Lost In the Library: Ten Hidden Gems From 2016

January 17, 2017Julia 8 Comments

On this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by Broke and the Bookish, we’re sharing out top ten hidden gems from 2016. I’ve shared most of these titles time and time again, not to be repetitive, but because they were some of the best books I read in 2016! And all under 2,000 ratings each on Goodreads, they deserve some love.

The Passenger by F.R. Tallis: 145 Ratings

The Passenger is a gripping tale of a German submarine haunted by the lingering spirit of a mysterious prisoner. While bound by duty and position, captain Siegfried Lorenz finds himself questioning not only the war itself, but the mysterious and seemingly nefarious intentions of his commanders – the very commanders that call his ship to the coast of Iceland to carry two mysterious passengers a sea. Like any other submarine at war, the ship is constantly under threat as they approach enemy lines, but one disaster after another leaves them desperate, taking unimaginable risks and defying all odds to make it back ashore. More than a WWII novel, more than a haunting, The Passenger is a story of life, of war, and personal value.

Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin: 211 Ratings

Set in a future post-apocalyptic world after a devastating epidemic caused by electro-magnetic pulses, technology has been abandoned, but Nell Crane has other ideas. Daughter to the famed doctor who saved the city with his revolutionary biomechanical limbs, Nell struggles to find her place in society, but after finding a tattered old mannequin, she’ll put aside long held grudges toward computers to recreate the future.

Kingdom of Ash and Briars by Hannah West: 301 Ratings

Orphaned and wondering alone on the outskirts of the village, Bristal is taken in by a loving kitchen maid, but her mysterious past will soon catch up as rumors of magical enchantments spread. With a knack for shape-shifting, she unexpectedly finds herself among the two remaining elicromancers, an immortal race bound by magic to protect and guide the human realms toward peace. Barely sixteen, and untrained, Bristal finds herself caught between an all-out supernatural war between ancient powers, placing her into a life of servitude. As they ready themselves for war, Bristal will protect them as best she can, fostering a hidden princess, disguising herself as a soldier to lead a prince to battle, and masquerading as fairy godmother to a young lady in order to join neighboring crowns. Combining element from Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Mulan, Kingdom of Ash and Briars is a beautifully written debut that will satisfy your cravings for fairy tale endings.

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd: 434 Ratings

A charming yet poignant mix of Secret Garden and the mythos of Narnia, The Secret Horses of Briar Hill will leave you desperate for more… and needing a bit more tissue. Set in the halls of a World War II hospital for children, Emmaline is a patient suffering from illness and loss alike, but she has a secret too: there are little winged horses that live in the mirrors.

The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick: 457 Ratings

A masterful tale of love and family, of challenge and courage, The Comet Seekers is a celebration of our capacity to love and start again. From an early age, hundreds of miles apart, Roisin and Francois have longed for adventure, but struggled time and time again to balance their wonderlust with a deep attachment to family. Spanning continents and centuries, theirs is a love story written in the stars, showing us the world is never quite as big as it seems.

The Trees by Ali Shaw: 709 Ratings

No apologies here – I will never stop raving about this book! Adrien Thomas has never been the hero. No, quite the opposite, the very image of candles burning near a table cloth is more than enough to send him over-edge. Having left his teaching position in search for a higher calling, Adrien’s spent the last year on the couch hiding Chinese take away from his wife hoping to find an answer to his problems watching spaghetti westerns… but the trees have other ideas. Without warning, in the darkness of night, a serene suburb is suddenly transformed into a monstrous woodland, the kind of forest only known to history books, but not just this tiny town, the entire country, perhaps the entire world, has changed, sending Adrien on the journey of his life.

Some Kind of Happiness by Clair Legrand: 798 Ratings

Finley’s entire world in on the verge of change: her parents are having marital problems (though they say it’s nothing), she’s being sent to her grandparents’ home for the summer (but she’s never even met them), and her blue days are quickly outnumbering the happy (and she doesn’t know why). Her only retreat is in the pages of her notebook, in a magical place called the Everwood – that is, until, she realizes the magical forest of her imagination is real, hiding behind her grandparents’ home all this time. Full of magic, family, and unyielding sadness, Some Kind of Happiness is a beautifully written middle grade novel that perfectly executes the tricky subject of childhood depression.

