Category Archives: you should read

Diverse Stacks, Diverse Lives Reading Challenge.

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Beth and I have done a lot of talking about the kinds of things that reading can do for a person. It really is a magical thing. It can transport you to different worlds. It can imagine new history. It can see potential futures. Studies have even shown that reading literary fiction can help you relate better to other people. So, with this in mind, we’ve put together our first reading challenge. Inspired by #weneedmorediversebooks, we’ve come up with a challenge to make us think about who we are reading and what we are reading about. Our challenge has three sub-challenges: one related to characters, one related to authors, and one related to books themselves. Each sub-challenge is only ten books long, so you can do any of the sub-challenges without changing how you read for the whole year. As a reader, you can tackle the whole challenge or one or more of the sub-challenges.

I will be maintaining a page here on this blog full of possible books to fulfill the challenge that I find in my reading travels. Of course, any suggestions will be helpfully added to the list. Part of what makes diversifying your reading difficult is that you don’t always know something is diverse going in. We are going to endeavor to make that easy by keeping a separate page of suggestions.

Since this challenge is only 30 books, we haven’t even begun to scratch the surface of diversity in literature and in life, but we hope that this list and the books that are read because of it will create interesting and thoughtful discussions. We hope that you will consider taking the challenge and reading along with us in 2016!

Series I said Goodbye to in 2015

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For my last Series You Should Check Out post of the year I thought I would do something different. In the spirit of Award Shows In Memoriam segments.  I thought I would take the time to highlight and say goodbye to the series that I loved that came to their conclusion this year.  It was only 4 and I know that I have highlighted them once (or many times) before but all good things need a proper send off.  So without much further ado.  Here are the Series that I said Goodbye to in 2015.

  1. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
    What can I say about this series that I haven’t already said? I am truly going to miss this it.  The mix of fairy tales and sci fi was perfect. It never felt forced.  How Miss Meyer was able to incorporate this familiar stories into her own new world and combine them with such ease was truly impressive.  It all came off naturally and fun.  It was full of romance, action, wonderful heroines and even a little social commentary on how we treat those who are different and the difference between tyranny and freedom and the lengths one goes to lead.  Next year Meyer will release a collection of short stories that revolve around reverse perspectives of important scenes and even a wedding for one of our couples but it had the perfect ending for a fairy tale.  They all lived happily ever after.
  2. Penryn and the End of the Days by Susan Ee
    This series was very different in it’s look at Angels.  As they are not all that angelic like at all or at least how we have come to think of Angels to be like.  It touched on two major trends in YA of late with both it’s dystopian and fantasy elements and they blended nicely.  It also had a strong lady protagonist in Penryn.  She was brave, smart and fierce.  She had flaws though.  She had to get over her own fears and even prejudice to truly win the fight.  It was an uneven trilogy as the second book wasn’t as strong as the first but it was still a great read.  I’m curious to see what Susan Ee does next now that Penryn has come to a very satisfying ending.
  3. The Goddess War by Kendare Blake
    Greek Gods and Goddesses living in the modern world is not a new idea. We all know of Rick Riordan’s work but this was a little different.  Instead of Gods and Goddesses that live on top of the Empire State Building overseeing what is going on in the world.  These Gods and Goddesses actually live in it though barely does anyone know who they really are.  It was a twist on the Greek Champions.  Instead of them being the children of the Gods, they are the original Champions, reborn.  Once again, we are introduced to Odysseues, Hector, Achilles, Cassandra and more.  Instead of reliving the Trojan War they make their own paths to save the Gods and Goddess of Olympus.  It was fun, a little romantic, action packed and a new take on everything we have grown to love about Greek Mythology.
  4. Finishing School by Gail Carriger                                                                      In this steampunk version of England there is a girls finishing school that not only teaches girls to be the finest women in all of England but also the deadliest.  Sophronia is the best student at Madame Geraldine’s.  Through four books she has drove every teacher banners with her constant curiosity and always in the thick of things.  She knows every square inch of the ship that is her school and every secret there is to know in England.  From the inter-workings of vampire hives and werewolves clans to evil secret society of the Picklemen.  She has thwarted evil plans and made friends with those all over the class spectrum.  From the charming Soap who is black and one of the sooties who works on the ship to the devilishly handsome Felix who is a Duke’s son.  She may be a women in Victorian England but she is anything but helpless.  More then once she uses her own skills and intelligence to save the realm from treasonous acts.  It’s funny so funny and filled with action and excitement that I’m sorry it’s ending but good news is that Gail Carriger has other series set in this world.

