I think I'm going to give up on the Book Buying Limit I set for myself back in January. We all know that there's no way I'm going to be able to stick to that goal, so why bother with it? I've been sticking with the rest of them though!!!
In the month of April I have bought 18 books~
Book #1: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Book #3: Lake Caerwych by J. Conrad
Book #1: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
“Are you happy with
your life?” Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the
masked abductor knocks him unconscious. Before he awakens to find
himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat
suits. Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says,
“Welcome back, my friend.” In this world he’s woken up to,
Jason’s life is not the one he knows. His wife is not his wife. His
son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics
professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something
remarkable. Something impossible. Is it this world or the other
that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how
can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers
lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he
could’ve imagined—one that will force him to confront the darkest
parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly
unbeatable foe. From the author of the bestselling Wayward Pines
trilogy, Dark Matter is a brilliantly plotted tale that is at once
sweeping and intimate, mind-bendingly strange and profoundly human—a
relentlessly surprising science-fiction thriller about choices, paths
not taken, and how far we’ll go to claim the lives we dream of.
I have wanted this for a very long time. I was so excited when I found it available on Blogging for Books. I grabbed it. I had to.
Book #3: Lake Caerwych by J. Conrad
After
finding what appears to be an ancient, Celtic necklace in a
second-hand boutique, Bridget and her best friend Celena have the
strange feeling that they've seen the pendant before, a long, long
time ago. This, and the unusual familiarity they've felt ever since
they met, leads them to ask questions and trace their find back to
its source. Once in Wales, Bridget is compelled to an eerie,
megalithic structure and suddenly finds herself in another time and
place – as Enid, the dark-haired servant girl she was thousands of
years ago. She is immersed in her horrid past and forced to relive
it, helpless to avert the tragedy, save her dearest friend or even
herself. Waking at dawn inside the ring of stones, she and Celena
begin to embark upon the true adventure laid out before them. They
need to right the past not only for themselves, but for a much higher
purpose. And Paul, a mysterious stranger who jealously guards his own
secrets, may be able to help them.
It looks really good. I'm not sure really what to say. I mostly buy things when they look interesting to me. It centers around ancient Wales from what I gather and I enjoy books about Wales.
Book #3: The Raven by Adelyn Wood
When
a foreign tribe attacks the peaceful Onan people, a lonely outcast is
forced to reveal her secret Gift — but will such power bring
acceptance? It is the darkest time in winter, when suns, moons, and
stars, all wane from the sky. In the Wolf clan, a baby is born with a
powerful Gift, but dangerous omens brand her an Outcast, and the
Elders name her Iluna. Orphaned since birth, Iluna struggles to find
her place in the proud and distrustful Wolf clan, but as her powers
bloom, she discovers a mysterious friend. Dark magic, war, and
treachery soon jeopardize the life of every clan member; many suspect
Iluna and her Gift. Is this Outcast girl to blame, or is she
salvation?
Besides it being a cool magical book, I've got nothing. I liked the cover and the premise. One of the things that popped into my head was "Are the Onan really as peaceful as they say they are?" I don't know why. It's something that I'll like because it falls right into the category of books that I fawn over. No idea where in the reading list it will fall.
Book #4: The Book of Moon by George Crowder
It
coulda been worse. That's the "working epitaph" of
15-year-old Moon Landing. Not that Moon's death is imminent--far from
it--but his thoughts have turned to gallows humor, as his world
disintegrates along with his parents' marriage. His older brother
skateboards through life with ease, but Moon is deeply troubled. Just
as he is solving for romantic unknowns with a gorgeous older girl,
Moon must contend with his dad's sudden absence, his mom-gone-wild's
sexcapades, and his best friends' curious penchant for
self-destruction. Not to mention his newfound role in agitating to
end an African guerrilla's bloody rampage. To make sense of it all,
Moon embarks on a quest to unravel the riddle of God's injustice to
man.
I liked the cover. And the synopsis sounds great. I really think there's something ironic in his name being Moon Landing. I wonder why everything is always so hard for fifteen-year-olds? Is that like the go to age for books like this? Fifteen? He's barely had time to learn what problems are. I would hate to see the poor kid at like twenty-five or thirty. I might put this one closer to the top of my TBR than to the bottom. Who knows?
