What I Read Wednesday: Edition 0004 – Getting Peculiar with Victoria & Lost Tales.

As mentioned in my previous WIRW post, I started off 2017 by finishing up the Hana Kimi manga. After I finished I thought to myself, “Self, do you want to read more manga, or not?”, and I decided not. Then I asked myself, “Self, what do you want to read then?”, and I pondered that question mightily. There are so many genres to choose from, and not only that, I literally have SO. MANY. BOOKS!

Just looking at them fills me with a strange sense of bookish pride, and well as an overwhelming sense of “OMGWHEREDOIEVENSTART*screamfaceemoji*?!”

Eventually, I settled on Hollow City: The Second Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children.

If you’ve not read, then AVERT THINE EYES ofc bcz spoilers bbs, but the book picks up immediately after the first, where Jacob, Emma, and the rest of the Peculiar Children are on the run from the wights who destroyed their home & time loop; the children are also on a mission to find another ymbryne to help their headmistress Miss Peregrine, who was injured and stuck in her bird form. From there ensues meeting more Peculiars, traveling with Gypsies, kidnappings, a carnival, an ice fortress, some time travel, and a betrayal unimagined. So basically, it was pretty good, and I’m ready to read the third (and final?) book…which I don’t have…yet. XD

After that I decided it was time to change it up again, and I started to FINALLY delve into the History of Middle Earth, and started The Book of Lost Tales 1 by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Funnily enough, I’m only on page 25, and getting through the first story “The Cottage of Lost Play”; not because it’s long, but actually because there’s the story itself, then ALL of the commentary. Since this was edited by Tolkien’s son after his death, the commentary shows the progress of how the story was written, along with different versions of the story itself written in various poems. So, it’s the actual history of Middle-Earth backstory, but also the history of how Tolkien created that world.

I’m a huge fan of PBS Masterpiece, and one of the shows I’m currently watching is Victoria, which is about Queen Victoria, during her teenage years when she assumed the throne after the death of her uncle, William IV. And guess what?? There’s a book about it!!

Victoria is written by Daisy Goodwin, who is also the screenwriter and creator of the show!! I have a feeling then, that the book will be very similar to the show, and I am quite all right with that, as I love the show already! 😀

So that’s all that I’m reading at the moment. As mentioned in previous WIRW posts, feel free to friend me over at Goodreads, where you can see all kinds of bookish activity! Please share any recommendations, or books you are currently reading, in the comments! ❤

What I Read Wednesday: Edition 0003 – 2016 in Review.

Hello everyone! Hope you’re doing well. Long time no see, right?! *facepalms* Long story short, had a bad reaction to my meds, which put me in a funk for a while, then it was Christmas holiday time, where I spent time with the fam & then got sick, then I had to rest & recoup, and I’m just now feeling like I’m getting back to normal. Disappointed I didn’t finish Blogmas, but it is what it is. *shrugs*

So, let’s talk about some fun things, like BOOKS!! Ah yes, books; my loves, my friends, my pathways to adventure! For 2016, my goal was to read 50 books, and just like with 2015, I FAILED AGAIN!! XD

To be honest, reading 43 books out of a 50 book goal isn’t that bad, BUT the majority of books (a good 26) are all manga, so I was a bit sneaky trying to hit the goal! XD Here’s everything I read in 2016!

I’ve read both mangas, Fruits Basket and Hana Kimi, many times. If you’ve ever been interested in manga and wanted to give a shōjo series a go, I’d recommend both of these. They are adorable and cute, but most importantly, they are both a completed series!

While 2016 took me back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter with the release of Cursed Child, I think my favorite book that I read this year was actually Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. The premise of the book was interesting (young boy traces the path of his grandfather’s past, meets some peculiar children, fights monsters, time travels, and learns more than he ever thought he would), and the addition of vintage photographs throughout made the story come even more alive.

Feel free to check out my 2016 Year in Books over on Goodreads for more statistical info, and links to all the books pictured above! 🙂

So now that 2016 is over, it’s on to 2017, and my goal for this year is to read 70 books! “AMANDA!!” I hear you exclaim, “you’ve failed the last two years, why on Earth would you add another 20 books to your goal?” Well peeps, if you noticed, at the end of 2016 I started the Hana Kimi manga, and only read the first three books. So, of course, starting off 2017, I just had to finish the series, and I did! The rest of the series was literally 20 books, soooooo technically I still only have a 50 book goal for the rest of the year! XD < doges > Ahhh, much logic, such sense. < / doges > Eighteen days into the new year, this is my current 2017 reading status:

*fist pump of awesomeness* Let’s hope I keep this momentum going through the year! As mentioned in previous WIRW posts, feel free to friend me over at Goodreads, where you can see all kinds of bookish activity! Please share any recommendations, or books you are currently reading, in the comments! ❤

Blogmas Day 13: What I Read Wednesday – Edition 0002 – Maintaining the Status Quo!

Well, it’s “What I Read Wednesday” time again, and I STILL have SIX books on my currently reading list…and the majority are still the same books! *facedesks* If you’d like to see my previous post about those, you can click here.

