My 2021 books

Hi y'all! Happy new year!

I'm excited to start reading with you all again. Last year I read so much, I don't think that will happen again. But still, there's always hope.

1. Cemetery Boys, Aiden Thomas

I was disappointed by this book. Many of my friends absolutely love it and recommended it strongly, but I always felt that it fell short of what I hoped it would be. The ideas were really great: the characters, the magic system (though strangely binary), the interspersed Spanish, the very beginning of the book. But the execution left a lot to be desired in my opinion. The pacing was all over the place, glossing over important scenes while endlessly dragging out mean-girl gossip at school. The characters changed characterisation wildly from scene to scene in a way I can't explain with teenage hormones. It's like the book couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a mystery or a family story or a romance, and didn't do any of them particularly well.
The trans representation in Yadriel is really great though. I loved the way the author handled the more technically difficult aspects of that, and Yadriel himself was wonderful as a protagonist. I guess I just wish the book had been edited better.

2. Magic for Liars, Sarah Gailey

I was always a bit frustrated with the protagonist of this mystery, but I still loved the book. The magic system is so interesting, and seeing it from the perspective of an outsider trying to investigate was great. There was so much going on at the school aside from the central plot that it felt like a really full, lived-in place, not just a setting for a death. I guessed part of the solution, but only part of it. As always, I wish the perpetrators would actually go to jail, but I think the mystery genre usually doesn't agree with me there. The book certainly was suspenseful until the very last page. I loved Gailey's book "Upright Women Wanted" and after this one I'll certainly look out for more from them.

I think that's a pretty good start to the year, with two books in two days. To many more!

Hope you have a great year of reading!

Nice start! Happy new year!

Happy reading in 2021, Miriam!

And keep up with my friends here, Miriam. Have a great 2021.

Thank you and happy new year everyone!

3. False Value, Ben Aaronovitch

2021 reread: I love this series, I love these characters. I also really appreciate that this book serves as an easy on-ramp for new readers, eight books into the series. Great casual explanations, and just as many jokes as ever. I could not be more hyped for the next book.

>6 BerlinBibliophile: I've seen some of the Aaronovitch books--maybe the Rivers of London series--and wondered how they were. If I were ever to venture a little more into that genre, I think that is a series I might try.

>7 thornton37814: this is also part of the Rivers of London series. It's one of my all-time favourite series, and I just love watching the characters grow and the author improve in it. The magic system is so cool and I love Peter Grant as the narrator.

4. The Devil and the Dark Water, Stuart Turton

This book is quite long, and yet I blew through it in a day. I loved the characters and the set-up of the mystery, and it was really suspenseful reading about them trying to solve it, while everything around them goes wrong and the ship descends into chaos. I was really surprised at the ultimate resolution, but very happy with it. That doesn't happen too often, but Turton managed it very deftly, leaving my suspicions close to the truth but ultimately off the mark. I wish there were another book about these characters to read.

>8 BerlinBibliophile: I really enjoyed that one too, and was also pretty surprised by the ending. And yeah, it would be fun to read more about them!

>9 drneutron: I had my suspicions, but they turned out to be wrong, and I was actually happy to be wrong about that! Definitely surprising.

5. Piranesi, Susanna Clarke

I think I may have found one of my favourite books of the year already. I was blown away by the beautiful, deliberate language and the slow unfolding of the world around and within the protagonist. An absolute masterstroke. I loved the House and all the little ways the protagonist interacts with It. I loved the psychology of his tangles with the Other and 16. I loved the way Clarke incorporated the journal entries in the story, and the tangible, physical way the House and the action within it is described. It seems to me at once as solid as marble and as ephemeral as a dream.

6. Murder at the Lakeside Library, Holly Danvers

I was a bit disappointed in this book. I really liked the set-up, basically the first half of the novel. The characters were nice and the setting great for a mystery, an isolated lakeside community with insiders and outsiders and interesting class dynamics. But all that was thrown away in the second half when the characters proceeded to make more and more stupid decisions (like confronting a murderer on their own when they really didn't need to) and their conversations became more and more repetitive. The writing on the sentence level is also really clunky and awkward. Lovely descriptions of nature though.

7. The Last Wish, Andrzej Sapkowski

I felt like the book got better the longer it went on. The opening was not to my taste, but with each short story it improved. We got to know the characters in more nuanced ways and the worldbuilding expanded. I'm going to keep reading the series and hope it keeps on getting better.

I’m reading them in publication order - about to start the second in that tally, Baptism of Fire. Story’s pretty engaging so far.

I think The Last Wish is a set of short stories written later to fill in back story of the characters.

>13 drneutron: this book was a present from a friend. I'm definitely going to keep reading the series. I didn't realise there was a question of which to start with, I just picked up the one my friend sent me this week. But it was definitely a book of short stories and I'm curious to see how I'll like a full-length novel.

8. Felix Ever After, Kacen Callender

I loved Felix's development in this book. He gets a concentrated dose of teenage drama in the course of one summer, and I enjoyed reading about all his ups and downs (and backwards and forwards as well). Near the end, there was one paragraph about the power and emotion of community that made me tear up with happy tears. Felix and Ezra and the characters around them are so wonderfully drawn and fleshed out, with their petty squabbles, their seriousness, their life-shattering and then life-changing feelings. It really captures the feeling of being a teenager who questions everything and is full up with confusing feelings.

Impressive start to the reading year, Miriam. My thoughts too about The Last Wish. I read it last year but haven't added any of the follow ups yet.

Have a lovely weekend.

9. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, JK Rowling

In hindsight there's so much foreshadowing in this book that pays off big time in the second half of the series. Reading it again was a bit like a treasure hunt, slowly going through and picking up on the bits that will be so important later.
The book's themes of your choices defining who you are and leading to concequences later are very important to me, especially now that the author is behaving heinously and hurtfully towards so many people.

>15 PaulCranswick: have a great week, Paul! I also have the problem of starting series and then only getting the next book once I've forgotten most of what happened in the first one...

10. Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston

It took me a few chapters to really get into the dialogue style, but this book is simply phenomenal. Janie is a fantastic protagonist who grows and changes throughout as she slowly takes control of the narrative of her own life. The free indirect discourse is a great tool for showing her growing confidence in her own words and choices. None of the characters are perfect or evil, they're all conflicted, changeable, human figures with both light and dark inside them. Hurston's writing is absolutely beautiful and there were many sentences I underlined and kept thinking about for a while after I finished the book. This was my favourite: "Love is lak de sea. It's uh movin' thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it's different with every shore."

>17 BerlinBibliophile: First time I tried that one I was not in a great place and couldn't get beyond those first few tricky chapters you described. Will try it again sometime soon.

>18 PaulCranswick: It's really worth it in the end, so I hope you'll give it another chance!

11. The Midnight Library, Matt Haig

I'm not quite sure what to think. Despite the sad premise, I liked the story and I liked Nora as the protagonist of her many lives. I also really like Matt Haig's prose style, with many short, pithy chapters. At the same time, I couldn't help but feel that the ending, considering what had come before it, was a bit trite.

12. Squire, Tamora Pierce

2021 reread: I think this may be my favourite book in this series. It's so wonderful to see Kel coming into her own and being appreciated by her peers and authority figures for once. She meets such a huge variety of people from all stations in life in this book, it's great to see her learn so much more about all sorts of Tortallan lives.

13. Töchter einer neuen Zeit, Carmen Korn

The characters in this book are great, and they change in dynamic and believable ways throughout the story. The setting is an interesting one full of political and social change. At times it all felt a bit too "easy" (both physically and morally) for the charcters. There was still some interesting exploration of normal lives in these turbulent times. I wish the author didn't always jump from the beginning of a story (starting a new job, a relationship, a business) to another new beginning (already married and with a new baby, or with a successful business that needs new premises) for that same person without letting the reader see more of the development in between.
I was a bit disappointed that the book ends with a cliffhanger though. Not necessary, in my opinion. Still, I loved the characters and I'm excited to read more about their lives.

