Free Comic Book Day

Hey readers,

Sorry about the lack of actual bookish posts lately. Willow and I have just been pretty busy lately, but we're working on bringing all the fangirly things back onto our schedules.

That being said, last week I mentioned the Free Comic Book Day haul I got!
I bought three books: one was a graphic novel called Space Battle Lunchtime and two were more traditional-length comic books, Godshaper and Lumberjanes (both were the first volume).

Godshaper imagines a world where one day, all the "technology that made life easy" just disappeared. In its place, suddenly everyone had a god with them. They weren't gods in the traditional sense, but more like ghostly companions: glowing, colorful, and attached to each person. They were like "personal bank accounts," with affluential people having larger gods. But there are people without gods; they're called Shapers. Ennay's one of them, and he's lived his whole life knowing that everyone needs him to service their growing gods but no one wants him in town. But more importantly, if he wants to have a career as a musician, he needs a god at his side to seem normal.

Godshaper's art is beautiful and colorful, with a super-interesting concept. I'll definitely be following the story as it comes out! The gods and their humans are an interesting metaphor too.

Lumberjanes is a fluffy story about a group of girl friends who venture into the wilderness during summer camp, only to be met by ghostly supernatural occurrences. It's cute, simple, and keeps the ghost-story vibe light, just like a friendly campfire story.

Space Battle Lunchtime is the story of Peony, who bakes for a lowly cafe. But when she's zapped into orbit on a spaceship, she soon discovers she's the newest contestant on an intergalactic cooking show, Space Battle Lunchtime. The graphic novel chronicles her adventures dealing with her fellow contestants, who all think her Earthling lack of knowledge of intergalactic standards is cute and naive. She meets with grudging acceptance and jealous hatred, but it remains to be seen if Peony has a chance to use victory on Space Battle Lunchtime to propel herself to intergalactic pastry stardom!

All of these comics are cute, quirky, and unconventional. I'd definitely recommend them to all ages!

Happy reading!
~Citali

Too? Many Books: June Book Haul (and I suppose July too)

In the end of school, I read more words than I said in actual human non-paper conversation. I'm pretty sure. But now it's summer and time for freedom and working towards more human interaction. I'm pretty sure, anyway.

In an attempt not to make this a dump of books titles, I'm going to try to include a bit of a blurb about each (read) book in addition to the usual information. So now, it's just a completely overdone, crazily long post! *canned applause*

(I've been delving into more... teen... literature recently. These are marked with T's [in the case of them having been read].)

Nota bene: I took too long on this post... so it's been shunted sideways into July. With more books, so hopefully that's okay?

Read

• Incarceron by Catherine Fisher (Incarceron Duology #1). Incarceron's inhabitants know it's a prison. The Realm, its queen, and the warden who looks over Incarceron think it's a paradise. The Realm is consigned to follow Protocol, a series of rules forcing the Realm to adhere to the practices and appearances of an era their technology has long outpaced. The book follows the warden's daughter, trapped in a marriage arrangement when her teachers know she could do so much more, as well as Finn, a prisoner at the bottom of the dangerous social hierarchy of the prison. Their worlds collide when both find mysterious devices, keys to the prison.

• Sapphique by Catherine Fisher (Incarceron Duology #2). Sequel to Incarceron, Sapphique is named after the "one who got away", the legendary man who escaped the prison. In the midst of near war, characters both inside and outside the prison struggle to find a solution to the problems that've been developing both in Incarceron and the Realm. (terseness due to attempt to avoid spoilers)

• The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater (The Raven Cycle #2). (T) This sequel to The Raven Boys features everyone's favorite character in the Raven squad, Ronan. If he's not your favorite from the first book (and I don't blame you), you'll love him after this one. (again, terse)

• (I was going to blurb these, but I realized I read/reread THE ENTIRE SERIES SO HERE'S THE BLURB FOR THAT.) (T) Maggie Stiefvater's epic of the Raven squad (seriously squad goals), featuring demons, psychic's daughters, prophecies, the best and most complex/potentially problematic/still endearing characters you will ever find, thus putting all writers to shame, Welsh mythology, private school boys, trashy chic, double romances, mild and thus forgivable love triangles, ravens, sleep patterns, and names like Blue and Gansey. I switch my favorite book series a lot (The Lunar Chronicles, Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl) but this is definitely up there with them. Read. Please.

