Sunday, March 12, 2023

The Sunday Post #328

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The Sunday Post is a chance to recap the past week, talk about next week, tell you what I’m reading, and share news. It’s hosted by The Caffeinated Book ReviewerReaderbuzz, and Book Date.




The Sunday Post #328





On The Blog Recently











In My Reading Life



Last week, I reread This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. This is still my least-favorite Schwab novel, but I had fun rereading it.




This Savage Song takes place in a world where violence breeds literal monsters. August Flynn is one of those monsters, but he doesn’t want to be. He hides his monstrous tendencies and tries to blend in with the humans. Kate Harker is a human who wants to be a monster. She thinks if she can be horrible enough, she’ll win the approval of her violent father. When the city’s monsters rise up and try to seize control, Kate and August are forced to flee. Can they get along well enough to survive?

Victoria Schwab’s writing style always pulls me into her books and makes them hard to put down. It’s descriptive, but it’s not dense. Once the action gets going, the plot moves at breakneck speed. I can get lost in Schwab’s worlds and read hundreds of pages without noticing that hours have passed. This Savage Song is a pretty big book, but I finished most of it in a day.

The best part of this story? No romance! Kate and August are just frenemies. That might change in the sequel, but it’s refreshing to read about a boy/girl friendship. Young adult literature needs more of those. Not every deadly situation has to lead to true love.

Just like with Schwab’s other books, the world-building in this one is murky. I never got a clear picture of the city’s layout or fully understood what monsters can/can’t do. For example, metal is supposed to keep monsters away, but they’re around metal all the time. It doesn’t seem to deter them. Violence is supposed to breed monsters, but does “violence” only mean killing? The characters are constantly slamming each other against walls, and that doesn’t create monsters (I don’t think?). I spent chunks of the book feeling mildly confused about the world.

Finally, the main characters are similar to the main characters in Schwab’s other novels. I probably shouldn’t complain because I like the characters, but I'm complaining. The girl is a violent badass; the boy is sweet and sensitive. I’ve seen this before.

Those are small complaints. I'm excited to read the sequel and finish this duology.









In The Rest Of My Life



Five things that made me happy recently:

  1. Kit-Kat ice cream!
  2. I'm glad I joined a book club. I don't love the book we're reading, but it's fun to hang out with bookish people for a few hours a week.
  3. I found an MTV show called Help! I'm Stuck In A Secret Relationship! That show has been sucking up all my free time. It's a bit like Catfish. One of the partners in a relationship is keeping the other hidden from their friends and family. The hosts try to figure out why. I'm shocked at the variety of reasons why people keep their relationships a secret. It seems like a lot of work.
  4. I wrote some fiction. I quit writing fiction in 2019, but I had a stress nightmare a few weeks ago and woke up thinking, That nightmare would make a nice children's story. So, I wrote it. Writing fiction is extremely stressful, but I did it!
  5. I saw a fox and some prairie dogs outside of a dog groomer. They were staring at each other.










My Mom Thinks I'm Cool











Take care of yourselves and be kind to each other. See you around the blogosphere!





31 comments:

  1. Lol those pictures of the fox and prairie dogs! And Kit Kat ice cream sounds delicious!

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  2. Yeah for following your muse. Hmmm, a face off between a fox and some prairie dogs. I have seen videos, prairie dogs are fighters. I am almost tempted to join a book club for the social aspect, but I cannot bring myself to read books I have no interest in.

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  3. I seem to be drawn to reading more fantasy these days. I hope to read a lot of Ursula Le Guin this year.

    I finding writing to be a fun experience, but maybe that's why my writing is so bad?

    I've never seen a fox in real life. Very cool.

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  4. The first time I saw prairie dogs was in a park in Denver! I had no idea what they were!

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  5. Love the meal prep meme! lol. The pics of the prairie dogs and fox are cool. My brother has seen a mama fox and babies out behind his house before. I try to write, and used to really do it more. But I've not been able to really get back into my writing much since the pandemic. And now I'm thinking maybe I'll just stick to being a reader. Hope you have a good week!

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  6. Glad you enjoy the book club experience. I like the concept of a book club (i.e. discussing with other bookish people, but less keen of having to read books, which I might not be tempted by. Stargazer.

