Weekly Wrap-Up: October 31 – November 6, 2016!

I didn’t feel like I got a lot of reading done this week, but I still finished four books. I’ll take that!

An Ember in the Ashes was so much fun! I really liked this. It gave me huge dystopian vibes while definitely remaining a fantasy. I wasn’t a fan of the weird love triangles that were there or maybe weren’t, but other than that I had a great time. I am currently reading the second book in the series and it definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat! I gave this 4 Stars.

And then, of course, I continued my journey deep into The Desden Files. I wouldn’t say it’s writing a writing masterpiece, but it’s just so much fun I can’t find myself caring. I’m not sure if I loved the way Proven Guilty ended, so I’m definitely eager to pick up book 9 and see how it develops! I gave all of these books 4 Stars!

I start my new job working fulltime for Owlcrate tomorrow! Hopefully I’ll get lots and lots of reading done this week in celebration!

Happy reading!

Weekly Wrap-Up: October 24 – 30, 2016!

So while I didn’t manage another 11 books like I did last week (I still can’t believe that happened), I did still finished another five books, which I’ll take as a huge win.

The first book I read was The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson. This is the third and final book of The Remnant Chronicles, and I think it did a really good job tying up the series. It had the perfect combination of action and plot and left me feeling like I was okay to say goodbye to this world. This is a fun YA fantasy trilogy that is very easy to read. I gave this book 4 Stars!

And…I went a bit crazy reading The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. I read the first book in the series, Storm Front last week, and was immediately hooked. This series is just so much fun. Harry Dresden is the most relatable wizard with a hero complex you’ll ever meet. He’s also a detective, loves his giant 30 pound cat named Mister, and has a talking skull named Bob, all set in modern day Chicago. What’s not to love? I really just want to dive in to book six right away, but I’m forcing myself to take a break to read some YA in preparation for Yallfest in a couple weeks.

So that’s it! This week I’m going to be reading An Ember in the Ashes, Gemina, and probably also The Sun is Also a Star, so I can feel justified meeting all those authors at Yallfest! I cannot wait!

Weekly Wrap-Up: October 17 – 23, 2016! (And Spookathan and the 24 Hour Readathon Wrap-up too!)

This week was perhaps my best reading week ever. I finished nine novels and two comic bind-ups. This is largely due to the fact that I participated in two readathons this week, and I take my readathons seriously! I completed a total of 3,336 pages (that’s just the books I completed, I’ve also made progress in some other reads).

As this is going to be long, let’s get to it!

Another wonderful classic checked off the list!

And by wonderful I mean Dracula is creepy and odd and stuffed full of “so that’swhere that cultural reference came from.”

This is a perfect book to read late at night cozied up in bed! I’d definitely recommend it and I gave this 4 Stars!

I was in no way really in love with this The Haunting of Sunshine Girl. The writing was mediocre and our protagonist was classicly “not like other girls.”

That said, it did have a serious creep factor. This could be debatable depending on who you are, but I’m a huge chicken. I don’t even believe in the paranormal and it still freaks me out. So if you’re looking for something quick and spooky, this could be what you’re in need of. I have this 2.5 Stars!

How to Train Your Dragon was such a sweet read. It’s definitely nothing like the movie (in fact, it’s WAY different than the movie). That said, it was full of adventure and humour, and I love book Toothless just as much as movie Toothless! This book was 100% what I needed for a smile during a stressful week and I gave it 4 Stars!

Neverwhere was everything I wanted from a book. Perfectly fantastical and witty with a dash of the feels. It is, to date, my favourite Neil Gaiman book, which is hard for me to say because I adored American Gods when I read it a few months ago.

I am relatively familiar with London, and I think that really added to the experience of reading this book. I by no means think it is necessary, but it personally just really brought the story in tight. There were no parts where I felt it drifted from the plot or were unnecessarily descriptive. It was definitely one of the most enjoyable reading experience I’ve had in quite a while and I gave it an easy 5 Stars!

