Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan.
I’ve seen Rick Riordan being called scribe of the gods and considering that he is able to write about a multitude of pantheons and tell compelling stories about them this seems like a worthy call sign. I especially love the humour in these books with witty and fun dialogues and narrations. Percy Jackson and friends reminded me of my passion for Greek and Roman mythology and I always smile about the little quirks when I discover a connection either between the individual books or to old myths often with a twist. Egypt also got its treatment and now we have the (in my case) lesser known Norse gods.
This is the second book of what currently looks like a trilogy. I maybe hope that there will be more although I wish Magnus a peaceful afterlife I also want to see him in more quests and epic arguments with his sword. Among other things.
I will admit that it is sort of hard to picture Loki as anyone else than Tom Hiddleston ... and don’t get me started on Thor. At the same time these and many other pop culture references are picked up and get wonderfully twisted as well. Yet I also think that because of their close relationship to current trends the books appeal to their readers at the precise moment of their publication (which is more than enough) but at the same time all these tiny references and extras will be hard to understand just a couple of years on.
Side note: The chapter titles of Rick Riordan’s books are some of the best ones ever – You Keep Using the Word Help. I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means ... for example.
What are your thoughts on very up to date books? Love them for their close relation to current events/references or sceptic about their long term readability? Share your ideas 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!
The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan.
 |
| The Hammer of Thor – Disney-Hyperion |
With most zombies, you don’t expect conversation.
I figured King Mummy would say RARRRR! Or, at most, BRAINS! And then get down to the business of killing us.
I was not ready for “Thank you, mortals! I am in your debt!”
— Chapter 15
Seriously, I don’t know if there’s a Norse god of dreams, but if there is, I’m going to find his house and hack apart his Sleep Number mattress with a battle-ax..
— Chapter 25
I’ve seen Rick Riordan being called scribe of the gods and considering that he is able to write about a multitude of pantheons and tell compelling stories about them this seems like a worthy call sign. I especially love the humour in these books with witty and fun dialogues and narrations. Percy Jackson and friends reminded me of my passion for Greek and Roman mythology and I always smile about the little quirks when I discover a connection either between the individual books or to old myths often with a twist. Egypt also got its treatment and now we have the (in my case) lesser known Norse gods.
This is the second book of what currently looks like a trilogy. I maybe hope that there will be more although I wish Magnus a peaceful afterlife I also want to see him in more quests and epic arguments with his sword. Among other things.
I will admit that it is sort of hard to picture Loki as anyone else than Tom Hiddleston ... and don’t get me started on Thor. At the same time these and many other pop culture references are picked up and get wonderfully twisted as well. Yet I also think that because of their close relationship to current trends the books appeal to their readers at the precise moment of their publication (which is more than enough) but at the same time all these tiny references and extras will be hard to understand just a couple of years on.
Side note: The chapter titles of Rick Riordan’s books are some of the best ones ever – You Keep Using the Word Help. I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means ... for example.
What are your thoughts on very up to date books? Love them for their close relation to current events/references or sceptic about their long term readability? Share your ideas and teasers in the comments.
Tuesday, 22 November 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.
With reality currently a little (okay, more a lot) reminiscent of a rampant dumpster fire it is time for some feel-good, harmless, calm space opera ... only this is not that book. You don’t even get to spend that much time in space. Unless you count a faraway planet as space, but really the space-time is at a bare minimum here. If Lilac from book one is every princess turned warrior dream come true then Jubilee is the bad ass fighter with a (very hard to get there but definitely present) soft core. And I have a predilection for guy called Flynn. Especially if there are (very very very distant in this case) Irish roots. The upside of these amazing series is that in the end people get what and whom they deserve ... but that’s also a downside, because damn all the good guys get paired off with truly awesome girls and you can’t even be mad. And no, I don’t care if I’m sometimes jealous of fictional characters’ relationships.
If for some reason you haven’t heard of this series or just haven’t had the chance to read the books, I will urge you to find the time and read all three (and the short story) in a row, because why not binge on something really good when you have the possibility?
What has been your latest binge read? Or are you one of these fabled readers who can pace themselves? Let’s hear from you 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!
