Category Archives: Memes
Waiting on Wednesday (11)
Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where bloggers share books they are eagerly anticipating.
Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things
By Cynthia Voigt
Release Date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Summary: The mysterious disappearance of Max Starling’s parents leaves the twelve-year-old struggling to maintain a low profile while also supporting himself as an actor. The first in a trilogy.
Why I Want to Read It: A story set in the theatres of twentieth-century London promises to provide a lot of excitement. Add a dash of mystery as well as such tantalizing key words such as “lost heirloom” and “lost love” and I’m in! The cover is absolutely gorgeous, too.
Top Ten Tuesday (57)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light & Fun
1. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch: A princess must rescue her prince from a fearsome dragon–all while wearing nothing but a paper bag.
2. Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole: Princess Smartypants is to be married, much against her will. She declares a series of challenges that her suitors must overcome to win her hand.
3. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery: Montgomery makes the world seem like a beautiful and magical place, and life a glorious adventure.
4. The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg: A smart book about the power of friendship and one of my childhood favorites.
5. The Dot and the Line by Norton Juster: A line falls in love with a dot, but she has eyes only for a squiggle.
6. The Princess Test by Gail Carson Levine: A retelling of “The Princess and the Pea” in which the princesses must overcome a series of ridiculous challenges in order to be declared the bride of Prince Nicholas.
7. Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep by Gail Carson Levine: A comedic retelling of “Sleeping Beauty” in wh
8. Cinderellis and the Glass Hill by Gail Carson Levine: A retelling of “The Princess and the Glass Hill.”
9. Roverandom by J. R. R. Tolkien: A young dog offends a wizard and finds himself transformed into a toy as a result. To find the wizard and turn himself back, he will have to travel to the moon and under the sea.
10. Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott: Orphaned at the age of 13, Rose goes to live with her aunts and finds herself slowly drawn into a new boisterous life surrounded by seven boy cousins.
Top Ten Tuesday (56)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Pick Up a Book
1. Shakespeare: Literary criticism, retelling, or simply a book with a character who reads Shakespeare–I’ll look at your book if his name is somewhere on the cover.
2. the Renaissance: Historical fiction or nonfiction–everything’s fair game. Mention the Tudors or sordid personal lives, however, and I’ll probably put the book back down.
3. Dante: Can I suggest some more historical fiction dealing with Dante? The amount of literary criticism is staggering, but I’d love to see more stuff like Kimberley Heuston’s Dante’s Daughter.
4. Dragons: They’re fairly popular right now, but I still can’t get enough of them.
5. Bookstores and/or Books: A book about books? Cool!
6. Fairy Tale References: I’ll look at the summary for any book that mentions it’s a retelling.
7. Science: Scientists aren’t portrayed enough in literature. It’s common for protagonists to be aspiring writers or English professors or basically anything people who like to read tend to identify with. Where are my chemistry heroes? My biologists? Mention science and I’m there.
8. Architecture: I know nothing about it, but buildings are pretty cool. I’ll read a book about buildings.
9. Spain: So much history and it’s beautiful.
10. Italy: See #9.
If You Like Faeries, Then Read….
If You Like, Then Read is a feature where we offer reading suggestions based on books you already like, scheduled once a month. If you have more suggestions, feel free to tell us in the comments! You can check out the rest of these lists here.
Today’s “If You Like, Then Read” is a special guest post from Anne from Creativity’s Corner. Anne founded her blog in 2010 in order to promote discussion about books and is hosting the 2013 Book Bingo Challenge. She currently works as a Cataloger for her local University Libraries.
