AJ’s Archive
Ramblings & Recipes
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Six of Crows Duology
Where S&B is more of a fast paced epic, Six of Crows is a next level heist. There are no good guys in this book, only bad guys who you are absolutely rooting for the entire time. It’s like ocean’s eleven + fantasy and it is 100% amazing.
Cloud Cuckoo Land
I have been waiting for Anthony Doerr to write another book ever since I read ‘All the Light We Cannot See’ several years ago. Cloud Cuckoo Land leverages a similar (ish) story telling style - by jumping back and forth between different characters perspectives. However, unlike ATLWCS this novel is told across a timespan of thousands and focuses on five distinct protagonists…
Shadow & Bone Trilogy
This series sucks you right into the universe; Bardugo wastes no time - she somehow manages to weave an intricate world in a book that never seems to lose momentum, and then continues it throughout the next two as well.
Project Hail Mary
The book starts with Dr. Ryland Grace waking up aboard a ship in an unknown place, with significant memory loss, and slowly realizes he’s there to save all life on earth (no pressure)… I felt like I watched Andy Weir grow as an author through this novel - humor paved the way and stepped aside sometimes for sincerity, strength, and heart.
The Midnight Library
In the area between life and death Nora begins to explore all the lives she could have lived, all the choices she could have made differently, and all the regrets that have weighed on her. The Midnight Library leads you down a path of exploration….making you ask questions of yourself, of the universe, and of humanity.
Circe
Circe covers the life of (you guessed it) the goddess Circe - Titan, witch, and child of Helios. Told from her perspective, and focusing in on the pivotal moments and relationships she had spanning hundreds of years - the story is a classic, retold and refreshed.
Guards! Guards!
The tale of a begrudging Night Watch Captain in the fictional city of Ankh Morkpork, and the shenanigans that ensue when a few eccentric citizens try to summon none other than a dragon. Guards! Guards! is one of 41 books in the Discworld series.
The City We Became
Set in present day New York City, this fantasy, adventure takes you on the journey of 5 individuals who wake up one day as the living embodiment of the NYC boroughs.
The Happiness Advantage
Interesting, quick, funny, insightful read. Disproves the myth that successful people are happy, by showing how the reverse is actually true.