Musing Monday: September 25, 2017

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ____, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you like book clubs or not?


I blogged about ____ this past week…

  • Monday, September 18Musing Monday, showing off a new book I got & talking about background noise, and a review of Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan.
  • Tuesday, September 19 – A progress update for Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor, then Teaser Tuesday (also using DoBaS).
  • Wednesday, September 20 – A rating post for Days of Blood & Starlight, a belated WWW Wednesday, WAYRW, then a bookstagram for The Runner by Cynthia Voigt.
  • Thursday, September 21Thursday Quotables, using The Runner, and then a rating post for the same novel.
  • Friday, September 22 – As usual, First Lines Friday & Friday 56 (the latter using Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor).
  • Saturday, September 23 – I managed two chapters of Persuasion this week, and I posted my usual progress update for that.

Do you like book clubs or not?
Uh… In theory?

I’ve never actually been in a book club, so I can’t say for sure. I like the idea of being in one, but I’ve never seen a book club of adults who read a ridiculous amount of YA novels!

Persuasion by Jane Austen: Week 8

Lee is on page 134 of 260

Volume II, Chapter I & II

Damn. All the enjoyment I had is basically gone now… I only read two chapters in a row because I was in a good mood, not because I was actually enjoying the reading. I wasn’t actively suffering, mostly I was just bored. I had to reread several bits over and over because my mind kept drifting.

I think Wentworth and Anne are meant to get together in the end, but honestly I’d rather Anne just move on to that Benwick guy, at least he’s nice to her!


In this post I explained my plan to finally work my way through Jane Austen’s Persuasion (the only book of hers I don’t like at all).

At the end of each week, either Friday or Saturday, I will post an update of my progress and any thoughts, should I have them.

Persuasion by Jane Austen: Week 7

Lee is on page 119 of 260

Chapter IX

I have just officially, for the first time ever, enjoyed an entire chapter of Persuasion!!!! (I even took a quote from it! Whaaaat!) I hardly know what to do with myself now!

Chapter X – XII

I can’t believe how much I just read all at once! It’s a freaking miracle!

After enjoying Chapter IX, I decided to ride that enjoyment as far as it would take me and kept going all the way to Chapter XII, the end of Volume I. I didn’t enjoy these three chapters like I did Chapter IX, but I wasn’t impatient to be finished for the week like I have been every single other week of this project, so I think that’s good enough really.

I’m now officially ahead of schedule and I can genuinely say I enjoyed one chapter of this book which has given me years of trouble!


In this post I explained my plan to finally work my way through Jane Austen’s Persuasion (the only book of hers I don’t like at all).

At the end of each week, either Friday or Saturday, I will post an update of my progress and any thoughts, should I have them.

Persuasion by Jane Austen: Week 6

Lee is on page 70 of 260

Chapter VIII

I just…. I’m so bored!

The only thing keeping me going (aside from my determination to finally mark this book ‘read’) is the hope that something will happen between Anne and Frederick. But it’s a really weak little hope…


In this post I explained my plan to finally work my way through Jane Austen’s Persuasion (the only book of hers I don’t like at all).

At the end of each week, either Friday or Saturday, I will post an update of my progress and any thoughts, should I have them.

Persuasion by Jane Austen: Week 5

Lee is on page 60 of 260

Chapter VII

Wow I think actually felt something for half a second during this chapter! But aside from that half-second feeling, I still hate everyone Anne knows… (Okay I might not hate Frederick Wentworth…)


In this post I explained my plan to finally work my way through Jane Austen’s Persuasion (the only book of hers I don’t like at all).

At the end of each week, either Friday or Saturday, I will post an update of my progress and any thoughts, should I have them.

August 2017 Wrap-Up (Part 2)

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
(Strange the Dreamer, book 1)
Rating:  ★★★★★
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  August 18 – 25
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Lazlo’s love of and respect for books and stories.
Least Favorite Thing:  Thyon Nero’s love of and respect for nothing. (The little prick.)

