May 2020 Wrap Up

So this month Blogger, which I use to host my blog, changed its interface. And I am still trying to find everything again. It looks nicer on my side of things, but the old interface was in place for years. Sorry if things seem a little different while I get adjusted.

I am also working on a blog post about some of the current events and things that people can do to educate themselves and to help. Stay tuned for that, I will try to get it finished and posted soon.

Alright! Books read in May:

Title: Ouran High School Host Club Volumes 13-18
Author: Bisco Hatori

Synopsis: Haruhi is a poor scholarship student at the very wealthy and prestigious Ouran Academy, where the students have too much money and too much free time. In a twist of fate, Haruhi ends up in debt to the school host club (a gang of six attractive boys). Originally mistaken for a boy herself, she keeps her gender a secret from the rest of the school to become a host to work off her debt. And hilarity ensues.

Thoughts: I needed something light, quick, and fun to read, and these fit the bill. I finally finished the series and I really enjoyed them. They were cute and fun.

Rating: Overall, 4 out of 5 stars

Title: Ask Again, Yes

Author: Mary Beth Keane

Narrator: Molly Pope

Synopsis: Two New York police officers end up buying houses next to each other in the suburbs. Francis's wife, Lena, looks forward to making friends with Brian's wife, Anne, but Anne seems cold and like she wants nothing to do with anyone. They go through normal life, Lena and Francis have three daughters and Brian and Anne have one son, Peter, who is around the same age as Lena and Francis's youngest daughter, Kate. Kate and Peter become best friends. When tragedy strikes to tear them and their families apart, they will have to decide if friendship and love is enough.

Thoughts: This was a book club read for me (and I didn't quite finish it in time for the club's online meet, but I did finish it a day or so later). Overall, I enjoyed the story. Parts were sad or strange or heartbreaking, but there was a lot to love and a lot of redemption. However, I think I was more interested in Francis and Lena and George than I ever was in Kate and Peter.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5

Title: The Mark of Athena

Author: Rick Riordan

Narrator: Joshua Swanson

Synopsis: The adventures of the seven demigods begins as the Argo II travels from Camp Jupiter to Rome after possibly starting a war between the Roman and Greek demigods. Then when they finally reach Rome after a harrowing journey, Annabeth must strike out on her own quest to follow the Mark of Athena. The other six have to find and save Nico from evil twin giants.

Thoughts: This was a re-read for me. I have lost count of how many times I have read these books, but I just love them!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: The House of Hades

Author: Rick Riordan

Narrator: Nick Chamian

Synopsis: Nico has been saved and joins the crew of the Argo II, Annabeth and Percy have plunged into Tartarus. Percy and Annabeth need to find the Doors of Death to help close them and Nico has to lead the rest of the crew to and through the House of Hades to close the doors on the mortal side. Meanwhile, the Roman demigods are marching to Camp Half-Blood, intent on destroying the Greeks.

Thoughts: Another re-read for the up-teenth time. And I had book club books to finish or start but I still re-read this anyway. I did decide to wait to re-read the Blood of Olympus until after I finish another book club book. I love these books very much, in case you couldn't tell.

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Title: I Hope You Get This Message

Author: Farah Naz Rishi

Synopsis: In seven days, the world will end. According to the alien message received on Earth, the aliens from the planet Alma have human lives in their hands and plan to terminate those lives. Jesse isn't sure he believes this and sets out to capitalize on peoples' hopes to help his mom and himself out of the poverty they've been struggling in. Cate, urged by her schizophrenic mother, sets out to find and meet the father that doesn't even know she exists. And Adeem, the coding wiz and radio amateur goes in search of his estranged sister and bring her home before the end. Their paths will collide in Roswell, New Mexico.

Thoughts: This was an Owlcrate book from several months ago. I thought it sounded interesting, but wasn't really in the mood for this sort of apocalyptic/sci-fi type of story. It ended up being quite good, in my opinion. I kept thinking about it and the characters when I wasn't reading. And while I did predict part of how the book ended, I still wanted more and had more questions. But I guess that's sort of the way real life is.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper

Author: Hallie Rubenhold

Narrator: Louise Brealey

Synopsis: The stories of the ones no one talks about. We all know about Jack the Ripper, but what about the women he killed? This book talks about the five women who were murdered: Polly, Annie, Elizabeth, Catherine, and Mary-Jane. Also, they were not all prostitutes as the stories like to tell. These are their stories.

Thoughts: I am guilty of being fascinated by Jack the Ripper, which is why I chose this book. And this book is not about Jack the Ripper and talks only briefly about the murders. It is about his victims who were real women that were treated very unfairly by society both before and after their deaths. This was actually a book club book and I was excited that it was one of the selections because it had been on my TBR for a while. I greatly enjoyed it. If you are interested in history, this book is very well researched and the stories are well told.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Favorite book read this month: Aside from the House of Hades? The Five.

Least favorite book read this month: I think I have to say Ask Again, Yes, only because I didn't really care enough about Kate and Peter.

Also, I read three books with characters named Kate/Cate? Ask Again, Yes, I Hope You Get This Message, and the Five (Catherine was called Cate/Kate--not sure how it was spelled as I listened to the book).

Reading challenges:

I have read 46 of 80 books for the year.

For the alphabet challenge I crossed off "I" (I Hope You Get This Message) and, inadvertently, "H" (The House of Hades, but was planning to read House of Salt and Sorrows for "H.")

In other news, a student that I started tutoring about 6 years ago graduated high school this month. I am so proud of her and excited to see what her future brings.

It was also Mother's Day and I sent my momma a card and gift and got to talk to her an extra day that week. But Kevin was sweet and put a gift together for me "from the rats." It was super sweet. Here is a picture of the front of the card and the painting they made.

