Around The World In 52 Books: Week 5

AROUND THE WORLD IN 52 BOOKS

WEEK 5:

A HISTORICAL FICTION

--What are you reading for this category? I'm reading Like a River Glorious, the sequel to Walk on Earth A Stranger by Rae Carson.

--In which time period is this book going to take you? This book takes place during the California Gold Rush of 1849. It covers things like wagon trains, a little cowboy action, and the fever that infected many people hoping to make it rich in California. Not a literal fever, but a figurative one.

--Is there another period you'd like to read about? I enjoy historical fiction, so I'm always up for reading it. I don't know if I have a favorite period to read about. As long as it's interesting, I'll read it.

Want to participate in the challenge? Check it out here!

Review: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Title: City of Stairs (The Divine Cities #1)

Author: Robert Jackson Bennett

Published by: Broadway Books

Released: 2014

Source: Library

Summary: The gods used to rule the Continent, bestowing miracles and blessings on their followers. The Saypuri People didn't have the blessings, or anyone to save them from enslavement. One Saypuri decided to murder the gods, made himself a god killing weapon, and attacked. When the gods died, the cities and people they blessed did too. Plague spread across the land, and whole chunks of the city disappeared.

The Saypuri's have become the new ruling class. Bulikov, a city once blessed by the divine, is now cold and poor. The people are not allowed to speak the names of the former gods or know their symbols.

When a Saypuri scholar and historian is murdered, Shara and her secretary, Sigurd, are sent to solve the case. They find much more than they bargained for.

My Thoughts: This was an interesting read for me. I can't say I loved it, but I didn't hate it either. Adult Fantasy is kind of out of my comfort zone. I want to read more of it, but it's intimidating. This had a world that was a little hard for me to get in to. A lot of focus on religion, a lot of gods thrown into the mix. 

It probably took me about 70 to 80 pages to really find my footing and get interested, and invested, in the story. Once I was into it, I liked it okay. There was enough action to keep me intrigued. Shara was an alright character. I liked her and Sigrud? Sigurd's? relationship.

It was a bit of a slower paced book. It had a lot of meat in it, a lot of words. A lot of the names were a bit difficult for me.

Overall, I thought this was okay. I enjoyed myself while reading it. It wasn't necessarily a book that made me crave fantasy though. It took quite awhile to get into. I don't know if I want to read the next book in the series. It would be interesting to see more of Shara and Sigrud's adventures, but I don't know if I like the world that much to invest in another story. I'm on the fence.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3/5

It was all right, not my most favorite.

Reading Right Now! (110)

What I'm Reading Right Now! is...

-- Like A River Glorious (The Gold Seer Trilogy #2) by Rae Carson-- I'm excited to be continuing on with this series. I read the first one, maybe a year or so ago, and really enjoyed it. It's a historical fiction series, about the California Gold Rush, with a girl who has the power to sense gold. This power causes danger for her and those she loves.

I've read about the first 30 pages and am enjoying it so far. I hope to zoom through it.

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! What are you reading?

Review: Revival, Volume 1: You're Among Friends by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton

Title: Revival, Volume 1: You're Among Friends

Story by: Tim Seeley

Art by: Mike Norton

Colors by: Mark Englert

Published by: Image Comics, Inc.

Released: 2013

Source: Library

Summary: One small town has been rocked by mystery. The newly dead have come back to life. They aren't ravenous or brain eating, but are the same people they were when they left. Is it a miracle? A horror? A sign of the apocalypse? Nobody really knows, but the town has been quarantined. One police officer is put on the case to try and figure out what's going on. There's something off about these newly returned.

My Thoughts: hmmm... interesting, definitely. This was a fun comic to read. It had a lot of mysterious elements that just made for a fun story. I'm not sure what's really going on in this town. Things are definitely messed up.

This first Volume just really serves as an introduction to the series. I'm intrigued to see where it goes next. 

The artwork was pretty good, I liked it.

I would recommend this. The story is interesting, and I want to see where it goes next.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.7/5

Miracle or Horror? Oh the questions.

Top 5 Wednesday: Top 5 SFF Books On Your TBR

Welcome, Welcome to another Top 5 Wednesday! The most fun thing to do on a Wednesday, really. This week's topic is the Top 5 SFF (Science Fiction and Fantasy) Books On Your TBR. Let's do this!

