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Books I read

Books I read in January

Let’s just pretend that I actually finished writing the posts about which book I read in the motnsh between May and now as well, okay?

I was somewhat dissatisfied with the format. I’m thinking for real book reviews I should put more into it but just the title and if I liked said book. But then I thought, „How long do I want this to get?“ and „Nobody will want to read the epic 3,000 word posts.”

So I’m trying something new.

I will be making a list of all the books I read, and then I’ll talk about one or two fiction and non-fiction that I particularly liked.

And I will try to actually write these once a month.

Non-Fiction:

  1. Rachel Hoffmann: Unf*ck Your Habitat*
  2. Mark Manson: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck*
  3. Joanna Penn: Successful Self-Publishing*
  4. Joanna Penn: The Successful Author Mindset*
  5. Michelle McGagh: The No-Spend Year*

Fiction:

  1. S.K. Dunstall: Confluence*
  2. Ilona Andrews: Magic Steals (novella)*
  3. J.F.Penn: London Crime Thriller Trilogy*
  4. J.F.Penn: Day of the Vikings*
  5. Arthur Slade: Amber Fang. The Hunted*
  6. Seanan Mc Guire: Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day*

Now first of all all of these books were excellent. There was none that I wouldn’t gladly reread. And no, I have no idea why I started the year with two books with swearing in the title.

You can see that I was on a real Joanna Penn kick, especially when you know that Joanna Penn and J.F. Penn are the same person.

I found her fabulous podcast through Rachael Herron’s equally fabulous podcast and will now be making my way through all of her books one after the other. Rachel Hofmann wrote a book on how to get a grip on your housework. Not only is it an extension of her blog with the same name, there are also most helpful tips in there. I’m not quite sure why I enjoy reading that kind of book so much but since it’s a rather harmless quirk I keep on buying and reading them.

I think „The No-Spend Year“ will be the one that will stay with me the most. In addition to my love of books about organizing, productivity and how to get a grip on housework I also adore reading about minimalism. Not that I’m planning of becoming a minimalist myself. While I am in the middle of decluttering I have too much stuff that I absolutely love and don’t want to part with.

And apart from buying too many books I’m not all that much about shopping for fun anyways.

But going so radical as McGagh who set herself a challenge for one year to only pay necessary bills, buy food and very basic toiletries (she really regretted not having made moisturizer a basic necessity after a rather short time), that was mindblowing to read. Very interesting. And like many she found the experience ultimately made her life richer for it which is contrary to what one would think.

In the past I had also read Mark Boyle’s book „The Moneyless Man“. Also very enlightening. Not that I want to live that way, again, but still. Big recommendation.

But then again I can heartily recommend any of the non-fiction books I read.

 

Now with the fiction, again, all of them were very, very good. But then if I don’t like a book I will mostly just not finish it.

As for the best I’d say that’s a tie between „Confluence“ which is the third in the Linesmen series and the stand-alone ghost story novella by McGuire „Dusk or Dark or Dawn or Day“.

„Confluence“ continues the story of the two books before, of course. It is science fiction, we’re in a big universe full of planets where humans live, and they find an alien ship that uses „line technology“ to travel between the stars. Also for all kinds of technical things. The first book started with a linesman, one of the people who can control that technology, who is rather unusual. And then they find yet another ship and things get interesting. Now in the third book we’re in the middle of a conflict between different factions, alliances of planets, and the people we started to care about in the two books before end up right in the middle, of course.

The book is told from different character’s perspectives which this time threw me a bit but in the books before I had rather liked that way of telling. Anyways I’m eagerly wating for a fourth one. (I hope there will be one but I have no idea.)

Seanan McGuire now is one of the authors where it’s probably safe to read everything by her. Though I have to say that I have shied away fom the zombie novels so far, I’m not sure I want to read about zombies. But I’ve read everything October Daye I could get my hands on.

Now I don’t usually read ghost stories (though I don’t really have a reason, I just don’t) but this one was excellent. And the concept was really intriguing. The main character ist a ghost. Ghosts are people who died before their time, and they can stay on earth until their time is up. The interesting thing on top of that is that for them time doesn’t need to be linear. So they can give and take time from the living.

This particular ghost thinks she has to earn her time on earth by helping people. And then there is great big danger to all the ghosts, and she needs to jump right into the middle of that. Of course.

Very satisfying and entertaining read.

Oh, and I also wanted to add that „Amber Fang“ was extremely enjoyable and entertaining to read. I really hop Arthur Slade will write the next in the series soon.

So, what are you reading? Any tips for what I should look at?

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