15 books that I’m currently reading

Hello bookworms!! Today I want to address the chaos that is my life, and the 15 books that I’m currently reading. PLEASE SEND HELP.

I mean, who even knows how these things happen. I certainly don’t, and I’m living it. But more than that, I want to look at each of the books I’m “currently reading” and decide once and for all if I should keep reading them. Or maybe not — I’m bad at making decisions too. And even worse at sticking to them…

If you want to know more about the books, I’ve put links to their Goodreads pages so you can see blurbs.

15 books that I’m currently reading

Jack Maggs — Peter Carey

I have previously read Jack Maggs before, so this is technically a reread. I remember enjoying it the first time around. From memory, I was going through a historical fiction phase and buddy-reading books with my grandmother. She really liked Peter Carey books in general, but Oscar and Lucinda was her favourite. I particularly liked Jack Maggs because it has a Great Expectations vibe to it, if Great Expectations was centred on Magwitch instead of Pip.

I started reading it again before I joined Goodreads, so… pre-December 2015. And I don’t know that I’ve made ANY progress since then. To be honest, if I do decide to pick this up again, then I’ll probably have to restart it anyway, as I’ve forgotten most of the plot.

Great Expectations — Charles Dickens

This is a chicken and egg scenario… I either started rereading Great Expectations because I had started reading Jack Maggs, or, I started rereading Jack Maggs because I was reading Great Expectations. Whichever way it went (and honestly I will never remember), they remind me of the other. I’ve actually read Great Expectations a couple of times — my guess is about three in total. It’s definitely my favourite Dickens story because I love the complexity of the characters.

Again, this one has been going on since pre-December 2015 with no progress in the last 6 years. I am definitely due for a reread of more classics though. Perhaps 2022 is the year?! I also have 3 copies of this book, but my reading copy has always been the Vintage edition with the red spine.

Stormdancer — Jay Kristoff

Kristoff fans, I used to call you kin. I used to BE one of you. And now, I have a terrible feeling that it was just a fluke. I also wonder if the actual brainchild between the Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff writing duo is actually Amie… Because let me tell you this: With the exception of Nevernight and Godsgrave, I have not enjoyed a single Jay book. Only time will tell… And by “time”, I mean Empire of the Vampire. Because I am giving him one last chance.

I should be honest with myself for Stormdancer. It’s really a DNF. I’m just annoyed because I have a matching set of these books, and they are signed and personalised. But honestly, the story is so convoluted it’s ridiculous. It’s Darkdawn on crack. I have started this book twice, and haven’t gotten past 20%. Either time. I restarted this in May 2018, and I can confirm that I probably won’t finish it. Unless I’m stranded on a desert island with nothing else to read. Or do.

DEV1AT3 — Jay Kristoff

I KNOW. It’s actually laughable now. I have this entire series as well. Signed and personalised. (I used to live in Melbourne ok? And he literally goes to every book event.) I even have an ARC of DEV1AT3, also signed by Jay. The worst part for me is that I really love retellings. And this is a retelling of Anastasia Romanov’s story. With a character from Pinocchio. BUT, it’s dystopian and I really dislike most dystopian stories. Plus the characters super fucking annoyed me. They were so whiny, except for Lemon Fresh — and what sort of a name is LEMON FRESH.

I did finish book one of the trilogy, LIFEL1K3. I vaguely recall giving it about 3.5 stars, but that was a round-up. It probably deserved closer to 2.5. Anyway, I started reading this one in March 2019 (my ARC copy), and then I gave up after Part 1. I just stopped caring. Again, I need to mark this as a DNF because I don’t think I could force myself to finish it.

StepSister — Jennifer Donnelly

Honestly, StepSister is a book that I will probably come back to. I just don’t know when. This one is an obvious retelling of Cinderella, but from one of the stepsister’s points of view. There’s also a really cool element of the Fates (Greek mythology) and Luck as a person. The premise of this was so cool, and I loved what I had read of it — anticipated solid 4 star read.

