1:100 Blood in Her Veins by Faith Hunter

A collection of 19 stories from the Jane Yellowrock series including two never before-published novellas.

If you like the Jane Yellowrock series, this is definitely a good read. I've read some of the stories before but there were enough new ones to keep me entertained and fill in some backstory. It was also nice to get some stories that focused on Molly and her family, including some where Jane was not present or not a major part.

Pages read: 542p/542p ytd/390,455p lifetime (from when I started counting in 2012)

2022 Recap and 2023 Goals

 Well, the elections this year were even crazier than usual and personal stuff also stacked up against me so mental health was not so great and reading time was hard to come by so not all goals were met. I did manage the 15 new authors and the with the help of several short stories I got 72 out of the 75 books that I was hoping for, and 18,895 pages. (As always, the "books" are a collection of books, textbooks, short stories, novellas, and children's books but since there are so many things that end up not counting and my average page count per "book" is over 200 pages, and it's my game, I think this holds up.) 

There are no major elections this year at all although I will be taking 10 units at college for the spring semester but since I will hopefully be graduating after that with my two associates' degrees so that should free up some time to do other things, like read more for fun again. *fingers crossed*

With that in mind, I'm going for 100 books this year with 20 new authors and 20,000 pages. I'm also going to try to start posting my reviews again but we'll see how that goes. In the meantime, here's the list of books that I read for 2022:

1. Long Way From Home by Seanan McGuire - trouble brewing (20p/20p/370,948p)

2. Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman - eloquent (228p/248p/371,176p)

3. Noor by Nnedi Okorafor - fabulous (214p/462p/371,390p)

4. Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire - Forgetful (150p/612p/371,540p)

5. Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation by John Lewis - fabulous (220p/832p/371,760p)

6. Starlight Web by Yasmine Galenorn - interesting (262p/1,094p/372,022p)

7. A Twist of Fate by Kelley Armstrong - meh (283p/1,377p/372,305p)

8. Sacrifice Your Tears by Seanan McGuire - Lovely (36p/1,413p/372,341p)

9. A Separate Peace by John Knowles - thought-provoking (208p/1,621p/372,549p)

10. Spiderman-Man Miles Morales: Wings of Fury by Brittney Morris - ok (263p/1,884p/372,812p)*

11. Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune - fantastic (376p/2,260p/373,188p)

12. The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum - ok (338p/2,598p/373,526p)*

13. Midnight Web by Yasmine Galenorn - fun (286p/2,884p/373,812p)

14. Conjure Web by Yasmine Galenorn - fun (262p/3,146p/374,074)

15. Harvest Web by Yasmine Galenorn - fun (232p/3,378p/374,306p)

16. Shadow Web by Yasmine Galenorn - fun (234p/3,612p/374,540p)

17. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas - intense (444p/4,056p/ 374,984)*

18. Volatile Bonds by Jaye Wells - entertaining (327p/4,383p/375,311)

19. Middlegame by Seanan McGuire - I’m not sure what I just read but I think I liked it (528p/4,911p/375,839p)

20. Spelunking Through Hell by Seanan McGuire - Go Alice! (352p/5,263p/376,191p)

21. Ghost Lights by Seanan McGuire - patreon (20p/5,283p/376,211p)

22. Those Three Girls from Rush’s End by Seanan McGuire - patreon (20p/5,303p/376,231p)

23. Third for Magic by Stefon Mears - patreon (20p/5,323p/376,251p)

24. Huck Finn by Mark Twain - again (225p/5,548p/376,476p)

25. Blood Lite by various - mostly  just ugh (359p/5,907p/376,835p)

26. Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett - fabulous (375p/6,282p/377,210p)

27. Hex Appeal by various - entertaining (356p/6,638p/377,566p)

28. American Vision published by Glencoe - textbook (1138p/7,776p/378,704p)

29. The Overcoat by Nikolai Gogol - tragic (57p/7,833p/378,761p)

30. Small Business Management by Cengage - Ok (598p/8,431p/379,359p)*

31. Shadow Rites by Faith Hunter - entertaining (348p/8,779p/379,707p)

32. The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict - interesting (272p/9,051p/379,979p)*

33. Cold Reign by Faith Hunter - entertaining (350p/9,401p/380,329p)

34. Snowstorms & Sleigh Bells by Kelley Armstrong - sweet (116p/9,517p/380,445p)

35. Empty Street Cup by Stefon Mears - patreon (20p/9,537p/380,465p)

36. Dark Queen by Faith Hunter - entertaining (414p/9,951p/380,879p)

37. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson - fn (456p/10,407p/381,335p)*

38. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig - interesting (289p/10,696p/381,624p)*

39. Shattered Bonds by Faith Hunter - entertaining (380p/11,076p/382,004p)

40. Naked City by various entertaining (539p/11,615p/382,543p)*

41. Weaver’s Web by Yasmine Galernon - fun (221p/11,836p/382,764p)

42. Soul Taken by Patricia Briggs - Mercy!!! (389p/12,225p/383,153p)

43. Exploring Psychology in Modules by David G. Myers - textbook (832p/13,057p/383,985p)*

44. True Dead by Faith Hunter - entertaining (359p/13,416p/384,344p)

45. Square^3 by Mira Grant - kaiju (144p/13,560p/384,488p)

46. Be the Serpent by Seanan McGuire - roller coaster ride with my heart (384p/13,944p/384,872p)

47. Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews - fun (393p/14,337p/385,265p)

48. Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews - fun (392p/14,729p/385,657p)

49. Fundamentals of Human Resource Management by Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, & Wright - textbook (570p/15,299p/386,227p)*

50. Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews - fun (370p/15,559p/386,597p)

51. Saga Vol 10 by Brian K Vaughn & Fiona Staples - goddamnit! (160p/15,829p/386,757p)

52. Final Heir by Faith Hunter - finale (448p/16,277p/387,205p)

53. A Turn of the Tide by Kelley Armstrong - sweet (250p/16,527p/387,455p)

54. Trouble with the Cursed by Kim Harrison - Rachel! (464p/16,991p/387,919p)

55. Introduction to Leadership: Concepts & Practice by Peter G. Northouse - textbook (432p/17,423p/388,351p)*

56. Heroic Hearts by various - fun (368p/17,791p/388,719p) *

57. In Mercy, Rain by Seanan McGuire - lovely (36p/17,827p/388,755p)

58. My Antonia by Willa Cataher - lovely (182p/18,009p/388,937p)*

59. Hammered by Kevin Hearne - epicly stupid (312p/18,321p/389,249p)

60. Skeleton Song by Seanan McGuire - beautiful (25p/18,346p/389,274p)

61. Ghosts & Garlands by Kelley Armstrong - sweet (98p/18,444p/389,372p)

62. Sacajewea by Joseph Bruchac - interesting (212p/18,656p/389,584p)*

63. Wildlife by Jeff Vandermeer - the ravine! (57p/18,703p/389,641p)

64. Elfquest: Stargazer’s Hunt vol 2 by Wendy and Richard Pini - perfect (104p/18,807p/389,745p)

65. The Tiger That Came to the Mountain by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia - intense (28p/18,845p/389,773p)*

66. Into the Sea by Seana McGuire (20p/18,865p/389,793p)

67. Upon Your Honor by Seanan McGuire (20p/18,885p/389,813p)

68. With Sweet Peace by Seanan McGuire (20p/18,905p/389,833p)

69. Like a Dream by Seanan McGuire (20p/18,925p/389,853p)

70. Give Sorrow Words by Seanan McGuire (20p/18,945p/389,873p)

71. Empty Street Corner by Stefon Mears (20p/18,965p/389,893p)

72. Time for Magic by Stefon Mears (20p/18,985p/389,913p)

4:75 Where the Drowned Girls Go by Seanan McGuire

 The 7th book in the Wayward Children series.

After Cora's experiences in the waters of the Moors while saving Suni, she constantly feels the call of the Drowned Gods, sees their oil-slick mark all over her skin. The water is no longer the safe haven it was and she can't stand it any more so she goes to Miss Eleanor and asks to be transferred to the other school for Wayward children, the school that will help her forget all about the doors and the Drowned Gods. She'll do anything to no longer hear their voices even if it also means losing her memories of the Trenches where she was a mermaid for a time.

What Cora can't know before she goes there is just how the school will try to go about making her conform, how miserable she'll be, or the many secrets the school hides from the outside. 