• City of a Thousand Dolls by Miriam Forster. This. Book. Has. Some. Of. The. Best. Worldbuilding. I've. Seen. *fangirls* In an empire devastated by loss of its magic, families are limited to only two children. And no family wants girls. So the City of a Thousand Dolls is created, a home away from castes for abandoned and orphan girls of the empire. They're trained as accomplished wives, musicians, bodyguards, dancers, courtesans, and scholars, and fetch prices from those wishing to hire, apprentice, or wed them. But for a girl whose position in the city is dubious, the intrigue and murder in the air are dangerously close.

• Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McCarter. (T) The full libretto (written lyrics) of the musical Hamilton: An American Musical. Photographs and footnotes that will make any musical fangirl, history fangirl, or book fangirl love it. 

• The Glass Swallow by Julia Golding (Dragonfly and The Glass Swallow #2). In the realm set up in the prequel of this duology, a girl glassmaker, secretly the genius behind the most prestigious designs, must fight for her life and her way home as she travels to a kingdom rife with chaos and class systems to fulfill her talents as a glassmaker. You'll love the worldbuilding, the realistic diplomacy and politics, and the characters' dramatic irony.

• Inheritance by Lisa Forrest. An interestingly set Australian novel featuring a girl who joins the circus... only to be thrown headfirst into a world of danger, escape, and magical powers stemming from ancient origins from a group called the Cirkulatti, reaching back to ancient Egypt, Macedonia, and Rome.

• The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd. (T) A dark and legitimately scary classics retelling of H. G. Wells' The Island of Doctor Moreau. I actually wouldn't recommend this. Dark, scary, thought-provoking, terrifying. Good if you're into that; I'm not. However, it is cool that it's classic sci-fi but with noticeably more girls!

• The Siren by Kiera Cass. Chicklit, but great! From the author of the Selection series (one of my guilty pleasures? Maybe? Depends on definition of guilty pleasure) comes the story that she says spurred her on to be a writer, which you should read just for that. Need more? Multicultural mermaids, destruction of stereotypes, quirky romance, interesting mythology twist.

• Thor: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron. This comic book is an amazing and interestingly new twist on Thor... she's a girl! Enough said, isn't it? Get over your culture shock, it's a great book in itself (even if you, like me, aren't quite into the medium.)

• Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (The Illuminae Files #1). (T) I can't summarize this well enough, so I'll just quote and link to the coauthor's Goodreads comment here, which is beautiful and should win some kind of Pulitzer: "ILLUMINAE is the classic tale of Girl Meets Boy. Girl Loses Boy. And Parents. And Planet. And Ends Up on a Crippled Spaceship. With a Mad Computer. And a Deadly Virus Outbreak. In the Middle of an Interstellar War. It's without a doubt the coolest book I've ever written. I'm pretty sure you've never read a book like it." (Click the link for gifs that make the comment so much better, too). And read this book! It's all he said and more.

To be read

• Orhan's Inheritance by Aline Ohanesian
• East of Eden by John Steinbeck
• Soundless by Richelle Mead
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
• Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers (His Fair Assassin #2)
• Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers (His Fair Assassin #3)
• Stars Above by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles #4.5 [indicating a series add-on after book 4])
• For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Thanks for enduring through this streamy-of-consciousness post. Read some of these, though!
Happy reading!
~Citali

Carry on, Martian Fangirls: January Book Haul

Wow, we haven't done one of these in a while! I guess the whole "monthly" thing isn't working out... but anyway, here's what I (Citali) have been reading this month, and a little bit of December too!

