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| Still eagerly awaiting the day that these come back in style . . . |
The
Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, and
share news. It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Date. I get to tell you what I’ve read recently.
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On The Blog Last Week
- On Tuesday I wondered if classics can get you out of a reading slump. (Instead of putting you into one.)
- On Thursday I did the Blogging Firsts Tag.
- On Saturday I reviewed The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee.
On The Blog This Week
- On Tuesday I review Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys.
- On Thursday I mini review two historical middlegrade books.
- On Saturday I mini review some literary fiction.
In My Reading Life
My goal for Bout of Books Readathon was to read 4 hours a day for
a whole week. I almost accomplished it! I got sick on Friday and slacked off,
but I read for 4 hours on all the other days.
Last week, I finished The
Cresswell Plot by Eliza Wass. This is a “weirdos in the woods” book. You guys
know I like those. It’s about a group of siblings who are kept away from
society by their parents. I thought the plot was predictable, but I still
wanted the book to be longer. I liked the characters and wanted to see more of
them.
Then I read Grunt: The
Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach. Military science sounds
like the most tedious subject ever, but the author is hilarious. She
participates in the science and becomes a test subject for the military. I
really liked this book.
Then I read The Secret
Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It has the blatant racism and sexism
that you’d expect in a classic, but I actually enjoyed the first 2/3 of it.
Then it suddenly became a Victorian morality tale. I don’t understand why
authors used to believe that readers are stupid and need the moral explained to
them. Did the author forget that I was here for the whole story? I figured out
the moral for myself, thank you very much.
Right
now, I’m reading Stranded by Bracken
MacLeod. So far, so good.
In my internet stalking life
- Do you have August blog posts that didn't get enough love? Link them up @ As Told By Tina.
- Sam @ We Live And Breathe Books asks if you're an influencer or an enthusiast.
- How have YA book trends changed over the years? Tracy @ Cornerfolds made graphs!
- Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight asks if other reviews influence your reviews.
- Crystal @ Lost In Storyland is building a classroom library for her students and needs donations.
In The Rest Of My Life
Five things that made me happy last week:
- It wasn’t a billion degrees.
- The leaves are starting to change colors.
- I’m ahead on my Goodreads challenge! (Thanks Bout of Books.)
- I posted on Instagram several times (Thanks Bout of Books.)
- Chocolate cake.
Wait, I need friends
Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other! See you around
the blogosphere!
Wow, that's a lot of reading this week! We had really nice weather this week, too - it almost felt like fall and I loved it! Back to the 90s tomorrow, though.
ReplyDeleteIt’s back in the 90s here, too. Running 3 miles outside yesterday was brutal.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
You saved the best for last --> chocolate cake.
ReplyDelete"Weirdos in the woods", I love this description, and I am glad to see you have a lot of positive things to say about the book too. It warms my heart to see people enjoying what they read. And YEAH for bout of books. You did awesome. Getting sick is an acceptable excuse for not getting your reading done. You needed the rest more. My memory of The Secret Garden is positive, but then again, I read it as a child, which means, I probably was not savvy enough to realize they were doing the moral explanation thing to me.
Weirdos in the woods is basically my bookish aesthetic. If it has weirdos and/or woods, I want to read it.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Hahaha I did love The Secret Garden. I can't not enjoy it because it has too many connections to my childhood. :D
ReplyDeleteUm, chocolate cake? Yes please.
I did love the majority of it! The ending was just way more heavy handed than it needed to be.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Great job on your read-a-thon! I think you're allowed to slack off on Fridays. ;) I've been wanting to check out The Cresswell Plot, so I'm glad to see that you enjoyed it! And thanks for sharing my graphs! YAY FOR CAKE!
ReplyDeleteIf you read The Cresswell Plot, I hope you like it. It’s slow at times, but it’s also creepy, so that balances things out.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Well I also linked to Sam's post today as I found it interesting and striking too. I can't wait to read Salt to the Sea. It's on my TBR for so long now! Have a great Sunday ;-)
ReplyDeleteSam’s post was really good. I hope you like Salt to the Sea!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Wow. Great job! That's a lot of reading. I've only just started to get back to reading after taking a month off for our move. I feel like I've fallen so far behind.
ReplyDeleteI hope you’re able to catch up. Moving is tough.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Great idea for the read-a-thon. Four hours a day is great. Sorry you were sick for one of them. I love chocolate cake too! The weather here has been weird and I have seen some leaves changing here too. Almost time for fall. Ughhh summer is almost over and I don't want to say goodbye. Have a wonderful week!
ReplyDeleteMary my Sunday Roundup 33!
