September 2020 Wrap Up

 So I finally, FINALLY got my diphtheria post up. I don't think it is one of my best because I wrote it in fits and starts. But it's alright. I need to do more, but I'm not sure what disease I want to do next. I would love to do a special plague post, but plague is my very favorite and I want to do it justice. But October and Halloween time (my favorite time of the year) would be a great time to do it. I will have to think on it and see if I can pull something together in time. If work doesn't keep drowning me.

Speaking of October and Halloween, it is about that time of year! I have been working on my October reading list (and I read the Night Circus this month to prepare). And the Graveyard Book is always on my list, but I ended up starting and finishing that this month, also. A bit early, but it made it feel more like autumn so it's OK. I will post my list at the end of this post. Quick book reviews first.

 

Title: The Princess and the Fangirl

Author: Ashley Poston

Narrators: Eileen Stevens, Emily Lawrence, and Caitlin Davies

 

Synopsis: This is the second book in the Once Upon a Con series. Jess Stone was a popular Indie film actress until she was cast as Princess Amara in the new Starfield movie. But she hates Amara and is afraid this part has put an early end to her career. But when someone starts leaking the script for the next Starfield, it might be her fault and she has to stop it. Enter Imogen, normal person and president of the #SaveAmara movement. And when her pink pixie cut is covered, she looks just like Jess Stone. And Jess hatches a plan to have Imogen pose as her while Jess poses as Imogen to try to track down the missing script.

Thoughts: This was a re-read since I read Bookish and the Beast and re-read Geekerella. This one may be my favorite in the series (so far? Will there be more? I hope so). It's just fun and cute and fluffy and nerdy, so obviously I can't resist.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

Title: The Hate U Give

Author: Angie Thomas

 

Synopsis: Starr is a sixteen year old girl who attends a higher class, predominantly white high school, but she lives in a poor, Black neighborhood. She feels like her two worlds do not mesh together. And when she witnesses the shooting of her childhood best friend, Khalil, and the aftermath, she finds she may be right. Her family and friends get dragged in with her and we follow her journey to find her voice.

 

Thoughts: This book needs to be required reading for everyone. I have had it on my reading list for a long time now, and I'm glad I finally picked it up. I should not have waited so long. It was heartbreaking and touching. It's hard not to fall in love with Starr's family and be sucked into her world. And because she is torn between worlds, it makes it more accessible to white readers. We learn to see and love her family and her home. And because she is still figuring out how to navigate the aftermath of Khalil's death, it gives us white readers (who know little to nothing of these situations) to learn and grow with her. I cried SOOOO much during this book, but sometimes they were tears because I was so touched. It was heartbreaking, and redeeming, and very educational. Seriously, everyone should read this book.

 

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

 

 

Title: The Shadow Crosser

Author: J.C. Cervantes

Narrator: Ozzie Rodriguez

 

Synopsis: In the third book, Zane's adventures continue. He and the other godborns are meant to get training at a special camp arranged by some of the gods. But two of the other gods are trying to kill all of the (arguably) "good" gods and make them sacrifices. The godborn are called in to save them, even if they have to go through space and time to do so.

 

Thoughts: I'm not sure if this is a trilogy or not, but I believe it is. I have enjoyed these books a lot. They are good stories, informative because they are all about the Mayan gods, and they are fun. I definitely recommend the whole trilogy.

 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

 

Title: The Night Circus

Author: Erin Morgenstern

Narrator: Jim Dale

Synopsis: This mysterious circus appears overnight without warning and it is only open at night. The circus itself is magical and builds a fan following. But there is more going on in the circus than most people are aware of.

Thoughts: I have read this book a few times. I just love it. I love the writing and most of the story (I'm not the biggest fan of Marco and his romance(s)). It is magical. I want to go to this circus so badly. And to the midnight dinners.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Title: Star Daughter

Author: Shveta Thakrar

 

Synopsis: Sheetal has a secret that she must keep from most of the people around her: her mother is a star and Sheetal is part star. Her father, aunt, and best friend know, and it is starting to become harder to keep it hidden. Her powers start to burst out of control, driving her to join her mother in the sky to solve her problems. Once in the sky with her star family, she becomes entangled in family dramas and a competition that she must win.

 

Thoughts: This was a recent Owlcrate book. It just sounded so good and I love Roshani Chokshi's books, so I was excited to read this one. I will say that it was a bit more lack-luster for me than I was hoping. But I still enjoyed the story and the magic. It is a bit reminiscent of some of Roshani Chokshi's books, so if you like her books, you may like this one. But it was pretty good and the book is really pretty!

