Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 36

#nostalgiajunkie Season 2 Announcement

If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you know that Bibliomancy for Beginners has been fighting over what book series we were going to do for the second season of Nostalgia Junkie: His Dark Materials or So You Want to be a Wizard. If you missed the first season, Nostalgia Junkie is a special series where we read books from our childhoods as adults, and last year we did the entire ten books of the Pendragon series by DJ MacHale.

We finally closed the poll for season 2, and here’s the announcement video!

THE WEEKLY WRAP UPS THAT NEVER WERE!

Okay, these are still late. But you know what, these exist. We’re wrapping up the last two weeks in a weird, timey-wimey video that shows that we really did try to have these out on time. The editing just never happened because Michaela and I are struggling to find a new rhythm in our new post-grad lives. Please love us while we fix this kinks!

Monday, May 23

Gretchen’s From the Notebook: Why There’s No Love Triangle in ACoMaF

Tuesday, May 24

Gretchen’s Ruler of Books Tag
Michaela’s Ruler of Books Tag

Wednesday, May 25

Michaela’s Review of Vision: Little Worse Than a Man
Gretchen’s Worth It Wednesday: Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen

Thursday, May 26

Michaela’s Mon-Thursday Musing: Moving On Up!

Friday, May 27

Gretchen’s Review of Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
Michaela’s discussion Am I a Book Hoarder?

Monday, May 30

Gretchen’s May Wrap Up

Tuesday, May 31

Bibliomancy for Beginners Season 4, Episode 1: Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Wednesday, June 1

Gretchen’s Worth It Wednesday: The Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce
Michaela’s May Wrap Up

Friday, June 3

Gretchen’s ARC Review of The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May
Michaela’s Summer Reads Recommendations

 

From the Notebook: Are Genres False Labels?

WHEE trying to do this without school is even harder somehow! Anyways, I actually got this video up in time. Unfortunately, it’s a bit out of focus. So sorry, but I literally didn’t have time to refilm it and that’s how the cookie crumbles. I’m about to leave for an academic conference, and ohmygosh. Anyways! This is a question for you guys as well as some thoughts, so start thinking with me!

ARC Review: “The Vanishing Throne” by Elizabeth May

Wow, what a trippy experience. I filmed this review back in February, and I haven’t even watched it since then. I am very, very enthusiastic about this book. Like a lot. How cute of past Gretchen. Anyways! Let’s just get started. In case you missed my long and storied history with this series, here’s my videos on the first book, The Falconer:

Bibliomancy for Beginners: The Falconer by Elizabeth May
Re-Review: The Falconer by Elizabeth May
30 Seconds to Disagree: The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May

Thanks to NetGalley and Chronicle Books for this eARC!

Worth It Wednesdays: “Circle of Magic” series by Tamora Pierce

Worth It Wednesdays is a weekly post where I feature my favorite YA titles. Find out more about it here!

Title (of first book): Sandry’s Book

Author: Tamora Pierce

Goodreads Description (of first book): With her gift of weaving silk thread and creating light, Sandry is brought to the Winding Circle community. There she meets Briar, a former thief who has a way with plants; Daja, an outcast gifted at metalcraft; and Tris, whose connection with the weather unsettles everyone, including herself. At Winding Circle, the four misfits are taught how to use their magic – and to trust one another. But then disaster strikes their new home. Can Sandry weave together four kinds of magical power and save herself, her friends, and the one place where they’ve ever been accepted?

Why it’s worth it: You know, these books get a lot less love than Tamora’s Tortall books, and that’s always struck me as pretty unfair. Do I like those books better? Actually, yes. But the Circle of Magic books do so many important things that, really, these are just as worth it.

This world is BIG. There are two sets of connected quartets (one with the foursome together, and one while they are apart). Then there is the novel where they all come back together again. Then there are two other novels that are related to Briar and a character that is introduced in one of Briar’s books. PHEW.

But that is the seriously cool thing about this series. For one, Tris, Sandry, Briar and Daja are all very different people. They come from very different backgrounds and go very different places with their future. In the first four books, it’s all about them finding a way through their differences to work together as a team. In the second quartet, they figure up how to grow up apart. While people are going to tend to like some of the characters over others, there is literally someone for everyone. There are so many unique struggles that there is always something to connect to. Reading the standalone novel where they all come back together is heartbreaking because these once close people have their own secrets and scars and they have to figure out what their “family” means to them once again. I love it.

And when I’m talking about struggles, I’m not talking small scale. Sure, there are your typical self-acceptance and self-growth story lines. But these happen while the characters are doing everything from surviving genocide and the resulting PTSD to figuring out their own sexuality. The Circle of Magic books talk about a LOT of topics that, at the time they were published, I hadn’t really seen in young adult publishing.

That’s why these books deserve so much more love than they get. They start off amazing, and they only get better and more intense. They say so many important things, for people of all ages. If you haven’t read these yet, the largess of the series is totally worth it–and, really, not big enough.

Read it if you’re looking for: strong female characters, rotating POVs, LGBTQAI+ novels, long series, books about war, books about PTSD, magic, action, adventure, strong world building, books about family, books without a lot of romance

Bibliomancy for Beginners Season 4 Episode 1: “Bone Gap” by Laura Ruby

Summer is officially HERE! The fourth season of Bibliomancy for Beginners is off to a great start! We filmed our first of six episodes last night on Bone Gap by Laura Ruby and … well. It was everything we could have hoped for and more! Taylor and I agreed! *gasp* Michaela went to the mat to defend the literary! Taylor blew my mind and then we talked about moose. Seriously. Watch it. This was a damn fine opener.

