#Linda Skeers

[roesolo]

The best kind of friends are Even Better than Sprinkles

Even Better than Sprinkles: A Story About Best Friends, by Linda Skeers & Heather Fox, (June 2024, Random House Studio), $18.99, ISBN: 9780593705513 Ages 4-7 What makes a best friend – and what happens when that friendship is in trouble – forms the foundation of this relatable and charming story. Being a best friend means a lot of things: dressing up as a unicorn together (even when one person…

[winningthesweepstakes]

Even Better Than Sprinkles by Linda Skeers, illustrated by Heather Fox

Even Better Than Sprinkles: A Story About Best Friends by Linda Skeers, illustrated by Heather Fox. Random House, 2024. 9780593705513 Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review): 5 Format: Hardcover What did you like about the book:  A wonderful story that celebrates best friends with colorful upbeat illustrations and diverse characters.   It is a funny and sweet tale of how a friend…

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Bibliographic Data: The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Fleming, Candace. Schwartz & Wade, 2020. ISBN. 052564654X.

Plot Summary: First human to cross the Atlantic via airplane; one of the first American media sensations; Nazi sympathizer and anti-Semite; loner whose baby was kidnapped and murdered; champion of Eugenics, the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding; tireless environmentalist. Charles Lindbergh was all of the above and more. Here is a rich, multi-faceted, utterly spellbinding biography about an American hero who was also a deeply flawed man. 

Critical Analysis: The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh by Candace Fleming is a captivating and meticulously researched biography that sheds new light on one of America's most iconic figures. Fleming explores both his extraordinary achievements and his controversial beliefs and actions. Some parts of this book were inspiring, while others were shocking and stressful to read.

It is obvious Fleming did extensive research into his life, and her attention to detail and thorough research make this book an invaluable resource for anyone interested in aviation history, the early 20th century, or the cultural and political landscape of America during that time period.

Overall, The Rise and Fall of Charles Lindbergh is an engaging and fascinating peek into the life of this complicated public figure.

Review Excerpt(s): “There is no amped up moralizing in this fascinating chronicle…Reprehensible, estimable, complex: Ms. Fleming’s portrait reveals a man of many parts.” -The Wall Street Journal

“Absorbing and distressing in turns, this utterly prescient capture of a life—and the lives it influenced—is essential in classrooms and for history buffs alike.” -Booklist, starred review

“A compelling biography of a flawed, larger-than-life man.” -Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A must-read. Drawing on primary sources, including Lindbergh’s own journal, Fleming has crafted a cautionary tale of the downfalls of hero worship.” -School Library Journal, starred review

Connections: Other fascinating biographies for young adults:

The Story of Thomas Edison by Margaret Cousins

The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth by Kathleen Krull

Women Who Dared: 52 Stories of Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers, and Rebels by Linda Skeers

[victoriagleasuredesigns]

“Mary had discovered a creature

never seen before!

Was she scared?

Nope.

Not at all.”

Dinosaur Lady by Linda Skeers, illustrated by Marta Alvarez Miguens

It would not be a dinosaur book month without mentioning the amazing Mary Anning. 📖🦕 Today’s @owlcrate @OCthenest @words.and.whimsy Bad to the Bones photo challenge is Anything is Fossi-ble: An Improbable Plot. When dinosaurs were first discovered many called them fantastical. But the indomitable Mary Anning helped proved their amazing existence!

This book is pictured on the Peter Pan Neverland Quilt found in our Etsy shop at VictoriaGDesigns or www.victoriagleasuredesigns.com 💚

Hashtags:

#owlcrate #OCthenest #words&whimsy #wordsandwhimsy #bookchallenge #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #victoriagdesigns #victoriagleasuredesigns #bookqoutes #dinosars #dinosaurbooks #childrensbooks #dinosaursareforgirlstoo #picturebook #dinosaurlady #maryanning #lindaskeers #martaalvarezmiguens

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[xmanicpanicx]

Mammoth List of Feminist/Girl Power Books (200 + Books)

Lists of Real, Amazing Women Throughout History

Bad Girls Throughout History: 100 Remarkable Women Who Changed the World by Ann Shen

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2 by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 Immigrant Women Who Changed the World by Elena Favilli & Francesca Cavallo

