November ’19 Reading Recap

NaNoWrimo meant I read a lot fewer books, and most of them were on audio. My favorites this month were Joy Harjo’s new volume of poetry and Dorothy Sayers’ Peter Wimsey mysteries (narrated by Ian Fleming).

 

Poetry

An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo (5/5 stars)

Comics

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge by Ethan Sacks (3/5 stars)

Avatar the Last Airbender: Team Avatar Tales by Gene Luen Yang (3/5)

Star Wars: Allegiance by Ethan Sacks (2/5 stars)

Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire, Part Two by Michael Dante DiMartino (4/5)

Nonfiction

The Future of the Novel by Henry James (4/5 stars)

Henry James: A Life by Leon Edel (4/5)

Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton (5/5)

Fiction

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab (3/5 stars)

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (5/5)

The Europeans by Henry James (5/5)

Manners and Mutiny by Gail Carriger (5/5)

Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers (5/5)

Clouds of Witness by Dorothy Sayers (5/5)

Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers (4/5)

The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy Sayers (3/5)

Strong Poison by Dorothy Sayers (5/5)

 

October ’19 Reading Recap

I read a surprising amount of nonfiction this month, most of it very good! My favorite book overall this month was Regenesis by C. J. Cherryh (the sequel to Cyteen), and my favorite new-to-me author was Alice Oseman. I will watch her career with GREAT interest.

Fiction

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab (5/5)

Regenesis by C. J. Cherryh (5/5)

Demon’s Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan (4/5)

The Last Jedi by Jason Fry (3/5)

The Time of the Ghost by Diana Wynne Jones (5/5)

The Archived by Victoria Schwab (2/5)

The Unbound by Victoria Schwab (1/5)

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman (4/5)

Solitaire by Alice Oseman (1/5)

The Goblin Emperor  by Katherine Addison (5/5)

Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers (3/5)

Star Wars: Myths and Fables by George Mann (2/5)

Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab (4/5)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (4/5)

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black (5/5)

Nonfiction

Black Ink edited by Stephanie Stokes Oliver (5/5)

Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker (3/5)

Point of No Return: The Story of the Twentieth Air Force by Wilbur H. Morrison (3/5)

Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O’Connor (5/5)

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (5/5)

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (5/5)

Comics/Graphic Novels

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: Call Your Squirrelfriends by Ryan North (5/5)

The Wicked and the Divine: Old is the New New by Kieron Gillen (3/5)

Nightschool volumes 2-4 by Svetlana Chmakova (5/5)

The Royal Tutor volume 12 by Higasa Akai (5/5)

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell and Faith Erin Hicks (5/5)

Star Wars: TIE Fighter by Jody Houser (3/5)

Avatar the Last Airbender: Imbalance, Part Three by Faith Erin Hicks (4/5)

September ’19 Reading Recap

Most surprising read of this month was His Hideous Heart, edited by Dahlia Adler. This was a very excellent collection of retellings of Edgar Allen Poe stories. I also loved Ta-Nehisi Coates’s first volume of Captain America comics and I am excited to read more of that run!

Nonfiction

Spreading the Word: Editors on Poetry edited by Stephen Corey (4/5 stars)

The Psychology of Reading by Robert G. Crowder and Richard K. Wagner (4/5)

The Whole Story: Editors on Fiction edited by Warren Slesinger (4/5)

The Last Jedi: The Visual Dictionary (4/5)

Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide (4/5)

Comics/Graphic Novels

Witch Hat Atelier volume 2 by Kamome Shirahama (5/5)

Star Wars Adventures: Heroes of the Galaxy (2/5)

Star Wars Adventures: Unexpected Detour (2/5)

Captain America: Winter in America by Ta-Nehisi Coates (5/5)

Sparrowhawk volume 1 by Delilah S. Dawson (4/5)

Silver Spoon volume 10 by Hiromu Arakawa (5/5)

Fiction

Season of the Witch by Sarah Rees Brennan (4/5)

Heat Wave by Richard Castle (2/5)

Zeroboxer by Fonda Lee (4/5)

Ziggy, Stardust and Me by James Brandon (5/5)

Sal and Gabi Break the Universe by Carlos Hernandez (4/5)

Behind the Shattered Glass by Tasha Alexander (3/5)

Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray (3/5)

Door Into Sunset by Diane Duane (4/5)

Magic Stars by Ilona Andrews (5/5)

The Counterfeit Heiress by Tasha Alexander (3/5)

Thornbound by Stephanie Burgis (4/5)

Aru Shah and the Song of Death by Roshani Chokshi (4/5)

City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab (4/5)

A Crash of Fate by Zoraida Cordova (4/5)

Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell (3/5)

Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant (2/5)

His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler (5/5)

August ’19 Reading Recap

Comics and Manga

Silver Spoon volumes 5-9 by Hiromu Arakawa (5/5 stars)

Noragami volume 2 by Adachitoka (3/5)

Lumberjanes volumes 11-12 by Shannon Watters (4-5/5)

Forces of Destiny by Jodi Houser (4/5)

Delicious in Dungeon volumes 1-2 Ryoko Kui (3-4/5)

Marvel Rising by Devin Grayson (4/5)

