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!
Tuesday 25 October 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
Frost Like Night by Sara Raasch.
Back from the book fair with lots of impressions, sore feet, lovely meetings, and quite a few inspiring books ... and of course the obligatory fair head cold. Now I can finally dive into this final book of yet another amazing trilogy. I’ve not made it terribly far into the book (as you can probably tell) yet I’m already convinced that it will be a worthy end. I didn’t expect there to be so many shifts in points of view, but at the moments it’s adding a great pace and suspense to the book, which I can only appreciate.
I quite love the world the author has created for this series with its complex mechanics and geographic specifics. And obviously the laws and rules of its magic. I am a little (read very) afraid for the characters, but I also have hope that there will be a solution that won’t involve carrying it to extremes. Hopefully. Please? Otherwise I might have to apply for bookish therapy.
Are you finishing up a series at the moment, n the middle of one or starting a new one? Or do you (currently) prefer a stand-alone? Let me know in the comments and share your teasers alongside your preferences!
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!
Frost Like Night by Sara Raasch.
 |
| Frost Like Night – Balzer + Bray |
“Why would we trust you?”
The woman scoffed. “And you have so many options at the moment?”
— Chapter 2
I’ll tell you everything, as I promised I would. Every detail, every reason, every flutter of a curtain that brought us to this moment. Well, not every curtain—some of them have been right gaudy.”
“But . . . why?”
“Tassels, mostly.”
— Chapter 4
Back from the book fair with lots of impressions, sore feet, lovely meetings, and quite a few inspiring books ... and of course the obligatory fair head cold. Now I can finally dive into this final book of yet another amazing trilogy. I’ve not made it terribly far into the book (as you can probably tell) yet I’m already convinced that it will be a worthy end. I didn’t expect there to be so many shifts in points of view, but at the moments it’s adding a great pace and suspense to the book, which I can only appreciate.
I quite love the world the author has created for this series with its complex mechanics and geographic specifics. And obviously the laws and rules of its magic. I am a little (read very) afraid for the characters, but I also have hope that there will be a solution that won’t involve carrying it to extremes. Hopefully. Please? Otherwise I might have to apply for bookish therapy.
Are you finishing up a series at the moment, n the middle of one or starting a new one? Or do you (currently) prefer a stand-alone? Let me know in the comments and share your teasers alongside your preferences!
Tuesday 18 October 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
Witch’s Pyre by Josephine Angelini.
A very quick and very emphatic shout-out to this final book in a definitely-not-dusty-stuffy witch trilogy which promises to culminate in a great wonderful showdown. I’m not quite there yet, but the preparations are running at full speed. I also already had one big character shock moment and I don’t know if I’ll be able to stomach another one. Just saying.
I don’t even know how the definition for a this-ended-well-certificate would be in this case, but I’m certainly looking forward to finding out. I have a feeling that there is another twist headed my way.
I’m headed for the Frankfurt Bookfair this week. Have you ever been or are you attending? And if Frankfurt is too far, have you maybe been to another book fair? Let me know about your experiences 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!
Witch’s Pyre by Josephine Angelini.
 |
| Witch’s Pyre – Feiwel & Friends |
I’ve made one or two girls angry enough to throw things at me. Never had a girl try to throw a whole ballroom at me before, though.
— Chapter 3
“Is that the person you want to be?” Juliet asked gently.
“No. But I haven’t figured out how to be anyone else yet.”
— Chapter 4
A very quick and very emphatic shout-out to this final book in a definitely-not-dusty-stuffy witch trilogy which promises to culminate in a great wonderful showdown. I’m not quite there yet, but the preparations are running at full speed. I also already had one big character shock moment and I don’t know if I’ll be able to stomach another one. Just saying.
I don’t even know how the definition for a this-ended-well-certificate would be in this case, but I’m certainly looking forward to finding out. I have a feeling that there is another twist headed my way.
I’m headed for the Frankfurt Bookfair this week. Have you ever been or are you attending? And if Frankfurt is too far, have you maybe been to another book fair? Let me know about your experiences and teasers in the comments!
