Recently Read: City of Lost Souls

Last night I stayed up to finish the fifth book in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Preparing for Christmas and a six day power outage has lead to a minimal amount of reading over this break from school, but I'm going to try and read as much as I can before I have to go back to school next month.

I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed the first three books in this series. In this book, a lot of relationships begin to deepen between the characters and there is a lot of making out! I of course enjoyed the characters in this book and found them funny and endearing, as I did in the other books of the series.

This book allowed me to appreciate Clare's writing style. She is able to write her books in a way that makes them addictive, once you start reading it you have a hard time putting it down. She also evoked a number of new emotions from me for certain characters in this book. (I don't want to say too much, but if you have read it, you probably know who I am referring too).

I would of course recommend this series, and if you read the fourth book and thought ehh and haven't picked this one up yet, pick it up, it is on the same level as the first three books in the series. I am rather anxious for the last book's release, which is this spring I believe, I want to see how this series wraps up for our characters. I am also considering reading the e-book novellas Clare has written to go along with the series about Magnus, called The Bane Chronicles. Have you read any of them? Do You like them?  

City of Bones review (book one)
City of Ashes review (book two)
City of Glass review (book three)
City of Fallen Angels review (book four)

Recently Read: Lolita

The semester is finally over, and I have jumped right into my reading pile. Today I finished Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, which was my first Nabokov novel. I must say, I am very intrigued to read more of his works.

Lolita is his most well known work, and the only work of his that I had heard anything about. I didn't really know the premise to the novel before I picked it up and found it very interesting. I can only imagine the negative reviews this book receives from people who read it today, simply because it deals with a controversial subject matter, and people are always afraid of the controversial. The main character of this novel, Humbert Humbert, who is using a fake name for himself to protect his identity, finds himself to be obsessively in love with a twelve year old "nymphet" named, of course, Lolita. 

Humbert Humbert is a very complex and dynamic character. He is so self aware, and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes where he psychoanalyzed himself, he is not a monster with no remorse of conscious, he is intelligent and can understand to some degree what has caused his problems, but that does not give him the ability to solve them. This novels brings attention the mind and the capabilities it has and the control it can have over a person. Nabokov uses such beautiful words to tell Humbert's story, which serves a higher purpose then to just please the reader. Humbert is appealing his case to "the jury", or the reader and his beautifully flowing words sooth the reader and arose sympathy. This book really gives the reader a lot of things to think about while they are reading it and after they finish it. 

I would recommend this book if you are a fan of well written literature and willing to give it a try even though the subject matter is not pleasant. I feel like this a novel that you have to read before you can defend it or appreciate it.  

I am interested to see the Lolita film from 1962, have you seen it? Have you read anything else by Nabokov you would recommend? Let me know. 

      

December Purchases

From the bottom: 

Attachments, Rainbow Rowell-- bought at my grocery store for five dollars (what what?) 

The Tragedy Paper, Elizabeth Laban-- rather new release I believe, the dual story line caught my eye

The House of Hades, Rick Riordan-- book four of the Heroes of Olympus series, bought on Black Friday

The Mark of Athena, Rick Riordan-- book three of the Heroes of Olympus 

Jane Eyre, Charlolette Bronte-- Beautiful Vintage Classics edition

Hourglass, Reba McEntire-- Time Travel YA trilogy 

A Certain Slant of Light, Laura Whitcomb-- ghost girl haunts English Classroom? I'm in.    

Anonymous

"I would venture to guess, anon; who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a women."

-Virginia Woolf

December To be Read

Here's my December TBR. I hope to read quite a few books between semesters since I will be doing a lot of reading in my next semester with three English classes.

Currently Reading: Splendor, Anna Godbersen  Which is the fourth book in the Luxe series. This is a roll over from last month, I would like to finish this series this month. I'm curious to see how everything plays out for all the characters.

