2019 Reading Goals

Since we're almost 2 weeks into 2019, I figured I should probably post my reading goals for the year before it's too late for them to be New Year's Resolutions. Luckily, I ended 2018 on a really good note in my reading life, having had a month of regular reading and plenty of four and five star reads. My awesome end to 2018 (in terms of reading at least) made me pretty optimistic about how my bookish life will look in 2019, and we'll see if my expectations live up to reality.

Looking Back on 2018

Happy New Year from me and Fabio

Not gonna lie, I had a harding time getting back into reading around the start of 2018. I had to read a lot of books for an award committee that I was on, which meant reading quite a few books I wouldn't normally read, and it's really draining to have to read something as opposed to choosing to read it. I had a flashback to being in college and being forced to read Frankenstein and hating it; had I chose to read it, maybe I would have been less critical. But every now and then, I would read a book that would make me want to keep reading, and by November I was getting back into it. I started a new job and was able to have more time in the mornings before work to read, and have just been in a better head space in general which made me want to take care of myself during my downtime with my favorite thing- reading.

Booknerd highlight: taking a photo with Fabio on New Year's Eve. I fangirled just a little bit.

Favorite Reads of 2018

  

  

  

Challenges

Goal: Read 25 contemporary romance books

Goal: Read 25 historical fiction books

Goal: Ready for 24 of 48 hours 1/26/19 - 1/27/19

Goal: Read 52 books that fit categories designated for 52 weeks

Reading Resolutions

• Read what feels good and don't feel bad about quitting a book
• Read more books that I own
• Borrow ebooks from the library instead of buying them, as I usually don't re-read them
• Try authors I've never read before
• Keep reading diverse books
• Prioritize reading and reviewing ARCs I am approved for on NetGalley

How about you? Do you set reading goals for the year or just play it by ear? Signed up for any challenges? Leave them below! I'm always looking for more challenges, as if I don't have enough books to read.

What I Read: January Wrap-Up

Young Adult

  

 

 

I accidentally read so much YA in January! And, for the most part, I enjoyed pretty much all of them. A Line in the Dark made for the perfect page-turner airplane read when I was flying back from a vacation in Florida on the January first. I love Lo's writing, the unreliable narrator, and the mystery of the story. I read a couple ARCs that aren't out yet, and both I would highly recommend! The Way You Make Me Feel is an awesome contemporary romance that also focuses on female friendship, father-daughter bonds, and finding identity. Meanwhile, Emergency Contact, by Mary H.K. Choi, is a slow-burning character study and sort-of romance about a college freshman named Penny and a young man she meets named Sam. It totally brought me back to my college days with how intense relationships could feel at the time, and the whole awkward transition from a high school teen to somewhat older but much more independent teen in college. If I were you, I would definitely pre-order it! Olivia Twist is another upcoming release that is a gender-swap of the classic tale of Oliver Twist, except Olivia is a young lady trying her best to leave her past life on the streets behind her, until she reconnects with the Artful Dodger. I don't know about you, and maybe this is a booknerd thing, but I always theorized that the Artful Dodger was super hot and this book only supports that theory. It's a fun historical that's plot-driven and a fast read.

Lastly, I finally got around to The Last Namsara, which I had checked out from the library and kept renewing because I didn't have time to get to it yet. The book initially appealed to me because there are dragons, and I did enjoy it, but it wasn't my favorite YA fantasy that I've read recently. The writing was pretty good and the world was intriguing, however I felt that both the world and the characters could have been fleshed out more. Overall, though, a solid debut. The Epic Crush of Genie Lo left me feeling similarly; I loved the mythology behind it (based on Chinese myths, in particular the Monkey King) and I thought the concept would have made for an awesome urban fantasy TV show. However, I just didn't connect with the writing style. It was a little too tongue in cheek for my taste, but I think readers who enjoy snarky urban fantasy would really like it.

Graphic Novels

 

I was in the mood for graphic novels in January, and I picked these up because my favorite kind of graphic novels is the sort that is sad, slice of life, and introspective. These pretty much fit the bill! Spinning follows the author's journey from a child figure skater to professional artist, and each chapter was broken down into a different skating move. I liked the simple art and was really drawn into the story. I'm Not Here is one of the most beautiful graphic novels I've seen in a long time. I loved every panel, and gg's style really resonated with me. It's sad, and short, and a good re-read.

Non-Fiction

 

Alison Weir's Queens of the Conquest was an excellent narrative history of the queens of England following the Norman conquest. It brought me back to my undergrad days (I majored in history with a focus on medieval England), and I was pleasantly surprised how much I remembered about the many queens named Maud. It was a good read, and I think she has more books in this vein coming out soon. Braving the Wilderness, meanwhile, was not my favorite. In fact, I kind of hated it and the saving grace was that it was short. I know everyone loves Brown, and I think she sounds like a really nice person who does put forth some ideas that can be helpful to people, but I just could not connect with it and I found myself ranting out loud quite a bit while reading this one.

