<–The State of the Reader: 5/17/17 The State of the Reader: 5/31/17–>
A weekly post updated every Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and where I am with them in addition to what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list. Title links go to Goodreads to make it easier for interested parties to add any books that might strike their fancy. I attempt to use the covers for the edition I’m reading, and I’ll mention if this is not the case. If you have a Goodreads account feel free to friend me! I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.
Samples Read This Week
- Oak and Mist by Helen Jones: Passed – Seems like your typical YA “MC finds another world and gets involved in a love triangle with two hot otherworldly boys.” There was a magic sword she had to find so there’s some Arthurian Legend in there, but it just didn’t grab me.
- Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink: Kept – I’ve heard a little bit about the radio show this is based on, but no details. I enjoyed the magical realism setting and will probably look for a podcast of the radio program at some point.
- A Dove of the East by Mark Helprin: Kept – I’ve been in love with Mr. Helprin’s lanauge since Winter’s Tale, so it’s no surprise I kept this one.
- Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb: Kept – I enjoyed it enough to keep it and besides it’s about an assassin.
- The Briar King by Greg Keyes: Kept – This week’s samplings haven’t particularly blown me away, but they’re solid enough for a keep.
- The Bone Doll’s Twin by Llyn Flewelling: Kept – Same as the above. A lot of the books I’m sampling this week remind me of the writing I enjoyed growing up.
- Pathfinders by Aidan J. Reid: Passed – I really enjoyed his Spectrum, but I wasn’t overly fond of the ending of Sigil. This one just didn’t grab me, but I’m going to keep my eyes open for anything else he puts out.
- Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff: Kept (RWTR) – Utterly absorbing from the get-go. I thought only the beginning would be told in the style it is with an interview between the two main characters, but per some reviews I glanced it, that’s the book’s style. It doesn’t hinder the flow at all.
- The Body Electric by Beth Revis: Kept – I think the title is a reference to the Walt Whitman poem, and the beginning chapters are heavily charged.
- The Arrival of Missives by Aliya Whiteley: Kept (RWTR) – Another magical realism book who’s language I just want to devour.
- Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi: Kept (RTWR) – I’m no stranger to John Scalzi. I read (most of) his Old Man’s War about a decade ago. I liked it, but I never finished the last few chapters for some reason. I love the quick, witty language in this book, and if I’m recalling OMW’s correctly, it had a similar flair. I’m also fond of the title’s double entendre.
Books Purchased This Week: 3
Title: The Bone Doll’s Twin
Series Title: The Tamir Triad
Author: Lynn Flewelling
Date Added: June 9, 2016
Date Purchased: May 20, 2017
Media: eBook/Kindle
Price: $1.99
Retailer: Amazon
Title: Eidolon
Series Title: Wraith Kings
Author: Grace Draven
Date Added: May 23, 2017
Date Purchased: May 23, 2017
Media: eBook/Kindle
Price: $3.99
Retailer: Amazon
Title: Saga, Volume. 2
Series Title: Saga
Authors: Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples
Date Added: May 23, 2017
Media: Paperback
Price: $11.35
Retailer: Amazon
Total: $17.33
Average Price: $5.78
Books Finished This Week: 3
Title: The Quantum Ghost
Author: Jonathan Ballagh
Date Added: April 14, 2017
Date Started: April 29, 2017
Date Finished: May 20, 2017
Reading Duration: 21 days
This book fixed all of the issues I had with the first novel, and the author’s note at the end promises more adventures with the characters from The Quantum Door. I hope there’s some crossover between them and Remi.
Title: Saga, Volume I
Series Title: Saga
Author: Brian K. Vaughan
Artist: Fiona Staples
Date Added: September 28, 2016
Date Started: May 15, 2017
Date Finished: May 23, 2017
Reading Duration: 8 days
Absolutely amazing. I have nothing bad to say about this, and I’m looking forward to reviewing it.
Title: Radiance
Series Title: Wraith Kings
Author: Grace Draven
Date Added: May 12, 2016
Date Started: May 21, 2017
Date Finished: May 24, 2017
Reading Duration: 3 days
Holy god this book is awesome. I finished it in one week and immediately bought and started reading the second.
My review backlog is quite extensive now. I still have to post the one for Riddled, and now I have Quantum Ghost, Saga, and this to do.
Books Currently Reading: 6
Title: Eidolon
Series Title: Wraith Kings
Author: Grace Draven
Date Added: May 23, 2017
Date Purchased: May 23, 2017
Media: Kindle
Progress: 5%
I finished the first book last night and bought the second one straightaway. This is going to be similar to what I did with The Raven Cycle series where I just read each book one after the other. There’s so much I loved about the first book and just the series (so far in general). I wish I had more time to express that, but I’m in a bit of a rush today, so I’ll just say if you want to read about the best example of an arranged marriage, Beauty and the Beast motif, look no further than Wraith Kings.
Title: An Ember in the Ashes
Series Title: An Ember in the Ashes
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Date Added: December 30, 2015
Date Started: May 17, 2017
Media: Paperback
Progress: 22%
It is so hard to put this book down. I’m limiting myself to two chapters a session, but sometimes I read four.
Title: The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes
Author: Anonymous
Date Added: June 19, 2016
Date Started: May 8, 2017
Media: Paperback
Progress: 26%
I’m right at the part with Loki. I didn’t imagine Chris Hemsworth’s Thor when I was reading about Thor, but I know I’m going to imagine (my) Loki with Loki ♥
Title: A Court of Mist and Fury
Series Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Date Added: January 26, 2017
Date Started: May 1, 2017
Media: Hardback (Library)
Progress: 51%
I can say without impunity that this book is not only much better than the first, but it also “justifies” the first. Things that happen in the first are explained in this one, and Feyre and Rhys are such a better couple.
