March 2020 OwlCrate

On April 6, 2020April 5, 2020 By AllieS.In Book Box, OwlCrateLeave a comment

Owl Crate is a young adult book subscription box where every month you receive one new hardcover book and an assortment of bookish goodies connected to the monthly theme. Some of these items are very practical and some are better suited as decor or for a pin/builtin board. March’s theme is Music of the Night.

Each box includes different bookish goodies that fit the theme of the month and are connected to other books. March is the five year anniversary of OwlCrate so there are some extra goodies this time. This months bookish items include OwlCrate socks, a Phantom of the Opera poster, an OwlCrate wireless speaker, and a Monsters of Verity wooden art print. Some other items where a set of bookplate stickers, a Wintersong inspired candle which smells like winter berries, and a Twilight inspired lip scrub. I love when there is more practical items in boxes as I get more use out of them in comparison to decorative items. Though I wish the Phantom items was more than just a poster and I will not be using the book plates in books but as planner stickers.

Every month Owl Crate has a new young adult hardback book that has an exclusive cover, is signed and comes with a letter from the author. The enamel pin that is in every box is also inspired by that months book. This months book is The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu which also comes with exclusive sprayed edges. The book is a historical fantasy following Nannerl Mozart, the sister of the famous Wolfgang Mozart, and her quest to make sure history doesn’t forget her.

April’s theme is Full Moon Magic.

Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgerstern

On April 3, 2020April 2, 2020 By AllieS.In Book Review1 Comment

9361589 The Night Circus by Erin Morgerstern is a adult literary fiction and fantasy novel that follows two main protagonists, Ceila and Marco, who are competing against one another at a magical circus and try not to fall in love.

It took me awhile to get through The Night Circus not because it bad at all but because its a fairly slow book and I needed things that were fast paced at the time. The book is beautifully written and would be a good book for those who might not be fantasy readers. The main story covers multiple characters and time frames but focuses on the circus that all the main character live and work at which is where all the magic is.

Though Ceila and Marco are being pitted against each other because of a challenge their magical teachers have constructed they don’t have much of a real conflict with each other. Their story is more of show casing their magic and through learning more about each other trying not to fall in love.

Though the plot revolves around the circus, its traveling and how this contest has trapped all those who work at the circus the real focus of the book is about the stories we tell and the power they have.

I absolutely loved the Night Circus but I think I would have loved it even more if I hadn’t been in a slump and I look forward to reading it again.

February 2020 Wrap Up

On March 30, 2020March 28, 2020 By AllieS.In Book Review, Wrap UpLeave a comment

During February I read three books. One historical nonfiction book, one manga, and one short story audio book.

43822007 The first book I read was The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era by Gareth Russell. This book uses the lives and history of six first class passengers on Titanic to illustrate how society and the world worked in the era of Titanic and how the sinking is often seen as wake up call for the changes that are coming. Well researched and written but some parts were a little boring since I went into the book thinking it would be more about Titanic than the society that built her. However, still a good book and one I would recommend for those who have researched Titanic before.

35172730 The second book I read in February was the Sailor Moon manga Eternal Edition vol. 1. I have started to collect these editions of the series and I’m reading each volume as I get it. Sailor Moon is one of my favorite manga and anime series so I loved reading it again. My only criticism in this first volume is at time that story seem almost too fast paced. As a reader you don’t get a lot of time with each new character before another one is introduced but given where I know the series goes its not that big of an issue.

15851414 The last book I read was The Little Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff. So I say I “read” this but really I watched a YouTube video where the story was read and the pictures where shone. I read it this way because the book is very hard to obtain copies of and I didn’t know I existed before. This is a little kids picture book that simplifies the story of Stormdancer the first book in the Lotus Wars series by Jay Kristoff. Its very cute and I would love to own a copy one day.

Book Review: The Deep by Alma Katsu

On March 25, 2020March 24, 2020 By AllieS.In Book Review, Books1 Comment

52186666._SX318_SY475_ I won an advanced copy of this book through Goodreads.

The Deep by Alma Katsu is a historical fiction with supernatural elements focusing on the sinking of the Titanic and her sister ship Britannic. The story follows Annie Hebbley, a maid on Titanic, who survived the sinking and after getting her life back together becomes a nurse on Britannic which has become a hospital ship supporting British forces in World War I.

