Project TBR - Wrap-Up

Well. That crashed and burned.

I most certainly read. I finished a book. But holy macaroni, pitiful amounts.

The Book of Three
By Lloyd Alexander
Status: Completed!!

Challenges achieved: Under 250 pages, cover with green on it



Mini-Review:
Last summer, I read book 2 of this series. Loved it! Not sure I liked this one as much. Of course, it is a book 1 so there is needed world building and character introductions. The Horned-King is terrifying, as are the cauldron-born.
My anger for the movie adaptation carried over to this book. Basically, Disney merged book 1 and 2 (badly). I sincerely hope that when I read the 3rd book, it will be all new story and no relation to the botched movie.
I still think you can read book 2 without reading 1. The Black Cauldron was crafted better.
3/5 STARS

Song of the Wanderer
By Bruce Coville

Status: Almost finished. Disc 6 of 6 (audiobook).

This series is underrated. It's a fantastic story. I have fallen back in love with this world and cannot wait for the next book, Dark Whispers.

Challenges: could've been the underrated novel

Beta Reader
By Canadian Author
Status: Not finished.

I'm spending lots of time on this one as I'm editing. Glad I got started though. Can't wait to finish. The author is a great storyteller.




Never Fade
By Alexandra Bracken
Status: Barely started.

I'm somewhere in chapter one. Tried to get a good start on this one last night, but my brain went NOPE, YOU'RE TIRED! So, that didn't happen. I am looking foward to reading this one this week though.

Project TBR - Day 7

Hello fellow readers!

The final day!!! Sadly, I did not succeed as much as I wanted to. However, I'm surprised at how much I accomplished considering I've been thrown into the deep end at work. Flailing about like a squid out of water.



Day 7

Song of the Wanderer
By Bruce Coville
(audiobook)
Currently on Disc 5 of 6







Beta Reading
By Canadian Writer
Pages Total: 289
Pages Read:  47-

Project TBR - Day 6

Hello fellow readers!

Free time Saturday? Yes, but doing other things. Meeting with friends. Being social. Buying new books, of course. Drinking too strong coffee and still feeling the effects of it 8 hours later....


Day 6

The Book of Three
By Lloyd Alexander
Pages read: 122 - 186, finished









Song of the Wanderer
By Bruce Coville
(audiobook)
Currently on Disc 5 of 6







Beta Reading
By Canadian Writer
Pages Total: 289
Pages Read:  27 - 47


Because this is a Beta Read, it is taking me longer. I am trying to read it critically, while still enjoying the story (which I am). Rereading parts and stopping to edit sentences does delay the reading process. But supporting fellow readers is incredible important, so I need to give my critical and honest opinions. It needs to be done right.

Project TBR - Day 5

Hello fellow readers!

Friday wasn't in the cards. Meetings and workshops all day long meant an exhausted me by the end of the day. Worst reading week yet in 2015. I'm glad I went with a short book though. Definitely not reading that 500 page book by the end of the week. But, I'll have completed at least three of the challenges.


Day 5

The Book of Three
By Lloyd Alexander
Pages read: 95 - 122









Song of the Wanderer
By Bruce Coville
(audiobook)
Currently on Disc 4 of 6







Beta Reading
By Canadian Writer
Pages Total: 289
Pages Read:  still on p.27, no change

Project TBR - Day 4

Hello fellow readers!

I hope your reading week is going a heck of a lot better than mine.


Day 4

The Book of Three
By Lloyd Alexander
Pages read: 75 - 95









Song of the Wanderer
By Bruce Coville
(audiobook)
Currently on Disc 4 of 6






Currently, I am a beta reader for a writer. I am counting the novel work as reading, however, with respect I will not disclose any information of the novel. I will say it's about cats and it's fantasy. That's about it.
For a cover, here's a cool picture of a fantasy cat, found via pintrest. It leads to this page, which isn't directly the artist who is Vasylina Holodilina.

Beta Reading
By Canadian Writer
Pages Total: 289
Pages Read: 1- 27

Project TBR - Day 3

Hello fellow readers! My lame adventures in reading continue. These 5:30am mornings are killing my regular nighttime reading routine.

Day 3

The Book of Three
By Lloyd Alexander
Pages read: 40 -75









Song of the Wanderer
By Bruce Coville
(audiobook)
Currently on Disc 3 of 6

Project TBR - Day 2

Hello fellow readers! 

Day 2

The Book of Three
By Lloyd Alexander
Pages read: 14-40









Song of the Wanderer
By Bruce Coville
(audiobook)
Currently on Disc 2 of 6





This fascinating article on why children's book should matter. Lately I've been listening to (on audiobook) a favourite series from childhood that I never finished. It certainly explains why I enjoy this series. I remember reading the first of this series over and over. I know it doesn't count to my reading goals. Thought I'd include it anyway.

