Hello! My name is Sara, and this is my book blog! As my favorite genre is fantasy, you can expect to see that represented quite strongly here, although it is definitely not the only genre I read. I'll be posting spoiler free reviews, Top 5 lists every...
Books I’ve recently added to my TBR || Top Ten Tuesday
Hello lovelies! Time again for another Top Ten Tuesday, which as always was started by the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish. Please go check out their blog and take a look at upcoming topics if you’d like to join in.
This week’s topic: the top ten books that I’ve recently added to my TBR. This list will be a mix of a few books I bought recently, a book I got for Christmas, and books I’ve gotten from the library.
These won’t be in any particular order, but here are the most recent additions to my TBR list.
Americanah - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I got this absolutely gorgeous edition of this book for Christmas.
The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch
This is a book from the library, and my current read at the moment.
The Traitor Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickenson
I bought this book at 50% off not long before moving from the States.
Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor
I got this from my library, in this wonderful edition, which has really made me want to own these book with these covers.
The Vanishing Witch - Karen Maitland
I’ve been wanting to read books by Karen Maitland for ages, and luckily the library has quite a few of her work, so I snatched this one and
The Raven’s Head
The Bone Clocks - David Mitchell
This is another library find.
Mage’s Blood - David Hair
This and the final two books on this list were bought the other day from Waterstones on a day when I just needed some book shopping to cheer me up.
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers
This lovely book was on offer, so of COURSE I had to scoop it up.
All the Birds in the Sky - Charlie Jane Anders
I was delighted and surprised to see that this new release was also on offer, so it came home with me as well.
Well, there you have it! The top ten newest books that has been added to my immediate TBR.
What are some books you have added to your TBR recently?
Top Ten 2015 Releases I meant to get to but didn’t || Top Ten Tuesday
I’m finally back for another installment of Top Ten Tuesday!!
As always, Top Ten Tuesday was started by the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish. Please go check out their blog for general bookish goodness as well as a list of past and future topics.
This week’s topic are the top ten books that came out in 2015 that I wasn’t able to get to last year. Let’s get started!
Sidenote: These are in no particular order
The Invasion of the Tearling - Erika Johansen
The Queen of the Tearling, the first book in this fantasy trilogy, was one of the first books I read in 2015, and I was SO excited for the sequel to come out. However, my husband had bought me the UK hardcover and I wanted to have matching covers, so the plan was to wait until I moved to the UK to read it, which took a little bit longer than I thought it would. But now we’re 2nd in the queue at the library for a copy, and I think chances are pretty good I’ll love it and buy and actual copy.
Twelve Kings in Sharakhai - Bradley P. Beaulieu
The moment I read the synopsis for this novel, I knew I had to read it. However, as I’m sure many of you know, new Hardcover adult fantasy novels can be SO EXPENSIVE, so I never got around to reading this one.
Sorcerer to the the Crown - Zen Cho
This is another book I knew I wanted to read since reading the synopsis. However, I really, really, REALLY love the UK cover, so I’ve patiently waited to be here to own and read what I know will be an addition to my favorites list.
The Book of Phoenix - Nnedi Okorafor
Who Fears Death was one of the best books I read in 2015. The Book of Phoenix is a prequel to that novel, and a very necessary read for me. I honestly don’t really know why I haven’t read it yet. That needs to change, as soon as possible.
Illuminae - Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Everything about this book appeals to me, I just never got around to reading it in 2015.
The Shepherd’s Crown - Terry Pratchett
Thinking about this book makes me have a lot of feelings. It is the final Discworld novel, the final Tiffany Aching novel, and Terry Pratchett’s final novel. Partially because of the emotions associated with all of that, I never got around to reading this in 2015.
Court of Fives - Kate Elliott
I keep hearing amazing things about this book, but I think I’ll have to read Kate Elliott’s OTHER book that came out in 2015 first, since I’ve already bought it...
