Where Is Your Bookmark: Scoundrels and Pirates & Hot Cocoa

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

There was no possibility of walking to the library that day. [opening of The Wisteria Lady of Lady Scoundrels]

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

"Arithmetic," the captain had scoffed. "What nonsense! I won't allow it. You need to live your life like wild poetry!"

He'd snatched the book, tossed it on the hearth fire, and given her a toy gun instead.

The memory tugged on her as she tried to haul herself out of drugged unconsciousness toward a familiar smell of old dusty wood. [excerpt from 56% of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels]

I only recently started reading India Holton's The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels and so am not too far in yet. It's silly and fun. It wasn't quite what I was expecting even having read the synopsis. I look forward to reading more. 

A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance.

Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She's also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it's a pleasant existence. Until the men show up.

Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he's under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman.

When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her--hopefully proving, once and for all, that she's as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them. [Goodreads Summary]

Have you read this book? Does it sound like something you would enjoy?

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

Do you drink tea or coffee while reading? (submitted by Billy of Coffee Addicted Writer)

 

I am not a tea or coffee drinker. More likely than not, you will find me drinking water while I read and occasionally hot cocoa, preferably with whipped cream on top (but marshmallows will do in a pinch). 

What better way to drink hot cocoa than in a bookish themed mug? For Connect Five Friday, I thought I would share 5 mugs that I wouldn't mind adding to my mug collection: 

Connect Five Friday is a weekly meme where readers share a list of five books, 

read or unread, or bookish things, that share a common theme. 

Hosted by the  Kathryn of of Book Date.

What is your preferred drink while reading? 

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

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© 2022 Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Where Is Your Bookmark: My Recent Read & Dystopia or Utopia?

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

It's often a man's mouth that breaks his nose, my uncle Mick was fond of saying, and the bloke in front of me was doing his best to test the theory. [opening of The Key to Deceit by Ashley Weaver]

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

I was awakened at the crack of dawn by a sharp rapping on the door of my flat. I looked at my clock. It was five in the morning. [excerpt from 56% of The Key to Deceit]

I love that first line. Isn't it the truth sometimes?  These excerpts come from an early release copy of Ashley Weaver's The Key to Deceit. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, A Peculiar Combination, and was excited to start this one. 

The second in the Electra McDonnell series from Edgar-nominated author Ashley Weaver, The Key to Deceit, is a delightful World War II mystery filled with spies, murder, romance, and wit.

London, 1940. After years of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor—well, to themselves, anyway—Ellie McDonnell and her family have turned over a new leaf as they help the government’s war effort. It’s true that the straight-laced Major Ramsey didn’t give them much choice, but still, Ellie must admit she doesn’t miss breaking and entering as much as she might have thought. What she does miss is the challenge of unlocking an impossible code and the adrenaline rush that comes from being somewhere she shouldn’t.

So when Major Ramsey turns up unannounced with another job, she can’t say no. A woman’s body has been found floating in the Thames, with a bracelet locked onto her wrist, and a cameo locket attached to it. It’s clear this woman was involved in espionage, but whose side was she on? Who was she reporting to? And who wanted her dead?

Does this sound like something you would enjoy? Did you read the first book in the series? 

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

Which do you think is more likely - clean utopia or frenzied dystopia? (Julie @ Stepping Stone Book Reviews)

 

This is actually last week's Book Blogger Hop question, but it gave me an idea for this week's Connect Five feature and so I decided to include it here. There is often a fine line between utopian and dystopian societies. The idea of a clean utopia may sound good on the surface, but underneath there always seems to lurk something darker; we see this a lot in fiction--and even when looking at real life communities that carry that promise. Cults, anyone? There's another way of looking at it too. For those on the inside, life may seem like a utopia, but for those on the outside . . . not so much.  If recent years are anything to go by, a frenzied dystopia is more likely--some would even argue we are already there. 

Five books I enjoyed reading that fit the dystopia/utopia theme: 

After the Flood by Kassandra Montag

The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist, Marlaine Delargy

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Connect Five Friday is a weekly meme where readers share a list of five books, 

read or unread, or bookish things, that share a common theme. 