Historical Fiction

This book was sooooo good! It was kind of a slow start, but basically it traces a fictionalized version of the life of Aemilia Bassano, who is often credited as the first woman in England to publish poetry for profit. The story follows her childhood, which was marked with tragedy but also encouraged in her a passion for the arts and for learning, up through her days as a courtesan, then wife, mistress, and eventual widow. I loved Mary Sharratt's writing, and there were some awesome moments of Elizabethan female empowerment going on that made me cheer. Sharratt has another historical fiction coming out soon called Ecstasy that I am 100% going to check out.

What I'm Reading Next....

Currently, I'm reading Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri as part of my Around the Year in 52 Books challenge. I also started and am slowly reading Mary Oliver's essay collection, Upstream: selected essays. I have a few ARCs downloaded from NetGalley that I want to start soon, and I also have a few other reading challenges that I'm working on. Overall, we'll see what I'm in the mood for in February. I'm thinking lots of romance.

What are you looking forward to reading in February? 

Happy Reading!

May Reading Re-Cap

For some reason, May is always the month when my reading kicks into high gear. It also helps to start reading a series that has tons of books in it so that I can just keep reading and requesting the next book in the series from the library. Basically, in May I read a good amount of books but none of them were particularly heavy or intense like some of the books I read last month, and they were a good palate cleanser as I plan to dive into some more serious works in June. Below, a wrap-up of my reading in May!

Historical Mystery

   

   

So I kind of lost my mind reading the Lady Emily mysteries in May. I had added the first book, And Only to Deceive to my TBR list long ago and randomly decided to read it after reading the second Veronica Speedwell book last month. I actually had planned to read the Lady Julia Grey mysteries by Deanna Raybourne but the hold list was longer so I ended up with this book instead. And I was instantly hooked! In book one, Lady Emily Ashton is an intelligent, curious woman in Victorian England who recently lost her husband while he was on a hunting trip with his friends, and is now navigating life as a widow in London. Emily barely knew her husband before they married, and he died so soon after they wed that she didn't feel much remorse for him, until she begins reading his journals and learning more about his inner life. She becomes immersed in Classical studies, her husband's former passion, and begins to enjoy the independence she has a wealthy, titled widow. She eventually falls into solving mysteries, and the subsequent books in the series take Emily from England and France to Turkey and Greece, and they are overall excellent escapist novels filled with rich atmosphere, unique characters, and engaging mysteries. They have mixed reviews on Goodreads but I can't help but love them. I really enjoy Tasha Alexander's writing style and feel very protective of Lady Emily. Book 6 is on my Kindle currently, waiting to be read.

Historical Romance

       

In May, I wanted to get caught up with my Historical Romance Challenge, and read a good range of romances, including a pirate romance which was one of the categories to fill! That book, Scandalous Desires, sadly did not work for me and it was actually the lowest rating I've given to a book this year! I feel kind of bad because I know that everyone loves the Maiden Lane series, but I just could not get into it and I think pirates are just not for me. Lady in Disguise was also kind of a meh book for me, although the initial premise is intriguing: an upperclass woman whose family has fallen on hard times after her parents' death turns to disguising herself as a highwayman and robbing her rich neighbors to support her sisters, then accidentally robs her teenage sweetheart who has just returned to the village and happens to be super rich and handsome. Unfortunately the characters just didn't draw me in. I did enjoy A Talent for Trickery, however, which featured an ex-thief heroine helping a private investigator hero solve a series of coded letters that may be connected to her deceased father, who was an infamous thief as well as police informant. Cold-Hearted Rake was also pretty good, as Lisa Kleypas' writing is always beautiful and her stories well-crafted. I wasn't super in love with the heroine in the book, though, and didn't enjoy it quite as much as the books I've read by her in the past.

Contemporary Romance

I read Songs of Our Breakup and Haven as part of the Contemporary Romance Challenge, and enjoyed both of them! I now need to pick up some of Rebekah Weatherspoon's backlist because I loved her writing style and her characters, and will probably read the other books in Jay E. Tria's Playlist series as well. Overall, I enjoyed the contemporary romances I read in May quite a bit more than the historical ones.

Graphic Novel

 

I finally read the first volume of the trade edition of Bitch Planet and I really liked it. I loved the art and overall style; I've seen the artist Valentine De Landro speak at last year's Book Riot Live, and he was awesome, so I knew I had to pick this series up eventually. I don't read a lot of graphic novels, although I loved them when I was a teen. I thought the characters were really cool and I would love to see this as a television series, as long as producers don't ruin it, which is often the case in TV adaptations. I just thought this title was super relevant to the times and if you haven't picked it up but like feminist works with retro throwbacks, this is a must-read.

