#book review poll

[ofliterarynature]

TBR TAKEDOWN: Week 14 (September 1)

TLDR: I have too many unread books, and I’m asking tumblr to help me downsize. Pick one or none, comment if you have opinions, and please reblog if you can! Book descriptions below the cut, see my pinned post for more info.

The Ladies of Mandrigyn by Barbara Hambly

The City of Mandrigyn was conquered, and its men enslaved in the foul mines of the evil Wizard King, Altiokis. Now the women of the city, led by Sheera Galernas, have come to hire the mercenary army of Captain Sun Wolf. But Sun Wolf was too wise to become involved in fighting against wizardry…

...Until he woke to find himself kidnapped and offered a grim choice by Sheera. He could train and lead the ladies of Mandrigyn against Altiokis - or he could die in lingering agony from the anzid they had given him and for which only they had the antidote.

There was more to the ladies than Sun Wolf could have guessed. There was also far more to the evil of Altiokis then anyone knew.

But above all, there was a great deal more to Sun Wolf and his destiny then he had ever dreamed.

Gideon Smith and the Mechanical Girl by David Barnett

Nineteenth century London is the center of a vast British Empire. Airships ply the skies and Queen Victoria presides over three-quarters of the known world--including the East Coast of America, following the failed revolution of 1775.

London might as well be a world away from Sandsend, a tiny village on the Yorkshire coast. Gideon Smith dreams of the adventure promised him by the lurid tales of Captain Lucian Trigger, the Hero of the Empire, told in Gideon's favorite penny dreadful. When Gideon's father is lost at sea in highly mysterious circumstances Gideon is convinced that supernatural forces are at work. Deciding only Captain Lucian Trigger himself can aid him, Gideon sets off for London. On the way he rescues the mysterious mechanical girl Maria from a tumbledown house of shadows and iniquities. Together they make for London, where Gideon finally meets Captain Trigger.

But Trigger is little more than an aging fraud, providing cover for the covert activities of his lover, Dr. John Reed, a privateer and sometime agent of the British Crown. Looking for heroes but finding only frauds and crooks, it falls to Gideon to step up to the plate and attempt to save the day...but can a humble fisherman really become the true Hero of the Empire?

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths

Forensic archeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway is in her late thirties. She lives happily alone with her two cats in a bleak, remote area near Norfolk, land that was sacred to its Iron Age inhabitants—not quite earth, not quite sea. But her routine days of digging up bones and other ancient objects are harshly upended when a child’s bones are found on a desolate beach. Detective Chief Inspector Nelson calls Galloway for help, believing they are the remains of Lucy Downey, a little girl who went missing a decade ago and whose abductor continues to taunt him with bizarre letters containing references to ritual sacrifice, Shakespeare, and the Bible. Then a second girl goes missing and Nelson receives a new letter—exactly like the ones about Lucy.

Is it the same killer? Or a copycat murderer, linked in some way to the site near Ruth’s remote home?

[academic-vampire]

𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚁𝚎𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚍, 𝙸 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠

How would you guys feel if I took book recommendations and then read and reviewed them here for you? These books could be ones that you have read and loved, read and hated, or haven’t read yet and want to know if they’re worth reading.

I’m unsure how fast I can read and review during uni, but I think we could make this remarkable. I am beyond grateful to have so many followers (I love you all so much), and I believe we could make these recommendations and reviews a fantastic, worthwhile venture.

I would communicate with you guys, and we could decide how I would analyze, review, and critique the literature. Similarly, these blog posts would be open for everyone to give their own opinions and ideas—this would be a communal thing. After all, literature is supposed to draw us all together.

You could recommend anything: a poem, an essay, a book, a play, etc.; Contemporary or thousands of years old… go for it! I will compile them into a list and work through them as best I can. Then, we can all discuss the piece after I post a review. :)

I am not saying that my literary analysis is holy, but I do pride myself on my gift of reading, interpreting, and understanding literature. As an English major, I take literary analysis extremely seriously. Because of this, I realize how important it is to be accurate, honest, and critical. I merely want to share my thoughts and opinions about works of literature and hear others’ perspectives in return.

