#strange fire tommy wallach

[kkoehn17]

I feel like I’ve fallen in love with a million things since my last favorites post, so it’s hard to choose only a handful to share with you rather than write a five-page, thesis driven report on everything you should be checking out.

In lieu of that however, I’ve tried to narrow it down to some of my tippity top favorites—which is a thing, right?

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The Mortified Podcast

This is a continuation of the “Mortified” series of both books and live events where people share their embarrassing childhood journals.  Each week, the podcast takes on a theme and stories that fit into that theme are shared. For example, this past week’s episode was called “International Affairs” which featured stories about experiences overseas. No matter which episode you watch or listen to, or which format you find them on, they are guaranteed to make you laugh and/or cringe and more than anything relate. (find it here)

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M-W Word of the Day

While I like to consider myself as someone with a relatively high vocabulary, I’m always anxious to improve. The way I see it, the more words I know, the more easily I’ll be able to convey exactly what I’m trying to say. So, every day, as part of my morning routine, I check my email and read the word of the day, its definition and its usage in a sentence. Is this a little nerdy? Yes, and I love it.  (find it here)

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Movies

Eighth Grade

As far as I’m concerned, absolutely everyone should see this movie. It is so honest and beautiful and hilarious and sad. It’s about a time in all of our lives that was so awkward and important, and it offers a rare look back to see how far we’ve come since then. (find it here)

Three Identical Strangers

This movie had a pretty limited release which is absolutely heartbreaking because it is one of the most mind-blowing things I’ve ever seen. And while I’d like to tell you all about it, it is truly one of those films that you have to watch without any prior information. So please, do yourself a favor and don’t do any research on this film other than how you can get your eyes on it as soon as possible! (find it here)

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

This movie is absolutely adorable. It’s the romcom we’ve all needed for a long time. I watched it one night when I was feeling a little down and it gave me so many warm fuzzies,  I watched it again the very next night without even an ounce of shame. (find it on Netflix)

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TV

The Sinner

Before watching last year’s award show circuit and seeing Jessica Biel nominated left and right for her performance on this show, I hadn’t really heard anything about it. Needless to say, the minute it was released on Netflix, I went into full blown FOMO mode and made myself sit down and watch the first season. Being the scaredy cat that I have always been, I only watched one or two episodes at a time because I was so nervous about what was going to happen, but when I got close to the end I gave into the binge and let me tell you, it was worth it! I haven’t got a chance to watch any of the second season yet, but it’s definitely on my list! (find it Netflix)

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Red Oaks

Taking the hardest of left turns, I bring you Red Oaks, a show I found completely by accident on Amazon Prime. It follows a cast of characters that work at a tennis club in the 80’s. One thing that particularly drew me to this show was Craig Roberts, who I loved in The Fundamentals of Caring. While set in a completely different pair of shoes, you again find yourself rooting for him, which is kind of the theme of the show in my opinion. Over the course of the three seasons, there’s never really any cliffhangers or monumental events that make you gasp, but you still find yourself gripped to the characters who are easily tangible and relatable people who you just want to succeed and be happy. (find it on Amazon Prime)

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Making It

This show is honestly my dream come true. A DIY competition show—which alone would’ve stolen my heart—that is hosted by Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler!! It is the greatest gift my DVR could have ever been given. (find it on Hulu, or Tuesdays at 10 p.m. PST on NBC)

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Books

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This was released as a movie in March, but I waited to read the book first and I was so glad I did. Not only do you get a lot more detail, but in many ways (in my opinion) you get a better story.  While I enjoyed both adaptations, the movie and the book are drastically different in terms of minor plot points. I feel like the movie focuses more on video game references while the book’s major focus is the 80’s generation as a whole. (find it here)