I started reading this in May 2019, and only got through about 20% of it. The reason I had stopped reading was because I discovered Netgalley, and I was INUNDATED with review books. I had physical books coming in the mail from publishers, and was getting accepted for every book I requested on Netgalley. I was so stressed that I just stopped reading all of them. And I still haven’t caught up. Hotkey sent me the second retelling by Donnelly, Poisoned, last year though, and it’s prompted my want to finish it.

Red Glove — Holly Black

Oh, HAHAHAHAHA. Red Glove is a book that I am still reading, and for that I need to apologise profusely to one, DB’s Guide to the Galaxy. You see, DB and I started budd-reading The Curseworkers series back in July 2019. I read White Cat in three days. And then I started Red Glove 5 months later in December 2019. And I had read over half of it in 2 weeks. Then I just … stopped reading it. I am pleased to say that DB left me and my slump behind, and went on to finish it in July 2020. *applause*

The worst part for me is that I genuinely love Holly Black’s fae books. But this book has been a weird block for me, and I can’t seem to get past it. I even tried starting The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and didn’t get past the second chapter. However, I DO want to finish this. Partly because I’m sure it’ll be great, but also because I think DB might be waiting for me to start Black Heart…

The Dark Tide — Alicia Jasinska

Oh look, it’s more review books that I just can’t DNF… Yes, The Dark Tide had such a promising synopsis, and I did like the 63% that I have read. It’s got a sapphic romance, and a great sibling relationships, and there are witches and a CURSE. Honestly, there wasn’t a real reason that I stopped reading it at that time. I think I was just in a bit of a fantasy slump.

I started this in June 2020, and having a flick through my TBRs andwrap-ups around them, I likely put this one down because I couldn’t squeeze it into a prompt for Pop Culture Readathon in July 2020. And then I never picked it up again. What can I say? Shiny things distract me… BUT I so plan on coming back to this one. Maybe I need a month to “finish books I started”…

City of Lost Souls — Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments is another series that I decided it would be a great idea to reread… Oh, back in July 2020. We were in lockdown and I was thinking about starting reading The Dark Artifices, but it had been SO LONG since I’d read The Mortal Instruments that I thought “I’ll just reread them super quick first!” And to be fair, I reread books 1-4 within a month, while reading other books. But then I got to the weird Jace part and I … STOPPED CARING.

It took me 2 months to convince myself to start City of Lost Souls, and it’s taken me over a year to read about 60% of it. I am actually further past what Goodreads says, but I switched to audiobooks and I don’t know how to figure out my percentage with that. I am in chapter 13 of 23 though, so 60% sounds about right. (Side note: I went back and figured out how far through this I was after writing the section for Kingdom of Sea and Stone because I had 2 x 63% and I wanted to check. I am 58% through this.)

The other thing to note with this series is that I genuinely can’t remember the ending. So every time something big happens, I’m either like “oh yeah…” or “WTF?!” It’s a rollercoaster. I will finish this one though, because it’s annoying me. I’ve also actually been reading this. Not very often, but occasionally I listen to half a chapter while I fold laundry or something.

Kingdom of Sea and Stone — Mara Rutherford

Kingdom of Sea and Stone is another review book that… I just, kind of, stopped reading. Unintentionally. I just had other shinier things that were distracting me at the time.

It’s actually the sequel of Crown of Coral and Pearl, which I really enjoyed. I think I just had too much time between the two books and I forgot why I loved the first book. I do know that I was annoyed because of a plot point (almost throw the book, mad). But that normally won’t keep me from finishing something.

Again, this is one that I WILL finish. I started reading it in September 2020, before it was released, and I got 63% of the way through it before stopping. Seriously, is 63% the magic number??

The World Between Blinks — Amie Kaufman and Ryan Graudin

On my magical journey of deciding whether I actually prefer Amie over Jay, I started reading The World Between Blinks. Not really. I started reading this one because it’s a middle grade urban fantasy book about lost things, with a cute family dynamic. And I was enjoying it. I started my ARC of it before it came out in January 2021. And I read just shy of 50%. And then A Vow So Bold and Deadly arrived in the mail, and I was (once again) distracted by shiny things.

I had put it back on my TBR for Middle Grade March — that month where I read nothing but smut (NOT for middle-graders). However, book 2, Rebellion of the Lost, is coming out in February 2022, and I definitely want to finish book 1 before then. So this one is going back on my TBR to finish soon.