14. The Lives of Saints, Leigh Bardugo, illustrated by Daniel J. Zollinger

I have to be honest, most of the appeal here is in the illustrations. The saints' lives are interesting, but the illustrations steal the show. They are marvellous, brilliant, and capture a historical fantastical style so, so well. Some of them are even aged, as though people take them out to pray over them often. This book is a beautiful object, visually stunning and a pleasure to touch.

15. The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

What a beautiful book. A lovely, meaningful story and wonderful illustrations. This edition is produced beautifully, with gilt edges, embossed cloth cover, and a ribbon bookmark.

>23 BerlinBibliophile: Glad you loved The Little Prince, Miriam. I read it again a few years back, and it was still as good as I remebered.
I would love to see a picture of your edition.

16. Hunger Pangs: True Love Bites, Joy Demorra

This book was such a fun break. The characters are great and they get the development they deserve. Their relationships are wonderful, and I was so happy to see a loving negotiation of boundaries before the leads fell into bed together.
The world building is really interesting and I found myself much more invested in the "save the world" plot than I expected to be. The politics of that world also work perfectly realistically. I could tell because I wanted to strangle the conservative parlamentarians.
It was also great to see a disabled hero who finally gets the treatment he deserves from his doctors. The whole world was simply filled with wonderful characters of all identities. I really loved the Jane Austen-inspired ball scenes. This book is so funny and charming!

>24 FAMeulstee: it's from the Macmillan Classics Collection. It's really small, but so pretty. The illustrations were drawn by the author, really cute.

Hi Miriam - I'm very slowly finding my way to various threads and it looks like we have some reading interests in common :-) I also really enjoyed Piranesi and I haven't read The Devil and the Dark Water yet but loved Stuart Turton's first novel. I've also got Felix Ever After on my wishlist.

Happy reading!

17. Queens of the Crusades, Allison Weir

This is a really interesting book about fascinating women. Sometimes I wish Weir had condensed some of the repeated years of progresses and bolts of cloth purchased, but it was still a well-written and well-researched history. The relationships between these queens are interesting to read about, as was their use of political power and contemporary responses to it. Everyone knows Eleanor of Aquitaine was a badass, but her successors are well worth reading about as well.

>28 souloftherose: Hi Heather, I saw your thread too. We have so many books in common! I saw you read some T. Kingfisher recently. I read her book about a boy with an armadillo familiar recently and really enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy Felix Ever Afer! I really did.

18. Dying With Her Cheer Pants On, Seanan McGuire

I had a fantastic time reading about these weird, wonderful cheerleaders. As a non-American I felt kind of like an outsider looking in on mysterious rituals, but I guess that might be the case for normal cheerleading that doesn't involve saving the world that often too. The characters are so fleshed out and they all get a chance to shine in their own stories. One of my favourites was about the harvest girl, who gets a little bit of an outsider's view into the world of the Fighting Pumpkins.

19. Murder by the Book, Claire Harman

2021 re-read: There are so many unanswered questions at the end of this book, but it's still an excellent examination of popular culture in the early Victorian era. I guess that's one of the frustrations of reading about a murder that was never really solved.

20. Children of Blood and Bone, Tomi Adeyemi

The first 300 pages of this book were great. The came a hundred pages of emotional frenzy between the characters which honestly felt unrealistic and way too quick. I don't think you start completely trusting your deadly enemy with your life, loving him even, within 24 hours of grudgingly working together. Everyone else's emotions were similarly careening all over the place and they were all making out of character stupid decisions. I could have done without the hormonal teenage horniness episode. For the final 100 pages, the book returned to great form. The ending was exciting and suspenseful and I'm eager to see what happens next. The worldbuilding in this book was great throughout.

21. The Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler

This time I read the book straight through. Last time I had missed how quickly the book reads. So much happens and Lauren moves from life-changing event to life-changing event. But despite being a relatively quick read, Octavia Butler manages to express so many important lessons about life and people and politics in one short book. It really is excellent, even if it is heart-breaking to read.

22. Take a Thief, Mercedes Lackey

2021 re-read: This is still one of my favourite "comfort" reads. Skif is so wonderful, and I love all the varied characters he meets in Haven, both good and bad and everything in between. There are no easy answers in this book, but that's okay. I wish we could see a little more of Skif's growing friendship with the other Trainees, but I guess we do see more of that once Talia turns up in the Collegium.

23. The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett

What a brilliant exploration of family and identity and truth and lies. I really loved the book, especially the chapters focusing on Joan. The four women at the centre of this story are all fascinating, ever-changing personalities and this book really gets down to the emotional core of family and how much they define you, can lift you up or hurt you. Reese is a bit of a satellite to Joan, but even his story is so nuanced and thoughtfully handled. Excellently written, I really recommend it.

24. Sword of Destiny, Andrzej Sapkowski

I really liked these stories. I enjoyed getting to see a bit more of normal life as well as the portentous destiny stuff. I think my favourite story was the one of the doppler causing mischief and high profits to his "victim", and the mental image of Geralt translating for a love-struck lord and mermaid as they argue over who should give up their legs/fins was hilarious.

25. Barrayar, Lois McMaster Bujold

I really loved this book. Cordelia is such a fantastic protagonist and it was great to explore her new life on Barrayar along with her. I love stories about political and palace intrigue, and this was a really good one.There was so much at play in this book, and it shifted from fish out of water to family drama to chase through the woods to heist seamlessly. A lot happens, but it's never confusing and always welcome. I can't wait to meet Miles now.
Also, that "Shopping" line was iconic.

26. The Warrior's Apprentice, Lois McMaster Bujold

What a ride. This book is a real rollercoaster and I enjoyed every minute of it. Miles seems driven by and towards chaos and it was fascinating to see him shape some sort of order out of the people and events around him. I loved the nail-biting progress of the Dendarii and I can't wait to see what happens to them next.
I was sad to see Bothari go so quickly, but Elena is just as interesting a character, just in a different direction. Miles was great as a protagonist, and I loved seeing him use his mind and people skills as his greatest weapons. The world-building is great as well!

27. The Vor Game, Lois McMaster Bujold

Poor Miles gets thrown from impossible situation to impossible situation. He does incredibly well by using his wits and scrapes through by the skin of his teeth, then the universe throws him another curve ball. The poor boy. It was very fun to accompany him on his romp through the Hegen Hub, and to see more of the characters we've come to love and those who haven't had a prominent role yet, like Gregor. I had a great time with this book.

28. Plain Bad Heroines, Emily M. Danforth

I didn't really know what to expect of this book going in, I bought it mostly because it was recommended to me. I'm not much of a horror reader and I had never heard of Mary MacLane, but now it seems like I have a fun research project ahead of me.
The whole book is just the right mix of spooky and weird and funny and queer to make me really care about the characters and their parallel journeys through time and filmmaking.
I immediately want to read more about Harper and Audrey and Merritt. And yet, the ending of the book was absolutely perfect as it was.

29. The Priory of the Orange Tree, Samantha Shannon

I really loved this book. The world is so wonderfully drawn. All the political machinations and the social fabric of these countries were so vivid and fully realised. I also loved the characters, especially Ead. She journeyed so far in this book, and every step she took was interesting. Tané is also wonderful, and Nayimathun of course.
When the book started I couldn't see how it was all going to come together, but it did, and I very much enjoyed that. So much happens, but it was never confusing, but a thrilling ride.

30. Cetaganda, Lois McMaster Bujold

This was a bit slower than previous entries in the series, but I still had a good time. Cetagandan society is absolutely fascinating, with the haut and the ghem and their several, interlocking factions. I think that may have been my favourite part of the story, slowly discovering this political and social system along with Miles.

31. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, Alexander Chee

I did like most of the essays, but some of them were a bit too similar to each other to really stand out in my mind. In general, I liked the essays that weren't direct writing advice better. The exception to that was "On becoming an American writer". That essay was very powerful, even to me as a European. Chee can really write, and he knows just which words to choose to punch me in the emotional gut. But then he also reintroduces hope and purpose and the beauty of art and culture, and builds the reader back up.
My favourite essay, though, was "The Rosary". It is just the sort of advice for gardening (both of roses and of the soul) that I need to read right now. It makes me long for spring, and roll up my sleeves to do the work to make sure that spring will come, and be successful and full of nurturing and growing for both my plants and myself.

32. Die Tangospielerin, Carolina de Robertis

What a wonderful book. I loved all the vivid, engrossing descriptions of the tango. I could really feel Dante's passion for music pouring off the page. All the sensory descriptions were so real, as if I could hear and smell and feel the streets of Buenos Aires.
Dante is an incredible protagonist with such a vivid interiority. I loved how much nuance there was to all the characters and the setting Leda and then Dante found herself in. Everyone had their own story to tell, and they got to do that. Santiago was a particular favourite of mine. Rosa was incredible as well. Mostly, this book made me want to go out and dance the tango!

33. Afropean, Johny Pitts

This is a fascinating book. I learned a lot from it. Pitts intersperses his travels through Europe and his conversations with its Black inhabitants with bits of local and world history and weaves that into a nuanced whole. I like the style of the book, which lets so many people speak for themselves when Pitts quotes their own words about their lived experiences. The chapters about Berlin, my hometown, were very interesting to me. Seeing which parts of the city as experienced and described by Pitts I recognised and which I didn't was illuminating. My favourite chapters were perhaps the ones about Moscow, simply because I knew the least about that history.

34. What Abigail did that Summer, Ben Aaronovitch

I love Abigail and I loved this novella, even though it took a while to get going. The Foxes are a delight as always, and it was great to get a look into their organisational structure and meet more of them. Indigo was wonderful, and so was Sugar Niner. The mystery was interesting, and it was great to see our protagonist have to solve it independently of the police for a change...
I'm also very intrigued by Simon's Mum and Abigail's future adventures with her.

35. Lady Knight, Tamora Pierce

2021 reread: What I love so much about this are the logictics, funnily enough. Kel having to think about latrine placement and plowing the fields as she commands Haven makes it so much more real. And all the team-work in this book is phenomenal. Kel is wonderful, but so are Tobe and Dom and Neal and everyone at Haven.

36. Ethan of Athos, Lois McMaster Bujold

This was a bit of a weird one, but the mystery was good. Athos is a very strange society. I kind of wish we had seen a little more of it before Ethan had to leave, or found out more after he reaches Kline Station and experiences culture shock. Athos' sexism and their positioning as a queer planet interacted in strange ways.
It was great to see Elli Quinn again, and I hope she shows up more often in the series.

37. Lia: Die Prophezeiung der Königin, Tamora Pierce

In retrospect, there are some really uncomfortable scenes here concerning enslavement, brownface and justification of slavers as "some of the good ones". Nevertheless, it's a very enjoyable book full of adventures and really cool characters. I love Aly and the revolutionaries she meets in the Balitang household. Perhaps Aly isn't a particularly good spy yet, but she is learning quickly. I am looking forward to seeing what will happen when they all go back to Rajmuat.

38. Silver in the Wood, Emily Tesh

This book is short, but packs so much into its few pages. I really loved the descriptions of the Greenhollow wood and the way it intertwines with Tobias. The backstory was really cool, and the way it was so slowly and casually revealed to the reader worked very well. I'd love to read more about the wood's history, and about Tobias' further adventures.

39. Tintenherz, Cornelia Funke

This is the first time I read this boko in years, and it was wonderful to rediscover why I loved it so much as a child. I love the world of the book, the importance of words and stories and the connection between people when reading aloud. I also love the characters, especially Staubfinger and Elinor and Fenoglio. And Gwin, of course. This was a lovely trip down memory lane and a genuinely great read.

40. Forensics, Val McDermid

This book is full of interesting information, presented in an easy-to-understand way for laypeople. McDermid uses examples from real cases to demonstrate the used and possible misuses of different forensic techniques. There was a lot of stuff here I hadn't known before, with interesting tidbits from the history of forensics and stories of how new branches of forensics are developed today. I found the chapter on forensic anthropology especially interesting.

41. Ayesha at Last, Uzma Jalaluddin

I enjoyed this book and especially these characters. It was interesting to see Pride and Prejudice in such a different way and explore different facets of the story in the modern setting. I did think that things moved too slowly in the beginning and then too quickly towards the end, with lots of hand-waving about the solution to all the problems. Not my favourite reinterpretation of Mr Wickham, but I did really like Ayesha, Khalid and Clara.

42. Whispers Underground, Ben Aaronovitch

Man, I love this book. This is such a good mystery and such a cool way to expand the demi-monde and bring in more complications to the intersection between magic and mundane policing. I love how much we get to see of the core characters, and how apprenticeship is becoming more formalised now that Lesley has joined up. I had a great time reading this.

43. Pachinko, Min Jin Lee

I really enjoyed this family epic. There are so many characters, but they are all so well developed and often their lives go in quite different directions than I had expected. This book covers a timespan of 80 years, from 1910 to 1989. Things change dramatically, global history has a huge impact, and yet the book mostly stays focused on one family and their difficulties, triumphs, and survival through it all. The book kept me gripped, even as the first half is told in a rather slow, meditative way. The narrative speeds up along with the world at large, and by the 80s, with investment banking and time abroad for the characters, it hurtles along. I certainly recommend this book.

44. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, narrated by Peter Silverleaf

Some of these stories are great, some not so much. I have to say that I like the ones where Holmes and Watson investigate the case together much better than the ones where Holmes tells Watson about his old cases afterwards. Silver Blaze is a particular favourite.

45. Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery

I enjoyed this book more than I was expecting to, but was disappointed by the ending. Anne was lovely as a protagonist, with her fire and openness to new relationships and new experiences. But by the end of the book, time rushed by without being explored, without character development the reader could follow along with. I liked Marilla and Matthew and the rest of Avonlea, but I won't be continuing with the series.

46. Freshwater, Akwaeke Emezi

This book was absolutely new to me, and unlike anything I've read before. It is undeniably powerful in its depictions of the self, and all the hurt humans do to one another and to themselves.
The different perspectives in this book were fascinating, especially the differences between the "We" and the singular narrators. I'm not sure I "got" everything the author was saying, but I'm sure I'll be thinking about Ada and her alters for a long time to come.

>47 BerlinBibliophile: I bought Freshwater as soon as it was available here but haven't read it yet, Miriam. You have helped me bump it up the pile more than a little.

Have a lovely weekend.

>48 PaulCranswick: I hope you'll like it! It was a difficult but satisfying read for me. Have a good weekend, Paul!

47. Slow Horses, Mick Herron

This book took a while to get going, but I ended up enjoying it. None of the people who run the intelligence services in this book seem at all smart though...
Still, I liked the misfit slow horses and their plodding ways. I'm excited to find out what they'll do now that they've been shaken from their daily grind and forced to step up.

48. How to get filthy rich in rising Asia, Mohsin Hamid

The narrative style of this book drew me in immediately and didn't let me go until it was over. I loved the second person narration (surprisingly for me) and the snarky, irreverent tone of the self-help sections. The way Hamid gives the reader such a full picture of people, relationships or situations with so few words is amazing. I liked reading about the protagonist, but loved everything we got to know about the pretty girl. There are no names or places in this story, but everything is so specific and clearly drawn that after the first moment of noticing that nobody was given a name, I didn't really notice anymore. The ending is lovely, and especially the reflections on how books are a collaboration between their authors and readers, different every time.

49. Charlotte, Helen Moffett

I absolutely loved this book and read it in one sitting. Charlotte Collins (née Lucas) was always one of my favourite characters in Pride and Prejudice, so it's great to see her choices and interiority explored in greater depth here. Her story after the events of Pride and Prejudice is drawn with a fine pen here, and it was wonderful to see her find greater happiness than she found in the book. I loved the scenes of her setting up her household in Hunsford, and then the lovely time in Pemberley, when she reunites with her childhood friend Elizabeth. The book never glosses over how hurtful Elizabeth's reaction to Charlotte's marriage was, but shows how they can put that behind them with effort on both sides, and become stronger friends than ever. There are so many continuations of Pride and Prejudice, and this is one of my favourites.

