Currently Reading 16 to 29 May 2021

Currently Reading

- Fearless Tarot by Elliot Adam (26%)

- Persephone Unveiled by Charles Stein (07%)

- Cute Little Lenormand by Sara M. Lyons (39%)

- Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Fox (80%)

- The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington (23%)

- The Fireman by Joe Hill (40%)

* * *

Yearly Reading Goal

35/100

* * *

Look at me go, remembering to update this time. I'm trying to get better about it, but life sometimes just gets in the way. My book buying restriction is not going as good as I had hoped, but I'm also not buying a dozen books at a clip. I think this most recent purchase was only of four? The one before that was three. So, overall not bad. 

I've been putting more thought into the June readathon, too. I think, depending on when we actually move, I will be able to do more during the back half than the front. So I will make sure to pack all of the readathon books into one box (with the appropriate label on them). Then I will know which box is important and which ones can just go hide out in the living room or whatever. Not particularly sure yet where I intend to keep them. Perhaps we will put shelves in on the walls.

I'm debating just ditching my Kindle book for the month. I don't know if I want to just get rid of it or pick something else that interests me more. I'm not reading it. There is so little interest in it, that I just realized I was putting the wrong title the entire time. It's not Under the Apple Blossoms, but actually Beneath the Apple Blossom. Do we see how much I care? I don't even remember what it is about!!

According to Goodreads, I am actually two books behind schedule. I wonder how I managed that? June would definitely fix the problem, and the fact that I am now tearing through books like they are wet rice paper. I've been finishing 1-2 books in a day every time I finish one. May has been better than February so far with 5 books finished. 

Book buying restriction is going well. Only bought 18 books in May....I mean it could be worse. I could be buying 18 books at a clip like I used to. That was how my library got as big as it was. Speaking of, the residents at work are even asking me if I'm taking my library with me. Well yes. The books will be going with me. They are mine? 

I've been thinking about how to decide the next read for the June readathon. My first thought was to do like, a die roll. Then I remembered there are 16 options and a few I cannot read without having read the others first (ex: Nyx is the second book after Eos), so that puts that out. Then I was like dart board. I am moving soon and will likely lose my access to the dart board. Looks like mood reading it is!

I have made what I hope is a good decision. I've deleted Goodreads and joined StoryGraph instead. I didn't use half the features on Goodreads, making it kind of a useless thing. What I do need and use is available on StoryGraph. Plus! StoryGraph has multiple reading challenges and groups that you can join instead of just the yearly tally. I've joined two already in addition to a year-long challenge. The Alphabet Challenge (which I am working on completing) and the Olympics Readathon Challenge which won't start until June. 

I am thinking of now also putting my reviews on Instagram. That way I can keep them all together. Starting with the books I finish next. I will do my best to add all my books that I finish as reviews on IG and SG. Other things I'm probably going to start putting up on Instagram are my book hauls and monthly wrap up totals (number of books, total page count, overall rating). I am getting better at the whole...updating thing. 

June 2021 To-Be-Read

I know I normally don't post my TBRs any more, but this one is actually kind of special. I learned of a month-long readathon hosted by a Discord server that I am a member of called The Olympics Readathon. When I saw it, I had thought they meant Olympics as in the Olympic games...turns out...they a actually meant as in the Greek gods. 

So, I have come up with a list of books that I think fit the prompts on the card fairly well: 

Zeus: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Poseidon: All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

Hades: Bone Crier's Moon by Kathryn Purdie

Hestia: Hollow City by Ransom Riggs

Hephaestus: The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken

Dionysus: Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Hermes: The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang

Artemis: The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill 

Apollo: Tarot Fundamentals by Marcus Katz

Ares: The Burning God by R.F. Kuang

Aphrodite: The Magnolia Sword by Shirley Thomas

Hera: One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

Demeter:  Eve by Wm. Paul Young

Athena: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Eos: East by Edith Pattou

Nyx: West by Edith Pattou

All told, it's not really a bad list. I think I can handle a good number of the books. They are not that long and the ones that are, are middle grade/YA novels that I should be able to fly through even though technically "shelf space" is a SFF Discord server. No one faults me for not reading that much that isn't SFF. 

Maybe, just maybe, this time around I can get myself to actually read Life of Pi by Yann Martel. I've seen the movie, and I've had the book on several various readathon TBRs, but never actually managed to get to it. 

