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February Reading Wrap-up

The Well of Ascension, by Brandon Sanderson 3.5/5 Technically finished this in January but I hadn’t expected to finish it when I wrote my previous post so including it here. I was just not as interested in this book as the others; I didn’t enjoy the political maneuvering and didn’t find myself that engaged until the end. Still a solid book but didn’t have the excitement I was used to in Sanderson’s other books.

The Hero of Ages, by Brandon Sanderson 4/5 I liked the series finale much more! I found myself more invested in seeing how Ruin was trying to wreak havoc on the different cities, and I thought the epigraphs (?) to each chapter were really interesting to read in terms of tying together what had happened in the earlier parts of the series.

Overall, highly recommend the Mistborn trilogy to any fantasy readers, as well as those trying to get into the genre.

Half of a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 4.5/5 I posted a lengthier set of thoughts here. Overall, I was absolutely captivated by this book and I thought it was a great introduction to Nigerian history for somebody who had little prior familiarity with the country!

The Alloy of Law, by Brandon Sanderson 3.5/5 Can you guys tell I’ve been on a Cosmere binge this month? You can find an earlier review here; overall though, I didn’t like this book as much as the others because it was too lighthearted for my tastes. I’m not generally used to reading books with low stakes and it took a bit to get used to.

The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown 4/5 I posted a lengthier review earlier. Overall, loved this audiobook and found these boys’ stories really captivating and motivational, even though I’m not usually the type to read sports-related stories!

Shadows of Self, by Brandon Sanderson 4/5 This really picked up from The Alloy of Law and I appreciated the return to the grittier style of the original Mistborn trilogy. I loved starting to get more references back to the original characters and plot as well. I’m excited to see what additional information we learn about the Cosmere! Wayne is also quickly becoming one of my favorite Cosmere characters of all time.

The Bands of Mourning, by Brandon Sanderson 5/5 Just noticed that this is my highest Mistborn-related book and I’m a little surprised, though I did love this story! I’m not sure why I had such an affinity for this one, but I think a large part of it might have been that I love it when Sanderson introduces us to a new people/land/magic system and this one just came out of nowhere for me. I was not expecting at all to run into a new country(?) that we hadn’t even had a whisper of in the rest of Mistborn, and that made it more enjoyable to read through the finale of this book. At the same time, I feel like there’s so much left to learn about what exactly is going on with Trell and the Set with only one book left to go.

By the way, I’ve absolutely loved Steris’s character development throughout the series. She’s one of the more unique female side characters I’ve read and she shows there’s more than one way for women to be badass.

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Book Review: The Boys in the Boat

Book: The Boys in the Boat Author: Daniel James Brown Rating: 4/5

Format: Audiobook

One-sentence summary: A group of boys from lower-income families develop camaraderie and life-long relationships in their efforts to make it to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin and defeat the rowing team from Nazi Germany.

Likes: I thought the audiobook format contributed greatly to the telling of this story; the narrator was very soothing to listen to and I have the feeling that he made me more interested in this story than if I had read the words on paper. I’ve never really been into sports non-fiction but I loved the way we got to follow along with Joe’s personal journey and efforts to overcome his difficult childhood with each chapter or so juxtaposed by a brief history lesson about the rise of Nazi Germany. I thought the relationship between all the crew members was so sweet and I almost cried at the end hearing how they continued to get together well into old age before slowly dying one by one. 

Gripes: Not much really. It would have been really interesting to get additional perspectives from the other boys on the team (we do hear about some of their backstories and thoughts taken from diaries or letters) and to learn about their emotional journeys much like we get from Joe, but I understand the constraints the author faced in getting together material for the book.

Recommended for: Those interested in sports writing, history, or biographies!

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New Twitter

Just started a book-related Twitter (@melesi325) and looking for similar book-minded people to follow! Please respond with your own twitters or with authors you think are worth following so I know who to check out :)) Thanks!!!

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Book Review: The Alloy of Law

Just started a book-related Twitter (@melesi325) earlier today and trying to get it going. Give it a follow for a heads-up when I post book reviews and let me know if you have a similar account I can follow!

Book: The Alloy of Law Author: Brandon Sanderson Rating: 3.5/5

Likes: I think this might literally be the first Western I’ve ever read (and a fantasy Western at that)! I guess I’m really expanding my reading horizons this month in more ways than one. Wax and Wayne, the “cop” and his sidekick, have a hilarious dynamic going and I love their banter. This is probably my favorite relationship so far in all of the Sanderson books I’ve read (having a hard time deciding between them or Adolin and Kaladin), and perhaps the most engaging part of this story for me.  

