Tuesday, February 4, 2020

January 2020 - Books I Read

January was a pretty good reading month for me. My goal is to read between 10 and 12 books (no more than that, so that I can put energy towards other things) and I read 11.

Here are the books I read, with some thoughts of what I thought. For more in depth reviews, you can check out my Goodreads page.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie 
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This turned out to be one of my favorite Agatha Christie's that I've read so far! I loved the perspective of the person we were following and I was taken totally by surprise by the twist at the end.


Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCoy 
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This is one I've had my eye on for awhile and Santa brought it to me. It was pretty good, but I didn't absolutely love it. I felt that there were major parts of the book that didn't fit well with Marilla's character. It was still a fairly enjoyable read, though, and I enjoyed revisiting Green Gables. 


The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Henry Ketcham
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I listened to this (narrated by Brian Troxell, who did an excellent job) and loved it. It wasn't unbiased, as Ketcham obviously held Lincoln in very high regard, but I still felt it was well done and I loved learning more about one of my favorite presidents. If Ketcham has more books, I want to read some more by him. 


Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
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I am rereading the three Cosmere books this year in preparation for the fourth one, Rhythm of War, that comes out in November. I love Way of Kings and my reread reminded me of how brilliant it is. It is one my favorite endings of all time. Kaladin's character arc is so great and really delivers at the end. I cry every time I read it. I also will never get over Dalinar at the end of this, I love his character so much. I'm excited to reread the other two!


Batman: Year One by Frank Miller
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Ben and I watched all the Marvel movies last year in a marathon and it got me wanting to read some comic books (I've read graphic novels, but never comic books, especially super hero ones). I got some recommendations from my brother and started here. I loved it! I really appreciated the way Batman has to learn and makes a lot of mistakes as he's starting out. I also enjoyed how much of a focus we got on Gordon. I'm looking forward to reading the next one. 


Everyone's an Aliebn When You're an Aliebn Too by Jomny Sun
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This was a cute little graphic novel with cool artwork and inspirational quotes throughout. It was enjoyable. 


The Mysterious Affair Styles by Agatha Christie 
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I think this is the first book Christie published and it was pretty meh for me. I enjoyed it, but it definitely wasn't my favorite by her. 


To Con a Gentleman by Sarah Adams 
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This is regency romance about a con woman, who ends up trying to con the wrong person and, of course, they start to fall for each other. I thought it was well done over all and will be watching for more books by this author. 


The Princess and the Fan Girl by Ashley Poston
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This is the sequel to Geekerella and follows one of the side characters from that book. It's also a retelling of The Prince and the Pauper. Overall, I really enjoyed it and loved the characters. It was more of a fluff read, but it has a lot of deeper issues throughout and really focuses on the fan girl aspect, which was fun. 


The Borden Murders by Sarah Miller 
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I had read a historical fiction by Sarah Miller last year and loved it, so I wanted to try more books by her. This is a true crime, which I had never read any of before, but I ended up loving it! It was like a detective book (which I love) but about a ... well, true crime. I thought the information was presented in a very fair way, and I'm still frustrated at the way the case was handled because now we'll probably never know who actually committed the crime. I was worried about how gory it would be, since the victims were butchered, but they were briefly described in a more detached way and it didn't bother me at all. 


Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury 
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This is the last book I finished, reading a little bit at a time throughout the month. This is one that my mom recommended (I believe it's her favorite of Bradbury's) and I can see why. The writing is poetic, the characters feel very real, and the story--while slow paced--is immersive. I loved the experience of reading this. 


What did you read last month? What was your favorite book from January? Let me know in the comments below! 

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