September Review

Ugh It's October already?

I mean, not that September went by slowly, I'm disappointed I only read four books, to be fair though I think it was a lot more pages than four books sounds. But I'm also excited it October...well I will be after this week. The first week of October is always a little hectic at the office, our fiscal year has restarted and it's time for reports and renewals, and this year we also get a lovely meeting on a Sunday... So this probably wont be up til the 8th. While I try to type this out on the 4th and feeling like this should have been done on the 28th... Oh well. I also wasn't very active in general in September....I'd blame it on Booktube-a-thon if I could (I am) but I should hopefully be getting more content out this month with Inktober.

Here's the video version of this HERE

So like I said I read four books. Here is the break down:

Format

0- Audio
0- Graphic Novel
4- Hard Cover
0- Soft Cover
0- E-books

Genre:

2- Romance
     1- Contemporary
     1- Magic Realsim
1- Paranormal Middle Grade
1- Young Adult Fantasy

Star Ratings:

0- 1 Star
0- 2 Stars
2- 3 Stars
1- 4 Stars
1- 5 Stars

Leaving September with an average of 3.75

Pages:

I read a total of 1631 pages in September, averaging in 54.37 pages per day

Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge:

Alright a while back I had put Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie down for Challenge 14 but I switched it to Challenge 13 which is a book with a plot centered around a secret and Brisingr by Christopher Paolini took it's place.

14) 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #2 Fire
44) A ghost Story

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

Published September 2008

Holy bejesus, this took forever. Rather, it took me forever. Because this is the third book in the Inheritance Cycle I'm not going to get too into explaining what happens in this book. But this series is about Eragon, a farm hand on his uncle property who finds a dragon egg and out hatches the dragon Saphira. Thus begins their journey on becoming the first new Dragon Riders since the fall of Dragon Riders and the siege of Galbotrix and his tyranny.

I have to say right off, that for a Young Adult this has a lot of politics. Which isn't bad but because every race has their own set of customs and politics and because it is a big part of the story and alliances in this series, it become tedious and a little boring. I particularly have a hard time getting through the portions with Dwarf politics, as they reside in a mountain, and that for some reason is hard for me to imagine, so with no imagery for me to picture plus politics, it doesn't give me much motivation to continue the book. But I pushed through after deciding I couldn't pick up any more books until I finished this one. Aside from the politics, it was an interesting enough book. The powers that Eragon gets due to being a Dragon Rider is interesting, I actually really enjoy the magic system. We get a bit of Saphira's perspective which was interesting but some of her vocabulary bugs me. "Bone-Breaking Ground" "No-eating-horses of the Varden" I get that they could have a whole different language barrier but for some reason this drew me out of the story.

I have yet to rate this book yet, I'm thinking a 3.5. Edit: Going with a 3 since Goodsreads doesn't do halfs.

This book completed challenge 14) 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #2 Fire


City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab

Published August 2018

Cassidy Blake's parents are The Inspecters, a ghost hunting team, but Cass is the one that can really see ghosts, her best friend Jacob can attest to that, because he is a ghost. When a tv show starts to make head way, Cassidy and her parents are at the head of it, that's because it's a tv show about The Inspecters, and their first stop is the haunted city of Edinburgh, Scotland. There Cassidy meets Lara, she can also see ghosts, and says that as a In-betweener it's her and Casssidy's job to send the ghosts on. Cassidy isn't sure about this new mission, but she does know that the Red Raven haunting the city doesn't belong in her world.

So I was excited about this one's concept, as it really reminded me of Danny Phantom. So it wasn't entirely Danny Phantomy, which I'm not dissappointed about, it was ultimately pretty cute and interesting. Cassidy is a Harry Potter fan, and they end up visiting the pub where JK Rowling wrote Harry Potter, so in terms of fandom, this book connected with me. I also enjoyed Cassidy's enjoyment of film photography. I just wanted a little more. We got teasings of everyone character but that was it, I wanted them to be more developed. As it was, it didn't feel too intense or much of a threat or loss rather if anything happened to the characters, because I didn't have much attachment. Also, and this is just knit picky, the cat on the cover made me think that the cat was Jacob, or that the cat would be more important to the story, it's not. So I feel a little let down because the cat wasn't a bigger part of the book.

I'm feeling 3.5 for this too but I'm not a big fan of halfs so I'll round up to 4 Edit: nope 3, the more I thought about it the more I didn't think it deserve a 4.

This book completed challenge 44) A ghost Story

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

Published September 2018

We have all probably been asked this at one point or another: Pick five people, living or dead, that you'd want to have dinner with. Why do we choose the people we do? When Sabrina arrives to dinner for ther Thirtieth birthday, she find's more than just her best friend at the table. Three significant people from her past are also seated, and well, Aubrey Hepburn. As the appetizers are passed, wine glasses filled, the dinner conversation begins, and it becomes quite clear there's a reason why these six people are gathered here.