So those are series that ended that year that I love.  What series did you love that ended this year?

 

Rereading Winter by Marissa Meyer

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This is it.  I don’t want to say that this will be the last time I read Winter or The Lunar Chronicles but I am ready to move on.  This was a very lovely series that was just fun to read.  So here we go. My last few observations Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Winter, Kai, Throne, Wolf and Jacin.

  1.  I liked all the romances but Scarlet and Wolf’s is the best.  Wolf is torn from his family, forced into the army, his body physically altered and none of this he wanted.  He spent the entire series fighting what was done to him so he could have his own choice.  That he wasn’t just a monster he was made to be and Scarlet saw him.  Maybe from the very beginning when he was just sitting in the tavern, maybe in the fight pit or maybe on the train but she saw HIM and even after everything, that’s all she ever saw.  That’s love.
  2. I do love Throne’s devious plan to prove he’s worthy of Cress’ love.  That my friend is a criminal mastermind.
  3. Winter is adorable.  I’m not sure what I think of Jacin.  He’s still a jerk but he does have his reasons.  If I was raised in the Lunar court I would probably be like that too.  I saw that they both truly cared for each other but I wasn’t quite connected with them as a couple as the others.  Maybe since I only really got one book with them and they spent most of the book apart from each other.
  4. Cinder is amazing.  After everything that she has been through.  She still finds away to be fair to Adri and  Peony when they had never been fair to her.  A lesson we all can learn.  She will make a great leader.  I think that best leaders are the ones who don’t want to but do when needed.
  5. I do hope that she and Kai do stay together
  6. I’ve said this before but I do love the friendship between Cinder and Throne.  He was the first to follow her and to go along with what she wanted and needed.  True at first he thought their would be money involved but he was game for everything.  I think that is what made he final battle that much more powerful.
  7. Levana is a terrible person but she also had a terrible upbringing.  I read Fairest, the prequel, and we find out that she was never shown love from her parents.  Her sister was cruel to her and was responsible for her own burn injuries.  She had always felt inferior and really just wanted to be loved.  She was the second daughter.  The second woman in his husbands life.  Well really the third after Winter.  She was never anyone’s first until she ascended to the throne and only because she manipulated everyone.  I’m not saying any of this excuses her behavior but terrible people are not created in a vacuum.
  8. Whatever Marissa Meyer will write next. I’m totally going to read it.

What did you all love about The Lunar Chronicles?

Review: Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

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It’s been on our minds. It’s been in our posts. I’ve been re-reading. The Fourth book in the Raven Cycle comes out early next year and I want to get you as excited about the books as we are.
I am here to pump you up.

