Book Tag! Tell About Yourself.

Book Tag!!

 

My Life in Books. I found this on  a list of book tags to do so I thought why not? I won’t actually tag anyone else right now, cause there is no one for me too tag. Enjoy!!

 

• Your initials

M –Michal By Jill Eileen Smith. This is a book about King David’s wife and Saul’s daughter I really enjoyed reading it.

J-Just One Day By Gayle Foreman. It has been a while but I enjoyed this book when I read it and hope to reread it again soon.

B-Book Jumper by Mechthild Glaser. I am not finished with it yet but I really like it so far and cannot wait to finish it.

• Age-count your books till your age.

This was a little hard due to how my books are on the shelf but what I have it Scarlett By Marrisa Meyer, I love this series and it’s take on the fairytales. It was a favorite rendition of mine.

• City/Country. One that take place in your city or country. There is not one that takes place in my city so I picked state instead. Princesses of Iowa By Molly Backes. This is one that I have DNFed because I could not get into the story. Perhaps I will try again this year.
• Travel somewhere you want to travel. I picked The Lightning Thief By Rick Riordan. I want to got to Brooklyn/New York area and also camp half blood!!

 

• Colour, what is a book that has your favorite colour on the cover. I picked The Crystal Kingdom By Amanda Hocking. I liked this book when I first read it a while ago, and my favorit colour is Blue!
• Memories, what book has the most memories for you? The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, my copies are from my mom so they are old and well read.

 

• A book you had difficulty getting through. this Till We Have Faces By C.S. Lewis. I had to read this for a class and had such a hard time getting through this one!

 

8)TBR a book that you will get a  lot out of when you finished it. It’s Not supposed to be this Way by Lysa Terkuerst. I am reading this as my devotional and it is most helpful as I go through it.

The Outsiders By S.E. Hinton

“ The Outsiders is about two weeks in the life of a 14-year-old boy. The novel tells the story of Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. According to Ponyboy, there are two kinds of people in the world: greasers and socs. A soc (short for “social”) has money, can get away with just about anything, and has an attitude longer than a limousine. A greaser, on the other hand, always lives on the outside and needs to watch his back. Ponyboy is a greaser, and he’s always been proud of it, even willing to rumble against a gang of socs for the sake of his fellow greasers–until one terrible night when his friend Johnny kills a soc. The murder gets under Ponyboy’s skin, causing his bifurcated world to crumble and teaching him that pain feels the same whether a soc or a greaser”

I have the opportunity to read The Outsiders with my 7th graders every year, this is my second year doing so. I enjoy listening to their discussion about the book and what they are learning from it. They are given a reading journal that they have to complete after every two chapters. It asks them to pick out a trait of the character, and find quotes to explain that trait and then explain why they like that quote and how it fits with the trait. After they finish the book they do a mock trial, in which they are split into groups and must defend or prosecute.

While this is not a book I would pick up on my own, I do find myself enjoying it as I read through it with the students. I get to see them grow and form their own opinions and be able to support them. That is what I like about the book and what it can teach the students who read it. I do think that it needs to be taught and not just read as there are a lot of elements in it that need a better explanation than what a reader can just infer for themselves.

There is one thing that I do not like about the book and that is that sometimes while reading it the Boys seem to act more in the way a girl would, especially during this time. They are often cuddling with each other and laying with heads in laps and such. I don’t normally mind this but when most of the book is talking about how tough they are, these moments seem out of place and as if they are not in the right story.

Overall this book had a great message in certain points and lets the reader decide for themselves what the outcome should be and come to their own conclusion on guilt or innocence.

Reading to Escape

Reading is an Escape. it lets the reader leave what is going on in the world around them or even in their personal lives, no matter what that may look like. I believe that it is more important today than ever before in the time I have been alive. A person can hardly go a few hours without hearing something that makes them feel down or get angry about something. This is one of the many reasons why I think Fiction books of any Genre should steer clear of adding Political, or current themes to their books, especially if they are not set in modern day, non fantasy world.