The Darkest Minds, Alexander Bracken
City of Lost Souls, Cassandra Clare
The Mark of Athena, Rick Riordan
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov

Those are the books I'm hoping to get through this month. I'm trying to get my papers and protects done so I can start reading, but the end of the semester is always packed.

If you want to see what I read in November, click here.

November Wrap-up

Here's a list of everything I read in November, If I did a review for it, I will link it in this post, if I have not done a review. I will give you some quick thoughts on it.

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen See My review here.

Papertowns, John Green See My review here.

City Of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare See my review here.

The Fault in Our Stars, John Green I didn't review this book, because pretty much everyone has read it, but I really loved it. I read it in one sitting. I started at ten o'clock at night and finished around two o'clock in the morning. It was funny, it was sad, it was insightful, it was everything you would expect a John Green novel to be. If you would like to read more kind words about John Green I would suggest my Papertowns review linked above. If you haven't read this yet, you should. I'm excited for the movie, I think it will be great and very faithfully to the book.

The Son Of Neptune, Rick Riordan See my review here.

Cane, Jane Toomer I read this novel for my English course at college, and although I was not the biggest fan of this novel, I appreciated the creative risks that Toomer took with this piece. It is a Harlem Renaissance piece, as is the book listed below this one. If you enjoy Harlem Renaissance pieces, this may interest you. It is unlike anything I have ever read before, and I would not have picked it up on my own, so I am glad my class introduced it to me.

Passing, Nella Larson See my review for this here.

Although I didn't read everything I had hoped to read this month, looking back, it was a pretty good reading month. November and December are always busy because it is the end of the semester. The first two weeks of December will be horribly filled with papers, projects, and exams, but I plan to read as much as I can over Christmas break. My December TBR list will be coming soon, keep an eye out.

Recently Read: The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan is the second book in his Percy Jackson continuation series The Heroes of Olympus. My review for the first book, The Lost Hero can be found here.

 

 

This book opens in the perspective of Percy Jackson, on the run from mythical creatures with no memory of his past. He is lead to Camp-Jupiter, the Roman demi-god camp, where he meets the next two demi-gods that will be part of the Prophecy of Seven. Hazel, is the daughter of Pluto, or Hades in Greek God terms. She has a big secret and a big power. Frank, is big, clumsy, and doesn't know who his God parent is. Percy and these two unlikely heroes are throw into a quest to release Death from the grasps of Gaea.

 

This book, like all of Riordan's books, is funny, full of adventure, bravery, and lessons in mythology. I'm really enjoying learning about the Roman Gods, which I have much less knowledge of compared to the Greek gods. I also like that characters from the original Percy Jackson series continue to pop up and become a major part of this story as well. I'm excited to read the third and fourth book in this series now that the Seven will be brought together and all the set up for the series is done. I foresee a couple of love triangles in these character's futures, along with lots of action, bravery, and possibly even a tragic death or two.   



Recently Read: Passing

I have been really enjoying my Introduction to Prose English class I am taking at my college. We are reading mostly short novels, and most of them I had not previously heard of or knew much about which has been exciting. Recently we have finished Passing by Nella Larsen. Published in 1929 this short novel is about two African American women who were childhood friends and meet after years of separation. Upon this reunion, Irene, the main character of the novel, learns that her friend Clare has chosen to "pass" as a white women and has married a white man who has no knowledge of her heritage.

I really enjoyed this book and read it in one day. The story is easy to follow, straightforward, but yet intriguing. This book has a really great ending. I guarantee that after you read the ending you will think about it for days.

I had never heard of this book or this author, so I thought I would share it with all of you in case you had never heard of it either. This is a piece from the Harlem Renaissance, and it is one of my favorite pieces I have read from that literary movement. I would recommend this book to classic lovers, and those who don't consider themselves classic readers. It really reads like a modern day novel, and I'm telling you, that ending is one of the best I have read!

   

Recently Read: City of Fallen Angels

November has been a crazy month. I had two exams last week, and then I have been without power for the first part of this week. Luckily I now have power and internet, but I haven't had much time to read or write this week. I finished the fourth book in the Mortal instruments Series, City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare earlier in the month so I thought I would do a short review on it.

