The second half of January wasn't quite as good as the first half but still pretty great. I read anywhere from 20 to 250 pages a day this month so I can't complain. 4000 pages of my 30,000 page goal this year, down. Woohoo! More on my January reading statistics (because I like them) at the end of this post.
These Silent Woods--Kimi Cunningham Grant
I read this for my online book club, and then didn't go to the meeting to discuss it :( I enjoyed this story about a dad and his eight-year-old daughter living out in the woods, for reasons that are eventually revealed. It didn't make me cry (because I have no soul) but came pretty close. I did not think the epilogue was necessary and was too much of a neat little bow wrapping it all up. Otherwise, I really liked this not exactly fast paced, not quite a thriller, survival story, quite a bit.
Reading prompt: Beat the Backlist-- a character is keeping a big secret.
Z for Zachariah--Robert C. O'Brien
This is a young adult story where we are thrown into the world of Ann (16) the only person left alive, after some not-much-info-is- given nuclear event. Ann lives in an isolated valley that was protected from the war, but everything else on the planet is gone. Trees, animals, people... and then one day she spots someone walking towards her house (he is not named Zachariah) and nurses him back to health. I mentioned in a previous post, about the author not finishing this before he died, and I could not pick out which parts he wrote, and which parts he didn't, except maybe the abrupt, wait what happens next? ending. The story was written chronologically sort of in journal format and besides Ann being very insightful and too cliche (this was published in 1974) for being a girl, I enjoyed the story. I like how she went to the store and shopped whenever she needed new clothing, not like anything on TV where the apocalypse happens and takes all the clothing with it. The story was very bleak though, and the ending...
Reading prompt: Beat the Backlist-- title of the book has a Z in it.
A Place to Hang the Moon--Kate Albus
In this middle grade story, which reminds me a lot of The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe...three kids are sent to the countryside to avoid the bombs in London during World War Dos. All they want is a forever home (a place to hang the moon) and due to circumstances, that is not what they receive. I really enjoyed the story, and wanted to strangle a few characters...
Reading prompt: I can't remember... I think it was a book you meant to read last year.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes-- (Sir) Arthur Conan Doyle
This is #3 in the Sherlock Holmes series, but my first trek into the detectives cases. I read a story, or two a day and it took two weeks to finish this. The stories are definitely written to a format and I was surprised by the opium dens and cocaine just flying around. My favorite story was The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.
Reading prompt: Beat the Backlist-- novel in verse, poetry, or an anthology. "Technically" an anthology is supposed to be written by multiple authors according to some people (not all of them) so I cheated here... do I care? No.
My Life Undecided--Jessica Brody
In this YA, story, after making some very questionable decisions, Brooklyn decides every time she makes a decision she will make it a poll on her blog. Amazingly, with no effort whatsoever, people find her blog and read it and make all her choices. I'd like to know her secret to her blog success... otherwise this was a cute story, which I mostly enjoyed. I don't find a lot of YA that I relate to these days (I don't think it's my age, it's what's being published) but Jessica Brody usually works for me.
Prompt: Beat the Backlist-- main character is under 18. Buzzword Challenge: life or death in the title.
The House--Raelynn Drake
I listened to this because it was a short (one hour) audiobook, and I thought I'd count it as a novella. It was something... It's shelved as a middle grade, with YA aged characters, and if a Scooby Doo episode was a trope, this would fit right in. I was confused, bored, did not root for the characters at all, and was glad when it was over, which considering it was only an hour long, that says something. This tied for lowest rated book this month.
Reading prompts: none. I considered the Beat the Backlist prompt about a house being central to the plot (there was a haunted house in here) but thought that would be cheating... I can find a better "house" book to fit this one.
Cici's Journal--Joris Chamblain
This is a MG translated from French graphic novel. In this Cici who would like to be a writer, goes out in search of stories to write about, and she has a writing mentor (I need one of those...) There were two episodes in here, and I liked Cici's relationship with her mom. I'm glad I read it.
Prompts: I don't think I chose one. Someone online recommended this, so I may go back and use that one... we'll see.
The Mousetrap--Agatha Christie
And my final book of January... well 1/4 of a book/play. The only copy of the Mousetrap my library has is four plays in it, and it was in large print. I only read the one story, and this was not the actual cover.
In this story two young people have decided to start a rooming house or a bed and breakfast, and their first occupants begin to arrive, and then one of them is murdered. It's snowing, no one can leave, and someone is a murderer! Unlike The Importance of Being Earnest, this one did have descriptions of the house, and where everyone was standing which was helpful. I enjoyed this, and the twist at the end. I would love to see this in "action" but it's not streaming anywhere, and I am not able to fly to England to see it live (it is the longest standing play ever performed or something.)
Prompts: haven't decided... it does take place during a snowstorm so I could use it for that one, it is also under 170 pages (it's 70 pages when not in the large print edition). I'll decide later...
For January overall, I don't know how people can read this much (or more) on a continual basis. It was a lot, and I was lucky I didn't dnf anything, or get into a slump.
I'm proud of myself for reading everything I put on my to-read list (and then some) though, but don't expect to ever do that again... I am also glad the longest month is over (it always feels like January is twice as long as any other month) and I'm ready for February.
January 2023 reading statistics, because if my inner nerd isn't already showing, it is now:
pages read: 4107/30000
fiction/non-fiction: 15/2
adult/ya/mg: 10/2/5
novels:11
novellas: 0 (and what is a novella anyway, and how does one find them?)
short stories:12 (or one collection...)
plays: 2
graphic novels:1
physical/ebook/audio:15/1/1
owned versus borrowed from the library:9-8
books that are part of a series: 6
average rating: 4.01
books owned but not read at the beginning of the year 323? Books owned but not read at the end of the month: 313.
books purchased in January: 1
2023 goals tracking:
things read that were not novels: 4 (the goals was more of these than I read in 2022 not a specific number, so far so good)
live, interactive reading "events" I participated in: 2 (online reading sprints)
novels over 500 pages read: 0
books taking place in New England: 0 (Pennsylvania, Colorado, England, England, England, England,Washington, Fiji... wait My Brother Sam is Dead too place in Massachusetts... OK change that to 1, go me.)
series finished: 0
most read genres: mystery (6), and according to The Storygraph second place is YA (4) but two of those are definitely middle grade, so actually 2nd place is classics (3) this month. That's different.
February to-read list coming soon... stay tuned.
