Being brutally honest about books

Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meme. Show all posts

Saturday 26 November 2016

Stacking the Shelves: Library Haul

Stacking the Shelves 
 Stacking The Shelves is a meme created by Tynga’s Reviews. The following links go to Goodreads.


I went for a walk because today was lovely and sunny and I hadn't left the house in a week, so I was getting cabin fever. I felt like going to the library, because while I've been good lately at reading the books already on my shelf, the remaining ones didn't inspire me. So I walked to the local public library, which I hadn't been to in a very long time (possibly since March or February, can you believe it?). I expected to get some books on my ginormous TBR list, but alas, I didn't (in fact I only found one of the books on my TBR at the library). Isn't it always the case?

Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison


I picked up this one for the cover, and borrowed it for the history. I don't have high expectations for the quality of the book (the average rating on Goodreads is only 3.21); I'll be reading it for the history and Russian-ness alone.

St. Petersburg, 1917. After Rasputin’s body is pulled from the icy waters of the Neva River, his eighteen-year-old daughter, Masha, is sent to live at the imperial palace with Tsar Nikolay and his family—including the headstrong Prince Alyosha. Desperately hoping that Masha has inherited Rasputin’s miraculous healing powers, Tsarina Alexandra asks her to tend to Aloysha, who suffers from hemophilia, a blood disease that keeps the boy confined to his sickbed, lest a simple scrape or bump prove fatal.

Two months after Masha arrives at the palace, the tsar is forced to abdicate, and Bolsheviks place the royal family under house arrest. As Russia descends into civil war, Masha and Alyosha grieve the loss of their former lives, finding solace in each other’s company. To escape the confinement of the palace, they tell stories—some embellished and some entirely imagined—about Nikolay and Alexandra’s courtship, Rasputin’s many exploits, and the wild and wonderful country on the brink of an irrevocable transformation. In the worlds of their imagination, the weak become strong, legend becomes fact, and a future that will never come to pass feels close at hand.

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

 
I have some other Sarah Waters books on my TBR since I read and loved Tipping the Velvet earlier this month. So I knew the chances of me enjoying this one were pretty high. I don't really know anything about 1920s London (1920s New York, yes), so this will be interesting.

It is 1922, and London is tense. Ex-servicemen are disillusioned, the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa, a large silent house now bereft of brothers, husband and even servants, life is about to be transformed, as impoverished widow Mrs Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers.

For with the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the 'clerk class', the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways. And as passions mount and frustration gathers, no one can foresee just how far-reaching, and how devastating, the disturbances will be.

Ancients by David Lynn Golemon


I love ancient mythology (especially Greek) so this book had me at "Ancients" and "Atlantis". My sister took one look at it and asked if it's about Stargate. It's not, but it looks very similar. It also looks exciting, but guess what? I just discovered it's the 3rd in a series! I just hope that it can be a standalone as well.

The lost city of Atlantis is the stuff of legend. A vast treasure of secret knowledge and unimaginable wealth. An entire civilisation that disappeared for unknown reasons, forgotten in the mists of time. But now, battle lines are being drawn to claim the immense power which once resided there.

On one side, led by Colonel Jack Collins, is the Event Group - a top secret government organisation made of the most brilliant soldiers, scientists and historians on earth, all dedicated to discovering the truth behind the world's greatest unsolved myths. They must take down a shadowy conspiracy of men fuelled by hatred who want to unleash a weapon which could change life as we know it forever...

These are all fairly different books, although they all have elements of history. Is anyone surprised by that? I'm not. 

These also aren't small, read-in-a-day books, but I have until 9th January to read them, so I should get through them. Better start now...

Have you read any of these? Do you often borrow or buy a book only to find it's the middle of a series? What books have you bought or borrowed this week?

Sunday 25 September 2016

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves 

 Stacking The Shelves is a meme created by Tynga’s Reviews. This is my first time participating, but I got some new books today and haven't posted in a while, so here we go! Links go to Goodreads.

This afternoon, my mum and I went into a second-hand bookshop we like but haven't been to for a very long time, and she bought these for me! The first I picked up because I have two other books by the author on my TBR list and it sounded very interesting, the third was on my TBR list, and the second my mum picked up because she has the same name as the title and enjoyed one of the author's other books.