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  7. Finally a meal prep plan I can get behind!

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  8. I feel like if I was in a 'secret' relationship, I wouldn't go on an MTV show to talk about it! ;)

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  9. I haven't been in a book club for years. It would be nice to join one again. Glad you had a great week!

    Here’s my Sunday Post

    Rabbit Ears Book Blog: WORLD’S WEIRDEST BOOK BLOG!

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  10. I’m glad you are enjoying your book club!

    Wishing you a great reading week

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  11. Hi AJ! I haven't read This Savage Song, but I do like Victoria Schwab.

    I like candy bar flavoured ice cream and Kit Kat can really be yummy!

    Have a great week AJ and I hope you will have some time for reading.

    Elza Reads

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  12. Kit Kat icecream???? Oh boy!!! I need that! Love the fox and prairie dogs!!

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  13. I've belonged to a few book clubs over the years and mostly enjoyed the books, even when out of my preferred reading. But, what I found over and over is that it would usually be a 15 min cursory talk about the book and 2 hours of social time. I enjoy social time as much as the next person, but I was never able to find a book club where they actually cared about talking critically about a book. So now I have you guys! :)
    Thanks for stopping by and have a terrific week.
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

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  14. Well I have enjoyed COYER for the book club and various other parts. It's got lots of moving parts and you can pick and choose what you want to do, including just being part of the community.

    Anne - Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post

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  15. This Savage Song and Kit Kat ice-cream both sound good! Thats cute about the fox and prairie dogs. Enjoy your books this week.

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  16. Kit Kat Ice Cream sounds so good. Great pics. Hope you have a great week!

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  17. A book club sounds so fun. And yay for writing!!!

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  18. KitKat ice cream sounds good. I think it would make me happy too. Hope you have a wonderful week!

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  19. Congrats on writing fiction! I have often thought it would be cool to write a story from my dreams, maybe one day I will!

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  20. Oh those dreams...I always forget the coolest ones the moment I wake up :) or at least by the time I am ready to jot those down...
    And love your five things list overall.. writing fiction is definitely hard (tried short stories for a class, and realized dialog writing is the hardest part of it all for me)...

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  21. We started a bookclub but made it read on a theme so that you don't have to read books that you don't really enjoy!

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  22. We used to have prairie dogs in my front yard! They are very cute, but were killing my trees, so we encouraged them to move across the street. We still see them, but they are not killing my trees.

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  23. Look at you writing fiction! That's great! Also both prairie dogs and a fox? What luck! So cute, all of them.

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  24. Terry Pratchett once said that writing is the most fun you can have by yourself - and he should know:)). That doesn't make it easy, but I wouldn't have spent so much time and effort over the years if I didn't absolutely love it. I love the drama between the fox and prairie dogs. I hope you enjoy the book club, both for the social aspect and as a chance to talk about books:)). Have a good week!

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  25. I have given Victoria Schwab a try with no success. I should likely give her another. Congrats on the writing. Also, Kit-Kat ice cream? Sounds good. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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  26. That's so great that you did some writing again (too bad it had to come from a nightmare!). And I know what you mean about book club book choices, I often don't love the books, but like spending time with friends and other readers.

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  27. Those prairie dogs are on the alert! They weren't born yesterday. Is there really Kit-Kat ice cream? Must hide from me. Lately it's chocolate covered almonds that are like cat nip for me. Enjoy your week.

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  28. That is meal prep I can get behind! I love Help I'm in a Secret Relationship! It is interesting to see the random decisions people make and how they react to different situations. I'm also a big fan of Catfish. Those are my two favorite shows to watch while I relax. Have a great week!

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  29. Love that meal planning, lol! Nice that you were into the book to finish it in one day. I've never read Scwab but I have heard good things and I own one of her audios that I mean to get to at some point. Cute local wildlife!

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  30. Congratulations on writing your story! Though I have to wonder about a children's story based on a stress nightmare ;-)

    The fox and the prairie dogs sure look like they're having a standoff, don't they?

    My husband and I hid our relationship from our co-workers for a while when we first started dating because we worked in the same small department. We didn't want things to be awkward if it didn't work out and we weren't really sure if there were rules against it or anything. We lasted about 3 months before we decided to let the cat out of the bag.

    Enjoy your week!

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