Brazen: Rebel Ladies Who Rocked the World by Pénélope Bagieu, Montana Kane (Translator)

Rejected Princesses: Tales of History's Boldest Heroines, Hellions, and Heretics by Jason Porath

Tough Mothers: Amazing Stories of History’s Mightiest Matriarchs by Jason Porath

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky

Bygone Badass Broads: 52 Forgotten Women Who Changed the World by Mackenzi Lee

Wonder Women: 25 Innovators, Inventors, and Trailblazers Who Changed History by Sam Maggs

The Little Book of Feminist Saints by Julia Pierpont

Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History by Kate Schatz

Warrior Women: 3000 Years of Courage and Heroism by Robin Cross & Rosalind Miles

Women Who Dared: 52 Stories of Fearless Daredevils, Adventurers, and Rebels by Linda Skeers & Livi Gosling 

100 Nasty Women of History by Hannah Jewell

The Warrior Queens by Antonia Fraser

Sea Queens: Women Pirates Around the World by Jane Yolen

The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience by Hillary Rodham Clinton & Chelsea Clinton 

Fight Like a Girl: 50 Feminists Who Changed the World by Laura Barcella

Samurai Women 1184–1877 by Stephen Turnbull

A Black Woman Did That by Malaika Adero

Tales from Behind the Window by Edanur Kuntman

Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women's Fight for Their Rights by Mikki Kendall

Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, 700-1100 by Max Dashu

Mad and Bad: Real Heroines of the Regency by Bea Koch

Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History by Blair Imani

Individual and Group Portraits of Real, Amazing Women Throughout History

Alice Paul and the Fight for Women's Rights: From the Vote to the Equal Rights Amendment by Deborah Kops

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All by Martha S. Jones

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life by Jane Sherron De Hart

The Firebrand and the First Lady: Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the Struggle for Social Justice by Patricia Bell-Scott

I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai, Christina Lamb

Life Undercover: Coming of Age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox

Native Country of the Heart: A Memoir by Cherríe L. Moraga

The Soul of a Woman by Isabel Allende

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly

Ashley's War: The Untold Story of a Team of Women Soldiers on the Special Ops Battlefield by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon

Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants: The Female Gang That Terrorised London by Brian McDonald

Women Against the Raj: The Rani of Jhansi Regiment by Joyce Chapman Lebra

Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus

The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women Across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor

Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt

The Women of WWII (Non-Fiction)

Women Heroes of World War II: 26 Stories of Espionage, Sabotage, Resistance, and Rescue by Kathryn J. Atwood

Skyward: The Story of Female Pilots in WWII by Sally Deng

The Women with Silver Wings: The Inspiring True Story of the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II by Katherine Sharp Landdeck

The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexievich, Richard Pevear (Translation), Larissa Volokhonsky (Translation)

Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation by Anne Sebba

To Serve My Country, to Serve My Race: The Story of the Only African-American Wacs Stationed Overseas During World War II by Brenda L. Moore

Standing Up Against Hate: How Black Women in the Army Helped Change the Course of WWII by Mary Cronk Farrell

Sisters and Spies: The True Story of WWII Special Agents Eileen and Jacqueline Nearne by Susan Ottaway

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell

The White Mouse by Nancy Wake

Code Name Hélène by Ariel Lawhon

Code Girls: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers Who Helped Win World War II by Liza Mundy

Tomorrow to be Brave: A Memoir of the Only Woman Ever to Serve in the French Foreign Legion by Susan Travers & Wendy Holden

Pure Grit: How WWII Nurses in the Pacific Survived Combat and Prison Camp by Mary Cronk Farrell

Sisterhood of Spies by Elizabeth P. McIntosh

Spy Princess: The Life of Noor Inayat Khan by Shrabani Basu

Women in the Holocaust by Dalia Ofer

The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler's Ghettos by Judy Batalion

Night Witches: The Untold Story of Soviet Women in Combat by Bruce Myles

The Soviet Night Witches: Brave Women Bomber Pilots of World War II by Pamela Jain Dell

A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein

A Dance with Death: Soviet Airwomen in World War II by Anne Noggle

Avenging Angels: The Young Women of the Soviet Union's WWII Sniper Corps by Lyuba Vinogradova

The Women of WWII (Fiction)

Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz

Night Witches by Kathryn Lasky

Night Witches by Mirren Hogan

Night Witch by S.J. McCormack

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith

Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan

The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff

Code Name Verity series by Elizabeth Wein

Front Lines trilogy by Michael Grant

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

All-Girl Teams (Fiction)

The Seafire trilogy by Natalie C. Parker

Elysium Girls by Kate Pentecost

The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

The Effigies trilogy by Sarah Raughley

Guardians of the Dawn series by S. Jae-Jones

Wolf-Light by Yaba Badoe

Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson

Burned and Buried by Nino Cipri

This Is What It Feels Like by Rebecca Barrow

The Wild Ones: A Broken Anthem for a Girl Nation by Nafiza Azad

We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett

Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry

The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu

The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti

Kamikaze Girls by Novala Takemoto, Akemi Wegmüller (Translator)

The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See

The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry

The Scapegracers by Hannah Abigail Clarke

Sisters in Sanity by Gayle Forman

The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

The Lost Girls by Sonia Hartl

Hell's Belles series by Sarah MacLean

Jackdaws by Ken Follett

The Farmerettes by Gisela Tobien Sherman

A Sisterhood of Secret Ambitions by Sheena Boekweg

Feminist Retellings

Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly

Poisoned by Jennifer Donnelly

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust

The Girl Who Fell Beneath The Sea by Axie Oh

Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins by Emma Donoghue

Doomed by Laura Pohl

The Seventh Bride by T. Kingfisher

The Boneless Mercies by April Genevieve Tucholke

Seven Endless Forests by April Genevieve Tucholke

The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnston

Kate Crackernuts by Katharine M. Briggs

Legendborn series by Tracy Deonn

One for All by Lillie Lainoff

Feminist Dystopian and Horror Fiction

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Godshot by Chelsea Bieker

Women and Girls in Comedy 

Crying Laughing by Lance Rubin

Stand Up, Yumi Chung by Jessica Kim

This Will Be Funny Someday by Katie Henry

Unscripted by Nicole Kronzer

Pretty Funny for a Girl by Rebecca Elliot

Bossypants by Tina Fey

We Killed: The Rise of Women in American Comedy by Yael Kohen

The Girl in the Show: Three Generations of Comedy, Culture, and Feminism by Anna Fields

Trans Women

Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock

Nemesis series by April Daniels

American Transgirl by Faith DaBrooke

Tranny: Confessions of Punk Rock's Most Infamous Anarchist Sellout by Laura Jane Grace

A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett

Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom

Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family by Amy Ellis Nutt

George by Alex Gino

The Witch Boy series by Molly Ostertag

Uncomfortable Labels: My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman by Laura Kate Dale

She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan

An Anthology of Fiction by Trans Women of Color by Ellyn Peña

Wandering Son by Takako Shimura

Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg

Feminist Poetry

Women Are Some Kind of Magic trilogy by Amanda Lovelace

Wild Embers: Poems of Rebellion, Fire and Beauty by Nikita Gill

Fierce Fairytales: Poems and Stories to Stir Your Soul by Nikita Gill

Great Goddesses: Life Lessons from Myths and Monsters by Nikita Gill

The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill

A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland by DaMaris B. Hill

Feminist Philosophy and Facts

The Creation of Patriarchy by Gerda Lerner

The Creation of Feminist Consciousness: From the Middle Ages to Eighteen-Seventy by Gerda Lerner

Misogyny: The World's Oldest Prejudice by Jack Holland

White Tears/Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Colonize This!: Young Women of Color on Today's Feminism by Bushra Rehman

Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics by bell hooks

Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World by Kelly Jensen

The Equality Illusion by Kat Banyard

White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind by Koa Beck

Everyday Sexism by Laura Bates

I Have the Right To by Chessy Prout & Jenn Abelson

Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World by Kumari Jayawardena

The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir

How to Suppress Women's Writing by Joanna Russ

Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color by Andrea Ritchie

Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell hooks

Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment by Patricia Hill Collins

But Some of Us Are Brave: All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men: Black Women's Studies by Akasha Gloria Hull, Patricia Bell-Scott, Barbara Smith Women, Race, and Class by Angela Y. Davis This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Cherríe L. Moraga, Gloria E. Anzaldúa