Despite The Falling Snow  by

The enthralling narrative of Shamim Sarif's powerful second novel moves between present day Boston and 1950s Moscow. After an early career amongst the political elite of Cold War Russia, Alexander Ivanov has built a successful business in the States. For forty years, he has buried the tragic memories surrounding his charismatic late wife, Katya - or so he believes. For into his life come two women - one who will open up the heart he has protected for so long; another who is determined to uncover what really happened to Katya so long ago. The novel's journey back to the snowbound streets of post-Stalinist Moscow reveals a world of secrets and treachery. Shamim Sarif's elegant writing delicately evokes the intensity of passionate love and tragic violence.

Helen  by

Newly orphaned Helen Stanley is urged to share the home of her childhood friend Lady Cecilia. This charming socialite, however, is withholding secrets and soon Helen is drawn into a web of ‘white lies’ and evasions that threaten not only her hopes for marriage but her very place in society. 

A fascinating panorama of Britain’s political and intellectual elite in the early 1800s and a gripping romantic drama. Helen was the inspiration for Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters.
  Tipping the Velvet  by
This delicious, steamy debut novel chronicles the adventures of Nan King, who begins life as an oyster girl in the provincial seaside town of Whitstable and whose fortunes are forever changed when she falls in love with a cross-dressing music-hall singer named Miss Kitty Butler.

When Kitty is called up to London for an engagement on "Grease Paint Avenue", Nan follows as her dresser and secret lover, and, soon after, dons trousers herself and joins the act. In time, Kitty breaks her heart, and Nan assumes the guise of butch roue to commence her own thrilling and varied sexual education - a sort of Moll Flanders in drag - finally finding friendship and true love in the most unexpected places.
All of these are set in the past, but are quite diverse - there are 20th Century Russians*, Georgians, and Victorians. Being the history nerd that I am (who loves these 3 eras) I am very excited to read these 3 novels! (Unfortunately my bookshelf is already overflowing, so I have no idea where I'll put them.)

*I seem to be going through an unintentional 19th and 20th Century Russia phase. Stay tuned for my review of War and Peace whenever I finish it (I'm still not even halfway, though I'm making good progress!).

Have you read any of these? What have you added to your bookshelf lately? Or have you been good?

Tuesday 6 September 2016

Top Ten F/F Relationships on TV

Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is to do a television-related topic, so I've chosen to do my ten favourite female/female relationships on television, past and present. Some of these are ships, some are friendships, some are antagonistic relationships. Not a spoiler-free post.

1. Xena & Gabrielle

Xena: Warrior Princess 
This one's a given.

2. Xena & Callisto

Xena: Warrior Princess
Gif source
You hurt me, I hurt you back tenfold.

3. Eve & Varia

Xena: Warrior Princess
Gif source
Varia has good reason to hate Eve, but ultimately forgives her. Cue happy feels.

4. Ilithyia & Lucretia

Spartacus
Gif source
The best frenemies to ever frenemy.

5. Gaia & Lucretia

Spartacus
Gif source
They genuinely care about each other and Gaia is essential in Lucretia's character development.

6. Nicole Haught & Waverly Earp

Wynonna Earp
Gif source
No Bury Your Gays trope here!

7. Waverly Earp & Wynonna Earp

Wynonna Earp

Gif source

 Healthy family relationships are so rare in fiction. Given the end of season 1, let's see how long this lasts.

8. Cosima Niehaus & Delphine Cormier

Orphan Black
Delphine is alive!

9. Clara Oswald & Jane Austen

Doctor Who
Still a better love story than Twilight, and they don't even have any scenes together.

10. Alex Vause & Piper Chapman

Orange is the New Black
Gif source
Such an unhealthy relationship that sometimes it's hard to watch. But it's so good!

Talk to me...

Do you know all these relationships? Which are your favourites? Who would you add to the list?

Sunday 28 August 2016

Goodreads Book Tag

I came across this cute little book tag on The Review Room and decided to share what I've been reading recently. As you may know from an earlier rant, I love Goodreads and use it every day, so if here's what my profile kind of looks like at the moment.


What was the last book you marked as read?
If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho

If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho by
What are you currently reading?
13130788
I've been reading this for months. It's soooo long!

What was the last book you marked as TBR?
25497701

Rooks and Romanticide by J. I. Radke

What book do you plan to read next? 
Either one of three books on my bookshelf (Strange Are the Ways by Teresa Crane, Pompeii by Robert Harris, Sacred Country by Rose Tremain) or Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace on my ereader.

Do you use the star rating system?
Yep, I find it very helpful. My rating system is the same for this blog and Goodreads.

