Welcome to the 'Blurbs

Got a book you feel is underappreciated? Give it the love it deserves with a blurb!about +links

[sublurbia]

And the winner is...

@the-forest-library!

I’ll soon message you from my main (@thevajunglebook) for contact + prize info.

[sublurbia]

Attention bingo players! With a week left to go, this is just a reminder:

*if you haven’t already*

submit your bingo claim via submission between now and next Sunday night for eligibility in the giveaway. The prize is two books or a $25 gift card. Winner will be announced on New Year’s Day.

-

@scaredy-bee @mariedtofiction @thehungrylittlebookworm @knightyg @eyi125 @bookloverbunnymother @lost-in-a-story @the-forest-library @havebookwillread @accidentalspaceexplorer @heretherebebooks

[sublurbia]

hiatus!

It’s officially hiatus season here at Sublurbia. This will be the last post, aside from announcing the winner of the giveaway on New Year’s Day.

If you’re a bingo player, you have until 11:59pm PST on 12/31 to claim bingo. I’ll happily answer any questions about this.

Expect hiatus to last roughly two months. I’ll drop a line at the end of January if there’s a change.

[shirleyjacksons-exwife]

Tah Dah!! DONE!!! This post is a twofer bc I decided to DNF one. This was a really good way to get through some of my owned TBR so I’m sure I’ll be working on further bingos in the future. Maybe not with this card, but still. 

Title: The Future of Ice  Author: Gretel Ehrlich Genre: Nonfiction, Nature Publisher: Vintage Year of Publication: 2004

Synopsis: Gretel Ehrlich is a writer who spends most of her time in extreme cold climates around the world. The book is about her relationship with cold, the future of climate change, and existence in the iciest places on Earth. 

Why was this book on your TBR? I picked it up at the local remainders book shop ages ago because I love a good nature book and it was short and pretty. Sounded like my kinda thing. 

How long had it been on your TBR? A year? Maybe two? Closer to two. 

Was it everything you’d hoped? No? Yes? It was very weird. It wasn’t what I expected at all. It was less about the science behind climate change and more about Ehrlich’s personal relationship with cold. It was really interesting, especially because I DON’T like cold. And her writing is beautiful, truly lyrical. The whole damn book reads like prose poetry. Which gets exhausting. For such a short book, it took me ages to get through because Ehrlich writes like she’s packing maximum punch into every single sentence.

Rec it or forget it? Overall, rec it. 

Favorite quote: 

“Love life first, then march through the gates of each season; go inside nature and develop the discipline to stop destructive behavior; learn tenderness toward experience, then make decisions based on creating biological wealth that includes all people, animals, cultures, currencies, languages, and the living things as yet undiscovered; listen to the truth the land will tell you; act accordingly.” (from Goodreads)

Star rating: 3.5/5 stars

Title: The Wind-up Bird Chronicle  Author: Haruki Murakami Genre: Literary Fiction Publisher: Vintage Year of Publication: 1994 (my edition is from 2015)

Synopsis:  “ Japan’s most highly regarded novelist now vaults into the first ranks of international fiction writers with this heroically imaginative novel, which is at once a detective story, an account of a disintegrating marriage, and an excavation of the buried secrets of World War II. In a Tokyo suburb a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife’s missing cat. Soon he finds himself looking for his wife as well in a netherworld that lies beneath the placid surface of Tokyo. As these searches intersect, Okada encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists: a psychic prostitute; a malevolent yet mediagenic politician; a cheerfully morbid sixteen-year-old-girl; and an aging war veteran who has been permanently changed by the hideous things he witnessed during Japan’s forgotten campaign in Manchuria.” (from Goodreads)

Why was this book on your TBR? For the last… idk decade or so I’ve been hearing great things about Murakami and this sounded so right up my alley that when I finally found a GORGEOUS paperback edition last summer I picked it up.

How long had it been on your TBR? A few years, maybe 5 at tops.

Was it everything you’d hoped? No way. I ended up DNF-ing this one at 100 pages because I got too much other shit to read to waste my time on a 600 page novel that bores me and pisses me off at the same time. I have, since buying this one, seen other people highlight problems with Murakami’s writing and I see it. He’s not for me and frankly the whole misogyny thing just puts me off his other work as a whole, which is so disappointing. 

Rec it or forget it? forget it

Favorite quote: N/a

Star rating: 1/5 stars

[havebookwillread]

Title: Daughter of the Burning City Author: Amanda Foody Genre: Fantasy Publisher: HarperCollins Year of Publication: 2017

Synopsis: Sorina is an illusion worker at a travelling circus. Her illusions are her family but she believes they’re not real, until one of them is killed.

