Spent most of January reading N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance trilogy.
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms - This was a re-read, but it was still really good. I still remembered so many of these characters even after 8 years between readings. Jemisin does a really great job in this series of writing gods that are almost human, but not quite.
The Broken Kingdoms - I was pretty pleased that this didn't just pick up where the first book left off. Another cool expansion of the idea of gods and humans interacting, but not quite as amazing as book 1.
The Kingdom of Gods - I don't know what I think of this at this point. In the moment of reading it, I felt like so much of the plot depended on new rules that the reader had no way of anticipating, but the farther I get from it, the more I appreciate it as a conclusion of the trilogy. Not a book to read on its own, I guess, but one that fits the overall arc of the three books.
The Awakened Kingdom - (novella) - a fun little conclusion, but nowhere near the weight of the first three books. It was fine.
Jemisin is really good in the longer novel-length stories. I read her short story collection, How Long Till Black Future Month?, and the best stories read like short treatments of longer novels (and in multiple cases - they are exactly that - the plot of Broken Earth is there in one story, the plot of the Dreamblood books in another, and she keeps coming back to the ideas in the Great Cities series across multiple stories. I haven't yet regretted picking up a Jemisin novel, and this month did nothing to change that.
All the books I read in January:
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So, which N.K. Jemisin series are you going to start in February?
Alternate question: What are you reading?
Books bought/acquired in January:
Bought three Graywolf press books:
The Box by Mandy-Suzaane Wong
Not a River by Selva Almada (translated by Annie McDermott)
The Twilight Zone by Nora Fernandez (translated by Natasha Wimmer)
Received a book as a birthday present
James by Percival Everett
My quest to read all of the books that I buy continues to mostly run in place (this month I read 4 books that I had previously bought, and then acquired 4 new ones)
*Nona Fernandez
Finished the first two books of the Broken Earth trilogy, and am working on the third book on vacation. Hope to have Adrian Tchaikovsky's Alien Clay ebook ready for checkout after that.
I just finished Gentleman in Moscow. Good read about an aristocrat sentence to house arrest in a hotel by the new Communist regime.
I just started 11/22/63. Seems like it will be good although length is intimidating.
January books:
Isolate (Modesitt)
This was easily the most bloated, ponderous book I have read in decades. There was probably a good, 250-page steampunk-ish novel buried in this 600-page snoozer. I won't be reading any more L E Modesitt Jr any time soon. Wooden characters, flaccid, ponderous prose. The dude described everything the main characters had at EVERY meal. And not in an entertaining way.
Middlegame (McGuire)
This was really good. A bit of Dark Is Rising vibe wrapped in more visceral horror. Excellent fantasy novel.
The Art of Destiny
Book two of Wesley Chu's War Arts fantasy series. Alien world written as very much classical Chinese. Warlords, lots of kung fu, a bit of magic. Lots of humor. Engaging characters. Hurry up and write Book 3, dude.
I’m just wrapping up The New York Game by Kevin Baker which is the history of baseball and the city from the 1840s through WWII.
Definitely worth a read. Hits on the ups and downs of Giants, Yankees, Dodgers, and nascent Negro league efforts. At nearly 500 pages it covers a lot of ground but I kind of wish it had gone another 10 years to capture Jackie Robinson and the Giants and Dodgers leaving the City. Although he teases maybe another book on those topics.
I'm about 100 pages into it, and enjoying it so far.
A bsky friend just read this and recommends it highly "Oscar Charleston: The Life and Legend of Baseball's Greatest Forgotten Player" by Jeremy Beer
Recent books I've read aloud to the peperoncino, who still allows such a thing as a sixth grader. Trying to enjoy it while it lasts!
The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan: Percy Jackson is back and needs to complete more quests to get college recommendation letters! I was really impressed with the earlier Percy Jackson books. This one didn't feel quite as un-put-downable, perhaps because after having saved the whole world, the stakes for anything else he does just aren't as high. Still an enjoyable read, though.
The Lost Year by Katherine March: really cleverly structured book that alternates between the USSR and New York in 1932-33 and New Jersey in 2020. I have mixed feelings about the ending, but overall it was a captivating read and also introduced me to the Holodomor, which I previously knew nothing about (an am now horrified by).
The Witches by Roald Dahl. It felt appropriate to opt for lighter fare following our previous book. I haven't read this one since I was a kid and remember very little of the actual plot. It's absurd and there is a long section in which the narrator's grandmother describes witches before any actual witches show up in the book, but the jalapeno has been thoroughly entertained throughout.
who still allows such a thing as a sixth grader. Trying to enjoy it while it lasts!
The little ghost is adamant that reading aloud will continue indefinitely. He turns 13 in a month and still prefers us reading together to solitary reading time on 95% of bedtimes.
Books with Little G (November through January):
The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix - favorite of the bunch, we are reading book 2 in the series next.
Nine Goblins by T. Kingfisher - had him cackling in the back seat during our holiday trips, very fun.
The Book of Secrets by A.L. Tait - These two are fine - easy to read a bit and put down, the pace is sometimes far too slow, but there's adventure here.
The Book of Answers by A.L. Tait
The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - These were so goofy, over-the-top teen romance that my wife and I couldn't keep our disparaging comments to ourselves. I feel like we might have ruined a series that he actually enjoyed because there are good puzzles and fun revelations in both books. Must remember that the teenage brain loves big emotions.
The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
The Frugal Wizard's Guide to Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson - Brandon. Take. A. Break. The books are getting worse.
We were in the midst of the Harry Potter releases, when "one more chapter!" each night lead to a hoarse voice, and I reluctantly drew the line and turned Runner daughter loose on the book world.
I remember taking the kids to a midnight(? Late, anyway) release of one of the last Harry Potter books. The Girl, who must have been around 10, had almost finished the book before we finally checked out. Speed. Reader.
I just finished reading Pudd'nhead Wilson to Honest Abe. I had to censor a few n-words, but if was fun seeing him realize what was going to happen about 25 pages from the end. Now he has had an introduction to Mark Twain.