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2021 - Books Read - Muggle Not


muggle not

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This is the lowest number of books read by me in at least 30+ years. I got the list from Amazon though and I noticed that they omitted at least one book that I have read so maybe others may have been omitted. Even so, it is an embarrassing low number of books. A few years back I read 71 books in a year.

 

1.     Warlord  (Saxon Tales series  book 13) – Bernard Cornwell – 4/5

2.     Have You Seen Luis Velez  - Catherine Ryan Hyde - 3/5

3.     A Gentleman in Moscow – Amor Towles – 5/5

4.     Rules of Civility – Amor Towles – 4/5

5.     Snow Falling on Cedars – David Gullerson – 3/5

6.     Norwegian Wood – Huraki Murakami – 3/5

7.     Fools Paradise – Mike Lupica – 4/5

8.     The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek – Kim Michele  Richardson – 4.5/5

9.     The Giver of Stars – JoJo Moyes – 4.5/5

10. Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles) – Kevin Hearne – 3/5

11.  Daylight (Atlee Pine series book 3) – David Baldacci – 4/5

12. The Pickwick Papers – Charles Dickens 4.5/5

13.  A Wizard of EarthSea – Ursula K. Le Guin – 4/5

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 6/11/2021 at 12:57 PM, lunababymoonchild said:

The year isn't over yet, Muggle Not.

 

I struggle with this all the time. I am not reading as much just now as I did this time last year and I was hoping to read more. However, I'm still reading and things have changed since last year and it's still an unusual year. So there it is.

 

On 6/12/2021 at 1:07 AM, Athena said:

Hi Muggle Not! Maybe you'll read more in the second half of the year. Sorry you've been struggling a bit with your reading.

Thank you for the encouragement.

I now have 6 books on hold at the library so maybe things will pick up. :)

 

My latest read:

14. The Tombs of Atuan - Ursula K. Le Guin – 4/5 - I am enjoying the EarthSea series and have 4 more in the series to read.

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I've not read nearly as much since I stopped commuting last year, however I did have a couple of days in the office the  other week when my home internet packed in, and I think I read more in my couple of days' commuting than I did in the whole of the previous week! But yes normally by this time of year I'd have read around 20 books, at the moment i'm near to finishing number 14.  And that's including a few fairly short books as well, ie around 280 pages as opposed to nearly 400 pages.

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12 hours ago, Madeleine said:

I've not read nearly as much since I stopped commuting last year, however I did have a couple of days in the office the  other week when my home internet packed in, and I think I read more in my couple of days' commuting than I did in the whole of the previous week! But yes normally by this time of year I'd have read around 20 books, at the moment i'm near to finishing number 14.  And that's including a few fairly short books as well, ie around 280 pages as opposed to nearly 400 pages.

H

 

On 6/11/2021 at 12:57 PM, lunababymoonchild said:

The year isn't over yet, Muggle Not.

 

I struggle with this all the time. I am not reading as much just now as I did this time last year and I was hoping to read more. However, I'm still reading and things have changed since last year and it's still an unusual year. So there it is.

Hopefully the reading will pick up for all of us in the years second half. If not, lets try to enjoy the reads that we do accomplish. :)

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4 hours ago, Madeleine said:

Amen to that!  Quality not quantity.

:) Speaking of quality. If you or Luna or anyone else have not read "Where The Crawdads Sing" I highly recommend that you read the book at your first opportunity. Other than some of the Classics, it is the best book I have read in a number of years.

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20 hours ago, muggle not said:

:) Speaking of quality. If you or Luna or anyone else have not read "Where The Crawdads Sing" I highly recommend that you read the book at your first opportunity. Other than some of the Classics, it is the best book I have read in a number of years.

 

Totally agree, Muggle. It's a beautifully written, quite lyrical book. I absolutely loved it ... and it was your recommendation that put me onto it :flowers2:

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  • 2 weeks later...