Why was this book on your TBR? I bought it at YALC but it was very much a case of judging a book by its cover. Well judged in this case.

How long had it been on your TBR? 3 months

Was it everything you’d hoped? 
Definitely, it was interesting and unpredictable.

Rec it or forget it? Rec it

Favourite quote:

“But you’re an illusion,” I say. “I created you.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m not real.”

Star rating: 5/5

[accidentalspaceexplorer]

Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone:

Genre: Fantasy Publisher: Tor Books Year of Publication: 2012

A god has died, and it’s up to Tara, first-year associate in the international necromantic firm of Kelethres, Albrecht, and Ao, to bring Him back to life before His city falls apart. Her client is Kos, recently deceased fire god of the city of Alt Coulumb. Without Him, the metropolis’s steam generators will shut down, its trains will cease running, and its four million citizens will riot. Tara’s job: resurrect Kos before chaos sets in. Her only help: Abelard, a chain-smoking priest of the dead god, who’s having an understandable crisis of faith. When Tara and Abelard discover that Kos was murdered, they have to make a case in Alt Coulumb’s courts—and their quest for the truth endangers their partnership, their lives, and Alt Coulumb’s slim hope of survival. (via Goodreads)

Why was this book on your TBR? The series is pretty popular, and gets talked about on Tor a lot, and it seemed interesting!

How long had it been on your TBR? Gosh, I’m not sure. According to Goodreads about 11 months?

Was it everything you’d hoped? Yes, it was, in fact, everything I hoped. It was really unique–I finished reading a chapter, turned to my fiance, and went, “That was such a cool court battle!!!” and meant every word (and the exclamation points). It has a really interesting take on magic/necromancy as a sort of legal contract, is I guess how I would describe it? It also had fantastic characters–Tara and Elayne were very interesting and very driven characters, and I really want to keep reading about them, so I’m glad that Tara shows up in other books (I’m not sure about Elayne? But I hope so). I’m so psyched to read the next book in the series. This will definitely be one of the reading highlights of my year.

Rec it or forget it? REC ITTTTTTTTTT holy cow this was so good! I loved it.

Favorite quote: THE ENTIRE BOOK

My Rating: 5/5

[the-forest-library]

I finished The Dark Hills Divide last night, so I’m crossing off another square on my @sublurbia tbr bingo. This books seems tailor-made for me (female-powered fantasy with talking forest animals), but it just didn’t click. I was so disappointed.

[sublurbia]

(i'm sorry about the haitus but i totally understand and you should take the time you need!) i have a question about tbr bingo: if i dnf a book can i still cross it off? i understand you wouldn't want people dnf-ing everything just to get a bingo but dnf-ing is still reading and making a judgement on a book? idk just curious. i may have to dnf one of my books and i thought i would ask!

Yes, you can totally cross off a dnf. When a book sucks, it sucks. No need to force reading it :)

If you’re also talking about whether it counts toward the giveaway, the answer is still yes as long as you post a wrap-up on it. Probably in the “forget it” (as opposed to “rec it”) category. 

Thanks! 

[sublurbia]

Here’s the dealio my pals: 

Due to a simple matter of unfortunate timing of irl frenzy, we’re down two admins. We began with three, so do the math and we’ve got one admin left standing. All this to say, the blog is now officially on semi-hiatus. Total hiatus* coming at you in December.

Q&A Below

Last admin standing?

Camille aka @thevajunglebook​

How will semi-hiatus work?

Once a week, I’ll check tags and mentions to reblog any content y’all produce. I’ll answer any questions if you have them, more or less as they come in. Otherwise I’ll be a ghost.

Ok, Casper.

I work full time and it’s really hard to squeeze tumblr in around my schedule at the moment. Sorry!

Tell us about that asterisk up top!

In December, there’ll be 99% radio silence. The asterisk is because TBR Bingo will stay running and the askbox will still be open.

TBR Bingo

The giveaway will stay running through December 31st. Just submit your claim with link(s) to your TBR wrap-ups, as per eligibility rules, and you’ll be entered to win 2 books of your choosing.

If you haven’t got a bingo card yet, you may request one anytime before December 1st.

How long will hiatus last?

My aim is to return in late January/February, but I won’t make that a promise. I do, however, promise to return.

Nothing too complicated. The next two weeks will be a semi-hiatus, and following that will be actual hiatus, though you can still enter the TBR giveaway through December 31.

[grishae]

Sorting Hat Tag Game

Monsters and villains and ghouls, oh my! This October, in the run up to Halloween, take a villain, monster, or ghoulish character (or maybe they’re just misunderstood!!!) and argue which Hogwarts House you think they belong in! Will they all end up in Slytherin??

