Book Blogger Hop 28 Feb

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop - hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.  

 

Like to participate?  Here's how - answer the question below on your blog, then place a link to your answer here Once you've done that, visit the other participating blogs.

This weeks question, thanks to Elizabeth at Silver's Reviews is:  

 Q: Have you stopped accepting books from either authors or publishers to try to catch up? If not, do you think you would ever do that? 

A: I don't get a lot of books from publishers,  so at the moment I'm managing quite well with the books I review.  Although if I was getting books regularly it would be something I would consider.  I do try to make a point of only reading and reviewing books I want to read.  I think that makes the whole process more enjoyable.  I tend to get books in ebook format, often because it is easier for them to send me an ebook rather than print format.

Let me know what you think below, either by commenting or leaving me a link to your blog :)  Hope you have fun hopping around and happy #weekendreading

C.

WWW Wednesdays 26 Feb

It is that time of the week again, where we talk all about our reading!

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Miz B over at ShouldBeReading.  If you'd like to join in here is what you need to do - answer these three questions:

* What are you currently reading?

* What did you just finish reading?

* What are you going to read next?

Then go and check out what everyone else who is participating is reading - I recommend you visit with pen at the ready, I always come away with new books to add to my Mt. TBR! 

*What are you currently reading?

I started Blood Red Road by Moira Young this week, I'm only a  few chapters in, but I'm liking it so far.  I am a fan of dystopian YA.  Plus I'm happy because this has been sitting on my shelves for a few years now, I saw the sequel and was going to get that before I realised I own, but hadn't read the first one yet.  I'm also almost finished The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, which is a 1001 group read.  Promises by Cathryn Hein is another I'm reading, we had her at work for an author talk a couple weeks back, hopefully next week I'll have a blog post organised about her books/visit.

 

* What did you just finish reading?

 

I finished Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan this week,  so good! Just so good.  I really enjoyed this, it was a lot of fun, I hadn't seen the movie for a long time, so I'd forgotten things that happen, plus there is so much more in the books, I'm really looking forward to continuing with this series.  I finished Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee last week, another 1001 book, this one from the adult list.  I still haven't finished my review about this book, I think I'm going to do a reread of some parts, it's still rattling around in my head.  He is such a brilliant author, he gets under my skin.

 

 

* What are you going to read next?

 

Well maybe the question should be what aren't I going to read - I haven't  decided which adult 1001 book I'm going to read, but I'm leaning towards Possession by A. S. Byatt.  I also have a group read of A wrinkle in time and The girl who loved horses  And to top that off I checked out a menagerie of books from work last night.  I'm also participating in the #yearathon on Goodreads, with the Twilight books my reads for March and if I get through all of those I'm going to reread The Host as I never finished the last 100 or so pages.

 

There is also the possibility that I'll get sidetracked by other books, one of the best/worst things about working in a library is the books I see.  I want to read ALL THE BOOKS and there's never enough time :)

So that's my WWW Wednesday for this week.  What about you?  Just finish something fantastic?  Let me know what you're reading and what you're going to read next.  I love to have a chat about books - any excuse really.

C.

Book Blogger Hop 21st Feb

Welcome to the Book Blogger Hop - hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer. 

This weeks question, thanks to Elizabeth at Silver's Reviews is:  

This annoys me, what about you? When I click on a blogger's name and it goes to their profile and I see more than one blog listed, how do you know which one to visit? I usually don't visit. 

When I visit others through blog hops I tend to visit more than one post, especially if I've never visited them before.  I like to have a sticky beak around, sometimes you find some awesome people, so it doesn't really bother me.  I do think it would be easier if the link was to the blog post in question.  Then after that you can go exploring.**

** Me, in my infinte wisdom (or lack thereof, didn't read the question correctly - so when I'm faced with a profile page with a number of blogs - firstly, I'd click on the most bookish sounding one and go from there.  I'd probably stick around and have a look at the other blogs too, especially if the first one I clicked on wasn't book related.  That being said - if I was in a rush and had little time I would aim to go back another time.

