Wrap Up

A Week in Review | September 9th-15th

a week in review

This week has been very busy, but for a lot of great reasons. I started a new adventure, a few family celebrations are coming up, and a few other things that took up a lot of my time this week. Even with all that I was able to finish one book this week and I continue to make progress on the other three books I am reading.

Books I Finished

The Tommyknockers by Stephen King

The Tommyknockers

Finishing this long novel had me feeling like I conquered something huge. I will openly admit that if I did not have the audiobook I would never have finished this novel. While I love a lot of King’s writing, this one is a bit of a bust for me. I did a bit of researching to see if I was the only one or not, but it seems I am not. I have to admit that this article [link] explains my feelings as well as says my thoughts on this novel very clearly.

It is all over the place, longer than it needs to be by a lot, and just seems to loose the king flair that I enjoy.

I am Still Reading

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

The Heart's Invisible Furies

I will say I have read another 100 pages of this novel and it is still hurting my heart, but it so good as well. It is funny to say something is so wonderful when it truly makes your heart ache. Also, that fact that it can affect me so emotionally is a true testament to this novel. I don’t find myself to be this affect by books often. I will be continuing to read this novel and I hope to give you all a small review soon.

Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson

HangsamanShirley Jackson’s Hangsaman has been such a great read, this novel is different than the others I have read by her. But, because it is different and still wonderful it truly is a testament to her writing and story telling ability. I also really enjoy that the setting, at least up until about 50% into the book, is a college/university setting.

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)

This week I have finally picked up The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. At this time I am about 41% through the novel and I have really been enjoying it. I am really enjoying the political and social structure of this novel and I find that I really enjoy the main character. Normally with these types of novels I find the main characters annoying, but I find I can relate on some level as well as see that her motivation is more realistic in a sense.

Divider
NEXT BOOK

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

The Sun Is Also a Star

I was lucky enough to meet Nicola Yoon at bookcon this past year. Since then I have been wanting to read The Sun is Also a Star. A long time ago I remember hearing about this story, two young people meeting and having a budding friendship or more. Sadly, one is being deported. I found just that part of the description really intriguing because I can only imagine the impact of finding someone and then having them ripped away. Let alone, the stress of leaving a county, not because they want to, with your entire family when that is all that you know.

DividerWhat did you read this week?

SignOff12:17

Tumblr Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Wrap Up

A Week in Review | September 1st-8th

a week in review

This week I did not finish a single book, but I did do a great deal of reading. I started three different books, two are buddy reads so I will be reading those all month long. The last one I plan on finishing early next week. Anyway, even though I didn’t finish any books, but I did read a total of 607 pages.

I am Still Reading

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

The Heart's Invisible Furies

I have been wanting to read this for about a year and I am so glad that I started reading it. So many people have told me that they have really enjoyed this novel, but it is heart breaking. Even though I am only 150 pages in, I can already see what they all mean. I am loving it so much, but it really and truly hurts my heart. I am looking forward to see where this story is going and to see if my predictions come true.

The Tommyknockers by Stephen King

The Tommyknockers

This book has been on my owned TBR shelf the longest of all of my books for a few reasons. The first being that it is one of the largest I have yet to read by Stephen King. The second reason being I was kinda on the fence if I would like it. The description of this novel leaves me intrigued, but I was not really drawn to read it right away. Now that I am 400 pages into it, I can safely say that I am enjoying it and I wish I did not put it off this long. I still have hundreds of pages left, but I do see myself continuing to enjoy it.

Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson

Hangsaman

I am about a fourth of the way through this novel and so far I am really enjoying it. I only picked this up recently, with about 4 other works by her. I just love her work. So far this is not letting me down in any shape, way, or form. I am enjoying her plot and I can’t wait to read even more. Also, may I add that I love the covers of Penguin Modern Classics?

Divider
NEXT BOOK

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air, #1)

I recently received this audiobook from my Library after being on hold since it released earlier in the year. I have about another week and a half to listen to it before it returns itself so I want to get to it ASAP, but I wanted to finish The Tommyknockers first. I am really looking forward to reading another book by Holly Black. I have enjoyed her writing very much in the past and I don’t see how this one could be any different. Fingers crossed!

