Tag: bookish

January 2021 New Releases I Want

Lauren1 Comment

So I skipped last month’s new releases. I just didn’t want anything last month. Go figure.

It happens.

This month I found a few books.

Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor, January 19

The day Fatima forgot her name, Death paid a visit. From hereon in she would be known as Sankofa­­―a name that meant nothing to anyone but her, the only tie to her family and her past.

Her touch is death, and with a glance a town can fall. And she walks―alone, except for her fox companion―searching for the object that came from the sky and gave itself to her when the meteors fell and when she was yet unchanged; searching for answers.

But is there a greater purpose for Sankofa, now that Death is her constant companion?

I loved Binti and am excited to read another short story by this author. Lets do this!

The Mask Of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick, January 19

This is your past, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither . . .
Arenza Lenskaya is a liar and a thief, a pattern-reader and a daughter of no clan. Raised in the slums of Nadezra, she fled that world to save her sister.

This is your present, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither . . .
Renata Viraudax is a con artist recently arrived in Nadezra. She has one goal: to trick her way into a noble house and secure her fortune.

This is your future, the good and the ill of it, and that which is neither . . .
As corrupt nightmare magic begins to weave its way through the city of dreams, the poisonous feuds of its aristocrats and the shadowy dangers of its impoverished underbelly become tangled—with Ren at their heart. And if she cannot sort the truth from the lies, it will mean the destruction of all her worlds.

A fantasy book with female protagonists? Yup, sounds like my kind of book. Also “corrupt magic”!

The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner, January 12

Dellaria Wells, petty con artist, occasional thief, and partly educated fire witch, is behind on her rent in the city of Leiscourt—again. Then she sees the “wanted” sign, seeking Female Persons, of Martial or Magical ability, to guard a Lady of some Importance, prior to the celebration of her Marriage. Delly fast-talks her way into the job and joins a team of highly peculiar women tasked with protecting their wealthy charge from unknown assassins.
 
Delly quickly sets her sights on one of her companions, the confident and well-bred Winn Cynallum. The job looks like nothing but romance and easy money until things take a deadly (and undead) turn. With the help of a bird-loving necromancer, a shapeshifting schoolgirl, and an ill-tempered reanimated mouse named Buttons, Delly and Winn are determined to get the best of an adversary who wields a twisted magic and has friends in the highest of places.

This sounds great! I love the idea of bad girl turning to the good guys, however reluctantly.

Outlawed by Anna North, January 5

In the year of our Lord 1894, I became an outlaw.

The day of her wedding, 17 year old Ada’s life looks good; she loves her husband, and she loves working as an apprentice to her mother, a respected midwife. But after a year of marriage and no pregnancy, in a town where barren women are routinely hanged as witches, her survival depends on leaving behind everything she knows.

She joins up with the notorious Hole in the Wall Gang, a band of outlaws led by a preacher-turned-robber known to all as the Kid. Charismatic, grandiose, and mercurial, the Kid is determined to create a safe haven for outcast women. But to make this dream a reality, the Gang hatches a treacherous plan that may get them all killed. And Ada must decide whether she’s willing to risk her life for the possibility of a new kind of future for them all.

This is more of an alternate history, historical sci-fi book than fantasy. But the premise of a woman running away before she can get hanged and joining up with a gang of outlaws? Yes please. Also, this is my Book of the Month pick this month. So, happy me, I already get this book! Hooray!

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals. They are hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.

Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory after her family was murdered by a rival line. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man—now a god—responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek her out: Castor, a childhood friend Lore believed to be dead, and Athena, one of the last of the original gods, now gravely wounded.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and a way to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore’s decision to rejoin the hunt, binding her fate to Athena’s, will come at a deadly cost—and it may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

Greek mythology stories make me happy. So this is one that I am looking to pick up.

And there you have it, the 5 books I am looking forward to for January. I may not pick them up in January, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting them.

The House in the Cerulean Sea-A Book Review

Lauren7 Comments

Well. I feel like I just got a big ole hug.

And there is that review done. That’s it. That’s all you need to know.

No, but really, I’ll give an actual review. If I have to. And since I am a book blog and I read this book both for enjoyment and to review it, I guess I’ll have to review it. Whoo hoo!

So what can I say about this book.

