Library Checkout Reviews {18}

It is harder to put a clear stamp on when I should cut off the library checkouts because I go into the library more than once a week. I used to go to the public library once every 2-3 weeks. It’s weird that my entire library semester can be summed into one post well the ones I actually read anyway.  I did have  that week(s) when I checked out all those classics that I never read. I ended up listening to some of them on audiobook later on but not while I had them physically checked out. Looking back I think that they were not at the right time for me. I get books a lot of the time that are probably clearly not the one for me. Looking at some of the response videos for the be critical discussion I got the message from some of them that sampling books is a highly negative thing. It was said that it causes readers to give book one stars and such things as that. I experiment a lot with my reading so I can’t control if I will like a book or not. I think it is a generally positive experience even if I don’t like the books.

You Are Not The Solution

because I am not that into you…

[50%]

Pros: It is written in verse, artwork, and just the formatting for this book in general.

Cons: I feel like the main character is too plain. She feels like a average middle grade character.

[Almost 50%]

Pros: That it is a middle grade dystopian novel, ANIMALS

Cons: Average middle grade character, when the adventure started happening it was eh

Comments: Overall for these two books the adventure and characters were okay.

[less than 1st chapter]

All the times I saw this book I never realized that it was ya.

One of the things that turned me off was that I felt the characters acted too much like regular teens. I know teens are teens but some of the stuff they were doing felt like it was not authentic to the Amish community. Overall, I just didn’t care.

because you never engaged me …

[1st chapter] I only read it because I had nothing else to read.

[less than 1st chapter]

Lets me be honest I only got this for the cat zombie so this was never going to work.

[less than chapter]

[1st chapter]

-attitude of the characters, it felt like things happened too fast for me

Problem Solvers

Finished and Liked

+no text, there were cute animals, has a bit darkness in it

Finished Trilogy

+Its weird, dark, and feels experimental

Graphic novels really helped me during this time period. I think it is the art of just getting into a book without all these things that limit fiction. Also, my limits that I am at right now where I can’t be calm to read a book. I can’t tell if I am not able to be calm to enjoy books or I’m just not reading the right books. Either way this trilogy was definitely for adults and for me at that moment. My brother told me that I’m really into dark stuff right now because the things I’m going through. I feel that this book had the right amount of everything: darkness, page length, and just content.

You Were A Solution For Minutest Then I Got Bored…

It had my interest for 21% then I got bored. It could be because it feels like it repeats itself or its too long. I could probably summarize the book in one sentence and a few pictures. I do think it has educational value and somethings that I think rings true in many peoples reading. The art in the book was good but I felt that it became less so as the book went on.

[ 1 chapter] Never gained my interest/ it was already turning out like the average teen novel. I will say that I found the second chapter and all the questions it brought up  a bit interesting.

The prologue was interesting, it was just talking about how the author was going to talk about science stuff though. I got this book because it has diversity on the front cover. What turned me off is that main character spent the first page talking about other people in a eh way. If you are going to talk about people in a book do it in a way that catches me. This would have been a perfect way to catch my attention. It felt really young adult average.

Funny story (or at least it was funny to me): My lab partner saw me reading Losers In Space and asked did I like it. I just started reading the first page and could already tell it was not going to work for me. I said no of course. Then he told me thatI should pick popular books because that is an indicator that the book is good. I was verbally saying no but he kept going. If he knew what reader I was he would see that this does not apply to me. While mostly not liking popular books because they mostly don’t work for me, I still can’t turn my noise up at them. I just simply want a good book. I think this is sort of a problem is that I don’t have an indicator that tells me don’t get this book other than reading what the book is about. But I’m most of the time up for anything.

Last?

I’m supposed to be cutting off the books from the is library at this point. I’m not supposed to get any more books this year. I plan to read comics and/or books I own. I definitely want to read comics exclusively for a bit. If I do read a book it will be The Martian.

I Don’t Have A Problem I Have The Solution {Bookhaul/#BeCritical}

Recently, there has been a lot of discussion on booktube dealing with being critical. I want to talk about some comments that I saw in the discussion videos toward the people who are critical and other stuff.

One thing that stood out to me is that many people stated that they did not understand why people would pick up books they knew they wouldn’t like. I don’t think that most people pick up books that they don’t think they will get some enjoyment out of unless it is for school. Then again there are people who don’t look in their reading for enjoyment. Also, another point is that some people pick up books knowing that they will not like the book just to talk about how bad it is. I think that is one of the main things that a lot of readers don’t understand is how you can get enjoyment out of making fun of a book. I think that since readers are more connected to authors they feel that they shouldn’t be negative about authors works. I actually made a comment in one of my posts about how the thin line between authors and readers is bothering me.