Strange Fire by Tommy Wallach

In a recent conversation with my sister I made a comment that I thought Tommy Wallach might be my favorite author, which made me wonder why he hadn’t released any new books lately. This sent me on a Google hunt which informed me that not only had he released this book last October, but that it was the first in a trilogy, the second of which is coming out this November. Cue the happy dancing. This book was much more sci-fi than his first two (both of which you should read, by the way, they are: We All Looked Up and Thanks for the Trouble) but the characters were just as rich and the story was equally gripping. I can’t wait for book #2! (find it here)

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Seeing as it won a Pulitzer Prize and all, I realize it wouldn’t be new information for me to say, “hey, this is a great book!” But I never read this book in school and really only did so now because it’s on the list of Time’s Best 100 Books that I’m working my way through, and I’m SO glad I did! I listened to the audiobook read by Sissy Spacek and she was fantastic. Highly recommend! (find it here)

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Music

As always, here’s a few iTunes adjectives to peak your interest

Don’t Smile at Me by Billie Eilish: “nudges things along nicely with its minimalist beats and lifting-yet-sinister lyricism.”

Greetings from the Neon Frontier by The Wild Feathers: “full of wistful highway anthems built on breezy three part harmonies.”

Sweetner by Ariana Grande: “a gorgeous pastel album about love, happiness, strength and womanhood.”

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Have anything you’ve been loving over these last couple months? Let me know! My Amazon cart is always open…

See my previous favorites post here.

  July/August 2018 Favorites I feel like I’ve fallen in love with a million things since my last favorites post, so it’s hard to choose only a handful to share with you rather than write a five-page, thesis driven report on everything you should be checking out.

[kenzirobinthoughts]

B&C October Book Photo Challenge Day 6: Book and Candle

Strange Fire and Slow Burn by Tommy Wallach

[libertyreads]

Book Review #25 of 2021-

Strange Fire by Tommy Wallach. Rating: 2.25 stars.

Read from April 27 to 29.

Oh boy. I was having such a good reading month until I read this book. This was a book I picked up from a library book sale a couple of years ago and hadn’t picked up. SO I put it on my Read It or Leave It list for 2021. And I kinda wish I had left it instead. This is a book about a holy war between people who want to stick to the religious foundations for their people and people who want to develop scientific methods. But it’s got the phrase “holy war” in the synopsis and I was still bored.

I think part of the problem with this book is that it is so old time-y that this felt like a historical fiction novel which wasn't what I thought I was getting into at all. And we don’t even get a real glimpse at this holy war that is hinted at. Part of the problem is that this book is just setting up the rest of the series. The rest of the problem is that we see a bunch of political maneuverings of 16 to 18 year old characters who have almost no actual power. We do see a family basically implode on itself which was something at least. We spend about half of the book wandering from place to place regurgitating Bible verses that have been restructured to look like a new religion and fighting about the proper way to handle non-believers.

There were moments when I was interested in what one or two of the 16 year old characters were doing, but it never went in a direction I wanted or expected. It was always some cheap twist to get the reader to keep turning the pages. I would hope that in the next book the author would really utilize the one character with any sort of personality. But given the way the book ends I doubt it.

I really wanted to like this one and I just didn’t. I think the book could be for people who like more character based novels or who wants a book of basically only world building to lead up to the next novel.

[journeyintotheshelves]

Tuesday’s Treats is a weekly blog post dedicated to newly released books that I’m most excited for. (Books are in no particular order.)

All books featured this week will be released: OCT. 3rd (Part 1)

9. The Tiger’s Daughter (Their Bright Ascendency: 1): K. Arsenault Rivera (goodreads) (book depository)

As the Hokkaran empire grew, a darkness within their people grew with it, and now their border is falling as demons appear. The nomadic tribes Qorin retreat to save themselves, and it’s up to the Qorin warrior Barsalayaa and warrior empress O-Shizuka to save the fate of the world.

I’ve heard some really mixed reviews about this book, so I’m interested to see what I think once I get to it.

