Tag: science fiction

UPDATE: Reading Goals for 2020

Reading Goals for 2020

I’m a little late on this update, but when I checked on my goals I was surprised by how much I’d gotten done! Here’s my original post from the beginning of the year. But for those of you who don’t want to click through, here’s my list:

I’m super proud of everything I’ve accomplished so far. Early in the year I read The Little Prince and the beginning of quarantine was a great time to binge the entire Princess Diaries series. I quickly binged the Twilight series before Midnight Sun came out this summer (I was never planning on reading it, but it reminded me that I had this as a goal). I was really curious to see how the series would read as an adult since the last time I read it, I was still a teenager (my review).

I only ended up reading one Kristin Hannah and Ruth Ware book apiece–I just didn’t LOVE their writing styles so I didn’t feel that urge to pick up any of their other books. For Kristin Hannah, I read The Great Alone (review)and for Ruth Ware I read The Death of Mrs. Westaway (review). I liked The Great Alone a lot more than the Ruth Ware book, but I’ll definitely have to be in the right mood before I read another Kristin Hannah book I think.

I ended up listening to the audio book for The Tale of Two Cities and I thought that ended up being a really good decision. I think if I’d tried to read it, I would have missed some things. I think I would have been more confused as to what was going on and I definitely would have missed the little jokes throughout–Dickens is funny! Who knew? So to anyone who’s struggling with reading classics, I might suggest finding an audio version!

I’ve got 1984 sitting on my Kindle right now, but I’m not sure I’ll get to it before it’s due back at the library. I still need to pick which series I want to finish, but right now I think I’m planning on doing three which would consist of four books that I own. We’ll see though…

How are your 2020 Reading Goals coming?

22 Best Book Deals for 9/17/20: Maisie Dobbs, Beach Read, A Darker Shade of Magic, and more

Book Deals
As of this posting, all of these deals are active, but I don’t know for how long!
Less than $2

Dear Martin by Nic Stone

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell

Tidelands by Philippa Gregory

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Beach Read by Emily Henry

Party of Two by Jasmine Guillory

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

Less than $3

The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg

Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner

Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Tiny Pretty Things by Sona Charaipotra & Dhonielle Clayton

The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Recommended from this post:

April 2020 Wrap-Up/TBR Update

This has just been a weird month all around and I’m pretty proud of how much reading I managed to get done.

monthly tbr

Also read/reading:

Books finished this month: 13
Books currently reading: 2

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 296
TBR at the beginning of April = 307
Books added to TBR = 4
Books read/deleted from TBR = 3
Total on TBR now = 308

How did your reading go this month?

April 2020 TBR

Who knows how much longer this quarantine is going to continue? My local library has been AMAZING throughout it all, though. They’re doing curbside hold pick-up days twice a week despite fines being suspended for the duration of their closure. Honestly, these guys are amazing. So I’ve got a few library books to finish this month and then…I guess it’s probably a good time to read some of the books that have been sitting on my shelves for ages.

monthly tbr

Let’s see how this month goes! If you have a favorite Kristin Hannah book, let me know.

What are you guys reading this month? Let me know in the comments!

March 2020 Wrap-Up & TBR Update

As a stay-at-home mom to a toddler, my day-to-day life hasn’t changed much with the quarantine/social distancing. And yet. Everything has changed, right? Somehow I still managed to read a ton this month. I’m not totally sure how, but here we are. Perhaps you can spot a pattern in my reading below…

monthly tbr

Also read/reading:

Books finished this month: 15, 3 DNF
Books currently reading: 2

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 296
TBR at the beginning of March = 305
Books added to TBR = 8
Books read/deleted from TBR = 6
Total on TBR now = 307

How did your reading go this month?

March 2020 TBR

Last month was pretty good and I hope that carries through into this month as well. And, of course, here’s hoping I can stay caught up on here as well.

monthly tbr

I know, I know. I’m reading a lot of books at once–I do that sometimes. I get into this mode where I’m reading one book in each format (physical, Kindle, phone, audio).

What are you guys reading this month? Let me know in the comments!

February 2020 Wrap-Up & TBR Update

I had a great reading month in February! With Locke & Key hitting Netflix, I decided to binge the whole graphic novel series–I’ll probably do an overall series review sometime…soon.

monthly tbr

Also read/reading:

Books finished this month: 15 with 2 DNF
Books currently reading: 3

Overall TBR:

TBR at the beginning of the year = 296
TBR at the beginning of February = 302
Books added to TBR = 9
Books read/deleted from TBR = 6
Total on TBR now = 305

How did your reading go this month?

Adult summer reads | Mini-Reviews

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but ever since I started my job at the library last year I’ve been reading more adult books (rather than YA). Even though I had to leave my library job at the end of May, I’ve still been reading adult books! Here are a few that I’ve read since then (and I’m only just now noticing that all of these covers are red).

