Weekend Reads #104: Goblin Emperor Readalong, Ch. 27-end

🙂 / 😥 I don’t know how to feel. This is my last (for now) Wyrd & Wonder readalong post for the Weekend Reads series.

I’m so… I don’t know. I finished the book and I love it so much because Maia is one of my favorite, all-time characters. The Goblin Emperor was a great book, and I’m glad it was selected for the Wyrd & Wonder readalong, but I’m sad the readalong and the book has ended. The Goblin Emperor is a standalone novel (a unicorn in fantasy publishing, lol!), and it made me realize even more that I prefer series, although I never complete them. I want more Maia! 😥

Well, here are Lisa’s questions (and my answers) on the latest chapters. Lisa, from Dear Geek Place, is the moderator for the readalong on Goodreads and is a co-host of the Wyrd & Wonder fantasy celebration event.

Goblin Emperor Readalong Questions for Chapters 27-the end:

Now that I’m at the end, I realize that I kept forgetting to warn about spoilers. Well, better late than never, I guess, SPOILERS!!

Let’s start with Maia’s grandfather! What do you think of the Avar, and his budding relationship with Maia?

He was a delight. I was expecting something else from him. I was expecting someone seeking to use the opportunity (discarded grandson suddenly an emperor) for self-serving reasons, probably to gain a hold on the elf kingdom. I was expecting him to be mean… Basically I was expecting him to be like Maia’s late father, but I love how the Avar is. 🙂

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“Long Bright River” by Liz Moore, narr. by Allyson Ryan

Here’s another book recommended to me through the blog Sci-Fi and Scary that I read and liked. Actually, Sian, who reviewed the audiobook convinced me to try this on audio, which is really saying something because I try to avoid listening to new-to-me books on audio but because she described it as an “unsettling character driven mystery with a lot of suspense,” I decided to dip in and give it a try. Plus, I wanted something to listen to while working, so I didn’t mind tackling this.

Genre:

Mystery

Pubbed:

2020

Goodreads summary:

Two sisters travel the same streets, though their lives couldn’t be more different. Then one of them goes missing.

In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don’t speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling.

“Wyrd Sisters” by Terry Pratchett

I managed to read another Terry Pratchett book and guess what?? I enjoyed it too! 😊

I read it for a Turtle Recall group read, which I was happy for because it motivated me to get started on this yearlong Discworld readathon. I was hoping to wrap up the Witches subseries of the Discworld books in May, but that didn’t happen so I might do so next month. Who knows? Anyway, my thoughts on Wyrd Sisters…

Genre:

Fantasy, humor

Series:

Discworld, book 6
Witches, book 2

Pubbed:

1988

Quick summary:

“You’d have to be born a fool to be a king,” said Granny Weatherwax

“Forever in Blue” by Ann Brashares, narr. by Angela Goethals

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Sisterhood book, but I’m glad to continue on with the series. I enjoyed the first three novels: loved the variety of personalities that make up this friend group and admired the strength of the friendship between the girls, which I hope is maintained through to the end of the last book — the fifth in the series, Sisterhood Everlasting. However, I don’t have high hopes that this will happen since it seems the girls begin to drift apart in Forever in Blue and not even the pants could help prevent it.

Genre:

YA Contemporary

Series:

Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, book 4

Pubbed:

2007

Quick summary:

Forever in Blue begins in the summer following the girls’ first year in college. Carmen is at a drama camp in Vermont hoping to build sets for a play, Lena is taking a summer painting class in Rhode Island, Bridget is off in Turkey on an archaeological dig, and Tibby is creating drama for herself in NYC.

Break From the Books: Beenie Man & Bounty Killer #Verzuz battle

I’m taking a break from books and bookish things to talk about the epic event I witnessed this past weekend. An event that I sorely needed during this dull corona time since I’m staying home, as advised, and thus am unable to attend any summer parties or other events. And I’m SO happy this event happened on Memorial Day weekend (in the U.S.) as a replacement (to me) of the events that are cancelled due to corona.

But you must be wondering what event I’m talking about (if you didn’t read this title of this post). Well, it’s the latest episode of Timbaland and Swizz Beatz’s Verzuz battle on Instagram. This time it was between two great Jamaican performers, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer. Yo!! I was BEYOND excited for this!! I grew up listening to their songs. I was a kid when the competition (the war) between them was fierce, but I still remember the hype around their clashes and I still love their songs.

It was great to see them on stage together again, performing together and entertaining people. OH MY GOSH!! This performance was SO needed and so good. Great songs, nuff jokes, and good vibes. Man, I LOVE IT!!

I had to share it on here. I had to take a break from all di book dem and share this bit of my culture.

There were SO many great moments too!! I loved that they began it by playing the Jamaican national anthem, I loved the back and forth between the artists (like a clash!!), I loved the dancing, I loved the shout-outs (especially when they shout out Rihanna, who was tuning in. That was hilarious!) The part with the police tho!! YO!! That’s how you know a party is good: Babylon come through trying to shut it down. (Lol!)