15. The Devil Wins - Reed Coleman  (A Robert Parker / Jesse Stone novel) - 4/5. A pretty good detective type novel

 

Currently reading The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. Le Guin. This is book 3 of the Earthsea Series. The series is growing on me. I must go and put book 4 of the series on hold at the library.

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16. The Farthest Shore (book 3 of 6 of the Earthsea Series) - Ursula K. Le Guin - 4/5

17.  Tehanu (book 4 of 6 of the Earthsea Series) - Ursula K. Le Quin - 4.5 / 5

 

Why haven’t I heard of her. She is a critically acclaimed author.  She has gotten my attention. I am starting book 5 of 6 of her Earthsea series. Book 4, “Tehanu” was exceptional IMHO.

 

Ursula Kroeber Le Guin (/ˈkroʊbər lə ˈɡwɪn/;[1] October 21, 1929 – January 22, 2018) 

 

Ursula K. Le Guin - Wikipedia

A few clips from Wikipedia:

Le Guin's writing was enormously influential in the field of speculative fiction, and has been the subject of intense critical attention. She received numerous accolades, including eight Hugos, six Nebulas, and twenty-two Locus Awards, and in 2003 became the second woman honored as a Grand Master of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The U.S. Library of Congress named her a Living Legend in 2000, and in 2014, she won the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Le Guin influenced many other authors, including Booker Prize winner Salman RushdieDavid MitchellNeil Gaiman, and Iain Banks. After her death in 2018, critic John Clute wrote that Le Guin had "presided over American science fiction for nearly half a century",[5] while author Michael Chabon referred to her as the "greatest American writer of her generation".[6][7]

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I'm so glad you are enjoying her books!! I really liked the first 4 Earthsea books, I've yet to read books 5 and 6, I didn't know they existed until a few years ago or so. She has written some other books too (some science-fiction as well), some of which are on my TBR, and I think I have one or two on my wishlist as well. I was sad when she passed away.

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8 hours ago, Athena said:

I'm so glad you are enjoying her books!! I really liked the first 4 Earthsea books, I've yet to read books 5 and 6, I didn't know they existed until a few years ago or so. She has written some other books too (some science-fiction as well), some of which are on my TBR, and I think I have one or two on my wishlist as well. I was sad when she passed away.

I believe I will continue with her Hainish Universe series after finishing the Earthsea Series. Ursula's foreword in book 5 is awesome. She explains that there has been a number of years between her writing of some of the books in the series and that she has changed between writings and that Earthsea itself has changed. :) BTW, there is also a book 6.5 of the Earthsea series. i am pretty sure I will continue with her and probably got to the Hainisch Universe series next.

Book 5 of Earthsea: Tales of Earthsea

Book 6 of Earthsea: The Other Wind

Book 6.5 of Earthsea: Daughter of Odren

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14 hours ago, muggle not said:

I believe I will continue with her Hainish Universe series after finishing the Earthsea Series. Ursula's foreword in book 5 is awesome. She explains that there has been a number of years between her writing of some of the books in the series and that she has changed between writings and that Earthsea itself has changed. :) BTW, there is also a book 6.5 of the Earthsea series. i am pretty sure I will continue with her and probably got to the Hainisch Universe series next.

Book 5 of Earthsea: Tales of Earthsea

Book 6 of Earthsea: The Other Wind

Book 6.5 of Earthsea: Daughter of Odren

 

That foreword sounds really interesting :)! Yes, there is a novella (thanks for writing down the titles :) ), but I've heard from someone that it isn't as good as the 6 main books (she didn't like it as much), so I haven't bought it as of yet for my Kindle. Maybe once I've read books 5 and 6, I might want to give it a try still. If you do read it, I'd love to know what you think :).