50. Double Agent, Tom Bradby

This book is very bad. I should have put it down when the protagonist equates autism and rudeness on the first page, and I regret that I didn't. None of the characters are developed beyond one note, whether that's "annoying", "has affairs" or "depressed". The research is also very bad. One scene set in Berlinhas guns drawn and a brawl happen 20 metres from Angela Merkel's front door, and the author doesn't seem to realise this, or realise that there is always a police presence there.
And the ending was disappointing on every level. Everyone behaves as stupidly as possible, and in the end nothing much has changed from the beginning of the book, other than the fact that the protagonist has an addiction to sleeping pills now. Thoroughly disappointing.

51. Magic for Nothing, Seanan McGuire

I loved the book. Antimony is a big change from her siblings as a narrator, and it was fascinating to see them through her eyes. The plot was very exciting and the ending left me wanting to read the next book in the series immediately. I loved that we got mice with more individuality in this book, and that Mindy has found cousins across the sea to share their rituals with. I really liked Sam, and the carnival setting. I hope we'll see these characters again.

52. Trickster's Queen, Tamora Pierce

This book has its problematic moments, but it is a big improvement over the first book in the duology. Aly has finally come into her own and has her spy networks up and running, and it is great to see her doing the kind of work she has always longed to do. Dove is amazing, and it's wonderful to see her take charge and refuse to be a figurehead. Honestly, there is so much competence on show here, it's very satisfying. Nawat is another wonderful aspect of the book. He finally gets the chance to explore his own identity apart from Aly, and it makes their relationship all the stronger.

53. The Widows of Malabar Hill, Sujata Massey

I absolutely loved this book. The characters are wonderful, the style immersive and with just the right amount of detail. Perveen is a wonderful protagonist, both in the current mystery she is investigating, and in the backstory we learn of in flashback chapters. The mystery itself is very well constructed and always kept my attention, even as a lot of other things were happening in Perveen's life. The three widows are all great characters, individualised with the most telling little details. I read this book in only one day, and I will definitely read the sequel as soon as I can get my hands on it.

54. A Natural History of Dragons, Marie Brennan

I enjoyed this book, but I wish we had had more depth to the scientific work of the characters. The protagonist was mostly excluded from that, but I wish we'd heard more about it or at least found out some of the results. Still, I liked the worldbuilding and the protagonist and I'd like to read more about her. Perhaps the next book has fewer evil boyars and more natural history.

55. A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine

I really, really loved the book. It was wonderful to see Mahit and Three Seagrass again, and for them to have to opportunity to work through some of their issues. I also, surprisingly to me, enjoyed the sections with Eight Antidote very much. It was great to see him discover so much stuff for himself and take a more active role in his own life.
I'm always amazed and impressed at the complicated political tangles in these books. Space politics is my favourite thing when done well, as this most certainly is. One of my favourite books I've read this year.

56. The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden

I really enjoyed the casual way the magical world intersects with normal village life in this book. Vasya was a great protagonist, and I'll definitely want to read more about her. I especially liked all her interactions with the rusalka and the domovoi, the way she treated them as people just like her family and her village. The big fight at the end was a little bit confusing, but still ended with a good and meaningful resolution to the conflict. I'll definitely read about Vasya and Solovey's further adventures!

57. The Left-handed Booksellers of London, Garth Nix

I wish the book had gone into the worldbuilding a little more, because I really loved what I did get from that. I really liked Susan and Merlin and Vivien and their whole dynamic. There were so many fun scenes of bickering and friendship. I really hope the author returns to this setting, because I'd love to find out more about the St. Jaques and how they'll cope in the world after the events of this book, and it would be great to see Susan come into her power properly.

Stumbled on your thread and dropping off a star! Looks like we have a lot of the same comfort reads (Take a Thief and Tamora Pierce are big for me) and you're reading a ton of stuff I want to get to soon -- Cemetery Boys, Magic for Liars, Felix Ever After, Children of Blood and Bone, Parable of the the Sower, Priory of the Orange Tree, Pachinko, Freshwater, A Natural History of Dragons, The Bear and the Nightingale, and The Left-handed Booksellers of London are all high on my to-read list. Happy reading and looking forward to what you read next!

>54 curioussquared: looks like we have a lot of books in common! I'll definitely check out what you read as well :)

58. Dress in the Age of Jane Austen: Regency Fashion, Hilary Davidson

This book was super informative and presented so beautifully. There are plenty of wonderful illustrations to underline the author's points, and by moving out from the body to the wider world Davidsonis able to cover all sorts of nuances of dress without overwhelming the reader with new terminology. I'll definitely pay more attention to dress in Austen's novels after reading this!

59. The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Emily M. Danforth

This book is great. I absolutely love the writing. Every scene felt so vivid, as if I could feel the sun on my legs and be tickled by the grass in the fields. Cameron's world is built up so well, and every person in it feels real, like you could go out into the world and meet them on your travels.
The topic, especially in the latter half, is depressing, but the book never devolves into misery porn. There is fun to be found in all sorts of situations, even the ones that seem most hopeless. I loved Jamie, Jane Fonda, and Adam Red Eagle.
The ending was perfect to my mind, and captured the endless possibility contained into the transition to adulthood. I enjoyed every page of this book and I could discuss it forever.

60. The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller

I rather liked the book, but was a bit disappointed in the ending. Patroclus and Achilles relationship was wonderfully written, but the end was simply disappointing and disconnected. Miller glosses over a lot of the more horrifying aspects of the myths, especially when it comes to the women the Greeks enslave. But her character writing in the smaller, more personal moments is phenomenal.

61. Battle Ground, Jim Butcher

I was very disappointed in this book. It wasn't the long-awaited resolution I was hoping for. Instead, the book reads like a video game where Harry Dresden runs from boss battle to boss battle with very little plot in between. The final battle between good and evil starts at the half-way point of the book and is an endless repetition of both sides bringing in reinforcements again, and again, and again, always waiting their turn to make sure everyone gets a moment of "they're so badass, they're going to turn the tide of the battle" before the next reinforcements come in and get their own moment. The book as a whole was very repetitive, with descriptions of characters often reused word for word three or four times in the book.
And finally, the sexism of the previous books is here in full force. Harry daydreams about raping all his female acquaintances a little less than in previous books, but it's more than made up for in graphic descriptions of sexual violence against women. Yikes. I won't be reading any more books in this series.

62. Percy Jackson: Diebe im Olymp, Rick Riordan

This time I particularly appreciated how goddamn funny this book is in every sentence. Of course I always remember Percy's quips and sarcasm, but there are so many funny background incidents. Percy running an illegal sweets smuggling ring from his boarding school dorm room...

>56 BerlinBibliophile: I think I agree with your take on the Miller book. Parts of it were excellent and compelling but she did miss too much out at the same time.

63. The House in the Cerulean Sea, T.J. Klune

I really liked the book, but not as much as I was expecting to. I loved the island and the children. But the plot about prejudice seemed a bit shallow and too easily resolved to me. Helen has one conversation with Talia and suddenly she's cured of bigotry? That just wasn't believable to me. Also, I wish the romance had gotten more development. It seemed to happen entirely in unspoken glances and conversations while the children were listening. I thought it was cute, but I wish they had had more than just the one conversation about philosophy. I still liked it though! It has a very chill vibe and I liked the emphasis on chosen families. I just wish there had been some more exploration of this world and its consequences.

64. The Ghosts of Eden Park, Karen Abbott

A very interesting book that evokes a very interesting time in American history. I liked that the author focused on prohibition, bootlegging, a marital breakdown and the trial that followed equally. None of the people described in this book seem like good people or even ones I'd like to talk to over a cup of coffee, but their extreme exploits certainly made for compelling reading. Sometimes the book was a bit repetitive though.

