Bout of Books 9.0 Updates Post

It's here! It's here! Bout of Books is finally here. This will be my official update post for the week. I'll update each night.

My general Bout of Books post is here.
My goals post is here.

GOALS:
1. I'd like to read 5 books
2. I'd like to visit every blogger who links up on the Official Sign up Linky. As of the time I'm posting this, there are 187 signed up!
3. I'd like to participate in at least 2 challenges
4. I'd like to participate in at least 1 Twitter chat
5. I'd like to participate at an Expert (done!)

Monday
Want to finish The Lair by Emily McKay. I read about half of it yesterday.
Sort of participated in the Twitter chat today. Fun, as always!
Started reading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Tuesday
Still reading The Lair but am almost finished. 

Wednesday
Finished The Lair by Emily McKay
Continued reading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (up to 10% now, yippee!)
Started reading The Outcasts by Kathleen Kent

Thursday
Continued reading The Outcasts

Friday
Finished The Outcasts

Saturday
Started reading The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Sunday
Bad headache for most of the day so I didn't get any read. Bummer.

Bout of Books 9.0 Updates Post

It's here! It's here! Bout of Books is finally here. This will be my official update post for the week. I'll update each night.

My general Bout of Books post is here.
My goals post is here.

GOALS:
1. I'd like to read 5 books
2. I'd like to visit every blogger who links up on the Official Sign up Linky. As of the time I'm posting this, there are 187 signed up!
3. I'd like to participate in at least 2 challenges
4. I'd like to participate in at least 1 Twitter chat
5. I'd like to participate at an Expert (done!)

Monday
Want to finish The Lair by Emily McKay. I read about half of it yesterday.
Sort of participated in the Twitter chat today. Fun, as always!
Started reading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Tuesday
Still reading The Lair but am almost finished. 

Wednesday
Finished The Lair by Emily McKay
Continued reading The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (up to 10% now, yippee!)
Started reading The Outcasts by Kathleen Kent

Thursday
Continued reading The Outcasts

Friday
Finished The Outcasts

Saturday
Started reading The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Sunday
Bad headache for most of the day so I didn't get any read. Bummer.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Thoughts On)

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1)
Author: Patrick Ness
Pages: 496
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Source: library
Rating: 4/5

Summary from Goodreads:

A dystopian thriller follows a boy and girl on the run from a town where all thoughts can be heard — and the passage to manhood embodies a horrible secret.

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

This is my second Ness novel after reading A Monster Calls late last year. There is something about his writing that I just adore. I'm not the biggest fan of misspellings and dialect but by the end, I was reading it pretty quickly and not feeling as slowed down. Todd is quite a likable character and I was rooting for him throughout.

The basic premise - that all men's thoughts can be heard - is an interesting one to think about. I sure wouldn't want to hear all men's thoughts all.the.time. Can you imagine? The writing style used really captured that never ending Noise. It really was chaotic.

I love excellent world building and felt that was a bit lacking. Whatever was lacking in world building was made up in character development though. I felt like I actually knew Todd by the end. The one issue I had with his character was that he seemed way more grown up that the almost 13 years old he actually was. This could be because of his tough life and the way things were in Prentisstown but there were times when it really distracted me from the story.

My favorite character, by far, was Todd's dog, Manchee. Ness did such an excellent job imagining how a dog would speak, if he could. I enjoyed all of the scenes with him. For those who don't enjoy animals getting hurt, I hate to spoil anything but...he is. It was difficult to read but still heartwarming too because he WAS a dog and he loved Todd so very much.

This is a chunkster at almost 500 pages but it really did fly by. There were a few scenes in the end that had me scratching my head and going "huh?" but overall I really enjoyed it. And the ending killed me. I needed the next one right.that.minute.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Thoughts On)

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking #1)
Author: Patrick Ness
Pages: 496
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Source: library
Rating: 4/5

Summary from Goodreads:

A dystopian thriller follows a boy and girl on the run from a town where all thoughts can be heard — and the passage to manhood embodies a horrible secret.