Black Wolves
I’ve heard it’s a fantasy centered on non-western-inspired culture dealing with colonialism. I NEED HEAR NO MORE
The Traitor Baru Cormorant - Seth Dickinson
Speaking of an SFF book that deals with colonialism... I found this marked 50% off at Barnes and Noble and snatched it up. Unfortunately, I was in the midst of a massive reading slump, so I’ll just have to read it in 2016.
Career of Evil - Robert Galbraith
I LOVE THIS SERIES. I seriously love this mystery series written under J K Rowling’s pen name, Robert Galbraith, and I’ve heard nothing but great things about this third installment. It pains me that I haven’t read it yet!
There they are! The 2015 releases I’m a bit kicking myself I didn’t read already. Oh well! They’ll just have to be in my 2016 TBR.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful week, and I’m currently working on my favorite and least favorite of 2015 lists to post later this week, and hopefully I’ll start finishing some books so I can get back into reviewing soon!
The last month or so has been filled with a massive reading slump and moving to another country, and I’m very grateful that you lovely people have stuck around while I’ve been away.
This week I’ll be posting a Top Ten Tuesday, a Top 15 of 2015, and a Top 16 to read in 2016.
I’m also working on finally getting my first video up on my Youtube channel, and hopefully this next week will also see the beginnings of my Instagram! Lots of exciting things coming in 2016, so thanks for sticking around, now let’s party!
Friday Reads and Announcement! || 18 December, 2015
Hello everyone!!!
Firstly, I’m so sorry I’ve been absent. This winter cold came back, so I’ve been sick once again, and visa junk has been quite intense! On that note, my announcement is that I GOT MY VISA!!!! This means that I will finally be able to move to the UK and live with my husband.
This may also mean some disruption to the blog for a little bit. I’ll be flying out on Monday, so most likely this next week will not include a Top Ten Tuesday or Top 5 Wednesday post. I am prepping a 2015 in summary post, as well as some “to read” in 2016 posts as well, so hopefully moving won’t disrupt content for too long.
I’ve been in a little bit a slump lately as well. I still haven’t read a single book in December, which is very unusual for me.
I am in the middle of a book currently, but as I hope to visit with friends and family before I leave, I most likely won’t finish it this weekend.
I do want to talk to you about it, though:
The Mirror Empire - Kameron Hurley
This epic fantasy/sci-fi is AMAZING, and although I’m only about 150 pages in, I highly recommend picking it up. I’ll definitely be posting a review whenever I finally get through it.
I hope everyone is having a great Friday, and that you have an absolutely wonderful weekend!
New-to-me Favorite Authors of 2015 || Top Ten Tuesday
Hello lovely people!! Time again for another Top Ten Tuesday! As always, Top Ten Tuesday was started by the wonderful ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish, so go check out their blog for all things books as well as both past and future topics.
This week’s topic is: Our top ten favorite authors of 2015 that are new-to-us.
These will be in no particular order. I’ll also include at least one book by each author I’d recommend, because if you haven’t read any of these authors, 2016 would be a great time to start!!
Kameron Hurley
As of now, I’ve only read God’s War, which is an extremely good science fiction novel. I own The Mirror Empire and The Empire Ascendant, her current ongoing epic fantasy series, and am about to start Mirror Empire.
Angela Slatter
I received an e-ARC of Angela Slatter’s Of Sorrow and Such through NetGalley, and I cannot express how much of a delight reading that novella was. Well, I’ll try and communicated it by the fact that with just one novella she made it onto this list and I cannot wait to read more of her work.
A. S. King
I read Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future because one of the motivational texts you can sign up to receive from Kelly Sue had a quote from it and it gripped me straight away. You should definitely go read this book.
Daniel José Older
SHADOWSHAPER! Seriously, people, go read Shadowshaper. It’s amazing.
Ann Leckie
Ancillary Justice is a marvel of science fiction literature, and I NEED to read the rest of the series. Please go check out this book, it is genius.
Marie Lu
The Young Elites series, which currently has The Young Elites and The Rose Society, is one of my favorite series of the 2015. Amazing lady anti-hero. Go read it!