Hosted by the  Kathryn of of Book Date.

What are some of your favorite dystopia and/or utopia novels?

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

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© 2022 Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Where Is Your Bookmark: Books with "Burning" in the Title

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

"You smell like smoke," my mother said to me. [Opening of A Burning]

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

For the rest of the day, we fall and die from knowing, but never being able to say, especially to our mothers, that the inside of the prison is an unreachable place. So what if there is a courtyard, and a garden, and a TV room? The guards tell us over and over that we live well, we live better than the trapped souls in the men's prison. Still we feel we are living at the bottom of the well. We are frogs. All we can bear to tell our mothers is "I am fine. I am fine." 

We tell them, "I walk in the garden."

"I watch TV."

"Don't worry about me. I am fine." [excerpt from pgs 56-57 of A Burning]

Here is a peek into one of my recent reads, A Burning by Megha Majumdar. The novel follows the thoughts of different characters, but both of these excerpts happen to fall under Jivan's section. I find the second excerpt especially compelling--and sad. 

For readers of Tommy Orange, Yaa Gyasi, and Jhumpa Lahiri, an electrifying debut novel about three unforgettable characters who seek to rise—to the middle class, to political power, to fame in the movies—and find their lives entangled in the wake of a catastrophe in contemporary India.

Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, determined to move up in life, who is accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is an opportunistic gym teacher who hitches his aspirations to a right-wing political party, and finds that his own ascent becomes linked to Jivan's fall. Lovely--an irresistible outcast whose exuberant voice and dreams of glory fill the novel with warmth and hope and humor--has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.

Taut, symphonic, propulsive, and riveting from its opening lines, A Burning has the force of an epic while being so masterfully compressed it can be read in a single sitting. Majumdar writes with dazzling assurance at a breakneck pace on complex themes that read here as the components of a thriller: class, fate, corruption, justice, and what it feels like to face profound obstacles and yet nurture big dreams in a country spinning toward extremism. An extraordinary debut.

Does this sound like something you would like to read? Have you read it? If so, what did you think?

Connect Five Friday is a weekly meme where readers share a list of five books, 

read or unread, or bookish things, that share a common theme. 

Hosted by the  Kathryn of of Book Date.

I have a handful of books that have been on my TBR shelf for awhile now with the word "burning" in the title. Lets take a look! 

The Burning by Jane Casey

Ninth City Burning by J. Patrick Black

The Burning Island by Hester Young

Burning for You by Michele Dunaway

The Burning Chambers by Kate Mosse

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? 

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

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© 2022 Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Where Is Your Bookmark: A Wedding and a Dead Body & Connect Five: Top of My Graphic Novel/Manga TBR Pile

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

There is a curse in my family.  [opening line from prologue of Dial A for Aunties]

and

I take a deep breath before pushing open the swing doors. Noise spills out, a cacophony of Mandarin and Cantonese, and I step aside so Ma can walk inside before me. [opening lines from first chapter of Dial A for Aunties]

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

I run all the way back to my room. Even before I open the door, I can hear the faint sound of music. I tap the key card at the door sensor frantically and burst into the room. Fourth Aunt jumps up, then sighs when she sees me. [excerpt from 56% of Dial A for Aunties]

The opening grabbed me right away--a family curse definitely piqued my interest. I also like the way the first chapter opens. The first two sentences give us a sense of place as well as where the main character's head is in the moment with just a breath. She is mentally preparing herself for what is to come. I am just past the excerpt from 56% in the novel as of right now. It does not reveal much out of context--Meddy is obviously in a hurry to get back to her room. Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto had me laughing out loud early on and just keeps getting better. It is proving to be the perfect read for de-stressing after work.

What happens when you mix 1 (accidental) murder with 2 thousand wedding guests, and then toss in a possible curse on 3 generations of an immigrant Chinese-Indonesian family?

You get 4 meddling Asian aunties coming to the rescue!

