Date Read: January 28
Author: Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
The Dreamer Trilogy follows Ronan, one of the characters who originally appeared in the Raven Cycle. This is the first book, but I loved the Raven Cycle and I’m looking forward to reading more about the characters in this series.
Dreams are not the safest thing to build a life on.
– Call Down the Hawk
Date Read: January 27
Author: John Scalzi
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: 3/5
While it was a good science fiction novel with an interesting plot, I found it a bit slow at the beginning, which made it difficult to get into.
Anyone can be a prophet. You just have to say that what you’re talking about it a reflection of God. Or of the gods. Or of some diving spirit. However you want to put it. Whether those things come true isn’t one way or another about it.
– The Collapsing Empire
Date Read: January 26
Author: Kevin Kwan
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3/5
I read the book because it was available through the public library, and because I liked the movie. I think that I liked the movie better.
Doing nothing can sometimes be the most effective form of action.
– Crazy Rich Asians
Date Read: January 25
Author: Brandon Mull
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
It was a good ending to the series. I appreciated the sense of continuity and set-up through the three novels.
We must set aside our wishes and give heed to reality. Nobody can accept the truth while hiding from it. When a decision matters, we have to stare at the truth unflinchingly. Only then can we find peace in our choices.
– Chasing the Prophecy
Date Read: January 25
Author: Brandon Mull
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
The second book in the Beyonders Trilogy, it continues in the same magical world as the first book. Once more, I remember the book as being longer when I read it in middle school, but it was still a good book.
When a government becomes unjust, honor is often found among the lawless.
– Seeds of Rebellion
Date Read: January 24
Author: Brandon Mull
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4/5
I read this series when I was in middle school, and I remember the book as being longer than it is. However, the story was as fun as I remember.
You picked the right road, even though it is the most difficult. That is the essence of heroism.
– A World Without Heroes
Date Read: January 23
Author: Rene Denfeld
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3/5
The book was strange. While the writing was interesting at times, it twisted in circles and was rarely concise in areas that should have been concise.
No matter how far you have run, no matter how long you have been lost, it is never too late to be found.
– The Child Finder
Date Read: January 23
Author: R. F. Kuang
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
I read the first book in the series, The Poppy War, last December, and have been trying to read this book ever since then. I loved both books, and have enjoyed watching the characters change throughout the two books. I am now eagerly awaiting the publication of the third book.
If nothing lasted and the world did not exist, all that meant was that reality was not fixed. The illusion she lived in was fluid and mutable, and could be easily altered by someone willing to rewrite the script of reality.
– The Dragon Republic
Date Read: January 20
Author: Aristotle
Genre: Ethics
I read this for my English class in college, and it presents some interesting ideas concerning ethics and virtue. However, I did not like the style of the book, as it is a collection of notes taken by Aristotle’s students and then posthumously collected into a book. It reads similarly to a transcribed lecture from a class.
Date Read: January 19
Author: Benjamin Dreyer
Genre: Grammar
If you’ve ever wanted to read a how-to book about grammer writting in a completely pretentious tone, this is the book for you. Somehow every phrase is full of both condescension and a sense of superiority.
Zoey's Year in Books 2020