Overall it’s heartwarming and endearing, which is something you don’t often say about fantasy books. I’ve heard people describe this book as though it left them feeling like it gave them a warm hug. I’m not gonna lie, I felt the same way, if you could tell by my opening statement.

Plus, LBGTQ+ rep!

Linus, as the main character, is complex for all that he is a simple man who likes simple things. He is very straight laced. His world is made up of a set of rules set by the government agency he works for, which is the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. Linus is a case worker, someone who goes around and inspects orphanages that house magical children and makes sure that they are up to par. He likes the daily grind of his life and doesn’t wonder if there is anything more to the world than what he already knows. Plus, he has a cat, Calliope.

We love a good cat around here.

One day Linus gets assigned the most classified of jobs, to looks into the lives of the children on the island off the coast of the small village of Marsyas. That’s when things get interesting.

Arthur is the is master of the house and Zoe is it’s caretaker. And I love them both so much! The six children shall remain anonymous because to even give the name of one of them would spoil the surprise. And oh, you will enjoy this surprise. Except for Chauncey, who dreams of growing up to be a bellhop. A Bellhop! How cute is that!

Linus gets drawn into the daily lives of these children even as he is reporting on them back to the head office of DICOMY. Will Linus discover there is more to life?

I love Linus’ character progression. Nothing felt faked or forced for the sake of the plot. And Arthur was a lovely counterbalance. How each saw the world was in opposition to the other. The children were simply delightful. Each had their own unique story and way of looking at life.

So I think it’s safe to assume that I approve of the characters and their development.

The pacing in this book was spot on. It never felt like you were rushing to reach the end, or that you were slowing down to reach a hard earned point. It was consistent throughout the book. Much appreciated, TJ Klune (the author).

World building was pretty good. This book is clearly meant to be some form of magical realism, but we are never really told what country this all takes place in. I keep picturing a New England or United Kingdom setting. So the vagueness didn’t really sit well with me. It didn’t keep me from appreciating the book, but it did bother me a little.

I really connected with this story, as I think anyone who has felt like the odd one out will. It’s message of hope and being yourself was warm and, above all, kind. Which, again, not something you can often say about fantasy novels.

I really loved this book. I can see myself re-reading this whenever I am having a bad time of it mentally and am in need of a pick me up.

Self care is important!

So all in all I gave this book 5 stars, and I think you will to. So go give The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune a chance!

My First Experience With Book Outlet

Lauren1 Comment

It’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day! If you are ever in Memphis, Tennessee and want to learn about this amazing man, and others involved in the Civil Rights movement, check out the National Civil Rights Museum. You know, when Covid hasn’t closed it. They are having virtual programs today, Jan 18, if you want to learn more.

On with the completely unrelated blog post!

I heard about Book Outlet on TicTok. So I read a few reviews online and decided to give them a try.

First thing you need to know is that they don’t carry the newest releases. What they do carry is recent releases that are maybe one or two years old. But maybe not the most popular things. But sometimes the popular things. You just have no way of knowing unless you check back regularly.

I know, super helpful.

Second thing to know is that the shipping is, well, problematic. They tell you with the free shipping that it can take anywhere from 3 to 20 business days. They mean that. I ordered mine on Friday, November 20th and didn’t get it until Saturday, December 12th. That’s 23 total days, 14 business days.

The website interface is…interesting. Searching for books by title is easy enough. And you can break down the book options by genre. It’s when you go to search by authors that it gets really tricky. You have to search last name first, with a comma between the last and first names, and both must have the first letters capitalized or the search results will come back with nothing. It took me a few tries to figure this out.

Twas annoying.

Now onto the books themselves! I ordered 6 books and I am pleased to report that I received all 6 books. And in good condition! Though one did arrive with a store sticker on it. I had seen that was a possibility before hand, I was just hoping I would be spared that fate.

Oh well.

The packing slip came with clear instructions on how to make a return, file a claim for missing or mismatched merchandise, or just how to ask general questions. I had no need to do any of those things, so I can’t speak to whether or not that’s easy.

I’d say my only drawback was the shipping time, so if you need a book fast, don’t buy it here.

I have since purchased from Book Outlet again.

Blogging and Reading Goals for 2021

Lauren2 Comments

So I thought I would share with you what I hope to do both with the blog and with my reading in 2021. Goals are important. They give us something to strive for. Written down they also give us a way to look back and see if we have accomplished those goals.

