While I was working.

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I don’t know anything about this series.  I’ve never read Harlan Coben before but this cover has got me interested.  I stumbled it while I was at work today and  I couldn’t help but notice the girl.

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She’s not your usual YA cover girl.  She’s not stick thin or dressed in a fancy dress. She’s normal.  I like it.  It’s nice to see girls like me represented in the genre.  Let’s hope it becomes a trend.

Here’s the description from Goodreads if anyone else is interested.

It’s been eight months since Mickey Bolitar witnessed the shocking, tragic death of his father. Eight months of lies, dark secrets, and unanswered questions. While he desperately wants answers, Mickey’s sophomore year of high school brings on a whole new set of troubles. Spoon is in the hospital, Rachel won’t tell him where he stands, his basketball teammates hate him… and then there’s Ema’s surprise announcement: She has an online boyfriend, and he’s vanished

GoT Update: I’m done

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Featured imageI finished A Dance of Dragons and now I am where everyone else is the world is.  Waiting. So many questions.  This goes without saying but the following will spoil things if you haven’t read them.

Jon Snow? Did he survive the attack of his brothers?  Did pull a Bran and take over Ghost?  Will Ghost save him?  Jaime?  Is Brienne leading him to his death by Lady Stoneheart?  What of Stannis?  Is he really dead like Ramsey says or is this just a trick to lure out the Jon Snow and the Night’s watch? Can Queen Selsye be any less likable? If Mance’s change of appearance is on glamour thanks to the ruby he wears does that mean that Melisandre looks are also a glamour? What of Bran? Rickon? and Davos?  My poor poor Davos.

I’m sad about Quentyn.  We barely knew you lad but what a terrible way to go.  Cersei, just got lucky.  I have a feeling she will be soon free to run Westoros into the ground and further corrupt her son.  Poor Tommen.  At least he has his kittens.  And where are they sending Arya again?  And Dany? Is she going to march back into Meereen, as Khalessi again with Khal Jhogo and Drogon in tow? And how has every thing that has happened play or mess Tyrion’s plan with the Second Sons?  And what of Sansa and Littlefinger?  We know that Littlefinger hasn’t been idle all this time.

I probably have more questions but I can’t think of them right now. When does the Winds of Winter come out?

How Fast Do You Read or How Often?

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I’ve been reading A Dance of Dragons, as you know. It’s huge. Over 1,000 pages.  It’s literally a brick.  Ok, not literally but you get the idea.  Every time I bring it out to read at work someone mentions how big it is.  The other day this happened again. I mentioned that I had a little over 200 pages left to read that I should finish it this week.  My coworker was shocked.  He asked when I started reading. I had started about two weeks ago.  This started a whole conversation on how fast I read.  Apparently, reading 700+ pages in two weeks is a lot.  Normally, in two weeks, I would have read at least two books but also I don’t usually read books as dense as the Game of Thrones series.  I tried to make the argument, it’s not that I read fast, it’s that I read often.

I read on my commute to and from work.  That is about an hour and half round trip. I also read on my work breaks.  I have two jobs so I have two of them.  So that’s another hour and half.  So I read about three hours a day 5 days a week.  I usually read for a couple of hours on my days off, maybe an hour or two.  It depends on how many errands I have to run or what else I have to do.  So we are now up to about 15 to 19 hours a week, give or take.  I actually used to read a lot more because I used to read before I went to bed.  I don’t do that as much anymore because of my work schedule.

So is that a lot of time to read?  Just about right?  Not anywhere near as much as you?  But I do think it backs my theory that I read more often then read fast.  I may read faster then some but I don’t read as fast as others.  I just prioritize reading over other things. .

So how often do you read? And when do you read? How fast do you read or how slowly?  Sound off in the comments and let us know.

GoT Update

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First, this post may contain spoilers.

So I’m on page 586, a little halfway through. I have a feeling that Dany’s marriage is not going to have the results she hopes for and talk about bad timing on Quentyn’s part. He travels halfway across the world to get there the day before the wedding of the woman he intended to married. Bummer.

I’ll give Lady Melisandre some credit for asking for Davos’ son stay with her so he doesn’t die. Of course, this means he surely will die now. That’s just how George rolls. Speaking of Davos: I’m so glad he’s alive!

Poor Jon Snow. I think he does well as lord commander. Sadly, his men don’t agree and that’s going to get him killed, methinks. I mean there’s no way he lives to see winter, right?

I really loathe to root for Stannis but I really hope he beats the Boltons. I hate them more. I guess I really don’t hate Stannis but also really don’t like him.

And poor Jeyne Poole. This is by far the cruelest thing anyone has done to someone, force her to marry Ramsey. If she lives, she’s going to be scarred for life. She’s probably already scarred for life. Isn’t it time for Theon to redeem himself and save her or help Stannis? I can’t completely blame him for being afraid. He has been through a lot.

I was promised an Ayra chapter! I want it. Also I want to go back to Cersei! I think the timelines should be close to matching up by now, right?

Series You Should Check Out

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So this is something that I’m thinking of making a regular column: Books and Series that I’ve read that I feel are underrated or under-appreciated.  There are some great books or Series that I haven’t seen much written or talked about on other blogs that I really liked!  So I’m going to attempt to give them some love. I’m going to start with the Defy series by Sara B. Larson.