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore: 883 Ratings

Inseparable since childhood, Miel and Sam have been best friends since the first day Miel was found in the water. Rumors quickly spread of her spilling out from the water tower, how her own mother tried to kill her, and her, a seemingly innocent five-year-old growing the roses of betrayal from her wrists. Of course Sam isn’t stranger to rumors either, being of Italian-Pakistani descent in a small town and a secret too big for one person to keep hidden. United together, they’ll discover the power of self-acceptance in the face of blind intolerance.

The Chimes by Anna Smaill: 1,635 Ratings

Set in a world where the written word has been long forgotten and new memories are lost in an instant, only music remains. After his parents’ deaths, Simon is left alone, wondering the countryside with little else than the clothes on his back and a few small memories, one pointing his way to London. Forging the lines of literature and music, Simon’s journey is a story of tenacity and spirit as he searches through chaos for a clue to the past, for a single memory to save them all.

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill: 1,854 Ratings

An epic middle grade fantasy about an enmagicked young girl raised by an old, forgetful witch, a bog monster, and a perfectly tiny dragon. Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave an offering to the witch in the woods: the youngest child of the realm. And every year, the witch finds an abandoned baby in the same peculiar spot in the woods, but this year is different from the last. Rather than pull starlight to feed the forgotten babe, she mistakenly pulls moonlight instead, filling the child with an extraordinary power. As Luna’s magic blooms, her grandmother struggles to teach a boisterous five-year-old control, but when all attempts fail, she decides to lock it away until the child is finally old enough to understand. Full of charm and humor, The Girl Who Drank the Moon is no doubt my favorite new fairy tale.

What are your hidden gems of 2016?

[TBR Check-In] What Are You Reading?

January 16, 2017Julia 10 Comments

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? Is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date, a great place to meet up and share your reading plans for the week. I love finding new blogs and new books – and a link-up that helps me do both? Sign me up!

The next few weeks are going to be insane! Currently, I have 25 books to get through and I just received another pick-up notice from my library yesterday! I really need to stop doing this to myself, but every time I log into their website, I come away with at least 5 new holds. Please tell me I’m not alone in this!

Since a few of my books are due back this week, I’ve had to put The Ballroom on the back burner, but I did end up finishing The House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods by Matt Bell! I also finished two audiobooks this week – Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill and Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco. Audio was definitely the right choice for both! For me, Ever the Hunted was a solid 3.5 stars due to the romantic elements. I wish there was more of an explanation of the magic system, but being book one in a new series, there’s always the promise of more later. Stalking Jack the Ripper wasn’t quite what I expected, but I loved being surprised by the final twist! Look for reviews soon!

This week I’m hoping to read White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi and Delicious Foods by James Hannaham, both due on Wednesday! Eeek!

What are you reading?

[A Year in Review] 2016 Recap

January 12, 2017Julia 5 Comments

Happy 2017!!

A belated, but highly anticipated, post. I’ve been waiting all year for this! I’ve never been one to keep an active list of anything, especially my reading, but when I first started blogging in March, I figured it was time for a change. And what a change it’s been! The beginning of 2016 was a rocky time in my life – I’d been laid off the year before, and I was still getting used to being a temporary employee in a new field. With oil in a down-turn, I made the switch from geology to purchasing, a drastic change that still leaves me feeling uncertain of what’s to come. That’s where books came to my rescue! Same as everyone, I hadn’t picked up a book since college, but with a whole lot of freed up time on my hands I decided to hit the books – quite possibly the best decision I ever made! Now, reading is an important part of my life. It’s an escape from every-day stresses, a chance to learn something new, and a door to endless inspiration. To everyone reading this, thank you! I started this blog to share my passion with others, and unexpectedly found an incredibly welcoming community of fellow book lovers – I couldn’t be more grateful!

