Actor, Writer, Jedi, Singer,

Actor, Writer, Jedi, Singer,
You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you

Sunday, January 2, 2022

Books of 2021

 




How many books read in 2021:

 Around 130 ish? :O Goodreads has some duplicates on my books of the year, so I'm not sure, exactly :/
 

How many fiction and non fiction?: 

Mostly fiction, though some non fiction was read 


Male/Female author ratio?: 


I think it's roughly 50/50?

Favorite book of 2021?: 

I read a LOT of good books this year, so this will be hard :O 

I love The Expanse books (by James S.A. Corey) I read :D My favorites of that were probably Nemesis Games, Tiamat's Wrath, and Cibola Burn. If you haven't already, please read this series, I need people to gush with! 

Lancelot by Giles Kristian - this book gut punched me on multiple occasions with meaningful quotes and the tragedy apparent between Lancelot, Arthur, and Guinevere. Just AHHH, best Arthurian book HANDS DOWN. 

Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn - I have FINALLY started the Thrawn trilogy and I am so EXCITED for that! :D This book lives up to the hype for SURE. 

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson - I have loved the Mistborn trilogy and this conclusion was an excellent one. The world building went to awesome heights, the plot was so exciting, and the character growth was so great to watch! Plus, it went in unexpected directions and I like how everyone got to be a hero. And Vin continues to be AWESOME, I love her! If you love a good fantasy, definitely give this a go! 

Death's End and The Dark Forest by Liu Cixin 

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin 

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee 

The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton 

Tatooine Ghost by Troy Denning 

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine 

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse 

The Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys 

Rite of Passage by John Ostrander 

Twilight by John Ostrander 

Honor and Duty by John Ostrander 

The Hunt for Aurra Sing by Tim Truman 

Star Wars: Vector parts 2-4 by various 

Earth Awakens by Orson Scott Card 

The Swarm by Orson Scott Card 

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers 

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong 

The Steel Beneath the Silk by Patricia Bracewell 

Dracula by Bram Stoker 

The Ninth Rain by Jen Williams 

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park 

Killers of the Flower Moon by David Gran 

We Are Not From Here by Jenny Torres Sanchez 

The Ascent to Godhood by Jy Yang 

Wedge's Gamble by Michael Stackpole 

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei 

Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley 

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson 

The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E Pearson 


Least favorite?:

Riot Baby, HANDS DOWN. It was such a trash book, celebrated genocide (they killed and displaced a LOT of people, most of them innocent) and making the USA into a radioactive wasteland, had horrible characters (that decided to ruin everyone's lives instead of saving their family or making things better for those less fortunate), was incredibly classist (the contempt this rich author from the east coast has for the poor reeks from the pages), makes fun of mowing the lawn (for some bizarre reason???), has a character judge people for betting on a horse race then she DOES it and THEN when she doesn't win she is all "those disgusting POOR WHITE PEOPLE over there are trash for winning, I hate them" like a fucking PUNK LOSER. This book is just pure hate and a revenge fantasy and I refuse to support someone with such awful things in their head (I'm a violent person and  I would never do such horrible thing to innocent people- cause innocent people DIE in this book and that's not ok). This book basically incapsulates "it's an explanation, not an excuse" when it comes to someone lashing out because of their bad lives. Just because you've been abused or treated badly doesn't mean you can turn around and hurt innocent people. And this book says just that. 

I also DNF'd The Winter King. There was too much abuse towards women being used as window dressing for me to stomach it (plus, Arthur lets a woman get raped and my King Arthur needs to be noble for me to read retellings, so HELL NO). 


Newest?: 


Probably The Gilded Ones or Firekeeper's Daughter 

Longest and shortest book titles?:


Longest - The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes 

Shortest - Hood 


Longest and shortest books?: 


The longest was Dune at 688

The shortest was A Romajulliete Christmas Special at 17 pages


How many books from the library?: 


about 60 percent at the library 

Any translated books?:

Attack on Titan mangas from Japanese 

I Am Here mangas from Japanese 

The Storyteller from German 

Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides from Greek


Most read author?: 

Probably James S.A. Corey. I read a LOT of The Expanse (books and novellas). I also would say Hajime Isayama, since I finished Attack on Titan this year. 