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Defy came out last year and it’s sequel Ignite was just released. The story is about Alexa who has to pretend to be a boy and serve in the King’s army.  Let’s just say it would be very bad if she is ever discovered.  Alexa, now Alex, is a smart fighter and she eventually works her way into the the elite prince’s guards.  When a unbeatable sorcerer kidnaps Alex, the Prince and Alex’s friend Rylan, it becomes even harder to do her duty to protect the Prince and to protect her secret.

What I like about the books is that I found them to be really quick reads that were paced well.  You don’t have to wait too long for the action to start.  Alexa is a fighter and not just physically.  She is one of the best of the Prince’s guards, which comes into play when the Prince gets kidnapped.

The relationship between Alexa and the Prince is at first awkward.  He’s the Prince and she’s pretending to be a guy who protects him.  As they grow closer they realize they have more in common.  Both are trying to pretend to be something they are not to protect themselves.  I think you can guess where this is going to go.

It’s hard to review series because I can’t say too much about the second without spoiling the first. So I’ll say it’s worth checking out.  It’s nice to read a heroine who is strong and doesn’t take anyone’s crap.  Of course in Alexa’s case, she can beat up anyone who gives her trouble.  So go check them out.

The Bone Season is on Sale!

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The Bone Season

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon, a favorite of both Beth and I, is on sale on bn.com and in the apple itunes bookstore until the 14th. This book is the story of Paige Mahoney. She is a psychic and part of a gang in a future where psychics are banned from plying their trade. Paige and the others must avoid detection because they are hunted by the government. When Paige is whisked away to a secret prison her world is turned upside down. She is confronted with the real power behind the government and why psychics are so dangerous and important. She must decide who she can trust and who is the real danger in order to regain her freedom.

The second book in this series is due out at the end of the month. I can’t wait!

Thanks to BookBub from bringing this to my attention!

Good News!!!

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It’s been a long time coming but Kate and I finally seem to have got our sh*t together.  I mean it has taken us two years to really get this blog going. We’ve have taken the next step of making this blog awesome! Well, at least easier to find.  Now, you can find us at www.stacksexceedlifeexpectancy.com! No more will you have add .wordpress.com. Our name is long enough as it is.

We also have a group going on at Goodreads and also a new Facebook page! We hope to have contests and giveaways and maybe do our podcast (We actually started recording the first episode, 2 years ago when we started this blog).  The possibilities are endless!  So please, click, join and like us. Spread the word to all your friends.  Come with us our journey to read more and more books!

Review: I Was Here by Gayle Forman

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Featured imageGayle Forman knows how to make people cry. If you are familiar with her other books, If I stay and Where She Went then you know that.  She took a little bit of a break from the waterworks with Just One Day, Just One Year and the novella, Just One Night.  There were tears in those too but it wasn’t the weepers as her previous novels.  I Was Here, is back to making you cry.

I Was Here is about two best friends, Cody and Meg.  They were inseparable.  Did everything together until Meg went off to college and Cody didn’t.  When Meg commits suicide no one is more surprised and baffled by it then Cody.  How could Meg be so unhappy that she wanted to kill herself and Cody had no idea.  Cody tries to figure out what happened to Meg after she left for college and what does the mysterious Ben McAllister have to do with it.

Really, this isn’t a story about suicide but a story about self-discovery.  For Cody, it was always Cody and Meg.  They made plans together and when those plans fell apart when Meg got a scholarship and went to college and Cody didn’t and stayed in town.  Now that Meg is gone, who is Cody?  Before Meg’s death, Cody still had plans of joining her in College next year.  So what now?  Who is Cody without Meg?  Cody must overcome her own insecurities and fears to face a future on her own.  Meg may be gone but Cody is still here.

Forman knows how to make dynamic and sympathetic characters.  I really felt bad for Cody.  She comes from a broken home with little support.  Her mother is really just a roommate and not a mother.  Meg’s family really helped take care of her.  So it was a real blow when Meg went off to college and Cody couldn’t afford it and stayed home.  She cleans people houses to make money and goes to the library but little else.  Her life is on pause.  With Meg’s death, what little hope she had went with her.  By the end of the book, she is in much better place but I won’t say more.  My only problem is the resolution seemed to quick and sudden.  After all the discoveries and mysteries, the reason seemed too simple and really obvious that how could Cody not have figured it out long before Meg left.  Other than that it was a satisfying read but have your kleenex near by.

GoT Update

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So the Dance of the Dragons is going much better than A Feast For Crows did. I’m already on page 400!  I think it helps that so many of my favorites are back. Tyrion! Jon Snow. (You know nothing, Jon Snow) and Davos. Yes, the Onion Knight is one of my favorites.  He is really one of the only truly decent people in Westeros.  He’s trying to make the best of what’s he’s got and god, is he loyal.  I’m not sure Stannis deserves it though.

I like Dany but she’s not my favorite but I think that might be her story line.  I sort of lost interest in her when she was raiding Slaver’s bay and now in Meereen, the same thing. Isn’t it time for her to get to Westeros. Let’s move things a bit.

So happy that Davos is still alive. I was worried.  Tyrion, you sly bastard.  Messing up the Spider’s plans.  Oh, btw, where is Varys?  Does anyone else get the feeling that Jon Snow isn’t going to be Lord Commander much longer? Poor Theon.  Yeah, he was a git but no one deserves to be tortured like that.  And man, those Northmen are sneaky.