[30th September, 2013 | Museful Question: What do you do when life gets in the way and you just don’t have much time to read!? Do you complain!? Do you accept it!? Do you do everything in your power to make time to read!?
Such a Question! Honestly, I react in a bit of a unique way, as I generally have a bit of guilt attached to not being able to read a certain book, at a certain time window of opportunity, and of an author I am truly stoked to have found! I think sometimes we all have this superman | wonder woman attitude, that somehow, someway, we can accomplish more than we know is physically possible! Afterall, there are a heap of factors that can intersect our reading life, from outside stresses, personal strife, and even, mother nature! Ever try to read during a horrific thunderstorm brought on by a fierce hurricane &/or tornadic storm, whilst the power flickers off/on in a maddenly scary way!? I mean, there are certain events that arise in our lives where reading is quite literally an impossible goal to even attempt! Personal illness, family illness, death of a loved one (or cat!), pretty much anything you can think of can derail a reader’s motivation to read! There are times when you can get so excited about the books your finding at the library, a book sale, a used book shoppe, an indie book shoppe, a book festival, a book convention, an author tour stop, etc, that you suddenly get overwhelmed by your haul of books, that you literally have to ‘stop’, ‘breathe’, and determine, “Which book do I start to read?”
I do not complain necessarily, as there is no point in not admitting your own personal limitations, and to be honest, I am sure most readers at one point or another, find themselves in a bit of a rut! Either that, or they feel like they want to take longer breaks between their reading adventures than they typically did in the past! Life is a fluid journey, and if your adaptable and accepting of the fluctuations that will alight on your path, I think you will develop a healthy appetite for reading! Then again, if your a reader who relies on her local library for more than 98% of her reading, then patience is a virtue you will be bestowed instantly! As everyone waits in line for each person to read the book your dying to be acquainted with, but this is something that never bothered me, as I’ve had a library card long before I could see over the ‘stack’ of books I was carrying out! I always liked the collective reading experience and oft would reflect (from childhood to present), where did this book go before it reached my hands!? To whom found it on the shelf, took it out of the library and discovered its contents!? I oft wondered if you could ever trace the history of a book,… I think this was a curiosity inspired by segments on children’s’ programmes in the 1980s, that featured “history of the crayon from the box to your house” and “the path a letter takes from your house to its destination”!! I sometimes am fortunate to find little fragments of previous readers in library books, and I always smile when I do! Forgotten notes, forgotten check-out printed forms (no identifiable information is on them!), tucked in bookmarks, and yes, I’ve even seen bits of “chocolate” & “cheetos” smushed between the pages! Aghast, I know to those of us who are careful not to get our ‘food’ in our books! Books tell histories, living breathing histories!
On attempting to make every possible free moment dedicated to reading, yes, I most certainly do! However, if I find my mind is a bit cluttered with ‘life’, I am not as keen to read! As I cannot always sink into the narrative, much less get a full grip on the storyline, nor the characters! I like to read when I am more or less in a happy spot, with lingering stress on the fringes of my mind, and a full-bodied, well-researched book that jumps alive from the first page you turn too!
I wonder how everyone else feels!?
The best thing to remember, its not a race, nor is it a marathon and the only person your reading in contest against is of Time itself which elapses through the hourglass, no matter how hard we attempt to read against its passage!
{SOURCE: Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven with edits by Jorie in Fotoflexer.}
[Official Blurb] Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature / weekly meme created by The Broke & the Bookish. The meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke & the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your Top 10 Lists!
Lead Protagonist Acts Against Type | I generally would notice this to be more apparent in the motion picture field rather than the publishing field, as oft-times you will find characters who are set up to have one set of pre-determined character traits suddenly go off in a tangent of characteristics, mannerisms, and sequences that clearly did not honour the way in which their character had been defined! And, yet, I am starting to find some of the novels I pick up are starting to follow in this vein, whereupon, you get nestled into a story only to discover that either a quarter of a way through OR half-way through, the character that you adore so much is suddenly ‘acting against his/her type’ and the story has thus become a wholly new story with a direction of course you are not certain makes sense!? Its one thing if a character is going through adversity OR a brilliantly lead out character arc, where ‘change’ is proportional to the story that is being writ. It’s another thing entirely to have a character who isn’t going through a life shift to suddenly start acting in a manner which does not complement the previous chapters!