The painting is color-coded. Green for Zeus, blue for Poseidon, and red for Hades. And orange for Kevin.

Social distancing has continued, but I still have spent every Saturday evening chatting with friends via Houseparty. Sometimes we play games or work on crafts/projects, and sometimes we just hang out. I love it!

I have started thinking about my next disease post. I can never decide what disease I want to tackle, but I think I will do diphtheria next. I hope you are as excited as I am!

I hope you are all staying safe and healthy and reading good books!

March 2020 Wrap Up

Alright! Book reviews!

Title: Get Well Soon
Author: Jennifer Wright
Narrator: Gabra Zackman

Synopsis: This book discusses some of the worst plagues in history, starting with the Antonine Plague all the way to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The author gives details about the diseases and how humans responded: what worked and what didn't? How good leadership can help in the face of horrible epidemics and pandemics.

Thoughts: This was a re-read for me. I needed a break from the next book listed because it felt a bit intense. I'm not sure what it says about me that reading a book about diseases made me happy. But this is a good book. It is humorous and informative. I highly recommend it.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Title: Children of Virtue and Vengence
Author: Tomi Adeyemi
Narrator: Bahni Turpin

Synopsis: Zélie with the help of Amari and others managed to bring magic back to Orïsha. But this also awoke the magical heritage in the nobles and they have learned to use it. And some of them are much more powerful than they should be. Zélie and Amari try to unite the maji in order to bring down the monarchy, but both are warring with themselves: Zélie is trying to figure out how much more pain and suffering she can take and Amari is trying to find her place in this group of maji that want nothing to do with her. And civil war is coming.

Thoughts: There are things I enjoyed about this book and things that I did not. First of all, I cannot stand Zélie's inability to communicate with people (even those she cares for) and she wavered so often between leaving and staying that I started to get frustrated. I'm not entirely sure that is justified. But I like the types of magic and how the maji can use their gifts. There were parts that were sad or intense, but some parts seemed to drag a little. Honestly, I will probably continue reading the series eventually. I really like the narrator, she does a great job.

Rating: 3-31/2 stars out of 5

Title: Daughter of the Pirate King
Author: Tricia Levenseller

Synopsis: Alosa, daughter of the pirate king and captain of the Ava-lee has been sent on a dangerous mission: to intentionally be caught by a rival pirate lord in order to steal a map. She has endless tricks up her sleeves, but the rival first mate, Riden, is making her life and mission much more difficult.

Thoughts: I picked this up for the Owlcrate-A-Thon this month. It is one of the oldest Owlcrate books I own (probably not the oldest, but definitely close). So I read it in one weekend and I was hooked!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: Daughter of the Siren Queen
Author: Tricia Levenseller

Synopsis: Alosa has completed her mission to complete the map to an island rumored to be full of treasure. Some of the pirates who had held her captive are now her prisoners or part of her crew. But one of them plants doubts in her mind about her father's intentions. After breaking into the pirate king's office and discovering some of his secrets, Alosa and her crew make a run for it, trying to beat the pirate king and his fleet to the island the map leads to.

Thoughts: After completing the first book, I almost immediately turned around and ordered this one from Amazon. I enjoyed this duology quite a bit. They were fun and well-written and generally kept me on the edge of my seat.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Title: Tweet Cute
Author: Emma Lord

Synopsis: Pepper works hard to try to have it all and to be the best. She gets great grades, is the captain of the swim team, and is a general perfectionist. On the side she helps her family's (or mom's) business by handling their Twitter account. But behind these masks is a girl who feels like a complete outsider and whose only friend is an anonymous guy she texts on an app. Enter Jack who feels completely overshadowed by his golden twin brother and feels destined and doomed to inherit his family's deli, a fate he loves and hates all at once. Behind the scenes, he develops apps (like the one the school uses to text anonymously). And he manages the Twitter account for his family's deli. And then the Twitter battle happens.

Thoughts: I had seen this book being advertised long before it came out and it seemed like just the kind of YA contemporary book that I would like. And I did. Parts of it dragged a little bit and I feel like it took a little bit to get into, but in the end, I enjoyed it. It was very cute and a nice, easy read.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Title: Crime and Punishment
Author: Fyodor Dostoevsky
Narrator: Anthony Heald

Synopsis: Rodion Roskolnikov is an impoverished and rather desperate student and those conditions drive him to murder a local pawnbroker and her sister. The novel follows his deranged mental state before, during, and after the murder as well as how her perceives the people around him (including those who are trying to catch the murderer).

Thoughts: This was a book club book for March. I had never read it so I thought I should give it a try since it is a classic. While the story telling was OK (if repetitive), I kind of hated the main character, Rodion. He was kind of an entitled baby. He was desperate for money but refused to get a job or do much to actually improve his situation. I did like his friend, Razumikhin, who he definitely did not deserve. The stories of the other characters and how they entwine with Rodion's was more interesting to me than Rodion going in circles with his guilt, horror, and justification of his crime.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Title: You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)
Author: Felicia Day
Narrator: Felicia Day

Synopsis: This is an entertaining and interesting memoir from Felicia Day, of web show fame. She has funny, quirky stories from across her life and she is unflinchingly honest about her experiences and her thoughts and feelings through it all.

Thoughts: This has been on my audible wish list for a long time. And I wanted something different after listening to Crime and Punishment. Plus, this book starts with a "Y" which I still needed for my alphabet reading challenge. So the stars aligned and I listened to this one. I enjoyed it. I only really know of her in passing, I remember watching a little of the Guild, but that's about it. This was a fun, interesting book about her life; growing up weird, and dealing with anxiety, depression, and bullying. And it was great to listen to her tell her story.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Title: Ouran High School Host Club
Author: Bisco Hatori

Synopsis: Haruhi is a poor scholarship student at the very wealthy and prestigious Ouran Academy, where the students have too much money and too much free time. In a twist of fate, Haruhi ends up in debt to the school host club (a gang of six attractive boys). Originally mistaken for a boy herself, she keeps her gender a secret from the rest of the school to become a host to work off her debt. And hilarity ensues.

