Hello,
I hope you guys are having a good start to the weekend. It’s been very cold and dreary where I live and we even got a few snowflakes too. I’ve mostly stayed inside and worked on hw, took a nap, finished a short book, and started working on my February TBR. I have a much heavier homework load this semester than I ever had, so things have been pretty hectic lately. I wanted to get all of my end of the year posts up in January but unfortunately, it will probably be February and possibly March before I get everything out.
January was a slow month of reading for me. I hit a small reading slump back toward the end of November and while I was reading, I felt that I wasn’t enjoying the books that I was reading. It wasn’t until my fifth or sixth book in January that I feel like I finally got out of whatever rut I was in from last year. I only read 7 books this month but I think that is alright with the schedule that I have now. This semester I have quite a few big papers that I have to write and I am taking advanced grammar as well. I actually decided to take some books off my shelf for the moment so I can pick them up later.
Since I have so much I have to do in February I’ve decided to read some short novels and standalones. I also have some that are for specific challenges that I need to finish. I only have one book that is over 400 pages long which I have a hold for, though it might be a while before I get to it. I also have an ARC that I need to finish by the end of the month as well. I still want to do some challenges and experiments, but I haven’t figured what that will be yet, and I probably won’t be able to start anything major until March which is when my Spring break starts.
January Wrap-up:
- The way I used to be by Amber Smith – I am not sure how to rate this one. I think this is an important book to read and brings up an important topic, but it doesn’t seem to add anything new. Granted this novel was written in 2016 and is still relevant today, but I struggled with this one (3 stars).
- Holding up the universe by Jennifer Niven – I wanted to love this one. I loved All the bright places and it was one of my top favorite books of the year when I read it, so I got really excited when I saw this one. I struggled with this one as well. I listened to this on audio book and it was easier, but I had a hard time relating with Livvy. I think my favorite character was actually Jack. I thought that Livvy was a strong character, but she also did some impulsive things as well. Overall I would still recommend this one, it just wasn’t for me at the time (3.5 stars).
- You’ll Miss me when I’m gone by Rachel Lynn Solomon – I apparently had a bad start to the new year in reading because I also struggled with this one. I loved the story itself, but I just couldn’t relate to the characters. I liked Tovah more than Adina, and while I struggled to relate with Adina, I could also understand where she was coming from in her situation. I still think this is one well worth reading though (4 stars).
- Every heart a doorway (#1) by Seanan McGuire – I actually tried to pick this one up when it first came out, but couldn’t get into it at the time so I deleted it from myself. Everyone on Booktube was talking about the series this past year so I thought I would give it another try especially since I was looking for titles that started with an E, and I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I thought the characters were pretty well developed and the story was unpredictable. I’m looking forward to continuing the series throughout the year and I would recommend this one (4 stars).
- Lost hills (#1) by Lee Goldberg – This was my Amazon First reads choice of the month and it wasn’t a bad one. I really liked the main character and even some of the side characters. The mystery itself starts off right at the beginning, but it is unpredictable in the way it ends. Another highly recommended one as well (4 stars).
- The bone season (#1) by Samantha Shannon – I honestly have no idea why it took me so long to get to this one. I saw it when it first came out and went by it thinking that it wasn’t something that I would enjoy, and boy was I wrong. This one got me out of whatever rut I was in at the beginning of the month. The tension was so high throughout the story, and while the character did have that need at the beginning to be protected by others, she did grow out of it toward the end. I also loved the hate to love romance and was exactly what I was looking for in a book. I also loved the side characters, though the syndicate gang was probably my favorite (5 stars).
- Home: A dystopian Journey by David Duane Kummer – This was a book I picked up on a website called Voracious Readers and it wasn’t bad. It took me a while longer than I thought it would, but I really enjoyed it for it being a short Dystopian novel. I plan to have a review up next week so I won’t say too much, but I would recommend it (4 stars).
February TBR:
February is going to be an interesting month only because it starts one of the busiest times of the year for me. I have at least three papers that I have to write and a few tests coming up, so I am not entirely sure how much reading I will get done, but I want to squeeze in a few hopefully. I am sticking seven on to my TBR again since I feel like that is a reasonable number of books with the exception of one more that I put on hold. I also ordered a planner last year called Always Fully Booked by LittleInklings and I love it so far. It has a number of challenges in it which is where a couple of these books will be connected to since I wanted to read some shorter novels this month.
Currently reading:
- Grim Tuesday (#2) by Garth Nix – I haven’t even had a chance to get to this one, but I am hoping that February will be the month that I will be able to continue the series.
- Sinner (#4) by Maggie Stiefvater – I have been trying and struggling to get to this book even though I liked the characters in the previous three books of this series. Since I am using it for a challenge I am hoping to finish it this month.
- Only lies remain by Val Collins – I picked up this one on a website called Bookish firsts since I am trying to see about getting more ARCS every once in a while and this one seemed interesting. I’m only five chapters in and they are really short which is good. It is interesting so far.
TBR:
- The invited by Jennifer McMahon – I loved the winter people and I also love haunted houses so I am super excited for this new release. It just came out a few days ago I believe and I already have a hold on it. This one will probably be the first one that I pick up.
- You think it, I’ll say it by Curtis Sittenfeld – This one works for the challenge that I am working on in my planner where I have to read a book from a celebrities book club. I figured this would be a good month to do it and I chose this one. Apparently this is a book of short stories which is something that I don’t pick up very often. I also needed an extra “Y” title so this one worked out perfectly.
- Sleeping Giants (#1) by Sylvain Neuvel – I am also working on a challenge where I needed a book that had the color black on it, and I struggled to find one. This seems like it would be interesting so well see how it goes. It also has stars on the cover and will work for a cover challenge too.
- You are still the one (#1)by Rachel Harris – This one doesn’t go for any challenges other than needing another “Y” title (I have quite a few of those). I also thought it would be a nice one for Valentine’s day since I don’t read romance very often.
- Honorable mention – Uglies (#1) by Scott Westerfeld – I was originally going to wait on this one, but then I decided to go ahead and check it out. There was a hold on it so it will be a while before I can get to it which is totally fine since it is over 400 pages long. I’ve read afterworld by this author and wasn’t really impressed with it so I am a little weary, but intrigued as well.
So here is my latest Wrap-up/TBR. I have a couple of posts to write for next week in between papers but I am hoping to get my first review of the year up, along with my 2020 goals and my top favorite/least favorites of 2019 too.
Hope you have a good weekend,
Marybeth
Marybeth's Bookish Adventures 