January 2022 Wrap up

   

Read books: 

read: 8/ listen: 1/ pages: 3356/ hours listened: 8h19m
1. Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix 6H16m ***
2. Animant Crumbs Staubchronik Lin Rina p.704 ***
3. Belgravia by Julian Fellowes p.480 ****
4. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor p.432 ***
5. Vengeful by V.E. Schwab p.544 ****
6. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron p.332 **** 
7. Unknown by Didier van Cauwelaert p.229 ***
8. Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor p.416 ***
9. Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor p.448 ***
10. Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor p. 512 ***
11. Jackaby by William Ritter p.320 ***
12. Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales p.320 ***
13. Take the Shot by Sue White 7H59m ***

Movie watched:

Death in Paradise S.11 Episodes 1-4

Challenges overview:

1. Read 100 books 100/13

2. Read 5 classics 5/0

3. Read you bookshelf challenge 12/0

4. Read 5 Russian books 5/0

5. Finish 5 series 5/2

6. Read 5 translated books 5/2

7. A to Z challenge 26/10

8. Listen to 12 audiobooks 12/2

9. World of Literature 25

10. Booker Prize Project 7

11. Owned books read 3

2022 Goals

                                 

    2021 goals were the best combination for my reading reality. I did not fulfill all of them but it kept me on track for the whole year. So this year I decided to keep most of them. So here my goals for 2022:

• Read 100 books
• Read 5 books by Russian authors
• Read 5 translated books
• Listen to 12 audiobooks 
• Read 5 classics
• Complete Read your Bookshelf Challenge
• Complete Page challenge
• Complete A to Z challenge
• Complete Buzzword challenge
• Buy less than 12 books during 2022
• Finish 5 or 6 series
• Watch 12 movies
• Watch 6 TV series

That is basically it. I am still continuing with my Russian Literature, World of Literature, Booker Prize and Classics Club projects, which at the begging 2022 are the following:

Russian Literature: 12/30
World of Literature: 24/50
Booker Prize Project: 7
Classics Club: 15/50

The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young

Author: Adrienne Young

Original title: The Girl the Sea Gave Back
Pages: 416
Edition Language: Russian
Series: Sky in the Deep #2
Format: e-book
Genres: Fantasy
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

My thoughts: 
     As with many second books in the series, let's pretend it does not exist. 

Sky in the Deep was a great stand alone novel with a great world and characters. This book seems a carbon copy of a book that might have been written if the author took more time or effort. I think the idea is here, but the plot and characters fell flat for me. The world building is minimal, if any, and the plot is quite predictable. The prose is very beautiful and rich here, but most events of the book just do not have any purpose. Altogether, motivation and events seemed rather weak and pointless.

     I liked how Adrienne Young writes, but I find her first book way better than the second. Hopefully, the next one will be great and surprising.

 Rating:  

    3/5  

February 2021 Wrap up

 

Read books: 
read: 5/ listen: 4/ pages: 2144/ hours listened: 26h06m

1. Capturing the Devil by Kerri Maniscalco p.512 * - review
2. So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson 8h16m ***** - review
3. The Likeness by Tana French p.640 ***
4. The Widow by Fiona Barton 10h29m ***
5. A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare p.320 ** - review
6. Stardust by Neil Gaiman p.256 ***
7. Unheard: The Story of Anna Winslow by Anthony Del Col  4h *** 
8. Hawk's Call by Simone Carter 3h21m ***
9. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman p.416***

Movie watched:
Death in Paradise S.10 Episodes 4-8

January 2021 Wrap up

 

Read books: 
read: 8/ listen: 1/ pages: 3356/ hours listened: 8h19m
1.Wilder Girls by Rory Power p.352 *** - review
2.Uprooted by Naomi Novik p.640 *** - review
3.The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn p.414 ***  - review
4.The Lost Man by Jane Harper p.330 ****
5.Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery 8h19m ***
6.The Red House by Mark Haddon p.340 ***
7.Rudin Ivan Turgenev p.288 ***
8.Escaping from Houdini by Kerri Maniscalco p.512 ** - review
9.In the Woods by Tana French p.480 *** - review

Movie watched:

Death in Paradise S.10 Episodes 1-4

Middle Grade March Announcement and TBR 2021

 

It's the most wonderful time of the year....#middlegrademarch​ is here. This month long readathon celebrates the amazing category of books that many times we forget about as adults. I hope you will choose to participate in all the fun with us this 4th year of MGM.  

HOSTS:
Katie @Life Between Words​
Amanda @The Curly Reader​
Krista @BooksAndJams​
Don't forget to use the hashtag #middlegrademarch

CHALLENGES (optional, of course):

Group Read:
The Brave by James Bird

Prompts:

    1. A Book with SILHOUETTE on the cover
    2. A Book with a strong FAMILY (or found family)
    3. A Book featuring a JOURNEY or ADVENTURE
    4. A RETELLING (or book with a fairytale vibe)
    5. A Book written (or set) in the DECADE YOU WERE BORN

      I will not read the group read, unfortunately, as I could not get the book. The libraries are still closed. And I decided not to restrict myself with the prompts, though I hope to fulfill them anyway. I combined the ultimate list of middle grade books I have so far and will pick from it. Thus, I could keep track of the progress during the year as I would like to read at least one middle grade book a month.

1.  The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo
2.  The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
3. Curse of the Night Wolf by Paul Stewart
4.  Varjak Paw by S.F. Said
5.  The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
6.  East by Edith Pattou
7.  The Giver by Lois Lowry
8.  Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
9.  The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
10. The Ickabog by J.K. Rowling
11. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
12. Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
13. Little Johannes by Frederik van Eeden
14. Little Lord Fauntleroy by Frances Hodgson Burnett
15. The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier
16. Меня удочерила горилла by Frida Nilsson
17. Pax by Sara Pennypacker
18. The Ice Sea Pirates by Frida Nilsson
19. Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes by Jonathan Auxier
20. Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell
21. The Haunted House Project by Tricia Clasen
22. Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
23. Born to Run by Michael Morpurgo
24. Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge
25. Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan
26. The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright - 5th prompt
27. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
28. Of Foster Homes and Flies by Chad Lutzke
29. Undercover Princess by Connie Glynn
30. The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Author: Gail Honeyman

Original title: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Pages: 416
Edition Language: Russian
Series: no
Format: e-book
Genres: Contemporary
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

My thoughts: 
    This was a really sweet and tragic story at the same time. I loved the voice of Eleanor and how she defines and defies the life realities. When she describes some social norm in a logical questionable manner I cannot but agree with her. Some descriptions are a bit over-exaggerated, which makes Eleanor less believable character.  

   I enjoyed how the story unraveled - layer by layer, telling us bits of her life and letting us see the difficulties of a person, who does not want or cannot behave in an expected manner. It is a heavy novel, which shows how many things we take for granted, things that other people are deprived of.

 Rating:  

    4/5