Goldfish Need to Re-read Books Before Continuing a Series (a.k.a. August Wrap-Up)

Hello Spinning Jenners!

This month I have been consistently reminded that:
1) My memory is sh*t
2) People with limited memories (i.e. Goldfish: Hey! A castle!... Hey! A castle!...) shouldn't wait a year before reading the next book in a series
3) GOLDFISH PEOPLE SHOULD NEVER START A SERIES THAT HASN'T BEEN COMPLETED/ PUBLISHED FOR CONSUMPTION BY THE GENERAL MASSES. [Apparently goldfish should tattoo this on their book-buying-hands-of-betrayal.] 

If you're new to this blog, I'm continuing on with a year-long reading challenge where we read books at least 1 year or older on our To-Be-Read [TBR] lists. Hosted by the lovely Bekka at Pretty Deadly Reviews. 

July Wrap-Up 2016: Monsters, Mystery & Mayhem!

Hey everybody!!

This month I have read some pretty epic reads, but consequently have had writer's block, as I want to do these books justice, but feel that their almighty epic-ness won't be given the respect and admiration that they truly deserve. Also,  I think that a pretty good book may have suffered by being surrounded by all the amazing-ness. So I'm just going to grab a book at random, give'r, and hopefully you will want to reach EACH ONE because they're all pretty awesome.   

Also, I will be entering almost all of these reads in my Backlist Books Reading Challenge, hosted by Bekka at Pretty Deadly Reviews.

[Just spit it out!!]

The Problem with The City of Mirrors (The Passage, #3): A Mathematical Review

Title: The City of Mirrors (The Passage #3)

Author: Justin Cronin

Publisher: Ballantine

Published: May 2016

Genre(s): horror, sci-fi, fantasy, apocalypse
Recommended for: masochists?

Synopsis (via goodreads.com):  

In The Passage and The Twelve, Justin Cronin brilliantly imagined the fall of civilization and humanity's desperate fight to survive. Now all is quiet on the horizon, but does silence promise the nightmare's end or the second coming of unspeakable darkness?

City of Mirrors? More Like, City of... Errors!

(It's the best rhyme I could drop...)

June 2016 Wrap-Up!

In my effort to teach "the kids" that you're never too old to learn/ make horrible, soul-crushing mistakes, I deleted my post that I was adding to each month from January to May. It wasn't really for anyone but me, and the reading challenge I was in, but it still hurts, you know? My life is a Sia album. [Possibly a tad dramatic, but I love her right now, and she helps me wallow...]

For my Reading Challenge I am reading "Backlist Books" that are a year or older at the time of my perusal. Here's the reading challenge:

And here's my pretty amazing reads THIS MONTH!!! 

Review: My Lady Jane

Title: My Lady Jane

Author: Cynthia Hand, Brodie Ashton, Jodie Meadows

Publisher: HarperTeen

Published: June 2016

Genre(s): YA, historical fiction, fantasy, romance, supernatural, humour

Synopsis (via goodreads.com):  

The comical, fantastical, romantical, (not) entirely true story of Lady Jane Grey. In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.

At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.

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So... I loved this book. I didn't expect to, as Lady Jane's infamous nine-day reign as queen is not a happy-go-lucky tale. But that's only because boring, "fact" obsessed historians have written about her thus far; left to the imaginations of Cynthia Hand, Brodie Ashton and Jodie Meadows, we are able to read about Lady Jane in an alternate... England (?) wherein her tale is much more exciting, fantastical, and well-rounded.

The Absolutely True [Review] of a Part-Time Indian

Title: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Author: Sherman Alexie

Publisher: Anderson

Published: September 2007

Genre(s): YA, aboriginal, contemporary, humour

Synopsis (via goodreads.com):  

An all-new edition of the tragicomic smash hit which stormed the New York Times bestseller charts, now featuring an introduction from Markus Zusak.

In his first book for young adults, Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist who leaves his school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white high school. This heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written tale, featuring poignant drawings that reflect the character's art, is based on the author's own experiences. It chronicles contemporary adolescence as seen through the eyes of one Native American boy.

'Excellent in every way' Neil Gaiman

Illustrated in a contemporary cartoon style by Ellen Forney.

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There was a point when reading this where I instantly went from thinking it was, "pretty good," to "HOW HAVE I NOT READ THIS YET!?"

Review: The Light Between Oceans

Title: The Light Between Oceans

Author: M.L. Stedman

Publisher: Scribner

Published: January 2012

Genre(s): historical fiction, Austalian, post-WWI

Synopsis (via goodreads.com):  

After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby. Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

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This is a really interesting read. I actually probably wouldn't have picked it up from reading the synopsis, but a mentor said I HAVE to read it. And while I was expecting a bit of a different plot (?) it turned out to be an excellent read.