It’s Monday! My Reading Plans for the Week! (Plus Some Other Very Important Things)

I haven’t done one of these in a loooong time. It is a luxury to be able to plan ahead and talk about it. Because I depend on scheduled posts when school is in session and my reading is often “what I want to read right at this moment,” I don’t usually plan ahead. But it’s break time! Woohoo! And I get to do whatever I want without any demands on my time (we’ll just forget about the insane amount of writing I have to do)! I may not celebrate Christmas but I do love me the break time.

Anyway, so books I plan to read…hmmm….

• Words Under the Words – Selected poems by Naomi Shihab Nye
  I’ve been wanting to read this for a while and was lucky enough to snag a copy at a library sale.
• Shadowlands – Kate Brian
  This comes out in January so I need to get it read and reviewed because school restarts on January 2nd for me. Boo.
• Undead – Kirsty McKay
  This is an unsolicited review book that was sent to me by Scholastic. I’ve read good reviews on it so I shall give it the good try.
• The Mad Man’s Daughter – Margaret Shepherd
  A 2013 debut, this is a requested review copy from Edelweiss. I’m about 30% in (I think) and so far, it’s interesting.
• The Archived – Victoria Schwab
  I liked Schwab’s first novel so I requested this one for review. It’s very innovative and so far, I’m liking it.

And that’s all I’m planning to read this week but I’ll be honest. I probably will read something else other than the all the ones I’ve listed here. I have some awesome books out from the library too and well, I may just pick them up if they call to me. I can’t resist the books!

What are you reading this week?

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There was a very horrific shooting in Sandy Hook last Friday and while there has been much talk about the shooter, not much has been said about the victims. That’s why, if you have time, please go to this link and just look at their pictures and remember them, remember that they existed, however briefly. I think we owe it to them to keep them in our memories.

http://www.inquisitr.com/440994/photos-of-connecticut-school-shooting-victims-released-online/

It’s Monday and I am Reading!

Hello people. So it’s Monday and I feel compelled to tell you what I’m reading just in case you were burning up with curiousity about it.

Unfortunately, the weather is nowhere near as idyllic as it is in the picture. But it is perfect weather for curling up and reading. Alas and alack, I start school on Thursday, my last semester (eee!!!) and I go on an adventure on Friday so I don’t think I’m going to be doing too much reading. For some reason, I’m in a sort of slump. Reading slump I mean. I’m currently reading three books and all of them are not gelling with me.

The Vanishing Game – Kate Kae Myers
I am curious about what’s happening in this so I’ll continue reading it but the writing is choked with a lot of unnecessary melodrama that makes the flow halting.

George and Rue – George Elliott Clark
This one I’ve been reading for a while. It’s for class and is a literary novel which reimagines a famous murder in Nova Scotia by two Canadians (who are a mixture of Black and First Nations…maybe). While it is probably excellent in that obscure way literary novels are, I find the details to be too explicit and the writing, while lyrical, not conducive to easy reading like say, Shoot by George Bowering was. But I’ll plough through it. Eventually.

The Kingdom of Gods – N. K. Jimisin
The last book in the Inheritance trilogy from Sieh’s point of view and while I really liked the first two books, I’m having much difficulty immersing myself in the last book. I hope I get through this stumbling block.

What’s next? I probably will start a new book just so I can read start and finish a book and get over the reading slump and then go back to these three.

I hope your reading week is much better than mine.

It’s Monday – What Are You Reading?

So I had a pretty productive week, not just in terms of reading though there was certainly a lot of that.

Books Read

• The End of East – Jen Sookfong Lee
  This was a beautiful novel but you know, I didn’t find any resolution in this so I find myself strangely unsettled.
• Sisters of Glass – Stephanie Hemphill
  This was a prose novel. I was not prepared for that.
• Tom Thumb – Henry Fielding
  Fielding remains boss. Enough said.
• Between the Sky and the Sea – Jaclyn Dolamore
  Review closer to the release date but I was not as impressed with this one as I feel like I should have been.
• Muse – Rebecca Lim
  The first book in the entire series to disappoint me.

