Tag: Diverse

August TBR: Where I Try Way Too Hard

Well it’s that time of the month again… And by that, I mean that a new month is starting which means a whole new monthly TBR! Obviously. I’m a little late getting out my TBR this month but I’ve just been really busy between work and all that jazz to sit down and formulate what my reading plans were for August. I was also in a bit of a mini reading slump this past week which affected my blogging plans. But I’m finally here, right?! So let’s get to it!

August Tome Topple Readathon TBR & Announcement

Yes, I am participating again this round! I’m joining in a few days late because of my stinking reading slump which has pushed me back just a tad. However, I have full plans to catch back up and finally start on my two book picks for this round!

Tome Topple is a readathon hosted by Sam @ ThoughtsOnTomes. She’s one of my favorite booktubers, in case you don’t recognize the name. This readathon is all about reading those big books on your TBR that you’re usually too scared to grab. The only rules is that the books must be over 500 pages and cannot be an anthology of short stories. Sounds easy, right?! This readathon is running from August 4th – August 17th. You can visit the Goodreads Group to learn more about the readathon.

And the choices for my readathon TBR are….

  • Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows, #2) by Leigh Bardugo
  • Lost Stars by Claudia Gray

I’m aiming for only two books during this readathon, as I will be starting late due to the fact that I’m still reading Six of Crows at the moment. So the logical first book for the readathon should be its sequel, Crooked Kingdom. Then I want to finally pick up Lost Stars so I can check another Star Wars canon novel off of my list. I’ve also had both of these books since they were published, so you know, just a little behind on reading them. OOPS!

August TBR

  • Hunted by Meagan Spooner
  • Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) by Leigh Bardugo – currently reading
  • A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
  • Heartless by Marissa Meyer
  • Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero
  • Fuse (Pure, #2) by Julianna Baggott
  • American Fire by Monica Hesse
  • The Child Thief by Brom
  • The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1) by Trenton Lee Stewart

I think I might be a little ambitious with my TBR for this month, especially after not really reading at all during the first week. However, if I can even get through half of these books then I will be satisfied. I think I have a really good mix of genres this month, which should help keep me from getting too bored. At least I hope so.

What books are on your TBR for this month? Are you participating in Tome Topple? If so, what books did you choose to pick up for it?

Hype or Like Friday – A Modern Spin

This meme and Goodreads group were created by myself, Jill @ Rant and Rave Books, and Britt @ Geronimo Reads. To join our group and find out more information about what it’s all about, please go to our Goodreads page HERE.

The August BOTMs are Heartless by Marissa Meyer and/or Hunted by Meagan Spooner.

RULES:

  • Answer the weekly discussion topic.
  • Optional: Discuss your chosen hyped book of the week.
  • Optional: Talk about your progress on the BOTM.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK: A Modern Spin… What are some of your favorite retellings?

  • The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore – Romeo & Juliet, REVIEW
  • Helen of Troy by Margaret George – Trojan War
  • Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige – Wizard of Oz
  • The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – Trojan War, REVIEW
  • Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen – Peter Pan, REVIEW
  • Asleep by Krystal Wade – Sleeping Beauty, REVIEW
  • A Million Junes by Emily Henry – Romeo & Juliet, REVIEW
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses, #1) by Sarah J. Maas – Beauty and the Beast, REVIEW

What are some of your favorite retellings? What do you look for in retellings – darker story, modern setting, etc.? Leave a link to your Hype or Like Friday post in the comments below!

July Wrap-Up: Reviews, Reading Challenges, etc.

Another great reading month! Here’s hoping that that trend continues through for the rest of the year!

Books Read

  • Bone Gap by Laura Ruby – 2/5 stars, audiobook
  • A Million Junes by Emily Henry – 5/5 stars, REVIEW
  • The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead – 2/5 stars, audiobook
  • This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1) by Victoria Schwab – 5/5 stars, REVIEW
  • Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity, #2) by Victoria Schwab – 5/5 stars, REVIEW
  • Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman – 3/5 stars
  • Leviathan (Leviathan, #1) by Scott Westerfeld – 4/5 stars, audiobook
  • The Wicked & The Divine, Vol. 1: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen – 4/5 stars, graphic novel
  • The Wicked & The Divine, Vol. 2: Fandemonium by Kieron Gillen – 4/5 stars, graphic novel
  • Starfall (Starflight, #2) by Melissa Landers – 4/5 stars, REVIEW
  • Kings Cage (Red Queen, #3) by Victoria Aveyard – 4/5 stars, REVIEW
  • The Bone Season (The Bone Season, #1) by Samantha Shannon – 5/5 stars
  • The Mime Order (The Bone Season, #2) by Samantha Shannon – 5/5 stars
  • The Song Rising (The Bone Season, #3) by Samantha Shannon – 5/5 stars
  • The Winter Sea (Slains, #1) by Susanna Kearsley – 3/5 stars, audiobook

I cannot believe I was able to read/listen to this many books this month. It truly baffles my mind, haha! I’m also having a whole lot of trouble deciding on what else to say right now because I’m kind of starving and all I can think about is food. Y’all, I’M SO HUNGRY!

