Month: January 2016

January 2016 in Review

Posted January 31, 2016 in Life, Reading / 12 Comments

January 2016 in Review

Things that Happened in January

  • It has been a stressful month. Apparently my brain needed books to manage the stress because I read quite a few books this month. And by “quite a few,” I mean “a lot.”
  • On the topic of the above, please pray for my sister. I can’t say more since I don’t want to share her story here, but she does need prayers.
  • I was able to attend my friend’s wedding in Washington, DC and it was beautiful. It was great to see so many friends that I haven’t seen in two years.
  • I read 17 books this month which is A LOT! I blame quite a bit of it on the traveling I did to and from Washington, DC. There isn’t much to do on a plane besides read and so I read.
  • My favorite book of the month (non-reread) was Illuminae and my favorite reread was Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

Books I Read in January

The Princess DiariesIlluminaeLibrary of SoulsWinterspellThis Shattered World
Their Fractured LightOutlanderRed QueenNot If I See You First
Princess in the SpotlightA Tyranny of PetticoatsThe Battle of the LabyrinthHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's StoneWold by Wolf
Daughters of RuinWild OrchidAnne of Green Gables

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{F56} Anne of Green Gables

Posted January 29, 2016 in Reading / 14 Comments

Anne of Green Gables

I have decided that it is time for a re-read of one of my favorite childhood books, Anne of Green Gables. I loved this book so much as I child I even begged my parents until they agreed to take me to Prince Edward Island one summer. This quote, from page 56 in my edition, is a great part of the book where Marilla decided to allow Anne to stay at Green Gables. If you haven’t yet read this book, you really should.

From Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery:

I’ve been thinking over the idea until I’ve got kind of used to it.
It seems a sort of duty. I’ve never brought up a child, especially a girl,
and I dare say I’ll make a terrible mess of it. But I’ll do my best.
So far as I’m concerned, Matthew, she may stay.

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{Review} This Shattered World – A Soldier and a Rebel and SECRETS

Posted January 28, 2016 in Reading, Review / 2 Comments

{Review} This Shattered World – A Soldier and a Rebel and SECRETSThis Shattered World by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
Series: Starbound #2
Publisher: Disney Hyperion (2014)
Hardcover (390 pages)
Via: Library
Rating:
Also by this author: These Broken Stars, Illuminae, Their Fractured Light
Also in this series: These Broken Stars, Their Fractured Light
Reading Challenges: 2016 Backlist Books, Read 2016

Synopsis

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met.
Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.
Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.
Desperate for any advantage in a bloody and unrelentingly war, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

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{TTT} Things I Do Besides Read

Posted January 26, 2016 in Faith, Life / 6 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly link-up hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week’s list is a freebie so I have decided to share with you the Top Ten Things I Do Besides Read. I hope that I can get to ten or else my life isn’t all that exciting.

1. Blog

I obviously blog or you wouldn’t be reading this right now. I would say that this takes up a fair share of my time.

2. Work

As I have mentioned before, I am a teacher. I teach in my school’s fifth and sixth grade special education and resource room. I love what I do but it is a lot of work. Some days are better than others and no day is ever like the day before. Everyday is definitely a new surprise… and sometimes I would rather the “surprise” went away.

3. Prayer

The first thing I do in the morning is pray Morning Prayer and prayer is one of the last things I do before bed at night. Prayer is a rather important part of my daily life. I think you could probably, maybe tell this from looking at my blog. The url is CATHOLICamanda. The title (Orandi et Legendi) is Latin. The tagline is “just a girl praying and reading.” Yep, prayer is pretty important to me.
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{Review} Winterspell – What Did I Just Read? Really?

Posted January 25, 2016 in Reading, Review / 2 Comments

{Review} Winterspell – What Did I Just Read? Really?Winterspell by Claire Legrand
Publisher: Simon & Schuster (2014)
Hardcover (454 pages)
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2016 Backlist Books, 2016 Retelling Challenge, 2016 Royal Challenge, Read 2016

Synopsis

The clock chimes midnight, a curse breaks, and a girl meets a prince…but what follows is not all sweetness and sugarplums.
New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor’s ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother’s murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.
Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.
Her home is destroyed, her father abducted—by beings distinctly
not human. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they’re to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets—and a need she can’t define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won’t leave Cane unscathed—if she leaves at all.
Inspired by
The Nutcracker, Winterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

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