Tuesday, 19 May 2015
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
To play along just do the following:
Wrong About the Guy by Claire LaZebnik.
What’s that saying? If I had a [insert currency of your choice] for every time someone ... said they didn’t understand why Jane Austen or retellings were a thing, well, I wouldn’t be rich, but I could afford a very decent meal and probably a weekend spa trip. Like any good English Literature student I couldn’t avoid an introduction to Jane Austen’s novels at some point during my studies. Luckily, I had a lecturer who was very fond of teaching by showing, by which I mean BBC versions of Jane Austen. And from there I found myself voluntarily picking up the source material. A very clever way of teaching, if you asked me. Way better than teaching Hemingway through making students analyse each and every sighting of the blasted fish. But I digress.
This is a perfectly pleasurable read in and of itself if you have no affection for Austen at all. But if you do, it is a lot of fun to draw parallels between LaZebnik’s and Austen’s versions of the characters. Emma is one of the books that I didn’t immediately appreciate, I’ll admit, and if I had to choose now I think I’d pick up another novel of hers. However, LaZebnik’s story is a very cute and fun one with quite a few relevant undertones, which I think are well adapted from the original and translated into a modern setting. Maybe it’s cramming almost too many themes into one novel, but then again, that’s so totally Emma as she also fits in and manages everything somehow while almost overlooking the important things right in front of her nose. Please, just don’t ever make me choose between Mr Darcy and Mr Knightley ...
And on the topic of choosing: There is a truly evil Would You Rather.Very revealing and soul baring. Let me know how it went for you along with your teasers.
To play along just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Wrong About the Guy by Claire LaZebnik.
 |
| Wrong About the Guy – HarperTeen |
“Yes,” he said. “You’re right. I have no idea what your point is, but I know you can’t be wrong.”
“It’s theoretically possible,” I said. “It’s just never happened.”
— Chapter 18
I don’t like uncertainty. Or waiting around for other people to do things I’m perfectly capable of doing myself.
— Chapter 32
What’s that saying? If I had a [insert currency of your choice] for every time someone ... said they didn’t understand why Jane Austen or retellings were a thing, well, I wouldn’t be rich, but I could afford a very decent meal and probably a weekend spa trip. Like any good English Literature student I couldn’t avoid an introduction to Jane Austen’s novels at some point during my studies. Luckily, I had a lecturer who was very fond of teaching by showing, by which I mean BBC versions of Jane Austen. And from there I found myself voluntarily picking up the source material. A very clever way of teaching, if you asked me. Way better than teaching Hemingway through making students analyse each and every sighting of the blasted fish. But I digress.
This is a perfectly pleasurable read in and of itself if you have no affection for Austen at all. But if you do, it is a lot of fun to draw parallels between LaZebnik’s and Austen’s versions of the characters. Emma is one of the books that I didn’t immediately appreciate, I’ll admit, and if I had to choose now I think I’d pick up another novel of hers. However, LaZebnik’s story is a very cute and fun one with quite a few relevant undertones, which I think are well adapted from the original and translated into a modern setting. Maybe it’s cramming almost too many themes into one novel, but then again, that’s so totally Emma as she also fits in and manages everything somehow while almost overlooking the important things right in front of her nose. Please, just don’t ever make me choose between Mr Darcy and Mr Knightley ...
And on the topic of choosing: There is a truly evil Would You Rather.Very revealing and soul baring. Let me know how it went for you along with your teasers.
Tuesday, 12 May 2015
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
To play along just do the following:
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.
One day, I’ll stop jumping headfirst into new series by authors who I know will have me begging for the next book to be published sooner ... she said as she added another to her growing list.
However, there aren’t many authors with two series underway in which I’m so very impatiently anticipating the next book. I should have known with this one though. Sarah J. Maas is a brilliant storyteller and the mythology she so casually weaves into this wonderful re-imagination (I don’t want to use the term retelling because that would be misleading as there is so much more to it) of the beauty and the beast theme is very thorough and fantastically implemented. I strongly disliked Feyre’s family and the rational part of me will never understand why she didn’t leave them, but my messy heart was totally on board with that and with the forgiveness. It’s in my opinion the skill of a great writer to create a character (or a host of characters) whose actions you would personally never support and comprehend, but which make absolute sense for this character in their context. So yes, I might have guessed the riddle but my background (and that of many readers, even those complainers) is vastly different from Feyre’s. And if I had been brave enough to voice that guess about the solution, is written on a completely different page.
