Sarah Rees Brennan

Musing Monday: November 6, 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: What do you think of ghostwriters??

I blogged about ____ this past week…

It wasn’t my greatest week, blogging-wise. I just didn’t really have the energy to do much of anything. I did get some books read though, so I’m not going to beat myself up over it.

  • Tuesday, October 31 – I finally got myself to finish Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan and I posted a rating for it. I didn’t wind up reviewing it though, there just wasn’t much to say at all. It was kind of a disappointment compared to the rest of the series…
  • Wednesday, November 1 – I put out my Monthly Reading Wrap-Up (Part 1 & Part 2) and I think overall October was a pretty good month. I managed 13 books (plus part of a 14th)! This is the last month I’ll have to do two-parter Wrap-Ups. I was doing it because I like to tag each individual title and author, but that usually means it’s got too many tags to show up in the reader. Luckily my lovely husband helped me come up with a solution that lets me tag everything, but still put all the books in one long post. From now on I’ll be doing a book list style Reading Wrap-Up like the ones I’ve been doing, but adding a separate post where I talk about the month more generally and about my blogging, and just link from there to the book list, and this post would show up in the reader because it would have very few tags.
  • Friday, November 3 – First Lines Fridays went up as always, mostly because I schedule those ahead of time, and then because I gave into the urge to reread Suzanne Collins’ Underland Chronicles I managed to get a Friday 56 up as well. As was pointed out, this week’s line was even more random than usual! Haha!
  • Saturday, November 4 – I finished Gregor the Overlander and as always there was a rating post. I also posted a quote that tickled me from the very first page.
  • Sunday, November 5 – I invented a Chai Mocha for my Tomes & Tea bookstagram and read pretty quickly all the way through Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane (rating post) and shared a quote from it that fits my life perfectly, especially this time of the year.

What do you think of ghostwriters??
I guess on the one hand I think it’s a good system. That is, there are some who have a story to tell, but aren’t skilled writers, and I know they hire people to help them write their stories. And often those wind up published under only the name of the person whose story it was to begin with. So in that instance I don’t mind it at all.

But then I think of the times when some author or other takes credit for work they didn’t even put the slightest effort into. And then it just annoys me.

Maybe if I knew more about the ways it was all done I might have a more definite opinion, but for now I just have a sort of wishy-washy “eeehhhhh” sort of opinion about it I suppose.

October 2017 Wrap-Up (Part 2)

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Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter
(Gallagher Girls, book 3)
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  October 15 – 16
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Dem sweet spy skillz!
Least Favorite Thing:  Boys somehow being more important than life-or-death missions???? (Don’t get me wrong, I get why it’s like that, but I still roll my eyes every single time.)

I read this one in one sitting, which should tell you how engaging it was. So far I think it’s the best of the Gallagher Girls series, although I’ve got 3 books still to read, so maybe that will change!

I read this book for The Cookie Read-A-Thon 🙂

My Posts About Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover

Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter
(Gallagher Girls, book 4)
Rating:  ★★★☆☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  October 16
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Overprotective besties.
Least Favorite Thing:  Townsend. Obviously.

I’ve realized something. I could literally never be a spy in this world. Why, you may wonder. Because of the danger? No. Because of the need for super special spy skillz? No. Because it’s fiction? Nope. I could never be a spy in the world of the Gallagher Girls because when people give me cryptic ass responses to more than two questions in a row, I start planning their murders.

I literally don’t even like Zach anymore. Just like answer a fucking question ever you mediocre boy. Ugh.

Other than the fact that no one can just answer a straight question ever, the book was good.

I read this book for The Cookie Read-A-Thon 🙂

My Posts About Only the Good Spy Young

Out of Sight, Out of Time by Ally Carter
(Gallagher Girls, book 5)
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  October 16 – 17
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  That music trigger thing was coolio. (But obviously, you know, very bad.)
Least Favorite Thing:  Dr. Fucking Steve. Like honestly could I have even said anything else? Screw that guy…

Is this my favorite Gallagher Girls book now? I think it might be? There was a moment in the beginning where I was Not Enjoying It, but that did not last long at all! I think this has got to be my favorite yet. Wow.