Octavia Butler
Lilith’s Brood. Creepy, actually alien aliens. Amazing writing. Don’t be like me, kids, waiting until your late twenties to read Octavia Butler. She is Queen!
Naomi Novik
UPROOTED! MY PRECIOUS DARLING AGNIESZKA! GRUMPY SARKAN! CREEPY MAGICAL WOODS!
Maggie Stiefvater
Where has the Raven Cycle been all of my life? When will my heart heal from Blue Lily, Lily Blue? How much will my soul be crushed by The Raven King?
Garth Nix
The Abhorsen Chronicles is genius and contains two of my absolute favorite lady heroines ever in all of literature.
Title: The Untold Tale (The Accidental Turn Series: Book 1)
Author: J. M. Frey
Genre: Adult meta-fantasy
Publisher: Reuts Publications
Publication Date: December 8, 2015
Length: 617 pages (I think initially, at least, it is only being published as an e-book)
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Chapters, Publisher
Summary (from Goodreads): Forsyth Turn is not a hero. Lordling of Turn Hall and Lysse Chipping, yes. Spymaster for the king, certainly. But hero? That’s his older brother’s job, and Kintyre Turn is nothing if not legendary. However, when a raid on the kingdom’s worst criminal results in the rescue of a bafflingly blunt woman, oddly named and even more oddly mannered, Forsyth finds his quaint, sedentary life is turned on its head.
Dragged reluctantly into a quest he never expected, and fighting villains that even his brother has never managed to best, Forsyth is forced to confront his own self-shame and the demons that come with always being second-best. And, more than that, when he finally realizes where Lucy came from and why she’s here, he’ll be forced to question not only his place in the world, but the very meaning of his own existence.
Smartly crafted, The Untold Tale gives agency to the unlikeliest of heroes: the silenced, the marginalized, and the overlooked. It asks what it really means to be a fan when the worlds you love don't resemble the world you live in, celebrates the power of the written word, challenges tropes, and shows us what happens when someone stands up and refuses to remain a secondary character in their own life.
*NOTE* I received an e-arc of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Content warning: This book contains depictions of torture and graphic depictions of long-term sexual abuse
My rating: 2/5 stars
My thoughts: Ok, this review is going to be divided into two sections. The first will be a non-spoiler bit discussing as much of the story as possible. However, the element I want to talk most about cannot really be discussed without major spoilers, so I will put that under a read more. To be upfront, this element is almost entirely the reason for my low rating, and relates to the sexual abuse depicted in the novel, so please avoid if that type of discussion will be triggering for you.
The Untold Tale is a self-aware fantasy that attempts to examine the genre tropes that often become invisible to us as readers and expose them for what they are, purposeful choices made by an author. Fantasy worlds don’t just magically appear with ingrained sexism and horrible racial diversity; they have authors who have made choices, and we as readers have the right and duty to examine the choices that are made.
Lucy Piper, or Pip, is one of the novels’ main characters (although we never read from her POV). A Chinese-American, biracial woman in her mid-20s, Pip is currently doing her PhD on her favorite fantasy book series when she is pulled from her world and thrust into the world of those very books. It is there that she encounters Forsyth, the younger brother of the books’ protagonist, but the other main character in our story and our POV for the novel. Forsyth is very much like a typical YA girl main character in some ways, constantly talking his looks, abilities, and general worth down, when in reality he is good-looking, very intelligent, an incredible swordsman, and apparently a spy, although honestly I never encountered any evidence in the book that would substantiate the idea that he is some sort of super spy.
Many elements of the story follow a similar trend: existing to point out a flaw Frey sees in fantasy literature. In a way, I think meta-literature may not be for me. I applaud the idea of pointing out invisible tropes, prejudices, inequalities, and flaws in fantasy literature; I think it’s a very important task. However, I prefer novels that do this entirely from within a fantasy world. The fact that Pip is dropped into one of these ‘flawed’ fantasy worlds means that any criticism of that world must happen in a forced way, instead of organically happening when, for example, an author simply creates a fantasy world populated by POC. I’m not saying that this type of criticism (using meta elements of storytelling) is wrong or ineffective, but it doesn’t click very well with me, as it constantly kicks me outside of the story, making it harder for me to feel engaged with the plot and characters.