Here’s hoping.

More Reviews: I really enjoy writing reviews, and I hope you enjoy reading them. I’m hoping to do at least two reviews a month.

A More Consistent Review Format: I haven’t been very consistent with how I do reviews. I would like to change that. It would be nice for me, and for you, to have a format to follow that makes some kind of sense.

Read More Books: I don’t mean try to read 30 books every month, that would be insane. I can only do that once a year. Maybe. No, I just mean overall. I set my Goodreads/The Storygraph goal at 50 books. Given that I read 82 books this past year, I’m pretty sure I’ll hit it. Probably. I hope. Sure. I can do it! I have faith…in myself.

Read More Non-Fiction Books: I only read two non-fiction books last year. Two! I’m hoping to change that this year. I have a few books in a mind, and a friend already recommended another one for me.

Read All the Books on My TBR Cart: It’s not a TBR per se, but it’s a goal. I bought a lot of books in a short span of time last year, and I need to try to read them all. Or at least get halfway through the cart before I order anymore books. And E-books don’t count. Though I do have a lot of those I need to read too.

Re-Read Some Favorites: I love re-reading books. They feel like those old friends you haven’t seen in a while but it’s like no time has past. I love those books. And those friends. You know who you are.

Do More Book Tags: I have found that I love books tags. For all that I’ve only done two. And coming up with answers that aren’t all The Dragon Prince or Exiles by Melanie Rawn is proving challenging. And I like it!

And there are my goals. What goals do you have for the year?

Skipping the TBR?

Lauren3 Comments

Yes, I am skipping the TBR this month.

I know!

What’s a book blogger to do without a TBR?

Mood read, that’s what.

See, I’ve been trying this TBR thing and it hasn’t really worked out for me. I mean, the first month I did it, I did well. But every month after, total failure.

Which is fine. We learn from failure. And what I learned is that maybe I shouldn’t do TBR’s.

See TBR’s feel too much like an assignment. Like something I have to do. And since I am a mood reader, well, that just kills wanting to read.

That’s not good.

I want to read all the books I have, and since I keep buying new ones, well, I need to mood read them. So lets see how this no TBR thing goes.

I hope it goes well for me.

Everything I Read in December 2020

Lauren1 Comment

Here we go again! Another waltz around the month to see all I have read!

I kinda did if DNF’ing a book on my TBR list counts. I’m counting it. Because I tried to read it, I really did.

The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn

This is the story of how Nickolas came to be Santa Claus. I loved this book so much! It was such a cute Christmas read. You can see more about what I thought about this book here. I did give it 5 stars.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

This is a story that asks what if the hero fails and then the villain reigns for a thousand years. My husband has been on me to read this book for a while, and I’m not sure why I didn’t read it sooner, but man did I love this book. 5 out of 5 stars.

In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren

One woman, two brothers, a Christmas wish, and a Groundhog Day style time loop. I’m a sucker for a good time loop story. I liked this book. It was cute and fluffy. A good holiday read. 3 stars.

Paradise Planet by Jesse Lonergan

When their ship crash lands on a planet, a passenger must take care of a drug riddled captain and watch out for hungry lizards. The art was just okay in this graphic novel, and the storyline was poorly done. It could have been more fleshed out. 2 stars.

How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K. Eason

Rory Thorne is a princess who has been given thirteen fairy gifts, now she has to use them to save her betrothed from a plot to overthrow his government. I had a really hard time reading this book. I would have DNF’d it, but I actually wanted to know how it would end. 2 Stars.

Dune by Frank Herbert

Dune is the story of Paul Atreides and his time on Arrakis where the “Spice must flow”. Obviously, it’s about more than that, but I didn’t enjoy this book. I don’t connect with the authors writing style so I didn’t finish this book. 1 star.

There. I read my TBR. Sort of. I swear I tried to read Dune. I just can’t connect with it. I still want to see the movie though. I’m a glutton for punishment.

And here are my stats! I really enjoy getting to look at these now that I have discovered The Storygraph.

I read 3 adventurous books last month. And 2 mysterious? This stat will always surprise me I guess. I do like that I managed to read 2 lighthearted books last month. That’s a nice change of pace.

Speaking of pace, 2 fast and 2 medium paced books for me.

