Get Lost in Literature

Today's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl , was listed as the Top Ten Best Books I Read in 2024. A few of them were re-reads but I'm including them anyways: there's a reason why they were good enough to re-read in the first place. I've linked my favorite titles of the year to my reviews. 1. The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith 2. The Call of the Wild by Jack London 3. Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey 4. Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer 5. The Unidentified by Colin Dickey 6. Spare by Prince Harry 7. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab 8. What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher 9. The Abominable by Dan Simmons 10. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty What was your favorite book of the year?

  "'You told me once," said Kell, "That you were either magic's master or its slave. So which are you now?" Kell, Lila, Alucard, and Rhy are setting out to save the world they love from unstoppable evil curse. Each chapter was thick with tension as the characters that we've grown to love, and the ones we've grown to hate, are hovering on the edge of life and death with each turn of the page. This book was fast-paced and full of action and I could not put it down. Osaron, an evil manifestation of magic, is taking over Red London, one body at a time, leaving the royal family and the competitors of the Essen Tasch trapped in the palace. The stakes are high as our main characters search for a way to save the world and I was glued to my seat to find out what was going to happen next. The characters are well established now. Kell who yearns for freedom, now bound by the magic keeping Rhy alive, their lives tied inexorably together. Lila, a young woman who ...

Book Beginnings on Fridays by Rose City Reader -  Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. "Delilah Bard-always a thief, recently a magician, and one day, hopefully, a pirate-was running as fast as she could." A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab I'm on the final installment of the Shades of Magic trilogy , and it's still the rollercoaster ride I remembered. But I think the rereads did break my reading slump, as I'm already planning my first books to read for 2025. I recommend this trilogy, if fantasy is your thing, it's a lot of fun. Book Blogger Hop Q: Do you have any reading goals for the new year? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) A: I always set a goal of 12 books to read in the new year, and usually read more (sometimes less). This year I'm adding a secondary goal of reading at least 6 books off my cu...

"And then in the silence, he heard a sound: not a sob, or a scream, but a laugh." In the first book, there are 4 Londons, located in four parallel universes. Kell who lives in Red London, is a powerful magician who can travel between realms. Lila Bard is a common thief in Grey London, a magicless London. There's Black London, the doomed London. And there's a White London, the London trapped between life and death. If book one was Kell's story, then consider this the Lila Bard show. She joins the crew of Captain Alucard Emery, privateer, and runs amok on Red London's high seas, finally fulfilling her dream of becoming a pirate. She's content to be the best thief, until she hears about a dangerous game being played in Red London, and Lila doesn't love anything more than she loves danger. Kell is now the one yearning for freedom, as he becomes trapped between the family he won't ever be a part of and his societal obligations. The setting is fabulous. ...

Today's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl , was listed as a Freebie. Since I have two rather sizeable tote bags of books donated to me by friends over the years, I decided to list Ten Unread Books I Own in no particular order. 1. The Fall of Giants by Ken Follett 2. The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks 3. The House Next Door by James Patterson 4. Kiss the Girls by James Patterson 5. Stars and Soil by Dax Murray 6. Weekend in Paris by Robyn Sisman 7. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson 8. Oogy by Larry Levin 9. Picture Maker by Penina Keen Spinka 10. State of Fear by Michael Crichton Some of these books I'm not really likely to read and should probably rehome to someone who would enjoy them more, but some of them I'm just waiting for the mood to strike. Have you read any of these? Do you own any books you haven't read yet?

"Kell was not sure if it was a promise or a threat, but he had no choice regardless, and so he stepped forward into the serpent's nest." A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab There are four worlds and in each exists a London. Red London, Gray London, White London, and Black London. Kell, one of the last magicians capable of traveling between worlds, has taken up the hobby of smuggling. Resident of Gray London, Lila, a cutthroat pickpocket spends her time dreaming of piracy on the high seas. When Kell accidentally smuggles a dangerous artifact the two meet and adventure ensues.  The first thing that stands out to me about this book is how the characters complement each other. Both characters are prone to breaking the rules, but where Kell wants somewhere to belong, Lila wants to stand out. Kell is a prince by adoption and is the royal family's messenger between worlds. Lila too is an orphan, but she led the other  orphan lifestyle, alone and fighting for survival. I lov...