 



This series was originally meant to be a trilogy I believe, but Clare decided to expand the series by three more books. The sixth and final book of the series is to be released this spring, while the fifth one is already out. Anyway, I have heard a lot of people say that this was their least favorite book in the series. I can see why people would think that, it has been my least favorite so far too, but I still enjoyed the book and want to continue the series.

I liked getting to know Simon and Isabelle even better in this book, and I really enjoy Magnus and Alec as well. Clare has created some really funny and likeable characters. The main thing about this book that annoyed me was Clary and Jace's relationship. It seemed to be a little immature at times, and they both seemed to be unreasonable and a little over the top. I'm hoping Clary and Jace's relationship will be different in the next two books, but in the mean time I really enjoyed getting to know the other characters.

City Of Glass Review
City of Ashes Review 
City of Bones Review

Recently Read: Paper Towns

Last night I finished Paper Towns by John Green. This is my third finished John Green book. I recently found The Fault in our Stars at my thrift shop for twenty-four cents, so I will be reading that soon. I have quite a lot to say about this book so I will get started.

Going into this book, for some reason, I expected it to be light and fluffy. Which it was in one way. I laughed out loud multiple times while reading this, like really laughed. But when I finished it, I just sat and thought about it for half an hour. So, the main character Q is neighbors and child hood friends with Margo. They share a traumatic adventure together when they are young and then they kind of just grow apart like most child hood friends. One night Margo climbs through Q's window and pulls him into an all night adventure. The next morning Q wakes up to discover that Margo is gone. Of course Q has loveable and hilarious best friends in the form of Ben and Radar, and they find themselves wrapped up in the mystery of Margo Roth Spiegelman.

I have really come to love John Green's writing. I appreciate the way he writes female characters. They have depth and the attraction felt towards them is based on the mystery surrounding them and they always seem to make the male character feel like a better person when they are around. The main characters journey's are always rewarded with great life and self discoveries, which John Green so beautifully words for the reader. Besides all this, his books are just plain funny. The kids are real, the jokes are real, and the friendships are real. I think sometimes people tend to consider Young Adult literature as meaningless, fluffy entertainment, but I don't think that's true. Authors like John Green, David Levithan and Markus Zusak are writing meaningful and thought provoking YA novels.

I thought the discoveries Q made about the way we view other people was beautifully worded and very, very true. I again, recommend every John Green book, even the two I have not read yet, because I know they will be just as heartwarming and beautiful as the ones I have read.

  

My Looking For Alaska review is here.
My An Abundance of Katherines review is here.

Recently Read: Pride and Prejudice

I just finished Pride and Prejudice (and by just, I mean ten minutes ago). This was my first Austen novel, and I have been wanting to read it for a long time. I'm sure many of you are familiar with the plot, but the heroine of this story is Elizabeth Bennet. The story follows her and her sisters lives while their mother is on the quest to marry them all off.

I quite liked Lizzy as a character. I found her to be sensible and not much of a romantic which contrasted her greatly with her younger sisters. She is head strong and not afraid to voice her opinion which is great to read about today, but was probably even more refreshing and unusual to read about in 1813 when the book was published.

I also liked Mr. Darcy as the romantic figure. Again, he seemed sensible and not an over-the-top romantic. His romantic actions were believable and sweet. This book made me laugh many times. I really liked Mr. Bennet. I would recommend this book to lovers of classic lit as well as those who don't see themselves as classic fans. The language in this book is not at all intimidating and the principals are still very relevant and present in modern literature today.

Now I am off to watch as many film adaptations of this story as I can! The BBC, PBS and 2006  Keira Knightly versions are at the top of my list. Let me know if you have seen any other good adaptations of this novel. I am also excited to read more Austen, specifically Emma. I am also on the look out for great editions of this novel. I have seen some really great ones from Penguin. The clothbound version as well as the Drop Cap are really great looking editions.