Total Books Read: 15

Overall in 2017: 52

Reading Challenge Updates

POPSUGAR

  • A Book That Takes Place Over a Character’s Life Span – The Underground Railroad
  • A Book Written by Someone You Admire – Norse Mythology
  • A Bestseller from 2016 – This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1)
  • A Book with a Month or Day of the Week in the Title – A Million Junes
  • A Book with One of the Four Season in the Title – The Winter Sea (Slains, #1)

Beat the Backlist

  • This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1)
  • Bone Gap
  • The Bone Season (The Bone Season, #1)
  • The Mime Order (The Bone Season, #2)

Goodreads Challenge

  • Total: 52/100
  • Previous Total: 36/100

Blog Posts

Teaser Tuesday

WWW Wednesday

Hype or Like Friday

Discussions/Misc.

How did your reading go during July? Did you get to all of the books that you wanted to? Did you participate in any of the reading challenges?

 

A Personal TBR of Books You Might Not Have Heard of

Hello, lovelies! I wasn’t sure what I wanted to write about today, so thanks to those of you who voted in my Twitter poll and decided you wanted to hear more about my underrated TBR list.

As I was putting all of my books up in my new shelves a few weeks ago, I noticed how many books on my TBR shelf that I owned but haven’t really seen mentioned anywhere else. I know we all tend pick up books that we see on blogs, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. It’s easy to get your interest piqued by seeing a book somewhere. I tend to buy popular books too sometimes, instead of taking the time to just browse the racks. However, there are still some days where I just spend hours browsing the bookstore or BookOutlet. This ends with me finding some hidden gems that I might not normally have heard about and now I have way more unread books than is probably healthy, haha! But I can say that I cannot wait to finally pick these beauties up!

P.S. I only included the books that I already own and only chose a handful from my shelves. Maybe I’ll post another list at a late date! 🙂

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The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson

I received this book in my Book of the Month Club box back at the beginning of the year. I think it’s basically about a rich school where all of the kids are horrible and torture a new teacher. I’m really interested in seeing how dark this one gets.

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The Child Thief by Brom

Think pyscho evil child-snatcher Peter Pan, and you basically have this really dark retelling of the boy-who-never-grows-up. This one has been tempting me a whole lot lately and I may have to bump it up to my TBR for next month. And yes, I know I’m a scaredy-cat and don’t usually read horror. I’ll be sure to only read this one during the day!

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Shadow Run (Kaitan Chronicles, #1) by Adrianne Strickland & Michael Miller

Y’all know I can’t resist a good novel set on a spaceship. SIGN ME UP.

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Newt’s Emerald by Garth Nix

A mystery romance set in the Regency but with magic, yes, magic. I feel like this will be a nice fluff book, perfect for a day when I’m feeling something light and cute. This will be my first Garth Nix book and I’m interested in seeing how I feel about his writing.

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A Song for Ella Grey  by David Almond

This one is a contemporary retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice. If you don’t know that myth, it’s a tragedy. I expect a lot of tears to be shed during this one.

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Where Futures End by Parker Peevyhouse

From the synopsis of this book, I’m getting some serious YA version of Cloud Atlas vibes. While I absolutely hated Cloud Atlas (I shudder just thinking about it), Emily Henry recommends this book and I’m kind of obsessed with her books so I hope this one doesn’t disappoint.

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The Cutting Season by Attica Locke

This is a murder mystery set on an old plantation in southern Louisiana. I think this book is also a commentary on modern politics and race relations, and if that’s the case, count me in. This is also a #ownvoices novel too, which makes me even more excited!

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Age of Myth (The Legends of the First Empire, #1) by Michael Sullivan

This epic fantasy novel has really awesome rating on Goodreads right now, which makes me really excited to hear. I think the sequel was actually released recently too, so I may end up binging them sometime soon. I cannot wait!

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Every Man a Menace by Patrick Hoffman

This book sounds like such a trip (pun intended!), as it follows a shipment of MDMA from the making of it to its distribution in the United States. This is a straight crime novel, where no one is the hero. I don’t usually pick up books like this so we’ll see how it goes.

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The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates

I’ve never actually read any of Oates’ book (I know, I know!!), but this one sounds incredibly intriguing. It’s set in 1905 Princeton, New Jersey where a bunch of real-life famous people get caught up in curse and fall under the control of a paranormal force. Sounds intense, right?

What books do you have that might be under-the-radar of the book community? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them?

Recommendations Series #2: Contemporary

My next post in my recommendations series is going to be on contemporaries! I’m not the biggest fan of contemporary, as it’s just not a genre that I gravitate towards. However, I do read it on occasion and still have a few that I really recommend. These aren’t the most recently released books, but hey, I tried! 😉

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We Are Still Tornadoes by Michael Kun & Susan Mullen

This was such a cute read that follows two best friends as they are split up following their high school graduation, with one staying in their hometown and the other going off to college in the early 80’s. It’s written in letter form and makes for a great summer read!