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDinn

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

Difficult Women by Roxane Gay

Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay

This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by by Cherríe Moraga & Gloria Anzaldúa

Power Shift: The Longest Revolution by Sally Armstrong

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

Had It Coming: What's Fair in the Age of #MeToo? by Robyn Doolittle

She Said: Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story that Helped Ignite a Movement by Jody Kantor & Megan Twohey

#Notyourprincess: Voices of Native American Women by Lisa Charleyboy

Girl Rising: Changing the World One Girl at a Time by Tanya Lee Stone

Dead Blondes and Bad Mothers: Monstrosity, Patriarchy, and the Fear of Female Power by Sady Doyle

Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement by Robin Morgan (Editor)

Girls Make Media by Mary Celeste Kearney

Rock She Wrote: Women Write about Rock, Pop, and Rap by Evelyn McDonnell (Editor)

You Play the Girl: And Other Vexing Stories That Tell Women Who They Are by Carina Chocano

Things We Didn't Talk About When I Was a Girl: A Memoir by Jeannie Vanasco

The Portable Nineteenth-Century African American Women Writers by Henry Louis Gates Jr. (Editor), Hollis Robbins (Editor)

Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West

A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change the World by Jessica Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman Bread Out of Stone: Recollections, Sex, Recognitions, Race, Dreaming, Politics by Dionne Brand

Other General Girl Power/Feminist Awesomeness

The Edge of Anything by Nora Shalaway Carpenter

Kat and Meg Conquer the World by Anna Priemaza

Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg

The Female of the Species by Mandy McGinnis

Pulp by Robin Talley

Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera

How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr

That Summer by Sarah Dessen

Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti

The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré

Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

American Girls by Alison Umminger

Don't Think Twice by Ruth Pennebaker

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

In Love & Trouble: Stories of Black Women by Alice Walker

You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down: Stories by Alice Walker

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Sula by Toni Morrison

Rose Sees Red by Cecil Castellucci

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell & Katie Cotugno

None of the Above by I.W. Gregorio

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

Everything Must Go by Jenny Fran Davis

The House on Olive Street by Robyn Carr

Orange Is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Lady Luck's Map of Vegas by Barbara Samuel 

Fan the Fame by Anna Priemaza

Puddin' by Julie Murphy

A Heart in a Body in the World by Deb Caletti

Gravity Brings Me Down by Natale Ghent

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

The Summer of Impossibilities by Rachael Allen

The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

Don't Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller

After the Ink Dries by Cassie Gustafson Girl, Unframed by Deb Caletti

We Are the Ashes, We Are the Fire by Joy McCullough 

Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee

Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Uprising by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The Cure for Dreaming by Cat Winters

Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone

The Prettiest by Brigit Young

Don't Judge Me by Lisa Schroeder

The Roommate by Rosie Danan

Tomboy: A Graphic Memoir by Liz Prince

Surpassing the Love of Men: Romantic Friendship and Love Between Women from the Renaissance to the Present by Lillian Faderman

All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister

Paper Girls comic series by Brian K. Vaughan

Heavy Vinyl comic series by Carly Usdin

Please feel free to reblog with more!

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Author Interview: Brigitte Brulz

Tell us about yourself and your books.: I am a homeschooling mom, author, journal creator, and freelance writer. My book Pickles, Pickles, I Like Pickles was chosen for the 2019 Read Across Connecticut program, and I recently had the pleasure of publishing a picture book with my 12-year-old daughter titled Aah! Blown Away, Crash! An Alphabet Misadventure, which received a Readers' Favorite Five Stars. Free coloring pages, activity ideas, and more information about me and my writings can be found on my website. Do you have any unusual writing habits? I don't know if this is really considered unusual, but I like to spread pages of notes about the writing project I am currently working on in front of me as I write. What authors have influenced you? I have been influenced by Jill Esbaum, Miranda Paul, Laura Purdie Salas, and Linda Skeers among many other authors. Do you have any advice for new authors? My advice to new authors would be to keep learning, find time to write, read other books in your genre, and find a group of other authors to support you in your writing journey. What is the best advice you have ever heard? Read other books in your genre and write! I guess that's why I listed those in the advice I would give to new authors. What are you reading now? I am currently reading my way through a list of books written by authors who will be presenting at an upcoming virtual writing conference that I will be attending. Read the full article

[cover2covermom]

Goodbye March & hello April!