Dark MatterDark Matter by Blake Crouch

Going into this book, I knew it was about alternate timelines but nothing else about it. As the book starts, I felt like not much was happening and I was just waiting for Jason to figure out that he was in an alternate reality. With that being said, I did feel like the narrative picked up significantly when he and Amanda started traveling to different timelines. I liked the few chapters we got from Daniela’s perspective. It made me wonder what I would do if I started noticing small changes like that in my own husband. Without giving too much away, I thought the big discovery that happened 3/4 of the way through was mind blowing but also made perfect sense and really turned up the stress levels. One thing that didn’t make a ton of sense to me was the box itself. I didn’t really understand how it just…WAS in every reality. I feel like it should only exist in the realities in which it’s been built and you should only be able to travel between those realities? Like bus stops. I don’t know–maybe I’m just not understanding the science. Overall, I thought this book was pretty good and interesting, but it wasn’t AMAZING. 3.5/5

Purchase: Hardcover | eBook | Paperback

VengefulVengeful by V.E. Schwab

After the first book, my expectations for this one were HIGH. It didn’t quite live up to those expectations, but I still liked it. I thought the beginning was a lot slower and the time periods were harder for me to keep track of–I think there were maybe too many different Sydney time periods. As the story finally started to unfold, I wasn’t sure how all of the characters were going to fit together, but when I did start to see it, it was glorious. I thought Schwab did a great job of creating a new antagonist while also making room for Eli to continue being Eli. I wasn’t super invested in the mini-plotline of Sydney resurrecting Serena. I know they were sisters but…I just don’t see how Sydney could possibly think that would be a good idea–especially with her resurrection powers being less predictable on EOs. So yeah, in the end I didn’t think it was as good as the first book, but I liked it and I enjoyed how all the pieces fit together. Seems like there’s potential for a third book? I’d read it. 4.5/5

Purchase: Hardcover | eBook | Paperback (preorder)

Magic for LiarsMagic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

I like that Ivy isn’t stupid. That feels kind of weird to say, but sometimes main characters can be a little clueless? I like that we get to see her explanations for how and why she’s manipulating/evaluating people. She’s observant–other characters can’t easily pull one over on her. I liked this world that’s been created. It’s Harry Potter-esque (what magical world isn’t at this point?) but from a non-magical perspective. I thought Ivy’s musings while watching the teenagers doing flippant magic was really compelling. If I were in Ivy’s place I would also be frustrated at seeing kids do stupid magic. You could do so much more and you’re using your magic to change the color of your locker? Or something dumb like that. One issue I did have was that Ivy really didn’t want Rahul to know she wasn’t magical, but I feel like she said 1,001 dumb, non-thinking things to him that would have tipped him off. But overall, I thought this was a really great mystery (and one that I was actually able to solve myself before the end!) and I could maybe see this becoming a series? Like Ivy could go investigate other magical cases. We’ll see. 4/5

Purchase: Hardcover | eBook

How Ashley got her groove back | July TBR

I’m hoping I get my groove back this month at least. Towards the end of June, I felt my groove was on its way back, so we’ll see if that continues. It may get thrown off because we’ve got a family reunion to go to, but for now I think I’m getting into a rhythm and I hope that’s reflected by my reading.

monthly tbr

Since I’m reading Jane Eyre through Serial Reader, it’ll probably still take me a month or two before I finish it. And I’m working through the Flavia de Luce mysteries on our morning walks, so those will be ongoing as well. Does anyone have any good, light series that they’d recommend as audiobooks? I’d prefer a series with lots of books that is different from the Flavia de Luce mysteries (and that won’t have a million holds on them *cough* Harry Potter *cough*). I could see myself getting tired of the Flavia mysteries and wanting to switch off every other book.

What are you guys reading this month? Let me know in the comments!

Aliens! The End of the World! | Zero Repeat Forever by G.S. Prendergast [ARC]

28945665Raven, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s identical twin brother got in some trouble. Instead of being sent to Juvie, they were given permission to work at a summer camp as camp counselors instead. That’s where they were when the Nahx arrived. The Nahx use their high-tech dart guns to kill any humans they encounter sparing no one. That is, until Raven. Not only did the Nahx she meet leave her alive, but he carried her to a place where her friends could safely find her. A Nahx has never showed a human mercy before, so why her?

First of all, I find the overall premise of this book kind of weird. I don’t know why I keep requesting sci-fi alien books, because I don’t actually like them very much. But anyway, I did like some things about this book. The emotions that I felt at times really took me by surprise. I was going along reading and then all of the sudden one of the scenes really hit me and I really began to empathize with Eighth. Like seriously, my heart just broke for him. Raven, on the other hand, I never really liked. I just didn’t really find her authentic as a character. She had all these mood swings. I mean, I understand that she’s currently witnessing the end of the world and that her boyfriend was killed and all that, but the context in which she has mood swings just didn’t really fit. So with that being said, her and Eighth’s relationship wasn’t my favorite. Eighth deserved better.

The writing in this book was kind of weird at times. It was very slow-moving to begin with, but then the flow wasn’t great or consistent. I mean, the book is almost 500 pages so it’ll take a little while to get through. It also deals with some HEAVY topics like abusive relationships, racism, grief, hope, identity. Just to name a few.

Overall, I thought this book was just okay. It didn’t blow me away, but I didn’t hate it either. Like I said earlier, I was surprised by the depth of the emotions I was feeling in the middle of the book, but I still didn’t particularly care for almost all of the characters. If you’re already into sci-fi, though, you might like this one.

Overall Rating: 3
Language: Moderate
Violence: Heavy
Smoking/Drinking: Moderate
Sexual Content: Mild

Note: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.