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Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
An Ice-Skating Christmas Day
The week started out wonderful with Christmas Day and a small ice-skating gathering in the morning. We made some new friends and had a lot of fun even though it was outdoors and really cold! We didn’t do much the rest of the day but we did have some really yummy leftovers.
I’m also happy because I did quite well this last week with finishing and reviewing three books. And I got out of my comfort zone and signed up for three more reading challenges for 2024!! That means that I’m currently signed up for nine reading challenges in 2024. NINE!
To be fair, Finishing the Series and Series Enders are complementary, and the Library Love and Audiobook challenges would have a lot of overlap since I get all my audiobooks from the library! Also, the Classics challenge is technically a five-year challenge, so if I don’t do well in 2024, I can catch up in the next years!
I really hope I don’t regret this! Have you signed up for any reading challenges? How many reading challenges are the sweet spot for you?
I also managed to get A Christmas Carol finished! Holy description, Dickens has got a way with words! I’m familiar with his works in pop culture and adaptations, but I haven’t actually finished any of his books. This is my first, and will definitely not be the last.
I will probably be writing the review for A Christmas Carol this week, but also, it’s the first week of 2024 and I can finally get started on all the books that fit the challenges I signed up for!
Holly by Stephen King – for the Finishing the Series and Series Enders challenges
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson – for the Nonfiction challenge
The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin – for the Bookish Books challenge
Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson – for the Bookish Books challenge
These are books already on my digital bookshelf, and will count for the Library Love and Audiobook challenges too! I don’t know if I can finish them all this week, but they’re the first ones on my list.
I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Books from the Backlog is hosted by Carole @ Carole’s Random Life and features neglected books that’s been sitting on your TBR for a while.
This must be one of the oldest books on my bookshelf that I brought with me from my old life. Not sure why I kept it or if I’ll ever get to it one day.
This week’s neglected book
Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder
One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: “Who are you?” and “Where does the world come from?” From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.
– Goodreads
Why did I add this book to my bookshelf?
I got it when I was a teenager and questioning philosophical questions a lot. I did try reading it but I think it was too much for me at the time, and I was going to wait until I was older and in a better frame of mind to understand it better. I never got to it, and I’m not sure if I ever will. I’ve actually forgotten I had it, and only got reminded of it because of this meme. Now I’m not sure if I should give it one more try or just let it go.
What are your thoughts? Have you read this book? Would you recommend it?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Most Recent Additions to my Bookshelf, but I didn’t buy or get a lot of books recently (I did get a couple of gift cards to the bookstore though!), so I’ll do the Most Recent Books I Borrowed from the Library instead. These are a mix of physical books, e-books, and audiobooks I currently have from the library. I have to say, I love my library and I love that we get such a wide catalog of books.
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and got many of the books they wanted!
Top Ten Most Recent Books I Borrowed from the Library
Top-Bottom, Left-Right:
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy – I actually think I played myself with borrowing both this one and the next one. They are both thick books and I didn’t know they’d be ready at the same time! It’s very likely that I’ll have to return one or the other unfinished and have to go back on the waitlist.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – See above!
The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner, Ph.D. – This has been on my TBR for a while. I don’t remember exactly, but I think it got on my radar because of a conversation I had with someone about how men are shamed for crying and women are shamed for showing anger. I could be remembering wrong, but I’m curious to read the book anyway.
Lighter by Yung Pueblo – I flipped through a copy of Yung Pueblo’s newest book, The Way Forward, and loved the few pages I read, so I placed a hold on all his books from the library. This was just the one that became available first.
Accountable by Dashka Slater – A fellow book blogger, Anne @ Head Full of Books, featured this book on her blog and I was intrigued!
The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin – I recently read Madeline Martin’s The Last Bookshop in London, and I loved it, so of course I have to read her other books too!
Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson – This book has also been on my TBR for a while, but it took another fellow blogger recommending this book because we both loved Allie Brosh’s Hyperbole and a Half, to move it up my list.
The Second Mrs. Astor by Shana Abe – I came across this book purely by accident while browsing my library’s audiobook catalog. It’s a historical fiction set on the Titanic, so of course I was interested!
Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson – Another book I came across while browsing my library’s catalog. Books about books, I have to read it!
The Forbidden City series by Melissa Addey – The edition I have from the library is a 4-in-1, and I found it browsing the physical shelves. I’ve always been fascinated by stories of Imperial China, so I’m very interested in reading this.
