July 2020 TBR

Better late than never, I always say!

In July my reading will very much be carrying on with June’s plans, and that works for me. My audiobook consumption has decreased a bit as I have been wanting to listen to music and podcasts more, but hopefully I’ll still be able to stick one in. I’ve also found myself playing video games and watching more TV than I have been in the first few months on 2020, but it’s anyone’s guess if that will continue.

The Way of Kings – Brandson Sanderson.

As per June’s TBR, I’m still taking part in the #StormAlong2020 readalong, which plans to see participants up to date with the series by the time of the fourth book launches in November this year. I’m happy to say that I am ahead of schedule with this, and fingers crossed I’ll have it finished by the middle of the month.

Words of Radiance – Brandon Sanderson.

I don’t really have much to add about this one to be honest, beyond the fact that it is the second book in The Stormlight Archives and as part of the readalong, this one should be finished by the end of September. I’m loving the first book, and hopefully I won’t feel any burn-out when I move on to this.

The Goblin Emperor – Katherine Addison.

I switched over to the audiobook verison of this in June and… well it isn’t going well. I’m at 90% right now and I just can’t get myself in the mood to finish the story. I don’t really understand the hype to be honest, this feels like quite a basic politics novel with a mention goblins thrown in every now and again. I’m not against low fantasy at all, but when this is touted as a fantasy politics book and both of those are either lacking or far too basic, well I’m not going to be much of a fan. I’ll push through and finish this when I next go out on a long(ish) walk..

Guild of Tokens – Jon Auerbach.

Some of you may recall that back when I was doing reviews as parat of the TBRindr programme, I reviewed Auerbach’s Guild of Tokens: Initiate, which was a short-form novel. The author has decided to combine his smaller ideas into one novel, and has kindly sent me a review copy of the audiobook, and I must say that I am rather looking forward to it. I already know that I enjoyed the part of the story I read a while ago, and fingers crossed I will enjoy this, too.

Hellboy Omnibus Volume Two: Strange Places.

In June I read the first ‘proper’ omnibus in the Hellboy series, along with the two collections of shorter tales, and I’ll now be moving on to read this second omnibus in the main timeline. The short stories are good, but honestly I’m not too sure that I needed over 500 pages of distraction from the main story this early on. I’ve already read the content of this omnibus (years ago) and remember enjoying them, so there is little doubt that this will be another great read.

BPRD: Plague of Frogs Volume 1.

I’ll let Goodreads handle this one, but in effect this follows members of the Hellboy cast on their own adventures and explorations when the big fella isn’t feeling like taking part in the group work. I’ve read the first couple of volumes of this before so again, this is a re-read and I know what I’ll be getting – and it’s good stuff. Interesting characters with a fair bit more development than you might guess going off the ‘normal’ Hellboy stories.

Goodreads: “In 2001, Hellboy quit the B.P.R.D., leaving Abe Sapien to lead Liz Sherman and a bizarre roster of special agents, defending the world from occult threats, including the growing menace of the frog army, first spotted in Hellboy: Seed of Destruction. Mike Mignola and Dark Horse present the complete Plague of Frogs saga, from Hollow Earth to The King of Fear. The first book re-establishes the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense after Hellboy’s departure, cracks open the secrets of Abe Sapien’s origin, and sets the War on Frogs in motion.Hellboy creator Mike Mignola teams with co-writers Christopher Golden (Baltimore), Geoff Johns (Blackest Night), Tom Sniegoski (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and others for occult adventure rendered by Ryan Sook (X-Factor), Cameron Stewart (Seaguy), Scott Kolins (The Flash), and, making his Hellboy-universe debut, longtime award-winning B.P.R.D. artist Guy Davis!”

I’m also planning on throwing in a couple of shorter books here and there, just to break things up a bit. I’ve got a pool of a few books which have top billing for this (Less – Andrew Greer, Reaper Man – Terry Pratchett, Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen to name a few), so be sure to check back here for the July 2020 wrap up in a few weeks to see what I actually did get around to! As usual, if you’ve read any of these people let me know your thoughts – either here or on Twitter (@ApertureReads) 🙂