This blog is going up at the start of December. Eleven months ago, I made a promise to myself to discover books that made me excited to read (listen). I thought a goal of 365 hours would be a stretch, but I was wrong. I fell in love with stories. Stories of love, sadness, courage, revenge and so much more. I read my way through a few authors and will wait for them to put out more books and have found a few more to keep me busy for awhile a least. I spent a lot of time with women in war, specifically world war 2; from the front lines to the skies, the women who cracked codes and those who kept life afloat at home. Things no one taught me in school, that could have made history so much more exciting to a younger me.
Prior to this blog I had read 62 books and listened to over 400 hours. After smashing my first goal sometime during the summer I set a new goal of 75 books. Keep reading to see if I met that target.
So here is my last update for 2023.
63. House of Earth and Blood: Crescent City Book 1 As I waited for the Court of Silver Flames to come out on dramatized audio, I decided to try to make due with another series from Sarah J Maas. Well this was more than making due this was incredible. I yelled and cried, had moments of flush and got completely hooked. Sarah J. Maas is an incredible writer an while this book took longer to get into than Court of Thorns and Roses, it held such a pull over me, that I couldn't put it down at the end. Joy and life and death and pain and song and silence. What would you do for your friends? (1.2x)
64. House of Sky and Breath: Crescent City Book 2 Clearly I liked book one, since I moved on and quickly finished book 2. This one is spicer and the sex scenes are much more vivid and intense than book 1 so be aware of that if it's not your thing, there are a handful of chapters in this book that will be troublesome for you. But that's out of 78 chapters. I am bonded to these characters and am very curious about what will come next. (1.4x)
65. A Deadly Education This series was recommend to me by a student. PG fantasy. Think Harry Potter, but instead of 1 big adventure or creature to fight, its several each chapter. Took awhile to get into it, especially as it is a change of pace from Sarah J. Maas's novels, but it's still exciting. Rather than different houses, witches have different skill sets that they study around. Something is always after students to kill them with few making it to graduation. The main character El, is an embodiment of the worst of my negative self talk, I find myself hating her. Feels like you're reading someone's daily diary entries for most of the book. I don't think I love this series, but I like it enough to try the 2nd book in the series. (1.3x)
66. The Last Graduate The 2nd Scholomance book following Deadly Education. This book got me. I fell in love with the characters even when I hated them, when I wanted to yell at El specifically but even Orion. I love that everyone worked together for the betterment of everyone, even if it wasn't in their best interest. I listen to books a a quick pace (1.4x) but I still couldn't get the ending fast enough, and then I wished I hadn't.
67. The Golden Enclaves The 3rd Scholomance book. Book 1 was meh, book 2 was good, book 3....I could not put this one down. The book starts with the sadness that book 2 leaves off with, the first half of the book had me biting my nails worried about what would come next, but without giving anything away, while it's certainly not a 'happily ever after' it's not a heart break either. I feel like I got to have my cake and eat it too with my need for their to be a reasonable conclusion and have her grandmother's premonition be true.
68. When We Were Brave by Suzanne Kelman Not my first book by this author. I earlier read "When the Nightingale Sings" which I enjoyed very much. Similar to many books I read in the spring of this year. This piece of historical fiction centers around the role of a female spy during WW2. Juxtaposing her story against that of a great niece who uses the lessons she learns from her journey of family discovery to men her own heart.
69. In Praise of Difficult Women by Karen Karbo - My very needed reminder that following my own compass and code is what matters, even if that makes me "difficult" The book shares a brief background of 31 difficult women, what led them to their work and insights into some of their reasons for why. I think if I own a paper copy this is something I would pick up to read just 1 woman every so often, but in the audio format it was easy to listen to one on the way to work and one on the way home. (1.8x)
70 My Own Devices by Dessa not chronological, but rather thematic. Part memoir part therapy session, "My own Devices" gives me a behind the curtain peak into the life that inspired the art that helped save my life. I feel like I grew up with her. Her music lighting the road sometime less traveled as I experienced joy, and heart ache- mostly heart ache. I get it now, or I get more of it now.
71. Ike and Kay by James MacManus The possibly maybe partially true story of Dwight Eisenhower (Ike) and his driver/personal secretary during WW2 Kay Summersby. There is much debate on if there was actually an affair, but it was clear to all they did care for each other. He took her from her job as a Chauffeur to being his personal secretary for the war and aided her in getting her US citizenship. But regardless of if they had an affair or not this book was a fun listen. Not fantastic writing, but a good quick listen.
72. The Soldier's Girl by Sharon Maas. A female spy for the SOE in the Alsace region of France/Germany during WW2, whose job becomes unbearable as her achilles heal- her compassion regardless of heritage causes her to find love in a German man. This book is well written, and is an enjoyable listen, but far more fiction than history.
73. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears I'm glad she finally got to tell her side of her story. We may never know all the truths of the horrors she was forced to endure in her ridiculous conservatorship, but I'm so glad she gets to decide her future.
Are there parts I wish to know more of, sure, but that's the legal stuff and I can get updates on that from youtube commentators and in the end she owes us absolutely nothing. She owed this book to herself we should all just be grateful for the little bit she let us in for.
74. Court of Silver Flames This is the link to the Audio Book, but I listen to the Dramatized Audio. Nesta's perspective is so very different, the trauma is real her distinctly adult coping mechanism is the spiciest Maas book yet (in my opinion). This book is her story of coming into herself, but it is not a stand alone, you need the knowledge of the previous 4 books in the ACOTAR series for this to make sense. I'll be honest maybe a bit too happy of an ending. I feel like she tied it into a bow and then untied it just so she could write another book. I'm not disappointed about getting another book, or a few, but I feel it could have been done better. It's the only part of the writing that was a bit of a let down.
75. The Basic Laws of Human Stupidity by Carlo M. Cipolla is a quick little read; but you'll probably want to read it a few time before considering it actually read. The 74 page book (yes I actually read this one) breaks down 5 primary laws of human stupidity and how individuals and society respond to or are impacted by the 4 types of people (intelligent, helpless, bandit and stupid). While I don't think you can take a book like this as gospel, I don't think it would be wise to dismiss it out of hand either.
Current Reading Data: 582 hours on audio books and 2 paperback books.
