This blog meme is hosted by Book Date. It is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment, and er… add to that ever growing TBR pile!
What I just finished:
This weekend I finished The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, The Dresser and the Wardrobeby Angela Kelly.
What I’m currently reading:
I’m currently reading The Queen of Nothing (The Folk of the Air #3) by Holly Black.
What I’m reading next:
Next I will be reading Homes: A Refugee Story by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah and Winnie Yeung.
What are you guys reading this week? Have you read any of these books?
The meme that dares to ask what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today! This meme is hosted by Midnight Book Girl.
This Sunday I’m reading The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe by Angela Kelly.
Goodreads Synopsis:
THE OFFICIAL BOOK, FULLY ENDORSED BY QUEEN ELIZABETH II
From Her Majesty’s trusted confidant and Dresser Angela Kelly LVO comes a lavishly designed book of never-before-seen photos of The Queen, Her wardrobe and Her jewels and features intimate anecdotes from Angela’s 25-year career working closely with Her Majesty. A truly unique keepsake and collectors’ item to be treasured.
‘For the nearly seven decades of her reign, Her Majesty The Queen has used clothing to create a powerful visual identity that transcends fashion and has made her perhaps the most readily identifiable person on the planet. Angela Kelly, building on the work of the great designers and milliners who have worked with Her Majesty through the years – including couturiers Sir Norman Hartnell, Sir Hardy Amies, and Ian Thomas, and milliners such as Simone Mirman and Freddy Fox – brings her own imagination to bear on an iconic ‘uniform’ that suggests continuity and tradition, and ensures that the wearer is always the most visible person in a room or a crowd.’–Anna Wintour, Vogue
When Angela Kelly and The Queen are together, laughter echoes through the corridors of Buckingham Palace. Angela has worked with The Queen and walked the corridors of the Royal Household for twenty-five years, initially as Her Majesty’s Senior Dresser and then latterly as Her Majesty’s Personal Advisor, Curator, Wardrobe and In-house Designer. As the first person in history to hold this title, she shares a uniquely close working relationship with The Queen.
In The Other Side of the Coin, The Queen has personally given Angela her blessing to share their extraordinary bond with the world. Whether it’s preparing for a formal occasion or brightening Her Majesty’s day with a playful joke, Angela’s priority is to serve and support. Sharing never-before-seen photographs – many from Angela’s own private collection – and charming anecdotes of their time spent together, this revealing book provides memorable insights into what it’s like to work closely with The Queen, to curate her wardrobe and to discover a true and lasting connection along the way.
This December I will be participating in the Reindeer Readathon, which is hosted by BreakEven Books. It takes place between December 1-31. You have to read books that fit into a list of prompts to earn points for your team.
It is the last day to sign up (November 30).
This is the list of prompts:
This is my TBR for the readathon:
Dasher: Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Dancer: On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
Prancer: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Vixen: Queen of Nothing by Holly Black
Comet: Homes: A Refugee Story by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah, Winnie Yeung
Cupid: A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan
Donner: The Gown by Jennifer Robson
Blitzen: Guts by Raina Telgemeier
Rudolph: Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass by Mariko Tamaki, Steven Pugh
Title: Angel Catbird, Vol. 2: To Castle Catula Author: Margaret Atwood, Johnnie Christmas, Tamra Bonvillain Genre: Science Fiction, Graphic Novel Publisher: Dark Horse Source: Purchased Format: Paperback Release Date: February 14, 2017 Rating: ★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
The cat-centric adventure continues, in the all-ages follow-up to best-selling novelist Margaret Atwood’s debut graphic novel. Genetic engineer Strig Feleedus, also known as Angel Catbird, and his band of half-cats head to Castle Catula to seek allies as the war between cats and rats escalates.
Margaret Atwood, the respected, worldwide best-selling novelist, and acclaimed artist Johnnie Christmas continue their action-packed adventure!
Review:
The cat/humans had to run away from the rat creator, Murtroid, in this second volume. They travel through the forest to Count Catula’s castle.
I love the cat references in this series! There were new cats in this book, including NeferKitti (who is the real Nefertiti) and her mummykittens, as well as the bird human Athen-Owl (who is the Greek goddess Athena). These were really funny references.
