Sunday, November 20, 2016
Bookmarks (8)
Saturday, November 5, 2016
October Wrap Up
October was a slow reading month even though I had a week's vacation.
Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles Book 2) by Marissa Meyer (audio version)
This one was no where near as good as Cinder. I didn't find Scarlet and Wolf to be compelling characters and their story was a bit rushed. However we did learn new information about Cinder's background. I will continue with the series.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Book 3 of the Raven Cycle series) was every bit as good as the first two. I love all the characters and how they develop more and more with each book. Can't wait to read the final book.
Vicious by V.E Schwab was a stand alone book but now a sequel is in the works. I never know quite how I feel about Schwab's books until I am well into the story. As in all her stories, but this one even more than most, you have to just accept some basic premises right up front and don't ask questions. That was a bit more difficult in this book because it is set entirely in the real world. Her strong point as always is in building great characters. I really loved Victor, Mitch, Sydney and Dol (the dog) and the conclusion was had multiple heart stopping moments. I am very interested in the upcoming sequel.
Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles Book 2) by Marissa Meyer (audio version)
This one was no where near as good as Cinder. I didn't find Scarlet and Wolf to be compelling characters and their story was a bit rushed. However we did learn new information about Cinder's background. I will continue with the series.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
What Are You Reading Wednesdays (10)
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well.
How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd ~ A Flavia de Luce Novel ~ by Alan Bradley
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
"The expression on his darkened face was ghastly: a look of sheer horror. The eyes bulged out in a start that might have been amusing if their owner had not been dead. The nostrils were flared and cavernous, like those of a horse about to bold: as if they had flung themselves open in one last desperate attempt to drawn in oxygen. The corners of the open mouth, inverted as they were - turned up instead of down, in mockery of a smile - made it clear that the man had, at the instant of death, been terrified.
I think yes. The books are set in 1950's England that still has scars but has recovered a bit from WWII. More than the time/location, I would like to BE Flavia De Luce and know stuff about chemistry.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Bookmarks (7)
My favorite ~ A spooky romance ~ Jack and Sally
"My dearest friend if you don't mind,
I'd like to join you by your side,
Where we could gaze into the stars,
And sit together now and forever
For it is plain as anyone can see
We're simply meant to be"
From A Nightmare before Christmas
Don't forget All Hallows Read
Give a book for Halloween
Art by Introverted Wife
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
What Are You Reading Wednesday (9)
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well.
How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
The Edge of Winter by Luanne Rice
"Lying on her bed, feeling the room spinning around, Mickey pictured him in all sorts of terrible situations: hiding, scared, even kidnapped. Or-and this was almost the worst-on a secret vacation with the woman he now loved more than Mickey and her mother. Was he drinking again? The thought was a knife in her back. Not only that, but Mickey now had to worry about the owl and the U-boat, and what it all meant."
I do live in this world. This is contemporary adult fiction of the chic lit variety but with a save nature theme and some WWII American coastal history.
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
The Edge of Winter by Luanne Rice
"Lying on her bed, feeling the room spinning around, Mickey pictured him in all sorts of terrible situations: hiding, scared, even kidnapped. Or-and this was almost the worst-on a secret vacation with the woman he now loved more than Mickey and her mother. Was he drinking again? The thought was a knife in her back. Not only that, but Mickey now had to worry about the owl and the U-boat, and what it all meant."
I do live in this world. This is contemporary adult fiction of the chic lit variety but with a save nature theme and some WWII American coastal history.
Sunday, October 9, 2016
September Wrap Up
September was a great reading month, thanks in part to nice weather that made reading on the screen porch a possibility.
A Handful of Dust was the sequel to the August book for Dogwood Belles Bookclub and Biblical was the September book. Biblical seems misnamed; it is a very smart book similar to On Fire But Not Burning.
A Tree Grow in Brooklyn was for the September Read-A-Long at GoodReads hosted by Katie of Life BetweenWords (link to her review on BookTube is HERE).
