An Ember in the Ashes

The State of the Reader: 2/23/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 4 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 2/9/22         The State of the Reader: 3/9/22–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 3

Total: $9.97

Books Finished: 1

Title: A Sky Beyond the Storm
Series: An Ember in the Ashes
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Date Added: November 1, 2020
Date Started: March 17, 2021
Date Finished: February 18, 2022

Cover of A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa TahirMedia: Hardback

After nearly a year I finally finished it, and just in time, too, since my next read arrived in the mail a few days ago lol.  It’s not the book on my “to read next” list, but it’s Sarah J. Maas’ next release for her Crescent City Series so I can’t wait.

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The State of the Reader: 2/9/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 6 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 1/26/22         The State of the Reader: 2/23/22–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 0

Books Finished: 1

Title: Six of Crows
Series: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Date Added: February 19, 2016
Date Started: December 31, 2021
Date Finished: January 31, 2022

Cover of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows)Media: eBook/Kindle (Library)

I wasn’t expecting it to end when it do, which was entirely due to the percentage being thrown off by the sample of the second book in the duology.  I knew this was split into two parts, but I wasn’t sure how it was going to be delineated.  I have Crooked Kingdom on hold, but I’m not sure where I am in line.  I was going to add another library book to the rotation, but I think I want to finish The Vela first.

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The State of the Reader: 1/26/22

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<–The State of the Reader: 1/12/22         The State of the Reader: 2/9/22–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 4

Total: $30.96

Books Finished: 2

Title: Elric of Melniboné
Series: The Elric Saga
Author: Michael Moorcock
Date Added: October 21, 2016
Date Started: October 14, 2021
Date Finished: January 23, 2022

Cover of Elric of Melniboné by Michael MoorcockMedia: Paperback

This book surprised me.  I really wasn’t expecting the depth and paradigm subversions it provided.  I looked up some of the reviews and discovered the author was not a fan of Tolkien.  He liked him well enough as a person, but had some major critiques about his work, and the critiques are valid.  I respect Tolkien as a seminal foundation of modern fantasy, but it’s impossible to ignore the eugenics inherent in his work as well as what’s described as “Merry England,” a term I’d never heard, but a concept I’ve certainly encountered.

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The State of the Reader: 1/12/22

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 2 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 12/29/21         The State of the Reader: 1/26/22–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 7

Total: $52.94

Books Finished: 0

Currently Reading

Title: Six of Crows
Series: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Date Added: February 19, 2016
Date Started: December 31, 2021

Cover of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows)Media: eBook/Kindle (Library)
Progress: 14%

I’m not generally a fan of heist novels, and like The Lies of Locke Lamora, none of the characters are overly likable.  I definitely have sympathy for them and their situation, but the thing that’s keeping me interested is less the job and more everyone’s backstory.  I’m not sure how long I’m going to keep reading this (it’s due back on the 20th unless I renew), but even if I DNF, I will definitely read more from this author.

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The State of the Reader: 12/29/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 11 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 12/15/21         The State of the Reader: 1/12/22–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 3

Total: $9.97

Books Finished: 2

Title: Every Heart a Doorway
Series: Wayward Children
Author: Seanan McGuire
Date Added: August 6, 2017
Date Started: Decembeer 1, 2021
Date Finished: December 16, 2021

Cover of Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children)Media: eBook/Kindle

I knew this was the first novel in a series, but I was a little surprised by how abruptly it ended.  It wasn’t bad by any means, but I think I was expecting other characters’ stories to wrap up.  That happens in other installments though.  The next one is about the twins Jack and Jill, and it’s before they come to Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children.  Speaking of Eleanor I think I expected to see more of her in here, so I’m wondering if she has her own novel, too.  What I really liked about this book is the LGBTQ+ rep.  Nancy is ace and Kade is a trans boy.  I’m kind of hoping they get together (I’m a hopeless shipper lol).  Next year I really want to catch up on my series continuations, so I’ll have to throw this one on that pile, too.

