Sunday 11 February 2018

January 2018 Wrap-Up

So I started off my reading year in 2018 super strong! I read an insane amount of books for the month (on top of taking legal qualifying exams - which were stressful as hell). I completed 16 books in the month of January and most of them (10!) were Non-YA! Some were even non-fiction! Given my Bookish Resolutions for the year I am extremely happy with that start. However; I did break one of my bookish resolutions and ended up buying quite a few books this month... so oops. In my defense, some were for free, and I didnt buy as many as normal but I still clearly will have to work to control myself next month so that I don't spend my limited funds on all the books I want. 

Books I Read
# of Books Read: 16 (HOLY CRAP?!?)
YA v. Non-Ya: 6 Ya, 10 Non-YA



1. Monarchy by David Starkey (Audiobook, Narrated by David Starkey) - 4/5 Stars

David Starkey is on of my all-time favourite historians. I have watched his BBC documentaries at least a 100 times, and I absolutely adore his voice. SO when I found out that he reads an audiobook of his work... I simply had to have it. This book was a more condensed version of his famous documentary series - Monarchy - and is the period from the rise of the Tudors to the modern age. Once again, Starkey manages to write history in a captivating and fascinating way, without bogging us down with inane details. His voice is just as soothing as ever and after a stressful day I found myself craving time to just come home and listen to him. 


2. Fire by Kristin Cashore - 5/5 stars
Totally not planned, I re-read the first two books in the Graceling Realm Trilogy at the beginning of January. Fire is still one of my absolute favourite books of all time. Re-reading this, I did notice that it was a lot slower paced than I remembered and that one of my favourite characters (Archer) was.... not as charming as I remember from the last time I read this a few years ago. However; I still overall love this story about Fire and her quest for freedom and acceptance, and I still adore the slow-burn romance. This novel is such a feminist fantasy gem and I wish more people read it. I also wish Kristin Cashore would release more novels sets in this world! Three is not enough!


3. Graceling by Kristin Cashore - 4.5/5 stars
This is the first book in the Graceling Realm Trilogy, and once again it was a wonderfully feminist book to re-read. Katsa is a take-no-prisoners, bad ass heroine who slowly regains her humanity throughout the story after years of being treated as nothing better than a thug. Po is my favourite character in the whole story - I think he is wonderfully swoon worthy and not your typical male YA love interest. He understands Katsa's desires and wants and respects her abilities. The only reason this isn't a full 5 stars is because there were a few minor things here and there that annoyed me - I did find that Katsa felt the need to put other women down a lot and maintained her whole "not like other girls" demeanour. For a book that is so feminist that's obviously a problem, but I attribute it more to the fact this was written years ago.


4. Harry Potter: A History of Magic by JK Rowling, The British Library - 4/5 Stars
This is the companion novel released by the British Library to coincide with their exhibition celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Harry Potter. Obviously, once I got it for Christmas I had to read it ASAP. This was different than I was expecting, I thought there would be more about how JK Rowling developed the world, but there was simply a lot of history regarding magic, some of which Rowling used in the world of Harry Potter. However; I did still really enjoy reading through this and immersing myself in the world of Harry - I particularly love that the book was divided into the school subjects and loved reading Rowling's original drafts, drawings and notes. It was a nice glimpse into the world Harry Potter, although as a member of Pottermore I definitely didn't learn anything new that I hadn't before. Overall, it was a fine edition to my Harry Potter collection. 



