Jackaroo

WWW Wednesday: January 10, 2018

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Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at Should be Reading and revived on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three W’s!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading:  Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham

I grabbed this one because I was getting a little stuck on the other book I’m reading. Lauren has a quarter-serious, mostly comical way of looking at her life and it’s pretty fun to read.

I almost feel as if she’s sitting there just chatting to me rather than me just being curled up reading a book.

I’m looking forward to finding out about behind-the-scenes Gilmore Girls things, but I don’t see how she can top the Top-Secret Hollywood Secrets on dieting.

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater

I am both enjoying, and not enjoying this book…

Basically, it’s fascinating and strange, exactly like I was hoping it would be. But I don’t like it as much as I hoped.

I was warned that it might seem less magical than TRC, which when I first started I thought was erroneous, but the more I read of it the more I start to see what they meant. That’s not to say there isn’t any magic, in fact there’s quite a lot. But that’s my problem. There’s so much magic, it feels… somehow less magical…. And I can’t really explain that very well, but there it is.

Recently Finished:  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The decision to read this was pretty spur of the moment. Some other readers had made me want to try out Gillian Flynn’s novels, but I wasn’t going to for little while yet. And then I just sort of…. did? I have no idea what made me do it, but I’m sooo glad!

It was amazing. Except for the parts where I wanted to climb into the book and push Nick off something tall for being a pretentious douche… But otherwise, completely amazing!

I’ve already ordered it online because I know I’m going to want to reread it.

Reading Next:  Jackaroo (Tales of the Kingdom, book 1) by Cynthia Voigt

I’ve found myself in a major YA Fantasy mood and I haven’t even managed to finish the two books I’m currently reading!

I thought about looking for a book I hadn’t read before, but I know how much I love the Tales of the Kingdom books so I’m going to reread them yet again. After all, it’s been just slightly over a year since I reread them last!

The hard part will be making myself wait to start until I finish the two books I’m already on.

Update: T5W, Nov-23-16

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I was looking in my old Top 5 Wednesday posts and saw this one for Books I Want to Re-Read and I just realized I can actually cross 2 of them off the list!

  1. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
  2. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
  3. The Singer of All Songs by Kate Constable
  4. Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt
  5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Hurray for me!

UPDATE January 27, 2017: 3 down, 2 to go!
UPDATE July 2017: 4 down, 1 to go!

WWW Wednesday: November 30, 2016

LeeLeave a comment

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at Should be Reading and revived on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three W’s!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading: The Tale of Birle by Cynthia Voigt
This is the second book in the Tales of the Kingdom series and was previously published with the title ‘On Fortunes Wheel’. Birle meets a mysterious stranger when he tries to steal from her father. She chooses to follow him on his travels and this takes her to places she never could have imagined.
For anyone curious about the Tales of the Kingdom books, this is a loosely-connected, non-magical fantasy series.
One of the odd things for me is that I identify less with Birle than I did last time I read this series. I can only chalk it up to the fact that I was still a teenager then. It doesn’t make me like her any less though. Actually, it’s almost making this reread feel more like a first-time read, which I’m very pleased with.

Recently Finished: The Tale of Gwyn by Cynthia Voigt
This is one of the Tales of the Kingdom books, previously published as ‘Jackaroo’. Jackaroo is a sort of Robin Hood/Zorro type hero, and in the Kingdom, he’s just a legend. Gwyn is an innkeeper’s daughter and doesn’t believe in heroes like Jackaroo. But while taking cover in an abandoned home, Gwyn finds a mask and clothes, which leads her down a path fit for a legend.
I like Gwen so much! Ah! Also she and Burl are too precious at the end. I remember liking this book the other times I read this series, but it’s actually become one of my favorites in the series. And like all Voigt’s novels it left me with such a satisfied feeling. I just wanted to sit there holding the book and basking in it.

Reading Next: The Tale of Oriel by Cynthia Voigt
This is the third Kingdom novel, previously published as ‘The Wings of a Falcon’. Oriel and Griff escape the cruelty of the island with a stolen treasure. But it’s not as easy to find a new safer life as they hoped. Their adventure leads them into unknown dangers, like armies and Wolfer raids.
I remember so little about this one for some reason, so I’m very excited. I know I liked it and it was good, but for the most part this will be a fresh story for me. It’s also different from the other three Kingdom novels because the main characters are boys.