Gripes: I didn’t have any specific complaints about the book but I gave it a 3.5 because it was just a little too lighthearted for me. I really enjoyed the grittiness of the original Mistborn trilogy and the stakes in this book just didn’t seem very serious. That being said, I understand this is just a set-up book for the second Mistborn trilogy and I’ve heard it picks up in Shadows of Self.

Overall, it wasn’t a bad read and it was nice to have a quick book to blow through after Half of a Yellow Sun.   

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Book Review: Half of a Yellow Sun

Book: Half of a Yellow Sun Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Rating: 4.5 stars

My thoughts below the cut!

Likes: Honestly, I am ashamed to admit that before reading this book, I hadn’t even realized that a Nigerian civil war had occurred before. One of the reasons I love reading is because books have the power to open our eyes to knowledge we didn’t even know was missing. This novel was eye-opening and beautifully written, poignantly portraying the horrors of the suffering of war through the eyes of three diverse characters: Olanna, a beautiful, wealthy daughter of old Nigeria; Ugwu, a houseboy who serves Olanna’s family through the duration of the war; and Richard, a British man trying to write a book about Nigerian culture and who is in love with Olanna’s twin sister.

Gripes: The ending didn’t seem as strong as the rest of the book. I’m not somebody who thinks every single loose end has to be tied up before I’m satisfied with the story, but I felt a lot of potential character development was left on the table.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book even though the ending wasn’t as satisfactory as the rest of the novel. Highly recommend to anybody looking to add more diversity to his/her reading!

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January Reading Wrap Up

Words of Radiance (reread) by Brandon Sanderson 

Just as great as the first time I read it! I’m excited that I can finally start picking up broader hints about the Cosmere, now that I’ve started diving into Sanderson’s other works.

(why is this picture so big???)

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson 5/5

The Stormlight Archives is one of my favorite series and Oathbringer definitely met my expectations. I cannot get over how much actually happened in this book -- this was truly a book marathon with so many new details revealed. I feel invested in each character’s arc and I can’t decide if my favorite is Adolin or Dalinar. 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes 2/5

So this book is not my usual cup of tea -- as you might be able to tell from this reading wrap-up, I generally tend towards fantasy, though I am trying to diversify. I picked this book up from my hometown library when I was back for winter break and while the ending did make me cry, I don’t think there was much else to redeem it. Like others, I thought it was problematic that the author seemed to indicate a life with disability is not worth living and I honestly just prefer books with more worldbuilding and depth.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson 4.5/5

This book was fantastic and I might be a little unfair in giving it only 4 stars -- if it was by a different author I might just have given it a 5 (okay, I bumped it up to 4.5 right before publishing this post). I am always so captivated by the unique magic systems that Sanderson manages to think up. They are always just so detailed and almost scientific in the way he has thought of every little interaction. I was just a little disappointed in how the ending played out. It was great as always (Sanderson might be the best author at writing endings that I have ever read), but it seemed like just too much waited to get wrapped up until the very end.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 3/5

I actually think I would have given this book a higher rating if I hadn’t seen the TV show first. I felt the TV series did a better job of bringing alive the crazy, dystopian nature of the events that are happening, and the characters and their relationships just seemed more real and impactful on the screen. 

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 5/5

Oh my gosh, what can I say about this book. I mentioned I was trying to diversify my reading habits, both in content and in author, and this was definitely a great book with which to do so. I absolutely loved the mode of storytelling -- the book follows two African sisters and their descendants, with each child receiving his/her own “chapter” -- and the way the book played out almost as a series of vignettes yet were woven together so masterfully was so captivating to me. Highly recommend to everybody, especially those looking to incorporate more diversity in their reading!

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson 4/5

Another great book by Sanderson, this one is a bit more dark and gritty than the others. As usual, loved learning about this new magic system, and I can’t wait to finish the series and start piecing together what we know about the Cosmere. 

As you can see, I’ve been a bit prolific in my reading this month so I’m going to try to start doing individual book reviews because this is a bit much to read through.

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looks like a slice of heaven

Source.

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looking for book recs for people who love Brandon Sanderson’s work???? I’m making my way through Mistborn (I’ve read the Stormlight Archives and Warbreaker) and I need to line up something for when this all ends

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Just finished a picture of Twice’s Chaeyoung using the drawing on the right I found as a guide. I took my first drawing class last summer but put it on hiatus during the semester and this year I want to try to keep up with it and practice a bit more. To that end, any constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated, as I plan to be mostly self-taught from now on (I might try to check out online tutorials).

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A couple of days late, but I wanted to start off a new year on a new blog by posting my resolutions for 2018. I’m always pretty ambitious with what I want to get done, but I think that this year, more than any tangible goal, what I want to do is put myself out there without being scared that I will let myself down. I feel like I’m getting too old not to live fully due to my own anxieties and fears, and so I will work hard to overcome my mental demons this year.