One example I have of this is the Dark Artifices series by Cassandra Clare. I love her books I really do, but this series is one that just frustrated me to no end to read. I had to force myself to finish it, the last book more than the others. Queen of Air and Darkness is around 900 pages, most of which is unnecessary. there are too many characters and it is bogged down by politics that one can easily parallel with what was going on when it was published. now if this book was not fantasy I would not be as bothered by this but, because it is and the fact that it doesn’t have them interacting at all with people that are not like them, it makes the story drag.

most authors I have read are good at making it subtle and not as in your face as The Dark Artifices series does. it is hard to escape from reality when the book you are reading is obviously shoving the authors opinion down the readers throat. that, in my mind completely defeats the purpose of reading to Escape.

I understand that everyone has their own opinions on everything, and that those who have a big influence on people should use that, but not to get people to agree with them but to educate them on what they stand on. Give them facts that support their opinion, with sources for them to find out more on their own. as well as listening to the other side respectably.

I tend to loos interest in books and people of influence when they do not give facts with their opinion and want to to trust them simply because of who they are.

Reading is an escape, escape from the world in which we live, especially now during a Pandemic. when one sits down to read we are allowing ourselves to escape the reality of Lock-downs, Masks, job shortages, riots, movements, and political division. Books and reading make connections with people who may not have otherwise even talked due to the differences in opinion on things like Politics and Religion and many other things. Reading is a great thing, both with Fiction and Non-Fiction, a person can learn a lot from both of those things.

Siege and Storm By Leigh Bardugo

“Darkness never dies.

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long.

The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her–or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm.

 

Our Heroes search for the Amplifiers for Alina’s Sun Summoning power and try to stay hidded from the Darkling and those who would want to cause them harm. some of the strenghts of this book is the character of Nikolai, a new character of this book, her is well written and he shows to grow through the book. her had depth. Alina is sometimes well written and develops well as a character, but she at times acts out of character it seems from how she was in the first book and knot in a good way, and it mostly has to do with Mal. Mall comes of as a normal cliche male lead. he has very little depth and personality other than being a brooding male that wants the girl he had known all his life but not liked in that way until now.

The Darkling is a good character, written wise. as a villian his ideas are ones that anyone could see the justification in them. i can see why there were Grisha and others who believed in him and what he wanted to do with Alina’s power. overall though this book is a little lacking and was at times easily forgetable.

without giving too much away there are parts that take place at the little place that are well written and show real actions that would take place. the jealousy between brothers and the hasty decisions one can make when seeking favour that is clear another is taking form them. the treatment of someone because she is ‘just a servant’ and how it is dealt with to the comanding of an army, the pull of evil that can have a hold on anyone one no matter how good they want to be.

Shadow and Bone By Leigh Bardugo

“Alina Starkov doesn’t expect much from life. Orphaned by the Border Wars, she is sure of only one thing: her best friend, Mal–and her inconvenient crush on him. Until the day their army regiment enters the Fold, a swath of unnatural darkness crawling with monsters. When their convoy is attacked and Mal is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power not even she knew existed.

Ripped from everything she knows, Alina is taken to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. With Alina’s extraordinary power in his arsenal, he believes they can finally destory the Fold. Now Alina must find a way to master her untamed gift and somehow fit into her new life without Mal by her side. But nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. As the threat to the kingdom mounts and her dangerous attraction to the Darkling grows, Alina will uncover a secret that could tear her heart–and her country–in two”

 

Shadow and Bone is a typical first book in a series type of troupe books. The whole book is basically a set up for books two and three. It sets up Alina and Mal’s characters, the Darkling and what is happening in their home and who the Grisha are. It is not that it is bad it is just, cliché. The Girl/Guy best friends where the Girl is in love with him and watches him with other girls but tries to hide it. The guy who doesn’t notice her that way until others are.

Alina is a strong character, she has wit and power, she had strength she admits that she may not be the best at what she is doing and she is right. she doesn’t believe that the power she is given is hers. Just doesn’t want it when it is proven to be hers. She struggles with controlling it. She works hard to learn and follows her heart, in the end and trusts, that others may know better than her.

Mal on the other hand, he is in this first book very little. He, in my opinion is weak and only good at tracking and being handsome. He complains more than any of the girls. He gets jealous and angry at Alina for things that she cannot control, things that he let happen, when he could have stood up for her.

