Thanks to a lovely Bookshop.org giftcard for Christmas, these arrived on my doorstep today! Any suggestions for which to start with?

2021 was a kind of a disappointing reading year for me in terms of what I read, so one of my reading goals this year is to DNF early and often. If a book doesn‘t grab me by roughly 25% in, it‘s a no. This was a no.

This didn‘t work for me at all. Didn‘t like the characters, found the lack of explanation irritating, and wasn‘t the least bit creeped out. I would have DNFd, but it was a bookclub selection. I‘m in the minority though, so if gothic horror is your thing, you might like it!

Wow! This was a lot of book in a small package, and it‘s hard to even write about. At its heart it‘s a story about the ugliness of war and the damaging effects of racism. But honestly that description doesn‘t do it justice, and you should just read it for yourself.

I thought this was beautifully written! The matter of fact voice that Hamid uses underscores the banality of war in so many regions around the world. This is contrasted with the love story between Saeed and Nadia, and the magical portals they use to escape their situation. This book wasn‘t as heavy on the fantasy as I expected, and was much more about how migration impacts personal relationships, communities and the world at large. Brilliant!

I loved this! Matar becomes fascinated by the Sienese school of painting and decides to spend a month indulging in this fascination. It‘s a beautifully quiet book, part memoir, philosophy, travelogue and art history that I didn‘t know I needed or wanted so badly.

This was well-written, though it didn‘t really offer anything new or groundbreaking. It‘s juuuuuust slid in as a pick rather than a so-so.

More than anything, I found this story confusing. The plot is a mix of history, dreams, reality…but it never quite came together for me. Additionally, there‘s a distance created between the characters and the reader that prevented me from really caring about their fates. I have loved Rocklyn‘s writing in the past, but this wasn‘t quite my taste.

Ehh…this was just okay. I liked the basic plot, but the overall story was underwhelming and kind of silly.

This was okay. I enjoyed the setting, and the characters were well-drawn. It just felt overly long for what it was, and while the characters were vivid, I didn‘t feel particularly attached to any of them.

Fiery, urgent writing but there was no story. Just a series of happenings. Ultimately, I was left a little disappointed.

This was heartwarming King and I really enjoyed it! It‘s about people being people, and the ways in which we can support one another. Beautiful, really.

Weird weird weird! I mean, I guess that‘s what I signed up for but…weird! I‘m not sure I understood exactly what I was reading, but it was interesting!

What a pinch of nostalgia! I first read this in Jr High and hadn‘t read it since, even though every year for Christmas I have a Lord of the Rings-o-Thon. This audiobook presentation (BBC) wasn‘t my favorite - sometimes voices overlapped and it was a bit confusing - but the story still shines through! 🥰

This was…okay? The writing was solid, but I didn‘t connect much with the characters and the IKEA-esque setting reminded me a lot of Grady Hendrix‘s Horrorstör, which I enjoyed a lot more. Not a bad book by any means, just not for me.

This was originally supposed to be a spooky season read, but life had other plans! I‘ve become a big fan of KPB‘s writing and this book didn‘t disappoint. I love the way he crafts characters and how he‘s able to write in whatever style the story calls for. These short stories were perfectly spooky and haunting!

This was solidly okay, but failed to really grab me. It felt like it tried to do too much, with too many characters. Beautiful prose though, and I enjoyed reading about 1930s Malaysia. I just wish it had come together better for me.

I wanted to like this one, but honestly I was pretty bored for the large majority of the book. It wasn‘t badly written, but the book covers several generations of colonists, and by the time you start to get to know one group, it quickly moves on to the next. This made it difficult for me to get attached to any of the characters and made it feel like I was just going through the motions of reading a story without really caring about the outcome.

Wow! This is the first wholly satisfying thriller I‘ve read in a long time! Great characters, plenty of spooky bits, and a plot that kept me guessing until the very end!

It‘s taken me awhile to get around to reading Evenson, even though he‘s been on my TBR for years. So glad I did! This post-apocalyptic tale was utterly unique and engrossing. A man wakes up from cryogenic freeze to a ruined Earth. He remembers nothing, is paralyzed from the waist down, and is sent on a mysterious mission by those who woke him. I couldn‘t stop listening to this one!

Well THAT was disturbing. 😳 It‘s short but sweet and covers a lot of metaphorical ground. Compulsion, obsession, and conformity. This one lingers. You can read it here: https://m.imgur.com/gallery/Wht7z

It‘s so nice when you find a book that hits your spooky bone in just the right way during Spooky Season! I blew through this one in a single afternoon and loved it! Highly HIGHLY recommend (if you want to read it) that you don‘t read anything about it beforehand and do the audiobook version because…wow! 😱😱😱

Unpopular opinion but I really disliked this. I felt nothing for the characters, the prose was purple as hell, there wasn‘t a great sense of world-building or even plot TBH, and I didn‘t understand why these characters fell in love in the first place. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The first half of this was a slog, and I‘m still debating if it was worth going through it to get to the more interesting second half. It featured a couple of narrative tricks that didn‘t *quite* land the emotional punches for me I think they were meant to. It‘s between a so-so and a pan for me, but closer to the latter.

Woodson writes beautifully, and while I enjoyed Red at the Bone a bit more, this was a lovely read as well!

This didn‘t do anything for me. I found the lead character really unlikeable, so it was hard for me to care about his story.

A slow, bittersweet read that felt like a warm hug. I loved this one‘s sweet, intimate story and its cast of characters.