Also like, I never liked Dr. Steve because he was annoying, but what the fuck dude… He better die in the next book I swear.

I read this book for The Cookie Read-A-Thon 🙂

My Posts About Out of Sight, Out of Time

United We Spy by Ally Carter
(Gallagher Girls, book 6)
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  October 17
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  “the blow stuff up and run approach”
Least Favorite Thing:  For super secret spies, almost every op they go on is like suuuuper public!

Well, that’s the series done! I’m pretty glad I decided to go back and reread the first book and finish the series. It was worth it.

I read this book for The Cookie Read-A-Thon 🙂

My Posts About United We Spy

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
Rating:  ★★★☆☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  October 19 – 20
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  I could practically taste everything they ate through my eyeballs. Yummy book.
Least Favorite Thing:  I can’t believe nobody punched that prick Matteo in the face.

I made a separate post about the Mexican knife fight thing because I have Emotions™ about it and because it’s one of the reasons this book is 3 stars and not 4. Not the only reason, but a decent sized part of it.

I read this book for The Cookie Read-A-Thon 🙂

My Posts About Love & Gelato

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour
Rating:  ★★★★★
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  October 21 – 22
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  The rhythm of the writing.
Least Favorite Thing:  I literally can’t think of anything I didn’t like. Sorry, not sorry.

I can’t wait to get my hands on more books by Nina LaCour. Reading this book reminded me of reading a Cynthia Voigt novel. Which anyone who has spent any amount of time on my blog would know is the highest compliment I can give anything.

I read this book for The Cookie Read-A-Thon 🙂

My Posts About We Are Okay

Unmade by Sarah Rees Brennan
(The Lynburn Legacy, book 3)
Rating:  ★★☆☆☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  September 28 – October 30
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Lillian’s favorite story. Ha!
Least Favorite Thing:  Um…why does every male in Kami’s circle that isn’t her father have to profess his romantic feelings for her?

I’m kind of disappointed… I didn’t like this one very well. It didn’t flow as well and didn’t really hold my attention well. It was okay, but only that, in my opinion.

My Posts About Unmade

In Progress

WWW Wednesday: October 25, 2017

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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:  Mind Games (Mind Games, book 1) by Kiersten White

I’m not very far in, ~30% according to Goodreads, so I don’t have much of an idea how to feel about this book yet. So far I find it a little depressing, a little intriguing, a little frustrating, in almost equal measure.

I think this is just another example of my over-empathy for fictional characters making a book difficult. One sister has spent all of her time so far feeling mostly anxious and trapped, the other has spent all her time feeling anxious and trapped and mega angry. All this adds up to one anxious over-empathetic reader!

I’m certain once things start happening I’ll be able to enjoy it better. I do already like what of the plot I understand.

Recently Finished:  We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Oh, this book! Thank you, Nina, for this excellent book!

It’s been a long time since I read a depiction of grief and loss and anxiety that so closely mirrored my own symptomatology. Usually it’s prettied up quite a bit, made to seem romantic, but this book was honest. (That isn’t to say there isn’t some poetic turns of phrase, just that it’s not about being pretty, it’s about painting a true picture.)

I read it easily, despite the heavy subject matter, which isn’t something I usually manage to do.

I’ve already got this very thing written in my October Wrap-Up for this book, but I’m going to say it here too:  Reading this book reminded me of reading a Cynthia Voigt book. I’m talking specifically about the way the writing moves the reader through the story, weightless and effortlessly. (I talk about Cynthia a lot in my blog, so if you’ve read more than just this post you already know how much I admire her and love her work, and you know I could give no higher compliment to a novel.)