  Happy Sunday! The Sunday Post is a weekly news meme created by Caffeinated Reviewer. I will be posting on the first Sunday of each month and I hope you'll join me. We're in drought. We live in an area that's never seen forest fires and yet we've seen forest fires. We got a couple of days of rain and it wasn't enough to consider the drought broken. Everybody has been advised not to run their wood stoves or fire pits... and naturally you can't actually advise anyone on anything anymore so people are doing whatever it is they want instead of worrying about burning the woods down (or their neighbor's house.) I feel like we're either going to get no snow at all this year or we're going to get hammered with it. The books I've read in November were both rereads. I reread The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab. I don't plan to post the review of The Night Circus because it's already been posted.  But A...

Book Beginnings on Fridays by Rose City Reader -  Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. "Kell wore a very peculiar coat. It had neither one side, which would be conventional, nor two, which would be unexpected, but several , which was, of course, impossible." A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab So I quite loved this series and am rereading it to break out of a reading slump. I think it was better than The Villians duology which was also quite lovable, and way better than The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue which was however enjoyable, a little overrated (unpopular opinion). And the fact that I'm using it to break out of a reading slump makes today's Book Blogger Hop question very well timed.  Book Blogger Hop Q: How do you deal with reading slumps or moments when you can't get into a book? (submitted by Bill...

Today's Top Ten Tuesday hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl was listed as Thanksgiving Freebie and I decided to go with 10 authors I want to give thanks to for the positive impacts they've had on my life. Thank you, 1. Jack London - for teaching me all about survival of the fittest. 2. Brian Jacques - for taking me on so many adventures. 3. Chris Paolini - for letting me ride a dragon and inspiring me to become a writer myself. 4. J.K. Rowling - for never letting me forget the power of friendship, even if your political and humanitarian agendas are not the same as my own. 5. Gregory Maguire - for keeping the magic alive. 6. Bram Stoker - for writing Dracula because that book was epic. 7. John Ajvide Lindqvist - for knowing exactly how to scare me. 8. Edgar Allan Poe - for writing horror as if it were poetry. 9. V.E. Schwab - for the many worlds she's breathed to life. 10. J.R.R. Tolkien - for teaching me to dream big in a world where I'm small and reminding me that 'not ...

Today's topic for Tuesday Top Ten hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl  is officially listed as the Oldest (aka Earliest Published) Books On My TBR (submitted by Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits) . The reality is I don't know and my TBR list is so big I couldn't possibly sort through them all to find out. So this Tuesday, I'm doing Books with Red on the Cover. 1. Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben 2. Elphie: A Wicked Childhood by Gregory Maguire 3. Gone South by Robert McCammon 4. What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher 5. A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer 6. Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth 7.Devolution by Max Brooks 8. Vicious by V.E. Schwab 9. NOS4A2 by Joe Hill 10. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

Book Beginnings on Fridays by Rose City Reader -  Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. "Richard Strickland reads the brief from General Hoyt. He's at eleven thousand feet. The twin-prop taking hits as hard as a boxer's fists." This is one of my top ten favorite movies of all time. And while I don't remember what came first the movie or the book, either way it's great. If you've never heard of Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water, it's a sci-fi/fantasy/romance about a mute woman who falls in love with a thing that's essentially The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Book Blogger Hop  Q: Do you like to annotate your books or leave them untouched? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) A: I leave them untouched and take notes in a separate notebook.

 Today's Top Ten Tuesday is a book blog meme hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl . Today's topic is  Destination Titles (titles with name of places in them.)  1. Redwall by Brian Jacques 2. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan 3. The City of Brass by SA Chakraborty 4. Babel by RF Kuang 5. The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse 6. Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey 7. Zodiac Station by Tom Harper 8. Jurassic Park by Michael Chrichton 9. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs 10. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett Have you read any of these? What's your favorite fictional place?

 I'm taking a break from reviewing through the month of November. I want to recharge my batteries a bit. I don't want to fall into a reading slump from overdoing and November is a busy month. I'm participating in NaNoWriMo ( I won't make it anywhere near the winning word count ), Christmas shopping, and of course spending time with my family Thanksgiving week. And that's all on top of my regular schedule of work, making sure my horse is taken care of, and my never ending battle with laundry. But don't worry, I'll be back in December and I'll still be posting for my blog memes ( I think ).

