panegyric
/ˌpanəˈjirik/
noun
- a public speech or published text in praise of someone or something
Catherine assented — and a very warm panegyric from her on that lady’s merits, closed the subject.
– Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
Jane Austen
Words from Books
vicissitude
/vəˈsisəˌt(y)o͞od/
noun
- a change of circumstances or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant
- (literary) alternation between opposite or contrasting things
But from fifteen to seventeen she was in training for a heroine; she read all such works as heroines must read to supply their memories with those quotations which are so serviceable and so soothing in the vicissitudes of their eventful lives.
– Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
Words from Books
profligacy
/ˈpräfləɡəsē/
noun
- reckless extravagance or wastefulness in the use of resources
- licentious or dissolute behavior
What a strange, unaccountable character! — for with all these symptoms of profligacy at ten years old, she had neither a bad heart nor a bad temper; was seldom stubborn, scarcely ever quarrelsome, and very kind to the little ones, with few interruptions of tyranny; she was moreover noisy and wild, hated confinement and cleanliness, and loved nothing so well int he world as rolling down the green slope at the back of the house.
– Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
Words from Books
unpropitious
/ˌənprəˈpiSHəs/
adjective
- (of a circumstance) not giving or indicating a good chance of success
- unfavorable
She had a thin awkward figure, a sallow skin without colour, dark lank hair, and strong features; — so much for her person; — and not less unpropitious for heroism seemed her mind.
– Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
Currently Reading: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Shelf-History Tag!
I have been attempting to be more active in the book blogging community lately, but I’m pretty bad at talking to people (I get nervous lol) so I thought I’d do something fun, like make my own little book tag. Hence the Shelf-History Tag!
❀ This tag is for those books that came to you in an unusual, interesting, funny, or sweet way. Pick 5 (or more if you want) books from your shelf and tell us the story of how you came to own that book. If you’re a public library user and don’t really own any books, you can still participate. Just tell us the most interesting/funny/sweet ways you came to find a particular library book.
Tag your posts with #ShelfHistory so I can see them all!
When you’re finished, tag 5 (or more) readers whose Shelf-History you’d like to know about! This one can easily be done on any blogging/vlogging platform so feel free to tag cross-platform if you really want to. ❀
I’ll go first as an example and also just because I want to play too:
Book 1: Jane Austen: Seven Novels + Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I received these two as a gift from the pastor’s secretary at the church I used to work at (but before I worked there). They are both beautiful volumes, but especially the gilded Seven Novels collection. I was in high school, so this was about 10 years ago) and had never read Jane Austen before and Ms. Judy highly recommended them. I wasn’t sold so she went out and bought them for me and asked only that I give them a chance. They have sweet little inscriptions in them and I will definitely cherish these for a long, long time.
Book 2: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
My copy of The Goose Girl was purchased from the Scholastic Book Fair back in middle school. I bought it because the cover was beautiful and the title was interesting. (And because I always bought tons of books from the book fair lol) I took it home and read it right away and it totally swept me up. It was my first fairytale retelling novel and I was totally hooked. At the time I wasn’t reading very much, I was really struggling with everything, and this book got me into reading again. The Goose Girl will always have a special place in my heart, and I hope I can hold on to this particular copy until it falls apart and then some.
Book 3: A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
Did you ever own a book that you had no idea how you got it or why you have it? One day I was rearranging my books and I found one that I didn’t remember reading (this was back when I had a lot less books). I read the back and it didn’t ring any bells at all. Despite this, it was clearly my book, since it was on my shelves. Over the years I have unhauled it at least twice, and yet somehow it always winds up back on my shelf. That’s not me being cute. I mean I literally don’t know how it winds up back on the shelf. I put it in the box of books to get rid of and it just doesn’t get rid. I guess I figure I’m supposed to own this book…
Book 4: The Tenth Power by Kate Constable
This is my only Advanced Reader Copy. Oh lucky me, I got an ARC, right? Wrong. I ordered the hardcover version of this book online and received the ARC anyway. It wasn’t a huge deal, but it bothered me slightly because hardbacks are expensive and because it didn’t match the others from the series that I had. So I wrote to the seller and they offered to send me the copy I actually ordered and I could do with the ARC whatever I wished. Well lo, and behold, two weeks later, here comes a book in the mail. But is it the hardback copy that I ordered? No, bitch, it’s ANOTHER ARC copy! At this point I just gave up. It was both too funny and too dumb to care about any longer.
Book 5: It Happened This Way
I don’t know where or how I got this book, but I’ve had it since I was about 2 years old. The thing that makes this book truly special to me is that it’s the book my mom used to teach me to read. The best I can figure, she found it at a garage sale or got it from one of the classrooms she used to interpret in before I was born. I don’t know how I’ve managed to hold on to it all these years, but I still look through it every so often and love it so much. My favorite story in it is the story of Mark Park (who the kids called Mark Park Walk in the Dark). It will probably always make me smile.
Alrighty those are my Shelf History picks. Not the most interesting stories, but I’m betting that some of y’all have some really fascinating ones!