I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Reading Next:  Unmade (The Lynburn Legacy, book 3) by Sarah Rees Brennan

I started this, but only barely, not enough to count, and then I got kind of slumpy and decided to set it aside till later in the month. Well, it’s later…

I’m going to make it my mission to finish this book and get a review up by the 29th when it is due back via Interlibrary Loan. Should I fail, I will have to re-request it and wait at least 2 weeks for it to be shipped back to us, which is just ridiculous and wasteful. So hopefully I don’t fail.

To be clear, it’s not that I feel the book is bad or boring, I just got a little slumpy and it wasn’t helped by the fact that I didn’t see how they could possibly turn things around at this point.

Perfect Lies (Mind Games, book 2) by Kiersten White

I’ve also got a hold on this one at the library, it should be available for me in 2 days or so, and if the first book, Mind Games, goes as well as I anticipate, I’ll want it immediately!

Hopefully I manage my time well enough to not let this book interfere with Unmade, but I know myself and my time management skills well enough to make no promises on that front.

I’ve no idea what to expect in this novel, except that the very first line of the Goodreads summary (which I am trying not to actually read since I’m still working on book 1) says in big bold letters: “Annie and Fia are ready to fight back.” So as you can imagine I am hopeful!

 

 

 

WWW Wednesday: October 4, 2017

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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:  Sons from Afar (The Tillerman Cycle, book 6) by Cynthia Voigt
I didn’t actually intend to do more on the Tillerman Cycle books before finishing the Lynburn Legacy, but I got like borderline slumpy, so I figured going for books I know I enjoy would be better. We’ll see if it actually helps.

Sons from Afar was actually one of my least favorite in the seven book series, but since I haven’t read it in a while, I’m wondering if my opinion will change any.

That being said, it’s still just as amazing as the rest of The Tillerman Cycle.

Unmade (The Lynburn Legacy, book 3) by Sarah Rees Brennan
I’m not very far into this one yet, but I anticipate enjoying it just as much as the other two. This book isn’t the reason for my current slump-ish-ness.

So far I’ve spent the beginning of this book worrying about Jared and annoyed at Kami’s mother. Like if I stop and really consider things, I can understand why she’s reacting the way she is to everything, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating to read about. I think maybe I just don’t like her at all…

And as usual, I’m still working my way through Persuasion by Jane Austen, and I’m ahead of schedule so that’s nice.

Recently Finished:  Come A Stranger (The Tillerman Cycle, book 5) by Cynthia Voigt
Like I mentioned earlier, I took a little break from Unmade to read on the Tillerman Cycle because I was slumpy. I think it might have been a book hangover from Dreams of Gods & Monsters.

This book is really special to me. I mean I love all the Tillerman books, but this one was one of those perfect storm sort of books. It dealt with some things pretty personal to me at exactly the right time in my life. I don’t think I’d have dealt with some things nearly as well without Mina’s perspective in my mind from reading this book. If someone were to ask me for coming-of-age recommendations, this would be a top one for sure.

Reading Next:  Seventeen Against the Dealer (The Tillerman Cycle, book 7) by Cynthia Voigt
I love how synchronistic it is that the series begins and ends with Dicey.

I look forward to reading this one again with the change in perspective that being older gives; I haven’t read it since I was a teenager.

After this one I’ve got literally no idea what I’m going to read so if anyone has a suggestion I’d love it.

Musing Monday: October 2, 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: What do you do with your non-keeper hard copy books?

I blogged about ____ this past week…

What do you do with your non-keeper hard copy books?
Well, I know a lot of the online book community members are major e-reader people, but I am not. I don’t actually have anything against them, I’m not one of those people. I actually like them, I love how available they’ve made books to everybody and I have noticed I read faster on e-readers (or it feels that way because I can’t mark my progress the same as with a physical copy), but I have a little trouble with reading on screens and let’s face it, there is nothing like holding a book in your hands. The weight, the smell, the texture, everything about physical books appeals to me.

