Gretchen C. Hohmeyer's Blog, page 49
October 5, 2015
Betwixt the Books: Unpopular Opinions Book Tag
Michaela and I are back with more booktube videos for you! It’s a few more book tags as we get into the swing of things – this one about Unpopular Opinions! Thanks to Kat from Cuddlebuggery for showing me this awesome tag.
This is probably the most emotional and ranty Michaela and I have ever gotten together. It’s a good time!
As the pair to this video, Michaela is posting our Inside Out Tag video on her blog, so don’t miss that!
The questions for this tag are:
1. A Popular Book or series that you didn’t like.
2. A Popular Book or series that every one else seems to hate but you love.
3. A Love Triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with (warn ppl for spoilers) OR an OTP that you don’t like.
4. A popular book Genre that you hardly reach for.
5. A popular or beloved character that you do not like.
6. A popular author that you can’t seem to get into.
7. A popular book trope that you’re tired of seeing. (examples “lost princess”, corrupt ruler, love triangles, etc.)
8. A popular series that you have no interest in reading.
9. The saying goes “The book is always better than the movie”, but what movie or T.V. show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?
Quick message from Michaela: Last week we had issues with audio, this week we have issues with the editor. I finished editing these videos and my editor wouldn’t let me export the edits, so we have this footage for you raw and unfiltered. I hope the awkward pauses weren’t too awkward for you, and we didn’t ramble too much. Some day I will get this filming and editing down to a T I swear.
October 4, 2015
Bibliomancy for Beginners Nostalgia Junkie: “The Soldiers of Halla” by DJ MacHale + Wrap Up
WE’VE DONE IT. WE’VE MADE IT. TEN BOOKS LATER AND HALLA’S FATE IS ABOUT TO BE DECIDED FOR GOOD.
Ahem. Let me be responsible for a second.
Welcome back all to this special Bibliomancy for Beginners series, Nostalgia Junkie! This ten part special goes book by book through one the favorite childhood series of Head Bibliomancer Michaela from The Pied Piper Calls. Us, with special guest Casey from The Drunk Librarian, have gone week by week through all ten books.
This week we’re talking about the tenth and final book, The Soldiers of Halla. I finally, finally, get to explode with all the rage that I’ve pent up since I finished this series as a kid, Casey talks one last time about Bobby-Jesus and Michaela tries valiantly to defend this series as the best of childhood things.
It’s been a while ride, and we thank you for being a part of it. While we don’t have any plans for a new series yet, be assured that we are talking about it! For now, though, one last time – HOBEY HO!
Previous Episodes:
October 3, 2015
#imbibliomancy: Drunk Book Club with “Daughter of Smoke and Bone” by Laini Taylor
The Bibliomancer team promised you more book club this semester, and we meant it. This time, with a very special bonus: all of the core team (since we’re all over 21!) came to this book club pretty tipsy–and we’re in the same room! With our English major love of pretentious discussion of literature, we figured that it really couldn’t get anymore hilarious than if we added alcohol to the mix.
We were correct.
Come watch and/or listen to our discussion of Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone, which was my pick and MICHAELA AND TAYLOR BOTH LIKED IT. (If you’ve watched any of my pick videos before, you know that this is harder than pulling teeth [book plot pun intended].) That said, there is no end to the hilarity, whether we’re playing with Michaela’s hats, the mic is falling into the pizza, or we’re just generally … imbibed. There is also a GREAT discussion of the book somehow. CHECK IT OUT!
Below that video I’m adding our pregame test stream, if you’re bored. It’s us just hanging out and eating pizza, but it’s also hilarious.
Keeping you aware, November’s pick is Micheala’s–One Rainy Day in May by Mark Z. Danielewski–and December’s pick is Taylor’s–The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro.
September 30, 2015
Thesis Thursdays: Review – Poison by Bridget Zinn
Thesis Thursdays is a weekly(ish) feature where I rant, love and talk about young adult books I’m reading because I’m conning my college into thinking this is all for academia! Find out more here!
Poison by Bridget Zinn
Published March 12, 2013, by Disney-Hyperion
Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she’s the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom’s future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.