I also noticed that he language and some of the story comes from Russia and Russian history and Language which is what I majored in. I loved the parallels and names and different parts of that history that I saw as I read which is something I enjoy.

The book itself is a good set up and makes for a great catch for the first book in the series. I cannot say much because that will spoil the other books and I don’t want to do that, but I will say that I did like this book. I enjoyed this intro to the Grisha and the world that is parallel to Six of Crows

Tiger’s Destiny By Colleen Houck

“With three of the goddess Durga’s quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger’s curse. But the trio’s greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga’s final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It’s a race against time, and the evil sorcerer Lokesh, in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger’s Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers’ true destinies once and for all.”

 

The Finale, the end of the series, always so bitter sweet to finale know the conclusion to story you’ve ready. Kelsey now dating/engaged to Kishan yet knowing the love she had for him is not the Romantic kind, but that of a sibling. The one she truly loves being Ren (Of Course). Kishan is sure of Kelsey’s love for him just not of her decision to stay with him and not go back to Ren. Ren, now having his memories back wants Kelsey back and will not give up till he gets her back. They also have one last task to complete.

Kelsey still doubts that the boys like her even though she gets proposed to three times in this book alone. The worst part of the book is how jealous she gets over Ren yet staying with Kishan. Kishan gets angry about her caring for Ren, ,and Ren enjoys making Kishan angry, yet attempting to take a step back from Kelsey. the books line turns from what the other books have done the quest for the item is a short part of the book. They way it is done makes for a more intruding ending to the series.

Overall it was a good conclusion to a decent series. Many world myths are represented as operating together, and not one saying the other doesn’t exist or is superior than the other. They are woven together, in a way that makes sense for the story, kind of in a Percy Jackson way but also different. It was a good conclusion, but if you are not yet ready to let them go there is a novella and a book about Kishan. Houck did a good job tailoring the Indian myths into a story that is captivating, yet still hold some of the Cliché and troupe’s that are typically of YA novels.

Tiger’s Voyage By Collen Houck

“With the head-to-head battle against the villainous Lokesh behind her, Kelsey confronts a new heartbreak: in the wake of his traumatic experience, her beloved Ren no longer remembers who she is. As the trio continues their quest by challenging five cunning and duplicitous dragons, Ren and Kishan once more vie for her affections–leaving Kelsey more confused than ever.”

 

We come back to this the third book in the series, and Ren has lost his memories of Kelsey. All of them. Her remembers the events but not that Kelsey was there. Ren had been caught by Lokesh in the last book and rescued at the end. To keep Kelsey and the others safe his memories got locked away. Kelsey is upset by this, of course. He pushes her away and pulls her close and so on through the book. Kishan tries to get close to Kelsey and not let her get her by Ren. Together the three of them go to find the third item for Durga.

Through the whole book Ren does not act like the Ren from the first two books and where it would make sense in some cases In this one it feels like a ploy for Kelsey to justify turning to Kishan for comfort. I get to a point why Kelsey acts the way she does. Her love has forgotten her, and his brother want to be with her. she thinks she may like Kishan as well as Ren yet she wants Ren more but cannot be with him. But it turns into a cliché love triangle. It would have been fine had it just been this one book but it (Spoiler) gets worse in the next book. But this is about this one not hat one.

The book itself is worth the read especially if you have read and liked the first two books/ the challenges offered in this one are better they are more thought out and more challenging in a good way. They challenge all of them not just Kelsey or Kishan or Ren. The end is a good one two it leaves just enough out to make for the promise of a good conclusion. While the book is full of the typicall troupe and cliché, it is worth it to read. I did enjoy reading it. I read this through my audible app, with my sister, it makes for a good buddy read. Someone to talk through it with, to compare ‘notes’ on what you have read and what you liked and didn’t like.