I think Frey’s world-building, characters, and plot suffered from the mode of storytelling. I didn’t find the meta-criticism to be very effective (like I’ve said before, I would have much preferred simply a fantasy world that exhibited the changes Frey would like to see in fantasy stories rather than one that perpetuated the things she is critiquing) and I didn’t find the other elements of the novel to be very strong. It felt like a plot and characters built to communicate Frey’s criticisms of fantasy literature instead of an organically built story that also carries social commentary and has something to say about the genre it is part of.
As I approached the big twist (which we are informed is about to happen by Pip, who is using her knowledge of the books and the author’s style to guide them through their quest, which was one of the elements of the story I really enjoyed) this novel was sitting at probably 3/5 stars for me. There were things about it I enjoyed, particularly at the beginning, when the plot and characters felt more natural and less like props, and I knew that many of my qualms were down to various personal preferences, which are by no means universal. However, the big twist tanked both my enjoyment of the novel as a whole and my rating, and the discussion of that will be below a Read More, and I wanted to mention again that this discussion will contain both major plot spoilers and, more importantly discussion of the depiction of torture and rape that are contained within the novel, so please be aware of that before clicking to read the rest of this review.
For those of you who do not want to read the rest of the review, for whatever reason, I will say that honestly, I do not think I could recommend this novel, and that is entirely down to events that towards the end of the book. From the Goodreads reviews I have seen of the novel so far, I can see that my opinion of the mode of storytelling is in the minority, so if the summary and premise sound interesting to you and you would like to read this book, all of my other points aside, there is graphic, long-term rape and abuse depicted in this novel that I do not think was handled well. It is obviously possible that my opinions on this are incorrect, or will not be shared by others, and that’s fine, but I want to be honest about why I do not feel I can recommend this book to others.
One of the things that I wasn’t a huge fan of as the novel progressed was all the sex scenes. Don’t misunderstand, I love a good love story in a book, I am someone who LOVES a good ship. I am also someone, though, who doesn’t necessarily like a sex scene almost every chapter, especially when the characters are in the middle of an epic quest. I found myself rolling my eyes and wishing they would just get back to the adventuring. But again, that’s me, that’s my preference. That changed, however, when the twist reveals that Pip was not under her own control through the entire course of the novel. I was sort of expecting that the bad guys had let her go on purpose, and I was ready for them maybe having put a spell on her to be able to glean the identity of the kingdom’s spymaster, or even blackmail her into telling them who he is, etc. We learn that this is true, but in addition, the spell allowed them to control her entirely, which they used to force Pip to seduce and sleep with Forsyth in order to glean as much information out of him as possible. This means that every sex scene, which there are many, are rape scenes. I cannot begin to express how gross it all made me feel. I do think the author was trying to make a point about rape in fantasy literature and how it is used, how it makes women into agent less plot devices, but I don’t think it was done well, and it, in my opinion just perpetuates harmful depictions of rape. Yes, when everything is revealed and Pip is released from the spell, there is anger, pain, and disgust on her part, and she removes herself emotionally and physically from Forsyth, who is understandably extremely conflicted in his emotions, thoughts, and actions. However, when Forsyth has his “love” for Pip, a person he doesn’t actually really know because of the spell, magically removed, Pip is outraged, because she has feelings for him, and then suddenly at the end of the big confrontation they have this moment of staring into each other’s eyes, and then somehow Forsyth’s love is back, and they’re in love, and making out, and Forsyth goes with her back into her world, and by the end of the novel they are married and expecting a child.
I just....WHAT. The emotional and physical aftermath of the torture and long-term sexual and mental abuse Pip suffered wasn’t dealt with at all, in my opinion. She is given a couple of chapters to react, but then it’s just...done.