Into the Land of Childhood

Into the Land of the Unicorns
Unicorn Chronicles, Bk 1
By Bruce Coville

Cara climbs the bell tower and on the strike of midnight she jumps into a land filled with unicorns and other strange mythical beasts. Her grandmother has tasked her with passing a message to the unicorn queen. She finds a band of mismatched creatures that guide her there. 

This was THE book that got me into fantasy and unicorns. I went through a crazy unicorn phase. Everything unicorn. This review is mostly nostalgia based... a little biased.

I read and reread this book until the pages were ragged. It ended suddenly. Then... no sequel. I put it aside. Forgot about it.

A few years later I discovered a second book had been published. Yes! I read it. Again, I wanted to read more, but no third book.

Then the looooooong gap between the second and third book. The first published in 1994, then 1999, 2008, and finally completed in 2010. I'm not complaining, Coville clearly had more pressing projects. However, this break in between books meant that I never finished the series.

I was well into my twenties by the time book three was published and not ready to get back into this series. My fantasy taste was refined. Then this year, I decided with all my commuting time I could be reading. Duh. Productivity. So I took the first book from the library, and began jumping back into the land of my childhood.

See what I did there?

The book is as delightful as I remember it. Gripping, heartbreaking, whimsical, and wonderous. Memories of the story came flooding back to me.

Vividly, the villain of this story haunted my dreams as a child. Why was she so terrifying? We never actually meet her in book one, only hear stories of her. Coville makes her an ultimate villain, we have sympathy for her but cannot condone her actions. For years, I have hated the word "Beloved" because that is the name of the villain.

How interesting that a story can change the way you regard even a word.

In an interview I saw of Bruce Coville, he said that he writes with the intention that his stories are read aloud. This is half the reason why I decided this would be the perfect book to listen to in the car. You can absolutely tell in his writing style.

I do recommend this. Read it aloud.

4.5/6 STARS

Project TBR - Day 1

Hello, hello!
Project TBR is underway and I'm drowning at work. Whenever I sit down to read my eyes start drooping. Not sure how this week is going to go. A very lame start to this read-a-thon.

Day 1

The Book of Three
By Lloyd Alexander
Pages read: 1-14

Song of the Wanderer
Unicorn Chronicles, Bk 2
By Bruce Coville
(audiobook)

Northern Land

Skraelings (Book 1: Arctic Moon Magick)
By Rachel and Sean Qitsualik-Tinsley

Kunnujaq (kun-noo-yuq) drives his dogsled across the tundra alone. He has heard of the shy, strange Tuniit (too-neet) tribe, only a fable in stories from his elders. When he finds himself in the midst of a Tuniit tribe that's being attacked by murderous men he joins the Tuniit to save their tribe.

When I came across this book, I believed it to be fantasy folded in with Inuit myths and culture. It is not quite the case. It is fiction, but not fantasy. It is historical, based on the tribes of men that lived in the Arctic - where we might call Baffin Island today.

This book is incredible.

It starts as if you were sitting down around a fire and a narrator was beginning the story. It's informal and personal, asking the reader questions. This would do well for reading aloud. Then it switches to a more formal narrative when the story is being told. There are two layers to the telling.

I'd like to know if this tale is based on an Inuit tale. Unfortunately, there isn't a background for the conception of the book. However, there is a wonderful glossary at the back that gives the pronunciation, the words written in syllabics, the defition along with cultural significance. These all-new concepts were described so well, I immediately attached to the culture. I was fascinated.

Othering is a big topic in this book. Kunnujaq, the protagonist, is a solitary wanderer. He does not mind being alone. He then encounters a Tuniit tribe, people of the same land, but one he has never encountered before. They request his help and he is torn between helping them or continuing his wanderings. Then we have the Siaraili, the murderous invaders. They are pale and bearded, hailing from Gronland (Greenland). These are the vikings - the ones on the front cover of the book. Already we have more than one layer of others, foreigners, and Kunnujaq gives his honest reaction to each. It is what I liked the most of this book.

I liked Kunnujaq as the main character. He made very human decisions, not always right.

The story is a short one and I highly recommend it for anyone remotely interested in elements of the Inuit cultures, pre-colonial (before Europeans came and took over). Fascinating.

4/5 STARS

Classroom: Recommended highly. 79 pages, reads quickly. Suggested age group Grade 5-7.

Project TBR

Found a read-a-thon for February. Project TBR is a week long reading challenge, pretty laid back while still challenging. BenjaminofTomes is starting this.

It begins Monday, February 16 and ends on Sunday, the 22nd.


Challenges are as follows: 
1. Read a book under 250 pages.
2. Read a book over 500 pages.
3. Read a book with green on the cover.
4. Read an underrated novel.
5. Read a sequel you've been meaning to get to.


I'm in the midst of starting a new job, so I'm cheating on my challenges a little bit, combining the challenges. If I read more, GREAT!

Week TBR .....

The Book of Three
By Lloyd Alexander
Pages: 186
Challenges that Apply: 1, 3, 4

Never Fade
By Alexander Bracken
Pages: 507
Challenges that Apply: 2, 5