I am very much looking forward to these books! Have you read any of them? I’d love to hear your thoughts. What books are on your bookshelf?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
It’s a festive weekend and I hope you have a great time with friends and family, no matter what you celebrate (or not).
Last week was a pretty chill week and we didn’t do much, but we did go ice skating for the first time in Canada! Woot!!
I haven’t skated in about 20 years (a long, long time!) and I’m so rusty and clumsy on the ice now, but it was fun anyway. My husband has never skated before and I couldn’t teach him since I’ve forgotten everything, but there was a kind stranger at the rink helping him, and he did so well for his first time!
As for reading; I started reading The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks, but haven’t finished it because I was listening on audiobook and I couldn’t make out what the narrator was saying when she did the low voices. I decided to put it aside until I can get a print copy so I can read it instead. I did manage to finish If It Bleeds by Stephen King, and I’m reading A Christmas Carol for the first time!
I’m trying to finish A Christmas Carol before Christmas is over, but I’m not sure I can because of how busy the next couple of days will be. It’s not a long book though, so I’ll try. I wouldn’t rush it except it feels weird to be reading A Christmas Carol once Christmas is over, but I might not care and just do it anyway! What do you think? Is it weird to read A Christmas Carol after Christmas?
I’m still trying to read a couple of first in a series books, if I can. It’s the last week of the year, a holiday week, and we have a couple of plans, but I believe I’ll have time to read a bit.
It’s weird because almost every year end I’m usually pushing myself to read a little more so I can get more books read for the year, but this time, I’m hoarding my books so I can read them for challenges I signed up for next year.
Are you pushing yourself to finish more books before the end of the year, or are you hoarding them for next year?
I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Gilion @ Rose City Reader for sharing the opening lines of the book you want to feature.
The Friday 56 was started and hosted by Freda @ Freda’s Voice and is currently being temporarily hosted by Anne @ My Head is Full of Books for sharing a couple of lines from page 56, or Chapter 56, or at 56%, or however you want to interpret the number 56, of your featured book.
Note: For Blogspot users, I am unfortunately not able to comment on your posts if you don’t have Name/URL enabled on the comments. I’m not being snobbish, I promise! I’d love to leave comments if you’d consider enabling it. Thank you!
My Featured Book
The Witch Collector by Charissa Weaks
Every harvest moon, the Witch Collector rides into our valley and leads one of us to the home of the immortal Frost King, to remain forever.
Today is that day—Collecting Day.
But he will not come for me. I, Raina Bloodgood, have lived in this village for twenty-four years, and for twenty-four years he has passed me by.
His mistake.
Raina Bloodgood has one desire: kill the Frost King and the Witch Collector who stole her sister. On Collecting Day, she means to exact murderous revenge, but a more sinister threat sets fire to her world. Rising from the ashes is the Collector, Alexus Thibault, the man she vowed to slay and the only person who can help save her sister.
Thrust into an age-old story of ice, fire, and ancient gods, Raina must abandon vengeance and aid the Witch Collector in saving the Frost King or let their empire—and her sister—fall into enemy hands. But the lines between good and evil blur, and Raina has more to lose than she imagined. What is she to do when the Witch Collector is no longer the villain who stole her sister, but the hero who’s stealing her heart?
My Book Beginnings:
It’s been eight long years since the Witch Collector took my sister. Every harvest moon, he rides into our valley, black cloak whipping in the wind, and leads one of us to Winterhold, home of the immortal Frost King, to remain forever.
My Friday 56:
“I can’t, Raina.” She glances around with wary eyes. “I swore that if I wasn’t chosen for Winterhold this year that I would convince my father to take me to Malgros to enlist in the Watch. If something happened to him… If he doesn’t return…” She sets her mug aside and frames her face with her hands. “I can’t leave my mother and sisters.”
My Thoughts
I got to Chapter 19 of the book (about 40%) while listening on audio, but it started getting more difficult to hear the low voices the narrator made, and I found myself missing too much. I decided to wait until I got my hands on a print copy for this, so I’m waiting on the library and this book is stalled until a copy becomes available.
Up until 40% of the book, and even though I’m missing details from the low voices, I quite enjoyed the book and the concept. I find the Witch Collector and the Frost King very mysterious, and I want to know more about them. There’s still a lot we don’t know about the world itself too. It’s a series, so I guess we have time to learn more, but I hope we’ll get some basic answers in this book.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? What do you think of it?
