May Wrap Up

Books! So after I dropped everything to read The Raven King, the first Trials of Apollo book, The Hidden Oracle, by Rick Riordan came out. I left everything where I dropped it, more or less, to listen to that book. See where my priorities are? Apparently with The Raven Cycle and Rick Riordan's books... Sometimes I'm amazed that I make any progress on my TBR pile.

As usual, most of these have been reviewed on my book blog.

Books read this month:

• The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater. Oh my gosh. I am so in love with this series. I have no words. And Ronan and Adam's love story warms my heart.
• Demigods and Magicians by Rick Riordan. Collection of three short stories where Greek and Egyptian worlds collide.
• March by Geraldine Brooks. A take on Mr. March's story from the classic Little Women.
• The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan. New series starring mortal Apollo in all of his bisexual glorious-ness.
• Cress by Marissa Meyer. Took me forever to read, but really enjoyed it.
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. Very good book set in the Grisha universe. Interesting characters.
• The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner. A book following three friends for their last year of high school--a much better read than I was expecting.
• The Selection by Kiera Cass. The story of 35 girls competing to win the hand of the crown prince.

Challenges completed this month:

• A book you've been highly anticipating: The Raven King
• A short story: Demigods and Magicians (it's three short stories, that counts right?)
• A stand alone book: March 
• A book someone recommended to you: Cress
• A book by an author from your country: The Hidden Oracle
• A book with multiple points of view: Six of Crows
• A book with a beautiful cover: The Selection

Favorite book read this month:
The Raven King, I just loved this series so much. 

Least favorite book read this month:
The Selection. I was less than impressed.

Book haul:

I was pretty good this month, only three books!

In other news, dance is going well, it is still fun and good exercise. I went on a couple of dates with one guy and I have been enjoying that. I trained in my new position at work and feel like an official lab tech now. Overall, things are pretty good!

Fangirl Review

I liked this one so much that I wanted to share it here as well as my book blog.

I just finished Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, which I read via audiobook (it counts, this very book says so).

I went in not expecting much because I had heard that it was good, but that it didn’t live up to her other books. Granted, I have never read anything else by this author (yet). But I ended up giving this book 5 out of 5 stars. I love it.

This book spoke to me on another level. I felt like she was in my head for much of this book. I related to the main character in so many ways (except that I am not a great writer, of fanfiction or fiction. Let me know if you need a research paper written). I saw myself in the main character, Cather (also, I love that name). When she was feeling betrayed and like her world was coming down, I related to her then, too. I cried for her (and for myself because I have been so emotional lately and her emotions spoke strongly to mine). But I also wanted to wrap her up in a blanket and love her and take care of her.

I was anxious for so long because she would not do her assignment! And it drove me so crazy that I was talking to her (I talk to my audiobooks if they are good. It’s a sign that I am drawn in and invested, not a sign that I am crazy...).

Book quote: “‘No,’ Cath said, ‘seriously. Look at you. You’ve got your shit together, you’re not scared of anything. I’m scared of everything. And I’m crazy. Like maybe you think I’m a little crazy, but I only ever let people see the tip of my crazy iceberg. Underneath this veneer of slightly crazy and socially inept, I’m a complete disaster.’“ I got to this part and went, “That’s me!”

I also loved her roommate, Reagan. She was so funny and just a little wild. But through the teasing (which was legitimately funny), she always had Cather’s back when it really mattered.

And I thought it was wonderful how Cather could escape into her fictional worlds. As a fantasy reader myself who is not always in touch with the real world, it was nice to meet a character who felt the same way. That’s one of the reasons I read: to escape and explore different worlds.

Additionally, the narrators of the audiobook (yes, narrators plural) were very good. It was done a little differently than other audiobooks I have listened to, but it was good!

I could see how this book would definitely not be for everyone and I did see many negative reviews. I think there is kind of a target audience, of which I am a part of. For me, this was a very personal read and it made me laugh and cry and think. So I love it.

Distractions and Reading

It's been a while since I blogged. My life feels so transitional and surreal right now that it is hard to think about things, anythings.

My main goal for a while now is just to distract myself from feeling and from thinking about the breakup (loss of relationship, home, et cetera). Besides spending WAY too much time on the internet (sorry Facebook friends for posting tons of articles, pictures, status updates... and I know some have noticed...) I have also been reading much more than normal. So much in fact, that I upped my yearly reading goal from 40 books to 50 (because at the end of August I was at 39 read for the year... and I'm still 7 books ahead of schedule...).