Are you doing a 2016 reading challenge?
Nope. I last did a reading challenge in 2012. So on the challenge box it just says, "I want to read books in 2016," which is very accurate. I just want to read books this year, not a specific number.

Do you have a wishlist?
I have a to-get list, but since books are so expensive it's a very short list. This is it:

Blank 133x176

Darkbane (The Legendsong #3) by
Cleopatra's Shadows
Cleopatra's Shadows by
Do you have any favourite quotes? Would you like to share a few? 
With pleasure! 

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey
“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”
Marcus Tullius Cicero 
“We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel... is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become.”
Ursula K. Le Guin 
“We don’t need a list of rights and wrongs, tables of dos and don’ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon forgotten, but Once upon a time lasts forever.”
Philip Pullman 
“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring  
Who are your favourite authors?
My three most-read authors are Tamora Pierce, Louise Rennison, and John Marsden but they aren't necessarily my favourites. I'm still just getting my foot in the door of adult books so I haven't found any favourites yet there.
 
Have you joined any groups?
I did, but I've since left them. I don't remember if I ever posted anything in those groups. I've actually never been in any book groups, online or offline. I'm not sure that they'd work for me.

I tag...

Everyone reading this who uses Goodreads!

Tuesday 16 August 2016

Top Ten Books Set in the Future

Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is Top Ten Books With X Setting (top ten books set near the beach, top ten book set in boarding school, top ten books set in England, etc). If you read my blog you'll know how much I love historical fiction, but you may not know that sci-fi is also one of my favourite genres, and I love futuristic settings a LOT.
Click the covers to go to the Goodreads links. 

1.
Uglies (Uglies, #1)
The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld
2.
Diverse Energies
Diverse Energies edited by
3.
The Comet's Curse (Galahad, #1)
The Galahad series by Dom Testa
4.
Blood Red Road (Dust Lands, #1)
 The Dust Lands trilogy by Moira Young
5.
Genesis (The Rosie Black Chronicles, #1)
 The Rosie Black Chronicles by Lara Morgan
6.
Adaptation (Adaptation, #1)
  The Adaptation series by Malinda Lo
7.
The Carbon Diaries 2015 (Carbon Diaries, #1)
The Carbon Diaries series by Saci Lloyd
(Wait....)
8.
Titanic 2020 (Titanic 2020 #1)
Titanic 2020 by Colin Bateman
9.
Exodus (Exodus, #1)
The Exodus series by Julie Bertagna
10.
The Mammoth Book of SF Wars
The Mammoth Book of SF Wars edited by Ian Watson & Ian Whates

What are your favourite futuristic books? Have you read any of these? Do you have any recommendations?

Tuesday 9 August 2016

Top Ten Books by New Zealand Authors


Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is Top Ten Tuesday REWIND - go back and do a topic you missed over the years or recently or a topic you really want to revisit. I missed 19 July's Ten Books Set Outside The US, but since that's too broad I thought I'd narrow it down a bit and show my international readers what they should be reading. These books aren't all set in New Zealand, but they're not set in the US, either.

1. 


Love in the Land of Midas by Kapka Kassabova

2.

Rosetta by Barbara Ewing

3.

4.

I Am Not Esther by Fleur Beale

5.

6. 


7.

Juicy Writing: Inspiration and Techniques for Young Writers by

A Necklace of Souls by



Hairy Maclary from Donaldson's Dairy by Lynley Dodd
(C'mon, it's a classic!)

Talk to me... 

Do you have any favourite New Zealand books? Are you going to try any of the ones on this list? How well do NZ writers compete internationally?

Monday 1 August 2016

Thirty Bookish Facts About Me

Thank you Cait at Paper Fury for sharing these questions!

1) Currently reading?

Music & Silence by

2) Should’ve read, like, yesterday?

Throne of Glass by

3) Book that impacted you?

One? Just one?!

5) Current series crush?

 Don't have one.

6) How strong is your self-control around books?

 Well, if I see a book lying around anywhere, I pick it up to look at it. But apart from wanting to look at all the books, I'd say I have good self-control, especially about buying them.

7) Plot vs characters? 

Strong, interesting, and unique characters are necessary for me to love a book. However, I find narrative a very interesting topic to study (I'm a Media student, I've studied it twice). When a book has great characters and little plot, it can be okay. When a book hasn't got great characters but has a very interesting plot, it can be good. So I might go with plot.

8) Would you write under a pseudonym?

Yes. But I also want recognition. So I don't know.

9) Would you marry your bookshelf?