Happy Sunday!  The Sunday Post is a weekly news meme created by  Caffeinated Reviewer . I will be posting on the first Sunday of each month and I hope you'll join me. The weather for the month of October was chilly, colder and damper than I remember of last year's October. Windier too. The leaves dropped off the trees like orange bolts of lightning. I'm wondering if it's a sign of the winter to come. The books I read in October were theme reads because Halloween is my favorite holiday. So today my review list presents a lovely assortment of witches and murderers. Books I reviewed in October were: Elphie: A Wicked Childhood by Gregory Maguire  (expected pub. date: 3/25/25) The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones The Book of the Dead by Patricia Cornwell In other news, someone stole my blog layout, and I'm not inspired to change my blog to accommodate the theft. I like the blues, blacks, and grays, I like my banner, I like my choices. I'm not sure what led t...

Today's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl , was listed as Halloween Freebie, so I present to you my Top Ten Favorite Horror Stories. 1. Dracula by Bram Stoker 2. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist 3. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty 4. Summer of Night by Dan Simmons 5. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 6. Devolution by Max Brooks 7. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe 8. The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix 9. Leech by Hiron Ennes 10. Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist What's your favorite horror novel?

  There will be no review today, as I spent last week reading Carving Shadows into Gold by Brigid Kemmerer  (publication date set for January 28, 2025), and I have to be within a month of posting my review. My review is scheduled for January 6, 2025 so don't forget to stop by.

Book Beginnings on Fridays by Rose City Reader -  Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. "The blaze of sun wrung pops of sweat from the old man's brow, yet he cupped his hands around the glass of hot tea. He could not shake the premonition." The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty The book was great, and the movie stayed close to the source material. Book Blogger Hop Q: Which horror-themed book or novel is your all-time favorite? Which one made you shiver or made you feel like it was Halloween? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) A: These are actually two different books, but I would consider them both horror classics. My favorite horror novel is actually Dracula by Bram Stoker. And the one that makes me feel like it's Halloween is The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty .

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl . Today's topic is: How My Reading Habits Have Changed Over Time (submitted by Lydia @ https://lydiaschoch.com). But today's answer couldn't be shoved into a neat and tidy list; instead, I offer a paragraph or two of then and now. When I was a kid, I read over a hundred books a year. It was a hobby that drove my teachers crazy as they tried to shove textbooks into my hands while removing the novels from them. I could read anywhere: the car, the beach, my bed, the backyard. I'd read on the bus, the playground, sit down on the floor of the grocery store (no lie), and at parties. I'd carry a book everywhere with me... and I do mean everywhere, which might be how I read so many books in a year. Now I'm lucky if I read 12 books a year, although this year I'm doing pretty good hitting the 20s so far. I read less than everywhere now, still in the backyard, sometimes in the car, most often in my rocking chair. We can...

"It's almost impossible for her to believe what's happened, that she's living both a nightmare and a dream." Forensic pathologist, Dr. Kay Scarpetta has just moved her practice to Charleston, South Carolina when she gets called to help with the investigation into the grisly murder of a young tennis star.  October, for me, is all about spine-tingling literature, and I knew I had a book in my TBR-bag that was covered in blood spatter. Which brought me to the Book of the Dead.  In some respects, I wasn't disappointed. First it wasn't short on violent imagery, at times being a little too graphic... I'm not really a slasher fan so some of that was tough to get through. But the violence is what fueled the dark suspense of this mystery. It's part of what made the murders so chilling. I read this as a standalone novel and it was fine to read a such, but it's actually Book 15 in a series. The characters are solid for a serial mystery, once you accept th...

Book Beginnings on Fridays by Rose City Reader - Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. "You will rejoice to hear no disaster has accompanied the commencement of an enterprise which you have regarded with such evil forebodings." - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley  In a book that's all about disaster, let us open with a joke. Book Blogger Hop Q: What novel would you recommend that blends characteristics of your favorite genre with horror concepts, and why? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) A: I'm going to have to go with Frankenstein Or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley  It's a science fiction and horror in one. I love the history behind it, that it was basically written on a whim. Even more so, I love that it portrays the hubris of man, the flaws in a patriarchal society, with feminist undertones....