Thoughts: I needed something light, quick, and fun to read. Someone on one of the online reading groups I am a part of was looking for fun manga to read and this one was suggested. So I decided to read it. I watched the anime years ago and always wanted there to be more. Plus I love Kyoya (I cosplayed as him once many years ago. I still have the costume). But these are fun and I plan to read more in the next couple of months as I feel I can afford them on Kindle.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Least favorite book read this month: Probably Crime and Punishment
Favorite book read this month: Oh, that's a hard one this month. I enjoyed most of my reads, but none of them really knocked my socks off.

Reading challenge: 22 out of 75 books read.
Alphabet challenge: completed C (Children of Virtue and Vengence), O (Ouran High School Host Club), and Y (You're Never Weird on the Internet (Almost)). I am working on getting some more books lined up for this challenge. I have 12 out of 26 done!

Another reading-related challenge: a lady who belongs to a reading group I am in on Facebook and who I now follow on Instagram created this Quarantine Readers' Challenge. You can find her on Instagram: @stephani_writes. But here are the prompts. I know a couple of these have passed, but this is fun so I want to share it!

If you are interested in seeing the results, check out my Instagram and follow the hashtags!

I know things have been a little crazy lately with the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing. I hope everyone is being safe and smart out there. I will try to put together a little disease post about it (though I am by no means an expert on the virus). Maybe I can pass on some helpful information.

Thanks for reading! Here's to a better April!

September 2019 Wrap Up

September marks my first month in my new home state. It's been a busy month of moving, organizing, cleaning, job hunting, and adjusting to living with my boyfriend. It's been hard to find a routine so far, but I know it will come with time. And I did manage to find a position in a laboratory here and it is a very exciting opportunity!

I hadn't been working out, though I finally got back into Insanity once we had enough space for me to do a video. Until I got a nasty cold and then started working, so I stopped again more or less. And I have still been working on my bullet journal. It has been something that I actually enjoy and look forward to working on/filling out. I was originally afraid that it would end up feeling more like a chore.

I tried to low-key participate in Victoria Schwab's Schwabtember challenge to read a book (or more) that you've never read by her. I already love some of her books though, so that wasn't a chore for me! Here are the books I read this month. (Luckily more than I read last month...)

Title: Muse of Nightmares
Author: Laini Taylor
Narrator: Steve West

Synopsis: Sarai has been the Muse of Nightmares ever since her power made itself known and she used that to sow fear in the people of Weep. Now that she is a ghost and the man she loves is a "God," everything changes and their fates are held in Minya's bitter, angry hands. As the story unfolds, so does the history of the Mesarthim and how the gods traveled between distant worlds.

Thoughts: I enjoyed the development of the story and the characters, but at times things felt a little chaotic and disjointed. I'm sure some of that was intentional, given the subject, but it made some parts feel oddly drawn out and others seem resolved too quickly. But in general, I was satisfied with the ending.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Title: Spin the Dawn
Author: Elizabeth Lim

Synopsis: Maia is the only daughter of a talented tailor. She learns the craft and is very gifted, herself, but women are not meant to be tailors. When her aged, broken father is summoned to court to compete for the position of Imperial Tailor, she disguises herself as his and goes in his place. The competition will challenge all of her abilities and it becomes more complicated once she attracts the attention of the Imperial Enchanter. But it is the final challenge to create three impossible gowns that could prove her downfall.

Thoughts: This was a recent Owlcrate book that immediately caught my attention. Plus, Tamora Pierce gave it a favorable review. I really enjoyed it. In the beginning it struck me as being very Mulan-like, but the story changed after a while. I didn't always love the love story, but I did like the characters and the magic.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: Vicious
Author: V. E. Schwab

Synopsis: This is the story of Victor and Eli. College roommates and friends turned arch nemeses. During the end of college, they found a shared interest in rumored people with special abilities and eventually figured out how to create the proper circumstances to give people these abilities. A series of horrible events lands each of them with extraordinary abilities and lands Victor in jail. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison with the single-minded goal of stopping Eli. And Eli's goal has been to remove all extraordinary people from earth. Both sides have terrible powers and formidable teams, but only one can survive.

Thoughts: I picked this book up forever ago when I was still getting into Schwab's books. I had read the Monsters of Verity duology and loved it too much to get into her other stuff right away. I finally read her Shades of Magic trilogy which I also enjoyed, so I'm not sure why I waited so long to pick this one up. But Schwab hosted a Schwabtember challenge this month and it was the perfect opportunity to read this. And I loved it. It was intense and crazy. I couldn't stop thinking about it and wanting to know what happened next. As usual, V. E. Schwab has not failed to impress. I can't wait to get my hands on Vengeful.

Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars (The only reason I didn't rate it 5 stars was because I loved the Monsters of Verity duology just a tiny bit better.)


Title: Two Dark Reigns
Author: Kendare Blake

Synopsis: The stories of the queens continues in the third book of the Three Dark Crowns series. Mirabella and Arsinoe have escaped the island, but something is trying to lure them back and they are not sure why. Jules is training her partially bound war gift and joins a rebellion against the old queens as the new Legion Queen. And Kat deals with the dead queens as well as the mist that is rising against her people.

