Month of 300: 2017

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

June approaches. One of my favourite times of year:

!!! THE MONTH OF 300 !!!

The only name of the game is read books under 300 pages. It boosts books-read, makes you feel super productive, and allows you to read-off many of those lingering TBR reads.

~Happy Reading~

Spring Cleaning Tag

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

Spring has.. been here for a while. Cleaning before the summer has begun. I present:

! The Spring Cleaning Tag !

 original here

The struggle getting the cleaning started:

What book or series have you struggled to start because of its size?

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King - first book was terrible, 

all the other books are 500+ (some 900).

 

Cleaning out the closet:

What book would you like to unhaul? 

Knight Errant by R. Garcia Y Robertson - it was an ok book, 

a gift from a friend, but nothing worth remembering 

Opening windows and airing out the house:

What book was refreshing?

The Paper Magician by Charlie N Holmberg - I fell in love in a chapter, 

incredible world, lovely characters, and a different twist exploration of magic.

Washing the sheet stains:

What scene do you wish you could rewrite?

Mirrorsight by Kristen Britain - There's one scene between Estora and Zachary... 

It's terrible. It should not exist. In fact, in my head, it doesn't.  

Throwing out nick knacks:

 What book sequels were unnecessary? 

Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery - it is said that she didn't want to write them.

You can tell. After the third one, there's no heart any longer.  

(I did like Anne of Avonlea and of the Island)

Polishing the doorknobs:

What series has a good clean ending? 

Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville - With 10 years gaps between publishing,

Coville managed to make this series incredible and with a strong finish. 

Reaching to dust the fans:

What book reached too hard for a message?

Low: Delirium of Hope by Remender and Tocchini - a graphic novel,

heavily inspired by pessimism vs optimism... written by a pessimist in which he tries to 

portray how an optimist  thinks. Swing and a miss for me. 

The art work, however, was stunning.

Tiring, yet satisfying finish of Spring Cleaning:

What book series was tiring/satisfying to finish? 

Penryn and the End of Days by Susan Ee - 

All the excitement, action, and emotion. Punch, punch, dodge. Every book. Fantastic.

See you for Bout of Books 19!

~Happy Reading~  

In Dreams We May...

Strange the Dreamer
By Laini Taylor

Magnificence. Wonder. Heartbreak.

Lazlo is a nobody. An orphan as a baby, raised by monks, and when tasked to go to the library he arrived and never left. Since then he's surrounded himself with myths, fairy tales, and folk tales that others ignore. He longs for a city without a name, one that's been long forgotten that it's become a legend, folklore, 'not real' - he calls this city Weep.

One day a convoy from Weep arrives. Lazlo is stunned and begs to be taken to this remarkable city. From here, our tale unravels.

Sweeping sentences, lovingly crafted - Laini Taylor is an extraordinary writer. Her words drip with emotion. She paints a magnificent world of wonder that I did not want to leave.

The story is slow. Do not expect a fast-paced thriller. It takes time to seep into your mind. Burrowing in and making a nest for itself. So much so, that upon rereading a few passages I was brought to tears (even though the first time reading I didn't cry). Longing to be a part of the world again. It was not a place I wanted to leave.

For the most part, I enjoyed the characters. Normally, I hate hate HATE books about gods. They never seem to have enough at stake. It's hard to do with immortal, all-powerful creatures. Laini Taylor does it! She made me feel for gosh-darn gods. For that I applaud her. Yes. I think I will only read books by her about gods. That's my limit.

Do read this if you don't mind a slow unravelling story. If you enjoy descriptive, poetic writing. If you enjoy scenes of dream-logic. Sense, but not. Confusion, clarification, more confusion, a little clarification, ...

Magical.

5/5 STARS

Bout of Books 19.0

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

April is OVER!!!! My goodness the end of April was jam-packed. I had a series of concerts and managed to get quite sick with a cold/flu thing that zapped all of my everything.

However, I managed to CRUSH reading this month.

9 books. 3,153 pages.
I went way out of my comfort zone:  1 Classic, 1 Literary Fiction, 1 Horror
Read my first two 5 star books! (discounting the rereads of already starred)
1 Audiobook, 3 e-Books, 5 Physical.

Of them, 5 were on my TBR. 4 were not - however, one of those was a bookclub book... so I call it an unexpected addition of must reads.


Coming up next week is BOUT OF BOOKS 19!!!!
You bet your bottom dollar that I'm participating. After my busy April month, I feel like May will be a breeze. Less booked. Less crazy. Less sick (crossed fingers, knock on wood).

More to come, once I learn what the challenges are I can craft my TBR.

Until then...

~Happy Reading~