Book of the Week: 12/13-12/19: Rags & Bones - Melissa Marr

Welcome to this week's book of the week! Sorry, I'm a day late!  This week's book is a book I've recently finished (and by recently...I mean about 4ish hours ago). I've always had a soft spot for anthologies filled with stories from authors that I love, and this book definitely falls into that love of anthologies. 

Without further prattling from me, I give you this week's book of the week: 

Rags & Bones

New Twists on Timeless Tales

Editors

Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt

Seriously, this book is absolutely fantastic and filled with wonderful retellings of classic, timeless tales.  There are also included in this anthology, six absolutely wonderful illustrations that make me wish I could be a part of them (or at least draw as good as Charles Vess!  The artwork is just as good as the storytelling in this book, and it wouldn't be the same without those little pieces of illustrated heaven. 

Each of these timeless tales have been rewritten, reworked into a twenty-first century perspective and retold in the genre the author is most known for: science fiction, dystopian fiction, fantasy and even realistic fiction.  The Faerie Queen by Sir Edmund Spencer paired next to "The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forester.  These are just two of the timeless tales that are reimagined in this wonderful volume.  We learn a little bit of some of these authors in the notes that follow each section, from the stories that inspired them, awed them, and even enraged them.  

I highly encourage you to check this book out! 

What's On My Kindle? Dickens. Charles Dickens.

This week's What's On My Kindle? features books by one of my favorite classical authors, Charles Dickens.  (insert collective groan here).

No, seriously.  Dickens has always been one of my favorites, and I know most of his books are exceptionally long, and excessive on the description, however when he was writing and you were paid by the word...you wrote as much as you possibly could right?

I've several Dickens titles on my Kindle, all of which are free thanks to services like Project Gutenburg.  However, the ones I'm featuring are by far my all time favorite Dickens novels.

1.) Oliver Twist

Who didn't fall in love with Oliver?  Want to see him ultimately find a family?  Who didn't secretly like the Artful Dodger?

This book inspires all sorts of feelings, and ultimately has been labeled a "national institution" by George Orwell,   It is a morality lesson, a social protest, and a detective story all rolled into one package and has turned into several, successful movie ventures.  Most of which are musicals, featuring one of my favorite songs :)

2.) Great Expectations

This is most likely one of Dickens' best novels.  Orphaned Pip is apprenticed to the work of the forge, however he dreams of being a gentleman.  One day, he finds himself in possession of 'great expectations.'

This story includes such magnificent characters aside from dear orphaned Pip.  There is Magwitch - a fearsome convict.  Estella - haughty beauty.  A jilted bride - Miss Havisham, who is greatly embittered.

This is a tale of crime, guilt, revenge and reward.  Does it have a happy ending?

This is also another one of Dickens' stories that has made it onto the silver screen multiple times. 

What is your favorite Dickens' novel?

Bibliophile Round-Up: June In Review

Where You Can Find Me:
Goodreads §§ tumblr §§ Twitter §§ Facebook

Welcome to June's Round-Up!  Here you'll find a collected gathering of everything that happened in the month of June...including all the books that I've read this month!  As you can see, this has been a very active month for the blog...mainly because I finally decided to force myself to find time to kick things up again...and I'd been neglecting my reading.  Hopefully starting in July, I will have some reviews going up (because I really, really do miss writing them!).

What I Read

1. Eighth Grade Bites by Heather Brewer
2. The Wizard of Time by G.L. Breeden
3. Feast, Stray, Love by Kevin Anthony
4. Roasting in Hell's Kitchen by Gordon Ramsey
5. Hoo-Doo Country Horrors by Johnathan Moon
6. The Pursuit of Happiness: 21 Spiritual Rules to Success by Jennifer O'Neill
7. Soul Enchilada by David Macinnis Gill
8. The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
9. 3500: An Autistic Boy's Ten-Year Romance with Snow White by Ron Miles
10. The Somali Doctrine by James Grenton
11. A Child al Confino: The True Story of a Jewish Boy and His Mother in Mussolini's Italy by Eric Lamet
12. Tales from the Crib by Jennifer Coburn
13. Champion by Marie Lu
14. Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez
15. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
16. So Long, Lollipops by Sarah Lyons Fleming
17. Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge
18. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
19. Bound in the Boardroom by Jenna McCormick
20. Wetter by Harper Bliss
21. The Shadow in the Garden by Braden McElroy
22. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia
23. The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
24. The Moon Dwellers by David Estes
25. Grave Witch by Kalayna Price
26. Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
27. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
28. Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
29. The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
30. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
31. The Journal of Curious Letters by James Dashner
32. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Books of the Week

1. May 31 - June 6: The 5th Wave
2. June 7 - June 13: The Name of the Wind
3. June 14 - June 20: The Tapestry
4. June 21 - 27: Game of Thrones
5. June 28 - July 4: Looking for Alaska

Book of the Month

1. June 2015: The Moon Dwellers

What's On My Kindle?

1. Episode Thirteen: Stephen King
2. Episode Fourteen: #TeamLexy
3. Episode Fifteen: All The Feels

Bibliophile Eats

1. Meat Pie
2. Fast Food Moments

#TBT

1. Lord of the Flies
2. Drums of Autum

Bibliophile Wish List

1. Julie Kagawa

Something New at Confessions

As you all may or may not know, I've started a tumblr that is dedicated to well, the one thing I love most dearly on the planet...books.  Yes, I've joined booklr. Starting in July, I will be participating in one of the many Book Photo Challenges that are circulating around the community.  I have chosen one in particular, and I will be working on photos through out the month.  You'll be able to see them here, on my instagram, the Confessions of a Bibliophile Facebook page,  my twitter, and of course on my tumblr page.