I said at the beginning of my review that this book was mostly about examining the sometimes invisible hand of the author, how their choices mold the shape the story, and thus the genre that story is a part of. Yes, it is possible that the aftermath of the abuse will be dealt with more in future books, but that doesn’t negate the fact that in this novel, it was not. I also do not see how raping a character as part of a, at best, flimsy plot point somehow critiques raping a character as part of a flimsy plot point. Yes, some authors include the rape of women as plot device with absolutely no thought or understanding as to why this is problematic, but just because Frey obviously does see this as a problem and wishes to critique it doesn’t make it ok in my opinion, for her to do the exact same thing to her own character.
I’m going to end this review here, as it is already quite long, and I do not in any way want this review to begin to sound like a bashing. I think Frey’s desire to comment on the problems in fantasy literature is an important one. We must be critical fans, always seeking for the literature we love to be better than it was before.
To me, however, although Frey does hit some positive and great notes about what it means to be a fan and the power of fans in creating better stories, I also think she fell short in some areas, and rather than holding up a mirror that highlights flaws, some plot lines, most specifically the rape of Pip, simply perpetuated these problematic elements.
The last TBR list of 2015! It’s a little wild that the year is already coming to a close.
It’s even wilder to think about how little time I have to try and knock out some of my TBR books so I’m not having to choose whether or not to leave unread books behind when I move!
Sorry these TBRs have gotten repetitive lately, but hopefully once I get moved and settled, there will be a bit more variety.
Siege and Storm - Leigh Bardugo
I have GOT to read this book! I’d also love to read Ruin and Rising, thus finishing this series in 2015, but since I don’t already own Ruin and Rising, it might have to be a lower priority, at least until I get moved.
The Mirror Empire - Kameron Hurley
I currently own both this book and The Empire Ascendant. I’ll hopefully be starting The Mirror Empire tonight, and even though it’s a chunky book, I want to get this and the sequel definitely read by the time I move. Fingers crossed!
The Sword of Shannara - Terry Brooks
I’m actually incredibly excited about the TV show that will be on MTV that is based on this series, but since it’s based on the second book, I’d like to have both of them read before the show starts........on January 5. Ok, so that’s a little unrealistic, but it isn’t impossible, so getting this read in December is a high priority for me.
Finish Lilth’s Brood - Octavia Butler
I’ve read Dawn, and absolutely loved it. The final two books in the trilogy are Adulthood Rites and Imago. I have the above bind up, which includes all three novels, and it would be nice to read them before I move.
The Witches: Salem, 1692 - Stacy Schiff
This nonfiction about the Salem witch trials looks like it will be an amazing read. This is a topic I am incredibly interested in, and although I’ve never read a Schiff novel, I’ve heard good things, and I can’t wait to dive into this one.
Assassin’s Apprentice - Robin Hobb
My husband has read this trilogy and has been trying to get me to read it for ages! I also seem to hear another person in the book community talk about how awesome this series is every week. Although this book is small, so I wouldn’t mind having to pack it, I’d love to start up this series before the end of the year.
What are you lovely people hoping to read before the end of the year?
Ok, so here goes. I’ve been having a hard time lately, and I think I’ve realized too late just how much the stress is getting to me.
I’ve mentioned before the situation where I am applying for a visa so I can live in the same country as my husband, and I’ll be real with you, the stress of waiting, of having no idea when I’ll finally get an email, if they’re going to approve it, etc, is definitely taking a toll.
I’ve decided, in light of all of that, to take a little break from blogging. I won’t take a break from reading though, so hopefully I’ll have content saved up for when I come back.
I have a book I promised to review that comes out December 8, so the review for that will be going up, but other than that, I think I’ll be ducking out for a little while. I may be a week, maybe more, but I’ll post an update, probably on Friday, to let you know if I’ll be returning the following week or not.
This little corner of the internet is extremely important to me. All of you are extremely important to me, and I want to thank you for sticking around through all the madness.
Ok, so here goes. I’ve been having a hard time lately, and I think I’ve realized too late just how much the stress is getting to me.
I’ve mentioned before the situation where I am applying for a visa so I can live in the same country as my husband, and I’ll be real with you, the stress of waiting, of having no idea when I’ll finally get an email, if they’re going to approve it, etc, is definitely taking a toll.
