2020 Reading Stats

Remember last year when I said I was going to get back to reading more fantasy? Yeah, that didn't happen. 2020 called for less worldbuilding heavy reads. I'll try again in 2021.

I only read one Star Wars book this year?! That was shocking to realize and will be remedied for 2021.

I want to get my percentage of BIPOC authors up a lot higher in 2021

Favorite Reads of 2020

The City We Became - N.K. Jemisin
A Song Below Water - Bethany C. Morrow
The Price Guide to the Occult - Leslye Walton
Queen's Peril - E.K. Johnston
American Elsewhere - Robert Jackson Bennett
The Gift of Darkness - V.M. Giambanco
My Sister's Grave - Robert Dugoni
Ring Shout - P. Djèlí Clark
When No One is Watching - Alyssa Cole
The Last Emperox - John Scalzi 🎧
Dead Moon - Peter Clines 🎧

My collection of bookshelf dwelling dragons continues to grow. Plus, this guy matches my current read perfectly.

Iden is patiently waiting for her post-vacuum treats.
#catsoflitsy #shelfie

I'm finally reading The Riyria Revelations books! It's my mom's ( @myellenbee ) favorite fantasy series after Lord of the Rings, and I can see why. It's good, pulpy fantasy fun so far.

This lunch break view is pretty rad.
#shelfie

Happy May the 4th! Here are some of my favorite Star Wars books, both canon and Legends.

This was fantastic! I love the worldbuilding in these books and adore the characters. I was so curious about how it would wrap up, and I was not disappointed. I want to gush more, but it would be too full of spoilers. Wil Wheaton's narration was great as always. I highly recommend these books, especially on audio!

This is Leia's "no, you cannot have your books back" look.
#catsoflitsy

I'm excited for today's book mail. It combines two of my favorite things: zombies and books about cons! Plus the cover design fits in perfectly with these shelves.
#bookmail #shelfie

April Reads

Dogs of War - Jonathan Maberry 🎧
The Stolen Girls - Patricia Gibney
The Lost Child - Patricia Gibney
Deep Silence - Jonathan Maberry 🎧
No Safe Place - Patricia Gibney

I read more than I thought this month.

I think this is my favorite book in the series so far. You know a book is going to be good when it starts with a body found in someone else's grave! I really enjoyed the mystery in this one and the relationships between the characters. Plus, Lottie's mood swings and tendency to fall apart made more sense to me in this one.

TW: sexual violence, house fires

I guess books make an excellent pillow. I really want to finish No Safe Place, but Tauntaun is so cute I can't move it from under her.
#catsoflitsy

This beauty arrived in the mail today. Thank you @bookriot for hosting the giveaway!
#bookmail

Since I'm still having a hard time focusing on reading, I'm giving nonfiction a go. I'm really intrigued in getting into the details of the subtitle which I accidentally covered in the picture: "two years, 262 bodies, and the making of a medical examiner."

Mood.

I'm finding it hard to read during all of this, but the beautiful weather is definitely helping.

Have a messy #shelfie

My Sunday has been spent catching up on Curse of the Mistwraith for #redstargroupreads over on Instagram and cuddling with various cats. I'd say that's a pretty good end to a three day weekend.

It's so rare that the library actually has the first book in a series without having to place a hold first, let alone the next several books in order...which I then accidentally shuffled out of order for this picture. I couldn't pass up checking them all out even knowing I won't get through them all before they're due. Plus they look so pretty stacked up.

This is the D.I. Lottie Parker series by Patricia Gibney.
#librarybooks #library

Exciting book mail is exciting. I'm really looking forward to jumping into this one.
#bookmail

February Reads - Democratic Primary Edition

Blood Lines - Angela Marsons 🎧
Dead Souls - Angela Marsons 🎧
Code Zero - Jonathan Maberry 🎧
American Elsewhere - Robert Jackson Bennett
Hanging Hill - Mo Hayder
The Vine Witch - Luanne G. Smith
The River is Dark - Jo Hart 🎧
The Gift of Darkness - V. M. Giambanco

I really loved this thriller. The way the story alternates between the two sisters' POVs added to the momentum of the pacing and the tension the reader feels. It was fun to see how the two plotlines become intertwined. Also, even though this is still reasonably dark, I think it felt a little less brutal than her other series. And wow. The ending was fantastic.

