2021: Lists and Numbers

It’s not a year-end round up without stats, is it?

2021 new-to-me authors

I read 40 new-to-me authors – well up on the 25 in 2020. Surprisingly, only ten of the 40 were via Kindle Unlimited. Of these, authors I’m really glad I’ve discovered:

Victoria Goddard: Her HANDS OF THE EMPEROR was in my favourites of the year, and its sequel was a great follow-up – I’m hoping for more.

AJ Demas: Again, two of her books made it into my 2021 favourites – I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for more from her.

Everina Maxwell: I was not expecting a queer SF romance to be put out by a mainstream SF publisher, but am loving this trend.

Chaz Brenchley: A late discovery, but am utterly adoring his mash-up of Chalet School books and SF, as unlikely as it sounds.

Freya Marske: I loved her AO3 fanfic and was looking forward to her debut – A MARVELLOUS LIGHT was an intriguing start to her trilogy.

JA Sutherland: I flew through his Alexis Carew milSF series (all on KU) – more please!

Author most glommed over 2021

Vanessa Nelson with 14 books – also a new-to-me author, and unsurprisingly, one with her entire backlist available on KU. So yes, I’ve read both of her fantasy/romance series (I much prefer the Taellaneth books over the Hundred series FWIW) and am up to date with her latest – they’re enjoyable (and undemanding) reads.

Tied in second (8 books each) are Sharon Shinn (all re-reads) and Glynn Stewart (all new releases – truly one of the most prolific authors ever!).

Kindle Unlimited usage

A stat that I track to make sure KU is still worth it for me – I read 61 KU books over 2021, which at £7.99 a month makes it around £1.60 per book (v. £1.30 in 2020).

Around 40% of these were 4* or higher reads for me, so yes, still good value for me.

And the numbers and graphs

I read 197 books over 2021, up from 168 in 2020.

What can I say? Obviously lockdowns and lack of holidays (*cries*) meant I had more reading time.

As I said in my previous post, I did a lot of re-reading in 2021 – 29 to be exact. This is up from 16 in 2020, which I said was unusually high for me in my 2020 recap. Ah, I’ve just realised I missed off Andrea K Höst’s Touchstone trilogy from my list of 2021 re-read favourites – I re-read the entire series (trilogy and related books) during 2021, and they are still definitely up there.

Another thing about 2021 was that I felt as though I read a lot of non-fiction – looking at actual numbers, I read SIX books. Ha. Well, considering that prior to 2021, I had read a grand total of seven non-fiction books since 2010 (which is when my Goodreads tracking starts), I’ve read almost as much non-fiction this year than I have in the past decade. No wonder I feel as though I’ve been reading a lot. I find these useful “commute” books (not that I’m doing a lot of commuting nowadays) – if I’m on the train or bus, they’re easy to dip in and out.

With all that being said, here’s how my 2021 reading looked like by month:

And how 2021 compares to the previous years by genre (in short, dominated by SFF):

And finally, all the books I’ve read in 2021, and of course, the annual Goodreads infographic.

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2021: My Favourite Books

Happy New Year!

*dusts off blog*

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

I may not have been blogging but I certainly have been reading… and re-reading – so much so that I’m dividing my 2021 favourites into new-to-me reads and re-reads for the first time ever. There’s something comforting about reaching for the familiar, and comfort was something much needed in 2021.

So here are my favourite books of 2021 – first up, the new ones (in no particular order):

Megan Whaler Turner’s RETURN OF THE THIEF (fantasy): A note-perfect ending to the series.

Victoria Goddard’s THE HANDS OF THE EMPEROR (fantasy): Competence-porn would probably be how I’d describe this book – a hugely satisfying read.

Karan K Anders’s THE BOOK OF FIRSTS (new adult): A book I enjoyed so much that I actually wrote a review on Goodreads after I read it (this was the only review I wrote all year, so that probably tells you all you need to know). Another competence-porn type story, come to think of it. (Also this is a pseudonym for Andrea K Höst, who, you know, is an autobuy author for me.)