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The Raven Cycle is about a quest to find a sleeping King.  Like all quest stories, it involves a band of merry companions who all have their secrets, their desires and their heartaches.  Our Quest Squad contains the Raven Boys: Richard Campbell Gansey III, Ronan N. Lynch, Adam Parrish and the on-again, off-again Noah Czerny who are accompanied by the not-psychic Blue Sargent.  They are searching Henrietta, Virginia for a ley line that should lead them to a Welsh King that was buried in America.  A medieval Welsh king.  I am kind of a Cymruphile so that one little detail was really all my sister had to say to sell me on these books. A Welsh king buried in America and prophesied to return to unite the Welsh and end English tyranny? Sign. Me. Up.
The first installment of the books brings the team together.  Blue Sargent is the only non-psychic in a psychic family and a townie in Henrietta, Virginia home to Ivy League Feeder School Aglionby Academy. Blue’s family run a tarot card reading business and a psychic phone hotline. The Raven Boys are students at the fancy college prep.  Adam is a scholarship kid, Ronan Lynch appears to be the son of a gangster, Noah is quiet, unassuming and fuzzy around the edges, and Gansey is Old Virginia money and the driving force behind the quest for the Welsh King.  Blue keeps crossing paths with the boys in ways that make their teaming up seem fated and inevitable. They have to wake the ley line before someone else gets to it and harnesses its power. Of course, no quest for long forgotten item would be complete without opposing teams questing for the same thing.
This book was a lot of fun to read.  I enjoy all of the characters and I particularly like how they all have their definite strengths and their weaknesses.  Ronan is violent where Gansey is diplomatic.  Adam is thoughtful where the other boys are thoughtless. Blue is grounded where everyone else has their head in the clouds.  On top of the main story of Blue and the Raven Boys, there is a subplot involving Blue’s family that is also complex and interesting.  I cannot wait to see how the series plays out.
So, you should get in on this.  Quests, Kings, Psychics, ley lines, treasure maps, bad guys, flawed good guys, and, I can’t believe I’ve waited until now to mention this, trees that speak Latin!

Dark Reads for Black Friday

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The day after Thanksgiving is a much advertised shopping holiday here in the States: Black Friday. It’s a day full of sales and, if you’ve ever worked retail, full of awful people who don’t know what they want and/or don’t know how to be nice about it. Depending on the side of the fence you are on, it can be a dark day full of dark deeds. To get us all in the spirit of this terrible and wonderful day, we’ve put together a cheeky little list of books you could be reading instead of being yet another warm body crushed into the mall. This list is part horror, part horrifying, part oddly hopeful: just like the holiday season.

1. The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories by H.P. Lovecraft
Scary monsters to haunt your nightmares from beyond the stars and below the sea. What could be worse than not finding the perfect gift this holiday season? Well, let Mr. Lovecraft tell you.


2. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Coraline is a curious young lady exploring her family’s new apartment. What she finds is at first wonderful and strange. Then, it’s just strange. Maybe even dangerous and strange.

3. Fallen by Lauren Kate
Fallen angels, True Loves, and high school. What else do you need in your life? A Toaster?


4. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clark
In a world that is not our world two men try to restore magic in England. Don’t you wish there was magic in the world and you could just flick a wand and you’d be done Christmas shopping?


5. Dear John by Nicolas Sparks
This book might be the worst thing that ever happened to me. It’s hours worth of reading I can never get back. I don’t actually recommend reading it but if you wanted to know what real horror looks like to me its this: a lifetime trapped in Nicholas Sparks’ terrible and cliched prose.


6. Dracula by Bram Stoker
Dracula is a blood sucking fiend. Shopping is a soul sucking endeavor. You get the metaphor.

7. Hellblazer: Original Sins by Jamie Delano
John Constantine is the anti-hero’s anti-hero. He’s a terrible person. Hell, he’s more unlikeable than likeable. And, yet he’s necessary and compelling and chain smoking. If you’re seeing the devils of commerce everywhere, you may need a little Constantine in your life.


8. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

This is technically the second book in the cycle, but I’m not sure you’d actually miss the first book. Will Stanton must fight the Black Rider and a blizzard at the holiday season and find the six sign symbols. He’s only eleven years old, can he do it?

9. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Forgotten why we’re all doing this? Let Charles Dickens remind you in this classic tale. Bonus: The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is the stuff of nightmares.

A Quick Series You Should Check Out: Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness

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knife neverI don’t remember what panel at Book Riot Live where they talked about what books they wanted to see turned into a movie but The Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness was one of their suggestions.  I full heartedly agree with this pick  The Chaos Walking Trilogy is cinematically epic story that it would make for a visually stunning filmed.  If done right of course.  The Chaos Walking Trilogy is made up of The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men. Each is a tense, action packed novel that you will be thinking about long after you finish.  Todd is shy of his birthday that will make him a man.  He lives in Prentisstown, where everyone can hear each other’s thoughts, including the thoughts of his dog Manchee.  It’s a stream of constant noise and no privacy.  Everything for Todd is about the change when he meets Viola.  He can’t hear her thoughts.  Together they learn the terrifying secret of their world and together fight to change it.  It goes on many twists and turns and at times you love and hate both of them but you never stop rooting for them.  All I can say is that you really should read it.

