Thursday, June 30, 2016

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares | Book Review


Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, talking about The Here and Now, a time travel YA adventure!  Click on the cover image to find out more.

*I received an advanced copy of The Here and Now from the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.  Thank you!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

PopSugar Reading Challenge Update


This week I read Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, which is a book based on a fairy tale.

Previously, I've read:
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which is a YA bestseller.

Journal of Major George Washington, 1754 by George Washington, which is a book translated to English.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, which is a book set in Europe.

The Fireflies Book by Brett Ortler, which is a book that's under 150 pages.

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a New York Times bestseller.

Prohibition Bakery by Leslie Feinberg with Brooke Siem, which is a book I can finish in a day.

Situation Momedy: A First-Time Mom's Guide to Laughing Your Way Through Pregnancy & Year One by Jenna Von Oy, which is a book written by a celebrity.

Meridian by Josin L. McQuein, which is a science-fiction novel.

On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo with Robert Bucknam, which is a book recommended by a family member.

The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks, which is a graphic novel.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, which is a book with a protagonist who has my occupation.

Circa Now by Amber McRee Turner, which is a book that takes place during Summer.

What We Lost in the Dark by Jacquelyn Mitchard, which is a murder mystery.

Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh, which is a dystopian novel.

The Forever Girl by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a book with a blue cover.

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan, which is a book from the library.

I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had by Tony Danza, which is an autobiography.

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a book about a culture I'm unfamiliar with.

Mama Tried by Emily Flake, which is a satirical book.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu, which is a book that takes place on an island.

Wild Ones by Jon Mooallem, which is a book that's guaranteed to bring me joy.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson | Book Review

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
(Isn't that a GORGEOUS cover?!?  Totally judged this one by it's cover when I made the decision to purchase.)

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews talking about Tiger Lily.  Click on the image above to find out what I liked about this YA retelling of Peter Pan!

*I own my copy of Tiger Lily.  Woot!

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews, hosting Stacking the Shelves.  Click on the image above to see what I brought home this week, and to join in the fun yourself!  No new books checked off of my Reading Challenge because...


(Couldn't resist!)

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Only What's Necessary: Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts by Chip Kidd | Book Review

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(You can't see it in this digital copy of the cover, but it's made of really thick cardboard, with a cloth spine.  The image on the front is actually physically impressed into the cardboard as well as inked.  Pretty cool!)

The cover of my copy of Only What's Necessary had a sticker on it saying that it had never-before-seen, unavailable-anywhere-else art inside, and it did!  The author worked with the director of the Charles M. Schulz museum in California and got access to stuff in the archives that very, very few people had ever seen before, and got permission to publish some of that stuff here.

Only What's Necessary has forewords by the author, the director of the Charles M. Schulz museum, and Schulz's widow.  They're not long, but they're the lengthiest text in the whole big book!  The book is organized to give a half page to a page worth of background on an aspect on Charles M. Schulz's life or career, then follow that with about 6-10 pages of art and comic strips that illustrate the background info.  I thought it was really interesting to learn more about where Charles M. Schulz was coming from when he created Peanuts.  One of the things you get to see in the book that you wouldn't otherwise ever see:  envelopes donated to his archives from an old Army buddy.  While they were serving together in WWII, Charles M. Schulz would do little drawings on the envelopes of the letters that his buddy was sending home, illustrating daily Army life.  At the very end of the book you also get to read an entry by the director of his museum, telling about which strips were his favorite after all those years.

I highly recommend!  Especially to Peanuts fans, of course, but also to folks interested in biographies or art.

*I checked out my copy of Only What's Necessary from my local library.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  For more information, or to join the fun yourself, check out their blog!

Top Ten Reasons I Love the Mitford Series by Jan Karon

1. They're like literary comfort food for me- I've read many of them multiple times, and I also did a big re-read of the whole series two summers ago, so I really feel like I know the characters and I know Mitford and that's comforting.

2. Father Tim.


3. Barnabas.  My dog isn't quite as big as Barnabas is described as being, but he does have a similar enthusiasm for life.  He's never met a person who isn't a potential new best friend; he's definitely into licking/slobbering on folks; and he calms down when read to.


4. Dooley:  a good guy redhead!  Have you ever noticed how many redheads in books and movies turn out to be bad guys?  Dooley is a redhead, and he's a good guy!


5. The OMC.  I found a recipe for this a couple years ago and made one myself and my goodness is it ever delicious.  I can totally see how Esther can get away with charging so much for one, and how one could put Father Tim into a diabetic coma!

6. Miss Sadie and Louella.  Oh how I hope I develop such a strong friendship (or two) over my lifetime too!

(I have this theory that Cynthia is based heavily on the author herself.)

7. Miss Cynthia and Violet.  Of course there had to be a character connected to children's literature somewhere in the series!  It just seems right.

8. No TV.  I think in the course of ten full-length novels there's two mentions of any electronic media.  I don't even think Cynthia owns a TV, and they didn't get a VCR until the seventh book.


9. "Mitford" is based on Blowing Rock, NC, which I love to visit!  If you've never been the NC/SC mountains, you're missing out.



