March 2018 Reading Wrap-Up

It was a good reading month!  I read a total of nine books.  I managed to cross three off my List Challenges "Krista's Books to Read in 2018" list:

• The Waterless Sea by Kate Constable
• The Tenth Power by Kate Constable
• Replay by Ken Grimwood

I put that list together on a whim one day, selecting books from my already existing TBR.  The motivation for creating the list was to help me power my way through my overgrown and out-of-control TBR piles.  I selected titles from both my physical TBR piles and my Kindle shelves.  So far this year (remember, it's only March!), I've already read 7 of the 35.  Not bad, if I say so myself, which I do.

The Waterless Sea and The Tenth Power completed the Chanters of Tremaris trilogy.  The books continued the adventures of Calwyn and her companions.  In the first book, The Singer of All Songs, Calwyn, an ice chanter capable of controlling and manifesting ice, discovers a strange man has penetrated the ice wall surrounding her homeland.  The injured Darrow is pursued by Samis, a chanter who aims to become the Singer of All Songs, a legendary magic wielder capable of controlling all forms of magic.  Soon Calwyn and Darrow are fighting for their lives and on a mission to protect the world from the power-hungry and dangerous Samis.  Befriending new allies as they travel to various lands across Tremaris, Calwyn and Darrow set out to rescue the oppressed. 

I really enjoyed the Chanters of Tremaris trilogy.  It was young adult but didn't wallow in teenage angst.  Instead, the story focused on the Calwyn's journey from a secluded and protected ice chanter to a more worldly and wise young woman.  I also enjoyed that the magic system was based on the chanters ability to sing.  Without music, there is no magic.  I liked that. 

Replay by Ken Grimwood was a standalone novel that I guess I'd categorize as science fiction.  I thought the premise was interesting and the execution thought-provoking.  In this book, Jeff Winston is married, childless, and working at a radio station when he dies of a sudden heart attack.  Only Jeff doesn't stay dead.  Instead, every time he dies - always on the same day and at the same time - he awakens in his past.  Using the knowledge he has of the future, Jeff reshapes his life.  Again and again and again.  Each replay, as he calls them, takes him on a different path, some better than others. 

In addition to the books I was able to check off my List Challenge, I also reread Stardust by Neil Gaiman.  Here's the funny thing about this reread...I didn't know it was a reread until I was well into the first chapter where things felt just a little too familiar.  Somehow I had forgotten that Tristan Thorne was only part human and, therefore, capable of chasing after a fallen star in the land of fairy.  When the fallen star he has sworn to fetch for his lady love turns out to be a woman and not a chunk of rock, Tristan does not abandon his quest.  Instead, seeing no other alternative because he is a love sick idiot, he captures her and forces her to march toward the boundary separating the Land of Fairy from the humans.  However, Tristan is not alone in his desire to capture a fallen star.  As the King of Fairy dies, leaving behind three living sons, he tells them the throne will pass only to the one who possesses the falling star.  Shenanigans ensue.

Wanting to change up the pace a bit from fantasy, I next selected Daughter of the Bamboo Forest by Sheng-Shih Lin. This was a Kindle freebie buried deep in my Kindle cloud.  The book description on Goodreads says "enjoyable read" and nothing more.  So, I looked it up on Amazon. This description was much more helpful in convincing me to give the book a fair chance.  The story follows Little Jade from the time she is seven years old until she is twelve.  Raised on her father's family estate by her grandmother, Little Jade lives a life of privilege and ease.  Fortunes change, though, as World War II sweeps across the globe.  As disease and death sweep through China, Little Jade learns what it means to be hungry, alone, and unwanted.  Knowing that The Daughter of the Bamboo Forest was inspired by the author's mother's childhood helped me look past some of the grammatical errors that might have otherwise caused me to DNF the book. 

This month's classic pick by my Friends and Family Book Club was The Catcher in the Rye.  Oh, boy.  Not one I will ever read again.  I can see why it might appeal to angsty teenagers, especially those who believe everyone else is worthless and they themselves are eternally misunderstood, but I found Holden Caulfield to be annoying.  I also kept waiting for a plot to develop; I waited in vain. 

I followed this up with The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christy.  A short, fun little mystery about a missing woman who holds the future of the United Kingdom in her hands.  Hired by a government agent to find the woman, Tommy and Tuppance have landed their first paying gig as co-founders of the Young Adventurers Ltd.  Their sleuthing gets them into some tight spots and makes them question who is friend and who is foe.  

Finally, I closed out the month with a historical romance.  The latest in the Malory Family series by Johanna Lindsey, Beautiful Tempest tells the love story of  Jack (Jacqueline) and Damon.  This was a bubble gum read for me.  No brain power needed!  This was something I counted on when I picked it up and it did not disappoint.  I was amused and entertained without being tasked with any emotional or mental work.