Classic Double Challenge 2013

This challenge is hosted by Melissa at One Librarian's Book Reviews (1lbr). The idea is to read a classic book or original story, fairy tale, or mythology and compare that to a retelling or a book that relates to the classic story. Melissa lists several options on her site, which you can go to by clicking the image at the top or on her blog's name in this post. She also has different levels you can choose to complete.  Last year I just did the Small level, which is one pair. I read Persuasion and For the Darkness Shows the Stars and I loved them both! This year I am going to try for the Medium level, which is two pairs or four books. I think I want to do Ten by Gretchen McNeil and And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. I am already reading Ten for the New Author Challenge, but I would love to see how it compares to the original Christie story. I love reading Christie's stories when I am in a reading slump and surprisingly I have not read And Then There Were None yet. Other possibilities include Romeo and Juliet and one of the many retellings of this story or maybe another Jane Austen novel. I hope to pick my second pair soon.

2013 New Authors Challenge

Artwork: Anglerfish by Vlad Gerasimov


The New Authors Challenge is hosted by Jackie at Literary Escapism. The idea is to find new authors that you haven't tried to read in the past. You can pick 15, 25, or 50 new authors. After finishing a book, you post reviews and link them to the New Authors post. For more info go to http://www.literaryescapism.com/new-author-challenge/new-author-challenge-2013.

I am going to try to read 15 new authors. I have a few ideas of authors I would like to read. I may try Rachel Vincent, Gretchen McNeil (I have seen so many great reviews of Ten), and Kristin Cashore. Hopefully I can branch out a little in my reading.
1. Ten by Gretchen McNeil
2.

2013 Paranormal Reading Challenge

This is a paranormal reading challenge hosted by Megan Likes Books and Jessi at Auntie Spinelli Reads. The goal is to read at least 12 paranormal books, at least one each in the following categories.

Vampires

Werewolves/Shifters

Fey

Angels/Nephilim

Mermaids

Dragons

Zombies

Demons

Witches/Wizards

Ghosts

Aliens

Other (ie: sirens, unicorns, centaurs, time travel etc.)

You can read more than one in each category if you have time. The books can also count for other challenges. For more information click on the image at the top or on the links to the hosts' websites.

January is Vampire month and I know that I want to read Vampire Academy for January. So far that is the only book I know I am going to read for the challenge. I will update this post as I choose and review.
1. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead- finished and reviewed!
2.

Cold Fire by Tamora Pierce

This is my last book this year for the Dusty Bookshelf Challenge. I finished three books and completed the Pixie Dust Level.

Cold Fire is book 3 of the Circle Opens Quartet and this series follows the Circle Quartet. If you have not read any of the books in the Circle Quartet, this will have spoilers for that series. However, the books in the Circle Opens Quartet do not have to be read in a particular order at least the first three haven't.


Daja and Frostpine have decided to travel around to different smiths, so that Daja can learn about how other smiths work. The two have settled down in Kugisko, a cold Northern town, for the winter. They will have to stay there until early spring when the mountain pass thaws. The two are staying with the Bancanor family, Kol and Matazi and their four children, the oldest of which are twin girls around Daja's age. Kugisko is a city made of wood and so it is prone to fires, particularly in the winter when everyone is trying to keep warm. Within the first weeks of Daja's stay, she witnesses a fire and notices a brave man, Ben Landradun, who is trying to teach the town how to fight fires. Daja wants to help Ben and begins working on gloves to help keep his hands from being scorched while fighting the blazes. However, Daja's free time is quickly occupied by the twins, Jory and Nia. Daja spots magic in Jory and learns she is a cooking mage and since one twin has magic, the other has to have it too. Daja scries Nia's talent as a carpentry mage and sets about finding mages to train the girls. Even though she finds mages, she is stuck with teaching the girls meditation to harness and control their powers and she has to teach the two separately. In the meantime, more fires break out and Daja and Ben realize the fires are being set. Can Daja help catch the firebug and teach the girls? With all this work, Daja is looking forward to the spring.

I love this series and the world that Pierce has created! Briar is my favorite of the Circle four, but Daja is a close second. Daja and Frostpine have a wonderful teacher/student relationship and I think of the four, she has the teacher that matches her powers the best. Daja still mourns for her family, but she has now learned how to interact with others outside the Trading families. Out of the three I have read about so far, Daja is the one who has matured the most. I enjoyed seeing her teaching style and her interactions with the twins. Pierce masterfully creates a believable world and with her descriptions you can easily visualize the area. I like how magic in her world is tied so closely to the earth and how magic seems almost real and understandable.