Currently Reading

• Dust Girl – Sarah Zettel
  I dunno. I sort of like this but I sort of don’t. I don’t know.
• Stolen Away – Alyxandra Harvey
  I’m afraid this one is just not for me.
• Ponteach – Robert Rogers
  Reading it for class. Meh.

Upcoming reads? I shall let that be a surprise. Both for you and me.

Marmalade Monday (again….)

This meme begun by Book Journey and simply looks at your upcoming week’s reading.

It turns out that when I’m stressed, I read a lot. Like prepare to be stunned a lot. I don’t know where I found time to read all that (actually, most of it was on the bus, I have a 3 hour commute every day, multiply that by 3 and woohoo, 9 hours of reading time) but I did and I’m awesome. The books were also awesome. Most of them anyway.

Read Last Week

• Cinder – Marissa Meyer
  This book is fantastic. I will elaborate on that nearer the release date. But for now, just remember, “fantastic.”
• Simon Gursky Was Here – Mordecai Richler
  Oh, dear God, I thought I would never finish this book. It was massive and sprawling. But it’s done. Whew.
• Don’t You Wish – Roxanne St. Clair
  I really liked this one. It’s a bit more sombre in terms of the themes it tackles. Again, review will be up nearer release date.
• Fracture – Megan Miranda
  Okay, this book is beautiful. It’s not perfect but god damn, the writing. The emotions, the sincerity…gah. Another awesome debut.
• Hallowed – Cynthia Hand
  I didn’t love this as much as I wanted to and it makes me sad but at the same time, the book did give me something substantial to chew on which I really do appreciate. Review nearer the release date.

Currently Reading

• Dust Girl – Sarah Zettel
  Hmm… I’m about 50% in and it seems like an interesting so far. I’ll have to read the entire thing before I can decide how I feel about it.
• The Tragedy of Tragedies or The Life and Death of Tom Thumb The Great – Henry Fielding
  This is a Restoration play I’m reading for class. It’s very amusing in an acerbic, cynical sort of way.

To (hopefully) Read

• Sisters of Glass – Stephanie Hemphill
  This sounds fabulous so I hope I can make time to read it. (Though I have a paper worth 40% due so…)
• The End of East – Jen Sookfong Lee
  This sounds pretty fabulous and this one I have to read for class so I shall have to make time for it. Hur.

Oh Monday, you arrive way too fast.

This meme begun by Book Journey and simply looks at your upcoming week’s reading.

It’s Monday. Again. I wish it wasn’t but it is and now I have to deal with it. Let’s have a sad face now to express our feelings.

*sad face*

Okay. So… reading news. I never thought this would happen you know, but it has, I have hit a reading slump. This doesn’t mean that I have stopped reading entirely, it just means that I have stopped leisure reading because when you read so much for school, reading when you don’t have to read is no longer fun. And since school is revving up for the last stretch of the term, there are papers, finals, other books to read that leeches all fun out of my life. So to destress I watch dramas and not read. Which is all a very rambly way of saying that I am not going to be reading much in the following week so it might reflect in my “diary” of sorts.

Currently Reading

• Simon Gursky Was Here – Mordecai Richler
  This book is a monster and makes little sense to me. It’s not compelling either and I wish I didn’t have to read it but I do because it’s for class. Ugh.
• Dark Souls – Paula Morris
  I’m still reading this. Actually, I’ll probably be still reading this for a while. Get used to seeing it on here. :D
• Cinder – Marissa Meyer
  I’m actually really looking forward to continuing this once I come out of my slump.

Finished Last Week

• Wayfider – C. E. Murphy
  I’m going to be reviewing this but I may as well tell you. I found this to be meh. I didn’t really like it.
• Rival Widows – Elizabeth Cooper
  I’m going to be writing my essay on this. Woot.
• Between – Jessica Warman
  Surprisingly interesting. Compelling. I will review it later.

I’m not going to be putting up “What I’m Reading Next” because honestly, I don’t think I’m going to be getting much reading done until December 14th which is when I’ll have my last final. Sooo, we’ll see?

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading?

This meme begun by Book Journey and simply looks at your upcoming week’s reading.

