Month: November 2014

Review: Ennara and the Fallen Druid

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Ennara

  • Author: Angela Myron
  • Publisher: Patchwork Press
  • ISBN: 9781927940082
  • Genre: Fantasy, Children’s

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Ennara was born with a caul and is considered to be good luck for sea voyages.  Because of this, she is at risk of being kidnapped and so hides the tattoo on her arm that marks her as a caul child.  She has also never been outside her village, Hogin, until the wizard Tork takes her on a mission to retrieve a special enchanted item so he can destroy the shadespawn, demon like creatures that hate light.

This is truly a Children’s Fantasy book.  It isn’t meant for all ages, but parents/adults will enjoy reading it to kids who haven’t learned to read yet, and while I won’t be reading the next book in the series, I’m sure most children will want to.  They’ll love the variety of characters and the fast paced excitement of Ennara’s, and her friends’, adventures.  The story reads a bit like a children’s version of a D&D game.  Ennara and her best friend Kithe stock up on supplies such as healing potions, they find armor, weapons, and other equipment along the way, and there’s even a fire elemental (My wide-eyed response: “Oh, no!  That can’t be good!”).  What keeps this from being an all-ages book are some of the events happening a little too conveniently, and the “boss fight” of the story, when they go against the Fallen Druid, is wrapped up too easily.  Also, there is a lesson of team work that reads a little too much like an 80’s after school special.

All in all, this is a 4 star book.  I greatly enjoyed most of it, and I would buy it for children ages 4-10.  It’s especially a good choice if you’re trying to encourage a child to read more, or if you’re tired of reading the same old stories every night at bedtime.

You Only Spent How Much?! #1

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Since so many other bloggers share their book hauls, I decided to join in, but with a slight difference.  I’ve never seen anyone share how much they spent on their books, which is something I’d love to know.  I’m a poor college student.  As much as I’d love to spend oodles of money on books as if it grew on trees, I can’t.  So, most of my books are free e-books I’ve come across, library books, and ARCs.  However, when I do have a little extra cash, and I have a coupon, or know of a sale, I take my wish list and my tote bag to the book store (usually Half Price Books), and I get my book shopping on.  I’m always surprised at how many amazing books I find for very little money.  I always leave with my tote bag at least half full.  On this trip, I only had a coupon for 40% off my highest priced item, but I still left the store with 4 books.  My total cost is below.

 Book Haul 1

  • Prince Lestat by Anne Rice
  • Eight Women Philosophers: Theory, Politics, and Feminism by Jane Duran
  • This Book is Overdue!  How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save us All by Marilyn Johnson
  • The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler

Total Cost: $29.49

Do you have any book hauls that you’re proud of because of how little money you spent?

Review: Tears of a Heart

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Tears

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kirin D’Velt, son of the Kovor (the village’s leader), goes through his coming of age tests, but as he’s returning from his final test, he finds a horrible scene of devastation and death.  The rest of the story involves his true coming of age as his experiences mold him into a man.

Aaaaand that’s pretty much it.  Oh, and there’s plenty of tropes, sexism, and the objectification of the very few women who show up along the way.  After the halfway point, the plot becomes ridiculously predictable, and Kirin (who takes on the name Aeden) turns into the generic male Fantasy character.  Sometimes the descriptions feel a bit repetitive, and lines that seem wise end up coming off as moralizing or, at the very least, trying too hard.  The story often feels like a rip off of real world history.  Most of Aeden’s time is spent at a monastery of a religion that is a copy of Medieval Christianity, and one of the monks, whose personality and statements are stereotypically Arab, is from a place that resembles South West Asia.  Towards the end of the story, they end up in this monk’s homeland, where it is obvious that the people hate the monks and their religion.  To top it all off, we don’t even find out the rest of Aeden’s story.  I don’t know if we’re not supposed to know, or if the author intends to write a sequel, but either way, the non-ending made me even more angry than I already was.  If there will be a sequel, I won’t be buying it.