I’ve decided, in light of all of that, to take a little break from blogging. I won’t take a break from reading though, so hopefully I’ll have content saved up for when I come back.
I have a book I promised to review that comes out December 8, so the review for that will be going up, but other than that, I think I’ll be ducking out for a little while. I may be a week, maybe more, but I’ll post an update, probably on Friday, to let you know if I’ll be returning the following week or not.
This little corner of the internet is extremely important to me. All of you are extremely important to me, and I want to thank you for sticking around through all the madness.
If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow, I hope you have an amazing day filled with lots of happiness and delicious food!
This week’s Top 5 Wednesday, as always, started by Lainey over at ginger readslainey (also check out the Goodreads group!), is the top 5 books we are thankful for!
It’s was pretty easy to pick the books to go on this list, but there is no way I could rank them, they are all so important in their own way, so I refuse to rank them, and you can’t make me!
Anyway, here they are!
Sassafras - Stephen Cosgrove and Robin James
I was completely obsessed with all the Serendipity books when I was young. My mom said I would read them over and over and over again. Sassafras was my favorite, though. She was sassy and bossy, and I could relate. Sassafras and other books like it that I read when I was very young helped cultivate what has been a life-long love of books and reading, and I can be nothing but grateful for that.
These books were books that my mom read to me before I read them for myself. Thinking about my life as a reader would be incomplete without thanking my mom. She read to my brother and I all the time, encouraging us to read as much as possible, and maybe most importantly, never discouraging my rabid obsession with all things books. Although I know she sometimes felt at a loss when I cried for days about a book I was reading or talked nonstop about characters and worlds she didn’t know anything about, she never made fun of me or my passion for those books and those characters.
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice is the book I, wrongly or rightly, credit with igniting my love of classics. I absolutely ADORE this book. Austen’s writing is smart, witty, and fun to read. It was P&P that made me think classics could make me laugh, could completely capture my attention, and that maybe they were more than just old books everyone tells you to read. I also credit this book for my life-long obsession with grumpy love interests. MR. DARCY!
The Nancy Drew Mysteries - Carolyn Keene
The Nancy Drew series was my very first experience with inter-library loans. It was also probably the series that tempted the librarians at my library to bar me for life: at the age of like seven. To say that I was obsessed with this series would be putting it mildly. Nancy was so important to me. She wore pretty dresses and solved mysteries like a BOSS. I’m still miffed we’ve never had a proper Nancy movie.
The very lovely library that lived in the small town I grew up in in Florida had almost the entire series. Almost. Being the person that I am, I had to read them in order, and so a very patient librarian introduced me to the interlibrary loan system, by which I could request the missing books in the series to make sure I could read them in order. Those librarians were angels. Seriously, if by some miracle any librarians from the Safety Harbor library circa 1990-2002 or so ever see this, you deserve so much credit for the person I have become. You put up with a strong-willed little girl for whom reading was both a love and a necessity; you kindly suggested new books, were open to discussing the ones I loved, the ones I didn’t, and looked after me as I spent hour after hour lost amongst the shelves. You gave me a gift I could never hope to repay, but for which I will forever be unspeakably grateful.
The Harry Potter series - J K Rowling
Until my first year of college, I had never read a Harry Potter book, let alone thought of it as something I’d be thankful for. It has undeniably become one of the most important book series in my life, though. One night my friend Katie brought the first movie over to my house and was like, “We’re watching this, you don’t have a choice.” Anddddddd I loved it. It was so sweet and adorable. When the movie ended, I said, “AH! It was wonderful! I’m so upset I don’t have the books.” To which she smiled very smugly and whipped the first two books out of her bag and plopped them in my lap. I read the first four of Katie’s well-loved copies, and I will always be very grateful for her quite literally forcing me into the world of Harry Potter.
The fifth through seventh books I borrowed from my friend Jon. Jon, his now wife Molly, and my friend Jed are three of my very closest friends, and Harry Potter is a very big part of our friendship. We read a lot of the books around the same time, we have hour-long conversations about which houses we’d be in, what classes would be our favorites at Hogwarts, and......listen, we’re REALLY obsessed with Harry Potter.