Tuesday 11 October 2016
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Books And A Beat.
To play along just do the following:
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas.
The best kind of books are those that leave you gasping for breath, clutching your poor shredded heart, and wondering how on earth black markings on paper are able to affect you so much. I thought I was prepared. I thought I had girded my metaphorical loins. I thought I could read this and emerge relatively unscathed. I was wrong. I had been warned and I had an inkling, but this book looked at my expectations and tore them to shreds like a wyvern (or seadragon) would a flimsy dinghy.
I don’t usually drop books and whisper “no, no, no” even if I figure out a heavy piece of foreshadowing in advance. Especially not in public. Yet Sarah J. Maas has already made me do this twice. Once I actually threw the book across the reading nook because it really ripped into me ... the writing is so immediate and gripping that you can almost feel and smell the place in addition to seeing it in your head.
Yes, there are issues, but show me the book that doesn’t have a single flaw and is perfect on every account of political correctness, representation, gender, plot holes, you name it ... and I will be probably half asleep by the second page because of it. There is such a thing as analysing a book to death and no book with such an impact deserves that. Critical reading yes, but slaughtering it for the sake of finding flaws no.
What does deserve analysis and praise are the development and direction this series has taken. With the first and second book it started out as a nice, well-written story about an easy to handle cast of characters that I cared for in varying degrees, but from the third and especially fourth book onwards the scope has become so much broader, the cast so much bigger and the overall impression so much deeper. You can clearly see how the author has grown with these books and at the same time (and that is something I truly admire) the foundation for all of this has always been present in the back-stories. I absolutely love how all of it is coming together and adding up. I love this series. Period. And I absolutely hate that it sure as daylight is going to break my heart in one way or another. Or in many ways actually.
Which author have you been following long enough to notice and appreciate their learning curve? Share 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!
Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Maas.
 |
| Empire of Storms – Bloomsbury |
Rolfe let out a low laugh. “The talk of young idealists and dreamers.”
“The world,” Aelin said, “will be saved and remade by the dreamers, Rolfe.”
— Chapter 28
Because she made a bad choice, trying to heal a wound she couldn’t ever mend. Trying to avenge the people she loved.
— Chapter 60
The best kind of books are those that leave you gasping for breath, clutching your poor shredded heart, and wondering how on earth black markings on paper are able to affect you so much. I thought I was prepared. I thought I had girded my metaphorical loins. I thought I could read this and emerge relatively unscathed. I was wrong. I had been warned and I had an inkling, but this book looked at my expectations and tore them to shreds like a wyvern (or seadragon) would a flimsy dinghy.
I don’t usually drop books and whisper “no, no, no” even if I figure out a heavy piece of foreshadowing in advance. Especially not in public. Yet Sarah J. Maas has already made me do this twice. Once I actually threw the book across the reading nook because it really ripped into me ... the writing is so immediate and gripping that you can almost feel and smell the place in addition to seeing it in your head.
Yes, there are issues, but show me the book that doesn’t have a single flaw and is perfect on every account of political correctness, representation, gender, plot holes, you name it ... and I will be probably half asleep by the second page because of it. There is such a thing as analysing a book to death and no book with such an impact deserves that. Critical reading yes, but slaughtering it for the sake of finding flaws no.
What does deserve analysis and praise are the development and direction this series has taken. With the first and second book it started out as a nice, well-written story about an easy to handle cast of characters that I cared for in varying degrees, but from the third and especially fourth book onwards the scope has become so much broader, the cast so much bigger and the overall impression so much deeper. You can clearly see how the author has grown with these books and at the same time (and that is something I truly admire) the foundation for all of this has always been present in the back-stories. I absolutely love how all of it is coming together and adding up. I love this series. Period. And I absolutely hate that it sure as daylight is going to break my heart in one way or another. Or in many ways actually.
Which author have you been following long enough to notice and appreciate their learning curve? Share them and your teasers in the comments!
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