 the dark tower journey is not. I am a big fan of traffic lights. Hey guys, it's Liana and I'm here today with my mid-year check-in. So at the end of 2020, I posted two videos with goals for the year. One was series that I wanted to start, and one was series that I wanted to finish in 2021. So I thought, now we're about the halfway point of 2021, let's see where I'm at with those goals. So let's start with series that I planned to start. I had 11 series in that video that I listed as series that I wanted to start. So for both of these categories, series to start and series to finish, I have sort of labeled them, you can't see this, but I've labeled them in my list, red, yellow, green, because I am a big fan of traffic lights. Because I labeled the ones that I have achieved in green, the ones that I'm either I have made some progress on or I'm about to start or like I'm in the yellow zone on, yellow, and then the ones that I have not touched in any way, shape, or form, not even thought about are in red. For series to start, we're going to go with green first, then yellow, and then red. Of the 11 on my list, I got four in green, three in yellow, and four in red. So so pretty good. Pretty solid for halfway through the year. First up, Malazan Book of the Fallen. I did start that series, I will not be continuing that series. And that's all I'm going to say about that. Next, I had Book of the New Stone by Gene Wolfe. I sneakily picked that as the book club book when it was my turn for Blades and Bytes Rippers. So that is a goal achieved. If you want to see our live show on that, that was on my channel because it was my pick. And unfortunately, I did end up liking it and I plan to continue my series. All of my co-hosts did not feel that way about it. So there is a variety of opinion on offer in that live show. Third, I had Fireborn, which I think the series is actually called like the Aurelian Cycle. Probably should have checked that before turning my camera on. Yeah, it is the Aurelian Cycle by Rosaria Mundy, if I didn't say. And I ended up quite enjoying that as well. I think it was slightly overhyped for me. But overall, I do think it was quite excellent. Not loving the cover change, which is a shame because I do like the series, so I would like to continue on and I would like to get the next book, but the next book doesn't match the first book. And this greatly displeases me, but I will at some point read Flamefall when I get over my loathing of the cover. Next, I had Black Company by Glenn Cook, which I also sneakily chose for Book Club. I'm not doing that again this year. My third and final pick for Book Club this year is not any of my goals. Not that there's anything wrong with choosing a goals book as my Book Club book. In any event, the live show for that is also on my channel. It was in January, I want to say. And none of us liked it, and I will not be continuing on with that series. I found it interesting as a progenitor of Grimdark to see where this all began, one of my all-time favorite genres or subgenres. But I am a little confounded as to why this subgenre became as popular as it did, because if that was the first and only Grimdark I'd ever read, I'd be like, well, fuck that. So, on to my yellow tier, where I have dipped a toe or I'm about to dip a toe into this goal. I had Dark Tower, which I am pleased to announce I will be starting next month. Bethany actually will be reading with me at least the first book, The Gunslinger. And then depending on how we do with that, we may continue on and buddy read the rest of the Dark Tower books. But she and I will both be embarking on our Dark Tower journey in July. So that's why I have it in yellow, because the Dark Tower journey is not. The same thing with Liveship Traders. I had to obviously finish the Farsier trilogy in order to start the Liveship Traders series and Mara and I intend to pick up Liveship Traders or the first book, Mad Ship. No, I keep saying Mad Ship. Ship of Magic in July. So that is also in yellow because it is nigh. Likewise, the Book of Babel, which the first book is Sunlinna Stentons, I was planning to pick up this year. Obviously it's on my list of goals from that video. And I have reason to believe that I will be made to read this in July. So stay tuned for that. In the red category, i.e. I have not even thought about this, our Wheel of Time, which I am now dreading more and more because I've read some things that people have compared to Wheel of Time and I have greatly disliked them. I am curious to see the adaptation of the show that I think is at Amazon doing it. So me being me, I would like to have Red Wheel, uh, buy of the world at the very least before that comes out so that I can say, well, in the book. So if nothing else, that's a good impetus for me to actually pick it up. But I am kind of dreading it. And then I have Dresden Files, which I anticipate