Get Lost in Literature

  "No rest for the wicked, Julie Mao said in his mind. No peace for the good." XO Jim Holden, soon to be Captain of the Rocinante and his crew, answer a distress call from a seemingly abandoned ship. Detective Miller is put under contract to find rebel Julie Mao and transport her home to her family. Disaster strikes and they become the only people standing between humanity and annihilation. I loved the world building. There's Mars and Earth and the Belters, and sure that's kind of cool all on its own. But true to the series name "The Expanse," the author left me feeling overwhelmed at times by the endless expanse that is our universe; colonies of humans spread across the planets, but never having reached the stars... When I picture the space stations built on rocks, floating lightyears from anywhere, and spaceships built like cities traveling across the empty sky, it makes human connection seem so much more important and yet... Mars, Earth, and the Belters a...

  I normally open with a book quote, but today I'm skipping that because I thought a sound effect might be silly. This book was probably wasted on me. I've never read a graphic novel before and was recently inspired to do so. I'm a big Walking Dead fan (tv show) so I thought this would be the perfect first graphic novel. Rick Grimes wakes up from coma to find the world he knew is gone. The dead are walking, his family is missing, and the fight for humanity has begun. The artwork is way more sophisticated than I thought it would be, but because this is the only graphic novel I have ever read there's no comparisons to be made. So I liked the artwork, the attention to detail. The artist's ability to direct your focus is absolutely wonderful. I appreciate how hard it must be to draw all these different characters' faces and make sure to draw them exactly the same each and every time. As a diehard fan of the tv show I'm a bit biased on the quality of the book (I...

  "But the figure of Martin the Warrior did not stir. He stood steadfastly, guarding his beloved Abbey throughout the winter, as he had through time immemorial." Rakkety Tam by Brian Jacques I used to love these books, The Novels of Redwall , when I was a kid, and I was curious if they still hold up. And the answer is yes, I still think they're charming. Do you have books from your childhood that you still like today? * Thursday Quotables  invented by  Bookshelf Fantasies . On Thursdays share a line or passage from whatever you are reading right now.

"For a long time there is only darkness and the sound of distant thunder and the hazy sensation of falling." And so we finally have it, the last book in Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series, The Desolations of Devil's Acre . The war between good and evil has come to Peculiardom with Jacob and Noor at its center. The last couple of books in the series, I reviewed negatively. I mean, come on, you have to know where you're going to get there, and the books aimlessly waffled. In this book, Ransom Riggs knows exactly where he's going, and he showed me the way with the quirky characters I've come to love and expect. This was an action-packed, fast-paced finale, with stakes that have never been higher for the cast of peculiars. There's a moment near the end, where the characters are losing hope of victory and then - plot twist. The plot twist makes Jacob's seemingly useless relationship with Noor have a use, and makes me think Mr. Riggs knew what he...

Book Blogger Hop Q: May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Are there any books with themes or characters dealing with issues related to mental health that you have found to be enlightening or comforting?  ( submitted by Billy @  Coffee Addicted Writer ) A: That's an interesting question. I didn't know May was Mental Health Awareness Month. But I have read books with mental health problems in them. There's: The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse which is about a detective with anxiety. Wanderers by Chuck Wendig features a character who is assaulted and subsequently suffers from PTSD because of it. Norwegian by Night by Derek B Miller, which has a main character with dementia. Just to name a few.

  "Pa and William could never be on the same flight together, because there must be no chance of the first and second in line to the throne being wiped out. But no one gave a damn whom I traveled with; the Spare could always be spared.”― Prince Harry, Spare I'm not sure how to review a memoir, I don't read many of them. With fiction I can usually pick apart the points be they good or bad, or criticize the shortcomings if they exist, but how do you review the pieces of someone's life? I really liked this book, but is it because I have a curiosity about royalty or because it was a book of substance? Spare opens with Harry's childhood and his mom's early death. First let me just say, I can't imagine growing up with people referring to me as a "spare" like, "Hey, you, you're extra, and probably a little unnecessary." What a toxic way to raise a child, no wonder he needed to get away. His mom's death shatters his world; he makes hims...

  Good morning! The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted by  Caffeinated Reviewer . I will be posting on the first Sunday of each month. As the first order of business, the weather: Balmy with hail and a chance of raining frogs. That's enough of that. April was eventful. I participated in the A-Z Challenge  (link's to their blog), a blog hop where participants have to post for one letter of the alphabet every day in the month of April (except Sunday). Blog posts can be themed or un-themed and on any topic your heart desires...I chose to post book reviews, some old and some new. So in the month of April, I posted reviews for the following 26 novels: Master list for the A-Z Challenge and my A-Z Reflections are here.   In April, I also made time to read The Desolations of Devil's Acre by Ransom Riggs and was inspired by a fellow book bloggers to try my very first graphic novel, The Walking Dead Vol. 1 by Robert Kirkman. This month I plan to review the following:...

These are the books I reviewed for the 2024 A-Z Challenge. I thought I'd post it in its entirety, so no one had to go scrolling through the pages if they desired a specific review. All the links are to my blog and not an outside website.   Anansi Boys by Neil Gaimen Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey Call of the Wild by Jack London Defending Jacob by William Landay Eragon by Christopher Paolini Frankenstein by Mary Shelly Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimen   Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice Jaws by Peter Benchley Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist Mongoliad by Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo...And others. The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth The Next Queen of Heaven by Gregory Maguire The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hoss...

My challenge was to share a book review for every letter of the alphabet. I'm happy to say I succeeded.   Anansi Boys by Neil Gaimen Beacon 23 by Hugh Howey Call of the Wild by Jack London Defending Jacob by William Landay Eragon by Christopher Paolini Frankenstein by Mary Shelly Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaimen   Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice Jaws by Peter Benchley Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist Mongoliad by Neal Stephenson, Greg Bear, Mark Teppo...And others. The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire Plain Bad Heroines by Emily Danforth The Next Queen of Heaven by Gregory Maguire The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini Uglies by Scott Westerfeld Vicious by VE Schwab Wanderers by Chuck Wendig The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty The Yard by Alex G...