DividerWhat did you read this week?

SignOff12:17

Tumblr Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

To Be Read

September TBR | 2018

ToBeRead12:17

Hello September! I don’t know about you, but September marks my favorite time of the year. I can start wearing sweatshirts and I have more of an excuse to stay inside and read instead of going outside to be social. It also is the time of year I feel more relaxed and comfortable. Not sure why, but this is just my time of the year and I always get excited about it.

Anyway, this month I am going to focus on reading a few of the biggest books that remain on my TBR. I was going to read these in August, but the NEWTs readathon was announced and that plan went out the window so fast. So without more of my ramblings here are the books I am determined to read in September.

Divider

The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

The Heart's Invisible Furies

This books I read the first chapter of a few months ago when I did a try a chapter tag. I LOVED the beginning and wanted to read it, but I didn’t have a ton of time to dedicate to it so I kept putting it off. Here is the post if you want my initial reaction: Let’s Talk | Try a Chapter April 2018.  Also, another bonus is I am reading this with my friend Amy.

Cyril Avery is not a real Avery or at least that’s what his adoptive parents tell him. And he never will be. But if he isn’t a real Avery, then who is he?

Born out of wedlock to a teenage girl cast out from her rural Irish community and adopted by a well-to-do if eccentric Dublin couple via the intervention of a hunchbacked Redemptorist nun, Cyril is adrift in the world, anchored only tenuously by his heartfelt friendship with the infinitely more glamourous and dangerous Julian Woodbead.

At the mercy of fortune and coincidence, he will spend a lifetime coming to know himself and where he came from – and over his three score years and ten, will struggle to discover an identity, a home, a country and much more.

In this, Boyne’s most transcendent work to date, we are shown the story of Ireland from the 1940s to today through the eyes of one ordinary man. The Heart’s Invisible Furies is a novel to make you laugh and cry while reminding us all of the redemptive power of the human spirit. –goodreads.com

Divider

Under the Dome by Stephen King

Under the Dome

This is one of the last over 1000 page Stephen King books I own and need to read. I have been reading my smaller ones the last few months as well as his short story collections because I have been doing a bunch of readathons and such so I am excited to finally read one of his larger novels again. I also want to watch this show badly so I need to hurry up and read this already.

Just down Route 119 in Chester’s Mill, Maine, all hell is about to break loose…

On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day, a small town is suddenly and inexplicably sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and rain down flaming wreckage. A gardener’s hand is severed as the dome descends. Cars explode on impact. Families are separated and panic mounts. No one can fathom what the barrier is, where it came from, and when—or if— it will go away. Now a few intrepid citizens, led by an Iraq vet turned short-order cook, face down a ruthless politician dead set on seizing the reins of power under the dome. but their main adversary is the dome itself. Because time isn’t just running short, it’s running out. –goodreads.com

Divider

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1)

So, this one I am very iffy about. I tried to read this a year or so ago and ended up unhauling it. When I recently went through my owned audiobooks in my post Lists | Un-listened to Audiobooks I realized I had this still in my possession so I should give it another go. I am hoping that I end up liking it as much as I enjoyed the trilogy.

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price–and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Six dangerous outcasts. One impossible heist. Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first. goodreads.com

DividerThe Stand by Stephen King

The Stand

This has been on my radar for a longtime and I finally got a copy of it a month or two ago I think. Maybe even three? I am not 100% sure, but I have been putting this off due to the size so I figured, now was a great time!

First came the days of the plague…
After the days of the plague came the dreams.

Dark dreams that warned of the coming of the dark man. The apostate of death, his worn-down boot heels tramping the night roads. The warlord of the charnel house and Prince of Evil.

His time is at hand. His empire grows in the west and the Apocalypse looms…

When a man escapes from a biological testing facility, he sets in motion a deadly domino effect, spreading a mutated strain of the flu that will wipe out 99 percent of humanity within a few weeks. The survivors who remain are scared, bewildered, and in need of a leader. Two emerge–Mother Abagail, the benevolent 108-year-old woman who urges them to build a community in Boulder, Colorado; and Randall Flagg, the nefarious “Dark Man,” who delights in chaos and violence. –goodreads.com

DividerThe Tommyknockers by Stephen King

The Tommyknockers

Like all of the other Stephen King books on this list, I have had them for some time and I really just want to read them and I am sick of putting them off. I think that really sold me I was watching a show about mining and the one man was talking about tommyknockers and how they are known to warn miners about a cave in. I am not saying that this is the same spirit of being, It just sparked me wanting to read to see if there was any connection between the two.

