Philippine Myths, Legends, and Folktales

Philippine Myths, Legends, and Folktales by Maximo D. Ramos

Last year I had the opportunity to spend some time in the Philippines and, as I often do with friends who are from different cultures, I asked my Filipino friends what literature from the Philippines they would recommend. Many of the recommendations were folktales so when I returned home, I made finding a collection of Filipino folktales a priority. I really enjoyed the introduction to Filipino myths and folktales which I found in Philippine Myths, Legends, and Folktales and I look forward to reading more in the future.

What You Are Looking For is in the Library

What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama, translated by Alison Watts

One of the books I was really looking forward to reading this year was What You Are Looking For is in the Library; I had seen a lot of positive reviews for it, with several people recommending it for those who enjoyed the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series. I found What You Are Looking For is in the Library to be exactly what I was expecting: a warm, quiet, and sweet read which I was able to finish in one evening. The character studies throughout the chapters have just as much depth as those in the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series but, while Kawaguchi’s series has a bittersweet tone throughout, Aoyama strikes a more hopeful note in What You Are Looking For is in the Library.

Amari and the Night Brothers

Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston, narrated by Imani Parks

I had seen lots of good reviews of Amari and the Night Brothers and so, when I was looking for my next audiobook to borrow from the library before a busy week of driving for work, I was excited to see it was available. Although I do not read many books aimed at children, I have enjoyed many of the ones I have read over the past few years, but Amari and the Night Brothers proved to be one of the strongest examples of that genre that I have read in a long time. I really loved the characters, friendships, and the worldbuilding within this novel and I am looking forward to reading the sequel before too long.

Cloud Cuckoo Land

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

In what is hardly a unique opinion, I fell in love with Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See when I read it a few years ago. I had the privilege of reading it while visiting St Malo itself, which perhaps gave me more of a biased experience, but I loved Doeer’s writing style and particularly the way in which he wrote characters in that novel. Having loved that novel, and having also quite enjoyed some of his short fiction, which I have dipped into, I have to admit some disappointment in reading Cloud Cuckoo Land. Although many of the strengths of All the Light We Cannot See are present in Cloud Cuckoo Land, particularly in Doerr’s ability to write compelling characters, overall it just felt as though this was a novel that needed to be much shorter and more concise in order to make the most of the themes and narrative threads throughout.

Valour

Valour by John Gwynne, narrated by Damian Lynch

Although I had enjoyed my experience listening to the audiobook of John Gwynne’s Malice last year, I had struggled to keep track of the characters and various narrative threads since I was not physically reading the names. It might be surprising, then, that I chose to consume the second instalment in the Faithful and the Fallen series, Valour, in the same medium that did not work particularly well for me before. However, I found my experience of Valour to be vastly different and, with more familiarity with the world and characters now, I did not have the same struggles that I did with Malice. I found Valour to be an exciting second instalment in the series that developed the characters and narrative threads well and surprised me with some of the turns which the narrative took.

Six of Crows

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Given that I have been re-exploring the fantasy genre for the past few years, it is perhaps surprising that I had not yet picked up Six of Crows or any of Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse novels. However, they had simply not made it to the top of my to-read list until a friend who had enjoyed both the Six of Crows duology and the Shadow and Bone trilogy gave me a copy of Six of Crows for Christmas. I was excited to start reading it, as I already had a pretty good idea that I would enjoy it, but I was not expecting to become so invested in the characters so quickly. This was an easy, engaging, fun read, with interesting world building and intriguing characters.

Antarctica

Antarctica by Claire Keegan

I am ashamed to admit that, despite being someone who enjoys reading short fiction and gravitates towards writing in that format, I had never heard of Claire Keegan until I was given one of her short fiction collections, Antarctica, for Christmas. It had been a while since I had read a short fiction collection, so I was really excited to start reading and made it a priority over the New Year period. I found many of these stories to be thought-provoking, with distinctive character voices and settings. As with most short fiction collections, there were some stories which I really enjoyed and others which were not for me, but even the ones that I did not personally enjoy in Antarctica still left me with an appreciation for Keegan’s writing.

Vicious

Vicious by V.E. Schwab, narrated by Ashley Zhangazha

I have been hearing a lot about V.E. Schwab’s writing over the past couple of years, so when I was looking for a new audiobook to listen to at the end of last year, it seemed a good time to try one of her books. I had been intrigued by the premise of Vicious, so I was excited to start there. I enjoyed my experience listening to Vicious, finding it to be an engaging narrative with intriguing and very flawed characters. However, despite that, I probably will not be picking up the sequel any time soon, as I felt that this was a complete narrative with a satisfying conclusion on its own.

Before Your Memory Fades

Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, translated by Geoffrey Trousselot

Over the past two years, I have been reading through Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Before the Coffee Gets Cold series and really enjoying the quiet, moving, and thought-provoking stories in each instalment. It has quickly become a favourite series of mine so I was really excited to have received a copy of Before Your Memory Fades for Christmas. Although this was not my favourite instalment in the series, I still really enjoyed it and found it to be an interesting exploration on grief and continuing to move forward after loss.

A Natural History of Dragons

A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan, narrated by Kate Reading

At the end of last year, I started a series which I think could be a new favourite: the Memoirs of Lady Trent series. I had downloaded the audiobook for A Natural History of Dragons to keep me company during a period where I would be doing a lot of travelling for work and, although I was expecting to enjoy it, I was surprised by just how much I loved it. I found it to be an absorbing and unique read, with an engaging protagonist and a surprisingly action-packed plot for the writing style. I am really looking forward to reading the rest of the series.