Faerie Wars by Herbie Brennan (MG/YA)
When Henry Atherton’s life is falling apart around him, he takes refuge by helping to clean at Mr. Fogarty’s next door. But instead of the cranky old man he’s expecting, he finds a new friend: Pyrgus Malvae, crown prince of the faeries. Pyrgus’s world is full of faeries, demons, and danger – and he needs Henry’s help if he’s going to defeat the Faeries of the Night. (I’ll be co-hosting a read-a-thon for this series in the near future on my own blog Creativity’s Corner and we’d love for you to join us)
Wicked Lovely by Marissa Marr (YA)
Aislinn has always been able to see faeries for what they are, but has made a point of pretending she doesn’t – you don’t want to attract their attention, no matter what. Except, suddenly her rules for dealing with faeries aren’t working, and the Summer King of faeries is determined to have her for himself.
The Doubled Edge and Bedlam’s Bard series’ by Mercedes Lackey (Adult)
In the Doubled Edge series, the fae have seen two possible futures: one with an evil queen who will do everything in her power to cause pain, and one with a benevolent queen whose reign will be known as a golden age. The Seleighe Sidhe must go to war, if they want to save their queen, little Elizabeth Tudor, so she may someday become queen.
The Bedlam’s Bard shares a few characters with the Doubled Edge series (fae are incredibly long lived!) but is set several hundred years later. Eric Banyon, a traveling Renaissance Faire musician, accidentally wakes one of the noble fae who tells him that he is actually a bard – a musician mage – and enlists his help in a war against the Unseleighe Sidhe.
Once Upon a Winter’s Night by Dennis McKiernan (Adult)
A very loose retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon. A young woman marries a mysterious prince, only to have him turn out to be someone very different than she thought.
Stardust by Neil Gaiman (Adult)
If you’ve seen the movie, forget all that before reading the book – though the spirit stays the same, the majority of the novel is very different. A young half-fairy boy goes on a quest to retrieve a fallen star and gets much more than he bargained for.
Top Ten Tuesday (55)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Books I Thought I’d Like MORE/LESS Than I Did
1. Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee: I had already read this and decided I didn’t like it, but then someone else opened by eyes to all the interesting themes raised by the story.
2. A Daughter of the Land by Gene Stratton-Porter: I thought this book would follow the general formula of A Girl of the Limberlost and Freckles. It defied my expectations so, though it was good, I found myself disappointed.
3. Pollyanna Grows Up by Eleanor H. Porter: I might have liked it if I had read it when I was younger, but after years of searching for this book, I found it overly melodramatic and even cliched.
4. New Chronicles of Rebecca by Kate Douglas Wiggin: I thought another Rebecca book would show her grown up, but instead it covers the same time period as Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.
5. The Lost Prince by Frances Hodgson Burnett: The Secret Garden and A Little Princess are classics. I almost cannot believe the same author wrote this book.
6. The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy: The book is a series of short mysteries solved by an armchair detective. They’re good, but they become repetitive.
7. The Emperor’s Candlesticks by Baroness Orczy: The characterization is the one strong point of this rather predictable story.
8. The Coming of the Dragon by Rebecca Barnhouse: A retelling of Beowulf seemed like the perfect book, but the intended age range didn’t make sense to me and I missed the nuances of the original poem.
9. The Magicians by Lev Grossman: Someone told me it was Narnia and Harry Potter rolled into one, but the characters are disillusioned college students and the book didn’t resonate with me.
10. The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Barry: I didn’t find this retelling of “Cinderella” very original.
Waiting on Wednesday (10)
Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where bloggers share books they are eagerly anticipating.
Control
(Control #1)
By Lydia Kang
Release Date: December 26, 2013
Publisher: Dial at Penguin Young Readers
Official Summary: After the violent death of her father, 17 year-old Zelia loses her younger sister, Dylia, during an abduction at a foster care agency. It turns out her sister Dylia isn’t just pretty and sweet – she’s illegal. In the year 2150, DNA must be pure by law, and anyone with enhanced genes face death. Zelia’s only allies are the freak-show inhabitants of her new, underground foster home. Along with the unexpected love of a very strange boy, she will need her flaws and their illicit traits to save the only family she has left.
Why I Want to Read It: Control sounds as if it has a unique and captivating premise, combining the best of science fiction and dystopian novels. I’m expecting lots of action, suspense, and self-reflection from the summary! Kang works as primary care internal medicine physician, which gives me confidence she researched her science facts well!