In TWO WEEKS we will be reading Invisible Fault Lines by Kristen-Paige Madonia. If you want to read along at some point this summer, please see our schedule announcement video for the list of books!

May 2016 Wrap Up

Instead of a From the Notebook video, you get a wrap up a few days early! Even early, May was a MUCH better reading month to me than April. I’ve gone from 10/40 in the PopSugar Reading Challenge to 15/40 AND I’m almost halfway there in my Goodreads goal of reading 100 books this year. Go me!

Posts mentioned in video:

April 2016 Wrap Up
Review: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
From the Notebook: Why There’s No Love Triangle in ACoMaF
Betwixt the Books Reviews: A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
#imbibliomancy: Drunk Book Club with Death Vigil by Stjepan Sejic
Review: Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
Thesis Thursday: Big News that has Nothing to do with My Thesis

Review: “Lady Midnight” by Cassandra Clare

I am still really sick, so this review is a bit out of sorts BUT it’s really important to me because I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. I didn’t like the romantic plot line I thought was coming, but the emotional weight of the entire family dynamic made it a love and must read for me!

Worth It Wednesdays: “The Queen of the Tearling” by Erika Johansen

Worth It Wednesdays is a weekly post where I feature my favorite YA titles. Find out more about it here!

Title: The Queen of the Tearling

Author: Erika Johansen

Goodreads Description: An untested young princess must claim her throne, learn to become a queen, and combat a malevolent sorceress in an epic battle between light and darkness in this spectacular debut—the first novel in a trilogy.

Young Kelsea Raleigh was raised in hiding after the death of her mother, Queen Elyssa, far from the intrigues of the royal Keep and in the care of two devoted servants who pledged their lives to protect her. Growing up in a cottage deep in the woods, Kelsea knows little of her kingdom’s haunted past . . . or that its fate will soon rest in her hands.

Long ago, Kelsea’s forefathers sailed away from a decaying world to establish a new land free of modern technology. Three hundred years later, this feudal society has divided into three fearful nations who pay duties to a fourth: the powerful Mortmesne, ruled by the cunning Red Queen. Now, on Kelsea’s nineteenth birthday, the tattered remnants of the Queen’s Guard—loyal soldiers who protect the throne—have appeared to escort the princess on a perilous journey to the capital to ascend to her rightful place as the new Queen of the Tearling.

Though born of royal blood and in possession of the Tear sapphire, a jewel of immense power and magic, Kelsea has never felt more uncertain of her ability to rule. But the shocking evil she discovers in the heart of her realm will precipitate an act of immense daring, throwing the entire kingdom into turmoil—and unleashing the Red Queen’s vengeance. A cabal of enemies with an array of deadly weapons, from crimson-caped assassins to the darkest blood magic, plots to destroy her. But Kelsea is growing in strength and stealth, her steely resolve earning her loyal allies, including the Queen’s Guard, led by the enigmatic Lazarus, and the intriguing outlaw known simply as “the Fetch.”

Kelsea’s quest to save her kingdom and meet her destiny has only just begun. Riddled with mysteries, betrayals, and treacherous battles, Kelsea’s journey is a trial by fire that will either forge a legend . . . or destroy her.

Why it’s worth it: First off, I love the murky area of genre that this novel fits into. Is it YA? Is it not? How do you decide what’s YA? Because if you go by age of character, it is. If you go by writing style … maybe it isn’t? I’m not the biggest fan of high fantasy. I usually get bored.However, this included all the things that I love about high fantasy while keeping the action moving and not bogging down the paragraphs with unnecessary genealogies or something. When I tried to convince Michaela to read this in a 30 Seconds to Disagree video, this was one of my key points.

Secondly, I don’t often identify personally with many characters. I like a lot of characters and want to be my friend, but I don’t often read a character and think “that could be me!” The last time was Hermione. However, with Kelsea, I got that sense again. She REALLY is unprepared to be queen, and she has a temper problem that leaves her flailing. She tries so hard to do the queen thing right, but she doesn’t always succeed. She has body issues. She likes books. Watching her grow just over the course of the first book was amazing, and I came to absolutely love her.

Actually, great cast of characters all around. There were so many people with in-depth quirks and characterization that I liked when they were on screen. Even the “Evil Queen” gets to a point where you wonder just how much more there is to her than her “evilness.”

The setting is weird as all get out, especially considering the high fantasy vibe, because I guess technically it’s also dystopian? It’s weird, and it only gets weirder in the second book–and I like that. It’s not your typical Tolkien-esque fantasy world, and it opens up new spaces to think about. In the Drunk Book Club episode we did on this book, this was a point of contention, but I still think it’s cool.

I think the whole thing is cool. And so does Emma Watson, by the way. She’s making this book into a movie!

Read it if you’re looking for: strong female characters, high fantasy that won’t put you to sleep, strong cast of characters, interesting world building, believable teenage queen, action, adventure, magic, books without romance

Ruler of Books Tag

This week’s Betwixt content comes in the form of tags! This is my version of the Ruler of Books Tag, originally created by Ariel Bissett, and Michaela’s is coming later today. Once again, apologies for being super sick during filming, and I’m not quite on the mend yet anyways, but! That doesn’t change a thing about my devotion.