I really thought this was going to be a great Fantasy story.  I wanted to like it.  I kept my eye out for anything good about it that I could write in this review so that it wouldn’t seem all bad.  Even with all the things I’ve mentioned, this isn’t the worst book I’ve read this year.  I tolerated it enough to finish it, but I definitely didn’t enjoy it.  The only people I can recommend Tears of a Heart to are those who absolutely love Fantasy and/or coming of age tales no matter how contrived or poorly written, or perhaps die-hard fans of Terry Goodkind who thought Stone of Tears was a great book.  Both titles include the word “tears”, and both are on my list of books that made me decide to not continue reading an author’s books.

Thursday’s Quotables #7: A Series of Unfortunate Events

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2014-11-13 13.02.42

I’ve been coming across quite a few articles and things about Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” (17 Legitimate Lessons We All Learned…, What A Bad Beginning: Netflix And Lemony Snicket To Re-Adapt…, and Which A Series of Unfortunate Events Character…, just to name a few).  I LOVE these books.  They are my automatic go-to when I’ve had a yucky day, when I’m in the foulest of moods, and when I’m sick enough that my brain can’t handle anything above children’s fiction.  I also love reading them in November.  Unfortunately, I have too many other books that I’m trying to finish this month (which is almost halfway over already!), so I’m not going to start another, no matter how great or how quickly I can finish it.  However, sharing my favorite quotes from the books might be enough to satisfy me until I have an afternoon to pull one of them off the shelf.  There are far too many quotes to share all of them.  So, I’m only sharing quotes from books 1 through 6.  At some point in the future, I’ll share my favorite quotes from the rest of the series.

“If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats” – The Wide Window

I’m not allergic to cats. I love cats.  I wish I could afford to have a cat.  I’m also not allergic to anything else that I know of (except for the standard allergies that everyone has after living in Texas for awhile).  However, I love this quote because it humorously and intelligently states the obvious and doesn’t include “you idiot” or “duh”.  There’s no eye roll or condescension.  That’s one of the reasons I love these books so much.  The frequent stupidity of adults is pointed out without once ever making adults out to be inferior.  They’re human like everyone else, and they have faults and other things that trip them up or keep them from seeing the truth or paying attention to the important things.  The lesson to take away is not to avoid becoming an adult or that all adults are bad, but to avoid developing those ways of thinking that make you blind to reality. With one exception, the following quotes are similar to the first one in that they are statements of common sense, which isn’t so common after all.

“Being afraid of a monster under the bed is perfectly rational, because there may in fact be a monster under your bed at any time, ready to eat you all up, but a fear of realtors is an irrational fear.” – The Wide Window

“Morning is one of the best times for thinking. When one has just woken up, but hasn’t yet gotten out of bed, it is a perfect time to look up at the ceiling, consider one’s life, and wonder what the future will hold.” – The Ersatz Elevator

“There are many, many types of books in the world, which makes good sense, because there are many, many types of people, and everybody wants to read something different.” – The Bad Beginning

“Just because something is typed-whether it is typed on a business card or typed in a newspaper or book-this does not mean that it is true.” – The Wide Window

“The expression “following suit” is a curious one, because it has nothing to do with walking behind a matching set of clothing. If you follow suit, it means you do the same thing somebody else has just done. If all of your friends decided to jump off a bridge into the icy waters of an ocean or river, for instance, and you jumped in right after them, you would be following suit. You can see why following suit can be a dangerous thing to do, because you could end up drowning simply because somebody else thought of it first.” – The Austere Academy

“As anyone who’s ever been to a doctor knows, doctors are not necessarily your friends, any more than mail deliverers are your friends, or butchers are your friends, or refrigerator repair-people are your friends. A doctor is a man or woman whose job it is to make you feel better, that’s all, and if you’ve ever had a shot you know that the statement ‘Doctors can’t hurt you’ is simply absurd.” – The Miserable Mill

What are your favorite quotes?  Is there something else you learned from “A Series of Unfortunate Events”?