This year I read 250 books and a total of 80,595 pages! For 2017, I’m hoping to keep my reading pace high, but my no means out of control. I don’t want to reach the point that I’m skimming pages to reach a silly goal – what would be the point? For those who are asking – how do I read so much? Almost HALF of my books are audiobooks – 101 to be exact. Followed by 115 in print and 34 E-books. Luckily, most of my workday consists of spreadsheets, leaving me the opportunity to multitask with an audiobook. And don’t forget that lunch hour! That’s an extra 5 hours of reading every week! (Although, these days, half of that is spent blogging or reading other blogs…). One of my biggest goals in 2016 was to reach a balanced ratio between Male and Female authors – and I did it! My ratio ended up at 42% Male and 58% Female. I also read an average length of 327 pages per book with an average rating of 3.8 stars. Not too shabby!

My only disappointment is alarmingly apparent in the chart above – my top read genres directly correlate to the locations the books were set! Can you tell I love a good WWII novel? The chart clearly shows my top loves: American YA and European historical fiction – both shown by the overwhelming clusters of pins on the map. For 2017, my main reading goal is to even out my map. No more empty continents this year! You can read my other reading goals for 2017, here.

Outside of my reading life, I’m hoping to take more of an advantage of living in Houston, Texas. We’re honored to have 3 independent bookstores in the city, each hosting a multitude of authors every month! Tomorrow I’ll be attending a talk by Zadie Smith and I hope to attend a reading by the esteemed Amor Towles next month!!

How was your 2016 in reading?

[Recently Read] The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick

January 11, 2017Julia 6 Comments

The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgwick

Both seeking refuge from recent sorrows, Róisín and Francois meet in the snowy white expanse of Antarctica. Raised in a tiny village in Ireland, Róisín has always looked to the stars, dreaming of the day she can leave her small home to explore the world beyond, but the constant pangs of first-love beckon her return. Meanwhile, Francois lives with his mother in France, struggling to understand her constant ramblings to a seemingly empty room as he yearns for a life of his own. From childhood games to the newfound independence of adulthood, their story slowly unfolds as their lives are entwined with the comets, until, finally, we’re brought back to their first meeting, to the ice and snow, a moment of endless possibility and the choice to write anew a destiny long written by the stars.

“Why draw a square house with a triangular roof when you can draw the patterns in the stars?”

Quiet and introspective, The Comet Seekers is surprisingly prosaic and a real treat to read. From their first meeting, Róisín and Francois recognize the other as a familiar spirit, both struggling to balance wonderlust with an overwhelmingly deep attachment to their home and family. Róisín is an astrophysicist, traveling the world one viewing station at a time, from Ireland to France to America to Antarctica, she’ll never leave a stone unturned, on this world or the next, but her first love Liam has vowed never to leave home. He longs to rebuild the family farm, to fix everything gone wrong in his childhood, all the while wishing Róisín could do the same. Though their bond is unquestionable, the fact remains that Liam and Róisín are cousins, forcing the pair into secrecy and a difficult pattern of mixed communications that only worsens over the years. After leaving for college, Róisín begins her travels abroad, but soon returns when the pangs of first-love-lost prove too much. Their relationship is awkward, to say the least. Hidden away from others, they tip-toe around each other, feigning ignorance and bleeding the connection dry. The most heartbreaking scene of all comes as Liam repairs a broken record player (deciding if he couldn’t fix them, then he would fix something else), only for her to ask, “Was it broken?”. Though a simple exchange, it speaks to the state of their relationship, showing just how easily the cracks form, and just how soon it becomes irreparable.

“When she walks across the field she opens her arms wide and imagines a world so big, so full of people, she would never tire of exploring it, her eyes fixed on the sky above until she slips on some sheep droppings, only just managing to catch her fall. Liam is always telling her the ground is just as important as the sky. “