There were more great cat facts in this book, too. Every few pages, there are some facts about cats and their impact on the world. This included how many people abandon cats and how many species of birds that cats have been involved in making extinct.
I love this series! It’s funny and great for cat lovers!
This is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and Reading Reality. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!
I was approved for two books on NetGalley from Simon and Schuster Canada:
We Are the Wildcats by Siobhan Vivian
The Honey-Don’t List by Christina Lauren
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for this book!
Title: The Marrow Thieves Author: Cherie Dimaline Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction Publisher: Dancing Cat Books Source: Purchased Format: Paperback Release Date: May 10, 2017 Rating: ★★★★★
Goodreads Synopsis:
In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America’s Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world. But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the “recruiters” who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing “factories.”
Review:
This is an amazing story that mixes the ancient Native Canadian culture with a futuristic dystopia.
In the world of this novel, Native Canadians were being rounded up so they could be studied. They were the only people who still dream, and everyone else wanted to take that ability back from them. It was unclear why they were the only people left with the ability to dream. The characters in this story had to run away into the forests to escape capture.
This story was character driven, with a very strong cast. Their only goal was to go north, so they kept walking. There was a group of kids and adults, who were not related, but lived together because they had lost the rest of their families.
The characters had detailed backstories, which were devastating to read about. There was a lot of pain in their individual histories, which was reminiscent of the real history of Native people in Canada. Many parts were difficult to read, but it is important to know these stories because they represent our real history.
This book had a beautiful ending, which made all the pain worth it. I loved the story!
What to read next:
Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
Have you read The Marrow Thieves? What did you think of it?
This is a weekly meme hosted by Wandering Words, where you give the first few lines of a book to hook your readers before introducing the book.
Here are my first lines:
“About thirty years ago, Miss Maria Ward, of Huntingdon, with only seven thousand pounds, had the good luck to captivate Sir Thomas Bertram, of Mansfield Park, in the county of Northampton, and to be thereby raised to the rank of a baronet’s lady, with all the comforts and consequences of an handsome house and large income.”
Do you recognize these first lines?
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And the book is… Mansfield Park by Jane Austen.
Goodreads synopsis:
Adopted into the household of her uncle, Sir Thomas Bertram, Fanny Price grows up a meek outsider among her cousins in the unaccustomed elegance of Mansfield Park. Soon after Sir Thomas absents himself on estate business in Antigua (the family’s investment in slavery and sugar is considered in the Introduction in a new, post-colonial light), Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive at Mansfield, bringing with them London glamour, and the seductive taste for flirtation and theatre that precipitates a crisis. While Mansfield Park appears in some ways to continue where Pride and Prejudice left off, it is, as Kathryn Sutherland shows in her illuminating Introduction, a much darker work, which challenges ‘the very values (of tradition, stability, retirement and faithfulness) it appears to endorse’. This new edition provides an accurate text based, for the first time since its original publication, on the first edition of 1814.
Have you read Mansfield Park? What did you think of it?
One is Ne’wt, for one bear. Two is Ta’pu, for two women at the sacred fire. Counting from one to ten in English and Mi’kmaw, baby is introduced to both the ancestral language of Mi’kmaki and to Mi’kmaw culture and legend, through beautifully rendered illustrations of important animals, like turtle, bear, and beaver, to concepts integral to the Mi’kmaw world view, like the Four (Ne’w) Directions, and the Seven (L’luiknek) Mi’kmaw teachings. Features bright and detailed illustrations from celebrated Waycobah-based Mi’kmaw illustrator, Loretta Gould.
Review:
I read this book as part of the Toronto Public Library reading challenge for 2019. It is a great children’s book!
This book teaches children how to count to ten in English and Mi’kmaw. The numbers and words that describe the illustrations are written in both languages.
The illustrations are beautiful. They contain images from the natural world in the Native style. They were detailed and a wonderful addition to the story.
I really liked this book. I’m glad to see a children’s book that is an introduction to Native Canadian culture, which is an important part of Canadian history.
What to read next:
Fox and Squirrel Help Out by Ruth Ohi
Have you read Counting in Mi’kmaw? What did you think of it?
