Quarter 1 in Review (2021)
I realized yesterday that we are already more than a quarter of the way through 2021! What?! I’m still not sure how in the world that happened. It seems both like the year just started and that it’s still 2020 with the continuing of the pandemic. But I also noticed that I’ve already read over 20 books this year and haven’t really gotten to a lot of them for writing reviews. So today, I will do a brief rundown of what I’ve been reading so far this year.
Murderbot Diaries 1-5 by Martha Wells, including 4 novellas and 1 full length novel. These are amazing. If you haven’t read them yet and you like Sci-fi at all, you really ought to give them a chance. Book 6 comes out later this month, so now is the perfect time to start!
Shadow of Night and The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness, books 2 and 3 of the All Souls trilogy. I reviewed the first book already, and maybe someday I’ll get to these but it’s not a priority. They’re super fast and fun, like Twilight for grown ups really. Just add witches and daemons to your vampires. Not really suitable for kids due to sexual content, but a fun read for adults.
The Duke and I: Bridgerton 1 by Julia Quinn. Not SFF at all, I had to venture to the romance section to find this (after locating said section in the store lol). And… I didn’t love it. As you can probably have guessed by reading my blog so far, I don’t get into reading sex and I tend to just skip it. Which ended up being a generous portion of this book. And apparently I missed a big plot point by doing that, which I found out by watching Murphy Napier’s review of the book. I watched the first 3 episodes of the show and the costumes were fantastic. The world is cool, but I’d rather stay with Austen or other Proper Romances in general.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. Already reviewed it, loved the book. Gotta read her other book still. Definitely recommend.
Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb. Again, reviewed already. Great start to the series.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab. Such a good book, already reviewed.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. Nice story, but exceptionally different view of concentration camp life than you get in a lot of other WWII stories. I enjoyed it, but I’m a little skeptical on how historically accurate it is. If you like that kind of book, you may like it.
Aurora Rising and Aurora Burning by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Books one and two of their newer series. I picked up the first when it came out because the cover art was so similar to Skyward by Sanderson and yeah, it’s the same artist. The story is fun and fast, as you’d expect from the authors of the Illuminae Files. Only problem? Book 3 is Nowhere to be found. Not out, and I couldn’t find a pub date last I looked. And that was a huge cliffhanger to end book 2. I want to see how it works out!!! If you liked Illuminae, try these ones. More traditional storytelling, but still really good stuff.
Eden’s Outcast by Kuta Marler. This one is written by a friend of mine, and it’s pretty good. Not my normal cup of tea, but if you like more horror elements in your story you’ll maybe like it? Also the main character grossed me out a little: she eats EVERYTHING. I’m talking food, rotten food, leather jackets, bed sheets… yeah. All kinds of stuff.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis. Listened to this with the kids while doing our “Art and Alcatraz” time on Fridays during at home learning. Always a good story, and the narration on Audible was fantastic. We will be listening to more of these throughout the year.
Saints Volume 2: No Unhallowed Hand by the Church. It’s the second volume of the history of my church. An interesting look at the early years of settlement in Utah and the slow expansion of the church through missionary work in the second half of the 19th century. If that’s interesting to you, great. I read a chapter or two every week on Sunday as part of my devotional time since we don’t have full church back to normal yet.
Mad Ship by Robin Hobb. Book 2 of the series, will be reviewing in the next week or so. Such a fabulous book, a great continuation of the series. More later.
Skyward 3 by Brandon Sanderson. And really, I can’t say anything about it. Hope the title announcement comes soon!!
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine. Likewise will be reviewing this one soon. It was amazing and fantastic. Love the exploration of Aliens vs Self and other themes. It’s just come out, and is book 2 of the series but seriously read these books if you haven’t!
Currently Reading:
A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab. Only a quarter of the way through, and loving it!
Stargazer by Dan Wells. Listening with the kids while we do our art time and it’s a great third book in the Zero G series. They’re each 4-5 hours on audio, and the first one is available in print too. I love these books and so do all my kids (ages 8-14).
Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson. It’s becoming a mountain to climb, really. So much awesomeness and I’ve already read the print but the audio read is going REALLY slow. Like, on part 3 only after 3 full months. It’s partly because life isn’t back to normal, partly because I had a concussion and noise bothered me for like 3 weeks, and partly I’m out of the habit of book listening. I will get it done though, and it’s totally worth it.
And that’s where I’m at so far! If you look back at what I wanted to read this year, I’m coming along but maybe not fast enough? Or maybe I’m doing okay. I still have ¾ of the year to go, and some great books still upcoming. And a few cool things to mention when they work out! How have your goals for 2021 been working out? My not-reading-goal of making 7 quilts is going really well (which is why I haven’t read as much as I’d maybe liked to lol) as I’m halfway done hand quilting my 4th quilt of the year. Maybe pictures posted someday? Maybe. Some have bookish themes and are super cute. Okay, they’re all cute when they’re done lol. Anyway, hope you’re keeping up with what you want to do at least as well (okay, hopefully better) as I am! And here’s to warm outside reading days!