This was a sweet enough magical realism to keep me invested and entertained while being just bitter enough to make me dislike characters and cry my heart out. I was also on my period and my boyfriend has been gone for a week, so take that as you will. I firstly want to say that I enjoy the typography and the color of this cover, but I highly dislike the clip art that looks like an after thought. The story itself was an interesting concept. I've heard the question before, have even pondered it, but never to the extent of this book. Sabrina was an over all a flushed out enough character, but looking back, I can't recall much about her aside from working for Random House. Her connections with other characters, however, were really dynamic and enjoyable. There was a really good flow of back and forth between all the characters around the dinner table, not everyone just gawking at Audrey. Sabrina's growth almost felt unfair, as it was kind of force. Not due to the writing of the author (I mean yeah, she's the one that wrote it) but it was more dynamic than Sabrina just having to solve things quickly because of lazy writing. No, she was forced just due to the situations she was in. Being in New York, having a low paying job, trying to support the dream of a photographer trying to make it on his own, but wanting to not have to take on so much responsibility for herself, all the while her best friend get's married, and gets a house, is able to get it renovated, is planning for a baby and kind of looking down at Sabrina as not able to grow up. One thing about this is that there was an underlying theme of bad communication. Between Sabrina and he boyfriend and between Sabrina and her friend Jessica. But the plot didn't hinge on that so much, and the way Serle did this was fairly relate-able, to the point of almost hitting too close to home but still being refreshing. That feeling of unknown when you don't want your partner to have any regrets being with you. The burdensome feelings about wanting to go back to a best friend but feeling like you've drifted apart because you're both adults now, and you're unsure if your problem is worth interrupting their life, or if it will just seem juvenile, you overthink it, so you don't say anything at all and just suffer in silence. Yes this is all in the book.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars, because despite how relate-able I found it, I feel like it still could have been done better, but I couldn't specify how. I just felt like it was missing something.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Published April 2011

Beth Fermont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail, everyone in the newsroom knows (it's company policy after all.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously and continue to send endless personal e-mails. Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't quite believe that reading people's e-mails is his job right now. When he applied to be "internet security officer" he pictured building firewalls and crushing hackers. Not writing up reports any time a sports reporter sends a dirty joke. But Beth and Jennifers e-mails are hilarious and keep his long nights entertaining, he knows he should report them, but can't bring himself to do so. He also finds himself falling for Beth but it's way too late for a normal introduction.

This book started out slow for me. I didn't have much hope for it. I kept thinking everyone had a New Jersey accent despite this being based in Nebraska. It also just had this "old" feeling to me, which is odd because I still feel like 2000 wasn't that long ago despite it being 18 years ago. I just wasn't sure about this in the beginning. But the more I read the more I felt dedicated to the book and the more I was thoroughly enjoying myself. I kept thinking a nerdy "You've Got Mail" vibes with all the Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings talk (not that their's much of it) and by the end I was cheering for Lincoln and tearing up while my heart melted for him. I wasn't able to predict the outcome which I always appreciate.

Over all a very cute book. Five out of five stars.

Alright and that was the end of my September Review. If you've read any of these, let's discuss them! Otherwise, until next time!

Litta

Spooky Scary Book Tag

It's getting closer to that fantastic time of year!

Not just for the "appropriate" time to watch Nightmare Before Christmas, but also when the weather is getting a little cooler, I can start wearing layers and not have to worry about it getting too warm mid-day (what's with that? I mean really! It's fricken icy cold in the morning and I dress for that then it gets so warm through out the day!) As well as Halloween!! and Pumpkin baking! I got two pumpkins out of my garden this year which is two more than the last three years combined so I'm pretty happy. I'm thinking pumpkin bread of chocolate chip pumpkin cookies, thoughts?

Alright today I'm doing a tag for you and it's the:

Spooky Scary Book Tag

Created by Shelby over at Shelby Masako

1. What goes bump in the night? Name a book that has legitimately sacred you while reading it.

Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James, creeped me out. There were multiple occasions where I was holding my breath and fearful but the main reason: Being trapped and alone in space. No thank you!

2. Jack-O-Lanterns and Classic Costumes: A book you always reach for during Halloween time.

I'm not a big re-reader, but I do feel the need to re-read Harry Potter between September and December. Otherwise during Halloween I tend to want thriller/horror or fun witchy fantasy.

3. Black Cats and Magic Mirrors: A book you love this is laced with superstition and/or magic.

Coraline by Neal Gaiman. When I first started to try to read the book I was really disappointed, because I had watched the Laika movie first, and it felt weird not to have Wybe, but after some time I gave it another try and found that the book was even creepier than the movie, but still as magical, whole heartedly loved it.

4. Witch's Brew: Favorite witch character in any book/series.

Circe by Madeline Miller. This book was so fun to listen to. I had never heard of Circe before this and I really enjoyed learning her story through Miller. 

5. Ghouls and Ghosts: A book that still haunts you to this day (good or bad).

American War by Omar El Akkad. This one was fairly haunting in that I felt like this very well could happen. Where another civil war comes about due to the oil power and it's eventual use becoming illegal. It was a very heart wrenching novel that my boyfriend and I still talk about.