 

 

Penguin Clothbound Classic

Penguin Drop Cap Series

 



A Few of My Favorite Things (Short Story Version)

My last post consisted of the short story collections that I own. (see it here.) In this post I would like to talk about some of my favorite short stories I have read out of those collections. As I read more of these short stories, I hope to add to this list and make future posts with more stories.

The first story I would like to talk about is the longest of the stories on this list. It might be considered a short novel rather than a short story, but since it is one of my favorites I want to include it on my list of short stories. That is of course Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote. If you have seen the movie version with Audrey Hepburn, which is just as equally amazing, you still should read the book. They are two completely different stories! I saw the movie first and fell in love with it, and then a couple of years later I read the book, and fell in love with it as well. Capote's Holly Golightly is so different from the movie Holly, but yet at the same time they are so much the same. You really must read the book to understand what I am talking about, and I highly recommend it if you love the movie, or if you haven't even seen the movie.

 

 The next two stories I have on my list come from the same story collection. The Sphinx Without a Secret and The Caterville Ghost come from Oscar Wilde's collection entitled Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories. The Sphinx Without a Secret is the shortest story on this list today. I really enjoyed this small piece of writing. I have spoke of my love for Oscar Wilde before. I think he is so witty and wise and his flamboyant personality is so alluring and always makes me smile, so I may be a little biased when I put his writing in my favorites category, but he really is a great writer. The Caterville Ghost is a slightly longer piece and more of a fictional story, as apposed to Sphinx which is more of a small recollection of an event. Both pieces are great, as well as everything else Oscar Wilde has written.

 

The final story  I will mention today is from F. Scott Fitzgerald's collection Babylon Revisited. The story that has made the biggest impact on me out of what I have read so far is The Diamond as Big as the Ritz. This is one of Fitzgerald's more well known short stories. Fitzgerald wrote a lot of short stories that he sold to magazines to help pay for his wife's medical problems. Some of his short stories are quite bazar, this one included. His short stories are much different from his novels. I don't want to say too much about the plot, because I think if you have read any of his novels and then read this story you will be quite surprised.

  

    

The Short and Long of it (but mostly just the short)

Until recently, I never would have considered myself a reader of short stories. I was looking at my book shelf the other day, while attempting to organize it, and discovered I in fact own quite a few short story collections. I have not read all of them. Some I have not even started, some I have only read a few stories here or there, but that is what's so great about short story collections. If you have twenty minutes of spare time and feel like reading, but you don't have enough time to commit to starting a new book, you can read a short story. Here is the list of short story collections I own, and hope to read soon and some that I have read already.

Sherlock Holmes vol.1, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman
Babylon Revisited, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Flappers and Philosophers, F. Scott Fitzgerald
Breakfast at Tiffany's and Other Stories, Truman Capote
The Happy Prince and other Tales, Oscar Wilde
A House of Pomegranates, Oscar Wilde
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime and Other Stories, Oscar Wilde
Nine Stories, J.D. Salingar
Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salingar   

As you can see, I am lacking in the genre of short story collections by modern authors. If you have any recommendations of short story collections for me, let me know. I would love to read more short stories. I am going to do a separate post on my favorite short stories that I have read very soon, be on the lookout for that, I will go more in depth about which books from the list that I have read in that post.

 

 

November TBR

My to be read list for November is a jumbled mix of books. I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to read this next month. I have a lot of books I want to read, and I am hoping to do a lot of reading in December over my break from school. I got more reading done in October than I thought I would, and I'm excited to get started on my November list.

Currently Reading: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen  I am about forty pages in to this, which is my first Austen novel, although I own many. I am enjoying it so far, but more on that later.

Alright, now for the list,

Splendor, Anna Godbersen
Son of Neptune, Rick Riordan
Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
City of Fallen Angels, Cassandra Clare
Papertowns, John Green

I hope to get through these books this month, many of them on the list shouldn't take me very long so I think it is very doable. Splendor will finish The Luxe series for me, Son of Neptune will continue The Heroes of Olympus series, and City of Fallen Angels will continue The Mortal Instruments series.