Absence of a Proper Back-story | I believe this goes directly to my passion for research, as a well-stitched story is always going to nestle into my mind’s eye with fond affection rather than a loosely developed back-story to carry the characters and the setting in which they are placed forward! There are some books I pick up, and if on my own merits had not known even a smidge of the setting prior to reading it, I would have mistaken it for ‘anywhere’ else that loosely fit the same criteria! I look for the proper buildings of time, setting, place, character, and the threads of the characters’ past to fill the back-story I am hoping for! I want to know something about ‘them’ as a whole rather than just the brief sketch that might be used as a reference in the beginning! I love to know exactly where I am ‘going’ to be hunkered down for a short spell, so that I can fully appreciate and absorb into the narrative!
Absence of Dialogue &/or Narrative to Carry the Story | This observation stems out of my disdainment for “Robinson Crusoe”! As I simply could not properly attach myself into his island world, as there was little on the side of dialogue and less on narration! OR, I should clarify, from what little I remember of the story at all, all of the narrative was writ in such a style as to come across a bit droll and dull. I sorely wanted him to reach out and latch onto something that excited him past walking his crop bed and sorting out where to place his seeds! I missed the whole immersion of experiencing the island! I didn’t finish this novel, so I was quite surprised to learn that he finds a companion to talk too lateron! I simply need a bit of ‘something’ to hinge me to the character and/or to the story itself.
Secondary Characters are not Fleshed Out | I could be considered quirky on this one, but I truly am fascinated by secondary characters! They are either the lasses and blokes who are given such colourful story-lines, that could be flexed out a bit to encompass their personalities OR they are the characters that you only get a cursory glimpse into and are left questioning their purpose after the book is closed! In motion pictures, these are the ‘character actor’ positions that make me smile most readily! I love seeing the portrayal of the cast outside the sphere of the leads, as they are at times the ones with the beefy role that lends itself to a more curiously stimulating story! I suppose I wish the same attention to lead protagonists could be applied to their secondary counterparts!
Setting is off-center from where it should be | This one is a bit trickier to explain, as it’s the little things that you start to pick up (to notice) whilst your reading. Little breaks in pace or continuance of the setting that tricks your mind to think you’re not quite where you should be!
Time period elements feel a bit off-kilter | This is quite similar to #5, yet different completely! This is where your sinking into a period specific historical fiction novel, and all of a sudden are crashing into elemental evidence of either the modern era OR one era off from where your meant to be! I realise this is a continuity problem that is always the most difficult to rectify, as its hard to soak into a time in history so far removed from where we live today, but again, this goes back to hintings of research that could have been used a bit more. I do not always disregard a novel simply due to a flux in time period elements, unless it’s so blatantly distracting that I simply cannot get the pace of the story!
Excessive Vulgarity | I am a bit of a strictler for this issue, as I am not one who enjoys reading curse words threaded through a story! I do not blush on the occasional word here or there, but the one word I am sure you can surmise is the one word that I nearly question the merit of its inclusion at all! I very rarely finish a story if its riddled to death with cursing, unless like I said, its words that I consider not as abusively vulgar as others’ that make me cringe to read! I want to read a story, not read words that truly do not add anything to the deliverance of said story. Except for perhaps a bit of shock value which I do not advocate!
Explicit Graphic Violence | Again, this speaks to my previous statement on tolerance and acceptance of what I deem fit for my own reading life and habits. I am not one who watches excessively violent motion pictures nor do I attach myself to the harder hitting crime serials (ie: Midsomer Murders, CSI, Criminal Minds, etc) because I know going in, they are going to contain graphically disturbing images that are not of the kind I wish to intake into my being! The only exception to this lies in tv serials, as I do watch NCIS but most oft I am adverting my eyes for ‘some’ of the death &/or morgue scenes! In this case, it’s the whole of the investigation sequences and the inter-connection of the main cast who have a quirky dysfunctional family vibe going for them to attract me to watch the series! Straight-up horror motion pictures, slasher films, and everything of that nature you can think of, are not within my scope of enjoyment. Therefore, if it’s a film I’d avoid, you know it’s a book I will not read as well!
Grisly and Gruesome Medical &/or Horrific Descriptions | This actually goes hand-in-hand with graphic violence but in a different vein of subject! I do not mind a well-written medical drama (ie: ER (Seasons 1-5), Strong Women, Crossing Jordan, Quincy, M.E., etc), but if they cross the line to what I think is ‘acceptable’ and ‘within the limits’ of the core of the story, then I place that into the “grisly and gruesome” category and I do not entertain such novels OR motion pictures/tv serials!
An Unsupported Conclusion &/or Rushed Ending | I had to smile when I wrote this, because it’s another cross-over from motion pictures! I am always seeking out films and stories in print that have a well-supported conclusion to where you know the writer(s) did not rush the ending and that the conclusion has merit to the story you’ve read &/or watched! Sadly, I do not always find this to be true, and although, it’s not a reason for me to dislike a story &/or film completely, it does sadden me that a bit more time couldn’t have been found to make the ending a compliment to the story as it was relayed to the reader. It’s a bit like how I have noticed that there is an absence of Epilogues in novels!? I would always be quite eager to find those at the end of a book, because if the true point of exit for the characters fell a bit short of where you had hoped they’d take their stage exits, you could always have the hope of finding additional clues of their lives inside the Epilogues!
*BONUS*: Lack of Rhythmic Flow | I am not even sure how to describe this as it would pertain directly to each individual reader’s preferences for how they perceive and internalise the stories they read, but for me, I like to find a near third-voice in a story. The hidden silent voice that is the writer’s guiding hand that carries the story from start to finish. Where the rhythm of the novel is fully visible and intact, and your left wanting to read the book in one sitting verse spread out over a week! Books that take you at “hallo!” and do not wish to return you to your everyday life!
*BONUS*: Choppy Fluctuation of Sequences | I think this one irks my ire the most, because it reminds me too much of choppy editing in motion pictures! If you hadn’t realised it, I look at the writing in scripts as keenly as I observe the writing in books! I don’t want to feel whip-lashed whilst reading, nor do I want to see chapters ending abruptly in the middle of a sequence that could have used a bit more ‘information’ to make the segue more plausible!
Ever the curious heart to see what everyone else has said in response!
If you are not taking part in this meme, do you agree with I’ve disclosed OR
do you have your own pet peeves when it comes to reading!?
{SOURCE: Jorie Loves A Story badge created by Ravven with edits by Jorie in PicMonkey.}
An exciting announcement to make here on Jorie Loves A Story, is the official start of the book tour, for the CHRONICLES OF AVE: VOLUME ONE is MONDAY, 30 September!! My review goes live on the second-to-last day of the tour! I will be in good company, as there are 3 book bloggers joining me on that day! I first learnt of this book by way of Tomorrow Comes Media, which is a touring company that I am working with to bring tour stops to my blog! Each book they showcase on tour deal with speculative fiction, with a keen focus on science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Mr. Zimmer’s book is fantasy at its finest, as it’s a contribution to Epic Fantasy! This is why it drew my eye to read it and tip my hat to put in a request to review! You may have noticed my leanings towards the fantastical realms by the inclusion of my review of “The Golem and the Jinni” by Helene Wecker. However, what you may not be aware of is my life-long passion for fantasy, and the intricate weaving of epic or as I oft declare it ‘high’ fantasy novels! I’m going to write-up a feature that showcases my passion for this genre during the upcoming bookish (blog) community event: Sci-Fi November, however until then, know that I am drawn into well-built worlds, where the characters have a heap of heart, courage, bravery, and a keen sense of how they can best contribute the world by which they live! This book endeavours to expound on the stories readers are familiar with inside Zimmer’s Fires of Eden series, which are published by Seventh Star Press.
As I mention in my Review Policy, I am not generally akin to reading books out of sequence when it comes to serial fiction, although, I do retain the right to alter my preference as it suits me! And, in this particular case, what attractive me to read a collection of short stories and novellas, of a world already known, is that it would be an inclusive new dimension for me to become acquainted with Fires of Eden! How keen! I am not very well versed in the short-story side of fiction, and I elected to take on this challenge of seeing if I could get the textural and narrative feel for a world I have never encountered!
I elected to participate in this dual-author tour by reading Zimmer’s fantasy short collection verse reading his horror collection entitled “Hellscapes”. I did not feel that I would be as enlightened to read stories that were inspired by Dante’s Inferno, Clive Barker, and Paradise Lost. Likewise, I felt that Mr. Shrewbury’s writings were outside of my reading scope of choice. I am thankful that this tour was flexible to include a diverse book bloggership of readers who could pick and choose which books they wanted to read!
{SOURCE: Tomorrow Comes Media supplies bloggers who are on the tour stop schedule
the banner by which to advert the stop and announce the book tour to their readers!}
Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a stop on “The Boxcar Baby” Virtual Book Tour, hosted by Tomorrow Comes Media. I received a complimentary copy of “The Boxcar Baby” in exchange for an honest review by the publisher Seventh Star Press. The book released on 12 July 2013. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. This marks my first stop as a Tour Host for Tomorrow Comes Media!
Author Biography:
Born in Hollywood and raised in San Diego, CA, J.L. Mulvihill has made Mississippi her home for the past fifteen years. Her début novel was the young adult title The Lost Daughter of Easa, an engaging fantasy novel bordering on science-fiction with a dash of steampunk, published through Kerlak Publishing. The Boxcar Baby, the first novel of her Steel Roots Series, was released by Seventh Star Press in the summer of 2013.
J.L. also has several short fiction pieces in publication, among them “Chilled Meat”, a steampunk thriller found in the Dreams of Steam II-Of Bolts and Brass, anthology (Kerlak Publishing) and “The Leprechaun’s Story”, a steampunk urban Fantasy found in the anthology, Clockwork, Spells, & Magical Bells (Kerlak Publishing)J.L. is very active with the writing community, and is the events coordinator for the Mississippi Chapter of Imagicopter known as the Magnolia-Tower. She is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Gulf Coast Writers Association (GCWA), The Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG), as well as the Arts Council of Clinton, and the Clinton Ink-Slingers Writing Group.
Inspired to Read: Nearly all of my best ‘finds’ for the science fiction realms have been serendipitous in nature! You see, if I hadn’t been roaming around the bookish blogosphere a week ago, I might not have seen a curious little tour badge with “Tomorrow Comes Media” on it! Nor would I have suspected to click over to scope out the tour company and the authors that they represented! Had I not kept an open mind towards discovering ‘something!’ curious and unexpected, I might not have known about this author and book! This was the same way I had stumbled across “The Clockwork Carnival” in August [2013], the forthcoming “Sci-Fi November” (of whose badge is in my sidebar; my post on it coming the first week of October!), and the mere fact that I had chosen this particular Autumn to serve as a gateway back into a genre that my heart first came to know at the age of seventeen! I lay claim to that as my starting ground into the ‘literature’ side of things, but you’ll have to come back for my “Sci-Fi November” postings to learn the full story of how I’ve been happily consuming all-things sci-fi for the well full of my life!
As you may or may not know, it took me a bit to resolve what to read as my ‘first’ Steampunk selection, as much as I became attached to this revolutionary genre where the lines blur on what a story can attach itself into being, and jettison the reader off into such fantastical realms and worlds, that it nearly takes your breath away! Some aspects of Steam are subtle, others are full-on adventurous catalysts to transport you into a world bent on steam technology! I love the vitality of choice!! Therefore, when I saw a blog tour announcement for this story, I knew I had found my ‘second’ Steam novel and author!
Born in a boxcar on a train bound for Georgia. At least that is what Papa Steel always told AB’Gale. But now, fifteen years later, the man who adopted and raised her as his own is missing and it’s up to AB’Gale to find him. Aided only by a motley gang of friends, AB’Gale train hops her way across the United States in a desperate attempt to find her papa and put her life and family back the way it was. Her only guide is a map given to her by a mysterious hobo, with hand written clues she found hidden in her papa’s spyglass. Here is the Great American Adventure in an alternate steampunk dystopian world, where fifteen-year-old AB’Gale Steel learns that nothing is as it seems, but instead is shrouded in secrets and mysteries … and that monsters come in all shapes and forms.
Notations on Artwork & Design:
Artwork Credit: Matthew Perry
In this particular day and age, where book cover designs are based more upon stock images and less on the artistically creative book cover designers, whose original artwork is all but lost; I must confess, what impressed me the most about this book, was the diversity of art, and the choice of which scenes to illustrate! I have always held a special place in my heart for illustrators, as they are encouraging our imaginations to jettison us off to that internal place where all stories live inside our hearts! They enable us to help stitch together imagery and scenes, that we may or may not, have been able to visually conceive on our own.
They create a tangible palette in which the scope of the story is percolated through a lens similar to a motion picture’s storyboard, yet instead of having the ‘images’ set to fluid motion by ‘camera’, we get to expand on what is being presented and wholly enter the realm of the literary unknown! Almost as though we jumped through hyperspace and entered a completely new dimension!
Such is the happenstance adventures of readers everywhere, who are given such a breadth of light by artwork that co-creates the story by which the author first conceived!
Mr. Perry’s first image seen on the left of the unidentifiable ‘person’ holding what appears to be a container or a particular ‘type’ of something that comes with a sling strap for your shoulder, is bang-on accurate to the descriptive narrative that Muvihill supports in Chapter 8! This scene takes place at a train yard at night, in a discernible city of hidden suspense! What I liked about this snapshot of the character being brought forward into AB’Gale’s life at this moment in time, is that it shows that she is never going to know who or whom is going to cross her path! She’s set alight on a course where the most unsuspecting people she encounters, might hold ‘key’s to where she is headed next!
This is a metaphor for life as well, because its most oft known that the people who come to your aide or give you guidance are generally not always the ones you think will be akin to provide the information you need! No, actually in life as in stories, its the people you might overlook that provide the best advisers who help guide you on your path!
There was a second illustration that I was going to include in my review, but the chapter in which it was revealed has left me wondering why this particular thread was inside the story!? Of all the chapters, Chapter 54 was by far the most horrific!! I was not expecting a nose-dive into the realms of gruesome horror, yet that is the twist of a turn this story took at that junction! I would rather bypass it, and focus more on the main thread of story, by which, I enjoyed the most!
In regards to the cover art itself, a sense of urgency is playing out before us, as the locomotive is on fast approach, with a heightened sense of foreboding intensity! The gnarled and curling of the trunk of the tree, nearly reflects a sense of “unyielding twists of time and place”, as a curious hinting that the train can act as both a conveyor of people and goods, but also of destiny. I had been lamenting upon the visual symbolism of including the ‘tree with the train’ in full sight of the reader,… yet at the conclusion of the story, where I was expecting to arrive at a clarification of the symbolism, I was left instead with a questionable ending!
[My musings prior to the ending:]
Of all the times I’ve looked at the cover, I didn’t quite see what I saw whilst polishing this post to publish!! I was moving my mouse up and down, darting through everything to check the flow, as much as to check the rhythm of what I was wanting to convey about reading the story. Somewhere between the moving of the mouse and watching the screen, the cover art in this post was full in my sights, and therein, I noticed what I could not see whilst observing the cover art ‘flat and close’!!! The juxtaposition of AB’Gale Steel’s roots! It was like a lightning bolt had struck itself upon my desk, and all the logic of the choice in art electrified itself into my brain! The train’s boxcar in sight around the curve is “AB Gale Logs”; the workhouse factory is in the background with its garish stacks of smoke billowing towards the sky; and portions of a map are bleeding through the background into the foreground! The map bits I did originally see, as I thought I saw an overlay of a compass originally, but to see her origins and present circumstance coming rushing into view — kismet!
In total, Mr. Perry supplied 2 illustrative plates to give The Boxcar Baby a highly unique periscope into the lifeblood of the Steel Roots! His perception and understanding of the narrative is spot-on! And, I commend his artistic eye as much as his conveyance of the emotions, heart, and climatic moments of the evolving story! Even if I didn’t agree of the story shift, the illustrations honour the context in full! IF I could have picked one scene to be illustrated, it would have been of the girls’ new wardrobe, which hearkened quick to mind everything that I simply adore about Steampunk couture!
I look forward with whet anticipation of which Seventh Star Press novel I might encounter his brilliant artwork again! He’s truly an asset to the writers whose novels are published with the Press!
My Review of The Boxcar Baby:
Miss AB’Gale Steel, is a pure spitfire girl, full of strong-minded grit, who draws strength out of adversity, and endures hardship by bracing herself against self-pity. She latches her heart, her mind, and her spirit to the world by which she grew up in, as a method of memory against the vexatiousness life she feels consumed by. If it weren’t for percuring huckleberry friends: Charlotte, Raine, Lyza, and Freckles, I dare not presume to know how she would have found the strength to overcome! The girls owe allegiance towards each other as members of a surviving tribe of girls’ cast out and into a perpetual System that works against their well-being. Strengthened in their combined resolve, their sisterhood pits them against any opponent known or unknown.
By the fortuitousness of keen observation, these young women will assert their right to freedom by declaring their right to liberty. The woman who was behind their misery, Ms. Marcs, made me recollect my disdain for Brucklehurst who was the inflicter of desolation for Jane Eyre. Tragedy, flight of freedom, and an instinct for adventure transports these lovely huckleberries into a life of living by their wits!
The girls usage of veritable language choices, are a direct reflection of other distinctive times in history, where the choice of words could not only separate you into a class structure, but be a reflective mirror into your place of origin. This is an ingenious ploy by Mulvihill to construct a fuller picture of the world building she set off to accomplish, as their attentive nature to using slang, akin to the quick-wit of the 1920s or of East Londoners’ Cockney, provides them with a unique voice of character! She sets into motion a world that we can draw a familiar line against, but purports it into a new dimension that we have not yet visited!
I was taken aback when the story shifted off the tracks of Steampunk suspense, and entered into the macabre horror of creatures who live in the pitch black of caves! I felt as though there was a story shift in the ending chapters that was not foreshadowed or even built into the first half of the book! I was settled into the story, and even thought I had found metaphoric meanings into the narratives, yet in the end, I felt disillusioned and saddened to see, that where I thought this adventure was leading me was not to be!
I loved the premise of this meme {WWW Wednesdays} due to the dexterity that it gives the reader! :) Clearly subject to change on a weekly rotation, which may or may not lead to your ‘next’ read which would provide a bit of a paradoxical mystery to your readers!! :) Love the concept! Therefore, this weekly meme is hosted by Should Be Reading. 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!?
Afterwhich, your meant to click over to Should Be Reading to share your post’s link so that the rest of the bloggers who are participating can check out your lovely answers! :) 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!
What are you currently reading!? A better question would be to ask “What is Jorie not reading!?” (smiles a bit mischievously!) You see, I fell behind on my Septemb-Eyre + Classics Re-Told Reading schedules, but I stubbornly refuse to abandon ship on either project! Afterall, I am stitching together posts this week for 4 adaptations in motion picture for “Pride and Prejudice”, as well as making headway towards having book reviews ready as well! Therefore, I am knee deep inside Chapters XII-XXI of Jane Eyre, expecting to post my ruminations by Sunday, which coincides with my review of The Boxcar Baby, which I am starting on the morrow! The Pride books I am reading are as follows: Mr. Darcy’s Little Sister by C. Allyn Pierson, The Private Diary of Mr. Darcy by Maya Slater, and The Independance of Miss Mary Bennett by Colleen McCullough.
Meanwhile, I have seven! lovely books in progress at different stages of absorption:
To the keenly observant, this list was included on my #1 WWW! I still fully intend to read each of them!
What did you recently finish reading!? The Secret Keeper K.B. Laugheed! This story bewitched my mind, as it was such an engrossing multi-dimensional stroke of narrative!! I was quite gobsmacked when I read the other reviewers’ opinions, as I would never consider this to be a book for a pre-teen! Unless they were emotionally mature, but even then, its not a story of innocence nor of a life lived wrapped around the warmth of hearth and home! Its a gutting testament of the power of overcoming your past and carrying forward into your future! I seriously wonder at times, am I reading a different book altogether!? When I was between the ages of 9-12 I wouldn’t be caught dead reading a book with such heavy story-lines as these, because I was wrapped up in: Anne of Green Gables, Mandie, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Thoroughbred, The Black Stallion, Agatha Christie, and other childhood favourites I’ve outlined under “Children’s Lit: The Undiscovered Frontier“. By 13, I was exploring more mature texts, as I was in a Michael Crichton, John Grisham, and Tom Clancy phase by then, but evenso, the books I chose to read by them were not on this same theme. I was also entering my cowboy and frontier fiction days, yet those authors were more tempered than Laugheed in their descriptions of frontier Americana. As I would consider this book akin to “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” the tv series, which I watched in my twenties! The story is still haunting my thoughts, because I very much want this book to transform itself into ‘a first of a series’ OR at the very least ‘one of two’ stories stitched together. Its very much one half of a whole! I truly love this book, for adults! I’ll step off my soapbox now, my ire was irked that’s all!
What do you think you’ll read next!? I will be diving into the world of Ave, [The Fires of Eden series] by way of a short story collection that knits together previously spoken about characters or events, inside The Chronicles of Ave: Volume I by Stephen Zimmer! My review of this lovely collection will be live on my blog: 5th of October! Continuing forward with Eyre, Chapters XXII-XXIX will be consumed next, as well as Two Shall Become One: Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Pride and Prejudice Continues by Sharon Lathan, Pemberley by the Sea {alternative title: The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice} and Mr. Darcy’s Obsession by Abigail Reynolds; Pride, Prejudice, and Jasmin Field by Melissa Nathan; Dancing with Mr. Darcy: stories inspired by Jane Austen and Chawton House {anthology} by Sarah Waters and Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal. I am still awaiting materials through ILL &/or books to boomerang back to me, to complete my Classics Re-Told Project, therefore, this is an abbreviated list!
BONUS: What did you forego reading at the moment to read again lateron? Sadly, I had to let go of Lucid Stars by Andrea Barrett, which was an ILL book, and therefore, will be a bit trickier to get back again! I simply ran out of hours to read all the lovely books I was attempting to read having been ill for a week [third week of September!]. There are times when you simply cannot do anymore than your able too. The Irresistible Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe, and Jane and the Unpleasantness of Scargrave Manor slid into this category as well! I was able to reach the audio clip that I shared with you during my Top Ten List for Autumn Reads, yet that was about as far as I made it before it was called back! With Scargrave, I felt like it would be possible to conclude the story, but in the end, the hours rain out of the hourglass! I am back on hold for both of these lovelies, and eagerly await their return! I have also decided that for whichever reason, my ‘time’ to read Mistress of my Fate has not yet arrived!
Whew!
I wonder what everyone else is up, too!?
{SOURCE: The WWW Wednesday badge created by Jorie in Canva as a way to
promote the weekly meme for those who want to take part in it.}
