi. Described as The Lunar Chronicles meets Rook.
6. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe
   Graphic Novel/Non-fiction/Autobiography. A story about Maia's life and coming to terms with who they were.
7. How to Be Ace: A Memoir of Growing Up Asexual by Rebecca Burgess
   Graphic Novel/Non-fiction/Autobiography. Another Ace life story.
8. Dark Rise by CS Pacat
   Fantasy. Will is hiding from those who want him dead, and discovers the world of magic, and everything it could mean for his world
9. The Stars We Steal by Alexa Donne
   Sci Fi/YA. Space princess Leonie is doing everything she can to save her ship when her best childhood friend and first love Elliot appears, now a successful business man who wants to make her pay for turning him down before.
10. Our Bloody Pearl by DN Bryn
    Fantasy. Perle is a siren who has been captured, and longs for escape when the ship they are on is captured by pirates.

So there are my lists. Are you Ace? Have you read any of these books? Or any others not on these lists? What are your favorite Ace-rep books?

June Reading Stats and Midway Through the Year Post

So my numbers this year are definitely going down. It's due to a lot of things, but most especially that it's harder to get my hands on certain books as audio books combining with the way I have been choosing my books. So I will be changing things up with this new month, and see if that helps me figure things out a little more. I'll explain below the stats, for anyone interested.

I only managed to finish 12 books this month, which is the lowest since I started listening to audio books. 

My top favorite book this month was A Destiny of Dragons, by my new favorite author, TJ Klune. It's a great followup to Lightning Struck Heart, and I highly recommend it, though it's definitely for mature audiences, because there's a unicorn in it that definitely doesn't know when to censor himself, and he encourages everyone around him to be the same way. Fantasy, Humor, and LGBT Romance. What more could I possibly want? Definitely a fun one that put a very big smile on my face.

Runners up for the month were River Marked and Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs, the sixth and seventh books in her Mercy Thompson series. Werewolves, Vampires, and all sorts of other beasties. River Marked has a lovely insight into how the Northwest Native tribes fit into this world. I highly recommend the whole series. Especially if you enjoyed but then burned out on the Anita Blake series. This gives me the same vibes, but always leaves me wanting more. 

The third runner up was Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger, the second book in her Finishing School YA series. If you're a fan of her Parasol Protectorate, I highly recommend this series, too. A great story about a girl in a finishing school that isn't quite what it appears to be.

The oldest book I read this month was City of the Beasts by Isabel Allende. It was published about August of 2002. It is the first book of a YA series she wrote for her grandchildren. This one's about a boy who finds himself going on an adventure with his grandmother into the depths of the Amazon, to find a fabled monster people have seen there that sounds like it could be a sasquatch.

The newest book I read this month was Misrule by Heather Walter, which came out May of this year. The duology is based on Sleeping Beauty, but told from the point of view not of Sleeping Beauty, but the girl who falls in love with her, but is hated by nearly everyone around her because she is a dark creature. If that sounds interesting to you, I definitely recommend the Malice Duology. The second book is darker and a good deal more frustrating than the first, but I enjoyed them both, and they are definitely worth checking out for those who like Fairy Tale Retellings.

June stats:

Of the 12 books I read this month, eight were audio, three were eBook, and one was a physical book. I did manage to finish two series, and I'm very pleased to say I didn't DNF any books this month. Five of the books I read were YA, and seven were adult. Five had male authors, and seven female, with nine male main characters, and eight female main characters, which is a good split on both sides of things. I did try to pump up my LGBT reads this month, but only eight of the twelve were LGBT content, so that could have been higher. And only five of the books had non white central characters, so I'm going to definitely need to work on that in the future.

My current and future reading:

Currently I am reading:

• The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg (I don't have page numbers, but at least 2/5 through)
• Stormbringer (the Wyrd #2) by Alis Franklin (16%)
• The Tower of Nero (Trials of Apollo #5) by Rick Riordan (haven't actually started yet)
• Soul Breaker (City of Crows #1) by Clara Coulson (haven't actually started yet)
• What Once Was Mine (Twisted Tales #12) by Liz Braswell (haven't actually started yet)

Hero is interesting. It's a slow read because I'm not particularly enjoying the art, but it's enough to keep me reading, at least. Stormbringer and Tower of Nero are final books in those series, so that will be two for July, at least.

I don't currently have other Audiobooks waiting on my Libby.

Here are my current holds:

• The Lonliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
• We Unleash the Merciless Storm (We Set the Dark on Fire #2) by Tehlor Kay Mejia
• Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
• This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar

And as for how I'm choosing my books starting this month (unless it fails, in which case, I will find another way): I have decided to pre-choose the books I read for the month, so that I can set up holds and actually read them, so all the books on the hold list are ones I've chosen for the month of July, so long as they come in July.

My current July Reading List:

• Soul Breaker (City of Crows #1) by Clara Coulson 
• What Once Was Mine (Twisted Tales #12) by Liz Braswell
• Reawakened (Reawakened #1) by Colleen Houck 
• Dreamtime (Elfquest #8.2) by Wendy and Richard Pini
• The Circlet Press Steampunk Bundle edited by Elizabeth Schechter
• Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas
• The Steel Remains (A Land Fit for Heroes #1) by Richard K Morgan
• Dearly, Departed (Gone with the Respiration #1) by Lia Habel
• Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
• This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar
• The Lonliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
• We Unleash the Merciless Storm (We Set the Dark on Fire #2) by Tehlor Kay Mejia

So have you read any of these? Do you think I'll enjoy them? What are you planning on reading this month?