TW: rape, self harm, gory body disposal

Currently getting into this thriller set in Seattle, which is one of my favorite cities for books to be set in. Plus, the main character hangs out at the library after hours with the cute, old security guys. Talk about life goals!

I took a long time to read this one, because I didn't want it to be over. This is a great mix of cosmic horror, new weird, mystery, and story about finding oneself. The writing is a fabulous mix of hilarity and beautiful passages. This is so weird and wonderful, and you should just jump in without much more information than that.

TW: suicide

Another great Joe Ledger book! I really liked the premise of this one and the return of the zombies. This one was hard to put down, and I found myself finding reasons to listen to the audiobook. As always, Ray Porter is an amazing narrator. Ghost is adorable. I liked the new members of Echo Team that we met in this one. Also, fuck Bill Collins.

No, that's fine. I didn't want to read the last 200 pages tonight anyway, Leia.
#catsoflitsy

I really loves this installment of the series. It tackled some pretty serious issues, but I think it was done in a good way. I really enjoyed getting more of Stacie in this one. We also get to meet the detectives on D.I Travis's team, which was really interesting. The mystery in this was very time sensitive with high stakes, making it a very quick read/listen.

TW: suicide, cutting, racial slurs, hate crimes, hate groups/white supremacists

This installment of the D.I. Kim Stone series saw the return of psychopath Alex. I enjoyed the interactions between her and Kim, the game that Alex was playing. The main mystery was interesting as well, trying to figure out seemingly unrelated murders. This wasn't my favorite of the books so far, but it was still really great!

Browsing the stacks at the library was another perk of taking the day off yesterday.

I love this trilogy so much!!! The third installment has the same great blend of humor and drama as the previous two books. The twists and turns in the story are surprising, and the mystery is so clever. It was an incredibly satisfying conclusion.

January Reads

I Am C-3PO: The Inside Story - Anthony Daniels
The Gate - Jason Brant 🎧
The Price Guide to the Occult - Leslye Walton
Asylum - Ambrose Ibsen 🎧
Forest - Ambrose Ibsen 🎧
The Dread - Gail Z. Martin
The Occupant- Ambrose Ibsen 🎧
Silent Scream - Angela Marsons 🎧
Evil Games - Angela Marsons 🎧
Lost Girls - Angela Marsons 🎧
Play Dead - Angela Marsons 🎧
The Hand on the Wall - Maureen Johnson

This was the last D.I. Kim Stone book in my reread before moving into new (to me) books in the series. I really enjoy this one, primarily because of the added element of the body farm. The serial killer is clever and creepy. We also get some insight into Kim's sometimes nemesis crime reporter. The tension builds really well to the end and has a truly satisfying conclusion.

TW: body dysmorphia, (a lot of) dead bodies, bullying

Another excellent Kim Stone thriller! This one is a race against time with two little girls kidnapped and kidnappers playing the parents against each other. It has a few good twists that I had forgotten since I first read it. There's also some nice insight into Kevin with the secondary mystery. I really enjoy then assertiveness and cleverness of Kim in these books.

TW: kidnapping, some pretty brutal murders

I was tagged over on Instagram to do the #fivefingerstack. It was really fun!
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👍Book I liked: Seven Blades in Black by Sam Sykes
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👆Book I always recommend: Lost Stars by Claudia Gray
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🖕Book I didn't like: The House by Bentley Little
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💍Character I'd marry: Obi-wan Kenobi (Kenobi by John Jackson Miller)
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🤙Pinky promise I'll read soon: Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan
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I tag @GrilledCheeseSamurai @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @myellenbee

I spent my day finishing The Hand on the Wall. I absolutely love this trilogy and recommend picking it up even if YA isn't your thing.

