March Currently Reading! ’22

Happy March! This is what I’m currently reading!

The Well of Ascension I technically haven’t started yet, but I’m gonna do so today. It’s a buddy read with my pal Meredith @Allboutthembooksandstuff! I ended up liking the first one in the series so I’m hoping I like this one as well.

Promise of Blood was a buddy read with an irl friend. She’s already finished the book though and didn’t like it so I’ll likely finish out the trilogy on my own. I do really like it so far so it’s a bummer that she didn’t.

City of Brass is my current audiobook and is the second of my 12 Friend Rec books. I’m really liking it and I’m kinda steamed that I am. I used to own a copy of this book and I got rid of it in The Purge. So if this ends up being five stars I’m gonna have to re-get it, roar.

And that’s it! I have a couple more buddy reads starting up this month but not for another week or two so those books will likely show up on my April currently reading post. Til next time, peace out homies.

February Wrap Up! ’22

Well hi! In February I read fewer books than in January, but they were all chunkers, so it makes sense.

Books

I buddy read Malice with some irl friends and out of the three of us, I think I’m the only one who actually liked the book. Though to be fair, I was hate reading it for a while. It did redeem itself though in my opinion. I will be continuing on with the series. I don’t know if my buddies will, though. – 4 stars

Another buddy read with an irl friend! This one is the second book in the series, and I think I liked it a bit less than the first. I feel like it the plot was pretty stagnant, which was its downfall. I do plan on picking up the third one in hopes that something actually happens, but we’ll see. – 3.75 stars

This was a reread for me, and this time around I picked it up on audio book. The first time I read it back when it came out, I think I gave it a 4 star. This time, an easy 5. I don’t know if I just wasn’t paying attention originally or what, but this book is definitely awesome. I read this in prep for The Dragon Republic, which is one of my 10 in 2022 books. – 5 stars

Another buddy read! This time with Katy @bookbinderway – kinda. She ended up reading the book over one weekend whereas it took me the whole month. This book was the second in my 12 friend rec books, recommended to me by an irl friend. I ended up rather liking this – the humor was spot on for my tastes. The beginning dragged though, and the ending was a bit rushed I think. But the middle was solidly good. – 4 stars

And that’s it – no manga this month. Just the four books.

Reading Goals

• Read a total of 80 books – 15/80
  
  • 35 novels/books – 8/35
  • 45 manga/graphic novels – 7/35
• Complete my 10 in 2022 list – 1/10
• Complete the 12 Friend Recommendations Challenge – 2/12
• Reduce physical fiction TBR to 115 (started at 157) – 158
• Reduce physical manga TBR to 100 (started at 146) – 140

Other Stuff

• I’ve been back to work now from maternity leave for a month and I kinda hate it. Not my job, I like my job, I just hate that I can’t just be around my kid all the time.
• I’ve fallen in love with jigsaw puzzles. I’ve buzzed through a ton of them this month and the itch to get more is strong, man.

And that’s it! Until next time!

I fudged my buying ban for the first time in history | Book and manga haul #52

So uh… I messed up my buying ban? But just by a little bit! And it doesn’t mean I’m abandoning it, I’m still doing it for the next few months and will not mess up again.

I accumulated eight books this month, two of which go against the ban. The other six were gifts.

Why did I fudge my buying ban after literal years of doing one every year and never messing it up? Honestly I forgot I was on it. I bought some Naomi Novik books second hand to complete my Temeraire collection and only after I got a shipping notification did I go ‘oh shit, I’m on a buying ban!’. So whoops. In my defense, they’re already read. So I didn’t add to my tbr at least.

Sigh.

Anyways, this is what I acquired this month:

The two books on the left are late Christmas gifts from an IRL buddy, as are the two in the middle. The two on the right are my blunders. They’re not even the same size – that’s what I get for going against my buying ban, I guess. Wonky books.

