Read in 2021

Did Not Finish

I quit a lot of books. This is nothing against these books, they just weren’t working for me at the time I tried to read them. I usually try to give them to about 20% to grab me, but I’ll sometimes quit books earlier or later. I’m just going to include books that I don’t think I’ll come back to here, others will just return to my TBR list.

• Her Alien Beast
  by Presley Hall
  (romance, sci-fi)
  hate the she’s-already-pregnant trope
• Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me
  by Mariko Tamaki and Rosemary Valero-O’Connell
  (comic, coming of age)
  I keep trying Tamaki and I just don’t like her work
• The Sol Majestic
  by Ferrett Steinmetz
  (science fiction)
  not what I was expecting
• The Reign of Wolf 21
  by Rick McIntyre
  (nonfiction, natural history)
  writing style was not for me
• Feed
  by Mira Grant
  (horror)
  took 160 pages to hit something interesting, giving up at 240 pages
• Hawking
  by Jim Ottaviani
  (comic, biography)
  boring
• Nala’s World
  by Dean Nicholson
  (non-fiction, memoir)
  it quickly became not very interesting, I was feeling iffy about how little he knew about cats, will stick to looking at Insta photos
• The Writer’s Map
  by Huw Lewis-Jones
  (non-fiction)
  boring with poor design for reading, wasn’t what I thought it would be
• Birding is My Favorite Video Game
  by Rosemary Mosco
  (comic, humor)
  I remembered the comics online being funnier
• Breaking Badger
  by Shelly Laurenston
  (romance, paranormal)
  another crazy entry in the series, this time I’m not feeling the two main characters, and they’re given so little screen time it barely feels like the book is about them
• Grass
  by Keum Suk Gendry-Kim
  (graphic novel, non-fiction)
  didn’t like the art style, longer than I expected, wasn’t in the mood for something dark
• True Grit
  by Charles Portis
  (fiction, Western)
  almost verbatim the movie
• The Wife in the Attic
  by Rose Lerner
  (romance, gothic)
  didn’t see it going anywhere
• To Be Taught, If Fortunate
  by Becky Chambers
  (sci-fi)
  slow start, put it down and never felt compelled to pick it back up
• Questland
  by Carrie Vaughn
  (sci-fi, LitRPG)
  loved the concept but not the execution
• Science: Ruining Everything Since 1543
  by Zach Weinersmith
  (comics, humor)
  don’t like the art, not my sense of humor
• Cyclopedia Exotica
  by Aminder Dhaliwal
  (comics)
  too on the nose
• I Will Judge You By Your Bookshelf
  by Grant Snider
  (comics, humor)
  too bland, not my thing
• Gorgeous War
  by Tim Blackmore
  (non-fiction, history)
  interesting but too dense and long
• A Court of Thorns and Roses
  by Sarah J. Maas
  (fantasy)
  too YA
• Parable of the Sower
  by Octavia Butler
  (graphic novel adaptation)
  too religious
• Nightchaser
  by Amanda Bouchet
  (sci-fi, romance)
  second try, fizzled out at 24%
• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
  by V.A. Schwab
  (fantasy, romance)
  I disliked the main character and how it seemed to take her a very long time to get over her foolishness and make something of her bargain
• Range
  by David Epstein
  (non-fiction, science)
  wasn’t sold by the intro
• The Song of Achilles
  by Madeline Miller
  (fiction, retelling)
  I can tell this book will be great, like a modern Mary Renault, but I’m not up for this kind of tragedy right now
  
• Adventures in Opting Out
  by Cait Flanders
  (memoir)
  borrowed this from the library like three times and never felt compelled to read it after the first 20%
• Ice Cream Man Vol. 1
  (graphic novel, horror)
  not my jam, first story didn’t make sense
• Neurotribes
  by Steve Silberman
  (non-fiction, science)
  too long, too much detail given to unimportant things
• Something That May Shock and Discredit You
  by Daniel M. Lavery
  (memoir)
  first three chapters had a lot of religion in them
• Disfigured
  by Amanda Leduc
  (memoir, critique)
  the library only had this on epub, and I keep forgetting I have it – might buy it and come back to it
• Notes from a Small Island
  by Bill Bryson
  (humor)
  boring first story
• The Pages of the Mind
  by Jeffe Kennedy
  (romance, fantasy)
  first 20% was a recap of the previous trilogy (hadn’t realized it followed other books)
• Cemetery Boys
  by Aiden Thomas
  (fantasy)
  too YA for me
• The 99% Invisible City
  by Roman Mars
  (non-fiction, architecture)
  interesting but not well-served by a Kindle format – might revisit in paper format
• The Ultimate Pi Day Party
  by Jackie Lau
  (romance, contemporary)
  writing didn’t grab me
• Practical Permaculture
  by Jessi Bloom
  (non-fiction, gardening)
  I’m less interested in this than I thought I would be
• Wintering
  by Katherine May
  (self-help)
  too stressful for me right now, I was worried the husband was going to die of an infection and I couldn’t go there
• Wild Rain
  by Beverly Jenkins
  (romance, historical)
  just didn’t get into it
• This One Wild and Precious Life
  by Sarah Wilson
  (self-help)
  kind of judgy
• The Art of Taking It Easy
  by Dr. Brian King
  (self-help)
  nothing new in the first 20%, humor didn’t work for me
• Creative Quest
  by Questlove
  (creativity)
  some interesting thoughts but too name-droppy for me
• Wildwood
  by Colin Meloy
  (fantasy)
  too young for my taste
• Phoenix Extravagant
  by Yoon Ha Lee
  (sci-fi)
  couldn’t get into it
• Finna
  by Nino Cipri
  (sci-fi)
  the characters’ disagreement was frustrating
• Spacer’s Cinderella
  by Adria Rose
  (romance, sci-fi)
  didn’t like the meet-cute
• Breath
  by James Nestor
  (non-fiction, science)
  I’m skeptical of the causation here and that there aren’t other causes like exercise and diet
• The Midnight Bargain
  by C.L. Polk
  (fantasy, romance)
  too YA for my taste
• Welcome to the Goddamn Ice Cube
  by Blair Braverman
  (memoir)
  upsetting story at start
• Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls
  by David Sedaris
  (humor, memoir)
  not feeling it
• The Idiot Girl’s Action Adventure Club
  by Laurie Notaro
  (humor, memoir)
  not my humor
• Underland
  by Robert Macfarlane
  (non-fiction)
  realized I am more claustrophobic than I thought
• Made to Kill
  by Adam Christopher
  (mystery, sci-fi)
  didn’t like the writing style
• Dear Girls
  by Ali Wong
  (humor)
  not my humor
• The Bedwetter
  by Sarah Silverman
  (humor)
  not my humor
• Pleasure Activism
  by adrienne maree brown
  didn’t like approach to book
• Lord Despair
  by Jane Sydney Bailey
  (romance, historical)
  pacing felt off
• He’s No Prince Charming
  by Elle Daniels
  (romance, historical)
  didn’t like the premise
• Scoundrel
  by Zoe Archer
  (romance, steampunk)
  consent issues