Fantasy, LGBTQIA+; Tor Books, Paperback (US)

10. 27 Hours (The Nightside Saga: 1): Tristina Wright (goodreads) (book depository)

27 Hours follows a group of teens as war begins when chimeras start to attack colonies on the moon Sahara.

At first I was really excited about this book because of the great diversity and action, but I did read a review that shed some light on a few problematic aspects of it regarding imperialism that I found really interesting, so it should be interesting to read it through that lens now.

YA Science Fiction, LGBTQIA+; Entangled: Teen, Hardcover (US)

11. Strange Fire (Anchor & Sophia: 1): Tommy Wallach (goodreads) (book depository)

Tommy Wallach’s latest novel, Strange Fire, is an ambitious and different dystopian that I’ve ever seen before. The first generation of man was plagued by greed of various kinds, and it is said that the Lord sent his Daughter to rid the world of the sinners. Now, there is the Descendancy: a new civilization that was founded on the belief that the past can never be repeated. But there is a community that’s trying to rediscover the technology of old, and this seemingly small revolt sparks a holy war and will change the fate of all humanity.

This book grabbed me the moment I found out that it’s for fans of City of Ember (which was one of my favorite books growing up), and I cannot cannot wait to read this one.

YA Dystopian; Simon & Schuster, Hardcover (US)

12. The Last Namsara (Iskari: 1): Kristen Ciccarelli (goodreads) (book depository)

Asha, the princess of Firgaard, has grown up listening to the legends of the Namsara and the Iskari, the light and dark of of her land. But all legends have a seed of truth to them which Asha learns once she becomes a feared dragon slayer and, in turn, becomes the next Iskari. Even though she can kill a dragon, she can’t free herself from her arranged marriage to a cruel commandant. But when she’s offered a chance at freedom in exchange for the head of the most powerful dragon in the land, she leaps at the chance. But as she journeys on her quest with the help of a secret friend, she learns a lot more about herself, love, and the truth about the Iskari.

YA Fantasy; HarperTeen/Hardcover (US)

13. Mis(h)adra: Iasmin Oma Ata (goodreads) (book depository)

Nothing seems to be going right for Isaac: his doctor’s won’t listen that his medication doesn’t work, his schoolwork is overwhelming, his family doesn’t take his condition seriously, and his social life has fallen to the wayside. Mis(h)adra is an own voices novel about an Arab-American college student with epilepsy as he tries to live his day to day life.

Contemporary Fiction, Graphic Novel; Gallery 13/Simon & Schuster , Hardcover (US)

14. From a Certain Point of View: 40 Stories Celebrating 40 Years of Star Wars (goodreads) (book depository)

A collection of stories from 40 authors about Star Wars — aka: one of my favorite movie series ever — is just what my nerd heart has been waiting for.

Science Fiction, Short Story Anthology; Del Rey/Random House, Hardcover (US)

15. The Wizards of Once (The Wizards of Once: 1): Cressida Cowell (goodreads) (book depository)

For as long as anyone can remember, Wizards and Warriors have been on opposing sides: Wizards with their magic and Warriors without. But Xar, son of the King of Wizards, can’t access the magic he’s supposed to have, and Wish, daughter of the Warrior Queen, has a magical object that she shouldn’t have. When they meet in the dangerous wildwood, both searching for a witch to help them, Xar and Wish find themselves thrown together on a path that may just change both of their lives — and their worlds — forever.

Middle Grade Fantasy; Little, Brown/Hachette, Hardcover (US)

16. Top Ten: Katie Cotugno (goodreads) (book depository)

Ryan and Gabby were the unlikeliest of friends, and definitely the unlikeliest of lovers, but over the course of their 4 years of high school, that’s exactly what happened. Now, as their graduation looms nearer, they reflect on their years of friendship and love in the one way they know how — in a top ten list.

YA Contemporary Fiction, Romance; Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, Hardcover (US)

17. William Shakespeare’s The Force Doth Awaken: Ian Doescher (goodreads) (book depository)

This combines my two loves: Star Wars and Shakespeare. Need I saw more?

