Year of the Griffin, by Diana Wynne Jones
I wanted to start off the year with the right book and I feel like I couldn’t go wrong with DWJ. I hadn’t read this one before, but was familiar with the characters. It was a nice read, not all that groundbreaking but still a happy read.
The Country Without Humans, Vol 1 & 2
Manga that caught my eye at work. Shii wakes up in the middle of a city full of robots where humans were last seen 400 years ago. A personal robot adopts Shii and as they explore the city, she learns more about what happened. Interesting story, enough for me to buy the series of five volumes (which I’ll probably finish in the next month or two).
6:40 to Montreal, by Eva Jurczyk
This book is in the style of The Girl on the Train/Gone Girl. I really hate reading about terrible people. Also, the whole premise—author on a 6 hour train ride in order to have the quiet to write and the train gets stuck in a terrible snow storm—was predicated on something that could have been easily fixed. I really wanted to like this one, so I was mad when I didn’t like it.
The Brides of High Hill, by Nghi Vo
Another charming novella about Cleric Chih and in this one is about a beautiful bride that Chih is traveling with to meet her new husband. But nothing is quite as it seems on the estate of High Hill, including the bride and her family. Loved it.
Death in the Spires, by K.J. Charles
A fantastic mystery set in the early 20th century Oxford. It follows Jem, a one-time scholarship student, who ten years after the unexplained murder of one of his closest friends decides it’s time to find out who killed Toby. I loved Jem, I loved his friends. Parts of the story were easy to figure out, but the ending was still so, so satisfying.
How to Read a Book, by Monica Wood
A lovely story about an ex-con, a former teacher, and retired machinist coming together through shared grief and a belief in a happy future. Also, a love of reading. Great book for when you need a low-stress book.
No Body No Crime, by Tess Sharpe
An odd mystery/thriller about two closeted high school women, who eight years after one disappears must forgive and trust each other enough to take down a powerful political family. It is a compelling read, not amazing, but definitely page turning.
The Improvisors, by Nicola Glover
Fun story set in the early 1930s and it follows magical investigator, Velma—pilot, pianist, smuggler—as she travels the U.S. to track down the truth surrounding cursed items, she falls for her rival and meets a cast of characters that all become suspects in the last bit of the book, which turns into a closed room mystery. I like this book well enough, but think it would have been improved by focusing on the murder mystery, explaining the earlier bits with flashbacks, rather than in a linear style.
Frederica, by Georgette Heyer
A reread and first-time listen. I think I smiled the whole 11 hours I was listening.
A Long Way to a Small Planet, by Becky Chambers
A relisten/reread. January was hard, I needed a lot of comfort reads.
I wanted to start off the year with the right book and I feel like I couldn’t go wrong with DWJ. I hadn’t read this one before, but was familiar with the characters. It was a nice read, not all that groundbreaking but still a happy read.
The Country Without Humans, Vol 1 & 2
Manga that caught my eye at work. Shii wakes up in the middle of a city full of robots where humans were last seen 400 years ago. A personal robot adopts Shii and as they explore the city, she learns more about what happened. Interesting story, enough for me to buy the series of five volumes (which I’ll probably finish in the next month or two).
6:40 to Montreal, by Eva Jurczyk
This book is in the style of The Girl on the Train/Gone Girl. I really hate reading about terrible people. Also, the whole premise—author on a 6 hour train ride in order to have the quiet to write and the train gets stuck in a terrible snow storm—was predicated on something that could have been easily fixed. I really wanted to like this one, so I was mad when I didn’t like it.
The Brides of High Hill, by Nghi Vo
Another charming novella about Cleric Chih and in this one is about a beautiful bride that Chih is traveling with to meet her new husband. But nothing is quite as it seems on the estate of High Hill, including the bride and her family. Loved it.
Death in the Spires, by K.J. Charles
A fantastic mystery set in the early 20th century Oxford. It follows Jem, a one-time scholarship student, who ten years after the unexplained murder of one of his closest friends decides it’s time to find out who killed Toby. I loved Jem, I loved his friends. Parts of the story were easy to figure out, but the ending was still so, so satisfying.
How to Read a Book, by Monica Wood
A lovely story about an ex-con, a former teacher, and retired machinist coming together through shared grief and a belief in a happy future. Also, a love of reading. Great book for when you need a low-stress book.
No Body No Crime, by Tess Sharpe
An odd mystery/thriller about two closeted high school women, who eight years after one disappears must forgive and trust each other enough to take down a powerful political family. It is a compelling read, not amazing, but definitely page turning.
The Improvisors, by Nicola Glover
Fun story set in the early 1930s and it follows magical investigator, Velma—pilot, pianist, smuggler—as she travels the U.S. to track down the truth surrounding cursed items, she falls for her rival and meets a cast of characters that all become suspects in the last bit of the book, which turns into a closed room mystery. I like this book well enough, but think it would have been improved by focusing on the murder mystery, explaining the earlier bits with flashbacks, rather than in a linear style.
Frederica, by Georgette Heyer
A reread and first-time listen. I think I smiled the whole 11 hours I was listening.
A Long Way to a Small Planet, by Becky Chambers
A relisten/reread. January was hard, I needed a lot of comfort reads.