 

  

-- Gemina (The Illuminae Files #2) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff-- Meant to read this sooner, obviously didn't, so I hope to get to it soon. I won't say I was blown away by the first book, I felt the way the story was told got a little repetitive and boring-ish at times, but I still want to know what happens with the series.

--Across the Universe by Beth Revis, but really the whole series if I'm being honest-- They are just so pretty, except for the last book and it's baaaad cover change. I've also just heard so much good stuff about them. I really like space books, so hopefully these will be fun and I will read them.

--These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, but again, really the whole series-- I would like to reread the first book and then finish the series. I really liked the first one when I read it. And again, the covers are just sooo pretty.

--A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab, again, the whole series-- I've only read one book by V.E. Schwab, Vicious, and LOVED IT! She became like a favorite author, but then I haven't read anything else by her, and I don't know why. So I would love to get to this series.

--The Warrior Heir or really anything by Cinda Williams Chima-- I've been hearing about this author for ages, and I would just like to see if her work would be something I'd enjoy. I'd like to start at the beginning, just because. I hope to read her stuff and like it.

So that's my Top 5 Wednesday! If you want to participate, you totally should. Check out all the other Top 5 Wednesday-ers HERE!

Around The Year In 52 Books: Week 31

WEEK 31:

A BOOK FROM A SUB-GENRE OF YOUR FAVORITE GENRE

PROGRESS POST:

What are you reading this week? I'm reading The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology written by various authors and edited by Christopher Golden.

What is your favorite genre? I'd say my favorite genre is post-apocalyptic/survival stories.

What is the sub-genre your book falls into? The New Dead falls into the zombie version of a post-apocalyptic story.

Do you have a favorite sub-genre or read mostly one sub-genre of your favorite genre? I do like zombie stories, but I don't think I favor them more over other post-apocalyptic books. If it's post-apocalyptic and sounds good, I'm going to want to read it.

So that's this week's progress post. Are you participating in the challenge? It's fun, and you should. Check out the group  HERE!

March Wrap-Up 2017!

I had a pretty good reading month in March. I read 8 books, and I'm still ahead on my GoodReads Reading Challenge, Yayy! So, I'm going to talk about what I read and what I watched (and finished watching) in the month of March.

What I Read in March!

  

  

 

-- Arata: The Legend, Volume 4 by Yuu Watase-- 3.3/5-- This is just an okay manga to me. Yuu Watase is one of my favorite manga artists/authors, but this isn't my favorite series by her. It's all right, and I will continue on with it.

--The Natural Superiority of the Left-Hander by James T. deKay-- 4/5-- This was more of a random/fun read. It called to me. I'm left-handed, and am very proud of my left-handed status. I love hearing left-handed facts. We are the true minority. Only 10% to 11% of the world's population is left-handed. No one can seem to say definitively what makes a person left-handed. I think it runs in families. Left-handedness is just one of the things I'm weird about, like, I will notice if you are left-handed, and probably comment on it. Plus, I love driving my sister crazy with left-handed facts, because she doesn't care and finds it annoying haha.

This book was pretty fun. It was a super quick read. It's a little dated, but LEFTIES RULE!!

--A Torch Against The Night (#2) by Sabaa Tahir-- 3.7/5-- I'm just kind of meh about this series. They are very fast reads, and I'm interested to see what happens, but I'm just ambivalent toward the characters. Plus I think this world is just too violent in a non-sensical way. I'll continue reading the series, but I just don't get all the hype about it.

--Dark Matter by Blake Crouch-- 4/5-- This one was good, real good! Very enjoyable reading. I'd definitely recommend. I do think the ending got a little complicated with all the "villains" running around. This would make a really exciting movie.

--Chew, Volume 7: Bad Apples (Chew #31-35) by John Layman and Rob Guillory-- 4.2/5-- I love this series!! Some people complained about this Volume being a little too dark, but I liked it. Sometimes the storyline isn't the most coherent, but I love this comic. I think the art style is awesome and the story always has me laughing.

--Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon-- 3/5-- This one was kind of disappointing. It was overhyped, and it didn't live up to that hype. The pros are that it's a really fast read and the writing is easy to get into. The cons are that the insta-love was annoying. Maddie made really dumb decisions and didn't think anything through. She was all about living for the now, but I just found her really irresponsible. I don't know how her future is going to go, because she has no way to make money and no real education. The ending was also the biggest cop-out and I wasn't a fan. Maybe YA Contemporary just isn't for me. But, just to put in perspective how bad the insta-love is, the majority of the novel took place in the span of 3 months, and she fit pretty much everything you can do with a guy into those three months.