Francois, on the other hand, is tied to his mother Severine, who he increasingly worries over as she continues talking to familial spirits. She’s always encouraged his dreams, hoping he’d travel the world in her stead, but how could he leave when she’s unwell? Though she’s always dared him to chase the world without hindrance, she never dreamed her sacrifice would effect him so deeply. From an early age, Severine was told of the family spirits, always hoping to see them for herself, but with such possibility comes great cost. Firstly, she must want to see them, second, she must experience loss, and thirdly, she may never leave their town of Bayeux. With each passing comet, a new relative appears, revealing their family’s ties to the infamous Bayeux Tapestry, the first reference in human history to Halley’s Comet, sewn in 1066. If anything, I would have asked for even MORE of the family history, especially from Brigitte, who suffered terribly in a fire, haunting the family for hundreds of years not knowing if her only child survived. As each member shares their story, it becomes clear the family is rooted by tragedy, a sadness extenuated by loss after loss. That is, until Francois. Taking matters into her own hands, Severine decides her son is not to be haunted, pushing him to take a job in Antarctica and leave the confines of France for a change.

“Things shifted while he wasn’t looking at the ground and now the world is different; everything is beautiful, and wild, and precarious, because now he knows how the sky can change.”

Much more than a romance, The Comet Seekers is an exploration of the human spirit. Róisín and Francois are drawn to each other through passion and loss alike, a grander attraction, or pull, that can only be explained by fate, written in the stars and hundreds of years in the making. Theirs is a story of a grander vision, of an impossible connection. The world is always a lot smaller than we perceive, but just how small is the question. In their story, and ours, each choice we make, each person we meet, takes us one step further, making the choice between love and freedom all the more difficult. A masterful tale of love and family, of challenge and courage, The Comet Seekers is a celebration of our capacity to love and start again, while gaining strength from the past.

Rating: 5 Stars Goodreads

Top Ten 2016 Releases I Meant to Read (And Still Plan To)

January 9, 2017Julia 9 Comments

On this week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by Broke and the Bookish, we’re sharing the 2016 releases we totally meant to read! Whether lack of time, or lack of availability, we all have titles leftover from 2016 we ~~want~~ need to read, and we will – just give us some time!

For me, this list is just one example of my biggest reading crime – buying books, and NEVER reading them! I own 7/10 books on this list, and I haven’t read them!

Why? I call it Library Mania – it’s like peer pressure, but instead of your friends telling you to eat more pizza, it’s your stack of library holds yelling “READ ME NOW” from across your living room.

It’s a very real problem, especially, if like me, you have no control when you hit the library’s website. Oh, I’m just going to check my due date… next day: you have 20 holds to pick-up. WHAT DID I DO!?

With that, here are my top ten 2016 releases I’ll hopefully be reading soon:

What did you mean to read in 2016? Do you have Library Mania too!?

[TBR Check-In] What Are You Reading?

January 9, 2017Julia 8 Comments

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date, a great place to meet up and share your reading plans for the week. I love finding new blogs and new books – and a link-up that helps me do both? Sign me up!

Last week was a rough one – having a cold and going back to work is not a fun combination. On the bright side, taking one day on sick-leave gave me tons of extra reading time! I finally had no excuse not to finish Black Water by Louise Doughty – at 32 days in, it was getting ridiculous. Following a young spy on his travels to Indonesia, Black Water is not for the faint of heart as he recounts his escape from the massacres of 1965 and the subsequent military dictatorship.

Currently I’m reading In the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods – a dark fairy tale with modern-minded characters. Has anyone else read this? I’m still in the beginning stages, and not sure if I should go on – the story is dramatically uncomfortable, but the writing is beautiful. I’m really tempted to skip it to read The Ballroom by Anna Hope – I’ve been waiting months for a library copy!

In audio, I’m reading Ever the Hunted by Erin Summerill, a surprising find on Hoopla considering it just came out! Then it’s on to The Hostile Hospital – Book 8 in A Series of Unfortunate Events!! You know what I’ll be binging this weekend!!

What are you reading?

[New Releases] January 2017

January 6, 2017Julia 2 Comments

Going into December, I couldn’t seem to find a cohesive list of 2017 releases to be excited over… and suddenly… BAM! I couldn’t stop adding to my TBR list! This month’s list is chalk full of high-stakes fantasy thrillers and so-strange-you-have-to-read-it story lines – another great year for books in the making.