 Cora's journey is heartbreaking but so understandable, and I think many, including myself, will find it relatable to some degree. Ms. McGuire does yet another amazing job of bringing so many feelings out in her characters that you cannot help but connect with and with Cora's journey most of all.

Page count: 150p/612p/371,540p

3:75 Noor by Nnedi Okorafor

 Anwuli Okwudili (although she prefers to be called AO for Artificial Organism) was born disabled, and only survived due to massive medical intervention. Between that and a car accident when she was 14, she has had both legs amputated and replaced, one arm, a lung, and various other enhancements. This is just who she is and since she was old enough to decide, these choices have been ones that she made. She just had no idea how others were helping to shape those choices.

Then comes the day in the market where everything goes wrong. Now she is on the run but she doesn't know what she's running to, only that she's running away from what has happened, and this running runs her into DNA, a Fulani herdsman, who is trying to figure out what is happening in his life except that for him, he is returning to his family to get guidance. His kind nature brings AO along with him but fate has determined that they are both to be outcasts, hunted together through the desert. AO is about to learn so much more about who she is and what she can do against those who sought to use and control her.

I've been enjoying Nnedi Okorafor's work and this was no exception. An indictment of oligarchies and large corporations, intolerance for differences, and our loss of privacy in society. She is succinct in her brevity but she continues to draw me into her worlds and her characters with her weaving of African lore and culture throughout her stories. 

Page count: 214p/462p ytd/371,390p lifetime

2:75 Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

From her bio at the back of the book, "Amanda Gorman is the youngest presidential inaugural poet in US History." She was also Urban Word's first ever National Youth Poet Laureate. I was blown away by her poem "The Hill We Climb" and it's deliverance at the inauguration but was happy to wait for her full book of poetry to come out rather than the special edition for just that poem.  I'm not not normally a person who reads poetry but something about her work was so powerful and eloquent that it spoke to me on a very deep level.  After reading all of the poems within this book, that one poem was in no way an aberration. She has a unique style, rich and deep and passionate that comes through her poems and these poems will be taking up space in my soul for a long time to come.

Page count: 228p/248p ytd/371,176p lifetime

1:75 Long Way From Home by Seanan McGuire

 Patreon short story for January 2022.

Alice can't understand why her grandfather hasn't answered her letters for a month now, especially as she has asked for help with the baby hodag that is currently residing under her bed. Laura, her cousin and roommate, wants it gone so Alice finally breaks down to call and have a cryptic conversation with her grandfather. This leads to a very frank conversation between her grandfather and father which leaves her father in a very awkward and uncomfortable place.  Now if only Thomas will understand what Mary is trying to tell him about why he's never received any letter from Alice...

Gearing up for this years Incryptid book, Spelunking Through Hell, which will give Alice her turn in the spotlight as her search for her missing husband, Thomas, continues with more hope now that the crossroads are destroyed. Can't wait!

Page count: 20p/20p ytd/370,948p lifetime

2021 Recap and 2022 Goals

 Not having any elections in 2021, I was hopeful about my reading and making great strides towards getting a lot of other stuff caught up. With the pandemic continuing to plague us, even with vaccines, there has still been a mental toll that is hard to shake. With all of the everything though, I did actually achieve my reading goals for 2021 although nothing like last minute finding some short stories by new authors to pull it off.  

So my goals for 2021 were 103 books, 25 new authors, and 20,000 pages.  I managed 100 books, 26 new authors, and 23,532 pages. (As always, the "books" are a collection of books, textbooks, short stories, novellas, and children's books but since there are so many things that end up not counting and my average page count per "book" is over 200 pages, and it's my game, I think this holds up.) As can easily be seen, I was way better with the reading than the reviewing. Something else that will continue to be a project for me moving forward.

2022 is going to be very hectic with 3 elections in the first 6 months plus all the semi-annual reports and other start of year projects.  I'm scaling back school as I've learned that yes, I can take 2 classes during an election cycle but it's HARD and ends up meaning that I'm not homeschooling or taking care of myself well.  With that in mind, I'm also scaling back my reading goals to 75 books, 15 new authors, and 15,000 pages. We'll see what happens.

If you have reading goals, I'd love to hear about them!