Tag: inbox-outbox

January 2024 Reading Wrap-up

~ EMM ~ 2 Comments

We’re already more than a week into February, and I’m just wrapping up my January reading because I’ve been busy getting book two in my Mage Lore series published. Now that it’s out, I have a bit of a break, and I’m frantically trying to catch up on things like blog posts and house cleaning and errands, etc. But you don’t want to hear about that. You want to hear about what I read in January. 🙂

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Technically, I finished reading Kushiel’s Dart on the 4th of February, but I read almost all of it in January, and I don’t want to save it for next month’s update. I really enjoyed this book, despite the length. I think, if you can get past the content warnings (there are a lot), and you like Game of Thrones style fantasy novels (low on magic, minus the dragons, but with all the political maneuverings, warring houses, and complex web of character relationships), then you will probably also like this series. I thought I would be put off by the indentured servant / pleasure from pain stuff, but it’s pretty sparing on the page (except in specific cases where it’s relevant to the plot or character development), and I think it’s handled a LOT better than in Game of Thrones (the show). I especially liked the Sherlock / Moriarty vibes I got from the final chapter, which definitely made me want to read the next book.

The very first book I finished this year was Yellowface by R. F. Kuang. It was painful to listen to (audiobook), but in a very compelling way, if that makes any sense. The painful comes from the fact that main (POV) character is irredeemably terrible and the all the awful publishing stories are like non-fiction with the serial numbers scraped off. Reading this book is like if the Michael Jackson eating popcorn meme was watching a car wreak. It definitely deserves the hype.

After I finished Yellowface, I listened to Freedom is a Constant Struggle by Angela Y. Davis on audiobook. To say this was “good” feels a little strange. This book is a collection of speeches, so it is a little dated in some places. But for the most part, it’s also very frustrating how little has changed (and how some things have actually gotten a lot worse). I found it really helpful in filling in gaps in my education on these issues, and it gave me lots to think about, plus several more topics to add to my non-fiction reading list.

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I started but didn’t finish reading Faebound before the end of the month, mostly because my days (when I would be reading a hardcover) were pretty focused on editing my book. Now that it’s out, I have a bit of a break while I decide which of my many in-progress projects I want to focus on next. And I plan to finish reading this book during my break.

As for what’s on my Kindle, after finishing Kushiel’s Dart, I needed something else to read before bed. So went back to Nettle & Bone, which I’d started but only read about a chapter in before it was due back to the library. I am determined to finish reading it before it’s due back again.

In addition to those two books, I’m working on what else I want to add to my February TBR. There will definitely be a mystery novel (for my Adventure in Aeldia February prompt), plus whichever book we select for our Camp Book Club buddy read, and at least one more Fairyloot hardcover.

What’s on your TBR for February?

Friday Reads: Inbox/Outbox

~ EMM

The Lightfall Magical Readathon begins tomorrow! I am so excited! I’m planning on doing daily reading updates though the readathon, talking about what I’m reading. Hopefully with lots of pictures.

But before we get started on that, I thought today would be a good day to do a quick Inbox / Outbox post and discuss what I’ve read so far in December.

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The first book I finished this month was System Collapse by Martha Wells (aka Murderbot #7). I listened to this on audiobook during my long travel day on Sunday. That turned out to be a very poor choice on my part. I found it really hard to follow most of the action scenes because most of the bots in this book are numbered instead of named, or they have numbers attached to their names. For some reason, that just made it really hard for me to follow which one was doing what and keep them all straight in my head. It was still really enjoyable, even if I think about a third of it went right through my brain unprocessed. I fully intend to re-read the entire series back-to-back at some point, so no big deal.

I am nearly finished reading Full Moon Over Freedom by Angelina M. Lopez. My plan is to finish reading it tonight so that I can start one of the books on my Lightfall TBR tomorrow. I’ve been really enjoying it, maybe even more than the first book in this series. The characters are great, and I love how the author is interweaving the events the historical storyline alongside the present-day romance.

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I met with my “Camp Book Club” friends yesterday, and we decided to read Paladin’s Faith this month (book #4 in T. Kingfisher’s Saint of Steel series). The only problem is, I haven’t read book #3 yet (Paladin’s Hope). So I need to catch up before our discussion at the end of this month. These should be pretty quick reads for me, so I’m thinking I’ll dive back into this world as soon as the Lightfall Readathon is over.

I am also falling behind on my Adventure in Aeldia prompts. I am still reading November’s book (This Golden Flame), and I still have to read the book I picked out for December (Woven in Midnight). Since I have not been finishing the books in the month I’m supposed to read them, I’m not counting reputation points for this quest. I’m just doing this for fun. But, I still want to finish all of this year’s prompts before the end of the year. Mostly because reading these books was my one reading goal for 2023, and I am SO CLOSE to achieving it! But I have some catching up to do.