Mrs. Sherlock Holmes by Brad Ricca: Jan. 3rd

The amazingly TRUE story of Grace Humiston, a detective and lawyer who made her mark by defending an innocent man on death row. Faced with two-faced cops, unending gossip, and a dangerous web of alternate suspects, she and her partner make a desperate rush against all odds to free an innocent man. As the first female U.S. district attorney in history and consulting detective to the NYPD, her story is truly inspiring. (432 Pages)

Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall: Jan. 3rd

Norah has agoraphobia and OCD, making life all the more impossible. When her groceries are mistakenly left on the porch, she has no choice but to get them herself, struggling to snag the handles with a stick… and that’s when she meets Luke. He’s sweet and caring, and totally overlooks the fact he just caught her fishing for her groceries. A sweet and sour romance in the face of debilitating anxiety, Norah’s story is an honest look at what it means to have a mental illness, written by an author who also suffers from agoraphobia. (320 Pages)

The Dry by Jane Harper: Jan. 10th

A brand new mystery/thriller set in the outback of Australia, Federal Police investigator Aaron Falk returns to his hometown of Kiewarra when his childhood friend, Luke Hadler, is charged with the murder of his wife and child. But as he probes deeper into the case, long held secrets from their childhood begin to resurface, including the mysterious death of a young girl. Gritty and atmospheric, this debut sounds un-put-downable! (352 Pages)

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden: Jan. 10th

A magical debut following Russian fairy tales, Vasilisa lives at the edge of the wilderness where winter lasts almost the entire year and snowdrifts grow taller than houses. Minding her step mother, Vasilisa and her siblings turn away from tradition, bringing nothing but failed crops and misfortune to the family. But as a grave soul rises from ancient lore, she’ll have to defy family and reason to save them all. (336 Pages)

Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin: Jan. 10th

An affecting nightmare come to life, Amanda lies dying in a rural hospital clinic, with only a young boy by her side, a stranger, a child not her own. Nonetheless, the boy tries his best to comfort the lost woman, as she desperately traces every step, every memory of her daughter. What happened to her? Why isn’t she here? The first novel to be translated to English, Schweblin’s writing is dramatically tense, a study on motherhood and the difficult sacrifices we make for those we love most. (192 Pages)

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera: Jan. 17th

A heartbreaking look at young love, Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, unexpectedly dies in a drowning accident, sending him into a downward spiral that never ends. Even moving to California for college and meeting with Theo’s boyfriend, Jackson, does little to dull his grief, as do the secrets he’s been keeping. (320 Pages)

The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking: Jan. 17th

It’s well known that Denmark is said to be the happiest country in the world, all thanks to one thing – hygge, a feeling or mood that comes from enjoying everyday moments. And who better to guide us in all things hygge than the CEO of the Happiness Research Institute? (203 Pages)

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney: Jan. 17th

On the last day of 1984, 85-year-old Lillian Boxfish celebrates the new year with a walk across Manhattan. Meeting bartenders, chauffeurs, security guards, bohemians, criminals, children and parents throughout the day, she recalls her long and eventful life as she witnesses the surprising tender moments of everyday life. (304 Pages)

Days Without End by Sebastian Barry: Jan. 24th

A “masterpiece of atmosphere and language”, Days Without End is a haunting portrait of the American frontier. Having fled Ireland to escape the hardships of the Great Famine, Thomas McNulty signs up for the U.S. Army in hopes for a better future, but fighting in the Indian Wars against the Sioux and the Yurok tribes, and ultimately the Civil War, he complies to the pressures of war, plaguing his memories with unspeakable horrors. Bringing to life an unsavory chapter of American history, the subject matter is affecting, howbeit a poignant study on the finer points of humanity. (320 Pages)

Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World by Kelly Jensen: Jan. 24th

A scrapbook-style guide for teens, Here We Are breaks down what it means to be a feminist in the twenty-first century. Jam packed with a diverse mix of contributions from celebrities, public figures, and authors alike, the book features illustrations, poems, and essays of all kinds on the meaning of feminism, social media, and pop culture as they grow more and more in-tune with our daily lives. (256 Pages)