I’m tagging: Purple Manatees, Lauren @ Northern Plunder, Amanda @ Between the Shelves, Sionna @ Books in her Eyes, & Words in the Rain. But feel free to do it even if you aren’t tagged!
Top 5 Wednesday: May 9, 2018
Characters You’d Want as Family
You can say this in a broad way or be specific (i.e. _______ would be a cool aunt, ______would be a great older brother, etc.)
To participate in Top 5 Wednesday, head over to their Goodreads Group!
Almost every main character from The Tillerman books // The Tillerman Cycle by Cynthia Voigt
This is probably cheating to be like “oh yes the entire extended family unit from 7 whole books” but whatever! I love the Tillermans more than I’ve ever loved any characters from any media.
I don’t even think I can properly explain it, but if a god came down from some heaven and was like “I will reset the world and let you invent a family for yourself, tell me what you want” I would just dump these books in their lap and just:
“I want Dicey, Sammy, James, Maybeth, and Gram first of all. And I still want my real Granny too because I think she and Gram would get along scarily well, so just keep that in mind. Secondly, Bullet needs to be alive and HAPPY and if you have the time to make Miss Liza not go crazy and die that would be great. No no, I have no need for John the abusive husband, that bitter prick can die. I don’t want Francis Verricker either. He doesn’t count as a part of that family and if you bring him to life I will kill him myself so don’t waste your time. Feel free to throw in Mina Smith’s whole family AND Tamer Shipp (and his family probably he seems to like them) and Jeff Greene’s too. Actually wait, just Jeff, Brother Thomas, and the Professor. Melody’s whole side of the family can choke. Okay great get crackin’ on all that I’m going to go reread the series.”
And whatever god offered me this option would completely regret it, but I would insist we shake on it as soon as possible so they’d be locked into that whole deal.
The Gangsey // The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
Yep, I’m still cheating. But honestly after my last answer this one probably seems like nothing at all. In fact, you might even let me get away with having Blue’s Fox Way family and the Gray Man? Yes. Excellent. So all the decent humans from The Raven Cycle. Check.
Ripred // The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins
Who wouldn’t want a GIANT FUCKING RAT who is excellent at killing as family?
Honestly though, he would be excellent to have around. He’s sarcastic and rude which I can dig because I too am sarcastic and rude, he can kill anyone so Guard Rat, and he mostly just wants to eat shrimp in cream sauce and read books so like…. A nice companion all in all.
Dashti // Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
She’s so kind and loyal and a great friend. Plus she has healing magic that can also help relieve the pain of chronic injuries so… Useful. Fuck you Mr. Chiropractor my new fam Dashti the Mucker can help me by just laying her hand on me and singing me a nice song. Eat it.
And like she’s lovely and brave and I always thought she’d be an excellent friend.
Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy // Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Okay so first I was torn between the two. The sassy lady or the most awkward man to ever live… And then I decided I’d just take them both!
I’d get to enjoy the sass of Eliza Bennet and the awkward kindness of Fitzwilliam Darcy AND if we were related…um….you know… HE’S SUPER RICH AND I WANT TO BE SUPER RICH BY PROXIMITY SO DEAL WITH IT. But mostly I just like them. The money is only a bonus.
Wow I am very demanding in my list of potential family… What about you? What book characters would you wish to have as family?
April Acrostic
I saw a version of this on another blog and thought it looked like fun so I adapted it just a little. They didn’t know who had come up with it originally, so I obviously don’t either. But I thought it was neat so here it is, to celebrate the end of the month: April Acrostic!
To play, just spell the word “April” with some of your favorite titles! (Be sure to link me to your post if you do it!)
For my April Acrostic I chose:
- All the President’s Men by Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- The Runner by Cynthia Voigt
- It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It by Robert Fulghum
& - Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs
November 2017 Reading Wrap-Up
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
(Underland Chronicles, book 1)
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 3 – 4
Read Count: 3
Favorite Thing: Ripred being a little shit.
Least Favorite Thing: Henry. Blah. Dickhead.
I woke up in the middle of the night with an urge to reread this series, and seeing as I have poor impulse control, I immediately arranged for my husband to go get them all for me from the library.
I know these books are Middle Grade so a few things are a bit silly, like a guy called Sandwich, but the story itself is quality and I recommend it to anyone who likes a fun fantasy adventure.
My Posts About Gregor the Overlander
Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane by Suzanne Collins
(Underland Chronicles, book 2)
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 5
Read Count: 3
Favorite Thing: Twitchtip. I miss her already.
Least Favorite Thing: Please read this in your most disgusted tone, while screwing up your face as if you smell something foul: Shiners.
Gregor has a lot more self-restraint that I do when it comes to not yelling at people…
I have to admit though, reading this book is a bit more difficult once one knows what’s going to happen in the next books!
My Posts About Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins
(Underland Chronicles, book 3)
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 6
Read Count: 3
Favorite Thing: Gregor grooming Lapblood.
Least Favorite Thing: The descriptions of some of the grosser things like plague victims and Gregor’s acid toes…
I read this whole book in like 2 hours! I surprised myself lol I didn’t intend to read it that quickly, but since it’s middle grade and the story is pretty engaging, I zipped right through it.