Since The Storygraph doesn’t count DNF’s, Mistborn was my highest page read, coming in at 541 pages.

I only read 2 Fantasy books last month? How is that possible? I mean, It’s still my most read genre, but still. Only 2?

And my Average rating being 3.4 stars doesn’t really surprise me. Especially given that I had two books each for 2 star and 5 star books.

Well there you have it. All the stuff I read last month! What a short list. I’m working to read more books this month. But all amount of reading is valid, so at least I’m reading!

December 2020 Wrap Up

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Hello everyone! How was your December? Mine was good. Surprisingly busy considering I didn’t even go anywhere. I had a wonderful, and safe, Christmas here at home with the hubs. We missed our family but it was for the best. Also we got to sit around in our PJ’s all day, watch movies, and in the hubs case, build legos.

New Years brought with it more relaxing and some sadness. My uncle very suddenly passed away the morning of New Years Day. He’ll be missed.

And with that depressing note, on to the wrap up.

What I read in November 2020: My reading list for November. This is also when I discovered The Storygraph. Man I love that website.

November 2020 Book Haul: I posted my monthly book haul. Nothing to surprising. I had said I was gonna slow down on the book buying this month. I lied.

What to Read, December TBR: Here you can find my TBR for the month. Spoiler alert, I actually managed it. Sort of. Does it count if you DNF one of the books?

The Autobiography of Santa Claus- A Book Review: I cannot stress enough how much I loved this book. It was so sweet and heart warming.

12 Days of Christmas Book Tag: I did my first book tag! Huzzah! It was themed after the 12 days of Christmas. I enjoyed doing it!

Old Man’s War-A Book Review: I read Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. It was pretty good. Naturally, I wrote a review about it.

The Festive Christmas Book Tag: I actually liked doing this one more than the first one. I think I did better with this one. I’m going to try and do more books tags and see how my answers change!

A Night of Christmas Lights: I shared the time we went to look at the Christmas lights in Grand Prairie, TX. It was a lot of fun!

Book of the Month- A Review: I joined Book of the Month in November and decided to review my experience. Spoiler alert, it was pleasant.

Christmas Book Haul 2020: I received book type gifts for Christmas! So I shared what I got with you, because why not.

2020 Review Round Up: I did a round up of my reviews from this year. Will I do it again next year? I don’t know, it depends on how many books I review.

Books I Did Not Finish in 2020: Pretty much what it says on the tin. It’s all the books I DNF’d in 2020!

And there you go. Everything I posted in December. A few more posts then usual due to the fact that it was the end of the year. Oh well. Just means it was more for me to write. And since I happen to like writing, it works out well!

2020 Reading Stats

Lauren1 Comment

2020 was a good reading year for me. It was bolstered by the fact that I read 31 books in August.

Why was it so good? Well my Goodreads goal for the year was 30 books, and I read 82 books this year.

I have accomplished a thing! Huzzah!

This is actually pretty great for me, given that I usually set the goal pretty high for a casual reader and then I fail. Horribly.

So without further ado, I present to you my stats for 2020!

As you can see, the majority of my books are fantasy reads (64 of them). This should surprise absolutely no one. That I read so many young adult books surprised me, since I really just started to get into that genre in the later part of this year. I mean really, 20 YA books? And that sci-fi is next with 10 books really isn’t a shock to me. Fantasy and sci-fi are my jams. What this does tell me is that I need to read more sci-fi though. Good thing to work on for 2021.

With the amount of fantasy and sci-fi I read, that I read 78 adventurous books doesn’t come to much of a surprise to me. Mysterious, however, does. I didn’t think that I read a lot of mysterious books this year, but apparently I read 19 of them, so that is interesting.

29,391 pages read. That’s a lot of pages. Thankfully, I avoided papercuts this year. Goodreads says that my average book length was 366 pages, and that sound about right.

Again, I’m not very surprised by these stats. 95% of the books I read this August fell around 350 pages long, which is why I picked those books to read.

Look at those pace stats. I am surprised by those. I was convinced I didn’t like slow books, but apparently I read 28 slow paced books this year. Huh.

My average rating was 4.06? I thought that number would be lower. I didn’t know I had so many 5 star reads. I do know some of those were re-reads. So they had already been ranked before. But still, 30 5 stars seems a little high.