disliking to start out. I've heard almost every single person say that they don't like the beginning, that the first is the weakest, and that even the people that like the whole series, even the people that like the first book will say it is the weakest and that they don't blame people who dislike the first book. I still want to start it. I am fully prepared for disliking the first one, depending on how strong that dislike is. Like, I guess I'm hoping to find out when I pick it up if I see enough like seeds for something that could be good with a lot of work. Because I suspect if like the entire project of it just puts me off, like I don't think I'll ever like it. But if it's something where I'm like, oh, like this is rough, and I don't, you know, this is kind of sexist, and this is kind of weak, and this is kind of dumb. But like, I see how this could be good. If I feel that way about it, then I will be willing to go on. But we shall see. Maybe I'll be one of those people that loves it from the get go. I think that's unlikely. But maybe I will be. Who knows? Who knows? No one ever knows my taste. I don't know with my own taste. And I also had Lock and Key, which I low key forgot that I even had on this list when I was looking at the list, because I kind of abbreviate books when I put them in the description. And I just saw Lock in the description, and I was like, the lives of Lock LaMora, but I have read all the books that are out in that series. What was I smoking? And then I clicked on it, and I was like, I don't know, Lock and Key, forgot that that existed. It's a series of graphic novels by Is it by Joe Hill? I think it's by Joe Hill. I watched the adaptation on Netflix, and I really, really enjoyed that. And the audio on the audible dramatization is included in Audible Plus. So I planned to do with Lock and Key the same thing that I did with Sandman, where I would flip through the graphic novel and listen along, except this was a little bit of a problem with Sandman, where it kind of, like it was slightly different in the, it wasn't entirely the same order. It was mostly the same order, but there were a couple of times where I was like, wait, what page are you on? This is not describing what I'm seeing. Lock and Key was way worse, because I did originally start it like a very little bit last October, and I quickly stopped because I was realizing that this is just all over the place and so out of order. So I was like, oh, figure you out later. And then I had, I forgot about it entirely. So whoopsie. Maybe this October I'll actually do it. And last I had Dark Artifices by Cassandra Clare. I did actually make progress on that. I read like two pages. I didn't put it in yellow because I don't think that's really progress. One afternoon I was like, you know what? I'm in the mood for some YA cliché, tropey, angsty fantasy. And then that mood ended after two pages. And it wasn't like the book put me off. I don't want to make it sound like that. I just, it was this like brief whim where I was like, that's what I'm vibing. That craving went away almost instantly. And again, it wasn't because of the book. It just, it was this momentary whim. And then I was like, what? No, I have too many books on my TBR. What? I don't know. I'll read this right now. So it was quickly abandoned. But I do want to read it. And I do think that when the mood is right, I think there's a very high possibility that I will enjoy it. And I would like to enjoy it, ideally. I always want to enjoy what I read. The shocking is that it's to hear for some people. So yeah, that does it for series to start. I have, of the 11 that I wanted to start, I have started for. I'm about to start three more. So that's seven out of 11. And then, and we'll see how we go with the last four that have not been touched. As for series to finish, I had 13. Much more ambitious. And this list of 13 wasn't even a list of every series that I'm in the middle of. It was just the series that I was like, oh, that's prioritize things. Some of them because the final installment would be coming out this year. Now, one of the ones that I marked in green, I'm sticking with that green. But I think I guess technically it's not true, but we'll get to that one. Any hoosies. First, I have winter night trilogy. I just finished that trilogy last month, the winter of the witch. And I really, really enjoyed it. I think the second book in that trilogy is my favorite. But overall, really, really enjoyed that trilogy. I kind of wish that I had finished it in winter, even though I live in Los Angeles, where winter, who is she? But just, you know, winter mental vibes, even though it is always hot and sunny and filled with palm trees, regardless of the season. Next, I have Broken Earth by N. K. Jemisin. I actually have a video of reviewing, discussing whatever the Broken Earth trilogy on my channel. Love, love, love, love, love