Any re-reads?: 


I re-read Dune! I had read it back when I was around 12 and since the movie was coming out (and book club picked it out but they never showed up), I decided to give it a re-read. I quite liked it on this time around, even though I didn't remember most of it XD (I remembered random sentences). I also re-read some picture books for the holidays.  


Favorite character of the year?

James Holden

Luke Skywalker 

Mara Jade Skywalker 

Leia Organa Solo 

Han Solo 

Vin 

Elend

Sazed

Breeze

Corran Horn

Naomi Nagata 

Bobbie Draper 

Chrisjen Avasarala 

Teresa Duarte 

Lancelot 

Guinevere 

Mahit Dzmare 

Quinlan Vos

Aayla Secura 

Amos Burton 

Alex Kamal 

Elvi Okoye 

Dmitri Havelock 

Vintage 

Tormalin 

Noon 

Naranpa 

Sunja 

Armin Arlert 

Annie Leonhardt 

Murderbot 

Gideon 

Cheng Xin 

Celeste Morne 

Which countries did you go to through the page in your year of reading?:

Japan, South Korea, Germany, England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, France, China, Australia, Nigeria, Austria, Spain, Guatemala, Mexico, Romania, Vietnam, Canada, Greece, and various fantasy/sci-fi worlds. 

Which book wouldn't you have read without someone’s specific recommendation? 


Lancelot (I wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't heard it on booktube), The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter, The Blue Castle, The Prince and the Dressmaker, The Storyteller, There There, Pachinko, The Space Between Worlds, Amari and the Nightbrothers, etc

Which author was new to you in 2021 that you now want to read the entire works of?


Arkady Martine, I love that she wrote a non-earth based sci-fi. 

Which books are you annoyed you didn't read?:

Words of Radiance 

The Sword of Kaigen 

Dark Force Rising and The Last Command 

Leviathan Falls

Cytonic

The Galaxy and the Ground Within 

She Who Became the Sun 

Elatsoe 


Did you read any books you have always been meaning to read?


YES! :D

Heir to the Empire (WOOOO) 

The Hero of Ages 

Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor 

Star Wars: Twilight 

Star Wars: Infinity's End 

Star Wars: The Devaronian Version 

Star Wars: The Stark Hyperspace War

Star Wars: Rite of Passage 

The Courtship of Princess Leia 

Tatooine Ghost, Corpelion Interlude, A Forest Apart 

Rogue Squadron 

Wedge's Gamble 

Star Wars: Dark Empire 1-3

Star Wars: Honor and Duty 

Star Wars: The Hunt for Aurra Sing

Star Wars: Vector (Dark Times, Rebellion, and Legacy) 

Darth Maul: Saboteur 

Avatar: The Last Airbender: Imbalance 

Dracula

Rebecca 

The Demon King 

These Violent Delights 

The Dark Forest 

Death's End

The Obelisk Gate 

The Stone Sky 

The Mandalorian Armor, Slave Ship, and Hard Merchandise 

To Be Taught, If Fortunate 

Nemesis (Asimov) 

Cibola Burn, Nemesis Games, Babylon's Ashes, Persepolis Rising, and Tiamat's Wrath 

The Descent of Monsters and The Ascent to Godhood 

Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, and Network Effect 

The Nightingale 

Earth Awakens

The Swarm 

the rest of Attack on Titan 

Sorcery of Thorns

There There 

The Heart of Betrayal 

The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment 

If I Stay 

Shadow and Bone

Mr. Impossible 

Goddess in the Machine 

The Gilded Ones 

We Are Not From Here 

Dune Messiah 

Black Sun 

Killers of the Flower Moon

In Order to Live 

A Memory Called Empire

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 

The Price of Blood and The Steel Beneath the Silk 

The Oresteia

A Midsummer Night's Dream 

Legend of Korra: Ruins of Empire 

They Called Us Enemy 

Planetfall 



What books are you planning to read in 2022?