6. Haunted Graveyard: You're all alone in a haunted gravyard, you get one book to give you comfort, which is it.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. I mean I'm not sure how much comfort it would give me, but I feel like if a read a rather friendly/endearing story about a boy who grew up in a graveyard it'd make me relax a little bit, thinking that for the most part the ghosts keep to themselves.

7. The undead: Favorite supernatural created to read about.

It just depends on book really. I enjoy reading about witches, vampires and ghosts, but I'm not opposed to reading about werewolves and other creatures.

8. In the end of the night:Pick a book with a black cover.

All the above could count for this but I'll pick another that I love and haven't read yet:

Alright and that's the Spooky Scary Book Tag

But books have you read scared/creeped you out?

Until next time!

Litta

August Review

Hm, well this is coming out later than I had intended. I had wanted to wait until the youtube video was out but...Don't know if that's happening. So here's this

Well....if I didn't separate Booktube-a-thon I might have added one or two more books...other wise this was a pretty poor month of reading. I blame one book in particular that you'll see in September's review.

Otherwise I only read 3 books for August, here's the break down.

Format:

1- Audio
2- Graphic Novels
0- Hard Cover
0- Soft Cover

Genre:

1- Contemporary
2- Fantasy

Star Ratings:

0- 1 Star
0- 2 Stars
1- 3 Stars
0- 4 Stars
2- 5 Stars

Leaving August with an average of 4.33

Pages:

I read a total of 612 pages in August, averaging 19.74 pages per day

Around the year in 52 Books Challenge:

As of the end of August (first week of September) we are on week 37 and I have completed 31 challenges. So the gap is getting a little bigger...but again, I'm not too worried about it, or stressing over it, it's just fun.

6) A book originally written in a language other than English
17) A book you epect to make you laugh

Britt-Marie Was Here  by Fredrik Backman

Published May 2016

Britt-Marie can't stand a mess, but an unorganized cutlery drawer is beyond forgiving. But she's not one to judge other, no matter how ill-mannered or unkempt they are. Sometimes people interpret her suggestions as criticisms, but they're not, they're helpful, you have to understand. She leave's her cheating husband and finds herself the small town of Borg, in a job as care taker of a soon to be demolished recreation center she soon gets drawn in to the daily doings of these: miscreants, drunkard, and layabouts only to be given the impossible task of leading a supremely untalented children's soccer team to victory. Hidden inside Britt-Marie, however, if you look past the socially awkward, fussy busybody, is a women who has more imagination, bigger dreams, and a warmer heart than anyone around her realizes. In the small town of misfits, has Britt-Marie found a place where she truly belongs?

So this is a sort of companion to My Grandmother Told Me to Tell You She's Sorry. However, this book fell flat for me. There were cute quirks in it sure, there were certain aspects of Britt-Marie that I found endearing, but other wise I just ultimately found this book very uneventful. I don't know how to explain it other than that. There was some character growth but it felt really mild. 3 out of 5 stars.

This book completed challenge 6) A book originally written in a language other than English

Rat Queens Vol 2:The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth By Kurtis J. Wiebe Arist: Roc Upchurch and Stjepan Sejic

Published May 2015

We follow these four women as they continue there adventure in this second volume that the first volume left off on. Continued wonderful art, continued humor, sass and snark I still continue to love this series. 5 out of 5

This book completed challenge 17) A book you expect to make you laugh

Rat Queens Vol 3: Demons By Kurtis J. Wiebe Artist: Tess Fowler

Published April 2016

We follow the Rat Queens to where it all began for Hannah, Mage University as they try to found out what happened to Hannah's father while battling their own demons.

Vol 3. we get to explore more of the world, which was awesome. We're met with more humor and snark, awesome. Ultimately I continue to love this series, however, upon finishing Vol. 3 I start searching for the next few volumes to add to my cart, only to find that their covers are different. Turns out that the next few volumes veer off as if these last three adventures don't even happen. The story stops here....on a cliff hanger....The reason behind this, so I hear, is that the Upchurch was accused of Domestic Violence, and Wiebe let him go as an artist, and picked up Owen Gieni. I haven't extensively heard about any of these artists, but from the reviews of Volume 4 I'm getting nervous. We'll see how that goes, but in the mean time Volume three was pretty intense and enjoyable. 5 out of 5.

And that is my August Review. If you've read any of these let me know and let's discuss what you thought about them!

Otherwise,

Until next time!

Litta

Top 5 Wednesday: Friend Groups

I was really kind of weary with the topic for this week, because I feel like I haven't read enough books to really be able to properly choose my favorite "friend groups"

But looking around my room I'm pin pointing a few, bare with me however as a lot of these are from graphic novels.

This week for Top 5 Wednesday we talk about our favorite

Friend Groups:

5) Harry Potter

Photo Credit: PopSugar (Artist link not found)

Couldn't go far into this list with out mentioning these three, I have to admit. I enjoy them over all as friends, even so far as the angst between them at times, but definitely draw the line when they started coupling. I felt like they over all really balanced each other out pretty well. Though truth be told, I enjoyed Harry and Hermoine's friendship a little more. I feel like they were beyond that "what if we were a couple" phase and just jumped into an almost sibling type of relationship. You ever have that? where you don't even consider a friend a potential sexual or intimate partner in any way because it never occurred to you? I appreciated that about their relationship and wish that the same had happened between Hermoine and Ron.