it. That was the most attainable goal because I had actually even started reading the third book in 2020, so I just had to finish that book. And I did, and was God of Snack and Blown Away, continue to be God of Snack and Blown Away at N. K. Jemisin is just, is she even human? Love, love, love it so much. And I have actually, even though it wasn't on my list of series to start, I embarked on another N. K. Jemisin journey earlier this year. Started the inheritance trilogy. I don't know if I'll be finishing that series this year, since I haven't even finished the series that I planned to finish. Truly Devious is the one that I was like, is this true? Because as far as I knew when I put this on my list, this is a trilogy. And I finished that trilogy, but now there is a new book coming out. As of the filming of this video, it's not out yet, but I think it's coming out next week. And I think that book is a spit off. So I don't know if I can say I finished the Truly Devious series because that book is a Truly Devious novel, but it's not part of the, like the arc was concluded, the mystery was solved, story over. So I finished The Hand on the Wall, and I liked it. And I would like to read more. It's not like I'm put off. I'm more Truly Devious books. Sure, bring it on. I enjoyed it. But as far as being a completionist and achieving goals and ticking things off a list, I think I can comfortably tick off Truly Devious on my list. Now for the yellow tier, these are series that I have made progress on, but I have not finished. So I've got two of those. First I have Scythe, the Ark of the Scythe by Neil Schusterman. I was worried that I would have to reread Scythe in order to be able to move on at all in the series, but I picked up Thunderhead and found that I did not need to reread Scythe. It was, it came back to me as I went. Now I'm really stoked to read the Toll because Thunderhead was even better than Scythe and I am so excited to see where this all goes and wraps up. The Toll is even longer. Each book gets progressively longer. So, yikes, but I'll find the time. I'm really excited about that. And then the other yellow is Lord of the Rings. I read Two Towers a couple of months ago, so I just have Return of the King to go. I can do it. I can do it. It will happen, but it has not happened yet. But when we, when we check in at the end of the year on my goals, which maybe me, maybe I'll do, probably I'll do, I feel confident in saying that I'll be able to report that I finished Lord of the Rings. But then I've got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven that I have not touched that are in red. First I have Rearrier Revelations by Michael J. Sullivan. I have Theft of Swords to go, which I think is reasonable. Not Theft of Swords. When am I even saying Air of Navron? Theft of Swords is the first one. What is wrong with me? Now, this is weird because this trilogy actually gets progressively shorter. Theft of Swords is the longest and then Rise of Empire is a little shorter. And Air of Navron is either the same length as Rise of Empire. Maybe it's slightly longer, but it's not as long as Theft of Swords. And each of the books in that trilogy is actually a bind up of two. So it's six books. But yeah, I would like to finish the Rearrier Revelations so that I can finally read the Rearrier Chronicles so that I can finally read the, what is it, Age of... Legends of the First Empire? Yes, Legends of the First Empire, which begins at Age of Myth. Jashon is a big fan of those books. And I picked up Age of Myth when it first came out, not knowing it was anything to do with anything else, and then found that out and then bought all of the books that came before. Now I just have a buttload of Michael J. Sullivan books. So I need to freaking read them because I own so many goddamn Michael J. Sullivan books. Next I have Poppy War. I was also worried that I would need to reread Poppy War if I'm going to read Dragon Republic and The Burning God? The Burning God. However, I think it was Patrick that sent me a link to a catch-up summary for what happens in Poppy War, which I will definitely be taking advantage of because last year when I attempted to pick up Dragon Republic, I was like, oh god, I don't think I remember enough. So that will happen, but I definitely need to check out that summary before I pick up Dragon Republic. I just, I know Dragon Republic is going to be dark. It's shit. And I'm just, I can do it. I can do it. I just haven't been wanting to put myself through that. But I do want to read it because I hear it's excellent and I did really enjoy Poppy War. But I just, I haven't felt ready to put myself through that. Next Shatter Me, which I've put off for a long time, not that long, but quite a while because I just kept hearing from everybody, people who were big fans of the sequel books and people who were not fans