Fan Girl is the book I wish I had read before starting college.
The Night Guest was a DNF for me. I had to read ahead to see if the main character's cats would be ok (yes) and spoiled the ending a bit (it wasn't that surprising). I just wasn't invested enough to keep going and the plot was slow moving. It just wasn't the book for me.
Where They Found Her was a good solid mystery. At first it seemed like there were way too many characters with points of view but it all came together well. Trigger warning - the story does revolve around the death of an infant.
A Gathering of Shadows and A Court of Mist and Fury are both sequels to books I read earlier this year. Court is my favorite book of the year so far (even over Six of Crows). I haven't had a book crush in awhile and this one does it!
Don't forget about All Hallows Read - give a book for Halloween
(Art by Introverted Wife)
A Handful of Dust was the sequel to the August book for Dogwood Belles Bookclub and Biblical was the September book. Biblical seems misnamed; it is a very smart book similar to On Fire But Not Burning.
A Tree Grow in Brooklyn was for the September Read-A-Long at GoodReads hosted by Katie of Life BetweenWords (link to her review on BookTube is HERE).
Fan Girl is the book I wish I had read before starting college.
The Night Guest was a DNF for me. I had to read ahead to see if the main character's cats would be ok (yes) and spoiled the ending a bit (it wasn't that surprising). I just wasn't invested enough to keep going and the plot was slow moving. It just wasn't the book for me.
Where They Found Her was a good solid mystery. At first it seemed like there were way too many characters with points of view but it all came together well. Trigger warning - the story does revolve around the death of an infant.
A Gathering of Shadows and A Court of Mist and Fury are both sequels to books I read earlier this year. Court is my favorite book of the year so far (even over Six of Crows). I haven't had a book crush in awhile and this one does it!
Don't forget about All Hallows Read - give a book for Halloween
(Art by Introverted Wife)
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
What Are You Reading Wednesdays (8)
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well.
How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Book III, The Raven Cycle) by Maggie Stiefvater
"The key lines, the corpse roads, the death roads, Doodwegen if you believe the Dutch, but who does, this is how we used to carry our dead," Malory said. "Coffin-bearers traveled along the funeral roads in order to keep the soul intact. To take a crooked path was to unseat the soul and create a haunting, or worse."
I already do in live in this world. It is present day Virginia - some where south of Richmond, in sight of mountains but not in the mountains. I guess all that superstition flew out the window when the Scotch, Irish and Welsh settled in the mountains. Straight roads don't exist....or maybe that is why there are so many 'haint' tales in the region....
Give a scary book for Halloween this year. It's a treat that lasts longer than a lollipop. (Art work by Introverted Housewife) http://intbride.blogspot.com
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Book III, The Raven Cycle) by Maggie Stiefvater
"The key lines, the corpse roads, the death roads, Doodwegen if you believe the Dutch, but who does, this is how we used to carry our dead," Malory said. "Coffin-bearers traveled along the funeral roads in order to keep the soul intact. To take a crooked path was to unseat the soul and create a haunting, or worse."
I already do in live in this world. It is present day Virginia - some where south of Richmond, in sight of mountains but not in the mountains. I guess all that superstition flew out the window when the Scotch, Irish and Welsh settled in the mountains. Straight roads don't exist....or maybe that is why there are so many 'haint' tales in the region....
Give a scary book for Halloween this year. It's a treat that lasts longer than a lollipop. (Art work by Introverted Housewife) http://intbride.blogspot.comWednesday, September 28, 2016
What Are You Reading Wednesdays (7)
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well.
How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
A Gathering of Shadows By V. E. Schwab
"For an instant, another death flashed through her mind, another body on her blade, a boy in a castle in a bleak white world. Not her first kill, but the first that stuck. The first that hurt."
Yes, if I could be in Red London...and a Royal...and have magic...