I have started to become more active in book communities on Instagram and Tumblr and Twitter. Because of that, I began a little Tumblr book blog where I can share pictures, quotes, and book reviews. I just started it, so it is a little rough around the edges still, but here it is: Literary Treasure Trove. If it does OK and I keep up with it, maybe I will link it back into this blog more. So I will be posting fewer reviews here and much more on the Treasure Trove. There are a few books I will probably post reviews of here, when I particularly love something or for special events (like October Halloween reading. Because Halloween).

Plus, I have been rewarding myself for emotional/physical strain of moving with books, so my book collection is increasing more rapidly than usual.

So that's my new thing. We will see what comes from it. Right now, it is a nice escape. Just read all the time and write about what I am reading.

Day Thirty-One: Read This Month

I managed to meet and surpass my goals! The photo is of the physical books that I finished: Gone With the Wind and Reaper Man. I also started reading Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman.

For audiobooks, I finished Night Circus, listened to A Wizard of Earthsea, Fablehaven, and started the second Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star.

Not too shabby! Thanks for reading and watching for my photos on this photo challenge!

Day Thirty: Freebie/Old Friend

I read this series via audiobook and absolutely fell in love. There is something really amazing and special about these books (to me). I first listened to them during my grad program, but then I kept listening to them over and over to keep me company because I was so often alone. So the characters became my friends and they were all near and dear to me. This narrator is one of the best I have encountered, too.

So here is The Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede (read by Amanda Ronconi):

And sorry it is a little late! Saturday was a crazy day for me!

Day Twenty-Nine: Trees

I don't think I have any books about trees, but here are a couple of books with trees on the cover!

The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles by Julie Andrews Edwards (yes, THE Julie Andrews) and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

Day Twenty-Eight: Book Soulmate

Wow, my book soul mate? That seems like a loaded question! And it was difficult for me to figure out.

First of all, I don't think I have any one book that is my soul mate because different books speak to me on different levels. I ended up selecting three of my very favorites, but it is certainly not a complete list of my favorites. I excluded books that I had already used in the course of this photo challenge, for one, and I did use many favorites on different days (like The Graveyard Book and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, which is actually an awesome choice for my book soul mate. Oh well).

So here they are:

How about book soul mates?

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, which I inexplicably love always. Tuesday's With Morrie by Mitch Albom, which I read at a point in my life that I really needed to hear his messages. Shatterglass by Tamora Pierce as another that had always been a favorite. I had to include the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder because I grew up reading them and they have meant so much to me. I also wanted to include Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, but my copy seems to have gone missing...

Day Twenty-Seven: Award Winning

I discovered that most of the books I own that have won awards are books for children... So here are some Newberry winners!

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi, The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare.

Day Twenty-Six: Plot Twist

The most recent book I read (or listened to, rather) that had several plot twists was this one, Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde:

Not to be confused with (the horrible, never touch with a ten foot pole) Fifty Shades of Grey. Totally different book here.

Jasper Fforde creates very interesting worlds and I definitely got lost in this one. I loved this book and all of its twists and turns. I can't wait for the next installment!

Day Twenty-Five: Mug

I don't think I have any books with a mug on the cover so here is my current book with my (Disney princess!) mug of coffee.

Good way to start the day!

Day Twenty-Four: Tearjerker

As a general rule, I don't go out of my way to read sad books, but I have read that make me cry for various reasons. Usually bitter sweet endings or touching moments. Here are a few:

In the Stone Circle by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Day Twenty-Three: Audiobook

I listen to a lot of audiobooks these days, since that is what I have the most time for. Here is a photo of my current audiobook!

Fablehaven by Brandon Muil, read by E.B. Stevens

Day Twenty-Two: Classic(s)

This is a little unconventional for this challenge, but I sort of inherited this lovely book set that includes nearly all of the most well-known classics:

And I love it. It really has just about everything you could want. Philosophies, sciences, plays, myths, and more. I think it is called The Great Ideas collection or something. I use it to for reference more than anything. It's totally awesome.

Day Twenty-One: POC Character

At first, I panicked and thought: I don't have any books about POC. Which is a total lie. I actually have tons, I just never thought about it much.

