Musing Monday

Musing Monday: August 7, 2017

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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 ever wish you could go back and fall in love with reading all over again?

I blogged about ____ this past week…

  • Sunday, July 30 – Read-A-Thon! Blogged about my progress reading through The Beast is an Animal (completed) and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (less progress made than I’d have liked).
  • Monday, July 31 – Finally remembered to post the quotes I liked from The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater and did my July Wrap-Up post, although I wish it had been longer.
  • Tuesday, August 1 – Did my Teaser Tuesday, finished writing my review of The Beast is an Animal by Peternelle van Arsdale, and posted an update on the goals I had set for myself for 2017.
  • Wednesday, August 2 – First came WWW Wednesday, where I determined the book I would read after Sense and Sensibility. Then, I did a belated Musing Monday post, almost entirely for the excuse of talking about food, but also partially to set a plan for meeting my goal of finally finishing Persuasion by Jane Austen. And of course, my #WAYRW post.
  • Friday, August 4 – I got 2 of my Friday book tags done, First Lines Fridays & Friday 56, then later that night an update on my Persuasion progress, which was better than expected, but exactly as painful as expected.
  • Sunday, August 6 – A couple updates on Sense and Sensibility, finally finished answering all the questions on a Book Questionnaire I was tagged in on booklr, then because I needed a break from regency writing I went ahead and started my next book, The Last Little Blue Envelope, and posted both a bookstagram and a little commentary after the first few chapters.

Nothing exactly remarkable, but overall a good past week for me.

Do you ever wish you could go back and fall in love with reading all over again?
I’m sure all readers do in some respect, but lately I’ve caught myself thinking about all the things that contributed to my love of certain books, and I’ve become convinced that if I were able to go back it wouldn’t be the same. And I certainly wouldn’t change my current specific feelings towards reading for anything!

I’d love to know your opinion on the matter. Comment with your answer or a link to your own post about it!

Musing Monday – Except It’s Wednesday… Oops!

Lee2 Comments

So Musing Monday wasn’t actually posted on Monday on the source blog, so I didn’t intend to do it this week, but I happened to be over there and saw that it had been added and would give me the chance to talk about two different things I wanted to blog about. So here is Musing Monday/Wednesday:

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: Has a book ever made you crave a specific type of food?

I wish I could read Jane Austen’s Persuasion, but… I have literally never been able to get past the first few chapters before I was ready to bash my head against a wall!
However, I think I’ve come up with a solution, which is lucky because I’ve got reading Persuasion as one of my 2017 goals.
Starting this week, I’m going to read one chapter a week of Persuasion. When I’m in the last four chapters I’ll read two a week. By the end of the year I’ll have finally finished Persuasion after years of trying!

Has a book ever made you crave a specific type of food?
YES! THANK YOU FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THIS!
So if you’ve ever read a fantasy novel, you will know what I’m talking about when I mention their food. This does apply to everything they eat, but especially to the food the characters eat while traveling.
There’s just something about the way authors describe the bread and the salted meats and the fresh game and THE FUCKING HUNKS OF CHEESE! Nothing like a good ol’ fantasy novel to get me wishing I was gnawing on a hunk of cheese like a rat!
My favorite fantasy novels that include things like this are the Tales of the Kingdom books by Cynthia Voigt.

Musing Monday: June 12, 2017

Lee1 Comment

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:  Which would you rather live without? Books or chocolate.

I’m currently reading… The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (again)!

I have been wanting to reread these for a while and in my current barely post-slump state I thought now was a good time to reread something I know I like. I’m trying to pace myself a bit so I don’t get back into a slump, but I love the way these books are written so that’s hard to do!
On a slightly odd note:  A friend of mine who isn’t as big a reader has had me reading these to them, which has actually been weirdly fun.

Which would you rather live without? Books or chocolate.
Normally my response to anything like this would be that you won’t get me giving up chocolate till you pry it from my cold dead hands! But of course you had to bring books into it… I can’t even imagine life without books. In fact, the only time I don’t read incessantly is when I’m struggling more than usual with my depression (see recent months). So as much as it hurts me to say, it would have to be chocolate I gave up.
But I’m not giving up either, no one can make me!

Musing Monday: March 6, 2017

Lee4 Comments

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:  If you could be best friends with an author, who would you choose and why?

I wish I could read literally anything, but… I’m totally scattered right now and it’s hard to even get through a page before my consciousness just checks right out, like, “Goodbye Lee, nice knowing you, nothing is real anymore!” And then I’m just staring at a wall or doing some totally weird impulsive thing that I drop halfway through. I haven’t even finished Skinned yet which is so embarrassing because I should be able to read a ~300 page book in less than a day.

If you could be best friends with an author, who would you choose and why?
Um… if it has to be best friends then I say Cynthia Voigt. She seems like she’d be the most enjoyable to talk with.

But if I can change this question to something like “what author would you most want to be related to” then I’m saying Robert Fulghum because I’ve always thought he’d be the world’s coolest/most interesting grandfather. Of course, I’m basing all of this on reading/tv because I’ve never had a grandfather and don’t actually know what they are like! But I really like to think they are like Robert Fulghum.

Musing Monday: January 16, 2017

LeeLeave a comment

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: How do you make time for reading when you are very busy? Or how do you find a better balance between wanting to spend time reading and other commitments?