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
A Gathering of Shadows By V. E. Schwab
"For an instant, another death flashed through her mind, another body on her blade, a boy in a castle in a bleak white world. Not her first kill, but the first that stuck. The first that hurt."
Yes, if I could be in Red London...and a Royal...and have magic...
Sunday, September 25, 2016
Wednesday, September 21, 2016
What Are You Reading Wednesdays (7)
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well.
How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
He tightened a strap. Strong, capable hands - so at odds with the finery he usually wore to dazzle the rest of the world into thinking he was something else entirely. "Do not make a sound, do not touch anything but the object she took from me." Rhys looked up hands braced on my thighs. Bow, he'd once ordered Tamlin. And now here he was, on his knees before me. His eyes glinted as if he remembered it, too Had that been a part of his game - that facade? Or had it been vengeance for the horrible blood feud between them?
Yes yes Yes yes! I said yes when it was A Court of Thorns and Roses in the beautiful Spring Court and I would say yes again now that it is in the beautiful Night Court (the dream part, not the nightmares, I should specify).
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
He tightened a strap. Strong, capable hands - so at odds with the finery he usually wore to dazzle the rest of the world into thinking he was something else entirely. "Do not make a sound, do not touch anything but the object she took from me." Rhys looked up hands braced on my thighs. Bow, he'd once ordered Tamlin. And now here he was, on his knees before me. His eyes glinted as if he remembered it, too Had that been a part of his game - that facade? Or had it been vengeance for the horrible blood feud between them?
Yes yes Yes yes! I said yes when it was A Court of Thorns and Roses in the beautiful Spring Court and I would say yes again now that it is in the beautiful Night Court (the dream part, not the nightmares, I should specify).
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Bookmarks (5)
This is my oldest bookmark. I got it when I was a kid but I can't remember if it was a gift or I bought it when my very own money. It has been through years of handling by my own childish hands and several cats. It even has a shred of the original yarn tassel left. It was the only book mark I had for a very long time. Seeing it makes me smile.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
What Are You Reading Wednesdays (6)
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well.
How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
I Could Pee on This and other poems by Cats
by Francesco Marciuliano
My Life Is Ruined
That was just for you
That was just our little joke
So we could share a little laugh
Just the two of us alone
But you took that special moment
You posted it online
Now forty million people think
I bark like a dog
And so I hide under the covers
Cursing your very name
Saying you better get a good lawer
Or me a great agent
HA HA! This IS my world! Pretty sure all of my cats have thought all the things in this book at one time or another!
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
by Francesco Marciuliano
My Life Is Ruined
That was just for you
That was just our little joke
So we could share a little laugh
Just the two of us alone
But you took that special moment
You posted it online
Now forty million people think
I bark like a dog
And so I hide under the covers
Cursing your very name
Saying you better get a good lawer
Or me a great agent
HA HA! This IS my world! Pretty sure all of my cats have thought all the things in this book at one time or another!
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Bookmarks (4)
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
What Are You Reading Wednesdays (5)
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well.
How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane
"It's good, though, to be a big girl in this job. That's what I've noticed. I've met nurses though, tiny girls, with the strength of ten men. Never underestimate a nurse."
The world is the current world so I already do live in it. Except, the main character can hear a tiger in her living room at night. So that is a little creepy for those of us (me) who have to sleep with a light.
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
The Night Guest by Fiona McFarlane
"It's good, though, to be a big girl in this job. That's what I've noticed. I've met nurses though, tiny girls, with the strength of ten men. Never underestimate a nurse."
The world is the current world so I already do live in it. Except, the main character can hear a tiger in her living room at night. So that is a little creepy for those of us (me) who have to sleep with a light.
Sunday, September 4, 2016
August Wrap Up & September Library Book Haul
August flew by and there was a lot going on due to plumbing leak which then caused the air conditioning to short out, relocating ten cats to a much smaller house, and traveling for work. There really wasn't much time for reading. Three books were audio and all but 3 I actually started in July.