Being the reader that I am being critical is something I just do.

The discussion made me start asking myself do I just pick up books out of I think this book is good or just to have something around me because I want to read. Do I read for the sake of reading? This thougth  stuck with me so hard because of the place I was in my reading. It came when I was questioning if I ever got out of the slump I had during the summer. I think a part of me still is in the slump of the summer because the issues I was dealing with then I’m still dealing with. I think sometimes if I didn’t read what else would I do?The thing that has helped me get of that mentality is reading graphic novels. I’m saying all this because I got a lot of books and these are things that crossed my mind while getting some of these books.

Here are a couple of videos that I liked talking about the be critical argument.

I like this video because it gets into how I feel this discussion has turned into people fiscating on the  use of the word “worthless”. When a lot of discussions come up this is done, the fixating on one word. An entire argument gets sidetracked by one minor detail instead of focusing on the argument itself. I feel that even if he came at the discussion differently the discussion would have still been a problem. I don’t agree with her on that point.

The entire discussion is important. If you have read my blog for a while you would know that I’m a reader like batpierce except I don’t curse. Overall, I want the best for every reader. I don’t want to feel like they owe authors or other readers something. I want reading to come to the point that it is about the reader and their enjoyment. At the same time I want the books that are being put out to be better. I should not feel like I’m reading the same story over and over again. I want literature that is cutting deeper into the roots to get the problems in our society not perpetuate them. I want to see diversity and variety in the things that are being published.

Bookhaul [Input Solution Pick Up Random Books]

These are all of the books I got from the library. I actually finished some of these but will separate the reviews into another post.

I thought that the solution to my feeling of being overwhelmed by the amount of choice in books. My solution was to just pick up some random books. Since I want to get into middle grade fiction I picked some random middle grade books.

I only got Undead Pets because it has a cat on the front cover.

I realized that my local library at university has an entire shelf for Asian fiction. Yes and Yes.

November Bookhaul

I had to push for 10 to get in on this deal. I hated it. So some of these books are going to be things that don’t interest me at all. I’m too cynical to believe that books I got just to reach ten will be good.

I’ll order them from least to most interested.

Ugh I Just Think These Will Not Be Good

I really feel in my being that these are going to be bad. I will give them a try though because I did pay for them.

Neutral

It sucks that White Jenna is book two in a series.

I thought this book was middle grade so I got it for my cousin(s). The edition that I own it has the look of an old 90s young adult novel. I read the synopsis and it is for adults so yeah.

Maybe

I watch the show Rizzoli and Isles so that is why I got The Sinner, hope it is good.

Might Actually Be Good

Easy To Kill might be good since Poirot is not the detective on the case. I am extremely rooting for Charlotte Brontes secret history to be good so that I can do a I love girls in dresses post.

A Twist of Fate: okay this surprised me because I see so many romance novels that don’t have non-white characters. I’ve been wanting for there to be more interracial romance books out in the literary world. I hope so hard that this is good.

Side note, I put both of these covers up so you could see the two fairly different looks that the covers show of the heroine. I have to read this so I can see how the author describes her appearance. My cover is the one on the right.

For My Cousin(s)

I like the premise of ya novels so hard but can’t read ya. I tried reading Delirium because I previewed it in the past and thought it was okay.I can not do it now. I  was through with Libba Bray with Beauty Queens. As long as my cousin likes it that is all that matters.

I read kira-kira as a teenager which is pretty cool that I can find it and pass it to my cousin(s). I don’t remember anything really except a kite.

This book did not have a dust jacket so I thought it was the book on the right not the book on the left.

Dark Quetzal: This did not have a dust jacket either which would have told me that it is the third in the series. Dust jackets are so useful.

I read Sarah Dessen as a teenager. I read the How To Deal novel which I remember liking.

I started getting this saga originally for my cousin but may give it to someone else. I don’t know. I have to see what is going on with them. I actually read the first one in high school and can remember major parts from the book. That is crazy since I liked those two other books mentioned earlier better. Even though, I was not into the series I want to give her free reign in her reading and not have people policing it. I do want to be careful that she does not read some of not age appropriate stuff out in the market though. Okay, so all I need now is the fourth one.