Top Ten Tuesday (54)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Rewind: Top Ten Books That Made Me Cry
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
2. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
3. The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri
4. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
5. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
6. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
7. Rupert of Hentzau by Anthony Hope
8. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis
9. Unplanned by Abby Johnson
10. The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne
Top Ten Tuesday (53)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Characters I Would Crush On If I Were Also A Fictional Character
1. Cricket Bell from Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins: Intelligent with cute sticky-uppy hair. He also has a bedroom window within talking distance of Lola’s.
2. Hilary (Jingle) from Pat of Silver Bush by L. M. Montgomery: Introspective, caring, and loyal. He’s smart and wants to be an architect to build Pat her dream house.
3. Mamoru from Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi: He’s a king with magical powers who wants nothing more than to protect his princess.
4. Garth from Dragonswood by Janet Lee Carey: Sturdy, brave, and caring. He climbs a tree to talk to Tess when she’s scared.
5. Char from Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine: It’s been awhile since I read this, but I remember Char as spontaneous, funny, and kind.
6. Faramir from The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien: The brave and noble younger brother who prefers learning to war.
7. Finn from Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood: His family owns a bookstore, and the feather scene is probably one of the most romantic things I’ve ever read. (Compare to the glory scene in Unearthly.)
8. Jack from Water Song by Suzanne Weyn: Jack actually has a bit of presumptuous attitude I might not like in real life, but watching his interactions with and growing affections for Emma is pretty fun!
9. Jase from My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick: Part of a large family, he’s a protective and caring older brother, which I think is attractive.
10. Rhys from The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine: A clever and protective sorcerer.
If You Like Pirates, Then Read….
If You Like, Then Read is a feature where we offer reading suggestions based on books you already like, scheduled once a month. If you have more suggestions, feel free to tell us in the comments! You can check out the rest of these lists here.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Buttercup, the most beautiful woman in the world, is about to marry the most handsome prince–unless the Dread Pirate Roberts can stop them. Goldman tells the story with only the “good parts.”
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
A classic English novel about a young boy who finds a treasure map and his subsequent adventures with a band of pirates.
Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson
Hilary Westfield would rather be at sea than studying at finishing school, so, naturally, she runs away to answer an advertisement seeking for pirate crew. A middle grade adventure from Harper Collins. The book will be released in September 2013.
Pirates! by Celia Rees
Displeased with life on a Jamaican plantation, Nancy Kington runs away with a servant girl to join a band of pirates in the hopes of finding individuality and freedom. A young adult novel from Bloomsbury.
Pirateology: The Pirate Hunter’s Companion by Dugald A. Steer
All the information about pirates you could ever want in one beautifully bound book. It features maps, charts, a hidden treasure map, pirate letters, treasure, and more. Part of the ‘Ology series from Candlewick.
The Gingerbread Pirates by Kristin Kladstrup
This charmingly illustrated picture book features the daring Captain Cookie as he sets off on a quest to save the other gingerbread men from being eaten by Santa Clause on Christmas Eve. Published by Candlewick.
Top Ten Tuesday (52)
Top Ten Tuesdays is a meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is
Top Ten Books I Recommend The Most
I’m interpreting this to mean books I have recommended the most times.
1. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien: For fans of epic adventure, language, and good stories.
2. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery: For those who love humor, heart, and imagination.
3. The Chosen by Chaim Potok: For those who like classic literature and looking for truth.
4. Graceling by Kristin Cashore: For fans of high fantasy and unique fictional voices.
5. The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis: For fantasy fans and children at heart.
6. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: For fans of imagination and aesthetic.
7. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card: For those looking to start reading science fiction.
8. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: For those looking for a deep and moving story or good historical fiction.
9. The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen: For those who like action, intrigue, and wit.
10. Villette by Charlotte Bronte: For those who enjoy Bronte’s Jane Eyre.