Oh man! It was great. If you love Jamaican dancehall music, check it out. If you love any music, check it. If you want something entertaining, something hype, check it out. If you love hip-hop, def check it out. Hip-hop was born out of Jamaican dancehall. Just check it out, man, and enjoy it. 🙂

If I had to choose one as the winner, I’d say Bounty Killer took this. He was so entertaining! Beenie Man is my dude. I LOVE his songs and he did great too (him and him belly 😀 ), but Bounty tek it fi mi!

Bookshelf Tour, Pt. 4 | General Fiction (begins)

So I just realized what a task this is to tour my bookshelves. There are so many books on them, especially this bookcase because it’s stacked 3-books deep. Whenever I clean or reorganize it, I wonder where all these books came from, what am I doing with them all, will I actually read them? Should I start doing the KonMari Method and chuck them out? Doing so would free up a lot of space but would leave me feeling deprived and missing my books.

I don’t think I could ever get rid of them. There was a low moment when I was battling student loans (I’m still battling them) when I wondered if selling all my books could help me pay down my loans. I convinced myself that doing so wouldn’t help, which was a good thing because now I get to do this tour!

So we’re still on this 3-books-deep bookcase —

— (we’ll be on it for a while) but now we’re touring the second shelf from from the bottom, which means we’re done with nonfiction books for now, sort of.

Weekend Reads #103: Goblin Emperor Readalong, Ch. 18-26

Weekend Reads is back with another Wyrd & Wonder readalong discussion for Katherine Addison’s The Goblin Emperor.

Y’all, I love this book so much and it’s all because of Maia. I think it will be one of my favorites of the year, which is saying something because I have no idea who’s who, the names confuse me, and I have no idea how anything outside or inside the palace looks. I’m just going along with Maia here. And I think this may be the first that I read a book and love it although I don’t have strong images in my mind of what things or people look like.

Anyway, here are Lisa’s questions (and my answers) on the latest chapters. Lisa, from Dear Geek Place, is the moderator for the readalong on Goodreads and is a co-host of the Wyrd & Wonder fantasy celebration event.

Goblin Emperor Readalong Questions for Chapters 18-26:

These chapters open with a very candid, yet significantly warmer than most, conversation between Maia and Arbelan, and from there things begin to change as Maia learns to act with more confidence. Do you think Arbelan’s kinder treatment of him is what sparks this, and if so, how much of an impact do you think it had?

I don’t think Arbelan’s kinder treatment is the cause of the change in Maia. I think it’s simply that he’s getting used to the court and his position. He has grown since his arrival at court, since becoming emperor, and it’s showing now in how he navigates people and situations and especially as he slowly gains confidence in himself. (I can’t believe it’s only been a little over a month since he became emperor. I keep thinking months have gone by because of all Maia’s dealing with.)

Comics Roundup #37: Sylvania

Sylvania, #1 by Kristin Kemper (illus.)

Genre:

YA Fantasy

Series:

Sylvania, issue 1

Pubbed:

2015

Quick summary:

Sylvania is a YA comic book series about three sisters — Juniper, Willow, and Rowan — who are tree witches, meaning their magic affects plants. When the story begins, the star witches, who seem to live in space, are seeking volunteers to help them terraform Mars. They gain recruits from the tree, fish, and bird witches, who they send to space to help on the project.

Of the sisters, Rowan, the youngest, really wants to go to Mars. She wants to be able to use her magic like her older sisters can. Willow, the middle one, is deeply committed to the forest and can’t imagine leaving it while the eldest, Juniper, is willing to consider the venture to Mars. One of them leaves the forest behind for the unknown among the stars. (Goodreads)

Comics Roundup #36: Oddly Normal

Oddly Normal, bk. 1 by Otis Frampton (illus.)

Genre:

MG Fantasy

Series:

Oddly Normal, book 1

Pubbed:

2015

Goodreads summary:

Meet Oddly Normal, a ten-year-old girl with pointed ears and green hair—a half-witch who will be the first to tell you that having a mother from a magical land called Fignation and a father from Earth doesn’t make it easy to make friends at school! On her tenth birthday, she blows out her cake’s candles and makes a disastrous wish. Now, Oddly must travel to Fignation to uncover the mystery of her parents’ disappearance. (Goodreads)

My thoughts:

Oddly Normal is a middle-grade fantasy comic book series about a girl named Oddly Normal who’s lonely and bullied at school because she’s a half-witch. On her 10^th birthday, she makes a wish that upends her life causing her parents to disappear but for her to be whisked away to the world her witch mother is from, Fignation.

Comics Roundup #35: Nimona

I feel so silly saying this, but I really didn’t expect to enjoy this story as much as I did. It has received a lot of hype to the point where I became skeptical of it, but the notice and praise are well deserved.

Nimona by Noelle Stephenson (illus.)

Genre:

YA Fantasy

Pubbed:

May 2015

Goodreads summary:

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some serious havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren’t the heroes everyone thinks they are.

But as small acts of mischief escalate into a vicious battle, Lord Blackheart realizes that Nimona’s powers are as murky and mysterious as her past. And her unpredictable wild side might be more dangerous than he is willing to admit. (Goodreads)