The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings #1

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Today's book is Wizard and Glass by Stephen King - book 4 in the Dark Tower series.

Synopsis taken from Goodreads:
Roland of Gilead and his fellow pilgrims determine to reach the Dark Tower, but their quest is rife with confrontation, conflict and sacrifice - from a vast computer system which bargains in riddles to Roland's old enemy Walter and the wizard's glass.

Beginning: "ASK ME A RIDDLE," Blaine invited.
"F*** you," Roland said. He did not raise his voice.

Friday 56: More silence from Blaine. And maybe that was good. Jake wasn't sure how much he wanted to know about the Fall of the Hounds, or what went on beneath them.


What are you reading this week?

On books for people who don't want kids

Children are a handful - there's no question about it. But some people are more open to that chaos than others. If you're one of those people who don't want kids, I've got you covered - here are some books that definitely validate your decision:

• The Age of Perpetual Light by Josh Weil - This short story collection contains a tale of a couple trying to decide if they should have children. It's a touching and difficult conversation and one that you might understand and relate to.

• Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy by Emily Bazelon - If you've ever wanted a look at how terrifying parenting can be, look at this book. While the most centers almost entirely on high school students and their difficult relationships, it clearly shows that parents often bear a large part of the heartache and sadness that accompany being the target of a bully. 

• Lord of the Flies by William Golding - Children are terrifying. Don't believe me? Read this book and witness the cruelty that they're capable of.

• The Killer's Cousin by Nancy Werlin - You don't need to trap kids on an island to get them to commit atrocities. Sometimes, even the best parenting can't prevent tragedy. This book demonstrates the terror you could be saving yourself from by not procreating.

• Too Many Daves by Dr. Seuss - This short poem (contained in the good doctor's The Sneetches and Other Stories book) shows that even naming children can be incredibly stressful - and can have lasting consequences if done incorrectly.

What books validate your decision not to have kids? Alternatively, what books encouraged you to procreate? 

On upcoming books that you should check out

Sadly, I've really been falling behind on ARCs these last few months. This year, I'm turning over a new leaf - I'll be participating in The Herd Presents' Blogger Shame Challenge to catch up on old (aka recently released) ARCs and try keeping up with more current ones. And I'm not doing so poorly thusfar - I've already read a new ARC this year and I've gone through a few backlisted (though not ARC) books. The future is looking bright for my ARCs. Until I get around to more, here are a couple books you should be getting excited about:

• Moonshine by Jasmine Gower (February 6th) - First of all, I can't get enough of this cover. It is absolutely stunning and so creative. It also gives you a pretty good idea of what the book is about - it's like "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and urban fantasy smushed into one delightful little novel. I adored this and I'm so excited to see what else the author has to offer.

• The Language of Spells by Garret Weyr (June 26th) - Such an adorable book! This middle grade story is so wholesome and sweet -and it has some very kind and tenderhearted dragons. Weyr tells the tale of a lonely dragon and a lonely little girl so well - you feel like you understand them and their predicament so well. It's a bittersweet and tender book, perfect for young fantasy readers.

• Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (July 10th) - Again, what a beautiful cover. If only I could get my hands on this ARC. I loved Novik's Beauty & the Beast retelling and was worried she wouldn't write any more fairytales - and now she announces a Rumpelstiltskin retelling. Thank goodness she has - and hopefully she'll be retelling fairytales for years to come. Now I just have to worry about waiting til July...

What upcoming books are you excited about? What new releases have you been ranting about? What gets you excited about a new book?

On books I wouldn't mind being gifted

This post was inspired by the Broke and the Bookish.

While my TBR list is out of control (which I’m sure many of you can understand), the list of books I actually want to own is somewhat smaller. I love books, but I also live in a small apartment and don’t like too much clutter. I try to get rid of any books that I’ve already read that weren’t five stars, so a lot of the time, my bookshelves are fairly neat and tidy (we’ll see how I manage that once I’m in a bigger apartment or in a house). In spite of this, here are a few books that I wouldn’t mind being gifted and (maybe) holding onto long-term:

• Women and Authority: Re-Emerging Mormon Feminism by Maxine Hanks

• Magic for Unlucky Girls by A.A. Balaskovits

• The Girl Who Ate Books: Adventures in Reading by Nilanjana Roy

• Bluebeard Tales From Around the World by Heidi Anne Heiner

• Mormon Sisters: Women In Early Utah by Claudia Bushman

• Tacky Goblin by T. Sean Steele

• The Poison of Love by K.R. Meera

What books would you like to be gifted? Have you read any of these books? What books should I add to this list? Do you collect books?

