Top Ten Tuesday: April Showers

Happy Tuesday everybody! It’s been a while, but I just wasn’t feeling the last couple of prompts (I don’t have a bucket list and I couldn’t think of ten books that described me). I’m cutting it a little close, but I really wanted to participate this week!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is April Showers. It’s a very open prompt, and can be anything from rainy day reads, to books that made you cry, to books that wash away a bad reading experience.

I’m going with Books That Washed Away a Not Great Reading Experience. And by this I mean: books I DNF-ed, books I read but didn’t like, or books I didn’t hate but were very slow for me to get through. (I consider a book feeling too slow to be a bad reading experience for me personally; even if sometimes I end up thinking the book itself is alright (around three stars) after the fact.)

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get into it! From most recent to least recent.

Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews: I didn’t really enjoy the book I read before it.
How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe: It took me a while to get through the last two books I read before this one, even though I ultimately thought they were alright. It was a real slog for me to get through them though, and I was in a slump for a bit until I read this.
Dark Moon, Shallow Sea by David R. Slayton: I DNF-ed the book I read before this one.
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone: I didn’t hate the book I read before this one, but it irritated me a lot. This book being so good helped turn my mood around.
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: I DNF-ed the book I read before this one.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers: I didn’t really like the book I read before this one.
White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton: I didn’t really like the two books I read before this one.
The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan: I really didn’t enjoy the two books I read before this one.
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune: The book I read before this one was a slog for me to get through. This was a real pick-me-up.
In Deeper Waters by FT Lukens: I really didn’t like the book I read before this one.

What did you do for April Showers? What books washed away your not-so-great reading experiences?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Quotes That I Really Liked From Ten Books That I Love

Happy Tuesday everybody!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Quotes From/About Books. So you can share book quotes that you love, quotes about books themselves, quotes about being a reader, etc. I decided to highlight Quotes That I Really Like From Ten Books That I Love. I went with the last ten books I gave five star for this one, because I’ve just read so many books.

Without further ado, let’s get into it! From most recently read and rated to least recently read and rated – to keep them straight in my head (but mostly because I’m having trouble choosing which books I like better than others).

#1

Perhaps that is what it is like with other people. Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not.
Susanna Clarke – Piranesi

#2

“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live. That is all most animals do.”
Becky Chambers – A Psalm for the Wild-Built

#3

One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.
Heather Fawsett – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

#4

Art doesn’t need to be good to be valuable. I’ve heard it said that art is the one truly useless creation-intended for no mechanical purpose. Valued only because of the perception of the people who view it. The thing is, everything is useless, intrinsically. Nothing has value unless we grant it that value. Any object can be worth whatever we decide it to be worth.
Brandon Sanderson – Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

#5

There is no such thing as a single truth. There are just the stories we tell others, and the ones we tell ourselves.
Chelsea Abdullah – The Stardust Thief

#6

Humanity is awful, angry, and violent. But we are also magical and musical. We dance. We sing. We create. We live and laugh and rage and cry and despair and hope. We are a bundle of contradictions without rhyme or reason. And there is no one like us in all the universe.
TJ Klune – In the Lives of Puppets

#7

Real hearts are nothing but trouble.
They break and bleed and bring their owners torment. But without them existence is hollow, only breath following breath.
Frances Hardinge – Unraveller

#8

You are the Ship of Theseus. We all are. There is not a single living cell in my body that was alive and a part of me ten years ago, and the same is true for you. We’re constantly being rebuilt, one board at a time.
Edward Ashton – Mickey7

#9

“Not every story is willing to reveal itself right away. Some of them are bashful.”
Marissa Meyer – Gilded

#10

“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”
V.E. Schwab – A Darker Shade of Magic

What are your favorite quotes? Are they from your favorite books? Do you have any quotes you really like that are just about books and reading in general?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: New to Me Authors I Discovered in 2024

Hey everyone! Happy Tuesday! Here’s another Top Ten Tuesday.

Anyway, on with the post! Here are the authors new to me from last year, in order of reading from the beginning of 2024 to the end of 2024!

Kerri Maniacalco via Kingdom of the Wicked
Laura R. Samotin via The Sins on Their Bones
Becky Chambers via the Monk & Robot series of novellas
Meg Shaffer via The Lost Story
Susanna Clarke via Piranesi
Ann Leckie via Lake of Souls: The Collected Short Fiction
June CL Tan via Darker by Four
Cecy Robson via Bloodguard
Mo Xiang Tong Xiu via Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (Mo Dao Zu Shi)
Jennifer D. Lyle via Snow Drowned

What authors were new to you last year? What did you think of their books? Are you planning on reading other novels by them in the future?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday: 8/28

Happy Wednesday everyone! What’s everybody been reading lately?

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Thing I’m Currently Reading

Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

CURRENT STATUS: 20%

CURRENT FEELS: 🥱😒 (bored and annoyed – there’s something about the way this story is told (and how slow it’s being told) that’s getting to me; I’m probably going to DNF it)

The Thing I Most Recently Finished Reading

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

☆★ my review ★☆

The Thing(s) I’ll Probably Read Next

Lake of Souls by Ann Leckie: This has been on my radar since it came out this April. It’s kind of been floating in the back of my mind, but it’s also been a bit forgotten about. It’s also gotten a little lost in the shuffle of new releases that have been on my TBR lately. Nonetheless, I’m still interested in reading it!

Darker by Four by June C.L. Tan: This has also been on my radar since April – no, since March (it was actually on my second list of anticipated new books of 2024 that I posted this year). Actually, basically the same reasons for not reading it yet as Lake of Souls apply. I’m thinking I’ll read this after that one though.

