Category: updates

What I’m reading this weekend

~ EMM

WeekendReads-20160625

My Indiespensible box arrived from Powell’s and the book included in this shipment was Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing. I’ve been hearing awesome things about this book and the interview with the author (included in the box, but also available here) had me tearing into this book almost immediately. I read the first 50 pages last night, and I’m fairly certain I’ll finish it this weekend.

Rather than jump right onto my computer after swimming this morning, I decided to read this first volume of Storm while I enjoyed my extra large mug of green tea. This was a very good decision. And I’m glad I already purchased volume two, even though I’ll probably save it for next weekend…

And… I decided to dive back into Slow Bullets after stalling out on it about a quarter of the way in. I’m about half-way now and I think I’m beginning to realize what’s bugging me about this novella… it’s written in a very detached, unemotional style, even though the narrative is first person POV. The result is that I’m just not connecting with the character or the stakes. But, it’s a short, fast read, and I usually love Alastair Reynold’s books, so I’m determined to finish it.

The Goodreads Book Tag

~ EMM ~ 1 Comment

When I saw this on Zezee with Books blog yesterday, I thought it looked fun and wanted to give it a go. I’m a big fan of tracking my reading, and of Goodreads. It feels like I’ve been tracking my reading on Goodreads since the dawn of time. But, according to my profile, it appears I’ve only had an account since October 2008. I guess that sort of is the dawn of time in internet years… Anyway… Enough with the babbling. On to the questions!

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1. What was the last book you marked as ‘read’?

Paddle Your Own Canoe by Nick Offerman — my husband and I listened to this during our vacation road trip.

PaddleYourOwnCanoe
2. What are you currently reading?

Over the weekend I (finally) started Slow Bullets by Alastair Reynolds. He is one of my favorite (living) sci-fi authors, but so far this novella is just not sucking me in. I’m going to stick with it and see if it gets better.

SlowBullets
3. What was the last book you marked as ‘TBR’?

Over the weekend, I noticed that two books I’d been wanting to read went on sale: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger and Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. Since I added them in that order, I guess that makes the answer to this question:

ClockworkAngel
4. What book do you plan to read next?

A few months ago I got the second book in the Neapolitan Novels (The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante) from the library, but I never got around to reading it before the loan ended. I had to put it on hold again and it’s just become available. So, I think that’s probably what I’m going to read next.

StoryOfANewName
5. Do you use the star rating system?

Yes, but I rarely give anything less than three stars.
6. Are you doing a 2016 Reading Challenge?

Yes. My goal is to read at least 50 book-like things this year. I count audiobooks, novellas, and comic trades against that total. That works out to about one book a week and so far I’m right on track to hit my goal.
7. Do you have a wishlist?

Yes. I track that on Amazon, but I also have some wishlist books on my “to-buy-borrow” shelf.
8. What book do you plan to buy next?

Do pre-orders count? Because unless one of my wishlist books goes on Kindle sale between now and the 5th of July, my next planned book purchase is This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab. This will be the second book I’ve read by her, but I loved Vicious so much that she instantly became an “auto-buy” author for me. I still need to read her more popular series, but I’m waiting until the final book comes out and saving it for a time when I can really savor it. In the meantime, I’m eagerly looking forward to this book landing on my Kindle in a few weeks.

ThisSavageSong
9. Do you have any favorite quotes, would you like to share a few?

These are some of my favorite book and book-related quotes:

quotes
10. Who are your favorite authors?

There are so many authors I love, I’m sure I’ll forget someone… But, as I mentioned above, Victoria Schwab and Alastair Reynolds are definite favorites. So are Rainbow Rowell, Sarah J. Maas, John Scalzi, Kristin Cashore, Erin Morgenstern, Scott Hawkins, J.K. Rowling, George R.R. Martin, Frank Herbert, Madeleine L’Engle, and Anne McCaffrey… just to name a few… 🙂
11. Have you joined any groups?

I’ve joined three groups on Goodreads: Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge, Powell’s City of Books fan club, Top 5 Wednesday, but I’m not really active in any of them. I honestly haven’t quite gotten into the groups function in Goodreads.

11. Who do you tag?

If you haven’t done this and you think it looks fun, consider yourself tagged! And post a link to your blog in the comments so I can go read your post.

Happy reading!

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Things I Love about The 100 (tv show)

~ EMM ~ 1 Comment

toptentuesday

Trying something new this week… I thought I’d give the Top Ten Tuesday writing prompts a go. This week’s topic is: “Ten Reasons I Love X.” Since I just finished watching the season finale of The 100, that was immediately what came to mind when I saw this prompt. So, I give you…

Ten Reasons I Love CW’s The 100 (tv show):

