Author: Mesu Andrews

2015 in Review (& End of Year and Statistics Surveys)

Posted December 31, 2015 in Life, Reading / 10 Comments

Big Things That Happened in 2015

  • I mentioned the school talent show in which the teachers sang Yellow Submarine.
  • I worked at a Catholic summer camp for the summer and had a blast. I wrote about it and shared some pictures.
  • I survived over a week of blinding smoke due to forest fires. It was insane. I talked about that here.
  • I had my very first ever Blogversary which was exciting.

Analysis of Books I Read in 2015

This was the very first year that I ever kept track of the books that I read. My stats have amazed me.

  • I read 141 books.
  • Almost all of the books I read this year were 4 or 5 stars. I must be pretty good at choosing books I know I’ll enjoy.
  • Over two-thirds of the books I read this year were from the library or books I own.
  • Over half of the books I read this year were hard copied (Paperback or Hardcover) while over a quarter were ebooks. Audiobooks made up the rest.
  • About a quarter of the books I read this year were debuts.

I made some pretty nifty looking pie charts in Excel (you can just pretend they are totally awesome).

2015 formats2015 covers2015 star ratings2015 debuts2015 source

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{TTT} Quotes from Books I Read in the Past Year

Posted November 17, 2015 in Reading / 8 Comments

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

So I haven’t participated in a while because of life getting in the way. This week I am making sure to have this post ready early and this week’s list is the Top Ten Quotes from Books I Read in the Past Year. While I don’t keep the best track of quotes, these are the best of the ones I have kept track of. They are listed in no particular order except the first one which had to be listed first for reasons.

Dream a Little DreamA Wrinkle in TimeBeauty
Hollow CityDark TriumphThe Sea of MonstersThe Dream Thieves
Becoming DarknessIsland of the Blue DolphinsThe Pharaoh's Daughter
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May 2015 in Review

Posted May 31, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 4 Comments

Month in Review

Things that Happened in May

  • The last full week of school has been completed! Really, this is a party worthy event.
  • We celebrated the Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday. That is three great Sundays in a row.
  • You can tell that summer is fast approaching. The sun beats me up at 5am and it is still bright when I try to fall asleep after 9pm. It is crazy to think that just a few months ago (like December) it was dark when I was walking to work at 7:30am and dark when I was walking home at 4:30pm.
  • The school talent show was this past Tuesday. The teachers decided to do our own thing this year. We all got a variety of instruments and played Yellow Submarine. I will give you just one word for it: HILARIOUS!

Books I Read in May

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar ChildrenFrostbiteHollow CityRuin and RisingIsland of the Blue DolphinsMagic StudyThe HeirDark TriumphThe Plain ChoiceShadow KissThe Sea of MonstersA Wrinkle in TimeMortal HeartThe Dream ThievesThe Titan's Curse
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Review: The Pharaoh’s Daughter – An Egyptian Princess Risks Everything

Posted May 13, 2015 in Reading, Review / 0 Comments

Review: The Pharaoh’s Daughter – An Egyptian Princess Risks EverythingThe Pharaoh's Daughter by Mesu Andrews
Series: Treasures of the Nile #1
Publisher: WaterBrook Press (2015)
eARC, Paperback (384 pages)
Via: Blogging for Books
Rating:
Also by this author: Miriam, Isaiah's Daughter, Isaiah's Legacy
Also in this series: Miriam
Reading Challenges: Read 2015

Synopsis

“You will be called Anippe, daughter of the Nile. Do you like it?” Without waiting for a reply, she pulls me into her squishy, round tummy for a hug.
I’m trying not to cry. Pharaoh’s daughters don’t cry.
When we make our way down the tiled hall, I try to stop at ummi Kiya’s chamber. I know her spirit has flown yet I long for one more moment. Amenia pushes me past so I keep walking and don’t look back.
Like the waters of the Nile, I will flow.
Anippe has grown up in the shadows of Egypt’s good god Pharaoh, aware that Anubis, god of the afterlife, may take her or her siblings at any moment. She watched him snatch her mother and infant brother during childbirth, a moment which awakens in her a terrible dread of ever bearing a child. Now she is to be become the bride of Sebak, a kind but quick-tempered Captain of Pharaoh Tut’s army. In order to provide Sebak the heir he deserves and yet protect herself from the underworld gods, Anippe must launch a series of deceptions, even involving the Hebrew midwives—women ordered by Tut to drown the sons of their own people in the Nile.
When she finds a baby floating in a basket on the great river, Anippe believes Egypt’s gods have answered her pleas, entrenching her more deeply in deception and placing her and her son Mehy, whom handmaiden Miriam calls Moses, in mortal danger.
As bloodshed and savage politics shift the balance of power in Egypt, the gods reveal their fickle natures and Anippe wonders if her son, a boy of Hebrew blood, could one day become king. Or does the god of her Hebrew servants, the one they call
El Shaddai, have a different plan—for them all?

Find the book: Goodreads

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April 2015 in Review

Posted April 30, 2015 in Faith, Reading / 2 Comments

This year is flying by. I can hardly believe that April is over already!

Things that Happened in April

  • My birthday!! I even got books for my birthday which greatly surprised me. Thanks so much, little sister!
  • Easter! I was able to attend one of my most favorite Masses of the entire Church year, the Easter Vigil! (Who doesn’t like candles and a three hour Mass?)
  • Field trips with the school kids! The bus rides are a bit longer than the ones where I grew up but we are in the-middle-of-nowhere, Montana.
  • Yesterday evening one of the sixth grade teachers passed away. It will be a terribly rough day today with the students. Any prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Books I Read in April

Number the StarsSeven RevolutionsStory of a SoulSpelled
The Raven BoysThe Girl Death Left BehindGrave Mercy
The Coldest Girl in ColdtownTortall and Other LandsRebel MechanicsThe Pharaoh's Daughter
The JewelDivergentBeauty
 

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