Jun 30, 2016

Monthly Re-Cap: June 2016

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 


Oh June - you were fun... now on to July - when real summer begins... 

June was not super exciting but I did get some reading done. I am slowly making my way through my Netgalley books and my email books and that makes me happy but there are still a lot to go. I made the mistake again in June of choosing only e-books for my TBR and I need more variety than that so I need to pick a variety of formats for July (note to self - do that!)

How was your June reading? Find anything fun? Anything I should grab? Let me know! 

Link me up in the comments section! 

 

     ~~Books Read in June~~     

Jun 29, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday: Too Many Moose by Lisa Bakos

 Too Many Moose
Too Many Moose by Lisa Bakos
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Publication Date:  July 1, 2016




https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17608898-the-killing-jar?from_search=true&search_version=service

Goodreads Synopsis:  

Everyone Needs At Least One More Moose
When Martha decided she must have a pet,
she marveled and mulled over what she should get.
But much of the choices made Martha quite glum…
instead of magnificent, most were humdrum.
And just as it seemed like it might be no use…
she made up her mind that she must have one...
moose!

When Martha gets an unusual pet, she's delighted by all of the fun things they do together. If one moose is this marvelous, then more moose must be even better! Pretty soon, Martha has more moose than she can handle in this playful pet story.


Why I Am Waiting:
MOOOOOOOSE!!!! I love moose, they are adorable!

Jun 27, 2016

Recent Reads: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi


Persepolis: The Story of a ChildhoodPersepolis by Marjane Satrapi
Publisher: Pantheon
Publication Date:  April 2003



 

Format: Hardback
Source: Borrowed from the Library


Rating:
 


 


Goodreads Synopsis: 
Originally published to wide critical acclaim in France, where it elicited comparisons to Art Spiegelman's Maus, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's wise, funny, and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from ages six to fourteen, years that saw the overthrow of the Shah's regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution, and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. The intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists and the great-granddaughter of one of Iran's last emperors, Marjane bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.
Persepolis paints an unforgettable portrait of daily life in Iran: of the bewildering contradictions between home life and public life and of the enormous toll repressive regimes exact on the individual spirit. Marjane’s child's-eye-view of dethroned emperors, state-sanctioned whippings, and heroes of the revolution allows us to learn as she does the history of this fascinating country and of her own extraordinary family. Intensely personal, profoundly political, and wholly original, Persepolis is at once a story of growing up and a stunning reminder of the human cost of war and political repression. It shows how we carry on, through laughter and tears, in the face of absurdity. And, finally, it introduces us to an irresistible little girl with whom we cannot help but fall in love.
 
Mini Review: 
Persepolis is a memoir about growing up in a turbulent time in Iran, during the Islamic Revolution. The memoir is told by a girl as she ages and the experiences she and her family has. It was a very thought-provoking and interesting read. I think putting it in a graphic novel format makes the impact deeper - you are seeing the characters of her life and the experiences in morbid gray-scale. I did not know a lot about Iran before reading this and I feel like it did teach me some things. I think that it is an important read in the world of graphic novels. 


 

Jun 26, 2016

Building the Book Pile #192

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!  A Weekly meme inspired by Stacking the Shelves

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

I hope everyone had a great week! 
This week was a good one, I had Monday off and didn't really do too much. The rest of the week was REALLY slow at work, then Friday rolled around and I had plans to help a friend surprise someone for their birthday. I was so excited about it too, I woke up with a migraine though and had to trudge through it all day at work, I was able to keep it at a tolerable level for the evening but when we got home at 11 I fell into bed and was out.

Saturday we went to the first Vermont Renaissance Festival in Stowe, VT. It was a cute one, a bunch of vendors and the food was really good - but no turkey legs. We met Robert and Katie Pyle they are a costume/ leather vendor and this was their first show - so some free promotion for them if you like this kind of stuff, their site is TheGrinningDwarf.com
  
So far the weekend has been a great one, now I am prepping for a trip we leave for on Thursday so I have to get packing and cleaning :/

 I  hope that all of YOU had a wonderful week!
 
