Author: Lee
Milo nibbled carefully at the letter and discovered that it was quite sweet and delicious — just the way you’d expect an A to taste.
“I knew you’d like it,” laughed the letter man, popping two G’s and an R into his mouth and letting the juice drip down his chin. “A’s are one of our most popular letters. All of them aren’t that good,” he confided in a low voice. “Take the Z, for instance — very dry and sawdusty. And the X? Why, it tastes like a trunkful of stale air. That’s why people hardly ever use them. But most of the others are quite tasty. Try some more.”
He gave Milo an I, which was icy and refreshing, and Tock a crisp, crunchy C.
– Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
“I never knew words could be so confusing,” Milo said to Tock as he bent down to scratch the dog’s ear.
“Only when you use a lot to say a little,” answered Tock.
Milo thought this was quite the wisest thing he’d heard all day.
– Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth
Some slight blogging changes…
So I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed lately with being in charge of everything to do with moving to a new place and moving my mom in with us and working hard on my recovery, so my blogging is really falling by the wayside.
I’ve also been thinking a lot about original content vs. the weekly book memes I do. Obviously my blog is weighted to the latter and I’d rather it was more even.
So I’ve been thinking about what I can change.
First of all, I found a new format for my quotes. Instead of posting them all in one post I’ve been scheduling daily quote posts whenever I finish a book. I really like doing it this way and I’m definitely keeping that.
Which brings me to the fact that I have several book meme posts that are quote centric, and that seems redundant…
So secondly, I’m cutting out Thursday Quotables. I love it, but it just doesn’t make sense to have it when I have my other quote posts.
I’m definitely keeping First Lines Fridays, it’s my absolute favorite of the bookish memes I do. I love the idea of judging a book solely off the first line(s). But as we all know some really good books have really boring first lines, so I don’t do a FLF for every book I get like I could.
Which brings me to the third thing: From now on, Teaser Tuesday is solely to supplement First Lines Fridays. Whenever a book has a first line so crappy I’m not willing to do an FLF post for it, I’ll do a Teaser Tuesday on it! That way I get at least one teaser “judge this book on a quote” style post for each book I read.
Fourthly, I’m going to quit WWW Wednesday because I feel like I repeat myself too much when I use that one… Almost everything I have to say about the books I say someplace else in some other format.
Fifth on the list of changes, I will now be alternating What Are You Reading Wednesday and Friday 56. Meaning, if I do one on a book I’m reading, I won’t do the other. Sometimes when I’m looking on page 34/34% I can’t find anything worth posting, so when that happens I’ll try using page 56/56% instead. That way I have at least one post of that sort each week.
I plan to keep doing Top 5 Wednesday whenever I have something for the prompt, and I would like to get back on top of Musing Monday. So those aren’t changes, just something I’ll try to make more of an effort on.
As for book photo posts: I will keep doing my original Dedication Spotlight idea, and I will keep doing Tomes & Tea occasionally. I’m also hoping that after this move is done I can get back into doing some Book Photo Challenges.
And of course I hope to keep coming up with reviews and other original content.
Older posts from the book memes I’m quitting will still be available on my blog, they just won’t be linked in the sidebar anymore, and for the record I still totally like those lovely memes, I just feel like I need to focus a bit more.
That’s everything, I think. Wish me luck!
First Lines Fridays: June 29, 2018
First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?
- Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
- Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
- Finally… reveal the book!
First Lines:
The Summer King knelt before her. “Is this what you freely choose, to risk winter’s chill?”
Did the quote pique your interest? View this book on Goodreads!
It was a feeling I’d woken up with one morning, a kind of whirring in my ears and an instability to the world, like things were coming to a head. I faced myself in the bathroom mirror and looked into my eyes, wondering if I would see something new in them, something crackling and different. I felt strong, as if every muscle in my body was taut and lean, not creaky and bony anymore.
– Sarah Dessen, That Summer
Tumblr Book Talk
Mid-Year Reading Recap
Now that June’s about to end it’s time to look upon our reading progress so far this year and share some book opinions!
Oh man I forgot I got tagged in this, I suck! Thank you for the tag, Scarlet @flamingmirrorbookish!
1. Best book you read so far this year
I’m tempted to mention one of my favorite books again, but I won’t, I’ll choose one that was new to me this year: White Oleander by Janet Fitch. The prose is absolutely beautiful and I loved the way the main character, Astrid, looked at things.
2. Worst book you read so far this year
Guys obviously it was the Twilight books. The worst of all of them was the partial from Edward’s POV, Midnight Sun.
3. Completed any series?
Oh sure. Most of the books I read are part of a series anyway. As for complete series I read this year, they are all rereads:
- Tales of the Kingdom // Cynthia Voigt
My favorite all time book series. These are loosely-connected, non-magical fantasy. I recommend it to everyone, always. - Twilight Saga // Stephenie Meyer
My least favorite series, which I recommend to literally nobody. Love yourselves. - The Darkest Minds // Alexandra Bracken
4. Anticipated read for the second half of the year
Oh! Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor! I have it pre-ordered and I am so eager to have it!
5.A book that disappointed you
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman. I loved the film, but the book just didn’t click with me even a little. I don’t even know if I’ll read the one about the aunts now…
6. How many books have you read so far this year?
I’m glad to say I managed to reach half my goal for the year this month, by just a hair. I have read 38/75 books this year! 🙂
7. A book that made you laugh
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I know technically it’s called a children’s book, but really any age group can enjoy this book and I recommend it to all.
8. Estimated read count for the year?
I think I’ll definitely meet my goal of 75 if I can keep this up!
Alrighty I tagged some people on tumblr, but I actually want to tag all my WordPress readers. Give me the deets on how your 2018 goals are going at this halfway point in the year! Either comment or make your own post and drop me a link.
Thursday Quotables: June 28, 2018
This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week; whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written.
Because life is an ugly, awful place to not have a best friend.
Summary:
Halley has always followed in the wake of her best friend, Scarlett. But when Scarlett learns that her boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and that she’s carrying his baby, she’s devastated. For the first time ever, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it’ll never break—because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever.
Thank you Bookshelf Fantasies for this fun book meme!
Mini-Review: The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
A bored young boy finds a way to travel to a mysterious land which teaches him the importance of words and numbers and most everything else in life.

Rating: ★★★★★ – loved it
Pros: puns, word play, beautiful descriptive language, hilarious, clever
Cons: literally none
This book is absolutely timeless (despite Tock the Watchdog) and everyone regardless of age should read it at least once.
It’s punny and clever, and trusts the reader’s intelligence. It’s even fun to read aloud, so if you have kids read it with them.
Seriously. Just read this book. You’ll be glad you did.