Week 1: Readers' Square

I have been having a fantastic start to my weekly reading! I am currently reading Finale by Stephanie Garber. It is the third book in the Caraval series. I am currently about halfway through and hoping to finish it today. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoys magical books.

I have been reading a lot of fantasy lately and this book kept popping up in my recommendations. My daughter actually found a copy at the used book sale at Isobel Turner last week. I had just finished two dark academia books, so I thought I was due for something slightly different. I am about 40% finished and I am thoroughly enjoying it. The writing is descriptive without being overdone, the characters are well developed and interesting, the pace is good for a 500+ page novel and the plot keeps you wanting to read more.

Taylor is also the author of the incredibly popular Daughter of Smoke & Bone series (which is also on my TBR). 

Highly recommend Strange the Dreamer to fans of Samantha Shannon, Leigh Bardugo and Mary E. Pearson. 

I'm about to finish 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami. This is the third tome, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I really hope the ending is worth the 1157 pages read.

I'm currently reading a Norse mythology book, I started not too long ago. Absolutely in love so far. Beautiful book, beautiful translation, amazing illustrations. I've been planning to learn more about Norse mythology for a while and super happy that I found this gorgeous book! 100% recommend

In honor of pride month, I picked up this book at the pride festival held yesterday. I am 2 chapters in right now and it is very interesting. I have wanted to do more research into queer history and this is one topic I wanted to be informed on. I am keeping in mind with the increase of companies "rainbow washing" in June which ones have a history of discriminating against the LGBTQ community and which actively support the community year-round. I recommend this book to anyone already well informed on LGBTQ history. It is not a good one to start with but more of a further look into history. 

I am re-reading Son of Elsewhere by Elamin Abdelmahmoud. It is a great look at Kingston, the 401, and how it is to come here from Elsewhere. I am re-reading this ahead of his event at Domino Theatre. I cannot loan out my copy as I have filled it full of notes in the margins. 

I am reading The Power Of Less by Leo Babauta. This book is about how you can eliminate extra work and focus only on important goal. 

Divide the goal to smaller tasks, and control your apatite to do distract work.

I highly recommend of reading this book. 

I just finished Book Lovers (Emily Henry) and it was awesome! I love reading romances in the summer, and Emily Henry did not dissapoint with Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation, but this recent one was my favourite. It's self referential as far as the publishing industry and romance stories go, so it's a neat peek behind the curtain. Looking forward to reading any and all of her work!

Full book title didn't fit in the post title, so here it is:

Game On! Video Game History from Pong to Pac-Man to Mario, Minecraft, and more, by Dustin Hansen

This is classified as a junior non-fiction book, but as a child of the 80s, I can tell you that unless you have a video-game obsessed child, this book will probably be much more interesting to a 40+-year-old :) It's very nostalgic reading about how a lot of the games I played as a kid were created. 

The book touches on the competition between Nintendo and SEGA, explains the things that were introduced in different games that changed the course of video game history, and it's just a really fun read. I'm close to halfway through.

If you like video games, played video games in the 80s, hung out at video game arcades, or just are interested in history of technology as it pertains to video games, I recommend this book (so far).

I have been reading Cobble Hill by Cecily von Ziegesar. 

I picked it up due to it's unique looking cover art as well as the fact that I read all of The Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar last year and really enjoyed her writing style. 

Cobble Hill chronicles a year in the life of four families in an upscale Brooklyn neighbourhood as they seek purpose, community, and meaningful relationships. 

I would not necessarily read it again, but it was an interesting read and I did appreciate the character development throughout. 

Bonjour lecteur/lectrice

Je suis présentement en train de lire le tome 2 , Regarde-moi, de la série Crossfire de Sylvia Day. Je ne suis qu'au chapitre 2, mais en relecture. Donc oui j'aime ce livre puisque je me le suis procurer.  

Je le recommande pour toutes les lectrices qui désire lire de la passion, de l'amour, des scènes torrides. 

I read Willa and Hesper today which is a queer fiction novel that focuses on the theme of who people are and where they come from.  Overall I enjoyed and would recommend this book, but at times I preferred the chapters from Hesper’s perspective which made the read feel slower.  this is a beautifully written novel that takes the reader on an adventure.  I picked this book up expecting a lesbian romance and feel the need to adamantly say that romance is not the focus of this novel.  

I just finished Again, Rachel by Marian Keyes. Like her previous books, it was a quick read (took me less than a week), and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

The one thing I don't like about Marian Keyes books in general is the emphasis on fashion: characters' clothing is usually described in detail (and often includes designer names), and I just don't care very much about that!

I was camping this week and had lots of down time. Started by finishing the last few pages of "The Judge's List" by John Grisham. Really enjoyed it, had been disappointed by the last few Grisham. Next, I read "Big Summer" by Jennifer Weiner. Wasn't too sure about it, but it got better as it went along. I am currently reading "State of Terror" by Louise Penney and Hilary Rodham Clinton. I got this book for Christmas and have put off reading it as a friend had said it was slow and boring. I don't know what book she read, it is amazing and I have been sitting down with it every second I get. Good books, all 3. 

I’m 100 pages into Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson. I love the summery, by-the-lake feel of the setting, but I can already tell it’s going to make me cry. That’s a bit of a bummer.

this week I read People we Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. I was looking for a light summer romance and this was a lot more engaging than I expected! The premise is that the two main characters go on vacation together every year but something happened that ruined their friendship and they are trying to give it one more chance this year. So the format was really page-turning where it goes between their first vacation, their current one, their second one, their current one, and so on, until you get to the big incident that ruined their friendship and find out if they can mend things by the end of their current trip together. A lot of fun and I'll be looking into this author's other books now.

Just started reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel as it was recommended to me by a friend. It is very different than my usual reads but I love it. Been reading sections of it throughout the summer and I can't put it down. I don't want to spoil too much but if you like a light thriller this is the book for you. I am only a few pages in so far and it is a slow start but I like it. Will keep you guys updated on how it goes! 

I am really loving this book so far. It is a great read to jump into summer. I can really relate to all things introverted and having kids is the extreme opposite so this is a much needed read. Definitely looking forward to reading more and how I can take better care of myself as an introverted mom. 

I'm a little over halfway through Geek Love by Katherine Dunn. I saw it recommended online and thought the premise of a carny family using toxic chemicals to create their own human oddities sounded interesting! It's a unique read and I'm really enjoying it so far. I'm not too sure where it will end up, but the relationships between the siblings are really twisted and intriguing. I recommend it if you're a fan of weird books, complex family dynamics, and you can stomach some disturbing imagery. 

My current read is Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake. I just started it so I can't say much about it yet. However, I caught myself being surprised by the ending of the previous book (One Dark Throne) and I'm hoping that this book will give me some answers and the ending I wish for. So far, I would recommend the series as it's packed with action and interesting characters!

I just finished reading before we Disapear which is a queer fantasy novel that takes place at the Seatle Alaska-Yukon-Pacific World Fair that took place in Seattle Washington between June 1st-October 19th 1909. It follows Willhelm and Jack as they race the clock to free Whilhelm from his capture, uncover Jacks future and hone Whilhelms unexplanable abilities to move through space in what he calls the between. Its a nearly 500 book but I read it in 3 sittings,you cant put it. Its fast paced and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. Absolutley loved this book.  

I know I joined a bit later, sorry! But I have been keeping a log of my reading so I will use that to add my updates for the previous weeks. 

On June 18, 2022

I have started to read Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, it is almost a magical and fantasy book. At that time, I had only read 10/525 pages of the book, so not much experience but my first impression was that this book was really interesting and well written for a young adult novel