The Friday 56 (6)

Friday never seems to come quickly enough for me. Or anybody else in the world really. It's been a long week and I'm looking forward to the weekend since I'm going to go pick strawberries tomorrow morning and have some fun! Anyways...

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice.  This is a fun and simple meme, just follow the rules! It's a great way to connect with bloggers and share new or favorite books with them.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader

(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)

*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it)

*Add your name to the link up at Freda's Voice

Ok, this week, I'm going with Unravel Me, which is the second book in the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi. This series is beyond excellent and if you haven't started it already, you're missing out. Look at that cover. I could stare at it for ages and still be blown away by it.

I'm going to tell you a secret.

I don't regret what I did. I'm not sorry at all.In fact, if I had a chance to do it again I know this time I'd do it right. I'd shoot Anderson right through the heart.

And I would enjoy it.

You can't tell me that you aren't intrigued by that. I mean, come on. With the strike throughs and everything.  Seriously, just go read this series.

Much love! Have a great weekend!

Musing Mondays (3)

You know, so much of the time I feel like I'm just trying to keep up with what is going on around me and I completely forget to post updates or reviews. This past week has been crazy and I'm so looking forward to Memorial Day and having a chance to really relax for once.

Musing Mondays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. Each week, there are a few prompts and you can pick which one to talk about!

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week...

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What types of “special” books do you own? For example, do you have any really old books? Any collections based on your interests (eg. architecture, etc)?

So, right now I'm actually in the process of rereading a few books so I can finally finish a series. This morning, I finished Shatter Me which I've already written a review on and I started Destroy Me this afternoon, both by Taherah Mari. I loved the first book and the Warner novella that came after it but I just lost track of it somehow in the craziness.

Hopefully by this evening, I'll be moving onto the next book Unravel Me and apparently there is even more Warner goodness in the next one so I'm really looking forward to it. I can't believe I haven't read this entire series yet!

Random Question Answer:

I have a lot of environmental books. In college, we read a fair amount of ethics books and essays about land preservation and they've kind of stuck with me. I love going through Aldo Leopold every once in a while and remembering why I am in the field that I'm in. 

I also have all of my English anthologies and when I get bored or listless, I read through the poetry. I am trying to reestablish a relationship with certain authors that I used to hate but I'm now appreciating more. And I love reading my old notes and trying to learn more.

I'd love to hear some responses from y'all!

Much Love,

Musing Mondays (2)

I hope everybody had a wonderful weekend! I spent the weekend and Mother's day at the lake with my parents, planting flowers, sitting one the dock and reading. I got terribly sunburned but it was worth it to be able to swim for the first time this season. The water was finally warm enough and since it's before Memorial Day, there wasn't a whole lot of boat traffic.

Musing Mondays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. Each week, there are a few prompts and you can pick which one to talk about!

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week...

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: Do you have a “kindred” reading buddy — someone who very closely shares your taste in books? If not, do you wish you did?

I think, my next book will be The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig. It just sounds too damn interesting and the cover is amazing.

Blurb from Goodreads:

When Zach and I were born our parents must have counted and recounted: limbs, fingers, toes. We were perfect. They would have been disbelieving: nobody dodged the split between Alpha and Omega. 

Nobody. 

They were born together and they will die together. 

One strong Alpha twin and one mutated Omega; the only thing they share is the moment of their death. 

The Omegas live in segregation, cast out by their families as soon as their mutation becomes clear. Forced to live apart, they are ruthlessly oppressed by their Alpha counterparts. 

The Alphas are the elite. Once their weaker twin has been cast aside, they're free to live in privilege and safety, their Omega twin far from their thoughts. 

Cass and Zach are both perfect on the outside: no missing limbs, no visible Omega mutation. But Cass has a secret: one that Zach will stop at nothing to expose. 

The potential to change the world lies in both their hands. One will have to defeat the other to see their vision of the future come to pass, but if they're not careful both will die in the struggle for power.

I mean, how good does it look without even words on it? It doesn't even need a title on it and I'm drooling over it. It reminds me of the Harry Potter posters that came out before the 8th movie where there wasn't anything on them except the release date but everybody was going crazy over them. As soon as I finish the two books I'm actively reading right now, this one is getting downloaded onto my kindle. I've seen it in bookstores and I have resisted up until now but I don't think I can anymore.

As for the random question, I don't have any friends around me that have similar reading tastes because mostly, I'm the only one I know that reads extensively. Online, of course, I have friends that I can fangirl with as well as disagree with and we get along fine. I wish that there were more people I knew that were readers but I have a feeling that a lot of readers feel that way but we're all at home...reading. 