Science Fiction, Classic Retelling; Quirk Books, Hardcover (US)

[loonybythelandscape]

Tagged 💙🖤

I was tagged by the lovely @cappuccino-howell :) thank you! (Your url always makes me crave coffee lol)

Rules: answer these and then tag nine people you’d like to get to know better!

Favorite color: Blue, black, and gray! And loooove black and white together.

Top three favorite ships: I’m gonna exclude dnp from this because I’m not sure “shipping” them is the right word. Malec, pynch, and Dave/Klaus from the umbrella academy. I’m not sure what their name is.

Lipsticks or chapsticks: Chapsticks! I have to have one with me at all times. Burt’s Bees mango and honey are my favorites.

Last movie I watched: Inkheart for the millionth time this afternoon. Tomorrow I’m seeing Far From Home and I’m dying of excitement!! (There will be no untagged spoilers on my blog.)

Currently reading: Strange Fire by Tommy Wallach. It’s good, I recommend it!

I tag: anyone that wants to do this because I’m a Smol Nervous

[falling-through-lost-spaces]

Books Owned But Unread

Fiction:

Joe Hill - The Fireman

Patricia Highsmith - The Talented Mr Ripley

Emma Cline - Girls

Kirsty Logan - The Gracekeepers

Seth Patrick - Lost Souls

Slyvain Neuval - Waking Gods

Mark Z. Danielewski - The Familiar Vol 1

Graeme Macrae Burnet - His Bloody Project

Austin Wright - Tony & Susan

Patricia Highsmith - Carol

Darcie Wilder - Literally Show Me A Healthy Person

Tracy Chevalier - New Boy

Andy Weir - Artemis

Michelle Paver - Dark Matter

Robert Daws - The Posisoned Rock

Laura Lam - False Hearts

Italo Calvino - If On A Winter’s Night A Traveler

Megan Bradbury - Everyone Is Watching

Sunil Yapa - Your Heart Is A Muscle the Size of A Fist

George R.R. Martin - A Clash of Kings

Sarah Moss - The Tidal Zone

Matthew Blakstad - Lucky Ghost

Toni Morrison - Tar Baby

Jeff Vandermeer - Annihilation

Colson Whitehead - Zone One

Kathy Reichs - Death Du Jour

Ann Cleeves - The Crow Trap

Ward Moore - Bring the Jubilee

Lisa McInerney - The Glorious Heresies

Chuck Palahniuk - Haunted

Michael Crichton - State of Fear

Neil Gaiman - How the Marguis Got His Coat Back

Agatha Christie - The Double Clue

James Patterson - NYPD Red 2

Maud Pember Reeves - Round About A Pound A Week

Paul Torday - Salmon Fishing In the Yemen

Jonathan Safran Foer - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Daniel H Wilson - Robopocalypse

Yann Martel - Life of Pi

David Wong - John Dies At the End

Lauren Weisberger - The Devil Wears Prada

James Joyce - A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man

John Ajvide Lindquist - Let the Right One In

Gregory Maguire - Wicked

Richard Yates - Revolutionary Road

Paul Beatty - The Sellout

Jane Shemilt - Daughter

Jane Isaac - The Truth Will Out

Karin Slaughter - Genesis

S.K. Tremayne - The Fire Child

Isaac Marion - The Burning World

Adrien Bosc - Constellation

Laura Power - Air-Born

Laura Power - Earth-Bound

Keith DeCandido - House of Cards

Wayne Simmons - Flu

Harper Lee - Go Set A Watchman

Dean Koontz - The City

Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre

Ali Smith - The Accidental

John Burnside - Glister

Lauren Owen - The Quick

Tom McCarthy - Satin Island

Dave Eggers - The Circle

Donna Tartt - The Secret History

Robert Harris - The Ghost

Michel Faber - The Fire Gospel

Michel Faber - The Book of Strange New Things

James Patterson - Pop Goes the Weasel

Jeff Lindsay - Dexter’s Final Cut

Gaston Leroux - The Phantom of the Opera

Banana Yoshimoto - Kitchen

Sinclair Lewis - It Can’t Happen Here

Kurt Vonnegut - Cat’s Cradle

Joseph Heller - Catch 22

Mark Twain - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Bram Stoker - Dracula