Ivanhoe Read-Along

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Ivanhoe

For the Classics Club Spin #8, I’m reading Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, and I’d like you to read-along with me.  We’ll start on the 24th of Nov., which is the same day that Book Week Scotland starts, and we’ll finish on the 4th of Jan, 2015.  I’ll do another announcement post on the 24th, a progress/discussion post every Sunday, and a review post on Jan. 5th.  Don’t worry if you get a little behind at any point during the read-along.  I know this time of the year can get crazy, which is why this is a 6 week read-along, instead of a month.  Below is the chapter break down:

  • Mon. 24th Nov. – Sun. 30th Nov.: Chapters 1 – 7
  • Mon. 1st Dec. – Sun. 7th Dec.: Chapters 8 – 16
  • Mon. 8th Dec. – Sun. 14th Dec.: Chapters 17 – 25
  • Mon. 15th Dec. – Sun. 21st Dec.: Chapters 26 – 31
  • Mon. 22nd Dec. – Sun. 28th Dec.: Chapters 32 – 38
  • Mon. 29th Dec. – Sun. 4th Jan.: Chapters 39 – 44

If you’d like to participate, create a blog post, and then sign up through the linky below, or comment with your Tweet or Facebook post.  You don’t have to be a member of the Classics Club to participate, but if you are, leave a comment with a link to your Classics Club list.  Happy reading!

The Classics Club Spin #8: And the Winner is…

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classicsclub

#13

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

Ivanhoe

I’ll be doing a read-along, starting Monday Nov. 24th, which coincides with the beginning of Book Week Scotland.  The read-along will run through Jan. 4th, for a total of 6 weeks, which will hopefully make the reading more manageable than if I were to confine it to a month.  I’ll be announcing the read-along tomorrow, with all the details and a sign-up.

What I’m Reading Monday #11

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Currently Reading:  The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova, which I’m savoring by only reading a little bit at a time, Villette by Charlotte Brontë, which I’m reading for The Classics Club, Ennara and the Fallen Druid by Angela Myron, a review book, and The Hobbit and Philosophy, what I’m reading for fun.

  Historian Villette1.52.qxd Ennara Hobbit Philosophy

Finished: Tears of a Heart by Chase Blackwood, which I’ll be reviewing sometime this week.

Tears

Total pages read for the week: 575

Total number of books for the year: 53.  I’m still concentrating on finishing the books I started in September or October, as well as reading the review books I’ve got lined up for this month.  Though I’m not going to be participating in any read-alongs, read-a-thons, or challenges this month, I decided to participate in The Classics Club Spin #8, which I’ll be posting more about tomorrow.  Depending on which book I’ll be reading, I might put off starting it till December and host a read-along for it.

What are you reading this week?

