Practical Magic

Top 5 Wednesday: January 16, 2019

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Most Disappointing Reads of 2018

These are books you read in 2018, not only ones released in 2018.
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, head over to their Goodreads Group!

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

This book really disappointed me. I had been looking forward to reading this book for years, but kept putting it off for one reason or another. Now I wish I had kept putting it off…

Undiscovered Gyrl by Allison Burnett

Considering the little mystery and the obvious mental illness, I thought this book would be more interesting than it was. Instead I spent the whole time with a look of vague disgust on my face. Read my review.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

I’ve discovered Yovanoff books are pretty hit or miss with me. Either I love them or I hate them. Unfortunately this was a hate. I wound up abandoning this book.

I Don’t Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star by Judy Greer

So BORING. The prologue to this book made it seem like it was going to be soooo interesting, but it really wasn’t. DNF.

Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls, and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham

It just seemed so rambling… I don’t really have much to say about it. I had high hopes and they weren’t met. Read my mini-review.

What were your disappointing reads of 2018?

Mid-Year Reading Recap

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Now that June’s about to end it’s time to look upon our reading progress so far this year and share some book opinions!

Oh man I forgot I got tagged in this, I suck! Thank you for the tag, Scarlet @flamingmirrorbookish!

1. Best book you read so far this year
I’m tempted to mention one of my favorite books again, but I won’t, I’ll choose one that was new to me this year: White Oleander by Janet Fitch. The prose is absolutely beautiful and I loved the way the main character, Astrid, looked at things.

2. Worst book you read so far this year
Guys obviously it was the Twilight books. The worst of all of them was the partial from Edward’s POV, Midnight Sun.

3. Completed any series?
Oh sure. Most of the books I read are part of a series anyway. As for complete series I read this year, they are all rereads:

  • Tales of the Kingdom // Cynthia Voigt
    My favorite all time book series. These are loosely-connected, non-magical fantasy. I recommend it to everyone, always.
  • Twilight Saga // Stephenie Meyer
    My least favorite series, which I recommend to literally nobody. Love yourselves.
  • The Darkest Minds // Alexandra Bracken

4. Anticipated read for the second half of the year

Oh! Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor! I have it pre-ordered and I am so eager to have it!

5.A book that disappointed you
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. I loved the film, but the book just didn’t click with me even a little. I don’t even know if I’ll read the one about the aunts now…

6. How many books have you read so far this year?
I’m glad to say I managed to reach half my goal for the year this month, by just a hair. I have read 38/75 books this year! 🙂

7. A book that made you laugh
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I know technically it’s called a children’s book, but really any age group can enjoy this book and I recommend it to all.

8. Estimated read count for the year?
I think I’ll definitely meet my goal of 75 if I can keep this up!

Alrighty I tagged some people on tumblr, but I actually want to tag all my WordPress readers. Give me the deets on how your 2018 goals are going at this halfway point in the year! Either comment or make your own post and drop me a link.

May 2018 Reading Wrap-Up

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The Martian by Andy Weir
Rating:  ★★★★☆ – really liked it
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  May 1 – 5
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Sarcastic!
Least Favorite Thing:  “The lunatics at NASA have me doing all kinds of rape to the MAV. . .” Rape? Really? Jackass.

Well the internet was right, the book was funny, I’m glad I read it. Aside from that one sentence, it was a really good book. I would have quoted it a lot more, but I’m fairly certain if you added up all the ‘Martian’ quotes on Goodreads you could reprint full half of this novel (at least).

My Posts About The Martian

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
Rating:  ★★☆☆☆ – it was ok
Review:  No
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  May 11 – 13
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  I just can’t think of anything I liked enough to say was my favorite thing.
Least Favorite Thing:  So many…

I just… This wasn’t a bad book by any means. But I just expected to love it and I barely even liked it… I actually preferred the film, which is something I never say.

My Posts About Practical Magic

Undiscovered Gyrl by Allison Burnett
Rating:  ★☆☆☆☆ – did not like it
Review:  Yes
Format:  Print
Reading Dates:  May 7 – 15
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  I literally didn’t like any part of it.
Least Favorite Thing:  Been a long time since I read a book with so many racist comments. I wasn’t missing it.

I read this because I had seen the movie version and found it tolerable enough that when I saw it was based on a book I decided to try the novel. This was a poor choice on my part.

My Posts About Undiscovered Gyrl

In Progress

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It doesn’t matter what people tell you. It doesn’t matter what they might say. Sometimes you have to leave home. Sometimes, running away means you’re headed in the right direction.

– Alice Hoffman, Practical Magic, page 56

Version:
Paperback, Reissue, 286 pages
Published August 5th 2003 by Penguin