Today's Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl , is all about Books I Was Assigned to Read in School. I've been a lifelong avid reader, but I was always that student that once a story was assigned, I was unlikely to want to read it. Like accidental reverse psychology, I can count on one hand the number of books assigned that I actually liked... three of which made today's list. 1. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck - I've read 2 Steinbeck novels, this one, and The Red Pony  and I hated them both. I don't get the fascination with him. 2. Animal Farm by George Orwell - This is about communist pigs, if you like that sort of thing which I didn't. 3. The Outsiders by SE Hinton - I know a lot of people absolutely love this book, I'm just not one of them. 4. The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings - I was too young to be reading a story this upsetting. 5. Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls - This was also upsetting. 6. The Eye in the Door by Pat ...

  "This is all you need, isn't it? Just one good friend. Somebody you can be stupid with. Somebody who'll peel you off the ground, prop you against the wall." Ricky, Lewis, Cass, and Gabe have been friends for a long time, but the ten-year anniversary of a hunting trip gone wrong is upon them and no one wants to talk about it. And now an entity is stalking them, like a shotgun blast from the past. This book was okay but I wasn't wowed. I liked the characters; they were all a little rough around the edges and it gave them an air of realness because they weren't perfect angels. Sometimes it's the imperfections that matter most. The book blurb on GoodReads states, "... a novel that is equal parts psychological horror and cutting social commentary on identity politics and the American Indian experience."  And I know when it came out it was one of the best horror novels of 2020. That's how it got added to my TBR list. Now it's officially been...

Book Beginnings on Fridays  by  Rose City Reader  -  Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. "Horror and fatality have been stalking abroad in all ages. Why then give a date to this story I have to tell?" -  Metzengerstein by Edgar Allan Poe Feuding nobles and a haunted horse. You really can't go wrong with Edgar Allan Poe. Book Blogger Hop Do you have a favorite book or author you turn to every October to celebrate Halloween? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) I can't really narrow it down to just one author there are too many good ones out there. As repetitively stated, I absolutely love John Ajvide Lindqvist and have re-read his stories multiple times. But Bram Stoker and Edgar Allan Poe are also on the list of re-readables. But October is the one month I'm not likely to re-read, preferring instea...

I've been a longtime fan of The Wicked Years and, because of Wicked , I have picked up as many as Gregory Maguire's books as I could. After I applied for the ARC, I sat in front of the computer screen chanting, "They'll never approve me, my blog is too small, they'll never approve me, my blog is too small..." Then a week later I got approved. Needless to say, I was pretty excited. The story starts in Quadling country with Elphie as a toddler, her mother still alive and her father trying unsuccessfully to start a mission. Like the title says, it follows her childhood as she grows up. I really liked most  of this book. The tone is sarcastic, almost playful, and sometimes a bit jaded. Elphie is portrayed as morally ambiguous, the same as when she's an adult so the evolution of Elphie rings true. She has a vicious sibling rivalry with her sister and watches on as her brother raises havoc everywhere he goes. Her curiosity is insatiable, and it runs alongside a...

  Happy Sunday and welcome to my Sunday Post. The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer . I will be posting on the first Sunday of every month and I hope you'll join me. My weather report for the month of September is 'delightfully sunny.' But there's been a chill in the evening air that wasn't there before, leaving an undeniable truth: Summer is over. My posts were few for the month. My cable provider wants us to update the boxes and our punishment for failure to comply is that our internet doesn't work as often as it should. The company is living life old-school with a, "You want it, come and get it." I'm just not desperate enough...yet. The reviews I did manage to get posted were: Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey (available 2/11/2025) The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty My reviews for the month of October will include and ARC of  Elphie by Gre...

Book Beginnings on Fridays by Rose City Reader - Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. "BIGFOOT DESTROYS TOWN. That was the title of an article I received not long after the Mount Ranier eruption. I thought it was spam, the inevitable result of so much online research." Devolution: A Firsthand Account of the Ranier Sasquatch Massacre by Max Brooks  It's October! Okay, this book is a little out there, but it delivers on chills and thrills, which is what I'm after this month. Book Blogger Hop Q: Are there any books that you find particularly creepy or unpleasant, even if they aren't horror novels? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer.  A:  Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice.  The movie and the tv show introduce this super intense relationship between Louis and Lestat but the book makes them come of...