I’m currently reading… Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs, the third novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children. I’m having a little trouble with it at the moment, though. At some point in every book or tv series there’s a point where everything seems even more than hopeless. Now understand, I don’t mean a chapter or an episode being hopeless and then they figure something out. I mean that point in the story where everything feels hopeless AND everything they come up with to try fails. More than hopeless. I over empathize, so I’m left feeling like life really is hopeless, even though I’m not even in that universe. It takes a while to pull myself out of that feeling and it’s even harder to power through that part of the book/show. In fact, in a lot of cases I never manage to. I hope that won’t be the case in this instance.
If you’ve read Library of Souls and you have any encouragement to offer (especially regarding if it gets less hopeless and around what chapter that would happen) this would be greatly appreciated!

Re: Random Question
The main way I make sure I can read even when I’m busy is by keeping a book with me at all times. That way if I have any downtime at all, even just a few minutes waiting on my ride to show up or whatever, I can whip the book out and get a few pages in. TMI maybe, but I also sometimes take the book with me to the bathroom and read for just a bit!
As for balance, I’m not sure I’ve achieved it! If I’m at a movie theater and I’m reading before a film starts and I hit my stride I’ll just keep reading right there in the dim theater straight through the film. Back in school I’d hide the book under something or inside my desk so I could subtly read during class. When I worked in an office I’d often sneak the book out and read if it was a really good part.

Comment with your tips and tricks or make your own Musing Monday post!

Musing Monday: January 9, 2017

Lee1 Comment

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: What do you think about books being made into movies or tv shows and do you always read the book first?

I wish I could read Empire of Storms, but… I keep trying and can’t seem to get into a SJM novel without thinking about, hoping for, and expecting to see Feyre and Rhys and all the lovely Night Court! I just can’t put my head in the correct world!

As for book-to-film adaptations, I honestly don’t have as big a problem with it as I probably should. Yes, it’s awful when they don’t do the book justice, but maybe I’m just used to that so my expectations are low… I really like the book-to-tv adaptation trend though. It has so much more time to play out the book, and so much more leeway to focus on developing the characters!

I don’t have a hard and fast rule for reading or watching first. Whichever I come across first gets experienced first. The only rule I have is that if the premise of a film version is good, but the execution poor, I always check into people’s reviews of the book to see if there is a good version of that story out there somewhere!

What are your opinions on Book-to-Film/TV adaptations?

Musing Monday: November 30, 2015

LeeLeave a comment

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme 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: What makes a book really enjoyable for you? And, conversely, what would turn you off about a book?

I bought the following books in the past week… Well I didn’t actually get them this past week, but they came so close to moving week that I didn’t get to talk about it when I did get them. Them being Rae Carson’s Girl of Fire and Thorns series, including the novellas. I’ve read the trilogy, but not the novellas yet.

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What makes a book really enjoyable for you? And, conversely, what would turn you off about a book? Character development! Character development makes a book enjoyable. And well-written, diverse female characters. I don’t just mean culturally diverse (which is great), but also diverse in that they don’t all act and think the same. Turn offs? Weak ass female characters relegated to “love interest” status, love triangles when they aren’t necessary, ROMANCE THAT TAKES OVER THE ENTIRE SERIES WHEN IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE ABOUT A DYSTOPIA OR WARRING KINGDOMS OR SOMETHING NOOOOT ROMANTIC, excessive internal monologue about a freaking boy (or girl, but let’s face it, usually a boy).

Wow I’ve just learned I kind of hate romance in novels… Which sucks because I mostly read YA and you can’t have YA without romance apparently.

Musing Monday: November 16, 2015

LeeLeave a comment

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme from 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: What has been your most favorite book, so far, this year? Why?

For my first Musing Monday I’m doing multiple prompts because according to Mary at Books and Cookies I should be a rebel 😛

I’m currently reading AND I’m really upset by: Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken. Don’t get my wrong it’s a fine book, it’s just that I’ve hit that second book lag so I’ve been trying to finish the damn thing for like 3 weeks now when I usually only need a couple of days for a book that size. It’s extremely frustrating… And of course it’s going to end in some sort of cliffhanger because there’s two more books out in the series (The Darkest Minds series) and I’m going to have to read them (because it really is a good series, honestly), but I can’t finish freaking Never Fade!!!! *sigh*

Up next I think I’ll read, or reread rather, The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine. This will actually be my third time reading it since middle school, but I always enjoy it and it’s been on my mind lately. Also there’s this other booklr-type meme in which I’m going to need to talk about a trickster later this week and I want Vollys fresh in my brain.

And now for this week’s bonus question:
What has been your most favorite book, so far, this year? Why?
I have to say my favorite so far this year has been Queen of Shadows (book four in the Throne of Glass series) by Sarah J. Maas. If you’ve read it, you may be thinking right now of all the flaws in the book, the sudden character change in a specific precious guy, the out-of-the-blue kinda forced-feeling romance, but stoooooop for a second that’s not what I’m loving it for. The reason it’s my favorite book this year is the load of female badassery! I can’t exactly go into details without spoilers, but just know there is awesome lady character development and bomb women kicking ass and not even waiting to take names! Oh man I’m getting crazy excited just thinking about it all! I mean if you start the book and you’re like “what have you done to this male character I liked??” just know that Maas makes up for it with all of the women, trust me.