Noragami: Stray Stories by Adachitoka: I’m gonna read this this week definitely, though I’m not sure if it’ll be before or after the other two books. Depends when I get ahold of it, I guess. I’ve followed and loved this series for like seven years, and I’m looking forward to the final volume at the end of the year, though I’ll be sad to see it finally end. (Yes, I know the ending has already been out for months. But I’ve managed to stay unspoiled and I want to keep it that way until I have the physical copy in my hands in December!)

What books has everyone been reading lately? What have you thought of them? What are you thinking of reading next?

Anyway, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope that you have a fantastic day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke | Book Review

The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

LENGTH: 245 pages

GENRES: Fantasy, Literary, Fiction

PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Publishing

RELEASE DATE: 15 September 2020

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

There is one other person in the house–a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.

For readers of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller’s Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds.

My Review

‘I said that this is a perfect world. But it’s not. There are crimes here, just like everywhere else.’

Oh. My. Stars. What an amazing little read this book was. Piranesi has been on my radar for years, but I’ve always put it off for various reasons. But I finally got around to reading it, and I’m very glad I did. Because this was a very good book.

I’m not gonna talk a lot about the stuff I usually talk about in my book reviews – and as a result this might be a shorter review – because I don’t want to ruin the experience of reading this novel for anyone who might read this post. Because the thing I absolutely loved the most about this book was how you could slowly piece together the plot and the backstory and the way all the characters (alive and dead) related to each other. It was a bit of a slow burn in a way, but a fantastic one.

I enjoyed following Piranesi’s journal entries and observing how he viewed his world. I think I said it in my first Emily Wilde review and I’ll say it here: We need more epistolary novels! The other characters were interesting as well – I especially found Piranesi’s evolving perception of The Other and 16 to be fascinating.

Perhaps that is what it is like being with other people. Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not. Perhaps that is what Raphael means.

The way Clarke describes here world is beautiful and otherworldly. The Labyrinth is serene and whimsical and mysterious and terrifying all at once. I especially enjoyed the Coral Halls – they sounded absolutely breathtaking. Her writing is also very, very good.

This novel was an even bigger breath of fresh air for me because it was a much better reading experience than the last book that I read and reviewed. I’m always nervous about starting a new book after reading a book that I didn’t care for or outright hated. So it was wonderful to read a book that I really, really loved.

I’m also looking forward to the Laika adaptation (probably) coming out a few years from now. I think they’re perfect for adapting this particular book, and hope that they do it justice.

So yeah, I know this is a shorter book review – especially compared to my last one – but like I said, I don’t want to taint any one’s experience reading Piranesi for the first time. Because it truly is an actual reading experience. So just read it – I think most people will really enjoy it.

As always, thank you so much for reading, and I hope you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

The sight of the One- Hundred- and- Ninety- Second Western Hall in the Moonlight made me see how ridiculous that is. The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of Itself. It is not the means to an end.

MY LINKS:

Goodreads

Instagram

WWW Wednesday: 8/21

I’m so happy to be reading more books again. Sort of. Summer is weird for me – for some reason, I have trouble getting into and reading books. I dunno why. But it feels like it’s picking up again for me?

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Thing I’m Currently Reading

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

CURRENT STATUS: 25%

CURRENT FEELS: 🤔 (unsure…)

The Thing I Most Recently Finished Reading

The Girl With No Reflection by Keshe Chow

☆★ my review ★☆

The Thing I Might Read Next

Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro

This has been on my TBR since last year. It was even on my Christmas list, so I received a copy then. I just haven’t gotten around to reading it, unfortunately. But with the sequel, Bringer of Dust releasing next month, I’ve decided that I gotta get on this.

What books are you guys currently reading? Have you read any of the ones on my list this week? What did you think of them, if you had? How do you feel about the book(s) you’re reading now?

Anyway, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope that you have a fantastic day/night!

See ya ~Mar

WWW Wednesday: 8/7

It’s been… forever since I’ve participated in this post. Like, it’s been over half a year. Geez. I dunno why I dropped it for so long, though part of it was ’cause I was still doing Weekly Wrap-Ups at the time, so doing WWW Wednesday felt redundant when I was already recapping which books I read recently and planning on reading next for my wrap-ups.

But then I got burned out on that too, so I wasn’t doing either. Basically, what I’m trying to say, is that I’m gonna be doing this post pretty regularly again.

So yeah.

Anyway.

The 3 Ws of WWW Wednesday:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

The Thing I’m Currently Reading

The Girl With No Reflection by Keshe Chow

CURRENT STATUS: 2%

CURRENT FEELS: 😁 (excited – this is one of my anticipated books from my July, Aug, Sept list)

The Thing I Most Recently Finished Reading

The Ghostkeeper by Johanna Taylor

☆★ my review ★☆

The Thing(s) I Might Read Next

A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers

A Prayer for the Crown Shy by Becky Chambers: This has been on my TBR for a few months, ever since I read its predecessor, but has been pushed around for a while. I think I might be in the mood for a smaller read next, though, so it’s here as a potential.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: This is another that’s been on my radar for awhile – years in fact. But with the announcement of a movie produced by Laika, I’ve been reminded that it’s been buried in my TBR. It’s also shorter, so it’s also here for similar reasons as to A Prayer for the Crown Shy.

Ordinary Monsters by J.M. Miro: This has been on my TBR since last year. It was even on my Christmas list, so I received a copy then. I just haven’t gotten around to reading it, unfortunately. But with the sequel, Bringer of Dust releasing next month, I’ve decided that I gotta get on this.

What books are you guys currently reading? Have you read any of the ones on my list this week? What did you think of them, if you had? How do you feel about the book(s) you’re reading now?

Anyway, thank you to everyone for reading, and I hope that you have a fantastic day/night!

See ya ~Mar