4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster: Jan. 31st

Archibald Isaac Ferguson is born nearly two weeks early on March 3, 1947 in Newark, New Jersey, but from a simple beginning comes a story of four “simultaneous and independent” Fergusons as four copies of the young boy lead very different lives after leaving the hospital that fateful night. An entirely inventive work promising grandiose prose and an unforgettable story of love, heartbreak, and choice itself, 4 3 2 1 is one of my most anticipated reads of 2017. (880 Pages)

Wait for Me by Caroline Leech: Jan. 31st

A YA historical romance following Lorna Anderson’s life on her family’s farm in Scotland during World War II. Busied with endless chores and knitting Red Cross scarves, Lorna is desperate for a chance at life, for a change, but when a German prisoner of war is assigned as their new farmhand, the possibility of change is appalling. How can she work alongside the enemy while her brother risks his life? But after spending many reluctant hours together in the fields, she soon sees the boy behind the soldier, a heart not unlike her own. (384 Pages)

And of course, we’re all excited for the looong anticipated release of:

What are you excited to read this month?

[Short Reviews] December 2016 Recap

January 4, 2017Julia 10 Comments

I did it! For the month of December, I finished 37 books, bringing me to 250 books read in 2016! December was an amazing month for me, both in my reading life and out. From sharing laughter to reading truly groundbreaking works of fiction, I couldn’t have asked for a better end to the year! My life has changed dramatically over the last few years and 2016 was no exception, but looking back on it now, I can see it’s all changing for the better – a trend I hope continues into the new year.

Happy 2017! May you all have a great start to the year!

Stranded by Bracken MacLeod: An extraordinary tale of parallel universes and survival, Stranded follows a ship’s crew as they find themselves trapped in an endless sea of ice. With no link to the outside world and a mysterious epidemic among crew members, the men make a desperate attempt to cross the ice towards a hazy outline of another ship, but instead of hope, they find only more danger. An incredible adventure from start to finish, I couldn’t put this one down!

The Hike by Drew Magary: From talking crabs, to man-eating giants, to an endless journey through forests and sand, The Hike is truly unlike any novel I’ve ever read. Full of adventure and possibility, Magary’s strange and twisted quest left me feeling in charge and hopeful for a future of my own making.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab: I can’t believe it took me so long to read this! I loved reading her YA series, This Savage Song, and while the stories are treated very differently, one being for teens and the other a more mature audience, the elements of her stories are very similar. One key theme being the importance of friendship. I can’t wait to read more!

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill by Megan Shepherd: An absolutely stunning book cover, I couldn’t wait to read The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, but diving in, I soon realized I was going to need a few tissues… or maybe a whole box. Set at a hospital for children during World War II, Emmaline is a patient suffering both illness and a terrible loss, but Emmaline has a secret: there ae little winged horses that live in the mirrors at Briar Hill hospital.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer: Torn between following her dreams and pleasing her parents, the future Queen of Hearts just wants to be left alone to start her own bakery, but fate has other ideas. Instead, the King of Hearts has offered a proposal while the new, and mysterious, Court Jester offers a quizzical flirtation. Bound for an unhappy ending from the start, I struggled to see the end in Catherine’s future, but alas, a bitter heart she found.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman: Set in a world without hunger, disease, or misery of any kind, death is only brought by the scythes – an imperial order that keeps the population in check. Noted for their character and empathy, Citra and Rowan have been chosen to apprentice a scythe, a role neither of them want, but dutifully accept, nonetheless. I find it hard to buy into their world, and the scythes as they constantly contradict themselves by both their words and their actions, but ultimately the mystery sucked me back in.

To Capture What We Cannot Keep by Beatrice Colin: Complete with a meet-cute in a hot air balloon overlooking the glittering cityscape of Paris, Pike’s historical novel follows the tumultuous affair between a widowed chaperone, Catriona Wallace, and the co-designer of the Eiffel Tower, Emile Nouiguir. Full of intrigue and gossip, I found myself fascinated by their troubled relationship and the far reaching effects of a seemingly trivial faux pas.

Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt: A middle school classic read by children across the nation, I was definitely surprised by my rereading of Across Five Aprils. How did I forget the harrowing circumstances of the Creighton family? From a simple act of harassment all the way to arson, the Creighton family suffers greatly in this authentic look at a family’s plight during the Civil War.

Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Maria Griffin: Set in a future post-apocalyptic world after a devastating epidemic caused by electro-magnetic pulses, technology has been abandoned, but Nell Crane has other ideas. Daughter to the famed doctor who saved the city by revolutionizing biomechanical limbs, Nell struggles to find her own place in society, but after finding a tattered old mannequin, she’ll put aside long held grudges toward computers to recreate the future. An imaginative new world, Nell’s journey is a curious, if not hypocritical, look into a life without technology – I’d love to see more from her world, especially more on how her robot is received after its initial discovery.

Some Kind of Happiness by Claire Legrand: Finley’s entire world is on the verge: her parents are having problems (but pretending like everything’s ok), she’s going to be sent to her grandparents’ home for the summer (even though she’s never met them), and her blue days are quickly outnumbering the happy. Her only retreat is the Everwood, a magical forest only found in the pages of her notebook, until she discovers the vast forest behind the family home. Full of magic, family, and unyielding sadness, Some Kind of Happiness is a beautifully written middle grade novel on childhood depression. Depression, no matter the age, is certainly a tricky subject, but Legrand hits it out of the park, showing readers it’s okay to ask for help.

News of the World by Paulette Jiles: In Wichita Falls to read the news, Captain Kidd is offered $50 to take a recovered, ten-year-old captive from the Kiowa tribe back to her family in San Antonio – a 400-mile long journey across unsettled, dangerous terrain and hostile territories. A short read, News of the World is a beautiful story of friendship and family as Captain Kidd gets to know the young girl, teaching her to eat with a fork, speak English, and her assisting in warding off dangerous kidnappers! Their journey together is captivating and heartfelt, taking you through a mini Texas history lesson – perhaps my favorite part of the book, living in Texas myself.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles: I finally finished it!! Perhaps one of the best novels I’ve ever read, I regret not having it finished before I listed my favorite books of 2016. From his relationships, to his place in history, to the exquisite study on Russian culture, Count Rostov’s story leaves a lasting impression. And, Amor Towles is blessing Houston with a visit this winter!

What are your December favorites?

** For this month’s recap, I’m linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy. She always has the best recommendations and it’s great to see what everyone else is reading too! **

2017 Reading Challenge

December 28, 2016Julia 4 Comments

Happy New Year!

This year I participated in Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge and made it my personal goal to read more female authors. Succeeding in both rather easily, I figured there must be more that I’m missing – and looking at the map below, it’s hard to deny.

Each pin on the map represents a book read in 2016, and of course, places such as New York, London, and Paris represent several. Looking at the map, you’d be right to assume I largely read American YA and European historical fiction, but in 2017, I’m hoping to change my reading habits, to consciously make the effort to seek out new voices. And, hopefully by the end of the year, my map won’t be so empty! I also have 20 individual reading challenges, listed below, to complete for 2017.

Read a biography of an important scientific figure.
Read a biography of an American president.
Read a collection of fairy tales from an Asian country.
Read a work of meta fiction.
Read a collection of essays, in translation.
Read a collection of poetry.
Read a book on modern philosophy.
Read a Gothic horror novel.
Read a work of military fiction.
Read a travel memoir.
Read a novel narrated by a non-human character.
Finish a new-to-me series. (Starting from book 1)
Read a book over 600 pages.
Read a Newbery Award winner.
Read a Man Booker Prize winner.
Read a Pulitzer Prize winner.
Read an immigrant story.
Read a classic novel over 500 pages.
Read a book on modern politics.
Read three books by the same author.

While I didn’t quite finish the Read Harder Challenge this year, the challenge was a helpful reminder to switch it up, and try new genres!

What are your reading goals for 2017?

2016: The Favorites

December 27, 2016Julia 2 Comments

This week on Broke and the Bookish we’re asked the impossible question: What are you top ten books of 2016? I really have no idea how I’m supposed to pick 10 – it’s near impossible to pick 10 favorites from a single month! But, I’m going to try, and by try, I mean pick 20.