April is such an awesome month, don’t you think?  I mean, I guess I am a little bias since it is my birth month and all.  I will be turning 29 for the 3rd year in a row, and I must say 29 still feels great 🙂

Anyways!  Let’s see what I read & accomplished in March…

  » As Good As True by Cheryl Reid

Feelings in a few thoughts:

This book took me longer than normal to get through, which I attribute to the heavy tone throughout the book

The writing was really good

Explores complex themes like segregation, dysfunctional family dynamics, race issues, motherhood, etc.

I struggled with the main character, Anna.  On one hand I respected her strength, but on the other I was frustrated with her weakness.  I also struggled with her neediness in regards to her daughter

There was just something “off” about this book – possibly the lack of balance.  There needed to be some lighter-hearted moments to balance out Anna’s life

Content/Trigger warning: domestic violence & rape

» Warcross by Marie Lu

Feelings in a few thoughts:

I’m so glad I decided to give this one a go – it was definitely outside of my comfort zone

The concept behind this book was absolutely fascinating – loved the world building

You don’t need to be avid gamer to enjoy this book – I’m sure not – but I feel like those who are into gaming will appreciate this book even more

It did include some of the typical YA tropes: orphaned main character – Why do parents always have to be killed off or abandon their kids in YA books?  and the rich guy/poor girl trope – which here it didn’t overly bother me because the rich guy wasn’t showering her with lavish gifts, so I guess it was ok.

I enjoyed the plotline – I saw one of the big twists coming, but did not expect the other one.

Loved the chemistry between Emika & her love interest

My one hang up is that I wanted to see more inside the Warcross Games & the training.  We get to see the first round of the games & the training for the first match, but the 2nd round is glazed over… I just wanted a little more about the rest of the competition.  The book needed to be longer.

» Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

Feelings in a few thoughts:

The concept for this one is so clever & unique – very Gaiman (who came up with the original idea from what I understand)

Good vs. Evil

I adored the quirky characters.  My favorites would be Aziraphale, Crowley, Shadwell, & Madame Tracy

Aspects of this book felt like Gaiman, while others did not – I felt like this book went off on tangents quit a bit that hindered the flow of the story for me – I’ve never read any of Terry Pratchett’s work, so I wonder if this was more his style

Despite the intriguing plot line & great characters, my attention tended to wander

I listened to the audiobook format (which was wonderfully narrated) but maybe this (paired with the random tangents) was why I had a hard time concentrating

Will possibly revisit in print form – will not rate until then

Possibly too many perspectives – I could have done without Newt & Anathema’s perspectives

Adam’s perspective felt off in the story

Can’t wait to see how this translates to a TV mini-series

  » Eligible (The Austen Project #4) by Curtis Sittenfeld

Feelings in a few thoughts:

Pride & Prejudice retelling – I think the author did a great job of bringing this story up to modern times.

I am actually shocked at how much I enjoyed this book – probably one of the more captivating “chick-lit” books I’ve read, BUT this may have more to do with the fact it was a retelling of one of my favorite classics.

I’d call this book a guilty pleasure type of book – family drama to the extreme

Despite the fact that it was very readable & I enjoyed the retelling, there felt like there were some problematic issues.  I felt like some of the diversity was thrown in for the sake of diversity – a transgendered character, a bi-racial couple, a woman who decides to get pregnant via a sperm donor…  It just felt like these were thrown into the story to make it more modern and to provide drama, which didn’t feel right to me.

The final chapter felt oddly placed – I appreciated the insight into that particular character, but didn’t like how the book ended on that note.

» Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay

*Feelings to come in a separate post*

» Bygone Badass Broads by Mackenzie Lee

*Feelings to come in a separate post*

» The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti

*4.5 Stars*

Feelings in a few thoughts:

The layout of this book was wonderfully executed.  We slowly learn about Hawley over the course of the book by seeing how he received each of his bullet wounds.  These alternating chapters between Hawley’s sketchy past & Loo’s present day kept the pace of the book steady throughout & kept me interested from start to finish.

Themes: coming of age, father-daughter relationships, love, forgiveness, loss & grief, small town living, and the blurred lines between good & bad.