Book #5: Winterskin by C.M. Estopare
The Path. Perilous. Brutal. Deadly. It is said that if a man journeys in alone, he’ll never return and there will be no corpse to bury. Thousands of lives hang in the balance. Braving the Path is the key to saving them, but their survival is not guaranteed. For the Path is brimming with flesh ravenous monsters and the threat of a sinister presence known only as “the Lady”, an eerie entity dwelling deep within the confines of the black forest. Escorted by a chosen few, the Chaperon is prepared to move forward to preserve the lives of a mountain town planted deep within the forest. But even in the dead of winter, the dark creatures prowling the surrounding forest remain unsettled and are bent on decimating any who encroach upon their territory. Katell Maeva, one of those assigned to escort the Chaperon, will have to prove herself on this journey if she wants to be deemed a full-fledged shieldmaiden. But even her unique abilities may not be strong enough to withstand the brutal attacks they’ll face. Can this young woman, desperate to save her own family, complete her mission to escort the Chaperon and lead the convoy to safety? For her, this journey is more than just a challenge; it’s the key to her future.
This sounded like a fantastic story. I like the Viking culture (my boyfriend currently exemplifies what is a Viking) and I love stories of empowered women. So an empowered Viking woman? How could I possibly turn it down? It won't be very high up on my list, but it will definitely be up there enough to maybe get to in June or July this year.
Book #6: Mystic Tea by Rea Nolan Martin
Book #6: Mystic Tea by Rea Nolan Martin
A community of quirky,
mismatched, and endearing women struggle to find meaning and purpose
on a ramshackle monastery in upstate New York. Having spent their
lives in service to a church that seems to no longer serve them, they
are confused about their own futures and the future of the entire
monastery. Led by Mike, the practical no-nonsense prioress, and
Augusta, the grand ancient mystic hermit, they are joined by Gemma, a
self-punishing novice, and Arielle, a firebrand jailhouse conversion
who was sent there out of rehab by a “sort of angel.” The
personalities, commitments, philosophies and beliefs of these and all
the characters conflict and converge in ways at once perilous and
enlightening. Throughout the tempestuous journey, Augusta's magical
sacred teas draw the inevitable closer and closer. Mystic Tea is a
contemporary love story between young and old, franchised and
disenfranchised, pedestrian and mystic. Most of all, it is a story of
female empowerment as the women find the courage to confront epic
challenges, creating a surprising future from the oppressive ashes of
the past. It will make you smile as much as it will make you think.
It sounds interesting. I don't know what else to say about it. I liked the cover and the synopsis very much. I don't think this will be going incredibly high up on the TBR, but I will definitely do my best to get to it as soon as I can.
Book #7: Memories of the Heart by Felice Stevens
It sounds interesting. I don't know what else to say about it. I liked the cover and the synopsis very much. I don't think this will be going incredibly high up on the TBR, but I will definitely do my best to get to it as soon as I can.
Book #7: Memories of the Heart by Felice Stevens
Ruthless, Controlling,
A Loner. All words used to describe Dr. Micah Steinberg by the
hospital staff for their next head of surgery. When a letter arrives
from his grandmother’s friend at the assisted living facility, his
orderly world tilts dangerously out of control. Josh Rosen had
everything until it was revealed much of his world was a lie. Forced
to re-evaluate his life, Josh gives up his career and returns home to
New York City to care for his beloved grandmother. What Josh didn’t
figure on was an attraction to a man who on the surface, appears to
be exactly like the life Josh chose to leave behind. As Micah
struggles with the reality of his grandmother’s illness, the bond
these two share deepens, as Josh helps Micah heal, then open his
heart. Micah discovers there is more to life than work, control and
success. Josh is in deep but has yet to tell Micah who he really is.
When the fight for the hospital’s head of surgery turns ugly,
Josh’s past and present collide. Micah must let go of the past and
accept who he is, if his life is going to move forward. Life is full
of surprises, and as both Micah and Josh learn, love can happen
whether you plan for it or not.
This one was definitely not a cover buy like many of the other books I read. It's one of those sad sort of books that makes you want to have that box of Kleenex nearby. It's about overcoming our own life and realizing that we are not the most important person in the world.
Book #8: A Molly Maguire Story by Patrick Campbell
On June 21, 1877, ten
Irish-Americans were executed in the mining areas of Pennsylvania.
All were accused of being members of a terrorist group called the
Molly Maguires, and all were convicted of planning and carrying out
the murder of a number of mining officials. Ten more Irish-Americans
were executed in Pennsylvania in the next 18 months on the same
charges. One of the men executed on June 21, 1877, was Alexander
Campbell, grand-uncle of the author. The Molly Maguire executions
generated a great deal of controversy in Pennsylvania from the 1870s
to the present, with Irish-Americans claiming the Mollies were framed
by the mine owners, while some other ethnic groups believe that they
were guilty as charged and deserved the punishment they received. The
author first heard about the execution of his grand-uncle back in the
late 1940s in Dungloe, County Donegal, Ireland, and in the early
1970s, while living in New Jersey, began a fifteen year investigation
into the entire Molly Maguire controversy in order to determine if
Alexander Campbell was guilty or innocent. A Molly Maguire Story is
an account of that investigation.