Thanks! I’m not ready for snow, but the 100 degree days can go away.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
It wasn't a billion degrees! LOL I feel ya:) And congrats on your Goodreads challenge. I'm thinking I'll complete mine since I have a bunch of books ready to be read and always post a bunch of reviews for October.
ReplyDeleteMy Sunday Post
Good luck with completing it! I’ll have a feeling I’ll be binge-reading short books on December 31st.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I've read a bunch of Mary Roach's books, but I'd forgotten about Grunt. Yay for good nonfic!
ReplyDeleteHave a good reading week!
Grunt was my first one. Now I want to read all of her books.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I've been seeing The Secret Garden all over the place! I guess there are some trends going out there, with classics, etc.
ReplyDeleteChocolate cake. Yum! I won't be able to erase that image. I'm headed to the nearest restaurant that serves it! LOL
Enjoy your week, and here are MY WEEKLY UPDATES
I’ve seen The Secret Garden around, too. I don’t know why. I read it because I’m always trying to catch up on children’s classics.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Those are really interesting links and I will be visiting each of them right away. And kudos on your Goodreads challenge!
ReplyDeleteGayathri @ Elgee Writes
Well, here the degrees suddenly tumbled to far below what you'd expect in August. I've had to take out my warmer clothes and a blanket. Yay on your Goodreads challenge! I hope you have a great week.
ReplyDeleteI had to get an extra blanket for my bed. I was excited for that. I can’t sleep when it’s hot.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Chocolate cake always makes me happy..and now I want some cake :) I thought it was cooling down but I checked the temp this morning and it sounded okay so I took the dogs for a walk it was not okay. We are still having sticky and gross weather and I don't like it. I do need to read Mary Roach. I really think that I would like her books but haven't tried her writing yet.
ReplyDeleteI can relate. I went running yesterday, and when I was halfway through, it was 91 degrees. This is not okay. How did it get so hot so quickly?
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Yay for meeting your Bout of Books goal. No shame in not doing it one day cuz of being sick. It happens. I've almost met my goal. I wanted to finish 6 out of 8 books and as long as I read half a book today, I'll meet that goal!
ReplyDeleteHahaha! It's always nice when it's not a billion degrees out!!! I wish we had changing leaves here. Unfortunately, the only signs fall is coming so far is the fact Spirit Halloween is opening up their stores now. Lol.
The Halloween stores are opening here, too! I feel bad for the employees because they put on costumes and dance outside the building in summer heat.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Great job with Bout of Books! Mary Roach's books are great... so much fun with science. Haven't read Grunt yet, but plan to eventually.
ReplyDeleteI hope you like it! I need to read more of the author’s work.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Chocolate cake!!!! (I had chocolate pudding.)
ReplyDeleteI don't really remember the end of The Secret Garden. Frances Hodgson Burnett is definitely not my favorite author.
It’s good that you don’t remember the end. The rest of it is so much better.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
That four hour reading goal would have gotten a lot of reading done so kudos to you. Yes odd about how the moral had to be spelt out like a reader wasn't that intelligent. However I guess it was the times.
ReplyDeleteI’m extremely happy that the times have changed. I don’t like being lectured.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I love your five little things :) oh hai! I'm glad you got some reading done
ReplyDeleteHere is my Weekend Post
Thanks! Have a good week!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I'm pretty sure I didn't care for Secret Garden as a kid - I thought the characters were brats. I was pretty judgy I guess as a child.
ReplyDeleteAnd chocolate cake!! A great reason to be happy. :)
The characters are brats. I didn’t mind that as much as the author’s heavy-handedness.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Great job with Bout of Books! I absolutely love Mary Roach, although I haven't read that particular title of hers. I agree that she has a great sense of humor, it makes any subject she chooses super accessible and interesting, I think :) We're about a month off from fall leaves down here, but I'm anxiously awaiting the change!
ReplyDeleteI’m glad I finally read a Mary Roach book. People have been telling me to read them for years.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I think you did just fine for Bout of Books readathon. It's not a bih deal if you lacked on your sick day.
ReplyDeleteI have to admit I don't read tons of classics but I think I get what you mean. I call it underestimating your readers.
YES! That’s exactly what happened. The moral was fairly obvious, but then the author harped on it for 50 pages to make sure that everybody got the message.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
The Cresswell Plot looks pretty interesting! Why ARE people out in the woods fun to read about?? And "blatant racism and sexism" lol. Not to mention boring oftentimes. I mean I hate to be a heathen but classics and I... don't get on well.
ReplyDeleteOoh your leaves are starting to change there? I've seen a few here but mostly it hasn't started yet, but I'll be watching for it.
I read a lot of classics, but I’m really glad that writing styles have changed. Some of those books are insufferable.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I mentioned on another blog that I've been seeing The Secret Garden everywhere this week and up it pops again. I still don't know if I ever read it!
