{"id":925,"date":"2021-10-14T15:12:50","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T01:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/?p=925"},"modified":"2021-10-14T15:12:50","modified_gmt":"2021-10-14T01:12:50","slug":"reading-log-jul-sep-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/?p=925","title":{"rendered":"Reading Log &#8211; Jul-Sep 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"867\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/BookTok-Shelf-867x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"A selection of books on two wooden shelves\" class=\"wp-image-927\" srcset=\"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/BookTok-Shelf-867x1024.jpeg 867w, http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/BookTok-Shelf-254x300.jpeg 254w, http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/BookTok-Shelf-768x908.jpeg 768w, http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/BookTok-Shelf.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My genres this quarter were my usual mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary romance, with the odd crime\/thriller thrown in for variety. Here in Auckland, we&#8217;ve spent the last two months and change in lockdown, so I&#8217;m still preferring escapist fiction over anything too dark &amp; difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">20 years after it was published, I finally picked up the 4 books of the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini ($40 for the set in paperback from The Warehouse). The first book, Eragon, was unexpectedly hard-going: small print in a thick paperback combined with a story that was irritatingly derivative and full of flat characters and predictable plot beats. After I finished it, I discovered that the author was a 16 year old boy at the time of writing, which explains why this book felt like pretty average Lord of the Rings fan fiction with dragons. I have yet to start the second book, but apparently it does get better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Part of the problem is that I&#8217;ve been reading so many excellent fantasy books that it&#8217;s hard to motivate myself to pick up something mediocre! This quarter, I also identified Dark Academia as a genre that I particularly enjoy, and have finished quite a few of these sorts of novels &#8211; and have added many more to by TBR (To Be Read) list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;m on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/user\/show\/133219037-mj\">GoodReads<\/a>, where you can see what I am currently reading, what I&#8217;ve read, and what I want to read in the future (that ever-growing TBR)! I even occasionally write reviews, but they&#8217;re mostly so I can remember my own thoughts about the book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">July<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Forger and the Thief by Kirsten McKenzie<br>A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer<br>Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse<br>This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar &amp; Max Gladstone<br>The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Talor Jenkins Reid<br>Old Man\u2019s War by John Scalzi<br>The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi<br>The Last Colony by John Scalzi<br>Hunted by the Sky by Tanaz Bhathena<br>Gild by Raven Kennedy<br>Glint by Raven Kennedy<br>Gleam by Raven Kennedy<br>Catacombs by Anne McCaffrey &amp; Elizabeth Ann Scarborough<br>A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas<br>A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas<br>A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas<br>A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas<br>The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater<br>The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers<br>Credence by Penelope Douglas<br>Birthday Girl by Penelope Douglas<br>Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir<br>To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo<br>Corrupt by Penelope Douglas<br>The Ones We\u2019re Meant to Find by Joan He<br>The Cruel Prince by Holly Black<br>Zoe\u2019s Tale by John Scalzi<br>Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones<br>The Lives of Christopher Chant by Diana Wynne Jones<br>Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones<br>The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones<br>The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori<br>The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen<br>The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh<br>Eragon by Christopher Paolini<br>The Song of Achilles by Madeleine Miller<br>Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">August<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the Black Banners by K. Elle Morrison<br>Au\u0113 by Becky Manawatu<br>Conrad\u2019s Fate by Diana Wynne Jones<br>House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas<br>People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry<br>Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman &amp; Jay Kristoff<br>Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones<br>Red, White &amp; Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston<br>This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron<br>A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon<br>An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir<br>Tripswitch by Gaelyn Gordon<br>It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover<br>The High Mountain Court by A.K. Mulford<br>A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik<br>Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco<br>The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna<br>The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch<br>Uprooted by Naomi Novik<br>Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce<br>The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake<br>Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo<br>A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir<br>Crossfire by Dick Francis<br>Under Orders by Dick Francis<br>A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab<br>The Secret History by Donna Tartt<br>Wolf by Mo Hayder<br>Bowl of Heaven by Gregory Benford &amp; Larry Niven<br>The Vine Witch by Luanne G. Smith<br>These Witches Don\u2019t Burn by Isabel Sterling<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">September<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Binding by Bridget Collins<br>The Mistake by Elle Kennedy<br>Dark Orbit by Carolyn Ives Gilman<br>The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren<br>The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood<br>Lord of Eternal Night by Ben Alderson<br>Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter<br>Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert<br>The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan<br>Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert<br>Scrublands by Chris Hammer<br>The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang<br>It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey<br>The Good Girl by Alice La Roux<br>Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko<br>A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee<br>The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen<br>Lore by Alexandra Bracken<br>Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch<br>Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch<br>Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch<br>Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch<br>Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch<br>The Furthest Station by Ben Aaronovitch<br>The Hanging Tree by Ben Aaronovitch<br>Lies Sleeping by Ben Aaronovitch<br>False Value by Ben Aaronovitch<br>My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell<br>The Bride Test by Helen Hoang<br>Priest by Sierra Simone<br>Aspergirls by Rudy Simone<br>The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley<br>Child of Fear &amp; Fire by G.R. Thomas<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">101 in total<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My genres this quarter were my usual mix of fantasy, sci-fi, and contemporary romance, with the odd crime\/thriller thrown in for variety. Here in Auckland, we&#8217;ve spent the last two months and change in lockdown, so I&#8217;m still preferring escapist fiction over anything too dark &amp; difficult. 20 years after it was published, I finally &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/?p=925\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Reading Log &#8211; Jul-Sep 2021&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[74,7,5],"class_list":["post-925","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","tag-74","tag-books","tag-reading-log"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=925"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":928,"href":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925\/revisions\/928"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mooncrowned.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}