Today's Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by ThatArtsyReaderGirl) subject was supposed to be Books I Read/Avoided Because of the Hype , but I couldn't really think of more than two. So today I've decided to post my own list, Books That Should Be TV Shows , because sometimes you think, "Yeah, I'd watch that." The Unidentified by Colin Dickey.  - This book is a paranormal documentary, and while I'm sure some of the stories and subjects in this book have been covered by other paranormal documentaries, this is the first one I found that was trying to explain why we hold on so tightly to things that in all probability, just aren't real. It deserves to be a mini series at least. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue  by VE Schwab  - A book about a girl possessing the gift of immortality and the curse of forgettability.  Wanderers by Chuck Wendig . - A dystopia about a mysterious pandemic; I'm don't think a movie could do it justice... I'm not a hundred percen...

"... there would always be darkness. But as long as you kept a light burning, it would be okay." After the coup to steal Daevabad, Ali and Nahri find themselves powerless in Cairo and desperate to get home to save their loved ones. Banu Manizheh finds herself the tyrant ruling a broken world, with Dara trapped at her side.  Unlike the second book, the finale of The Daevabad Trilogy is an action-packed adventure, which is really good news considering the book is just shy of 800 pages. It's super fast-paced, with dramatic plot twists. Magic and murder, djinn and Gods, and pirates. That's right, this one's got pirates. Chakraborty's writing is richly descriptive creating settings and characters that are vivid and beautiful even at the most brutal of moments. And there are plenty of brutal moments because Manizheh's worse than Ghassan - I honestly don't know why she wouldn't marry him; they were perfect for each other. I think my favorite parts of thi...

 So this is the part where I normally drop a quote from the book, but due to restrictions on ARCs, I'm not allowed to do that. Birdie is a flighty, free spirited single mother who drinks too much and despite her love for her daughter, harbors a secret desire for freedom from responsibility. One morning she meets Arthur, a recluse who lives in the mountains. He's a bit odd, talking only in present tense and the townspeople mostly eschew his company with the exception of his father Warren, Birdie and her daughter, Emaleen. As their relationship deepens, Arthur invites Birdie and Emaleen to come live with him in his derelict cabin... But Arthur harbors a dark secret that he keeps from his new family. The setting of the book takes place in rural Alaska and the descriptions of the scenery, flora, and fauna are positively decadent. I've never been to Alaska (although I'd love to visit) but Eowyn Ivey's writing makes me feel right at home there. The characters are flawed i...

Top Ten Tuesday is brought to you by That Artsy Reader Girl. Here's my list for Books That Provide a Much Needed Escape.   Harry Potter. All of them. The City of Brass by SA Chakraborty Forging Silver into Stars by Brigid Kemmerer The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini Shades of Magic trilogy by VE Schwab The Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemisin The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly World War Z by Max Brooks Have you read any of these? What's on your list?

  “ Because a lost little girl from Cairo thought she was living in some sort of fairy tale. And because for all her supposed cleverness, she couldn’t see that the dashing hero who saved her was its monster.” ― S.A. Chakraborty, The Kingdom of Copper The Kingdom of Copper is book two in the Daevabad Trilogy and the characters we've come to know and love return to us. Nahri is now living a life married to a husband who despises her, trapped in the palace by the cruel King Ghassan. Homesick for the streets of Cairo, she must find happiness in her new home of Daevabad. Ali, exiled from his home by his father, finds comfort in a rural village but that changes when a stranger shows up with the intention of throwing Ali back into Daevabad's dangerous politics. Dara, resurrected by a vengeful djinn, is once again force to be The Scourge, the living weapon, in a vicious plot to bring the city of to its knees. This book didn't start out as gripping as the first. It was very slow t...

Book Beginnings on Fridays by Rose City Reader -  Share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now. "Let's start with the end of the world, why don't we? Get it over with and move on to more interesting things." The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth trilogy) by NK Jemisin I loved the start of this book. Maybe sarcastic, maybe jaded... could be, based on the events that follow, angry. After all, what could be more interesting than the end of the world? And shortly after, N.K. Jemisin delivers.  Book Blogger Hop Q: September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. What role have libraries played in your reading journey? Do you have any recommendations for books or fond recollections involving libraries? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer) A: I don't remember how old I was when I got my first library card but I remember my mo...