  Giveaways on Cover2CoverBlog!
   http://cover2coverblog.blogspot.com/2016/06/blog-blast-w-giveaway-ceruleans-by.html

Coming up on the Blog... 

Recent Reads: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (GN)
Waiting on Wednesday
June 2016 Re-Cap
July 2016 TBR Pile 

      

  Books Received this Week 

Dancing in the Rain

Dancing in the Rain by Shelley Hrdlitschka From Librarything and Orca Book Publishers for review.
 

Jun 24, 2016

Recent Reads: Escape from Witchwood Hollow by Jordan Elizabeth

Source: From the Author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

Escape from Witchwood HollowEscape from Witchwood Hollow by Jordan Elizabeth
Publisher:  Curiosity Quills Press
Publication Date:  October 29, 2014



 

Format:  Ebook
Rating:
 


 


Goodreads Synopsis: 
Everyone in Arnn - a small farming town with more legends than residents - knows the story of Witchwood Hollow: if you venture into the whispering forest, the witch will trap your soul among the shadowed trees.

After losing her parents in a horrific terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, fifteen-year-old Honoria and her older brother escape New York City to Arnn. In the lure of that perpetual darkness, Honoria finds hope, when she should be afraid.

Perhaps the witch can reunite her with her lost parents. Awakening the witch, however, brings more than salvation from mourning, for Honoria discovers a past of missing children and broken promises.

To save the citizens of Arnn from becoming the witch’s next victims, she must find the truth behind the woman’s madness.

How deep into Witchwood Hollow does Honoria dare venture?
Review: 
Escape from Witchwood Hollow was a very well done young adult/ historical fantasy book about a young girl that moves to Arnn and discovers a legend of a witch in the woods. The story is told through this modern-day young girl but also as the witch, and some of her victims. I loved the way this book formed itself - the young girl learning about the woods and the witch, but then the witch explaining why she fled and lived in the woods, and also the various people she trapped and why she trapped them. It was all very well done. I thought that this sequence of characters would get overwhelming and bothersome but you learned a lot from each character.

The main character is Honoria, who has lost her parents and is still grieving when is moves to Arnn. She is drawn to the woods and the tale of the witch because she believes that she can bring her parents back, so we follow her as she learns about her new town and the witch and tries to see her parents again. 

The witch's story was one of loss, she is chased out of town and lives in the wood trapping people to be her family and Albertine is one of those victims - forced to stay until the witch releases her but on the bright sdie they don't age in the hollow. 

This book was very interesting and I really enjoyed reading the tales of the people trapped and of the witch herself, however I was not very taken by Honoria so the modern aspect was not as enthralling for me. Overall I think that the book was very well put together and I liked the history of the town that was woven through the stories of all the characters. 



 

Jun 23, 2016

Recent Reads: Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys #3 by Jimmy Palmiotti


Harley Quinn & Her Gang of Harleys (2016-) #3
Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys #3 by Jimmy Palmiotti
Series: Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys #3 of 6
Publisher: DC comics
Publication Date:  August 2016



 

Format:  Comic
Source: Bought/ Own


Rating:
 


 


Goodreads Synopsis: 
Held captive by the mysterious Harley Sinn, Harley Quinn tries to learn the identity of her captor and what Sinn intends to do with her! But the most significant question of all is why Sinn has been conducting surveillance on the family members of the rest of the Gang of Harleys, and what does she intend to do with them?
Mini Review: 
So I guess since this in only a 6 issue run I will stick out the rest of these comics. We are already half way through anyways.

This one was a bit better then the last anyway so that makes me happy. Again not much Harley in this installment but the Gang of Harleys were entertaining and the action was pretty good.

The gang finally realized who has Harley and are making their way to get to her - hopefully she will be alive when they do ... we won't find out until the next issue. This issue gave us some more backstories about the gang of Harleys and I am beginning to like the characters but they are the same as Harley Quinn - her jokes and the mess she leaves are still my favorite.