Summer Reading

Now that June has begun and it is officially Summer Reading season, I'm planning to switch up my reading life a bit and add in more literary fiction and contemporary fiction. I definitely go through reading phases and, with all of the genre fiction I read this past month, need to mix it up a bit as summer begins. Basically May was kind of a junk food array of books and I want to focus more on books that may not read as quickly but that have a lot of impact. At the same time, I'm (as usual) super behind on my reading challenges and still have some TBR catch-up to do. In summer, however, I like to let my mood guide my reading and not take things too seriously. What are you planning to read this summer? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy reading!

April Reading Re-Cap

I definitely got hit with a reading slump this month, somewhat because I was busy with work stuff and social life stuff and didn't have a lot of solo reading time, and also because I didn't know what to read to start off the month. I also came to the realization that I don't want to make TBR lists anymore (I may do a post about this), and instead want to let my reading list develop organically based on my mood, what holds came in at the library, and what books I get in my subscription boxes. I think this will help me make my reading life more fun and easy, instead of feeling like I'm falling behind if I'm not reading books on my TBR list right away. Now, onto what I read in April!

Literary Fiction

  

It was Roxane Gay month for me in April, apparently, and I read An Untamed State, her debut novel, as well as Difficult Women, which is her most recent collection of short stories. I read Bad Feminist last year and really enjoyed her writing, so I knew I had to read more from her. If you've never picked up one of her books before, I highly recommend them. Her writing has a lot of presence and even though she addresses uncomfortable scenarios and subjects, I cannot put her books down. They demand your attention and I think they are must-reads. 

Mystery

I feel so proud of myself for not just reading one book in a series and then stopping! I'm really terrible at finishing a series, but I was happy to pick up the second Veronica Speedwell mystery by Deanna Raybourn. Like the first, this was another fun historical romp with Veronica and her assistant/friend Stoker. Stoker, who wears an eyepatch and is a taxidermist but also a historian and really hot, is my favorite character. I did feel this book threw in way too many Victorian cliches and there was an instance of Veronica dressing up like a Chinese servant that made me cringe, but overall I enjoyed the book and spending more time with these characters.
 
Sci-Fi/Fantasy

       

These were probably my favorite read of the month. I read Home, the second in Nnedi Okorafor's Binti series, and I finally picked up the first two books from Anne Bishops's the Others series. I don't know why I hadn't read these books sooner! They were so good! I don't know why but I like a lot of mundane details in my urban fantasy, and these books both delivered on that, as well as a unique world, compelling characters, funny dialog, and a good dose of action to mix up the daily activities of Meg Corbyn, an escaped blood prophet, hiding out in a town of vampires, shifters, and other supernatural beings known as the terra indiginae. Basically it reads like a smalltown romance but with really unique urban fantasy elements. I'm reading the third book in May as it just came in at the library.

Young Adult

     

 

The two YA books I read this month are very different, and I enjoyed both of them in different ways. The Skin I'm In is one of those kind of classic coming of age books that I think every teen should read and adults that work with teens should read. The main character, Maleeka, has a very real voice and the book deals with issues of identity, interpersonal relationships, and just what it's like to grow up as a girl. The Falconer, meanwhile, is a steampunk-ish historical fantasy about a 18-year-old girl named Aileana who hunts faeries in Victorian Scotland. It was pretty good, but I would have liked more world building and more backstory about the characters. The dialog was really funny, though, and the author did a great job balancing action and drama with humor. I was a bit annoyed with the ending, but I don't want to give too much away!


What I'm Reading Now...

     

The Cold Eye by Laura Anne Gilman is the second book in her Devil's West series. The books feature a young woman protagonist who becomes the left hand of the Devil, patrolling his territories and encountering mysterious evils. It's like a supernatural folk tale with Western vibes, and I really enjoyed the first book so I was happy to pick this one up. I'm almost done reading A Talent for Trickery by Alissa Johnson, which will count towards my Historical Romance Reading Challenge. This book features an ex-thief heroine, Charlotte, and a private investigator who needs her help to solve coded letters left behind at several crimes, one of which was the murder of someone that Charlotte knew since childhood. It has a lot of witty banter back and forth and I like the heroine, plus the hero is strong but not a alphahole. The ebook is a great deal if you are looking for a historical romance that isn't between two nobles! 

As you can see, I'm getting rid of the obligation have a TBR for May. I'm going to just read what I have checked out from the library and a few books I own that will apply to some of my reading changes. I want more flexibility out of my reading life and to not feel like I need to force myself to read something that I'm not in the mood for. So here's to a fun, non-comittal reading month in May!

Happy Reading!