Lisa Reads 2018 - A Summary

I have had "Books I Read in 2018" on my list of blog posts to write since December. When you read 80 books in a year, writing a recap post can be a daunting and easily avoided task. I can't even imagine the feels if I read 100+ books! Yikes! okay, well, when I put it that way 80 books doesn't feel so daunting. Let's do this!

OVERALL SUMMARY
There are a few overall comments I want to make about books I read in 2018 to clear the air and start straight.

1. I didn't achieve ANY of the goals I set for myself at the start of 2018
2. No book or books I read in 2018 automatically jump out in my memory

Now that we've got that out in the open, let's dive in to it!

I know I keep saying this, but 2018 was a weird year for me. It messed with my head overall, and many goals and memories didn't seem to stick. Including - apparently - my reading goals. I have moved passed it and reset for 2019 and I am already feeling much more confident. I mean, it could still all turn to shit but at least I'll have January!

As for two, I know I have a terrible memory, but usually there is at least one book that sticks in my brain for whatever reason. Last year, not so much. Don't get me wrong, I read loads of good and great books, but I definitely had to read back through my list to jog my old brain. Every year I make a silent goal - and some years an out loud one - to try and combat that. But it also feels sort of inevitable and a waste of energy to fight it. Maybe this is the year to give in. Maybe.

BREAKDOWN
I love a good, simple bar graph. Here is a quick visual breakdown of the books I read in 2018, noting that some books count more than once, but the author categories are counted only once.

FAVOURITES
I'm not sure I'll be able to pick an overall favourite for the year, but I do have some favourites over a few categories.

Favorite Sci-Fi Fantasy

Gail Carriger > She is always a good choice, and I expanded into the rest of her collection last year to amazing results.
Nnedi Okorafor > The Binti series has been on my TBR for awhile, and oh BOY I've been missing out! The books are short and to the point, but she packs so much good stuff in there. Great for a younger audience as well.
Golden Age & Other Stories > I love the Temeraire books, but they can start to feel long in the tooth. This short story collection followed all of my fave characters with a fresh perspective.
Seveneves blew my mind.
NK Jemisin > Just give her all the awards forever please. If you enjoy sci fi, she is a must read.
The Library at Mount Char > Holy shit, wtf. The only downside of this book is that it's just the one, and how the hell would you ever find anything like it ever again?

Non-Fiction
New Better Off > I love reading an amazing non-fiction book filled with big ideas, and themes relevant to my One Little Word to start the year off, and this one checked all the boxes.
Men Explain Things to Me > Rebecca Solnit is perfection. I really enjoy her style of feminist writing.
Blood & Earth > This book was tough to read. The subject matter is heavy - slavery and ecocide - but Kevin Bales has a light touch while treating it with the seriousness it deserves.
Like a Mother should be required reading for everyone. We have such a lack of knowledge and confidence in that knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth in our culture, and the medical profession is not making things any better (for the most part).

Fave Short Story Collections
1000 Beginnings & Endings > I may not remember all of the stories individually, but the feelings in the book have stuck with me.
Language of Thorns > Spooky folklore fantasy we've come to expect (and love) from Leigh Bardugo
Other Worlds > Lucas & I listened to this on our road trip. I borrowed it because one of the stories is by an author he likes, but otherwise it was outside of what he usually picks for himself. It generated a lot of great conversations.

Surprise Hits!
The Captain Phasma book was great! I was not expecting to love it so much! (Captain Phasma is the OG badass)
Player of Games > I struggle with a lot of "vintage" science fiction, but this book read like they wrote it yesterday. Terrifying, complicated, and fantastic.
Holes > This is the book that I thought was going to be a horror, but turned out to be a sweet adventure story about unlikely best friends solving a generations-old mystery. I'm trying to get Lucas to read it next.

MOVING FORWARD
If you haven't already checked it out, you can read my 2019 book goals and the start of my book list here. My goals are a continuation of last year's as I still think they are relevant, but I have expanded on them as well. Surprising no one, the majority of my 2018 titles are sci-fi/fantasy (with a couple of horror titles in there for good measure). I am especially on the lookout for non-fiction that aligns with my life goals and am always focused on reading more books by women, LGBTQ, BIPOC, and First Nations authors.

