March 2023 Reads

 

Quarterly 2023 Reading Goals Update

 March 2023 Reading Goals Update

• Read 100 books in 2023- 58/100

• Finish 5 series-started and continued 12 series. Finished none
  

• Read 10 Poetry Collections from 10 Different Poets- 4/10
  

• Read a Graphic Novel series- 0/6 volumes
  

• Read 20 Middle- Grade Books, 20 Young Adult Books, and 20 Adult Books-14/20 MG Books, 15/20 YA Books, and 20/20 Adult Books
  

• Read the 23 books I picked for 2023- 6/23 

• Reread a book every month- 3/3
  

• Read a 2023 release every month- 3/3
  

• Read 10 Tomes: 500 pages or more- 0
  

• Review every book I read on Goodreads and my blog- 58/58
  

• Read 5 classics- 2/5
  

• Read 10 retellings and 10 graphic novels- 10/10 retellings, 10/10 graphic novels
  
• Read The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper- 1/5
  

• Read The Johnny Maxwell books by Terry Pratchett- 1/3

Reviews Week 12

Reviews Week 12

March 20th-26th

Book 55: Equal Rites

By Terry Pratchett

Read March 20th-22nd

Pages Read: 256

📚📚📚📚

 Reread from March 20th-22nd:
I highly enjoyed rereading this novel and seeing the introduction to Granny again after finishing the series last year. This was great but I will say I enjoy Granny more when she is working off of Nanny Ogg. Granny Weatherwax is my favorite character in literature and I loved reading about her again.

One of my favorite aspects of Terry’s books his ability to make his readers connect with his books because of the universal topics. He has created a fantasy world that I will never get enough of and that I enjoy revisiting again and again. I will be continuing with my reread of the Witch books the rest of this year.

Review from August 31st-September 7th, 2017:
"Granny, meanwhile was two streets away. She was also, by the standards of other people, lost. She would not see it like that. She knew where she was, it was just that everywhere else didn't." -Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites

Equal Rites is the third book in the Discworld series and the first book in the Witches sub-series. This is the first novel that introduces one of the influential characters of the series, Granny Weatherwax. Granny has become one of my favorite characters in all literature. She's hilariously funny with her bluntness with anyone that she meets. Her dry way of talking and her expressions make this book. Granny's full name is Esmerelda Weatherwax but is known as Granny by everyone. She's not someone you would want to mess with even with the nickname Granny.

"The second problem was that a bear had found it (the staff) first. In fact, this hadn't been too much of a problem because Granny, already in a bad temper, hit it right between the eyes with the broomstick and it was now sitting as far away from her as it was possible to get in a pit, and trying to think happy thoughts." -Terry Pratchett, Equal Rites

The novel starts with an explanation that a wizard has never been a woman. The first character that we meet is an older wizard that is trying to find a newborn boy to give his powers and magical staff. The eighth child of an eighth son is given the power, but the wizard makes a major mistake. He wanted to give it to the eighth son of an eighth son but instead, the child is a girl.

Years, later when the child Eskarina, Esk for short is around eight years old, the town witch Granny wants to train her as a witch. The girl's power does not suit well to what a witch is able to do so her only real option for power is to become a wizard. So Granny decides to bring the girl to the Unseen Univesity to learn to become a wizard.

Terry Pratchett's humor shines in this novel and he has so many different gems of writing throughout (like I have shown above). The Discworld is this fully mapped out world that I am enjoying getting immersed in whenever I pick up one of his books. This book takes some time to get into but trust me it is worth it. The world building and the intricate way that Terry weaves his story is wonderful to experience. I have never been so impressed by an author as I am of him.

I completely recommend reading this series and if you get the chance, listen to the audiobooks of them also. They are great. I will be reading Mort sometime next week and I cannot wait. 

Book 56: Over Sea, Under Stone

By Susan Cooper

Read March 23rd-25th

Pages Read: 196

📚📚

 

There is no way that a less than 200-page book should take me three days to read, especially a middle -grade novel. This book did not interest me in the way that I would have wanted it to. Though, I will say that I am looking forward to the other books in the series to see if the series that it is setting up gets better.
 
I'm a sucker for a book with King Arthur lore and Celtic Mythology, but this was boring. One of my goals this year was to read this entire series, and I will continue with it soon.

Book 57: Make Good Art

By Neil Gaiman

Read March 26th

Pages Read:

📚📚📚📚📚

Another reread for me this week. I have been watching Neil Gaiman's MasterClass and thought about this speech. This time, I decided to read it along while watching his speech, which was a great decision. Neil's speech was terrific, and I love how this book was designed. It is inspirational and a gem of a speech. I highly recommend it to the creatives out there. 