Books from the Backlog is hosted by Carole @ Carole’s Random Life and features neglected books that’s been sitting on your TBR for a while.
This one was sitting patiently waiting for me on my Kobo but I forgot I had it. Now that I’m looking at it again, it actually sounds intriguing and I might want to read it soon.
This week’s neglected book
The Therapist by B. A. Paris
A gripping psychological suspense and a powerful tale of a house that holds a shocking secret.
When Alice and Leo move into a newly renovated house in The Circle, a gated community of exclusive houses, it is everything they’ve dreamed of. But appearances can be deceptive…
As Alice is getting to know her neighbours, she discovers a devastating secret about her new home, and begins to feel a strong connection with Nina, the therapist who lived there before.
Alice becomes obsessed with trying to piece together what happened two years before. But no one wants to talk about it. Her neighbors are keeping secrets and things are not as perfect as they seem…
Why did I add this book to my bookshelf?
I was on a mystery/thriller binge and a friend recommended it to me. Then I got tired of the binge and moved on before getting to this one. Yes, we’re seeing a pattern, aren’t we? It does sound interesting and I might actually pick it up sometime soon. We’ll see.
What are your thoughts? Have you read this book? Would you recommend it?
Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Bookish Wishes.
I used to have a small library of books I collected over many years, but I moved across the world and had to let many of them go. I don’t have a lot of space for physical books now (but I do have a Kobo!), so I usually only buy the ones I love and know I’ll read over and over again, or new books only if I already love the author, or if they are useful as reference books. Otherwise, I try to stick to e-books and library books. Sometimes, however, I do like to buy multiple copies of my favorite books because I wear them out and need new ones. Does anyone else do that?
The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo – I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s set in Malaysia and it’s about a young woman who is being forced to marry a dead man’s ghost, per outdated Chinese customs. It’s a story I love that has stayed with me for a while. I’ve also bought her other book, The Night Tiger, but I prefer this one. She’s got another book coming out next year, The Fox Wife, and I can’t wait!
Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher – T. Kingfisher is one of my favorite authors and I’ve loved all her books that I’ve read, so I’m slowly collecting them. Nettle and Bone is my favorite so far, but they are all so good.
The New Annotated Frankenstein by Mary Shelley – I’m very much coveting all the annotated classics, but I’m only listing one and I chose Frankenstein because it’s one of my favorite stories of all time.
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery – This is one of my favorite childhood books, and I used to have the full set but I left them behind. It’s not a priority because I’ve already read them, it’s just a collection I want to have, and that would be handy to have whenever I feel nostalgic.
The Glass Chateau by Stephen P. Kiernan – I’ve read all his books except this one, and I loved all of them. I’m slowly collecting them because they’re just so beautiful and profound. The author has such a way with storytelling. I always feel like I’ve been transported into a magical world.
XX by Rian Hughes – I haven’t read this one so I don’t know if I’ll like it, but it’s a book that’s better experienced on a physical copy because of the way it’s designed. The author is a graphic designer. I’ve read and love The House of Leaves which is similar in terms of type designs being a part of the story, and I ended up buying a physical copy of that book too after finishing the library copy, because it was so good.
The Field Guide to Witches – I came across this book while browsing at the library and I loved that it was basically an encyclopedia of the different kinds of witches in myth and folklore.
Mosaic Crochet by Alexis Sixel – I’m not the best crocheter, but her patterns are so beautiful and I’d love to try my hand at mosaic crochet one day.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – I loved this book. Loved it. And I definitely need my own physical copy, but also, I really need my library to get the audiobook. For some reason, the audiobook isn’t available, but people say it’s so good, and I need it.
Light Bringer by Pierce Brown – I love the series and I’ve already got the first five books, so this is the next on my list.
Have you read any of these books? Do you think you’d like them? Do you have a specific collection of books you’re acquiring?
Welcome to the Sunday Post, a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer to share weekly news and updates on what we’ve been up to on our blog, with our books, and book-related happenings.
Zoolights
As promised, we went back to the zoo last week for the Zoolights!
It was amazing and far exceeded our expectations! It’s our first time going to the Zoolights, but I’m quite sure it won’t be the last. It might have to be an annual thing from now on. The lights were gorgeous, there was so much to see, everyone there were in good spirits and we bonded a little with other people there helping each other take pictures, and as luck would have it, the weather was perfect. It was cold enough to feel Christmassy, but not so cold that we felt uncomfortable.