continue by Star Wars EU read through (finish the Thrawn trilogy, continue the X-Wing books, Crimson Empire, The Journal of Gnost Dural, Jedi Academy trilogy, I Jedi, Callista trilogy, The Crystal Star, The Black Fleet Crisis, The New Rebellion, Corellian trilogy, The Hand of Thrawn duology, Scourge, Survivor's Quest, and maybe start a re-read of Junior Jedi Knights and Young Jedi Knights :D I might also see if I can read some of the Old Republic comics. OH, and the Dark Times comics and the Rebellion/At War with the Empire comics, maybe see if I can get some omnibuses and g et caught up in my comics. AND The Journal of Gnost Dural) 

Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey (and the novella "The Sins of Our Fathers")

Cytonic by Brandon Sanderson 

The Galaxy and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson  (and Words of Radiance, if I don't finish it in Dec)

Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong

Camelot by Giles Kristian 

The Blue, Beautiful World by Karen Lord

The Galaxy Game by Karen Lord

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley-Parker Chan (REMOVE IF FINISHED)

The Fire of Vengeance by Evan Winter

The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson 

Stealing Light by Gary Gibson 

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne 

Malice by John Gwynne 

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley 

Elder Race by Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear 

Lady Hotspur by Tessa Gratton 

The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

Fireborne by Rosaria Munda

Human kind: A Hopeful History by 


The Spear by Nicola Griffith 

Hild by Nicola Griffith 

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir 

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky 

Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki 

Lore by Alexandra Bracken 

Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley 

Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart 

The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He 

Sisters of the Snake by Sasha and Sarena Nanua 

This Poison Heart by Kaylyn Bayron 

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee 

Lakesedge by Lyndall Clipstone 

Jade Fire Gold by June C.L. Tan 

Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross 

Escaping First Contact by T.S. Beier 

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie 

The Outside by Ada Hoffman 

Ancillary Justice by Ann Lecki 

Revalation Space by Alistair Reynolds 

Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson 

Under Fortunate Stars by Ren Hutchings 

Destroyer of Light by Jennifer Marie Brissett 

Dreamships by Melissa Scott 

The Skystone by Jack Whyte 

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson 

We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker 

The Odyssey by Homer 

The Bitter Twins by Jen Williams 

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman 

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

The Blossom and the Firefly by Sherri L. Smith 

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb 

Queen of Oak by Melanie Karsak 

Saga of the Icelanders by various 

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill 

The Hive by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnson 

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le 

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James

XOXO by Axie Oh 

Wicked Day by Mary Stewart 

Age of Myth by Michael J Sullivan 

The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai 

First Light by Casey E. Berger 

Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons

Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov 

Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio 

The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima 

The Exiled Queen (Seven Realms) by Cinda Williams Chima 

Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord 

The Library of Legends by Janie Chang 

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez 

Children of Dune by Frank Herbert 

Circe by Madeline Miller 

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne Brown

The IDIC Epidemic by Jean Lorrah 

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr 

The Collapsing Universe by Isaac Asimov 

Enchantress by James Maxwell 

Men Like Gods by H.G. Wells 

Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller 

Jade City by Fonda Lee

All the Tides of Fate by Adalyn Grace 

Charlie Hernandez and the League of Shadows by Ryan Calejo

Battlecry by Emerald Dodge 

The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson 

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta 

The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo

The Nemesis by S.J. Kincaid 

The Red Palace by June Hurr

Fevered Star (Black Sun 2) by Rebecca Roanhorse 

After Atlas by Emma Newman 

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Preto 

The Guinevere Deception by Kiersten White 

The Silence of Bones by June Hurr

The Wicked Day by Mary E Stewart 