65. Tempests and Slaughter, Tamora Pierce

Arram is awesome and it's particularly cool to see his magic education. It's so different from Tortall and other books with magic universities, and I greatly enjoyed seeing all the very different types of magic that he learns. It's also wonderful to see teachers who are so invested in making sure that all their students have the opportunities to excel. And finally, I simply love Musenda!

66. The Austen Girls, Lucy Worsley

This is a nice middle grade fiction about Jane Austen's nieces. The narrative style, which is pretty light and fun, is occasionally at odds with rather dark topics, such as young girls being forced to marry men old enough to be their fathers if they don't want to starve. Still, Fanny is a compelling protagonist and I liked her relationship with "Aunt Jane". Their foray into mystery-solving was unexpected but very welcome!

67. Das Feuerdrama von Cottbus. Wolfgang Swat

This book is a collection of true crime cases from the area around Cottbus. In the short introduction, the author says that he wants to shed light on an interesting moment in criminal and judicial history, when East and West Germany reunited and there was a lot of chaos in the courts. That sounds like a very interesting topic, but it's not what this book is about at all. These are bare-bones descriptions of cases, but with hardly any context and certainly no contemplations of the historical moment they happened in. I was disappointed, I had expected better.

68. The Bellamy Trial, Frances Noyes Hart

This was a fun mystery. It was cool to see all those witnesses on the stand and try to parse the truth from their accounts. I certainly didn't get the truth before the story revealed it, but I had a good time trying to guess and weighing the different witnesses. The commentary from the reporters was good, though I wish it hadn't been quite so patronizing. Oh well, that's what I get for reading historical books with historical attitudes. Still, it wasn't too bad in that regard either. I had a fun time.

69. The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective, Susannah Stapleton

What a fascinating book! The author starts out looking for a lady detective in the golden age of crime, and finds much more than she bargained for. Maud West was a female detective, but she was hard to pin down, with her multiple names and talent for self-advertisement in the press. Stories of detective adventures starring herself written by Maud West are interspersed with the chapters, and they are very fun, if completely unbelievable. I enjoyed reading about all the sleuthing in archives Susannah Stapleton did in her quest to find the real Maud West, and I really appreciate the enigmatic and contradictory figure she ends up with.

70. Shadow and Bone, Leigh Bardugo

2021 reread: I think a bit of nostalgia made me like the book more this time. Yes, it's still mostly set-up, but I do like the characters here. Alina's narration is particularly funny and I like her irreverence for her circumstances, even as others are trying to deify her. I also like her ruthlessness. I think it's pretty rare in a YA protagonist, but sometimes a little ruthlessness is the way to go. Genya is still one of my favourites.

71. Broken Stars, ed. Ken Liu

As with all short story collections, I liked some of the stories much more than others. My favourite story was "What Has Passed Shall in Kinder Light Appear" by Baoshu, which combines a great story about the intertwined lives of childhood friends with a history of China in which historical events happen backwards from our own timeline.
A lot of the other stories are harder to remember because there are few characters to care about: it's more about the concept than the characters. Still, the concepts are usually interesting. The overall "feeling" of the stories is very different from the Western sci-fi I've read. It still definitely reads like sci-fi, but a lot of the hall-marks I usually expect, like a space setting or simply being set in the future, weren't present. I'd like to read more Chinese sci-fi to see if that's a general trend or just in this collection.

72. Away With the Fairies, Kerry Greenwood

This is the first book in the series I've read. It's book 11, but still easy to get into. I like the characters, but the plot meanders a bit too much for my liking. The scenes at Women's Choice are all lovely, but Phryne doesn't exactly do a lot of investigating.
The scenes with Lin Chung and the pirates are also weird. That plot makes comparatively little sense, and seems designed only to emphasize how "exotic" Phryne is, and to force her to get naked in public. Seems weirdly fetishistic towards all sides.

73. A Thousand Ships, Natalie Haynes

This was a stunning book. It tells the story of the Trojan War through the voices of the women who affected the war and were affected by it. It's tragic, but beautiful in how much Haynes is able to bring these women to life in the pages of the book. I especially liked Penelope's letters to Odysseus, their tone and the increasing despair hidden under a funny engagement with the songs the bards sing abuot his adventures. Especially her final prayer to Athene was amazing: the conflicting feelings of relief and disappointment and resentment and love, all while wondering who exactly has come back to her. This book was amazing and I can't wait to read it again.

74. Murder in Montparnasse, Kerry Greenwood

I liked this book better than the one before. It was great to see more of Bert and Cec, and to see Inspector Robinson and Hugh also do some investigating of their own. Jane and Ruth were great. Investigating is becoming a family business!

75. Fugitive Telemetry, Martha Wells

I had a lovely time with Murderbot, once again. This one is a murder mystery set on Preservation Station and so it was great to see all my favourites again. Murderbot is grumpy about having to work with Station Security, but that's pretty much its default state. I wuold have thought I'd get tired of this series at some point, but I absolutely haven't. Each new book is a delight, and so is this one.

I can't believe I'm at 75 books already! We're precisely halfway through the year. I think this is the earliest I've ever gotten to 75. Well, here's to another 75 excellent books!

>63 BerlinBibliophile: Congrats on 75 and a great read for the milestone! I love Murderbot so much. They hold up on every reread, too.

Congrats!

>63 BerlinBibliophile: Congratulations on reaching 75, Miriam!

76. Princess Floralinda and the Fourty-Flight Tower, Tamsyn Muir

I loved Floralinda and Cobweb and the entire strange concept of the book. It was cool to see so much believable character development in such a short space, and the different monsters in the tower are so creative. I also really liked the ending.

>65 drneutron: >66 FAMeulstee: thank you both!
>64 curioussquared: yes! Murderbot is one of my absolute favourite series, and one of the few where I can just reread one of the middle books whenever I feel like it.

77. The Castlemaine Murders, Kerry Greenwood

I enjoyed this book. It was cool to see all those connections with the past emerge and influence the present. I wish there had been more of Dot and Inspector Robinson though!

78. Siege and Storm, Leigh Bardugo

I am incredibly frustrated with Mal in this book. I think I liked it better than I did when I first read it. I think the tension builds well and all the political maneuvering involving Nikolai was much more interesting to me this time around. I'm looking forward to continuing with my reread.

79. Queen of the Flowers, Kerry Greenwood

It was another fun book, though I was dismayed by how long Phryne waits after her daughter is kidnapped to even start looking for her.

80. The Heiress: The Revelations of Anne de Bourgh, Molly Greeley

This book was absolutely great. I wish the end of the book had been longer, and Anne's struggle with withdrawal explored more, but overall this was a wonderful read. Anne has such a strong interiority and her supporting cast of both original charcters and ones from "Pride and Prejudice" are wonderfully drawn. It was interesting to see Lizzie and Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam, and especially Lady Catherine, from such a different perspective. Anne isn't treated that well by them in "Pride and Prejudice", so she has a much dimmer view of them that the reader, and yet they were true to the charcters in the original book.
The way Anne blossoms in London was so lovely to read and felt very real. Her anxieties about money, about being boring, about disobeying her mother, all felt very relatable and written so well. Her having to learn to trust that people are actually interested in her and that she has things to say was great.
So yeah, there were one or two things I quibbled with, but overwhelmingly I really loved the book and only wished that there was more of it.

81. Girls of Riyadh, Rajaa Alsanea

I didn't like the writing style or the characters much, but the plot kept me engaged throughout. This book reads like Gossip Girl: Riyadh, and there's just as much drama and just as many love interests as that implies. I liked the frame story of the email introductions more than the chapters themselves.

82. Murder in the Dark, Kerry Greenwood

This entry into the series honestly wasn't great. The mystery-solving takes a backseat to drugs and orgies and the plot meanders along. I hope the other books in the series get better again.

