March 2019 Wrap Up

The beginning of March feels like so long ago and like it was just yesterday. Let's start with book reviews!

Title: Frontier Magic Trilogy (Thirteenth Child, Across the Great Barrier, and The Far West)
Author: Patricia Wrede
Narrator: Amanda Ronconni

Thoughts: I was feeling stressed and overwhelmed so I decided to re-listen to this trilogy. This series is an old favorite and I love the narration. These books make me very happy and feel like old friends.

Set in an alternative early America, they follow the journey of a girl named Eff, who is an unlucky thirteenth child (so they say). Her twin brother, however, is the seventh son of a seventh son and blessed with luck and strong magic. Due to her fear of her magic and of being an unlucky thirteenth, the development of her own magical abilities is unique, but she eventually finds her strengths.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars, 4 out of 5 stars, and 5 out of 5 stars, respectively.

 

Title: Ruin and Rising
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Narrator: Lauren Fortgang

Thoughts: Another re-read in preparation of King of Scars. I had forgotten several things about this book, so returning to it was very beneficial. I still love Nikolai. I did manage to find more sympathy and a better liking for Mal this time around. The first time through, I sort of hated him by the end. I like the way the story wraps up and feel like most characters had good endings.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: The Tea Dragon Society
Author: Katie O'Neill

Thoughts: This is a graphic novel I received in an Owlcrate box. It was the first thing I read after my book bail. I don't read graphic novels very often, but this looked cute and it definitely was! It was a nice little story and I plan to read the next one when it comes out. The main idea is that there are different kinds of dragons for different kinds of tea and they develop relationships with their caretakers and said caretakers form a society and good friendships and relationships. It is on the simple side, but a nice, quick read that left me feeling good!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars



Title: The Steel Prince
Author: V.E. Schwab

Thoughts: Oddly enough, another graphic novel! But written by Victoria Schwab, who I love. This is a prequel to the Darker Shade of Magic trilogy which follows Maxim before he becomes king. I enjoyed it, though I thought some of the artwork was hard to follow. I did just fine reading the dialogue, though. I want to read more (partially because I want to know more about how he meets his wife and about her history and magic).

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Here is my book bail. I had been trying to read this book for nearly two months and was barely halfway through. I just wasn't interested and I didn't enjoy the writing much. Admittedly, it is below my reading level. I may have enjoyed it more if I'd read it at a younger age. As it was, it was really bogging down my reading progress because I felt so bad abandoning it and felt I couldn't start anything else until I finished this one. When I finally decided to stop and move on, I made much better progress and started feeling like reading was fun and not a chore. I almost never bail on a book, but it is a relief to feel like I can.


Least favorite book read this month: I am counting the Wind Singer, even though I didn't finish it.
Favorite book read this month: is it cheating to count the Frontier Magic trilogy?

I did not manage to complete a MCAT study guide. I stopped for a couple of weeks when I got sick at the end of last month and then for another week while I was still recovering. I am still working on it though and getting ready to (hopefully) take a class this summer.

I'm also still reading a Disneyland guide book in preparation for my trip next month! I'm very excited!

I don't have much other news this month. I've been applying for jobs down in New Mexico to prepare for moving this fall. I haven't heard back yet, but there are a few I've applied to that sound pretty great!

And lastly, next month I decided to try participating in a small reading challenge I found on Tumblr. It's all about finding fun and funny books in the month of April. Here is a link to the LOL-a-thon Challenge. I hope to post snippets and quotes on my Instagram and Tumblr, too. If anyone would like to get involved, please do! It should be fun!

February 2019 Wrap Up

The shortest month of the year is over, here's what I've got.

First, sorry for the delay, I lost my little Jeki rat this month and then proceeded to get pretty sick for the last week of the month. My reading has definitely fallen off with me trying to get through the MCAT books, but here is what I did get through:

Books finished this month:

Title: Shadow and Bone
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Thoughts: This is a re-read for me. I wanted to read the Grisha trilogy again before diving into her new book, King of Scars. The universe that the author created is amazing and sometimes terrifying. I love the magic and different types of Grisha. I also enjoy the bit of foreshadowing that she does with the volcra in her dream. That part always sticks with me.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: MCAT General Chemistry Review
Author: Kaplan Test Prep

Thoughts: I'm not going to really give reviews on these books, but I am reading them cover to cover, so I am counting them toward my reading goals (at least the first time I read through them). But this was a good review of general chemistry and I found it helpful.

Rating: I'm not sure how to rate these, but 4 out of 5 stars

Title: Siege and Storm
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Thoughts: Another re-read to prepare for reading King of Scars and the continuation of Shadow and Bone. I do like this book because Nikolai is introduced and I do love him. This book is where I start to dislike Mal an awful lot. I'm on to re-reading the third one now and then I can move onto King of Scars!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: MCAT Behavioral Sciences Review
Author: Kaplan Test Prep

Thoughts: Another MCAT book and this one covers topics I am less familiar with. It contains mostly psychology and sociology as well as the biological aspects of the brain and how it works. I will definitely need to go back to this book and read it again.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars



Favorite book read this month: Shadow and Bone
Least favorite book read this month: None really. If forced, I might pick the MCAT Behavioral Sciences Review. I think I'm allowed to count those.

Other things that happened this month:
Google + has been taken down. I'm not sure yet how that will be affecting my blog, as it is a Google owned company. I may need to find a new host for my domain name, but for now I will be staying here until I figure everything out. I mostly need to make sure that people can still comment without the Google+ comments. It looks like it will be reverting back to blogger comments, but I'm not positive. I will keep you posted and look into alternatives.

Kevin and I had our two year anniversary, which was nice and we both acknowledged it and sent cards to each other. It's so nice to know that it's as important to him as it is for me. We are starting to plan our Disneyland trip (well, he has to attend conferences for parts of the day while we are there, so I am planning for the times he can join me in Disney). Of course I started reading The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2019. For research.

I was also sent to Sacramento for some work training and that all happened at the last minute. Besides that, it was a nice trip and cool to see another, larger lab. It was a good experience and I am all trained to use our new machine and to train my coworkers!

I guess February was busier than I thought. Hopefully I can get more reading done in March! Thanks for reading!