 

 

 

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The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

This book broke me in the best ways possible. I cannot recommend it enough. And the only reason that I haven’t picked up Zentner’s newest release is that I’m just not ready to ugly cry yet and my heart is still healing.

 

 

 

 

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Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Now some of you may be all, “But Larkin this is a fantasy!” and I shall respond with, “This reads like a contemporary and it’s my list so I saw it’s a contemporary!” And then we shall all be friends because we agree that this book is awesome and Baz is such a hottie.

 

 

 

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Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Now this book isn’t for everyone as it deals with some pretty intense topics like incest. But I’ll be damn if this book isn’t powerful, beautiful and heartbreaking. Be ready for things to get heavy… I just rhymed!

 

 

 

 

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We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

This book was insane and left me speechless at the end. DAT TWIST THOUGH. And did I ugly cry? Ummmm, I might have just a tiny bit.

 

 

 

 

 

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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Big thanks to my blogging bestie, Britt @ Geronimo Reads for recommending this one to me. She was right. This coming-of-age story about first love will forever stay with me.

 

 

 

 

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The Love that Split the World by Emily Henry

This gorgeous debut story was one of my favorites last year. Weaving Native American folklore into this contemporary following a young girl as she struggles with two separate realities blurring, this story will definitely leave you with some serious questions about the universe.

 

 

 

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

I’m sure you’re groaning at such an obvious choice for me to end my recommendations on. However, this book is just too good not to include in my favorite contemporaries. I love it so much! And if you haven’t read it yet, I really do recommend it. Then watch the movie adaptation as well as it’s really good too.

 

 

What are some of your favorite contemporaries? Which ones would you recommend? Have you read any of the ones on my list? If so, what did you think of it?

 

WWW Wednesday – July 12th, 2017

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?

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This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity, #1) by Victoria Schwab

I won’t lie and say that I wasn’t confused for about the first 50 pages of this book, because I totally was. Confused but insanely intrigued. This book starts off with a bang and I cannot wait to see where it leads to next. Thanks to everyone who voted this book as my next read the other day on the Twitter poll!

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

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Mischling by Affinity Konar

This is my current audiobook and it’s interesting so far. I’m having trouble focusing on actually listening to it lately so I’m going  a little slower than when I first started. Hopefully work calms down a bit so I can really get back into this story. I just hope I don’t end up crying at work!

Pearl is in charge of: the sad, the good, the past.

Stasha must care for: the funny, the future, the bad.

It’s 1944 when the twin sisters arrive at Auschwitz with their mother and grandfather. In their benighted new world, Pearl and Stasha Zagorski take refuge in their identical natures, comforting themselves with the private language and shared games of their childhood.

As part of the experimental population of twins known as Mengele’s Zoo, the girls experience privileges and horrors unknown to others, and they find themselves changed, stripped of the personalities they once shared, their identities altered by the burdens of guilt and pain.

That winter, at a concert orchestrated by Mengele, Pearl disappears. Stasha grieves for her twin, but clings to the possibility that Pearl remains alive. When the camp is liberated by the Red Army, she and her companion Feliks–a boy bent on vengeance for his own lost twin–travel through Poland’s devastation. Undeterred by injury, starvation, or the chaos around them, motivated by equal parts danger and hope, they encounter hostile villagers, Jewish resistance fighters, and fellow refugees, their quest enabled by the notion that Mengele may be captured and brought to justice within the ruins of the Warsaw Zoo. As the young survivors discover what has become of the world, they must try to imagine a future within it.

A superbly crafted story, told in a voice as exquisite as it is boundlessly original, Mischling defies every expectation, traversing one of the darkest moments in human history to show us the way toward ethereal beauty, moral reckoning, and soaring hope.

What did you recently finish reading?

  • King’s Cage (Red Queen, #3) by Victoria Aveyard – 4/5 stars, Review
  • Leviathan (Leviathan, #1) by Scott Westerfeld – 4/5 stars, audiobook
  • Starfall (Starflight, #2) by Melissa Landers – 4/5 stars, full review to come
  • The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead – 2/5 stars, audiobook

I think I did a good job catching up on my reading after slacking during the holiday weekend. I also really enjoyed these books for the most part. Unfortunately, I think the hype was just wayyyyy too much for me with The Underground Railroad. I had heard such great things about it, but I just did not enjoy any of the characters and the writing was a bit too much at times. I might try another of Whitehead’s books in the future though to see if I enjoy it more.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Bone Gap by Laura Ruby – audiobook
  • Our Dark Duet (Monsters of Verity, #2) by Victoria Schwab

My wait list is finally up on Bone Gap from Overdrive so that’ll be up next on my audiobook schedule. I’ve heard amazing things about this story and I’m really excited to dive into it. And of course, continuing with my Smashing Series July, I’ll finish up the Monsters of Verity duology. I can’t decide what series to start after that so I may be doing another Twitter poll. Make my decisions for me, social media peeps!

What have you read this week? What’s next on your TBR? Have you read any of the books on my list? If you read The Underground Railroad, what did you think of it?