May Reading Stats!

It's been a busy couple weekends, so I haven't had a chance to do many posts of late, but here are my stats for my May reading. It was a light reading month, as I decided to start rewatching Marvel movies, and so that's taken most of my relaxing at home time. I only managed 13 books this month. Not a horrible number, just nothing like last year's numbers, and the lowest so far this year.

Because I had so few books this month, it was harder to determine my top books, especially since several were rereads, which I do not include in my top books for the month, so it took me a while to figure these out. 

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde is far and away the best new book I finished in May. I wish I'd started these sooner when I was being told both by my ex and my mom about them. If you love books, this is a world you will adore. It's our world, but not. Literature has taken the place of god. And crime is very interesting. Many crimes are about fake literature. And people go around proselytizing about the person they believe was Shakespeare. In addition, for people like me who are Welsh? Wales is a republic, and people from England are generally not welcome. If any of that sounds good to you, I highly recommend this book, the first of a currently seven-book series, though an eighth is due next year.

The runners up for the month:

The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan, the third book in the Trials of Apollo series. I'm very much enjoying this one, aside from the main character, who needs to get slapped regularly. But then, he's a god, what does he know?

The Lost World by Michael Crichton, the sequel to Jurassic Park, and just as good as the first. If you've read the first, I highly recommend this one, too.

Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell, about a world where mechanics and magic exist in companionship, and where the land of elves is beginning to rise up against the old world. Wonderful weaving of our history with steampunk and fairy tale (in this instance, Cinderella).

The oldest book I read this month was a reread: The Cry from Beyond by Wendy and Richard Pini, the 7th book in the Elfquest series, which was published September 1, 1993 as a gathered volume. I've been slowly rereading these, and have discovered several that I don't have, so I will have to get my hands on them, if I can, though it seems at least one of them isn't really available at this time (the price I saw was almost $200), so I may have to read that one online.

The newest book was Jay's Gay Agenda by Jason June, which was published June 1, 2021. Cute book, though it felt like the writer hadn't done a great job of researching the area, because she called the school he attended in Seattle "Capitol Hill High School." Just...rang very false. 

Stats for the month:

Out of the 13 books I read this month, 7 were audio, three were E-Books, and three were physical. I finished three series, and DNFd one book that I just wasn't enjoying. My top three genres this month were Romance, Fantasy, and Sci Fi. Eight books were written by male authors, and eight were written by females. The main characters, eleven were male and seven were female main characters. Seven books had LGBT content, and four had non-white main characters. The audience split were four YA, and nine adult.

Since we're in Pride month, I think I will attempt to read only LGBT books this month. We'll see if I can manage it. I do have some already in progress, so I will finish them if I can, but at most of them are already LGBT, so I think I'll be okay.

My current and future reading:

Currently I am reading:

• City of Beasts (Eagle & Jaguar #1) by Isabel Allende (haven't actually started yet)
• The Tyrant's Tomb (The Trials of Apollo #4) by Rick Riordan (haven't started yet)
• Jungle Heat by Bonnie Dee (10%)
• A Destiny of Dragons (Tales from Verania #2) by TJ Klune (11%)
• Saga (Saga #7) by Brian K Vaughan (no page numbers, but about 2/5th of the way through)

Only City of the Beasts doesn't have LGBT content, I believe. It's the second time I've gotten it from the library, so I really should try to finish it this time. Wish me luck!

After looking over my current list on Libby, I decided to dump them all in favor of Pride month, so I don't have anything there at the moment except for City of Beasts, and we'll see if I listen to that one. 

And my current holds:

• What Once Was Mine (Twisted Tales #12) by Liz Braswell
• Misrule (Malice #2) by Heather Walter

I suspended What Once Was Mine, because it's Disney, and we all know that means it's no good for Pride month. Misrule's three weeks out according to my app, so we'll see if I get that before the month ends.

Beyond that, we'll see what I get up to this month. Should be fun! 

April Reading Stats

 Another month gone, and since it's Sunday, I actually get to update my info the first of the month this time. Second best month so far this year. I managed a total of 21 books, which isn't bad at all. I even got to read two books on my new releases list, which was very exciting. 

My favorite books of the month:

Crowbones by Anne Bishop is the latest in the World of the Others, and a fabulous follow up to the first of the books about these characters, which is a lovely little community in the Fingerlakes region. Anne writes mystery so very well, and this world is so well created that it just works with every word of each story she tells. If you like Supernatural, I highly recommend this one, and all the rest. The Others are something entirely different from every supernatural story you have ever read, and yet so familiar that it takes almost no time to understand the implications each time.

Generally this month's books seem to have one of two themes: Fantasy or Supernatural. Crowbones is Supernatural. The three runners up, two are fantasy, and one is Supernatural. Even my oldest and youngest books of the month, one is fantasy, and one is supernatural. And yet, somehow, Supernatural didn't end up being one of my genres of the month. I guess it's more a sign of what I enjoy most.