Top 5 Wednesday: November 23, 2016

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Books I Want to Re-Read

Though it seems like we are all constantly chasing the next upcoming release, let’s take a trip down memory lane and talk about some books that we’d like to re-visit.

  1. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
  2. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
  3. The Singer of All Songs by Kate Constable
  4. Jackaroo by Cynthia Voigt
  5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, just head over to their Goodreads Group and join the fun!

What Are You Reading Wednesdays: November 23, 2016

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What Are You Reading Wednesdays #WAYRW is a weekly feature on It’s A Reading Thing. Everyone is welcome to participate.

Grab the book you are currently reading and answer three questions:

  1. What’s the name of your current read?
  2. Go to page 34 in your book or 34% in your eBook and share a couple of sentences.
  3. Would you like to live in the world that exists within your book? Why or why not?

  1. The Tale of Gwyn (Tales of the Kingdom, book 1; previously published as ‘Jackaroo’)
  2. Behind the mask Jackaroo wore, there could be a face of bone, its flesh long since eaten away. Jackaroo could fight as a trained soldier, with swords and shield; he could ride a horse like a Lord; and he had the knowledge of letters which only the Lords held.
  3. Nah, I really like technology and indoor plumbing. Okay, but seriously, I might consider living in the Kingdom universe. It’s got pretty much the same problems as modern day America, but it the Kingdom I could disappear to a farm and be anyone, maybe stay out of all the awful crap.

 

WWW Wednesday: November 23, 2016

LeeLeave a comment

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at Should be Reading and revived on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three W’s!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading: The Tale of Gwyn by Cynthia Voigt
This is one of the Tales of the Kingdom books, previously published as ‘Jackaroo’. I got this copy from the public library, because my own books are still boxed up and sad, so this is the first time I got to see the new covers/titles for myself. I had heard of the change back when it was just in the planning stage. They aren’t quite as interesting as the old titles, but at least now you can tell at a glance they are part of a series. As for the new cover… I’ll just say I miss the Vermeer painting covers. I’m pretty excited to reread the Kingdom books. It’s been several years since I picked up a Voigt novel, which is way too long!
Jackaroo is a sort of Robin Hood/Zorro type hero, and in the Kingdom, he’s just a legend. Gwyn is an innkeeper’s daughter and doesn’t believe in heroes like Jackaroo. But while taking cover in an abandoned home, Gwyn finds a mask and clothes, which leads her down a path fit for a legend.
For anyone curious about the Kingdom series, it is a loosely-connected, non-magical fantasy series.

Recently Finished: Forest Born by Shannon Hale
I love the Books of Bayern. I’m clearly on a Middle Grade roll here. This was actually my first time rereading Forest Born (the fourth Bayern novel), and I loved it way more than the first time I read it. I mean I liked it then too, but I was racing through it desperate to know what would happen, and this time I got to take my time and really enjoy Rin and her story.
This book focuses on Razo’s little sister, Rin, a forest girl who isn’t sure the forest wants her anymore. Her desire to find her place is a driving force in her life, sending her on an adventure through Bayern to the neighboring Kel. Rin and her new friends, the magical girls from the three previous novels, must find out who is attacking Bayern cities and prevent a war.
I think my favorite part of this story was the banter between Enna and Dasha, they’re honestly adorable. I also noticed, for the first time, a parallel between the way the various speaking gifts affect a person (when not balanced) and mental illness. I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but it’s fascinating.

Reading Next: The Tale of Birle by Cynthia Voigt
Another Tales of the Kingdom novel, this one was previously published as ‘On Fortunes Wheel’. Birle is a long-time favorite character.
Birle meets a mysterious stranger when he tries to steal from her father. She chooses to follow him on his travels and this takes her to places she never could have imagined.
For anyone curious about the Tales of the Kingdom books, this is a loosely-connected, non-magical fantasy series.