As I predicted, I really didn’t have a good week for reading what with the papers due and the midterm (which was insanely difficult) to study for. But more than that, the books I was trying to read, just, somehow, aren’t doing it for me. I am still going to persist with them but I kept on just starting new ones (which is why I love e-book readers, one of the conveniences).

Currently Reading

• Witch Song – Amber Argyle
  I don’t know what it is about the book that is not exactly gelling with me. It’s not exactly difficult to read. It’s just… I don’t know. I’m not too keen on the plot so far.
• Dark Souls – Paula Morris
  The pacing of this one is slow it’s making me not want to read. Do we really need to read how they go to the tearooms etc?
• Skinned – Robin Wasserman
  The premise of this one is fantastic. I’ve only just started it so I don’t know how it’s going to build up but it seems promising.

Finished Last Week

• Gifts of the Blood – Vicki Keire
  I quite liked this one until it ended abruptly. There was no climax, nothing major happened, no wave pacing (you know where tension mounts until climax is reached and then tension decreases?), just they go to sleep… I was annoyed.
• Black Bird – Michel Basilieres
  Wow. Seriously. There’s so many things to say about this one and I’m going to. In class tomorrow. Hur.
• The Faerie Ring – Kiki  Hamilton
  I liked it. Review will be up tomorrow.

To (Hopefully) Read Upcoming Week

Obviously, I’ll try to finish the books I am currently reading. But I’m not the kind of person to insist on finishing a book she doesn’t like simply for the pleasure of finishing it. There are way too many books out there to spend time on mediocre ones. You know? (Not that these are mediocre, I don’t know if I can formulate a proper opinion yet. Just…) Here are the ones I will read. Well, I’ll read The Rival Widows, it’s for school…but still.

Hah, do I seem overly ambitious? Perhaps but I don’t have anything due this week so who knows?

• The Rival Widows – Elizabeth Cooper
  Must read this one before Thursday. Maybe I’ll start it tonight after I edit my paper. Or maybe I’ll watch some drama instead. Heh.
• Solomon Gursky Was Here – Mordecai Richler
  This is for the seminar class and it is huuuge. But I only have to read half (270 pages) for the first week so I guess I can do it. I hope.
• Wanderlove – Kristin Hubbard
  This is from Net Galley. I probably will read it but won’t post the review until closer to its release date.
• Wayfinder – C. E. Murphy
  While the first one in the series wasn’t a big favourite of mine, I’d like to see how this ends.

 

And that’s my reading forecast for the week.

It’s Monday, What are you Reading?

This meme begun by Book Journey and simply looks at your upcoming week’s reading.

I don’t foresee being able to read too much in the next week. I have a midterm and a paper that’s worth a quarter of my grade due at various points. But I still have the insanely long commute so never say never, eh?

I am currently reading:

Black Bird by Michel Basilieres. This is for my Majors seminar class and around 300 pages or so. I’m not sure. I actually haven’t started it at all so to say that I am “currently” reading it is a bit of a lie. But since it is required reading, I am sure I will be reading it soon. Well, this week for sure. We don’t discuss it until next week Monday so I have time. Yay. Hopefully it will not suck. I have experienced a vast majority of sucky required reading but so far all the books we have read for this class have been gems. Here’s going in fingers crossed, I guess.

• The Rival Widows – Elizabeth Cooper
  This is a Restoration era comedy I’m reading for my English class and it promises to be smutty as hell. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it. Hehe.
• Glow – Amy Kathleen Ryan
  I’ve stopped reading this because I dread what’s going to happen next. I have to gird my loins and continue with the book. Eventually. Hur

What I Might Read During the Week… Oh the possibilities, heh.

• Dark Souls – Paula Morris
  I really liked her other book. It wasn’t perfect but there was potential for greater storytelling and I am curious whether she delivers in the sequel or the companion novel.
• Gifts of the Blood – Vicki Keire
  I haven’t read anything by her but the synopsis seems promising so…
• Witch Song – Amber Argyle
  I really like the cover. Hopefully the book’s just as good.

Personally, I think this is wishful thinking. I’ll be lucky if I can get through one book but who knows? I am a very fast reader. I hope your upcoming week is full of good books.