Reading progress report, February

I had two audiobook failures this month. The first was Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies. I just could not stand this book. I hated the characters, I hated the style, and I was completely uninterested in the plot. I gave up after one CD (1/11th of the book). Maybe I’ll go back to it later in the year; I’m not taking it off my list yet, anyway.

The second was Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes, and it wasn’t quite as catastrophic. I liked the premise and the beginning of the story, but one of the two narrators just annoyed the crap out of me with the way she over-emoted. No, you don’t want your audiobook narrator to sound like a robot, but neither do you want them to sound like they are going to start screaming or sobbing at any moment. At least I don’t. So I returned the audiobook to the library and read the print version instead.

Given the change of format, it took me a while to warm up to An Ember in the Ashes. It’s a another in the long line of recent dystopian YA novels, and although it’s a well-developed universe and the characters were interesting, it’s also the first of an intended series, so not much gets wrapped up by the end of the book. Thus it wasn’t that satisfying to read. I doubt that I’ll clamor for the next novel, as much as Tahir’s writing is well-done. I did see that she’s sold the movie rights, so maybe it’ll be the next Hunger Games.

I also finished David McCullough’s The Wright Brothers this month. McCullough always tells a great story, and in this book he marries his usual detail-oriented style with a bit of brevity (the focus of old age?). I had no particular interest in the Wrights, yet I really enjoyed learning about them and their process of invention and discovery.

Books read this month: 2

Books read total: 4

Percentage of year complete: 16.6%

Percentage of books complete: 33%

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