of the sequel books alike agreeing that Imagine Me, the last book is shit, which doesn't bode well. If it was just the people that were hating the new books, I'd be like, well, screw you because Restore Me was probably my favorite in the series. But Defy Me was already a step down. And then again, literally everyone has said that Imagine Me is... I want to finish it, knock it off my to-do list, but I'm not looking forward to it. Next I have The Chronicles of Predane by Lloyd Alexander. They're all really short books. I've read the first two. I think there's, there's five or six. Definitely at least five, but possibly six. They're behind me, aren't they? There's five. So I have three to go. And they're really, again, they're really short. I think the last two naturally are longer because every series tends to get longer as it goes, doesn't it? But they're quick reads, they're fun reads, they're kind of winter reads. So I'll probably be leaning towards picking those up in fall, which again, like fall to me is when stores decide to use fall aesthetic in their window dressing. But nevertheless, what I'm in a fall mindset is when I'll be picking those up likely. Next I had The Age of Madness by Robert Cromby. This I cannot have made progress on because the third and final book, which I have been eagerly anticipating does not come out until September. I have been very steadfastly reading a book a month from the first law books leading up to the release of the new one. So I am very ready for the new book to come out. But until then, I still have sharp ends, then my reread of A Little Hatred and my reread of The Trouble with These, and then with Tim of Crowds. We cannot wait. And I have The Ember in the Ashes or Enema in the Ashes by Sabah Tahir. Once again, I have heard fairly negative things about how this quartet wraps up, which is disappointing to me. I love the first two books so much. I thought the third book was a bit long, and I was starting to feel like the series was kind of like getting long and needed to wrap up. But I was hopeful that Reaper of the Gates was kind of, I know that a lot, I don't usually tend to feel this way about middle books, but people complained about middle book syndrome in trilogies. Middle books tend to be my favorites, but I was feeling like maybe this is kind of a middle book syndrome type thing, where this is a book that's bridging us into the next, into the conclusion. So maybe it feels a bit that way, but I'm fine with it if it means that like this next book is going to be what all this has been building towards, but I've been seeing quite negative reception for Sky Beyond the Storm. I want to finish it because I want to finish it, but I am at Winsu. And the same is pretty much true for the last one of the list, which is The Imperium Trilogy by Clara LeGrand. I love Furyborn so much, I read it twice. But then I heard from a lot of people who were likewise fans of Furyborn that they really did not like Kingsmane, which was the second one. And so I never even started reading it. And now the trilogy is concluded. And I want to read it. And I want to know what I think of it because I loved Furyborn. And actually Rachel from Reasons Rachel loves the whole trilogy. And her tastes in mind sometimes align and sometimes don't. She and I both obviously love Furyborn, but then she went on to read the rest of the series. And she's about the only person that I know that I know somewhat well or intimately who actually liked Kingsmane. I sent her the arc copy that I had of it. What is the light bringer? Is that the last book? I don't know. Anyway, she likes the whole trilogy. So I'm hopeful. It's not that everyone is hated. Unlike with Shadow Meatware, literally everybody thinks Imagine Me is garbage. I haven't seen anyone say that Imagine Me is not dog shit. But with Imperium, it's been a lot of negativity, but this this glimmer of positivity from Rachel. So I would like to read these books. But I'm a little afraid they're going to ruin Furyborn, which I love very much. But we'll do it. We'll do it at some point. So let me know in the comments down below your thoughts and feelings about these various series that I am at various states of completion with. If there's any that you think that I really should make an effort to prioritize. I mean, in theory, all of these are my priority because they were all on my list of series that I would be prioritizing. But if there's any that you were like super duper thing that like, you know, come hell or high water, I really got to get to, you know, let me know. Or if there's any that you're like, oh, I just got to bump that off your list. Don't worry too much about it. Let me know that as well. I post videos on Saturdays, other random times as well, but definitely Saturdays. So like and subscribe, join my Patreon if you feel so inclined, and I'll see you when I see you. Bye.