Todd Hewitt is the only boy in a town of men. Ever since the settlers were infected with the Noise germ, Todd can hear everything the men think, and they hear everything he thinks. Todd is just a month away from becoming a man, but in the midst of the cacophony, he knows that the town is hiding something from him — something so awful Todd is forced to flee with only his dog, whose simple, loyal voice he hears too. With hostile men from the town in pursuit, the two stumble upon a strange and eerily silent creature: a girl. Who is she? Why wasn't she killed by the germ like all the females on New World? Propelled by Todd's gritty narration, readers are in for a white-knuckle journey in which a boy on the cusp of manhood must unlearn everything he knows in order to figure out who he truly is.

This is my second Ness novel after reading A Monster Calls late last year. There is something about his writing that I just adore. I'm not the biggest fan of misspellings and dialect but by the end, I was reading it pretty quickly and not feeling as slowed down. Todd is quite a likable character and I was rooting for him throughout.

The basic premise - that all men's thoughts can be heard - is an interesting one to think about. I sure wouldn't want to hear all men's thoughts all.the.time. Can you imagine? The writing style used really captured that never ending Noise. It really was chaotic.

I love excellent world building and felt that was a bit lacking. Whatever was lacking in world building was made up in character development though. I felt like I actually knew Todd by the end. The one issue I had with his character was that he seemed way more grown up that the almost 13 years old he actually was. This could be because of his tough life and the way things were in Prentisstown but there were times when it really distracted me from the story.

My favorite character, by far, was Todd's dog, Manchee. Ness did such an excellent job imagining how a dog would speak, if he could. I enjoyed all of the scenes with him. For those who don't enjoy animals getting hurt, I hate to spoil anything but...he is. It was difficult to read but still heartwarming too because he WAS a dog and he loved Todd so very much.

This is a chunkster at almost 500 pages but it really did fly by. There were a few scenes in the end that had me scratching my head and going "huh?" but overall I really enjoyed it. And the ending killed me. I needed the next one right.that.minute.

Wilkie in Winter - The Frozen Deep

The Estella Society is hosting a #WilkieWinter in which we read both The Frozen Deep and The Woman in White. And today begins the discussion for The Frozen Deep. I didn't know about this novella that was actually a play that was written by Collins but a lot by Charles Dickens. Get all that? Yep, it is as confusing as it sounds.

This will serve as my mini-review of it. Although I don't read many classics, I am unsure why because I always enjoy them. Once I get past the fancy language that is.

The Frozen Deep was just 100 pages and I enjoyed the writing so much that I didn't mind the story itself which I found odd. I got to the end and just shook my head while thinking that it doesn't really happen that way.

The Estella Society posted a few questions for us to answer so here we go...

1. How do you feel about the narrative structure? The obvious rewrite of stage direction?

The rewrite of stage direction didn't bother me all that much because I was interested in seeing what happened. I called it pretty well but I was still curious.

 2. How do you think this play looked performed? Do you think it would make more sense in that medium that in this small novella?

I'm not sure I would have liked the play at all actually. It worked better as a novella in my opinion because I was able to read it as I wanted instead of watching actors interpret it for me.

 3. What did you think of the “love triangle?” Did it feel forced? Which man would you have picked?

In a word odd. Very forced. I think I would have chosen Aldersley but I don't think that she was fair to Wardour in the slightest.

 4. Impressions of Clara and her characterization?

Weak but I guess all women were viewed that way then. 

 5. Supposedly Dickens had a hand in helping write this script. Can you feel his hand in the writing? How much was Dickens and how much was Collins?

I am embarrassed to say that I've never read a Dickens but if it was heavily influenced by him, I need to give him a try. I'm currently reading The Woman in White and am enjoying Collins' writing style quite a bit.

Wilkie in Winter - The Frozen Deep

The Estella Society is hosting a #WilkieWinter in which we read both The Frozen Deep and The Woman in White. And today begins the discussion for The Frozen Deep. I didn't know about this novella that was actually a play that was written by Collins but a lot by Charles Dickens. Get all that? Yep, it is as confusing as it sounds.