5. The Bear and Nightingale by Katherine Arden - 4/5 stars

This book took me a while to get into - it is definitely a book you have to be in the mood for and for the longest time I wasn't in the right mood to read it. It took a dark snowy night for me to really begin to engage with the story and to become completely immersed in this fantastic Russian-set fantasy. I curled up in my bed with some tea while a blizzard was outside and the atmosphere of the story just swallowed me up. This is a beautiful novel. I've said the word atmosphere already but there is no better way to describe this book - it was atmospheric in every sense of the word. It is not an easy book to read - and many times I was frustrated by the small-minded characters and religious fanaticism. But at the same time, it was well-written, and  the characters motivations were understandable even though they drove you mad. I loved our main character Vasya, she is an independent and modern spirit who is trapped in medieval Russia. She is exactly how I think all fantasy writers should write their "special" female heroines - she was admirable and strong, but still had her faults and failures. I also really enjoyed the villain characters - the stepmother and the priest are the WORST and multiple times I was so enraged by their behaviour I had to put the book down. But at the same time, Katherine Arden has written them to be complex and compelling villains - and while you hate them you still sometimes sympathise with them. This book had moments that were so hard to read because they were so real - Katherine Arden truly captured the spirit that is how awful people can be to each other, and in doing so has captured beautifully the very essence of humanity. It was a very moving read to find myself hating the villains but also pitying them - in a way I rarely do. I also was amazed how much was conveyed in this novel though it was so short - much longer fantasy works have achieved much less world-building. Overall I really enjoyed the story. The only things I disliked was I found the story to be rather slow-going at first, it took me about 100 pages before it became un-putdownable, and the story felt somewhat incomplete. I realise that there are two more books in the series, but this first novel felt like a very long prologue to a larger adventure. I have already bought the next book in the series and look forward to reading it soon! 


6. Fearless by Jennifer Jenkins - 3/5 Stars
Every once in a while I pick up a series written by an indie author because sometimes I will discover a new favourite series (like the Air Awakens series by Elise Kova). A few years back I picked up Nameless by Jennifer Jenkins and really enjoyed the story - it's a very Romeo and Juliet story that is set in an rather sketchily laid out fantasy world in which various tribes battle and rule for dominance. One tribe, the Ram, has come to dominate all the others - the Kodiak, the Raven and the Wolf - and taken many of their members for their slaves. The series begins with a Wolf spy, named Zo, entering Ram territory in the guise of a healer, and and striking up an unexpected friendship with a Ram soldier named Gryphon - all while risking her life trying to protect her sister and her people by spying on the Ram. The first book in the series was very engaging, but upon re-read I noticed a lot more flaws than I did the first time around. However I still really enjoyed it - and the slow-burn romance - even though the world-building was poor and very unclear. The second book expanded on the world but was much more meh for me. This third book was the conclusion novel and was equally meh - it was fine, but nothing spectacular. The romance became a bit stagnant and I found the politics to be much more frustrating this time around then the past - and also I found it a bit repetitive of the issues we already encountered in previous books. I was still very bothered by the complete and utter lack of world-building, this is a very strange world Jenkins's has created but we are given absolutely no details about it! It was a fine conclusion to a series, but a 3 star read for me is usually a book that is just fine but not spectacular. I will keep an eye out for Jennifer Jenkins' works though, because she does write quite well and a new indie author is always fun to discover. 



7. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan - 2.5/5 stars
I have heard nothing but good things about Rick Riordan books for years, but I am sad to say that my first venture into his world was a disappointing one. This book, which is not a long book by any means, was a slog to get through and took me 3 months to read! Three months! I rarely bother to continue reading books that take me so long. As I mentioned in my Biggest Disappointments of 2017 (in which I included it because I had finished 70% and knew how I felt), I really hated the way Rick Riordan writes and I think that is why I couldn't connect with the story enough. Plus all his characters talk the same - everyone is snarky and sarcastic, and I just found everyone had the same voice. I did love all the Norse Mythology and Riordan's unique take on it, but not enough to get me to continue the series or picking up any of Riordan's other works. 



8. Cosmos by Carl Sagan (Audiobook, Narrated by Lavar Burton) - 3.5/5 stars

I listened to this on audiobook over the course of a few months - it was definitely a book that you had to be in the mood for. Much like the Cosmos TV show (which I've seen and loved) this is both a science show, mixed with a lot of philosophical questions. Narrated by Lavar Burton, this book is a wonderful listen, and was a great book to relax too when my eyes needed a rest from staring at a computer or at words. However; I did find that it was easy to zone out for some chapters and quite a few times I fell asleep. Most chapters were engaging but some were not, and for that reason my rating is a bit lower. Obviously, when talking about astronomy and physics, not all topics will be the same level of engaging for each reader but I found the later chapters to be much harder to focus on than the earlier ones. I still did enjoy it though, and Lavar Burton has an awesome voice. 


9. Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen (Audiobook, Narrated by Katherine Kellegren)- 3.5/5 Stars
I absolutely adored Katherine Kellgren's narration of My Lady Jane, and so I picked this book up on audiobook after giving the sample a listen. Once again, Katherine Kellgren's narration is absolute fantastic. I was completely drawn into the world of Lady Georgie, granddaughter of Queen Victoria and 37th in line for the English throne, and her whirlwind life as a poor royal in 1930s London. I loved Georgie (I like to think of her as Victoria since we share a name) and her upper class life. I loved how she was a broke royal and was working as a maid in disguise to get by. I loved Kellgren's narration and different voices for every character - it was so well-done and distinct that I had no problem discerning who was who. However; I think if I hadn't listened to this on audiobook I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. For a murder mystery novel... the mystery is sort of non-existent. The murder doesn't even happen until almost halfway through the novel, and Georgie doesn't really solve the mystery or engage in solving it until the last couple of chapters. I found the suspect for the murder pretty obvious from the beginning, and by the time the end of the book came along I was getting a bit impatient for the story to wrap up. Overall, the audiobook narration makes a very mediocre murder mystery into something much better - and I may continue the series just to continue listening.  



10. The Dark Days Pact by Alison Goodman - 4/5 stars

So the first book in this series, The Dark Days Club, was on my Best Books of 2017 list. I absolutely loved the first book, which follows Lady Helen as she discovers she is born to be a rare breed of demon hunter and meets fellow demon-hunter the enigmatic Lord Carlston. Basically the series is Buffy the Vampire Slayer mixed with Pride and Prejudice and I loved it. The Dark Days Pact picks up directly where the first novel left off, with Lady Helen continuing her demon hunting under the tutelage of Lord Carlston and his aides. While I still really enjoyed the novel, it wasn't necessarily as good as the first one - I think because I had such high expectations going in. I did still love Helen as a character - she is an intelligent bad ass female in an era when women were supposed to be meek and mild. I love her and her determination. However; outside of Carlston and like 2 other male characters the sexism the rest of the men exhibit DROVE ME MAD, though I know it was supposed to. A character from the first book that I didn't care about, I absolutely hated this time around - I really need the Duke to just GO AWAY. He is infuriating. The story wasn't a bit slower paced I found this time, and while I still enjoyed the novel it just wasn't with the fervour I did the first time around. I particularly didn't enjoy the "problems' lord Carlston was having - which just felt like a cop-out plot device to keep the sexual tension from the first book high without really dealing with the romance directly. I do adore the angst-y romance of this novel though, and I love the feminism this I love the feminism this book displays through its capable female characters who stand up to all the asshole men in their life (of which there are a lot and see above the driving me mad part). I also am SO GLAD a gay character was introduced (and that I was 100% right when I guessed it in the first novel). I will continue this series however because the last 20% of the novel was fast-paced and riveting and ended on SUCH A CLIFFHANGER. Like damn, I need to know what happens. Great book, but not as good as the first one. 



11. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - 4/5 stars

I had no plans to read this anytime soon, but I deiced to pick it up one evening when none of the books I was currently reading really caught my eye. I've always loved mythology and retellings but I've never been a big fan of the story of the Trojan War (I blame the movie Troy for making me hate it as a young girl). However; this character-driven tale of the romance between Achilles and his best friend Patroclus, set with the Trojan war in the backdrop was surprisingly good. I read it in one sitting because it was such a beautiful lyrical read, that I simply was swept along with the tale. I absolutely loved the beginning of the story, and it drew me in with its interesting writing style. The writing is really the strength of this novel - it is done in a unique way as to read modern but still capture the essence of Greek Myths and the books of Homer. I did find the story dragged a bit once the story reached the Trojan war, but then again so did most of the Greeks in Troy once the battle had been raging for a decade. I absolutely despised most of the characters, except Patroclus and a few select others - man those Greek heroes are jerks. But still, the beautiful writing and heart-breaking romance more than made up for my genuine dislike for pretty much every character. 



12. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie (Audiobook, Narrated by Jim Dale) - 4/5 Stars
This was my classic read for the month of January and I wasn't really expecting to like this as much as I did - I was never a huge fan of Peter Pan as a child, nor is the Disney movie my favourite one (in fact it's probably one of my least beloved). However; the audiobook narrated by Jim Dale really allowed me to appreciate the magic and whimsy of Barrie's words - I loved the narration and it definitely allowed me appreciate the magical and captivating writing of the story. I loved Barrie's depiction of children as selfish monsters (so true) and the third person narrator who informs the readers of little innocuous character details. I loved the heartbreaking ending (heartbreaking to me at least). However; I also did recognise a lot of problematic elements in the story - in part because of the time in which Barrie wrote his story. The depiction of First Nations people is... well it's not great. I found myself uncomfortable listening to it and reading it. Also let's just get it out there - Peter Pan is the worst. He's such an unbelievable little jerk. I liked Captain Hook more than Peter Pan! Despite these elements, I found myself drawn into the story for the most part and loved Jim Dale's narration. I would want to talk to someone though, more knowledgeable than myself on some of the depictions in the novel and see their thoughts. 


13. The Dark Monk by Oliver Potzsch - 2.5/5 Stars
After buying every single book available in the series last year and finally continuing after the first book, The Hangman's Daughter, I have to say - I'm pretty disappointed. The first book was such a wonderful historical mystery, with lovable if flawed characters. This book however; I felt like all my favourites had changed into negative versions of themselves. Simon was such an idiot in this book! And Magdalena was no longer a beautiful, misunderstood outcast with a hot temper - instead she was the stereotypical jealous woman who hated every other beautiful female. There was so much girl on girl hate in this story - and so much use of the words slut and whore. It really bothered me to hear every female be called slut and whore by so many different male (and female) characters. Maybe I read the first book so long ago I blocked it out, but I felt like this time around the female characters were all terribly written, and so clearly written by a man. The story also didn't read as smoothly - the translation of this novel (from the original German) was very poorly done - so many modern phrases were used! It completely pulled me out of the story. I am giving it 2.5 stars for the world itself and some of the characters (Jakob Kisul is still great) but this book was definitely not as great as the first one. I am sort of regretting picking up the next four books in this series... 



14. A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich  - 4/5 stars
If I were going to have kids and read them history stories before bedtime, I would read them this book. This was such a cute, delightful little history book - that described history and some of the worst historical events in ways that teach people but also sound poetic and tragic. The writing is really such a strength of this novel - it was so beautifully written and made history more like reading a story. I will admit that the book is definitely euro-centric (even as a Canadian I was like um HELLO? Are Australia and North America simply afterthoughts?) but I still enjoyed learning about different parts of Europe (I've really only studied Western European history myself). Obviously the whole world couldn't be covered but I can't give it a perfect star rating given that it white-washes history A LOT. But it was a nice palate cleanser between books and I think would be a wonderful way to introduce kids to history - I myself loved history as a child and used to read encyclopedias so I think I would've adored this. 



15. Nefertiti's Heart by A.W. Exely - 1/5 Stars
So I read about 60% of this book and then skimmed the rest - I think that still counts as reading it? As I mentioned above, every now and then I like to try out a new indie author to see if they're any good. I had high hopes that this steampunk-esque story in 1800s London would be similar to the Glass and Steele series by CJ Archer. But my god, this book was bad. It was all romance, no plot. Trigger Warnings are necessary because there is so much rape and abuse - and it angered me to no end that this rape and abuse was used as pretty much the sole defining element of the main female character's personality and story. But I really stopped reading when the main characters have sex in a treeYes. You read that right. A fucking tree - like ON A TREE BRANCH. The two main characters have their first time in a tree and the female character decides that she is now cured of all the trauma her childhood rape caused her. And that's when I stopped reading because it was ridiculous and my head exploded. 

16. A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith - 1.5/5 stars
I love anything to do with the Wars of the Roses, and I was absolutely obsessed with Richard III as a character in the Starz TV show The White Queen. However; I found this story, a romance following Richard III and the mother of his bastard children, to be quite dull and simply not the kind of romance I enjoy. There was so much telling instead of showing, and the writing itself was quite simplistic which didn't bring to life the vivid period in which this story is set. And the romance itself - it's like barely in the novel! I didn't enjoy the romance and while I applaud the author for allowing Richard III to be faithful to his Queen, it did mean the last third of the novel fell flat because the main love interests stopped being in love... and were just sort of there. I wasn't even sad with the tragic ending because I knew it was coming, but I also wasn't invested in the characters. This is very much historical-fiction lite, with none of the research and substance that I usually enjoy in such novels, and none of the engagement and emotion I usually have towards historical tragic tales. 