83. Whose Names are Unknown, Sanora Babb

The first few chapters were a little slow, but after that the story really sucked me in. I love that Babb does not focus on only one individual or family, but on whole communities. There are so many aspects of the story that feel very relatable even today, in 2021, which were quite surprising to me.
I felt so immersed in the Dunnes' and the Starwoods' lives, as if they could step right out of the pages to talk to me about their lives. I also very much appreciated the focus Babb places on the systems that exacerbate all the problems the characters face throughout the book, from the dustbowl to the terrible conditions in the refugee camps. We could still learn something today from the message of solidarity that the last few chapters espouse.

84. The Black Count, Tom Reiss

This is a fantastic biography of a fascinating person. General Alexandre Dumas' life is stranger than the fiction for which it served his son as inspiration. The book is well-written and always engaging, and Reiss adds a lot of context of the French revolution and the rights people of colour did and then did not have at the time. A big recommendation for anyone interested in the man who inspired the Count of Monte Cristo.

85. Tricks for Free, Seanan McGuire

I absolutely loved this book. Antimony is awesome, and so is her supporting cast. I loved the theme park setting, there was so much fun weirdness to explore. The plot was great, with a very satisfying conclusion. I can't wait for Annie's further adventures!

86. Death by Water, Kerry Greenwood

Are these books getting worse, or have I just gotten sick of them? The plot isn't that strong in this one, and most of the charming cast is missing. The portrayal of the Maori seems dubious. And it doesn't matter how often the words "incomparable" or "divine" are thrown around in reference to Phryne when she solves the mystery by simply hanging around until she quite literally stumbles on the solution.

87. All Systems Red, Martha Wells

2021 reread: I still love Murderbot more than almost anyone else in books right now.

88. Unter Leuten, Juli Zeh

This book surprised me with just how much things escalated from the pretty normal premise. I loved the writing and the characters were always interesting, if not nice at all. This book is a brilliant achievement and I wish I'd read it earlier.

89. The Satapur Moonstone, Sujata Massey

I loved seeing Perveen investigate another mystery. The setting was very interesting, and so different from the first book in the series. Colin was an interesting addition, I hope he turns up again in the next book.

90. Im Bann des Zyklopen, Rick Riordan

I can only say that I had a great time reading this again. What more is there to say? Percy Jackson is one of my favourite series for a reason.

91. Girl, Woman, Other, Bernardine Evaristo

This is a very good book, but a heavy one. Almost everyone who is narrating in this book has horrible, traumatic things happen to them. But the book still doesn't feel hopeless. It was great to dive so deep into these wonderful, real characters.

92. The Box in the Woods, Maureen Johnson

I loved it. It was great to see Stevie and her friends again, and to watch her solve a totally new mystery. The mystery itself was great as well, with plenty of interesting characters to suspect. I really hope we get to see Stevie again, solving all sorts of different mysteries.

Just catching up, Miriam. Have a lovely weekend.

>74 BerlinBibliophile: I just got Juli Zeh from the library, Miriam. I had heard from her before, but your description makes me want to read it now.

I've been on holiday, so here is my vacation reading round-up:

93. Der Fluch des Titanen, Rick Riordan

reread: I still love the book. Bianca's story is so tragic, and it was amazing if sad to see Nico so excited and carefree. And I love how much grudging teamwork there is in this book, both with the hunters of Artemis and with the Olympian gods.

94. The Wedding Date, Jasmine Guillory

I loved the concept of the book, but I spent the latter half annoyed with the protagonists for not just talking to each other. Both of them assume the opposite of what their words and actions are showing, and even though that might be necessary to move the plot along, I didn't really enjoy reading about them wilfully misinterpreting each other.
On the other hand, I loved almost everything else. There's plenty of witty banter, great best friends and side characters, and such an interesting inciting incident. In the end I wish the beginning had been longer and the end a little shorter.

95. Terrier, Tamora Pierce

I love this book. Beka is such a wonderful character, and I love her whole supporting cast. I love that the dogs and the rogues become friends so easily, and meet in the middle at Beka's breakfasts. The dust spinners and pigeons were so innovative and wonderful, and their complexities really let them shine. Pounce is wonderful, of course.
The mysteries are suspenseful, but I was angry at the complete apathy of the dogs. It takes nine murders at once, plus a serial killer targeting children, for them to even start to pay attention. I like the mystery fantasy, but my problem is also that they also have historical policing, which was neither efficient nor compassionate.
Still, the worldbuilding and the characters are good enough that I'm still always rooting for the protagonists and wanting them to succeed, even if their success is just a bandaid on the systemic issues facing Corus.

96. The Unwomanly Face of War, Svetlana Alexievich

This is an exceptional work of historical testimony. Alexievich collects the voices of the many, many Soviet women who were involved in the Second World War. Some of their stories are almost expected, like those who worked in factories and bakeries and laundries to support the war effort. Though even those were much closer to the front than I had expected. Others are not what I would have thought would be allowed at the time: women who worked as snipers and engineers and fighter aces. All their stories are told with the same seriousness and compassion and attention, and all of them come together to form a mosaic of a women's war the history books usually leave out.

97. The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith

For the first third, I thought this book was quite boring and almost didn't finish it. Then comes the one big twist, and from then on it was exciting and interesting. Tom Ripley himself wasn't that interesting to me, but his insight into the people around him and his exploits in avoiding the police were.

98. Gorki-Park, Martin Cruz-Smith

I really liked the writing style in this novel. And the plot I loved for three quarters of the book, before it became tangled and chaotic. I liked none of the characters in this book, and yet I liked reading about them.
What surprised me was the huge difference in technology to crime and spy thrillers today. Not the big things, like no cellphones, but the smaller issues. Like, what is a teleprinter office? The book was very atmospheric and full of those little details that made it up-to-date when it was written, but really illuminate the culture it was written in from today's standpoint. Fascinating.

99. Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen

Austen's writing is brilliant, though I never connect to the characters except Elinor and Marianne in this book. Their love interests seem very blank, Edward Ferrars especially. And yet the plot is wonderfully constructed, and I always have a great time reading about the ups and downs of these sisters in one very topsy-turvy year. This time I kept an especial eye on Lucy Steele before the big reveal, and she is so calculating! It almost makes me respect her a little more.
I also really loved the friendship between Elinor and Colonel Brandon. They spend such a lot of time sitting together and talking in the book. At first it's just because of Marianne, but over time they develop such a strong regard for one another and a real friendship outside of their worry for Marianne.

100. A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher

Mona was awesome and I had a great time reading about her adventures with bread and other substances. I love how critical of the idea of heroism this book is, and how supportive of all the relationships that make heroism possible in the first place. Bread is also used very creatively.
And though I don't wish any more heroism on Mona, I wish I could read another of her and Spindle's adventures.

101. Ruin and Rising, Leigh Bardugo

reread: I still love the conclusion to the trilogy. I appreciated Alina looking out for everyone around her this time, calling for a rest when she sees others are weary, forcing them to stop and get medical attention. She cares about the people under her leadership. I also still like the ending.

>76 FAMeulstee: I'm glad you picked it up, I look forward to reading your thoughts.

102. Reputation, Lex Croucher

The beginning of the book was disappointing and I almost didn't finish it. Everyone is a horrible person from the very beginning, making it hard to care about any of the characters. That got a little better in the last third, but I really think the first two thirds should have been edited more to remove some of the repetitive scenes of needless cruelty. I also think that the way the topic of race in Regency England is handled is pretty clumsy. The author was clearly trying to make A Point, and I welcome that, but it could have been handled better.
As I said, in the last third of the book the characters and the plot did get better. There was more excitement and real stakes, and by the end I was even sort of on board with the romance.
I'm looking forward to what Croucher writes next, because I think the book had real potential, and hope that the next one she writes develops that potential more fully.