The Classics Club Survey

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classicsclub

50 Club Questions: 

  1. Share a link to your club list. The Classics Club
  2. When did you join The Classics Club?  August, 2014.  How many titles have you read for the club? 1
  3. What are you currently reading? Villette by Charlotte Brontë
  4. What have you read and what did you think of it? Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.  My thoughts on it are here.
  5. What are you reading next? Why? Whichever book matches up with the Spin number on my Spin List.
  6. Best book you’ve read so far with the club, and why? Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.  It’s the only one I’ve read so far.
  7. Book you most anticipate on your club list? Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  8. Book on your club list you’ve been avoiding, if any? Why? One Thousand and One Nights, but only because I read seasonally, and I consider it to be a Summer book.
  9. First classic you ever read? Hmmm….that’s difficult, since I was very young.  I think Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder, if that would be considered a Classic.  If not, then Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery.
  10. Toughest classic you ever read? “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare
  11. Classic that inspired you? or scared you? made you cry? made you angry?  Les Misérables by Victor Hugo for all of the above.
  12. Longest classic you’ve read?  Les Misérables.  Longest classic left on your club list?  The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio.
  13. Oldest classic you’ve read? “Romeo and Juliet”.  Oldest classic left on your club list? One Thousand and One Nights.
  14. Favorite biography about a classic author you’ve read — or, the biography on a classic author you most want to read, if any?  I’ve never cared enough about the biographies of authors, beyond looking up facts for research or my own random curiosity, so I’ve never read, nor plan to read, a biography about a classic author.
  15. Which classic do you think EVERYONE should read? Why?  None, because I don’t believe that there’s any book that’s for absolutely everyone, and if everyone reads the same book(s), then everyone is thinking along the same lines.  I hate those lists of books that “everyone must read before they die”.  Why should I read those books?  Because they happen to be the most read, or the most popular, or because some arbitrary group of snobs said I won’t have a proper education if I don’t read them? There are several books on those lists that I despised to the point of throwing them at the wall, and the only thing I learned from them was that I shouldn’t follow those lists. 
  16. Favorite edition of a classic you own, if any?  My beautiful Barnes & Noble hardcover edition of Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales that my boyfriend got me for my Birthday.
  17. Favorite movie adaption of a classic? “Phantom of the Opera”
  18. Classic which hasn’t been adapted yet (that you know of) which you very much wish would be adapted to film.  The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.  If this has been adapted, please let me know!
  19. Least favorite classic? Why? Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.  I’ve been forced to read and write essays about this book for two different English courses.  Once was more than enough (See my response to #15).
  20. Name five authors you haven’t read yet whom you cannot wait to read. Alexandre Dumas, J.M. Barrie, Mary Shelley, Herman Melville, and Marcel Proust.
  21. Which title by one of the five you’ve listed above most excites you and why? Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie.  I love Children’s Fantasy, and I’ve seen so many adaptions of Peter Pan, that I should have read it years ago.
  22. Have you read a classic you disliked on first read that you tried again and respected, appreciated, or even ended up loving?  No.
  23. Which classic character can’t you get out of your head?  Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  24. Which classic character most reminds you of yourself? Anne from Anne of Green Gables, at least while I was growing up.
  25. Which classic character do you most wish you could be like? I have no idea.  Most of my favorite characters are my favorites because I can relate to them and I feel that I’m already like them.  My other favorites are the ones I love to hate, and I would never want to be like them.
  26. Which classic character reminds you of your best friend?  I have yet to find my best friend in a classic character.  I’m not sure I will, but if I do, she’ll be the first to know.
  27. If a sudden announcement was made that 500 more pages had been discovered after the original “THE END” on a classic title you read and loved, which title would you most want to keep reading? Or, would you avoid the augmented manuscript in favor of the original? Why?  The Hobbit, in the hopes that Bilbo would have a few more adventures.
  28. Favorite children’s classic? The Hobbit
  29. Who recommended your first classic? I have no idea how I got started reading Little House in the Big Woods, but Anne of Green Gables was on a “Battle of the Books” competition list when I was in the 5th grade.
  30. Whose advice do you always take when it comes to literature. (Recommends the right editions, suggests great titles, etc.)  No one for “always”, but I almost always listen to my best friend when she recommends or lends me books.
  31. Favorite memory with a classic? When my Grandmother bought me my own hardcover copy of Anne of Green Gables and the next 2 books in the series and wrote a little note to me inside the cover.
  32. Classic author you’ve read the most works by? L.M. Montgomery
  33. Classic author who has the most works on your club list? No one.  I deliberately chose only one book per author for my list.
  34. Classic author you own the most books by? Charlotte Brontë.  Sadly, I no longer have my L.M. Montgomery books.
  35. Classic title(s) that didn’t make it to your club list that you wish you’d included? Any of Charles Perrault’s books, since I love fairy tales, and I’d like to read his versions that were later adapted for Grimm’s Fairy Tales.  I would also love to be able to read them in the original French.
  36. If you could explore one author’s literary career from first publication to last — meaning you have never read this author and want to explore him or her by reading what s/he wrote in order of publication — who would you explore? H.P. Lovecraft.
  37. How many rereads are on your club list? 2. Which are you most looking forward to?  The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
  38. Has there been a classic title you simply could not finish? Not yet, but there are a couple that I’ve come very close to not finishing.
  39. Has there been a classic title you expected to dislike and ended up loving? No.
  40. Three things you’re looking forward to next year in classic literature?  1) The Classics Club’s Spins, 2) The Classics Club’s themed months, 3) finishing as many of the books on my list as possible.
  41. Classics you are DEFINITELY GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year? The Trial by Franz Kafka, One Thousand and One Nights, A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, White Fang by Jack London, Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
  42. Classics you are NOT GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year? The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey, and The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende.
  43. Favorite thing about being a member of the Classics Club?  It provides the extra motivation I sometimes need to read classic literature instead of always reading books that are just coming out.
  44. List four fellow clubbers whose blogs you frequent. 1) Reading Rambo, 2) I’m Lost in Books 3) Book Clutter 4) Unputdownables
  45. Favorite post you’ve read by a fellow clubber? Nothing stands out in my mind as a favorite post, but I love I’m Lost in Books’ Blogger Shout-Outs posts.  I’ve found a lot of great blogs, challenges, and giveaways from them.
  46. If you’ve ever participated in a read-along on a classic, tell about the experience? I haven’t done this yet, but I’ve wanted to.  I’m also considering hosting my own read-along.
  47. If you could appeal for a read-along with others for any classic title, which title would you name? Why?  Any book by Marcel Proust because I’ve heard they’re difficult and I think reading them as a group would be easier.
  48. How long have you been reading classic literature? Since I was 9 or 10, so almost 25 years.
  49. Share up to five posts you’ve written that tell a bit about your reading story. Reviews, journal entries, posts on novels you loved or didn’t love, lists, etc. 1) Through the Magic Door, 2) Thursday’s Quotables #1 and #2, 3) Library Story Time, and 4) Reviews.
  50. Question you wish was on this questionnaire? (Ask and answer it!)  I can’t think of any questions.  So, it’s your turn, Reader: Whether or not you’re a member of the Classics Club, how would you answer these questions?  Pick one or more, and leave them in the comments!