ReplyDeleteHaha, I have no idea why it’s suddenly popular. I’m trying to catch up on the children’s classics that I haven’t read yet.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
One day I plan to do Bout of Books, I never seem to have the time but I am determined to do it next year.
ReplyDeleteChocolate Cake during the week is always a win!
Have a great week, AJ! :) Happy Reading!
I hope you’re able to do Bout of Books. I missed the Twitter chats, but the Instagram challenges were fun.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I think most classics would keep you in a reading slump. Most are a snooze fest. I'm so glad it's finally cooled down a little and by that I mean that the temps are in the 90s instead of 100s here in Southern California. It actually cools down nicely at night, though. Have a great week AJ! :)
ReplyDelete90s suck, but they’re better than 100s. I hope it cools down soon.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
The Cresswell Plot sounds interesting! And I can relate to it not being a billion degrees for once. It was only 87 instead of 97 when I left the house this morning. WIN!
ReplyDeleteMy list!
YES! That is definitely a win.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Grunt sounds good. I'm glad Bout of Books went well for you. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteGrunt was really good. I didn’t have high expectations, but I should have. The author is great.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Congrats on your Goodreads challenge. It was nice here too not being a billion degrees, but it sounds like all those degrees are coming back again here this week. Hope you have a great week!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the degrees are coming back here, too. Mini-fall was nice while it lasted.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Oh Chocolate Cake makes me so happy too haha :)
ReplyDeleteI really love the cover of The Cresswell Plot and that synopsis makes me a bit curious, I'm glad you overall enjoyed it. Might have to give it a try :D
And yes, it feels good that it's not a billion degrees anymore, here we suffered quite a bit as well ahah :)
Have a wonderful week! <3
Chocolate cake is one of the happiest things in the world. If you read The Cresswell Plot, I hope you like it. It’s pretty good.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Wow. 4 hours of reading a day. I'm good if I get an hour in before bed (unless you count the time I spend listening to audiobooks at work). See what I read this month at Girl Who Reads
ReplyDeleteFour hours a day was challenging. I expected to get more reading done than I actually did, but I’m a painfully slow reader.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Awesome achievement! All I can think about now is chocolate cake though!
ReplyDeleteI know. I’m always tempted to make my 5 Things food, but then I’m just hungry when I answer comments.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Four hours a day. Impressive. I did that today but it's my birthday. My weekly updates
ReplyDeleteI say you kicked BoB's butt, especially since you were sick. Also I'm jealous it's not a billion degrees by youm I'm melting.
ReplyDeleteIt’s back to a billion degrees. We can melt together.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
The Cresswell Plot sounds very intriguing! I like that kind of book too! It's been so long since I've read "The Secret Garden" - the positive news is, I only remember the good parts! Yay!
ReplyDeleteHave a great week! Sherry from Ubiquitous Grace
I’m glad you only remember the good parts! The first 2/3 of the book are pretty good.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Sounds like you had a wonderful reading week. I'm so glad the evenings are getting cooler, hopefully the days will follow. I'm looking forward to cooler weather, I did notice the trees changing color and was excited to see that Fall is coming.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week ahead :)
We have a lot of aspens around here, and they’re all turning yellow already. I love it.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Chocolate cake! Yum :) Sounds like you got a lot of reading done!
ReplyDeleteYep. Bout of Books and chocolate cake made it a pretty good week.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
We definitely had similar things making us happy this week, but especially the fact that it wasn't a bazillion degrees anymore :)
ReplyDeleteYou kept the best for last - chocolate cake! You had a great reading week! �� I’ve read The Secret Garden as a child but fell in love with the movie. To see my characters move around and act as I imagined was awesome ��
ReplyDeleteYay for being ahead on your Goodreads challenge! And another big yay for leaves starting to change. All of those colors are probably my favorite part about fall.
ReplyDeleteWell done on Bout of Books and your Goodreads challenge! I wish I had some chocolate cake, yum!
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful week!
Wow, that's a lot of reading! I haven't been able to read anything, which just makes me sad. However, I'm enjoying my discovery of korean dramas. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great reading week. Grunt sounds really interesting too. Fall needs to hurry up because it is far too hot!!
ReplyDeleteTori @ In Tori Lex
Sounds like a good week. I love the "weirdos in the woods" comment. I eyed Grunt when it came out. I'm glad you liked it. Hope your weather starts cooling. Yes, chocolate cake... or carrot cake... or cheesecake. Happy Reading!
ReplyDeleteAutumn is coming! Our leaves are starting to turn too. 🙂
ReplyDeleteWell done on your Bout of Books target! I aimed for 7 books (including kids books) and read 4 but was still quite happy.