My Favorites of Winter 2022-2023

❄️My Favorites of Winter 2022-2023 ☃️

Below, I have listed some of my favorite music, movies, movie trailers, YouTube videos, and TV that I have watched or listened to this winter. This has been a great season for some amazing entertainment. It'll be fun to show that off, also. 

🎞️ Movies/Specials:

1. Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl (watched February 13th, 2023)

~Great live performances of all of the songs. 

 

 

2. Rosaline (watched February 14th, 2023)

~I have never been a fan of Romeo and Juliet, ever since I first had to read it in 9th grade English. This movie was great though and was a wonderful interpretation of that story. Kaitlyn Dever is a great actress and I loved her as Rosaline. I liked how they kept to the details of the original story but made them work in the one that they were telling. Rosaline is just a lot of fun and I highly recommend it. 

 

3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (watched February 26th)

~One of the best animated movies that I have ever seen. I love how they made this movie look like a comic book throughout. Miles Morales's story is one that I did not know much about, but I loved following him. This is probably my favorite of the Spider-Man movies, and I really love many of the others.  

🎵 Music:

This season has been so great for music. I spent a lot of time listening to all of these songs and albums over and over again. 

1. "No Romeo" by Dylan

2. "Neon Moon" Brooks & Dunn with Kacey Musgraves

3. "Somewhere Only We Know" by Lily Allen

4. "If I Didn't Love You" by Banners

5. "Holding Out for a Hero" by Adam Lambert

6. "Never Gonna Not Dance Again" by Pink

7. "Believe" by Adam Lambert

8. "She Had me at Heads Carolina" Cole Swindell with Jo De Messina

9. "99 Years" by Josh Groban and Jennifer Nettles

10. "Run" by Josh Groban and Sarah McLachlan

11. "Extradinary Magic" by Ben Rector

12. "Still My Girl" by Jon McLaughlin

13. "Second Chance" by 38 Special

14. "I Will Always Be Yours" by Ben Rector

15. "The Impossible Dream" by Josh Groban    

16. "Walk" by Griff

17. Adam Lambert’s new album: High Drama

18. "All of the Girls You Loved Before" by Taylor Swift- Great new song by Taylor

📺 TV Shows:

1. Andor (Watched December 17th- January 19th) 

~This show was absolutely wonderful in every aspect. It took me up until the third episode to get into it, but that episode and the ones following were top notch. Definitely, the best Disney Star Wars content by far. I loved how different it was from anything else that we have seen in Star Wars. 

~One of the best aspects throughout the entire show was how the scenes were cut together. I liked seeing how they decided to have the scenes play together in each episode and seeing the different sides of the start of the rebellion. Each episode had me wanting to see what would happen next and anticipating what we would see to come.

~My favorite episode was Episode 10, but I have got to say that I enjoyed the entire show as a whole.

2. WandaVision (watched January 20th-February 3rd)

~Had a lot of fun with my rewatch of the show. Especially, seeing the details that I missed the first time around. This is definitely one of my favorite tv shows ever.

 

3. The Mandalorian Season 3: Episodes 1-3 (Watching March 1st-15th) 

~So far, I’m really enjoying Season 3 of The Mandalorian. I'll never get enough of Grogu and Mando together and the adventures that they go on. Can't wait to see where it goes from here.

 

4. Started The Clone Wars Season 1: Episodes 1-14 (Watching March 10th-19th)

~I have wanted to watch The Clone Wars for years but it has been daunting because of the amount of episodes that there are. This show is definitely a favorite so far and I love seeing more of the background Jedi. We also just recently watched all the prequels and I had forgotten how much I loved Revenge of the Sith. It is such a great movie.   

🖥️ YouTube:

1. Books and Lala

~ TBR & Goals for 2023 Reading

~ reading booktube's 2022 favourite books

~  I bought some new books, let me tell you about them

~  first reading vlog of 2023! 🍄✨ 

~  TBR & Goals for 2023 Reading

~  2022 Reading Year in Review + Stats

~  Best 10 Books of 2022

~ More Top 2022 Reads | most unexpected, underhyped & recommendable favourites

~ Best Books of the past 3 months + Quarterly Stats 

~ Books I Read in January

~ 5⭐ Audit | What Do My Favourite Books Have in Common?