At this point, I’ve pretty much given up on my overly ambitious end of year TBR and replaced it with my Lightfall Readathon TBR plus these three books:

Anything else I can squeeze in from that end of year list will be a bonus.

I’ve been reading a LOT

~ EMM ~ 1 Comment

I just updated Goodreads to mark the book I finished reading as complete, and I noticed this:

42 of 52 books completed and it’s only mid-June!

We’re not even through June, and I only need to read 10 more books before I hit my annual Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 52 books (or a book a week, on average)! I was so surprised by that stat that I had to double check it against my reading tracker spreadsheet, just to be sure. But, yup. It’s right. I’ve read 42 books so far this year!

This, of course, makes my competitive, goal-oriented brain immediately perk up and think, “Ooooh! Do you think we can make it to 52 before the end of the month?!”

To which I have to say, “Down, brain. Chill.”

And then, of course, quietly start doing the math on how many more days, how many books I have in progress, etc., etc.

Is it possible? Yes. Maybe.

Would I get anything else done in the meantime? No. Maybe?? I don’t know. Probably not.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

This isn’t really an “inbox / outbox” post, but since I think the last recap I did was after the Orilium Spring Equinox Readathon, I might as well start with a brief recap. I read five books in May and another six so far in June.

What I’ve read in May and June

Of those, A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting (historical romance), The Keeper’s Six (fantasy novella), and After Hours on Milagro Street (contemporary romance) were probably my top three faves of the bunch. I also really liked Georgie, All Along (another contemporary romance), but since I *just* finished that one, there may be some recency bias influencing my feelings on that one.

I also have another six books (all non-fiction) that I’ve started, but haven’t finished, yet. Most of those are slower reads, so I doubt I’ll finish all of them before the end of June. But I might finish a few of them.

What I don’t have in-progress right now are any other fiction books. So, let’s take a look at the ones that are currently jostling for the top position on my TBR.

Top of my TBR

I will probably pick up Witch King by Martha Wells next, since that’s a buddy read book I need to finish before next week. I also want to read Kingdom of the Wicked, since that’s the FairyLoot hardcover I planned to read this month for the Adventure in Aeldia reading challenge.

But A Sinister Revenge has been at the top of my TBR for a while, and it keeps getting pushed out of the top slot by other books taking higher priority for a variety of reasons. And I got my hands on an early copy of A Lady’s Guide to Scandal (the next book by the author of A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting), which I would love to read before it officially releases on 6 July. Both of those are very tempting distractions from my “required” reading for this month.

Not to mention, after I finished reading (and really enjoying) The Keeper’s Six by Kate Elliott, I went searching on my Kindle for the other books of hers that I know are on there, but that I haven’t read yet. She has a new series I’m really excited about, but there’s also this other recent novella, Servant Mage, that I haven’t read, yet. And, Sea of Tranquility keeps coming up as something I would probably really like, so I’ve bumped that one back up to the top of my TBR as well. Both of those are short books that might be fast reads I could easily squeeze in before the end of June.

That said, I really don’t think I’m going to push it. I do, in fact, have other projects that require my attention this month. And I highly doubt I’m going to read ten books in ten days. But who knows? Maybe June will be an epic reading month, and I’ll hit my Goodreads Reading Challenge goal before we’re even halfway through the year!

Friday Reads — Inbox/Outbox

~ EMM

I finished reading Poster Girl by Veronica Roth, and I liked it more than I thought I would. I got real burnt out on dystopian novels back during their height of popularity. To the point where I ‘ve been pretty much avoiding them since then. But this was a nice addition to the genre. I can’t say much without spoiling it, but I enjoyed the mystery aspect of the story. And I always enjoy it when characters are struggling with moral issues. So I enjoyed this.

I started reading The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller. I’m past the 50-page decision point and still going, even though I don’t really like the main character, or the detailed descriptions of what everyone is wearing. I kind of wish this story was adult instead of YA so that we could get into the political stuff a little more. But I’m still reading it.

I also started reading The Murder of Mr. Wickham, which is basically Jane Austen fan fiction. I have a ton of respect for how much work the author put into figuring out how old the characters of Jane Austen’s novels would have been in relation to each other, and how they could have been connected, just so that she could get them all into a house party together. I’m not very far into it yet (Mr. Wickham is still alive), but so far it seems like the characters from the novels just aren’t quite behaving the way I would expect them to behave, which is frustrating.

Catching up on what I’ve been reading

~ EMM

I really did plan to do a month-end round up of everything I’ve read in February. But somehow it’s now the middle of March, and I’m only now sitting down to write the post. And that’s only because I got to a sticky part in the novel I’m currently writing, and writing a blog post seemed a lot easier than writing the rest of the scene I got stuck on.

