So, 25 days in of January completed and 31 titles finished:
"Illuminae", book one of the Illuminae Files series by Amy Kaufman (with Jay Kristoff). Not sure what to think of this one, and I've yet to return to the series. I may not bother, but we'll see.
"Rook," book one of the Checquy Files series by Daniel O'Malley. Kind of James Bond met the X-files and had a love child. Quite entertaining so far.
"The Decoy Princess" and "Princess at Sea," books one and two of the Princess Contessa duology by Dawn Cook. If you're familiar with Kim Harrison, you'll be familiar with Dawn Cook since Kim Harrison is her pen name. Pretty good fantasy novels.
I could technically count these next books as five as that's how they were originally released, but since I did the audio books this time, I'm only counting three since they were published that way in audio. The Spiderwick Chronicles.
"Nevernight," "Godsgrave," and "Darkdawn," books one through three of the Nevernight Chronicles by Jay Kristoff. I almost didn't read these, at least, not yet, because of Kristoff's involvement with the Illuminae Files, but damned if I'm not glad I did. Very good dark fantasy.
"The Very First Damned Thing," the prequel to book one of the Chronicles of St. Mary's by Jodi Taylor. A pretty good time travel romp and I'm looking forward to continuing the series.
"PERfunctory afFECTION" bu Kim Harrison. No witches, wizards, werewolves, vampires, ghosts, ghouls or demons (day-walking or not). Just a contemporary novel about a woman, her psychiatrist and a drug entering human trials. Had I heard the premise before I leapt at the Kim Harrison book, I would have viewed it askance and placed it much further down the TBR list. Very glad I didn't.
"The Regional Office is Under Attack" by Manuel Gonzales. An odd book about a travel agency that doubles as a covert operations base and provides esoteric vacations to the incredibly wealthy, creates cyborgs, and launches black-ops. Not one I'd recommend, but not so bad that I wish I hadn't read it.
"Kingdom of Needle and Bone" by Mira Grant. A cautionary tale about the dangers of the anti-vaxer movement and the need for herd immunity. So far I've liked everything Mira Grant has written. This was no exception.
"The Deserter," book one of the Scott Brodie and Maggie Taylor series by Nelson DeMille and Alex DeMille. If you're familiar with Nelson DeMille, get ready for another great thriller.
"Thin Air" by Richard K. Morgan. Nothing of his has been as good as his Takeshi Kovacs books, but this one comes close.
"The Wild Heart of Stevie Nicks" by Rob Sheffield. Biography of Stevie Nicks. Not a terrible amount of depth, but it was a good free 'Audible Only' selection.
"Sparrow Hill Road" and "The Girl in the Green Silk Gown," books one and two in Seanan McGuires Ghost Roads (InCryptid series spin-off) series. The first is a collection of short stories bound up with a framing story. The second is a novel and they're both really good. I would go so far as to say must-reads if you've read and enjoyed her InCryptid books.
"The Color of Magic," "The Light Fantastic," and "Equal Rights. Books one through three of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series. It's Pratchett, 'nuff said.
"The Devil's Breath," "The Lazarus Curse," "Shadow of the Raven," and "Secrets of the Stones," books three through six of the Dr. Thomas Silkstone series by Tessa Harris. Mysteries very similar in tone to Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Very enjoyable reads.
"Rocannon's World," book one of the Hainish Cycle by Ursula K. Le Guin.
"Bitches and Brawlers" and "Howls and Hallows," books four and five of the Steampunk Red Riding Hood series by Melanie Karsak. Fun steampunk tales based loosely on Red Riding Hood.
"Thief's Covenant" and "False Covenant," books one and two of the Widdershins Adventures series by Ari Marmell. Might and magic fantasy with a young female thief as a protagonist. Very good so far.
I did sacrifice a few hours of potential reading time to catch the Eric Johnson show at the Paramount theater in Denver last night, and
holy crap, what a show. They started at 7:40 and didn't stop until 10:45. Blues, jazz, country, and of course, lot's of rock 'n' roll. The stage lighting was minimalist and the theatrics non-existent It was obvious from the get-go that they were there to play music and little else, and boy did they. They probably could have got through more of their catalogue if every song didn't turn into a another guitar solo or mini jam session, but that's not what I was there for. If I just want to just run through the catalogue, well I have all the albums. As a guitar junkie, I can say I left well and fully sated.
I'll never understand the people who leave early, especially from a show featuring one of the great guitarists of the age.
As a bonus, we got to hears a couple new tracks from a forthcoming album. I stoked for that to hit the shelves!