Recently Read: City of Glass

Since I have reviewed the previous two novels in Cassandra Clare's The Mortal Insturments series I thought I would continue and review the third in the series which is City of Glass.

This was my favorite out of the three books. I heard from a lot of other people that this was their opinion as well. When I read a book, the most important element is the characters and the character development. I can enjoy a book with little or no plot if I am interested in the characters and they are well developed. (Books in this list tend to be stream of consciousness books including Mrs. Dalloway, The Catcher in the Rye, The Bell Jar , and This Side of Paradise.) This book had the most character development and interaction. I felt that I really got to understand Jace in this book as well as Alec and Simon. I really like that characters in this book and I enjoy their stories.

This book was funny, and enjoyable. This was originally going to be the end of the series but Clare has since decided to add three more books, the sixth is to be published in the spring of next year. I plan to read the other two very soon. I am interested in seeing the character's relationships evolve. I am enjoying this series. It is fun to find a series of books that just sucks you in and makes you stay up late and run to the bookstore to buy the next one. The last series I read that did that to me was The Hunger Games so it was fun to find another one. If you haven't started this series I highly recommend it.  

Here is my review of City of Bones
Here is my review of City of Ashes



Classics on the Top of My List

I have been reading a lot of YA recently, which I have really been enjoying. Just recently I found myself to be missing the classics though, so here is a list of classics at the top of my list that I want to read. I am hoping to get to some of these books next month and over winter break in December.

Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf
Emma, Jane Austen
The Beautiful and the Dammed, F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

Have you read any of these? What classics are on your list? I am currently reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen which is my first Austen novel. I have owned it forever and have always wanted to read it, so I decided to pick it up yesterday and start it. So far I am enjoying it, and I am looking forward to reading more Austen in the future.  

Recently Read: The Diviners

Okay, the last two weeks have been crazy full of midterms and school commitments, and wouldn't you know, that's the time I choose to read Libba Bray's just under 600 page book The Diviners! It took me a while to get through, because I didn't have a lot of time to just sit down and read, but I'm here to share my thoughts on it.

Evie, our main character is sent from her small town in Ohio, where she doesn't seem to fit in, to Manhattan to live with her bachelor Uncle Will. There she is introduced to the world of paranormal and magical occurrences through her Uncle's oddities museum that he runs. Evie has a special power, which seemed to only get her in trouble, until she is given an opportunity to use her power to help solve a series of  murders with her uncle.


It took me a little while to get into this book. I felt that the book's size could have been reduced by about a hundred pages, and nothing would have been lost from the plot. I did have high expectations for this book, though which may be why I'm not feeling blown away by it. It was good though, don't get me wrong, and I do recommend it. I found all the characters to be likable and compelling, and there wasn't a character that I didn't enjoy following for their chapter or two. It took a while for everything to come together, and since this is the first book in the series, there are quite a few things that have yet to come together at all. I think the next books will be very good now that all the setting up of the characters is done. I will be reading the next books in this series for sure, and this was a great book to read in October, for it is quite paranormal and creepy. But it is by no means over the top creepy, so haters of creepy books don't worry!

The second book in this series, Lair of Dreams is set to release on April, 14th of next year. Here is a look at the cover. Hopefully they release a cover to go along with the hardcover version of The Diviners because that cover is very nicely done, and I'm not as crazy about the cover for the second book.

If you're looking for more creepy October reads, check out my list here.

Recently Read: City Of Ashes

I finished City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare about a week ago, and I just now remembered I haven't wrote about it yet. This is the second book in the ever popular Mortal Instruments series. This was another quick read for me, I finished it in about two days. My review for the first book City of Bones is here.