Favorite read of the month: Every Heart A Doorway - hands down! I must own this book.
Least Favorite: This one is hard but I have to go with 'Til Death Do Us Part. It was just boring.
Most educational: The Last Telegram - historical WWII fiction, I learned a lot about the history of silk and silk production in England.
Book Club: Not A Drop to Drink - Gritty and realistic post-appocalyptic; reads like a Western for Girls. We did a bifecta and also read the sequel (not shown because I just finished it today)
Library Haul
Most anticipated: A Court of Mist & Fury
Surprise find: The Night Guest
The rest have been on my GoodReads TBR for awhile and they happened to all be available.
Happy Reading!
Sunday, August 28, 2016
Bookmarks (3)
I keep this little magnetic clip bookmark in the guest room.
This is the room where I keep all my treasures from the sea.
Sea Themed Books
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Steadman
Sunday, August 21, 2016
Bookmarks (2)
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
What Are You Reading Wednesdays (4)
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature here on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well.
How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
'Til Death Do Us Part by Amanda Quick
"For days she had felt as if her every move was being watched. And now she faced another night alone."
Victorian London. There was a time I would have said "Yes, take me back time machine." But I have become a little more practical and the answer is "Yes, but only if I can be wealthy, titled and male."
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
'Til Death Do Us Part by Amanda Quick
"For days she had felt as if her every move was being watched. And now she faced another night alone."
Victorian London. There was a time I would have said "Yes, take me back time machine." But I have become a little more practical and the answer is "Yes, but only if I can be wealthy, titled and male."
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Bookmarks (1)
Bookmarks, yes or no?
I love bookmarks, but unless I especially pick one out when I start reading the book, I am just as likely to use whatever is at hand. Old receipts, strip of paper torn off of sales paper, tissue, etc.
Whatever I use, I do so with the knowledge that bookmarks make the BEST cat toys and the tassel or whatever hangs off the end outside of the book is the first thing to go. In fact, cats seem to be a little OCD in that they can't stand to see the edge of anything poking out and ruining the artistic line of a closed book. No matter what I use, they work and work until they pull out my place holder, unless I hide the book.
Since I have so many lovely bookmarks I thought I would do a regular post to feature some of my favorites here.
Say what you want about Twilight. Even I will agree the writing could have been better and yet....there was something about it. Edward and Bella were the IT couple of the decade (until Katniss and Peta came along). There was no YA when I was a teenager and to me this will always be the series that made YA mainstream not just a niche genre and opened up a whole new world.
I love bookmarks, but unless I especially pick one out when I start reading the book, I am just as likely to use whatever is at hand. Old receipts, strip of paper torn off of sales paper, tissue, etc.
Whatever I use, I do so with the knowledge that bookmarks make the BEST cat toys and the tassel or whatever hangs off the end outside of the book is the first thing to go. In fact, cats seem to be a little OCD in that they can't stand to see the edge of anything poking out and ruining the artistic line of a closed book. No matter what I use, they work and work until they pull out my place holder, unless I hide the book.
Since I have so many lovely bookmarks I thought I would do a regular post to feature some of my favorites here.
Edward and Bella
Forever
Sunday, August 7, 2016
July Reading Wrap Up
Best book of the month: And the Mountains Echoed
Most Anticipated: Lair of Dreams
Least favorite: The Great Gatsby
Most likely to re-read: The Dream Thieves
Learned the most from: The Invention of Fire
Favorite Character: Lisbeth Salander from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Tidbits
Handguns were invented in Europe in the 1300's.
The expression, often used in Victorian Romance novels, 'beyond the pale' to refer to someone's bad social behavior comes from this period also. The Pale was actually a place; the last bastion of English rule just across the channel in France. To go 'beyond' the Pale was to leave civilization.
I met my Good Reads 2016 reading challenge of 30 books already so I bumped it up to 50.