Runners up for April were: 

Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and in specific, The Ship of the Dead, by Rick Riordan. This was the last book in his three-book Norse series, which I highly recommend. Next to Percy Jackson, it's my favorite of his series in this world so far. In particular for one character. A child of Loki who is strongly non-binary, and who ends up in a relationship with Magnus by the end of this book. I have never found a non-binary romance before, and this one just made me so happy, I feel like everyone should read the whole series, even if you never read any of Riordan's other God series.

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko is a high fantasy dystopia about a world where the leader of the major country of the world has a close council who are chosen by and for him as a child, and they grow together like siblings, and can never be separated from each other. The characters are all characters of color, and the richness of this world is wonderful. I can't wait to see where the second book takes them. 

Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriager, the first book of her YA series set in a finishing school that teaches young ladies the ins and outs of espionage in a world filled with Vampires and Werewolves. I've missed Gail's writing. She has a fabulous wonderfully whimsical tone that never fails to make me smile. And these characters are a great addition to this world. Definitely for fans of steampunk and supernatural.

The oldest book I read this moth was The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams, which was published October 25, 1988. It's a fascinating classic high fantasy world that's been on my radar for decades now. I'm curious to see where the story goes from here. Looking forward to finding out. The newest book I read this month was Lover Arisen by JR Ward, which came out on April 5th. It was not the best of the series, but it was still fun to see the guys again. I am dreading the next book, though. We'll see how that one goes.

Stats for the month:

Out of the 21 books I read this month, 16 were audio, four were E-Books, and one was physical. I finished two series, and DNFd one book that I just wasn't in the mood for. I may go back and try again, but I'm not sure I will. We shall see. Eight books were written by male authors, and 14 were written by females. The main characters were evenly split between male and female main characters, with thirteen each. Eight books had LGBT content, and 6 had non-white main characters. The audience split were one middle grade, nine YA, and 16 adult.

My top three genres this month were Romance, Fantasy, and Myth & Folklore. I can't recall if I've had Myth & Folklore on here before, but it is a favorite genre, so I'm not shocked it showed, especially this month. I have been considering expanding this to five genres, just for more variation, but if I do, that won't be until next year at the earliest.

My current and future reading:

Currently I am reading:

• The Cry from Beyond (Elfquest #7) by Wendy & Richard Pini (63%)
• The Master (Free Men #3) by Kate Aaron (42%)
• Concubine by MomsDarkSecret (15%)
• The Leopard King (Ars Numina #1) by Ann Aguirre (just started)
• The Dark Prophecy (The Trials of Apollo #2) by Rick Riordan (starting tomorrow)

Nothing else on my Libby account right now aside from the Dark Prophecy at the moment.

I do have things I'm waiting to come in, though:

• The Stone of Farewell (Memory, Shadow & Thorne #2) by Tad Williams
• The Rage of Dragons (The Burning #1) by Evan Winter
• The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next #1) by Jasper Fforde
• The Broken Kingdoms (Inheritance #2) by NK Jemisin
• What Once Was Mine (Twisted Tales #12) by Liz Braswell

A fun selection. We'll see what I get and when. Of those, I'm not strongly looking forward to any of them, so we'll see what happens in the next month.

So what about you? What have you been reading this past moth? Anything good?

March Reading Stats

Well, my reading definitely seems to be declining again. I only managed 15 books this month. Still a lot, but definitely not as much as I was doing last year. Not sure if it will continue to drop, but I suppose we will see.

Favorites for the month:

Aurora's End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. This is the last of the Aurora Cycle. I enjoyed the whole darn thing. It felt like reading a YA version of Star Trek, or perhaps the new Battlestar Galactica. The characters were all fabulously unique, and the premise was strongly rooted in the best origins of Sci Fi stories of the past. If you enjoy YA and classic Sci Fi, I definitely recommend this series. I've definitely found a favorite pair of authors, so I will be digging deeply into the other books they have written, both together and separately.

Runners up for March were quite varied. First is Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender, about a young trans man who is struggling with peoples' reactions to his transition, and other people's views of him and who he is. A fabulous book that reminded me of the bad parts of being a teenager. It made me very glad not to be in high school any more. Still, a wonderful story about being who you truly are. Definitely worth a read. Then there's the Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan. If you enjoyed either book or movie (or both) of the Joy Luck Club, I highly recommend this one. About a young woman and her mother, and the secrets that people keep from each other to protect those they love. Wonderful story. And then there's March book 3, the last part of John Lewis's story about being in the Civil Rights movement of the 60s. The series is a must-read for those interested in reading about that time. I'm definitely looking forward to checking out Run, which is a sequel series about John Lewis's life.

The oldest book I read this month was Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey, which was published in July of 1968, a year before I was born. No, I've never read the Dragonriders books, so it was very well overdue. It's definitely an early book, but I'm looking forward to reading more. The newest book was Aurora's End, which was published November 9, 2021. See above for my short review. 

Stats for the month:

As I said, I read 15 books this month. Definitely less than before, but oddly, both ebook and physical books went up in number. I listened to nine books, read three ebooks, and four physical books--all graphic novels. I also DNF'd two books, and finished two series, both of which are listed above. The split of authors was pretty good. Seven male authors, and ten females. I'm amused because the split of characters is exactly opposite: ten male main characters, and seven female. Six of the books I read had LGBTQ+ major characters, and seven had non-white characters. The audience split was one middle grade, six young adult, and eight adult.

Like in February, my top three genres are Romance, Fantasy, and Sci Fi, with the last two switching place from February. No big change, not likely to change any time soon, I think. But I'm always interested to see what genres I get with the second and third genres of the month. That's where it changes the most.

