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Janet Snakehole

@reading_theend

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That loud girl in the bar bathroom hyping you up. USES ALL CAPS. A LOT.

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September, you were a mess. It already seems like it was a while ago, but I do remember it ended with a sprained ankle. I felt like I didn’t read much, but damn those books were long.
Books I loved: Heir and The Knight and the Moth — both rereads before I dive into their sequels, and both held up so well
Books I liked: The Strength of the Few was honestly really ambitious and most of it worked, but it was A LOT, and Under Story was … I still don’t know how to describe it but I’m still thinking about it.
What I watched: lots of Modern Family, Derry Girls, Ted Lasso and Better Call Saul with Kyle, MiB with Maya, Lion King with Zach
What I listened to: Zach Bryan, Bruce, Brandi! by @reading_theend

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11 days ago

I did it! I wrapped up 2025! Most of my faves were from the fantasy realm (The Raven Scholar, The Everlasting, Knight and the Moth, The Art of Legend, Swordheart, Dungeon Crawler Carl, and Greenteeth), with a few contemporary picks thrown in (Wreck and The Bandit Queens). I didn’t read as many books as I have in years past, but I feel like I was prioritizing time with family, etc., so hard to be mad about it!
I watched a lot of TV, as usual, and Slow Horses and The Pitt stood out as my faves. I watched a few new movies and loved Interstellar and Knives Out were my faves. I also loved this year’s seasons of GBBO and Too Chef, and sped through The Good Wife, All Creatures Great and Small, and an Abbott rewatch. I had so much fun watching Superstore with Kyle, and Frog and Toad with the kids.
And as far as music, I really got into Brandi Carlile this year, specially Bear Creek. Other albums that got a lot of play were Florence and the Machine’s Everybody Scream, Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving, and Post Animal’s Iron.
I had so many happy moments, and I feel so lucky to look forward to another year as wonderful as 2025. by @reading_theend

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9 months ago

So lucky to spend time with some of my favorite people and meet some longtime friends on a quick trip to NY. by @reading_theend

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5 months ago

I finished A Trade of Blood in this spot last night, and I intend to stay here until I finish The Knave and the Moon today. I love fall. by @reading_theend

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a day ago

The Strength of the Few by James Islington: I’ve watched Top Chef for the past almost two decades (stay with me), and every season there is a cheftestant who wants to use the ingredient in three ways — as a trio. And 99 percent of the time, the judges reprimand them for splitting their focus rather than making one incredible dish. I kept thinking about that while we were bouncing from world to world in this book — it was really good, but it felt like separating the worlds made the plot and the character development that I loved from book 1 suffer. I still really enjoyed the book, and I thought following the ways the different versions of Vis developed was really intriguing. Plus the storyline was still incredibly propulsive. So I’ll definitely be keeping up with the series, but I’m hoping the worlds and characters all come back together somehow. by @reading_theend

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5 days ago

Heir by Sabaa Tahir (reread): Honestly this reread wasn’t so much because I had forgotten what happened but more so to treat myself before the release of Empire. Plus @penguinteen was doing a read along! And this really cemented for me that I loved this one even more than the Ember In the Ashes series. We do have the advantage of already knowing the world and getting to spend some more time with favorite characters and seeing how they’ve grown and changed. And the new characters introduced carry just as much weight. Here’s my original review: If Sabaa Tahir writes it, I will read it. Heir was SO good — a continuation of the Ember universe set a few decades after the end of the last book, with a new set of characters as the focus but visits from our old faves. I love how she writes personalities, and the magic she imagines is captivating. There’s humor and warmth, but also devastation and stark reality. And I don’t know if she intended it, but I also read this as an allegory to Israel/Palestine, and the power dynamics at play. An absolute favorite, and I think I loved it even more than Ember. It’s out now and you should run to get a copy. by @reading_theend

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6 days ago

Under Story by Chloe Benjamin: When I started reading this, it reminded me a lot of Lightbreakers, but while I struggled with that one, Under Story kept me captivated the whole way. It asks very existential questions about love and loss, but never loses sight of her characters’ humanity. It was a very weird mix of literary and extremely sci fi, but for the most part, it worked for me. I struggled with some of the science — I feel like with these kind of books, it’s actually better to leave a lot of the mechanics of how time travel, etc. works in the dark because it can muddle the story. But it was full of inventiveness and balanced sadness and hope in equal measure. The loss woven into the narrative hit me so deeply, and the fact that I couldn’t put the book down every night really speaks to how well it was written. by @reading_theend

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10 days ago

Views on the way to another soccer tournament. I’m rereading Heir ahead of Empire, and I’m ready to say it: it’s even better than the Ember series. by @reading_theend

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21 days ago

We had a free Friday afternoon (!) and he wanted to go to the library 🥰 by @reading_theend

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23 days ago

The Will of the Many by James Islington: I feel like I need to take a deep breath before I start a high fantasy, because it always takes a while for me to immerse myself in the world and learn the systems. But I found myself sucked into this one almost immediately. I didn’t entirely understand everything going on, but I wanted to know more and found myself staying up for one more chapter...and then another... and another. Always a good sign. It did still take me a while to read, simply because it’s complex and layered, but I was never bored. The characters are excellent — Vis is angry, but know he has to adapt to his new life in order to get the revenge he deserves, and it feels so realistic to watch him struggle with making friends and move through a world he hates, but has to live in. I could say similar things about all of the other characters, and the fact that they all get a chance to shine and grow is really impressive. The magic system is a little bit confusing, but I kept just nodding and moving forward. The ending made me go out and buy the second book immediately! by @reading_theend

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a month ago

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 4 by Beth Brower: Another five-star banger, obviously. We got a little bit deeper into Emma’s past tragedies, which gave her character even more depth. But the misadventures with the reprobates and the blossoming friendship between Pierce and Islington balances the sadness perfectly. by @reading_theend

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a month ago

Yesterday was a good day. (Pretty sure I only read one chapter.) by @reading_theend

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a month ago