I also started a book journal to help me remember the cool things I want to share.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
What Are You Reading Wednesdays (3)
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature here on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well.
How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire
"She had tasted unicorn at one of those feasts and gone to her bed with a mouth that still tingled from the delicate venom..."
My answer is....maybe....
The idea of portals that open to strange and amazing places is very Alice in Wonderland and since I'm also reading book 2 of The Looking Glass Wars can't be coincidence.
The idea of portals that open to strange and amazing places is very Alice in Wonderland and since I'm also reading book 2 of The Looking Glass Wars can't be coincidence.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
What Are You Reading Wednesdays? (2)
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature here on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well.
How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
The Last Telegram
“In case you hadn’t noticed, we are at war with Germany. Do you think it is very sensible, being seen out after dark, alone with a German boy?”
No. England, WWII. With all due respect to those who lived through it. I honor their grit and courage.
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
The Last Telegram
“In case you hadn’t noticed, we are at war with Germany. Do you think it is very sensible, being seen out after dark, alone with a German boy?”
No. England, WWII. With all due respect to those who lived through it. I honor their grit and courage.
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Booktubeathon July 2016
Booktubeathon started last Monday and ends tonight at midnight. A few kind people ask me if I was going to participate and the first instinct was total panic - I can barely read one book a week. My second reaction was 'but it is for booktubers and I just watch/comment, I am not making videos. But then I thought "Why not? I can just do it to challenge myself." I was happy to see that a there were quite people participating on Twitter and Instagram that don't make videos but were reading along also.
Booktubeathon July 2016 hosted by Ariel Bisect
Overall it was a good experience, I read a book I wouldn't have tried otherwise. The Twitter sprints were lots of fun and I did a few of the Instagram challenges.
Booktubeathon July 2016 hosted by Ariel Bisect
| Reading Challenges | ||
| Read a book with yellow on the cover. |  |
Current edition has some yellow on the cover. There is another edition that is ALL yellow. |
| Read a book only after sunset. | Easy since I work. That is usually when I read anyway. | Not so easy since the first two days I feel asleep after only reading a couple of pages. |
| Read a book you discovered through booktube. | Obviously I knew about this book already but I never wanted to read it until listening to the review by MementoMori on BookTube. |
Sorry MementoMori I did not love this story. It was only mildly interesting to me. |
| Read a book by one of your favourite authors. | X |
X
|
| Read a book that is older than you. |
1925
|
Way older than me! |
| Read and watch a book-to-movie adaptation. | I planned to watch the Leonardo DiCaprio version | NetFlix was only streaming the Robert Redford, Mia Farrow version. Ok-a classic for a classic. |
| Read seven books. | X | X |
While I did not love the story, I did fall in love with F. Scott Fitzgerald. The way he uses language. So evocative. “The blue honey of the Mediterranean” “Her voice is full of money,” “So we drove on toward death through the cooling twilight.”
As for the movie, it stayed fairly close to the book except they invented more interaction between Gatsby and Daisy. It was only mildly interesting but at least there was Robert Redford in the swimming pool! I will probably still try to watch the new version just because I want to hear the soundtrack.
As for the movie, it stayed fairly close to the book except they invented more interaction between Gatsby and Daisy. It was only mildly interesting but at least there was Robert Redford in the swimming pool! I will probably still try to watch the new version just because I want to hear the soundtrack.
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
What Are You Reading Wednesdays? (1)
What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature here on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate. You can answer the questions in the comments section of the weekly #WAYRW post or link back to your #WAYRW post on your blog in the comments section as well.
How to participate:
Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
1. What’s the name of your current read?
2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?
1. The Invention of Fire
2. "Give me Jesu's cross over the pillory. A man's not meant to stand bent this long."