103. Without You There Is No Us, Kim Suki

The book is often repetitive and frustrating, and I wish the author had written a little more about what she saw in North Korea than her own reaction to things. All the parts about her lover seemed out of place and unneccessary. But it was fascinating to get a glimpse into the lives of some of North Korea's elite. Their lack of comprehension of the most basic facts of life in the rest of the world was perhaps not entirely surprising, but the difficulties in communication when there's barely any shared context was so much stronger than I had expected. I thought that since these were the children of the elite, they would be living in comparative luxury to the rest of their country, and would perhaps know more about the outside world from their parents, some of whom had travelled internationally. But none of that was the case. Their lives are better than the rest, but still lived with too little food and no information. I wish it was possible to hear what these students think of their country.

104. Zeiten des Aufbruchs, Carmen Korn

I loved how much these characters change in the pages of the book. It covers such a long time, full of change, both of big historical events and the smaller social changes that happen every day. It was great to see all my favourite characters again and to see them finally having a bit of luck in life and becoming happier than they've been before. I have no idea what will happen next, and I'm excited to find out.

105. Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro

This book is slow-moving, but powerful. Klara's perspective on the world was fascinating, and it was so interesting to see how her technical realities influence her perception, like the boxes in her vision, and her homebrewed solar faith. She's not human, but Klara's journey throughout this book reveals so much about humanity and their relationships. A very interesting look into one possible future of relationships.

106. The Case of the Missing Marquess, Nancy Springer

A fun book, but it felt like it had just gotten started when it ended. I wish we had gotten a little more of Enola's story, and how everything turned out after she found the marquess. I hope the next book will feel a little more complete, but I'm looking forward to reading it.

107. The Citadel of Weeping Pearls, Aliette de Bodard

A wonderful universe, but I wish I had gotten to know the characters a little better. They were all very focused on the central mystery, which was interesting, but I wish they had had a little more room to breathe and unfold their personalities in the pages of this book. I'm definitely going to keep reading though.

108. Agatha's Alibi, Andrew Wilson

I was sorely disappointed in this book. Agatha Christie has barely any agency in this book, and apparently she has no brain either. She is towed along by the bad guy who is trying to force her to commit a murder. Every couple of pages she thinks she should go to the police, then she remembers the blackmailer threatened her daughter. This cycle plays out again and again and again, until I was heartily sick of it. Never once does Agatha Christie, genius crime fiction author, try to reason out the blackmailer's motives or do any sort of investigation of her own. She spends the entire book feeling small and humiliated, and nothing changes after the case is solved either. She has barely any hand at all in resolving matters, and at the end of the book she's back precisely where she started. Very disappointing.

109. The Witch's Heart, Genevieve Gornichec

I loved this book. Angrboda is a wonderful protagonist, one who goes through so many transformations in the course of the story and yet always remains herself. It was really interesting to read about the Norse myths from an outside persepective. Of course the Aesir would look very different from the point of view of a giant!
I loved the storyline with Loki, from the sweet beginning to the heartbreaking end. And Skadi was absolutely wonderful.
I've never thought to imagine the childhood of Hel, Fenrir and Jormungandr, but this is a fitting and tragic and hopeful tale for them.

110. Fire, Kristin Cashore

It's been a long time since I read this book, but I think I liked it more when I reread it than the first time. Now I love Fire. Her world is so hostile, but she tries her absolute best to be there for her friends and to hold herself to a high moral standard. She knows she could live an easier life, but she knows it would be wrong, even if those around her try to persuade her that it would be all right. I admire that about her. And her romance is very cute, as well as her relationship with Hanna.

You have been doing a lot of great reading, Miriam.

I need to read the Alexievich soon. I loved her book on Chernobyl (or more accurately was deeply moved by it).

Have a wonderful weekend.

>83 PaulCranswick: I've really liked my last couple of books. It has felt like reading was going slowly for me, but looking back I really can't complain! I'll have to check out the Chernobyl book, thanks! Have a good week :D

111. Bloodhound, Tamora Pierce

It was cool to see Beka enter a new territory where she doesn't know every street corner as well as the back of her hand. The new characters were wonderful, with Achoo as the best girl, of course! I liked that the plot was so different from the first one. Not murder, false coins. And yet the consequences are just as devastating and the stakes perhaps even higher. I loved getting to read more about normal life in Tortall, for those people who just live in the cities and do their jobs, whether those are legal or not. I'm looking forward to rereading the final book in the trilogy.

112. A Two-Spirit Journey, Ma-Nee Chacaby & Mary Louisa Plummer

Ma-Nee has a very matter-of-fact narration style, one that works well for her life story. She talks about horrifying, traumatic events and uplifting joy very clearly, in a way that the reader understands the horror but doesn't become overwhelmed by it. It was interesting to read about how much Anishinaabe life has changed over Ma-Nee's lifetime, and how diligently she is working to preserve the traditions her grandmother had taught her. I'm very glad to have read this book and learned something about a life experience that is radically different from my own.

113. Birds, Art, Life, Kyo Maclear

Some of these essays are so interesting, and bring together birding and philosophy into a rewarding whole. Some of them seemed to me to be a bunch of words repeated without much content or meaning. So it goes. Still, overall I liked the approach of this book, and how beautifully it brought out an appreciation for the small things in a wonderfully designed and produced book worth being appreciated. The small illustrations are so effective in their smallness, and the bird photos are always a joy.

114. The Case of the Left-handed Lady, Nancy Springer

I liked this book better than the first because Enola does more investigation herself, intead of being swept along on the plots of other people. I wasn't quite happy with the resolution (mesmerism, really?) but overall the book was still a fun time. And watching Enola fool the great Sherlock Holmes is always funny.

115. The Case of the Bizarre Bouquets, Nancy Springer

A fun mystery, though it rests on the historical ill-treatment of the mentally ill. If you can ignore that, it's a fun ride, and nice to see Enola's story overlap more with Sherlock's and Watson's.

116. Winter's Orbit, Everina Maxwell

I loved the setting and the political intrigue. The characters were wonderful, and so was the slow build of the romance. I think the book could have been a little tighter, with some of the repetitions cut. But over all I had a great time reading this, and I'd like to read more about the politics of that galaxy.

117. Buddenbrooks, Thomas Mann

This is a very long book, and it is very dramatic. I was surprised at how open the book is about the seedier sides of life, making jokes about one of the Buddenbrooks getting an award for "best customer" at a local brothel. Divorce abounds, and though it's a little social faux-pas, it's not a big problem. It's certainly not as prudish as the English books from the period I usually read.
It was fascinating to follow these characters throughout their lives, and to see those lives in such detail. Of course I had some favourites, but nobody was boring or neglected in the story. It's a window into merchant society in Lübeck in the 19th century, but it's also simply a good story told well.

118. Die Schlacht um das Labyrinth, Rick Riordan

2021 reread: I still love the book. Rachel is the coolest, and I love how chill she is about suddenly meeting so many mythological figures. Tyson and Grover's quest is so sweet. And I love how seamlessly Percy and Annabeth fight together as a team, whatever the situation. They're great together and in this book you can really see how far they've come both individually and as questing partners.

119. When Sorrows Come, Seanan McGuire

Five stars, I love it. McGuire brings together the whole cast for the wedding of the century, and of course everything goes wrong immediately. But it wouldn't be Toby and her merry band of weirdoes if it didn't. The plot about treason in the Westlands was interesting and fun to follow, but of course the real fun part of the book is the wedding prep. Toby is clueless, but her wedding party more than makes up for that. It's so good to finally see things go well for her, surrounded by her found family.
I also loved the novella showing the wedding reception. It's more low-key, but full of special moments. I wouldn't have wanted to miss it. I can't wait to see where Toby's adventures take her next.

120. Angel Mage, Garth Nix

This book has such a great, unusual magic system. I really loved learning about this world, and the characters were great. I wish we'd focused a little more on the four friends and a little less on Lillith, but I had a great time with the plot. I wish there was a sequel, I'm not ready to let them go so soon.

121. Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo

2021 reread: I still love the book with all my heart. Even knowing what would happen, it was still exciting to see the characters figure it out and then make their long-shot plan into a reality. I love the characters. This time I especially loved Nina's and Inej's friendship.