All of this is to say:  I have lots of hard copy books. Not as many as some people, but considering I have so little money, I think 600 books is quite a stash.

I try to stick to the rule of only buying copies of books I already know I like. If it’s a book I haven’t read I like to just get it from the public library, and if I like it I’ll put it on my list of books to buy. That way I don’t spend my extremely limited book buying money on books I don’t like.

However, I am pretty terrible at following my own rule… I go to my favorite bookstore, Recycled Books, and I start off looking for books from my list and next thing I know it’s been 3 hours and my my husband (or mother) is standing over me where I’ve sat down on the floor with at least 2 stacks of books, probably more, and lost myself in some book or other. (Tip: If you tell yourself you’ll just read a page or two to see if you want to buy a book, don’t believe yourself. If you are anything like me you will read several chapters before you even realize it.)

AND NOW THAT I’VE TALKED ABOUT A TON OF STUFF LET ME ANSWER THE ACTUAL QUESTION:  When I do wind up with physical books I don’t want to keep, either because I got distracted from my list or because I hit up some garage sale where they had books for a quarter and I couldn’t stop myself, what do I do with them?

I take them back to the aforementioned favorite used bookstore and trade them in for store credit! And then I get to go shopping for more books!! Hurray!

(I’m so sorry, I really didn’t stay on topic even a little bit today…)

September 2017 Wrap-Up (Part 1)

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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
(Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, book 1)
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  September 1
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  “Look would it save you a lot of time if I just gave up and went mad now?”
Least Favorite Thing:  Vogon poetry 😦

I can’t believe how long it took me to get around to reading this. I think it’s because it is one of those things everyone talks about reading (or they’ve seen the movie), so I just sort of tuned it out. But I had seen examples of Douglas Adams’ writing and I knew I would enjoy it if I just did it, and I was right! I definitely recommend this book.

My Posts About The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Dicey’s Song by Cynthia Voigt
(The Tillerman Cycle, book 2)
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  September 1 – 2
Read Count:  3  (Pretty sure I’ve read it more than that, but only 3 that I can be sure of.)
Favorite Thing:  That scene where Jeff and Mina both visited the farm for the first time and met all the other Tillermans and everybody sat around singing songs and it was cheesy and cozy and perfect!
Least Favorite Thing:  Dicey’s English teacher…blech.

My Posts About Dicey’s Song

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore
Rating:  ★★★★★
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  September 2 – 7
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  The colors of the story.
Least Favorite Thing:  That freakin’ Reese douche.

I normally don’t enjoy books that are as romance-centric as When the Moon Was Ours, but everything about this story was beautiful and I’m so glad it got recommended to me.

My Posts About When the Moon Was Ours

A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt
(The Tillerman Cycle, book 3)
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  September 7 – 8
Read Count:  3  (Pretty sure I’ve read it more than that, but only 3 that I can be sure of.)
Favorite Thing:  The relationship between Jeff and his dad in Part Two.
Least Favorite Thing:  Fucking Melody. Ugh. Double ugh. I had forgotten just how manipulative and emotionally abusive Melody was to Jeff and his father!

My Posts About A Solitary Blue

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan
(The Lynburn Legacy, book 1)
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  September 8 – 11
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Angela’s rudeness.
Least Favorite Thing:  THE FUCKING ENDING WTF???????? IT BETTER BE SOME KIND OF FUCKING TRICK I SWEAR TO GOD!

I was hesitant about this book at first, but I’m very glad I read it (even if I’m also very mad). There were many moments where it had me literally laughing out loud.

My Posts About Unspoken

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
(Daughter of Smoke & Bone, book 1)
Rating: ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  September 12 – 14
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  That masqued ball scene.
Least Favorite Thing:  When Laini turns her spectacular powers of descriptive language against us and describes things like Razgut and Bain… I needed 10 showers after that whole beard thing.

