Books of 2019- Installment #1

It's a new year and with it comes many exciting book possibilities!! I have set for myself a goal of reading all the books I owe and a bunch that I have been meaning to read for ages! Last year I wanted to reduce my pile of unread but owned books. I set the goal of reading 12, and I did great- I read 31. But some how I ended up on an amazing and fantastic free book list, which increased my unread-but-owned books significantly. Last year alone I got something like 24 books from them! This year I'm starting with 19 books that I own but haven't read. I can't guarantee I'll read them all this year. (I have a new policy of putting down books I am not enjoying- still hard to do but life is short!!!) But I'm going to try!!! Part of being able to do this is to stop getting books from the library. This is very challenging for me. I love, absolutely love, putting books on hold at the library and just reading whatever comes in next and sometimes it is a feast or famine situation. No books for ages or 10 all at once!!! I started reining in my impulses in November of 2018 and currently only have 4 books out from the library and only 5 on hold! Funnily enough one of the books I have on hold was put on hold October 17 and I am now number 24! I was number 111 out 150 for one book and am now number 5 out 173 because they added 8 more copies for a total of 37!!!

1. Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor
This is the exciting sequel to Strange the Dreamer! And boy was I excited to read this book!! It took forever to get from the library, but once here my husband and I both devoured this book! Excellent!!!

2. Insurrecto by Gina Apostol
Lots of good buzz surrounds this book, so I got it. It's a hard book to describe, mostly because of the very interesting narrative style the author employs. Two women return to the Philippines and cross paths. In their time together they explore their own personal histories and the Philippines' history, especially the events that surround what is called the "Balangiga Massacre". For myself I would say I would get a lot more out of it on the second reading.

3. A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna
This is a really engaging space opera. It has a really great modern (or futuristic) feel and yet is inspired by Mahabharata which is around 2000 years old. I'm not familiar with Mahabharata, which made me excited to read this! I am fascinated by stories that we can't stop telling/retelling. Think King Arthur, Robin Hood, the Monkey King, and Mahabharata.

4. Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand
There's a mystery on this New England island. Girls disappear again and again over the years. This was not something that made me want to read this book. The love of several reviewers convinced me to pick it up. And it is a fast-paced supernatural thriller that super engaged me and there were several points where it was clear that the fact that girls were disappearing was a critical part of the story and not a gimmick or an easy way to threaten the audience.

5. A Lot Like Christmas by Connie Willis
I was so eagerly awaiting this book! Christmas sci-fi!!! Well, I couldn't get it before Christmas, but I was gonna read it anyway! I haven't read a lot by Connie Willis but what I had, I adored. Now I've read more and can say I love Connie Willis's writing! She's awesome!!!

On another note, one of my goals this year is to read a lot of books written by women. Well, without it being planned out (all of these books were library books I had put on hold and read in the order they became available), I've read only female authors so far this year!! Awesome!! I currently have five books out from the library (2 by men and 1 that's an anthology of both female and male writers)!!