Ms. Marvel: Time and Again  by G. Willow Wilson (5/5)

Fiction

Thrawn: Treason by Timothy Zahn (5/5 stars)

Middlemarch by George Eliot (5/5 stars)

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews (5/5)

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers (5/5)

X-Wing: Mercy Kill by Aaron Allston (5/5 stars)

Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh (5/5 stars)

Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge by Ian Doescher (4/5 stars)

Battlefront: Twilight Company by Alexander Freed (4/5)

Battlefront II: Inferno Squad by Christie Golden (2/5)

Canto Bight by Ahmed/Grant/Miller/Carson (3/5)

Rebel Rising by Beth Revis (3/5)

The Ascent to Godhood by J.Y. Yang (5/5)

Dark Disciple by Christie Golden (3/5)

Lords of the Sith by Paul S. Kemp (4/5)

Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson (3/5)

Heir to the Jedi by Kevin Hearne (3/5)

A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers (5/5)

Nonfiction

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard (3/5 stars)

An American Childhood by Annie Dillard (4/5)

Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans (4/5)

July ’19 Reading Recap

I didn’t read as much this month but everything I read was E X C E L L E N T. Huge fan of everything here.

Fiction

Curtsies & Conspiracies by Gail Carriger (4/5 stars)
Waistcoats and Weaponry by Gail Carriger (4/5)
Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E. K. Johnston (5/5)
The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff (4/5)
The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff (4/5)
The Kindly Ones by Melissa Scott (5/5)
Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev (4/5)

Comics and Manga

Silver Spoon volumes 1-3 by Hiromu Arakawa (5/5)
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl volumes 9-10 by Ryan North (5/5)

Nonfiction

The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom (5/5)
Quiet by Susan Cain (5/5)
American Nightingale by Bob Welch (5/5)

May ’19 Reading Recap

I am loving the reboot of Runaways by Rainbow Rowell. She manages to capture everything I loved about the first run but also break new ground with the characters. And it’s so fun to read and so nice to look at. A+.

My favorite reads this month were probably Finders by Melissa Scott and Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear, which both started with a similar premise: hardworking salvagers go out on a routine work-trip and find MUCH more than they bargain for in the depths of space. Both books went in very different directions, though, and I really enjoyed both takes.

Fiction

Nate Expectations by Tim Federle (5/5 stars)

The Tale of the Five by Diane Duane (4/5 stars)

Into the Bright Unknown by Rae Carson (4/5 stars)

Pride and Prometheus by John Kessel (3/5 stars)

Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (3/5 stars)

Finders by Melissa Scott (5/5 stars)

Shadow Man by Melissa Scott (5/5 stars)

Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear (4/5 stars)

A Middle-Earth Traveler by John Howe (4/5 stars)

Reread

The Books of Earthsea by Ursula K. Leguin (5/5 stars, read Jan-May)

Demon’s Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (5/5 stars)

Comics

Sandman 9-12 by Neil Gaiman (2-4/5 stars)

Runaways: Best Friends Forever by Rainbow Rowell (5/5 stars)

The Royal Tutor volume 11 by Higasa Akai (4/5 stars)

Avatar the Last Airbender: Imbalance volume 1 by Faith Erin Hicks (4/5 stars)

Poetry

The Kalevala (5/5 stars)

Nonfiction

The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan (4/5 stars)

April ’19 Reading Recap

Oooooooooooooo lots of good reads this month! I adored Spindle by E. K. Johnston (I’m almost finished with her backlist now!). The Bedlam Stacks confirmed that I’m obsessed with every word Natasha Pulley writes. I read my first Cherryh book and vastly enjoyed it so I’m on the prowl for more Cherryh now.

On the nonfiction side, Be Quiet, Be Heard is a fantastic book on How to Communicate and I really recommend it.

Please don’t yell at me for not rating Sandman higher. It’s clearly not my cup of tea. I’m determined to finish Gaiman’s run, though!

Comics

Sandman volumes 5-8 by Neil Gaiman (3-4/5 stars)

In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang (3 stars)

Fiction

Dumplin by Julie Murphy (4/5 stars)

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson (5/5 stars)

Like a River Glorious by Rae Carson (4/5 stars)

Lovecraft Unbound short story anthology ed. by Ellen Datlow (4/5 stars)

Spindle by E. K. Johnston (5/5 stars)

The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley (4/5 stars)

Armistice by Lara Elena Donnelly (5/5 stars)

Amnesty by Lara Elena Donnelly (4/5 stars)

The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu (4/5 stars)

Wild Robert by Diana Wynne Jones (5/5 stars)

A Sudden Wild Magic by Diana Wynne Jones (4/5 stars)

Chanur Saga books 1-3 by C. J. Cherryh (4/5 stars)

Prairie Fire by E. K. Johnston (3/5 stars)

Nonfiction

Be Quiet, Be Heard by Susan Glaser (5/5 stars)

A Brief History of Painting by Roy Bolton (2/5 stars)

Tussie-Mussies by Geraldine Adamich Laufer (4/5 stars)

Bibliophile by Jane Mount (5/5 stars)

Folklore and Symbolism of Flowers, Plants and Trees by Ernst and Johanna Lehner (4/5 stars)