clearing the decks
• Shadows of the Past by Sharon Shinn: This is a collection of short stories. A magic school, a haunted house, an alien soulmate, randomly appearing objects, phone calls from ghosts, a healer in hiding, and wintermoon wishes. The first three are murder mysteries. The next three are about characters dealing with bereavement. All but the first two include romance.
These are decent stories. Only one I didn’t really like (the third one). But my favourite was something I had already read -- “Wintermoon Wish”, the first Shinn story I discovered. It’s still lovely.
I also warmed to “Can You Hear Me Now?” more than I expected to (Stacey gets phone calls from her late father, enquiring about her love life, and gets to know her new neighbour). I have conflicting feelings about the phone calls from ghosts, but the romance was warm and fuzzy.
Now that I've finished Shadows of the Past, I feel free to end my KindleUnlimited unsubscription.
Oh, it’s been great -- in the past few months I’ve read *counts* 22 titles and read some of over a dozen others. And there are still other books I’m interested in.
But I suspect I’d start feeling a bit stressed, either because I wasn’t making full use of my subscription or else because it would distract me from the other things I want to read. Or, knowing me, about both things simultaneously...
I am clearing the TBR decks. I have not decided that I don’t want to ever read these books, but I am prioritising because one only has so much reading time. So I am removing them from any to-read lists and canceling any library holds.
Books I didn’t read before they were due back at the library:
• The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton
• The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala
I can’t remember why I was interested in reading either of these. I’m sure I could figure it out if I looked at a review or something, but nope.
I am still planning on reading The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers (a high-ish priority), Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth (very low-ish), and The Starlit Wood edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe (somewhere in the middle).
Books I have on hold but keep clicking “deliver later” whenever said hold becomes available:
• To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
I am still curious -- the title appeals to me -- but it is ridiculously long, and maybe if I have fewer books in this category I might actually read some of them?
I am keeping The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons and A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine on hold.
Sequels I’m not sure I want to read
• West by Edith Pattou
• The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
• The Wicked King by Holly Black
• Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
I loved East but suspect its sequel won’t have the same magic -- either because it won’t live up to its predecessor or else because I’m not the same reader I was as a teenager. And I didn’t love The Bear and the Nightingale, I just thought I might one day read the sequel if I was short of things to read -- honestly, not a problem I need to plan for right now.
Holly Black’s books have been more miss than hit for me, and these days there are just other things I’d rather read than Patricia Briggs.
I still have quite a list of sequels I definitely want to read, including but not limited to Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore (in the pile of books beside me), Castle Shade by Laurie R. King (awaiting pick-up from the library) and Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (can’t believe I haven’t read this yet).
... well that’s not being very tough and ruthless, but that has never been my strong suit. Originally @ Dreamwidth.
These are decent stories. Only one I didn’t really like (the third one). But my favourite was something I had already read -- “Wintermoon Wish”, the first Shinn story I discovered. It’s still lovely.
I also warmed to “Can You Hear Me Now?” more than I expected to (Stacey gets phone calls from her late father, enquiring about her love life, and gets to know her new neighbour). I have conflicting feelings about the phone calls from ghosts, but the romance was warm and fuzzy.
Now that I've finished Shadows of the Past, I feel free to end my KindleUnlimited unsubscription.
Oh, it’s been great -- in the past few months I’ve read *counts* 22 titles and read some of over a dozen others. And there are still other books I’m interested in.
But I suspect I’d start feeling a bit stressed, either because I wasn’t making full use of my subscription or else because it would distract me from the other things I want to read. Or, knowing me, about both things simultaneously...
I am clearing the TBR decks. I have not decided that I don’t want to ever read these books, but I am prioritising because one only has so much reading time. So I am removing them from any to-read lists and canceling any library holds.
Books I didn’t read before they were due back at the library:
• The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton
• The Tiger at Midnight by Swati Teerdhala
I can’t remember why I was interested in reading either of these. I’m sure I could figure it out if I looked at a review or something, but nope.
I am still planning on reading The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers (a high-ish priority), Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth (very low-ish), and The Starlit Wood edited by Dominik Parisien and Navah Wolfe (somewhere in the middle).
Books I have on hold but keep clicking “deliver later” whenever said hold becomes available:
• To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini
I am still curious -- the title appeals to me -- but it is ridiculously long, and maybe if I have fewer books in this category I might actually read some of them?
I am keeping The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons and A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine on hold.
Sequels I’m not sure I want to read
• West by Edith Pattou
• The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
• The Wicked King by Holly Black
• Fire Touched by Patricia Briggs
I loved East but suspect its sequel won’t have the same magic -- either because it won’t live up to its predecessor or else because I’m not the same reader I was as a teenager. And I didn’t love The Bear and the Nightingale, I just thought I might one day read the sequel if I was short of things to read -- honestly, not a problem I need to plan for right now.
Holly Black’s books have been more miss than hit for me, and these days there are just other things I’d rather read than Patricia Briggs.
I still have quite a list of sequels I definitely want to read, including but not limited to Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore (in the pile of books beside me), Castle Shade by Laurie R. King (awaiting pick-up from the library) and Return of the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (can’t believe I haven’t read this yet).
... well that’s not being very tough and ruthless, but that has never been my strong suit. Originally @ Dreamwidth.