I encourage you to follow me on these platforms, so that way you can get the book recommendations, and see all the pictures as soon as possible.

Here is the list that I will be using for this Book Photo Challenge, as taken from Just One More Page's tumblr:

I will be setting up a page on this blog's homesite, so you can easily find a direct link to each image daily.  Also, beginning in July, expect to see regular reviews from me again.  I've been out of the loop lately, so the first few might be a bit rusty, so just please be patient.  As always, my reviews are cross-posted here, tumblr, goodreads, amazon, and new this month, Audible. 

I think that's about all the announcements I have for you today.  This month's book of the month went live earlier today, and this book has now become near and dear to my heart, because it will be one of the first audio book I do a review for, The Moon Dwellers by David Estes. 

Remember, keep reading! 

Sunday Morning

Good Morning everyone! *checks the clock* Yup, it is still morning.  I actually slept quite well last night, and tonight I'v gotta go to bed early because I have to work in the morning.  Bleh for that.  I'd rather stay here and work on my ever growing to be reviewed list.  My list is quite extensive as most of you know, I finished Dark Passage yesterday, but I've also still in the middle of reading The Forbidden Land, and I've not yet lemminged on Tigana by Gay Gavriel Kay, an extensive and epic read that I am doing for Sword and Laser for their group read this month.

The reviews I need to get done this week are:
     Gallies

1. The Bastard by Brenda Novak (the title is Honor Bound for the published copy)
2. One Moment by Kristina McBride
3. Code Named Verity by Elizabeth Wein
4. Scars by Cheryl Rainfield

    Author Read and Review

1. Dark Passage by Griffin Hayes
2. The Sky  Inside You by Marco Moreno Flores (need to read)
3. Jaguar Sun by Martha Bourke (need to read)

    Need to Post to Smashwords

1. Believe by E. Leighanne Grimm-Weever
2. Reflection by Jessica Roberts
3. A Story Not Wished to be Read by Nicola Black

Beyond that, everything is kinda up in the air with things here at Confessions of a Bibliophile.  I've got a couple of things brewing, and waiting on some questions back for an author interview series (that has kind of stalled).  I've got to also get together for another give away or two.  But, since my desktop has kind of finally decided to bite the big one for the most part, I've been working on my netbook which is much smaller and I can't do much on as I want to.  So, things are going to be slow, and I'm not sure where my external CD drive is so I can install my camera software for bibliophile eats...which saddens me. 

Other than that, is there anything that you my dear readers would like to see from me? I've also been considering a video review of things, or just an update of my TBR list :) Awesomeness! 

Book Review: Malice by Griffin Hayes

Title:  Malice
Author: Griffin Hayes
Rating: 5/5

Summary:  When a series of shocking suicides rock the small town of Millingham, Massachusetts, the authorities are left with a single burning question. Why are all the victims gouging their eyes out?

Only seventeen-year-old Lysander Shore knows these aren't suicides at all. There's a serial killer stalking the people of Millingham. One that murders at will and never leaves a trace.

Soon, the long trail of bodies leads Lysander to a dark secret. One that traces back to a witch's trial and execution 350 years ago. The deeper he digs, the more he realizes the victims aren't nearly as random as they seem. In fact, the killer has a list and Lysander is next (taken from Goodreads.com).


Review:  This book, is definitely amongst my favorites.  I was drawn to the cover, drawn to the story from the blurb and it made me pause and go, “Alright, now I have to read this…,” and got it from Amazon.com for my Kindle and read it in just less than a full day – it sucked me in and wouldn’t let me go. 

I love paranormal, I love thriller and everything in between.  His writing is fantastic and there was little problem keeping my attention considering how quickly I finished this book.  There is murder, there is mystery and a small sampling of romance.  While it is all those things, it is also a bit of murder/suicide, creepy, witches, paranormal thriller type of book (stolen from Tana's Review because the wording is exactly what I’d use to describe this book!)

Dark secrets and shadows abound, and Lysander is the key, but can he unravel everything before he himself ends up like everyone else connected to the past, dead.  This is definitely a MUST read for any young adult paranormal lover!


If you have any questions, comments or recommendations you can contact me at simplicity.kindreth@gmail.com
My reviews can be found here:
http://caedmoneries.wordpress.com
http://www.tumblr.com/caedy
http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/caesreviews

My New Home

Hello to all my wonderful readers.  As you can see, I've opted to move locations.  Wordpress was beginning to give me more trouble than I really wanted to deal with.  So, I've opted to switch to blogspot, which will allow me a bit more customization freedom and things of that nature.  I am still learning, I am still fighting with thing to get them just the way I want them and of course, you are more than welcome to follow me here as well.  I will not be using the old blog for reviews, though it will still be kept for archive purposes.  I will probably be using it for my writing from now on, and perhaps cross-post some things like daily updates and things of that nature...or I might just have it dedicated to my artwork.

So, as you can see, I am currently in the process of setting myself up here.  If anyone can recommend gadgets for me to add (how to find them easily would be helpful as well) and things of that nature I would GREATLY be in your debt.  I will also be working on getting things together for Confessions, such as more author interviews, and various other things.

Currently, I've got a giveaway that will be complete next weekend.  I am giving away five copies of Angel Evolution by David Estes as he is my first EVER author interview and his interview will be going live on Sunday!

Excited!

By the way, the first two winners of my give away are: Todd Howell and Kathryn Dawson.  YAYAYAY!  More winners will be coming next week!