4) Howl's Moving Castle

Artist: Madi at MadiDrawsThings

I fell head over heels for this movie, to the point where I couldn't tell you how many times I've watched it and still get all giddy and never tire. The book was about as interesting and helped clear things up that the movie just kind of glances over. Howl, Sophie, Calcipher and Markl are just an awkward and quirky little family that I enjoy watching the antics of.

3) Giant Days

Artist Max Sarin

Giants Days makes me miss college. It also makes me think I didn't try hard enough to make friends in college. This trio is just so humorous and dramatic and I love it.

2) Rat Queens

Artist Roc Upchurch

Speaking of humor, these four have continued to crack me up through three volumes. They all have such depth to their characters and an interesting way of interacting with each other. So much arguing, but full of love, sex and alcohol.

1) Gotham City Sirens

Artist Joe Benitez

I've always enjoyed and had a fascination for Batman, particularly Joker and Harley Quinn. Though now that I'm older and can see the major issues with their relationship I appreciate Harley's friendships with Poison Ivy and Catwoman. The trio have a tendency for mishaps and heartbreak, strong will and humor, seduction and banter, they're my number one friend group for their loyalty despite all odds and heartbreaks.

And that does it for my favorite friend groups. Do you agree with any of these? If you are aware of them, what problems do you see in their dynamic?

Until next time!

Litta

Top 5 Wednesday: Back to School Reading List

I miss going back to school, I'm not going to lie.

And I feel a little left out with college being back in and my mom being an adviser, helping those students who think starting the year off with procrastination was a good idea. The smell of new text books! the rush of getting an overview of what the semester has in store!

ANNNYYYWAAAYYY...

The topic for this week's Top 5 Wednesday is Book List: Create a required reading list for your chosen subject (genre, trope, etc)

So if I was a teacher of Breaking the Mold! A look at diverse protagonists in graphic novels, I might list Moonstruck Vol 1: Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle. However because I can't list five this isn't the topic I actually choose, but thought it'd be a fun example.

If I were to teach a class, my current fancy would be around magic.
so...

Hello Students! Welcome to Constructing Magic: A look into the Magic systems of YA/Middle Grade books

Required reading is as follows (in no particular order):

1) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Magic System: Wishy Washy at best: this series plays loose with some of it's magical "rules" leaving plot holes through out the series. Primarily based on mythology and historical texts of witch craft.

Disclaimer: I can't promise this will be the only one we'll read.

2) Eragon by Chirstopher Paolini

Magic System: A heirarchy of magic through races: Dragon's being the dominant species being able to wield magic to their will. Elves creating the "ancient language", a language able to control magic so long as you speak it correctly, Dwarves dabble in magic but feel that life is in the hands of their Gods. Humans, few study in magic, but being the weakest of the races can only control so much of it. The magic system adheres to strength, pending on the strength of a person pends on the strength of the spell cast. However if ancient language is said incorrectly or there is no subtext, magic can go beyond the caster's control and strength, leading in death.

Disclaimer: And most likely the rest of the Inheritance Cycle as the magic system isn't truly explored until book two: Eldest

3) The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol

Magic System: Magic is treated as though a natural element. Vein's of magic are stronger in wild as opposed to cities. Witches control said magic through writing glyphs in certain elements pertaining to spells, and concentration.

4) An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

Magic System: Seems to restrict Humans from doing magic at all. Magic is used as a source of payment for human crafts. Faye can't craft but can enchant and work spells. Have a knack for collecting "pretty" crafts from humans. Seem to mostly work in illusion to make themselves "prettier" to humans, down to the food they eat but don't need.

5) Wicked Like Wildfire by Lana Popovic

Magic System: Seems rooted in witch covens, but from there branches out to "gifts." This family line are born with a "gift" from baking a treat and getting the consumer to see places as they eat the treat, to singing how people feel to bring out their emotion, and fracturing/blooming objects. This starts off simple and gets more complex as the story goes on, then continues to act as though it's still a "typical" witches coven from history.

I personally thought if I'd ever be a teacher it'd definitely be an art teacher. I even looked the part for a while while I was in college, at least my shoe sock combo did...

Otherwise if you've read these, what did you think of the magic systems? Do you have a book in mind that you really enjoy the magic system of?

Let me know!

Until next time

Litta

Top 5 Wednesday: Sequels I Still Need to Read

I enjoy these free-bee Top 5 Wednesdays. I don't feel so overwhelmed with how many books I haven't read.

For today's free-bee topic I decided to go with sequels I have yet to read.

Barring in mind that: These books have been released, they've been released for a while, I own them, there's really no reason for me to have not to have read them...I just haven't

These wont be in any particular order.