KJ Charles’s THE GENTLE ART OF FORTUNE HUNTING (romance): Pure escapism and exactly what I needed in 2022.

AJ Demas’s SAFFRON ALLEY (romance): This is the second in her alt-historical Sword Dance trilogy, and my favourite of the three – there’s something about found family that always gets to me.

AJ Demas’s SOMETHING HUMAN (romance): A perfect grown-up type of romance. Why yes, I did do a mini Demas glom in 2022.

Rachel Neumeier’s OF ABSENCE, DARKNESS and AS SHADOW, A LIGHT (fantasy): I don’t think I’ve ever read a Neumeier I’ve not enjoyed. THE YEAR’S MIDNIGHT was a solid prequel and these two books (really one very long story) just sucked me in. Don’t be put off by the slightly dark slant in the series name and blurbs – it’s not grimdark at all and I can see myself re-reading these in the future.

Sarah Rees Brennan’s FENCE: DISARMED (young adult): SRB’s voice is unmistakable and this book was somehow both super-angsty and laugh-out-loud funny. I love how this series mixes up graphic and prose novels – it definitely adds something to the reading experience.

And the re-reads:

Sharon Shinn’s READER AND RAELYNX and FORTUNE AND FATE (fantasy): I re-read Shinn’s Twelve Houses series in the space of a couple of weeks over summer, and it was just as good as I remembered, if not more. Reading the books back-to-back made me realise how central the theme of friendships is to the whole series. Like before, I felt R&R was the perfect ending to the main arc, and this time around, F&F also stood out for me – Wen’s path to forgiving herself isn’t the most flashy of storylines so maybe I needed a re-read to really appreciate it.

Sarah Rees Brennan’s IN OTHER LANDS (fantasy): Growing up is messy even if you’re living in fairyland, and I loved this as much as I did in 2017.

Rachel Neumeier’s THE FLOATING ISLANDS (fantasy): Neumeier (who is an autobuy author for me) released the sequel this year, so obviously I had to refresh my memory. It was worth it – another book that I enjoyed much more upon re-reading. Grief is such a strong theme in this book, but so is recovery and hope.

Debra Doyle and James D MacDonald’s BY HONOR BETRAY’D (SF): I first read the Mageworlds trilogy in 2013, which was just under 20 years after the final book was published. It’s still huge fun in an old-school space opera kind of way, and everything comes together perfectly in this final book. Basically, I stand by everything I said when I first read it.

2020: Lists and Numbers

Happy Chinese/Lunar New Year! It is still the new year, isn’t it… and so here is the post where I get a bit geeky about the books I read in 2020.

2020 new-to-me authors

I read books by 25 new-to-me authors last year, which is a relatively low number for me (it was 37 in 2019). Of these, the authors I’m glad to have discovered:

SJ Macdonald: I’m not sure if new books can be described as comfort reads, but that’s how I view SJ Macdonald’s Fourth Fleet Irregulars SF books. I raced through the whole series, and am hoping a new one comes out soon (also, I swear she’s an author with zero online presence – my google-fu skills have been defeated).

Annette Marie: I totally glommed all her Kindle Unlimited paranormal romance books over the course of the year. It may be damning with faint praise, but they were addictive and undemanding, which is what I needed in 2020.

Kester Grant: So much hype around her debut Les Miserables retelling, and it wasn’t misplaced. And I say that as someone who isn’t mad keen on retellings. I’m really looking forward to the next book (and will also read whatever she writes next).

Helen McClelland: Have I mentioned I’ve a soft spot for the Chalet School books? Any attempts by other writers to fill in the gaps in the EBD books normally fall flat for me, but Helen McClelland nailed it.

