Random Musings of a Bibliophile

As you can probably tell by how quiet it's been around here, this hasn't been the best year of reading for me as far as numbers go. There are a lot of reasons for this. The books I am reading though are great, and there have been some truly fantastic ones. Here are some of those: What are your favorite books of the year so far?

Sarah Prineas writes amazing books and I love and own them all. There are more than one copy of most of them in my house because my kids loved them too and need their own copies. I often get nervous when I read a new book from an author whose books I adore because there is the niggling worry that this will be the one I don't like. I'm becoming more and more convinced that's just never going to happen with Sarah's books. Her latest The Lost Books: The Scroll of Kings  had me riveted from page one and made me feel real, true, unadulterated love for a book. Something I haven't felt in quite a while. Disclaimer: This is a review of an early copy sent to me by the author who I am friendly with. That was what a librarian was, he realized, and he wanted to curse himself for being so slow to figure it out. A librarian was not just a cataloger, a sweeper, a duster, a collector of grass, an alphabetizer, a keeper of keys. A librarian was a protector . Of books.  ...

I take the 2nd Friday of every month to highlight some upcoming releases I am looking forward to that I hope are Future Favorites. Feel free to do your own post, just please link back to my blog and tell me about your post in the comments. Two Naomis  was one of my favorite reads of 2016 so I was understandably excited it's getting a sequel.  In this sequel to  Two Naomis , now that Naomi Marie’s mom and Naomi E.’s dad are married, the girls have learned to do a lot of things together, like All-Family Sunday dinners, sixth-grade homework, navigating the subway system by themselves, and visiting their favorite bakeries. Until sixth grade in a new school presents a whole new set of surprises and challenges. Trusting her gut has worked for Naomi E. all her life, and she figures that it will be an asset to her role as a Peer Mediator—until she realizes how much of the job requires the Art of Compromise, which she’s only just starting to get used to at home. Nao...

Kasie West is a must read author for me though a couple of her recently published books were not my favorites by any stretch. Her latest Love, Life, and the List  is everything I fell in love about her books originally and is my favorite of her books so far. Abby and Cooper have been best friends since 8th grade when Abby moved to town. Their group is rounded out by Rachel and Justin who are both leaving the country for the entirety of the summer. Abby and Cooper will spend a lot of time just the two of them. Abby doesn't consider this to be a problem even though she confessed her love to Cooper the previous year and then played it off as a joke when she saw the panicked look on his face. Having Cooper as a best friend is the best even with her unrequited love she can't get rid of. When Abby is rejected for an art show she has her heart set on because her work lacks depth and emotional maturity, Abby makes The Heart List -a list of things she will do over the summer to grow h...

Hey Everone! Here are my favorite May reads with general stats for the month. I didn't do a monthly stats report for March or April because I didn't read many new books and had no new favorites to add. But I seem to be getting my groove back this month. I even have TWO whole posts schedule for next week. GASP! One is the review for the favorite May read on the right and the other is the return of Future Favorites Friday. Hopefully I still have readers.

The Penderwicks at Last by Jeanne Birdsall is the fifth and  final installment of the series that began with The Penderwicks: The Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy  back in 2005. I awaited its release with equal parts excitement and trepidation. It's always hard to face the end of a favorite series, especially when one has developed Opinions about the characters and their destinies. I'm happy to report I was quite satisfied with the way Birdsall wrapped everything up. It is not anywhere close to my favorite book in the series, but it fulfills its purpose as a final volume well and is still quite excellent. Most of the Penderwick children are grown and out of the house. Rosy and Jane both have apartments in their hometown. Skye is in Californian working on her post graduate degree. Batty is finishing up her first year at college in Boston. Honorary Penderwick Jeffrey has spent the last few years in Germany working on his music. Ben and Lydia...

Here are some shorter musings on recent MG reads. Beast & Crown  by Joel Ross I wasn't a huge fan of Ross' first works. It was a me thing. I've never been super into dystopia, and I was well and truly done with it by the time his first two books came out. This was much more my type of story. It is a quest fantasy with a great cast of characters to love and root for. The heart of this team is Ji, who is a snarky lying thief. (And yes, that is my character weak spot.) There is a great deal of treachery and plot twists. Definitely worth an addition to any MG shelves. I was a bit thrown out of the story due to the world being a weird mix of British manors and California culture, but the target audience is not going to notice that as much. A Properly Unhaunted Place  by William Alexander A fun, quick read about kids who have to save their town from a malevolent ghost. This is one of those MG books where the adults can't do what needs to be done and the kids rise to...