I found this book to be just as exciting and hard to put down as the first one. I loved to see the development of the characters and their relationships with each other. I need to buy the rest of the books in the series so I can finish them as quickly as possible. This book, like the first, contains a few surprises and plot turns. I haven't seen the movie yet, since I hadn't read the book when it came out, but the other day I saw that Jonathon Rhys Meyers, who is Henry the VIII on The Tudors plays Valentine. I was totally unaware of this, and it caught me by surprise. I did not see Henry the VIII as Valentine! What do you think of the casting for the movie?

I recommend this book as well as the whole series. I have heard that the third book is even better than the first two, and that the fourth is everyone's least favorite so I am eager to read them and see what I think of them. Make sure to pick this series up if you haven't yet.

 

Meyers as King Henry VIII

Meyers as Valentine

Most Coveted Classics

This past week has been crazy stressful and next week seems to be even more so! It is midterm week next week. I have a million things to do, but all I want to do is read!! I'm here today with a quick list of classics that are on the top of my list to purchase and read.

A Room Of One's Own- Virginia Woolf
The Age of Innocence- Edith Wharton
We have Always Lived in the Castle- Shirley Jackson
Lolita- Vladmir Vladimirovich
The Crack Up Essays- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Recently Read: Black Ice and The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I'm going to do a double review today of the last two books I have finished recently. Black Ice by Andrew Lane is the third book in his teenage Sherlock Holmes series. You may recall this post where I displayed my love for everything Sherlock Holmes and I mentioned this book series. This is a middle grade series I believe, but it is action packed and Holmes lovers of any age will love this series. Lane is spot on with Sherlock's methods and personality. Everything ties together perfectly with the original Holmes stories, and I get so excited each time something connects. The fourth book in this series is available for pre-order and is set to release very soon.

 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky has been popular for quite a while. I have not seen the movie because  I wanted to read the book first, and I am very glad I did. This book deserves the hype. It was a quick read, I read it in two sittings, because I could not put it down. The emotions and thoughts of the main character Charlie are so clear and powerful, and I got attached to him very quickly. Charlie has such an unique and pure way of viewing the world. I would recommend reading this book if you haven't seen the movie, and even if you already have seen the movie. Chbosky adapted his novel into the script for the movie, which makes me think it will be just as good as the book.





 

Recently Purchased: October Book Haul

I'm so excited about my recent book purchases. My shelves are currently overflowing, but that isn't stopping me from buying books every time I leave the house or get on the internet. Most of these came from amazon, one from the used section of my local bookstore, and one from the new section. I bought The Diviners by Libba Bray new at my bookstore because they had an autographed copy.

 

Flappers and Philosophers, F. Scott Fitzgerald (a beautiful Vintage Classics edition)

Fragile Things, Neil Gaiman (short story collection)

A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness (illustrated edition)

Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour Bookstore, Robin Sloan

The Darkest Minds, Alexander Bracken

The Diviners, Libba Bray 

 Both the Patrick Ness, and the Libba Bray book were mentioned in my post on good spooky October reads here. 



October TBR

It's October already! hard to believe, but I'm excited to show you my To Be Read list for this month.

Currently reading: The Perks of being a Wallfower, Stephen Chbosky
I am half way through this book right now, and I had a hard time putting it down last night to go to bed. Charlie is such a real character that makes the reader feel his emotions right along side him. I just want to give him a hug and ruffle his hair more than anything! I will talk more about this book when I finish it.

 

Next on my list is City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare. Which is book two in The Mortal Instruments series. Then I would like to read Envy by Anna Godbersen the third book in The Luxe series. The books in this series usually go pretty quickly and are a light read. I am eager to finish the series and see how it all plays out for the characters. The last book on my list this month is my creepy pick for the end of October, The Diviners by Libba Bray. I have spoken about this book in this post which features some other good and creepy October reads.

 

Hopefully I will have extra time at the end of the month to get some more reading done. If that happens I would love to continue with The Hereos of Olmpus series by reading book two, The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan.

