January Wrap-up

First wrap up of 2020.  I read and listened to a ton of books in January!  Hopefully I can keep up the momentum for the rest of the year.

I completed a bunch of prompts for the 2020 Popsugar and Book Riot Read Harder  challenges this month.  If you are interested in what I'm reading or what I read for the past challenges, my google docs are below.

• Popsugar Reading Challenge Spreadsheet
• Book Riot Read Harder Spreadsheet

In addition to the books below, I also read all 95 episodes of the webcomic, Lore Olympus on Webtoon.  The creator is Rachel Smythe and it's awesome.  If you are a Greek mythology lover, you need to check it out.  It is a retelling of the story of Persephone and Hades, and I love the direction she is taking with it.  Fair warning, it deals with alot of topics that might be triggering to some.  She usually puts a warning at the beginning of episodes that specifically deal with triggering topics.  New episodes come out on Sundays and I'm so glad I finally jumped in.  I love her art style and can't wait to see where the story is headed.

Books/Ebooks/ARCs

I can't believe I got through so many books this month.  

• Remnant Population by Elizabeth Moon
• This is a slow paced sci-fi kind about an older woman who just wants to be left alone.  The company who colonized the planet she has lived on for 40 years decides that they are going to move the colony somewhere more prosperous.  Ofelia, decides she's staying put, and live out the rest of her days the way she wants.  The story plays out much like the movie Castaway with Ofelia as the sole inhabitant of the planet, until she is visited by the indigenous inhabitants of the planet.  An odd relationship builds between Ofelia and the strange beings known as The People that develops into so much more.  This isn't heavy on the science or technology, and the pace doesn't pick up until after The People show up.  
• Ashlords by Scott Reintgen
• Review
• I have an ARC of this and it comes out on the 21st.  I'm a huge fan of Reintgen's work and this is his latest young adult offering.  It is supposed to have some magical battle horses and was compared to Scorpio Races which I loved.  
• Don't Read the Comments by Eric Smith
• Review
• I received an ARC of this a while ago, but I was holding this for January to count it toward the Popsugar reading prompt for a book involving social media.  This is supposed to be about two gamers who have to deal with the hassle of virtual trolls.  Look for more closer to the release date on the 28th.
• A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
• This is a Beauty and the Beast retelling and I loved it!  It is one of the more unique retellings I've read where it has a kind of groundhog's day aspect to it, and the fairy tale bleeds over into the real world.  I really enjoyed how Rhen, the prince, interacted with Harper the girl he is trying to woo.  I also loved Grey, Rhen's commander and trusted companion.  
• Fix the World (Skyward #3) by Joe Henderson
• This is the final installment in a sci-fi graphic novel series.  In this bindup, the main character is trying to turn gravity back on, fight giant bugs, and maybe find love.  I love the art in this and the series is pretty good.
• Fun Home: A Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
• This is a memoir in comic form.  It is Bechdel's life story, but it center's around her relationship with her father and his death.  It is a difficult read as it is kind of sad.  The art is great, and her emotion really shows through on the page.
• Girl Code: Gaming, Going Viral, and Getting it Done by Andrea Gonzales and Sophie Houser
• I adored this!  It tells the story of two young girls and their story as they learned to code.  Their coding project from summer camp turned into a viral game.  I love how they tackled a taboo subject and really grew as people.  I entered the technology field over 20 years ago and while not much has changed, but it is nice to know that girls are getting more support and being encouraged to enter technology.
• Frenemies by Emma Hart
• Review
• This is a funny second chance romance that features a single dad and the ridiculous grandma I've ever read.  You should read it just to experience Grandma Jen.  
• Dear Ava by Ilsa Madden-Mills
• Review
• I pretty much couldn't put this book down.  This is an enemies to lovers romance that deals with some heavy subject matter.  The book opens with the main character Ava dealing with the aftermath of being sexually assaulted.  She returns to the private school she attends as a scholarship student in an attempt to overcome the assault, but on her first day back she gets a love letter in her locker.  Football player and king of the school, Knox ends up befriending Ava, though they start out as enemies.  They are both broken but they end up finding solace in each other.  Madden-Mills does a wonderful job with the touchy subjects of mental health and sexual assault.  

