This doesn’t look like much, by my standards, but I started a Sarah J. Maas book on January 31st that ate up the first week of February and I’m only about 70 pages from the end of The Sea Watch, so if a couple of things had shifted around the pile would look a lot bigger.
Book of the Month is a three-way tie between Against the Loveless World, Light from Uncommon Stars and Morning Star, because it’s my blog and I can do that.
Not a whole lot different from last time— and I’ll point out that thus far I haven’t broken any of the rules of my new reading projects, since RJB’s The Tainted Cup was pre-ordered the second I heard about it several months ago– but you’ll see tomorrow that I’ve done a fair amount of off-shelf reading in February. The one that is edges-out is Elizabeth May’s To Cage a God, which was the first book I got as part of my new Illumicrate subscription. I thought about doing a whole post about the box and didn’t end up doing it; maybe next month. But the book itself is gorgeous.
Book of the Month is going to be King: A Life, with Bookshelves & Bonedust coming up right behind. I am only 150 pages into the 900-page House of Flame and Shadow, and am still considering abandoning it in favor of a full series reread, as so far my recall isn’t quite what I’d like. We’ll see.
So, yeah, that looks about the same as last month— there’s only one book on there that wasn’t there in the last picture– and then you remember that I’m trying to clear this bookshelf, and that I let it slip last month that some completed (as in “entirely purchased,” not “read”) series had been moved to the Actual Bookshelves in the living room, and, well …
Why does no one know this series exists? Why does no one ever talk about Adrian Tchaikovsky? Has anyone other than me read Shadows of the Apt? I’d be willing to believe that I have at least 3000 pages to go in the remaining volumes.
And, remember, once I finish that Robin Hobb series, there are like five more— more series, not more books— in the same universe if they end up being good.
A handful of observations about this car, which I unintentionally followed for several miles (I swear, we were just going the same way!) on the way home from the comic shop today.
That for my entire life until today I had never seen a vehicle claiming to be “powered by bitchdust,” and yet this was the second car today I saw with that sticker on it;
I feel like there have to be better/safer ways to advertise your onlyfans and your Snapchat; I would be genuinely worried if someone pulled my OF from my rear window, which is literally impossible to see without seeing my license plate, and then decided to subscribe. At $45 a month, no less– no amount of porn is worth $45 a month.
Shut up, of course I went and looked. Like most OnlyFans accounts, there’s literally nothing there if you don’t pony up for a subscription.
I don’t know anything about Snapchat, but I can’t even confirm that account still exists (I think it’s “janelbriann25,” but I also tried “janelbnann25” just for the hell of it) without an account there and I don’t have one.
Does that sticker on the top left say “Cock” or “Clock”, (or something else?) and either way, why does it look like that? Is that just a logo for something that I don’t recognize? (EDIT: It’s “Glock,” as in the gun, and that’s a fucking terrible logo.)
I want to find whoever decided that “Milf’n” was a way to spell something and not “Milfin'” (how old are these kids? Are they old enough to recognize their mom has an OF? God I hope not) and feed them to something large and angry. Ending words with ‘n should be punishable by death and enforceable by anyone who actually has acceptable grammar.
Anyway, this ends today’s edition of Judging Strangers By Their Cars. How was your Wednesday?
So I’ve got this new project going where I’m not allowed to buy any books in 2024 other than sequels to books I already own until I’ve cleared my Unread Shelf. The only exceptions are books I preordered in 2023; I’m also not allowed to preorder anything new until this is done. You may note that there are more books on this shelf than there were just seven days ago when I posted my December Unread Shelf; those are Christmas’ fault, as I got some cash and some gift cards and the Barnes & Noble box took forever to arrive.
Also, these aren’t my only unread books. I got into the terrible habit last year of ordering entire series at once if I was convinced in advance I’d enjoy them! There are other unread books that you don’t know about!
Let’s review the carnage here, shall we?
King: One book, no sequel. This is the next thing I’m going to read on account of Martin Luther King day being next week. Red Rising: Book One of, currently, six; the series is set for seven but that one’s not coming until 2025. Forged in Blood: Book One of two but the second is TBD. The Will of the Many: One of three, I think but the others aren’t out yet. The Bladed Faith: One of three, the third book comes out Tuesday so the series may as well be finished. A Touch of Light: One of two, both out. The Night and Its Moon: One of three, all out. Light from Uncommon Stars: Stand-alone, I think, and if I’m wrong don’t tell me. Exorcism: Two of three; third isn’t out yet. Silver Under Nightfall: Stand-alone. Nevernight: One of three, all out. Against the Loveless World: Stand-alone. Bookshelves & Bonedust: Prequel to Lattes & Legends; as far as I know, no more planned. Sword of Kaigen: Stand-alone. Mrs. Lincoln: Stand-alone. The Storm Beneath a Midnight Sun: Two of two, I think. The Adrian Tchaikovsky books: Volumes Five, Six and Seven of the completed ten-book Shadows of the Apt series. I don’t own the last three yet, but Volume 4 kicked the legs out from under the plot entirely so it was a good place to stop for a little bit. Sky’s End: Part of a series, I think, but the only one out. Ravensong: Part two of four, all of which are out. The Jasad Heir: Part of a series, but just one out. Kaikeyi: Stand-alone. The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn: One of three, all out.
But that’s not all! The following entire series are on the bookshelves in my living room:
The Books of Babel, by Josiah Bancroft. Finished Book 3 of 4 yesterday, will probably finish book 4 by Wednesday. Of Blood and Bone, by John Gwynne. Trilogy. The FarseerTrilogy, by Robin Hobb. Trilogy, but the first trilogy in a cycle of something like sixteen books that I hope to temporarily ignore the existence of.
And if I’m really feeling nuts, I can go back to:
The Stormlight Archive, by Brandon Sanderson, which I have the first four books of but never bothered reading the fourth; The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson; I bought the first three books in a fit of optimism and got halfway through the first one before bailing; and The Fucking Wheel of Fucking Time which I am never ever finishing fuck these books.
That is, ignoring the last section, fifty-one books that I need to read before I can buy more. It is always possible that I’ll decide to bail on some of them (a lot of these are book ones from authors I don’t know anything about) but that’s still a shitton of books.
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