I love the clever foxy Lucien and his grudging but growing acceptance of Feyre; and I am so!intrigued! by the dark and mysterious Rhysand (isn’t that name alone really cool?). And the most amazing thing is that I was expecting a major cliffhanger, as I know the author is capable of them, but the end is actually quite tame. But don’t think that there aren’t still enough open questions that have me chomping at the bit for the next book. Maybe if I barter a week of service each quarter as a house elf?
What would you be willing to trade in for a chance to have any of your upcoming anticipated books right now? Leave suggestions and teasers in the comments.
To play along just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas.
 |
| A Court of Thorns and Roses – Bloomsbury Children’s Books |
He jerked his chin at the knife. “It’s yours. Don’t bury it in my back, please.”
— Chapter 18
“I realized he wouldn’t have gone with me to save you from Prythian.”
And for her, with that raging, unrelenting heart, it would have been a line in the sand.
— Chapter 30
One day, I’ll stop jumping headfirst into new series by authors who I know will have me begging for the next book to be published sooner ... she said as she added another to her growing list.
However, there aren’t many authors with two series underway in which I’m so very impatiently anticipating the next book. I should have known with this one though. Sarah J. Maas is a brilliant storyteller and the mythology she so casually weaves into this wonderful re-imagination (I don’t want to use the term retelling because that would be misleading as there is so much more to it) of the beauty and the beast theme is very thorough and fantastically implemented. I strongly disliked Feyre’s family and the rational part of me will never understand why she didn’t leave them, but my messy heart was totally on board with that and with the forgiveness. It’s in my opinion the skill of a great writer to create a character (or a host of characters) whose actions you would personally never support and comprehend, but which make absolute sense for this character in their context. So yes, I might have guessed the riddle but my background (and that of many readers, even those complainers) is vastly different from Feyre’s. And if I had been brave enough to voice that guess about the solution, is written on a completely different page.
I love the clever foxy Lucien and his grudging but growing acceptance of Feyre; and I am so!intrigued! by the dark and mysterious Rhysand (isn’t that name alone really cool?). And the most amazing thing is that I was expecting a major cliffhanger, as I know the author is capable of them, but the end is actually quite tame. But don’t think that there aren’t still enough open questions that have me chomping at the bit for the next book. Maybe if I barter a week of service each quarter as a house elf?
What would you be willing to trade in for a chance to have any of your upcoming anticipated books right now? Leave suggestions and teasers in the comments.
Tuesday, 5 May 2015
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
To play along just do the following:
Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien.
It’s children’s book week! Luck has it that work requires me to take a closer look at this beautiful classic. I loved the animated movie when I was younger even if the two stories don’t quite match up (the movie has an element of magic while the book really is a classic animal tale). I adore the writing and especially the little gems of wisdom that are hidden in the text. I think that it is a special talents that allows authors to put these truths in their texts without sounding patronising and not all authors have it. It’s a lovely story with short chapter that you can easily fit in when you only have a short time to read ... if you’re the kind of person who reads while standing in line at the supermarket check-out and the likes for example. And if you have someone to read this book aloud to, all the better! You’ll discover amazing new things about a story when it’s read aloud.
Can you recommend other children’s books classics? Are you doing anything interesting for children’s book week? Share thoughts and teasers in the comments!
To play along just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien.
 |
| Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH – Puffin Books |
The size of the brain is no measure of its capacity. And well she might recall it, for the crow’s head was double the size of her own.
— Chapter 3
One warm day, she told herself, does not make a summer. No, nor even a spring.
— Chapter 4
It’s children’s book week! Luck has it that work requires me to take a closer look at this beautiful classic. I loved the animated movie when I was younger even if the two stories don’t quite match up (the movie has an element of magic while the book really is a classic animal tale). I adore the writing and especially the little gems of wisdom that are hidden in the text. I think that it is a special talents that allows authors to put these truths in their texts without sounding patronising and not all authors have it. It’s a lovely story with short chapter that you can easily fit in when you only have a short time to read ... if you’re the kind of person who reads while standing in line at the supermarket check-out and the likes for example. And if you have someone to read this book aloud to, all the better! You’ll discover amazing new things about a story when it’s read aloud.
Can you recommend other children’s books classics? Are you doing anything interesting for children’s book week? Share thoughts and teasers in the comments!
Tuesday, 28 April 2015
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
To play along just do the following:
Tithe by Holly Black.
Hindsight is always 20/20 – or so it is said. With this in mind I picked up the very first book of an author I have discovered through one of her later works. You know how with bands the original fans often dislike the new fans or claim that their band has gone mainstream and no longer sounds the same? I sure hope that bands are able to develop their style and try new things; and if they acquire a bigger following while they do it, good for them. Why this? Because the new fan of a music band might also flip back to the band’s older works and discover that they probably wouldn’t have liked the music had it stayed that way. With authors this is indeed similar enough to be also very different. This book has now been published over a decade ago and the author is still active. You can already see the fine writing skills in this and if you know her current work, admire the advancement. And now imagine if 10+ years have shaped this difference, how much better will the author be in another 5 years? Musicians play with their style and often return to their roots, but authors, in my experience, usually get better with the more books they write. There is a beauty in the thought of growing with your author from their debut, but if you get a chance to get an outside view to compare and contrast a writing period, that is also quite an interesting experience.