Thoughts: I always wait a long time between these books because they are dark and intense so I always need a break before I continue. But this means that I forget things between reads. Some things did come back to me, but I probably should have brushed up a bit on the last book. That aside, this book felt different than the first two, to me. I think the shifting plotline is what did it. And maybe that is why I liked this one just a bit less than the other two. Despite that feeling, I still liked the book overall. There were parts that were dark and hard, which was expected, and parts that made me very worried for what happens next. And my main thought at the end was, "Everything is going wrong!" So that's where I left it. I do have the last book that I ordered specially from the Bookish Box. It is a signed first edition and came with lots of cool stuff inspired by the trilogy. I loved it. And the first book was received in an Owlcrate box years ago, so it is a little special, too. Anyway, I am looking forward to reading the last one and finding out how it all ends, but I am going to need to take a little break first!

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5

Title: Soul of the Sword
Author: Julie Kagawa
Narrators: Brian Nishii, Joy Osmanski, and Emily Woo Zeller

Synopsis: Hakaimono has broken free and taken over Tatsumi's body. Historically, the Shadow clan would kill the former demon slayer in order to return Hakaimono's soul to the sword. But the leader of the Shadow clan recruits Yumeko to save the demon slayer, which she and her companions were already planning to do. They also need to find the secret temple and give them the piece of the scroll that Yumeko carries.

Thoughts: I enjoyed the first book, Shadow of the Fox, so I knew that I wanted to continue. I was pleased with the way Yumeko (sort of) saves Tatsumi and I liked some of the small side stories of some of the characters. I plan to keep reading so I can find out what happens to everyone now that I have become attached to the characters!

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5

Title: Soul of Stars
Author: Ashley Poston

Synopsis: This is the sequel to Heart of Iron. Di has been HIVE'd, the Great Darkness is coming, and Ana is presumed dead, but feels compelled to save the universe. And Di. Meanwhile Jax has to face the destiny he has dreaded and return to his home planet which he hoped to never see again. And Robb finally finds out who Jax really is. Will Ana and her crew full of misfits be able to stop the Great Dark before it consumes their worlds?

Thoughts: It has been too long since I read Heart of Iron, but I LOVED it. But didn't quite remember how everything ended... which is sad and I probably should have brushed up. I cried a few times while reading this one because I love these characters. I enjoyed Jax's arc and I felt like Robb really came into his own in this book. And I absolutely adore Siege. There were a couple things I found odd. One was Ana's search for Starbright to obtain their help saving Di which was never actually utilized, though I like the other characters that were added because of it. Also, Ana and Di's ending seemed a bit odd, but I'm just going to ignore it. Overall, I enjoyed it very much (though maybe not quite as much as the first one).

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: The Fire Keeper
Author: J.C. Cervantes
Narrator:

Synopsis: This is the second book in the Storm Runner series. Zane put out a call to other god-borns and that has started to bear fruit. Except that most of the gods want the god-borns dead and Zane just put them on the gods' radars. Plus his dad, Hurakan, is in trouble. He's not sure they will have time to save his dad and the god-born. And some powers are working against him and he doesn't know who he can trust.

Thoughts: This was another one that I should have refreshed my memory of the first book before reading this one. Luckily the author hits the key points from the last book very well. I enjoyed the overall story and the characters that were in this one, especially Ah Puch. I have some questions that I want answers to Ixtab's story and motives. I really enjoy learning the Mayan mythology. That's a huge draw for me. While I didn't love this book, I still really liked it and I am looking forward to the next one.

Rating: 3-31/2 stars out of 5


Favorite book read this month: Vicious
Least favorite book read this month: Maybe Muse of Nightmares? I read a lot of good books this month, so I don't feel that I had an obvious least favorite.

And next month is October! My favorite month and that means spooky reads! I will post a bit about what I plan to read on my Instagram, so please check that out.

July 2019 Wrap Up

July has been a hectic month what with packing and moving and job hunting. I still managed to read a few books though, so lets start there!

Title: My Plain Jane
Authors: Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

Thoughts: So I did not love this book. I started it at the beginning of April and didn't finish until the beginning of July. I liked the overall idea of the story (and their last book, My Lady Jane, was OK). I definitely considered bailing a couple of times, but I love Jane Eyre and Charlotte Bronte, so I kept going.

It is an alternate story of how the classic Jane Eyre came to be. But in this version, Charlotte Bronte was friends with Jane Eyre. And Jane Eyre can see ghosts. Silly? Yes, but a little fun (even though the humor wasn't really my brand).

Rating: 2-2 1/2 of 5 stars

Title: The Star-Touched Queen
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Narrator: Priya Ayyar

Thoughts: This has been on my TBR pile for what seems like ages and I'm not sure why I took so long to read it! I loved all the mythology and magic. I cared so much about the characters and about Maya's journey to find her place. As daughter of the Raja, she is prominent, but cursed with a terrible horoscope that spells a dark destiny for her. In a strange turn of events, she marries Amar and becomes queen of Akaran, but Akaran is not all it seems. As Maya uncovers more secrets about herself and Amar, her life changes and she risks losing everything that she loves.

I loved it and I love the way that Amar loves Maya. I know it has several different inspirations from Hindu mythology, but the story reminded me of Psyche and Eros. Highly recommend it, and I need to read more of her books!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: Finale
Author: Stephanie Garber
Narrator: Rebecca Soler

Thoughts: I did this one partially listening to the audiobook and partially reading my physical copy, which is a pretty edition I received in an Owlcrate.

Overall I liked it OK, though I did predict some of the plot twists before they happened. And I still have very conflicting feelings about Jacks. I really wanted him to have a redemption arc in this book, but I'm not really sure he got one? I loved and hated him all at once.

While I'm glad that almost everyone got the (mostly) happy endings I hoped for, I think the book felt a little more dragged out than the last one but the ending felt very abrupt. I still enjoyed the series and would recommend them, but I think I liked the first two a little more because they happened during actual Caraval events, which are interesting to me.

