January 2021

January 2021 TBR

by Laura
January 12, 2021February 3, 2021

Since we’re already well into the month, my January TBR isn’t going to be massive; I’ll save that for next month.

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice: This read is for a local book club meeting at the end of the month. After Covid dug its hooks in, I took the rest of 2020 off from book clubs even though they were meeting online because I just wasn’t feeling it. I miss it so much. I miss the community, the discussions, and just interacting with other readers. One of the groups I was most active in has resumed meeting in local parks as a sort of socially distanced picnic and I can’t wait to see them all again! I’ve already started Interview with the Vampire and am hooked! This will be my first completed Anne Rice book, but definitely not the last.
Intelligent Design Uncensored by William A. Dembski and Jonathan Witt: Let me preface this one by saying I know next to nothing about intelligent design. This book is also for a book club, online through a discussion group at my university. I’m committed to finishing the book and attending the weekly discussions for a couple months, but I have no idea what I’m getting into with this group or the book or if it’s something I will continue to participate in beyond this pick.
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris: I’m nearly done with the Sookie Stackhouse series; expect a series review once I’m finished. I plan on definitely finishing Dead Reckoning in January and would like to finish the entire series this month, but it will depend on wait lengths for the audiobooks through Libby.
Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Silver Eyes by Scott Cawthon and Kira Breed-Wrisley: To be entirely honest, I don’t have high hopes for this one and it’s not one I would have ever found if it wasn’t for my nephew’s obsession with the games. But I’m hoping to be surprised.
Atomic Habits by James Clear: My husband continuously reminds me of lessons he learned from Atomic Habits, but it’s not one I’ve prioritized. Since November, I’ve been largely committed to being intentional and trying to form intentional habits, so I think it’s time to move this one to the top of the list.
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole: This is also a book club book. I started it back in November and have been dragging through it despite enjoying all the nods to familiar locations in New Orleans. The meeting to discuss it has been postponed for months for various reasons, meaning I haven’t had much motivation to fly through it as I normally would.

If you’d like to see different available versions of these books while supporting local bookstores, check out my reading list at https://bookshop.org/shop/lelyreads!

2021 Reading Goals

by Laura
January 10, 2021January 11, 2021

I do the GoodReads reading challenge every year, but this is the first year I’ve actually written out multiple reading goals for myself, so this will be an experiment and I’m sure, being the overambitious reader that I am, the list will grow.

Let’s start with my GoodReads goal. This year my goal is 70 books. Last year I read 60 and only finished that challenge by piling on many graphic novels at the end of December. So, why did I increase my goal by 10 this year? I try to increase my goal every year, but usually I exceed my set goal by quite a bit. This was a rough year all the way around and I just wasn’t in a good headspace for reading over the summer, so I didn’t pick up any books for nearly 3 months. I’m hoping to not have a repeat of that this year. If I keep up a steady pace and don’t take the summer off, I think 70 books should be reasonable.

Secondly, I want to finish Lord of the Rings this year. I’ve read The Hobbit multiple times. It’s one of my favorites to go back to over and over again. It’s the book that fostered my love for fantasy. I also loved the deep lore explored in The Silmarillion. But I haven’t read The Lord of the Rings. I started The Fellowship of the Ring years ago but didn’t finish it as I was in school at the time. I’m in school this year too, so I’m not sure what I expect to be different this time around, but it’s on the list. I’m going to start from the very beginning as it’s been too long since I’ve picked up The Fellowship of the Ring and will most likely bounce between e-book and audiobook formats to meet this goal.

I want to start the Star Wars novels from the beginning. This will be mentioned in an upcoming post: I’m in the process of immersing myself in the Star Wars universe and that includes the novels and graphic novels. My plan is to read them in chronological order rather than publication order as my only experience with the world of Star Wars is from the movies.

Northanger Abbey. This book frequently crosses my path and I continuously set it aside. I don’t know why. I like thrillers. I like gothic lit. I haven’t read anything by Jane Austen I didn’t like. I want to read more classics since that’s a genre I don’t usually prioritize. So, 2021 is the year I finally pick this one up.

It’s difficult to follow book blogs or vlogs today without seeing something about The Burning series by Evan Winter. After months of seeing everyone else’s rave reviews, I want to write my own. The Rage of Dragons has quickly worked its way to the top of my to-read list and will likely be read early in the year.

I want to finish the Sookie Stackhouse series. I read the first five books when they were first released, but never watched the show or read any further. This past year a friend convinced me to read (listen to) the entire series since it’s set in Louisiana with a couple snippets from New Orleans. I got the first book from the library and just couldn’t get into it, but found I enjoy the audiobooks. At the time of this writing I’m partway through the 11^th book and plan to finish the series by the end of February if there’s not a wait for the books via Libby. I’m not going to have a post for each of the remaining books, but I’ll do a series review post when I’m finished.

Finally, finish books on my GoodReads currently reading list. My currently reading list is a bit of a mess that I want to clean up this year. Some of the books have been on the list for nearly a year. As a general rule, I remove them from my currently reading list if I’m not actively reading them and haven’t finished them within a year of starting. Most of them are ones I’d like to finish, but am not interested in enough to start over so I’d like to finish them and get them off my list then keep the number to only a few at a time.

How did you do with your 2020 reading goals? What are your reading goals for 2021?

Welcome to Lely Reads!

by Laura
January 9, 2021January 10, 2021

Hello readers! My name is Laura; I own more books than I have space for, and I hate spoilers. I started Lely Reads because I want to engage with people about what I’m reading, what they’re reading, and how books shape our lives. That said, civil conversations are highly encouraged in the comments and I will be active in participating. I’m a student and costume designer so I don’t always have as much time for reading as I’d like, but I read as much as my schedule will allow and plan on releasing weekly posts.

I primarily read fiction, most types of fiction, though you probably won’t see much Middle Grade, YA, or romance from me unless someone makes a truly compelling recommendation. That said, I did really enjoy Outlander and hope to read more in that series in the future. I’m trying to read more nonfiction; most of my nonfiction selections are currently self-improvement and historical events/disasters. As a side note, I read physical books, ebooks, and listen to audiobooks. I’ll try to remember to include this in my reviews and will let you know my thoughts on the narrator if it’s an audiobook. Though most books are of my own choosing, I do belong to multiple book clubs that will be part of my monthly reading as will some ARCs. Recommendations are always welcome.

What can you expect from my posts? A thorough overview of the book, usually spoiler-free, but I will clearly indicate at the beginning of the post if it does contain spoilers; likely some personal anecdotes that led me to the book or resulted from my reading; and how the book made me feel, think, or change my perspectives. I realize not all books are life-altering, but I rarely come out of a reading without feeling something. I’m going to steer away from numbered ratings here, but if you feel you absolutely need a rating, please check out my GoodReads account.