My current and future reading:

Currently I am reading:

• The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorne #1) by Tad Williams (83%)
• Everneath (Everneath #1) by Brodi Ashton (32%)
• The Soldier (Free Men #2) by Kate Aaron (27%)
• The Secret of Two-Edge (Elfquest #6) by Wendy and Richard Pini (8%)
• A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy (Star Wars Disney Canon Junior Novels) by Alexandra Bracken (unknown, but just started)

My Current Libby list to read:

• Crowbones (The Others #8) by Anne Bishop
• Raybearer (Raybearer #1) by Jordan Ifuenko
• Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
• The Steel Remains (A Land Fit for Heroes #1) by Richard K Morgan

Fun mix there. Hopefully I will be able to get to them all. Crowbones is the one I'm looking forward to most. 

And my next holds on my library wait list:

• The Rage of Dragons (The Burning #1) by Evan Winter
• Lover Arisen (The Black Dagger Brotherhood #20) by JR Ward

Lover Arisen is out next week. Not sure how long I'll have to wait to get my hands on it, though.

And that's everything. So what have you been reading? Anything you'd like to recommend or talk about?

February Reading Stats

 Another month gone, and I didn't read as much this past month. Too much going on. But still, I read a few good books. 

My recs for the month:

My favorite book of the month was one I found randomly, and I'm so glad I did. The City Beautiful by Aden Polydoros takes place in turn of the century Chicago during the World's Fair. The main character is a young Jewish man trying to make his way alone in a world far from the small Eastern European town he was born in. And then one of his friends is murdered, and he finds himself involved in a murder mystery along with an old friend from when he first arrived in the US. Historical, mysterious, a little fantastical, and also involves being gay and Jewish at a time when both were very bad for your health. It's so good, and I will definitely be keeping my eye on this author for more.

Runners up for Feburary are: 

Firefly: Big Damn Hero by James Lovegrove, which follows up directly from the last episode aired on TV. The crew get into yet another scrape. Shocking, right? If you're a Firefly fan, you'll love it. Just trust me on this. 

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell, a sci fi story about a prince who has to take his cousin's partner as his own for the sake of the kingdom, or their kingdom will risk a war they cannot afford. A very sweet gay romance with a bit of a mystery behind the first prince's death and dealings.

Ship It by Britta Lundin, about a girl who has fallen for a tv show, so when she gets the chance to go to a convention where the cast will appear, she goes for it. And causes a tangle for herself and the crew of the still-new show. Will she be able to help them keep the show on the air? Will she be able to convince the creator that the two main characters are in love with each other? A story about Slash and falling in love, and why people Slash at all.

All great books, and I highly recommend each of them, if they sound at all intriguing. 

My newest book for the month was The City Beautiful, which was published October 5, 2021. The oldest was Foundation by Isaac Asimov, which I'm glad I finally got to. It came out August 20, 1951. I think I need to make a list of classics I really need to read. I have a few random ones, but I think I need to beef it up by a lot.

Stats for the month: I finished a total of seventeen books. Not bad, just not as much as I have been doing, hitting at least twenty each month. I did DNF one book, the Roseblood book. It just wasn't drawing me in. I may try it again another time, but I think it's time to stop for now. And I also finished a series this month, the Kane Chronicles, by Rick Riordan, which means I can start the Apollo books now, I think. Back into Percy Jackson realms, though I really did enjoy what he did with Egyptian myth. I'll be curious to read what Apollo has to go through for his punishment.

Of the seventeen I read, fourteen were Audio, two were E-books, and only one was a physical book this month. I just prefer audio. It works for me. Of the books I read, they were evenly split between male and female authors, nine each, because one book was co written by a guy and a gal. twelve books had male main characters, and ten had female main characters. Definitely not a bad split, though I do wish I could push that to a more even number. Six had LGBT major or main characters, while only three had major characters of color. Definitely need to push that one much higher. The audience for my books were eight YA and nine adult books. 

My top three genres were Romance (no shock there, really), Sci Fi, and Fantasy. I definitely like seeing the Sci Fi in there this month. Hopefully I will mix things up with my second and third genres a lot more this year than I did last year. I do wonder what would happen if I did a top five genres each month, but I think that would thin things out too much. It was definitely eye opening last year to see what I read. This year, I'm keeping to how I did my genres during the second half of last year, so it will probably shift numbers around a bit more, but I seem to have most of the genres I'm likely to read on my little graph I use to keep track of them now. If anyone's interested, I could always share a list of the genres I track, and how I track them. Just let me know, and I will.

My current and future reading:

Currently I am reading:

• Spindle Fire (Spindle Fire #1) by Lexa Hillyer (Part 8 of 9 at the moment, not sure what percentage)
• March (March #3) by John Lewis (54%)
• The Soldier (Free Men #2) by Kate Aaron (14%)
• Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (10%)
• The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan (6%)

My Current Libby list to read:

• Aurora's End (Aurora's Rising #3) by Amie Kaufmann and Jay Kristoff

My Library Hold list:

• Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
• Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
• Crowbones by Anne Bishop
• Lover Arisen by JR Ward

A bigger list, and half are own voices authors, so I'm looking forward to those. Should be a good month.

