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United States of Books Project Wrap-Up

January 3, 2017 by

Even though I joined the United States of Books project later than many of the others, I really enjoyed the camaraderie and sharing reviews of others on my blog.

I hope you take a look at the wide variety of books we reviewed in 2016.

Among the ones I personally read and reviewed, my favorite book from the project was Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks (I gave it 5 stars).

My 4 star books from the project were:

Drown by Junot Díaz

The Betsy-Tacy Treasury by Maud Hart Lovelace

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

My 3 star books from the project were:

Independence Day by Richard Ford

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Geek Love by Katherine Dunn

My 2 star books from the project were:

The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler

I would love to take part in another project like this.

Filed Under: announcements Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mailbox Monday #408

January 1, 2017 by

Mailbox Monday, created by Marcia at To Be Continued, formerly The Printed Page, has a permanent home at its own blog.

To check out what everyone has received over the last week, visit the blog and check out the links. Leave yours too.

Also, each week, Leslie, Martha, and I will share the Books that Caught Our Eye from everyone’s weekly links.

What I purchased:


Darcy’s Christmas Wish by Penelope Swan

Fitzwilliam Darcy never forgot the little girl, with the beautiful dark eyes, who saved his life fifteen years ago… though he never expected to meet her again. But when he comes to Rosings Park to spend the Advent season with his aunt and encounters the enchanting, spirited Miss Elizabeth Bennet again, he discovers that at Christmastime, wishes can come true…

Mr. Darcy Loves Elizabeth Bennet: 4 Variations of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice by Elizabeth Ann West, Barbara Silkstone, Kristi Rose, and April Floyd

Join authors Elizabeth Ann West, Barbara Silkstone, Kristi Rose, and April Floyd as they each share an exclusive short novella reimagining our dear couple falling in love! We all know Mr. Darcy loves Elizabeth Bennet, but the question universally wondered is how many ways can they show that love? Two Regencies, Two Contemporaries, there is a perfect story for every Jane Austen Fan Fiction lover!

Here’s what my daughter received for Christmas:

Pete the Cat: Sir Pete the Brave by James Dean from her friend

When Lady Callie, the most awesome harpist in all the land, goes missing, it’s up to Sir Pete to save her. But when he ends up trapped in a dragon’s lair, Lady Callie might have to do the saving.

It’s Raining Bats & Frogs by Rebecca Colby, illustrated by Steven Henry, from her friend

Delia has been looking forward all year to flying in the annual Halloween Parade. But parade day brings heavy rain. So, Delia takes action. Using her best magic, Delia changes the rain to cats and dogs. But that doesn’t work too well! Then hats and clogs. That doesn’t work, either! Each new type of rain brings a new set of problems. How can Delia save the day?

What did you receive?

Save

Filed Under: mailbox monday, meme Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy New Year, 2017!

January 1, 2017 by

In 2016, I pared down the number of reading challenges I joined. I was having reading challenge fatigue.

New Authors Challenge — Completed
Poetry Reading Challenge — Completed
2016 World at War Reading Challenge — Mostly Complete

Stats:

Books read: 180

  • Short Story Collections: 3
  • Young Adult Fiction: 8
  • Reference: 15
  • Poetry: 28
  • Nonfiction: 6
  • Memoir: 4
  • Graphic Memoir: 3
  • Comics: 1
  • Children’s Fiction: 26
  • Adult Fiction: 83

More information on the 2017 Poetry Reading Challenge to come, as well as an update on the War Through the Generations blog and reading challenges.

Filed Under: announcements Tagged With:

Poetry Reading Challenge 2017

December 31, 2016 by

  • Haiku Level: read 1 book of poetry or 20 poems
  • Cinquain Level: Read 2 books of poetry, 40 poems
  • Sonnet Level: Read 3 books of poetry, 60 poems
  • Rondeau Level: Read 4 books of poetry, 80 poems
  • Villanelle Level: Read 5-10 books of poetry, 100 poems

If you want to challenge yourself this year, feel free to try a new form of poetry — Sonnets, Haiku, Pastoral, Limerick, Elegy, Tanka, Ghazal, Epic, and others.

Please sign up and let me know what level, and leave your review links in the linky below:

Happy 2017!

Filed Under: challenges, Poetry Reading Challenge Tagged With:

390th Virtual Poetry Circle

December 31, 2016 by

Welcome to the 390th Virtual Poetry Circle!

Remember, this is just for fun and is not meant to be stressful.

Keep in mind what Molly Peacock’s book suggested.

Look at a line, a stanza, sentences, and images; describe what you like or don’t like; and offer an opinion. If you missed my review of her book, check it out here.