I can share photos of my annotations, update you on my thoughts as I read, and finally post a long review with everything included: my general thoughts, themes, character analysis, plot analysis, symbolism, and anything else you can think of.

What do you think? :) please let me know your thoughts in the comments and if you’d like to reblog this post, please do! I think it would be fun to have a big reading group on tumblr.

(We can find a cute name for it later, too! I can also create a community, I bet. :) )

[universitypenguin]

Do any of you use book apps? For example: Goodreads, Story Graph, Bookmory, or Hoopla?

I’m sick of Goodreads, so I was looking through the App Store and it was surprising how many new apps there are for books.

[yayornaypolls]

The wings of fire book series

[emachinescat]

A Year in (Book) Review: My 2024 Reading Journey 📚

#40 - The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

Fantasy / LGBTQ+ / Romance / 498 pages / Published 2019 / Finished Apr. 27

One Sentence Review: A stunning foray into story and myth and art and love and life and death and the books we read and the stories we tell ourselves and Fate and Time, this masterpiece turns the conventions of modern storytelling on their heads and breathes life into a huge, intersecting hive of myths, buzzing with wonder, love, stories, endings - and new beginnings, a tale worthy of Borges himself.

Favorite Quotes

"Someone is trying to keep the story from ending, I think. But the story wanted an ending. Endings are what give stories meaning."

*

"A book is made of paper but a story is a tree."

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"All cats are guardians in their own right."

*

"Be brave ... Be bold. Be loud. Never change for anyone but yourself. Any soul worth their star-stuff will take the whole package as is and how it grows. Don't waste your time on anyone who doesn't believe you when you tell them how you feel."

*

"A boy at the beginning of the story has no way of knowing that the story has begun."

*

"Strange, isn't it? To love a book. When the words on the pages become so precious that they feel like part of your own history."

*

"We are all stardust and stories."

*

"And no story ever truly ends as long as it is told."

My rating: 5/5

A Few More Thoughts (Spoilers):

I positively adored this book! It quickly cemented its place as one of my all-time favorites. It's unlike any novel I've ever read - the way the separate storylines are not only all connected but are the SAME story, the slow, satisfying way all the puzzle pieces begin to fit themselves together, the coziness, the wonder, the magic, the way the author weaves a new mythology tapestry worthy of Athena herself ... this book is art.

Although I had faith in the author that the seemingly unconnected pieces would come together in the end, the way they did so was a complete surprise. The whole book, I thought the end goal was to save the harbor on the Starless Sea, but no, it is destroyed in the end - and it's not even a bad thing. Bittersweet, yes, but necessary. A story is not a story if it doesn't end.

I could seriously write a dissertation on this book. Its themes of story, and its interconnectedness with life, death, and love are positively delicious. Masterful.

Even the best and most beautiful stories have to end at some point - that's what makes them stories. But the end of one story allows another to begin. Therein lies the beauty of stories: they are beautiful and significant and everything while they last, but even their endings forge the way for new beginnings.

[storiesofsvu]

Does anyone wanna be friends on Goodreads??

Or (this is the q for the poll)

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[merojal]

Please share your opinion about this book in the comments

[ofliterarynature]

TBR TAKEDOWN: Week 12 (Aug 18)

TLDR: I have too many unread books, and I’m asking tumblr to help me downsize. Pick one or none, and comment if you can - a convincing sentence is worth a dozen votes! You’re also welcome to just choose the one that sounds the worst :D Book descriptions below the cut, see my pinned post for more info.