3. No! As you can tell from the above quote, London, 1386 is no place for a lady! Dying young in childbirth or from any of the other myriad incurable diseases of the day was never one of my life goals. Survivors of that time and place had to be a lot tougher than I am.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
About Audio books
I am not a huge fan of audio books.
If I have stuff to do, my attention gets focused on what I am doing and somehow I stop listening. I have to back track a lot.
If I have nothing to do, I would rather just read the book.
Lately though, I have been listening to audio books to kill the boredom of being stuck in traffic during my daily commute to and from work.
What I have learned:
1. The reader makes all the difference; voice actors can really bring the characters to life.
2. Boring detail is much more bearable when read with an accent.
3. Repetition is relative depending on whether it is visual or auditory.
Recommendations:
Outlander Read by Davina Porter who does a mean Scottish accent. I was thinking in Scottish by the time I was done. I tried to read this book once but the minute detail of daily life, while interesting, makes for a slow start. Also this is a LONG book I would still be reading the physical version.
We Were Liars performed by Ariadne Myers. She made this book. YA Contemporary is not really my thing ( and I am not it's target audience either). Her acting made all of the characters come to like, put me inside Caddie's confused head, and I was totally taken in all the way up to the shocking conclusion. I saw some complaints in the book reviews about the repetition in this story. There is a lot of repetition and I think I would get tired of it in written form. But the way this story is performed shows that the repetition has purpose and makes sense.
The third book I want to mention is a July read. I just finished And the Mountains Echoed read by the author Khaled Hosseini, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Navid Negahban. The readers brought authenticity and flavor to the story that would not have been there with my voice in my head. Also having the Afghani person/place names pronounced correctly was a huge help. I stumble over the unpronounceable and that distracts me from the story line. I gave this one 5 stars.
If I have stuff to do, my attention gets focused on what I am doing and somehow I stop listening. I have to back track a lot.
If I have nothing to do, I would rather just read the book.
Lately though, I have been listening to audio books to kill the boredom of being stuck in traffic during my daily commute to and from work.
What I have learned:
1. The reader makes all the difference; voice actors can really bring the characters to life.
2. Boring detail is much more bearable when read with an accent.
3. Repetition is relative depending on whether it is visual or auditory.
Recommendations:
Outlander Read by Davina Porter who does a mean Scottish accent. I was thinking in Scottish by the time I was done. I tried to read this book once but the minute detail of daily life, while interesting, makes for a slow start. Also this is a LONG book I would still be reading the physical version.
We Were Liars performed by Ariadne Myers. She made this book. YA Contemporary is not really my thing ( and I am not it's target audience either). Her acting made all of the characters come to like, put me inside Caddie's confused head, and I was totally taken in all the way up to the shocking conclusion. I saw some complaints in the book reviews about the repetition in this story. There is a lot of repetition and I think I would get tired of it in written form. But the way this story is performed shows that the repetition has purpose and makes sense.
The third book I want to mention is a July read. I just finished And the Mountains Echoed read by the author Khaled Hosseini, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Navid Negahban. The readers brought authenticity and flavor to the story that would not have been there with my voice in my head. Also having the Afghani person/place names pronounced correctly was a huge help. I stumble over the unpronounceable and that distracts me from the story line. I gave this one 5 stars.
June Books
June was a great reading month for me with 7 books completed!
June read for The Dogwood Belles at www.bookclubsonline.org
Sci-Fi - I gave it 4 stars. I liked the format but my reading buddy did not. I will read the sequel Waking Gods which is due out next year.
Next up Audio book - I would call this one historical romance although there is the whole time travel thing. I gave it 4 stars but probably not have rated it so high if I read the physical book. More on that in another blog.
The next book is YA and I gave it 4 stars. I wanted to love this book and I wasn't sure what I thought until Lila Bard walked in. She made the book for me. Overall it was good but I felt as if the plot was rushed. Not a lot of time for detail or to develop the relationship between the characters as we swooshed through the action. I will definitely read books 2 & 3.
