Happy Tuesday Friends!

I am stopping by today with a link up to the Top Ten Tuesday post for Books that I Wouldn't Mind Santa Leaving Under My Tree. Thanks to the gracious hosts for hosting us for another week.

Here are my Top Ten:

1) End to Ending: An Appalachian Trail Thru-Hiker's Story-All about hiking! One of my favorite ways to spend time outdoors!

2) Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail-Another hiking one! This one just sounds awesome to me.

3) The Dog Stays in the Picture: Life Lessons from a Rescued Greyhound- As you guys all I know, I love my puppy! This sounds like a good one.

4) Dogtology: Live. Bark. Believe.-Another Dog Book. Looks like a good read!

5) Cow Country- An education book that has been on my list for awhile!

6) Small Beneath the Sky: A Prairie Memoir- I love Memoirs! The cover looks great!

7) Boots and Backpacks: Pride & Prejudice on the Appalachian Trail, Roughly-Another hiking book. I think we are starting to see a theme here :)

8) Charm: An Amazing Story of a Little Black Cat-Another animal book! Yet another theme :)

9) Cookies & Beer: Bake, Pair, Enjoy-Sounds delicious and like my kind of book!

10) Greyhound Tales: True Stories of Rescue, Compassion & Love-One last animal book!

What is on your wish list from Santa this year? Happy Reading!

Weekend Recap

Hey Everyone!

Last week was a very busy week for me so I did not have much of a chance to do as much reading as I would have liked. However, I was able to finish three books, so I wanted to stop by with a quick update.

Here are the highlights:

Nimona

Another graphic novel by the talented Noelle Stevenson. In this book, Nimona is a ‘shape-shifter’ who goes along on many adventures with Lord Blackheart. They experience a variety of antics that help showcase the light that drives Nimona, both now and in her past. A story with a lot of adventure and wonderful graphics, I enjoyed this very much.

Discord
I won a copy of this on Good Reads and I am so glad that I did! I loved the story and how it all unfolds. The first story follows Brielle, who was abandoned and as a result is trying to make sense of the world around her. The second part is the story Sarai and her survival in the most extreme situations. When the twos paths overlap, we find an interesting story with a plot that I don’t want to spoil for the reader. I appreciated that my book was signed and also came with a nice bookmark. Thanks for offering me the chance to read and review this one!   

Princesses Behaving Badly
I received an e-book of this one from Quirk Books for Quirksgiving, but opted to listen to it as an audio book and I am glad I did. This book highlights the fascination that society has with the princesses and then recaps stories of those real life princesses that aren’t what we imagined. Some stories were a bit graphic, but all interesting. I enjoyed the concept of this book and the history that went along with it.

What did you guys read over the weekend? 

Happy Reading!

Weekend Recap

Hey Everyone!

I wanted to stop by with a quick with another reading recap from this last week. I enjoyed the opportunity to take in a few new books. Yay!   

Here are the highlights: 

Janes in Love
In this follow up book, the Janes are back. This time P.L.A.I.N is at risk due to the tough cracking down the city is having on them. In addition, there are some new love interests that catch the attention of the Janes’. A comic that is equally as amusing as the first one, I really wish that they would have kept going with this series. Alas, I am happy that they gave us two!

Of Dice and Men
This is the background story behind the famous game Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). Told from the perspective of how the game evolved, as well as how it changed the writer’s life, this was an interesting book. I read this one to develop a better understanding of my brother in law, who really loves this game. I would love to see them create an updated book related to this because I believe that the version has changed since this was released.
 
The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip
I won a copy of this on Good Reads and I am so glad that I did! I loved the story and instantly taken back to my youth. The illustrations of the book are done by the same person who done the stinky cheese man story and I loved it. The story was a little silly, but mainly about how the townspeople could overcome the challenges that the gappers had placed on their town. Such a cute book! 

Can You Keep a Secret
Maybe it was nostalgia, maybe it was the quick suspense, maybe it was something else…but all I know is that I loved every second of reading this book. So much in fact that I didn’t put it down. I read it through (all 327 pages) in one sitting. Granted the text was pretty big, but still. I love being able to revisit Fear Street and the Woods with R.L. Stine. In the story itself, we learn about Emmy and the secret she is hiding. This one comes out in 2016 and I highly recommend picking up a copy. I was given a free copy through Good Reads, but in no way did this change my opinion.

Underground in Berlin
In this moving recount of survival, we visit Berlin and what it was like to be surrounded by Nazi Germany as a Jewish community member. In her quest to survive, she hides who she is. Along with that new identity comes a lot of second guessing, looking over her shoulder, and secrets that she must take with her. The book was an interesting read. I cannot imagine what she must have felt like going through what she did. I was given this book through Good Reads, but the opinions are strictly my own.
 
Rat Queens-Vol. 2
In this book we meet up again with the Rat Queens and their next adventures. I enjoyed this novel as much as the first one and was greeted with illustrations as brilliant as the first. I was given this book from a gift from my #TBTBSanta and I really appreciate her thoughtfulness! The stories take course over chapters 6-10. In each one, we get a different understanding about the individuals in the story. We experience romance and adventure. I like that the plot is both interesting and that it helped improve my understanding of the characters. I love the backstory and I hope that there will be more of these to come!
 
What did you guys read over the weekend?

Happy Reading!

Book Review: Career of Evil

Author:  Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

Highlight from Goodreads: Another book in the Cormoran Strike series. A thriller that is filled with adventure for the detective and his assistant, Robin. I enjoyed this book with its twists and turns, plus a little romance thrown in.

Personal Review:
I have enjoyed that JK Rowling is putting out new books! In this third book about detective Cormoran Stirke, she certainly delivers another twisted plot for us readers. A bit graphic at times, we understand the seriousness of this case from the first notes when a severed leg shows up and Robin gets the package.  
 
We get to follow them as they work to unwrap the mystery related to the leg. I enjoy the plot that is put together for this story very much. Since the books are good to read stand alone or together, I find that there is a good balance of descriptions for the characters.

The book does end on a cliffhanger. It just makes me that much more excited to read the next one! Please say it will be soon!   

I enjoyed this book.
 
Happy Reading!