Today’s poem is from Conor O’Callaghan:

January Drought

It needn’t be tinder, this juncture of the year,
a cigarette second guessed from car to brush.

The woods’ parchment is given
to cracking asunder the first puff of wind.
Yesterday a big sycamore came across First
and Hawthorne and is there yet.

The papers say it has to happen,
if just as dribs and drabs on the asbestos siding.
But tonight is buckets of stars as hard and dry as dimes.

A month’s supper things stacks in the sink.
Tea brews from water stoppered in the bath
and any thirst carried forward is quenched thinking you,
piece by piece, an Xmas gift hidden
and found weeks after: the ribbon, the box.

I have reservoirs of want enough
to freeze many nights over.

What did you think?

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2016 Honorable Mentions

December 30, 2016 by

Yes, the Best of 2016 list is out, but I would be remiss if I didn’t have a list of honorable mentions.

No words, just pictures! Click the pictures for the reviews.

What books were your favorites from 2016?

Filed Under: announcements, Best of 2016 Tagged With:

Best Books of 2016

December 30, 2016 by

2016 had a great many books that thrilled me, and others that delighted. The rest of the year I could have done without —  so many deaths and a horribly long election and a range of backlash to terrify anyone.

For those interested, these are the best books I read in 2016, though not all were published in 2016.

Best Series:

March by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and artist Nate Powell (March: Book One, March: Book Two, March: Book Three)

Best Photography:


Photographs from the Edge: A Master Photographer’s Insights on Capturing an Extraordinary World by Art Wolfe, Rob Sheppard

Best Memoir:

Bukowski in a Sundress by Kim Addonizio

Best Children’s Book:


Science Verse by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith

Best Young Adult Fiction:


The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

Best Short Story Collection: (I only read 3 and these 2 tied)


Heirlooms: Stories by Rachel Hall (this one has remained on my mind more than expected)


Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War by Jessica Brockmole, Hazel Gaynor, Evangeline Holland, Marci Jefferson, Kate Kerrigan, Jennifer Robson, Heather Webb, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig

Best Jane Austen Fiction: (this is a three-way tie)


A Moment Forever by Cat Gardiner


Darcy’s Hope: Beauty from Ashes by Ginger Monette


The Courtship of Edward Gardiner by Nicole Clarkston

Best Poetry: (another tie)


Field Guide to the End of the World by Jeannine Hall Gailey


Obliterations by Heather Aimee O’Neill and Jessica Piazza

Best Fiction: (a three-way tie)


The Secrets of Flight by Maggie Leffler


My Last Continent by Midge Raymond


This is the Story of You by Beth Kephart

What books were your favorites this year?

Filed Under: announcements, Best of 2016, reviews Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Darcy’s Christmas Wish by Penelope Swan

December 29, 2016 by

Source: Purchased
ebook, 216 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Darcy’s Christmas Wish by Penelope Swan imagine an early meeting between Lizzy and Darcy as children when Darcy takes a tumble into a frozen pond after disobeying his aunt Lady Catherine’s warning that the north side of Rosings is dangerous. Recovering from his near death experience and being told that the girl with deep brown eyes was not real, he makes a Christmas wish while stirring plum pudding in the kitchen at Rosings. If only he had known that he would have to wait fifteen years for it to come true.

“‘No, Mother, I did not imagine her! I am sure she was there. She helped me. Had she not been there, I would have surely drowned–‘”

“Those eyes. He could still see them. Bright and intelligent, fringed by beautiful dark lashes. He was sure he had not imagined those eyes…”

Lizzy has come to Hunsford parsonage to spend time with Mrs. Collins before joining her family in London for Christmas. She’s enjoying her time with her friend, but she’s also finding companionable moments with the insufferable Mr. Darcy. Swan has created a more outspoken Lizzy, which defies societal convention, but this characterization is also more open to seeing things that are more subtle, particularly where Darcy is concerned. The relationship between Darcy and Lizzy in Swan’s variation evolves gradually, and it is sweet to see their awkwardness as they navigate the new calm between them.

Darcy’s Christmas Wish by Penelope Swan is a delightful Christmas story that shows how societal norms can be circumvented for justice’s sake and to allow two people — one of higher class and one of a lower class — find one other and share mutual respect and even love.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Penelope Swan is the pen name of author, H.Y. Hanna, who writes bestselling British cozy mysteries and romantic mysteries under her other name. She has been an avid Jane Austen fan since her teens and is delighted that she can now live out her Regency fantasies through her books.