I didn’t make much progress on those, BUT since I did finish The Amazing Book is Not on Fire: The World of Dan and Phil, I felt like starting something different, so I started to re-read one of my favorite mangas ever, Fruits Basket! This is also technically Dan’s fault, since he recently made an anime rec video, where he talked about the Fruits Basket anime (yes, I own it, and YES, it’s good too!), and I thought to myself, “Self, you need to re-read this manga!”, and so here we are!

If you’re not familiar with this manga series, let me learn you some things! XD

This is Tohru Honda, our heroine:

As the manga opens, we find out that Tohru is living on her own (IN A TENT!!), having lost her mother the previous year; (she would have been staying with her grandpa, but his house is being renovated). The land she has her tent on belongs to the Sohma family. Tohru meets Yuki and Shigure Sohma, who live nearby (and Yuki is Tohru’s schoolmate) and through a series of events, they invite Tohru to stay with them, until the renovations on her grandpa’s house are complete.

The shenanigans kick off with the arrival of Kyo Sohma, who has an intense rivalry with Yuki, and their fight leads to the revelation of their family secret to Tohru; that some members of the Sohma family are possessed by the spirits of the Chinese zodiac, and when physically weak or hugged by a member of the opposite sex, they change into their zodiac animal!!

Of course, they eventually change back into human form, but when they do, there’s a surprise…

I’ve read this series quite a few times, so I’d definitely recommend this. Overall, it’s a story about life; dealing with love and loss, friendships and family, being true to yourself by just being yourself, with a good balance of comedy and drama throughout.

This week, I’ve already read the first four volumes, and am almost done with volume five. Luckily, next week, I am on vacation *nances about*, so I’ll probably have this series finished by next Wednesday, and hopefully, maybe have one or two of the other longtime “currently reading” books completed. *fingers crossed*

As mentioned in my previous post, feel free to friend me over at Goodreads, where you can see all kinds of bookish activity! Please share any recommendations, books, or manga you are currently reading, in the comments! ^.^v

What I Read Wednesday: Edition 0001 – Six at once? Really?!

Lately, I’ve noticed a bit of a slump in my reading pace, so I thought I’d try and do a weekly blog post about books, the whole books, and nothing but the books! XD

Usually, when it comes to reading books, I am your typical “one book at a time” kind of girl; however, since the end of last year, I’ve had at least SIX books that are active on my reading list. When reading, I can usually stay focused on the one book or series, but not this year! With that being said, let’s take a look at my current, active reading list, shall we?

First up, Kings & Queens of England, a Dark History: 1066 to Present Day by Brenda Ralph Lewis. I would consider this to be your basic coffee-table book. The information in the book for the most part gives a decent general overview; the “dark” history aspect isn’t anything surprising, just the usual sex, power-plays, and murders we’ve all heard and know about (Henry VIII beheading two of his wives, the Princes in the Tower, and so on).  One thing that was pleasantly surprising were all the images and illustrations; there were many I hadn’t seen before, and I think that this engraving by H.C. Austin of Isabella of France is my favorite.
If you just want to get an overview of English royalty, with a focus on some of the darker aspects of their reigns, then this book is for you!

The second book on the list is The Demon’s Brood: A History of the Plantagenet Dynasty by Desmond Seward. This book is a specific focus on the Plantagenet Dynasty, who ruled England longer than any other royal family; they were on the English throne from 1154 starting with Henry II, to 1485, with the death of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field.

The Plantagenet line originated in Anjou, in France, and if you’re familiar at all with British or French history, this is one of the reasons why these two countries were always fighting. As the kings of England were descendants of French heritage, they believed themselves to be the King of France, as their birthright, and were constantly trying to take back French lands. These constant raids from 1337 to 1453 is better known as the Hundred Years’ War; there were some major royal expeditions, and the most famous, I think, would be Henry V my bae, who had the most success, beating the French at Agincourt, eventually creating the Treaty of Troyes, where Henry married Catherine of Valois, daughter of King Charles VI of France. As a result of this marriage, Henry then forced terms that he would be Charles’s heir over Charles’s own son, the Dauphin, and then Henry and Catherine’s children would succeed Henry to the French throne. This never happened as Henry died about two years later, leaving his barely one-year old son as his heir, which was one of the contributing factors to the start of the disastrous War of the Roses.

From the Plantagenet line, there are two branches; the House of Lancaster and the House of York. These cousins, and their vying for the English throne, is one of the main factors that resulted in the War of the Roses. The reason it was called this is that Lancaster was associated with the red rose, while York was with white. This is best seen in the Plucking the Red and White Roses in the Old Temple Gardens by Henry Arthur Payne.
When Henry VII came to the throne, he merged the two roses together to create the Tudor rose, which was symbolic as he was associated distantly with the House of Lancaster through his mother, and he married Elizabeth of House York, to bring the two warring houses together.

