A to Z Yearly Reading Challenge 2020/2021

 

Now in 2021 I decided to do again an A to Z reading challenge. I was quite succesfull with this challenge last year, only missing the letters Q,Y, and Z. (I usually skip X due to too little choices being available for the letter.)
This time though I will post my TBR here in advance and at the same time talk about the books I read for this challenge in 2020, so you might pick (or avoid) my choices from both years in case you decide to do this challenge too.

A

2020
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (The Carls #1) by Hank Green.
Rating: 4 Stars
This was a very interesting mix of contemporary and sci-fi where the main character is an internet video celebrity. I could not put it down and I’ll probably be reading the next book in the series.

2021
Ancestral Night (White Space #1) by Elizabeth Bear – I have wanted to read something by this author for awhile now.

B

2020
Binti (Binti #1) by Nnedi Okorafor.
Rating: 4 Stars
This was a very original Novella, and I’ll go on reading this series for sure.
Note: At a certain point I was upset at how people touched Binti’s hair all the time, and just felt like shouting: “Leave her hair alone for God’s sake!” Then I could understand why book titles like “Don’t touch my hair.” exist

2021
Borne (Borne #1) by Jeff VanderMeer – This has been on my TBR for years now.

C

2020
A Curious Beginning (Veronica Speedwell #1) by Deanna Raybourn
Rating: 2,5 Stars
This book started well, but it got quite boring in the middle so I stopped caring. I won’t be continuing this series.

2021
Children of Blood and Bone (Legacy of Orïsha #1) by Tomi Adeyemi
I have this book in my TBR since 2018. Will I finally read it?

D

2020
The Deathless (The Deathless Trilogy #1) by Peter Newman
Rating: 5 Stars!
This was an extremely interesting and well written first book of an original fantasy series. The world is intriguing and the characters are relatable and multi-layered. I enjoyed reading all POVs. I’ll be continuing this trilogy for sure. The Audiobook narration was excellent too.

2021
The Darkest Minds (The Darkest Minds #1) by Alexandra Bracken
Another YA book that I have wanted to read for years now. Perhaps this year will work!

E

2020
Elantris (Elantris #1) by Brandon Sanderson
Rating: 5 Stars!
This had a very interesting story world and characters. The end was a bit rushed-up and kind of wrapped up too neatly, but still a great fantasy read.

2021
Edgedancer (The Stormlight Archive #2.5) by Brandon Sanderson – I’m reading this series now in 2021 and this novella is part of it.

F

2020
Falling Free (Vorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) #4) by Lois McMaster Bujold
Rating: 5 Stars!
This book proved that a story with important themes can be an entertaining page-turner too. And now I understand why so many people recommend the Vorkosigan Saga which I intend to go on reading for sure!

2021
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North – ‘ABALTBR’ Abbreviation for “Another Book that has been Ages Long in my TBR”, 🙂

G

2020
The Gilded Wolves (The Gilded Wolves #1) by Roshani Chokshi
No rating yet.
I liked the characters in this book a lot, but perhaps I’m the wrong audience for too much action? This isn’t the first time a book full of action made me tired of it. I set this book aside in 2020 after 128 pages because I needed a break, but perhaps I’ll give it a second chance in 2021.

2021
Grass (Arbai #1) by Sheri S. Tepper – Another classic sci-fi author I want to try this year.

H

2020
Hero at the Fall (Rebel of the Sands #3) by Alwyn Hamilton
Rating: 5 Stars!
This was a page-turner finale for this awesome YA adventure series.

2021
House of Dragons (House of Dragons #1) by Jessica Cluess – I read another series by this author called Kingdom on Fire and really liked it. So I’ll try this new series too.

I

2020
The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library #1) by Genevieve Cogman
Rating: 4 Stars.
This was a bit slow in the beginning, but I liked the story world and the characters a lot and especially how the book was an interesting mix of historical/paranormal fantasy and mystery.
I will be following this series for sure.

2021
In the Vanishers’ Palace by Aliette de Bodard – I want to read more books by this author.

J

2020
Joyride Vol. 2(Joyride #2) by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Marcus To (Illustrator)
Rating: 5 Stars!
This is an entertaining graphic novel series, with great characters and LGBT representation.

2021
The Just City (Thessaly #1) by Jo Walton – Another Author I want to read more from since I read Tooth and Claw and really liked it.

K

2020
Kushiel’s Dart (Phèdre’s Trilogy #1) by Jacqueline Carey
No rating since I DNFed it.
The story world was interesting but there were certain elements of it I didn’t like, and the pacing was meandering slow and repetitive. I didn’t like the book enough to finish, setting it aside at page 97.

2021
Knaves: A Blackguards Anthology (Tales of the Otori #4.9 – Wine, Knife, Sword) by Melanie R. Meadors & Other Authors
I received this fantasy anthology ARC from NetGalley and want to read it still in 2021.

L

2020
Leave Me by Gayle Forman
Rating: 4 Stars.
I rarely read Contemporary but this was a very touching, special one. Also an entertaining page-turner that I read in just one day because I could not put it down.

2021
Local Star by Aimee Ogden- I want to try one of this author’s books since I heard a short story called Intentionalities on Clarkesworld Magazine.

M

2020
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Rating: 5 Stars!
This was one of my favorite books last year. It took a really unexpected turn, which made it even more interesting and original, in a way that I could not put it down.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia has become an auto-buy author for me.