But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart . . . misses.
Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king’s army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she’s not alone. She’s armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can’t stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?
Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she’s certainly no damsel-in-distress—she’s the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.
Two stars
When I realized that I was doing female assassins for my thesis, I bought this one basically without thinking about it. I’d wanted it for a while, and it seemed PERFECT. This synopsis looked A+ on par, everything I wanted, going to be the best thing ever. While I don’t regret buying the paperback … I was wrong.
In concept, this book was everything I could have wanted. There was an engaging plot line, strong female friendships, hilarious anti-trope situations and action. It had all the right parts, and Zinn’s storytelling ability is the most hilarious fun I’ve had in a while. The sass is beautiful and I was honestly laughing out loud as the book progressed. When the book started out, I never expected in a million years to have a final rating of two stars.
But then the romance happens and the book forgets that it has any of those other parts that made it so amazing.
Kyra is a really amazing character. Let me make that clear. She knows what she wants, is passionate and good at her job, but also isn’t afraid to make the hard choices for what she thinks is the greater good. This girl tries to kill her best friend. KILL HER. She’s fearless to the point of pigheadedness (pun intended) and determined to save the day at whatever cost.
So why is so much of this book lost to romance?
It’s not even really good romance, I’m going to be honest. It’s one of those cliche, “guy shows up and he’s kind of funny and she likes him but she tries to get rid of him but he keeps showing back up” and yadda yadda yadda. From there the cliches–which it seemed at first this book was actively fighting against–just kept piling up. I don’t want to spoil anything, but let me tell you … by the time the ending rolled around, I wanted to hit myself in the head with the book over and over.
I still can’t even comprehend how such a short book technically had all the components it promised and still had this much romance. It boggles my mind. The story line about her ex-boyfriend? Priceless. Her strong friendship with her best friend who she’s trying to kill? Amazing. The inner turmoil you find that she’s facing? Well done. But, because of the romance, these plot points got shrunk so much that it feels as though they’re barely there.
I wanted to like this book, I really did. In terms of my thesis, this book will actually work out really well for me but as a reader … I am sad. It was a amusing ride and a well written one, but all the promise that it showed stalled and floundered. Hence, two stars.
September 23, 2015
Thesis Thursdays: MEETING YOUR IDOL IS COOL
Thesis Thursdays is a weekly(ish) feature where I rant, love and talk about young adult books I’m reading because I’m conning my college into thinking this is all for academia! Find out more here!
Okay, I know that I promised something regarding Bridget Zinn and Poison for this week. I lied.
BECAUSE I MET SARAH J. MAAS LAST SATURDAY, GUYS.
I’m from a really small town in New York, where no authors ever come near. Remember that time I traveled five hours one way to see Cassie Clare, Holly Black and Sarah Rees Brennan? No regrets, but yikes.
Anyways. Sarah JUST HAPPENED to add a few extra stops in Pennsylvania to her Queen of Shadows tour, and ONE OF THEM WAS ONLY 4 HOURS AWAY. I couldn’t miss this chance.
So I didn’t. (Props to my best friend of six years for driving me.)
Sarah is REALLY PRETTY, guys. AND REALLY NICE AND REALLY WONDERFUL AND AWESOME. She took time with everyone and was just … amazing. I shook the whole time and spoke in this really high pitched voice but it was okay because *shrieks loudly and incoherently with fangirl screaming*
Ahem. So what makes this a Thesis Thursday post, you ask? Because I wasn’t kidding when I said last week that the basis of my thesis is Sarah’s books. Literally. My entire evolving idea has had Throne of Glass as it’s center cog. When I did my Worth It Wednesday post for this series, I also talked about last year and my academic conference presentation that centered on her books. Now that I’m a senior, I get to do my English work on books *I* pick. And right now, that’s just … SarahSarahSarahSarah.