I think if you have any interest in this specific period of British history, this book would be awesome for you. It’s a very easy read, and Seward breaks his chapters up by each king, whom is given a descriptive name to further characterize their chapter. My favorite? “The Gleaming King – Henry V”, of course. ;p

A swift shift in topic is the third book, The Amazing Book is Not on Fire: The World of Dan and Phil by Dan Howell and Phil Lester. Dan and Phil are YouTubers, and this book is literally their videos in printed format! XD
The book doesn’t read like a traditional biography, which is totally cool, but it does follow the path of hitting main lifetime points; literally starting with their births, as shared by their mothers, moving on through childhood, and onto school & university, and what led them to start YouTube, to where they are now. Sprinkled in-between are many anecdotes, trivia & facts, and some how-to’s. In fact, while composing this post, I picked up the book to give a look through as to what I’ve already read, as a refresher, and just ended up finishing the book! So now, I can go ahead and mark that one complete (finally!), which is pretty good timing, since they just released Dan and Phil Go Outside!

Numero four is, Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman. I love, love, LOVE Gaiman’s writing. This book is comprised for 24 short stories, and so far, I am about halfway through. This particular book doesn’t follow your traditional anthology set up, where most of the stories revolve around a current theme or topic; instead Gaiman has provided stories that are sci-fi and contemporary, fairy tales and horror, pop culture and fantasy. It runs the total gamut and it works. They are all so different, but they all fit together. So far, my favorites have been “A Lunar Labyrinth”, “The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains”, “A Calendar of Tales” (May, September, November, & December, in particular.), “The Case of Death and Honey” [see an excerpt below], “Jerusalem”, and “And Weep, Like Alexander” (which actually, if truth be told, has nothing to with an Alexander! XD). I think that if you have come across any of Neil Gaiman’s work and were deliberating whether or not to start reading (you should, you totally should!), this book would be an awesome gateway book, to see how he writes (which is awesomely, btw!), and to give you a taste of what you can expect with some of his full length novels.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Cinqo de book is The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Let me start off by saying that this book is GORGEOUS! I am literally the heart-eyes emoji when I look through this book. Hardback and about an inch thick, this book is jam packed with so many historical backstories and beautiful portraits and landscapes, it’s manna for a historical nerd like me (even if it is a history for a fictional world! XD) I am barely a quarter of the way through the book; there is just so much info, that I am taking my time to read and try to absorb it all. I’ve made it through the Ancient History and the Reign of the Dragons, and am about halfway through the Targaryen Kings. Moving ever so closer to Rhaegar and Lyanna’s story, but as the book is written in the voice of a maester to the king, we most likely won’t get the reveal that they are the parents of Jon Snow. (But that’s ok, because the show has practically already done that for us! XD)

Lastly, we have book number six, Tudors: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I by Peter Ackroyd. This is the book that I have been consistently reading as of late. As the name implies, it’s a coverage of the Tudor period, from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I. The Tudor dynasty actually started with Henry VIII’s father, Henry VII, who combined the houses of Lancaster and York, putting an end to the War of the Roses. Team Lancaster FTW! Henry VII’s story was covered in Ackroyd’s previous book, Foundation: The History of England from its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors. (Hot diggity dog, that title is a mouthful! XD) This book is the second in Ackroyd’s History of England series, and covers the four Tudor monarchs, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.

I have made it through Henry, Edward, and Mary, and am just starting to delve into Elizabeth’s reign. So far, I’ve not really read anything I wasn’t already familiar with; most of the unknown came from secondary persons, and their stories, like the various bishops and priests, and their travails during the Reformation process. (Which let’s be real, was all about Henry VIII claiming all power and money, and nothing to do with Protestant/Lutheran beliefs.) I could honestly read about the Tudors all day, everyday! Good Queen Bess is my historical jam! XD

So that’s all the books that are currently on my active reading list! I’ve also read other books recently that didn’t spend as much time on my “currently reading” list, like Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, and Eat Smart: What to Eat in a Day – Every Day by Niomi Smart.

A special mention has to go out to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne, because ERMAHGERD NEW HERREY PERTER!!! I bought this book on July 31^st when it was released, and had it read COMPLETELY the same day. In all fairness, this is in a play format, not a novel format, so it was a quick read through. There were pros and cons with this release; I love that it’s expanding the Wizarding World universe, but at the same time, it read like fan fiction. I love how boss Hermione still was, but didn’t feel that Harry and Ron were the same people as in the original series; they felt weaker, and at times, like completely different characters. I think the Albus & Scorpius relationship was adorable, and everything we could have had, if Harry & Draco had ended up as friends. While I am thankful for the script version (because I don’t know if I’ll ever get to see the play), I think it would be nice to have a proper novelization, to flesh it out a bit more. Plus, Rowling can write some awesome dialogue that’s always nice to read.

That’s it for my inaugural “What I Read Wednesday” post! Let’s see what progress I manage to make next week, if any! Blogmas is getting ready to start, so I have been prepping posts for that, but I am planning for all Wednesdays to be book posts! Also, feel free to friend me over at Goodreads, where you can see all kinds of bookish activity! XD Please share any recommendations, or books you are currently reading, in the comments!