Half way through the year and here is an update on the reading list!
Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters by Rick Roirdan
Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse by Rick Roirdan
Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labryinth by Rick Roirdan
Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian by Rick Roirdan
I re-read these Percy Jackson books in preparation for watching the Disney+ series with the girls. The books did not dissapoint. Can't say the same for the series though.
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Brandon Sanderson
Dangerous by Shannon Hale
I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Lirael by Garth Nix
Abhorsen by Garth Nix
Yumi and the Nightmare Painter was excellent and Dangerous was pretty good too. I picked up Dangerous at the second hand bookstore near us along with I am Number Four. I think I've read that before, and while it's good, it does go off the rails a bit at the end. Won't bother trying to chase down the subsequent books.
Seeking Persephone by Sarah M Eden
Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Sprig Muslin by Georgette Hayer
Seeking Persephone is the first book I've ever read on a Kindle. It was just too expensive to justify buying it for an author I'd never read, but the local library didn't have a copy either, so Kindle was the only option left. I didn't mind reading on the Kindle, but it's not preferable to an actual book. As far as the book goes, I liked it, but the character development seems like a puzzle to me. For some reason there is no clear moment where things change between them... maybe it's a lack of actual genuine conversation, and the way the characters/author keeps trying to "wax philosophical" about the Persephone myth? Unsure. Also, wish there was slightly more to the story, but would still read again.
Georgette Hayer I found by reading the notes at the back of Garth Nix' Newt's Emerald. She has a rather extensive collection of books, so I borrowed a couple from the library to give it a go. She writes a fiasco pretty fabulously, but her female characters are a little lackluster (or maybe it was just the two books I read?). Still, one to keep on my radar.
Authentically Izzy by Pepper Basham
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
A Marriage of Convenience by Georgette Hayer
Till We have Faces by C. S. Lewis
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Authentically Izzy was a rom-com by a Christian author, and what I liked about it was that there was way more to the story than just the romance, there was no over-done, awkward conversion or gospel presentation, and the writing was so interesting. Would read more! I don't know how I stumbled upon Klara and the Sun, but it was also delightful. Main character was childlike but believable and genuine.
Till We Have Faces is a C. S. Lewis retelling of the Greek myth of Psyche and her sisters, which I was really excited/intrigued to read, but unlike other retellings, C. S. Lewis did not really add his own ending, or give a satisfying conclusion which I felt like we were all waiting for, especially given that he was writing from the perspective of Psyche's sister. C. S. Lewis is good at thought provoking conversations between characters, and this gave you that, but absolutely no pay off in the end.
BattleAxe by Sara Douglas
Enchanter by Sara Douglas
StarMan by Sara Douglas
Lastly, a trip down memory lane for these Sara Douglass books (the Axis Trilogy). I took the girls to the Life Line Bookfest at South Bank and saw these there. I've considered getting them before, but for some reason, hadn't (maybe I'd never seen all three (and all three in the same edition!) at once?). Anyway, I grabbed them and have spent 24 hours reading them (8hrs per book), so the $13.50 that they cost me was well worth it. Not sure I've read them since my early 20s (or school maybe?!). I'd read them again, but maybe when I don't have a term of school planning looming over my to do list.
19 books in the original post (I'm outraged that I didn't count and had an odd number of books - who am I!?), and 21 here (again with the odd numbers!) adds up to 40 books thus far for 2026. It's a good year for reading.