1) One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake

The second book in Blake's Three Dark Crowns series, the third book Two Dark Reigns comes out this September, I just didn't expect so much from this series. I mean it's great, I'm really happy for Blake. However, I feel like I didn't enjoy Three Dark Crowns that much to invest myself into an unknown number of books that follow in this series. Already Blake has three novella's that are sort of "prequels" to Three Dark Crowns, the third sequel being released in September and a fourth book in the making. I had originally loved the idea of this series, and was very conflicted on which sister I wanted to win the throne. But, it turned out to be more petty drama than actually politically or violently dramatic. Does that make sense? It was also just a bit slower than I had anticipated. I still want to pick this up, I just haven't been motivated to do so.

2) Rip Tide by Kat Falls

The sequel to Dark Life, this duo-logy has an interesting enough premise, colonizing the ocean depths in order to survive on an ever overpopulated land, but ultimately after reading the first one, I wondered why there would be a second. So I haven't picked it up out of fear that it's not going to be any good.

3) Thunderhead by Neil Shusterman

The second book in Shusterman's Arc of a Scythe series, I, again, didn't feel a need for a second book, and out of fear of it not being as good as Scythe haven't picked it up. This seems to be an unpopular opinion though, as my boyfriend has stated on multiple occasions that it leads perfectly into a series that he has so far absolutely enjoyed. The hype is also what's stopping me.

4) Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

The second book in the Howl's Moving Castle trilogy, I haven't picked this up just out of confusion. I know Howl's Moving Castle has a movie adaptation that Studio Ghibli made, but so is Castle in the Air but I don't think they actually have anything to do with each other in terms of these movie adaptations (if Castle in the Air was indeed a movie adaption from Diana Wynne Jones). So I was hesitant on picking up this book just out of wondering if it's really a sequel? Or is it more of a companion book with cameos?

5) Our Dark Duet by Victoria Schwab

The second book in the Monsters of Verity duo-logy, I picked this up once and promptly set it back down after the first chapter was following Kate...talk about useless drama. I loved August Flynn, had it started with him I'm sure I'd be done by now.


Not to mention finishing up Brisingr and Inheritance by Christopher Paolini and Winter by Melissa Meyer, they're taking me way to long to frickin finish!

Those are the sequels I still need to finish and really have no excuse not to aside form laziness and a lack of motivation.

What series did you have a hard time finishing?

Let me know

Until next time!

Litta

Booktube-a-thon Wrap-up

Booktube-a-thon is over!

And I didn't get everything done.

Just letting you know that now.

I'm not upset by this by any means. I still read everyday, and didn't feel overwhelmed and actually really enjoyed the week. Which I believe is the point.

So I'll treat this like an end of the month review and give some stats, and as I get into books I'll talk about the book challenges and at the end some of the video/instagram challenges. Good? Good!

So over all I was able to read 4 books for this read-a-thon

Format:

0 - Audio 
2 - Graphic Novels
2 - Hard Cover
0 - Soft Cover
0 - E-books

Genre:

1 - Fanatasy
1 - Fantasy/Dystopian
1 - Screenplay
1 - Middle Grade Fantasy

Star Ratings:

0 - 1 Star
0 - 2 Stars
2 - 3 Stars
0 - 4 Stars
2 - 5 Stars

Giving the week and average rating of  4.

Pages:

I read a total of 924 pages. Giving a daily page average of  132.

52 Books Around the Year Challenges

2) A book from the 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards

Books and Challenges

Challenge One: Let a coin toss determine your first read.

So if you remember from my Booktubeathon TBR  this was The Mistress of All Evil. However when i started reading it, I was lost. Turns out it was the fourth book in a series. So I did the coin toss again and got:

Rat Queens Vol 1: Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe, illustratated by Roc Upchurch

Published March 2014

This comic book series follows 4 women who are "maiden's-for-hire" as in will kill for profit, and is described as Buffy meets Tank Girl in a Lord of the Rings setting on crack.

In this first volume, our four main characters get into a bit of trouble after having one too many drunken brawls. As punishment the mayor of their town sends them and those they were brawling with (several other for-hire groups) on minor errands to help the town. However, these annoying yet simple tasks or more than they seem when all groups are meet assassins trying to kill them.

For some reason I hesitated buying this comic book. I think I was worried that the art style wouldn't suit me. That the lack of character detail on the cover and the extreme detail of the monster would be a constant through out, and that was by no means the case. I loved this book and whole heartedly agree with the description of this series. It has this element of listening to a DnD play where all involved are strong willed drunk women. Everything from the art to the plot to the language I was game for and immediately bought the next two volumes. Five out of Five stars.

Challenge Two: Read a book about something you want to do.

Originally I had A Thousand Paper Birds, but I just could get into the book (you see why I don't do TBR's monthly right?) so instead I picked up:

The Apprentice Witch by James Nicol

Published July 2017

Arianwyn was unable to pass her Witch's assessment. After years of being her grandmother's apprentice (an apparent "old school" way of going about things) Wyn was ready to get her assignment and help the Kingdom like her mom, her dad, and her grandmother have. However when her title still remains "Apprentice Witch" after her assesment, Wyn feels as though she's doomed. Placed in the small town of Lull, Wyn feels dejected and disgraced much to the glee of her arch-rivel Gimma. Lull is not as boring as it seems, however. Strange things are being sighted in the Great Wood, hexes are creeping into town, and magical visitors are giving Wyn a helping hand. When Wyn feels as though she's getting the hang of her magic, a darkness continues to loom in her spells, and there may be much more at stake than her pride.