So what do you think? What do you consider classics? Do you have mental rules for that? Do you have some classics you think I should read? And are you interested in hearing about my genres, and how I track them? And what did you read in February? 

See you all again next month!

January Reading Stats

So the year's off to a great reading start. I read a bunch of really great books. I've started a new way of scoring my books so that it's a little more based on how the book felt to me, and how well I think it will last in my mind, and large percentage of what I read in January scored over 8 out of 10 on that scale, which makes me very happy.

So my favorite books of the month:

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World, by Benjamin Alire Saenz. A beautiful follow-up to the first book, which picks up where the first book leaves off, with the two boys trying to figure out how to be in a relationship together. The voices in both of these books are wonderful and unique in a way I can't say I've read before. I'd definitely read more about them all if the author wrote more. If you've read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, I highly recommend this. If you haven't, I highly recommend them both. A wonderful coming of age story in a time and place that is uniquely suited to tell this story.

Runners up:

Wolfsong by TJ Klune, about a boy who befriends another boy, and the strange places their friendship leads him to. Very different from the other two Klune books I've read, but wonderful and sweet in turns, though this one is a lot darker than the other two.

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton, which I had listened to once right around the time the original movie came out, so it had been far too long, and there was so much I'd forgotten. If you haven't read it, but love the movies, I highly recommend it. Lots of surprises you won't suspect.

Ripper by Isabel Allende, about an online group that plays at trying to solve crimes--and find themselves enmeshed in a current crime that involves the group's leader's mother. Allende really tells a wonderful story, and this one is just as good as her other tales, so I highly recommend it if you enjoy a good murder mystery.

My oldest book of the month was another Asterix book. I'm slowly digging my way through the Asterix Omnibus collection, and this time, the first of the stories, Asterix and the Cauldron, was published originally October 31, 1968. 

The newest book I read was Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire, which was published January 4, 2022. It's the latest of the Wayward Children books, about a girl who found her way to a world where she became a mermaid. A story about fat acceptance, and dealing with trauma. Definitely worth a read.

Stats

All told for January, I finished 29 books. Of those, one finished off a series and one was a reread. I also had to DNF a book, but I'm hoping to get back to it, because it was audiobook issues, not lack of wanting to read it. My top genres were Romance, Fantasy, and Historical. 23 were audiobooks, six were eBooks, and two were physical books. 14 were written by men, and 16 by women. 20 had male main characters, and 14 had female main characters. 15 had LGBT content of a major sort, and 6 had non-white main characters. The Audience split was one middle grade, ten YA, and eleven adult. 

My current and future reading:

Currently I am reading:

• Roseblood by AG Howard (7%)
• Girls of Storm and Shadow (Girls of Paper and Fire #2) by Natasha Ngan (20%)
• Twisted: The Girl Who Uncovered Rumpelstiltskin's Name by Bonnie M Hennessy (39%)
• March (March #3) by John Lewis (24%)
• The Color of Magic (Discworld #1) by Terry Pratchett (Just started)

I think if I don't manage to get much further into Roseblood by the end of the month, I will be DNFing that, as I'm not feeling pulled by it.

My Current Libby list to read:

• Aurora Burning (Aurora Rising #2) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
• Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell
• Ship It by Britta Lundin

My Library Hold list:

• Crowbones (The Others #8) by Anne Bishop
• Lover Arisen (Black Dagger Brotherhood #20) by JR Ward

Not much at the moment, but the way I'm choosing books at the moment leads me to not put as many books on hold, so that probably won't change as much this year.

That's all for now. What has everyone else been reading? Any new favorite books?

2021 Reading Wrap-up

So, that was a year. Honestly, Reading is one of my top three things this year. All total, I managed 362 books this year. So many great books, both long and short. My longest book, according to Goodreads, was Lords of the Underworld collection 3 by Gina Showalter, with 1,340 pages. My shortest was a short from one of the series I was reading called Whybourne and Griffin, titled Fiction Isn't for Felines. My plan this year is to shoot for 200 books. We'll see if I get quite so high as last year, but my numbers definitely dropped after I got my new position at work last year, so I don't think I'll manage another 300 book year. We shall see.

My top book of the year was a close call, but I ended up going with Crooked Kingdom, the second in the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. Though we have been told that there is a sequel coming, which I am very much looking forward to. Though this is the second of the duology, I enjoy it more than the first, though it's a close call. There's a lot to love in this book, including a spoiler I won't give up here, but I have to say my favorite pairing of the duology is Jesper and Wyland. I absolutely adore them, and I can't wait to see Wyland in the Shadow and Bone series when they finally add him, because I know he'll be a great addition.

My top ten genres of the year, in descending order:

1. Romance (281 books)
2. Fantasy (184 books - though this was divided with Urban Fantasy halfway through the year, so that changed some things)
3. Historical (107 books)
4. Supernatural (84 books)
5. Myth & Folklore (67 books)
6. Dystopia (57 books)
7. Sci Fi (45 books)
8. Mystery (45 books - more than I expected. Didn't help that I found an author that drew me in who did lots of mystery, though he wasn't the only one)
9. Contemporary (35 books - this is another that only got adopted halfway through the year, so it probably would have been a lot higher. We shall see how this year goes)
10. Steampunk (28 books - I definitely want to push this higher this year if I can)

Most read Authors of the year, again in descending order:

1. Jordan L Hawk (27 books - at least 3 different series here, but more, I think... Definitely a favorite author.)
2. JR Ward (19 books - all Black Dagger Brotherhood related. Wow.)
3. Josh Lanyon (12 books -  the Mystery author from above. Definitely a good writer, as Mystery is not my big favorite without something else to sell it to me.)
4. Sarah J Maas (11 books - Mostly one series, but a few others. I definitely have a preference of her series, but I'm looking forward to more.)
5. Anne Bishop (10 books - two separate series, but mostly Black Jewels. I'm caught up on both Black Jewels and Others now, and looking forward to more.)
6. Leigh Bardugo (10 books - nearly all Shadow & Bone aka Grishaverse series here. Definitely enjoying her Grishaverse)
7. Naomi Novik (9 books - a big mix here of her Tremiare series, but also a lot of her new stuff, singles as well as series. Looking forward to more of her Scholomancy series.)
8. Laurel K Hamilton (8 books - all Anita Blake)
9. Anne Rice (8 books - rereads of the Vampire Chronicles, but also finishing the Mayfair Witches, and a final sequel to the Beauty series. Mixed feelings about her passing this year. She had a great deal of talent, but at the same time, was very hard on her fans. It's hard to love a writer who does such damage to their fanbase. *gives a certain other too-well-known female author the side-eye*)
10. Tie:
1. Aiden Bates & Jill Haven (6 books - a few different series here, cute, if not great writing, definitely enough to keep drawing me in.)
2. Seanan McGuire (6 books - the entirety of the currently existing Wayward Children series, which I adore.)

So my big goal for 2021 was to finish at least some of the series I'd started. I probably started and finished more than I just finished, but I'm still very happy with how many series I finished for the year. According to my count, I finished 50 series. Not quite one a week, but not bad at all, really. The amount of books that covers is 192, though many of those were read before last year. I've included a few prequels or sequels for otherwise finished series in this list, too. I'll be curious to see what this ends up being like next year. Favorite series finished this year is probably the Grishaverse.

My reading for the coming year, I have decided to keep it loose and easy. Each time I choose a new book, I have a little board filled with prompts to help me figure out what to pick next. I'll definitely let you know how that goes. 

I have also decided to use a few prompts to see if I can expand my reading a little,  using challenges from Storygraph, which I am quite enjoying using, though I still use Goodreads as well. My current challenges are the A to Z challenge for both books and authors, an older books challenge of at least one per year until 2000, then one per decade through the 1900s, and one per century before that, though I doubt I'll get to much of those. I also am trying a sort of round the world challenge, and seeing how many US States, Canadian Provinces, and Countries of the world my stories are set in. Wish me luck!

So what are you planning to read this year?

December Book Wrapup

The year is over. This will be two posts, one about my December reading, and one about the year as a whole, but overall, I am very happy with my reading for the past year, and very much looking forward to more reading to come!

My favorite book of the month was The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwreck by Mackenzi Lee. This is the final book of the Monague Siblings Trilogy, focusing on the youngest of the siblings, Adrian, who doesn't even realize he has two elder siblings because they've been disowned by their father, a peer of the realm, who doesn't see that having a gay son or a daughter who wants to learn, as being good. Adrian's not much different from his siblings, as he sees his father's work with work houses for the poor as horrible, and wants to change it. His mother's recent death at a health spa has left Adrian a little uncertain. Until he gets his hands on a touchstone his mother had always kept on her person at all times--until the day she died. He sets out to find out why she kept the piece of a broken nautical scope, and ends up learning he is not the only child he always believed he was. Fabulous end to a wonderful series. I definitely recommend. This one is also tied for one of my newest of the month.

And my three runners up are next. The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson, the last of the Mistborn Trilogy. A great end, if hard. Definitely a series worth reading if you like fantasy. The next runner up was Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs, the fourth book in the Mercy Thompson series.Between Mercy, Harry Dresden, and Anita Blake, I've been getting a lot of great urban fantasy and supernatural this year. I look forward to even more in the coming year. The final book of three is Vampire with Benefits, about a Vampire and a Beaver shifter who get paired up by a magical dating service. Sort of. Well, okay, they were there to marry two others, but those ended up married to each other in the first book, so this book is about what these two decide to do instead. A lot of silly fun with a vampire who knew Rudolph Valentino when he was an Actor in his first life. All fun books, and well worth reading if you like fantasy or supernatural stories.

My oldest book of the month was Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs, book number 3 in the Mercy Thompson series, which was published January 2, 2008. My newest book of the month was actually a tie. Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwreck by Mackenzi Lee, and also The Wolf by JR Ward, which was the second book in a side-series of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Both came out November 16, 2021. Both were fun, but Nobleman is better.

December is always a crazy month for me, but this year went relatively smoothly, so I managed to get in lots of reading. I finished a total of 28 books in December. I had to DNF one book, but I will be picking it up again, as I got my hands on a copy. I also managed to finish another five series for the year. More on that in my year end wrapup. My top three genres were Romance, Historical, and Fantasy. I listened to 25 audiobooks, finished two eBooks, and finished one physical book. Nine of the books were written by male authors, and 19 by female authors. 21 had male main characters, and 15 had female main characters. 17 had LGBT content, and six had non-white central characters. The audience division of the books I read were eight YA, three New Adult, and 17 Adult.