2021
The Midnight Circus by Jane Yolen, with an Introduction by Theodora Goss. I received a Netgalley ARC of this intriguing anthology and want to read it this year for sure.

N

2020
New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color by Nisi Shawl & Other Authors.
Rating: 4 Stars
This was a very original and interesting anthology and I’m happy that it won the Locus Award 2020.
My favorite stories were The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex by Tobias Buckell, The Fine Print by Chinelo Onwualu, Burn the Ships by Alberto Yáñez, The Freedom of the Shifting Sea by Jaymee Goh, Blood and Bells by Karin Lowachee and The Robots of Eden by Anil Menon.

2021
The Ninth Rain (The Winnowing Flame Trilogy #1) by Jen Williams. I heard that this a very interesting fantasy series so I plan to start it soon.

 

O

2020
The Outside (The Outside #1)by Ada Hoffmann (Author), Nancy Wu (Narrator)
No rating since I DNFed it.
This Audiobook had a very interesting premise and a very good narrator, but the pacing was really slow and getting to the answers required an amount of patience that I just didn’t have while in lock down. I heard the Audiobook until chapter 15 when I stopped caring enough to go on listening. I might pick this up later in calmer times.

2021
Oathbringer (The Stormlight Archive #3) by Brandon Sanderson
This year I want to catch up with this awesome series so this third book will happen.

P

2020
Prism Stalker #1 (Prism Stalker #1) by Sloane Leong
Rating: 4 Stars.
This was a very original and intriguing space opera graphic novel that I plan to continue reading this year.

2021
Pride and Prescience: Or, A Truth Universally Acknowledged. (Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries #1) by Carrie Bebris.
I keep an unconscious place in my TBR for books inspired by Pride and Prejudice, so I hope this fills up that empty slot.

Q

2020
This letter didn’t work out for me last year and I’m not sure I’m doing it this year either. Let’s see if I accidentally manage it without any plan whatsoever.

R

2020
The Raven and the Dove (The Raven and the Dove #1) by Kaitlyn Davis
Rating: 5 Stars!
I started this book not knowing much about it, but it completely surpassed my initial expectations. It is an extremely clever retelling of Tristan and Isolde with multi-layered, interesting and relatable characters, and with a story world I want to read more about.
I’ll be continuing this series for sure!

2021
Randomize (Forward Collection #6) by Andy Weir – I’ll read anything this author publishes!

S

2020
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
Rating: 5 Stars!
This was a great science fiction mystery story, and the Audiobook narration was five stars too!

2021
Sorcerer to the Crown (Sorcerer Royal #1) by Zen Cho – I have really many books starting with ‘S’ in my TBR. But this seems to be an amazing fantasy series.

T

2020
The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow.
Rating: 5 Stars!
This historical fiction was beautifully written and the story/characters/themes were all awesome. This was one of my favorites of 2020.
Alix E. Harrow is a new favorite author to watch for!

2021
To Have and to Hoax by Martha Waters – Now and then I try to read Historical Romance because it seems to work better for me than Contemporary Romance? I rarely read romance anyway, but let’s give this one a try.

U

2020
Underground Man by Gabriel Tarde, with an Introduction by H.G. Wells
Rating: 3 Stars.
This picturesque, more ‘Gedankenexperiment’ than story book is very different and original in ironically imagining a civilization forced underground after the Sun has gone cold and the Earth’s surface is frozen. Something to read if you are interested in Subterranean Fiction.
The ‘underground society’ is presented as an Utopia but a lot of questions and considerations are left open for further interpretation. One of them is that this book has some openly racist content that I understood as a criticism, due to the obvious sarcastic tone of the narrative, of this future underground society encapsulated in its own intolerance and self-image of perfection, but the way how this racism is blatantly exposed is somehow shocking.

2021
Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Part historical fiction and part mystery thriller by an author I like? Seems very intriguing.

V

2020
Velocity Weapon (The Protectorate #1) by Megan E. O’Keefe
Rating: 3 Stars.
I couldn’t get into this book so much, perhaps due to it being the sixth sci-fi/space opera book I read during Space Opera September. Later I’ll perhaps come back to this book again and see if I enjoy it more.

2021
The Vela (The Vela #1) by Yoon Ha Lee, Becky Chambers, Rivers Solomon (Goodreads Author), S.L. Huang (Goodreads Author)
I received a NetGalley ARC of this intriguing space opera and plan to read it still this year.

W

2020
Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm
Rating: 5 Stars!
I liked this classic sci-fi with clones book a lot. I think it was brilliant and the best-written sci-fi I’ve read for a long while, and I’m happy that I came across this book though the Lady Vaults Goodreads group.

2021
Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive #2) by Brandon Sanderson
Rating: 5 Stars!
I already finished this book now in January and really liked it. This series is awesome and I recommend it. It has really big books but they are so well written that you won’t mind spending three weeks or longer with each of them. In my case I was reading them slowly so the books would last longer and I plan to reread these books sooner rather than later.

X

Is a letter that wasn’t done last year and won’t be done this year.

Y

Since it’s quite difficult to find good titles with this letter, I decided to pick an author whose surname starts with Y, and chose for this challenge Rick Yancey. I could pick The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave #1) or The Monstrumologist (The Monstrumologist #1) by him.  I failed to read any of the books in 2020 but will try one of them again in 2021.

Z

My last year’s choice was Zodiac (Zodiac #1) by Romina Russell, but since I didn’t read it, I just postponed this in 2021. After all, we are still at home in lock down and I need to travel with my mind if I can’t travel in person.