~ Trying to Find 3 New Favourite Authors 🤞 Reading Vlog

2. SuperCarlin Brothers

~ J vs Ben: HARDEST Order of the Phoenix Harry Potter TRIVIA Quiz

~ J vs Ben: ULTIMATE Ludo Bagman Harry Potter TRIVIA Quiz feat. Mike Schubert

~ What If Harry Never Called The Knight Bus? | Harry Potter Film Theory

~ The TOP 5 Most Believable Moana Theories | Disney Film Theory 

~  The TRUTH About Woody’s Holster | Toy Story Pixar Film Theory 

~  Grindelwald’s SECRET Horcrux | Harry Potter Film Theory  

~  J vs Ben: ULTIMATE Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter TRIVIA Quiz

~  J vs Ben: ULTIMATE Deathly Hallows Harry Potter TRIVIA Quiz 

~  J vs Ben: ULTIMATE Weasley Burrow Harry Potter TRIVIA Quiz 

~ WALL-E is ACTUALLY The Little Mermaid | Disney Pixar Film Theory

~ How Fantastic Beasts Should Have Ended | Harry Potter Film Theory

~ Sokka’s DEATH Solved | Avatar the Last Airbender Film Theory- Yes! Avatar theories again. 

~ Mirabel Had A DARK Gift The Whole Time | Encanto Disney Film Theory

~ What Would ACTUALLY Make Toy Story 5 Worth It | Pixar Film Theory- Such a good theory! I want this to be the movie so much. Lol

~  J vs Ben: ULTIMATE Toy Story TRIVIA Quiz feat. Seamus Gorman

~  Cars Is A RIPOFF?! | Pixar Film Theory- Love Doc Hollywood

3. The Library of Allenxandria

~ Blindfold Book Cover Challenge the 3rd! | Trilogy Complete! | ft. My Lovely Wife, Christina!- Such a fun video! Love Allen's videos with Christina.  

 

 

4. Good Mythical Morning/More

~  Is This Food Actually Made of Paint? (Game) 

 

~  Testing Discontinued Toys From The 80's

~  We Play Blind Charades (Game) 

~  How To Have The Best Movie Night

~  How Do These Revenge Stories End? 

~  Ranking The Most Satisfying Videos 

~  Dumbest Game Show Answers

~  We Tried EVERY Skittles Flavor 

~  How Many People Can We Fit In A Car?- Oh my gosh! Haha

~  Lunchables Taste Test Tournament

~  America's Craziest Stadium Food Taste Test  

~  Ranking The Best Frozen Wings 

~  Real Food vs. Drawing (Challenge)

5.  P!NK & Kelly Clarkson Duet 'What About Us' | Sneak Peek- An absolutely wonderful performance. Love P!NK and Kelly so much. 

6. Into the Wardrobe

~ Narnia's Mysterious Reading Orders Explained: The BEST way to read Chronicles of Narnia!

~ The Meaning of Christmas in Narnia | Narnia Lore | Into the Wardrobe

 

 

  

7. Taylor Swift MIDNIGHTS Album Review & DEEP DIVE- I used to watch Christine a lot, years ago. Her Taylor Swift videos have always been my favorites and this one was great. 

8.  P!NK & Kelly Clarkson Duet 'Who Knew'-My favorite song from Pink. This is so beautiful!

9. P!NK - When I Get There (Lyric Video)- This song is beautiful!

10. Stardust ~ Lost in Adaptation- Dom’s Lost in Adaptation series has always been a favorite of mine and I was beyond excited when he said that he was going to do an episode on Stardust. Stardust is my favorite movie of all time. 

Other Favorites

1. David Tennant Does a Podcast With… 

~ This was just a joy. I have loved David Tennant for a long time and it was a joy to get to listen to him talk with other people for this podcast. In the winter, I listened to the Neil Gaiman one.

 

 

Musicals

1. Once Upon a Mattress at Bloomsburg High School (watched March 4th) 

-We love going to plays and musicals going on around our home and supporting the schools. The students did such a great job doing this musical and we had such a great time watching it. A hilariously good time, with great music.

 

 

2. Into the Woods at Berwick High School (watched March 19th)

-I have wanted to see the Disney version of this musical ever since it came out years ago and still have not. This was wonderful and we really enjoyed seeing it this past weekend. I love how they combined the fairy tales.

Reviews Week 11

 Reviews Week 11

March 13th-19th

Book 50: Gingerbread and Good Tidings

By Kris T. Bethke

Read March 13th

Pages Read: 48

📚📚📚

A cute Christmasy story that I liked reading. 

Book 51: Written in Stone

By David Connor

Read March 14th

Pages Read: 79

📚📚

 I thought the idea of the main character building a relationship with someone through their messages on a stone, was an interesting idea. At first it was, but I did not enjoy how this story was executed much at all. Especially, when he finally finds out who he has been talking to. I just did not enjoy this as much as I wanted to. 