Panic is a book about teenagers doing stupid, illegal, and dangerous things because they are a) bored and b) there is an entirely unrealistic pool of money for the winner.

I didn’t connect with any of the characters, and really, most of them are kind of terrible (Nat is not a good friend. Dear lord.) It was all so over the top I just kind of found myself completely uninterested.

Not my cup of tea and I gave it 2 Stars.

This Savage Song would have been an easy five stars had the first 100 pages or so been a bit more gripping, but overall I really enjoyed it. I particularly loved the involvement of music and the back stories of how the different monsters originate.

I am definitely interested to find out where this story goes in the next book and I gave this 4.5 Stars!

How to Hang a Witch was so silly. I have definitely heard it compared to Mean Girls with witches, and I get that. It was a fun read, but just a rad ridiculous.

And that love triangle though. *face palm* I gave this 3 Stars.

This Dark Endeavor sat right down the middle for me. I am, in general, a fan of Kenneth Oppel, but this book didn’t connect with me as much. I very recently read the original Frankenstein, and this retelling just didn’t do it for me.

I’m a bit sad, as I was really expecting to love this book, but in the end I have no strong feelings either way. I gave it 2.5 Stars.

Everyone one and their mother knows Saga is amazing. Volume six was no exception to the rule. I would say that this isn’t my favourite volume so far, but still every bit enjoyable and I will continue to be a huge fan. I gave it 4 Stars!

I often see people throwing about the term “precious cinnamon roll” in regards to characters, and it’s not something I hate as it’s quite a cute turn of phrase, but I’ve never employed it myself.

Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a precious cinnamon roll.

Which is definitely not how I thought I’d feel going Storm Front which is the first book in a massive series.

I’ve been hearing about The Dresden Files for years (probably due to the ill fated TV show that I didn’t watch in the mid 2000’s), but I didn’t feel the need to pick it up until I really enjoyed Jim Butcher’s other series, The Codex Alera. These series are entirely different, and I’m into it.

Essentially, Harry Dresden is a broke, self-conscious and mildly insecure wizard detective living in Chicago. If any of that sounds interesting to you, I would definitely recommend picking up this book. I can’t wait to get to book two (of 15….EEK). I gave this 4.5 Stars!

I definitely didn’t love Young Avengers: Alternative Culture as much as the first volume, but it was still very fun, and the art is just stunning. I am sad that there is only one more volume, and I’m thinking maybe I’m going to have to dive into Marvel a little bit more! I gave this 3.5 Stars!

And that’s it! Phew! That was definitely a marathon of a reading week. This week I plan on reading more Charles Dickens and trying to figure out what books I need to read before we head for Yallfest in a couple weeks!

Happy reading!

 

 

Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon: Hour 1!

It’s that time again! It’s 5:40 am and we’re almost through hour one of the 24 hour readathon! I thought I’d do the first hour’s mini challenge, which is the intro survey! You can find the hourly challenges on the Dewey’s Website.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?
Vancouver, British Columbia!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?
Probably Young Avengers Vol 2: Alternative Culture

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?
BREAKFAST. Does that count as a snack?

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!
I am not a morning person, but this morning felt like Christmas!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
This is my third readathon, and today is the first time I’m doing it with a friend!

This is going to be an awesome day!

Spookathon Day 4 Update!

And again, I didn’t read as much as I should have today. I finished another 278 pages. I also finished my fourth book of the readathon, Neverwhere. I LOVED it. Tomorrow will hopefully be more exciting as we have no plans to to do a bit of work and read read read!

 

Spookathon Day 3 Update!

Soooo…today I worked for 12 hours, so my readathoning suffered a bit. I have only got through 227 pages, but that’s still not bad overall! I’m probably going to get a bit more done before bed (because Neverwhere is soooo good guys).

That said, I’m exhausted. So it’s time to lay back with my book then get to sleep! Happy reading!

