Bout of Books: Thursday Update

Hello, Hello

Another day has gone by and here is my update. Another day at the conference. But at least today the sun was shinning bright when it finished :)

Books started: Nothing new since yesterday, I did continue listening to Dreams of Gods & Monsters, I would like to finish it soon, it is so good!

• The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There: I read a 100 pages today! taking me to 260 over 344. I think I will finish it by Friday :)

Books finished:

• Sapphire Blue:I liked it. I will post the review soon tomorrow, but in the meantime, let me just tell you that this is a series that has enough elements in it to keep it interesting and different.

No reviews posted yet, at least not related to Bout of Books. However I have posted some reviews from books I finished last week.

Blogs visited today: New blogs today! Man, seeing other people goals and how they are actually managing to keep with them is making me feel bad about mine :$

• Karsyn's Kickass Jocoserious, Kooky, Jannock book blog

• Palmer's Page Turners

Challenges: Today I am participating on the "Spell it Out" challenge hosted at Kymberly Faye Reads. My registration number is 551 at the Sign Up post. I will, as most people did, try and spell out my name (^-^) using all books I read and liked.


C--> Catching Fire by
A--> Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
R--> Red Glove by Holly Black
O--> Old Man's War by John Scalzi
L--> Letters to a Young Scientist by Edward O. Wilson
I--> In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower by Marcel Proust
N-->Night of Cake & Puppets by Laini Taylor
A--> Among Others by Jo Walton




See you guys tomorrow. 

Bout of Books: Wednesday Update

Hello, Hello

Another day has gone by and here is my update. Today I had a conference downtown so I was happy I finished my Audio yesterday since I would've not been able to listen to it today. Also, since I took the metro, that gave me some time to advance in my print book. This nasty cold is taking it's toll on me, but I will do my best!

Books started: Nothing new since yesterday, I did continue listening to Dreams of Gods & Monsters, I would like to finish it soon, it is so good!

• The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There:I am in page 160, which means that I managed to read 90 pages today. Not bad but no great. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow.

Books finished:

• Sapphire Blue:I liked it. I will post the review soon, but in the meantime, let me just tell you that this is a series that has enough elements in it to keep it interesting and diferent.

No reviews posted yet, at least not related to Bout of Books. However I have posted some reviews from books I finished last week.

Blogs visited today: New blogs today! Man, seeing other people goals and how they are actually managing to keep with them is making me feel bad about mine :$

• A Quiet Book Lover
• Alex in Bookland

Challenges: Today I am participating on the This' Made Me Think of 'That' challenge hosted at My Overstuffed Shelves. My registration number is 551 at the Sign Up post.

My pairing is simple I think, I would pair reading The Night Circus and watching Big Fish. Both are so absolutely whimsical and the imagery I got from the first resembles the one used in the latter.   

See you guys tomorrow. 

Night of Cake & Puppets by Laini Taylor

Life doesn’t need magic to be magical. But a little bit sure doesn’t hurt

Why I read this book

Ever since I started reading the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy I've likes Zuzana. She is a fun character to read and to hear, since I am doing this series in Audio. So when I learn that there was a tiny novella dedicated to her I had to read it.

What the book is about

Taylor gives us in this book the story of Zuzana's and Mik's first date. With a bit of help from Karou and a lot of input from her own unique persona, Zuzana finally makes the first move and marvels Violin Boy with a wonderful night in Prague.

First impressions

Independent of the magic in this story, this is such a lovely first date. Two people that have liked each other all along, but cannot gather the guts to ask each other out finally getting the little push they needed.

Final thoughts

While the reason why I like Daughter of Smoke and Bone so much is because it doesn't revolve solely on a lovey dovey couple but mostly in effect difference and ignorance can affect everything, this novella was sweet without being sickeningly so.

It showed a side of Zuzana that was endearing without losing her strength, which happens so often, like you have to choose between one and the other. And Mik is adorable; the way he talks (Kevin Collins does a wonderful job impersonating him), the way he expresses himself, is absolutely charming. The fact that the story is told from both POVs is a plus, and when it finally merges it is…well, I don’t like to say perfect, but I guess for this two it was.

Listening to this novella, right before going through Dreams of Gods and Monsters gave me a whole new light for their relationship as well as the one between Karou and Zuzana. Almost 3 hours of delightful charm and sassiness.

I want to build spires in their minds and dance shadows through like marionettes, chased by whispers and hints of the unspeakable.

Bout of Books: Tuesday Update

Hello, Hello

Another day has gone by and here is my update

Books started: Nothing new since yesterday.

• The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There: I didn't really advance today in print, I've been sick, so I put all my reading time on audio

Books finished:

• Sapphire Blue:I liked it. I will post the review soon, but in the meantime, let me just tell you that this is a series that has enough elements in it to keep it interesting and diferent.

No reviews posted yet, at least not related to Bout of Books. However I have posted some reviews from books I finished last week.