I only read 2 non fiction books last year. That is too low a number. Must read more informative books!

And there you have it, my end of the year stats. What do yours look like? Have you tried Storygraph?

My Favorite Reads of 2020

Lauren1 Comment

Happy New Years everyone! Did you have a good evening of safe, stay at home, fun? In a move that should shock no one, I stayed home, watched Star Wars, and played Animal Crossing.

All night.

It was wonderful.

But you aren’t here for my New Years adventures (or lack thereof), you are here for the books! Without further ado, I present to you my top 8 books of 2020!

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall

A retelling of Sherlock Holmes if Holmes was a woman and a sorceress. Oh, and did I mention the queer romance? I loved this book to the point that I despaired when it was done because there wasn’t more. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars because I couldn’t give it 7 stars.

Recursion by Blake Crouch

A mysterious plague of lives never lived sweeps the Earth. This book put me through it. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

Patricia’s life was normal, until the vampire moved in down the street. I loved this book. My book club loved this book. It’s a really great book. 5 out of 5 stars!

Hyperbole and Half by Allie Brosh

It’s a graphic novel of a web-toon based on the authors life. She details her childhood, her struggles with depression, and her fight with a goose. I might have lol’d a few times. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

A woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever but everyone she meets forgets her. 300 years later, someone finally remembers her. I cannot say enough about this book. I loved how it ended. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn

This is exactly what it say in the title, the story of Santa told from his point of view. It was so wholesome and heartwarming. It definitely gave me the warm fuzzies. 5 out of 5 stars.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

Imagine a world were a hero failed to defeat the darkness. And then that darkness reigned for 1000 years. The hubs loves this book and has been trying to get me to read for forever. I finally did it and I loved it. 5 out of 5 stars.

To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers

Humans have conquered space flight, and Adriene O’Neill is documenting her work as one of those travelers. But what has happened to the world left behind while they are gone? I only gave this book 4 stars, but the ending to this novella really stuck with me even now. I had to add it to this list.

What were your favorite reads of 2020?

Books I Did Not Finish in 2020

Lauren1 Comment

Let’s be honest, 2020 hasn’t been the best year. It also has had some bad books in it, at least for me anyway. Since I have a few books in my DNF bag I thought I would share them with you.

You know, so you can suffer with me.

Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett

This is a dark comedy about a woman who takes over her fathers taxidermy business after his suicide. She also happens to be in love with her brother’s wife. I just didn’t like this story at all. There was nothing like-able about any of the characters, which I think was kinda the point, but still. It just didn’t click with me at all. I got 25% of the way through this one and tried to yeet it off my Kindle.

And yes, I just used the word yeet. Don’t @ me.

Kill the Farm Boy by Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne

What happens when the chosen one is nothing like what you would expect? And also a talking goat. I tried to read this one, I really did. It was billed as being like Monty Python. It’s not. it’s not even a little bit like it. Which is fine. But it still wasn’t funny. My husband read it first and he didn’t find it funny either. He finished it (barely), I didn’t.

Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente

A sci-fi story about an interstellar singing competition where the fate of Earth hangs in the balance? What’s not to love? Apparently, all of it. I just didn’t like the way this book was written. It felt like a hyperactive child who got given to much sugar right before going to bed and then wouldn’t go to sleep.

Too harsh?

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore

An average guy finds out he has a new job. As Death. Supposed to be humorous. I found it lacking to the point where I gave up after 50 pages. I know, some of you will say I should have given it more of a chance, but I just couldn’t.

The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg

Two transgendered persons wander out into the desert. One wants to learn the last of the great weaves, one wants their name. What they get is much different. I just didn’t enjoy this book. I put it down and didn’t want to pick it back up. Though I may pick it up again.

The Road Not Taken by Susan Rubin

A widow gets taken on a ride through the space-time continuum by an alien race known as the Lost. I really wanted to like this one. Unfortunately, I couldn’t connect with this book and it fell flat for me. I DNF’d this one very early on. Like, 25 pages in.

Dune by Frank Herbert

The story of Paul Atreides and his time on Arrakis just didn’t connect with me. I have come to the conclusion that it is the authors writing style that I don’t gel with. I’ve tried to read this book once before, and I didn’t connect with it then either. Maybe this book just isn’t for me.

What are the were the most disappointing books for you this year?