Try a Chapter Tag!

Two posts in one evening!? What is this madness!? So, essentially I actually couldn’t decide what to read next for Spookathon, and I have five books sitting here that are on my TBR, so this seemed like a great way to get a little the way through everything!

If you don’t know, the Try a Chapter Tag is just that, you pick five books, read the first chapter, and decide which one you want to continue you with right away.

Let’s get to it!

This first chapter I read was from Panic by Lauren Oliver. Not going to lie, I thought this was a dystopian book. Apparently it’s a book about teenagers just doing dumb stuff because there is nothing else to do. I will say that the very last sentence of the chapter was intriguing, but here was nothing groundbreaking here. I await to be impressed.

Next I read This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. It was actually part of the “prelude”, but it still grabbed me much more than Panic did. This Savage Song is in the lead!

Hi, this is Cori from 15 minutes in the future. Let me just say, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman starts with a bang! Holy smokes I’m excited for this book. I’m still going to read the first chapters of the final two books, but I will be so surprised if this isn’t my next read. Hot damn, Gaiman nailed it.

And Cori from five minutes in the future is also very intrigued by This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel. The first chapter is only seven pages long and there are two action scenes! I will definitely be reading this one very soon, but definitely after Neverwhere.

And another 20 minutes in the future (I had an avocado on toast emergency. Meaning I needed it in my hand right this second). How to Hang a Witch seems…interesting so far. It’s hard to judge from the short first chapter I just read. The main character already has that classic “not like other girls” thing going on, which I am getting annoyed with (I just finished another book that had the same thing going on.) This won’t be my next read, but it feels like it will be fast and fun.

I am definitely reading Neverwhere next. I just love Neil Gaiman’s writing so much. I also thing that although in page count it’s not one of the longer books, the font is teenie tiny and the language demands more attention, so it might be one of my longer reads.

 

 

Spookathon Day 2 Update!

Guys, we be killing it this Spookathon. Today I read a whopping 586 pages (and it’s only 9pm! I hope to get a bit more done before bed.) I finished three books today, being The Haunting of Sunshine Girl, Dracula, and How to Train Your Dragon. 

I’ve also done the math, and if I want to complete my TBR (which, as we remember, is gigantic), I’m going to have to average 423 pages per day for the next five days. Eek! I think with Dewey’s happening on Saturday though I should be able to make it work.

Alrighty, back to reading! I think I’m going to start This Dark Endeavor by Kenneth Oppel now. A Frankenstein retelling!

Spookathon Day 1 Update!

Day one was a rousing success! I read another 126 pages of Dracula (which is very good and delightfully creepy!), and this evening I read 104 pages of The Haunting of Sunshine Girl (which is less good, but freaky). I’m probably going to read a little bit more before bed, as I want to read at least 250 pages per day. I feel like this is a good minimum for trying to get through so many books this week!

I think tomorrow I’m going to calculate my total page count and find out how many pages per day I’d need to average to get through my entire TBR (spoiler alert: way more than 250!).

Are you participating in Spookathon? Or do you tend to read creepy books in the fall?

Weekly Wrap-Up: October 10 – 16, 2016!

It finally happened, this week I only read one single book. I came close to not even doing that! Essentially, I got about 90 pages in to Gemina on Monday, and then on Tuesday all hell broke loose and my apartment completely flooded. So on top of working, I’ve also been packing up all my worldly possessions and prepping for my home to be gutted tomorrow. I am all sorts of unimpressed.

But no more sob story, while I was packing today I had several hours to listen to The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. My first ever Sherlock book! I really enjoyed it and will definitely be reading more Sherlock in the future. I gave this 4 Stars!

As you can see by my TBR for Spookathon and the 24 Hour Readathon, I have high hopes to get back on the reading train this week! I’m already 78 pages in to Dracula and I can’t wait to read all the spooky books this week!

Happy reading!