My current and future reading:

Currently I am reading:

• Wolfsong (Green Creek #1) by TJ Klune (60%)
• Asterix (Omnibus #5) by Rene Goscinny & Albert Uderzo (74%)
• Fairytales Slashed (Fairytales Slashed #1) by Megan Derr (71%)
• Convincing the Secretary (London Legal #3) by Ava March (17%)
• Proven Guilty (Dresden Files #8) by Jim Butcher (26%)

I'm currently out of books on Libby to read, and I have a new way of picking books, so that will be lower this year. We'll see what happens.

My Library Hold list next 5:

• Bunnicula Collection (Bunnicula #1-3) by James Howe
• Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson #5) by Patricia Briggs
• Aristotle & Dante Dive into the Waters of the World (Aristotle & Dante #2) by Benjamin Alire Saenz
• Where the Drowned Girls Go (Wayward Children #7) by Seanan McGuire
• Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

And that's it for December! Stay tuned for my 2021 wrapup! 

November wrap-up

One more month down, one last month to go! I'll bring everyone up to date with my numbers for the year, but first my favorite books of the month!

My favorite book of the month was Single White Incubus by EJ Russell. A cute paranormal romance about an Incubs and a bear shifter who sign a contract to marry each other on accident, but fall in love. It's part of the same universe as another series I read this year about three Welsh fae who fall in love, and whose lovers help sort the problems back in the fae lands. They appear in this series as secondary characters. LGBT romance. If you like that sort of thing, I definitely recommend both series. Currently reading the second of this series now, about the pair they were supposed to get married to.

The runners up for my favorite books of the month:

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson, a graphic novel about the kindest villain you've ever met, his sidekick, and his arch nemesis. Utterly adorable, and if you like stories with a mix of science and fantasy, and anti-heroes, this one is just lovely.

Across the Green Grass Fields by Seanan McGuire, the sixth book in the Wayward children series, about a girl who discovers a secret about herself that causes her to run away from school and ends up in a place where all the beings and animals are horses. Centaurs, unicorns, pookah, and more. I think this might be my favorite of the series so far. Her secret is one I'll keep to myself, but if you want stories about the more silent groups in the LGBTQIA banner, this one is definitely worth reading. The whole series is, really.

And my last runner up is Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. This one's about two lonely boys who befriend each other the summer of 1987, and what they learn about themselves and each other by being friends. This one's gotten a lot of buzz and a sequel, and it's definitely well worth a look.

All great books, all with LTBT+ rep, all definitely worth checking out.

I finally listened to Frankenstein by Mary Shelley this month, which of course was my oldest book of the month, or even the year, really. It was shorter than I realized, but it was fascinating to see what media have done with a story that was so very different from any movie version I've seen. It was first published January 1st, 1818, though she did rewrite it at one point, so there are two variations on her story. I definitely recommend if you are a fan of the classic movie monsters. Of the three classics I've read (Frankenstein, Dracula, and Phantom of the Opera), I do have to say my favorite has been Phantom of the Opera, but I'm surprised how much I enjoyed all three given the fact that I'm not really a fan of this period of English lit.

The newest book I read this month was Across the Green Grass Fields, which you can read my mini-review of above. It came out November 17 of this year. 

A busy month, as I was participating in NaNoWriMo, but I still managed a total of 24 books. As of today, I am now at 338 out of the 350 books I've challenged myself to read. That means I have twelve more books to read to get to 350 books. I think that next year, I'm going to start at 100 books, and if I hit that before July, I'll increase it to 200, but otherwise, I'm going to leave it as it is. Still, it's been a grand adventure this year. I'll wait until January to write up all the series I managed to finish this year. The first part of the year, I definitely devoured several, so I know it will be a long list. I have a feeling January will be full of posts about my 2021 reading. 

Now for stats. I only finished one series but I didn't DNF any books in November, so that's something. The types of book I read: three were ebooks, one was physical, and the other ninteen were all audiobooks. Of the books I read, fourteen were written by men, and ten by women. Twenty one had male main characters, and only six had female main characters. Seventeen had strong LGBTQ content, but only two had central non-white characters. The audience for the books I read: six were YA, and eighteen were Adult. Aside from my usual Romance as my top Genre, my other top two were Contemporary and Supernatural. I'm pretty sure the Supernatural were the leakover of books from spooky season, and Contemporary was because most of those took place in modern day. 

My current and future reading:

Currently I am reading:

• The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1) by Alexandra Bracken (52%)
• This Rough Magic (A Shot in the Dark #1) by Josh Lanyon (50%)
• The Nobleman's Guide to Scandal and Shipwreck (The Montague Siblings #3) by Mackenzi Lee (35%)
• Wolfsong (Green Creek #1) by TJ Klune (29%)
• Vampire With Benefits (Supernatural Selection #2) by EJ Russell (28%)
• The Hidden Kingdom (Fairest #2) by Lauren Beukes (at least halfway, but no pages, so not sure)

My Current Libby list to read:

• The Girl in the Tower (The Winternight Trilogy #2) by Katherine Arden
• Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab
• Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson #3) by Patricia Briggs
• The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance #1) by NK Jemisin

Reading is all over the place now. Just things that have been lying around, things I've been waiting for from the library, and things I've been trying to get in before the end of the year.

My Library Hold list next 5:

• Foundation by Isaac Asimov
• The Wolf (Black Dagger Brotherhood: Prison Camp #2) by JR Ward
• Malice (Malice Duology #1) by Heather Walter
• Proven Guilty (The Dresden Files #8) by Jim Butcher
• The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson

And I have 4 more after those, so I've got lots to read now. Maybe enough through the end of the year. We shall see.