When Meddelin Chan ends up accidentally killing her blind date, her meddlesome mother calls for her even more meddlesome aunties to help get rid of the body. Unfortunately, a dead body proves to be a lot more challenging to dispose of than one might anticipate, especially when it is inadvertently shipped in a cake cooler to the over-the-top billionaire wedding Meddy, her Ma, and aunties are working at an island resort on the California coastline. It's the biggest job yet for the family wedding business—"Don't leave your big day to chance, leave it to the Chans!"—and nothing, not even an unsavory corpse, will get in the way of her auntie's perfect buttercream flowers.

But things go from inconvenient to downright torturous when Meddy's great college love—and biggest heartbreak—makes a surprise appearance amid the wedding chaos. Is it possible to escape murder charges, charm her ex back into her life, and pull off a stunning wedding all in one weekend? [Goodreads Summary]

Does this sound like something you would enjoy reading? If you have read it, what did you think? What are you reading right now? 

Connect Five Friday is a weekly meme where readers share a list of five books, 

read or unread, or bookish things, that share a common theme. 

Hosted by the  Kathryn of of Book Date.

I enjoy reading graphic novels from time to time and thought I would share five graphic novels/manga I hope to read soon. 

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 5 by Kamome Shirahama, translated by Stephen Kohler

Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Spy x Family, Vol. 1 by Tatsuya Endo, translated by Casey Loe

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott, Harmony Becker

We Hereby Refuse: Japanese American Resistance to Wartime Incarceration by Frank Abe, Tamiko Nimura, Matt Sasaki, Ross Ishikawa 

Do you read graphic novels or manga? Have you read any of these? Are there any you would recommend? 

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

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© 2022 Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Where Is Your Bookmark: Maps and Favorite Books Read From Ten Years Ago

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the amazing Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

In the dim light of her desk's single bulb lamp, the map nearly glowed. [opening of The Cartographers (e-galley)]

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

I don't know how it happened--isn't that what everyone who betrays someone says? But I don't know how it happened. I just know why. [56% of The Cartographers, (e-galley)]

I am just over a third of the way into Peng Shepherd's The Cartographers, which I like so far. It is a little more slow going than I anticipated, but that is not a criticism of the book. It is a compelling read. The opening line seems a fitting beginning given the novel's focus on maps and their makers, don't you think?  I have not yet reached the second excerpt I shared above. I am even more intrigued now! What happened?! Why did it happen?! I cannot wait to find out.

From the critically acclaimed author of The Book of M, a highly imaginative thriller about a young woman who discovers that a strange map in her deceased father’s belongings holds an incredible, deadly secret—one that will lead her on an extraordinary adventure and to the truth about her family’s dark history.

What is the purpose of a map?

Nell Young’s whole life and greatest passion is cartography. Her father, Dr. Daniel Young, is a legend in the field, and Nell’s personal hero. But she hasn't seen or spoken to him ever since he cruelly fired her and destroyed her reputation after an argument over an old, cheap gas station highway map.

But when Dr. Young is found dead in his office at the New York Public Library, with the very same seemingly worthless map hidden in his desk, Nell can’t resist investigating. To her surprise, she soon discovers that the map is incredibly valuable, and also exceedingly rare. In fact, she may now have the only copy left in existence… because a mysterious collector has been hunting down and destroying every last one—along with anyone who gets in the way.

But why?

To answer that question, Nell embarks on a dangerous journey to reveal a dark family secret, and discover the true power that lies in maps...

Perfect for fans of Joe Hill and V.E. Schwab, The Cartographers is an ode to art and science, history and magic—a spectacularly imaginative, modern story about an ancient craft and places still undiscovered. [Goodreads Summary]

Does The Cartographers sound like something you would enjoy reading? What book do you have your bookmark in right now? 

Connect Five Friday is a weekly meme where readers share a list of five books, 

read or unread, or bookish things, that share a common theme. 

Hosted by the  Kathryn of of Book Date.

Today I am highlighting my top five books read in 2012. I think back on these books and I swear it does not feel like it has been so long since I read them. Two of these are among my all time favorite books still today.  

Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy

Every Day by David Levithan

The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Darkfever by Karen Moning

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? Do you remember what your favorite book read was in 2012? 

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

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© 2022 Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.