As much as this is Loo’s coming-of-age story, it is also very much about a father’s love for his daughter.

I feel like this book appeals across a wide range of readers – thriller readers, mystery readers, and literary fiction readers.  While there are thriller & mystery elements, there is much more depth to this book as well.

The characters in this book blur the line between good & bad, you might not always approve of their actions & decisions, but we are given enough character development to understand them.

» Women Who Dared by Linda Skeers

*Feelings to come in a separate post*

» The Daughter’s of Palatine Hill by Phyllis T. Smith

Feelings in a few thoughts:

The Fictionalized account of Emperor Augustus (Julius Ceaser’s successor), his descendants, & the descendants of Mark Antony and Cleopatra.  Despite the fact that this is a work of fiction, the people and events are based in history.  I knew almost nothing about these historical figures.

Holy complicated family tree batman!  Trying to figure out all the family ties made my head hurt – this is history, you can’t make this up.

Lots of political intrigue and family drama

Book is told in 3 alternating perspectives: Lavia (Augustus’s Wife), Julia (Augustus’s daughter from a previous marriage), and Selene (daughter of Mark Antony & Cleopatra) – I found each POV & story equally interesting.  The 3 POV’s worked well here.  All the characters felt well fleshed out.

The biggest weakness in The Daughter’s of Palatine Hill was the setting.  When I read historical fiction, I need the author to put me in that time period.  Unfortunately, there was almost no descriptions of the setting or context to the era.

   » The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

*3.5 Stars*

Feelings in a few thoughts:

I had a hard time connecting with the characters, especially in the beginning.  I would have preferred the author introduce us to Tea & Fox BEFORE the raising, it would have helped me emotionally connect to them.

I really enjoyed the unique world, the culture & customs, the magic system, etc.

I really liked HOW Chupeco presented the story itself – weaving back and forth between Tea’s current situation, and the past events that led to the present.

This is a slower paced book – typical first book where the author introduces us to the world and characters.  I’m sure the second book will be more action packed.

I feel like fans of this book would also like The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine.  Not a similar story by any means, but I feel like the writing styles are similar.

  February 2018 Bookish Wrap-Up + Book Haul

March 2018 TBR

Books I Read for #BlackHistoryMonth 2018

Kids’ Corner: Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlman

Author Event: An Evening with Neil Gaiman

eBooks:

» The Reluctant Queen (The Queens of Renthia#2) by Sarah Beth Durst

Print Books:

» Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman *Signed Copy*

» The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee *Signed Copy*

» Bygone Badass Broads by Mackenzi Lee *Signed Copy*

  Which books did you read this month?

Have you read any of the books I read or hauled this month?  If so, what did you think?

Did you buy any books?  If so, which ones?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

March 2018 Bookish Wrap-Up + #Book Haul #BookBlogger #Reading #Bookworm Goodbye March & hello April! April is such an awesome month, don't you think?  I mean, I guess I am a little bias since it is my birth month and all. 

[the-forest-library]

June 2021 Reads

Soulless - Gail Carriger

Changeless - Gail Carriger

Blameless - Gail Carriger

Heartless - Gail Carriger

Sixteen Scandals - Sophie Jordan

The Box in the Woods - Maureen Johnson

People We Meet on Vacation - Emily Henry

Yolk - Mary H.K. Choi

The Ex Talk - Rachel Lynn Solomon

Daisy Jones & the Six - Taylor Jenkins Reid

One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston

Today Tonight Tomorrow - Rachel Lynn Solomon

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder - Holly Jackson

Dear Mrs Bird - A.J. Pierce

Check, Please! - Ngozi Ukazu

Dinosaur Lady - Linda Skeers

H is for Hawk - Helen Macdonald

The Bassoon King - Rain Wilson

Bold = Highly Recommend Italics = Worth It Crossed out = Nope

Thoughts: This was a pretty darn good reading month. Favorites were The Box in the Woods, the Parasol Protectorate series (Gail Carriger), and People We Meet on Vacation. Yolk was also great - heartbreaking and devastating - but great. It would make a good companion read for Crying in H Mart. And, I had no clue I read two books by Rachel Lynn Solomon this month until I created this list! It makes sense, though, as they were both love letters to Seattle.

Goodreads Goal: 135/100

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