One of my four February Goals is a major "cull" of my digital TBR list - we're talking going from 400+ books to under 100! I'm hopeful that exercise will help me really narrow in on those goals AND be more purposeful in my reading. Nobody wants to read a book they don't like, and while all of these little tactics help with that strategy a loser is bound to sneak in occasionally.

Okay. I've yammered on for long enough. If you wanna talk books, I'm your gal. Leave me a comment here, send me an email, DM on IG or Facebook or Twitter. Um yeah, because I wanna talk books.

FURTHER READING
You can read my full 2018 Book List here, while the new list for 2019 is here.

My Goodreads account is here. I don't update this one as often, but I do keep track of TBRs there.

All of my 2018 reviews and posts about books can be found here.

And I link to a few fun Reading Challenges in this issue of "Lisa Reads the Internet".

And I have linked all of the authors and books in the text above.

xo

Lisa Reads 52 Books

Well, it's happened again Folks. I finished my reading challenge well ahead (3.5 months ahead to be particular) of my self-imposed "deadline". And what do I have to show for it? Well...I made this bar graph...

Would you look at that! These are the "themes" I see appearing in my reading, year after year. I enjoy story collections, sci-fi fantasy, and series. Even though they aren't my favourite, young adult books keep popping up. 

This year I find myself reading more of what I am going to call "fictionalized history" books. Essentially, these are books that take a historical event or person - Einstein's first wife, the women of the Bible, a young sultan of the Ottoman Empire - and imagine a story around it.

I read a lot of audio books, but the majority of books I read are still actual, hold-in-your-hands books. I would like to read more audio books, and more non-fiction as well.

FAVOURITES

It's getting harder and harder for me to pick favourites. Last year I wrote about reading "too many books" and not being able to remember all of them. That continues to be something I struggle with, but it also feels like this is just my life now!

NK Jemisin is always a good choice, and so is Gail Carriger. Both books I read by those ladies this year were stellar. And actually on my TBR List! Ha!

Some other favourites were (in no particular order):

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey

Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

NEW GOALS

My new goals for the remainder of the year are to seek out more non-fiction books in my wheelhouse. To be honest, I started a lot of non-fiction this year that I couldn't finish. Either they weren't interesting, weren't what I expected, or were just bad. I also went through a month-long period where every book that came up on my Library Holds list was non-fiction and I let a lot of holds slip. Let's see what I can do to fix that!

I still have over 30 books on my TBR list on Goodreads. If you have a Goodreads account, you can find me here. I would like to see how many of those I can polish off before the year is up. I have already started a "2019 TBR List" on there, which feels like putting the cart before the horse, but that's just where I'm at right now!

FURTHER READING

My 2018 Book List is here. I will keep updating it as the year goes on.

My Goodreads account is here. I don't update this one as often, but I do keep track of TBRs there.

More of my 2018 reviews and posts about books can be found here.

Lisa (& Lucas) Reads

When I first became a Mom I had no expectations of who my child would become.

But I secretly hoped I would have a serious reader on my hands.

When he finds a book he loves, he dives in deep. But his personality most often has him reaching for silly comics, or books far below his reading level.

I know I should be happy that he wants to read at all, and I am, but I also want to see him push himself in this area because I know he can handle it and I know he would benefit from it.

Enter audio books.

We listen to them in the car, and this ensures a captive audience. We are reading titles that are long, and that might normally intimidate him in paperback. Plus, I love that we can enjoy them together. It has really changed his reading habits, and I am thankful that I can expose him to some different titles without making a huge deal out of it.

OUR FAVOURITES
We have a few series that we keep turning back to, despite the idiocy of Percy Jackson.

Percy Jackson - Greek mythology + teenagers. Oh man, Percy Jackson is a big dummy, and if it weren't for his clever (girl)friend, he would have died in book one. (Gee, why does that sound familiar...?....)

Harry Potter - Dude has watched the first three movies, but we just started the first book. And so far it's a hit!

Deltora Quest - We discovered this series a few years ago, and it was the first audiobook that Dude & I listened to together.

Rangers Apprentice - This is another series that we found a few years ago. The first few books were excellent, but we had to stop at #5 because the boring factor increased by eleventy billion. I found a "prequel" series that I am excited to try next.

Warriors - I grabbed this one for Dude one year because the characters are all cats, and he loves cats. These ones are his chosen picks for school reading, and he just blows through them.