 

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

 

 

 

Title: The Graveyard Book

Author: Neil Gaiman

Narrator: Neil Gaiman

 

Synopsis: The story of Nobody Owens who walks a unique path between life and death. Raised by the ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard gives him a great appreciation of life. And while his story is sad and sometimes very lonely, he grasps life with both hands, knowing he will see his family in death. I suppose he never really misses out on anything.

Thoughts: How many times have I read this book? Every year for the last seven maybe? Anyway, I always love it so much. And no matter what, I always find myself thinking about it and about the characters. And I always cry at the end. One of my favorite books.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

 

 

Favorite book read this month: New book? The Hate U Give, but I always love the Graveyard Book and the Night Circus.

Least favorite book read this month: Star Daughter. Not because it was bad, it just wasn't my favorite.

 

I have read 72 books out of my goal of 80. So I am well ahead of schedule, which is awesome. After last year, I am glad to be doing better!

 

I didn't make any progress on my alphabet reading challenge. I still have six letters to complete, but hope to complete two in October. I'm not sure I will quite finish, but that's OK, it is just for fun.

Here is my reading list for October (after taking out the Graveyard Book). And I doubt I will be able to read all of these, but I will select all of my reads from these:

I have already started the Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein and I am nearly finished with the Sundial (a book club selection that we are discussing next week). There is another book club book to read in October for November, but I don't plan on reading it because priorities, obviously. I need to read Jackaby and Varney the Vampire to help with my alphabet reading challenge. Some would be re-reads. And I am looking forward to reading Horrid. It might be more scary than my usual, but it sounds good.

I'm excited for my favorite month of the year!

October 2019 Wrap Up

Ah, October! The best month of the year!

As always, I prepared a long list of spooky reads to match the mood of the month. Here is a photo I shared of all of the books I had compiled. I did not actually intend to get around to reading all of them, which is good because I definitely didn't read all 10!

Here are brief reviews for the books I managed to finish:

Title: The Tyrant's Tomb
Author: Rick Riordan
Narrator: Robbie Daymond

Synopsis: Apollo and Meg have a detour on their journey: they must make it to Camp Jupiter and bring the camp bad news. While they are there, they must solve the communication problems the demigods are having and stop Caligula's fleet from destroying Camp Jupiter.

Thoughts: I am Rick Riordan trash and basically love all of his books. This series is probably my least favorite of all of his (so far), but that doesn't mean much because I still really enjoy them. I always recommend his books to anyone who likes mythology.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: The Vampyre
Author: John Polidori
Narrator: B.J. Harrison

Synopsis: This is one of the oldest vampire stories. It follows the journey of a young man, Aubrey, who is determined the make the acquaintance of mysterious Lord Ruthven. Having managed to secure some degree of familiarity, they agree to travel Europe together, but Aubrey might find that his mysterious companion hides some dark secrets.

Thoughts: I wanted to read this book for two reasons: 1, Ruthven is a great character in Vivian Shaw's  Dr. Greta Helsing novels and 2. this was written by a man who was an acquaintance of Mary Shelley! I read a book sometime last year that was all about Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley and he was discussed. And I guess the third reason is because it's one of the older vampire stories that has been published. It was short and pretty dark, but I rather enjoyed it. My one complaint was the narrator who made Ruthven sound vaguely Transylvanian, when he was meant to be from England.

Rating 3-31/2 stars out of 5 stars

Title: Grave Importance
Author: Vivian Shaw

Synopsis: Greta is called to a remote hospital and spa in France that specializes in the treatment of mummies. She takes the temporary position only to discover that many mummies are having some type of fit that weakens them and no one knows what is causing it. Meanwhile, Ruthven is afflicted with a mysterious curse and is sent to Hell to be treated. Oh, and the world might be ending.

Thoughts: I love these books. I think they are so fun. It almost feels like a guilty pleasure to read them. But I also enjoy them because there are other characters referenced, like Ruthven from Polidori's the Vampyre and Varney from the Victorian serial story Varney the Vampire. They can be a little spooky, but they are still entertaining. I hope she writes another one for me to read next October!