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Title: MCAT Biology Review
Author: Kaplan Test Prep

Thoughts: Not a real reading book, but it took me months to finish this one and I am counting them towards my reading goals! I'm not sure why it took me so long to read this one. Usually biology is my strongest subject, but I seriously need some anatomy and physiology classes before I take the MCAT and then go back through this book again.

                                      Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Title: Shadow of the Fox
Author: Julie Kagawa

Thoughts: Yumeko is half fox, half human and is tasked with saving a magical scroll and taking it to a secret temple far from everything she has ever known. Soon after, she meets up with a specially trained ninja, Kage Tatsumi, who is low-key possessed by a demon who has been sent to find the scroll. She strikes a deal with him to take him with her if he will help protect her from the many demons, witches, and other evil creatures sent after her and the scroll. There are a few problems: Tatsumi doesn't know that she is part fox nor that she has the scroll. Other people join their group, complicating their mission. And Tatsumi may have to kill Yumeko at the end of the journey. And he might kind of like her.

This was an owlcrate book I received many months ago. I had mixed feelings going into it, probably because it has pretty mixed reviews and I didn't know what to expect. At first, I wasn't very into it, but by about half-way through I was pretty invested and read the rest quickly. I enjoyed it quite a bit and definitely need to read the next one! I must know what happens!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: The Royal Art of Poison
Author: Eleanor Herman
Narrator: Susie Berneis

Thoughts: This book is about poisons! But also about history and royalty (and other high-ranking, important people) and how they died. All the people covered were suspected to have died of poison, but were they? This book talks about different poisons, how they work, the symptoms, and even how they were used in cosmetics and medications. But diseases and general filth killed people, too. How did the royals protect themselves against poisons? What cures did they use?

This book was super interesting. I am interested in diseases, which feel similar to poisons to me and I loved the case histories and trying to pick them apart. Very enjoyable if you are interested in history and poison!

Rating: 3.5-4 out of 5 stars

Title: Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus
Authors: Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy

Thoughts: This book is all about rabies. Plenty of information about the history of the disease and various crazy "cures" through the ages (which don't work as rabies is nearly 100% fatal). The best part for me was a chapter about how rabies may have contributed to the stories of the werewolf and vampire.

I didn't read this book in detail since I was going through it for my rabies disease post, but I did at least skim the whole book, so I am counting it. If you are interested in infectious diseases and would like the history as well as some cultural stories and histories and a few more modern stories, this is a good book for you.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Title: The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Author: Abbi Waxman
Narrator: Emily Rankin

Thoughts: Nina Hill is just living her (mostly) quiet, book-filled life in LA when she has a dead father and a crazy family thrown into her lap. She learns all about her new-found family and mixed things about the father she never knew. And on top of it, she might want to date this guy she met. And she doesn't handle change and surprises very well.

I liked this book overall. There were a few parts that I just didn't love, but there were some parts that made me laugh out loud. I related to Nina by loving books and also having anxiety. I enjoyed the adventure for sure, though for some reason didn't love the ending? Maybe it felt too forced and rushed for my taste. But I still enjoyed it enough to read it again in the future.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Favorite book read this month: The Star-touched Queen or the Bookish Life of Nina Hill
Least favorite book read this month: My Plain Jane

I have been continuing Insanity, which I think is a very good thing for me. And I have made a few trips down to the new apartment and have been slowly moving my stuff down there. And trying to get rid of things (which I am terrible at doing) because the new place is pretty small and there isn't room! But slow and steady wins the race, right?

My anxiety has been steadily climbing because I am not good at moving or handling change. Plus I ended up trying to help a lady find homes for some baby rats. By the way, if anyone in Colorado or New Mexico would like some cute baby rats, please let me know! I will probably take a few myself. Anyway, working out seems to help and I am trying to do little things each day to help keep it manageable.

I'm not sure if this will help my anxiety or make it worse, but I decided to start a bullet journal/planner. I've always kept a fairly detailed planner, this will just be more involved. At the very least, I hope it will help keep me on track and help me track the things that help my mood and anxiety. If it is successful, I will try to post some of the things I am trying.

And last but not least, I hope you enjoyed my disease post. Rabies was fun to do. And now that it is finished, I am a bit at a loss for what to do next. Smallpox and rabies seemed like easy ones to tackle (I'm not sure why I felt that way, but I did). I would like to do something bacterial next, so maybe I will try for Brucella or anthrax. If it feels like too much, maybe I will switch to another virus like herpes or Varicella zoster (which causes chicken pox). If anyone has questions or requests, please let me know!

Thanks for reading!

June 2019 Wrap Up

Time for the June wrap up! Here is what I read in June:

Title: Circe
Author: Madeline Miller
Narrator: Perdita Weeks

Thoughts: I love mythology and so I loved this take on Circe's story. It has been ages since I read the Odyssey, but this made me want to go back and read it again. There is a bunch that I didn't remember. But this story made Circe a pretty remarkable character and I loved this story.

           Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: When Women Ruled the World
Author: Kara Cooney
Narrator: Kara Cooney

Thoughts: I also love history and find Egyptian history so mysterious and interesting. I once listened to an audiobook/lecture about Egypt and the lecturer talked about how to become Pharaoh, one had to marry the right woman and it sparked an interest in me about women in early Egypt. This book was about six specific queens (and even female kings) in these days: Merneith, Hatshepsut (a personal favorite of mine), Neferusobek, Nefertiti, Towasret, and Cleopatra. But I loved the history, the archeological finds, and the speculation about their lives.