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What I’ve read since my last post:

  • Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore — I liked this one more than I thought I would after slogging through all the ship facts in the first third of the book. By the time the whole ship part was over, I was really invested in the characters, especially the telepathic foxes. The survival journey was really well written, and made even better by showing the shared trauma from enduring such an ordeal. Seems like a weird thing to say, but Kristin Cashore doesn’t shy away from the trauma caused by fantasy plots, and she writes characters recovering from trauma really well.
  • Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young — This book is set on an island near Seattle, not far from where I live. Some people in their reviews think it’s set on the San Juans, but there’s no way they’re doing day trips to Seattle from any of the islands up here. Based on how it’s described, I think it most closely resembles Vashon Island, but with magic. Not that any of that matters to the story itself, which is a small town secrets, unsolved murder plot with magic. And the writing does a beautiful job setting the mood and the scene. Usually I’m one of those readers who skips long descriptions, but the ones in this book were so well done they actually added to the story.
  • From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper — I think I liked this one even better than the first book in this series. I listened to it on audiobook, and the main (point of view) character had a very distinctive narrative voice that I enjoyed. Very contemporary. I think this is still my favorite series of all the small-town-witch-romance books I’ve read so far.
  • Built to Last by Erin Hahn — I’ve read all of the books published by this author, and this is her first adult romance. As contemporary romances go (at least the ones I seem to read), it’s really low stakes. There’s no third act break-up, which is an interesting choice, and one that I think works given the fact that this is a second chance romance. Still, there wasn’t a lot keeping these characters apart. You’re mostly just watching them become more and more attached to each other in the midst of a low stakes external plot. Which, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t hate. It just wasn’t what I was expecting given how much she seems to put her YA characters through the ringer. I feel like this is “cozy contemporary romance,” if that’s a thing. (And if it is, I like it.)
  • Every Tool’s a Hammer by Adam Savage — Unlike probably most people who read this book, I’ve never watched Myth Busters. The only thing I knew about this guy was that my husband watches some of his videos on YouTube and wants a shop like his. When I was searching for an audiobook we would both enjoy listening to on a brief road-trip, I stumbled onto this one. I picked it because it’s about being a maker (aka someone who creates and/or invents things). What I discovered was, even though there’s a lot in here that wasn’t really directly relevant to me (a writer who never really got into cosplay), I was surprised at how much I did find really thought provoking and useful in terms of the creative process and mentality. Overall, I really enjoyed it, and it sparked a lot of interesting conversations with my maker husband on our trip.

Now that we’re all caught up… I finally updated the bookshelf spread in my Passion Planner to show the books I read in January and February.

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What I’m currently reading (and trying to finish by the end of this month)…

  • On my Kindle: An Impossible Imposter — I am not happy about the backstory reveal in this one, and I’m really glad I waited to read this until the next book in the series came out because as of right now, I might have stopped reading the series after this book if I didn’t have the next one ready to go. That’s how much I hate this twist. But we’ll see how I feel when I finish it…
  • On audiobook: Unraveling: What I Learned about Life While Shearing Sheep, Dyeing Wool, and Making the World’s Ugliest Sweater — I’ve just barely started this one, and it may end up being a DNF because the introduction was a real downer, but the interview I heard with the author was compelling, and people seem to really like this one, so I’m going to plow ahead (probably at a faster listening speed, though).
  • In hardcover: Babel — Another one I’ve barely made a dent in, and I’m supposed to have it finished for a buddy read by next weekend. Oops. I have vowed to finish it by the end of the month at the absolute latest because…..

April is the Orilium Spring Equinox (aka the April Magical Readathon hosted by G at Book Roast)! I’m already working on my TBR, but it’s a bit up in the air still because there are several directions I could go. I’ll do a separate post on that closer to the end of March after I decide if I want to attempt a new Calling, or if I’m going to study the same subjects as last year and continue to advance as a Story Weaver.

Speaking of weaving stories… It’s time for me to get some sleep so I can get back to the writing bright and early tomorrow… If you want the scoop on what I’m working on, sign up for my monthly newsletter. That’s where I talk about that sort of thing.

Until next time, happy reading!

Weekend Reading Update

~ EMM

I just finished a couple of books, which means it’s time for another Inbox / Outbox post!

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  • Sweep of the Heart by Ilona Andrews — Another highly enjoyable installment in this series that I love.
  • An Unexpected Peril by Deanna Raybourn — Really enjoyed the mystery in this one. Even though I figured out one of the twists really early on, I didn’t figure out the murderer until just before they were revealed.
  • The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope — I really hope this book wins all the awards, including one for best audiobook narrator. The heist plot is really well done, the characters are fantastic, and the world-building is incredibly rich (both the magic and the incredibly well done historical fiction aspect of the story). So good. Highly recommend.