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The State of the Reader: 12/15/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 10 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 12/1/21         The State of the Reader: 12/29/21–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 2

Total: $2.98

Books Finished: 1

Title: The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Date Added: November 27, 2021
Date Started: December 2, 2021
Date Finished: December 14, 2021

Cover of The Girl on the Train by Paula HawkinsMedia: eBook

This is one of those novels were everyone is a fucking mess, but it does an excellent job of proving you don’t need likable characters to make a good story.  None of the POV characters are that admirable, but I found myself needing to sit with why I was so angry at the titular character Rachel.  She’s a depressed alcholic whose life has fallen apart, and I just found myself getting so annoyed with her when she relapsed, but…alcholism isn’t something that you can just overcome.   This is a similar thing that happened when I read Charle de Lint’s Memory and Dream.  The main character there was an abuse victim, and I got angry at her for not standing up to the abuse not realizing how terrible that kind of thinking is aka victim blaming.  You always think you’ll do differently in a situation, but you’re not in that situation.

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The State of the Reader: 12/1/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 8 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 10/20/21         The State of the Reader: 12/15/21–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 5

Total: $20.95

Books Finished: 4

Title: Under the Whispering Door
Author: T. J. Klune
Date Added: June 27, 2021
Date Started: September 25, 2021
Date Finished: November 5, 2021

Cover of Under the Whispering Door by T. J. KluneMedia: eBook/Kindle

This was one of those stories where I knew what was (eventually) going to happen, but I didn’t know how they were going to pull it off, which is one of my favorite situations.  I also just noticed the silhouette of the stag on the cover, which absolutely makes sense.  There were also still some surprises, which Klune brilliantly foreshadowed.  Psychpomp stories are always fun in general, but queer psychopomp stories are even better.

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The State of the Reader: 10/20/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 4 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 10/6/21         The State of the Reader: 12/1/21–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 2

Total: $2.98

Books Finished: 2

Title: The Wind’s Twelve Quarters
Series: Hainish Cycle
Author: Ursula K. Le Guin
Date Added: August 30, 2014
Date Started: July 26, 2021
Date Finished: October 7, 2021

Cover of The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Ursula K. Le GuinMedia: eBook/Kindle

I almost forgot to add that I finished this.  I moved it to my “Book Review” tab in OneNote, which I usually don’t do until I post about it.  I’ll review it like I review other short story collections by focusing on the stories I actually liked.

Title: Big Little Lies
Author: Liane Moriarity
Date Added: September 25, 2021
Date Started: October 1, 2021
Date Finished: October 16, 2021

Cover of Big Little Lies by Liane MoriarityMedia: eBook/Kindle (Library)

My BFF informed there’s a TV series about this book, and my brother has HBO Max, so I will be checking this out.  It’s apparently very true to the book, and the book was fantastic.  It had me guessing the entire time who the Trivia Night victim was.

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The State of the Reader: 10/6/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 14 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 9/22/21         The State of the Reader: 10/20/21–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 10

Total: $58.80

Books Finished: 3

Title: The Husband’s Secret
Author: Liane Moriarity
Date Added: August 18, 2021
Date Started: September 15, 2021
Date Finished: September 22, 2021

Cover of The Husband's Secret by Liane MoriarityMedia: eBook/Kindle (Library)

The more I think about it, the less weird it seems that I like stuff like this.  While I definitely have favorite genres, at the end of the day I just want a good story and Liane Moriarity delivers.  This is one of those where I guessed some of the main points, but it doesn’t take away from my enjoyment, because there are aspects of the situation that could go another way (plus I sometimes just know how a story is going to go).  I am noticing a pattern with this author though.  She likes to have a character wind up with or rather stay with someone I don’t think they should.  That kind of frustrates me, but it is what it is.  I enjoy stories that don’t have easy answers or choices, and Moriarity has the talent to at least have acceptable justification for her characters’ (poor) decisions.

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The State of the Reader: 9/22/21

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 3 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 9/8/21         The State of the Reader: 10/6/21–>

A biweekly post updated every other Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads, and if you have an account there feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Purchased: 4

Total: $14.96

Books Finished: 0

Books DNF: 1

Title: Something from the Nightside
Series: Nightside
Author: Simon R. Green
Date Added: July 1, 2017
Date Started: August 27, 2021

Cover of Soomething from the Nightside by Simon R. GreenMedia: eBook/Kindle
Progress: 48%

I DNF’d it the day after I posted my last SOTR.  It was the cliched “two women characters who obviously hate each other” that did it for me (which makes me look like a hypocritical asshole, but it’s why I’m planning a major overhaul of my first novel so…).  It’s such a problematic trope on so many levels and was just the icing on the tombstone for this book.  I did check the reviews before I made my official decision and found a lot of my own critiques there.  I’m at the point now where if a piece of media does not spark joy, I’m not spending more time on it.

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