I was also just kind of annoyed in the very start when she bragged about what a superstar reader she was, and how she read so many more books than I could even hope to dream of. She bragged, while at the same time, putting down the reader. I wasn't a fan. And she read the most boring books. Please Girl. I don't really like Maddie.

--Chew, Volume 8: Family Recipes (Chew #36-48) by John Layman and Rob Guillory-- 4.5/5-- Another volume of Chew that I loved!! It's just so fun to read.

--Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3) by William Ritter --3.5/5-- This was another disappointment for me. I LOVED the first two books in the series, and then this one happened. What made the first two books so great is that they were a lot of fun, had a lot of humor, and some quirky characters. This third book just removed all the humor from the story and the characters. Without the humor, it became a blah book. I also didn't like the beginning, where I felt I was thrown into something instead of eased in. And they didn't really solve anything in the end. I'll read the rest of the series, but I hope the fourth book is better. This was just sooo disappointing.

TOTAL PAGES READ: 2,040

NOVELS: 4

GRAPHIC NOVELS/MANGA: 3

RANDOM BOOK THAT DOESN'T REALLY FIT INTO CATEGORY: 1

AVERAGE RATING: 3.8/5

What I Watched In March!

-- The X-Files (Seasons 1-9, Netflix) I FINISHED IT! I FINALLY FINISHED IT!!

I finally finished it, which I count as an accomplishment. I liked it, but I wouldn't categorize it as my favorite show. My favorite episodes were the monster of the week episodes, those were the most fun to me. The government conspiracy/alien episodes were always just meh. As I kept watching into the later seasons, especially 8 and 9, it just wasn't grabbing me the same way. It's all because David Duchovny killed the show. Apparently he was in some kind of disagreement over his contract and how much he thought he should be paid, so he wasn't really in Seasons 8 or 9. He might show up for a couple episodes, but then he'd be gone again. They brought in some new people, but the dynamic of Mulder and Scully wasn't there. I think it's his fault the show got canceled. It wasn't really very fair to his co-stars. They tried to make the show work, but for 7 Seasons we got this thing that the viewer came to expect, and you can't realistically change that in the 8th Season.

--The Iron Fist (Season 1, Netflix)

So, I watched this one too. I'm always really excited about Netflix and Marvel teaming up, and the new shows that come out. I found The Iron Fist to just be kind of boring. I don't think Danny Rand is the most charismatic super hero, which can make him a little dull to watch. 

I don't agree with all the controversy surrounding the casting. How people were mad that they didn't cast an Asian Iron Fist. This show is about Danny Rand, a pre-existing Marvel character, who is white. It would have made no sense to cast an Asian person for that role. I'm getting kind of annoyed about people who complain about everything all the time! This goes for books too. Don't rate a show before you've watched it and Don't rate a book before you've read it. If you're not interested in it fine, but the whole world doesn't care about your opinion.

Anyway, I think my favorite character, or the character I at least felt a little something for was Ward. That could just be because he reminded me of Bellamy Blake's older, skinnier faced brother. And I love Bellamy Blake sooo... But really, tell me what you think. Can you see any resemblance? Or am I just crazy?

WARD MEACHUM

BELLAMY BLAKE 

I mean, Bellamy Blake is so much cuter and I just love him sooo much! But they look like they could be cousins or something, right?

--The 100: Season 4 (Still Watching, but I have to wait until April 26th for new episodes. The horror!!! I hate waiting)

And The 100 Season 4! I've been watching it live, every Wednesday (9 pm e.s.t. on the CW) and I'm liking this season. I think it's a lot better than Season 3, thank goodness! But the thing they have to fight against is a nuclear apocalypse, and that just seems to be a really hard thing to beat. My favorite scenes are all the Bellamy Blake ones. Bob Morley is such a good actor! I could mostly care less about Clarke. I'm kind of getting tired of her in charge, savior routine. Oh and I'm soooo glad that Lexa is gone!!! I'm not, never was, never will be a Lexa fan. I think Season 3 wasn't as good, because they focused too much on her. Although they do try to mention her as much as they can this season. Bleh.

 You know who they never mention? Finn. Clarke's first foray into puppy love/crushdom. Must be because he's a guy. I now have to wait for April 26, which is when they'll start airing new episodes. That wait is going to be tough. But I love The 100. GO WATCH IT!

So that was my March! How was yours? Let me know!

**All book cover images are from www.goodreads.com and all other images procured through google image searches.**