Bloggin 'Bout Books Blog

Hello Lovelies! As usual Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the wonderful people over at The Broke and the Bookish . This week's topic is 10 Authors I would Auto-Buy meaning if these authors were to publish anything, I would be at the bookstore that week, money in hand.  Anne Bishop: I'm currently finishing up the only series of hers I haven't read, and she's one of the few adult authors who I seriously adore. I would (and will) buy anything she writes. Jandy Nelson: Omg, I'm obsessed with   I'll Give You the Sun and I really enjoyed The Sky is Everywhere . I can't wait for her next book release! John Green: I mean, I've read almost everything he's written (still missing a couple short stories, dang it!), and I'll continue to do so. Kate DiCamillo: She won me over completely with The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane , but I've really enjoyed her other titles too. Can't wait to see what she publishes n...

A Monster Calls is another example of Patrick Ness' magnificent as a writer. Ness begins the book with an introduction stating that the idea for this novel came from (sadly now deceased) Siobhan Dowd. The book centers around Conor, a young boy whose mother is slowly dying from cancer. He's visited by a monster in the middle of the night, but Conor is not afraid. He's afraid of a different monster but one who he refuses to talk about. The new monster is the yew tree in his backyard--Cernunnos who in traditional Celtic lore is a symbol of nature and animals, but I think Ness was probably referring to the Neopaganism view of Cernunos as a symbol of the cycle of life, death and rebirth. Cernunnos tells Conor that he will tell Conor three stories and after that Conor will tell him a story. Each story reflects a situation occurring in Conor's own life. Conor is the only one who can see his monster, so the people around him think he's reacting more or less typicall...

Ohmygod guys. Ohmygod. Okay. Everybody. Stop what you're doing. And traipse on over to your favorite local book store (or Amazon. if that's your thing. And by thing I mean, it's either too late or you're too lazy to leave your house, no judgments here). And buy this whole series. Because that was a pretty damn stellar completion. Okay, spoiler thicket ahead. Caveat Emptor (Caveat Reador??). Well, the second book in the Chaos Walking series didn't thrill me, I could see how it was basically all a set-up for this spectacular finale. I cried. A lot. My roommate judged me more than a little bit. (I also was crying in the middle of the University Center on campus -- welcome to a reader's life, amirite?) I don't want to ruin anything for you, so I'm going to try to keep my spoilers in check, but wow. Wow. I have a lot of feelings right now, okay?? First of all, I loved the inclusion of 1017's perspective. It really gave a complete view of the ...

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness  killed me. Okay MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD. HERE BE DRAGONS, ETC ETC So. I finished The Ask and the Answer last night, and I've been thinking about what I would write all day.  I guess, I should be honest and say that it wasn't quite as phenomenal as TKONLG. But at the same time, it was really good. And I wonder if part of the reason I didn't like it very much is because it's a second in a trilogy. Because I typically have issues with 2/3 books. Sequels in trilogies are the worst for me because problems keep piling up and up, and there is no resolution. And I know that going in, so I tend to be a little bit more harsh on them than I maybe should be.  I love the dynamic between Todd and Viola. That's part of what drove me so fiercely through the first book. It's a relationship I can believe in. I felt connected to them and their actions. The second book keeps that relationship, but it's no longer prevalent and beau...

I know, I know...I'm supposed to be reading "old books" before "new books," but I couldn't resist reading this tiny prequel novella really quickly. This is the review I just posted on Goodreads for it: This prequel novella is a great addition to the world of Chaos Walking. I've only read the first book so far, and I think reading this novella directly afterwards was a good idea. It's relevant to the first book as a whole, while not giving away anything that may happen in the future. Instead, (as prequels should do) it clarifies the events of the first book in a new way. It's a quick read, and it's worth it. I don't have much to add to that in this format, except for my points for the Prequels & Sequels Challenge!! My first points of 2014, woohoo!! +2 for reading the prequel novella The New World by Patrick Ness. ------ 2 points total!

I AM DEAD SERIOUS. STOP READING THIS. STOP IT. GO FIND A COPY OF THIS BOOK. AND IF YOU FIND A COPY OF THIS ONE, GRAB THE SECOND AND THIRD WHILE YOU'RE AT IT. YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION?!?! FINE. I haven't felt this fanatic about a book series since I read The Hunger Games three or four years ago. The Knife of Never Letting Go is the first book in the Chaos Walking series. I had heard of it from someone I follow on another website--she mentioned it was her favorite book and since I think she has good taste, I put it on reserve at my work. If we saw a copy, I would grab it and read it. Instead, John Green and Maureen Johnson tweeted links to a free download of it on Wednesday morning. I'm not particularly fond of ebooks because the only device I can really use is my phone (I get too distracted on my computer to read ebooks). I downloaded it anyway. I read quite a bit of it, but then I ran some errands and generally tried to be productive. I kept thinking about it. ...