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Friday, September 30, 2016

R&R Review Friday: Until Then by Krista Noorman



Cornerstone #2

Goodreads Blurb:
"Growing up with a distant mother and absentee father, Michelle's childhood has been far from idyllic. Her only attention comes from her partying friends and the guys who are more than happy to give her the affection she longs for. But when one party goes wrong, Michelle's family hatches a plan to get her out of Chicago and away from her so-called friends.

College plans are low on Michelle's priority list, especially with no money to pay for it, until her grandparents offer to foot the bill for her entire tuition. There's just one catch. Michelle must choose between three schools - all hours away from Chicago and all Christian colleges.

Michelle's reluctant choice leads her to an unfamiliar place, where she's faced with new relationships and unexpected decisions that could change her life and her heart forever.

PG-13 for sensuality"


Thursday, September 29, 2016

Bookish Discussions: Banned Books


I think it's time for another bookish discussion!  If you haven't heard, the bookish community has been celebrating Banned Books Week which, this year, runs from September 25th to October 1st.

Now, what is banned books week, you ask?  Well, it's a week spent celebrating those books that are restricted for whatever reasons in schools, etc.  It could be for unapproved sexual content, differing political ideas, or topics that are deemed 'inappropriate' for societal consumption.  In the interest of free speech, we celebrate banned books week to recognize the existence of these topics and to find other books with different opinions than our own to read and expand our horizons.

I did a little research and there are so many books that have been challenged that I wasn't aware of and was a little confused by.  For example, Paper Towns by John Green was on the ALA's (American Library Association) list of Challenged YA Books.


Now, this made no sense to me.  Paper Towns doesn't have drugs or alcohol or anything of the sort in it.  It's about a kid who goes to find his love interest after she disappears and 'runs away' from her family.  Perhaps that's why it's been challenged in schools: for showcasing a child running away and being totally nonchalant about 'abandoning' her family.  To have a book be banned from a school because of that, however, seems ridiculous.  Others, I could understand.  Like 1984 by George Orwell.




This book contains content that questions the validity of the government, sexual topics that may not be accepted everywhere, and ideas about mind control.  While I don't approve of it being banned, I can understand it.

I went through the list on the ALA's website for Challenged YA Books and I found that I had read 22 out of their well over 100 listed titles.  I definitely have some reading to do!  These are the books I've read so far from that list:


If you'd like to see the whole list, click HERE.

The next question is, why would you go out of your way to read banned books?  My answer?  They've obviously been banned for a reason, right?  So what don't certain people who banned them want you to know?  Diversifying your experiences is always good and helps you build a more complex and realistic view of the world and of the minds of humanity in general.  Someone in the world wrote that book so they must have imagined it happening (or it did happen) somehow which makes it something you should be aware of as a member of the human race and a resident of planet Earth.

Have you been reading any books for banned books week?  Have you read many banned books?

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Meme Launch: 50/50 Friday


So guess what?  Carrie @ The Butterfly Reads and I are ready to launch 50/50 Friday!  Carrie originally had the idea and was asking for people to help with the idea.  I've always wanted to make a meme but I've never really had the time to do it myself so this was such a perfect opportunity.  Carrie and I have been working on it for the past couple of weeks, ironing out everything and such, and now it's finally ready!

It'll be a weekly meme every Friday, starting October 7th (the first Friday in October)!

The first topic will be:
Overrated/Underrated Book

So basically, you make a post discussing a book you think is overrated and a book you think is underrated!  Every week will be a different topic with the same slash symbol to show the 50/50 part (think opposites).

There's a new tab at the top of my blog that has all of the topics that we've decided on so far so if you'd like to build up some posts, go for it!  We'll also have a linky (think TTT or Stacking the Shelves) so everyone can see everyone else's posts and book picks!

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Review Tuesday: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas


Throne of Glass #4

Goodreads Blurb:
"The queen has returned.

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she’s at last returned to the empire—for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past…

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die for her. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen’s triumphant return.

The fourth volume in the New York Times bestselling series continues Celaena’s epic journey and builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world."

Friday, September 23, 2016

R&R Review Friday: The Diary of V. Frankenstein by Steven J. Guscott


Stand-alone

Goodreads Blurb:
"The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children.

Dr Victor Frankenstein thought he had seen the last of his monsters when they promised to stay away from humanity, but in the twilight years of his life his hopes are shattered.
Years after their departure, news of a horrific and seemingly inhuman massacre reaches him and he fears it is his ‘children’ who are responsible. With his natural son Vincent by his side, he vows to discover the truth and if necessary, to destroy his monstrous creations once and for all.
When Vincent becomes separated from his father, he meets Mary, an idealistic and free-thinking peasant, and John Idaho Thatcher, an enigmatic explorer-cum-cowboy with a strange cogged and wired waistcoat and steed like no other. Together, they must battle not only Frankenstein’s monsters who look to wage war on the living with their warped perceptions of humanity, but also their own fears and personal demons."

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Updates


I say, it's time for another update?  What say you?

So it's been about 3 months since I've returned and I've successfully completed 30 Days of Books!  I'm so glad I decided to finish it because there were so many awesome prompts that I wanted to answer!

1.  Next on the non-review posts!
Next up on the list is finishing the Fantasy Favorites (I didn't do two posts for that).  You may remember Fantasy Favorites was hosted by Olivia, Aly, and Igne and focused on you reading as much fantasy as possible and participating in the prompts!  Here's my introductory post.