My Posts About Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods
Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins
(Underland Chronicles, book 4)
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 6
Read Count: 3
Favorite Thing: Boots’ fucking princess scepter lol
Least Favorite Thing: The Bane. He skeeves me out.
Oh man I had forgotten that this book is way sadder than the others! 😦
My Posts About Gregor and the Marks of Secret
Gregor and the Code of Claw by Suzanne Collins
(Underland Chronicles, book 5)
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 6 – 7
Read Count: 3
Favorite Thing: Ripred and Lizzie. It’s too sweet!
Least Favorite Thing: I hate one very specific thing about the ending, but only read about it if you don’t care about spoilers.
[start] I just hate that they go back to the Overland permanently as if they don’t obviously and completely belong in the Underland! That has literally always bugged me. Sometimes I just pretend that and the thing with Ares never happened. [end]
I really love this series, I’m so glad it was recommended to me back in high school.
My Posts About Gregor and the Code of Claw
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 8 – 14
Read Count: 2
Favorite Thing: The end when Jane wraps everything up. I like the way she does it.
Least Favorite Thing: The way literally no one ever listened to Fanny about her own feelings?????
I’m glad I reread it, I think I even liked it more than Sense & Sensibility now.
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
(Percy Jackson and the Olympians, book 1)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 13 – 15
Read Count: 2
Favorite Thing: Puppyyyyy!
Least Favorite Thing: Come on, as if I was going to say anything other than Gabe? Please.
It’s been a long time since I first read this book and I admit to not enjoying it as much this time around, but I think that’s only because it’s geared more for younger readers and sometimes I have trouble with the rhythm of Middle Grade books. I’m glad I’m going to finally get down to going through all of Rick’s books though.
My Posts About The Lightning Thief
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
(Percy Jackson and the Olympians, book 2)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 15
Read Count: 2
Favorite Thing: lol Tyson
Least Favorite Thing: Clarisse not knowing when to shut her damn mouth…
Oddly enough I remembered almost nothing from this one except for Tyson… So rereading it felt more like reading it for the first time. I have a feeling the rest of them will be like this too.
My Posts About The Sea of Monsters
The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan
(Percy Jackson and the Olympians, book 3)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 15
Read Count: 2
Favorite Thing: Bessiiiiiiie!
Least Favorite Thing: I actually find Nico incredibly annoying…
Would it kill anyone to stop being cryptic? Like wow. Just answer a question somebody!
My Posts About The Titan’s Curse
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
(Percy Jackson and the Olympians, book 4)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 15 – 16
Read Count: 2
Favorite Thing: Poseidon showing up for Percy’s birthday just to be a drama queen. “Blowfish?” lol
Least Favorite Thing: STILL NOBODY CAN JUST ANSWER A FUCKING QUESTION OR SHARE INFORMATION!
So far this is my favorite of the series. I’m wondering if they will just keep getting better or what.
My Posts About The Battle of the Labyrinth
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
(Percy Jackson and the Olympians, book 5)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 16 – 17
Read Count: 2
Favorite Thing: Percy being like “acknowledge your fucking children assholes” at all the gods.
Least Favorite Thing: Guess what. It’s still the fact that no one will answer a damn question. I’m so annoyed.
Honestly, if someone doesn’t directly answer a question I’m going to scream.
My Posts About The Last Olympian
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
(Heroes of Olympus, book 1)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 17 – 18
Read Count: 1
Favorite Thing: Leooo! Precious little fireball.
Least Favorite Thing: It took them way too long to figure certain things out… Like everyone who spoke to them alluded to 2 or 3 specific things and they didn’t get it until the very end? Oookay.
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
(Heroes of Olympus, book 2)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 18 – 19
Read Count: 1
Favorite Thing: Ella/Tyson lololololol
Least Favorite Thing: When Octavian talks I roll my eyes so hard I get a headache…
I’m not sure if this one was better than the first one (Lost Hero), but I was really glad to be back to Percy so I enjoyed it more.
My Posts About The Son of Neptune
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
(Heroes of Olympus, book 3)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 19 – 20
Read Count: 1
Favorite Thing: “If they’d let women warriors into their cult, the might have learned some common sense.”
Least Favorite Thing: Literally only Leo talks about things, everyone else is like “I’ll explain later” and “we can talk about it later” and “I hope it’s not what I think it is” but they never talk about it!!
My Posts About The Mark of Athena
The House of Hades by Rick Riordan
(Heroes of Olympus, book 4)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 20 – 21
Read Count: 1
Favorite Thing: Bob + Small Bob (I’m not crying, you’re crying.)
Least Favorite Thing: Gaea is so fucking annoying…
IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR LITTLE NICO TO GET A DAMN HUG????? My poor little spooky baby…
My Posts About The House of Hades
The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
(Heroes of Olympus, book 5)
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Review: No
Reading Dates: November 21 – 23
Read Count: 1
Favorite Thing: Nico gets to be happy!!!!!
Least Favorite Thing: Zeus the douche…
I’ve got all the warm fuzzies from the ending of this book. Thanks, Rick.
My Posts About The Blood of Olympus
Darkestwings Reads