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I am currently reading Spells for Forgetting and really enjoying it. My brain is hooked, wanting to unravel the small town secrets, and my senses are engaged by the prose.

My next Kindle read is going to be Seasparrow by Kirstin Cashore, because that’s the book we picked for our buddy read this month. And my next audio book is going to be From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper, because I can’t get it on Kindle from my library for some reason, but they do have the audio book available.

What are you reading?

February Weekend Reading — Inbox / Outbox Update

~ EMM

Not quite one full week into February, and I’ve already finished one book so far this month! I’ve also already deviated from my TBR plans…

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I finished five books since my last inbox / outbox update. All of them were good, enjoyable reads, but no new faves.

  • Italian Folk Magic by Mary-Grace Fahrun — This was really interesting. I have no real frame of reference for “authenticity” of the content, but some of it definitely reminded me of things I’ve seen or heard in my extended Italian-American family.
  • The Fantasy Fiction Formula by Deborah Chester — There’s a lot of good stuff in here. Probably my biggest take-aways were the idea of testing your premise with her SPOOC formula (a summary sentence you create using your story’s Situation, Protagonist, Objective, Opponent, and Climax) and her chapter on scene conflict.
  • Spare by Prince Harry — I enjoyed hearing Harry’s thoughts about his life, which I was not really familiar with because I pay almost no attention to celebrity drama. There’s a lot to think about here, and I’m still processing my thoughts. I will say that I’m annoyed at the negative reviews that seem to focus only on poking fun and nitpicking what he said and how he said it instead of engaging with the bigger issues he raises.
  • A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson — This was an entertaining read, but I’ve never been a big fan of vampires. The book is well written. The prose is engaging and even lyrical at times. I liked it. I just didn’t love it. Which makes me feel a bit like an outlier, because lots of people seem to really love this book. So don’t listen to me. If you like vampires and none of the content warnings are deal-breakers for you, you should definitely check this out.
  • Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne — I love a good murder mystery, and this one had me turning pages and trying to solve the puzzle before the big reveal. It’s well done. I liked it. I thought I was sure I knew whodunit, but the story kept me questioning myself until the end.

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Since reading multiple books at once seemed to work out pretty well for me, I am probably going to keep that up. Except, my current plan is to have at least one fiction book in every format (audio, paper, and digital) going at any time. Plus one non-fiction book in addition to those, in any format.

My non-fiction book, at the moment, continues to be The Anatomy of Genres.

On audiobook, I’m listening to The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope. I’m only a few chapters in, but the narrator is killing it, and I am really enjoying the story so far.

My current ebook is the most recent addition to the Innkeeper series by Ilona Andrews, Sweep of the Heart. I absolutely love the worldbuilding in this series and am so excited to be back in this world.

All that’s left now is to start my hardcover selection, Spells for Forgetting… Maybe tomorrow?

What are you reading?

Currently Reading

~ EMM

As promised, it’s time for a mid-January reading update!

I’ve made some progress on the books I mentioned in my last post, and I’ve even managed to finish a few! Here’s the inbox / outbox update…

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Since my last post, I finished reading:

  • The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal — I enjoyed this, but didn’t love it. It’s been positioned as “The Thin Man in space.” I’d never seen that old movie, or read the book the movie was based on, so I waited to watch the movie until after I read this reimagining of the story. Now that I’ve read this book and seen the movie, I think I’m a little disappointed that the detective couple in The Spare Man isn’t quite as charming and charismatic as the detective couple in the movie. Without the movie, I wouldn’t have known what I was missing, but if you’re familiar with the movie, I guess that’s just something to be aware of going in. You’re not really getting Nick and Nora. Then again, maybe The Spare Man is meant to be riffing off the original source material (the book by Dashiell Hammett)? I’m really curious to hear more about this when the Writing Excuses podcast does their deep dive on this book in February.
  • Finding Me by Viola Davis — This audiobook was riveting! If you like Viola Davis’s work (and seriously, who doesn’t?), I highly recommend checking this out. I also recommend it to anyone pursuing any sort of artistic endeavor. It’s so good. And, if you like audiobooks, definitely listen to this one because she reads it herself.

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After finishing The Spare Man, I needed another fiction book to read. So I went through my FairyLoot hardcovers, and decided to start with A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson.

My new LED booklight is fully charged and ready to go…

I picked this because it’s short, and I’d heard a lot of glowing reviews for this book. Plus, it is technically the first book in a new series, so I can use it for the January prompt in the Choose Your Own Adventure: Year in Aeldia Magical Readathon 2023 Challenge. And yes, I started a Magical Readathon spread in my Passion Planner. More on that when I do my February set-up post. 🙂

Until then, happy reading! Talk with you more soon.