Filed Under: challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, purchased, Read in 2016, reviews Tagged With: ,

Frankenstein Darcy by Cass Grix

December 28, 2016 by

Source: Giveaway Win
Paperback, 302 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate

Frankenstein Darcy by Cass Grix is a semi-paranormal take on Pride & Prejudice in which Mr. Darcy’s father is an amateur scientist who dabbles in questionable practices. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth meet when they are younger as Elizabeth and her relatives the Gardiners are touring the Pemberley grounds, but an accident disrupts their visit and leaves Darcy’s young life hanging in the balance. When I initially began reading this one, I was unsure that I would like it. There was something distant about the tale, not because it was unfamiliar, but because readers are given little introduction to this Elizabeth and Darcy.

Grix, however, has created a unique mash-up of Pride & Prejudice and Frankenstein without the pitch-forks and torches. When Elizabeth and Darcy meet years later, they have a tense reunion as he barely remembers the girl who saved him. Is it too late for him to make a second impression? Wickham is here and he is more evil than ever — he’s not only conniving and looking for money to gamble away, but he has an impulsive and violent streak that cannot be contained.

The weaving of the two stories into one is well done for the most part, but some of the traditional lines between Darcy and Lizzy didn’t ring true in this new rendition and would pull me out of this new story. These lines could have been tweaked more to pay homage to the original and be more in line with the new story, so that readers could feel the connection growing between Lizzy and Darcy. These characters still seemed too distant to be in love, and whether that was due to his sterile, doctorly manner or these lines, I wanted more romance.

Frankenstein Darcy by Cass Grix is a unique novel that combines two classics in new and unexpected ways. It was a good read over the holidays.

RATING: Tercet

About the Author:

Cass Grix is just an author who loves, loves, loves Jane Austen and is a little bit weird herself. She spends her days doing laundry, binge watching The Voice or Outlander (fast forwarding over the graphic scenes), and thinking up slightly paranormal versions of her absolutely all time favorite novel – Pride and Prejudice. In her opinion, there is no such thing as too much Darcy.

Filed Under: challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2016, reviews Tagged With: ,

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (audio)

December 27, 2016 by

Source: Public Library
Audiobook, 10 CDs
I am an Amazon Affiliate

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater, narrated by Steve West and Fiona Hardingham, is an atmospheric novel based on a tale of water horses. Puck Connolly (Kate) is a young orphan girl who lives on Thisby, loves it with all of her heart, and barely has enough food for herself and her brothers. Her other main love is her horse, Dove. Her oldest brother, Gabe, earns the bulk of the money in the family, but he’s also plotting a life of his own away from the family home.

On the other side, there is the wildly successful horse trainer at the Malvern Farm, Sean Kendrick. This farm breeds horses and Kendrick is the premier rider in the Scorpio Races along the beach in November every year, and his capaill uisce (a type of water horse) Cor. While he has won the race four out of six times, he cannot escape the small room near the stable beneath the thumb of his employer, Malvern. He and Cor have a special bond, and it is clear that Sean’s love is for his horse.

Unlike Stiefvater’s other novels, which tend to be heavy on teen romance, the setting and the horses are the true stars of the Scorpio Races, especially on a less-than-forgiving island that is far enough away from American that a horseman can be considered a foreigner and the mainland can be seen as a way to improve one’s financial situation and see picture shows and musical numbers. The water horses are mysterious beasts that must be captured and dragged from the oceans they love, and while they eat flesh and can be difficult to control, they are the fastest and most magnificent animals to behold. The mystique of the island and the horses will draw readers in, but the story is not about the myth, so much as the love between man and beast and woman and beast.

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater, narrated by Steve West and Fiona Hardingham, is about wishes and reality, love and despair, hardship and compassion. It’s a story that comes from the sea mists and rises to the cliff tops to sing like a water horse thriving in its natural environment despite the November cold.

RATING: Cinquain

Other Reviews:

About the Author:

New York Times bestselling author of The Shiver Trilogy, The Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races. Artist. Driver of things with wheels. Avid reader. All of Maggie Stiefvater’s life decisions have been based around her inability to be gainfully employed. Talking to yourself, staring into space, and coming to work in your pajamas are frowned upon when you’re a waitress, calligraphy instructor, or technical editor (all of which she’s tried), but are highly prized traits in novelists and artists. She’s made her living as one or the other since she was 22. She now lives an eccentric life in the middle of nowhere, Virginia.

Filed Under: audiobooks, borrowed copy, fiction, Publishers/Publicists, Read in 2016, reviews, Scholastic, young adult fiction Tagged With: , ,