Hope everyone who celebrates Thanksgiving in the past two months had a great one. And I hope you all are enjoying the slide into the winter holidays, no matter which you celebrate. See you all next year with a whole new set of reading posts! 

October Reading Update!

 So I will try to keep this short today, since I need to get in my words for NaNoWriMo, but here's what I read in October.

My favorite book of the month was Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire. If you're a fan of the fantasies where kids from our world end up in a fantastical realm, this is a book based on that premise. Eleanore West runs a school for children who have come back home after being in a fantastical world, and wish they were still there. There are a bunch of books about the different worlds, but this one is about the after affects of being in those worlds. If you like Narnia, or Alice, or any of those similar stories, I highly recommend this one.

The runners up for my favorite books of the month:

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, a retelling of Rumplestiltskin...sort of. Novik has a great grasp of fairy tales and their origins, and she weaves them deftly into a story about a Jewish Lender's daughter, and what she does to regain her family's fortune from the people her father has loaned the money to to such a point where their own family barely has enough to subsist on. I can probably count on one hand the amount of fictional tales I have read with central Jewish characters, and this does the idea such justice. I highly recommend it for someone who wants to read fairy tale retellings.

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill is the second book I have read by him, and I highly recommend it. And no matter what else, I will definitely be checking out more by him, because he's definitely inherited his father's talent (Stephen King, for those who don't know). This one is about a girl who stumbles across an ability to travel anywhere she wants...and it leads her to a serial killer who can do the same. And what she does to defeat him.

And my last runner up is my second favorite in the Undue Arrogance series, and the last of the series, His Cocky Prince, about an Asian American actor who is starting to age out of the roles he is best known for, and the young man who has taken his place, with more innocence in Hollywood, where that innocence is so easily taken advantage of. Gay romance, but so deftly done, and I know I will enjoy anything this author writes, so I will definitely be looking into his other work. Warning for those who have trouble with it, this is a twist on the Weinsten case, so if that might bother you, this won't be the book for you, even though it is well written.

All great books, and incredibly varied in story type, so something for everyone there! I am surprised that I only have one Supernatural story in the whole pack, given how many I read this past month, but I'm not shocked, either, really.

Once again, the oldest book I read this month was a reread: Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice, which was published October 31st, 1988. I've been having fun working my way through the series, but it looks as though I'll have to read from now on. I do own the next book, which is the first I have not read, The Vampire Armand, but I am not yet sure when I will get to it, so we shall see.

The newest book I read this year was the Last Graduate by Naomi Novik, which came out September 28 of this year. It's the second book in this series, and while I enjoyed the first more, this one is still a wonderful read, especially if you read and enjoyed the first book. I can't wait to see where the third book takes things.

Read a lot of great books, many of which were spooky this year, but more on that in a minute. I finished a total of 26 books, and am well on my way to finishing where I hope to finish, at 350 books. We shall see if I make it. It will definitely be close, but either way, I've read a ton of books this year. at this moment for the year, I have finished 313 books. hopefully I will manage at least another 20 this month, and 25 more next, and then I will be well over my goal. It's so wild, given I was struggling to get to 50 books for the year before last year... So wish me luck! 

I finished three series and DNF'd one book in October. The types of book I read: three were ebooks, one was physical, and the other twenty two were all audiobooks. Of the books I read, twelve were written by men, and fourteen by women. Seventeen had male main characters, and fourteen had female main characters. Fourteen had strong LGBTQ content, but only five had central non-white characters. The audience for the books I read: one was Middle Grade, eight were YA, one was New Adult, and ninteen were Adult.

For my Genres, my top two were there as usual, Romance and Fantasy. And because it was spooky season, that meant number three was Supernatural. I do enjoy supernatural in the form of mystery and romance, particularly vampires and werewolves, but I tend to shy away from the darker stuff, particularly zombies and bloodthirsty demons, so I tend to lean more supernatural and less horror.

My current and future reading:

Currently I am reading:

• SPECTR: Volume 1 (SPECTR #1-3) by Jordan L Hawk (71%)
• Nimona by Noelle Stevenson (51%)
• Dark Rivers (Witchbane #3) by Morgan Brice (16%)
• Single White Incubus (Supernatural Selection #1) by EJ Russel (29)

My Current Libby list to read:

• Witchshadow (The Witchlands #4) by Susan Dennard (I'll be starting this on Monday)
• Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity #2) by Victoria Schwab
• Come Tumbling Down (Wayward Children #5) by Seanan McGuire

Dregs of the spooky books here, but then I will move on to the few winter reads I have on my list, so we shall see what I end up with. 

My Library Hold list next 5:

• Dead Beat (Dresden Chronicles #7) by Jim Butcher
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Iron Kissed (Mercy Thompson #3) by Patricia Briggs
• The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson
• Wolfsong (Green Creek #1) by TJ Klune

And it looks like I need to add a bunch more to my wishlist on my library hold list, as that's all I have on my hold list at the time. And some of those won't be coming for quite a while. 

Hope everyone had a great spooky season if you celebrate, and hope you have a fabulous Thanksgiving if you celebrate that (and haven't yet *waves at my Canadian peeps*), and see you all in December!