This book was pretty cute. I would love to be an apprentice witch like this. This book gave me Practical Magic meets Howl's Moving Castle vibes. The magic system was interesting and made me reflect on other fantasies that I've read. However, I did find somethings a little irritating. I didn't contect with Wyn. Her name is not only odd but she didn't have much for me to connect with. There wasn't much personallity there, and from what there was it came from her troubles and her self doubt. I have issues with the plot of a book hinging on the lack of communication, and that's all this book relied on. I also found it lack luster and lazy how the magical rabbit was named, after everyone else in the book had a name that took me several times to figure out how to pronounce. There were also questions that were never answered, which in some cases I understood but in other thought they'd be leading somewhere and never did. Otherwise I loved the idea of this book. Three out five stars.

Challenge Three: Read then watch the book to movie adaptation.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling

Published November 2016

If you've seen the movie you've pretty much read this book. So why would I bother reading it? Because I figured it would help explain some of the questions I had in the movie, and it did. There were emotions the actors were supposed to be feeling or reasons they were doing something in a scene that didn't translate, and this book spelled it out for me. I loved reading some of the minor details that didn't get translated into the movie, that just helped me enjoy the movie over all. 5 out of 5 stars.

Challenge Four: Read a book with green on the cover

Rat Queens or The Apprentice Witch could count for this.

Challenge Five: Read a book while wearing a hat the whole time you're reading said book

Did not complete this. Had an idea for this and just ran out of time.

Challenge Six: Read a book with a beautiful spine

The Apprentice Witch counts for this. This book has a gorgeous cover that wraps onto the spine.

Challenge Seven: Read seven books

Nope.

So I read four and only talked about three so lets talk about that last one.

The Girl from the Other Side by Nagabe, translated by Adrienne Beck, Lettered by Lys Blakeslee

Published January 2017

In this book there are two Kingdoms, The Dark, known as "The Outside" where twisted creatures roam, and with a touch "curse", and The Light, known as "The Inside" where people are protected and safe. The girl and the Beast should never have met, and when they do a fairytale blooms.

This was interesting enough, but aside from that I don't have much to say about it. The art contrast between the girl and the creature is nice, the background is entertaining, however the manga as a whole is a bit slow moving, we kind of go about this day by day and it kind of drags by. I do intend on picking up the next volume but I'm in no rush to do so.

So that was my Booktubeathon wrap up, I did complete more challenges but I'm going to hold that information back from here and say that if you want to know more information about that you'll have to watch my Vlogs and/or my Wrap-up.

Otherwise

until next time,

Litta

July Review

Holy cow...July went by quick.

I read 4 books this month that I'm putting into this review, I did finish two more, but those will be put into my Booktube-a-thon wrap up next week. Read-a-thon's that start at the end of the month and end at the beginning of the next month throw me off...Because I technically did read 6 books this month.

If you'd rather watch this than read it here's the VIDEO

Any way here are the stats for this month:

Format:

1 -Graphic Novel
1- Audio Book
1 - Soft Cover
1- Hard Cover
0 - Books

Genre:

1- Conteporary
1- Non-fiction Autobiography
1- Horror/Thriller
1 - Historical Fiction

Star Ratings:

0 - 1 Star
0 - 2 Stars
1 - 3 Stars
2 - 4 Stars
1 - 5 Stars

With an average rating of 4

Pages

112
370
256
288

With an average of 33.1 pages per day

Around the Year in 52 Books

8) Read an "own" voices book
48) A book related to one of the 7 deadly sins
47) A book where the main character (or author) is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexuality than you

Giants Days Vol. 5 by John Allison

Published June 2017

So I wont talk about this much as it is volume 5 in a series. I continue to enjoy the friend growth, the character growth, we also get more of Ed and McGraw which is turning out to be rather endearing and funny. We get a bit of a peak at their summer vacation which was as entertaining as it was funny. 5 out of 5 stars.

This is Me: Loving the Person You Are Today by Chrissy Metz

Published March 2018

Have you seen This Is Us? If you haven't it's a TV drama on NBC about three siblings going through their lives, the struggles they had growing up, how it effects them today. Chrissy Metz plays the sister of two brothers, one of which is her "twin" but they were all born on the same day. It's a very heartbreaking and heartwarming show that usually leaves me in tears by the end of every episode. I, however, fall out of shows after a bit and have missed a couple episodes. However, this show captivated me not just because of it's drama and life lessons, but because of Chrissy. I'm not sure how I feel about Chrissy character Kate Pearson, as I wasn't able to relate to her. But I was surprised that Chrissy, as a person, fit into this character as herself, no fat suit, and she wasn't the comedy relief or the butt of a joke. Kate has her own issues that she tries to deal with, one of the main ones is her weight, but it becomes so much more than that as the show goes on. I was intrigued with this biography Chrissy published because I was curious about the woman behind the character. I don't think I knew really what I was expecting. I didn't read the synopsis before listening to this on Audible. I enjoyed the sample and bought it. The book over all, was a quick read, and really enjoyable. I didn't expect the life lessons Chrissy incorporates, some of which were really thought provoking, others I felt were too self-help bookish (which is one of the genre's this falls under if I had read the synopsis). I was surprised with some of the experiences that I connected with Chrissy on. Laughed at the embarrassment as she told her stories, and kept wondering how she was the beautiful positive person she was despite her childhood. Not to say that I feel like I "really know her" now that I've read this or anything, it was just honest. And I appreciated that. 4 out of 5 stars.