If you too have a young reader in your life, I would love to hear about some of your favourites, either to read together, or titles that you think Dude might enjoy on his own.

xo

FURTHER READING
In my 2018 Book List, I have been specifically noting which audio books Lucas & I are reading together.

Lisa Reads - April 2018

I only* read three books in April, which might be my lowest month in awhile!**

And of those three books, one was blargh, one was fantastical and fabulous, and one was the heaviest non-fiction I have read in awhile!

Let's recap!

CONTENT NOTE: Blood and Earth deals with real life stories of human slavery, including child abuse, child sexual abuse, torture, and inhumane conditions.

In The Unlikely Event // Oh Judy Blume, what was this even? Most of the book takes place in the early 50s, after a very disjointed introduction to the main character 35 years later. This character - Miri - is a good Jewish girl living in a small New Jersey town that experiences 3 terrible plane crashes, back when air travel was new and glamorous. The story follows every damn person in that town, and their experiences during this time. There were too many characters, the lead was annoying, her boyfriend was a dumbass, and the era just bugged me. I do love Ms Blume's ability to talk about mundane events that happen in every girl's life - first kiss, getting your period, shopping with your friends, having sex - but otherwise this book was a long slog with a ridiculous "happy ending".

If you like Judy Blume, this book might surprise you!...because it's bad.


Golden Age & Other Stories // Set in the same world as her Temeraire series, these stories take place in an alternate 19th century where dragons exist alongside famous historical figures. Clever, witty, and beautifully written.

If you like history with a bit of fantasy thrown in for good measure, Naomi's entire Temeraire series is wonderful. She plays magnificently with the existence of dragons and their use in the navy during the Napoleonic Wars.

Blood and Earth // There is no way I am going to do this book justice with my write up. So here is a blurb from Goodreads:

"...a powerful and captivating examination of two entwined global crises: environmental destruction and human trafficking—and an inspiring, bold plan for how we can solve them."

If you like non-fiction about climate change I recommend This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein, while The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead was fascinating fictional look at slavery in America.

I am so ready for some lighter fare in May, but the two books I have on the go are non-fiction titles! I am going to have to scroll through my TBR lists and see what I can find in the "dystopian fiction" genre to give my brain a break!

xo

FURTHER READING
My full 2018 Book List is linked here. I am at 25 books so far this year!

NOTES
* I realize that "only" is a terrible word to write here, as some people struggle to read three books in a year! Let alone a month. And to be honest, I am still happy and proud and whatever that I read three books, because the last time I checked, three is still a larger number than zero.
** My last lowest book month was February 2015 when I read 2 books.

Lisa Reads - March 2018

March's Book List feels like a slow burn, a middle month to get from one exciting month to (hopefully) the next.

While I got zero feedback on last month's recap post, I am still going to try and change it up this month to see if I get any comments, suggestions, notes, or interactions at all in this post.

CONTENT NOTE: I will be specifically noting below which books to watch for some potentially harmful content. Watch out for rape, child sexual assault, torture.

The Monster's Corner // A short story collection with monsters in common. But these aren't common monsters. As with most story collections, some were amazing, some were good, and some were not good.

If you like to be scared in small doses I recommend Tananarive Due's Ghost Summer

Trigger Warning: Rape, child sexual assault


The Player of Games // I don't think it is possible to write a synopsis for space operas, so I am not even going to try. Instead, I will steal this one from Goodreads: "The Culture--a humanoid/machine symbiotic society--has thrown up many great Game Players. One of the best is Jernau Morat Gurgeh, Player of Games, master of every board, computer and strategy. Bored with success, Gurgeh travels to the Empire of Azad, cruel & incredibly wealthy, to try their fabulous game, a game so complex, so like life itself, that the winner becomes emperor. Mocked, blackmailed, almost murdered, Gurgeh accepts the game and with it the challenge of his life, and very possibly his death."

This is the second book in a series, but I have read that you don't have to pick these ones up in order. They all take place in the same universe, but aren't super interconnected (characters, storyline). I am excited to grab another title in the series once I have freed up some mental space!

If you like epic space operas, I highly recommend the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie.