Blogs visited today: I visited other blog's too, including the ones I visited yesterday, and River City Reading. I decided to "feature" this too, randomly

• Jayne's Books
• Love. Life. Read

Challenges:

Today I am participating in River City Reading's Challenge: Books You're Looking Forward To. My list is as follows:

• The Martian by Andy Weir: I am so exited to finally be able to read this one. It is also the pick for this month for the Sword and Laser Book Club. I got my copy last Friday, but since it wasn't in my main list for the challenge it is my boyfriend who has been reading it for now. It is killing me because he laughs every 5 minutes and so I can't wait to put my hands on it!.
• The Tropic of Serpents by Marie Brennan: While I don't own a copy of this one yet, I am really looking forward the second part of this series.
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Berdugo: I've had this book for a while now. With it I will finish my Once Upon a Time Challenge!
• The Clockwork Scarab by Coleen Gleason: I won this one with LybraryThing and it took forever to get to me, so I am hoping the wait was worth it.
• Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry: A companion novel of The Giver. The later ended up so abruptly I am hoping to get a bit more answers with this one.
• Cress by Marissa Meyer: This is the third book from The Lunar Chronicles and I am very happy to continue this series. I am still waiting for the library to call me, but in the mean time, as you can see, I think I have a lot to read :)

See you guys tomorrow. 

Bout of Books: Monday update

Hello everybody, here is a short update on my reading for Bout of Books.

Books started: I started the two books I intended to read 

• The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There:Oh how I like September! Just 70 pages in, though, have to speed it up!
• Sapphire Blue: I am at 37% and so far I am liking this second installment.

No reviews posted since I just started the books ;)

Blogs visited today:

• Don't be afraid of the dork
• Little Book Owl

So far this was a good day, I wanted to advance more on my print book, but it was a surprise date night so my book was put aside :D
 
See you tomorrow!

The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir

There is a strong idea in the world that a woman cannot live unless she is married

Why I read this book

I read The Lady Elizabeth by the same author and I really liked her writing style. Elizabeth I has always been am interesting character to me and having the opportunity to learn a bit more about her by an author that I already like was something I wouldn't pass.

What the book is about

Obviously the book is about the life of Elizabeth I as a Queen. While the Lady Elizabeth walks us through the childhood and teenage years of Elizabeth, prior to her coronation, this book explores the year that Elizabeth was on the throne. Divided in sections that tackle her international politics, economy and her court in general, this book is a good example of a well researched biography.

First impressions

Alison Weir is amazingly thorough; I knew I liked the romanticized character of Elizabeth, but the Elizabeth portrayed in this book is just unbelievably interesting. From her dealing with the detractors of her father's formed religion to her manipulation of other courts to her advantage, Elizabeth was a woman of vision, not afraid to take the reins of her kingdom.

Final thoughts

Elizabeth was praised and criticized largely during her kingdom. In both cases her gender was always a factor to be considered by her allies and enemies. As a young woman she was congratulated on her exceptional memory and curiosity and she would have her father to thank for insisting in her being educated as a prince, for this had a considerable impact in her behavior as a ruler. She spoke more than 5 languages and managed to deal with conspiracies against her life from even before she was considered an heir to the throne and all of this shaped the diplomat that most of us know.

She was smart (most of the time) when choosing the people around her, and through this close group of people managed to bring prosperity to her land and to establish what we now refer to as the Elizabethan era, an epoch rich in culture that not in vane is considered the Golden age.

But the book doesn't show a perfect Elizabeth, and this made me like the content even more. While the Virgin Queen is praised often in the book, there is also discussion of some traits in her character that take the figure of the queen from this idealized image to a more humane person, flawed and with weaknesses; a person that overcame such weaknesses in order to fulfill what she considered her destiny.

It is the first book I hear in the voice if Davina Porter, and I have to say I did enjoy her performance. Her pace was appropriate to a non-fiction book where so much information was given, and her inflections when encountering quotes from Elizabeth or other characters made a nice flow in the book.

A person who did not wish to treat their mother well, deserves a wicked step mother

The Giver by Lois Lowry

We don't dare to let people make choices of their own

Why I read this book

As I've mentioned several times before, when possible, I like to read the book before the movie. As the trailer for the movie has gained momentum, curiosity started to grow inside of me. I've liked other YA dystopias before so I figure why not give this one a try.

What the book is about

The book takes place in a community were "sameness" is rule. Everyone dresses pretty much the same and they behave in similar fashion too. There is no chaos, and you life is carefully planned and decided for you. At the same time, this community has neither pain, nor suffering of any kind and people are portrayed as content with the situation. At 12 your career is assigned, and it is then that our protagonist Jonas is selected as the new Receiver. What this actually means is a mystery to him, since there can only be a Receiver at a time for the community. He will finally discover what, if anything, pushed the community to be formed.

First impressions

The thing that impressed me the most, from the beginning of the story, was the dedication and importance given to people to be accurate in their usage of words. It was interesting to hear the voices of children no older than 12 years old, being extremely precise in their speech. This I actually enjoyed. The concept of loosing/gaining the concept of color was very different and I will have to agree with several critics to the movie that it is a shame this wasn't used to portray the changes happening to Jonas in the movie.

Final thoughts

I quite enjoyed the concept of the book. The importance of memories and how they might shape or destroy a whole community was very well built and to see all the responsibility of memories to fall into a single individual was quite unique too.

Although the main character is 12 years old, I don't think I would've enjoyed this book at that age, particularly as we advance in the story. There were some parts that, in my own opinion, need a bit more of "ground" to be able to stomach them and take them critically, that I did not have at that age. However, it was nice to see a protagonist this young and not the (now) typical 15/16 year old.

It has an appealing critique to what society accepts and what it frowns upon, but mostly, why is it frown upon. Would thing be really easier if we were more uniform, including our thoughts? Would the absence of pain be worth it the absence of love?

I will read at leas the next book in the quartet, Gathering Blue, to learn more of this world building. There are a lot of unanswered questions at the end of this book that I hope that will be tackled in the other three.

[...] but was considered rude to call attention to things that were unsettling or different about individuals.