Rating: 3 1/2-4 stars out of 5

Title: Legendary
Author: Stephanie Garber
Narrator: Rebecca Soler

Thoughts: OK, it's been a couple of years since I read Caraval and I should have re-read it to refresh my memory. There were several things about Caraval that I didn't remember too well, but I mostly got by. This book focuses on Tella and her participation in Caraval in order to find her mother. The last game felt real, but wasn't. This game is a lot more real than anyone, including Tella, would like.

Overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit and I am looking forward to reading the last book, Finale, to find out what happens!! I need happy endings for Tella and Scarlett, and even for Legend!

Rating: 3-3 1/2 stars out of 5

Title: King of Scarrs
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang

Thoughts: I read this partially as an audio book and partially with my physical copy because I just needed to keep going! (For the record, the only other times I have done this was with the Six of Crows duology also by Leigh Bardugo.)

I loved it. I loved the dynamics of the gang that the story focuses on. It was funny, charming, and occasionally a bit sad and scary. And I still love Nikolai and it turned out that I also like Zoya! No one was more surprised about that than I was. And I'm not sure if we are heading towards a Nikolai/Zoya romance or not, but I am not opposed to the idea after reading this book. I'm honestly not sure when the next one comes out, but I can't wait!

Rating: 4-4 1/2 stars out of 5


Favorite book read this month: King of Scars
Least favorite book read this month: I liked the books I read this month! None!

I also started Insanity again. I don't plan to do any of the month two videos, but I do plan to keep repeating the month one videos. It's a good, quick workout that I can usually make time for. Plus, I am hoping it will help with my anxiety and my sleep. So far it does seem to be helping.

No real news on the job front, but I have started moving my things into what will be my new home. I'm feeling very nervous about all of this, but I hope it will be a good new chapter in my life.

I suppose that is about it for June. And I hope you enjoyed my first disease post. I am already working on the next one: rabies! If anyone would like to see a specific disease (or similar topic) covered, please feel free to reach out. Otherwise I will continue to pick whichever strikes my fancy and feels like a topic I can tackle.

Until next month, read good books!

Hello Again

Wow, I am terrible at this. I wrote all the way back in May that I was going to try to be better about blogging. Here we are in September without a single blog post in between.

Since October is coming, of course I am starting to get ready for my Halloween reads in October. To that effect, I seriously need to finish some of the books I have going. I got into a rut and lost most of my attention span for reading anything that wasn't related to my Disney World trip (which got rescheduled due to hurricanes). In that vein, I'd like to share some of the books I have read so far this year. Maybe I will compile Disney World trip books in another post.

I read these two earlier this year. I thought they were fun twists on the Sherlock stories. Sort of like fairy tale re-tellings. We follow the stories of Sherlock's and Watson's descendants. Who meet and become crime-solving friends at school.

 This is the much anticipated sequel to This Savage Song, which I read last year and loved immensely. I knew this one would break my heart (and it did) but I adored it. Her duology is incredible and really made me think. I love that dark deeds are turned into monsters and it made me wonder if people could see a physical manifestation of bad deeds, would that prevent more bad deeds in the future? Or as August struggles with, can humans not be redeemed? The setting she created in these books sucked me in.

Speaking of eerie settings, this one took the cake so far this year. This story was odd and rather different from her other books (in my experience, though I haven't read all of her books). The island that these rather demonic horses appear on is strange. There were things that I loved and hated about the book and the story. But no matter how you feel about the characters and their story arcs, you cannot deny that Maggie Stiefvater was the queen of atmosphere in this book. In related new, I am super excited for her book All the Crooked Saints which comes out next month.

This book came in the May owlcrate box. It sounded intriguing so I started it right away. I did not expect to love it as much as I did. There was something about it that spoke to me and I was so sad when it was over. I think it is kind of a niche book, but I guess I fit into that niche just fine. If you are a passionate nerd who is/has been a social outcast and needed creative outlets, I think this is a good book for you. It is cool to know that there are works that impact people on such personal levels.

Here is a little treasure. I heard raving reviews for this book and had to read it. It was beautiful, touching, and emotional. I think the poetry deters some people, but I promise it reads just like a story and is very good. I have been trying to read more books by POC (especially by WOC), and this was a great one to include. It also lead me to finally read The Color Purple which was a great story, too.






Last, but certainly not least is this one. I've had Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda on my TBR for quite some time now, but this arrived in an owlcrate so I dove in. I was compelled by the fact that the main character is a big girl, but that the story didn't surround her weight, really. It was a good and touching story and led me on to read Dumplin as well. I have never been overweight, but I have struggled with my body image, too. And we all tell ourselves the same things. It was neat to see beautiful characters like these develop past those things and felt empowering.

I hope you enjoy. Look for Halloween-related book posts in the future!

Back to Blogging

Well, I never did get around to typing up and posting my official book reviews for December and I haven't posted much of anything, book related or otherwise, since then.

I was feeling pretty discouraged after the loss of Carina and Nugget in December and recently lost Nova, too. She was in "rattie hospice" care for quite some time and much of my energy was devoted to taking care of her. There has been stress at home and work has been keeping me insanely busy. Plus, I finally figured out that I lack tons of energy and a good portion of it is due to my working night shift. It's hard to function as a normal human when you work nights.

I'm still reading and hoping to find a fun way to keep incorporating books into my blog posts. And to, you know, actually write blog posts.

I am super happy to report that I have fully recovered from my previous relationship, nothing is hanging over my head anymore (except the dryer that I need to have moved from his place). And it feels amazing.

The turning point for me came when I was feeling really down about myself and I was being very hard on myself, namely about the break up and how well it fed some of my greatest insecurities (namely my feelings of inadequacy). And finally I thought to myself, "That is so messed up. Why do I think that way? Why couldn't I be enough for the right person?" I started to evaluate where those feelings were coming from. Granted, this is something I struggle with some on my own, but I finally realized that my last relationship left me feeling this way constantly. Finally, I figured out that I had been dealing with some emotional/mental abuse for at least the last several years of my relationship. The light bulb clicked on and I thought, "That is not the way you treat someone that you love." I don't think I need to go into details unless people think it would help them identify similar things in their own lives. Feel free to reach out to me.