This will serve as my mini-review of it. Although I don't read many classics, I am unsure why because I always enjoy them. Once I get past the fancy language that is.

The Frozen Deep was just 100 pages and I enjoyed the writing so much that I didn't mind the story itself which I found odd. I got to the end and just shook my head while thinking that it doesn't really happen that way.

The Estella Society posted a few questions for us to answer so here we go...

1. How do you feel about the narrative structure? The obvious rewrite of stage direction?

The rewrite of stage direction didn't bother me all that much because I was interested in seeing what happened. I called it pretty well but I was still curious.

 2. How do you think this play looked performed? Do you think it would make more sense in that medium that in this small novella?

I'm not sure I would have liked the play at all actually. It worked better as a novella in my opinion because I was able to read it as I wanted instead of watching actors interpret it for me.

 3. What did you think of the “love triangle?” Did it feel forced? Which man would you have picked?

In a word odd. Very forced. I think I would have chosen Aldersley but I don't think that she was fair to Wardour in the slightest.

 4. Impressions of Clara and her characterization?

Weak but I guess all women were viewed that way then. 

 5. Supposedly Dickens had a hand in helping write this script. Can you feel his hand in the writing? How much was Dickens and how much was Collins?

I am embarrassed to say that I've never read a Dickens but if it was heavily influenced by him, I need to give him a try. I'm currently reading The Woman in White and am enjoying Collins' writing style quite a bit.

Trying again...Worth the Read?

Last year I had the idea stole the idea from Renae and Christina to let someone else choose my books for me. Sometimes I have trouble picking. Sometimes I just want to read something that I wouldn't normally try. Sometimes I just like new features on the blog...let's be honest. I haz issues. Anyway, I put it out there and then sort of forgot about it.

I want to try this again though so these are the books that were suggested and that I'll be reading:

Blood Red Road (Dust Lands #1) by Moira Young - suggested by Krista
The Girl of Fire and Thorn (Fire and Thorns #1) by Rae Carson - suggested by Mel
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (a re-read) - suggested by Libby
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe - suggested by Ana

Have one you think I have to read? Submit your idea here and I'll add it to the list!

Trying again...Worth the Read?

Last year I had the idea stole the idea from Renae and Christina to let someone else choose my books for me. Sometimes I have trouble picking. Sometimes I just want to read something that I wouldn't normally try. Sometimes I just like new features on the blog...let's be honest. I haz issues. Anyway, I put it out there and then sort of forgot about it.

I want to try this again though so these are the books that were suggested and that I'll be reading:

Blood Red Road (Dust Lands #1) by Moira Young - suggested by Krista
The Girl of Fire and Thorn (Fire and Thorns #1) by Rae Carson - suggested by Mel
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (a re-read) - suggested by Libby
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe - suggested by Ana

Have one you think I have to read? Submit your idea here and I'll add it to the list!

Bout of Books Goals Post

This is my official goals post for the upcoming Bout of Books 9.0. I love how laid back this bookish event is so I'm keeping things simple:

1. I'd like to read 5 books
2. I'd like to visit every blogger who links up on the Official Sign up Linky. As of the time I'm posting this, there are 187 signed up!
3. I'd like to participate in at least 2 challenges
4. I'd like to participate in at least 1 Twitter chat
5. I'd like to participate at an Expert (done!)

I might actually do a list of possible books to read but I'm still deciding on that. I don't follow lists very well so why add stress? :-)  

Bout of Books Goals Post

This is my official goals post for the upcoming Bout of Books 9.0. I love how laid back this bookish event is so I'm keeping things simple:

1. I'd like to read 5 books
2. I'd like to visit every blogger who links up on the Official Sign up Linky. As of the time I'm posting this, there are 187 signed up!
3. I'd like to participate in at least 2 challenges
4. I'd like to participate in at least 1 Twitter chat
5. I'd like to participate at an Expert (done!)

I might actually do a list of possible books to read but I'm still deciding on that. I don't follow lists very well so why add stress? :-)