The Bedtime Book Tag

 

The weather is crummy and I just want to curl up in a bed with a book, so what better time to attempt….

(original can be  found here!)

1. What book kept you up all night reading?

World War Z by Max Brooks – I was pretty solidly addicted to this book from the moment I cracked it open. I love nonfiction, and this gripping novel reads like the best narrative nonfiction. It’s a pretty ridiculous story, but written in a way that makes it feel terrifyingly real. Highly, highly recommended – it’s “missed my bus stop again” good.

2. What book made you scared to go to sleep?

See above. Holy smokes – some of the scenes in World War Z felt so real they had me thinking about them long after I’d turned off the lights. What would I have done in a similar situation? How would I react if I was faced with a zombie hoard? How long would I survive the zombie apocalypse??!

3. What book almost put you to sleep?

Divergent. I tried, I really did. But apparently I’m officially too old for this “I’m just a normal, average, super hot, chosen-one teenage girl who has to save the world from the mean and nasty grownups” shtick.

4. What book has you tossing and turning in anticipation of its release?

I can’t really say there are any books that have me tossing and turning in anticipation. I don’t tend to read new releases, so any series I start typically wrapped up a decade or so ago. 😉

5. What book has your dream boyfriend/girlfriend?

Oh, but there are so many! There’s Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice, John Thornton of North and South, and Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables, (what can I say, I’m Canadian), just to name a few.

6. What book world would be your worst nightmare to live in?

 World War Z. Shudder….

7. What book has a nightmarish cliffhanger?

Patrick Ness’ The Knife of Never Letting Go. GAH, SO INTENSE!!! Thankfully I started reading the Chaos Walking trilogy several years after its release, so I didn’t have to suffer from the cliffhanger for long.

8. What book cover reminds you of night time?

Owl at Home by Arnold Lobel. Just look at how cozy and ready for bed Owl looks – he’s got his pyjamas on, with a candle in one hand and a book in the other, ready to get snuggled up in bed with a story. What could be more bedtime-appropriate than that?

9. What book have you actually dreamed about?

Those World War Z nightmares weren’t enough? I don’t often remember my dreams, but I’m sure there must’ve been books in there somewhere, since I always read before turning out the lights.

10. What book monster would you not want to find under your bed?

The wasps from Kenneth Oppel’s middle grade novel The Nest. This gothic tale is assuredly not for those with an aversion to insects…*shudder*….

If you would like to do this tag on your own blog, consider yourself tagged!

Now if you’ll excuse me….*yawn*….I think I need to take a nap. All this talk about beds has got me pretty sleepy…

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Top Ten Tuesday – Ten Finished Series I Have YET to Finish

Top Ten Tuesday is an original meme from the awesome team at The Broke and The Bookish.

This week’s theme: “Ten Finished Series I Have YET to Finish”. I seem to have a tendency to leave series unfinished…!

1.The Wheel of Time / Robert Jordan – This fantasy classic spans 14 MASSIVE books, plus a prequel and a companion book. I must confess, I have only read the first two. I don’t know if I’ll manage to get back into the series – there are a lot of characters, and I would probably have to start from the beginning just to get caught up again.

2. Legend / Marie Lu – I used to work with teenagers quite a bit, so I made an effort to introduce more YA lit into my life. I was curious about this futuristic dystopia trilogy, in which a boy and a girl must save the world from the machinations of the mean old grown-ups, because the author worked in the video game industry (and I’m a bit of a gamer). I actually enjoyed the first book in the trilogy, but not enough to make me want to pick up the second two. It was a bit of a case of “been there, read that”.

3. Divergent / Veronica Roth – Yet another dystopia – come on, teens, lighten up already! Didn’t like the characters, wasn’t impressed by the world building, couldn’t be bothered to finish the trilogy.

4.Chronicles of the Black Company / Glen Cook – I really loved the first book in this dark fantasy series – the adventures of a band of mercenaries who get swept up in a terrible battle in which the lines between good and evil are blurred beyond recognition. The second and third books were OK too. As I progressed through the series, though, the magic began to wear off, and it began to feel as though the author was losing interest in the world he created. I never finished this series, and with so many exciting books on my to-read list, I doubt I will.

5.Inheritance Cycle / Christopher Paolini – I actually enjoyed Eragon, and I probably will try to finish this series, but with so many books on my bookshelf waiting to be read, I still haven’t got around to it yet!