Remember: None of these are set in stone, I may change something halfway through. Especially if I acquire a book during June that fits a prompt not yet completed and my brain is like 'No, we must read that now.'

Happy June reading, y'all~

Currently Reading: 02 to 15 May 2021

Currently Reading

- Cute Little Lenormand by Sara M. Lyons (18%)

- Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Fox (30%)

- The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington (23%)

- Monkey King by Wu Cheng'en (47%)

- Fearless Tarot by Elliot Adam (03%)

- Under the Apple Blossom by Kate Frost (02%)

- The Fireman by Joe Hill (40%)

* * *

Yearly Reading Goal

35/100

* * *

So far so good. I managed to actually not go to the bookstore over the first weekend of May, which happened to fall on my weekend off and the last "hero bonus" pay for us at work. Which means just that my last two paychecks will be regular ones. Okay. I think I can handle it. Anyway, as I've stated before in the more recent Currently Reading posts, I've been trying to cut back on my book buying. Normally when I am out with my friends we end up doing what we call "adventure shopping" that inevitably ends at either Books-a-Million or Barnes & Noble, where I spend $100-$200 and come home with anywhere from five to twelve (once like twenty) books. Not any more!! Ha! I managed to keep myself from going out. I stayed in and read one I already owned!

That being said, I do already have a book hauled for May. I am choosing not to count the books I get from Book of the Month or Once Upon a Book Club for the restriction, because they are both subscription box books. I'm also not counting audio books, because they aren't taking up any space and I pay for a monthly subscription to the streaming service to even listen to them. The only two types of books that are on this restriction list are digital (Kindle) and print books as I have over two thousand of them combined and I've barely read like a tenth of them. 

For those wondering, the book I received was Ariadne by Jennifer Saint. I couldn't resist when I saw it. I didn't bother to even look at the synopsis (why would I? I'm a fan of Greek mythology and am already versed in the tale of Theseus and the Minotaur of Crete), nor did I look at the rest of the books on the selection list. The art on the cover is pretty impressive. I love how it's all blues and then this bright orange relief of the princess herself. I'm looking forward to reading it when I get the opportunity. 

I'm starting a new idea in May. Instead of a monthly list of books I want to read, which I'm terrible at sticking to anyway, I've made up I think 68 slips of paper with titles of various books on them that I've put into an old Harney & Sons tea tin. When I finish a book already on my currently reading list, I will draw a title from the tin and then read that one. There's a mix of digital and print books in it. We will test this out in May to see how well it works.

Camp NaNoWriMo is officially over as of the 1st. I did manage to squeak out a win on the very last day, which I forgot to write about during my previous post, but that was probably because of the fact I was trying to cover about three months worth things in one post and I forgot about it. My goal was 30,000 and I ended up finishing with a bit over 48,000. Which means of course now that I am not required to focus on my project, that will be all I want to do. I'll make a ton of progress in the off-month because that's just how my brain works. I do not do the thing I am supposed to do until I am not supposed to do it. 

I was thinking about May's TBR, and subsequent TBRs to be had after this and I've come to a decision. In the first Currently Reading post for the month, I will just put the TBR. And it will only be whatever books I started in the previous month and haven't finished yet, so here is our TBR for May: 

Print

- Witch Hunt by Kristen J. Sollee

- Real Murders by Charlaine Harris

- The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington

- Monkey King by Wu Cheng'en

- Fearless Tarot by Elliot Adam

- The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf

- The Fireman by Joe Hill

Digital

- Under the Apple Blossom by Kate Frost

Audio

- Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Fox

As you can well notice, I read mostly print books. In general I prefer print books over most other forms. Not that I'm saying there is anything inherently wrong with someone reading mostly print or reading mostly audio. They just don't work as well for me in particular. I wonder what, if anything, from April I will finish by the end of May? There are at least two or three very large books on there. 

Seems I'm already down three of the books on my TBR for May. How many more can I get through before the end of two weeks? Will I have any left to even read? I'm blazing through them like they're nothing! 

I have decided that as I finish books in May, I will not add any more. Since there is a readathon I am taking part in (hopefully) in June. I will give it a post all its own. I may even bring my currently reading list on Goodreads to the lowest it's ever been if I continue like this. Holy cow the list is dropping quickly.