I have most of her books in ecopy (and I forgot my hardback of 
ACOTAR, dammit), but when I saw all of the hardbacks just sitting there behind her … I splurged. And I justified this because I need physical copies to put sticky notes in as I do my thesis. (Okay. Really just #1 but shhhh…)
Her books also exemplify the way that I would like to be as a writer, which is what I’m incorporating into the novel I’m writing for my other senior project. Not just in how much fun the books are, but also in how they’ve grown and changed as the series has been published. Her books aren’t just amazing for a reader; for a writer learning their craft, Sarah sets a great example for debuting strong and consistently getting better.
So this is a Thesis Thursday not because I did any actual work (ha!) but because I got to meet my idol and she was amazing and for this week I’m just going to revel in the fact that I am writing an honors thesis and I AM EXCITED ABOUT IT. And Sarah is a big reason why.
Bibliomancy for Beginners Nostalgia Junkie: Raven Rise by DJ MacHale
Welcome back all to this special Bibliomancy for Beginners series, Nostalgia Junkie! This ten part special goes book by book through one the favorite childhood series of Head Bibliomancer Michaela from The Pied Piper Calls. Us, with special guest Casey from The Drunk Librarian, will be going week by week through all ten books.
This week we’re talking about the ninth book, Raven Rise. Don’t miss Casey’s homoerotic reading of some Bobby and Alder scenes, my seductive leaning on the bed and Michaela’s absolute confusion about what is going on. Plus, some book stuff! LET’S GO!
Previous Episodes:
September 21, 2015
Video: The Booktube Newbie Tag!
Remember when I promised that Michaela from The Pied Piper Calls (and head Bibliomancer) would be doing booktube videos with me? HERE IS PROOF. We finally got around to making our first round of videos, which are both tags to get us into the groove. You can check out our foray into the Bookish Beginnings Tag on Michaela’s blog, and then scroll down to watch the Booktube Newbie Tag entry here.
We apologize for the audio quality! We attempted to go with a certain mic for this video and it went all kinds of wonky, but we’ll have this fixed next time around.
Anyways! Come see why we’ve started this channel, get to know us and watch us laugh at each other!
Why did you start this channel?
What are some fun and unique things you can bring to Booktube?
What are you most excited for about this new channel?
Why do you love reading?
What book or series got you into reading?
Who are your favorite booktubers?
What challenges do you think starting a booktube channel will be the hardest to overcome?
When did you start reading?
Where do you read?
What kind of books do you like to read?
September 16, 2015
Thesis Thursdays: An Introduction
Okay, nobody panic. This feature sounds kind of pretentious and crotchety, but it isn’t. In fact, this feature (which may not always be weekly) will be a combination of book reviews, tirades against academia, writerly panic and frustration, rants about book tropes and fan girl freak-outs–usually about Sarah J. Maas, probably. Let me explain.
I’m a senior this year. *INSERT PANIC HERE* I have chosen to inflict upon myself the year long English Honors Thesis course that my Department offers here. Now here you might expect me to say that I’m studying Shakespeare or some post modern writer or something.
Well, you might. But you’ve been following me on this blog and you know that that isn’t my style.
First things first, remember that post I wrote about being an English and Writing double major? While I’m writing this English Thesis, I’m also completing my Writing Senior Project, which is a novel. This will come into play later.
The topic of my English Honors Thesis, broadly, is YA publishing trends and female assassins. It’s conception came from me saying HOW CAN I JUST KEEP REREADING THRONE OF GLASS FOR CREDIT? Turns out, my thesis adviser really likes what I came up with. I’m not going to bore you with the academic details, I’m just going to say that I’m going to be writing about the tropes of these books and therefore reading a bunch of books like Throne of Glass to make my point. Which is where the rants about annoying tropes and the book reviews come in. I’ve actually got a short list on Goodreads about what books I’m considering.
The YA publishing trends component of this is going to mean that there are some books on there that don’t make sense, but don’t fret. I’ll explain that all in due course whenever I figure out what the hell I’m doing.
Don’t forget that novel I’m writing! It occurred to me, rather late in the game, that if I was 
doing all this work talking about tropes of female assassins and what they do well and what they don’t that maybe I should WRITE the book that destroys all the tropes I hate and is actually more like what I want to read. So far I’m two chapters in and while I’m way rusty (more on this later), I’m making myself laugh so that’s about the best I can expect.