After I took my initial haul pictures, I got these two books as gifts as well! The one on the left I got from my mom. It was a 12 Friend Rec book recommended by her and originally I had borrowed this copy from her to read it. And then she showed up yesterday and gave it to me because I had liked it so much. And the one on the right was a gift from my irl buddy who gave me the Inuyasha manga and Middlegame. Same kinda story – it was a 12 Friend rec book and I had borrowed it from her to read, and she just gave me the copy instead! So both of these were unexpected but very much appreciated. 😀

And that’s it!

Next month, any books I haul will either be gifts or books for buddy reads, which are the one exception to my buying ban. Nothing else will be present, dammit. Wish me luck. Happy reading!

Unfinished manga series ’22!

And the final post in this series, manga and graphic novel series that I plan on continuing. Before this, there were manga/gn series and fiction series I wouldn’t be continuing posts, and a fiction series I would be continuing post!

So here are all the manga and graphic novel series I’m in the middle of and wanna keep up in!

So uh, there are a lot. :”D That’s ok though, I’ll get there eventually. If you know of any I should prioritize, do let me know. Happy reading!

Unfinished fiction series ’22

Well hi! As a follow up to last week’s post where I talked about fiction series I’m DNFing, here’s the list of series that I will be continuing! Manga and graphic novels, same as last time, will get their own post.

There are a lot here, some that I’ve been in the middle of since I was a kid (coughInkheartcough). I’m keeping track of my ongoing series in my reading journal this year so I’m hoping to cut down this list a bit. Do wish me luck, and if there are any you think I should prioritize, do let me know. Happy reading!

Manga series I won’t be continuing ’22

My previous post was fiction series I won’t be continuing, and this post is for manga! So here we go!

I think the only caveat here is Attack on Titan. I have I think 18 volumes of it, and though I honestly have no desire to get any more, I can’t say I never will. I don’t feel like purging them, so the possibility is still there. The others all have been purged already. :p So five definite, one maybe?

That’s it peeps. Next post is fiction series I will be continuing. Peace.

Fiction series I won’t be continuing ’22

Hi! I haven’t made one of these posts since 2020 because 2021 was The Great Blog Slump™. So this could be neat. Manga I’ve decided to separate into a different post, just because I have so many series going on now.

Series I’ve decided to discontinue:

And that’s it, honestly. Most of the series I’ve started within the last couple years I’m still set on continuing. These are the ones that didn’t make the cut. If you notice though, The Witcher is absent from this list, even though I DNF’d Blood of Elves…. and that’s because I’m thinking to give that series another shot. At some point, I will re-try Blood of Elves and hope I’m more in the mood for it. Do wish me luck.

Soon there will be manga series discontinued, manga unfinished, and fiction unfinished lists popping up, so keep a look out for those. Peace!

February Currently Reading! ’22

Honestly February is my least favorite month of the year, so here’s hoping I get some good books in to make it go faster. This is what I’m currently reading:

Malice and Kingdom of Flesh and Fire are current buddy reads, both with friends IRL! The Poppy War is a reread, and I’m listening to it on audio book. It’s to prep me for The Dragon Republic which is one of my 10 in 2020 books. And finally Gideon the Ninth I technically haven’t started yet but I will be doing so this weekend. It’s one of my 12 Friend Rec books so I’m hoping to finish it this month as well.

And that’s it! Do lemme know what you’re up to this month. Happy reading!

January Wrap Up! ’22

Happy February! January was a busy month for me, but surprisingly, I ended up getting a decent amount of reading done! So I’m just gonna start yappin’ about it:

Books

Comfort Me With Apples was my first read of the year, a 10 in 2020 book, and a new favorite. I picked this book up at BN’s half price hard cover sale and was drawn to read it immediately.

I don’t want to say what it’s about – honestly don’t even read the synopsis. Go in blind.