I came around 180 degrees. It was honestly like I found the off switch. I haven't missed him or our relationship since then. There were other issues to deal with, of course, but I felt like a new woman. And much wiser.

I wasn't planning on sharing this with the wide world, but a gal I know was asking for relationship advice from strangers to share in a blog post (read it here: Advice on Love and Relationships from Strangers), and while I did not respond, it got me thinking and made me want to reach out. How do you avoid what I went through? And how could I have recognized it sooner?

I'm not really sure what the answer is. Love is blind and it's hard to see some of the rough stuff. I was aware of his flaws, and yes, some of them were huge red flags. So why did I chose to ignore those? I wish I had answers for you. I guess the main reasons were that I had already devoted so much time and energy into making that relationship work. And also, I loved him more deeply than I honestly thought I was capable of loving someone. But hindsight is 20-20, and I see more of the problems now. I also started researching subtle forms of abuse. One of my favorites was this article: 7 Complex Signs Of Emotional Abuse You May Not Know.

But I also realize that I can recognize those flags better now than I could before. I know much more surely what I am looking for in a relationship and in a partner. And I also learned that I was stronger than that failed relationship. It did not beat me. And if I could love like that before, I can love that way again. And next time, I will be able to choose better.

And don't ignore your feelings! If something feels off or makes you upset and you don't know why, something is probably wrong.

Luckily these realizations came in time for me to meet a truly amazing guy. It's still kind of new, but he checks off everything on my list and then some. We've been seeing each other for a few months now and I know I'm still in the infatuation stage, but I have honestly not found anything to complain about. So you never know what is waiting for you on the other side. I have had plenty of good things happen since I have been single. And I'm glad that I was happy and in a good place before the changes to my love life happened.

I am going on a trip (with said guy) to Portland this week and I am very excited. And I have a super exciting Disney World and Harry Potter World trip planned with some girl friends for later this year! I love having things like this to look forward to! I'm already mentally packing for September...

Anyway, I'm still thinking about the book posts and ways to get more active on this blog again. Working nights isn't ideal for blogging, but I hope I can get back into the swing of things. Thanks for reading!

December Wrap Up and A New Year

Books read this month:
Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter. Interesting take on the Baba Yaga story, but it wasn't my favorite.
Hotel Valhalla Guide to the Norse Worlds by Rick Riordan. Fun, quick read.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. I need to read more of her books. I liked this one (though I loved This Savage Song more).
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. I read this as an audiobook narrated by Tim Curry, which is awesome. I really liked it and it's about time I read this classic. Though I grew up watching Mickey's Christmas Carol, so I kept imagining the characters as mice and ducks...
Landline by Rainbow Rowell. A re-read for Christmas. It's a great Christmas story and one of my favorite books.
My True Love Gave to Me by Stephanie Perkins and various others. This was a collection of 12 Christmas love-y stories. A couple of them were a little meh, but I really liked a few of them!
The Chimes by Charles Dickens. I thought this story was rather strange and occasionally confusing (though this might be more because it got repetitive and I got bored and stopped paying as much attention as I should have and less because it was actually confusing). A Christmas Carol was much better.

My book reviews have not been posted this month. I got a little busy and overwhelmed. I hope to get at least a few of them up within the next week or so.

Reading goals completed:
A book released the month of your birthday (December): A Christmas Carol

I completed my 2016 reading challenge!

Favorite book read this month:
Is it cheating to pick Landline since it was already a favorite? 

Least favorite book read this month:
Vassa in the Night or The Chimes

Well, I managed to read 77 books this year. My goal was 75. I am going to keep the same goal for next year. If I can surpass 75 again, I will try raising it.

My brother got me a Kindle for Christmas, which I didn't think I would like as much as I do. It's pretty great so far (though I'm not going to stop buying and reading physical copies because I love them). I think it will help me reach my reading goals.

I wanted to re-post my resolutions from last year:

"Due to the breakup, most of my resolutions fell completely by the wayside. The only thing I accomplished was my reading goal. It was 40, I raised it to 50, and read almost 70.

Next year I hope to read 75.

So I failed all of my other goals. And on top of everything else, that makes me feel discouraged and indifferent (but defensive) by turns.

I guess I need to start form scratch. And I need a new year. This year has been such shit and I'm still so caught up in it. If only a new year was as clean a break as I would like it to be.

My goal this year is to get better. I am trying to eat a little better (mostly), keep going to counseling, and just get my life back in order and on track. I need to buy a new car and I need to start seriously saving towards getting my own place. That is my ultimate goal. It won't happen this year, but it is what I want more than anything right now."

Well I completed my reading goal. And I do not think that 2016 was a very good year. There were a lot of losses and turmoil all over the world. To be honest, losing David Bowie still gets to me.

The end of my year was pretty rough, with Carina getting so sick for so long and having to put her down and having Nugget follow her over the rainbow bridge within the week. And it was the week of their second birthday. And of my 29th birthday. I miss them like crazy.

Despite all of this, I definitely feel much better now than I did last year. I haven't had many set backs recently. Sometimes I still get a bit sad and lonely, but not for my ex anymore. Usually I am just missing friends and feeling isolated due to my schedule. I don't long for that relationship anymore, even if I do miss companionship. I also had some realizations in the past few months about the types of things that I endured, during the break up and before. I realized that there were some pretty toxic things going on that I definitely couldn't see at the time. Now that I have, I feel much better about where I am at now. And it is an amazing relief. Finally.