The Glittering Hour by Iona Gray 

Lovely War by Julie Berry 

The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal 

The Black Coast by Mike Brooks

Beren and Luthien by J.R.R. Tolkien 

More Than This by Patrick Ness

House of Dragons by Jessica Cluess 

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan 

Winter Counts by David Weiden 

Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Morena-Garcia 

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah K. Maas

Escaping Exodus by Nicky Drayden

The Sound of Stars Alechia Dow 

Torchkeeper: The Raising by Steven dos Santos 

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens 

The Burning God by R.F. Kuang 

The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan 

Freedom by Jay Kirkpatrick 

Grass by  

Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis 

Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long

The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee

The Summer I Wasn't Me by Jessica Verdi 

Wreath by Sigrid Undset 

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett 

Sistersong by Lucy Holland 

A Magic Steepd in Poison by Judy Lin 

Harrow the NInth by Tamsyn Muir

Don Juan by Byron 

The Hand of the Sun King by J.T. Greathouse 

Unpregnant by Jenni Hendricks 

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu 

Powwow Summer by Nahanni Shingoose 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 

The Farm by Emily McKay 

A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham 

Afrika by Colleen Craig

The Wind from Hastings by Morgan Llywelyn 
Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier 

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan 

World After by Susan Ee 

Love and Gelato by Jenna Welch 

Surviving the City by Tasha Spillett 

Gone Gone Gone by Hannah Moskowitz 

Blackwing by Ed McDonald

The Silver Serpent by David Debord

The Citadel of Weeping Pearls by Aliette de Bodard

Britain BC: Life in Britain and Ireland Before the Romans by Francis Pryor 

Alcestis by Euripides

The Winter Prince by Elizabeth Wein 

Rosewater by Tade Thompson 

A Silent Voice by Yoshitoki Oima 

Akatsuki no Yona by Mizuho Kusanagi 

Ultra Maniac by Wataru Yoshizumi 

Skip Beat by Yoshiki Nakamura 

Shugo Chara by Peach Pitt 

Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi 

Death Note by Tsugumi Ohba 

Moonshadow: The Nightmare Ninja by Simon Higgins 

Be Water, My Friend by Shannon Lee

Dark Space by Lisa Henry  

After by Amy Efaw 

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare 

The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson 

Boys Run the Riot by Keito Gaku 

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell 

Normal People by Sally Rooney 

P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han 

Sølvhammeren by Vera Henriksen 


Bookish Survey by the blogger "The Perpetual Pageturner" - https://www.perpetualpageturner.com/…/8th-annual-end-of-yea…
Number Of Books You Read:
around 130 ish :O

Number of Re-Reads:

I re-read Dune and a few short books for the holidays. :)

Genre You Read The Most From:

Science fiction! :)

1. Best Book You Read In 2021?
(If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2021 release vs. backlist)

Probably The Expanse and Star Wars books I read and Lancelot and The Hero of Ages an the 2 and 3 book of Remembrance of Earth's Past. SO MUCH GOOD STUFF THIS YEAR :D Especially sci-fi fantasy! For non SFF, Pachinko, We Are Not From Here, and The Fountains of Silence were also really good. Also, In Order to Live for non-fiction. 


2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

I was excited for Mister Impossible but it let me down a bit :(

3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read?:

In a good way- Lancelot, I did not expect it to love it as much as I do
In a bad way- Riot Baby. It was SO BAD I get full of rage every time I think of it.

4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did)?:

No one listens to my recs :(

5. Best series you started in 2021? Best Sequel of 2021? Best Series Ender of 2021?:

Best series starter - Heir to the Empire, Black Sun, The Ninth Rain, A Memory Called Empire, etc
Best sequel- The Expanse books, The Heart of Betrayal, Dune Messiah, etc
Best series ender- The Hero of Ages and Death's End

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2021?

Don't really have a new favorite, maybe Arkady Martine?

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

historical fiction - Pachinko and The Fountains of Silence
contemporary - We Are Not From Here
non fiction - In Order to Live and Killers of the Flower Moon

8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

Nemesis Games, Cibola Burn, Tiamat's Wrath, The Hero of Ages, The Courtship of Princess Leia, or Death's End. Just so much AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

9. Book You Read In 2021. That You Would Be MOST Likely To Re-Read Next Year?:

Lancelot? I do plan to re-read the Lord of the Rings :)

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2021?