10.  The Most Important Reason I Love the Mitford Series:  Because I first started reading them with my mom.  This is such a treasured aspect of my childhood that I plan to read aloud with my own little one for as long as he'll let me... plus a few years!

Leave a comment below and I'll be sure to visit your Top Ten too!  Can't wait to see what everyone is gushing about this week!

Monday, June 6, 2016

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin | Book Review

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Before the review:  Happy Birthday to my little sister!  

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry is one of the rare books where I'd give it two different ratings:  for myself and my personal tastes in books, I'd waver between 3 and 3.5 out of 5 stars; but for overall writing and for how much I think others will like it, I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars.  I know that might not make complete sense... let's start at the beginning:

I downloaded this book from Edelweiss long, long ago because the synopsis mentioned that the main character was a bookstore proprietor on a very small island.  It is a dream of mine to someday run a small bookstore in a small town.  Maybe in retirement.  The hubby and I love love love to read and probably own enough books already to start up the store!  Ha ha ha  So that's why I chose to read the book.  However, time slipped away and years passed before I read it.  The year before I read it, it was chosen as my library's "Community Read" book- the book that the library encouraged all adults in the county to read and discuss.  These two things together pushed my hopes sky high for a great read, and unfortunately the book fell just a little flat.

This is the story of A.J. Fikry, a bookstore owner on Alice Island, off the coast of Massachusetts.  The island is very small and only reachable by ferry, and that ferry often gets shut down in the winter.  When he is first visited by Amelia, a publishing firm rep, he is the epitome of curmudgeonly.  He's a surly middle-aged widower hermit, just plodding through his days until retirement.  Then one day someone steals something from him, and another someone leaves something for him.  You'll have to read the book to find out if the two events are truly related!

The plot was pretty good.  My quibble with it:  I called it.   I prefer to be swept up in a book and surprised.  I'm not even that good at trying to figure out plot points before the reveals!  So when I'm able to see what's coming, I subtract "points" from the book.  On the positive side, though, the plot is definitely plausible and is well-executed.  I will agree with the front cover blurb by Garth Stein:  the book is moving.

For me, the characters were what made this book most enjoyable.  It's not every day that you see much character growth in adult fiction; that's usually left to the YA shelves.  But here in The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, we get honest-to-goodness believable and heart warming character growth in the eponymous character.  He starts as this grumpy man, aged emotionally well beyond his calendar years and blooms into this somewhat short-spoken but ultimately caring man through his relationships with the women in his life.  This short-ish novel has a short character list, but they're all worth their weight in gold.  We get to know A.J. the best, but I also really enjoyed "meeting" his friend, police chief Lambiase, and his sister-in-law Ismay.  Then there are two other women who he lets get close, but it would spoil a plot point to reveal anything about them!

Gabrielle Zevin also does a neat bit of foreshadowing in the formatting of the book:  the chapters are separated by short reviews (written by A.J.) of short stories.  They're written with a clearly personal touch, and you do find out at the end of the book who they were written for, and it will probably make your heart melt a little.  I do like when books have a unique feature to them.

I plan to recommend this book to a few relatives, so you can know that it's a good book- just wasn't really my personal cup of tea.  Very well written, and I wouldn't hesitate to try another book by Zevin in the future.

*I received my copy of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry from the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.  Thank you!

Saturday, June 4, 2016

PopSugar Reading Challenge Update


This week I read The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, which is a book with a protagonist who has my occupation (librarian).

Previously, I've read:
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, which is a YA bestseller.

Journal of Major George Washington, 1754 by George Washington, which is a book translated to English.

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah, which is a book set in Europe.

The Fireflies Book by Brett Ortler, which is a book that's under 150 pages.

Tea Time for the Traditionally Built by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a New York Times bestseller.

Prohibition Bakery by Leslie Feinberg with Brooke Siem, which is a book I can finish in a day.

Situation Momedy: A First-Time Mom's Guide to Laughing Your Way Through Pregnancy & Year One by Jenna Von Oy, which is a book written by a celebrity.

Meridian by Josin L. McQuein, which is a science-fiction novel.

On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo with Robert Bucknam, which is a book recommended by a family member.

The Harlem Hellfighters by Max Brooks, which is a graphic novel.

Circa Now by Amber McRee Turner, which is a book that takes place during Summer.

What We Lost in the Dark by Jacquelyn Mitchard, which is a murder mystery.

Near Enemy by Adam Sternbergh, which is a dystopian novel.

The Forever Girl by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a book with a blue cover.

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan, which is a book from the library.

I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had by Tony Danza, which is an autobiography.

The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith, which is a book about a culture I'm unfamiliar with.

Mama Tried by Emily Flake, which is a satirical book.

The Young Elites by Marie Lu, which is a book that takes place on an island.

Wild Ones by Jon Mooallem, which is a book that's guaranteed to bring me joy.

Thursday, June 2, 2016

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins

The Library at Mount Char
(Isn't that an awesome cover?!?)

Today I'm over at Tynga's Reviews!  Click on the cover image above to read my review of The Library at Mount Char.

*I own my copy of The Library at Mount Char, courtesy of Blogging for Books.  Thank you!