On a beautiful June day, while walking deep in the woods on her property in Haven, Maine, Bobbi Anderson quite literally stumbles over her own destiny and that of the entire town. For the dull gray metal protrusion she discovers in the ground is part of a mysterious and massive metal object, one that may have been buried there for millennia. Bobbi can’t help but become obsessed and try to dig it out…the consequences of which will affect and transmute every citizen of Haven, young and old. It means unleashing extraordinary powers beyond those of mere mortals—and certain death for any and all outsiders. An alien hell has now invaded this small New England town…an aggressive and violent malignancy devoid of any mercy or sanity… –goodreads.com

DividerHangsaman by Shirley Jackson

Hangsaman

So if you are new here, this year I have found a new favorite author, Shirley Jackson. This month I am buddy reading this novel by her with my friends Amy, Jenna, and Reg. I am really looking forward to it, especially since it was inspired by a real event.

Natalie Waite, daughter of a mediocre writer and a neurotic housewife, is increasingly unsure of her place in the world. In the midst of adolescence she senses a creeping darkness in her life, which will spread among nightmarish parties, poisonous college cliques and the manipulations of the intellectual men who surround her, as her identity gradually crumbles.

Inspired by the unsolved disappearance of a female college student near Shirley Jackson’s home, Hangsaman is a story of lurking disquiet and haunting disorientation. –goodreads.com

DividerWhat do you plan on reading this month?

SignOff12:17

Tumblr Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Lists & Recommendations

Lists | Lowest Rated Books on My TBR

Lists

Hello and welcome to the second post this week dealing with my TBR. On Tuesday I talked about the 5 highest rated books on my TBR, now lets talk about the lowest rated books on my TBR. I think I am more curious to see this outcome mainly because I am curious if they are actually rated low or just on the low side of average.

For me anything under 2.7 is rated low on Goodreads, anything more than this in my eyes is average, enjoyable, and I could easily see myself liking. Obviously, there are books that go outside of this guideline, but this is a general view. Now, to the books!

Divider

The Honey Farm by Harriet Alida Lye

The Honey Farm
Rating: 3.38
I picked this book up during the original OWLs readathon and I ended up putting it on hold because I did not see myself finishing it in time. So part of my me sees why this is rated on the lower side, but it is still rated very well for being the lowest rated book.
Divider

After the Fireworks: Three Novellas by Aldous Huxley

After the Fireworks: Three Novellas

Rating: 3.45

This classic is a combination of novellas by Aldous Huxley. I have noticed that story collections tend to be rated lower than ones that stand alone so I can see why this might be rated lower. Also, this is written by a man that passed away in the 1960s many older books happen to be rated lower as well. So with those two things stacked against it I can say that having that rating is still very good.

Divider

Gerald’s Game by Stephen King

Gerald's Game

Rating: 3.48

I actually got this book as a present so I never really looked at the description if I am to be honest. I did like the cover and since I tend to enjoy his works I am hoping I end up liking this one as well. Fingers crossed!

Divider

The Tommyknockers by Stephen King

The Tommyknockers

Rating: 3.5

So, this one I had a good feeling would be on this list. The main reason being is because Stephen King himself said it was not his best work and that he felt like it went on too long. When he wrote this novel he was deep into addiction. While I am curious to see if it is as bad as he says, I am worried. Divider

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy by Nova Jacobs

The Last Equation of Isaac Severy

Rating: 3.61

So this book is rated nearly a 4, should I even say this is rated low? Either way, I am very happy to see that it is rated nearly a 4 since I picked it as my Book of the Month pick a few months ago. As soon as I read the description I knew I needed to have it.

Divider

Over all my lowest rated books on my TBR aren’t actually that low and it has not deterred me from wanted to keep these books on my TBR in the slightest.

What book have you rated the lowest?

SignOff12:17

Tumblr Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads