Category: Blogosphere Events & Happenings

#TheSundayPost XX | Time to get our #SpookyReads on this #SpooktasticReads!

Posted Sunday, 20 October, 2024 by jorielov #SpooktasticReads, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie Story, Stories of Jorie 4 Comments

[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books…share them!

Enter your link on the post-

Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)

Link back to this post or this blog

Visit others who have linked up

Read this week’s #TheSundayPost!

Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

I didn’t think Autumn would ever arrive this year! :(

I had an inkling of hope Autumn was arriving when I caught a whisper of cooler winds and crisper weather was starting to become the new normal! It is such a blessing from the harsher wrath of Summer and for me, truly, when the Autumnal tides start to turn into my hours – I find myself blessedly happier for a season that invigorates my soul! It is such a calmer time of year.

In regards to my life behind the blog:

I will admit, the past several months turnt out to be on the harder side of the ledger for myself and my family. Between bouts of illness and injuries to a hard-won Summer all the way round – to a resurgence of my migraines and some dreadful weather occurrences – it feels more like I’ve run into Autumn without realising what became of Summer! Oyy.

My Dad had some rough patches himself – and that was a difficult moment of time for Mum and I, too. I’ve had some good visits with him which gave me glimpses of the Dad I know is still with us even though more times than not it is hard to see that side of him. He’s gone through so many changes these past two years he’s been in long term care. That’s still an adjustment I feel because even though we’ve become accustomed to where we are in life with him right now, it still is so very different than it was before and sometimes that seems harder somehow. Mostly I try to put those thoughts aside and just enjoy the moments I am with him. I am sure other families who have gone through this know what I’m referring too.

As a special treat to ourselves, we resumed NetFlix and started to settle into watching “Young Sheldon” which was one of the last series I watched with my Dad. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel revisiting it again as I haven’t watched it since he entered the hospital all those months ago now. It was a bit like how I wasn’t sure if I would ever finish the Jurassic Park franchise until a new friend encouraged me to do that and now I’m glad I had. It was emotional for me going through the Jurassic World films without Dad and even, seeing the finale where everything concluded – but in some respects, I felt he was still there with me seeing it all himself, too. It was one of those quirky film series we got into as a daugher and her father – seeing that conclude this year was one bittersweet memory for me.

And, how that I’ve gone through Series 1-6 of Sheldon, I have the same reaction as I had with Jurassic. Time shifts forward but sometimes the mind and heart shifts backwards. I’m glad Mum took a liking to Sheldon – we both can’t follow him into the main series it was spun-off of as neither of us likes the humour of the ‘other’ show but prefer this one instead. Uniquely Series 7 isn’t yet available to be seen on NetFlix (or anywhere else without paying for the season itself) so part of me questioned why I didn’t research that before we started watching the show. We’re on this cliffhanger of sorts right after the tornado took out MeMaw’s house and like Mum, I would love to know how the series concludes although spoiler alert, I already knew George Sr. would pass on. I’ve become attached to George Sr. and part of me isn’t quite ready to let him go.

Between both my jobs and the weather, the months seem to be passing me by a bit too much lately. It is hard to find stillness when time keeps moving forward at such a fast pace. I try to carve out small moments of downtime and enjoy the days off I receive because I do work two jobs five days a week which sometimes can take its toll too. I’ve wanted to focus on my knitting but have barely touched it since earlier in Spring or late Winter; hard to tell when I last worked on it really! I also wanted to start travelling again with Mum – small day trips which we tried to get underway between Spring and Summer but alas, all the time just seemed to evaporate, and we only made it twice to have time ‘away’.

Despite the chaos of the recent storms and weather patterns, we have been blessed with a return to Autumnal temperatures which is lifting my own spirits quite a heap! I can start to wear my long-sleeved shirts and I’m about to dive into bringing out my sweaters and pullovers, too! Won’t that be grand? It has taken forever for Summer to conclude this year and I’m personally thankful the clingy humidity might soon be a thing of the past. I’ve already started drinking more lattes but I need to resume drinking more hot tea especially to curb getting anymore seasonal illnesses.

Posted Sunday, 20 October, 2024 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, Reading Challenges, Stories of Jorie, The Sunday Post

#WWWednesday Special Edition | #MyYASummer on Jorie Loves A Story | #JorieReads the young adult novels winking at her off her shelf!

Posted Wednesday, 28 August, 2024 by jorielov #MyYASummer, American Ballerina, Birds on a Wire, Boys and Girls Screaming, Chasing Eveline, Columbine's Tale, Ellen Plotkin Mulholland, How the Light Gets In, Katy Upperman, Kern Carter, Leslie Hauser, Nancy Lorenz, Rachel Nightingale, Stephanie Morrill, The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet 0 Comments

#ChildrensLit Summer | #KidsBooks Summer | #KidsLit Summer

#SummerReads | #SummerReading | #iReadYA

+ my own: #MyYASummer | #JorieLovesYA

(*) If you know of others, kindly add them to the comments!

reading from 1st July – September, 2024

→ DUE NOTE: Some of the books featured on #MyYASummer Reading List were books sent to me for review consideration at some point over the past years. A few were bookaways I won from the authors themselves. And, one was gifted to me by my parents (ie. Columbine’s Tale). Most of this post was written during the pandemic and shortly thereafter – I found it in my Drafts and decided since EVERYTHING within this post still applies to where I am right now as a reader and allows a bit more insight into my readerly life of the recent past and how long a road I’ve been taking to read more Young Adult Fiction – I decided to leave it nearly untouched and/or edited as it was originally written. Thereby consider this a TIME CAPSULE post which then shifts FORWARD to now.

A bit of background:

I have been wanting to read more #ChildrensLit for absolute ages – each time I would get close to tucking into these stories, something would divert my attention, and more hours were lost against the clock. This cycle has been repeating itself off/on for more years now than I dare say – if you take into consideration [2017] was the year my father recovered from his stroke (wherein I became his caregiver). Soon thereafter, I experienced a lot of different health afflictions mixed with a steady increase of frequencies in regard to my chronic migraines from [2018/19]. [2020] was the year which began on a rocky foundation – the fires were out of control in Australia, Puerto Rico had too many earthquakes and the whole world seemed to be holding in its breath. We had no idea what Spring would bring and that was an untold blessing in of itself. Uniquely enough – [2020] was also the year I saw a serious reduction in my migraines – wherein my first one which truly affected me was the weekend before I started co-hosting our 3rd Year of #WyrdAndWonder. Except of course for when June eclipsed that statistic and I was battling through more migraines, allergy attacks and toxic air issues than any person ought to have to deal with in a singular week. (see also tweets)

I had other things happening in the background of Jorie Loves A Story – both my parents had ER visits in March 2020; Mum and I were struck down by a serious cold in February 2020 (for three weeks!) and April 2020 to be honest just felt like a month to find a way to breathe again as March was seriously too overwhelming to process as it was lived. Not just for us as a family – but as a nation, as a global community and as a new path towards a future we’re all still sorting out as we shift out of the cycle of Covid-19. Nor how civil unrest and the cry for reform in social justice would write new chapters in American Civil Rights History in Spring and Summer, 2020.

Cue why March (2020) was far more involved than a global pandemic: I was so physically and emotionally spent by April 2020, I was streaming British & Aussie crime dramas via #AcornTV and had a true lack of interest and focus on reading, blogging and being socially bookish. Not that that is a bad thing – it’s just that I needed some personal space to re-group and find my groove again. We all do when we have little crises which arise in your everyday life. Of the two visits (to the ER) in [March 2020] – Mum’s was the most dire and thankfully had a happy ending. She’s nearly fully recovered from her injuries, and she did not have a TBI which was what put my heart in a lurch the moment the ER doc braced me for that possibility on the phone. Seriously – life happens in a series of blinks, you barely have time to breathe and have the courage to face whatever comes your way.

I have been working earnestly towards erasing my backlogue (of reviews) for several years and this challenge is helping me to become re-inspired to read after seasons of personal angst. Yet at the same time, I’ve been actively reducing my booked reviews and blog tours; a carry-over from [2016] when I first started to pull back my schedules on Jorie Loves A Story whilst being more mindful of what I want to read per each new Season which arrives which inspires me to seek out the genres I love most to soak inside.

Rewinding a bit: Let’s face it – JUNE [2018] was a wash-out. It barely blinked into view before it extinguished out of sight – I barely posted anything during its duration. The one thing I did accomplish was finding a way to bring ART back into my life and to resume KNITTING giving myself a way to put some Zen into my downtime. Especially imperative as I was ill more than well in Spring [2018 & 2019] as I had 5x migraines during #WyrdAndWonder Year 2 (May, 2019). It had been my hope on the arrival of the monsoon Summer rains starting as we entered into JULY (2019), I could hope my seasonal allergies would start to relent and give me back the clarity of calm I’ve missed all SPRING (for two years).

FAST FORWARD: [2019] marked the first Summer since [2015] I felt I could re-enter the stories and yet the only review I was able to release Summer [2019] when I first conceived this plan to read the initial batch of #MyYASummer was “Summer by Summer”. It proved to be a harder book to read than I first expected and yet, I still have good memories of the journey it took me on. Thus, this remains the ‘first’ book of this personal reading challenge and the rest was meant to follow suit this Summer (of 2020) – as I re-embark on my journey into reading Young Adult stories throughout the volcanic Summery months of June, July, August & September. [we’re just going to overlook the fact the first weeks of this re-genesis of a personal reading challenge was a bit delayed due to double shifts at work, volcanic heat and intensive lightning storms!]

Over the years from [2015-2020] I’ve strived to get current on my backlogue – encouraging myself with different readathons, personal challenges and goals and/or participating in book blogosphere events wherein I could interact with this beautiful community and/or find encouragement to reach my own goals as I move forward and backwards on my readerly journey. Each of these five years has held its own share of woes and challenges – as each of us has a lot of LIFE being lived #behindtheblog – yet, I have optimistically held the hope each new season, each new year would be the season and/or year wherein I could find the JOY again in spending time with these stories.

In August, of 2021 I did release another #MyYASummer review which was for the novel: The Twin Stars (see also Review) which was a very emotional read for me as well. It seems to be tradition now that each story I attempt to read for this personal challenge is not only emotionally convicting but difficult at times to get through the stories themselves.

Time Shift to 2024: I’d love to say I was able to host #MyYASummer during the last four years but despite an attempt to co-host this lovely event of mine with a fellow book blogger whose blog hasn’t been updated in a few years – I haven’t been able to bring this goal of mine into reality. Most of this post was written ages ago now but it gives a lot of insight into my readerly life and the angst of trying to focus on stories I dearly wanted to read during moments of my life which were far more adverse and challenging than originally thought. I decided to resume my readings of Young Adult Lit this Summer and even then, that particular goal shifted again. I had my sights on starting in June not August – but alas, I decided, ANY YA book I can read before the 30th of September is going to be a win for me as a reader because I’ve wanted to have a microfocus on this section of Literature for so many years now! It is my hope this kicks off a new journey each Summer (ie. starting in June hopefully in 2025!) and a tradition of reading YA for four dedicated months.

I look forward to your visits as I release my ruminations on these stories whilst if you have any suggestions for #mustreads after those stories are discussed, I’d love to hear your comments & receive a revolving list of recommendations. Kindly read my Review Policy in case you are not aware of my personal bookish turn-offs, etc. As I am rather particularly particular about the stories, I seek out to read and/or review.

The exact order of how I will be reading these stories is UNKNOWN as I am simply going to be picking them up to read and seeing how I get on with them. I will say that all of the titles I’ve chosen to read this year are very emotional reads and with intense storylines attached to them.

#MyYASummer Reads as they generate over the years:

Summer by Summer by Heather Burch | #SRC2015 via #YASRC 2015 | read in 2019
The Twin Stars by Bridgette D. Portman | read in 2021
Birds on a Wire by Ellen Plotkin Mulholland | DNF August, 2024
Columbine’s Tale by Rachel Nightingale
American Ballerina by Nancy Lorenz | sequel to The Strength of Ballerinas
Chasing Eveline by Leslie Hauser | #ReviewPit 2019
How the Light Gets In by Katy Upperman | publisher ARC 2019
Boys and Girls Screaming by Kern Carter
The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet by Stephanie Morrill

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

#MyYASummer
2024 Backlogue Reviews

Posted Wednesday, 28 August, 2024 by jorielov in #MyYASummer, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, JLAS Update Post, Reading Challenges, WWW Wednesdays

#TheSundayPost | XIX | The STORIES are calling to me!

Posted Sunday, 11 August, 2024 by jorielov A.Y. Chan, Alexis Kossiakoff, Anna J. Stewart, Caleb Wygal, Clare Chase, D.J. Williams, Danielle Thorne, Death Washes Ashore, In Every Life, Rea Frey, Scott Forbes Crawford, The Antique Store Detective, The Beekeeper Next Door, The Legendary Mo Seto, The Phoenix and the Firebird 5 Comments

[Official Blurb] The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news. A post to recap the past week, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up for the week on our blog. This is your news post, so personalize it! Include as much as you want or as little. Be creative, it can be a vlog or just a showcase of your goodies. Link up once a week or once a month, you decide. Book haul can include library books, yard sale finds, arcs and bought books..share them!

Enter your link on the post-

Sundays beginning at 12:01 am (CST) (link will be open all week)

Link back to this post or this blog

Visit others who have linked up

Read this week’s #TheSundayPost!

Um, where did Jorie go?

I am sure you must be W O N D E R I N G

where did Jorie go and why has she been radio silent for most of Summer when she was off to such a wicked good start back in July?

Oy vie. Where to begin?

The long story short is Summer took a few left turns and twists when I least expected anything to happen at all. And, that is where life keeps you humble. I endured two work-related injuries between late June and early July; exactly a fortnight and a day apart from each other. Mind you, I never missed a day of work – except for the days in which I was injured as I had to leave early. I’m not one of those persons who believes their okay even if they feel their okay – I’d rather get that confirmed medically speaking than to risk something worse to afflict me lateron. Trust me if you would have asked me “Do you think you’ll ever have to use workman’s comp?” My ready answer a year ago in June would have been, “I don’t think I will.” Famous last words. I’ve used it three times – the first was in December, 2023. Oyy. Sometimes you get more lemons than lemonade in life, but it is how you adjust to those circumstances that determines how you get through them.

Shortly after I sustained my injuries I started to fill in for other coworkers – some were out on sick leave and others had things come up in life none of us can foresee or plan for ahead of time. I didn’t mind the OT or the extra hours – as I enjoy my work but of course, the downside was I had less time away from work and I had to ‘let go’ of my regular days off and return to having halves and quarters again. Something I changed after ten months of that kind of routine whilst balancing two jobs (one day, one night) and realising I was slowing burning out. You can’t always burn the candle at both ends and expect not to feel overly fatigued. Thus, despite the fact my injuries were on the more minor side of the ledger, they had their quirks in respect to healing. It took a long time to ‘feel’ like myself after both of them and even then, I treaded lightly at both jobs and took extra care to be mindful of my limitations.

Whilst that was happening, if I had any spare time off, I will be honest – I was asleep. I simply didn’t have the extra energy to read or blog or even sort out a quick update post for Insta. I was mentally exhausted as much as I was physically. Some weeks are just harder than others. This is why I’m blessed my hours are becoming my own again. I have my days ‘off’ restored and it feels good all round. I hadn’t realised the positive change it had in my life until I went back to the ‘old way’ of not having full days off. Oy. How I lasted those 10 months is anyone’s guess!

Ergo, my readerly queue of stories sort of stalled out. I was on such a positive road back into reading – I had three Christmas stories I wanted to read in July, too. I still intend to read them, but I’ve set them aside for now. I’ll eventually wind back round to them, though, don’t worry. I love a wicked good holiday read. This is why this particular Sunday I’m focusing on the two stories which have smitten me with curiosity and are being READ RIGHT NOW. Whilst adding a book to the queue to be read next, too.

I happily celebrated my blog’s 11th birthday on Insta sharing THIS POST on the 6th of August. It is hard to believe it has been 11 years this August since I first launched Jorie Loves A Story LIVE into the world. I recapped all the feels of this milestone on that post, too. Finding messages awaiting me to read throughout the day was beautiful and humbling, too. I am so dearly grateful for this journey I first undertook in 2013 and I am wicked happy to be continuing it now. The best way I know how to celebrate all my lovely milestones of this blog and of being socially bookish is to relate to you the gratitude and the JOY I’ve felt over the years – engaging with readers, book bloggers, authors and everyone else who chooses to be socially bookish. It is a wicked lovely community, and I am blessed to be a part of it.

What Jorie is currently reading:

The Legendary Mo Seto by A.Y. Chan

The Phoenix and the Firebird by Alexis Kossiakoff and Scott Forbes Crawford

You might be curious what inspired the graphics I included on my collage graphic? Cats are cheekily one of the best mood lifters you can have in your life, and I have been blessed with cats my entire life. I currently have two lovely cats in my life, but I used to have a trio of cats who were once a quartet. Thereby the graphic was celebrating ALL the cats I’ve had as companions in fur at one point or another in my life. Whilst the coffee was a nudge and a nod to the fact over the score of Summer one of the comfort of joys, I’ve had lately was finding a coffeehouse who knows how to brew a wicked lovely Carmel Macchiato which is both soothing as it is uplifting. Whilst dragonflies for me are like butterflies – they represent Hope, New Beginnings and a turning of tides.

I have been reading The Legendary Mo Seto for a solid two months now! I first began reading the story when it arrived by post, and I shared a lovely snapshot of that JOY I felt when it arrived on Insta via THIS POST. Whilst it also popped up in my last #WWWednesday Post and on Insta as well. Yesterday, on my 11th blog’s birthday I made the most progress yet – aside from a few days of convalescing after my injuries as although I didn’t miss work, I had a blessed day off after both injuries and before I was starting to fill in for others. I didn’t want to rush reading the story – Mo is such a wicked new heroine in Middle Grade Fiction – you want to experience her life as she’s living it. Chan has such a refreshing voice too as a writer – her style of story is entertaining as it is imaginative. She has a way of merging the Mythological with the Martial Art Histories of China which leaves you wanting more and more of her vision of the story.

It is also rooted in a coming-of-age tale of a young girl who is just starting to find her own wings to fly into the world with confidence and moxie. To tackle the challenges of life and of growing up whilst remaining humble and kind along the journey, too. She has a fierce sidekick in her best friend Nacho and an interesting family dynamic and history – as a lot of her family is shrouded in secrets and her more immediate family isn’t oft involved in the storyline as it is focused on her choices and her journey rather than showcasing her parents and sibling. I know there is a reason for that as well but NO SPOILERS.

I have loved becoming lost in this story and travelling alongside Mo as we adventure after the unknown and try to root out the truths along the way, too. Expect to read my thoughts and reactions to this novel SOON. I am devouring it bit by bit and cannot wait to finally share my full thoughts on its behalf. I will especially be forever grateful the author found my book blog and gave me a chance to experience her story and become a cheerleader for Mo.
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Posted Sunday, 11 August, 2024 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, The Sunday Post

#WWWednesday No. XX | My #SummerReads are off to a brilliant start!

Posted Thursday, 4 July, 2024 by jorielov A Home for the Twins, A.Y. Chan, Anna J. Stewart, Caleb Wygal, Clare Chase, Columbine's Tale, D.J. Williams, Danielle Thorne, Death Washes Ashore, J.S. Monroe, Prison Break Hostage, Rachel Nightingale, The Auctioneer, The Beekeeper Next Door, The Legendary Mo Seto, Their Surprise Wedding 0 Comments

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

This weekly meme was originally hosted by Should Be Reading who became A Daily Rhythm. Lovingly restored and continued by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Each week you participate, your keen to answer the following questions:

What are you currently reading!?
What did you recently finish reading!?
What do you think you’ll read next!?

After which, your meant to click over to THIS WEEK’s WWWWednesday to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! Score! Perhaps even, find other bloggers who dig the same books as you do! I thought it would serve as a great self-check to know where I am and the progress I am hoping to have over the next week!

Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday on all socials

Follow the host via Bookstagram!

Hallo, Hallo Summer!

With such a hard start to my reading this year,

Summer is proving to be the season of renewing my bookish life. I’m off to a brilliant start, too and I can’t wait to share with you all the lovely stories which are happily being consumed!

For those who have been following my readerly adventures on Jorie Loves A Story for the better part of the last decade (can you BELIEVE this is my 11th year of book blogging?) — you know, I am typically the girl who DEVOURS stories – in all shapes and sizes – as well as floating between print and audiobook (at least since 2016!). And, yet, for the last few years my readerly life has suffered quite a bit and my blogging life has dwindled down quite a heap as well. A lot of those changes are credited to IRL challenges and adversities – as well as a lot of LIFE happening behind the blog, too.

To my credit, I haven’t lost the interest to read but rather circumstances have prevented me from reading for most of [2023 and 2024] which was explained in quite a lot of detail on #TheSundayPost. As I start to sort out where I want to resume my readings and listenings – I decided the best way was to start with small goals and ideally move forward into a long-term goal of mine which has been to focus on #MyYASummer (ie. stories featuring YA stories across genres interesting me to read) whilst adding in some wicked good Middle Grade stories, too. As I will be curating a particular concentration of stories – it will be a Summer of new discoveries and reading the stories I’ve ached to read for quite a long time now. While at the same time, I have other stories I’ve slated to be read before Summer ends – from Romance to Thrillers to Mysteries and a lot of lovely routes of genre betwixt and between!

Ideally I’d like to think I can maintain updating my readings through weekly #WWWednesdays but if I happen to miss a week or two, just know I’m still sorting out the balance between work and life outside of work. Laughs. I am sure I am not alone in that quest! Oy. Today I felt I’d start by focusing on the fact I have two new reviews up on my blog and more are coming soon (maybe even before the close of the weekend?!) into next week, too. Here’s to find my way back into STORIES and happily enjoying regenerating new chapters of engagement both on my blog and on my #bookstagram feeds, too.

What Jorie is currently reading:

The Legendary Mo Seto by A.Y. Chan

The Beekeeper Next Door by Danielle Thorne

Death Washes Ashore by Caleb Wygal
(Myrtle Beach Mysteries, Book Two) (see also Review of Book One)

I’ve been happily receiving some lovely offers of review consideration recently on my blog and one of those lovely authors who reached out to me was Ms Chan. She has written a wicked lovely Middle Grade novel called: The Legendary Mo Seto about a a young girl who is a new heroine to adventure after as we pursue the truths of her family and how much courage it takes to overcome any challenge that crosses your path. She’s into martial arts which interested me as I am as well IRL though I haven’t pursued it in a long time. I loved the sound of the novel and although I initially started reading it as soon as it arrived in early June, between work and my injury, I lost hours to continue reading it until now. I can’t wait to dive back in as I know it will be read in a few sittings as its wicked good! Be sure to watch for my review forthcoming over the next week. I also announced this lovely new book via #bookstagram.
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Posted Thursday, 4 July, 2024 by jorielov in Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, WWW Wednesdays

#WWWednesday No. XIX | Jorie’s Short Stack #WyrdAndWonder TBR and why she selected these stories to be read this May!

Posted Wednesday, 1 May, 2024 by jorielov #WyrdAndWonder, Borderlands Saga, Erin Morgenstern, Hannah L. Clark, J.D. Peabody, Jennifer Silverwood, Juliet Marillier, Silver Hollow, The Ink of Elspet, The Inkwell Chronicles, The Lemorian Crest, The Night Circus, Uncovering Cobbogoth, Wildwood Dancing 1 Comment

I ♥ the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity it gives the reader! Smiles. Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read providing a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! Smiles. ♥ the brilliance of it’s concept!

What are you currently reading!?
What did you recently finish reading!?
What do you think you’ll read next!?

Join the Convo via: #WWWWednesday

the annual event which makes me wicked happy has returnt,
join me as I dive back into reading via #WyrdAndWonder!

About: *Wyrd & Wonder*

This year, we’re all celebrating the Comforts of Reading Fantasy – whether the routes you take within Fantasy are your regular comforting zones of readerly blissitude or if you’re a wanderer of paths unknown and unlock your own fantastical adventure one story at a time without limiting where your path will take you. I’m still sorting out how I want to respond to our prompts which are meant to run on Sundays on our respective blogs – however, most of this month of May will be aligning a bit topsy turvy on Jorie Loves A Story – just consider me bending time and posting out of sequence with the rest of the book blogosphere! Laughs. Having said that – one of the beauties I decided to grant myself this seventh year is a bit of peace of mind!

Reason being?

I gave myself licence to post a short stack TBR and I couldn’t be happier! I don’t even have the goal of consuming ALL the books in their entirety this year – as let’s be frank, my downtime is short and my ability to devour stories as I had in the past isn’t quite working out very well for me over the score of the last year since I undertook a second job that is quite taxing and quite rewarding in other respects all the same. I just can’t lay claim to having a lot of personal time as a result of the hours I’m working week to week between all (three, cough!) of my jobs. Blessedly one is a moonlighting gig and the other two are the mainstays – evenso, a girl needs a bit of space to unwind and just ‘chill’ outside of work. For me, the comfort has always been STORIES and reading – when I’m not akin to following in love with a tv serial or film. Stories whether written, narrated by audio or set in motion (by film or serial) have been quite the affinity and mainstay of my life.

This lovely graphic describes the Sunday Five topics wherein everyone is encouraged to respond on Sundays (or any day which works best for the blogger) to carry-on the discussion of what makes Fantasy our zone of Comfort to read and explore. Those posts of mine are still in the WIP stage but they will be arriving at odd intervals throughout May all the same. I felt I should include them with this post as I’m announcing what I’ll be reading and thereby, also discussing as well.

What Jorie is currently reading:

It wasn’t hard to select my #shortstack of books this Wyrd And Wonder : Year 7 because there were a few stories on my shelves where I knew I might find myself drawn to read quite immediately. I had hoped to dive straight into these lovelies as soon as May began, but now 12 days into the event and still editing my drafted posts to run during our first fortnight, some might say puts me at a disadvantage but for me, this year is more about the journey I’m on that the end results. Most years, reading one story after another was quite fulfilling but when your work life feels overwhelmingly exclusive of your TIME, just to draft and write and blog again feels like a milestone of an accomplishment! Smiles.

The Lemorian Crest is actually the sequel to Uncovering Cobbogoth (see also Review) which I fell in love with years ago now. The author and I were in touch for a short bit, and I had meant to follow up with her afterwards as she was going to writing another installment of this series but then, I noticed as the years progressed forward – a new story didn’t emerge but other projects of hers did. I also noted that she re-released the original first story of Cobbogoth but under a new title and new publishing house which I understood as I knew she was leaving Cedar Fort. This series goes back to my 1st Year as a Book Blogger and so, it holds a special place in my bookish heart. I’ll be re-reading through the first novel – jogging my memory and re-settling into the storyline – as despite the fact there are echoes of memories from having read it the first time – 2014 and 2024 is a decade’s worth of living between readings!

I will be thrilled just to be on the FRINGE of reading the sequel by May’s end and continuing to finish it as Summer takes hold. Though by all the crazy wicked weather we’re having stateside, most would argue Summer is already here and deadly chaotic to which I would heartily agree!

For those who might not know anything about this series – here’s some parting thoughts from my first reading:

Uncovering Cobbogoth is an adventure you know you can handle, but it keeps you suspended between the pages as much as the living story within its chapters is a suspension of time. Science was always a ready interest of mine growing up, as I had half a step inside the worlds of art and science within my childhood hours. I was drawn into the dimensional theories of Quantum Physics as I grew and examined different quantum realms on my own by my early twenties, because of the curiosity they engaged my mind inside. The theory of super-strings, hidden dimensions, black holes, and galaxies hidden within a space of a seed were an exciting read for me! I need to re-take up where I left off as I only just brushed the surface of what I wanted to study, but within that pursuit, I have noticed that the science within science fiction that enlightens my mind the most contains elements and theories woven around the concept of space-time dimensions and/or the continuum. This is not the first foray I have ventured on this year to read a story with time travel or the bending of time (as we see it peripherally) as its core center of scientific thought. The Skin Map uses the theory of ley lines whereas Cobbogoth is using the theory of hoption holes. In each of their own ways, they are breaking down a theory of how humans of any age can travel through ‘portals’ within the space-time vortex of dimensional space. And, I personally find that exciting!

Clark has a deft hand for writing the most scientific principles of the novel in a way that is not only easy to digest, but gets you excited to learn more than what has already been provided! The curious illustrations her sister, Ms. Shakespear contributed to the story’s element of past and present gave a visual reference for the sub-stories that draw out the focus on Cobbogoth itself rather than the story set in and around Cobbogoth on a whole!

I would say that due to the nature of the high-octane adventure and action sequences, as well as the brief passages of violence which take place as Norah’s life is thwarted by more danger than you could blink through, I do believe the classification of this novel as ‘YA Fantasy’ is rather apt. It would be a great story for a teenager to sink their teeth into because it is on the verge of leaving the formative years behind and entering the world on your own merits. Lessons of courage and fortitude of spirit are organically woven into the texture of the story itself. If you watched the motion picture “The Dark is Rising: The Seeker” you will not have any trouble reading this novel! At some point, I’d like to read the novel the forementioned film is based upon!

-quoted from my book review of Uncovering Cobbogoth

Posted Wednesday, 1 May, 2024 by jorielov in #WyrdAndWonder, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Bookish Memes, JLAS Update Post, Jorie Loves A Story, WWW Wednesdays