Frequently Used Words In YA Fantasy Titles

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and you can click her to join up in the fun. This week is frequently used words in [insert genre] books. I think we can all agree that there's only so much originality in titles these days but it's often a bit of fun to point these things out. Without further ado:

17 2019 Debuts To Be Excited For (Already)

It's never to early to get excited for a new release and I often find myself perusing Goodreads looking far into the future to see what's coming out down the pipeline. A lot of times all I get for a description is a X meets X kinda thing, but it's finally getting to that time of year when full descriptions are coming out for some 2019 debuts. I spent several hours looking through Goodreads and compiling this list of books that I'm genuinely excited for and I hope to make you excited, too.

I did something similar to this in April of 2016 which, whoah, that's a long time ago, and I'd like to bring that tradition back. Last go around I had a few interviews with authors and I'm going to be reaching out again because that was such a fun way to connect. But, anyway, that's pretty far in the future at this point, but do look for bi-monthly updates on these releases.

Now, without further ado, let's get excited:

Sandman Slim

Sandman Slim

Richard Kadrey

Sandman Slim, Book 1

There are some light SPOILERS down below. I don't give away anything super important to the plot but I do talk about certain things in depth. While it won't ruin your experience reading it if you're wary of any spoilers at all you may want to skip.

Sandman Slim has sat on my kindle unread for I don't even know how long at this point. I first downloaded it sometime around when I discovered The Dresden Files and urban fantasy as a genre but never got around to it even though the title, cover, and description had me incredibly intrigued. Plus, like Dresden Files, it's a pretty large series so I would have plenty to bite into. Now, after having discovered Lucifer, the show not the comic (as soon as I get home it's on top of my list though), and being on another urban fantasy kick (plus Kadrey having written for the Lucifer comics) I decided it was finally time to sit down and read this one. And I must say, I feel like it was a bit of a waste of time.

March & April (So Far) Wrap Up + Updates

Hello everyone! Look at me, actually on top of my game recently and posting regularly. Who'd have thought? In my last update I talked about how I've been away from home and how that hasn't resulted in stress, exactly, it has resulted in my time being taken up by different things. Well, that flipped didn't it? I've actually been dealing with a lot of stress and anxiety at the moment, and while that hasn't kept me from posting or reading it has made it harder, which is why I'm doubly proud of myself for posting and interacting as much as I have. Classes are done for me and I've only got one essay left (due early next month so there's plenty of time) and now that I've let myself unwind I am feeling pretty relaxed and overall enjoying the nice weather and free time. (I've also been writing again but there's not much to say on that front... yet.)

Honestly things have been pretty low-key and I have little to report on the personal front except that I'm seriously homesick for my bookshelves. But there are a lot of changes-- or should I say new features?-- coming to the blog and I couldn't be more excited!

Top Ten Books I Wish Would Be Adapted as Movies or Television

Top Ten Tuesday is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Every week a new prompt is posted and you can participate by visiting her blog and linking up.

This week was a freebie so I thought I'd do something I've been thinking about a lot: which books I've read that I think will do well as televisions or movies. I'm not counting three of my favorite series-- ACOTAR, Throne of Glass, and The Kingkiller Chronicles-- because they're all on their own little paths to being adapted at the moment. Suffice it to say I'm pretty excited for all those adaptations. Here are some books that I have no idea where they stand in Hollywood at the moment but dearly hope my wishes will come true and someday they'll be on screen.

Now, in no particular order, here they are:

The Song of Seven

The Song of Seven

Tonke Dragt

Goodreads Link

I received an eGalley from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

"Does that happen often? he wondered. That the stories you dream up aren't just fantasy, but came from somewhere and really happened, in another time, in another place, without you knowing it?"

One of the perks of being a review is getting the opportunity to review translated stories. In America, or at least the Midwest, it's hard to find anything translated unless it's already famous. Here, in the UK, it's much easier to just stumble across translated fiction and fantasy, and it's definitely an area of the bookstore I'd love to spend more time. There are so many lovely stories out there not originally in English and reading them just expands my heart. But I digress; let me speak of this book particularly. Originally The Song of Seven was written in Dutch and published in 1966. Recently it was republished with a new English translation. While it's definitely a book intended for younger readers it doesn't talk down to the readers (as some middle grade can do) but treats them as equals. Honestly, I think it's the perfect book to read to kids; the experiencing of reading a book about storytelling is just so poetic and perfect.

The Art of Asking

The Art of Asking

Amanda Palmer

Goodreads

This may be the most important book I've read all year, if ever. I think it's also the only book I've  read that I whole-heartedly recommend to everyone I know and will continue to recommend to every person I meet. The Art of Asking is a nonfiction memoir type book written by the amazing Amanda Palmer. I picked it up because one of my friends had recommended it and because I had picked up some tickets to see Amanda in Brighton in May (so excited for this, by the way). My audible credit came right on time and, honestly, I recommend listening to the book (at least the first time you read it; definitely a book worth reading more than once) because she narrates it herself and it drives home a lot of the points in really emotional ways. I can already tell this is going to be less of a review and more of a post where I try to convince you to read this book. Let's get started:

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Douglas Adams

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Book 2

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Review

I can say, far and away, as much as I enjoyed the first in this series, the second one is really the better book. I can also say, based on my limited experience with the series so far, that you will enjoy these books all the more if you read them right after one another. Because, really, as much as they are individual books, they really aren't the "proper" sort of books one might be used to reading and they just kind of bleed into and fall on top of one another as they go along. There's little distinction between the end of one and the beginning of the next. Which is, honestly, what makes this a better book than the first one.