We live together anyway, I don't need a document to prove my love. I guess we're living in sin, then.

10) Do you ever get sick of reading?

Yes. Doesn't everybody? 

11) Random bookish memory?

 "Companionably reading" with one of my old friends. Our whole friendship was mostly based around this - we would usually sit in her room and each read our own book. I need a new friend to do this with; it was great.

12) Character you relate to? 

I find it very hard to relate to characters in books and I can't think of any.

13) Do you own bookish merchandise?

I have a rune necklace from when I got my book signed by Cassandra Clare.

14) Controversial opinion? 

Romance is unnecessary in books for young people. That includes eleven-year-olds and eighteen-year-olds. I'm not saying don't put romance in any book at all (I agree, but no-one would take me seriously) just that it's unnecessary.

15) NOTP?

  Plenty but none I can think of specifically.

16) Why didn’t I love this?

What is this question asking? No comprendo. 

17) Hardcover vs paperback?

Paperback. (Hardcovers are just so hard to hold.)

18) Do you ever like villains?

Yep 

19) Cringeable reads? 

Paranormal fiction in general.

20) Where do you get your books from?

Libraries, for the most part. 

21) Haunting read?

I'm sure I've read some, but I can't think of any. 

22) Highly anticipated upcoming release? 

I don't actually have any, for once in my life. I'm not anticipating any upcoming releases. This is a good thing, though.

23) Annoying character qualities?

 Moody, "popular", "unpopular", spoiled brat, too noble or selfish to sacrifice one person/thing for the greater good.

24) Least favourite genre?

Animal stories. Although I have read a surprising number of horse books for someone who doesn't like animals.

25) Best tropes?

 Girl dresses as boy. Hate-love. Female warriors. Anti-heroes.

26) Rereading?

Only for books I love

27) Have you abused a book?

I nearly threw a copy of one of the Lord of the Rings books out the window on accident. 

28) Series you quit on? 

 Cassandra Clare's Shadowhunters universe. I loved The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices, but I have no interest in reading the new series because there's a bit of sameness and I've just grown out of it.

29) Wish it wasn’t a standalone?

 I can't think of any. For at least the past year, I've preferred to read standalones over series. 

30) Bad bookworm side-effects? 

Getting writing inspiration from every book you read, so that while you're reading a book you're thinking of your own writing and therefore don't take in the book you're reading.

Monday 25 July 2016

Get To Know Me Tag

Thank you to Alise at Readers In Wonderland for the tag. Readers, here are some never before revealed facts about me!

Basics

Name: pen name Alexandria
Nicknames: not really
Birthday: 7th November
Star Sign: Scorpio
Occupation: student

Appearance

Hair colour: naturally brown, currently blackish
Hair length: long
Eye colour: blue
Best feature: eyes
Braces: never
Piercings: ears. I want to get a nose stud, too.
Tattoos: no 
Right or left handed: left

Firsts

Best friend: a girl at kindy
Award: can't remember
Sport: netball
Real holiday: what does a "real" holiday mean??
Concert: The Wiggles!

Favourites

Films: The Brothers Grimm, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings
TV Shows: Xena: Warrior Princess, Spartacus
Colours: red, black, navy blue
Song: currently Pas De Deux Femmes
Restaurant: I don't have one
Shop: also don't have one
Books: you don't wanna go there, it would take too long
Shoes: black ankle boots with high heels and gold zips on the sides

Currently…

Feeling: tired of life
Single or Taken: single and happy
Eating: nuts
Thinking about: this tag
Watching: Westside, War & Peace, rewatching some Xena episodes with my sister
Wearing: red jeans, black shirt, denim jacket

Future

Children: no
Marriage: not if I can help it
Careers: writing (fingers crossed!)
Where you want to live: I don't actually know

Do you believe in…?

God: no
Miracles: no
Love at first sight: no
Ghosts: no
Aliens: no
Soul mates: no
Heaven/hell: no
Kissing on the first date: do what you both want, honestly, why ask me?
Yourself: usually

I tag…

Everyone reading this post!

Tuesday 12 July 2016

Top Ten Random Facts About Me

Top Ten Tuesday is an awesome meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is Ten Facts About Me. 

1. I'm in my first year of university, studying Communications

2. I'm left-handed

3. My favourite picture book is Weslandia by

I'm Alexandria, a 19-year-old reader/writer/blogger from New Zealand. I love language, history, and sci-fi. Hi! I'm always around if you want to talk, which you can do via comments, the contact form, or Facebook.

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