Cemetery Boys — Aiden Thomas

Ok, so this is partly my fault, but I refuse to take FULL responsibility. I pre-ordered Cemetery Boys from my local bookstore in like August 2020. It was before it was sue to come out in September 2020. And then it got delayed coming to Australia. Something about COVID and ships and publishers. I didn’t question it. Until we got to January 2021 and I STILL didn’t have my book and there was no news on it either. So I cancelled my preorder and bought it through Book Depository.

The book arrived in February 2021, and a week later the bookstore called me saying my pre-order came in. *eye roll* So I got it in Feb, and I started reading it straight away. And then I got my copy of A Court of Silver Flames. Which was the end of my reading of Cemetery Boys. I did only get about 10% through. But I do plan on coming back to this one. I just need to find time to read it!!

The Wishing Spell — Chris Colfer

Ahhh, and now we have arrived at the books that I am actively reading. The Wishing Spell is currently my cleaning / laundry folding / other activity when I listen to audiobooks. It’s a mish-mash fairytale retelling middle grade story, and I am loving it. And because I’m audiobooking this, I’m even more happy because Chris Colfer, author, actor and singer, narrates the story. He does great voices and it’s such a joy to listen to. Also, because he’s the author it lends this genuinity to the story telling.

This was on my TBR for August, and while I did start it then, it’s taking me a bit to get through. I’m currently about a third of the way through, but actively listening to it at least once per week. It’s also the first book in a series of six, so I will have books to listen to for a while!!

Ilahara: The Last Myrassar — C. M. Karys

I am currently reading Ilahara: The Last Myrassar for the THIRD time. And I’m not even sad about it. In fact, every edition I’ve read is slightly different than each time, so it’s almost like reading a new book each time. But because I have read it before, and it’s not coming out until November, I’m not in a rush to finish it. It’s almost like reconnecting with an old friend. And I’m enjoying this read SO MUCH.

There’s something soothing yet exciting about reading about a book that you love, but it’s changed from the last time you read it. It feels familiar but still intriguing. I honestly feel so honoured that I was able to beta read this twice, and now I’m able to read an ARC of it. Maria and Chiara have poured their hearts into this story, and I am going to scream about this story for a LONG time. Like, a LONG time. I’m currently about 15% of the way through this time.

Rule of Wolves — Leigh Bardugo

OK, so I FINALLY finished reading the original Grisha trilogy back in May. Then I decided to reread the Six of Crows duology, which took a month. Then it was finally time to read King of Scars, which was a month. And now it is time for Rule of Wolves. But, I’m reading a lot of other fantasy books, and I’m moderately concerned that I’m going to burn out on fantasy. AND I also don’t want these books to finish.

So I’ve kind of been reading like 2 chapters every few days. Like I am really stretching this out. I need my Nikolai fix, and my Nina fix. And I have no idea where this book is going, but I am worried for my babies.

I started this almost a week ago, and I’m about 6 chapters in, so not very far. But I plan on giving it a good whack this weekend. I feel like once I hit a certain point there won’t be any turning back. And I DO need to know what happens!!

The Heart Principle — Helen Hoang

I got my copy of The Heart Principle on Wednesday, which was two days ago. As of going to bed Wednesday night, I was 50% of the way through. Thursday night I was busy. And tonight (Friday), I have been on a group chat with friends, talking crap about music, travel, life, etc. So I am SO looking forward to reading the rest of this book tomorrow. Because while it is the most recent book that I started, it’s definitely the one on this list that I will finish first!!

I feel like I have been waiting forever for this book to come out. And then I was waiting for my local bookstore to get it in stock. And then I was waiting for Click and Collect to happen as we are in lockdown again. So my ‘lockdown Saturday’ plans are just to finish this book, vacuum the house, and fold laundry. That’s my entire day planned out. And I’m not going to have any regrets about it!!

So, these are the 15 books that I’m currently reading, and how I came to be doing this. I am fully aware that I have a bad habit of putting down books I’m interested in and enjoying for super shiny new things. But, my hope is that I will eventually come back and finish the others!!

Do you read multiple books at once?