Cory Doctorow - Makers

YA/Children's Fiction:

A.S. King - Still Life With Tornado

Patrick Ness - More Than This

Andrew Smith - Stand Off

Andrew Smith - The Alex Crow

Johan Harstad - 172 Hours on the Moon

Ernest Cline - Ready Player One

Tommy Wallach - We All Looked Up

Karen Thompson Walker - The Age of Miracles

Tess Sharpe - Far From You

Leila Sales - This Song Will Save Your Life

Darragh McManus - Shiver the Whole Night Through

Rachel Cohn & David Levithan - Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist

Laura Lam - Pantomime

Laura Lam - Shadowplay

Cassandra Clare - The Bane Chronicles

Cassandra Clare - Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy

Cassandra Clare - The Shadowhunters Codex

Cassandra Clare - Lady Midnight

Cassandra Clare - Lord of Shadows

Andrew Smith - 100 Sideways Miles

Karen Nesbitt - Subject To Change

Anna Day - The Fandom

Brendan Reichs - Nemesis

Chinelo Okparanta - Under the Udala Trees

Nina LaCour - We Are Okay

Sarah Alexander - The Art of Not Breathing

Liz Kessler - Read Me Like A Book

Lisa Williamson - The Art of Being Normal

Laurie Halse Anderson - Wintergirls

Marie Lu - Legend

Eve Ainsworth - 7 Days

Lesley Walton - The Strange & Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender

Malinda Lo - Ash

Larry Duplechan - Blackbird

Makina Lucier - A Death Struck Year

James Patterson - Witch & Wizard

Jandy Nelson - I’ll Give You the Sun

Nick Burd - The Vast Fields of Ordinary

Libba Bray - Beauty Queens

Jack Cheng - See You In the Cosmos

Jennifer Niven - Holding Up the Universe

Becky Albertalli - The Upside of Unrequieted

Lauren Oliver - Replica

Ken Catran - Deepwater Black

Will McIntosh - Burning Midnight

Tahereh Mafi - Shatter Me

Libba Bray - The Diviners

Emily M Danforth - The Miseducation of Cameron Post

Carolyn Jess-Cooke - The Boy Who Could See Demons

Bali Rai - Killing Honour

Gayle Forman - If I Stay

Andre Aciman - Call Me By Your Name

E. Lockhart - We Were Liars

Katie Coyle - Vivian Versus the Apocalypse

Leah Thomas - Because You’ll Never Meet Me

David Arnold - Mosquitoland

Laure Eve - The Graces

Lisa Heathfield - Paper Butterflies

Ransom Riggs - Hollow City

Em Bailey - Shift

Francesca Haig - The Map of Bones

Rainbow Rowell - Carry On

Bryony Pearce - Phoenix Rising

Lou Morgan - Sleepless

Graham Marks - Bad Bones

Jess Vallence - Birdy

Teri Terry - Slated

Non-Fiction:

Brian Cox - Human Universe

D’Arcy Jenish - The NHL: A Centennial History

Greg Oliver - Don’t Call Me Goon

Andrew Hodges - Alan Turing: The Enigma

Susan Cain - Quiet: The Power of Introverts

Carl Sagan - Cosmos

Rebecca Skloot - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Brian Cox - E = mc“?

