Random Musings of a Bibliophile

This is a look back on my reading of the past three months: the best of the best, the books I couldn't finish, and the non-fiction and adult books I don't review on the blog. These only cover new-to-me books and not rereads. The Non-Fiction: A Grief Observed  by C.S. Lewis Night  by Elie Wiesel (reread) A Thousand Sisters  by Elizabeth Wein The Adult  Fiction: Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating  by Christina Lauren (contemporary romance) Lies Jane Austen Told Me  by Julie Wright  (contemporary romance)  The Other Miss Bridgerton  by Julia Quinn (historical romance) Three Little Words  by Jenny Holiday (contemporary romance) Unmarriageable    by Sonia Kamal (contemporary fiction) The Best of the Best:  From Twinkle with Love  by Sandhya Menon  Josh & Hazel's Guide to Not Dating  by Christina Lauren    The Lost Girl  by Anne Ursu Merci Suárez Chang...

Angie Thomas proves in her sophomore novel, On the Come Up , that her talent is vast, and she has so much to give the world. I'm not going to do a long, thorough review of this book because I feel like its not really my place to comment on a lot of the life experiences in the book, but I wanted to single it. It was definitely a 5 star read for me, and I never put 5 star reads in Shorter Musings posts. I will say this about it: Bri is messy, talented, confused, hurting, and amazing. Bri is REAL. Bri's voice is perfection. The supporting cast of characters it top-notch. Every. Single. One. This book made me laugh. This book made me cry. This book made me laugh and cry on the same page. I love it even more than The Hate U Give .

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly themed blog hop created by  The Broke and the Bookish  and now hosted at  That Artsy Reader Girl . This Week's Topic: Audio Freebie Today we are going to visit one of my other favorite things in the world: Broadway Musicals. I love them. My collection of musicals is the largest of any genre of music I own. It all began when little second grade me when on a field trip to see a regional production of The Sound of Music . Since then, I have tried to see every National Tour possible. I have been fortunate enough to see several of my favorites not just on National Tours but also on Broadway. Here are my favorites in the order I fell in love with them. (Limited to shows I've seen and not just listened to. And I would totally pay to see over and over.)  Times I've seen it: 5 Favorite Song: "On My Own" Favorite Number to See Live: "One Day More"  Times I've Seen It: 3 Favorite Song: "I Still Belie...

Here are some shorter musings on some recent YA fantasy reads. Blanca & Roja  by Anna-Marie McLemore I've been meaning to try Anna-Marie McLemore's books for quite some time. People have raved about her the last few years, but I've just never had the chance or a book that interested me quite as much as this one. (We all know how I feel about fairy tale retellings.) I can see why she is beloved by some people. Her writing style is just not for me. Her writing is ethereal and winding, but for me it came at the expense of the characters. I was never able to fully connect with them in anyway because of the loftiness of the prose. This is just one of those not the right fit things. I did finish it despite my disaffection, but it didn't leave me with a strong impression at all. Sawkill Girls  by Claire Legrand Sawkill Girls has an intriguing premise. The setting of the island and the mystery of missing girls is done well. I don't typically enjoy thrillers, but ...

I knew The Lost Girl  by Anne Ursu was going to hold a special place in my heart just a couple chapters in. About half way through I had a feeling it would be the book of 2019 that I would try to shove into the hands of any and all who expressed slightest interest in a book recommendation. By the time I was finished with it, I knew it would be a book that would stay with me always. Then comes this part. The part where I want to tell the world why . I kept thinking that I needed to give my emotions time to settle. That I needed to be able to approach it with calm rationale. But you know what? That is nonsense. This book made me feel . That is part of its power. So this isn't going to be objective. I doubt I will ever be able to think about this book objectively. Iris and Lark are identical twins. Though they might look the same they are completely different people. However, they are also two halves of a whole. A pair. A team. When fifth grade begins, they discover the powers in t...

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. Ibi Zoboi wrote a MG novel? With that synopsis? Yes please and thank you! In the summer of 1984, 12-year-old Ebony-Grace Norfleet makes the trip from Huntsville, Alabama, to Harlem, where she’ll spend a few weeks with her father while her mother deals with some trouble that’s arisen for Ebony-Grace’s beloved grandfather, Jeremiah. Jeremiah Norfleet is a bit of a celebrity in Huntsville, where he was one of the first black engineers to integrate NASA two decades earlier. And ever since his granddaughter came to live with him when she was little, he’s nurtured her love of all things outer space and science fiction—especially  Star Wars  and  Star Trek,  both of which she’s watched dozens of time on Grandadd...

I didn't get quite as many new books in this past month. I'm still encouraged as it wasn't due to a lack of wanting to read, but a combination of prep work for school and a never ending roundabout of sickness the kids and I were sharing. The February Favorites: A look at my February Reading in Numbers: MG: 7 YA: 3 Adult: 2 Fiction: 12 Non-Fiction: 0 Realistic Fiction: 7 Fantasy/Sci-Fi:5 Onward and Forward! I have decided that March is going to be a Read the Books You Own month. I'm not putting any more library books on hold. I've managed to get my outstanding holds down to two, so I should have plenty of time to dedicate to this. Since my most anticipated release of this month is a book I've already pre-ordered, it will slip right into this.