But I loved this novella. It was so unsettling and I still think about it a month later. – 5 stars

Shorefall was a buddy read I finished up with month with Meredith @Allboutthembooks and stuff. We read Foundryside together in early 2021 and both loved it, and then we both loved this one as well! It really expanded on the lore, and the villain is one of my favorite I’ve come across. The third one comes out this summer and I am p u m p e d about it! – 5 stars

So, Lonesome Dove was recommended to me by my mother as part of the 12 Friend Recommendations book challenge I’m doing this year. I decided to pick it up first, as it was the most daunting. I didn’t expect I would like it, but hey, I’ll eat my words. I really, really liked this book.

This book broke my heart, and I’m going to think about it for a long time. I grew to really like all the characters, even the characters that I hated, and they all pulled on my heartstrings by the end of it.

This just goes to show that I shouldn’t judge a book by its genre. – 4 stars

I picked up Dave Grohl’s memoir on audio book after randomly seeing it displayed on a table in my local BN. I didn’t even know he had put out a book until I saw it. So I got a physical copy for my mom for Christmas and I picked up the audio for me and listened to it.

Dave Grohl is the lead singer of the Foo Fighters, one of my favorite bands, so it was neat to hear his stories, especially because he narrated it himself. I liked it! – 4 stars

Manga

I read the entire series of A Silent Voice this month, all seven volumes! I watched the movie of this anime last year and really liked it, and after I received the box set of the manga for Christmas, I buzzed right through it.

I really enjoyed this manga. It was happy and sad and wholesome and sorrowful. It was lovely. – 4.2 stars averaged

So overall I read 11 things – 7 manga and 4 books! Doing good so far! Here’s what else I was up to:

Reading Goals

• Read a total of 80 books – 11/80
  
  • 35 novels/books – 4/35
  • 45 manga/graphic novels – 7/35
• Complete my 10 in 2022 list – 1/10
• Complete the 12 Friend Recommendations Challenge – 1/12
• Reduce physical fiction TBR to 115 (currently 157) – 159
• Reduce physical manga TBR to 100 (currently 146) – 140

Other Stuff

• I went back to work this past Monday, finishing up my maternity leave (WAH)
• I created a new reading nook in the living room. It’s nice, especially since my book room is gone
• My kid giggles now, my heart ❤

And that’s it! Until next time!

 

Top new-to-me authors I found in 2021!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl!

When I was making this list, I realized the majority of the authors I read were new to me, at least for novels. All the manga I read pretty much weren’t. So I have nine authors that I found and think are pretty neat today, in no particular order:

Joe Abercrombie I found because of my buddy reads with Zezee @Zezeewithbooks. I really like his gritty, dark style of writing that combines wry humor and sense of utter bleakness.

Jonny Sun I found to have a really nice cute style, though to be fair I’ve only read what is basically a picture book from him. I’d be interested in more.

Grant Morrison and Dan Mora – the author and illustrator respectively I presume – I found last minute in 2021 when I picked this book up as my annual Christmasy read. I really enjoyed this graphic novel and plan on getting the next volume around Christmas next year.

 

Jennifer L. Armentrout I know has been around for a while, but I’d never read anything by her until this year as part of a buddy read. And I gotta tell ya, it’s wild. I was so entertained.

N. K. Jemisin I was really late on the bandwagon for. I know she’s won multiple awards at this point and after reading her Broken Earth trilogy I can see why.

Ruth Ware is one of my first dives into thriller, and I think I picked a good place to start. I really enjoyed her writing and buzzed right through her book.

A. G. Slatter I think is a relatively new author. All the Murmuring Bones was her debut, and with it she’s become an auto-buy author for me. She has a new book coming out this year that I plan on picking up after my ban is over.

Greta Kelly is another debut author that I ended up really liking. I have the second book to her duology already and plan on reading it soon!

Robert Jackson Bennett is not a debut author by any means, so I’m late to the bandwagon on him, but his Founders books have made me wanna read basically everything else he’s written. I’m very pumped about it.

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And that’s it! If you’ve read any of these authors, lemme know! Peace!