Well, somehow it's February (!?), which I guess means it's time to look at what happened in January. I hope you all are stay safe, healthy, and as sane as possible! January was an up and down mess in regards to news/politics/pandemic, so I'm just going to stick to the books and some brief life updates.
On a personal note, I started my final semester of grad school at the end of January! I'm excited, but also a bit sad to be leaving my academic career behind. I don't currently have any PhD plans, nor do I have any plans to go into academia for a career anytime soon because, quite frankly, the Classics field is just not that lucrative at the moment, and on the off chance that I actually manage to land any sort of position, chances are I'd have to move to a new location, and we're not willing to do that right now. But regardless, I've still loved the experience, even if I am occasionally frustrated about it. One of the courses I'm taking this semester is an Intensive Latin course because my Latin skills are sorely lacking (what can I say, I prefer Greek!) and it's, well... intense. I also have an M.A. Comprehensive Exam coming up in March (even though I was 99% sure it was schedule for May so now I'm panicking to get prepped for it!) which I'm nervous about, but I'm going to do my best to stay regular with the blog and reading.
But in book news, I didn't start the semester until the end of January, which meant I had plenty of time to get some reading in before the major stress and business decided to reenter my life. Somehow that means I read 19 books! (!!!!) To be fair, two of those were audiobooks that I listened to mostly in December and just finished off at the beginning of January, but I'm still including them here--but even then, that's still far more books than I ever expected to, especially since I told myself I'd chill out a little with my reading. Guess that didn't happen. Some of my favorite books from the past month were The Republic of Thieves (one of my favorite fantasy series!), The Witch's Heart, The Darkness that Comes Before, and Skeletons On the Zahara. I'm hoping to start the sequel to The Darkness that Comes Before, The Warrior Prophet, in February. This is an early grimdark book that I ended up really enjoying, and I'm eager to see what's next.
I'm also super excited about my newfound success with audiobooks since I've always struggled with them, but I'm finding that some actually work well for me, and I'm currently listening to The Fifth Season, which I could never get into in physical form.
It was also a slower review month for me because of all the other end of year posts, but February is already booked pretty solid with reviews, so get ready!
If you read all of that, then I hope you have a cookie or something around, because you deserve it. Now, let's move on to the wrap-up!
Also, how was your guys' reading month!? Read any new favorites? Anything not so great? Let me know!
# books read: 19
Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson ★★★★
Source: Owned | Format: Hardcover
The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch ★★★★★+
Source: Purchased (Used) | Format: Paperback
The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Cogman ★★★★★+
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey ★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
Machinehood by S.B. Divya ★★★★
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARC
The Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister ★★★★
Source: Library | Format: Hardcover
Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones ★★★★
Source: Library | Format: Hardcover
Skeletons on the Zahara: A True Story of Survival by Dean King ★★★★★
Source: Gifted | Format: Paperback
The Darkness that Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker ★★★★★
Source: Gifted | Format: Paperback
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb ★★★★
Source: Audible | Format: Audiobook
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas ★★★★
Source: Audible | Format: Audiobook
The Divines by Ellie Eaton ★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARC
A Tale of Witchcraft... by Chris Colfer ★★★★
Source: Audible | Format: Audiobook
Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend ★★★★
Source: Owned | Format: HardcoverAmari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston ★★★★
Source: Publisher | Format: Physical ARCGraves for Drifters and Thieves by Sophia Minetos ★★★★
Source: Author Review Request | Format: PaperbackThe Cities Beyond the Signal by Christian Ellingsen ★★★★
Source: Author Review Request | Format: EbookThis Golden Flame by Emily Victoria ★★★★
Source: NetGalley | Format: eARCLife of Alexander the Great by Plutarch (unrated)
Source: Owned | Format: PaperbackDNFs:
Down Comes the Night by Alison Saft
I plan to revisit this one since it is a NetGalley book, but I was annoyed by the protagonist starting already at the first chapter. This just felt like I'd read it before and the protagonist was incredibly frustrating to me and I'm not sure if there's going to be any improvement. I just couldn't connect.
(other than reviews)
Top Five/Ten Tuesday:
Favorite New-To-Me Authors from 2020
Can't-Wait Wednesday:
1/27: The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse, The Iron Raven by Julie Kagawa, Wings of Fury by Emily R. King
The Friday Face-Off:
'Moon'
Have you read any of these? What books did you read this month? I hope you all had a great month-- comment below and let me know!
Wow, that's a lot of books!! Hooray for the last semester of school! I'm glad it was an enjoyable experience.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on being almost finished with grad school, that's a fantastic achievement! I'm happy to see a 4 star rating for Machinehood, which I'll probably read next month, and Mapping the Interior is one I just bought a copy of and want to read soon😁
ReplyDelete