Ah, January, the magical month that somehow feels much longer than all the others. It’s been bitterly cold around these parts, so if you live anywhere like where I do I hope you’ve been keeping warm. This month I actually did have trouble recalling all the books I got, rather than the usual feeling like I’ve forgotten something when I really haven’t. An auspicious start, hopefully, for many more great new books to come this year.
On to the books!
New Books
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Star Wars: The High Republic is a new multimedia publishing project, covering an era in the Star Wars universe set 200 years before the start of the Skywalker saga. Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule and Into the Dark by Claudia Gray are the first two novels, adult and YA respectively, which I preordered early last year. I want to start them soon, though my desire to stay on top of other books for the sake of reading challenges has me a little worried about how I’ll economize time.
I ordered A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers back in December from a third-party seller online. For some reason, this book has become difficult to acquire directly from bookstores, at least in Canada. I mean to read it this year, though, so I’m happy to have secured a copy, officially putting the first three of the Wayfarers books in my possession.
Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett is the next book from the Discworld series that I needed, and it came at a perfect time, as I intend to read it before April. This book was actually a very belated birthday gift from a friend, which I was very grateful to receive.
This hardcover copy of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley was a special purchase for me, as I’d been looking for an excuse to buy a new edition of the book for a long time. There’s nothing wrong with the one I already had, but I recently learned of this edition that includes 50 outstanding pen and ink illustrations by artist Bernie Wrightson. I learned it from a pair of videos on YouTube about the golden age of horror comics and I knew I had to get myself a copy.
On the digital front I was a little more impulsive, buying volumes two-six of Spider-Man: Worldwide by Dan Slott et al. I think I got the first volume back in 2017, with every intention of checking the series out, though I’ve yet to do so. I noticed the books were on sale on Comixology a couple weeks ago, though, and decided to pick up a bunch more of them. Who knows when I’ll get to them, but five volumes for less than $25 was a really good deal.
Novel Discoveries
The Last Halloween: Children by Abby Howard is a YA horror comic book that I believe I learned about through a WWW post, though I can’t remember where. I love the contrast between a more charming art style an legitimate horror, which it looks like this delivers on, so I want to check it out. Perhaps something to pick up for October reading this year.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells is the first book in the Murderbot Diaries series. I’ve seen a number of blogs raving about this series, and I’ve got a soft spot for inhuman perspective characters, so I definitely want to give this series a look.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is the first in a duology that I kept hearing about after I started reading Spiderlight last month. Apparently, Tchaikovsky likes to tell stories involving spiders, which I’ve heard are important to the plot of these books as well. I enjoyed Spiderlight a lot, so I’m more than happy to check out more of his books.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart I know virtually nothing about. A friend recommended it to me after seeing a video of someone’s reaction to it, talking about how apparently the book itself advises the reader to just make up an ending for the book if someone asks, rather than saying what it actually is, on account of how devastating it is. I’m a little skeptical, as that seems like a bit of a ploy to draw in readers, but I’ve fallen for it because you can colour me curious all the same.
Piranesi by Susanna Clark I read about on another blog’s WWW post last week. I don’t now too much about the plot, but I know it is set in a seemingly infinite, labyrinthine house that contains an ocean. It sounds weird to me in all the right ways, so I definitely want to check this out sometime.
Closing Thoughts
I wish I could read at the pace others manage, because I’ve got a bit of anxiety about finishing these specific new books this year. There are only five of them, so I really shouldn’t give myself a hard time, but I really want to do a better job of staying on top of my reading than I did in 2020. Do you ever feel intimidated by your TBR pile? What do you do to manage that feeling? I’d love to hear about it.
Until next time, thank you for reading.
Muse with Me 
I’ve somehow never heard of Feet of Clay? It’s a book I’ve overlooked and clearly need to add to my Pratchett collection!
The Last Halloween: Children is absolutely FANTASTIC. It blends gore/horror in a really fun, unique way. Definitely recommend it as an October read! Howard has another graphic novel horror short story collection releasing this month that I’m really excited to read! Also, you’re totally going to love Murderbot. 😉
In one of your recent posts you talk about wanting to read through Discworld books, showing a cover of the City Watch trilogy. If that’s representative of a book you own, you actually already have Feet of Clay! It’s the third City Watch book, so it should be in there 🙂
Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure I learned about The Last Halloween from one of your posts. So many wonderful blogs sharing new books to check out, it’s hard to keep track.