Have you ever gone back to an author’s early work after discovering them through a later book? I imagine that many John Green fans started out with The Fault in Our Stars and only later read Looking for Alaska or Papertowns ... especially now that there is another movie right around the corner.
To play along just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Tithe by Holly Black.
 |
| Tithe – Margaret K. McElderry Books |
Gristle would have loved this. She had thought that many times since she had left the Shore, six years past. My imaginary friends would have loved this. She’d thought it the first time that she’d seen the city, lit up like never-ending Christmas. But they never came when she was in Philadelphia. And now she was sixteen and felt like she had no imagination left.
— Chapter 1
Kaye kicked a flattened soda can down the street ahead of her. Even she could see that she was going in no good direction, and not just literally.
— Chapter 4
Hindsight is always 20/20 – or so it is said. With this in mind I picked up the very first book of an author I have discovered through one of her later works. You know how with bands the original fans often dislike the new fans or claim that their band has gone mainstream and no longer sounds the same? I sure hope that bands are able to develop their style and try new things; and if they acquire a bigger following while they do it, good for them. Why this? Because the new fan of a music band might also flip back to the band’s older works and discover that they probably wouldn’t have liked the music had it stayed that way. With authors this is indeed similar enough to be also very different. This book has now been published over a decade ago and the author is still active. You can already see the fine writing skills in this and if you know her current work, admire the advancement. And now imagine if 10+ years have shaped this difference, how much better will the author be in another 5 years? Musicians play with their style and often return to their roots, but authors, in my experience, usually get better with the more books they write. There is a beauty in the thought of growing with your author from their debut, but if you get a chance to get an outside view to compare and contrast a writing period, that is also quite an interesting experience.
Have you ever gone back to an author’s early work after discovering them through a later book? I imagine that many John Green fans started out with The Fault in Our Stars and only later read Looking for Alaska or Papertowns ... especially now that there is another movie right around the corner.
Tuesday, 21 April 2015
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm.
To play along just do the following:
Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder.
I have a growing appreciation for Sisyphus and his never-ending task, but at least mine is a pleasant one of decimating my TBR ... only that whenever I finish one book at least one more has joined the rest of the pile. More likely two or more. But I’m teaching myself to put down books that aren’t doing it for me and decide whether it’s just for now or to give them away entirely. So far it’s mostly a “maybe later” pile next to the TBR, but I’m getting better at it.
This books is definitely not in danger of being put down ... apart from sleep and work, but everything else can wait. I want to know what happened to Kerrick! I dare the book to keep him from me much longer or this will not have a pretty end. And please return him in an acceptable state, preferably before I completely lose it with Avry and the rest of them. Final book in the series and I’m more than curious how this will come to its conclusion. The build-up over the first two books was very promising.
What’s the news regarding your TBR piles? Do you sort them according to mood or simply by chronological order of books being added to the pile? I’d love to hear about your method in the comments along with new books to be added to my pile.
To play along just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Taste of Darkness by Maria V. Snyder.
 |
| Taste of Darkness – Harlequin Mira |
“But they fight in the name of the creator.”
“I don’t care if they fight in the name of broccoli. The goal remains the same.”
— Chapter 5
And the lesson had been learned. Stop trying to use the Lily to revive the dead or it might just work.
— Chapter 8
I have a growing appreciation for Sisyphus and his never-ending task, but at least mine is a pleasant one of decimating my TBR ... only that whenever I finish one book at least one more has joined the rest of the pile. More likely two or more. But I’m teaching myself to put down books that aren’t doing it for me and decide whether it’s just for now or to give them away entirely. So far it’s mostly a “maybe later” pile next to the TBR, but I’m getting better at it.
This books is definitely not in danger of being put down ... apart from sleep and work, but everything else can wait. I want to know what happened to Kerrick! I dare the book to keep him from me much longer or this will not have a pretty end. And please return him in an acceptable state, preferably before I completely lose it with Avry and the rest of them. Final book in the series and I’m more than curious how this will come to its conclusion. The build-up over the first two books was very promising.
What’s the news regarding your TBR piles? Do you sort them according to mood or simply by chronological order of books being added to the pile? I’d love to hear about your method in the comments along with new books to be added to my pile.
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