Currently Reading: 21 February to 01 May 2021

Currently Reading

- Cute Little Lenormand by Sara M. Lyons (07%)

- Real Murders by Charlaine Harris (13%)

- Brothers of the Wild North Sea by Harper Fox (20%)

- The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington (19%)

- Witch Hunt by Kristin J. Sollee (38%)

- Monkey King by Wu Cheng'en (29%)

- Fearless Tarot by Elliot Adam (03%)

- Under the Apple Blossom by Kate Frost (02%)

- The Fireman by Joe Hill (29%)

- The Dragon's Legacy by Deborah A. Wolf (35%)

* * *

Yearly Reading Goal

32/100

* * *

I know. I don't wanna hear it. I stopped writing the blog again. I got busy over the last few weeks. It has been a while since I have been able to even sit down and read properly. You'll notice that Les Miserables is no longer on the list. I didn't finish, I just put it off to the side for now. I will try my best to actually write biweekly like I meant to from the beginning of the year. Let's see if we can't figure out what to write for the previous oh, two and a half months?

For one, I have put myself back on my 1:3 book buying restriction. I know I won't be able to stop myself from buying books, but I can at least reduce (or attempt to reduce) the number of books I'm bringing in. Especially considering I am moving house in June!! I will be starting this whole restriction thing in May. (not that it matters much, as I am writing this part on 29 April...) 

Hmm, well, I know a bunch of books are on their way to me that I didn't pay for (like 7-8 medium flat rate boxes. That is a huge number.) There will be at least 40-50 books all told, with other stuff mixed in. I have no idea what they are, only that they are coming. I am scared of what will be in the boxes and I feel bad for the poor postal carrier who has to lug it all down the sidewalk if she made the executive decision to send them all out at once. That would require the use of a hand truck. Oh poor US Postal Carrier, I'm sorry.

I learned recently I should not have access to the internet and television at the same time. I was watching (passively) a commercial for an Aurora Teagarden Mystery, and thought I wonder if that is based on a book series?....my copy of Real Murders by Charlaine Harris came in today. The first book in the Aurora Teagarden series. It's definitely going on my TBR, but I am fighting with myself about adding it to the already ridiculous CR. Is it sad that as this is all being told first person, I hear the non-speaking parts in the voice of Candice Cameron Bure? The actress who plays Aurora Teagarden? I also now want to see if I can find Aurora Teagarden on Netflix or Prime or something. 

What else? Hmmm...I've added Cute Little Lenormand as well, by Sara M. Lyons. I'm even going to take up her suggestion and focus on one single card each day until I am through all 36 cards and can then move on to learning about the various (3) spread types: the vignette, tableau, and grand tableau. Yeah. From what I gather, it is not particularly difficult as far as spreads go. You have 3, 9, or 36 card spreads that are traditionally used, but you can use other spreads like from tarot? I don't know. I will find out~

I finally managed to get all the way through my library and organize it alphabetically by author. Just in time to have to dismantle the whole thing to move. Oh well. I can re-do it. I will find out what the living room area looks like in the new place and see if I can use my existing bookshelves in the place. Perhaps actually stain and seal them. Or pain them white to match the random finished ones we got. 

I think that will be all for this update. I will do my best to remember to update again on the 14th. See you then~

April 2021 Book Haul

This is the last (I hope) month of a ridiculous book haul before the restriction is in place. I'm not counting Book of the Month, Once Upon a Book Club, or anything sent to me by friends under the restriction as technically they are subscriptions and/or not my doing. I will totally stop buying more than 1 books in BotM though...Let's move forward and see just how many books I've purchased in April!! You'll notice there is no March. I don't remember what all I bought and I've already organized the shelves alphabetically by author so I don't even have the benefit of the newest just being at the end of the row. 

In April I bought 18 books: 

1. Steal the Stars by Nat Cassidy - What's funny is, I don't even really like sci-fi, but this looked intriguing. It reminded me a little of the old 1980s video of the supposed alien that is circulating YouTube. Only the alien has not actually left it's control panel yet. I am curious to see how romance will slot in with the alien story. At least the lovebirds don't actually involve Moss itself. Two humans under contract to not do the thing. I'll try to get to this in 2021. 

