2020 Reading

One of my resolutions for this year was to make sure I kept reading. I'm happy to say that I feel I'm doing well with this, thus far in 2020. June saw a bit of a lull in the reading, but I'm getting back to it.

The following list is about six months worth of reading, so rather than overwhelming you with an enormous dump, I'm breaking it up a little with some paragraphs of reflection. I guess this kind of post is more for my own nostalgic and memory prompting purposes, rather than entertainment of the masses, but just in case it does interest someone, anyone, here it is.

The Healing in the Vine by Tamora Pierce
The Deadly Curse of Toco-Rey by Frank Peretti
Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
The Fire in the Forging by Tamora Pierce
Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I started the year with a bit of nostalgic reading; lots of things I read as a teen and loved as well as some newer ones. Caraval I picked up off the local grapevine and read in a very short space of time. Wouldn't mind reading the others, but I don't think I'm as taken by it as others I have seen who have read it.

The Power in the Storm by Tamora Pierce
Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin
Good Life in the Last Days by Mikey Lynch
Artemis Fowl by Eion Colfer
Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George
The Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser

I was reading of the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce, even though I have searched my book boxes and shelves again and again for the first book for the last two years to no avail. In the end, I just read the other three that I did have and was content with it. Women of the Word and Good Life in the Last Days are a deviation from the usual fiction content of my reading list. The latter was kind of hard to get through, but the former was quite encouraging.

I re-read Artemis Fowl after seeing the first trailer for the film and being completely outraged at what I saw. The book is brilliant and I think the film will totally butcher the criminal-mastermind character of Artemis. So sad. Read the book people, it's so good.

These next books are written for a younger audience, more pre-teen than teen I guess. To be honest, I was not impressed by any of them.

Wolf Girl (book 2) by Anh Do
Emily Feather and the Secret Mirror by Holly Webb
Awful Auntie by David Williams
Jane of Lantern Hill by L. M. Montgomery

The more I hear of David Williams, the more I want his books to be better than they are, but I'm always disappointed by them. I don't think I'll waste any more of my time on them in the future. Jane of Lantern Hill is much underappreciated in my opinion. Anne of Green Gables may be more famous, but Jane is just delightful, and I wish more people loved it as I do.

The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski
Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski
Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski
The Tower of the Swallow by Andrzej Sapkowski
The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski

These ones are all part of The Witcher series, the first of which was just made into a series on Netflix. I thought the first season on Netflix was really well done, and pleasantly surprised when I read the first book and found the show had been very faithful to the original material. Rarely does this actually happen (*cough* Artemis Fowl *cough*). I will say though, that while I pushed through and read all of the books I had, the later ones in particular, are a bit of a slog and I'm not sure they are worth the time investment.

The Magic in the Weaving by Tamora Pierce
Trickster's Choice by Tamora Pierce
Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce
Reckless by Cornelia Funke

Here is the point in the year when I was visiting my sister and discovered the first of the Circle of Magic series on her bookshelf! I don't know how long she's had it (at least two years!), but I was glad to reclaim it at long last. I then continued my Tamora Pierce reunion by reading the Trickster's books, which were less satisfying but still enjoyable.

What we've been reading with the girls!

They love the Bad Guys series by Aaron Blabey and would happily (and do) read each book again and again. We listened/watched Taika Waititi read James and the Giant Peach on YouTube and I read the girls Danny the Champion of the World. Now there is some quality kids reading right there. Hot Dog was ok, but nothing to write home about.

The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
Hot Dog by An Doh
Hot Dog 2 by An Doh

I'm hoping to read The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis with the girls next, but am having a small dilemma about where to start. Do I just do The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Or start at the beginning and hope it will be interesting enough to engage them until that second, and arguably most famous installment?

If you made it to this point, feel free to let me know what you think!