In My Mailbox

I finally got this book. This is the book I was talking about when I said I was reading Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution in 7 days so I could get a new book. I previewed this book a while back and thought it was cool. The idea of someone trying to survive on a deserted Mars  sounds so promising to me. I want to get a sci-fi  that is good so bad. I’m probably not going to read this book until December because of finals being so close.

I also got a  bunch of comics that all look good. I’ll review some comics on here one day. Okay, now I will go off to draft my library haul.

DNF: How To Be A Good Wife

After making a  bookmark and book cover for this book to carry around at school…

After finding this great cover that I feel  fits this book so well…

I couldn’t do it.

[I read 40-50 pages or about 16% in total.]

I’m going to input a paragraph that is actually from September when I first read 2 chapters from this book (It’s still very relevant and sums up my feelings). I wanted to take this with me to school to save on backpack weight instead of A Feast For Crows but it’s not good enough to do that. I just finished Confessions of a Sociopath so my limit on books I requested/won that I’m not that into is low. They both are not bad but not amazing or engrossing. People  compare this book to Before I Go To Sleep which can be a good and bad thing. I definitely feel Before I Go To Sleep is better and the feel and premise works better there than here so far. I feel like this book is trying to say some things about feminism and be a mystery at the same time. I am eh about the feminism that I see so far and the feminism I will see in the future because it is going to get the light tap special. It is going to lightly focus on the inequalities that women face. It is not going to go address the feminism in a way that cuts people. I want to see feminism and so many other topics addressed in a way that will cut into the inequities of our society. Honestly, I don’t care about this book all that much. That sucks because I requested this and was honored by getting it sent to me. I’m thankful for being able to win/get requested books but I’m just not that into most of  these books.  Let me pretend for a minute that this book is going to get better and go somewhere amazing (sigh it is not and that is boring).  Yeah, to lukewarm books.

Now

Same but now I am not skirting around the b word, boring. I’m in college now so I don’t have time like in the past (even though if a book is not for me all the time in the world will not save it.). This is a fact many people are probably tired of me saying. Like I said above Before I Go To Sleep is better and everything fit in that story. How to Be A Good Wife  jumps around without explaining things, one of my top pet peeves.  I found myself just reading without feeling any investment in the characters. I think this book is not for me.

310: Sleepy Hollow: Children of the Revolution

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

Synopsis

When Ichabod Crane, a soldier from the Colonial Army, is resurrected from his grave, more than two centuries after he was killed in battle, he partners with Lieutenant Abbie Mills of the Sleepy Hollow Police Department to fight the evil forces that have taken hold of the town.
 
It’s a cold day in January, and Ichabod visits Patriots Park for a moment of peace. Instead, he receives a disturbing vision from his wife, Katrina, in which she delivers a cryptic but urgent message: he must retrieve the Congressional Cross that he was awarded by the Second Continental Congress for bravery in action. There’s just one problem: Ichabod was killed before he ever received the medal, and he is unsure where it might be. Together Ichabod and Abbie set out to uncover the mystery of the cross and its connection to George Washington and his secret war against the demon hordes. They soon learn that a coven of witches is also seeking the cross in order to resurrect their leader, Serilda, who was burned at the stake during the Revolutionary War. Now they must locate the cross before the coven can bring back Serilda to exact her fatal revenge on Sleepy Hollow.

The Good

This book is set in a time period in the later part of the first season.

• Different point of views beyond Abbie, Ichabod, and even the main cast
• Deals with disability a bit
• Makes American history interesting
• Travels in time and back
• If you like the show you will more than likely like this book. I feel that Keith R.A. DeCandido did a good job capturing the characters.
• Little moments that you don’t get on the show

The Meh

It moves fast so that I felt like at a point something was missing. I feel the show is the same so yeah.

Conclusion

Definitely a very good adaptation of the show.

Little Tidbits

One thing that  was interesting to me is that on the recommendations part for this book on goodreads there are interracial romance recommendations. I would like to read more books that are like this. I think this would be considered urban fantasy. I wish urban fantasy was better or that I find the right urban fantasy novel so I could read it.