Book groups are fine and all but it would be so nice to have a friend who would be happy coming over and splitting a bottle of wine and not talking for a few hours just to read something good that just came out. 

What about y'all? Leave a link to your post or post in the comments!

The Friday 56 (5)

Thank God it's Friday! I never thought I would survive this week. It's been absolutely insane at work since everybody is about to go on maternity/paternity leave and it's only going to get more chaotic. Lucky for me, I have a nice weekend at the lake planned so hopefully, I get to swim and relax a bit.

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice.  This is a fun and simple meme, just follow the rules! It's a great way to connect with bloggers and share new or favorite books with them.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader

(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)

*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it)

*Add your name to the link up at Freda's Voice

This week, my 56 is coming from one of my all time favorite books, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. It's a classic. It's awesome and it has the most twisted plot lines ever. Set in Savannah, it takes the good will and charm of the South and intersects it with scandals, death and affairs. If you haven't read it, you need to. 

Mr. Glover stopped and faced me. He opened his mouth wide and drew a deep breath. From the back of his throat came a high, croaking sound, "Aaaaa lay loooo-yah! A-layyy-loo yah!" He had abandoned his tenor and was singing in wavering falsetto. Forever in his mind, apparently, "Hallelujah" would be a soprano piece as sung by the in church so many years before.

Such a good book!

Everybody have a great weekend!

Musing Mondays

Musing Mondays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jenn at A Daily Rhythm. Each week, there are a few prompts and you can pick which one to talk about!

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION: What would you do if you wanted to buy a book for someone, but didn’t know what they like to read? Would you ask them? Would you choose something you, yourself, like? How would you go about buying them something?

So right now, I'm reading Red Rising by Pierce Brown.

I'm not a big fan of sci-fi books but this one is done pretty well. It's a good mix of space adventure type stuff and fantasy and it works for me so far. The characters are diverse and interesting and the manin character, Darrow (love the name) is kind of a jackass so he isn't perfect. I will warn you though, this book is remarkably similar to Red Queen in some ways. They are almost two different side of the same coin but each one is unique and completely worth the read.

As for the random question...It definitely depends on the person. If it was a family member, it would be easy enough to search through their bookshelves and pick something that they like. But if it were for someone I wasn't close to, I would probably go with a book that I really enjoyed but isn't a niche book. I wouldn't pick high fantasy or sci-fi but something a little bit more down the middle of the road. Another option is a really nice copy of a classic book that they probably read in high school. It's nice to have hard covers of old favorites.

What do y'all think? What would you do?

Hope everybody has an awesome week!

The Friday 56 (2)

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice.  This is a fun and simple meme, just follow the rules! It's a great way to connect with bloggers and share new or favorite books with them.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader

(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)

*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it)

*Add your name to the link up at Freda's Voice

This Friday, I'm going with The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden. It's one of the best paranormal thrillers I've read in a long time and I love that it is set in New Orleans. It's an awesome book so go check it out!

"Inside, the smell of wood, lilacs, and cinnamon permeated the air. I can't believe I am here looking for answers, I thought as I walked past the Voodoo dolls, tourist thrills, and alligator skulls. I found Désirée at the counter, doing what I assumed was homework. I would turn out to be wrong; at least, it wasn't homework in the traditional sense."

What are y'all reading this weekend? Any big plans? How do you feel about books set in New Orleans? Big fan or overplayed?

The Friday 56

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Freda at Freda's Voice.  This is a fun and simple meme, just follow the rules! It's a great way to connect with bloggers and share new or favorite books with them.

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader

(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)

*Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it)

*Add your name to the link up at Freda's Voice 

I'm going to be a bit of a fangirl about this one. I have stalled out on some of the other books I've been reading and I managed to wind my way back to Susanna Kearsley books. She likes kilted men, accents, conflict and finding new ways to explore history.  The Firebird has one of my all-time book boyfriends in it and it is absolutely beautiful. Check out her books and she has a new one coming out soon. It's a completely different way to time travel.

Nicola Marter has the ability to glimpse pieces of the past. She touches an object, and it takes her back to an image and time from former owners. When an unusual carving of bird comes into the gallery, Nicola knows that there is more to it than just a family heirloom.  With the help of an old friend, she seeks to find the history of the beautiful Firebird that takes her back generations to experience the past in a whole new way.

"Go. He nudged me again, and I gathered my focus and pushed through the image itself, and then I was inside it, incredibly, soaring above what I saw, rising wildly and spinning with little control, till I suddenly felt him right there with me, catching me, holding me steady, and bringing me down to the ground again, safely, as Anna passed me by."

Seriously, if you're a fan of time travel paranormal books, go read hers. I can't get enough. Just the right touch of magic and suspense!