This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.
 |
| This Shattered World – Hyperion |
My breath catches, responding to an unfamiliar pull in my chest, an ache in my soul. I shouldn’t miss him, but I do; this boy who had every right to pull that trigger, and instead threw himself between me and death.
— Chapter 17
Each mind unique, each thought created for an instant and then broken apart to form new ones. You don’t understand the unbearable beauty of being you.
— Chapter 36
With reality currently a little (okay, more a lot) reminiscent of a rampant dumpster fire it is time for some feel-good, harmless, calm space opera ... only this is not that book. You don’t even get to spend that much time in space. Unless you count a faraway planet as space, but really the space-time is at a bare minimum here. If Lilac from book one is every princess turned warrior dream come true then Jubilee is the bad ass fighter with a (very hard to get there but definitely present) soft core. And I have a predilection for guy called Flynn. Especially if there are (very very very distant in this case) Irish roots. The upside of these amazing series is that in the end people get what and whom they deserve ... but that’s also a downside, because damn all the good guys get paired off with truly awesome girls and you can’t even be mad. And no, I don’t care if I’m sometimes jealous of fictional characters’ relationships.
If for some reason you haven’t heard of this series or just haven’t had the chance to read the books, I will urge you to find the time and read all three (and the short story) in a row, because why not binge on something really good when you have the possibility?
What has been your latest binge read? Or are you one of these fabled readers who can pace themselves? Let’s hear from you in the comments!
Tuesday, 15 November 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson.
For some odd reason whenever I recommend this book to someone I almost say keys instead of key ... but there clearly is just that one key and therefore I really shouldn’t have this problem. Maybe I’m projecting and want there to be more than one key. But who knows, the brain is a weird place and don’t get me started on the psyche. Anyway, an early book of one of my favourite authors. In fact, the very first (I think? I could be horribly mistaken). And also the very first I read and loved, which convinced me to keep reading whatever else she writes. Considering her Twitter output that’s a lot. I might have missed something there.
What I love most about Maureen’s writing is this wonderful mixture where one paragraph has you in stitches from laughing so much while the next can be a life and death race to the next tissue box. This is a book about grief, but also about family and love and perseverance. Yes, there are early book issues. I know that now, over ten years later, but I still love this book, even with its issues and I think that you shouldn’t blame a piece of its time for not being up to current standards. No one blames Homer for not giving Odysseus a Sat Nav to get home quicker either.
Are there books on which your perspective has changed over the course of time? Let me know about them and your 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!
The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson.
 |
| The Key to the Golden Firebird – HarperCollins Publishers |
So we didn’t stop calling each other – I stopped calling her. I didn’t know what to say to her anymore or what to do.
— Chapter 11
She had used the full “I love you” construction. Not even “love ya!” or “I totally love you!” – either of which might have meant she wasn’t serious.
— Chapter 14
For some odd reason whenever I recommend this book to someone I almost say keys instead of key ... but there clearly is just that one key and therefore I really shouldn’t have this problem. Maybe I’m projecting and want there to be more than one key. But who knows, the brain is a weird place and don’t get me started on the psyche. Anyway, an early book of one of my favourite authors. In fact, the very first (I think? I could be horribly mistaken). And also the very first I read and loved, which convinced me to keep reading whatever else she writes. Considering her Twitter output that’s a lot. I might have missed something there.
What I love most about Maureen’s writing is this wonderful mixture where one paragraph has you in stitches from laughing so much while the next can be a life and death race to the next tissue box. This is a book about grief, but also about family and love and perseverance. Yes, there are early book issues. I know that now, over ten years later, but I still love this book, even with its issues and I think that you shouldn’t blame a piece of its time for not being up to current standards. No one blames Homer for not giving Odysseus a Sat Nav to get home quicker either.
Are there books on which your perspective has changed over the course of time? Let me know about them and your teasers in the comments!
Tuesday, 8 November 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.