Tiger’s Quest By Colleen Houck

“Back in Oregon, Kelsey tries to pick up the pieces of her life and push aside her feelings for Ren. Kelsey Hayes’s eighteenth summer was crazy. The kind of crazy nobody would ever believe. Aside From battling immortal sea monkeys and trekking the jungles of India, she fell in love with Ren, a 300-year-old prince. When danger suddenly forces Kelsey on another Indian quest, with Ren’s bad-boy brother, Kishan,the unlikely duo begins to question their true destiny. Ren’s life hangs in the balance–so does the truth within Kelsey’s heart. Tiger’s Quest, the thrilling second volume in the Tiger’s Curse series, brings the trio one step closer to breaking the ancient prophecy that binds them”

 

I Enjoyed the Tiger’s Curse the first book in this series of four yet I had to push myself through the first few chapters of Tiger’s Quest, not because it was bad, no, it was because for those chapters Kelsey, our main character was whining like an annoying middle school girl. Kelsey is supposed to be 18 and through the first book acted as such. Kelsey at the end of the previous book choose to leave India and Ren. Ren and Mr. Kadam have purchased a home, paid for her school, bought a car and bought her school books. she buys a stuffed white tiger because it reminds her of Ren. She goes through her classes and goes on dates, all while saying she is not beautiful, and men don’t like her. Um what? Her attitude does get better as the story continues.

Ren and his brother Kishon, are in India with Mr. Kadam looking for the villain Lokesh at around Christmas time Ren decides that he had been away from Kelsey long enough and joins her in Oregon. Kishon also joins later in the story.  Together the second task of four is embarked on. I enjoyed the little names that Ren and Kishon call Kelsey and the relationship she build with Mr. Kadam. Even the way she acts with the boys while on the quest. Her relationship with the only other female is the story, Nilima Mr. Kadam’s granddaughter, is not shown much but when she it it is assumed that they have a close relationship, one that resembles sisters.

The overall storyline is good the same as the first book where in Kelsey goes on a journey to find something for the Indian goddess Durga and her Tiger to free Ren and Kishan  from their Tiger forms. Once you get past Kelsey’s whiny phase at the beginning of the book it gets much better. The task to get this gift are interesting and they way the book ends Is good too sets up the third one really well.

Tiger’s Curse By Collen Houck

“The last thing teenager Kelsey Hayes thought she’d be doing over the summer was meeting Ren, a mysterious white tiger and cursed Indian prince! When she learns she alone can break the Tiger’s curse, Kelsey’s life is turned upside-down. The unlikely duo journeys halfway around the world to piece together an Indian prophecy, find a way to free the man trapped by a centuries-old spell, and discover the path to their true destiny.”

 

So here is the thing. I really enjoyed this book. It has a strong start of easing you into the story to come, it introduces Kelsey Hayes and gives her back story without feeling overly boring or too detailed. It explains why she takes the job at the Circus. Her character as a whole is left has a mystery, but in a good way, so you can learn about her as you read.

Kelsey Hayes is an Orphaned eighteen year old girl who got a two week job at a circus that came to her town in Oregon.  I don’t think it is that believable that they would trust a young girl with no training the job of feeding a Tiger, no matter how tame it seems. That aside, it was a really good book.

The curse it explained as well as it should have been, knowing that there are three more books to follow. Ren, is the White Indian Tiger that Kelsey is tasked to take care of. Mostly to feed everyday. She takes a liking to him and sits and reads to him when she can. Picture that a massive white tiger in a cage and just sitting near the cage reading him Shakespeare?

Ren, as a Tiger is said to have some human like tendencies as Kelsey takes care of him, never hurts anyone and refuses to do certain things during performances. A few days into her work Kelsey meets Mr. Kadam and Indian gentlemen who wants to buy Ren and take him to a reserve in Indian, back to his home (The Tiger’s). the Tiger Trainer is persuaded that he cannot go and that Kelsey must go, all paid of course. She does, as it is shown that her connection to the Tiger is growing.

Overall this book to me is the strongest of the series. It is a great introduction to a wonderful story about the little written about Indian mythos. Those mythos are not even the only ones told in the story. Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and others are pulled into help tell the story and it is done so well. I loved reading this book. The adventure was great.

The Architect of Song

“A lady imprisoned by deafness, an architect imprisoned by his past, and a ghost imprisoned within the petals of a flower – intertwine in this love story that transcends life and death.

