…random as my thoughts go…
Here’s a short book tag I found over on the Corner of Laura and Aquavenatus and just had to do too. Apparently, it began over on Instagram. I don’t know who the creator is, but please let me know if you do.
Here’s another classic surprise. Again I gravitated toward a classic story to read, this time because I watched the movie and liked it so much that I wanted to try the book.
Well, not only did I complete the book and understood what I read, but it was a Jane Austen book and I liked it too! Something weird must be going on with me this year for me, of all people, to like a Jane Austen book.
Genre
Classic Romance
Series
n/a
1815
It’s all about a young woman named Emma Woodhouse playing matchmaker to everyone and causing a bunch of confusion while doing so. There’s also a lot of classism thrown in. (Goodreads)
Continue reading ““Emma” by Jane Austen, illus. by C.E. Brock”
I surprised myself a while back by picking up this classic horror short story to read for a readathon and actually liking it.
Genre
Classic Horror
Series
n/a
Pubbed
1852
Quick summary
The Old Nurse’s Story is a short ghost story an old nursemaid tells her charges about when she and their mother were younger. The mother, Rosamond, and the nursemaid were sent to live at the family mansion with Rosamond’s aunt shortly after Rosamond’s parents died.
Continue reading ““The Old Nurse’s Story” by Elizabeth Gaskell, illus. by Seth”
This was another book that helped with my reading slump, and that’s because it was a reread of a favorite. Reading it again reminded me why I enjoyed it so much my first time through. It’s a quick read, it’s funny, and it’s about Greek and Roman mythologies. What’s not to like?
Genre
MG Fantasy
Series
Heroes of Olympus, book 1
2010
The Lost Hero kicks off a new batch of books by Rick Riordan, the Heroes of Olympus series. This series immediately follows the Percy Jackson series, middle grade fantasy about the demigod children of Greek gods, but focuses on a new cast of characters and is told from various points of view.
I have a feeling that I may have read these books as a kid, but I really cannot remember having done so.
This is the kind of story I’d have loved as a kid: Those fantasy stories where the characters sit around eating marmalade (whatever that is) and drinking cocoa and having picnics on lawns and there’s a beautiful garden somewhere that they can visit and portals to other worlds as well. Yep, such stories were catnip for me as a kid, and it seems that’s still the case because I loved Charmed Life.
Genre
MG Fantasy
Chrestomanci, book 1
1977
Charmed Life is about Cat, who’s apparently a normal boy. He lives on Coven Street among many witches with his beautiful, talented sister, Gwendolen, under the care of Mrs. Sharp because his parents had died in a boating accident. Through some contrivance of Gwendolen, they move to Chrestomanci Castle, where Gwendolen grows increasingly frustrated since folks there do not acknowledge her amazingness and fawn over her. Cat, on the other hand, seems overlooked and always does what his sister says. But there’s more to Cat and something odd about Gwendolen’s powers. (Goodreads)
This one was a reread. I often read these books as a kid, in addition to the Song of the Lioness and Immortals series. The Protector of the Small books weren’t favorites back then — as the Song of the Lioness books were — but I enjoyed them too.
Genre
YA Fantasy
Series
Protector of the Small, book 1
Pubbed
1999
The Protector of the Small books, of which this is the first, are set in the same world as Pierce’s Song of the Lioness and Immortals series — Tortall. However, the stories take place after the Immortals War (in the Immortals series) and instead focus on Keladry of Mindelan, who goes by Kel for short.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic:
A great topic because I have a few such books. I’ll borrow them from the library, get a few pages in and realize that I love the story or the writing too much to continue with the library copy because I want to highlight all the lines and passages I love. So I end up purchasing my own copy. These are the books that happened with.
This was such an entertaining read. I got the first issue for free and knew I had to get all the full volumes. It’s a historical thriller set in the 1970s about a female spy who’s framed for a murder.
I’m so happy to own a copy of this book. It’s a silent fantasy graphic novel about a man seeking a safe place for his family to live. The story is told using pictures, no words.
Continue reading “Top Ten Tuesday #54: I Had to Get My Own Copy”
Although I don’t want to jinx myself, I’m celebrating a little because it seems that my blogging slump is lifting. Here I am again with another batch of reviews! This time, I have two mangas and a graphic novel that are all light, humorous, sometimes silly reads.
Genre
Contemporary; Humor
Series
Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-San
Pubbed
2016
From Goodreads
Whether it’s foreigners asking for “JAPANESE EROTIC MANGA,” navigating the tricky government definition of “morally harmful material,” or helping a customer who’s awfully “criminally organized,” there’s rarely a dull moment for Honda-san. The true stories of a Japanese bookstore employee can be stranger than fiction! (Goodreads)
I’ve decided to continue with the second volume of this humorous manga series. The series seems to be semi-autobiographical and is about the experiences of an employee at a Japanese bookstore. The bookstore’s name isn’t mentioned, and all the employees are drawn wearing a mask. The protagonist (the author, Honda) wears a skull-face mask. In addition to focusing on Honda’s experiences working in the bookstore and interacting with a variety of customers and professionals in the Japanese book publishing industry, this volume also touches a bit more on Honda’s job as a manga artist.
Continue reading “Comics Roundup #67: A Love of Books and Food”
I saw this tag over on the Bookforager and just had to do it too. 😊 It was originally a post on Instagram, but Becky of Becky’s Book Blog adapted it as a book tag for her blog, and then people started doing it on their blogs too. Looks like the original creator hasn’t been found yet.
Moon Witch, Spider King is the second novel in the Dark Star trilogy, which begins with Black Leopard, Red Wolf. It’s a high fantasy trilogy with influences from various African mythologies and folklores. I read the first book and liked it, although I struggled through the first 100 pages. I debated getting this second one, but the cover made it easy to give in.
I saw this post on Imyril and Aquavenatus’s blogs and couldn’t help joining in too, especially since it’s like a book tag (btw, for a similar book tag, there’s the 10-Year Challenge Book Tag). But apparently this is a meme that began on BookTok and was carried over here by Caitlin at Realms of My Mind. Basically, you list your favorite books of the past 10 years. So, here are mine:
I learned of this one from Mogsy and Tammy and was happy for it because despite how gruesome and uncomfortable it sometimes got, it was a great read that had me hooked the entire time. It’s a historical thriller based on the life of a real person — a female serial killer in the late 1800s. The story is slow-paced, character-focused, and told from the perspective of the serial killer, but is very gripping and intriguing. I highly recommend it.
Adventures in speculative fiction
Slowly drifting into books and poetryr one day at a time
Zezee with Books 