Well that's it for another week, I hope it was a good one :)  I'm hoping to catch up on some reading this weekend, I've got a Cathryn Hein book, (Promises) and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan on the go.  What are your #weekendreads?  What ever it may be - I hope it's good!

C. 

Accidents & Incidents by Riley Graham

Accidents & Incidents by Riley Graham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm giving this book 3.5 stars.

I received a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed Accidents & Incidents, I'd been reading some heavy going books at the same time and this was perfect to pick up and just enjoy. Each of the characters was dealing with something in their life, but it wasn't too angsty or drama filled, which I liked. Just because a book is YA doesn't mean it has to be drama 24-7 for no particular reason...(I'm looking at you HoN)...

Leslie had an authentic teen voice and I felt like the school/party scenes were realistic, although Cain's father always being at his parties was weird; besides the drunken skeeze factor and rapey vibes he was giving out, I don't know of any parties I went to where Dad was playing bar master. That being said, it did give a little insight into Cain's future, especially if he keeps on the path he was when the book finished.

I was glad that Leslie didn't take things further with Cain, he was an asshat and I would've lost respect for her if she had. I feel for Leslie, it seems like the people who are supposed to care the most keep letting her down, so I'm glad that Dennis comes along. Despite his past (and the fact that he no longer drives), he seems like he's coping well with his issues - say compared to Cain. You do get a little information into his past, but not a lot, personally I would've liked more, but it didn't detract from my understanding or likeing of Dennis.

That being said, I would've like to have seen the storyline with Meredith's sister explored more, it may have ramped up the angst a little, but it would've been great to see that fully explored, to me it was mentioned in passing and it felt a little like it was wrapped up easily, tied up at the finish of the book with a bow and there's your HEA. I wanted more.

I am hoping that there will be more books with these characters to follow, I would love to find out more about Dennis and see how Leslie and him fare. I'd also like to see how her relationship with her mum develops (view spoiler)[especially as she is going back to school, I could see her mum being a much happier person if she followed her dreams, went back to school and rang her highschool sweetheart (hide spoiler)]

I'd recommend this to those who want a contempory YA that isn't too angsty, but that still has issues and an interesting story.


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The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was quite a read and I'm glad I took my time. It gave me time to think about things and take more in, reread a little if I wanted. Beginning this, I didn't love it, thought maybe I would put it aside for something else. But I'm glad I kept going. I loved Byatt's world, it is easy to see she had done a lot of research of the time period, (no small feat when one looks at the 20 year - give or take - span it's set in). But you could really get a sense of the time, along with the day to day workings, the food, activities, dress, etc. that the characters lived in. And there was a large cast of characters. And I think I can say, for the majority, the main adult characters, left a lot to be desired. I dislike a good few of them, the men in particular. I wasn't sure if this was what Byatt was aiming for but I would've happily boxed Humprey Welwood around the ears, Prosper Cain would've got a smack too, Benedict Flood was a sandwich short of a picnic and don't get me started on Herbert Methley. Him I would like to physically hurt!! I also was frequently frustrated by Olive, Mrs. Flood, Marion and to a lesser extend Pheobe Methley.  I felt that the adult characters were terribly selfish and this impacts quiet negatively on their children. I did enjoy the children's adventures and many friendships. I liked that many of the girls were quite independent and free thinking, which for the time was relatively modern. This ends at the close of WW1 and for these characters, as it was in real life, it's devastating. Much of their world has changed. I really enjoyed the stories that were interwoven into the story, these were mostly the individual stories that she wrote for each of her children. Tom, who is her eldest son and who is her favourite child is the one with the most developed story and it's through this tale that a number of major events happen. I don't want to go into them too much as they are spoilers, but in a prime example of the selfishness of the adults, in this case Olive, the story is uses as a means of betrayal that has devastating effects, that are long reaching on the Welwood family.  I  enjoyed the children's book, it made me want to discover more about the time period and more about the children.



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