Stacey Schiff - The Witches

Julian Sayarer - Interstate

404 Ink - Nasty Women

Lynn Povich - The Good Girls Revolt

Michael Finkel - The Stranger In the Woods

Kent Russell - I Am Sorry To Think That I Have Raised A Timid Son

Luke Harding - Snowden

Mary Roach - Stiff

Yuval Noah Harari - Homo Deus

Bill Bryson - The Lost Continent

Naomi Klein - No Is Not Enough

Dave Cullen - Columbine

Ian Nathan - Inside the Magic: The Making of Fantastic Beasts

Bob McCabe - Harry Potter Page To Screen

Adharanand Finn - Running With the Kenyans

Aurellien Ferenczi - Masters of Cinema: Tim Burton

Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner - Think Like A Freak

Olivia Lang - The Lonely City

Michelle Tea - The Chelsea Whistle

Simon  Singh - Big Bang

Tristan Taormino - The Feminist Porn Book

Kurt Vonnegut - A Man Without A Country

Nick Frost - Truths, Half Truths & Little White Lies

Russell Brand - Revolution

Robert M Pirsig - Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Francis Spufford - The Child That Books Built

Dominic Hibberd - Wilfred Owen

George Vecsey - Baseball

Richard Wiseman - Paranormality

Neil Gaiman - Adventures In the Dream Trade

Nicola Field - Over the Rainbow

Jaclyn Friedman & Jessica Valenti - Yes Means Yes

Elizabeth Kolbert - The Sixth Extinction

Eddie Izzard - Dress To Kill

Stephen Smith - Underground London

Plays/Poetry/Short Story Collections:

Tom Hanks - Uncommon Type

Joe Hill - Strange Weather

Dean Atta - I Am Nobody’s N*****

Amerlle - Because You Love To Hate Me

Roxanne Gay - Difficult Women

Mark Gatiss - Queers: Eight Monologues

Graphic Novels/Manga:

Tsugumi Ohba - Death Note Vol 6

Tsugumi Ohba - Death Note Vol 7

Tsugumi Ohba - Death Note Vol 8

[46-notes]

book review: strange fire

"May all your dreams be nightmares."

I trust Tommy Wallach to always deliver a good story. Loved how this was linked to We All Looked Up—essentially, this story takes place after the asteroid hits earth.  It’s about religion vs science, essentially, and I thought the author did a pretty good job of putting the themes out there in the story. Gemma was surprising, she was a boring girl at first but seemed to have found her own will and purpose towards the end of the book. Paz is the most interesting character by far. Looking forward to the sequel.

"That was the strange thing about pretending to be someone else: you could only do it for so long before the character you were playing began to infect the person you really were." ★★★★✩ 4.0

[sirzozekki249535-blog]

best selling teenage fiction books : Strange Fire | Teen

Listen to Strange Fire new releases best selling teenage fiction books on your iPhone, iPad, or Android. Get any Teen BOOKS AUDIO FREE during your Free Trial

Written By: Tommy Wallach Narrated By: Julia Whelan, Joy Osmanski, Gibson Frazier, Madeleine Maby, Corey Brill, Jacques Roy Publisher: Simon & Schuster Date: October 2017 Duration: 9 hours 36 minutes

[kenzirobinthoughts]

JOMP Just One Word August Book Photo Challenge Day 17: Fire

Strange Fire and Slow Burn by Tommy Wallach

[kenzirobinthoughts]

May Book Photo Challenge Day 3: Currently Reading

[kenzirobinthoughts]

May Book Photo Challenge Day 31: Read This Month

Solitaire by Alive Oserman, Strange Fire by Tommy Wallach, Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren

[libertyreads]

Read It or Leave It Follow Up--

At the end of 2020 I had 8 books on my physical TBR and decided to create a challenge for myself. I had to read or DNF all of the books on this list by the end of 2021. I had been working to scale down what felt like an enormous TBR shelf and this was just the books left over from that.

I can proudly say that I did complete this challenge pretty early in the year. I read all but one of these books which I DNF’d in February during the giant Texas Snowstorm. Because why force yourself to read something you don’t want to while you’re shivering in bed and your house is at 44 degrees? Here are the books:

1. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi– Legacy of Orisha #1. I read this one in May and rated it 3 stars.

2. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson– Fire and Thorns #1. I read this one in June and rated it 3.25 stars.

3. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. I DNF’d this one in February.

4. Red Sister by Mark Lawrence– Book of the Ancestor #1. I read this one in January and rated it 3 stars.

5. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan– Girls of Paper and Fire #1. I read this one in January and rated it 2.5 stars.

6. Strange Fire by Tommy Wallach– Anchor & Sophia #1. I read this one in April and rated it 2.25 stars.

7. The Young World by Chris Weitz– The Young World #1. I read this one in June and rated it 2 stars.

8. Blood Red Road by Moira Young– Dust Lands #1. I read this one in July and rated it 3 stars.

Overall, not a huge success with this project in that I didn’t love much of what I read. But I did manage to finally read some of the TBR veterans that have been sitting on my shelves.

[libertyreads]

Mid-Year Check In--

It’s the middle of the year and I thought I’d check in on one of my reading goals for 2021. I made a list of books I wanted to either read this year or decide they weren't for me and get them off of my TBR Shelf. Out of the eight books on the list, I’ve read 6 so far. Which puts me ahead of schedule for the year. I’m glad I’m finally reading some of my TBR Vets, but I wish I was enjoying this project more.

1. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi– Legacy of Orisha #1. 3 Stars.

2. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson– Fire and Thorns #1. 3.25 Stars.

3. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. DNF.

4. Red Sister by Mark Lawrence– Book of the Ancestor #1. 3 Stars.

5. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan– Girls of Paper and Fire #1. 2.5 Stars.

6. Strange Fire by Tommy Wallach– Anchor & Sophia #1. 2.25 Stars.

7. The Young World by Chris Weitz– The Young World #1.

8. Blood Red Road by Moira Young– Dust Lands #1.

[libertyreads]

Monthly Wrap Up-

April has been a busy month. My husband and I have gotten both of our vaccines and we’ve both dug into a lot of Sci-Fi. I also read a couple of NetGalley ARCs. I’ve got full reviews for these books on my GoodReads.

1. Network Effect by Martha Wells- 4 stars.

2. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green- 4.5 stars.

3. Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (NetGalley)- 4.25 stars.

4. Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo- 4.5 stars.

5. Sunkissed by Kasie West (NetGalley)- 4 stars.

6. Windwitch by Susan Dennard- 4 stars.

7. The Octunnumi by Trevor Alan Foris- 4 stars.

8. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green- 4.25 stars.

9. The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson- 4 stars.

10. Strange Fire by Tommy Wallach- 2.25 stars.

That gives me an average of 3.98 stars for the month of April.

[libertyreads]

Read It or Leave It 2021

I decided to take all of the books on my TBR and either read them or leave them next year. So, I’ve been working for at least 3 years now to scale down my physical TBR. I started with almost 100 books on my physical TBR and now at the end of 2020 I’m down to 8. The problem is that most of these are books that have been on my TBR for over a year.

So, in the year of 2021 either I have to read these books and keep going with their series OR decide they aren’t for me and remove them from the TBR shelf. Here are the books.

1. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi-- Legacy of Orisha #1.

2. The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson-- Fire and Thorns #1.

3. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George.

4. Red Sister by Mark Lawrence-- Book of the Ancestor #1.

5. Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan-- Girls of Paper and Fire #1.

6. Strange Fire by Tommy Wallach-- Anchor & Sophia #1.

7. The Young World by Chris Weitz-- The Young World #1.

8. Blood Red Road by Moira Young-- Dust Lands #1.

Only Red Sister has been on the TBR shelf for less than a year. I got it for my birthday in July. But I’m excited to read it so it’ll stay in this group for 2021 anyway.

I still plan on buying books throughout the year and reading new releases, but I’ve been paring down my TBR shelf for so long that this is kind of the last dregs and things I’m not sure I want to read. Giving myself a year to read them feels more than fair.