Bought and received

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

From the library (read)

The Martian by Andy Weir

The Conjurer's Riddle by Andrea Cremer (sequel to The Inventor's Secret)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo 

Reread

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham

Emily Climbs by L. M. Montgomery (Book 2 in the Emily Novels)

Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce (Book 1 in The Immortals quartet)

To be read

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Afterworlds by Scott Westerfield

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Happy Reading!

~Citali

Dragons, Detectives, and Dogs: September's Book Haul

Hey, guys! Willow here. I know it's been a while since I've posted, sorry, but I've been pretty busy lately. Remember last month Citali made a book haul post? We've decided to do one of those every month, so that you guys can stay updated on what we're reading.

We're taking turns, so I get to write this one. Technically, it's September's book haul, but since the first week of October has passed, I'll include the books I read this week.

This book haul might be formatted a little differently from the last one. I hope you don't mind.

Let's get started!

Read

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Book 1 in The Mortal Instruments series)

The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, and Life, the Universe, and Everything by Douglas Adams (these are three separate books, by the way)

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie

Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes and The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan (TSOS being the first book in the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard series; I'll fangirl about it in a later post)

A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray (All three books in the Gemma Doyle trilogy)

Reread

Terrier and Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce (Book 1 of the Beka Cooper trilogy and book 2 of the Daughter of the Lioness duo, respectively)

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Book 1 of the Ascendance trilogy)

To Be Read

The Staff of Serapis and The Crown of Ptolemy by Rick Riordan (Parts 2 and 3 of his awesome crossover miniseries)

Winter Turning by Tui T. Sutherland (Wings of Fire book 7)

Storm of Lightning by Richard Paul Evans (Michael Vey book 5)

The Tournament at Gorlan by John Flanagan (Ranger's Apprentice: the Early Years book 1)

No Normal by G. Willow Wison (Ms. Marvel Volume 1)

The Copper Gauntlet by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black (Magisterium book 2)

Star Wars: Dark Disciple by Christie Golden

That's not all the books I want to read, of course, but I figure I shouldn't scare you away by burying you in my wish list. :-)

Have you guys read any of these? Do you have any suggestions or recommendations? Feel free to tell us what you think!

Happy reading!

~Willow

Library Load: August Book Haul!

It's Citali again with an essential part of every bibliophile or fangirl's blog: Book Haul! In the home stretch of summer, I've been spending a possibly inordinate time at the library and reading a ton. There are just too many to review them all, but they're all great books that I'd like to share and recommend! (Maybe I'll review some later, who knows?)

Bought

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Take Joy: A Writer's Guide to Loving the Craft by Jane Yolen

101 Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm

My library has a lobby book sale where both the two first books come from. One day the ENTIRE HARRY POTTER SERIES both in the old hardcover and the new paperback were on sale for $1 or $2 each book! I would have bought everything in a second if I didn't already own all the books!

From the library (read) 

Dearest by Alethea Kontis (Book 3 in Woodcutter Sisters series)

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Book 1 in Ascendance trilogy)

Stolen Magic by Gail Carson Levine (Sequel to A Tale of Two Castles)

Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce (Book 2 in Beka Cooper trilogy)
Pirate Curse by Kai Meyer

Reread

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis (Book 1 in Woodcutter Sisters series)

A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine 

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (Book 2 in The Lunar Chronicles series)

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Book 6 in Little House Books series)

To be read

Mastiff by Tamora Pierce (Book 3 in Beka Cooper trilogy)

The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien (Book 2 in The Lord of the Rings series)

All Fall Down by Ally Carter (Book 1 in Embassy Row series)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak 

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Circle of Cranes by Annette LeBox

How many of these have you read? How many have you heard of? What should I read next? 

Happy Reading!

~Citali