Book 52: Beasts and Beauty

By Soman Chainani

Read March 15th

Pages Read: 336

📚📚📚📚📚

 Soman Chainani’s book Beasts and Beauty was a highly entertaining book of short stories. Most of the tales were fairy tale retellings, also including a Peter Pan retelling. Soman’s writing was beautifully atmospheric and had me wanting to read more of his work. The illustrations throughout the collection were stunning and fit so well with the darkness that each story exuded.

Each tale has a different way of looking at the original story, along with a diverse cast of characters. My favorites were the “Beauty and the Beast,” “Hansel and Gretel,” and Peter Pan ones. The way he changes these stories was just great, especially Peter Pan.

Overall, this was a collection that I loved as a fan of everything fairy tale retellings. I would love for Soman to create another collection with even more stories, especially Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. It would be an instant read for me. 

Book 53: The Pagemaster

By David Kirschner

Read March 17th

Pages Read: 96

📚📚📚📚📚

 One of my favorite movies when I was a kid, was The Pagemaster. I loved the adventure that Richard Tyler went on throughout the worlds of fantasy and it had me wanting to read all of the stories that he visited. This book is just like movie and brings back so many memories for me. I highly recommend this book to fans of the movie. Also, it is a wonderful book for children.

Book 54: When You Wish Upon a Star

By Elizabeth Lim

Read March 16th-19th

Pages Read: 480

📚📚📚📚

I love that this story focused on the Blue Fairy this time around instead of Pinocchio. It was a refreshing take on the original story that I loved the entire time. Most of the book focuses on the Blue Fairy as a young woman named Chiara as she learns about the fairies and makes the tough decision to become one of them.

One of the best parts of this book was the family dynamic and its importance in Chiara’s story. Chiara is incredibly close with her parents and siblings, especially her sister Ilaria. I liked how the book did not only focus on Chiara but also on her sister. It had me feeling for both girls in different ways.

We also got the original tale of Pinocchio throughout the book, mainly near the end of the story. Geppetto plays an essential role in both Chiara’s and Ilaria’s lives. He was such a sweet man that I loved reading about from when he was a young man and then as an older man. It adds so much more to the story of Pinocchio, seeing more of Geppetto as a character himself. Out of anyone who deserves a child, it is definitely Geppetto.

I highly recommend the audiobook for this book. Carlotta Brentan’s narration was perfect for the story and fit both Chiara’s and Ilaria’s voices throughout their story. I’m glad that I listened to this. Another great addition to the A Twisted Tale series.

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*  

Books on My Spring 2023 To-Read List

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Books on My Spring 2023 To-Read List 

 Here are the books that I would like to read this Spring.

1.) American Gods by Neil Gaiman- The first five books on this list are books on my 23 books to read in 2023. This is one of the only books that I have not read of Neil's that I am looking forward to finally reading.

2.) Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde- I loved the first book in the Thursday Next series last year and have been wanting to pick this up ever since. Cannot wait to see the mystery in this one and the books we jump into this time.

3.) The Princess Bride by William Goldman- One of my favorite movies has always been The Princess Bride. I have been wanting to read this book for years and I decided that this would be the year that I do.

4.) The Stolen Chapters by James Riley- I enjoyed the first book at the end of last year and am looking forward to seeing where this one goes.

5.) Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor- I read Strange the Dreamer years ago and have been meaning to read this one ever since.

6.) The Essential Peter S. Beagle, Volume 1: Lila the Werewolf and Other Stories by Peter S. Beagle- I loved Peter S. Beagle's book The Last Unicorn when I read it last year and am looking forward to reading more of his stories. This and the next volume are going to be a great. I have an ARC of them both, that I will be reading most likely at the end of this month or the beginning of next month.

7.) The Essential Peter S. Beagle, Volume 2: Oakland Dragon Blues and Other Stories by Peter S. Beagle- Another collection of stories from Peter S. Beagle that I will be reading soon.

8.) The Sun and the Star by Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro- I have been wanting to read this book for years, ever since Rick said that he was writing a book about Will and Nico. Definitely, will be reading it as soon as it comes out in May.

9.) The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi- This book should be coming very soon, from my To Bee Read box from Litjoy Crate and I will be reading it soon afterward. I have been waiting to read this book for awhile now and I believe that it is going to be very good.

10.) Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson- Brandon Sanderson is an author that I have been wanting to read for a very long time. His books always sound so great but I have never read any of them yet. This book is being compared to The Princess Bride but Tress having more agency than Buttercup. I cannot wait to read it soon!