Heir to the Empire, The Dark Forest, The House in the Cerulean Sea, Cibola Burn, The Kingdom of Back, These Violent Delights, Dune, Star Daughter, A Memory Called Empire, The Last Enchantment, Lancelot, Noumenon, etc

11. Most memorable character of 2021?

Probably The Expanse cast, Star Wars cast, and Lancelot. Oh, and Vin and Sazed!

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2021?

Lancelot, I would say. The prose was just beautiful and stunning. The Death of Vivek Oji also was written very well.

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2021?

In Order to Live. Just... :(

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2021 to finally read?:

Heir to the Empire, Dracula, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2021?

possible spoilers ahead (there are more quotes from Lancelot, but I can't find them :( )

“What is the worst they can do to us?" Perhaps I was a fool but I felt neither fear nor regret. And as for Guinevere, I loved her and she loved me; I believed that was enough.” - Lancelot 

“This was a desperate contest. Each move and counter move a fear and sweat-soaked thread to be woven later into fireside verse by those who had the gift. For now, though, they made just a dreadful, discordant song. The clank of blade on shield boss. The dull thud of sword on limewood boards and, now and then, the scrape of a blade's edge across iron ringmail or down bronze scales. And always the breathing, ragged and urgent. A man's lungs pumping in his chest like forge bellows, feeding the fire of hate and the blood lust. These sounds told the true story. They were the lyre strings before they are tuned to melodious accord, before the bard's fingers caress them to lift our hearts and our ideals.

No glory now. Just two men hacking at each other with sharp steel. Each craving the other's death. Both desperate to live.” - Lancelot 


“Somehow, we'll find it. The balance between whom we wish to be and whom we need to be. But for now, we simply have to be satisfied with who we are.” - The Hero of Ages 

“I ask of you your lives,” Elend said, voice echoing, “and your courage. I ask of you your faith, and your honor—your strength, and your compassion. For today, I lead you to die. I will not ask you to welcome this event. I will not insult you by calling it well, or just, or even glorious. But I will say this.
“Each moment you fight is a gift to those in this cavern. Each second we fight is a second longer that thousands of people can draw breath. Each stroke of the sword, each koloss felled, each breath earned is a victory! It is a person protected for a moment longer, a life extended, an enemy frustrated!”
There was a brief pause.
“In the end, they will kill us,” Elend said, voice loud, ringing in the cavern. “But first, they shall fear us!” - The Hero of Ages 

“Faith means that it doesn't matter what happens. You can trust that somebody is watching. Trust that somebody will make it all right.” - The Hero of Ages 

“For now, I only wish to make a simple acknowledgement of the woman who held the power just before me.
Of all of us who touched it, I feel she was the most worthy.
“For now, I only wish to make a simple acknowledgement of the woman who held the power just before me.
Of all of us who touched it, I feel she was the most worthy.” - The Hero of Ages 

“Right,” Holden said. “No coffee. This is a terrible, terrible planet.” - Cibola Burn 

“—it reaches out it reaches out it reaches out it reaches out— One hundred and thirteen times a second, nothing answers and it reaches out. It is not conscious, though parts of it are. There are structures within it that were once separate organisms; aboriginal, evolved, and complex. It is designed to improvise, to use what is there and then move on. Good enough is good enough, and so the artifacts are ignored or adapted. The conscious parts try to make sense of the reaching out. Try to interpret it.” - Cibola Burn 



"Miller tipped his hat back, looking up at the stars. “I never stopped looking for her. Julie? Even when she was dead, even when I’d seen her body, I never stopped.” - Cibola Burn 

The investigator looks into the eye of death, and can’t see it. It knows, and that is enough. It feels pleasure and regret because they are part of the template. It says a name – Julie. It remembers taking a woman’s hand in its own.

