My Favorite Children's Books

Top 5 Wednesday: Diverse Characters

I mention that Dangerous is a series, I meant that it is a standalone. My mistake.
Top 5 Wednesday was created by Ginger Reads Lainey.
Find the Goodreads group here.

October TBR now in VIDEO!!!

Hello Everybody! I have started a YouTube channel which you can find here. As I post videos I will post them here as well so you can watch them here if you prefer. I hope you enjoy. :)

Top 5 Wednesday: Banned Books I've Read

Welcome to Banned Books Week! Top 5 Wednesday is Celebrating Banned Books Week by making Banned books we've read our topic this week, so lets get started. (To learn more about Top 5 Wednesday go here. Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey)

Let me preface my picks here by saying that I don't think any book should be banned, ever. I believe that as far as monitoring inappropriate content for children is concerned, that is the parent's job. And no I don't mean a collective of parents deciding for whole swaths of children, I mean the actual parents of the actual child determining what is appropriate for their child to read. Okay rant over.

Number 5

The Hunger Games

 by Suzanne Collins

For anyone familiar with the plot, it's clear why this book has been challenged/banned. Children being forced into an arena to kill each other isn't exactly what one might call kid friendly. But I love this book and I think it has some important things to say about violence in the media.

Number 4

Harry Potter (series)

by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter was banned for "Satanic content" which is pretty laughable to anyone who has actually read the books. Those of you reading this don't need to hear my reasons for why I love Harry Potter. You know that it's a brilliant story of good versus evil, that the characters are well drawn and the world building is amazing. But you already know that. So lets move on.

Number 3

To Kill A Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

Banned for rascism, rape, and some bad language, To Kill a Mockingbird is an amazing book that should be required reading in every high school and not banned anywhere! Sorry I got a little worked up there but it's true. It is one of my favorite books and I'm very passionate about it. 

Number 2

The Giver

by Lois Lowry

Still unclear on why this one was banned, something about religious viewpoint. Okay, sure we'll go with that. I read The Giver last year and couldn't stop thinking about it for days. It is such a fascinating dystopia/utopia novel. I can't understand why anyone would ban it. 

Number 1

Animal Farm 

by George Orwell

Animal Farm has been banned for many reasons including being critical of corrupt leaders. I read Animal Farm in High School and loved it. It is such a powerful fable that helped me to understand Stalin's rise to power. I can definitely see why people have banned this book, but I feel the same way about this as I do about To Kill a Mockingbird, everyone should read it. 

Well there's my list. Let me know what you think/share your lists in the comments! :)

Inside and Out Book Tag

Today I decided to do a book tag. This one I found on Book, Biscuits, & Tea. The original tag was created by Mathom Books. So lets get started.

Inside flap / Back of the book summaries: Too much info? Or not enough (Discuss)
Too much, most of the time. I like to be given just enough to be interested, not the whole plot thank you very much.
New book: What form do you want it in? Be honest: audiobook, e-book, paperback, or hardcover?
Hardcovers are beautiful and my favorite...theoretically, but to be honest they are often too expensive and slightly annoying to read (I always take the dust jacket off after 5 minutes of reading, they're heavy etc...) So I have to go with paperbacks.
Scribble while you read? Do you like to write in your books, taking notes, making comments, or do you keep your books clean clean clean? (Tell us why)
Occasionally, in my own copy of course (I would NEVER do this in someone else's book), I will highlight or underline a passage I like. That way I can find it again.
In your best voice, read for us your favorite first sentence from a book.
Okay, so obviously I can't read it out loud... but here it is.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."  -Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling  

I just love that line, it's so sarcastic, and it sets up the characters of the Dursleys so perfectly. Heehee, I just love it.
Does it matter to you whether the author is male or female when you’re deciding on a book? What if you’re unsure of the author’s gender?
The author's gender doesn't matter to me. The only time it's relevant to me is when I'm writing a review and I need to know which pronouns to use.
Ever read ahead? Or have you ever read the last page way before you got there?
Sometimes I will read the last sentence first. I don't know why, I just do. It usually doesn't give much away, and I don't want it to give anything away really, but I just can't help myself.

Organized bookshelves, or outrageous bookshelves?
Alphabetical by author's last name, and I have a separate bookcase for nonfiction.
Under oath: have you ever bought a book based on the cover (alone)?
Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore
Take it outside to read, or stay in?
Stay in, I love curling up in a blanket on a comfy chair next to a roaring fire reading a good book.

Well there are my answers, I'd love to hear yours, so I tag you! Share your thoughts in the comments or write or own post or film your own video and share it in the comments! Thanks for reading!

