Week in Review (9)

Random Thoughts

First up, I continue to absolutely hate the word verification in blogger. Sometimes I think only a robot can figure out half the words they give you. I make mistakes all the time and believe me, I am not a robot. I have no idea why they always have to mess with things when they are working perfectly well to begin with. 

Moving on, someone asked me what my favourite read in February was and I decided to just say here. I generally have a hard time picking favourites, but so far it is pretty clear cut. My favourite read in January was Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. In February it was A Fault in Our Stars by John Green. There were other books I enjoyed immensely, but for those two months those two books lead the pack. March is off to a good reading start so I will be curious to see what the favourite for the month is. Fair Game by Patricia Briggs will be considered a favourite come the end of the year, but that does not necessarily mean it will be my favourite read of the month. There is also a new book by Jacqueline Winspear out in March.

Challenge News

I read A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd which counts for the War Through the Generations Challenge (WWI), the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, and is the first book in the read-along of the series hosted by Bookclubgirl. I was one of the first 10 to sign-up for the read-along, so I am awaiting the arrival of book 2 so I can carry on in the series and see what happens next. 

Weekly Reads

As I mentioned previously, I am working my way through this series because someone recommended it to me. I goofed. I was telling him I had read the first three books and he was shocked. So of course I pointed out that they were only like 100 pages or so. I was trying to get across it is not really a big deal, but according to him there is no 'only' about the page length. He then went on to say the 10th book is like 400 pages. Anyway, this book was fun. Nothing amazing or anything. I think my favourite character is the cat. (Borrowed)

Well, this was pointless. My library had a copy so I thought I would go back and read this short story set during the Mythos Academy series. I have an ARC of the third book, so I thought I would read this one first. If you have read the series, even just the first book, don't bother with this one. It is just a rehash of things you all ready know. I kept hoping for some new piece of information, but I learned nothing. If you have a completest nature and plan to read this series, you should start with this one. If you don't have a completest nature, just skip this. Absolutely everything that happens is told to you in the series. It was basically pointless. (Library e-book)

After an enjoyable first two books, I was a bit disappointed with this one. In the first two books you actually learn things. The first book tells you about Benjamin Franklin and second talks about Mozart. (I learned things. I had no idea Mozart had a sister that was about as gifted as he was. Classical music is not really my thing.) This book only sort of did the history thing. It just fell a bit flat for me. Now, when I said I didn't like this one so much the reply was 'But it is about a sword'. I also had never heard of the author before, but I guess he is mostly a ghost writer for many popular series and so it is not his name that you see. I have probably read him before and didn't know it. (Borrowed)

This is the first time I have ever bought a World Book Day book. I didn't even know I could until Derek Landy had this book coming out and I really love Skulduggery Pleasant. So, I paid under 2 dollars for this book and it appeared in my mailbox last week. It was a nice diversion and I am happy to visit with some old friends. I am also really happy that Valkyrie is growing up (she is 17 now), so she might not annoy me as much. I read this series mainly for Skulduggery because I think he is one of the best-written characters in fiction. The book also includes deleted scenes from the first book in the series. And, it says that there is a new book out in September! (Personal Copy)

On a very random note, I have had this song by REM stuck in my head all week:

Then, I was on FictFact browsing the series I had on the go and it told me I was no finished Lisa McMann's trilogy. When I went to investigate I found that there was a short story and it was available free online, so I went to check it out. I haven't read any of McMann's later releases, but I did enjoy the Dream Catcher series. This story recaps part of the first book from Cabal's point of view. It was an enjoyable read and I think I am going to get something new from McMann soon. (You can read the story by clicking here.)

Then, I read this book. I was very excited about it and have all ready reviewed it. You can read my review here. (Personal Copy)

Then I did a bit of required reading. Allan Stratton is a Canadian author and this book will be released on March 6. I remember a time where I didn't really like middle-grade books (or young adult for that matter), but it has really grown on me over the years. I hated it when I was the actual age for it. I wasn't really sure what to expect with this one, but it was actual well-written and had a good story. It focuses on a boy and girl as lead characters so can easily appeal to both genders. I believe they marketing it to boys because it is an adventure story, but I think girls would enjoy it, too. I think I will write a real post about this on Monday and talk about it more then. (Personal Copy)

Lastly, I read this book for the Bess Crawford Read-along. I am TERRIBLE at read-along schedules, so I just read it when the mood struck me and now I have to remember to join-in for the discussion. The book takes place during WWI and centres around Bess Crawford who is a nurse. When the Britannica goes down she is aboard and suffers a broken arm, so she is off on leave when the majority of this book occurs. I can't help comparing this series to the Maisie Dobbs one, though. I know it is two different wars, but there are many similarities. I don't think this book is a copy-cat, though. It still manages to be fresh and there is only so many ways to explore women during the early part of the 20th century. I look forward to reading more from this series. (Personal E-book)

Currently Reading:

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

Weekly Posts

Week in Review (8)

Poetry: Read More/Blog More - A Monthly Event! - Month 2

What are you Listening to Wednesday - Week 13

February in Review

February Roundup - Read More/Blog More Poetry Event

Review: Fair Game by Patricia Briggs

New Additions

Bought: 

Fair Game by Patricia Briggs (gift card) (read)

The End of the World by Derek Landy (read)

A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd (e-book) (read)