Taste of Marrow // Book two in a series I started last month, this one continues the story of Winslow Houndstooth and his band of criminals. They are now off on the trail of two members of their party, who have disappeared into the wind, with a newborn. More hijinx ensue, as they travel by hippo down the Mississippi to helps their friends. In the early 20th Century, the United States government concocted a plan to import hippopotamuses into the marshlands of Louisiana to be bred and slaughtered as an alternative meat source. Now, this never actually happened, but these novellas tell a potential tale of what might have happened. And they are funny, adventurous and feature a diverse cast of characters.

If you like alternate history books, I recommend checking out Anno Dracula by Kim Newman and The Borden Dispatches by Cherie Priest.


The Hazel Wood // Bad luck seems to follow Alice and her mother around, and they are always moving from one city to the next. Until they receive news about her grandma, after which her life seems to settle into some normalcy. But then something major happens that throws all of that away, and she realizes she knows nothing about the dangers in her family's past that are now coming for her. I realize this is a crappy and vague description, but I feel like writing anything more would give too much away!

If you like Leigh Bardugo, creepy fairytales, young adult urban fantasy, you might like this one. NO guarantees though, because I love those first two things, and I didn't love this book.

Battle of the Labyrinth // Oh Percy Jackson, after all of these adventures, how are you still so dumb?

If you like Greek mythology, you might also like Greek Mythology: Ken Jennings' Junior Genius Guide #1. I picked this one up for Dude at the library, and he ate it right up! Doodles, fun facts and trivia, and some more background on the myths, monsters, and characters we hear about in the Percy Jackson books.

Small Victories // A collection of essays that show how beautiful and resilient we are, and how we can find love and hope and community in even the darkest times. Lots of talk about God in here, but I didn't feel like she was bashing me over the head with it (as can happen in other books like this). And her sense of humour is spot on.

If you like... I have no idea what this book is like. But it was really good, and you should probably just read it!

Pines // Holy mind-fuck Batman! A man wakes up on the side of a road in a small mountain town, covered in injuries, and he doesn't remember who or where he is. He eventually remembers that he is a Secret Service Agent who traveled there with his partner to investigate the disappearance of two other agents, and lost his partner in a car crash that resulted in his massive injuries. But he can't get answers from the sheriff or the people at the hospital, the townspeople are weird, and he can't seem to leave town. And it just keeps getting more messed up from there!

If you like to have your brain messed up...I'm not sure what to recommend! I don't read a lot of books like this, at least, I haven't in a long time.

Trigger Warning: descriptions of torture & war

And that was March in Books! There was one more that I finished, BUT I am going to tack that one on to April's recap. You can always follow along on Instagram for my book reviews as I finish them. @sonotladylike

I spent some time last month editing a printed copy of my 'For Later' shelf on my local library web account. Yes, I am an old person. This has put me in a much better position to be mindful and intentional about my TBR list for the remainder of the year. We all know that I am never going to be able to stick to a minimum # of books per month, so this is the next best thing for me. I mean, my list is still ridiculously unmanageable, but a girl can dream, amiright?

CURRENTLY READING // Golden Age & Other Stories by Naomi Novik.

Shouting into the void,
Lisa

Lisa Reads - February 2018

DOOOOODES how is it already March? What happened? I love all the posts and comments I have been seeing on the webs over the last month about how January seemed to last eleventy billion days, and February was like 12.5. HA!

But seriously, I clearly threw out my goal to limit the amount of reading I'm doing this year because look at February y'all! I doubled my made-up goal, killing 8 books last month. Part of the "problem" are those FIVE audio books!

CONTENT NOTE: I am going to split up my specific trigger warnings as they arise in the books listed below. Torture, child abuse,

Leia Princess of Alderaan // I am on a huge Star Wars kick right now and I am loving it! Leia as a teenager was exactly how I expected - smart, fiesty, diplomatic, loving.

The audio book was excellent. A good book for middle readers and young adults.


The Titan's Curse // Percy Jackson is one of the only ways my kid will read books at his reading level. I mean, it's too bad that Percy is an idiot, but the stories are exciting. And at least we're learning about Greek mythology, right?

Another audio book.


Chomp // This book took a winding turn that I was not expecting, and it veered into slightly more mature territory near the end, but it was a nice change from the standard stuff Lucas & I read/listen to.

Another audio book! Content Note: The protagonist's friend lives with her abusive father, and that storyline becomes important later in the book.


