5 Favourites

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

As one of the challenges for Bout of Books 16, book readers were tasked to list their 5 favourites.

* 1 *

Literally any book from Tamora Pierce's Tortall-set fantasies. The 'Song of the Lioness Quartet' is where it all begins. The daughter of the main character has her own duology in "Trickster's Choice" and "Trickster's Queen". The 'Protector of the Small Quartet' is among my favourites as well.

Of them all, the one I reread the most is "The Woman Who Rides Like a Man". It is the third book of the 'Song of the Lioness Quartet'.

* 2 *

On Fortune's Wheel ~ By Cynthia Voigt
Genre: Fantasy

What I like best about this book is the interpretation of Fortune's Wheel. As one falls, the other climbs. Birle is our thoughtful and resourceful protagonist. She is promised to marry a man whom she does not love until one night she finds herself stranded on a boat in the middle of an ocean with a mysterious thief.

Part of a series. All can be read separately. Again, read this one. I'd recommend this one of all of them. Then, if you like the world, maybe "Jackaroo".

* 3 *

The Blue Sword ~ By Robin McKinley
Genre: Fantasy

Oh, hey look. Another fantasy. Featuring a resourceful young woman who is ambitious and willing to learn. This is a second book, however a companion, and can be read before. I'd recommend this one first. I love this one the most.

* 4 *

I Capture the Castle ~ By Dodie Smith
Genre:Classic

A lovely, lovely classic. Cassandra is a wonderful, naive, and insightful narrator for this tale. Her father is a famous author who has not written for a while and their savings from his last masterpiece have run out. Her family lives in near destitution, but they live in a beautiful castle. As Cassandra practices her story-telling and writing, as their lives are upturned in a most delightful manner.

* 5 *

Alice in Wonderland ~ By Lewis Caroll
Genre: Classic

Hilarious. Witty. A fast read that will have the reader giggling at ridiculous puns and absurdity.

Bout of Books 16 ~ Midway Check-Up

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

How goes your Bout of Books?

Mine is good; not great. However! The reason for that is I'm actually getting bits of work here and there and have less time to read. Money, yes!

So far I've managed to finish one book. One that's been glaring at me from my bookshelf for months. It's a Young Adult, which means I've successfully finished one of my goals for this week.

Witch Finder
By Ruth Warburton
Pages: 366

Finished. Review to come.






Illusion
By Paula Volsky
Pages: 674
Current Page: 76

This one I've been reading for a while. It's really good. Really long. Unsure if I'll manage to finish this one.


Newt's Emerald
By Garth Nix
Pages: 291
Current Page: 20

Started this one today. The writing is LOVELY! Garth Nix is a favourite author of mine. Cannot wait for this journey.

Bout of Books 16 ~ May 9-15

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

Bout of Books 16 is looming on the horizon. It takes place from Monday, May 9 to Sunday, May 15.

I'm participating!

It's a low key book-a-thon. Easy challenges that I may or may not do. I'll be pushing my usual reading week by creating my own challenges.

1. Finish a book that, as of today, I'm currently reading.
2. Finish one YA.
3. Read at least 3 books.

~ Happy Reading! ~

TBR Jars

Have I not talked about my TBR Jars?!

Hi Book-Sniffers and Librocubicularists,

Upon writing an entry, meaning to link to a previous blog post, I realized I hadn't actually discussed my revised TBR Jar plan. I even promised an update in my 2016 plans. It being the 5th month of the year, now's as good as time as any.

The idea came to me at the end of last year. My best friend and I went through her TBR jar and she realized many of the books fell into multiple categories. Levels of priority. Some she really wanted to read and others were wishful thinking.

Thus began my restructuring. Three jars.

#1 - The Dragon Jar !

What do I want most in the world? A dragon. Thus, the books that I most want to read. The Dragon Jar.
Filled with my top ten to-be-reads for this year.


#2 - Prince Jar-ming *

You have an idea of who's your Prince Charming. Sometimes he's a surprise. Pun-tastically named, Prince Jar-ming offers books that I would love to read and often take a back-burner to ones from the Dragon Jar.
Yes. I'd rather have a dragon than a prince.
Filled with about twenty novel choices. 


#3 - Hero's Jar-ney ?

The puns. They don't stop. Spawned from a "choose-your-own-adventure" approach and named for a story structure (The Hero's Journey), the hero never knows what he's in for at the beginning of his journey.  These are books that have piqued my interest, but are in least priority. Want a wild ride? Pull from this jar. I've forgotten most of the novels I've put in this one.
Filled with at least sixty choices.

Fear of Rereading

Rereading.

It seems counter productive. We're now in a world where the number of books you read is brag-worthy, the number of books you own defines your "book nerd-ed-ness", and the ever growing pile of new books one wants to read teeters miles high.

Rereading has always been an important part of my reading experience. I have a list of about twenty books I used to reread yearly. Once a year I would read each of these novels - I love them that much. In university, rereading became soothing, a comforting blanket to swath me when I was most mentally drained.

Since graduating, my rereading of old favourites has declined substantially. Favourites have taken a back burner.

The most favourite series, out of all of them, "The Lioness Quartet" I used as my guide through life. Whenever I read it, I gleaned new advice. New ways to approach similar situations. I viewed her struggles through training like mine through university. I imagined, at the end of it, I would become a knight (of sorts) - I still imagine that to be so.

The series ends with her being aged 24 or so. My fear began. Can I relate to the series any longer? Having finished my own training, being 'knighted', and now questing - was there anything left in the book that could guide me?

Similarly, the books from my childhood seem to be fading in relevance. I now fear my inability to relate. Does one outgrow the stories that helped mold them?