2. What is Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi - This had been on a wishlist before. I remember seeing it and wanting to read it, but never grabbing it. Then I stumbled across a single copy laying facedown on the bottom-most shelf in the Dollar Tree. I had to have it. I had to. It's a selection of, I think, connected short stories that looked interesting. I am particularly intrigued by "Books and Roses" and "Sorry Doesn't Sweeten Her Tea" out of the ones presented. Here's hoping I like it. 

3. The Guns Above by Robyn Bennis - Again with the sci-fi. I have no idea what came over me that day. At least this one is in an alternate world. Sci-fi/fantasy instead of just straight sci-fi. Do I have any idea what an "auxiliary lieutenant" even is? Nope. I think it's YA SFF. So I should fly right through it. The cover image is what grabbed me and made me dig my phone out of my pocket to look it up and check. Oooh I see! It could strike a few as problematic, but I think it's more about overcoming the misogyny associated with combat and battle. I think this will go on May or June's TBR. 

4. The House Is Mine by Dörte Hansen - This one is dual perspective, being told in the past and present by two different people who live in this one house. We are told about Vera's life from moving into the house all the way up to what I assume is her niece fleeing from an abusive relationship with her son and coming to Aunt Vera. It looked good and again, was another cover draw. I like the cherry blossoms and bird on the cover. Probably not an immediate addition to the next monthly TBR, but definitely on the yearly for 2021.

5. Game of Shadows by Erika Lewis - Hidden royalty portal magic nonsense. I am so down for this and this is why I should not be allowed down certain aisles in the Dollar Tree. The first five (and middle four?) books came from the same place. This looked like fun. I can understand why Ethan would want to get away from his helicopter parent. It makes so much sense to be like "No get me out of here..." and then turn around and be willing to do unbelievably dangerous things to rescue the same parent. I am intrigued and looking forward to it.

6. Aether Witch by Tarah Benner - The tagline "Charmed meets Gilmore Girls" is a lot and definitely does not sum up the top part quite correctly as I do not recall a string of gruesome murders being part of the plot in either series (I've seen both and even do the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge now and then). However, this did intrigue me as it seems more Gilmore Girls meets The Craft. Yeah, I went there. This is one of the few (two?) Kindle books I bought this month.

7. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini - After actual years of having the entire rest of the series, including the new book of short stories, I finally found the copy of Inheritance I was looking for. It didn't even have to be first edition. I just wanted a hard cover copy that matched the rest of the series. It was surprisingly hard to find!! I won't go into any sort of detail here, because spoilers, darling, but I now have the full series and I am very happy.

8. The Spell Book for New Witches by Ambrosia Hawthorn - I fell off the wagon...again. Which is okay. Sometimes the time just isn't right for certain things, and the universe lets you know by having you go *poof* from it. I have since come back, albeit a little less...vigorously than before. More mellow. I think I am at least closer to settled in my practice and can now branch out a little more and start working on my own spiritual needs.

9. The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman - I am already a fan of this particular author, having read her previous works Eon and Eona (I liked Eon better). I had seen this a few years ago on BookTube and remembered marking it down on an old "Books to Research More" list as at the time I had not read anything else by Goodman and had no real knowledge base of her writing style. The premise is interesting. A historical alternate reality. With demons. I couldn't pass it up. Now that I am familiar with the style and enjoy it.

10. The Song of the Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning - Picked this one up at random from the sale rack. It looked fun and right up my alley. It involves two of the things I like most in historical fictions. People from two different cultures coming together and rising above a struggle that seems too bleak to overcome. I'm wondering how it will play out. It takes place over at least two, if not three, countries and two different times.

11. The Blacksmith Queen by G.A. Aiken - I ought to stay away from the sales rack as well, it seems. I buy fewer books that way. This one caught my attention partly because of the title and partly because of the crown amid the fire and the title. I think that it will be interesting. As of the moment, I am not actually sure that Keely's sister is the one that will be the queen. It only looks that way. I think it may be Keely with Caid as her prince consort at her side (since she is kind of queen regnant?). Either way, it looked good for the first book in a series and I plan to get to it as soon as I can.