This book completed challenge 8) Read an "own" voices book.

Horns by Joe Hill

Published March 2010

Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk, doing terrible things. When he wakes up the next morning he can't quite remember what it was he did, or drank, but does know he has a nasty hang over and horns growing out of his head. On the year anniversary of Merrin William's death, the love of Ig's life, Iggy is trying to figure out his life. The whole town of Gideon believes Iggy is the one who raped and murdered her, though he was never charged, he was never cleared either, believed to be the work of his privelaged and known family name to get him out of trouble and try to sweep it all under the rug. When Iggy goes around town trying to clear his head, people are starting to tell him some strange things, sins that are on their mind, they don't seem to mind his horns. But because of Gideon's opinion of him, Ig feels as though everyone has abandoned him, including God.

I didn't have high hopes going into this book, I don't know if it was because the opinion I keep hearing is "it's Stephen King's son so you know it's going to suck." But it all honesty, I preferred this over the movie. The movie left me going "what the fuck?" by the end while the book was so much smoother and more in depth with it's characters and it's surroundings. The movie did not do it any justice. Don't get me wrong, I had enjoyed the movie too, to a certain degree but this was better. I appreciated the different outlooks of the Devil. I knew what was going to happen, but not how, and the climatic scene where Ig confronts Merrin's murderer was a bit gruesome and better than how it ended up in the movie. And the background of the murderer was definitely chilling and helpful for the story. 4 out of 5 stars

This book completed challenge 48) A book related to one of the 7 deadly sins.

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Published January 2018

Lale Sokolov is a charmer, a well dressed ladies man, who also happens to be a Jew. 1942 Lale is one of the first to transport from Slovakia to Auschwitz, he's supposed to work for the Germans. Better him than his brother, is how he figures it. His brother has a wife and kids. Lale stands out from his fellow prisoners. In the camp he's looked up to, looked out for. He manages to get the priveleged position of the Tatowierer, the tattooist, to mark his fellow prisoners forever. One of the prisoners he marks leaves a lasting impression with a glance, Gita, Lale finds he has a new purpose in life. Through the struggles and suffering Lale is determined to use his position for good.

This is going to sound terrible, but I felt that this book was a bit too casual. I didn't feel as much emotion as I had originally thought I was going to when beginning this book. Ultimately the story felt like it was being told to me fairly distantly, I couldn't relate because I didn't find much emotion to share with Lale. The story was told very matter of fact but felt like there were details being with held on my behalf. This is going to sound even worse, but I'm unsure if it was because the story made it seem as though death was such a normal thing that when someone went missing or died, it wasn't heart breaking. Which, I feel, is an interesting thing, the normalization of death in this book is interesting.I want to look at this from a reader prespective, and that's what I've been doing, so when someone died or went missing, in any other story I'd wonder why I should care, how was this person relevant to the story? But asking that of a book based on a true story makes me feel terrible, because they were real lives that perished in this way, and here I am wondering why they mattered?  But I didn't feel any really danger or fear towards Lale which was frustrating to me because he's in a concentration camp. There were aspects that made me think he should be more cautious, safer, not risk Gita's life or his own for that matter, bu ultimately I didn't worried about his life. He positive outlook was endearing, and there were a couple moments that I felt he wouldn't get it back due to the things he witnessed. Still a very interesting story, don't get me wrong. I loved the multiple perspective point of views from Lale and Gita to know see the difference in how women and men were treated, and how certain women were singled out to be SS toys. 4 out of 5 stars.

This book completes challenge 47) A book where the main character(or author) is of a different ethnic origin, religion, or sexual identity that your own.

And that's it for my July review.

If you've read any of these I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time!

Litta

Booktube-a-thon TBR

It's here again!!!

So I had tried doing video's on Youtube for this read-a-thon in particular. This read-a-thon is one of the things that really inspired me to want to read. It's so fun. Intimidating and stressful but fun.

This read-a-thon was created by Ariel Bissett

You can watch her video Here

This read-o-thon goes from July 30th to August 5th.

So with this read-a-thon (like with most) there are reading challenges to help build the TBR that we don't have to follow, but if we do and complete there's a digital certificate of completion....and I want it.

I did already create a video of my TBR Here....so check that out.

So let's get to the challenges and what I chose for my TBR

1) Let a coin toss determine your first read

So I interpreted this as the coin picking one of two books and whatever book the coin didn't choose I wouldn't be reading. (I've seen a couple video's of people choosing two books from their TBR and letting the coin choose which one they read first...)