On getting books to review

When I first started off as a blogger, it was difficult for me to figure out how to find books to review (besides the extremely popular ones at the library that I had to wait forever to get or buy with my limited student budget). I’ve learned a bit in my almost-year of blogging and I’m excited to share with you some ways I’ve received books to review!

• Goodreads Giveaways - When I first started off blogging, winning a couple Giveaways made a huge difference in giving me interesting and unique material to read and discuss on my blog. Some of the books were terrible and some weren’t memorable in the least. But a lot were unique books that I wouldn’t have read otherwise. I previously wrote about winning Goodreads Giveaways here.
• Other blogs - I’ve often won books off giveaways on other blogs. Books featured on other blogs are typically reasonably popular (good for getting more blog views) and also tend to be new books, so good to look at before they are made available to the general public. Most blogs hold Giveaways periodically, but Fantasy Literature and Jean BookNerd are two blogs that hold LOTS of giveaways that are not too difficult to win periodically.
• Netgalley - This is the bread and butter of book reviewing. Netgalley is a great way to get new books and to spread the word about your blog a bit. A couple tips:
• Don’t request 10 billion books right off the bat - My initial mistake was requesting every book I could see. Once I actually was approved for a lot of these books, I had way too much to read in a reasonable amount of time. Take it slowly - request a book a week or even less if that’s too much for you.
• Balance Netgalley books with things you want to read for fun - When I initially requested every Netgalley book I could find, it was fun to read things I might not have picked up otherwise and I loved being one of the first people to review these books. It got a little old when I read 5 Netgalley books in a row and didn’t enjoy any of them. It was wonderful to return to a book I was actually excited to read. I’ve found that I get through Netgalley books better if I also read things I’m interested in - not all Netgalley books are good or interesting.

How do you find books to review for your blog? What helps you broaden your bookish horizons?

On books to read if you want to learn more about music

One topic we talk about a lot on this blog is music and books that you can use to connect with music, learn more about it, and become a music expert. Here are a few books that you can use to expand your knowledge of music - the history, the science, and the theory of music.

• Roots of the Classical: The Popular Origins of Western Music by Peter Van Der Merwe 
• This Is Your Brain on Music: The Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin 

• The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century by Alex Ross
• Introduction to Musicology: A Survey of the Fields, Systematic and Historical, of Musical Knowledge and Research by Glen Haydon 
• Hugo Riemann and the Birth of Modern Musical Thought by Alexander Rehding 

• Noise: The Political Economy of Music by Jacques Attali
• Rethinking Music by Nicholas Cook 
• America's Musical Life: A History by Richard Crawford

In this blog post, I referenced this article, this article, and this article.

You can also check out this Goodreads list


Which books have taught you about music? Which books would you add to this list?

On my YA picks

Today’s genre is young adult! I realize this is a fairly broad genre, but this isn’t something that I read too much of, so this is a fun post for me to write! Here are a few YA books that you might not have read already:

• Traitor’s Blade by Sebastian de Castell - This Three Muskateers-esque fantasy tale is full of fun, snark, heartbreak, and magic. A great read for older YA readers with an interest in fantasy (especially as a move into more epic fantasy).

• The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian - The Authentics is an adorable and touching contemporary YA story about adoption, family, young love, and being true to yourself. I loved this story and the young heroine - she was so relateable and imperfect and I loved her for it.

• Love and Other Alien Experiences by Kerry Winfrey - This book is a contemporary YA tale dealing with anxiety, family, loss, and getting through tough times. It’s full of quirks and has a very John Green feel to it.

• Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carringer - Finishing school doesn’t have to be boring. This book is all about a finishing school for spies - complete with cool gadgets and strange missions. I loved this book - and middle grade readers transitioning to YA books will thoroughly enjoy this story.

• K My Name is Kendra by Kamichi Jackson - Save this book for more mature YA readers who can handle difficult material. Kendra is a girl in a difficult situation that becomes more awful when she becomes a survivor of sexual abuse. It’s ultimately full of hope and the importance of family, but there are some difficult parts before the end.

• The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan - If you liked Huck Finn, this is a good next step. Shan’s dark fantasy take on the classic story is delightful and fascinating - and full of interesting world-building.

• Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson - If you like fractured fairy tales, this is the book for you. The Bluebeard story is retold in the Southern US around the time of the civil war - it’s an interesting mix of American culture and classic fairy tale elements.

For more YA book suggestions, check out Hey Teen Books Hey.

What YA books would you add to this list? What are your opinions on the books I have listed? What do you look for in a good YA read?