amreading – Jo Ann Schneider

11
Mar 26
0

Books I Read in February

Tags : amreading

Four more books read or listened to in February!

So far Remarkably Bright Creatures is sitting at the top of my favorites list for 2026.

Will something knock it from its spot?

**Zombie Apocalypse**
What I liked:
I know these books aren’t for everyone, but the hubby and I love this series. The end of this one is maybe my favorite, which is saying something! Are the characters over the top? Yes. Is the style weird? Yes. Do I care? No.
What could have been improved:
Some of the jokes do start to get old in this book.

**Middle-Grade Fantasy**
What I liked:
Very fun world and magic system. Good main character and supporting characters. Chosen one trope, which I usually like. Someone in my neighborhood suggested this book and I’m glad she did!
What could have been improved:
Not telling Moorigan what was going on went on for too long. It made her participating in the trials unbelievable to me, which threw me out of the story. The reveal was great, but I was still a bit annoyed.

**Sci-Fi (Basically YA)**
What I liked:
This is book two in the series, and I devoured it. The characters and their awesome banter did not disappoint. The battles were again epic. The main plot is starting to unfold.
What could have been improved:
The writing isn’t stellar, and this book was way longer than it needed to be. I enjoyed listening to it, but if I’d been reading, I probably would have done a lot of skimming.

**Middle-Grade Murder Mystery**
What I liked:
The world building was spot on. So fun and clever and very well written. I liked the characters and the mystery. (Although I suspected the killer from the moment we met them)
What could have been improved:
The prose in this book, while beautiful, is dense. I was annotating it for a pass-along book club I’m in, and I had to really pay attention as I read. Maybe my brain is going soft…

Rankings So Far!

Remarkably Bright Creatures
Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village
Fire and Song
Islands of Rage and Hope
Skandar and the Unicorn Thief
Nevermoore: The Trials of Morrigan Crow
The Swifts: A Dictionary of Scoundrels
Every Heart a Doorway
The Wild Card

10
May 23
0

Why Didn’t I Finish Reading That Book?

Tags : amreading

In the reading world there’s this thing called Did Not Finish (DNF). It’s when a reader starts a book but doesn’t complete it.

When I was younger, I always finished a book.

To me, cracking open a novel (this was before the eBook days) felt like a solemn contract that I’d entered into. Once opened a book, it had to be completed!

As I get older, and a little more judgmental, I find myself sometimes putting a story down and not picking it back up.

It doesn’t happen often, but so far this year I’ve stopped reading two books. One at 25% and one at 53%.

(To put things into perspective, I’ve finished 19 books since January 1^st.)

Last year I only remember one that I didn’t get through.

People have different reasons for stopping a story in the middle. Here are my most common ones.

Not really, but I don’t love f-bombs or explicit sex and I’ll drop a book for too much of either. This is probably my biggest DNF category, because I LOVE a good story, but hate the R-rated stuff, so I often try books that are iffy (for me) and in the end they’re too much.

If a story hasn’t hooked me multiple times by the 25% mark, then I’m out.

As a reader I need someone to cheer for, and if I don’t find that person I’ll stop reading. A few years ago I put down a space opera because the author made the main character too whiney. Everyone else was stupid.

A novel listed as a space opera should have action, not be about the economy. A fantasy book should be more adventure than romance, unless otherwise specified clearly in the blurb. A romance should be more about the characters falling in love than an assassination plot. This one is usually coupled with something else. If the story is still good, despite having mislead me, then I’ll usually finish it.

I’m not talking grammar and typos here, I’m talking forced love triangles, Mary Sue characters, authors who break their own world rules…multiple times, and things that just don’t make sense. I’m actually pretty forgiving about iffy writing, but when this is coupled with one of the above issues I’ll usually throw in the towel.

Bonus for Audio Books:

I think there have been two or three books that the narration has killed a story for me.

The book I got to 25% of I stopped reading because of a combination of I’m bored/don’t care what happens and you lied to me.

The book I got to 53% hit my have you ever read a book about writing really hard with a side of I’m bored. I wanted it to get good, but I figured if I still wasn’t that interested by the midpoint that it wasn’t worth the time to finish it.

Last year I stopped an audio book about halfway through because the language was too foul for me. Plus, I really didn’t like one of the main characters and the narrator was annoying.

What makes you DNF a book?

03
May 23
0

April Book Update

Tags : amreading

I made the goal to read 30 books this year.

As of today I’m at 19. So, basically, I’m crushing this!

I may be reading longer books for a bit, so that will slow me down.

Here’s the list of books I either read or listened to in April.

**Fantasy Romance**
I was expecting more adventure than romance in this one…it’s more romance. Beautifully written and an intriguing world.

**Cozy Mystery**
Murder, an inheritance, a train wreck of a family, food (enough that I spent the whole time reading hungry) and a sweet little romance.

**Epic Fantasy**
Black steel swords, demon bone magic, fallen gods, heretics, political intrigue, and a whole lot of plot and action. This is book 3. I listened to it.

**Clean RomCom**
Confident (and hilarious) curvy girl. A hunky firefighter. Super cute!
Note: This was a 30 minute read. Perfect when you need a little fun romance in your day!

05
Apr 23
0

March Book Update

Tags : amreading

I made the goal to read 30 books this year.

I know, I know, it doesn’t sound like a lot, but I’m pulling a Scotty here and aiming low so I’ll be oh so impressed with myself when I read more than that.

So far I’m at 15! (Maybe I should up my goal to 40…)

March was a good month!

Here’s the list of books I either read or listened to in March.