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: First Grave on the Right
Author: Darynda Jones
Narrator: Lorelei King

Synopsis: Charley Davidson is a private investigator as far as most people know. But she is also a Grim Reaper. She can see the spirits of those who die and aren't able to move on right away. Using this handy skill, she can help solve crimes better than anyone else. Recently, a series of murders starts to shed light on a group that is kidnapping and selling kids. To make her life more complicated, the man she may or may not be starting to love is to be taken off life support if she can't figure out a way to save him.

Thoughts: So I had accidentally read the eighth book in this series several years ago because I did not realize it was part of a series. It was interesting enough for me to decide to pick this one up. If it hadn't been for her weird love life (I'm sorry, sex life since they basically never speak to each other), I would have enjoyed it much more. Her personal romance was (in my opinion) crap. But the rest of the story was good and often funny with several characters that I liked. But I do not plan to read any more. I just can't handle the romantic part of the story.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Narrator: Neil Gaiman

Synopsis: Nobody Owens walks a unique path between life and death. Raised by the ghosts and other denizens of the graveyard gives him a great appreciation of life and he grasps it with both hands.

Thoughts: I read this book (or listen to the audiobook) every year. That is how much I love this book. I love Bod and his adventures and the people he meets. And no matter what, I always cry at the end. This is definitely one of my very favorite books. It is beautifully written and I cannot recommend it more highly.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Title: A Madness so Discreet
Author: Mindy McGinnis

Synopsis: Grace has been institutionalized in an asylum in Boston for being mad. And maybe she is a bit mad, but for good reasons. Finding her past and horrible family secrets too much to bear, she locks away her voice. Following a series of mishaps, she ends up marked a trouble patient and is locked away in the cellars where she makes friends with another patient there who helps her find her voice again. Her sharp mind is discovered by a visiting doctor and he smuggles her away to be his assistant when he goes to solve murders. She ends up in a different institution in Ohio. For the first time, she feels that she has friends and a purpose. But she can't avoid her past forever.

Thoughts: OK, confession time. This was the very first Owlcrate book that I ever received. And I got that in the October box four years ago... I have not read all of my Owlcrate books, mostly because I have so many books to read that I can't get to them all right away. I'm not sure why I never got around to reading this one. The only reason I did was because someone suggested it as a sort of eerie October book that wasn't scary. And I'm glad I finally read it. I didn't really know what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying it.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Title: The Bone Houses
Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones
Narrator: Moira Quirk

Synopsis: Aderyn is trying to keep her family's home. Her uncle became indebted to the greedy local lord who is holding Ryn responsible for paying it when her uncle disappears. Her brother and sister help where they can, but they realize that Ryn's grave digging won't be enough to pay off their family's debts. Then she meets Ellis who wants to enter the mythical woods around the town to make maps and try to discover hints to his past. And he offers to pay Ryn to guide him. Seeing this as her way out, she willingly takes Ellis into the forest. But there are good reasons that everyone avoids the forest of the Other King.

Thoughts: This was a September Owlcrate book. But I ended up listening to it because I didn't have time to read the physical book. Overall I enjoyed it. I liked the names especially. Listening to it was a very good idea and I recommend the audio. I very much liked Ryn and Ellis. And while I guessed the outcome of a few things, the characters were likable and great. And there are zombies (essentially). I don't do zombies, so I was pretty worried, but it was actually interesting.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5 stars 


Favorite book read this month: Besides the Graveyard Book which is one of my favorites ever? Grave Importance
Least favorite book read this month: First Grave on the Right

I started Varney the Vampire, but that book is a huge undertaking that I wasn't prepared for. I will have another go at it next year. I also started The Hearts We Sold, but didn't manage to finish it by the end of the month. I will go ahead and finish it though since I am more than half way through. 

In other news this month, I lost my little Zosi. He hadn't been doing great health-wise and he was getting to be an old little rat. He died on the morning of his second birthday and he was the last of my Littles to go. It has made for a less-than-ideal October. I miss him (and his brothers) so much. But here is an adorable picture of him. He had the best face: the brightest eyes and cutest crooked ears. He was also super sweet and was always licking my hands and fingers. Kevin said that if people who didn't like rats could meet him, he would change their minds. He was a special little guy.

In good October news, my momma came to visit me in my new city. We had a nice weekend trying some restaurants and going on a Ghost Walk Tour! Very seasonal!

Kevin and I managed to get to a little local pumpkin patch that had lots of cute games and activities and farm animals to pet. And we got some of the coolest pumpkins! I had never seen a green pumpkin! Or one that is quite this shade of peach:

Sorry I didn't manage to get a disease post up this month. I had lots of internet problems at home (it kind of comes and goes much of the time) and I have been very busy with work. I will do my best to get a post up in November. I just have to decide which disease I want to do!