[…]

The scars reach out, the other minds. Some are frightened, some are lost in dreams that have been going on for years, some are grateful. They sing to the investigator, or they accuse it, or they plead with it, or they scream. They are aware, and powerless as they have ever been. The investigator touches them as it touches everything. It tells them not to worry. That it’s driving this bus. Don’t worry, it says. We’re gonna be fine.- Cibola Burn 

There is a struggle at the end. There’s always a struggle at the end. He’s not scared, and so all through the world, the others aren’t either. You’re like Peter Pan, she says. When a child died, Peter Pan would fall halfway with them. So they wouldn’t be scared. Weird. And that’s a kid’s story? Anyway, it’s not me, the investigator says, smiles at her. Holds her hand. I don’t go for half. — it reaches out and it reaches out and it reaches out and then it stops.

- Cibola Burn 

“There was a button," Holden said. "I pushed it."
"Jesus Christ. That really is how you go through life, isn't it?”  - Nemesis Games 

“No, it wasn’t. It was the scariest fucking answer to Fermi’s paradox I can think of. Do you know why there aren’t any Indians in your Old West analogy? Because they’re already dead. The whatever-they-were that built all that got a head start and used their protomolecule gate builder to kill all the rest. And that’s not even the scary part. The really frightening part is that something else came along, shot the first guys in the back of the head, and left their corpses scattered across the galaxy. The thing we should be asking is, who fired the magic bullet? - Nemesis Games 

“You can’t take the Razorback,” he said to the tiny red triangles. “We are gone and gone and gone.” - Nemesis Games 

“There are two sides in this, but they aren’t inner planets and outer ones. Belters and everyone else. It’s not like that. It’s the people who want more violence and the ones who want less. And no matter what other variable you sample out of, you’ll find some of both.” - Nemesis Games 

I have known Jedi. Many, many years ago. That knowing was not a gladness for me. I believed I would never know another, and I rejoiced in that belief.
But it is a gladness for me to be proven wrong.
I am happy to have known you, Jedi Luke Skywalker. You are more than they were.

"That's--" Luke shook his head blankly, blinking against the darkness. "I mean, thanks, but I barely know anything."
So you believe. But I say to you: you are greater than the Jedi of former days.
Luke could only frown, and shake his head again. "What makes you say that?"
Because unlike the Knights of old, Jedi Luke Skywalker...
You are not afraid of the dark.

- Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor 

“In the distant reaches of his memory, he found a lesson of Yoda’s, from one long solstice night, deep in the jungle near Dagobah’s equator. When to the Force you truly give yourself, all you do expresses the truth of who you are, Yoda had said, leaning forward so that the knattik-root campfire painted blue shadows within the deep creases of his ancient face. Then through you the Force will flow, and guide your hand it will, until the greatest good might come of your smallest gesture.” - Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor 

“Suddenly he felt like everything was all wrong. He’d made wrong choices every day of his life. In his mind’s eye floated everyone who’d died because of him. Everyone who’d been hurt. From Mindor to Endor, back to Yavin—back to the corpses that had lain, still smoking, in the ruined doorway of the Lars moisture farm. I guess I sort of thought everything was over. I got my happy ending. I thought I did. I mean, didn’t I do everything you asked me to? Master Yoda, you wanted to break the rule of the Sith. And they’re gone. Ben, you asked me to destroy Darth Vader. I did that, too. Father—even you, Father. You told me that together we would throw down the Emperor. And we did. Now it’s over. But it’s not the end. It’s never the end. The cave boomed and shivered as the rock storm arrived like an artillery barrage. Luke just sat, head down, letting dust and grit trickle inside the back of his collar as meteorites pounded the hills. I guess I was still kind of hoping there might be a Happily Ever After in there somewhere. Not even for me. I was ready to die. I still am. It’s everybody else. It’s like everything we went through, it was for nothing. We’re still fighting. We’ll always be fighting. It’s like I didn’t actually save anybody. Gone is the past, he remembered Master Yoda saying once. Imaginary is the future. Always now, even eternity will be. Which Luke had always interpreted as Don’t worry about what’s already done, and don’t worry about what you’ll do later. Do something now. Which would be fine advice, if he had the faintest clue what that something should be. Maybe if he’d had more experience as a general, he’d know if he should search for his missing men, or return to the crash site and wait for pickup, or try to find some way to signal the task force spaceside. I never should have taken this job. I just don’t know what a general would be doing right now. All I know is what a Jedi … Then his head came up. I do know what a Jedi would be doing—and it isn’t sitting around feeling sorry for himself, for starters.” - Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor 