For most of her life, Juliet Emerline has subsisted – isolated by deafness – making hats in the solitude of her home. Now, she’s at risk to lose her sanctuary to Lord Nicolas Thornton, a mysterious and eccentric architect with designs on her humble estate. When she secretly witnesses him raging beside a grave, Juliet investigates, finding the name “Hawk” on the headstone and an unusual flower at the base. The moment Juliet touches the petals, a young English nobleman appears in ghostly form, singing a song only her deaf ears can hear. The ghost remembers nothing of his identity or death, other than the one name that haunts his afterlife: Thornton.

To avenge her ghostly companion and save her estate, Juliet pushes aside her fear of society and travels to Lord Thornton’s secluded holiday resort, posing as a hat maker in one of his boutiques. There, she finds herself questioning who to trust: the architect of flesh and bones who can relate to her through romantic gestures, heartfelt notes, and sensual touches … or the specter who serenades her with beautiful songs and ardent words, touching her mind and soul like no other man ever can. As sinister truths behind Lord Thornton’s interest in her estate and his tie to Hawk come to light, Juliet is lured into a web of secrets. But it’s too late for escape, and the tragic love taking seed in her heart will alter her silent world forever.”

 

I have Read Many things by author A.G. Howard, this one captured my attention from the beginning. This book differs from Howards, other books mostly because it is not, to my knowledge, based on a fairytale.

I like Juliet’s Character, how tightly she holds onto what she has left of her parents, the house she grew up in. she, with the help of her uncle and mother, learned how to hide her deafness from the world. She is a strong, but weak girl, who owns that. She does know what she wants but at the same time she doesn’t. she comes off as a girl who is confused, about what to do in her life. she is a hat maker, a talented one. She works with her uncle, who makes fabrics. on the day they bury her mother she goes to a grave and sort of meets a ghost. This changes her, simply because he can hear her thoughts, and intern talk to her. she has not had this kind of interaction before.

The Ghost, Hawk, does not know how he died or why this girl can see him and hear him, and he her. I do like him but I don’t. he is compelling but everything about their relationship seems Toxic to me. He treats her with disrespect and taunts her modesty, he controls her and what she does threatens her and I felt uneasy about that. He is using her and calling it Love. I do not like the way their whole story together is written.

Lord Nicholas Thornton, is interested in buying the house that Juliet now owns. He wants to Marry her, knowing about her Deafness and still wants to marry her. he has a mansion that he wants to turn into a vacation type place, he wants her to come and work there to see if she likes it, before agreeing to marry him.

All this being said, my biggest problem with the  book is  Hawk and they way he is shown throughout the story, he comes off as arrogant, and not the good kind, he throughout the book also shows the signs of a toxic personality. He had no growth, and no real depth. That being said, had this changed I would have enjoyed the book so much more.

Ruby Red By Kerstin Gier

“Gwyneth Shepherd’s sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!

Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon–the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.”

 

So I found this book on kindle and I read it and the two sequel books in about four days. I really enjoyed the series. The book follows Gwen, a 16 year old girl who finds out she has the time travel gene and not her cousin whom everyone thought had it. The story is told in such a way that the reader can connect with the characters and what is going on with them, while not giving away plot points and details.

It does sometimes get muddled when they travel through time and meet someone that had met them but they have not yet met, but it works well with the story and they way that it is being told so that by the end of the series the questions are answered. The relationships that Gwen had with her siblings and mom are really great to read, she cares about them and it shows. Also her friendship with Lesley, they rely on each other and support one another no question.

This shows when it is mentioned that Gwen can see and talk to ghosts, Lesly doesn’t make little of it or make fun of Gwen, she believes her and even talks to them through Gwen. Gwen’s relation ship with her cousin Charlotte is more strained because Charlotte grew up believing that she was the one with the gift, not Gwen. The same goes for Gideon, who trained with Charlotte to travel.

Over all this book is a wonderful piece of literature that I recommend to anyone who loves history and time travel. It is a really good book series that is developed well and not over play the relationships are realistic and have problems but are also not overly unrealistically dramatic or perfect