I spent 1/4 of my time reading this book going back and forth checking the prologue against things I learned to try and brace myself for the inevitable utter fucking heartbreak of the ending!

Trigger Warning:  Descriptions of the Carnage include the murder of infants. It doesn’t go into gory detail, it’s a little more abstract, but it’s still vivid and mentioned many times.

My Posts About Strange the Dreamer


Specials by Scott Westerfeld
(Uglies, book 3)
Rating:  ★★★★
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  August 16 – 27
Read Count:  2  (I really think I read this one other time, but I haven’t got a record of it…)
Favorite Thing:  Special Tally’s Special skillz!
Least Favorite Thing:  The way Shay treats Tally…

Raise your hand if you want to be a little teen angst Special!
No? Just me? Well then…

Seriously though, the Specials are so cool, if only they weren’t Like That (looking at you Shay!). I honestly wouldn’t mind a whole separate book that’s just Tally’s adventures as a lone Special.

Trigger Warning:  Self-harm (cutting, some passing mention of burning). Only one character really treats it like it’s a bad thing, everyone else treats it as normal and/or good for the majority of the book.

My Posts About Specials


Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt
(The Tillerman Cycle, book 1)
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:
 No
Reading Dates:  August 28 – 29
Read Count:  3
Favorite Thing:  “Parents?” “Not noticeably.”
Least Favorite Thing:  Eunice…

I missed this series so much! I’m sitting here now (having just finished it) with a warm, fuzzy contentment that only the most special books give me. Thank goodness for Cynthia Voigt.

My Posts About Homecoming


The Cursed Queen by Sarah Fine
(The Impostor Queen, book 2)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  August 29 – 31
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Scrappy little (bisexual) protag 🙂
Least Favorite Thing:  Kill marks… (Why does every author feel the need to have a raider race that cuts themselves as a mark of honor? Can we stop that?)

This one was better than the first book. Somewhat less predictable, less annoying protag, more interesting people around the protag.

Trigger Warning: Self-harm (cutting). The protag glorifies it along with pretty much everyone else in her tribe, but towards the end of the book she seems to have realized it’s not a good thing. However, it is never explicitly decried.

My Posts About The Cursed Queen


Ash by Malinda Lo
Rating:  ★★★☆☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  August 31
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  The Fairy Tales
Least Favorite Thing:  Lady Isobel (duh)

I’m not 100% sure how to feel about this book. That is, I liked it, it’s a nice story, but it’s not what I was expecting. I’ll try to review it soon.

My Posts About Ash


In Progress

Musing Monday: August 28, 2017

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme, hosted by Ambrosia at The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…
Up next I think I’ll read…
I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
I can’t wait to get a copy of…
I wish I could read ___, but…
I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you find yourself reading more or less as the school season starts?


I blogged about ____ this past week…

Do you find yourself reading more or less as the school season starts?
I haven’t been in school for a while now, but back when I was I always read more during the school year. It seemed like the more I had to do, the more I just wanted to read!

Persuasion by Jane Austen: Week 4

Lee is on page 50 of 260

Chapter VI

The first half of this chapter was basically Gossip Girl… Everyone talks shit about everyone else behind their back, and they all do their talking to Anne. Anne = Gossip Girl Confirmed.

I honestly don’t understand how this chapter took 10 pages. It doesn’t feel like 10 pages of information?


In this post I explained my plan to finally work my way through Jane Austen’s Persuasion (the only book of hers I don’t like at all).

At the end of each week, either Friday or Saturday, I will post an update of my progress and any thoughts, should I have them.

Friday 56: August 25, 2017

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda’s Voice and the rules are simple:

  • Grab a book, any book (I, personally, prefer to use my current read.)
  • Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that’s ok.)
  • Find any sentence, (or few, just don’t spoil it)
  • Post it

Persuasion by Jane Austen

They were gone, she hoped, to be happy, however oddly constructed such happiness might seem; as for herself, she was left with as many sensations of comfort as were, perhaps, ever likely to be hers.