Mongie: I mentioned LET’S PLAY (Season 1) in my very favourite books of 2020 wrap-up post, so no surprise here. I’m a graphic novel novice so this may be the norm, but I truly appreciated how her illustrations added so much depth to the story.

Author most glommed over 2020

Several contenders here – and unsurprisingly all have books in Kindle Unlimited, which definitely helps the book budget:

I finished 15 books by Annette Marie, which was probably her entire backlist on KU…

I also read 12 books by Glynn Stewart – what’s most impressive was all of them were new releases. He’s a prolific writer! Quality can be a bit uneven and his writing definitely has some stylistic quirks, but the stories are good fun.

And then ten books by SJ MacDonald – again, see above

Kindle Unlimited usage

I read 75 KU books in 2020, which shouldn’t be a surprise by now.

At £7.99 a month, that averages out at around £1.30 a book. Around 30% were 4* reads or higher for me, which, while slightly lower than last year, means KU is still pretty good value for me.

The numbers and graphs

I read 168 books over 2020, which is more or less in line with the previous year.

Good to know pandemics don’t impact my reading, well, kind of… Not the totals, but looking at the detail, I think I relied on known quantities, as the number of new-to-me authors was well down on previous years. This number also included quite a few re-reads (16 books in total), which is unusual for me.

And here’s how my reading preferences have shifted over the past decade – basically less romance, more SFF (although usually with strong romantic elements, the stronger the better…):

And FINALLY (this is the longest blog post I’ve written in months), here’s my Goodreads shelf with all the books I read in 2020 and of course, the Goodreads annual infographic.

2020: My Favourite Books

Better late than never. Or something like that. I suspect “…but it was 2020” is going to be sufficient excuse for a while.

Despite (or because of) everything, I did have a good reading year. Reading, more than ever, was my escape route from the endless days of lockdown in 2020. There are only so many times you can walk around your local neighbourhood before the novelty wears off…

Here are my very favourite reads of 2020, in no particular order:

Lucy Parker’s HEADLINERS (romance): IMO Parker has completely mastered the art of modern grown-up romance. This was utterly delightful and satisfying.

Anna Butler’s THE GOD’S EYE (romance): The final book of her Lancaster’s Luck trilogy was one of my most anticipated of the year, and this was note-perfect. Great tension, mystery, and chemistry.

Mongie’s LET’S PLAY (young adult): I dipped my toes into the world of Webtoons in 2020, and found myself completely charmed by this graphic novel.

Jodi Taylor’s PLAN FOR THE WORST (fantasy): Every instalment of St Mary’s is always a treat (plus it comes with history lessons, as bonus). It’s hilarious non-stop action, which doesn’t take itself too seriously until it is, somehow.

Dal Maclean’s BLUE ON BLUE (romance): I love how present-day London comes alive in these books. She has a knack for the police procedural, and the romance was just so good.

Rachel Neumeier’s COPPER MOUNTAIN (fantasy): Her Black Dog books were one of my favourite series of 2019, and I loved revisiting her take on werewolves. In fact, I ended up re-reading the entire series again and yeah, just as good as the first time around.

Next up – my 2020 reading stats…

Bookish Gifts

Oh WordPress.  I disappear for eight months and you completely change the blog post interface.  This is making me feel old.

Anyway, anyone up for a #firstworldproblem?  

I’m not one of those people who plan out their present list well in advance. My present-buying technique basically revolves around wandering around the shops to find something that I think the recipient will like (usually a few days in advance), and then tossing in a couple of (small-denomination) gift cards in case they think it’s the worst present ever. 

Obviously, the first part is out of the window this year. And buying gift cards online turns out to be way more complicated than I thought. I had no idea so many stores don’t actually offer gift cards online. Or if they do, you can only spend them in-store. Or only online. Or they expire in six months.  Or something else. And let’s be honest, I’m hesitant to splash out too much on gift cards because who knows if the store is still going to be around in six months’ time with the way the economy’s going…

So all of this basically means I’m having to spend a bit more time thinking about gifts this year. And with potentially longer than usual delivery times, being a lot more organised.  (Which is why you’re getting this post mid-November.)  Unfortunately, not everyone is as into books as I am, else present-buying would be a lot simpler.  But hey, if you do have a book-loving friend in your life, here are my ideas!