I'm not sure if I have eaten a whole lot better. I would definitely say that I'm not eating worse, so I'm going to call it a win!

I did get my new car. And I love it.

I didn't make nearly as much progress towards saving for my own place as I would like. Mostly because of unexpected car costs, Nugget's surgery and vet visits, Carina's MANY, MANY vet visits, medications, and hospitalizations, along with other vet bills to make sure that Nova, Pixie, and Sprite had clean bills of health following the losses of Carina and Nugget. I spent way more money on vet bills the last few months than I would have ever expected. Despite that and the fact that Carina and Nugget still didn't make it, I wouldn't have done it differently. Their little lives are worth it to me.

I also had various successes at work. I was promoted to a full time position and given a raise in January. A couple months later, I was promoted again to a technician, which also came with a raise and has been awesome! I joined a travel response team at work and was accepted. I am authorized to carry a company card (though I never actually carry one) and I am being sent to Memphis this month to help with the launch of our computer program. I recently got another small raise and may be getting another one once the end of the year reviews are in. I feel like I am valued as an employee, I am loving my job and the people I work with. My job isn't always perfect, but I'm really liking it overall.

Besides my reading goals, I hope to continue to do well at work and keep advancing.

I hope to start being more physically active this year. I am not going to set strict goals, I just need to start getting in better habits. Dancing helps, so I will keep doing that, too.

I want to keep saving for my own place. It won't happen this year, but I need to be working towards that goal.

As for more tangible goals, I need to file for divorce and get the joint bank accounts sorted ASAP. I am tired of having those things hanging over my head. It is past time.

And that is about all! I hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year's Eve and here is to 2017 being better than 2016!

November Wrap Up

Trying to get back on track this month. Let's see if I can meet all of my goals!

Books read this month:

• East of Eden by John Steinback. An interesting and in depth story.
• Shadow Magic by Patricia Wrede. Definitely an early novel by her; she was not nearly the writer she is now.
• The White Tiger by Tamora Pierce and Timothy Liebe. For the graphic novel part of my challenge. And strong, female super heroes written by TP? Count me in!
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. I liked it, but feel as though I need to read it again to really understand and feel it out.
• P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han. Sooo much teenage drama! If I didn't like the main family so much, I never would have continued after the first book.
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. A futuristic dystopia of sorts where nearly everyone lives out their lives in a virtual reality game. Bonus: the audiobook is read by Wil Wheaton for the full nerd experience.
• Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. Loved the first book and now this one. I love the characters and am sad it's over.

Goals completed:

• A classic book: East of Eden
• A graphic novel: The White Tiger
• A book you should have read by now: Siddhartha
• A book that takes place in the future: Ready Player One
• A book from the end of a series: Crooked Kingdom (it's a duology, but I'm counting it)

Least favorite book read this month:
P.S. I Still Love You for sure. I loathed the ending and was not fond of the message it sends to young girls.

Favorite book read this month:
Ready Player One surprised me and I enjoyed it way more than I anticipated. Or Crooked Kingdom because I love it.

I only have 5 books left to complete my goal to read at least 75 books this year. For my 2016 reading challenge, I only have one left to complete. It looks like I might just make it! It seemed kind of iffy there for a while. I'm not really sure what I am going to do for 2017 yet, but I have a whole month to think about it. Anyone have particular reading goals or challenges for 2017 to share? I am also looking to maybe participate in a book-ish photo challenge in December if anyone has any good ones lying around.

I didn't by many books this month. Well, I bought several audiobooks, but I don't generally count those. Here is my book haul:

That's it for November! Thanks for reading!

March Wrap Up

Book stuff first. As always, actual reviews can be found on my book blog.

Books read this month:

• Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley. A twist on the story of the Brontë siblings.
• The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman. A short twist on the Sleeping Beauty tale with lovely artwork by Chris Riddell.
• Blackveil by Kristen Britian. Fourth book in the Green Rider series.
• The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry. Feburary Owlcrate book that combines a love story and science fiction.
• The Dream Thieves by Maggie Steifvater. The second in The Raven Cycle series. I didn't like it as much as the first. Which isn't saying much because I LOVED the first one. I am seriously enjoying this series.

Challenges completed:

• A book released this year: Worlds of Ink and Shadow
• A book with illustrations: The Sleeper and the Spindle
• A book that made you cry: The Love That Split the World

Favorite book read this month:
Torn between The Dream Thieves and The Love That Split the World

Least favorite book read this month:
Blackveil

I participated in a March book photo challenge under the tag #KeepBookMarching on Instagram. I only missed a couple days. It was a fun little challenge. Made my first #BookishRainbow, it's not great, but it was fun:

And here was my reading goal photo and I almost made it. I barely started March, and I didn't quite finish Cress. But I also re-read A Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones because I love it and I really wanted to. And I started Blue Lily, Lily Blue. So I call it a success.

Reading Goals

March Wrap Up

And non-book related things.

My counselor has been trying to encourage me to do more social things. Working nights has a very detrimental effect on my social life (aka: I don't have a social life). I have been meaning to be more physically active, but can't bring myself to care to make it to a gym. So this was our compromise: get back into ballroom dancing.

I started ballroom when I turned 16 and kept at it for 3 solid years. I did it a little on and off again for the next few years and then stopped altogether. When I showed up to my instructor's studio that first night, his greeting was so warm and welcoming that I immediately knew that I had made a good decision. I didn't know any of the other students and had never been to my instructor's new studio, but part of me still felt like I came home to something. And despite the many blisters on my feet (at least three on each foot) from not wearing my shoes for soooo many years, I am looking forward to going back.

I have been back a few times since that first lesson and started to feel like maybe I was getting a little piece of myself back. I guess my counselor was right.

That's about it for this month. Thanks for reading!