This book has taken me all over the place, from a very slow start to an insistent pull to each character. I wanted to take my time reading it and it’s a good thing I had planned for that, because it’s definitely necessary for me. My library loan runs out two days so I am determined to finish it before then. And considering how easy it is to fall into it right now, I don’t think there will be any worry about not meeting that goal.
I don’t know that I had expectations for this book other than that I would probably enjoy it, so I think it’s going well by those standards. Allowed to sink into the story in the bones of the characters, I’ve been tracking through this one consistently for about a week. The whole thing is a bit like that song about a horrible crash where you just can’t look away.
“Do you read one book at a time or a couple at once?”
*deep breath*
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh!
I don’t know what’s going on with me this month but I am ALLLL over the place with my reading! I want to read everything, all right now! But I also just started playing a new game, which I also want to play all the time!
Which is how I ended up with 7 books I’m currently in progress with, about 5 more on the side table ready to go, and one that I dropped everything else for to start because I got a buddy read invite for it on Storygraph and I’ve been excited and this one for a while. I did plan to read it this year for sure, so why not now with company? xD
Hey y’all! I’m just over here celebrating because I managed to snag a copy of No Words by Meg Cabot! It’s always a delight to be able to pick up a new book that I’ve been looking forward to. With this one, I got extra lucky: the library holds were all super long, but I found a less-popular digital format and was able to borrow it right away!
(EPub. It was ePub.)
I’ve already plowed through a third of it by the pool last night and am about to dive back in (har har). Hopefully this Fast Forward Friday book was worth the hype!
If you missed my recent Fast Forward Friday about it, Beast Boy Loves Raven came out yesterday! Oddly though, I actually hadn’t yet read Beast Boy, the second in the series. I’ve had a line on it from the library since it came out last year. I’ve looked at it multiple times and thought, I’m so excited to read this. I read a sample of it in Raven and couldn’t wait, yet once I had the chance, I WAITED!
I’m so glad I did though. 🥰 I finished Beast Boy this morning and was 100% in love with Gar. I hated that I had turned the last page because I desperately wanted to continue on the journey with him!
So THANK GOODNESS that Beast Boy Loves Raven had just become available! I dove immediately into it and plowed through in one sitting. One l o n g sitting, because I kept going back pages to check out the details, or examining all the background elements and characters. If you loved the others, you will preeeetty much definitely love this one. I really hope we see more of Tank and Stella from Beast Boy because I kind of fell in love with them too. Yet the monkey sticks around??
Hey y’all! Anyone remember the Picture’s Worth series last seen, oh, about a year ago? To be honest…. I totally didn’t. 🤣 But saw one pop up in my past posts and thought “OH YEAH those were fun why did I stop doing those!” And couldn’t think of any good reason, so here we go. 😊
Words have always carried more weight with me than images – give me a book over its movie any day – but I do love to see the beautiful images other people create when they’re in love with a book. That’s not my strength, but I can certainly appreciate it in others! So here’s a few of my faves based on what I’ve been reading recently.
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
So, Descendant of the Crane is an older title by a few years that is totally new to me. What a fool I am for missing it! I’m about halfway through and quite intrigued by the world. It’s been a slower build, but I think the payoff will definitely be worth it. I have no idea if this is a series, but I hope so, because I think there’s a lot of exploring that could be done with it. So let’s check out how beautiful the cover is to match the book so far!! Descendant of the Crane here we come —
WHOOPS, that’s Descendants of the Sun, which my brain typed into Instagram on autopilot. 😂 Guess it might be time for a re-watch?
Back to our regularly scheduled programming…
@bookishwondergoth made use of the related decorative fan that came in an Illumicrate box, of which I am extremely envious. They did it better than I ever could have, though. xD
@agalaxyofpages has playing cards of the characters!!! Or just, decorative cards of the characters? And I think this was done with a digital cover, which makes this even more impressive to me.
@theseviciousdelights probably just casually has this lovely robe, but daaaaang did it perfectly complement the cover and aesthetic of the book!!
Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney
Rock Paper Scissors is not a book I would have picked up if it weren’t for BOTM (judging by the editions in the photos, this is true for many people). The jury is still out on whether that instinct to avoid was correct or if BOTM will prove me wrong. Sadly… BOTM rarely delivers for me. Nonetheless, I’m a little ways into this and the setting is incredibly well established. Days are getting cooler here, and I deliberately read this one any time it’s under 65 F / 18 C just to help embrace that.
@myschedulesbooked created a definite mood with the colors and contrast here. I adore the very literal representation of the title ^.^ Even the rock is like, a very pretty rock. The rocks around my yard look more… rockish.
@read_with_lynne got the scissors just right! I love the way they obscure their eyes because I feel like that is representative of the way everyone in this book is hiding something. Or many somethings. Or maybe even their whole existence. And it took me three tries to spell “scissors” correctly even though I’ve written and read it 50 times in the making of this post. 😊
@completely_bookt took this thriller set during a blizzard in a remote church in Scotland… for a beach read. 😂 That’s one way to combat it! I wonder if the sunshine helped keep the chill from creeping over them while they read through this eerie book? They even mention wishing they’d read it when it was cold to set the mood so I guess I’m doing it wrong as well. Whoops!!
Judging by the covers, would y’all read either of these books? Or if you already did, do the insides match the outsides for you?
Ps I remembered why I stopped doing these. Embedding an Instagram post into WordPress is a nightmare. Bookstagrammers like to write very lengthy captions, which is great except for when you can’t hide the caption. 😅 I tried so many other workaround and custom code options, but it seems like they still crap out and default to showing a message saying “view this on Instagram” which… sort of ruins the point. Ah well. I think I found a workaround, and I really hope that they stay visible! I’ll check in on this and see what happens, which will probably determine if these truly continue or not.
Hey y’all! I’m in the middle of Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian right now. “In the middle” might be a little optimistic, but I’m at a solid 200 pages now! This is a slower read for me, and I’m not hating it.
Since the main character is an oracle, the style reflects that mindset, and it has a really engaging effect for me. Elaine is constantly bombarded from all sides as she remembers her past, navigates her present, and weaves (literally) the future. In turn, the reader gets snippets of her past interspersed with the present, and of course the pepperings of glances forward, the possibilities, the problems she worries will be created in the future by her actions right now.
I really sink into whenever I sit down, and I find myself thinking about it often throughout the day. I love a book that sticks with you!
The slog continues…. I really wish I were enjoying this more, but the first half was super weird and so much seemed unnecessary (why did we see a pigeon pick up a quarter… why did it get mentioned AGAIN five pages later…). Then I finally adjusted to the rhythm, and the POV changes and is completely different. /SIGH. To be honest, I have gotten nothing from this so far…
Why did I start reading it?
It was a BOTM that I grabbed, after hearing some good things about it. I originally scorned it because I super-hate the cover. Then I learned more about it, looked at it again, saw more details of the cover that made me hate it a little less, and decided to actually read it. The premise involves relationship examining and culture shock, going new places, learning about others, etc. which always wins me in.
Why am I still reading it?
This isn’t usually a question I include in my In Progress posts… but I think it warrants asking at this point. xD I have so far not enjoyed the book at all. I don’t think I’m getting anything else from it. I don’t want to read it, frankly. But I’m very slowly continuing… because I bought it, and I don’t want to have wasted my money and book pick for the month. 😐
Lines that linger
My mother smelled like chocolate. My father wore his nice shirt. You’d have been hard pressed to think that this was a man who’d thrown his wife against a wall. Or that this lady, immediately afterward, stuck a fork into his elbow.
Hey y’all! One delightful aspect of Goodreads is that when you read a Kindle book, you can link your notes and highlights within it to your Goodreads account and read them later online in a nice format.
My favorite way this has been leveraged (and I’m seeing it more often lately) is when the author themselves will write notes on quotes in their book and publish it to Goodreads publicly. It’s like the commentary track on a movie, but for a book. Hearing the author’s personal thoughts on their writing is such a delight. Unlike normal interviews or Q&As, this is entirely directed by their thoughts and what they want to share. I 100% adore that.
One set that I read and enjoyed recently was from Nghi Vo, author of Empress of Salt and Fortune (a fantastic, mystical novella that you can read more about here).
My Book Joy 