The book starts in 1916 where we find out what Annie’s life has been like since the sinking and her decision to become a nurse and sail on Titanic’s sister ship, Britannic. Shortly after arriving on the ship a soldier, Mark, is recovering and who Annie met on the Titanic and believes herself to be in love with him.

The story flashes between the events in 1916 and on the Titanic in 1912. The plot in 1916 mainly revolves around Annie and her feelings while the plot of 1912 is given through multiple different characters including some of the real historical figures like the Astor’s, who were on Titanic. The main plot kicks off when a group on the Titanic attempt to contact spirits during a seance which ends up being interrupted by Annie looking for the Astor’s as one of the child servants dies. From here multiple people believe that there are ghost or other spirits that are trying to do something to those on the ship. In the present of 1916, Mark and Annie’s pasts and the terror of the sinking might not yet be over.

For years I’ve been fascinated by Titanic which means I’ve read and watched many story both fiction and nonfiction about this incident. When I heard about The Deep originally, it hit on two things for me Titanic and the supernatural which is all I needed to know to want to read it. So I think I might have had too high of expectations going into the book. The story is very well written with interesting concepts but it jumps between perspectives too often. If there had been fewer perspectives I feel like I could have connected with each characters stories better which would have made be enjoy the book more. For me personally, its only an average read when I was expecting a new favorite.

January 2020 Wrap Up

On March 13, 2020March 10, 2020 By AllieS.In Book Review, Books1 Comment

Sometimes a new year starts off to a slow start with reading and stuff in general for me which 2020 is. As I’m a mood reader I never know how many books I will read in a given month and I try not to put pressure on myself to read more. However, lately I’ve just not been is a reading mood much of the time.

I did read three books in January two where audio books and one physical book.

37976541 The first book I read was Bad Blood by John Carreyrou. This book is the nonfiction account of Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes who scammed thousands of people with the idea that her technology and company was revolutionizing blood testing. A well written book about an int resting topic however, sometimes that writing got a little technical about science and how it was supposed to work so those sections were a little boring.

91476 Grave Peril by Jim Butcher is the third book in the Dresden Files series. The series really picks up in this book and finds it footing. There is more information given about the world and how magic and the supernatural mix with the modern world. The story focuses on a ghost/demon who is trying to get revenge on Harry Dresden for defeating him several months ago. This plot is also connected to Harry’s godmother, a fairy, who he has made deals with in the past and the courts of the vampires. Jim Butcher’s writing gets much better in this book. I loved the new characters that are introduced and the higher stakes that the characters are involved in.

61834._SY475_ The last book I read in January was A Night to Remember by Walter Lord. A Night to Remember is one of the most famous accounts of the sinking of the Titanic. Using information from multiple sources Walter Lord puts the reader in the shoes of someone on the ship which is very powerful. This is a great book for anyone interested in the Titanic or the history of books written about the sinking.

Comics vs Graphic Novels

On March 11, 2020March 9, 2020 By AllieS.In Books, Comics, Graphic NovelsLeave a comment

I read a lot of comics, graphic novels, and manga but when I hear people talk about this story telling medium most use some of the words interchangeably. So, is there a difference between comics and graphic novels or not?

First by definition all of these different words all describe the way art is used to convey a story. A comic or comic book is generally a magazine that presents a story in an illustrated format. A graphic novel is a novel that written in the comic format which generally is longer and more self contained. Manga is technically the Japanese word for comics but is used in the west to designate comics from Japan and in the Japanese style. Most reader do know that manga is different and don’t use the word to describe other things.

In my experience, the word comic and graphic novel are used interchangeably as at this point there isn’t that much of a difference between them. I think most people use which ever word they’ve heard other people use and which ever one sound better. For instance, when talking about The Walking Dead most would say The Walking Dead comic book series and not The Walking Dead graphic novel because it sounds better. However, Saga which is printed by the same company, Image Comics, is called a graphic novel because the Saga comic book series doesn’t sound as good.

The only time that I think this doesn’t happen is when people talk about long running comics from DC, Marvel, or those in newspapers. In my experience none of these are ever called graphic novels because they are connected to a long running story that is serialized.

These are my experiences so I would love to here what other think about this topic.