Saturday, April 28, 2018

Book Haul: A Few Strange Secrets





Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. I get to show off all the books I’ve gotten recently. I picked up most of these delightfully strange tales because they fit the prompts for my 2018 reading challenges. In each of these books, someone is keeping a secret.


A Few Strange Secrets


Thursday, April 26, 2018

Review: Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland


Series: Dread Nation #1
Pages: 464
Genre: Young Adult Alternate History
Publication Date: April 2018


Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children to attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.


Near the end of 2017, I heard that there was going to be a book about Civil War zombies released in 2018, and I freaked out a little. I LOVE historical fiction, and history can only get better with zombies. Is historical horror a genre? If not, it needs to be. If it is, I need book recommendations.

Anyway, that’s a long-winded way of saying that Dread Nation became my most-anticipated release of 2018. As soon as it arrived on my doorstep, I eagerly devoured it.

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: I’m The Best Fantasy Book Author Ever



Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is overused words in book titles. 

If you’ve been on this blog before, you’ve probably seen me complain about generic fantasy titles. A lot of fantasy authors seem to be drawn to the same words. First, you have your generic “royalty” words: Prince, princess, queen, daughter, castle, court, throne, kingdom, city, assassin, pirate, thief, crown, etc. Then you have your generic “mysterious magic” words: Blood, glass, bone, ruins, dance, raven, crow, mist, forest, dream, smoke, storm, fire, etc.

If you combine a few of those words, you have a bestselling fantasy novel!


Sunday, April 22, 2018

The Sunday Post #145

Sunday is a perfect day for brunch. Feeding the rat demon is discouraged.


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.


Saturday, April 21, 2018

Thursday, April 19, 2018

Review: Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton || Why Characters Need Agency



Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton


Pages: 259
Genre: Post-apocalyptic literary fiction
Publication Date: August 2016
Augustine, a brilliant, aging astronomer, is consumed by the stars. For years he has lived in remote outposts, studying the sky for evidence of how the universe began. At his latest posting, in a research center in the Arctic, news of a catastrophic event arrives. The scientists are forced to evacuate, but Augustine stubbornly refuses to abandon his work. Shortly after the others have gone, Augustine discovers a mysterious child, Iris, and realizes the airwaves have gone silent. They are alone.

At the same time, Mission Specialist Sullivan is aboard the Aether on its return flight from Jupiter. The astronauts are the first human beings to delve this deep into space, and Sully has made peace with the sacrifices required of her: a daughter left behind, a marriage ended. So far the journey has been a success, but when Mission Control falls inexplicably silent, Sully and her crew mates are forced to wonder if they will ever get home.



I have to admit that this book was a total cover-buy. I was scrolling through Book Outlet, and Good Morning, Midnight appeared on my screen. I was like, “Get in my cart right now. I need you.” Also, I’d really like to be in that tent on the cover. It looks cold, but it’s probably infinitely more interesting than whatever I’m doing with my life at this moment.

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Small Publishers That You Should Check Out



Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is whatever I want. Did you know that the majority of books in stores come from the same 5 giant publishers? That doesn’t seem fair to me. Here are ten small publishers that need more love. Please click the links and check out their catalogs.


Sunday, April 15, 2018

The Sunday Post #144

If you're reading this on a beach right now, I'm envious. Also, what is that dude staring at? Her knees? How scandalous!



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.


Saturday, April 14, 2018

Book Haul: Why Are These Books So Big?



Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. I get to show off all the books I’ve gotten recently. Somehow I ended up with giant hardcover editions of these books. I’m not complaining. I love hardcovers, but fat bastard books take up a whole lot of shelf space.


Thursday, April 12, 2018

Discussion: My Reviewing Crisis

The 2018 Discussion Challenge is hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction & It Starts At Midnight


Last month, I had a bit of a crisis. I was writing a review of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, and I suddenly realized that I didn’t want to do this anymore. I didn’t want to write this review. Or any review. It wasn’t the book’s fault—I really liked the book. I just wasn’t having fun writing the review. It felt difficult and pointless.

Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Review: Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson || I’m Confused by Talking Bunnies

Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson


Pages: 128
Genre: Middlegrade Fiction
Publication Date: September 1944
It has been a while since Folks lived in the Big House, and an even longer time has passed since there has been a garden at the House. All the animals of the Hill are very excited about the new Folks moving in, and they wonder how things are going to change. It's only a matter of time before the animals of the Hill find out just who is moving in, and they may be a little bit surprised when they do.

My quest to read all the Newbery winners continues with Rabbit Hill, the winner from 1945. The story primarily focuses on a family of rabbits, who are very excited that a family is moving into the abandoned house near their hill. All the small animals on the hill are starving because they rely on the garden at the house for food. The animals don’t know if the new Folks will be nice people who like animals or mean people who trap and kill animals.

Sunday, April 8, 2018

The Sunday Post #143

I have a theory that cats make horcruxes when nobody is looking. How else would they get those nine lives?



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.



Saturday, April 7, 2018

Book Haul: Love And Other Scary Things




Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. I get to show off all the books I’ve gotten recently. Here are some books about love and other scary things.

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Review: The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon


The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon


Pages: 226
Genre: Literary/Contemporary
Publisher: Vintage
Publication Date: July 2003

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. 

Although gifted with a superbly logical brain, for fifteen-year-old Christopher everyday interactions and admonishments have little meaning. He lives on patterns, rules, and a diagram kept in his pocket. Then one day, a neighbor's dog, Wellington, is killed and his carefully constructed universe is threatened. Christopher sets out to solve the murder in the style of his favorite (logical) detective, Sherlock Holmes. What follows makes for a novel that is funny, poignant and fascinating in its portrayal of a person whose curse and blessing are a mind that perceives the world entirely literally.
I agree with Christopher—this book’s brilliant narrator—about three things:

1. Dogs are important.
2. Blue Planet is one of the best TV shows.
3. Anybody who touches me deserves to be punched.


Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons I Hate Your Characters





Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is characters I like in books I hate. I tried really hard to write a post about that topic, but I discovered that I usually hate books because of the characters. So, I’m doing my own thing with this week’s prompt.

Dear authors, here are ten reasons why I hate your characters.

Monday, April 2, 2018

Review: The Complete Stories Of Truman Capote by Truman Capote


The Complete Stories of Truman Capote by Truman Capote


Pages: 320
Genre: Literary Short Stories
Publisher: Vintage
Publication Date: January 1993
Ranging from the gothic South to the chic East Coast, from rural children to aging urban sophisticates, all the unforgettable places and people of Capote’s oeuvre are here, in stories as elegant as they are heartfelt, as haunting as they are compassionate.

Back when I was a morbid little teenager, I had a slight obsession with In Cold Blood. I don’t know exactly why I loved that book so much, but I think I appreciated how hard Capote tried to get inside the minds of murderers. During college, I read a few of Capote’s short stories, and I really liked them, so I decided to read all of his short stories.


Sunday, April 1, 2018

The Sunday Post #142

Did you know that you can write secret messages on eggs? Write the message on the shell in white crayon and then dip the egg in dye. When you pull it out, the message will be revealed! I write swear words on mine . . .


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.