Because that's what Jedi do, isn't it? Luke thought. That's what we're for.
We're the ones who bring the light.
” - Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor 

“He had thought he was bringing light with him into the darkness, by holding on to the Force. Now he saw that the Force's light didn't shine on him. It shone through him.
He was the light in the darkness.” - Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor 

“The messages coming back flooded the comm buffers with rage and sorrow, threats of vengeance and offers of aid. Those last were the hardest. New colonies still trying to force their way into local ecosystems so exotic that their bodies could hardly recognize them as life at all, isolated, exhausted, sometimes at the edge of their resources. And what they wanted was to send back help. He listened to their voices, saw the distress in their eyes. He couldn't help, but love them a little bit.

Under the best conditions, disasters and plagues did that. It wasn't universally true. There would always be hoarders and price gouging, people who closed their doors to refugees and left them freezing and starving. But the impulse to help was there too. To carry a burden together, even if it meant having less for yourself. Humanity had come as far as it had in a haze of war, sickness, violence, and genocide. History was drenched in blood. But it also had cooperation and kindness, generosity, intermarriage. The one didn’t come without the other.” - Babylon's Ashes 

“There are people I love. There are people who have loved me. I fought for what I believed, protected those I could, and stood my ground against the encroaching darkness. Good enough.” - Tiamat's Wrath 

“But pacifism only works when your enemy has a conscience.” - Tiamat's Wrath 

“That’s the thing about autocracy. It looks pretty decent while it still looks pretty decent. Survivable, anyway. And it keeps looking like that right up until it doesn’t. That’s how you find out it’s too late.” - Tiamat's Wrath 

“There were so many last times that passed unrecognized. Knowing in the moment what was ending and wouldn’t come again was precious.” - Tiamat's Wrath 

“I’ll die for that,” Emma said. “I’ll die so that people can be fuckups and still find mercy.” - Tiamat's Wrath 

“Prepare us for what?” Holden asked. “To poke gods with a sharp stick?” “No, Captain Holden. No sticks,” Duarte said. “When you fight gods, you storm heaven." - Persepolis Rising

“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” - Dune 

“And now we know that this is the journey that must be made by every civilization: awakening inside a cramped cradle, toddling out of it, taking flight, flying faster and farther, and, finally, merging with the fate of the universe as one. The ultimate fate of all intelligent beings has always been to become as grand as their thoughts.” - Death's End 

“Cheng Xin gazed up at the giant black columns reaching into space. They lifted up the domed sky and seemed to turn the universe into a Palace of Death. Is this the ultimate end for everything? In the sky, Cheng Xin could see the end of the columns. She pointed in that direction. “So the ships entered lightspeed at the end?” “That’s right. These are only about a hundred kilometers high. We’ve seen columns even shorter than these, presumably left by ships that entered lightspeed almost instantaneously.” “Are these the most advanced lightspeed ships?” “Maybe. But this is a rarely seen technique. Death lines are usually the products of Zero-Homers.” “Zero-Homers?” “They’re also called Resetters. Maybe they’re a group of intelligent individuals, or a civilization, or a group of civilizations. We don’t know exactly who they are, but we’ve confirmed their existence. The Zero-Homers want to reset the universe and return it to the Garden of Eden.” “How?” “By moving the hour hand of the clock past twelve. Take spatial dimensions as an example. It’s practically impossible to drag a universe in lower dimensions back into higher dimensions, so maybe it’s better to work forward in the other direction. If the universe can be lowered into zero dimensions and then beyond, the clock might be reset and everything returned to the beginning. The universe might possess ten macroscopic dimensions again.” - Death's End 