This is another excellent Kim Stone mystery. I love getting more insight into Kim and the relationship with her team. The main villain is so evil and easy to hate. Unlike the first book, you know who the bad guy is from the beginning and the fun is trying to figure out how they'll actually catch her. Kim's tenacity is really satisfying. There's also a cute dog and a few really tender moments.

TW: sexual assault, suicide, postpartum depression

I started rereading this series before continuing on with newer ones. I love D.I. Kim Stone as a main character. Her past gives her a unique approach to cases. She cares so strongly about getting justice for the victims. This one is an interesting mystery that intertwines current deaths with secrets (and bodies) from the past. The story is intense but there's a good bit of levity with Kim and her team's sarcasm and humor.

TW: child abuse

It took me a while to finish this because I put it down for a few months. I think that was partly because I didn't want the series to end and partly that there were just a lot of battles that were just okay. It was a satisfying ending to the 6 books, but I definitely liked the first quartet better. I enjoyed Aidane's POV the most. She was a really great addition to the cast of main characters.

I was tagged over on Instagram to do a stack with all black spines. I have a lot of black books, so I decided to theme it by showing off the x-wing series. I love pilot stories.

One of my most anticipated releases is here! I'm so stoked to find out how the Truly Devious trilogy ends. I can guarantee I will stay up way too late tonight reading.
#bookmail

Sunday shelfie. I really need to reorganize my shelves. All the lower ones are double and triple stacked...
#shelfie

Thank fuck it's Friday. It's time to relax, have some good beer, and read weird books.

I was tagged over on Instagram to share some cracked spines. I'm a little obsessive about cracking spines, so I had a lot of options! Here are a few of my favorites. Surprisingly, while my Wheel of Time books are super cracked, it doesn't really show well. Several of these are also taped together...

📚 Words of Radiance
📚 Red Seas Under Red Skies
📚 The Name of the Wind
📚 Heir to the Empire
📚 American Gods

Up next! I got American Elsewhere for my birthday five or six years ago, and I'm finally going to read it. I'm pretty excited to jump into this one.

Another great John Saul book (and narrated by one of my favorites, Angela Dawe)! I found the way the supernatural elements came into the story very interesting. Some plot elements were pretty hard to stomach, because I have a hard time dealing with injustice and how cruel the other kids were. There was a very satisfying conclusion that helped mitigate that, though.

TW: bullying, emotional abuse, bad foster parents, alcoholism, spoiler in comments

I loved this book! It checked a lot of boxes. Witches? Check. Atmospheric Pacific Northwest setting? Yup. Queer grandmas? Yes. Curses? Definitely. A tiny smidge of romance? You betcha. Dark magic? Check. This story was really engaging, deep, and magical. There were some really neat ways the author described the way magic worked. There were also great themes about accepting yourself and surviving the bad days.

TW: self harm/cutting

Anthony Daniels's memoir of his time as C-3PO was brilliant. He gives an insider look into the making of the Skywalker saga not just related to C-3PO, but also the films' production in general. There are a lot of great little tidbits and trivia. He talks about the creation of Celebration, the 501st, art exhibits, and orchestral performances. I laughed out loud. I cried a good deal as he described the beauty of fandom and the magic of Star Wars.

I started The Price Guide to the Occult today, and I'm loving it and its witchy vibes so far. Plus, the cover is absolutely gorgeous!

This is a fast, mildly creepy novella that takes place before the civil war. It starts with a murder and delves into dark family secrets. I think this suffered a bit from how short it was. Things could have been drawn out to build more mystery and suspense. I also found it mildly predictable. Overall it was a good read and a nice way to spend an evening.

TW: some gore, suggestion of rape, slavery