Reviews Week 10

 Reviews Week 10

March 6th-12th

Book 45: That Way Madness Lies

Edited by Dahlia Adler

Read March 5th-7th

Pages Read: 221

📚📚📚📚📚 

 That Way Madness Lies is one of the best short story collections I have read. This volume consists of many different genres, whether that be contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, horror, etc. Also, I enjoyed the different formats of the stories. Some of my favorite stories come from Shakespeare’s plays, and I was looking forward to reading the authors' retellings of his stories.

I highly recommend this for fans of Shakespeare’s work and young adult stories. It was interesting to see how each of the authors took one of the plays and how they made it their own. My favorites were the ones based on Hamlet, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night.

Book 46: Star Wars: Obi-Wan - A Jedi's Purpose

By Christopher Cantwell

Read March 5th-8th

Pages Read:120

📚📚📚

 Obi-Wan is my favorite Star Wars character, so I was looking forward to picking up this comic series. I liked most of the issues in this volume, but they were not as good as I wanted them to be. It follows Obi-Wan throughout his life. The framing device is of him as an older man on Tatooine dealing with another sandstorm. While waiting for the storm to pass, he writes in his journal about many of his adventures over the years.

The stories consist of when he was an eight-year-old padawan, a mission he goes on with Qui-Gon, a battle during the Clone Wars, a mission with Anakin, and finally, the story ends with him helping out a stormtrooper. Each of the tasks gives a little bit more insight into his character. The story that I enjoyed the most was the one dealing with Anakin. Overall, this was a volume that I liked reading following one of my favorite characters. 

Book 47: Midnight Riot

By Ben Aaronovitch

Read March 7th-9th

Pages Read: 320

📚📚📚📚

 I’ll always be a sucker for stories dealing with magic, fantasy elements, British humor, and a clever use of references. Peter Grant’s story is quite entertaining and a whole lot of fun. Also, the mystery in this book made me think of the City Watch books from the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, which is a high compliment.

I am eagerly looking forward to continuing with this series when I get the chance. Also, I recommend the audiobook because the narrator does a wonderful job creating voices for all the characters.

Book 48: To Poison a King

By S.G. Prince

Read March 9th-10th

Pages Read: 420

📚📚📚📚📚

From the beginning, S. G. Prince's atmospheric writing made me fall in love with this book. Character-driven stories have become favorites for me over the years. I'll always be a fan of a rich fantasy world and characters you know thoroughly. We watch Selene's growth as a character and see her learn to have confidence in herself and discover who she is as a person. Her character arc is one of the best parts of the entire novel.

Selene and Elias's relationship was wonderful, and I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect. Dislike-to-love romances are some of my favorite stories. Elias has a rough exterior when he is first introduced, but throughout the book, you realize that he is not that way at all. He was a refreshing take on a royal character who was just as fleshed out as Selene. I not only enjoyed watching Selene and Elias as they started to have romantic feelings, but also their friendship. They were sweet together.

To Poison a King is a beautiful adult fantasy read that I highly recommend. It is a character-driven story with beautifully atmospheric writing that draws you in until the very end. The world-building was just the right amount to make the reader feel satisfied with this story and make you want to read more from this world. Also, I love that S. G. Prince wrote the story The River of Reversal that Elias and Selene read in this book. While reading about this story, I wanted to read it myself, and I'm glad I can. I will definitely be picking up the other companion novels in The Heirs of Isla.

*Thank you to the author for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*

Book 49: Divine Rivals

By Rebecca Ross

Read March 11th-12th

Pages Read: 368

📚📚📚📚📚

Rebecca Ross’s books have always been favorites of mine, and this book is no different. It is a fantasy version of You Got Mail set during a magical war between two gods. This book was absolutely fantastic in every aspect, and I adored following Iris and Roman the entire time. Their rivals-to-lovers romance was one of my favorites. It was so sweet and had me smiling a lot while reading. 

I’ll always love epistolary novels, and I enjoyed how Rebecca Ross used letters throughout the story, especially the magical aspects of that. This book was a historical fantasy that showed the horrors of war. Many times it was a hard read, and there were plenty of heartbreaking scenes. It deals with grief, loss, and Iris and Roman’s romance. There are many letters between them both that spoke to me on a level that I was not expecting. 

Divine Rivals is a historical fantasy novel that shows the horrors of war and a connection that I loved watching grow. It’s beautiful to read about Iris and Roman’s relationship and see them learn about each other. I could not get enough of reading them. Now, I cannot wait to read the next book, especially after that ending. 

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.*