The 4th book was recommended to me on Amazon and GoodReads with the enticing 'because you liked The Night Circus...". I loved The Night Circus but these two books are nothing alike except there is a circus. The writing was beautiful, the world was interesting, but reading was slow and stressful. I worried about the bear. I suspected the author would break my heart over the bear. But the end was a total disappointment. Tragedy happened and the characters didn't seem to care as much as they should have so I didn't even get to sob like I wanted to. Just 3 stars for me.
The 5th book was an audio book and a big DNF. 2nd time I have read a 'wolf' book and thought how can werewolves be so boring? It was just too repetitive. Not at all what I expect from Anne Rice who terrified me with The Witching Hour. I read enough to know that it wasn't going to get better, life is short, too many other books I could read. One star.
The 6th book was the June book for Good Reads Group - The Broken Spine Book Club https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/189582-broken-spine-book-club
Based on a true event, set in late 1800's Iceland, a very grim, dark story about a woman who is sentenced to be executed for the crime of murder. Excepts from historical documentation gave it authenticity. The end was very emotional and I cared more than I thought I would. It was a good book but some people might find it depressing. 4 stars for me.
And last, another Audio book. YA contemporary but I really enjoyed it. The conclusion was a big shock even though there were clues all along - I guessed wrong. I cried all the way to work listening to the last disc! More about this one in another blog. 4 stars.
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Book Review - Star Sand
Short novella about two soldiers, one Japanese and one American, and a young Japanese American girl. Living on remote island on the fringe of WWII, everyone is just waiting for the war to end. Hiromi goes every day to a certain grotto where she collects bottles of star sand to take home after the war. She stumbles upon a cave where the two soldiers are hiding. They should have been enemies but instead they became friends. If you liked Unbroken, give this story a try.
More about star sand....
Japanese mythology says the tiny star shaped skeletons are the offspring of the Southern Cross and the North Star. Born in the ocean and killed by a giant snake, they wash up on the beaches of Okinawa. Science says they are really the calcium carbonate exoskeletons of marine protozoa, one of the oldest known life forms on earth......but I prefer to think of them as children of the stars. If I ever go to Japan, I surely will look for a chance to hold the stars in my hand.
Source material from Scribols.com http://scribol.com/science/paleontology/star-sands-okinawas-incredibly-shaped-living-fossils/
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Library Book Haul and May TBR
Fresh from the library....
Outlander in Audio form - maybe I can get through
it this time. I tried to read it years ago and just
couldn't do it. I am more motivated now because I have been burning all my data watching youtube videos on my phone while stuck in traffic. Outlander will save my phone bill and I do want to watch the series. I have wanted to read Miss Peregrin's Home for Peculiar Children ever since it came out and I can't explain why I put it off. Now I have to hurry and catch up before the movie comes out. The Gracekeepers is one of those books that has been following me around by email, Goodreads, stores, and then it pops up in a special library display. Sigh....I give in. I will read you, you stalker book! The Sea Garden is by an author I really enjoy. The settings of her books are always amazing locations that make me want to pack my bags and fly to Europe for a month or two. And the cover of this book is gorgeous - I'm a sucker for a pretty cover. The rest are books that have been on my mental TBR for quite awhile, I have heard so much about them and I am excited to get caught up on those series/authors.
The DogwoodBelles book club/buddy read this month is Star Sand by Roger Pulvers. A WWII novella set on a remote island in Japan. Feel free to join the club or read along. We need more members. (www.bookclubsonline.org)
Sunday, May 8, 2016
April Reading Wrap
"For a moment, you won't be certain what you've done. What you've done is this: You have done the best you could. On the darkest of pathways, you have managed to stay true to the better angel of your nature"
This is probably the smartest book I will read all year.
Also read in April
The Dark Days Club by Alison Goodman
Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles Book 1) by Marissa Meyer
The Diviners by Libba Bray
The Girl in the Glass by Jeffrey Ford
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