Use #sortinghatgame or #sublurbia and tag your friends to play too :)

I was tagged by @rrrhysand, merci ♥

Character: Julian Blackthorn (my poor misunderstood babe) Book: The Dark Artifices series Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Hogwarts House: Slytherin ofc

Why that house? He’s been frequently described as a ruthless person with a ruthless heart, and he’s only interested in his own well-being which is extremely related to his family well-being. What’s more, his strong ideals, his capability of lying without hesitation.. could scare everyone. Because he seems a good person (he is!!) but once you discover what he’s been through and what he could do to get what he wants, he could become a very distant, cynical & tricky guy.

What would be their Halloween costume? I don’t actually think he would make an outstanding Halloween costume because he would be so busy helping his siblings with theirs lol but I can imagine him wearing an original one (if he has time), like one who can scare the most, even having an ace up his sleeve so he could surprise everyone.

Would they make it to the end of a horror movie? Absolutely, he’s so good with a crossbow and also he’s a shadowhunter incredibly trained lol besides, he’s so damn clever he would make it with his eyes closed!!

i’m tagging no one because october’s over but i’m exception as I’ve been incredibly late doing this, sorry heh

[lost-in-a-story]

Board by @sublurbia

Title: This Savage Song

Author: Victoria Schwab

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Year of Publication: 2016

Why was this book on your TBR?

I heard about this book on tumblr and booktube, so I was really itching to read it!

How long had it been on your TBR?

I bought the book a couple months ago, so since then!

Was it everything you’d hoped?

It was sooooo good!!!!!

Rec it or forget it?: REC IT!!!!

Favorite Quote: So many great quotes! I particularly loved “It was a cruel trick of the universe, thought August, that he only felt human after doing something monstrous.” And “You wanted to feel alive, right? It doesn’t matter if you’re monster or human. Living hurts.”

Star rating: 5/5!

[the-forest-library]

Crossing of I’ll Give You the Sun on my @sublurbia tbr bingo. This book really impressed me with its juxtaposition and reveals.

[lost-in-a-story]

Bingo board by @sublurbia

Title: The House of Hades

Author: Rick Riordan

Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Year of Publication: 2013

Why was this book on your TBR?

I have to read all of RR’s books. It is law.

How long had it been on your TBR?

Since it came out. So 4ish years.

Was it everything you’d hoped?

Eh, its definitely not my favorite Percy Jackson book, but it also wasn’t my least favorite in the second series.

Rec it or forget it? Rec it! I’ll rec all of them, forever.

Favorite quote: All the parts with Annabeth and Percy!

Star rating: 4/5. It took me a while to get into them, and I am not a fan of all the different perspectives, but near the end it really picked up for me, and made me excited to finish the series.

[sublurbia]

Weekly Discussion || November 5 - 11

If you could rewrite any book, what would you change?

[sublurbia]

Tag Game || The Sorting Hat

November here at sublurbia is all about the creative types. Sort your favorite fictional artists of any and all mediums into Hogwarts Houses and make the case for why they belong there. 

Use #sortinghatgame or #sublurbia and tag your friends to play too :)

Character: Book: Author: Genre: Hogwarts House:

Why that house? 

Would they rather their art bring them fame, fortune, power, or respect? Is there anything they’d give up their artistic pursuits for? What would they title their memoir? To whom would they dedicate it?

[ry-ter]

Title: The Princess and the Goblin Author: George Macdonald Genre: Classics, Children’s Fiction Publisher: Puffin Classics Year of Publication: 1874

Synopsis: Irene is a princess. Curdie is a miner’s son. The goblins are scheming and there’s a mysterious witch in the castle attic. All these things combine and come to a head. 

Why was this book on your TBR? lmao I thought it was what the film “The Black Cauldron” was based on (it’s not) and the cover was so pretty so I picked it up for a few dollars. 

How long had it been on your TBR? a few months

Was it everything you’d hoped? Not really? IDK it was alright. I knew what it was gonna be like going in but it was more…. insipid than I expected I guess. Irene absolutely perfect, Curdie is, if anything, MORE perfect… everything is really flat. But it was fun for when you’re in a mood for some classics kids lit.

Rec it or forget it? Rec it, but it’s not a tragedy to forget it Star rating: 3/5

[sublurbia]

Sublurbia || November Photo Challenge 

Use #sublurbia or #sublurbia photo challenge to participate!

Week One: a book that inspires your creative side

Week Two: a book with a killer first line

Week Three: a book that wasn’t what you expected

Week Four: a book you find underrated

Week Five: a book or fanfiction you’ve got endless love for