Some books get better every time you read them and this is most definitely a book that not only needs but deserves to be read multiple times. Neil Gaiman is one of my no questions asked buy authors and while I like all his writing I think that this is one of his most beautiful books. And it works at so many levels, too! The story itself is a little confusing at first glance, because the narration needs a little getting used to, but once you get into it and at the second read at the latest the different layers of the narration start to unfold. There are so many wonderful and true sentences in this book that I keep looking at my highlighted quotes and realise that there is actually a good portion of the book that is marked in some way.
Do you have a book that you can re-read regularly and still discover new things in it? Let’s hear from you 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!
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman.
 |
| The Ocean at the End of the Lane – William Morrow Books |
I went away in my head, into a book. That was where I went whenever real life was too hard or too inflexible.
— Chapter 6
Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them are things people are scared of. Some of them are things that look like things people used to be scared of a long time ago. Sometimes monsters are things people should be scared of, but they aren’t.
— Chapter 10
Some books get better every time you read them and this is most definitely a book that not only needs but deserves to be read multiple times. Neil Gaiman is one of my no questions asked buy authors and while I like all his writing I think that this is one of his most beautiful books. And it works at so many levels, too! The story itself is a little confusing at first glance, because the narration needs a little getting used to, but once you get into it and at the second read at the latest the different layers of the narration start to unfold. There are so many wonderful and true sentences in this book that I keep looking at my highlighted quotes and realise that there is actually a good portion of the book that is marked in some way.
Do you have a book that you can re-read regularly and still discover new things in it? Let’s hear from you in the comments!
Tuesday, 1 November 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather.
Lots of witches in my reading feed at the moment – must be the season! I actually read this one a while ago but thought I’d share it a little closer to the darker time, even though it certainly has no defined seasonal ties ... but I still think that a release date in July was not the most opportune choice for the book. It also very definitely seems to be the first of at least two books, but I have not yet found any information about the sequel. It’s all very mysterious.
The book takes the reader to modern day Salem, where history is not only very much alive but also prone to repeat itself. Imagine moving to a town where your ancestors used to hang the ancestors of the people living there ... and be sure that those people know how to hold a grudge. Running the gauntlet sounds almost pleasurable in comparison. Especially if it’s taking place in high school. Now add to that a mixture of snark and attitude for the new and accused, and the two sides are almost certain to eat each other alive ... unless something extraordinary happens.
And can I just add that Jaxon is one of those great best friends literature has to offer? My friends are all very wonderful and I wouldn’t hand them over for the world, yet sometimes fictional best friends are pretty amazing as well.
Who is your ideal fictional best friend and where can this person be found? Let’s hear from you 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!
How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather.
 |
| How to Hang a Witch – Alfred A. Knopf |
Like most fast-talking, opinionated New Yorkers, I have an affinity for sarcasm. At fifteen, though, it’s hard to convince anyone that sarcasm’s a cultural thing and not a bad attitude.
— Chapter 1
“I’m not trying to shut people out. It’s just, no one really likes me here.”
“Jaxon does. And if you let him in, you might find something worth knowing under all that bravado.”
“I don’t have any bravado,” Jaxon says from the hallway. “I’m just naturally awesome.”
“Jaxon, eavesdropping is a terrible habit,” she says, “made common by swindlers and little old ladies.”
— Chapter 10
Lots of witches in my reading feed at the moment – must be the season! I actually read this one a while ago but thought I’d share it a little closer to the darker time, even though it certainly has no defined seasonal ties ... but I still think that a release date in July was not the most opportune choice for the book. It also very definitely seems to be the first of at least two books, but I have not yet found any information about the sequel. It’s all very mysterious.
The book takes the reader to modern day Salem, where history is not only very much alive but also prone to repeat itself. Imagine moving to a town where your ancestors used to hang the ancestors of the people living there ... and be sure that those people know how to hold a grudge. Running the gauntlet sounds almost pleasurable in comparison. Especially if it’s taking place in high school. Now add to that a mixture of snark and attitude for the new and accused, and the two sides are almost certain to eat each other alive ... unless something extraordinary happens.
And can I just add that Jaxon is one of those great best friends literature has to offer? My friends are all very wonderful and I wouldn’t hand them over for the world, yet sometimes fictional best friends are pretty amazing as well.
Who is your ideal fictional best friend and where can this person be found? Let’s hear from you in the comments!
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