Book It! – Ravens in the Library
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Another month gone. I can hardly stand how fast time seems to go as you get older. It’s crazy. National Library week falls in April, which I love to celebrate. And it was as good of an excuse as any to get a library card from my new local library. (I moved last fall and hadn’t gotten around to getting a card.) And it made for great inspiration for this month’s Book It! title. Picking up The Raven Cycle books at the library made me think of this song by S.J. Tucker-
I’m still pretty far ahead on my reading challenge, and that’s a good thing, as I may be getting busy with house/farm related things soon.
The Raven Boys
The Raven Boys is the 1st book in Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle. Having seen this series in my Tumbler feed for ages, I felt like this was going to be a series I would need to wait to read. That way I didn’t have to deal with waiting between publications. I was sure I would like it and didn’t want to deal with the frustration of waiting. The final book in the series was published recently, so when I signed up for my library card , I made The Raven Boys my first selection.
Even with all of the spoilers in my Tumbler feed, there were still some things in the book I wasn’t expecting. I think that bodes well for the rest of the books in the series.
Armada
Armada is a Science Fiction novel by Earnest Cline. I read Cline’s first book Ready Player One last year and thoroughly enjoyed all of the vintage video game references. It was going to be a tough act to follow, but Armada held up beautifully, this time full of old sci-fi movie and gaming references, along with some great old music. And all of those were woven into an interesting story about a boy who just wanted to play video games and ended up saving the world. If you enjoy sci-fi, I can’t think of a single reason for you to not check out this book.
I actually listened to the audio version of this book, via my Overdrive account (thanks local library). It was a great solution to getting some “reading” in on a busy weekend – a bit like listening to a really long podcast. This book was read by Wil Wheaton, who did an amazing job. Though, with my own sci-fi references, I kept picturing the main character in the book as Wesley Crusher from Star Trek TNG. Thought, that might have made it a bit cooler to me.
Mort
Mort is a Discworld book by Terry Pratchett, and the first of his books featuring Death. I have a beautiful edition which is part of the Discworld Hardback Library.
It’s super beautiful, and a wonderful book. I absolutely love Pratchett’s stories about Death as an anthropomorphic representation. He’s such an interesting character.
“It struck Mort with sudden, terrible poignancy that Death must be the loneliest creature in the universe. In the great party of Creation, he was always in the kitchen.”
― Terry Pratchett, Mort
The Dream Thieves
The Dream Thieves is the 2nd book in Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle. The Dream Thieves picks up where The Raven Boys left off. Adam has woken the lay line and all sorts of things are starting to come together. But things are also falling apart. It took me longer to get through this book than it did the first, but I think that was more of an issue with all the things I had going on, than a statement about the quality of the book. Here’s hoping the rest of the series continues to be as good.
Tales of Terror and Mystery
Tales of Terror and Mystery is the a book of short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I found all of the stories to be a bit mysterious, but I didn’t find any of them to be the least bit terrifying. I could see them being a bit more scary to a Victorian audience, but with the entertainment we have available today, I’m a bit desensitized.
My favorite story came from the “Tales of Terror” section and was entitled “The New Catacomb.” That short tale follows a discussion between two academics about the discovery of a new catacomb out side Rome.
Another interesting note is that several of the “Tales of Mystery” reference a private detective of renown, who I assume to be Sherlock Holmes, though he is never mentioned by name.
The Road to Oz
I’m still slowly but surely making my way through L. Frank Baum’s Oz books. I just finished reading the 5th book in the series, The Road to Oz. The Road to Oz follows Dorothy’s travels to the Emerald City of Oz along with the Shaggy Man, a little boy named Button Bright, and the rainbow’s daughter. Lots of things happen to them along the way, but as always Dorothy arrives safely, and a good time is had by all.
Blue Lily, Lily Blue
Books I’m Actively Reading
Hopefully you’ll see these books in the finished books section next month.
Books I’ve Put Aside and Plan to Finish Later
Let’s be honest. It’s been so long since I started a couple of these they will probably either become DNF (Did Not Finish) books, or I’ll have to start all over. I feel like such a slacker.
Your Books
Have you been reading much this month? I’d love to know what books you’re reading. Do you get into a “groove” reading a certain type of book?
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