Rainy Day Reads

I usually really enjoy Stiefvater's writing, although it often takes me a little while to get into. This book was no different and while it was a little slow at first I really enjoyed it in the end. The book takes place on the island of Thisby around the beginning of the 20th century (I assume. Its never really stated out loud when exactly it is). This island is visited by waterhorses every fall, and the locals catch them, train them and race them once a year in the Scorpio races. This year our main protagonist Kate, Puck to friends, decides to race in order to keep her older brother from leaving the island for the mainland. However, the waterhorses are too wild for her and she decides to race her own horse, born and raised on land. Throughout the book we follow her struggles with family and race officials that think a girl and her land horse does not belong in the races. The book also has a second narrator, Sean Kendrick, who is a master horseman and who has won the races ...

In my most recent library book haul I described this as “Desperate Housewives” in book form and I stand by that description.   This book is about a group of people, connected by the school that all their children go to. Jane, a newcomer, meets one of the other moms, Madeleine, and gets sucked into the politics of the school, when Madeleine takes her under her wing. Jane is nervous and shy so when the power-mom at the school accuses Jane’s son of bullying her daughter she finds it difficult to stand up for herself in the ensuing war. However, with Madeleine on her side she finds the courage to take a stand.  The book is written as normal prose interspersed with bits from an interview, apparently. We hear from most of the moms and some of the dads at the school and from a police inspector, who is determined to find out what happened at the quiz night. This quiz night is the crux of the story as something major happens here. We start the story going back 5 months o...

I picked this book as my “historical fiction book” for the Bingo Board Reading Challenge, because I’ve heard so many good things about it.   It is set in 17th century Delft in the Netherlands and is told from the perspective of a young girl named Griet, who goes to work as a maid in the house of Vermeer, the famous painter.  We learn early on that her father has had an accident at his work and can’t work any longer, so now the two children must support the family. The son is an apprentice tile maker and that is all well and good, but Griet must work as a maid and the parents are so ashamed of what this family has come to, and say things like “We lost you when you became a maid” etc. If it’s SO shameful to be a maid why are you letting her? And if it is so necessary for her to work as a maid to support YOU why are you being so bitchy about it?  Anyway, she goes to the house and gets stuck into work. And here she meets a bunch of people and the book is re...

This is the long-awaited last book of “The Raven Cycle” and I finally got around to reading it. Absolutely everyone hauled it when it first came out, but it took a little while for me to get my hands on it and then it took another good while for me to actually read it. Do you know that feeling of not wanting to read a book because you are afraid it won’t live up to the rest of the series? Well, have no fear, because this one does. We follow Blue and the Raven Boys as their adventures comes to and end. I can’t really say too much about the plot without spoiling the rest of the series, if you haven’t read that yet, but just know that this book is everything the other books are and more. We get closure on pretty much everything, there’s drama, action and love and all of it is well-written and realistic. Plus there is one love story that I for sure thought was fan-made or what you call it but it turned out to be canon!! Woop!  Sometimes I was a bit confused, because it h...

I found this tag browsing on Tumblr a while ago, and while many seem to have done it, I can’t seem to find the original. But kudos to whoever made it because who doesn’t love books and chocolate? Dark Chocolate: (A book that covers a dark topic ([abuse, domestic violence, rape, loneliness, bullying, death, etc]) Easy by Tammara Webber. This book deals with attempted rape at college and how people are discouraged from reporting it by the authorities who ought to help them. If you are interested in the topic you can also watch the documentary “The Hunting Ground”. It should still be on Netflix.  White Chocolate: (Your favorite lighthearted/humorous read) The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets by Eva Rice. This book still deals with some heavy topics but there is just this feeling about it that I really enjoy. Set in 1950s England it deals with family, friendship and love.  Milk Chocolate: (A book that has a lot of hype that you’re dying to read) I try not to get...

I picked this book up because it was a recommendation for the Lonely Genres Book Club for the genre steampunk. I don’t think I have ever read anything steampunk, so I decided to give it a try. And I quite liked it.  The book is set in steampunk Victorian London, which in this universe is populated by humans, werewolves, vampires and a very few so-called “soulless” people. Alexia Tarabotti is one of these soulless people, and what that means essentially is that she cancels out the supernatural with a touch. So if she touches a vampire for example that vampire becomes human again, as long as she touches him.  The supernatural folk have struck a precarious balance with the humans and they are living side by side in sort of harmony. But then supernaturals start to disappear and Alexia is hunted for her soulless state which is very coveted. It all kicks off from there and the book is quite action packed. Apart from the action there is the Austen-esque descriptions of...

This topic is going to be a bit hard, because the prompt clearly states that it is characters you are most like, not who you would LIKE to be like. It does allow you to pick individual character traits, though, so I guess that’s my loophole ;)  In no particular order, I would say I am most like:  Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. I can definitely recognize myself in her work ethics, her crazy studying and always being on time with her homework. I was such a little goodie two-shoes in school, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. I had quite a stress free school life, because I was always on time with assignments, and when occasionally I would completely space out and forget something, the teachers would cut me some slack because of my stellar record. Life tips for you right there! Lyra from His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. As a kid I would make up stories constantly, like Lyra does. I even did writing with two of my friends, drea...

I saw this tag on Readsanddaydreams on Youtube, but it was originally created by Jen Campbell . Basically you go through the alphabet picking an author for every letter and quickly talking about a book of theirs you either have read or want to read. I thought that sounded like fun and a good way to talk about a lot of different books. So let’s do it! A - Jane Austen. I love Pride and Prejudice, but if you want something a little bit shorter, try Persuasion or Northanger Abbey. All these are about love and social maneuvering, but Northanger Abbey has a bit more spark as it is a parody of the Gothic stories that were popular at the time.  B - Kendare Blake. Anna Dressed in Blood. I don’t usually read scary stories like this, but I actually really liked it and the sequel is on my TBR. It’s about a ghost hunter who comes to town looking to vanquish this particular ghost.  C - Suzanne Collins. I love The Hunger Games. The first book in particular. I wonder if she ...

When December rolls around any town with self-respect whips up a Christmas Market. There is something cozy about the stalls selling snacks, hot drinks and Christmassy decorations, and it is even cozier if you go away from home to enjoy it.   This year I went to Berlin to experience the Christmas Market there and do a little Christmas shopping. Berlin is a big city and it has a lot of Christmas Markets. I was only there for one night, so I stayed pretty close to my hotel. Luckily I had chosen to stay near Alexanderplatz, which is a lovely area, with many shops and its own Christmas market.  The market has numerous stalls that sell everything from glazed apples, hot dogs, mulled wine and fried mushrooms to Christmas stars, woolen socks and glass baubles. Prizes are a bit expensive, but may of the items are worth it. I was there from Saturday to Sunday and during Saturday afternoon and evening it got VERY busy. Being so busy I would not consider it child-frie...