bird words
dani: library support staff/paralibrarian for a public library system in washington state. i read books and peddle a medley of information to those who seek it.
5MAY2016
1. What I Tell You In the Dark: Found this on the new book display at work and it had me at a description about a disgraced angel. I haven't read much of it, though, because I've been distracted by other things.
2. In the Shadow of Edgar Allan Poe (audiobook edition via Hoopla Digital): I've seen this book at work many times and have actually taken it home, but never actually read it. I'm currently still in the introduction, but very much looking forward to listening to the stories in this anthology.
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I've decided to drop my challenge of reading 50 YA horror books this year. No updates to my Read Harder Challenge participation just yet.
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Keep in Touch!
Super Freakonomics
I listened to the audiobook version of this via Hoopla Digital. It was fun, just as the other books in the series have been.
This Is Where The World Ends
I can't fully tell how I feel about this book. It was good, but not great. It was a quick read, but I also wanted to take my time with it. I found myself connecting with both characters, but not really wanting to. I can't say to whom I would recommend this book, but it's not a bad read. I just wanted something more.
The Westing Game
Finished my re-read of Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game! I really enjoyed getting to reread one of my favourite mysteries from when I was first being introduced to books as a young kid. I wasn't sure some of the magic would still be there, but it was.
I also appreciated getting to use this book as a way to practice checking out e-books from my library and getting used to the Kindle app for Android.
28APR2016
My goal is to update you every Thursday on what I'm reading and listening to!
1. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (Kindle Edition via Overdrive Media Console) -- I don't know what made me think of this book recently, but I'm enjoying it even more than I enjoyed it when I was a kid! It's also been interesting to read things in Kindle format. The past couple of novels I've finished have been e-books and I'm starting to get used to the format.
2. Zom-B by Darren Shan (Digital Audiobook Edition via Overdrive Media Console) -- I tried listening to this last summer and it wasn't the gore that made me gag and cringe. It was the racism and white supremacy from certain characters. I'm currently on chapter 24 and I don't know if I'm going to finish this book.
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Reading Goals Progress
1. Read Harder 2016: 14/24
2. 50 YA Horror Novels in 2016: 1/50
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Keep In Touch
2
F*ck That: An Honest Meditation
This book is the perfect meditation book for the person in your life who doesn't really believe in meditation but knows they need to do something to calm themselves down and slow their roll. I highly recommend it because I was laughing the entire time and felt amazingly positive by the end of the work.
I received a copy of this work from Blogging For Books in exchange for my review.
The Fox and the Star
This book was beautiful and I made sure to hug it when I was finished. I loved the art and found the story very simple but lovely. It's a wonderful piece of fiction and a very short read, too. I finished this in about 15-20 minutes while waiting for my shift at work to start.
Made You Up
I really enjoyed this novel (minus the almost-sex scene between the two mains) and really appreciated that the main character was not treated like a villain for her mental illness (except for a very realistic scene where she is outed by a classmate and I started crying because it was very similar to something I went through in high school).I was extremely skeptical about this book when I read that the author did not personally experience paranoid schizophrenia (either firsthand or secondhand), but the novel treats this so well enough that I wasn't upset or finding myself annoyed with the book.
This book is heartbreaking at times, but a really great read. Anyone with an interest in how mental illness/mental health is represented in young adult fiction should give this book a read.
Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
Ito-sensei is my favourite manga creator, but I had no idea about this work! I'm so glad I found it and gave it a read. As much as I love his horror, this book was absolutely lovely, too. I highly recommend it to all cat persons and to all manga fans. It's well worth the read.
Sex is a Funny Word: A Book about Bodies, Feelings, and YOU
I really appreciated that this book spoke genuinely to the (presumably young) reader and didn't try to push any moral agendas or present body-negativity. Even as an adult, I loved the simple way things were stated and the thoughtful questions posed at the end of each chapter.
Not Funny Ha-Ha
I found this book at work and after taking a scan of the first few pages, I knew I needed to read this book. Without getting into my whole life story, let me just say that this book helped me immensely and I wish I had gotten my hands on it sooner. I highly recommend this to anyone and everyone who is going through this difficult process/decision or may have to go through it in the future. The comedy adds to the charm of this book being extremely informative while really sensitive and taking this subject and making it manageable while still being as realistic and accurate as possible.I want to thank Leah Hayes from the bottom of my heart and soul.
The Deleted E-Mails of Hillary Clinton: A Parody
This book is absolutely hilarious; one of the funniest books I've read in a very long time (if you don't count all the junior fiction that I read). I recommend this to everyone, no matter what your political affiliation may be. There is something for everyone in the humour of this book.
Women: Body-Positive Art to Inspire and Empower
I have seen quite a few of the pieces in this book floating around on various social media sites, so when I saw this on a new books shelf at one of the libraries I work at -- I made sure to grab it. It's a great attempt at showcasing an amazing variety of women and affirming positive things about various life choices. I would recommend this book to quite a few people, for sure. I hope I have an opportunity to talk this book up at work.
The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly
This book was good, but it wasn't as satisfying for me as I had hoped. I wanted to know more about the cult and less about Minnow's time in prison; and that makes me feel like I was reading this novel with the wrong impression or for the wrong reasons. It's not a bad book, but it wasn't what I was thinking it would be or what I was hoping for.
A Head Full of Ghosts
This isn't the kind of book I'd usually read, but if it was a film I would pick it up in a heartbeat. The inside cover had me from mentioning that the narrator's sister has an early-onset case of Schizophrenia and then reading on further to realise that this is a horror novel -- well, I was definitely interested.And for the most part I enjoyed this novel. I think my favourite bits were the chapters told from the point of view of a blogger who turns out to be the narrtor, blogging while keeping her identity secret because of all the analysis of exorcism, mental illness, feminism, and other things in popular culture that all weave together to tell the story of Marjorie and Merry's having to deal with their parents' marriage falling apart, Marjorie's onset of a certain mental illness, and the whole world being treated to the melt down of their family.
I recommend this book to fans of exorcism horror, the portrayal of Christian religion in media, those interested in mental illness, and those looking for a book that pretty much analyses itself as the story progresses.
ZooBorns Motherly Love: Celebrating the Mother-Baby Bond at the World's Zoos and Aquariums
It's cute baby animals and their parents! What's not to love?! Also, there's some animals from Seattle in here, which was really nice.