 

Wait a second….WHAT?!

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Surprised

That was my reaction to seeing my blog’s followers pass the 100 mark.  Just for the record, I don’t include Twitter or Facebook followers in that number, because I assume there is some overlap.  So, discovering this morning that I have a minimum of 105 readers was a bit of a shock.

Those of you who have been reading since the beginning know that I haven’t been blogging for very long.  It’s been less than a year (7 months to the day to be exact), and for most of that time I was only participating in read-a-thons.  I didn’t post my first review until the end of August, and I didn’t start any features (What I’m Reading Monday, Thursday’s Quotables, and most recently Tuesday’s Tunes and Things) until September.

I know 100 is a small number, relatively speaking.  Still, thank you!  Without you I wouldn’t have written any reviews.  I wouldn’t have discovered the awesomeness of Netgalley.  I wouldn’t have made all the connections with authors and other book bloggers that I’ve been making lately.  Most importantly, I wouldn’t have returned to my dream of being a writer.

Happy 9th Doctor Giddy Patrick Stewart

I can only hope that I reach the 500 mark as quickly 🙂

conga-line minions

Thursday’s Quotables #6

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I’m still making my way through The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.  That’s not because I’m not enjoying it.  It’s for the exact opposite reason.  I love it!  I’m savoring it.  On the one hand, this is surprising to me since I’m not a huge fan of mysteries, and there has only been one vampire who periodically shows up and terrorizes people.  On the other hand, the writing is beautiful without being flowery, and the descriptions of all the places traveled through or visited are proof that the journey is more important than the destination.  I should probably zip it and get on with the quotes before I run out of things to say for the review when I eventually finish the book.

Since I’m smitten by Kostova’s way with words, this week’s quotes are about words:

My father taught me the new alphabet, and I amused myself trying to sound out the station signs, each of which looked to me like code words that could open a secret door.

Dear Reader, words are magic.  I’m probably preaching to the choir, but that’s ok, because I.Love.Words.  I’ve been fascinated by words since the words in my much beloved copy of Hop on Pop began to show me their secrets.  Though the next quote is about learning French, a language I’m also learning, it expresses perfectly the feelings I had as I learned how to read:

Never before had I known the sudden quiver of understanding that travels from word to brain to heart, the way a new language can move, coil, swim into life under the eyes, the almost savage leap of comprehension, the instantaneous, joyful release of meaning, the way the words shed their printed bodies in a flash of heat and light.

I still feel this occasionally as I’m learning French, but not on the same level as that first time the words on a page came to life for me.  My family would say that I got the reading gene from my Grandmother, the only other avid reader in the family.  However, I suspect that my love of books was really the result of wanting to relive that experience over and over again.  So, yes, books are a drug that I’m happily addicted to.  I hope I never recover.