Hello fellow readers!
Are you the type of reader who reads a book a time or multiple in a go? I’m a mood reader which means I almost always have way too many books on my currently reading list. The shelf life of some of the books I’m in the middle of is almost three or four months. Today, I thought I’d share some of the books I’m in the middle of as we’re half way through the year and some of these books have made that six month journey with me. Note that I actually have a couple more books on this list but I already made a post about them, here, so I left those out of this list. That being said, the book I’ve been in the middle of the longest is about nine months since it’s been sitting on my currently reading list since around last November. Yikes lol.
Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
I have an interesting relationship with Andy Weir’s books. I absolutely loved his debut, “The Martian”. I remember reading it in high school and it was one of the first adult sci-fi books I remember devouring. I loved the humor, the science, and the space setting. I was hoping to get all of that and more with “Artemis” but I ended up dnf’ing it pretty early on into the book. I just couldn’t get into his writing. I don’t know how to describe it but there was something about the way he wrote in the POV of his character, who happened to be a woman, that really bothered me. I think that some men know how to write from a female perspective and some that just don’t and I remember from the first few chapters of “Artemis” that Andy Weir fell into the second category.
Given the catastrophic fail of a reading experience with his previous release, you would think that I would be hesitant going into his newest release, more or less, in buying it but nope. Last month, “Project Hail Mary” joined my bookshelf, taunting me to pick it up. I’m about a couple of chapters into it and thank goodness, I’m liking it lol.
I was trying to explain the book to my friend by telling him that the plot centers around a guy who’s stranded in space and trying to survive solo. I went on about how it’s such an interesting plot and that I’m excited to read it. His reply was, “well isn’t that just the plot of The Martian?” Which I guess is true, but in “The Martian”, the guy was stranded on Mars, this guy is literally stranded in space and has no memory of how it happened, where he is, or how he got here.
So far, the book follows a dual timeline of our main character trying to remember everything by trying to initiate flashbacks to learn more about his situation and where he is while also trying to maneuver what ever he’s in so he doesn’t accidentally die. I’m loving the science behind everything and watching him calculate things. I’m getting severe flashbacks to all my physics and chemistry labs which I’m not sure if I enjoying reliving lol.
So far, so good though.
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
This was supposed to be read in the spring lol but it’s okay. I think this book is still a “summer” classic. I’m only 30 pages into this one so I barely made a dent in it and I’m liking it so far. I always have problems with classics as I’m usually not used to the more dense, aged, writing style but this is a classic that I’m really able to read fast and leisurely. I really want to read a little bit of this book, everyday, in the coming months so I can watch the movie as it screams of wholesomeness.
Crooked Kingdom – Leigh Bardugo
This is a reread and I haven’t finished it yet because I don’t want it to end. I started this book in March after I reread “Six of Crows”, the first book in this duology. I got a quarter of the way through when I realized that I might want to save this book for later. I’m planning to reread “Shadow and Bone” and rewatch the TV Show so I know I’m going to be thirsting for more Grisha related content so what better way to satisfy that need than by finishing off with “Crooked Kingdom”? I genuinely love this book so far, no surprise to anyone. I didn’t realize how much I forgot about this book and series as a whole. I have a list of events that I vividly remember and am both eagerly waiting as well as wholeheartedly dreading for but the in between bits are the best. The dialogue, the humor, the heavy topics of friendship, trauma, and such deep rooted human flaws are explored beautifully. If you haven’t read this book already, I suggest you pick it up but make sure you check out the trigger warnings because there’s a ton.
Radiance – Grace Draven
Ah, this book. Honestly, I had such high expectations for this book that I didn’t think that it would be sitting on my currently reading list for months. Everyone hyped this book up as the best friends to lovers fantasy romance and I’m struggling in seeing that lol. I’m having such a hard time with the writing and how friendly they are from the beginning. I feel like there’s no tension between them and even now, when there are romantic feelings being developed between the two, it does nothing for me. This book is just lacking tension or anything substantial to keep me gripped. I know I should dnf this book but I can’t bring myself to do it. I keep picking it up now and then, in between books, because I want to give it my best to read further into it in case the best is in the latter half of the book and I just need to wait it out. Have you read this book? What did you think about it?