  1. The writers are consistently and equally cruel to all the characters. — No one likes to see bad things happen to their favorite characters, but good writers know you have to make your characters suffer in order for the really good moments to be emotionally satisfying. What’s great about The 100 is that no character is exempt from this rule. I can’t name one that hasn’t lost someone that they deeply cared about (usually in some horrific way, and sometimes at their own hand due to some awful choice they had to make that had no good solution).
  2. No character is 100% “good” (or 100% “bad”). — Similar to reason #1, I love it when books, movies, and tv shows can pull off sympathetic characters that are morally all shades of grey. This is one of the reasons why I love Game of Thrones, and I think The 100 does this equally well.
  3. The languages are fantastic. — I love that the same guy (David Peterson) who did all the languages for Game of Thrones also did all the languages for this show. Every once in a while you catch an almost-English word in the Grounder language and it sounds like something that really could have developed over generations in a post-apocalyptic future which makes it feel really authentic. I heard this guy speak about how he comes up with these languages and he is amazing. Seriously. Check out this video if this is at all interesting to you.
  4. It’s hard to predict what will happen next. — I love trying to guess plot twists. It’s one of my favorite things to do. But the writers of The 100 do such a great job keeping me guessing, or doing the complete opposite of what I expect will happen, that I’ve pretty much given up trying to figure out where they’re going and I’m just enjoying the ride.
  5. I wasn’t expecting (and really enjoy) the AI backstory / plot development. — This is a good example of reason #4, above, and it’s probably a spoiler if you haven’t watched past the first two seasons. I had no idea this would be a thing, but it makes so much sense. When they finally did the flashback shows this season and it all came together, I just loved it.
  6. The adults have a lot to learn from the “kids.” — At nearly every turn the adults seem to find a way to mess things up. The original 100, or at least what’s left of them, worked so hard to put a life together on the ground. Then the adults came down and screwed everything up because they thought they knew better. It’s infuriating, and perfect.
  7. The Grounders are badass. — Sure, they’re brutal, but that’s how they survived. And did you see Lexa fighting in the season finale? I mean… badass.
  8. Lexa. — Speaking of my favorite Commander… Lexa is awesome. RIP.
  9. Clarke. — While part of me wishes I could be as badass and coldhearted as Lexa, deep in my heart I know, in terms of leadership, I’m basically Clarke. I know this just like I know that, because of my tendency to put a premium on loyalty, integrity, and “doing what’s right,” I’d definitely be “House Stark” (and probably ended up like Ned and/or Robb). I can totally relate to Clarke and 9/10 times I’d probably make the same (flawed) decisions that she’s made.
  10. The diversity! — I know it’s not perfect, but have you seen the diversity on this show? And it’s not a “thing,” it just exists, just like humans exist, in all their colorful and varied forms, abilities, and sexual orientations. Characters aren’t stereotypes. They’re human and multi-dimensional. I don’t really know of another show, or movie for that matter, that’s doing this as well as The 100 does. If you do, let me know. And again I’ll state, they aren’t perfect, but they’re doing a lot of things right and I appreciate that.

I will freely admit that the first season was a little hit or miss, and I don’t really know what exactly kept me watching. I know plenty of people who’ve bailed out and stopped watching it. Probably nothing I say will change their minds. But I’m so glad I stuck with it. This is definitely one of my favorite of all the currently airing tv shows.

May in Review

~ EMM ~ 2 Comments

May was a bit crazy this year. It didn’t feel much like a birthday month, and I didn’t get much writing or swimming accomplished due to a massive road-trip vacation that took up most of the second half of the month. But, I did read a lot and think a lot. So, even if I feel like I’ve fallen behind on everything, I feel rested and a little more grounded going into the second half of this year.

Below are the books I read this month (links take you to my reviews on Goodreads).

May2016

  • A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas (Kindle, pre-order) — I was worried that I would be disappointed by this book because I had some issues with the first book in this series. But, I loved it! Feyre is only annoying through the first third of this book. Then she really comes into her own with a little help from her new friends and her swoon-worthy soul mate. I’m so much happier with the romance plot in this book compared to the first.
  • Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld (Kindle, library) — I’m a sucker for Jane Austen retellings, and I also like this author. So when I saw this book announced, I knew I had to read it immediately. Luckily, I got a digital copy from the library within weeks of the release, and it turned out to be everything I’d hoped it would be. I had some issues with the ending, but other than that, highly recommend for Austen fans looking for a modern spin on a classic.
  • The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski (Kindle) — This one did not live up to the hype for me, unfortunately. I couldn’t get past what felt like a character inconsistency that contributed to a weakness in the plot and the romance aspect of the story.
  • Lady Susan by Jane Austen (Kindle) — I couldn’t fit this into the photo above, but I also read this short, unfinished Austen story in preparation for seeing Love & Friendship at some point (hopefully soon).
  • The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh (Kindle) — It took me forever to finally get around to reading this book, but it definitely lived up to the hype. I only wish the ending wasn’t such a massive cliff-hanger.
  • Serpentine by Cindy Pon (Kindle) — I’ve had this book on my TBR forever and I’m glad I finally got around to reading it. It’s a short, fast read with unique world-building and an excellent female friendship at the core of the plot.
  • Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein (audiobook, library) — I’m probably not the right audience for this book, because I’m not really a fan of Sleater Kinney or Portlandia. It’s not that I don’t like her band or her show, it’s just not my thing. I think I just missed the Riot Grrl craze (a little too young), and I never heard of Sleater Kinney until I moved to the PNW. I’ve watched a few episodes of Portlandia. It’s really funny, but it didn’t hook me enough to keep watching. So, I’m not even sure why I picked up this book except that I’d heard on several blogs that it was really good. I enjoyed it because I love learning more about the punk movement and reading about the creative process. I’d highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of punk and/or Sleater Kinney, or if you’re a music geek. If you’re thinking of picking it up because of her role in Portlandia, you’ll be disappointed because there’s almost nothing of that in here.