I found a super bookish reading challenge and one of the challenges is to read a book set in your home town. Problem is I live between the woods and farmland. Literally the middle of actual no where. So I picked a book that I'm interested in that's set as close to my town as I can get. The Molly Maguires trials and executions took place just on the other side of a mountain from me. It was as close as I could get.
Book #9: Runaway Girl by Emily Organ
A missing girl. The
treacherous streets of Medieval London. Only one woman is brave
enough to try and bring her home. If you like a compelling read that
keeps you turning the pages then you'll love this first installment
in Emily Organ's historic thriller series. After the death of her
family, grieving Alice has chosen a quiet life of seclusion in a
monastery. But she is hit by a personal tragedy which forces her to
confront the dangers of medieval London. When her 14 year old friend,
Constance, vanishes, Alice's life is turned upside down. Is
Constance's disappearance linked to a dead girl pulled from the
Thames? Another girl is on the run - but who is she running from?
Alice's desperate search stirs up something sinister and soon her own
life is in danger. Powerful forces want to ensure the truth will
never be uncovered, can Alice find Constance before her time runs
out?
I bought it because medieval London. I don't even care about anything else really. It looks interesting for the fact that this girl who has literally just lost everything decides to go out and look for her friend instead of grieving for the family she has just lost. How can it be anything other than good?
Book #10: Belmary House by Cassidy Cayman
Tilly Jacobs thinks
spending a month in London helping her history buff cousin catalog
antiques in a possibly haunted mansion that’s slated to be torn
down will be the perfect thing to help her get over being fired from
her job. Possibly proving the existence of ghosts will just be icing
on the cake. When her ghost turns out to be a living, breathing,
Regency era earl who mistakenly drags her into his century, she
thinks she’s in for the best vacation of her life. All she has to
do is enjoy the scenery, which includes the hunky Lord Ashford, until
he can get her back to her own time. She doesn’t count on getting
caught up in finding his missing sister, or on a murderer being after
them, or the fact that if the house gets destroyed, so do her chances
of ever getting home. Least of all, she doesn’t count on the
undeniable attraction she feels to the mysterious and brooding Lord
Ashford, or the fact that his life involves things far more difficult
to believe than she ever thought imaginable.
This looks amazing. It's half ghost story half Lost in Austen. I love the Regency era and I adored the movie Lost in Austen. So....I have to read this eventually. I think it's a romance, but I've been getting more accustomed to them.
Book #11: Shortfall by William Bowman
The Mollos had come to
England to start a new life, buying a small farm in the heart of
Devon, only to have their dream cruelly snatched from them. Now their
teenage daughter has risked the family farm in a desperate attempt to
preserve her parents’ legacy, betting everything on a new type of
crop. But the country is in the midst of a financial crisis, and with
more trouble looming, a Machiavellian mandarin has cooked up an
outlandish scheme to manage what might otherwise be a difficult
situation, threatening the young girl’s plans. Shortfall is a
fictional tale of light drama inspired in some small part by events
now thought lost to time.
A family thought they were getting in on something good. I have no idea what exactly happened, but it turned out to be not so good as they were thinking it would be. I think it's a literary fiction about the girl trying to save her family farm and I want to know if she succeeds or not.
Book #12: Unclaimed by Erin McCole Cupp
Born not in a past of
corsets and bonnets but into a future of cloning and bioterror, could
Jane Eyre survive? This Jane is an “unclaimed embryo,” the living
mistake of a reproductive rights center–or so her foster family
tells her. At age ten she is sold into slavery as a data mule, and
she must fight for freedom and identity in a world mired between
bioscientific progress and the religions that fear it. What will
happen to a girl without even a name of her own?
I like classic novels and I even own a wonderful Dalmatian Press edition of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I just haven't read it yet. Hopefully this spurs me on to actually reading the book. I can't really read a reimagining unless I've read the original first. This looks amazing though. I can't wait to get to it. It's almost like Jane Eyre meets the Matrix. I am excited to get to the original and then to this one.
Book #13: The Darkest Thread by Jen Blood
When teenage sisters
go missing in the mysterious “Bennington Triangle” of Vermont, an
area renowned for its disappearances and strange occurrences over the
past hundred years, FBI agent Jack Juarez brings K-9 handler Jamie
Flint and her dog Phantom in to assist with the search. When Jack
realizes the case shares haunting similarities with the murders of
the missing girls’ aunts ten years before, it becomes clear that he
and Jamie are dealing with much more than two girls who simply
wandered off the beaten path.
I just watched a program on Amazon about the Bridgewater Triangle in Massachusetts. It was creepy and wonderful and I can only assume that this book will be the same. If it wasn't based on the Bridgewater Triangle, it's damn close and that surprised me. I am so into this kind of stuff. Dad says no, but hey, to each their own I guess. I also kind of like the fact that the author's name is Blood.