Disclaimers: All links are non-affiliate/non-sponsored. I’ve bought from these sites before and had good experiences, YMMV. Also I’m based in the UK so while I found shipping costs/times reasonable, obviously this will vary based on where you live.

Know someone who has an e-reader (or is getting one for Christmas)?  TashaTwo’s Etsy store sells great e-reader sleeves for people who are a fan of minimalist design.  I’ve bought both Kindle and tablet sleeves from her, and can vouch for the quality.  I love the pop of colour against the neutral gray sleeves, which stops them from looking a bit too dull. And they’re perfect for travelling – the padding provides protection without adding too much bulk, and the outside pocket keeps charging cables handy. 

The Bookishly Classic Book crate is a lot of fun if you’re looking for a subscription (or one-off) box idea.  I love the concept of book boxes, but find I end up giving away a lot of the accompanying items because they’re not my style or I can’t find a use for them.  The Bookishly items tend to be a bit more relevant and I’ve just noticed they’ve a Build Your Own Crate option which looks perfect.  Also if you know someone who journals, they have a Journal for Life option which means that if you pay a nominal sum when buying a journal, they will send out a new journal every time you finish your existing one – this is such a great idea.

Limited edition books are everywhere, and can be gorgeous presents.  I’ve definitely caved a couple of times *eyes stack of books with spray-painted edges*  Goldsboro Books specialise in first-edition, signed books, which can be stunning and more reasonably priced than you may think. For example, this is marked as a flawed version, but you can see how beautiful their edition of Kester Grant’s COURT OF MIRACLES is (I’ve the Waterstones edition myself, and it is very lovely as well if not as fancy as the Goldsboro version – oh, and I loved the story too, Grant took Les Misérables and truly made it her own).  If you’re feeling flush, they also do a Book of the Month subscription.  I’ve been eyeing their Science Fiction & Fantasy Fellowship monthly subscription for a while (which is currently waiting list-only) as some of their previous editions have been amazing. 

What do you think about these ideas?  Any other gifts you would suggest for a book-lover?

Oh Hey

It’s been a while, huh? I will not miss you at all, 2020.

Every time I thought about writing a blog post, it felt like something somewhere in the world would go up in flames (literally or metaphorically, or sometimes both) and… I just didn’t have the headspace to craft anything resembling an actual post. I have a half-finished draft titled “Pandemic Reading”, which I started back in May, and never quite got around to completing*.

But this weekend, it feels like there is a glimmer of hope in the world. Yes, we’re in a kind-of lockdown in England, but (and it may just be me) it doesn’t feel like it’s a lockdown – I haven’t exactly been out shopping/partying/whatever-ing in the past few months so it’s not a huge change. Trump is on his way out, and hopefully, so is all the divisive rhetoric that seems to have been a substitute for actual thought everywhere.

And I feel like I should start talking books again (before something else blows up?). I’ve just started re-reading Rachel Neumeier’s Black Dog series. The latest instalment, COPPER MOUNTAIN, reminded me of how good these books were and I am thoroughly enjoying re-acquainting myself with Natividad and the world of Dimilioc again. I have fond memories of being glued to the final pages of the previous book while on holiday in New York City and taking a sneaky break in the NYPL Reading Room to finish off the story, because I had to know how it ended.

Up next on my list is Megan Whalen Turner’s RETURN OF THE THIEF (hurrah!), though I am debating whether I should re-read the entire series before starting this one to make sure I don’t miss any single detail.

