Image Description: the image appears to the cluttered surface of a desk. There’s an old vintage style map and on top of the map is a pair of black thick-rimmed glasses, three black and white photos and two journals. One journal is closed and one journal is open to a blank page with a pencil resting on top.
I take part in multiple Reading Challenges. Why? Mostly because I think I’m more capable than I really am and because I thought having extra structuring for my blog would help me keep to regular reading schedule and a regular posting schedule. My brain is not in a happy place now and I’m sure this post and my more recent posts show it. I’m sorry about that. I’ll attempt to improve but at this point, I’m seriously contemplating shutting down my blog for a while, because a Book-Blog without book reviews isn’t justifiable.
RMFAO Genre Challenge: May – Classic and/or Literary
The monthly theme for the RMFAO Genre Challenge is Classic or Literary. The definitions of a “Classic” or “Literary” book are as follows:
Classics: A classic stands the test of time. The work is usually considered to be a representation of the period in which it was written; and the work merits lasting recognition. In other words, if the book was published in the recent past, the work is not a classic.
A classic has a certain universal appeal. Great works of literature touch us to our very core beings–partly because they integrate themes that are understood by readers from a wide range of backgrounds and levels of experience. Themes of love, hate, death, life, and faith touch upon some of our most basic emotional responses.
Literary Fiction: Literary fiction is a term that has come into common usage in the early 1960s. The term is principally used to distinguish “serious fiction” which is a work that claims to hold literary merit, in comparison from genre fiction and popular fiction. The name literature is sometimes used for this genre, although it can also refer to a broader category of writing.
So I decided I would read The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Why? Well mostly because I lack subtlety, the world is going to hell in a hand-basket, strap yourselves in, it’s going to be a bumpy ride. Besides, I’ve meant to read these two books for a while and I figured now was an appropriate time. Here’s links to the books if you’re interested in reading along (or not, it’s cool, you do you).
Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
Diverse Books Reading Challenge 2017:
Another reading challenge with a monthly theme and the theme for May is Religious Diversity. I probably won’t get around to reading these, but if I could make a couple of recommendations, they would probably be And I Darken by Kiersten White and If You Could be Mine by Sara Farizan. Here’s links to the books if you’re interested in participating in the Diverse Books Reading Challenge:
And I Darken by Kiersten White | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
If You Could be Mine by Sara Farizan | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
Book Haul:
I bought some books in April and March (too many books to be honest, really need to curb my impulse shopping habit) and, as it’s my birthday in April, I was also given some books as well. It’s a long list, so I won’t include book-cover pictures, but I will divide the books up into formats.
Audio-book Format:
On The Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
I have been trying to read Otherbound and On The Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis for a while now, I have both books as Ebooks already, but since I’ve entered into a reading slump, it’s been difficult for me to read Ebooks and Paperbacks alike, however, I’ve had some success with Audio-books in the past, so I figured I’d give this one a go.
The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer | Amazon
I was surprised and happy to find an audio-version of The Dark Wife available from Audible, as I’ve tried to find a physical copy of this book for ages, I can only find a Kindle version for it and as I’m not a big fan of Amazon Kindle, I decided I’d go with the Audio-book format first and check out the Kindle version later.
Ebook Format:
The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
I’m certain I read this when I was in primary school, but I can’t remember for certain, oh well, I’ll just have to try to read it again.
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
I’ve read a lot of mixed reviews about this book, so I figured I’d suss it out for myself, especially since it’s a Diverse Book.
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
Apparently, Jasper Jones is an award-winning novel by an Australian author, I’ve never heard of this book before I saw an episode of The Weekly with Charlie Pickering interviewing Hugo Weaving about the movie-adaptation (he stars in the movie) and they talked about small community scapegoating practises. They made the book sound interesting enough to check out.
The Things I Didn’t Say by Kylie Fornasier | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
The Things I Didn’t Say is a book about selective mutism and it’s written by an Australian author, so I was very intrigued, I think it’s a mystery as well, so it ticked all the boxes for me.
Out on Good Behavior by Dahlia Adler | Amazon | Kobo Books
I purchased this book for the Diverse Books Reading Challenge as it has an openly Pansexual Main Character and, thus far, the book has been interesting. Apparently, this is Book 3 in the Radleigh University series, but you don’t need to read the other two books for this one to make sense. The characters do a fair amount of “Explaining stuff that has happened in previous books”, for me this is usually an annoyance but the author has handled it better then most.
The Room Mate by Kendall Ryan | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
The Play Mate by Kendall Ryan | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
The House Mate by Kendall Ryan | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
Kobo Books were doing a “Kendall Ryan’s books are super cheap right now” special, so I ended up buying three books in her Roommates series. Yes, I am aware these books look a little trashy, oh well.
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
As it turns out, I’m a big fan of Carrie Fisher’s memoirs, so I waited until this one came down in price before I bought it (even though I was itching to get it as soon as possible).
Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
Everyone in the Book Blogging and Book Vlogging Community has been gushing over this book, so I decided to check it out, the premise is interesting, the cover looks nice and it’s only 155 pages long (in Ebook format anyway), so I figured I’d see what all the fuss was about (yes, I occasionally read things because of Book-Blogger Peer Pressure, I have never proclaimed to be without flaws or weaknesses).
Paperback Format:
The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride | Amazon | Book Depository | Kobo Books
My partner bought this for me as a Birthday Present. I’ve never heard of this author before, although I’ve heard of her earlier book A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing, however, I suspect that my partner bought this novel because of a Burn Notice inside-joke.
So that’s it, I’ll try to post more regularly (but I doubt it will happen), let me know in the comment section if you’ve read any of the books mentioned and what you thought about them.