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18. Mask of Shadows - Linsey Miller - 4/5. I read Mask of Shadows based on LBM's statement that the book was enjoyable. Only problem was that the book I read was by author Linsey Miller and LBM's was by a different author. Two entirely different books by different authors. In any case I enjoyed the book by linsey Miller. :)

 

From Amazon:

Sallot Leon is a thief, and a good one at that. But gender fluid Sal wants nothing more than to escape the drudgery of life as a highway robber and get closer to the upper-class—and the nobles who destroyed their home.

When Sal steals a flyer for an audition to become a member of The Left Hand—the Queen's personal assassins, named after the rings she wears—Sal jumps at the chance to infiltrate the court and get revenge.

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3 hours ago, muggle not said:

18. Mask of Shadows - Linsey Miller - 4/5. I read Mask of Shadows based on LBM's statement that the book was enjoyable. Only problem was that the book I read was by author Linsey Miller and LBM's was by a different author. Two entirely different books by different authors. In any case I enjoyed the book by linsey Miller. :)

 

Oh no! 

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On 18/07/2021 at 11:36 PM, muggle not said:

I am starting book 5 of 6 of her Earthsea series. Book 4, “Tehanu” was exceptional IMHO.

That's good to hear because I loved the first 3 :) 

 

On 20/07/2021 at 3:40 PM, Athena said:

Maybe once I've read books 5 and 6, I might want to give it a try still. If you do read it, I'd love to know what you think

I second this!

 

4 hours ago, muggle not said:

Two entirely different books by different authors. In any case I enjoyed the book by linsey Miller. :)

That turned out to be quite a good accident then, and you still have the other Mask of Shadows to enjoy :lol:

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19.. Tales of Earthsea - Ursula K. Le quin - 4.5/5 - The first part of the book was comprised of several short stories that were ok but confused me a little. Then came the good part and I totally understood how this book fit in with the total series. Excellent and I really enjoyed it. I can't wait to read book 6 as the description sounds awesome and it brings together most of the lead characters in the series for what I believe is a confrontation with evil. Unfortunately my library does not have book 6 and I have requested them to purchase it. So, I am waiting to see if they purchase the book.

20. False Witness - Karin Slaughter - 4/5 - Great read. Karin Slaughter is my favorite thriller/mystery writer today. Her books are hard hitting  and she is truthful in her writing style. 

 

I just downloaded from the library a critically acclaimed book......Pale Horse, Pale Rider by Katherine Porter and it will be my next read.

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On 01/08/2021 at 11:10 PM, muggle not said:

The first part of the book was comprised of several short stories that were ok but confused me a little. Then came the good part and I totally understood how this book fit in with the total series.

That's interesting! I'm glad I know what to expect now, I think I'll enjoy the short stories knowing they're going to wrap up into a good bit!

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1 hour ago, Hayley said:

That's interesting! I'm glad I know what to expect now, I think I'll enjoy the short stories knowing they're going to wrap up into a good bit!

The ending of the book will knock your socks off. There is a big surprise. :)

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21. Pale Horse, Pale Rider - Katherine Porter - 3/5 - this was a critically acclaimed book but it just wasn't my type of reading and I gave up after about 30% into the book. I think it would be good reading for some though.

22. The Four Winds - Kristin Hannah - 4/5 - good read but very depressing through much of the book.

23. Daughter of Odren - Ursula K. Le Quin - 3/5 - An ok read. My kindle edition of the book contained 28 pages as it was a very short story. I can't really recommend the book.

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On 8/13/2021 at 3:14 PM, muggle not said:

22. The Four Winds - Kristin Hannah - 4/5 - good read but very depressing through much of the book.

 

I have this one on my pre-order wishlist, waiting for a medium size paperback. I'm glad it was a good read!

 

On 8/13/2021 at 3:14 PM, muggle not said:

23. Daughter of Odren - Ursula K. Le Quin - 3/5 - An ok read. My kindle edition of the book contained 28 pages as it was a very short story. I can't really recommend the book.

 

Yes, this is in line with what I was told by someone else, it's really short and not a great read. Sorry that was your experience as well. I hope your next read will be nicer!

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