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Good Reads

I’m Disappointed…That it Took Me So Long to Read This Book! | The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

November 5, 2015

7 comments on I’m Disappointed…That it Took Me So Long to Read This Book! | The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
There were two reasons why I didn’t read Percy Jackson the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan when it was released:
1. In January 2005, I was a junior in high school, and I considered myself too old for middle grade novels.
2. Yet, I wasn’t too old for Harry Potter, which is the other reason I didn’t read this book. Someone said it was “perfect for fans of Harry Potter“, which is an instant turn-off. Nothing can compare to Harry Potter!
So, I’m not sure why, at the age of 27, I felt compelled to buy this middle grade novel (other than, it was on sale, and I’m notoriously impulsive when it comes to buying and borrowing books). Once I brought the book home with me, it spent a few months sitting on the floor beside my bed before I even considered actually reading it. It was because of mentions on two blogs, Reviews and Cake and J.Bookish, that I took as a sign and decided to finally give the book a read. Right from chapter one, I was totally engrossed in The Lightning Thief. Normally I can’t read in bed because I get drowsy really quickly, but this book had me thinking just one more chapter before lights out, and before I knew it, the clock read midnight. I even read this book with the teevee on, and I wasn’t distracted at all.

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Good Reads

At Least They Didn’t Die of Dysentery? | The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown

November 3, 2015

5 comments on At Least They Didn’t Die of Dysentery? | The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown

I guess you could say I’m fascinated by the Oregon Trail. Like many youngsters growing up in America during the 1990s, I was in love with the Oregon Trail computer game. My knowledge of survival was poor, of course; In Independence, Missouri, often the main starting place for the Oregon Trail, I would always spend too much money on salt pork (that’s practically bacon, right?), and oxen—mostly for lugging a wagon full of salt pork, but that would eventually run out… I also treated every scrape, gouge, and disease with turpentine—good for runny noses, not so good for dysentery. It’s a miracle my party ever made it to Oregon (most of the time they didn’t).

There was also that time in college when I would escape to the library on cold, blustery days and try to read the Lewis and Clark journals—not quite as engaging as one would think—wait, does anyone even think that?

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Good Reads

This cozy mystery is spine-chilling | Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie

October 22, 2015

5 comments on This cozy mystery is spine-chilling | Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie

I’m convinced there is a mystery novel for everyone– for cat lovers, for tea lovers, for book club lovers, for Florida Keys lovers, for baking lovers. The list goes on! So, I’m not really sure why I was surprised to discover a mystery series that followed ghost hunters filming for a TV show. It wasn’t even a question whether or not I was going to pick a book from Victoria Laurie’s Ghost Hunter Myster series; I knew I had to have it. It was however, a question of which book do I choose? Unfortunately, my library didn’t have the complete series, so I started with the first book they had, which was number five, Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls.

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Good Reads

This graphic novel failed a saving throw | Welcome to Gotham Academy by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl

October 15, 2015

7 comments on This graphic novel failed a saving throw | Welcome to Gotham Academy by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl
I’m wouldn’t call myself a passionate fan of Batman, but ever since Jon introduced me to some of his favorite graphic novels of the Caped Crusader, I’ve been hooked. I’ve only read five Batman graphic novels so far, but that number is ever-growing, so when, I discovered my library had the first volume of Gotham Academy by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl, I couldn’t resist it.

There were two really great things about Gotham Academy:
1. The artwork. Yet again I’ve discovered a graphic novel with beautiful art, scenery rich with detail, and characters that were incredibly stylish.
2. Maps Mizoguchi. She’s the Dungeons and Dragons-loving, kid sister of Olive’s (our main character) ex-boyfriend. She’s chipper and vibrant and she has all the best nerdy lines referencing her favorite table top game.
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Good Reads

Book Blind Date | Shakespeare Undead by Lori Handleland

October 8, 2015

2 comments on Book Blind Date | Shakespeare Undead by Lori Handleland
I’ve mentioned it before, but I go in “blind” with almost every book I borrow from the library. It encourages me to select books I never would have otherwise because of perceptions of a genre or a style. This was the case for Shakespeare Undead by Lori Handeland. I picked up this novel for two reasons:
1. I needed spooky books for my October “horror” series, and well…this book does have “undead” right in the title.
2. The book cover features Shakespeare with vampire fangs, and apparently that’s all the convincing I need.
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About the Blogger

My name is Jackie, and I am a millennial / mother / Michigander / blogger / wannabe runner / accountant / local library enthusiast / gamer, kinda. This is a personal blog, which means I’m not entirely certain what you’ll find here, but it will definitely not show up on the first page of Google search results.

I’m Disappointed…That it Took Me So Long to Read This Book! | The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

At Least They Didn’t Die of Dysentery? | The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown

This cozy mystery is spine-chilling | Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls by Victoria Laurie

This graphic novel failed a saving throw | Welcome to Gotham Academy by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, and Karl Kerschl

Book Blind Date | Shakespeare Undead by Lori Handleland

About the Blogger