 





Perfect October Reads

October is approaching and I have been seeing lots of books lately that would be perfect to read during this month. With Halloween and the weather starting to really feel like fall, October is a great month to read something a little strange or creepy. While I'm not a big fan of horror movies or novels, I do enjoy reading something really strange and different from the norm. Here's a list of books I think would be perfect for this strange month.

1. Libba Bray's The Diviners
2. Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys
3. Anything by Edgar Allan Poe
4. Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls
5. Neil Gaiman's The Grave Yard Book

Libba Bray has a reputation for writing unique and strange books. I have not read one by her yet, I attempted her A Great and Terrible Beauty awhile ago, but I went into it blind and was totally caught off guard by the creepy element of it so I quite, though I would like to try that series again. This book really catches my interest, I love the cover of this book. It takes place in the 1920's, the main character's uncle owns an oddities museum, and there is crime solving. Sounds like a perfect October read to me.

This is a recently purchased book that I plan to read soon. Blue comes from a family of psychics but she herself has no abilities. One day she sees a ghost in the grave yard and that means one of two things: the ghost is her true love, or she killed him. That's really all I know about the plot and I am really intrigued. The second book in this series just came out this month so I am excited to read this one soon.

I really enjoy Poe all year round, but this is truly the best time of year to read him. I like his writing and find his life to be truly intriguing. My favorite stories by him include, Black Cat, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher. Poe also wrote my all time favorite poem Annabel Lee. Check out his other poems The Raven, A Dream Within a Dream, and To Helen. 

  

I just bought this really cool illustrated version of this Patrick Ness book. I was shopping in my bookstore when I saw it on a table and decided I had to have the illustrated version if I was going to read this book. I have never read a Patrick Ness book but I have heard so many people talk about how much they love him and how great he is.

 

Finally, a Neal Gaiman book. He is another author I am eager to read. This is kind of a retelling of The Jungle Book but instead of being raised by animals, the young boy is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. I am eager to pick this book up, and especially the illustrated edition.  









Recently Read: City of Bones

I finally stared the very popular The Mortal Instruments series. The first book is titled City of Bones there is currently five books out in the series by Cassandra Clare.

This book follows Clary Fray as she discovers a secret world she is apart of but that she has been unaware of her whole life. She meets Jace, Isabelle, and Alec who are shadowhunters, trained to hunt and kill demons, and Clary and her best friend Simon are pulled into the shadowhunter world when Clary's mother is kidnapped.

 

This book was witty and funny and full of action. I really like the characters Jace and Simon and their interactions with Clary. The book is packed full of action and danger. I enjoyed the way the plot unfolded. It was a very fast paced read, I stayed up way too late reading it a couple time because I just couldn't stop. And holy cow, this book is full of plot twists and turns. I'm still not sure how I feel about the big twist at the end, but I am anxious to see how it all plays out in the next book in the series.

 

I enjoyed this book more than I expected too. I'm not the biggest fan of fantasy with demons and creatures of the sort, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I would recommend picking it up if you haven't already. 

  

Happy Banned Books Week!

It's national banned books week. If you are not familiar with this event I suggest you check out the American Library Association site here. Last year for one of my writing classes I wrote a paper on why books should not be banned or removed from public libraries and schools and I really discovered a lot of great things during my research. For example, books are still being removed and banned from schools. If a book has been challenged in your town, at the local library or your school report it at ALA.org and they will help you fight the removal of the book. That's awesome! As a future English teacher I believe that reading should be encouraged in all forms, especially in children and teens. Celebrate this week by reading a formally banned book. Here is a list of some of my favorite banned or challenged books. Check here for the lists compiled by the ALA.

Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

Harry Potter Series, J.K. Rowling

 Looking for Alaska, John Green

The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

Deenie, Judy Bloom

 

 

 



By the way, do you think people get the gigantic amount of irony they create when they try to ban Fahrenheit 451?

October Wish List

I have decided to wait until October to buy anymore books. I have bought way to many the past two months. The end of September is near and I am already planning my next purchases. So far I am definite about two books, but let me know if there are any other books I HAVE to read like right now!