Books I Bought
# of Books I Bought: 44

Okay, so I was really bad this month and did not follow my Bookish Resolution to not buy books AT ALL. I didn't buy as many as I normally do, and I did get quite a few for free or as gifts - but I still bought way too many! Here's hoping in February I try to cut down! 

1.The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold (Paperback) - I got this from a friends house when she was giving away some books!
2. The Illusionists by Rosie Thomas (Paperback) - same as above, my friend let me go through books she was giving away and I gained this 
3. The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellows (Paperback) - bought with Christmas gift cards. I saw this book had a Downtown Abbey connection and I had to get it
4. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black (Hardback) - bought with Christmas gift cards. One of my most anticipated reads of the year. 
5. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Puffin in Bloom Edition) - bought with Christmas gift cards
6. The Girl in The Tower by Kathrine Arden (Hardback) - bought with Christmas gift cards
7. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (kindle edition) - I've heard such wonderful things about this series that I'm really hoping to discover a new favourite fantasy 
8. The Templars: History & Myth by Michael Haag (KIndle Edition) 
9. Bellamy and the Brute by Alicia Michaels (Kindle Edition) - FREE Kindle book
10. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (Kindle Edition) 
11. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (Kindle Edition)
12. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (Kindle Edition)
13. The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black (Kindle Edition) 
14. Nefertiti's Heart by A.W. Exley (Kindle Edition) - FREE Kindle Book 
15. The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton(Kindle Edition)
16. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera (Kindle Edition)
17. Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller (Kindle Edition) 
18. Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood  (Kindle edition) - I love Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries the TV show, and this is the book series it is based off of! I can't wait to dive into it 
19. Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind (Kindle Edition) - Sword of Truth series #3
20. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (Audiobook, Narrated by Michael Page)
21. The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon (Audiobook, Narrated by Alana Kerr Collins) 
22. Ink Mage by Victor Gischler (Audiobook, Narrated by Fiona Hardingham)
23. In Farleigh Field by Rhys Bowen(Audiobook, Narrated by Gemma Dawson)
24. The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli (Audiobook, Narrated by Pearl Mackie)
25. Everything All at Once by Bille Nye (Audiobook, Narrated by Bill Nye)
26. The Girl who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill (Audiobook, Narrated by Christina Moore)
27. Warlock Holmes by G.S. Dennings (Audiobook, Narrated by Robert Garson)
28. Sherlock Holmes Complete Collection by Sir Arthur Conany Doyle (Audiobook, Narrated by Stephen Fry)
29. Beastly Bones by William Ritter (Audiobook, Narrated by Nicola Barber) - Jackaby Novel #2
30. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier (Audiobook, Narrated by Anna Massey)
31. The TIme Traveller's Guide to Medieval England by Iam Mortimer (Audiobook, Narrated by Jonathan Keeble)
32. Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine (Audiobook, Narrated by Emily Sutton-Smith)
33. Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte (Audiobook, Narrated by Emilia Fox)
34. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (Audiobook, Narrated by Michael C. Hall)
35. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum (Audiobook, Narrated by Anne Hathaway)
36. Red Rising by Pierce Brown (Audiobook, Narrated by Tim Gerard Reynolds)
37. A Quiet Life in the Country by T.E. Kinsey (Audiobook, Narrated by Elizabeth Knowelden)
38. The Gold Son by Carrie-Ann Noble (Audiobook, Narrated by Gerary Doyle 
39. Brave New World by Aldous Huxlexy (Audiobook, Narrated by Michael York) 
40. The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle (Audiobook, Narrated by Christopher Czenove
41. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (Audiobook, Narrated by Amanda Dolan)
42. The Unseen World by Liz Moore (Audiobook, Narrated by Lisa Flanagan) 
43. Romeo and Juliet: A Novel by David Hewson (Audiobook, Narrated by Richard Armitage)
44. Scythe by Neal Shusterman(Audiobook, Narrated by Greg Tremblay 


So that is my January wrap-up! Hopefully February shapes up to be just as good a reading month (with slightly less book purchases).

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