We took a lot more pictures than these, because there was so much to see, but I’ll spare you the photo album tour. Wherever you are in the world, I hope you’re enjoying this holiday season (or if you’re not celebrating anything, I hope you’re just enjoying life in general!)!
As for my reading plans last week, I didn’t read the books I originally intended, and I had a couple of false starts (books I started but couldn’t get into), but I ended up getting sucked into Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi and absolutely loving it! So I call that a win!
I’m having a hard time deciding what to read because a lot of the books on my TBR are books that fit the 2024 reading challenges I signed up for, and I want to save them for the new year. However, it seems that the Finishing the Series challenge requires that you started the series before 2024, so I’m reading the first books in series I think I might want to finish for the challenge. I might end up not liking them and not wanting to continue them, and I’ve already got lots of series on the list to be finished, but at least I’m giving myself more options!
So this is just a list of books I have on my TBR that are first in a series. Obviously I won’t be able to read them all by the end of the year, but they’re here to motivate me and I’ll do my best to read a couple!
Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
Stolen Heir by Holly Black
Dune by Frank Herbert
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews
I hope you had a great week last week, and I hope you have a great one again this week!
Book Beginnings on Fridays is hosted by Gilion @ Rose City Reader for sharing the opening lines of the book you want to feature.
The Friday 56 was started and hosted by Freda @ Freda’s Voice and is currently being temporarily hosted by Anne @ My Head is Full of Books for sharing a couple of lines from page 56, or Chapter 56, or at 56%, or however you want to interpret the number 56, of your featured book.
Note: For Blogspot users, I am unfortunately not able to comment on your posts if you don’t have Name/URL enabled on the comments. I’m not being snobbish, I promise! I’d love to leave comments if you’d consider enabling it. Thank you!
My Featured Book
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
They killed my mother. They took our magic. They tried to bury us.
Now we rise.
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.
But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.
Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.
Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.
My Book Beginnings:
Pick me. It’s all I can do not to scream. I dig my nails into the marula oak of my staff and squeeze to keep from fidgeting. Beads of sweat drip down my back, but I can’t tell if it’s from dawn’s early heat or from my heart slamming against my chest. Moon after moon I’ve been passed over. Today can’t be the same.
My Friday 56:
As we tear through the streets lined with pastel-colored buildings, two troops of royal guards fight to take us down. Their shouts grow loud. Their footsteps pound even louder. With swords drawn, they close in, only a few paces behind.
My Thoughts
I am currently at Chapter 24, about 40% into this book and I’m enjoying it very much. I thought the book beginning and the Friday 56 quotes were really strong quotes that keeps the reader engaged, and I realized that I feel that way about the whole book so far. It’s really exciting and fast-paced, and filled with constant tension, it never stops! I want to keep reading but I’ve got adult responsibilities (boo!) and gotta get them done before coming back to the book.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? What do you think of it?
Books from the Backlog is hosted by Carole @ Carole’s Random Life and features neglected books that’s been sitting on your TBR for a while.
I’ve decided to choose which books to feature according to how far down they are on my Kobo sorted by recent. I’ll also feature physical books I own eventually, but it’s a bit harder to determine which ones are older, though I’m sure it doesn’t matter all that much.
This week’s neglected book
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
Ariadne, Princess of Crete, grows up greeting the dawn from her beautiful dancing floor and listening to her nursemaid’s stories of gods and heroes. But beneath her golden palace echo the ever-present hoofbeats of her brother, the Minotaur, a monster who demands blood sacrifice.
When Theseus, the Prince of Athens, arrives to vanquish the beast, Ariadne sees in his green eyes not a threat but an escape. Defying the gods, betraying her family and country, and risking everything for love, Ariadne helps Theseus kill the Minotaur. But will Ariadne’s decision ensure her happy ending? And what of Phaedra, the beloved younger sister she leaves behind?
Hypnotic, propulsive, and utterly transporting, Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne forges a new epic, one that puts the forgotten women of Greek mythology back at the heart of the story, as they strive for a better world.
– Goodreads
Why did I add this book to my bookshelf?
I was on a Greek mythology binge and a friend recommended I try this book, so I added it to the TBR but I satisfied my binge and moved on to different books before I could get to this. I’m sure I will come back to Greek mythology again, but there are so many great books in the genre, and so many other Greek myth characters I want to read about.
What are your thoughts? Have you read this book? Would you recommend it?
