Musing Monday (July 14)

Musing Monday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. If you haven’t already, you should check it out!

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!  

My Musing: 

Reading action/adventure non-fiction is just SO good! Why haven’t I come across this before? I mean, I adore fiction (especially a good science fiction), but A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson has been a serious reading journey. I just keep thinking, all of this is real and I can have this adventure too. My new Camelbak is itching to be worn. Maybe my next non-fiction will be something titled like The Trails of Michigan.

While my non-fiction pursuit is ongoing, I also got some comics from this amazing new comic store where I live. Shopping at Vault of Midnight was an adventure in itself, but I’m new to the world of comics, so it was a particularly fascinating experience. Stay posted to read my comic book reviews coming up!

Musing Monday

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it!
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then

My Musing: 

I’m back on a pretty good reading kick! I just finished India Was One by An Indian (review tomorrow), The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (Book/Film Review coming soon!), and Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol (Review coming soon).

I just started reading The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann. As you can tell from my last Monday Musing post, I’ve been working through the stack of new books I received from the Scholastic Book Fair. It seemed to be just what I needed and everything I’ve read has been very good!

I’ve only just started The Peculiar, but it already different from what I anticipated, in a good way of course. I’m excited to see where this story leads. Look for my review soon and find out!

Here’s the Goodreads description of The Peculiars by Stefan Bachmann:

Don’t get yourself noticed and you won’t get yourself hanged.

In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings–Peculiars–and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.

One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley–Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.

First he’s noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.

Part murder mystery, part gothic fantasy, part steampunk adventure, The Peculiar is Stefan Bachmann’s riveting, inventive, and unforgettable debut novel

 

MizB’s original post at Should Be Reading

Musing Monday

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings:

It’s the time of the Scholastic Book Fair again and I’v been showered in some new books. Here’s a list of some of my new titles:

* Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol

* The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann

* A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park

* The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce

* Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta; Art by Ed Young

I’m excited about the variety here. I’ve read mostly positive things about each of the books and I look forward to having them to read this summer. Today is a great day to start the reading! Happy Memorial Day!

If you’ve read any of these or simply are interested, I’d love to hear your input!

Read MizB’s original post at Should Be Reading 🙂

Musings Monday (May 5)

Today I’m going to participate in a popular meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.Please check out her wonderful blog for some great reading!

Musing Mondays asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• What book are you currently desperate to get your hands on? Tell us about it! 
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!
• Instead of the above questions, maybe you just want to ramble on about something else pertaining to books — let’s hear it, then!

My Musings: 

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Let’s talk about reading about cultures. While I’m not reading about Cinco de Mayo festivities, I am currently reading India Was One by An Indian. Here’s a description:

…Suddenly, he saw something shiny at the bottom of the abyss. He squinted his eyes to see what it was. He ran back to his binoculars and turned them to see what it was. Sharp barbed wires that separated the two mountains came into focus. He had come as far as he could in his country. But she was standing in another country.

He was in South India and she was in North India…

Have you ever imagined India being divided into two countries? What happens to the millions of Indians who are from South India but are now residing in North India? Kaahi & Jai were two such people who got trapped in this situation. Everything was going smoothly for them and suddenly, their world turned upside down.

How will they get together? Will India become one again?

Take an exciting journey with them from their college days in Mumbai to their life in the US and back to India when they find out that India is divided.

 

What I’m really enjoying about this book is the strong cultural identity of the author and his passion for the culture in his writing. I’ve already learned so much about Indian culture and festivities that have intrigued me to take a deeper look into the colorful culture (not to mention take a plane to India right now). When I’m reading this book I feel like an accepted part of the character’s lives; I’m happy when they are and sad when they are. I’m still in the first half of the book and all is going well. I’m both excited and nervous to get to the part of the novel where the plot becomes much more bitter, as assessed from the book description. I’m excited to see what the author will reveal about Indian culture then.

Have you read anything culturally enlightening recently? Or any form of fiction that has compelled you to learn about something new?