I‘ve loved pretty much every novella Clark has written, so it was interesting to see what he would do with a full-length novel. I was just a tiny smidge shy of adoring this (nothing I could put my finger on, but I realized I wasn‘t reading it as quickly as I do when I absolutely love something), but still enjoyed it a lot and thought it was a ton of fun. His world building is 💯 and he gets an extra thumbs up for strong, female characters!

A short but encouraging read/poem about following your dreams.

Wow! I‘m late to the party, but this book had been on my TBR for awhile, and I‘m so glad I finally got around to reading it. The book moves deftly back and forth through time to tell a multi-generational tale about one family. It is absolutely stunning and I was left in awe by how much she was able to accomplish in such a small book. Highly recommended.

This was a well reasoned argument for why POC should be concerned about animal welfare, why/how intersectional approaches fall short, and why the concept of animality should be at the center of both anti-racist and animal liberation movements. There was a lot to chew on in this slim volume, but Ko‘s writing is clear and her argument is sound. I really enjoyed this book and, as a vegan POC, it gave me a lot to think about.

I had the same feeling about this one as I do many Ware novels - it was just okay. Somehow I can‘t stop reading them though! 😂😂😂

While I found the second book in the series a tiny bit of a letdown, book three had me hooked again! The group begins to reckon with their past, and what it could mean for the time to come. Once again, Bray brings 1920s NYC to life in an evocative way. I really enjoyed this one and I‘m looking forward to reading a book 4!

Generally speaking, I‘m a big fan of Okorafor‘s writing, but I didn‘t feel this was one of her best. One thing she always excels at - and which IS present here - is rich world building, but there wasn‘t much of a plot, which made it a bit disappointing. Worth a read if you‘re a fan!

This was definitely a case of the right book at the right time. I‘ve been having trouble reading lately, and this was a light, fun whodunnit that seems to have broken through my barrier. Imogene Church‘s narration, as always, was fantastic! In the past I‘ve been slightly disappointed by Ware‘s stories, but I enjoyed this one!

Couldn‘t hang with this one.

Sasaki‘s form of minimalism is so extreme, I think it would be unreachable and/or undesirable to most. There were a few nuggets of wisdom throughout, but nothing entirely new or mind-blowing. There were also moments where I felt like there was a whooooole lot of virtue signaling going on, and I didn‘t like that at all. Still, it was a quick read and he made a few striking points.

This tale didn‘t make much sense. The setting - a world in which an alien force called The Seep invades our water system and turns society into a utopia - is intriguing. But the story is really about the main character‘s (Trina) grief after her wife decides to be reborn as a baby. At the end I felt like the book‘s fever dream world was unnecessary and left me confused more than anything. But I liked Porter‘s writing style, hence the so-so rating.

This was a well-written collection of stories, but I failed to connect with many of them for some reason. I could feel them slipping from my memory only hours after finishing them.

Such a strong collection of stories! I‘m amazed at Evans‘ ability to draw a strong sense of place and character in so few words. My favorite stories were Boys Go to Jupiter, Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain, and the title story.

Loved this book as a kid and hadn‘t read it since, so this was a lovely, nostalgic read for me. Even though as an adult it was easier to spot its “issues” I still felt the same sense of enchantment I did long ago!

I‘ve really been enjoying this series of novellas so far. They feel warm and cozy, while still managing to to evoke a sense of sweeping, epic drama. It‘s the feeling you might have while sitting around a campfire and having someone tell you an incredible tale or two. Lovely!

It‘s clear that Philyaw is a good writer, and the reviews have been stellar, so I was disappointed that I just didn‘t connect with these stories.

I was so looking forward to this one, but it was sadly underwhelming in almost every way. Weak world building, flat characters, and a wishy washy, confusing plot. All of this was made more frustrating by the fact that Johnson wrote some really lovely moments. It just didn‘t come together as a whole for me.

Bailed only 10% into the audiobook, but I could tell pretty quickly that I wasn‘t going to enjoy it! It‘s just not my type of thing! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I couldn‘t get into this one. I gave it until roughly 30% on the audiobook, but it just didn‘t grab me. Oh well! I‘m trying to get better about bailing when I don‘t like something, especially if it‘s a buzzy or acclaimed book, so in an odd way I‘m proud of myself!

I really loved this. It was slow going for me in the beginning, but I think it was me and not the book. Once I settled in, I flew through it. I especially loved the world building. Fantasy isn‘t usually my thing (I am 100% a SF gal), but Bennett‘s “industrialized” magic system had enough of a SF feel to it to keep me hooked. The characters were also great. What a fun read! I‘m excited about the next two books in the series!

This was just okay. I expected it to be a lot more interesting and funny than it was. Instead it was told in a very straightforward, almost dry manner.

This was well written, but it just didn‘t click for me. I felt no attachment to the characters or the story. Because this is supposed to be (in part) a podcast, I also had a lot of trouble with how the interviewees sounded like they were reading from a script. I wanted a bit more ad-libbing, some well-placed ummms, etc. to make it sound how people actually talk. I get there issues with doing this, but it prevented me from buying into the story.

I can‘t quite put my finger on what went wrong with this one for me, but this was a disappointment. Oddly dull for a story about time travel and the end of the world, and the plot felt overly complicated. However, I‘m giving it a “so-so” rating for showcasing some really interesting ideas and a truly terrifying end of times vision.