“Why don’t you tell me what the most powerful weapon for a civilization possessing almost infinite technological prowess is? Don’t think of this as a technical question. Think philosophy.” Cheng Xin pondered for a while and then struggled to shake her head. “I don’t know.” “Your experiences should give you a hint.” What had she experienced? She had seen how a cruel attacker could lower the dimensions of space by one and destroy a solar system. What are dimensions? “The universal laws of physics,” Cheng Xin said. “That’s right. The universal laws of physics are the most terrifying weapons, and also the most effective defenses. Whether it’s by the Milky Way or the Andromeda Galaxy, at the scale of the local galactic group or the Virgo Supercluster, those warring civilizations possessing godlike technology will not hesitate to use the universal laws of physics as weapons. There are many laws that can be manipulated into weapons, but most commonly, the focus is on spatial dimensions and the speed of light. Typically, lowering spatial dimensions is a technique for attack, and lowering the speed of light is a technique for defense. Thus, the dimensional strike on the Solar System was an advanced attack method. A dimensional strike is a sign of respect. In this universe, respect is not easy to earn. I guess you could consider it an honor for Earth civilization.” - Death's End 


16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2021?

Dune was the longest, at 688 pages.
A Romajuliette Christmas Special was the shortest, at 17 pages

17. Book That Shocked You The Most
(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

Death's End. The author really WENT there with the science fiction SPACE stuff and I just kept going OH MY GOOOOSHHHHHHH over and over and over. Just...so GOOD.

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

Holden and Amos and Alex

Naomi and Amos and Alex

Bobbie and Alex

Amos and Clarissa

Holden and Miller

Quinlan and Aayla

Luke and Han

Murderbot and Dr. Mensah

Cheng Xin and AA

Deka and the other girls in The Gilded Ones


20. Favorite Book You Read in 2021 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

The Expanse books, Heir to the Empire, and The Hero of Ages.

21. Best Book You Read In 2021 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure/Bookstagram, Etc.:

Lancelot, Hood, The Ninth Rain, Rebecca, The Blue Castle, etc

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2021?

Holden! :O

23. Best 2021 debut you read?

Firekeeper's Daughter and These Violent Delights

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

Lancelot, The Stone Sky/The Obelisk Gate, The Expanse, A Memory Called Empire

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

The Expanse, A Psalm for the Wild-Built, Aru Shah and the End of Time, Amari and the Nightbrothers, all the Star Wars comics, Network Effect, etc

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2021?

Lancelot was a close one :(

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

Lancelot, it is SO underrated.

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

The Expanse, Lancelot, Death's End, In Order to Live, Star Wars: Vector, etc

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2021?

A Memory Called Empire and Death's End

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

Riot Baby pissed me off so much, I DETEST that book.

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2021 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2022?

Words of Radiance, Leviathan Falls, Cytonic, The Sword of Kaigen, The Galaxy and the Ground Within, and She Who Became the Sun.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2022 (non-debut)?

Spear, Fevered Star, etc

3. 2022 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Probably one of the OwlCrate books I get.

4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2022?

There aren't any coming for series I want. Maybe the last Expanse novella?

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2022?

I might see if I can post more on here :O
For reading, I want to get to over 100 books, finish series, continue to read more diversely, and read less things that upset me (and DNF books if they have content I don't want to read about).

6. A 2022 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone (if applicable):
I don't get ARCS

2 comments:

  1. Great post!! I always look forward to this. :D I'm glad you got to read so many good books this year! I like the quotes from Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor - is it a standalone book? Also liked “Right,” Holden said. “No coffee. This is a terrible, terrible planet.” XD It's always neat to see the countries you "traveled" through as well. :) It'd be cool if you posted on here more!! I'd definitely read! :)

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    1. Thank you! :) Glad you enjoy this post! I always have fun putting it together :) Yes, Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor is a standalone. I think you would like it :)
      Yess, Holden and his coffee XD He's hilarious and quite relatable! I think you'd like him :)
      Agreed! I love reading about other countries!
      Thanks! I know I do want to do a Christmas post and I might do some more fun posts again on here. I miss blogging! :) I would read more of your blog too!

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