The Rector and the Rogue by W. A. Swanberg

It began quietly enough one morning in February 1880, with a mutton-chopped Acme Safe Company salesman knocking on the door of Reverend Morgan Dix, the starchiest clergyman in Manhattan's most respectable church. The salesman was surely misdirected, Reverend Dix explained--he had no need for a safe, and he had not made an appointment. But soon after, used clothes dealers arrived, followed by heavy machinery salesmen, and soon the street filled riotously with wave after wave of solicitor-tormentors--hundreds of funeral directors, horse traders, wigmakers, fellow clergymen, doctors--all insisting they'd been summoned by the bewildered Reverend Dix. And for weeks, it continued in this manner. Reporters from every newspaper in New York camped out to watch the fun, and as the story gained national attention, police and postal officers raced to capture the gleeful prankster-cum-performance artist who was making a mockery of the esteemed Trinity Church.

A fascinating tale of detection and revenge, The Rector and the Rogue uncovers for the first time the trail of celebrated Victorian trickster "Gentleman Joe"--the mysterious con-man whose innumerable identities, wild fabrications, baffling motives, and international trail of chaos would lead to one of the most bizarre criminal cases of the 19th century.

The Incredible Adventures of Cinnamon Girl by Melissa Kiel

Alba wants to stop time so she can stay in her small town forever - but the end of the world might just force her to confront her future.

Alba loves her life just as it is. She loves living behind the bakery and waking up in a cloud of sugar and cinnamon. She loves drawing comics and watching bad TV with her friends. The only problem is she's overlooked a few teeny details. Like, the guy she thought long gone has unexpectedly reappeared. And the boy who has been her best friend since forever has suddenly gone off the rails. Even her latest comic book creation is misbehaving. On top of all that, the world might be ending - which is proving to be awkward.

As doomsday enthusiasts flock to idyllic Eden Valley, Alba's life is thrown into chaos. Whatever happens next, it's the end of the world as she knows it. But when it comes to figuring out her heart, Armageddon might turn out to be the least of her problems.

Full of Keil's trademark quirky characters and witty dialogue, readers will be hooked by Alba's romantic dilemma and the hilarious plot that links the end of high school with the end of the world.

Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard

A prince with a quest. A commoner with mysterious powers. And dragons that demand to be freed—at any cost.

Prince Corin has been chosen to free the dragons from their bondage to the Empire, but dragons aren’t big on directions. They have given him some of their power, but none of their knowledge. No one, not the dragons nor their riders, is even sure what keeps the dragons in the Empire’s control.

Tam, sensible daughter of a well-respected doctor, had no idea before she arrived in the capital that she is a Seer, gifted with visions. When the two run into each other (quite literally) in the library, sparks fly and Corin impulsively asks Tam to dinner. But it’s not all happily ever after. Never mind that the prince isn’t allowed to marry a commoner: war is coming to Caithen.

Torn between Corin’s quest to free the dragons and his duty to his country, the lovers must both figure out how to master their powers in order to save Caithen. With a little help from a village of secret wizards and a rogue dragonrider, they just might pull it off.

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

(Daily Writerly Questions #3) What is your preferred writing environment?

Hey fellow writers! I'm super excited to share that I've just launched a Tumblr community. I'm inviting all of you to join my community. All you have to do is fill out this Google form, and I'll personally send you an invitation to join the Write Right Society on Tumblr! Can't wait to see your posts!

[getted]

Hollywood movie best dangerous short scene 🤫

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

Queer Sex: A Trans and Non-Binary Guide to Intimacy, Pleasure and Relationships by Juno Roche

goodreads

In this frank, funny and poignant book, transgender activist Juno Roche discusses sex, desire and dating with leading figures from the trans and non-binary community. Calling out prejudices and inspiring readers to explore their own concepts of intimacy and sexuality, the first-hand accounts celebrate the wonder and potential of trans bodies and push at the boundaries of how society views gender, sexuality and relationships. Empowering and necessary, this collection shows all trans people deserve to feel brave, beautiful and sexy.

Mod opinion: I haven't heard of this book before, but it sounds really interesting, especially since it deals with transgender sexuality, which is always an interesting topic to me.