12. Fearless Tarot by Elliot Adam - This one is already on my currently reading. I tend to have a bit of trouble with the preeminent deck of the Tarot reading world, the Rider/Waite or Waite/Smith (depending on where your loyalties lie) deck. It may have something to do with the edition I have with it's redone artwork that isn't quite the original by Pamela Colman Smith or it may be just that those images in particular don't work for me. I don't know. I saw this book when we were out at Books-a-Million and decided to give it a shot. If I still have trouble with it afterward, I will likely just pass it along to someone else. Who knows? I do feel drawn and connected to the deck, just not as strongly as I am to the Mystical Manga or the Mermaid.

13. Master of One by Jaida Jones - The other Kindle book I got. I am trying to tone down my random acquisition of free/reduced price Kindle books because I can't even remember what all I have. That's how bad it's gotten. This one was a purchase based on my watching of BookTube. Someone read an ARC of it, and it looked hilarious. I am hoping sincerely that it is the LGBT book I think it is. Dude gets tasked to find a Fae relic. Turns out the "relic" is actually a Fae prince. What could possibly go wrong?

14. The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan - When this girl's mother dies, she believes that her mother is turned into a bird? Interesting. This had been on my bookish wish list for quite some time. My attention was definitely captured by the resilient belief this girl has in her mother's life after death as a bird. I have a sneaking suspicion that all is not well from her mother's side of the family. Leigh is half Taiwanese and half Caucasian and goes back to Taiwan after her mother's death to meet with her maternal grandparents and...find out if her mom is a bird? I don't know. We'll find out!

15. The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin - My....fifth....N.K. Jemisin book? Though I believe this one is actually a YA urban fantasy versus the other books which were all adult high fantasy. The basic premise of this book, as I remember it from Reagan at Peruse Project, is that as a city becomes more lived in or something, it gets a soul. New York City, though, has five, one for each of it's boroughs as well as a singular avatar that is asleep. I want to read this. So bad.

16. Libertie by Kaitlyn Greenidge - I saw this...somewhere. BookTube or Bookstagram most likely. In any event, I saw it and needed to own it. So you can imagine how tickled I must have been when it was one of the options for the April Book of the Month box. It follows a free-born black girl on an adventure to Haiti, where things are not what she thinks they will be. I love the cover art as well as the synopsis of the book and I am looking forward to getting into this one.

17. Witch Hunt by Kristen J. Sollée - Found this at a witchy shop called Pickey Weeds, up in Clarke Summit (did I get that right? I'm not from there, I don't know). I'm already about halfway through it, and I am enjoying being an audience to her journey over Europe and the United States as she tours various Pagan and witchy sites. It is interesting to learn more about what happened in places that people have all but forgotten about.

18. Real Murders by Charlaine Harris - Okay. So this one was purchased while we were watching a commercial on Hallmark Murders & Mysteries channel. I don't remember now which movie it was the commercial for, but when they said "crime solving librarian" I perked up and then the words "based on the famous Aurora Teagarden novels" I had to know. I found the first book in the series, or at least what I presume is the first as it is marked #1, on Amazon and hit Buy Now. I want to know about this crime solving librarian. I assume that this is just the book where we are introduced to Aurora Teagarden, and come on, who does not like the idea of a librarian/crime solver named Teagarden? It sounds like something out of a Dungeons and Dragons campaign....I digress. Anyway, I am looking forward to reading this one.

April 2021 Wrap Up

 Here we are with the books I read in April. All three of them. 

1.  The Spell Book for New Witches by Ambrosia Hawthorn - I saw this online after getting back into the pagan studies I have a terrible habit of just stopping. There are a lot of really useful things in here that I will put into practice after everything has settled or will copy out to give to friends and family that would use them. 

2. The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee -  I loved it. Absolutely enjoyed it and am looking forward to getting my hands on The Shadow of Kyoshi. I have ideas now about how certain things we are told about in A:TLA play out, since we are now getting information on the previous avatars, and ones we had not heard of before, like Kuruk. It gives us so much more to work with for A:TLA that I didn't know about. I was particularly intrigued by the fact that Kyoshi comes from mixed parentage and theoretically could have been born an airbender. Interesting....

3. The Girl with the Ghost Eyes by M.H. Boroson - I'm not sure why I didn't think this was as modern as it was. I believe the older cover art (just the black outline of a girl with a stick) makes it appear like it would be set far earlier in time than the 1920s-1930s. It was still good and makes me want to look up Sacramento (I think) Chinatown of the 1920s. I enjoyed it and I'm glad I've read it.