*I totally glommed SJ MacDonald’s Fourth Fleet Irregulars series over this period. There’s a bit of a bumpy start to the series and it’s slightly repetitive if you read all ten books back-to-back like I did, but it’s one of those series that is somehow a comfort read even if it’s the first time you read it. Also, it’s in Kindle Unlimited if you have a subscription. Oh, and ignore the covers.

Checking In – and How Are You?

I’m not sure what to say.  2020 has been a surreal year, and we’re not even three months in.

I certainly didn’t expect to be signing off from work calls with a “stay safe”.  I never expected to be in a situation where I’m not going to be seeing friends in person for weeks (possibly months?).  Or have debates around what “social distancing” means v. “self-isolation”. Watch daily press conferences from the Prime Minister.  Stress about whether London would be locked down and what that would mean (even typing those words feels wrong).  And yes, succumb to panic about whether there was sufficient stores of loo roll in the house*.

I’m incredibly fortunate in that I can work from home, and fingers (and everything else) crossed, my job seems secure.  I’m worried about those who can’t work from home and all the small businesses that are facing collapse, and am really hoping that there’ll be sufficient support to help everyone get through this.

I’m trying to limit my time on news websites and social media (it’s really not helping!) and I’ve a whole TBR pile of books I’m determined to wade through.  I also suspect that I’m going to have a fair amount of time on my hands now to pay this (neglected) blog a bit more attention.

How are you doing?

 

*Answer was yes – after an unfortunate incident years and years ago, I always have a spare pack…

2019: Lists and Numbers

Because I’m geeky like that.

2019 new-to-me authors

I read books by 37 new-to-me authors over 2019, down from last year but still pretty good going.  The numbers were definitely helped by my Kindle Unlimited subscription and surprisingly, book subscription boxes.  I don’t always buy the boxes (I have a major subscription box weakness and then give a lot of items away, so I try to refrain!) but they are great at bringing new names to my attention.

Of the 37 authors, here are the ones I’ll be keeping an eye out for in 2020.

Mary Burchell: Well, no surprise here.  I’m hoping more of her backlist gets digitised, else I’m going to have to find a (cheap) way of tracking down the paperbacks.

Meg Pechenick: I said to Chachic on Twitter that I found Pechenick’s Vardeshi Saga books faintly reminiscent of Andrea K. Höst’s Touchstone trilogy.  Expanding slightly more – it was the immersion-in-an-alien-culture angle, I think, coupled with the protagonist’s self-sufficient attitude.

Janet Edwards: I was on a bit of an SF kick, and raced through her incredibly readable Earth Girl trilogy.  She has another series which I’m planning on reading this year.

Charlie Adhara: I’m late to the party on this, I think – her books were all over last year’s best-of lists.  I finally got around to them in 2019 and thought each book in her Big Bad Wolf paranormal romance was better than the last, so looking forward to her 2020 release!

Elin Gregory: No wallpaper historicals here, the period details in Eleventh Hour made the setting come alive.

Author most glommed over 2019

Mary Burchell with 15 books (no surprise there), but Rachel Neumeier was a close second with 14.

Kindle Unlimited usage

I do find myself DNF’ing KU books quite often, but it’s an easy way to try new-to-me authors and I discovered 15 of my 2019 new-to-me authors via KU.

I finished 76 KU books over 2019, so averaging £1.26 a book (I’ve a £7.99/month subscription).  Also ~40% were 4* reads, which is better than last year, so I think I’m getting KU to work for me!

I admit the stats were helped by Mary Burchell’s books being in KU (I feel like I’m mentioning her name all the time now), so it’ll be interesting to see how 2020 pans out.

The numbers and graphs

I read 172 books over 2019, which sounds great in theory but my reading really tailed off over the second half of the year.  I blame spending too much time doing the mindless scrolling thing on my phone (I have a new phone which does pretty much everything for me, but is incredibly bad for my attention span).  My 2020 resolution is to put my phone down.  Seriously.

And compared to previous years – well, no substantial changes over the past couple of years.