{I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.}

October Books Left To Read

H&NAS = books I do not have the sequel or first in series to

Green= new books this month

1. I know why the caged bird sings by Maya angelou
2. hard times by Charles dickens
3. prince jack frank spierring
4. Aztec by Gary Jennings
5. Nicholas nickleby by Charles dickens
6. Japanese Americans by harry h.l. kitano
7. Waiting by ha jin
8. samurai by saburo sakai
9. an American in japan, 1945-1948
10. when the elephants dance by Tess uriza holthe
11. Ivanhoe by sir Walter Scott
12. V by a.c. crispin
13. The price of greed & malice
14. A thread of sky by Deanna fei
15. The red tent by Anita diamant
16. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
17. Desperation by Stephen king
18. Eli by bill Myers
19. Candles burning by Tabitha king and Michael McDowell
20. The Canterbury tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
21. The complete adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan doyle
22. the book of lies by brad Meltzer
23. the regulars by Richard bachman
24. the girl who loved tom Gordon by Stephen king
25. {east of eden , the wayward bus} by John Steinbeck
26. Martin chuzzlewit by Charles dickens
27. The greatest knight by Elizabeth chadwick
28. False inspector dew by peter lovesey
29. Aladdin and other Arabian Nights
30. Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
31. Dreamcatcher by Stephen King
32. A Dance with Dragons by George rr. Martin
33. Scandalmonger by William Safire
34. Insomnia by Stephen king
35. Reluctant saint by Donald spoto
36. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
37. O Jerusalem by Dominque Lapierre
38. Cell by Stephen king
39. The Green Mile by Stephen King
40. Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens
41. The Tell-Tale Hart by Edgar Allan Poe
42. The book of negroes by Laurence Hill
43. Bag of Bones by Stephen King
44. His Last Bow by Conan Doyle
45. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
46. Brazil-Maru by Karen Tei yamashita
47. It by Stephen King
48. Tono-bungay by H.G. Wells
49. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
50. The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
51. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
52. Gerald’s Game by Stephen King
53. A Christmas Carol and other stories by Charles Dickens
54. Tommy Knockers by Stephen King
55. The Talisman by Peter Straub & Stephen King
56. Watership Down by Richard Adams
57. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
58. Complete Miss Marple Novels by Agatha Christie
59. My wicked vampire by Nina ~ Wicked Nights [continue]
60. A cast-off coven by Juliet Blackwell ~ Secondhand Spirits [continue]
61. The Victoria vanishes by Christopher fowler ~ Full Dark House (lib))
62. Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones
63. Meaniest doll ever by Selznick
64. Professor Challenge by conan doyle
65. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
66. The Waste Land by Stephen King
67. Song of Susanna by Stephen King
68. The Dark Tower by Stephen King
69. Hopes and Screams
70. After Dark by Manly Wellman
71. Damien Omen II
72. Jennie Gerhardt
73. The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King
74. Night Shift by Stephen King
75. Salem’s Lot by Stephen King
76. Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe
77. Dark Love by anthology
78. Masterpieces of Fantasy and Wonder by anthology Ruby Jean Jensen
79. Best Friends by Ruby Jean Jensen
80. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
81. Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King
82. Different Seasons by Stephen King
83. The Bachman Books by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman {Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man}
84. Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen King
85. On Writing by Stephen King
86. Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King
87. The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King
88. From Buick 8 by Stpehn King
89. The Gunslinger by Stephen King
90. The Shining by sTephen KIng
91. The Dark Half by Stephen King
92. Pet Semetary by STephen King
93. Night Shift and Children of the Corn by Stephen King
94. Three Short Novels by Dostoevsky {The Double, Notes From the Underground, The Eternal Husband}
95. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Fasternak
96. A Treasury of Hans Christian Anderson
97. The Arabian Nights
98. Nobel Prize Library Hemingway Hamsun Hesse
99. How To Be A Good Wife by Emma Chapman
100. Candide by Voltaire
101. The Journey by Gary Jennings
102. Far From The Maddening Crowd by Thomas Hardy
103. Endless Night by Agatha Christie
104. Queen by Alex Haley and David Stevens
105. The Dead Zone by Stephen King
106. Young blood Hawke by Herman Wouk
107. Sandkings by George r.r. Martin
108. Cat Among Pigeons by Agatha Christie
109. Looking Backward by Bellamy
110. Les Liaisons Dangerouses
111. Under The Dome by Stephen King
112. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
113. Crime and Punishment by Fydor Dostoevsky
114. Sliver by Ira Levin
115. Heart To Heart by Kayla Perrin
116. The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
117. Idlewild by Nick Sagan
118. Sleepy Hollow  Children of the Revolution by Keith R. A. DeCandido
119. Robinson Crusoe by Danile Defoe
120. Dubliners by James Joyce

+7

-A Feast For Crows