2021 Books
I only started this website in late 2021, so this is just a small slice of what I read in 2021.
Titles and names are listed as they were in the edition I read. So some titles and names are translated.
Key: Title – Author – Date finished; format – language read in – genre – source
Three Act Tragedy – Agatha Christie – 31.12.2021
audio – EN – Mystery – youtube
Kind of unememorable. I feel like all Christie books are blending together in my mind at this point. Maybe I should read other mystery authors...
Authority – Jeff VanderMeer – 20.12.2021
audio – EN – horror/sci-fi – Scribd
As good as the first Southern Reach book, but in a different direction. I need to read Acceptance soon. But I feel that my experience was not as good as it could have been because I listened to this on audiobook. I think I should read a at least the third book physically so that I can focus on it better.
An Unkindness of Magicians – Kat Howard – 3.12.2021
audio – EN – fantasy – Scribd
An Unkindess of Magicians was a 'meh' book. Part of it was probably because I listened to it on audiobook, which I feel makes me focus less on a story, but even without that factor it would probably be a 3/5.
It had a lot of interesting concepts and characters, but what it did with them feels ultimately unsatisfying. A criticism of this book I saw on Goodreads was that a certain twist (about Gray) was revealed too soon, but I disagree with that – I feel like it added more tension to Harper's story (although that never really amounted to anything). The real problem with this book is too many "main" characters, and that some of the action scenes feel underwhelming.
I also felt that the ending could have done more with the themes of an unjust system perpetuated by an elite. After all of the suffering, I wanted too the Unseen World crumble.
Silmarillion – J.R.R. Tolkien (tr. Stanislava Pošustová) – 19.11.2021
physical – CZ – fantasy – borrowed from family
I actually finished reading the Silmarillion!!! It was on some form of my unread books shelf for about five years now. I borrowed it from my grandparents' house after I finished LoTR and then just never fucking read it. Well OK I read the first few pages an inordinate amount of times. But I never actually read the rest until now.
I thought I would have a lot of thoughts after finishing it, but I really don't. This is not a book it even feels right to give a star rating. It feels sort of like reading a Wikipedia article about history. That is pretty much what I expected. But also I kept forgetting who was who. But the important part is that I now understand the sexy Sauron fanart.
Also Lúthien had a dog! Huan best character.
Also what's the deal with Feänor online? Is he like the Vriska of the Silmarillion.