Updating the Queue
- A Clash of Kings- It has been so long since I finished a book that I own. What a novel to break my not finishing streak. I actually did not plan for this book to be book 50 but what a book to read that milestone. Not that the numbers matter, just me actually enjoying a book. Finished
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes- I was supposed to be reading this for a group but I’m too everywhere with my reading right now that it is not happening. Sherlock Holmes being as old as his fiction it is, its crazy that his novels do so much more for mystery than new authors.
- A Feast for Crows- George R.R. Martin is making me break all my rules. I started the next book in the series after just finishing the last book. I think the blame can be put on my game of thrones fever from the show and my lack of not many other books on my shelf that are good.
- Watership Down- I like what little I did read. My reaction so far is just thinking how the rabbit on the cover and the characters makes me think of rabbit that comes and eats my grass everyday.
Bad News?
I actually made a plan to finish these two books then go into a 15-30 books challenge during maybe June and July to clear off more books from my shelf but that black cloud started feeling like it was coming back again. I want to finish this challenge to read the books that I own but I just don’t have the fortitude for it. The bad news is that I may not finish the two year challenge I set out to do. I honestly cannot see me not finishing the challenge as a bad thing. If there has to be a choice between unhappily reading the books I own and happily reading books I do not own, the choice where I am happy is the one I am going to choose.
I recently did a review on some books from my recent bookhaul and just random books from my shelf.
Samples Why I like to torture myself I do not know
This goes into also why I started feeling that black cloud approaching again, I started trying to read novels again. Since my success with Monster High and the weneeddiversebooks campaign I started to look for novels again. These are some of the books that sampled during this fruitless search.
Positives: I feel that the main character has many feelings that I have at this point in my life, that point in time of late teens/early twenties. I like the cover and the idea for the book. I wish that there were more novels with Asian characters that do not focus on race ( ditto for basically every other ethnicity that does not get that much play).
Negatives: It did not engage me. I feel that it was talking some good stuff but it did not go the extra mile to make me care.
I feel that the premise is good but the story did not catch me. I think the main reason I cannot get behind a lot of middle grade and young adult books is because I have been around these two genres for too long. Many people who I have noticed who are into these genres now are coming into them fresh. Young adult and middle grade were around when I was growing up as a reader. I think that is a basic theme for many genres that I stopped reading, I have been reading for too long to get impressed easily. I only read a few chapters but I read enough to feel unimpressed. The bad part is that I felt that I would not like these books but decided to try them anyway because they were diverse or middle grade. The biggest lesson to learn from my search is to be open to new books but still remember my limits. Also, some books are the exception not the rule.
I feel that I should add more on why I did not like it but what I wrote above is pretty much it. It did not engage me.
After reading Ever After High: Storybook of Legends I had that feeling after you read a really good book. I was hung up on how great it was (especially when I read another book after it that was eh) so I decided to read the rest of the short stories. I really really liked them. Part of my like is because these stories give a view into these characters that the novel and webseries don’t. The Storybook of Legends was focused mostly on Raven Queen and Apple White, mostly Raven Queen though.
My Likes
I like how the creators of Ever After High are modernizing the legends.
Shannon Hale is taking care of business with writing these stories.
I like the romance that is a part of the stories. It is a main reason that I read the books that include romance in them this month. The great thing about the romance is that the characters do not have to do all these graphic things to make me feel their relationship.
+Love for their families is a part of these stories. I think one of the main reasons that I am into these stories is that it is not I hate every person, especially my family narrative. In a lot of novels that I read it seems like the main character(s) do not have family and if they do they hate/seem to have no actual feelings towards them.
The more I think about the series the more I find about it that I like.
It was too short. It was one of those books that gives a bit of the story for free and the rest of the story is in installments that you have to pay for. The shortness was its flaw, it did not give the book time to develop the relationship. Then certain events happened too early to enjoy the moments. Forgettable-pretty much
Previews
First this was a sequel in a series which I did not realize. I do not know if it being a sequel in a series will be a big problem but there was a moment that it did play a factor. Anyway, the book was not interesting. I cannot remember a lot from the story but I do remember the writing not being good. Forgettable-already forgot parts of it
This book has potential. One of the trope I like in my romance novels is arranged marriages. I do not know if I will like this book when I finally get it but what I read so far was good. I need to do a post on the romance tropes that I like. I feel that it would be really fun.
I do not seem to have luck with indigenous/ Native American fantasy. I do not feel that as far as I read this story that it caught me. Forgettable
I want to read more chick-lit/romance that have characters who are different races. In fiction in general I want to read beyond the races that I usually read. I came to the realization that I usually read only Japanese and African American fiction. Saying all that I did not like this preview of this book. The reason I did not like it is because it felt average. It did not catch me. I want to read a book and feel engaged and that interesting things are going to happen. Forgettable
themollyweather 