Audiobooks

I feel really accomplished that I got through so many audiobooks in January, especially since some of them were fairly long.   Most of these were for reading prompts, but quite a few of them were already on my TBR.  That is the beauty of these reading challenges.  I don't feel a ton of pressure to read books I don't want to read.  

• The Cursed Sea by Lauren Destefano
• I was disappointed in this sequel.  I really loved the first book.  This really just followed Wil as she runs around trying to stop a bunch of things from happening.
• Dry by  Neal and Jarrod Shusterman
• I read this for a prompt about a natural disaster after seeing this recommended a everywhere.  I really enjoyed this.  It was pretty disturbing because it is a realistic thing that could actually happen.  It follows a group of kids after a major drought has hit and water is basically 
• Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
• I picked this up for the Read Harder challenge for a retelling by an author of color.  This was also the book of the month at my library for January.  It ranges from diverse, violent, and strange.  Machado's writing is beautiful, but I just didn't really enjoy this collection of stories. The retelling is the first offering called The Husband Stitch and is a version of The Girl with the Green Ribbon.  This by far was the one I liked the most.
• The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict
• I listened to this to fulfil the prompt for the Popsugar challenge for a book about a woman in STEM.  This book while fiction, is inspired by the the actual accounts of Mitza Maric, Einstein's first wife.  I'm not sure how accurate the history is, as this has inspired me to read up on Mitza and things don't add up.  This book made me mad, I couldn't stand the way she was treated, and while that was "the way things were" it still was awful.  I do wish this had focused more on the physics and less on the romance and relationship aspect of her life.  
• Akata Witch and Akata Warrior by Nnedi Okorafor
• This is a great middle grade/YA fantasy series.  It is set in Nigeria and utilizes African mythology and culture as the basis for the fantastical elements in the story.  This follows Sunny, born in the US to Nigerian parents.  Her family moves back to Nigeria when she is 12, but because she is an albino she is taunted by almost everyone around her for being a witch.  Unbeknownst to Sunny, there is a world of magic and paranormal all around her that she uncovers when she has a vision.  Fortunately she is surrounded by great friends and teachers who help her hone her powers and learn about the secret magical world around her.
• 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
• This is a weird compilation of stories of various genres.  As with most short story compilations I really liked some of them and I really didn't like others.  If you are looking for a good mix of horror, paranormal, and fantasy stories give this a try.  Some of them are really good, some are super weird, and I think everyone will find something appealing.
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
• This is a WWII story told from the perspective of 2 sisters.  Despite being a good story, I felt it was far too long.  The author spends a great deal of time setting things up.  The story takes place in France, the older sister ends up with a Nazi soldier boarding in her home while the other more outspoken sister ends up becoming part of the rebellion.  Each of the sisters ends up helping the rebellion in their own way, but they both have to do what they need to in order to survive.  
• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• I can't believe I never read this in school.  I listened to the audiobook for the Popsugar prompt for a bildungsroman, or a coming of age story.
• River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey
• Hippo farming, who knew?  Did you know that this was a real concept?  I surely didn't.  This story while fiction is based on an actual concept that never came to fruition in the early 1900's in the US during a meat shortage.  This has a western feel and a very diverse cast of characters.  I'm really looking forward to the sequel.
• Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi
• Technically I finished this in February, but I listened to most of it in January.  This is the sequel to Children of Blood and Bone.  It is an epic YA Fantasy, that discusses so much more.  There is magic, politics, mythology and betrayal.  The plot of this one kind of meanders around and doesn't really move forward.  I really liked the first book other than the ridiculous romance between Zelie and Inan, but this one just falls short.  It doesn't expand the magic and mythology.  The plot is basically Zelie being angry and making rash, emotional decisions and being mad at Amari the whole book.  Their friendship is being torn apart because Amari wants to try to find a peaceful solution and Zelie wants only vengeance, and both of them making decisions that don't make any sense.  This is just an emotional mess of a story.