Well, it’s a new year. Once again I’ve set a goal of reading 50 books this year. I’m off to a good start, and starting by stretching my usual reading boundaries. So far, so good – so hopefully it remains as such!!
Don’t think I’ll have much on my “What I’ve read” list…as until recently I hadn’t read much. Without further ado…here is the reading list.
What I’ve Read
— This was, admittedly, a short book 100 pages. I happened to see it in my Facebook feed one day and was completely captivated by the cover. The blurb, however, did me in. I knew I had to have it.
What’s more, I actually read it (a short time later – probably 6 weeks). And read it FAST (and not just because it was 100 pages).
I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t care that I’d sort of guessed the twist early on (Guessed, but didn’t KNOW. Misdirection was entertainingly maintained to keep me guessing).
Definitely a keeper…I’m even considering putting out the money for the paperback to keep around. I hope we see more in this world. So.Much.Fun.
Months ago I posted about the random act of kindness that had a customer handing over this trilogy, in print, to me at work. I didn’t know when, or if, I’d get to them. Then one day I randomly caught the first movie on TV. I enjoyed it more than I’d expected, so I picked up the first book. And then the second. And finally, the third.
I really enjoyed them more than I expected, considering my usual reaction to extremely popular books/movies is “eh”. The first two were great and held me captivated. The third…well, not so much. Reading through some reviews, the things that annoyed me/pissed me off about the last book were not what annoyed/pissed off everyone else, so I’m still out of the norm in some ways. 🙂 (translation: I didn’t give two figs who she ended up with)
Anyway, I can finally say I read this trilogy and get it off my list.
I’ve read, or attempted to read, three others in the past couple of months. Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore had been on my list for a while. I read it, but didn’t enjoy it so much. The Unfortunate Importance of Beauty was so ridiculously unbelievable, and the characters so cloying I had to stop reading. I suppose the biggest disappointment of the three was Crewel. I bought it ages ago based on cover alone – bought the whole trilogy – but I couldn’t even finish book one. I’ve already sold it, actually. When you find yourself questioning some key characters straight off – and then really getting pissed off at one you know is going to be a major player (when you’re not supposed to)…you know it’s going to not be enjoyable. So I bid farewell to the pretty covers and moved on, happily, to other reads.
What I’m Reading Now
Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
Not forgetting that this is a LARGE, VERY large book in the Harry Potter universe, I’m not quite as ashamed to admit that the wee one and I are STILL on this one. There are many reasons why we’re still here, but we are moving our way through slowly…and have passed the halfway point. Hopefully we will finish before the end of January, or February at the latest.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
The first book that stretches my comfort zone right now. As it’s a screen play, I was nervous to begin, but I find I’m loving it. Thankfully (and of course) I have seen the movie, which helps make the reading of it all the more smooth for me. I can picture it all just as if I were sitting in the theater watching again (which I’d love to do). Very glad hubby surprised me with this for Christmas. 🙂
This is a netgalley find – one I hadn’t expected to get, actually. I thought the cover looked great and ever since my performance in the musical Side Show, I’ve had a soft spot for freaks. 😉 A short way into it, and definitely intrigued. I have a lot on my plate, but looking forward to finishing it!
This one is a huge, giant step outside of my comfort zone.
It’s NON-fiction!
~gasp~
And “self-help”.
However…everyone I know that’s read it raves about it. Then, when hubby and I went out for an afternoon away from the kids (2 weeks of Christmas vacation gets a bit much sometimes 😉 ) – I found this in Barnes & Noble and started to read. I got so hooked in that I bought it there instead of the zon where it’s cheaper. I didn’t want to wait for it. It really is speaking to me where I’m at right now and I’m breezing through it pretty fast.
Well, speaking of WAY out of my comfort zone…here’s this one.
It’s a zombie book – and I’m not a big fan of such things.
And…it’s my first ever audiobook.
I have to say – if I was going to pop my audiobook cherry, I don’t think I could have picked a better way to do it. I am having so much fun listening to this (while working on puzzles) and hearing some familiar-to-my-geek-ears voices lending themselves to the story.
I’m really enjoying that the story is not so much about the zombies themselves as the politics and such that led to the outbreak and it getting out of hand. I’ve got about 8.5 hours left to go, but find myself really enjoying this. I certainly won’t do an audiobook all the time (and have through trial and error that some narrators really annoy me)…but this is a nice change of pace, and knocks something off of my challenge list. 🙂
What I’m Reading Next
I actually totally forgot I had this on my Kindle (thanks to netgalley) until making this list. As a historical writer, I really want to read this – of course I’ve heard some great things about this and imagine that I will (hopefully) be acquiring this in hard cover some time soon, if I can. Either way, it’s definitely next on my list.
I am probably the only person on the planet that hasn’t read this one – but here I am. I bought this on my birthday trip last year from a little bookshop we happened upon. As one of my challenge items for the year is to read a book from a small, independent, bookstore – this would be the one. It will be stretching me out of my comfort zone again – but so far this year it’s working for me, so I’ll give it a try!
Down the Rabbit Hole
Another netgalley book I didn’t expect to actually get. It looks terribly interesting, and I always enjoy takes on Alice in Wonderland. It will also knock another item on my list – a take on a fairy tale. I was pretty excited to get my email saying I’d been granted permission to read, and look forward to getting started – once I get through the ones I’m working on now. 🙂
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This year I hope to do better than last – where I barely made it to half of my goal. I also hope to put a moratorium on buying books, and to read what’s on my shelf, my kindle, and to utilize the library.
And that’s where I’m at for now. More books coming in the near-future I’m sure. Here’s hoping I get through them all quick. 😀
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