So that is about it for October! I'm sad that my favorite month is over, but I already have a list of possible October reads for next year!

October Wrap Up

Alright! Full reviews are posted on my book blog, as usual (except for The Graveyard Book because my review of that is on my Goodreads account).

All books read this month!

Spooky books read this month:

• Shiver by Maggie Steifvater. Like Twilight, but way better, and with werewolves instead of vampires. Also, much as I love Maggie Stiefvater, I feel like this book was before she really developed her writing voice (which comes across so very clearly in The Raven Cycle).
• A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz. A twist on the Hansel and Gretel story. I was not a fan of the narration (I thought that maybe I was too old to read it, but I read books for younger ages all of the time, ie: Rick Riordan and Tamora Pierce and I love their stuff, so maybe it isn't just me).
• The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan. Wow I love his books. I love these characters and the addition of Alex was a pleasant surprise.
• Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. Interesting, spooky carnival story.
• The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. Kind of a fun story that explores some of the history of Halloween. Also, where the heck are all of the girls in his stories?? Is he only capable of writing men/boys??
• The Diviners by Libba Bray. Definitely a good, spooky Halloween read! Ghosts, monsters, people with special gifts, grisly murders; basically anything you could want in a spooky read.
• Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones. I randomly got this in an audible sale, not realizing it is part of a series. But it was pretty good, reminds me a bit of Janet Evanovich. I may go back and read the first seven books...
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I love this book so much. It wouldn't feel right to have an October without reading it. And I always cry at the end...
• Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton. Not sure why the additional author, but I think these books are fun to read around Halloween.

Favorite book read this month:
Magnus Chase and the Hammer of Thor or The Graveyard Book. The Diviners was great, too.

Least favorite book read this month:
A Tale Dark and Grimm

Challenges completed:

• A book you bought on a whim: Eighth Grave After Dark

Only one, sadly, but the point of this month was to read my spooky books, and I did manage to read everything on my list! Yay!

This month's book haul:

Not too many books this month

November doesn't have any special themes. I will try to get back on track to finish my 2016 reading challenge and to finish my Goodreads reading challenge, too. I am a couple of books behind schedule. I need to read twelve more books for my Goodreads challenge, but I only need six more to complete my 2016 challenge (and two are already in the works)!

I love October and Halloween so much. I'm sad that it's over. I already have a huge list of books to choose from for next year.

September Wrap Up

Ok! I read lots of books this month, so be prepared. As usual, review can be found on my book blog!

Books read this month:

• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. A story about a gang of boys and of friendship and family.
• The Tempest by William Shakespeare. Finally read the tale of Prospero for two reasons: to see where Prospero the Magician from The Night Circus took his name from, and to read Ariel's part as Colin Morgan recently played him in a London stage production of this play.
• Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson. An audiobook re-read because I love this book...
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. Decent, but my least favorite Brontë novel so far.
• This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. A book about monsters and good versus evil. So good!
• My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. Fun, alternate fantasy/history of Lady Jane Grey.
• A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron. The story follows a dog through a few incarnations as he finds his purpose in life.
• The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan. Re-read to prepare myself for the next book which comes out soon!

Challenges completed:

• A book that taught you something: The Outsiders
• A play: The Tempest
• A book with a very long title: Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)
• A book from somewhere you want to travel to: Wuthering Heights (Because I want to go back to England, I say it counts)
• A book with not enough hype: This Savage Song
• A book written by two or more authors: My Lady Jane
• A book with a non-human main character: A Dog's Purpose

Least favorite book read this month:
Wuthering Heights.

Favorite book read this month:
This Savage Song. Totally underrated. It gave me nightmares--it would have been a great October Halloween-y read! Plus, I loved the nursery rhyme:

 
Next month is October! Hooray! That means I stop reading everything I am currently reading (I tried really hard to get through everything, but I didn't quite make it...) to read Halloween-y books! Except for Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. It is about werewolves, so it is Halloween-y enough to continue.

Goals for October!
Finish:
     Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Read:      The Diviners by Libba Bray
     A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz
     Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton
Listen to:
    The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
     Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
    Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones

If there is time, I will read or listen to my very favorite: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The exception:
I will also listen to The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan because his books usually come out in October and I am Rick Riordan trash. I can't wait a whole month! It comes out the 4th though, so I will finish it nice and early.

Anyone else have any exciting Halloween reads planned?