It’s the first of November, and so today someone will die

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Since it’s the November 1 I thought we would take a moment and look at Maggie Stiefvater’s best book, The Scorpio Races.  I mean all of her books are good but this one is the best.  It’s filled with so much atmospheric goodness that’s it’s just luscious.  Every year they race on the sea horses. Some live and some die.  Sean is the defending champion.  The youngest ever but much older then his years.  Puck is the first girl to compete but circumstances make her take the chance.  I can’t speak highly of this book and I’m sure that Kate would agree with me.  If you are looking for a good book to read by the fire with some warm apple cider then you really can’t do any better then this.

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

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This is the story of Cath, a first year college student who is super awkward, in love with characters in a teen series, and a writer of fan fiction. She moves into her dorm room with her new roommate (after her twin sister tells her she doesn’t want to room with her) and then proceeds to try and make it as far as she can without interacting with anyone. Her roommate, Reagan, and her roommate’s friend (boyfriend? friend? boyfriend?) Levi force her to interact with them. Levi forces the issue by snooping through Cath’s stuff and eating most of her supply of protein bars (forcing her to ask where the cafeteria is) and Reagan forces the issue by making Cath eat with her in the cafeteria. They slowly become friends. Cath and Levi realize that they have feelings for each other and the story spirals from there. Additionally, there are story arcs that involve both of Cath’s parents. Cath’s father has raised her and her sister from when they were very young and now her mother would like to have some involvement. Cath’s father also has bipolar disorder. Cath’s interactions with her parents were beautiful and at times heartbreaking.

I love Cath. I love her so much.

This book has beginning of school drama. It has tension between sisters (ugh, her sister drove me crazy!). There is romance. There is friendship. There is at least one douche canoe of a bro tryna take advantage of a young woman. There’s some really satisfying comeuppance for said douche canoe of a bro. There’s an awesome professor who gets it…but also doesn’t get it. And, there’s the fan fiction. Oh, the fan fiction. I finished this book in two days and I read it on my phone because I couldn’t get enough of it. I read it in every spare minute that I had. This was by far my favorite of the books that Beth assigned me this summer. I cannot wait for Carry On!, Cath’s fan fiction, to be published this Fall!

Coh-rah-Lee-nay

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I have this idea that I can improve my language skills by reading in the language. This is not a crazy idea.  But, I use it to justify a possibly crazy and weird habit.  I love buying books that I have already read that are translated into a language that I am studying.  I recently used my desire to be a better Spanish speaker as my excuse for walking past the Juan Rulfo, Octavio Paz, and Gabriel Trujillo (only one of those three whose work I’ve actually read in Spanish…and one I’ve not read at all) in a Mexican bookstore (Mexican bookstore as in a bookstore in Mexico and not as in a bookstore that specializes in Mexican books or a bookstore owned/operated by Mexican people or a bookstore that caters to the interests of Mexican people.  Although, the other interpretations are also probably true) heading straight to the YA and sci-fi/fantasy sections to see what’s there that I’ve already taken a bite out of.

I have a favorite little bookshop in San Cristobal de las Casas.  It was one of the first things I found the first time I was here doing research for my dissertation, so I was happy to find it again.  This time they had a lot to choose from.  There were translations of books I really want to read (Graceling) and I thought about breaking my rule and trying something new.  But, there was also Harry Potter and C.S, Lewis and Tolkien.  The one I finally settled on was none of the above.  I picked up a translated copy of my favorite Neil Gaiman book (maybe my second favorite?  I did really enjoy the Ocean and the end of the Lane.) Coraline.

The story is just as I remember it. And, either my Spanish had improved or this book is at a lower reading level than I remember. I recommend picking it up. It is a story about magic, family and growing up all in Gaiman’s quirky style.