Book #14: Today is Too Late by Burke Fitzpatrick
A reluctant villain
starts a rebellion. Dark armies burn the greatest city in the world.
A girl is born who might end their dominion, but only if a fearsome
warrior protects her from the demons of the Nine Hells. An infamous
warlord, Tyrus of Kelnor helped demons conquer a continent, but the
birth of a princess tests his loyalties. The child is marked for
death, and her fate is in his hands. Old memories haunt him, from
before the sorcery and monsters, when honor and service had value.
Torn between the empress he loves and the emperor he serves, he
defies the empire he helped build.
I...yeah...I like fantasy nonsense. It's the sort of book that the stereotypical nerd would read. That guy who's overweight and sweaty sitting in his parents' basement. In my defense I live with my grandma...in all seriousness, I like books like this and have a fairly decent sized collection of them. I hope to get to this one soon. It's the exact type of book I tend to blast through.
Book #15: Edwina by Willow Rose
Marie-Therese is about
to take in another child in foster care. But Edwina is no ordinary
girl as Marie-Therese is about to discover. Stories of death and
destruction follow her trail and soon events in the small Danish town
will take a decidedly macabre turn on one horrifying and endless
night.
I have a bizarrely large collection of Willow Rose books, but none of them are connected to one another that I know of. Now I don't remember if I bought this because it's Willow Rose, or because it sounds really interesting. It's a horror novel about a kid that goes missing or something. I don't know. I don't remember. It looked really good and I just couldn't pass it up. I have to read it. It won't be up far on my list, but it will be read relatively soon?
Book #16: The Odyssey by Homer
Book #16: The Odyssey by Homer
'Muse, tell me of a
man: a man of much resource, who was made to wander far and long,
after he had sacked the sacred city of Troy. Many were the men whose
lands he saw and came to know their thinking: many too the miseries
at sea, which he suffered in his heart, as he sought to win his own
life and the safety of his companions.' Recounting the epic journey
home of Odysseus from the Trojan War, The
Odyssey -alongside its sister poem The
Iliad- stands as the well-spring of Western Civilization and culture, an inspiration to poets, writers and thinkers for
thousands of years since. This authoritative prose translation by
Martin Hammond brings Homer's great poem of homecoming to life as
Odysseus battles through such familiar dangers as the cave of the
Cyclops, the call of the Sirens and his hostile reception back in his
native land of Ithaca.
I'm just doing whatever and my friend, we'll call her RC (no not the cola), sends me a picture. Then a second. She says she has these books that she got from the thrift store she works at and she doesn't want them any more. Would I be interested in them? I opened the pictures and actually dropped the cup I was holding. Nineteen leatherbound books from an expensive publisher. Hells yes I want them! This one is the first book in the lot that she sent.
Book #17: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Book #17: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Moby-Dick
is the story of Captain Ahab's quest to avenge the whale that
'reaped' his leg. The quest is an obsession and the novel is a
diabolical study of how a man becomes a fanatic. But it is also a
hymn to democracy. Bent as the crew is on Ahab's appalling crusade,
it is equally the image of a co-operative community at work: all
hands dependent on all hands, each individual responsible for the
security of each. Among the crew is Ishmael, the novel's narrator,
ordinary sailor, and extraordinary reader. Digressive, allusive,
vulgar, transcendent, the story Ishmael tells is above all an
education: in the practice of whaling, in the art of writing.
This is the second of the books she sent up this time. I already had a copy of Moby-Dick, but it's an old falling apart paperback that I'm probably going to toss up on eBay or something. I don't know. I like this edition much better than that one and I'm already reading it. I like how rambly Ishmael is. He goes off on a tangent that has nothing to do with anything at all around him.
Book #18: The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
The procession that
crosses Chaucer's pages is as full of life and as richly textured as
a medieval tapestry. The Knight, the Miller, the Friar, the Squire,
the Prioress, the Wife of Bath, and others who make up the cast of
characters -- including Chaucer himself -- are real people, with
human emotions and weaknesses. When it is remembered that Chaucer
wrote in English at a time when Latin was the standard literary
language across western Europe, the magnitude of his achievement is
even more remarkable. But Chaucer's genius needs no historical
introduction; it bursts forth from every page of The
Canterbury Tales. If we trust the General Prologue, Chaucer
intended that each pilgrim should tell two tales on the way to
Canterbury and two tales on the way back. He never finished his
enormous project and even the completed tales were not finally
revised. Scholars are uncertain about the order of the tales. As the
printing press had yet to be invented when Chaucer wrote his works,
The Canterbury Tales has
been passed down in several handwritten manuscripts.
The third and final book that came in this batch. She said she could only fit up to four books per box so there are a grand total of four more boxes coming. I've always wanted to read The Canterbury Tales and I am so pleased that I got a verse copy.
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