122. Mansfield Park, Jane Austen

2021 reread: I know which parts I'm going to hate before even starting to read this book. Fanny's passivity bothered me less on account of being prepared for it, and I also understood it a little more, considering how much she gets brow-beaten and always placed last at Mansfield Park. I was mostly annoyed with Edmund's constant lying to himself in this reread. He knows perfectly well that Mary Crawford and himself have totally opposing world-views, but he can't admit that to himself, even after many, many moments of proof. Annoying. But I really appreciate how Jane Austen wrote this story, and how it slowly unfolds. The focus on money and privilege and how that forms character is interesting to read from such a perspective. So, overall, I had more fun with the book than I usually do, though some of the fun came from ranting to friends.

123. Beowulf: A New Translation, Maria Dahvana Headley

What a fun, vibrant translation. I loved the introduction about the translation process. And when I was reading the poem I was constantly sending especially cool bits to friends. So yeah, I loved it, bro!

124. A Deadly Education, Naomi Novik

A bit of a slow start, but I enjoyed the book. The worldbuilding is so interesting, and it was so cool to see El go deeper into the bowels of the school. I found the beginning, when not much was happening yet, a bit of a slog. But once El started working with others and actually doing things pro-actively, I had a blast. So, good but not great.

125. Black Tudors, Miranda Kaufmann

Fascinating stories of Tudor lives we don't usually read about. I was especially interested in the lives of the Black women Kaufmann writes about. Sometimes the chapters wandered a bit too far away from their subject for my taste, but the author always brought it back to the central figure in the end. The people she writes about are all very different from another, and each was interesting to read about.

126. Die Hexe von Coserow, Wilhelm Meinhold

It was interesting to read this from a historical perspective, and to trace all the places I've been in Usedom. It's a very 19th century style, but not a bad example of its form. It's hard to develop a character much when she's the perfect incarnation of an angel, but I still enjoyed the story for what it was.

Rattling along over here, Miriam. Have a lovely weekend.

127. The Man Who Died Twince, Richard Osman

I had a really fun time revisiting the Thursday Murder Club. Complete fantasy world wish fulfillment, but a great deal of fun indeed. I liked the murder and all the spy complications, and getting to see a little more of Elizabeth's backstory. Seeing Bogdan back was great too, and I enjoyed Joyce's forays into Instagram and investigation.

>90 PaulCranswick: yeah, I had forgotten to write the reviews for a while! But now I'm caught up. Enjoy your week, Paul!

128. The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey, Julia Laite

An interesting look into the increasingly globalised world of sex work and trafficking at the beginning of the 20th century. The author follows the liives of all the people involved both before and after the pivotal court case. I was especially happy with how the author places this case in the context of its time and the larger conversations about sex trafficking that were happening at the time, as well as the damage that discourse wrought.

129. The Hunting Party, Lucy Foley

A really suspenseful book. Neither the victim nor the murderer are named until almost the end of the book, and it is fascinating to see these people descend into conflict and try to guess who did what to whom. Interesting characters and setting, and I was happy with the solution of the mystery.

130. Solutions and Other Problems, Allie Brosh

This book made me laugh so hard I had to put it down to calm myself before I could continue reading, only to break out into laughter again on the next page. At the same time, the book deals with grief and loss and a feeling of helplessness, and does so in a very real, serious way. I read the book quickly, but it's going to stay with me.

131. The Magician, Raymond Feist

I liked the book, but it didn't exactly grip me. The timescales are vast and the characters change circumstances so often, usually moved about by magic they cannot control. I like my protagonists a little more active in their own stories. But the worldbuilding of Midkemia and Kelewan was absolutely fascinating!

132. Why Fish Don't Exist, Lulu Miller

The book felt dishonest to me. Miller kept Jordan's support for eugenics in her back pocket to surprise the reader with a "gotcha". Except his abhorrent beliefs were pretty clear from the first chapter. I was annoyed at having to read so much about this guy before getting to the last chapter, the only one I found really interesting. That was the chapter that actually deals with why fish don't exist, and I wish the rest of the book had been about that too, instead of eight chapters of romanticising this racist, homophobic eugenicist and then two chapters about how he's the worst and maybe a murderer, followed by only one chapter about fish.

133. Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain

I could have done without some of the sexism and homophobia. Other than that, this was a fascinating book about a topic I know very little about. It was cool to see behind the scenes and get a feeling for how the restaurant world works, or at least this little slice of it. I think my favourite piece was perhaps the "day in the life".

134. Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell

I loved the book. The prose is beautiful, and I loved the many digressions into nature. Hamnet, Judith, and Agnes take centre stage for once, and I loved the fine nib with which O'Farrell drew their characters. Shakespeare is the lacuna at the centre of the book, absent and yet influencing events. I loved the focus on Stratford life and the messy, normal daily routine in the household of the glover. The flashbacks to Agnes' courtship and healing work were some of my favourite passages in this phenomenal book.

135. Gingerbread, Helen Oyeyemi

I loved the way the story is told, with all its twists and turns and coils. Nothing is straightforward, and all the better for it. The central characters are lovely and it was interesting to chart the complex family dynamics as the story goes on. The prose is lovely as well, giving a dream-like feeling of magical reality.

136. Der König von Berlin, Horst Evers

The story and the plot are a bit tangled and confused. None of the characters are likeable or even very clear in their characterisation. Nevertheless, the book is a fantastical, heightened portrait of my hometown that I enjoyed.

Have a lovely holiday, Miriam.

137. Wie ein Leuchten in tiefer Nacht, Jojo Moyes

I loved the setting and the characters Moyes writes about. The descriptions of the mountain trails Alice rides down are absolutely beautiful, and it was great to read about such an interesting project as the saddlebag librarians.
I wish the story hadn't just focused on the depressing bits though. There is so much sadness and trauma and danger for the protagonists, and when they finally win through they only get a page each of happiness before the book ends. I wish the happiness and sadness had been a bit more balanced. But nevertheless I'd love to read more about Alice, Margery and their fellow librarians.

>96 PaulCranswick: thank you, Paul! I hope you had a lovely holiday as well.

Forget your stresses and strains
As the old year wanes;
All that now remains
Is to bring you good cheer
With wine, liquor or beer
And wish you a special new year.

Happy New Year, Miriam.

A final post with a few books I finished up at the end of the year.

138. The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner

I thought the big twist was telegraphed really obviously from the beginning, so it wasn't at all surprising. But I really liked all the characters so I was happy to follow their stories through their adventure and all the expected story-beats. I also liked the writing, though the hybrid mythology is a little jarring. I hope I'll like the next book better.

139. The Queen of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner

The book meanders around for a while before getting to the plot. But I liked the characters even better than in the first instalment, and there were some surprises along the way. Not the final twist, that was once again very obvious, but there were several times where I enjoyed a surprise. I'd love to know more about the political situation in Eddis and Attolia, though...

140. Rosewater, Tade Thompson

I absolutely loved the detailed world Thompson introduces the reader to in Rosewater. Kaaro encounters so many interesting sci-fi concepts throughout his journey, and I'd love to learn more about some of them in the sequel. The way the plot is woven together from different timelines is really interesting, and some of the information reveals are so satisfying, coming at the perfect point in the story. I hope we get to see more of Aminat in the next book, and that she tells us a little about her own life.

141. Nafishur: Praeludium Cara, Mary Cronos

I was disappointed. There were some interesting ideas here, but the execution was really bad. The charcters endlessly run back and forth between the two houses without learning anything new for two hundred pages. Everything has to be repeated, and the charcters have the same fights and jealousies again and again. Also, the writing on the sentence level is unimaginative and employs entirely too many exclamation points. So, nice idea, but not a nice book. Also, the entire book drags out the plot that other books would cover in two chapters at the beginning, before the protagonist finally gets to the magic school. So even the ending is unsatisfying.

Not my favourite book to end on, but I had a wonderful time reading this year, as always. I read some real highlights and revisited old favourites, and I'm very happy with what I've read. See you next year, everyone!