Phasma // Remember that Star Wars kick I mentioned two paragraphs ago? Well, I'm still on it, and this book was worth every second of everything.

The audio was amazing, and highly recommended. Content note for descriptions of torture. I wouldn't recommend this for kids, unless you already know your kid can handle a bit more violence.


River of Teeth //  I think I will be recommending this novella to everyone for a long time. Hippos in the southern US! And a caper! So thrilling and great.

Practical Magic // I was kind of disappointed in this book. I really love the movie, and after reading this book I can tell you that the movie was very loosely based on the book! Also, there wasn't enough witchy stuff in it.


The Great Treehouse War // Another great audio book that Lucas & I really enjoyed. It was funny and fun, but had a nice "lesson" at the end as well. Great for middle readers (8-12).

Dude! That's four audio books in a row this month! We're on fire! And it's so nice to listen to this stuff on the commute or on a run or in the gym instead of music.


Men Explain Things To Me // I have been waiting to read this collection of essays for a long time - it is very popular at the library! Rebecca Solnit is somewhat infamously known as the woman who coined the term "mansplain" (even though she didn't really...). That essay is in here among other discussion on topics such as gun violence and Virginia Woolf.

I NEED YOUR OPINION!
I am rethinking how I structure my monthly book recap, and I would like your opinion. Would you prefer to read:
- a short synopsis of the book?
- why I liked or disliked it?
- a "if you like blank you should read this..." type of recommendations?
- some combination of the above?

Also, do you like it when I link to the Goodreads page about the book?

Thanks in advance for the feedback!

FURTHER READING
2018 Lisa Reads Booklist
My Black History Month Recommendations

Lisa Reads - January 2018

I read SIX books this month, and I am over my goal target, which I am not happy about, but that's what happens when you have loads of books on hold at the library!

CONTENT NOTE: There is discussion of rape, sexual violence, female "circumcision", and child sexual abuse in some of these books, so please proceed accordingly.

The Language of Thorns // If you haven't read any Leigh Bardugo yet, grab this one to start. It takes place in her magical "Grishaverse", but you will definitely enjoy these creepy fairy tales even if you have never read any of her other books. Did I mention they were creepy? 'Cause they are creepy AF. Unsettling in the very best way, making you revisit the moments later on in our head...in bed when you are trying to get to sleep.

She has a way of sneaking the worst things up on you in a slow and soft way. I thoroughly loved this book.

The Rules of Magic // This one is on a lot of people's lists this year, so I thought I would grab it too. I really enjoyed the movie that the sequel (prequel?) to this book is based on - Practical Magic - and I was definitely interested in finding out more about the aunts that are just not featured enough in that movie. Mostly, this book just made me want to watch Practical Magic again. It was good for the type of book it is, but it's not my type of book.

The New Better Off: Reinventing the American Dream // I should start keeping track of how I find some of these books. The author is the creator of the website Feministing, but I didn't find this book through that site. This was a mind expanding book, that's for damn sure. I folded over corners in almost every chapter, taking note of ideas that resonated with me, and authors for further reading and discovery. A wonderful non-fiction if you're looking to expand your brain a bit.

Who Fears Death // I am very interested in African science fiction, but this one had too much going on for me. And I found the ending very anticlimactic. Great for people who love big magical quests.

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda // If you're into cute YA romance, then do I have a book for you! This one has the added bonus of two gay teenage boys as the romantic leads. Super sweet, quick read.

The Power // Slow going at the start, does not go the way you think it's going to go. This book messed me right up. Humans suck. If you are into feminism, current events, and dystopian books, you should read this. But be prepared for some intense shit. The audio book was fabulous.

THOUGHTS ON #lisareads2018 SO FAR
I am trying really hard to limit myself to reading only 52 books this year. That may seem like a ridiculous challenge, I mean, aren't challenges supposed to expand and, y'know, challenge? Well, I already know I can comfortably read 70+ books in a year, so I'm not worried about my PR score or anything.

You see, reading is like my version of mindless TV watching. I can lose hours to a good (or bad) book. Which isn't a terrible thing, but I want to get more out of my life this year, and I need to find places to cut time spent on other things. And so, "excessive reading" is getting put on the chopping block. And I am totally okay with that!

Too bad I have a burgeoning holds list at the library ;-)

xo