Top 5 Wednesday: Cover Title Fonts

To add a regular feature to my blog, I've decided to start doing Top 5 Wednesday which was invented by Lainey over at Ginger Reads Lainey. To learn more about Top 5 Wednesday go to the Goodreads Group here.


This weeks topic is Top 5 Title Fonts on Covers. In composing this list I found that I'm not a big fan of the serif, apparently. Well here we go.

Number 5

Anna and the French Kiss

by Stephanie Perkins

I mostly like this font because of its size. I love the boldness of it taking up the entire cover.

Number 4

The Fault in Our Stars

by John Green

I've always loved the handwritten look as you'll see in this and my next pick. This along with the chalkboard, all-caps motif is very visually appealing.

Number 3

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore

by Robin Sloan

I love the haphazard look of this title font, like the author was shown the cover right before it was about to go to the printer and they were like... "Robin, we need a title, like, now." So he pulled out a pen and scribbled it on the cover, and they sent it to the printer just like that.

Number 2

Landline

by Rainbow Rowell

I really like the boldness of this font and the cursive font that turns into the phone cord is just adorable.

Number 1

Rebel Belle

by Rachel Hawkins

There is something about this font that just screams southern belle to me. I don't know what it is, but it just does. I especially like the curl in the R. I also like the contrast between the Authors name and the title.

So there is my top 5. What are your favorite book cover title fonts? Share your thoughts in the comments or feel free to link to your own top 5 Wednesday blog/vlog. I would love to read/watch them.

Review: Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore

On occasion I will buy/borrow a book based purely on the cover/title. I won't read the synopsis or anything, I will just get the book and read it. I do this because I like to be surprised. Usually I will pick these books up because I see them on other peoples' bookshelves, but not with Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. The title intrigued me like nobody's business and I just couldn't resist it.

Penumbra's is the story of Clay, an unemployed web designer who finds a job working as the graveyard shift clerk at Penumbra's bookstore. As he works there he discovers the bookstore has some mysterious customers and some mysterious books.

That, I guess is the best synopsis I can give without spoiling anything. I'm glad I went into this book blind. It was fun slowly unraveling the mystery with Clay. He constantly made me nervous as he broke rules and pushed boundaries to figure out what was going on with the bookstore.

I liked the characters, especially Mr. Penumbra. He was very well drawn as an elderly eccentric who genuinely loved what he was doing. Another character I liked was Kat, she was very interesting as someone who worked for Google who was obsessed with the idea of living forever.

Overall I enjoyed the book, I wouldn't say that it was anything revolutionary or amazing, but it was a fun read. I gave it 3/5 stars on Goodreads.

*****

Unfinished Book Read-a-thon: Blitz!

So... It's been almost a year since I started the unfinished book read-a-thon. The important thing here isn't time though, the important thing is I finished, well almost. I still haven't finished Beautiful Creatures, and I don't think I will ever finish that book. I'm about 2/3rds of the way through and I just can't do it, I'm just not a fan, I'm sorry to all of you Beautiful Creatures fans out there but I just can't. I liked the movie. Is that blasphemy? Oh well. Here are my blitz reviews of the rest of the books that I did finish. Click on the title of the book for a link to its Goodreads page.

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein was such a good book. It left a really strong impression on me. I loved the characters and the plot and everything about it. The use of the unreliable narrator in the first half of the book was brilliant and compelling. I was gripped through the entire story. It may sound cliché but I shared their heartbreaks and their triumphs. It was just a moving story. 5/5 stars

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins was okay. I would say I liked it but didn't love it. I
had a hard time with the character of Anna. I struggled with her attitude about the boy back home especially. I thought her relationship with St. Clair was really cute and fun and that is what kept me reading. 3/5 stars

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare was a great ending to the Mortal Instruments series, I have no idea what she is going to do with the rest of the books in the series but I'm excited to find out. I really enjoyed how exciting City of Glass was. I don't want to give any details in order to not spoil anything but it was a really fun and intense ride. 4/5 stars

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare- I loved this book so much! I am on the Infernal Devices, Will Herondale bandwagon with everyone else in the world. The only reason this book was on this list was because I got bogged down in the first chapters when Tessa was trapped by the Dark Sisters. As soon as I got past that though, I couldn't put it down. 5/5 stars

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon is one of my favorite books now. I love love love it. The world building is amazing, the relationship at the center between Paige and Warden is so interesting. The pacing is well balanced. I have nothing bad to say about this book. I'm so excited for the rest of the series. 5/5 stars