So this is where my TBR video comes in handy so go ahead and watch that...I'll wait.

Mistress of All Evil by Serena Valentino

2) Read a book about something you want to do

A Thousand Paper Birds by Tor Udall

Honestly, I have no idea what this book is about, I just love the cover art and have always wanted to create a large art piece of layered paper cutouts.

3) Read and Watch a book to movie adaptation

So I know in my video I said I was just going to watch Maleficent for Mistress of All Evil but then this came in the mail:

Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them: The Original Screen Play by J.K. Rowling

So I'm going to read this instead, also because we just watch Maleficent last night, and yeah I could fudge the truth a bit and count it but....I want to watch Fantastic Beasts....so....

4) Read a book with green on the cover

I'm going to count A Thousand Paper Birds or Mistress of All Evil for this

5) Read a book while wearing the same hat the whole time

....I'll let you know what hat/accessory I pick in my wrap up

6) Read a book with a beautiful spine

Fantastic Beasts or A Thousand Paper Birds will work for this one.

7) Read 7 books

So I have three, The next four are going to be a mix of Manga and Graphic Novels:

The Girl From the Other Side Vol 1 by Nagabe, translated by Adrienne Beck, and lettered by Lys Blakeslee

Kamichama Karin by Koge-Donbo

Snow White: A Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan

Now in the video I said that I wanted to re-read:

Gotham City Sirens: Vol 1 by Paul Dini

Which I still might because it's been a while and I'd like to continue on with the series. However I may end up reading:

Rat Queens Vol 1: Sass & Sorcery by Kurtis J. Wiebe and illustrated by Roc Upchurch

I'll most likely read both, but we'll see.

For anyone who get's all "uppity" with Graphic Novels saying "that's not really a book" uhm, shut your face please. The RULES of Booktube-a-thon is any length, format, etc... So this is a bind up of words that happen to contain a lot of art sooooooo

And that's my Booktube-a-thon TBR!

If you are participating let me know!

Until next time!

Litta

Top 5 Wednesday: Books Removed from My TBR

My TBR. If you don't know what that is, it stands for "To Be Read." I have two TBR's. There's my physical pile (literally) of books that I pick and choose which I want to read next (Approximately 100 in total), I would, eventually like to get to all of them. And there is my digital TBR, which is essentially my Goodreads Want to Read Bookshelf that contains about 550 books. I say about because there are occasionally duplicates.

Now with both of these I will go in about once a month and comb through physically and digitally books that I no longer find interesting and either sell them back or delete them. We're going to talk about some of those book today for the Top 5 Wednesday theme.

Books Removed from My TBR

These wont be in any particular order.

1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

I go back and forth on this one. It had peaked my interest when I had seen the play in Ashland, OR years ago, then the movie recently came out, then I learned there are like four books in the series. The play was hard to wrap my head around, I heard the books are just as odd which makes me think I wont understand it. But maybe the play would help me visualize the complicated parts? I haven't seen the movie, not sure if I want to.....Very unsure, so this book often gets added then taken off quite often.

2. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

This was one of my first Book of the Month books, and I got it originally because I had heard it was a Beauty and the Beast re-telling and it sounded more entertaining than the other books available. However I have been hesitant to pick it up because I've learned more about it. That this book has a taboo relationship between a young girl (like 8?) and an older man (25?) which sceeves me out, as well as the male character is problematic in representation of Native Americans. But this book is supposedly beautifully written....I still own it, but it's hidden on the bottom of my pile.

3. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

I heard tell that this one was what people had expected and wanted out of The Enchantment of Ravens. And that enticed me to want to pick this up. That and the hype. But the more people kept talking about it the more I was getting wary of it. I had a fear of it becoming over hyped and me just hating it. And with the sequel coming out in January but it's ARC's (Advanced Reader Copies) getting distributed now, it's stirring things up again. I may add this in the future, when the series is done and the hype has died down, but for now, I'm keeping this book at a distance.

4. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

I had this on my TBR for the longest time, but I kept making excuses not to get it. I don't think I ever really knew what it was about. For some reason if I was going to get this book it was going to be hard cover (my favorite) and not the movie cover and just couldn't find it anywhere. Pretty sure it's just because I liked the though of the whole series together in hard back. But honestly, at this point, I don't care and just took it off.

5. Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

I enjoyed the cover of this for a minute. But after a while I think I just kind of got tired of YA romance. I still kind of feel that way, but I'm hoping, beyond hope that I could get back into it and find a book that is written well. That's all I think it is, is that I haven't been able to read a YA romance that was written well enough for me to overlook the tropes and cliches. I have not read this one. Just took it of my TBR because I was tired of finding YA romance in my TBR.


And those are the five books that I could think of off the top of my head, there have definitely been more. Let me know what books you decided you just weren't into any more or just couldn't get into. It'll be interesting to see. And be sure to check out others' blogs/channels to see if they had similar disinterests as you (I definitely found it interesting)

Until next time!

Litta