Favorite Character: Daja. She is strong- she is a smith mage after all- and very patient, even though she thinks she is not. Daja seems the most loving of the four Circle teens and she is also willing to trust others, both a fault and a virtue, more than her Circle friends.

Favorite Quote: "That's magic for you, she thought gloomily. One part glory, one part fun, and one part polishing the brightwork till your back and your knees and your hands all ache." This quote is one of the reason's Pierce's magic is so believable. She shows that the mages have to really work at building and controlling their magic.

I know in many reviews, people fault this book for revealing early on who the firebug is. A few moments are told from this person's point of view and you know within the first one hundred pages who it is. This did not bother me. I thought the point of the story was more that sometimes people disappoint us and that we cannot recognize bad people just by looking at them. The story also revolved just as much about teacher/student relationships. I thought both those themes were fascinating and knowing the firebug did not ruin this for me.

5 cups of cocoa! I really want to read Tris's story now, but that will have to wait until next year!

December Random Read

 

This is a meme hosted by Sarah at www.imlovingbooks.com. You can create a list or use your Goodreads To Be Read feature to choose a book. After deciding on your list, then go to random.org and type in the number of books on your list and see what you get for the month.



Entangled Teens Publishing

I finished both my October and November Random Reads in November! For my December Random Read, my book is Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout. I have seen really good reviews for her book and have had this one on my list for a couple of months now. This one is about aliens and since I haven't read any books about aliens I am looking forward to something a little different. Here is the review.

The Fire Chronicle by John Stephens

This is the second book I have finished for the Fall into Reading challenge, so I am halfway to my goal. This is also the second book in the Books of Beginning series, so it will have spoilers for the first book The Emerald Atlas. If you have not read the first book, you may want to skip reading the review.


Emma, Kate, and Michael are back at the Edgar Allan Poe Orphanage in the present time. The day after Christmas, fifteen years prior, both Gabriel and Dr. Pim left on a secret trip. The children are not happy about being in the orphanage again, but at least they are together, until screechers appear. Kate uses the Atlas to remove a screecher and goes to the past, while Emma and Michael are taken away by Dr. Pim. Kate does not appear immediately, but Dr. Pim assures the two children that they will see her soon. Their focus in the meantime is on the second Book of Beginning, the Chronicle of Life. Kate had informed Dr. Pim of dreams she had and one of these concerned her being in the past and Michael as Keeper of the Chronicle. Emma, Michael, and Dr. Pim set out for the city of Malpesa to find the book, when they are attacked by Rourke, the main supporter of the evil Dire Magnus. The children are sent off with Gabriel to find the second book, while Kate is stuck in the past in the final days before the Separation of the magical and nonmagical worlds. There Kate befriends Rafe, a boy with strong magical powers and a grudge against humans and she loses the Atlas, since it disappears after a few hours when brought to the past. As Kate struggles to find a way to her siblings, she discovers an awful secret, which could destroy the future, while Michael and Emma must find the second book before the enemy does.

The second book is just as action-packed as the first and I loved learning more about the magical world Stephens has created. It was interesting to see how the world existed with magic and how prejudices could not be surpressed. Emma and Michael may mourn a world in which magic is hidden, but Kate realizes why it had to be so. I also like how the characters mature when they come into contact with the book they keep. In the first book, it was Kate realizing her parents loved her and that she must look after Emma and Kate. In this second book, Michael grows up and realizes he must take care of Emma. He also realizes he needs others and that fighting a dragon is not as big a deal as one would think. This series has magic like Harry Potter, but it is not a clone of the series. One of the main themes is the love between family members and how no matter what family ties can weather any problem.

Favorite Character: Kate is still my favorite character, even though I enjoyed watching Michael mature in this book. Kate is loyal and strong. She chooses what is right over what is easy, even though her choice will have dire consequences.

Favorite Quotes: "Each day, by our actions, we decide who we are."
 "But the point of life isn't to avoid pain. The point of life is to be alive! To feel things. That means the good and the bad. There'll be pain. But also joy, and friendship, and love! And it's worth it, believe me." That last one is a long quote, but it is so important. We often choose the easy way over the right way and I think that quote sums up why that is an awful choice.

This book was even better than the first and I can't wait to read the third book, especially since this had a surprise cliffhanger ending! 5 cups of cocoa!

Reading Stack #25

I am over halfway through The Fire Chronicle and I hope to finish it by the end of the week. This series does remind me quite a bit of the magical world in Harry Potter, but it does have its own unique twists. I have also started Cold Fire which is my last Dusty Bookshelf read. I hope to start either Legend or Beautiful Darkness very soon, so that maybe I can finish my Fall into Reading list. What are you planning on reading this week?