The Trees by Ali Shaw

“The world keeps no secrets. Look it in the eye if you can. Everything is there to see.”

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

“All your life you wait, and then it finally comes, are you ready?”

Light Between the Oceans by M.L. Stedman

“You only have to forgive once. To resent, you have to do it all day, every day. You have to keep remembering all the bad things.”

The Sage of Waterloo by Leona Francombe

“Life cannot be lived secondhand, William… No one can truly describe a dandelion, you must experience one yourself – even if it means taking a risk. And you can’t say you’ve really lived until you’ve taken at least one risk. Can you?”

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

“She had never entirely let go of the notion that if she reached far enough with her thoughts she might find someone waiting, that if two people were to cast their thoughts outward at the same moment they might somehow meet in the middle.”

Jane Steele by Lindsay Faye

“Oh, I knew who I was – a scarlet-toothed tigress, one forever burdened by the iron weight of her own black stripes.”

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

“A singer learned her roles for life – your repertoire was a library of fates held close, like the gowns in this closet, yours until your voice failed.”

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

“Two warring nations gripped Poland like girls fighting over a doll. One held the leg, the other the arm. They pulled so hard that one day, the head popped off.”

A Blessing On the Moon by Joseph Skibell

“…when you killed me, you took everything. My home, my wife, my children. Must you have my forgiveness as well?”

Court of Mist and Fury by Sara J. Maas

“He thinks he’ll be remembered as the villain in the story. But I forgot to tell him that the villain is usually the person who locks up the maiden and throws away the key. He was the one who let me out.”

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

“Ove had never been asked how he lived before he met her. But if anyone had asked him, he would have answered that he didn’t.”

The Hike by Drew Magary

“This future you live in… would I like it?” … “Honestly, it’s probably not that different from the world you know. Some people are happy. Some people are angry. There are wars. I don’t know if time makes much of a difference. The world changes, but people act the way people always do.”

City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg

“But I guess what I would want to leave each of you with finally — tender some Evidence of, against a life’s worth of signs to the contrary — comes down simply to this: You are infinite. I see you. You are not alone.”

Mischling by Affinity Konar

“Auschwitz was built to imprison us. Birkenau was built to kill us. Mere kilometers bridged their attached evils. What this zoo was designed for, I did not know – I could only swear that Pearl and I, we would never be caged.”

Maestra by L. S. Hilton

“Choices are made before explanations, whether or not we care to know it.”

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

“I’ve seen so many versions you. With me. Without me. Artist. Teacher. Graphic designer. But it’s all, in the end, just life. We see it macro, like one big story, but when you’re in it, it’s all just day-to-day, right? An isn’t that what you have to make your peace with?”

A Wife of Noble Character by Yvonne Georgina Puig

“I don’t know everything, but I do think you’re confusing freedom with money… People compromise their integrity with that kind of thinking all the time.”

Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

“She wanted to be in control of her own life, and now, clearly, she wasn’t, and simply thinking about the fact that someone else was going to decide the direction of her future…the helplessness crushed her.”

A Monster Calles by Patrick Ness

“Who am I? the monster repeated, still roaring. I am the spine that the mountains hang upon! I am the tears that the rivers cry! I am the lungs that breathe the wind! I am the wolf that kills the stag, the hawk that kills the mouse, the spider that kills the fly! I am the stag, the mouse and the fly that are eaten! I am the snake of the world devouring its tail! I am everything untamed and untamable! It brought Conor up close to its eye. I am this wild earth, come for you, Conor O’Malley.”

City of Thieves by David Benioff

“They’re trying to burn down our city. They’re trying to starve us to death. But we’re like two of Peter’s bricks. You can’t burn a brick, you can’t starve a brick.”

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

“He pretended to stretch his arms, in order to shift even closer to her. (this isn’t in the history books, of course, but we’d like to point out that this was the first time a young man had ever tried that particular arm-stretch move on a young woman. Edward was the inventor of the arm stretch, a tactic that teenage boys have been using for centuries).”

What were your 2016 favorites?