I’m not sure how much reading I’ll get done in June, but these are the books I’d really like to read if I can find some time:

June2016TBR

A couple roll-over titles from previous TBRs (Lagoon, Slow Bullets), and a few new titles to shake things up a bit. I’ve been craving a novel with a solid mystery / thriller element, so I decided to add The Swimmer and Three Parts Dead to my TBR. I’ve also been neglecting my comics, so I added Vol 1 of Storm, which will (hopefully) compliment the new X-Men movie I’m looking forward to seeing this weekend. I added George because I’ve been meaning to read it for a while, and I thought June, since it’s Pride month, might be a good time to do that.

Now that I’m back from vacation and refreshed, I’m looking forward to diving back into my writing (and into the pool). I’m hoping to finish edits on “Godda’s War” (which really needs a new title) and then get to work on finishing a draft of my 2014 NaNoWrMo story (“Augmented“). I had some pretty decent ideas for both of these over vacation and I’m eager to start making progress again.

It may be a bit quiet around here in June, but I have a few blog post ideas planned. So, stay tuned! Oh, and if you’re disappointed that I stopped posting my “MayIGAuthor” photos here, you can check them out on Instagram. It was easier to just post them there while I was on vacation (vs. posting to both locations).

#MayIGAuthors Day 13: Friday the 13th #FridayReads

~ EMM

I haven’t been doing a great job keeping up with these prompts, and I was a little at a loss about what to post today because I’m not a big fan of horror. But, I got some cool book mail, so I thought I’d share that instead.

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Two things arrived in the mail this week. One is this tote from Bloomsbury that I got for pre-ordering A Court of Mist and Fury. The second is a birthday present from my husband. He surprised me by finding me a signed hardcover edition of one of my favorite books by one of my all-time favorite authors. That old-school sci-fi cover art is seriously vintage. I love it! I’m impressed that he was able to find this because Sassinak is not one ofAnne McCaffrey’s most popular books. Plus, this edition was published in the early 90s, and McCaffrey died a few years ago (I’m still sad about that).

Also pictured is the book I’m currently reading, Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld. It’s a modern Pride & Prejudice re-telling and so far it’s really entertaining. I’ve previously read (and enjoyed) several other books by Ms. Sittenfeld, and I think her dry humor and observations on culture and society are a great fit for this project.

Overall, I’d say that my Friday is going pretty well. 🙂

#MayIGAuthors Day 10: Quote

~ EMM

I don’t keep track of my favorite book quotes in any formal way. But, one quote that I love is from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

HandmaidQuote

In the book, “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum” is Latin for “Don’t let the bastards grind you down.”

First thing I love about this quote is that it’s a great reminder for everyday life. Somedays I feel like I should just write this on the back of my hand so I remember.

The other thing is that this is something my dad used to say all the time (except he said “get” instead of “grind”). When I got to the part where she figures this out in the book, I kind of flipped out. I’m fairly certain that my dad never read this book, and I’ll probably never know where picked it up. But it was such a cool coincidence and is probably the main reason why this is one of my favorite book quotes.

#MayIGAuthors Day 7: Boost an Author

~ EMM

I’ve been thinking about this task all day, and I can’t come up with an idea that satisfies me. There are plenty of authors that I love, but you probably already know most of them. I tried to think of a lesser-known author to boost, but I kept coming up blank. I combed through my Goodreads shelves, I looked at my actual bookshelf, and I still came up with nothing.

I finally decided to go with two books (and two authors) that I’ve talked about already on this blog, but that I think have not achieved the wide popularity they deserve.

imageThe first is The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins and would appeal to fans of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere and American Gods. The second is Sword by Amy Bai and would appeal to fans of Kristin Cashore’s Graceling. Both books are debuts released in 2015, and (as far as I’ve seen) neither author has released any information about new books in the works. But these were two of my favorite books I read last year and I think they both deserve a lot more attention then I’ve seen them get so far. So, check them out!

#MayIGAuthors Day 5 and 6 plus #FridayReads

~ EMM

I couldn’t think of anything creative to post for the “Cinco de Mayo” task because I was too busy devouring A Court of Mist and Fury. So I posted this to Instagram yesterday:

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Then I saw that today’s theme was “book set in Spring” and I immediately thought, Spring Court, duh:

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Yeah, fine, I’m a bit obsessed at the moment. But can you blame me? I finished ACoMaF today and I loved it. You may remember that I had some mixed feelings about ACoTaR, but now everything is clear. I get it. It’s like how the first three Throne of Glass books build into the awesomeness that is Queen of Shadows. Except this time I only had to wait for book 2 to get the payoff I wanted. Character growth, FTW! No spoilers, just *squeeeeee*!