accomplishedThus, as is my standard usage of my blog space at or near the beginning of the month, I present the listing of my January, 2017 reads.
*****
Books Read in January, 2017
Up the Line by Robert Silverberg (r?)
The Witches of New York by Ami McKay
Further: Beyond the Threshold by Chris Roberson
The Dark Shadows Companion edited by Kathryn Leigh Scott
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Further Information: A Gamemaster's Treasury of Time by Chris Adams, David Fooden, Barbara Manui, et. al. (RPG) (r)
Europa's Lost Expedition by Michael Carroll
Thousand Suns Roleplaying Game, 2nd Edition by James Maliszewski (RPG)
Thousand Suns Five Stars Sourcebook & Adventure by James Maliszewski (RPG)
Thousand Suns Starship Rules Supplement by Greg Videll (RPG)
Dungeonology by Matt Forbeck
December, 2016 Locus
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Forsaken Skies by D. Nolan Clark
Knight's Dawn by Kim Hunter (r)
January, 2017 Locus
The Black Prism by Brent Weeks
*****
And thus started my year of reading for 2017. I have to say that I was quite pleased at the number of books and other stuff that I read in January, as it seemed to be a slow reading month to start off the new year, though I obviously read more than I expected to. The books I enjoyed the most were:
Knight's Dawn by Kim Hunter - The first book in the Red Pavilions series, this is the story of a knight or soldier who wakes up in territory unknown, his memory gone, but with signs of having been involved in a mighty battle - except that there hadn't been a battle in that area for a hundred years. This story of the character who takes the name Soldier involves wizards, betrayal, battle, love, and friendship(s). Perhaps not as good as Gene Wolfe's _Soldier of the Mists_ due to its more historical basis, there's plenty to this first book in the trilogy with some mystery elements (who is Soldier, and where's he from?) that hooked me the first time I read it, and make it one of the re-reads that I like.
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly - I have always been interested in the space sciences since I was a little boy, and was fascinated by the so-called space race. The author does a terrific job of telling the story of the African American female computer programmers and scientists involved in the U.S. Space Program from its early days. This is jot just a fascinating, true-to-life story, but it's also an inspirational one. If you've read the book, go see the movie; if you've seen the movie but never read the book, do so. You won't regret reading this superb book.
All the other books that I read in January, 2017 were very good, but the two above are the stand-outs for the month for me.
Overall, I managed to read 12 novels, 4 RPGs and RPG products, 2 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels in January. Since this is the start of the year, it brings the year total in 2017 to a set of numbers that look like this: 12 books, 4 RPGs and RPG products, 2 magazines, 0 comics, and 0 graphic novels.
Anyway, thoughts and comments are always welcome. :)