And that’s it.  As always, all books on my Goodreads shelf (actual reviews sadly lacking but I am always happy to talk about what worked and what didn’t, just ask!) and of course, the annual My Year in Books Goodreads infographic.

2019: My Favourite Books

Happy New Year, everyone!

I’m doing my now-traditional yearend reading wrap-up, and either I’m getting pickier with age or I’ve really had a so-so reading year (very likely).  Excluding re-reads, I’ve only had two 5* reads in 2019.  And I thought having only four 5* reads in 2017 was bad…

So my two very favourite books of 2019:

KJ Charles’ ANY OLD DIAMONDS (romance): KJ Charles continues to be an autobuy author for me this year, and ANY OLD DIAMONDS lived up to my expectations.  I went in thinking the pretext was slightly flimsy, and uh… I was wrong, to say the least.  An utterly delicious and satisfying romance.

Rachel Neumeier’s BLACK DOG (fantasy): I finished making my way through Neumeier’s entire backlist this year and have no regrets.  BLACK DOG (and its sequels) is a bit different to the rest of her novels in the sense it’s urban fantasy, but not your everyday urban fantasy.  As I said earlier in the year, “Yes, there are werewolves and action, but it’s full of feels and relationships, and of course, great worldbuilding”.

And because that feels a bit light, here are some of my other favourite reads of 2019 – not quite 5* reads, but not far off either.

• Obviously, the rest of Rachel Neumeier’s Black Dog series, including all the short stories
• T Kingfisher’s CLOCKWORK BOYS was such a fun hilarious romp – I’ve bounced off her fantasy books before, but this one really worked for me
• Mary Burchell’s Warrender series – as I said here, the combination of period-contemporary London and Burchell’s evident love of music was catnip to me, and I pretty much inhaled these books
• Alex Acks’ WIRELESS AND MORE STEAM-POWERED ADVENTURES was the perfect follow-up to last year’s MURDER ON THE TITANIA – they’re madcap steampunk heist stories with heart, and more people need to read them
• And last but not least, I feel Kate Stradling’s writing gets more and more confident – her Cinderella retelling SOOT AND SLIPPER was beautifully-written, and her surprise release OLIVER INVICTUS ended Oliver’s story on the most perfect note

 

 

 

 

 

A Belated Merry Christmas

It’s been a while, hasn’t it?  I know it’s time to dust off my blog when I’ve the urge to talk about what I’ve been reading (or not reading), though I find myself woefully out of practice. (I must have written and re-written the previous sentences at least five times.)

I’ve started to collate my favourite reads of the year, which has turned out to be an interesting way of looking back over 2019.  There’s some “oh yes, I was on holiday when I flew through Rachel Neumeier’s Black Dog series” and “ah, I had a total glom of Mary Burchell’s backlist when I was working out my notice period”.  Also a bit of “how on earth did I have time to read so much” (to be fair, this was possibly tied to me switching jobs and having some, ahem, winding down time).  Having said that, I feel like my reading has tailed off dramatically in the second half of the year, especially when I look at the number of books I was reading in the first few months of 2019.  And I had forgotten how many re-reads I completed earlier in the year as well (practically all of Andrea K. Höst’s backlist, I think).

The various “best of the 2010s” articles out there had me wondering how my annual favourites have held up over the years (scroll down a bit for the listing by genre).  You know what?  I look at the titles on that list and, bar a handful, I have really fond memories of reading each book (I possibly need to revisit the ones I don’t quite recall).  Not all the authors listed there continue to be autobuys for me, but as you’d expect, my reading tastes have changed over the past ten years.

Right, enough rambling for now.  It’s nearly the end of the holidays and I’ve a couple more books I’d like to finish this side of the new year (plus I need to finish adding all my 2019 reads to Goodreads!).  Whether you celebrated Christmas or not, I hope you’ve had some time off to recharge batteries and prepare for a new year (and a new decade, depending on how you count decades!).