Hazel and Leo from the Heroes of Olympus sprang to mind, as did Daja and Frostpine from the Circle books by Tamora Pierce. The Graveyard Book came to mind because I always imagined Scarlett to be black, even though Neil Gaiman doesn't specify, to my knowledge.

I settled on a collection of books (I actually have more than can reasonably be put in a picture!), most of which I read during my Race and Ethnicity in American Literature class:

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe is one I read for a book club, but I think I chose it. The rest were from my class (a couple others we read I did not include like Maus I and II and Hunger of Memory). I enjoyed all of them except Native Son and I struggled with several parts of Jasmine. No-No Boy may have been my favorite of these, though I also liked Their Eyes Were Watching God. And Reservation Blues was very interesting. All of these are very interesting books from a cultural clash perspective. Good reads.

Day Twenty: Glasses

Glasses and books? Good thing I wear glasses!

Day Nineteen: Magazine

I don't really read magazines. The only ones I do read are Scientific American and this:

Nice and educational, right?

Day Eighteen: Indie Book

Wow. An Indie book? I wasn't entirely sure what that would entail. Not well known? Small publisher? Both?

Anyway, I did a little research (is that sad?) and discovered that it seemed to be a bit of both. Small publisher or self-published books that often stumble into a certain niche.

Apparently my book collection is a little too run-of-the-mill.

The book I used for my name is one, but I already used that and it's not fair to use it twice.

I have a few that are from small publishers, but most of them are ones that I used as references or have not read at all yet. Relics from my parents' "library" after we moved. (My parents collected TONS of books, like you would not believe, and they were stashed, crammed, and otherwise piled onto book cases in our basement. I took just about anything that sounded interesting).

As I was searching my shelves, I stumbled across one of my favorites:

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir by Josephine Leslie (aka R.A.Dick)

I had to look, and the publisher was not one I recognized. Of course, it was also published in 1945. I looked up the publisher and it is a small one and I know many people haven't read this book, so I decided it was good enough for the prompt!

Day Seventeen: Library/Book Store

I had already decided to do a bookstore. Part of this reason was that it is Sunday and libraries weren't open. And since I work nights, it was difficult to get a chance to go to a bookstore (I didn't manage it and wasn't sure what I would take a picture of if I had).

In my area there aren't tons of bookstores. The closest to me is Barnes and Noble, which I do frequent. There are a couple of Tattered Cover shops, which are great shops, but definitely out of my way.

My very favorite bookstore was the famous Powell's in Portland, Oregon, which I visited a few years back. It is amazingly huge! A book lover's dream! There was also a nice large book shop in Eugene, Oregon that I visited last year and loved, but I can't remember what it is called.

Since I live in Colorado and can't simply go over for a visit, I wasn't sure what to do. Then I remembered that I had merchandise from Powell's! So here is my Powell's tote bag!

A good friend of mine also got me a pint glass from Powell's. I couldn't find a good way to get a picture of it with the bag, so I went with the bag by itself. If anyone goes to Portland, I highly recommend visiting this shop!

Day Sixteen: Favorite Book Couple

I have been re-listening to the Heroes of Olympus series lately, so I really wanted to do Leo and Calypso. Since I don't own the books, I couldn't think of a way to do this. Nico and Will were also strong in my mind because I think that's the cutest (almost) couple ever right now!

So I went back to a very old favorite: Daine and Numair from The Immortals series by Tamora Pierce.

I was always in love with Numair myself, so it stands to reason that this would be an all time favorite!

Day Fifteen: Frustrating Read

I try hard to avoid books that frustrate me, but I have had my share. There are different levels of frustration so it took a while for me to narrow it down. I finall settled on this:

The Wizard of London by Mercedes Lackey

I have read many of her books and I usually enjoy them. I read the Five Hundred Kingdoms series because they are silly and entertaining. More light-hearted and mixed up takes on fairy tales, which I like.

This book is part of the Elemental Masters series, which is a different and more serious take on fairy tales. I have enjoyed all that I have read so far (with one that stands out as being not as good) except this one. First, it was drastically different from its predecessors, but not in any way that I found redeeming. Secondly, much of it seemed too contrived and the characters weren't well developed nor very likable.

I had tried to read it once many years ago and couldn't get into it at all. I left it and read the next book in the series, which I liked. Just last year I went back, determined to read it. And I did. I usually enjoy her books and she has the ability to be a good writer, so I was frustrated that she did not adequately demonstrate her skills here.