6.Time Quintet / Madeleine L’Engle – OK, so I’ll be honest – I didn’t realize this was a series. I remember reading A Wrinkle In Time as a student and not enjoying it, largely because of the tedious extension activities that were thrust upon us by my English teacher. I haven’t picked it up again since, which is a shame, because I have enjoyed other works by L’Engle.

7.The Foundation Novels – Isaac Asimov  – As a teenager I read a lot of science fiction. I really enjoyed Asimov’s Robot series, so I decided to give Foundation a try. I finished the first novel through sheer force of will alone, and was too confused to be interested in picking up another title in the series.

8. Sword of Shannara Trilogy / Terry Brooks – I know this is a classic fantasy series, but I found it painfully formulaic and unbearably predictable. I managed to finish the first book, but I have no interest whatsoever in finishing the series. Note – I actually met Terry Brooks, and he actually seems like a very nice person, but I still didn’t enjoy this series 😦 .

9. The Malazan Book of the Fallen / Steven Erikson – Wow, there’s a surprising amount of fantasy in this list! I didn’t really get into this series, which I found reminiscent of The Black Company. I don’t mind dark fantasy, but this series just didn’t grab me.

10.Dune – Frank Herbert. I wanted to love this series because it’s such a classic of the genre, but for some reason I never got around to finishing it. I think that’s a bit of trend in this list – some series I didn’t bother finishing because I didn’t enjoy them, but others I just seem to have forgotten – I didn’t hate them, but I wasn’t compelled to seek out the remaining books.

Well, that’s that! Who knows, perhaps I’ll finish some of these series yet! Let me know in the comments if you’ve finished any of these series, or if there are any other series that you recommend trying!

What I’ve Been Reading Lately

Since I’ve been sick for the past few weeks, I’ve had a lot of time to sit on the couch and read. Here are a couple of the books I’ve burned through during my convalescence.

One Summer :  America 1927 / Bill Bryson

Babe Ruth, Mount Rushmore, Prohibition, Jazz, Charles Lindbergh, Al Capone, the beginnings of the Great Depression, and more – Bill Bryson brings all these colourful characters and facts and more together in a book that’s as entertaining as it is educational. I love, love, love narrative nonfiction – nonfiction books that read like novels. Bill Bryson is a master of the genre, and I absolutely could not put this book down.

Divergent / Veronica Roth

Well, the books was better than the movie, I’ll give it that. I have to say, I hated the movie. Hated, hated, hated it. In contrast, I only hated, hated the book. The lead character Tris was far less annoying in the book than she was in the film – I actually cared somewhat what happened to her in the novel, which is something. But it certainly didn’t inspire me to want to pick up another YA novel any time soon….

Eden’s Outcast / John Matteson

A fascinating account of the relationship between “Little Women” author Louisa May Alcott and her father, complicated educator, writer and thinker Branson Alcott. This one was recommended to me by my mother, who has long been a voracious reader of biographies. Fascinating historical figures with intense personalities and a complex, tempestuous but ultimately loving father-daughter bond.

Racing With Death / Beau Riffenburgh

I’ve always been fascinated by Antarctic exploration, and I’ve read different accounts of Shackleton, Scott and Amundsen over the years. Racing with Death is the story of Douglas Mawson, an Australian explorer who’s largely forgotten today. Pretty exciting stuff, but not for the faint of heart (frostbite is not pretty…)

On My Shelf – My To-Read List

Confession time –  I don’t really read YA fiction. I never have. Even as a teen I had no interest in YA – they all seemed to be the same book, with different covers. Boy meets girl in high school. Boy meets girl in the past. Boy meets girl in the future. Boy meets girl in space. Boy meets girl in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. Angst, hormones, angst, whining, predictable ending. Yawn…. There have definitely been a couple of titles I enjoyed, but on the whole it’s never been a genre I immediately reach for.

Fast forward a few years and I now work with teens and help maintain a YA collection. What better time to give YA lit another chance?

I took a quick walk through the teen section today, and here are a few titles I picked out to try.  I’ve never been a big fan of realistic fiction, but there seem to be enough sci fi / fantasy YA books out there to keep me occupied.

Divergent / Veronica Roth

Better late than never? I wasn’t a big fan of the film so I’m not holding my breath, but I’ll try and keep an open mind…

The Forest of Hands and Teeth / Carrie Ryan

Zombies? I like zombies. There’s potential here.

The Rithmatist / Brandon Sanderson

I loved Warbreaker, so here’s hoping Sanderson’s YA novels are just as good!

Alanna / Tamora Pierce

There are a lot of Tamora Pierce fans at my book club, and I’m always looking for series with strong female leads, so I’m excited to give these books a try.

We’ll see how it goes….!