The books themselves are wonderful and magical on their own, but the true reason they are on this list is because of their role in so many of the relationships in my life that mean a lot to me: my husband and I laughing on Skype while he takes the Pottermore sorting quiz, my friends and I debating for literally hours about this or that element of the story and characters. These moments, these memories, wouldn’t have been possible without this wonderful series, and I will always be thankful it came into my life.
Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit - J R R Tolkien
My Grandpa was the first person to suggest I read this series. He handed me his beat up copy of The Fellowship of the Ring and said, “I know you’re a bit younger than people normally are when they read this, but I think you’ll do alright.” And then I disappeared for the rest of my visit to my grandparents house, emerging only to eat, while I devoured the book. The rest, as they say, is history. Thus began my love of fantasy, my obsession with absolutely massive books, and my deep love of anything Middle Earth, a love that has shaped my life, my friendships, and everything in between. This girl will be a hobbit forever.
Ok, so I’m starting to feel super slumpy, picking up books and just a few pages in feeling very meh about them. I’ve decided not to fight this, because I definitely don’t want to make myself dislike a book just because I was in the wrong mood, so I’m just moving on to something else until a book clicks. Hopefully one of the following books! haha
The Mirror Empire - Kameron Hurley
I’m about to try and start this one. I really want to read it, so hopefully it clicks and helps jolt me out of this weird reading mood I’m in. To be fair, this weird mood has mostly just been today.
There are also a few books on deck, as it were, in case The Mirror Empire isn't what this reading mood dictates.
Siege and Storm - Leigh Bardugo
The Sword of Shannara - Terry Brooks
The Glass Sentence - S. E. Grove
I really am excited to read all of these books, we’ll just have to see which one/s my brain decides to cooperate with.
What are you lovely people planning on reading this weekend?
Hello lovelies! As always, Top Ten Tuesday was started and is run by the lovely ladies over at The Broke and the Bookish, so go check out their blog for past and future topics as well as just general bookish awesomeness.
This week’s topic: Favorite book quotes.
This topic could be endless for me. I LOVE BOOK QUOTES. But here is a list, in no particular order, of ten of my favorite ones.
10. “But much of history is unwritten. Remember this.” - N K Jemisin, The Fifth Season
9. “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” - J R R Tolkien, The Hobbit
8. “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” - J R R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
7. “To sit and pass hour after hour in idle chatter with a roomful of strangers is to me the worst sort of torment.” - Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
6. “There are two kinds of guilt. The kind that’s a burden and the kind that gives you purpose. Let your guilt be your fuel. Let it remind you of who you want to be.” - Sabaa Tahir, An Ember in the Ashes
5. “As you know, human history is full of evil deeds, and maybe we ought to think of them with tears, not fascination.” - Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian
4. “Nobody looks like what they really are on the inside. You don’t. I don’t. People are much more complicated that that. It’s true of everybody.” - Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the end of the Lane
3. “You can’t go around building a better world for people. Only people can build a better world for people. Otherwise, it’s just a cage. Besides, you don’t build a better world by choppin’ heads off and giving decent girls away to frogs.” - Terry Pratchett, Witches Abroad
2. “I can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstance require me to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born within me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.” - Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre
1. “I must learn to be content with being happier than I deserve.” - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
So, update on content for this week. I’ve been really sick, and haven’t prepped for anything this week. I’m going to try and see about preparing something for Top Ten Tuesday (today) and Top 5 Wednesday, but if it doesn’t happen, I’m apologizing in advance.
This illness knocked me flat, out of nowhere, but I’m finally starting to feel better (fingers crossed)
We’re giving away paperback books of all of Neil Gaiman’s novels. A total of 11 books, including:
Good Omens, Neverwhere, Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, Anansi Boys, InterWorld, The Graveyard Book, The Silver Dream, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Eternity’s Wheel
Enter today for this great chance
Lovely people! Go enter to win some books!!! All the Neil Gaiman books, in fact!