Still with me? If not, that’s cool. I honestly don’t know if anything remotely interesting will come out of this besides amusing rants and more book reviews, but that’s okay. At least it’ll help me sort out my thoughts.
Tune in next week when I discuss Poison by Bridget Zinn, why I can’t tell if I like it or not and why I’m confusing myself as to whether or not to consider it for my thesis!
September 15, 2015
Worth It Wednesdays: “The Girl of Fire and Thorns” by Rae Carson
Worth It Wednesdays is a weekly post where I feature my favorite YA titles. Find out more about it here!
Title: The Girl of Fire and Thorns
Author: Rae Carson
Goodreads Description: Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.
Elisa is the chosen one.
But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.
Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.
And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.
Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.
Most of the chosen do.
Why it’s worth it: This is the first book in the trilogy, and it’s amazing. Even better, the books KEEP GETTING BETTER. Elisa is a model for the “not-perfect” girl who speaks to body positivism and doing your best even when you’re convinced you’re going to fail. I connected so much with Elisa as a person, which is something I’m often barred from doing because I don’t have “ultimate courage” or and not everyone thinks I’m pretty and– well, you know the YA tropes I mean. The book is also extremely well written, and–again–they just get better. (I mean, hell, Rae was just longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for her newest series.)
Besides the fabulous fantasy setting, the great and funny characters and the exciting plot–all of which are great!–the thing that Rae did that really made her great in my eyes was how she handled the love triangle. Yeah, I know you caught that in the description and groaned. But fear not! I actually included this series in an article I did about doing love triangles right and LET ME TELL YOU I DID NOT EXPECT WHAT HAPPENED. I’m not going to give it away, of course, but the end of this book just told me that Rae was an another unafraid to take risks and shake it up and in The Crown of Embers and The Bitter Kingdom I was NOT disappointed.
Just to give you an idea of this book, I’ve included in my Top Ten Books about Friendship, Best Sequels Ever, Favorite Authors in YA and Most Vivid Fantasy Settings!
Read it if you’re looking for: A strong female protagonist, action, adventure, romance, good love triangles, a worthwhile series, fantasy, strong worldbuilding
September 9, 2015
Worth It Wednesdays: “Code Name Verity” by Elizabeth Wein
Worth It Wednesdays is a weekly post where I feature my favorite YA titles. Find out more about it here!
Title:
Author: Elizabeth Wein
Goodreads Description: I have two weeks. You’ll shoot me at the end no matter what I do.
That’s what you do to enemy agents. It’s what we do to enemy agents. But I look at all the dark and twisted roads ahead and cooperation is the easy way out. Possibly the only way out for a girl caught red-handed doing dirty work like mine – and I will do anything, anything to avoid SS-Hauptsturmführer von Linden interrogating me again.
He has said that I can have as much paper as I need. All I have to do is cough up everything I can remember about the British War Effort. And I’m going to. But the story of how I came to be here starts with my friend Maddie. She is the pilot who flew me into France – an Allied Invasion of Two.
We are a sensational team.
Why it’s worth it: I should note that I had no reason to like this book. No reason. I don’t like war books, I don’t like books that switch perspectives and are written in this strange, shifting POV. (Read more about that in ) But did I like this book?
I BLOODY WELL LOVED IT.
I am not one who cries easily over books. I’m not one to say, “Wow, that book really stuck with me.” But with this one, I did both. I laughed, I cried, I screamed and at the end of it I sat there in a stunned silence and just FELT THINGS. So many things. Wein has crafted such a technically skilled and gorgeous novel that any other book that I’ve read like it has paled in comparison.
Back when I did Top Ten Tuesdays consistently, I listed this book for just about everything: Top Books about Friendship, Top Books I Wish were Taught in Schools – you name it. I also made , to intensely favorable reviews. It’s WORTH READING as few others are. Just have Kleenex handy.
Read it if you’re looking for: strong female friendships, historical fiction: WWII, female spies, female pilots, tears, feelings and emotions, beautiful writing, strong storytelling, action and adventure
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