Title: The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia
Authors: Patrick Thorpe, Various Others, and Translators
Date Added: October 30, 2016
Date Started: April 11, 2017
Media: Hardback
Progress: 60%
I’m now at the straight art part of the book where they’re showing the sketches used to make the characters. Not all of them made it into the final game.
Title: The Raven King
Series Title: The Raven Cycle
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Date Added: April 4, 2017
Date Started: April 8, 2017
Media: Kindle
Progress: 94%
If it wasn’t for Radiance, I probably would’ve finished this by now. This is because I don’t still love it, but I can’t really read this at night in bed, because of the creep factor whereas Wraith Kings (oddly enough) doesn’t have that caveat. I’ll more than likely finish this this weekend if not tonight. I feel like I’m standing on a powder keg that’s just waiting to blow, and then I’ll have another book to review.
Fanfictions Finished: 0
Fanfictions Currently Reading: 2
Title: I’m the Darkness, You’re the Starlight
Author: runicmagitek
Fandom: FFVI
Pairing: Celes Chere/Setzer Gabbiani
No update this week.
Title: I Will Call You Home: A Recounting of the Fifth Blight
Author: AthenaTseta
Fandom: Dragon Age
Pairing: Leilana/Various
TSN is super sleepy and can’t properly express how good this story is. I wish I had more time to read it so I could catch up, but I seem to only manage Thursday readings. Well the longer it takes me to read it, the longer it’ll take me to finish, so I’ll have something to look forward to each week.
Books Added to Goodreads TBR List This Week: 2
Title: Saga, Volume. 2
Series Title: Saga
Authors: Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples
Date Added: May 23, 2017
Of course I added this as soon as I finished the first. I can’t decide whether I’m going to borrow it from the library or buy it so I can say I own them all.
Update: Obviously I bought it. Some books I have to own.
Title: Gather Together in My Name
Series Title: Maya Angelou’s Autobiography
Author: Maya Angelou
Date Added: May 24, 2017
I’m ashamed of myself…I should’ve read this book a long time ago. I read I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings years ago probably before I fully understood the full extent of Dr. Angelou’s ordeal. I know I was under 14 because my mother told me if I had any questions about anything that happened I should talk to her, so I was barely a teenager. Maya Angelou is one of those people I’ve admired for a really long time, so I not only want to read all of her autobiography, but everything else she’s written.
Total Books on Goodreads TBR List: 461
Change from Last Week: -1
Books Added to Reread List This Week: 0
What are you currently reading and/or what’s on your radar to read next? What would you recommend based on my current and recently added? As always I look forward to your comments and suggestions!
<–The State of the Reader: 5/17/17 The State of the Reader: 5/31/17–>
The Shameful Narcissist Speaks 
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I’m sad that I missed The Bone Dolls Twin sale! D:
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I…think that’s one of the ones available for giveaway right now. I haven’t checked my email in a few days so I’ve got a bunch of them to enter. How much it is now?
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$7.99 when I checked last night. No big deal. I just hate missing good deals. 🙂
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Boo, I never know if a low price is a sale or if the book is just that inexpensive.
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Is there a rule somewhere that states all YA must have a stupid love triangle? *sighs* Anyway, I am always impressed by how many books you can have on the go at once! I can barely keep track of one, haha. Saga is amazing and I really need to start Volume 2.
Love triangles aside, I’m REALLY loving the Hunger Games trilogy! I started the second one on Monday, and finished it Tuesday night because I just couldn’t stop reading it. That was the first time any book has made me do that, haha. I’m about halfway through Mockingjay now 😀
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I just read these two books in like four days. They were SO good. I can’t wait to review them. I pretty much did nothing but read them, and since I had a sleep study last night that lasted until around 3 where all I had to do was nap throughout the day, I just read in between lol.
I was the same way with HG! I read through the first like wildfire, and then I read the second and third all pretty much an entire weekend. I was so mad I had to go to work in between readings lol. That’s how I was with the last book series I just read. She has a third, but it’s not out yet. I feel like I’m dying hehe.
I can’t wait for you to finish. I think there’s something I can talk about, but I just want to make sure you’re good and done with the entire series before I say anything.
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I think I would hate sleep study things, but just having to nap all day sounds like paradise, haha. I’m glad you got some reading done too 🙂
The story really has me captivated! The wait for a novel that hasn’t been written yet sounds excruciating. I’m at the part where a lockdown is happening and someone can’t find someone’s sister. It won’t be long before I’m done 🙂
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I think you would be super bored. If I didn’t have my kindle I would’ve lost it. Most of them are just overnight, but they wanted to test me for narcolepsy, so I had to stay until around four and take like five 15 minute naps. It was…interesting to say the least.
Oh I know exactly what part you’re at!
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Oh, wow, I had no idea Welcome to Night Vale was a book. I’ve heard of the podcast before but don’t really know much of anything about it.
Woo! So excited you’re loving Saga, too! I really want to get around to reading volume 3 soon. 🙂 The characters are just so damn good, and the art is great. I can’t wait to read the review to come!! 😀
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I’d heard friends talk about the podcast, and I just googled it and found the book. It seems pretty interesting.
Omg, Saga is so damn good. I’m hooked like a fish. Review is up!
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