To my mind, DoSaB isn’t as good as Strange the Dreamer, but it’s still really good and really hard to put down!

Also I’m still filled with jealousy every time it’s mentioned that Karou just wishes knowledge of new languages into her collection. No fair, no share!

My Posts About Daughter of Smoke & Bone

Part 2

September 2017 Wrap-Up (Part 2)

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Untold by Sarah Rees Brennan
(The Lynburn Legacy, book 2)
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  Yes
Reading Dates:  September 15 – 17
Read Count:  1
Favorite Thing:  Rusty. Perfect Rusty.
Least Favorite Thing:  Rob Lynburn is so skeezy I need 10 showers every time he talks…

Welp, I’m not mad about the thing I was mad about at the end of the first book anymore because it was explained and resolved in a very satisfying manner. However! I am frustrated because I have made several connections based on information Kami has already that she has not made and I have no way of climbing into the book to tell her!

My Posts About Untold

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor
(Daughter of Smoke & Bone, book 2)
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  September 17 – 20
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  That fucking fruit basket/note thing!
Least Favorite Thing:  Thiago. Obviously.

The close second for favorite thing was the trio of Akiva, Liraz, and Hazael. Sweet murder siblings.

But it was deeply infuriating waiting for Karou to figure out that Thiago and Ten were playing her! It seemed so damn obvious!

One thing that bugged me about the book though, there was a mention when explaining the whole “Angel-lover” insult where it says “in all Karou’s human languages, there was no insult so loaded with disgust and contempt, no single word that cast such a pall of filth” and I actually had to stop for a minute because I was annoyed. I mean… It’s really obvious what real life insult it resembles and yet it’s supposedly worse than anything in any human language. Ok Laini. Sure. (To clarify, I by no means think this was some intentional slight intended by the author, it’s just something that really bothered me personally.)

My Posts About Days of Blood & Starlight

The Runner by Cynthia Voigt
(The Tillerman Cycle, book 4)
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  September 20 – 21
Read Count:  3  (Pretty sure I’ve read it more than that, but only 3 that I can be sure of.)
Favorite Thing:  Reading him running, of course.
Least Favorite Thing:  The Phone Call. I’m still crying even though I always know it’s coming.

I want to warn potential readers, for a good half of this book Bullet is a racist. Not a “death to all black people” kind of racist, you won’t have to read depictions of him committing violence against black people, but an “I don’t mix with them” sort of racist, and you will see his thoughts about it several times. Part of his journey in this book is him learning that he’s wrong to just arbitrarily dislike people who are black. I didn’t want anyone getting blindsided by that in the beginning of the book.

My Posts About The Runner

Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor
(Daughter of Smoke & Bone, book 3)
Rating:  ★★★★★
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  September 23 – 27
Read Count:  2
Favorite Thing:  We Haven’t Been Introduced
Seriously this is easily my favorite part of the whole book. I grin like an idiot and squeal internally just thinking about it. Like just now, I briefly recalled parts of the book I enjoyed to evaluate them for a favorite and when I came to this one I actually hid my face and giggled so I feel like it’s really no contest.
Least Favorite Thing:  Morgan Toth’s pillowy lips…

I actually raised my rating of this book from 4 stars (from back in 2014) to 5 because it’s definitely the best of the trilogy for me.

My Posts About Dreams of Gods & Monsters

Come A Stranger by Cynthia Voigt
(The Tillerman Cycle, book 5)
Rating:  ★★★★☆
Review:  No
Reading Dates:  September 28 – 29
Read Count:  3  (Pretty sure I’ve read it more than that, but only 3 that I can be sure of.)
Favorite Thing:  Mina’s laughter.
Least Favorite Thing:  Racist teachers, blech.

I learned so much from Mina back in middle school when I first read this book. So much was changing for me and reading a book where that was happening to a character who was dynamic and strong was so helpful at that time.

My Posts About Come A Stranger

In Progress