2.  Reviews on deck.
I also have lots of reviews to publish (that I haven't written yet, but don't worry, it'll happen!).  Some of them include:




I currently have 39 books waiting for a review so hopefully I'll get rid of that pile by the end of the year!  I'll probably end up doing a mini review round up for a couple of them as I really don't have that much to say.

One more thing!

3.  You can read more of my writing!
I've started to post my writing from last year's NaNoWriMo!  Though I didn't finish, I plan to finish it during this year's NaNoWriMo.  You can find chapters every Thursday on Goodreads and Niume.


That's all for now!  I hope you're all having a wonderful September!

Wednesday, September 21, 2016

WWW (12)

WWW Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Should Be Reading!  All you have to do is answer three questions:

1.  What are you currently reading?

2.  What did you recently finish reading?
3.  What do you think you'll read next?

I haven't done a WWW in a while so I thought I'd update you all on what I'm reading!

Currently Reading:

Goodreads Blurb:
"It's a hot, lazy day, perfect for a cookout, until you see those strange dark clouds. Suddenly a violent storm sweeps across the lake and ends as abruptly and unexpectedly as it had begun. Then comes the mist...creeping slowly, inexorably into town, where it settles and waits, trapping you in the supermarket with dozens of others, cut off from your families and the world. The mist is alive, seething with unearthly sounds and movements. What unleashed this terror? Was it the Arrowhead Project---the top secret government operation that everyone has noticed but no one quite understands? And what happens when the provisions have run out and you're forced to make your escape, edging blindly through the dim light?"

Why I'm reading:
I'm going to be doing a comparison of this book vs. the movie for October because who doesn't like spooky things in October?  The movie was also pretty weird so I'm curious about the book.  I'm only like a page in but hopefully I'll be able to finish it within the week.


Carlos Mann Trilogy #3

Goodreads Blurb:
"Logic Professor Carlos Mann sets out to murder Tiger Joy in her prison cell. Unfortunately, the gorgeous queen of human traffickers captures him and ships him off to the Yucatan, where the evil witch, La Bruja, uses all her powers to try to weaken and destroy him. Meanwhile, Alicia calls on friends both living and dead to help save her husband, and in the process she learns many terrible secrets that were born in the days of the great Mayan Empire … secrets that could save or even destroy Carlos and Alicia."

Why I'm reading:
This is my current R&R book!  I'm slowly whittling down the pile (as you could probably tell by the influx of R&R book reviews).  This is the third book of the series.  I'm currently halfway through!


Goodreads Blurb:
"Love at first sighting.

Life is a headache for 15-year-old Dan. This isn’t some kind of metaphor. Dan suffers from migraines that make just about everything he does unbearable. Added to that he’s lost almost everyone he cares about. So he feels lonelier than the last puppy in a pet shop.

But one day he sees a mysterious girl digging in the rubbish bins behind his house. Just by being near her, he finds that all his pain goes away. So he wants to see her again, of course. And get to know her. But she’s a bit strange. And her big eyes make her look, well, like an alien.

Does she really exist? Or is she just a figment of an overactive, under-loved imagination?
Close encounters of the romantic kind.

From Northern England to outer space, and from Dan’s bedroom to the sandwich shop over the road, ALIEN LOVE STORY is about a close encounter of the romantic variety. But there’s more to it than that.

This book is about discovering parts of yourself you never knew existed. It’s about coping with grief and somehow moving on. And it’s about how Dan breaks into a mad scientist’s lab to perform a daring rescue – but that bit comes much later.

For now it’s enough to know there will be excitement, adventure and kissing. Lots of kissing. We did say it was a love story, didn’t we? So fasten your safety belt, put on some background music and enjoy the book."

Why I'm reading:
This is a buddy read right now!  I acquired this book through a giveaway and am about halfway through right now.


Goodreads Blurb:
"Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time."

Why I'm reading:
I saw the trailer for the movie and I can't resist anything with Sam Claflin in it so I thought I'd read the book before I watch the movie!  I'm currently about a quarter of the way through.


Recently Finished:

Goodreads Blurb:
"Acclaimed historian Margaret MacMillan explores here the many ways in which history affects us all. She shows how a deeper engagement with history, both as individuals and in the sphere of public debate, can help us understand ourselves and the world better. But she also warns that history can be misused and lead to misunderstanding. History is used to justify religious movements and political campaigns alike. Dictators may suppress history because it undermines their ideas, agendas, or claims to absolute authority. Nationalists may tell false, one-sided, or misleading stories about the past. Political leaders might mobilize their people by telling lies. It is imperative that we have an understanding of the past and avoid these and other common traps in thinking to which many fall prey. This brilliantly reasoned work, alive with incident and figures both great and infamous, will compel us to examine history anew—and skillfully illuminates why it is important to treat the past with care."

What I thought:
I read this for school and I did like it for academics but it is pretty hard to get through if you're not explicitly interested in the subjects presented (the history in fiction and fiction in history).  I'll have a review up soon!


What I'm Reading Next:


Goodreads Blurb:
"Who knew the zombie apocalypse would be caused by something we all know is deadly...but that is also all around us? Two stories intersect as the world delves into chaos - Earl, a drugged out heroin addict constantly in search of his next fix, and a family struggling with the dramas of everyday life, get no reprieve during this zombie outbreak. Can any of them survive the deadliest game of all - survival against undead, each other, and the world around them?"

Why I'm reading:
This is the next R&R book up!  It's also perfect for the start of the spooky season as it's all about the apocalypse and zombies.


What are you reading?

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