Waiting on Wednesday (72)

"Waiting on" Wednesday" is weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine which spotlights upcoming anticipated releases. 

October 4, 2016

FROM GOODREADS:  The first part of the World Fantasy Award-winning anthology, The Dark Descent

In addition to nineteen superb stories of dark fantasy and horror, The Color of Evil includes a long, insightful introduction, which delineates the evolution of horror fiction and for each writer, notes which say something about the literature and the author's place in it.

WHY I'M WAITING: October is a perfect time for horror (as is the rest of the year IMO).  I love anthologies from time to time and since this one is from Tor, it's bound to be good.  Plus, Stephen King, what can I say?

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR THIS WEEK???

 

TTT - My 10 Favorite TV Shows

This top 10 weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and can be found HERE.  Each week they focus on lists which cover various topics related to books and reading.  This week is working TV into the theme since we all know Fall means new TV shows to watch.  So today I'm sharing with you my top 10 TV shows (in no particular order).

This series just started back up last week and I'm already anticipating the next episode Sunday night.  Fete is my favorite!

I'm in the middle of a rewatch  of the entire series in anticipation of the new ones coming to Netflix in November.

So glad they announced the renewal of Season 2 this week.

Supernatural - Even though I'm behind on this series, it still remains one of my faves.

Law & Order SVU - Been watching this one for years.

Pretty Little Liars - So we all have our guilty pleasures.  It's like watching a train wreck.

Of course The Walking Dead made my list.

It ended this summer and oh how I wish it hadn't.

I really enjoy Bates Motel and the actors do a wonderful job.

There have been a few seasons I wasn't really impressed with, but overall, American  Horror is a decent watch.

As you can tell, we have a thing for horror in our home.  Do you watch any of these and if so, what are you your favorites???

Stacking the Shelves (79)

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves or TBR piles, may it be physical or virtual.  This means you can include books you buy in a physical store, online, books you borrow from the library or friends, review books, gifts and of course, ebooks! The original meme was started over at Tynga's Reviews.  Clicking on the book should take you to the Goodreads page. 

I have a few things to show you guys this week but then let's be honest, don't I usually?  I'll start off with two books I got in the mail last week from Book Depository.

Poison City: Paul Crilley - I've wanted this one forever but it isn't available in the US.
Season to Taste: Natalie Young - A woman who kills and eats her husband.  Let me go on record here that I'm not looking for ideas, but this sounds so strange I couldn't pass it up.

I received these for review from Netgalley and the publishers:

Tell the Truth, Shame the Devil: Melina Marchetta - I'm anxious to read my first Marchetta book as I've heard good things about her.
Keys to the Coven: Vicky Loebel - ould resist the cover if I have to be honest...plus, witches.
Gilded Cage: Vic James - I've wanted this for some time and was thrilled to be approved.  Thank heavens it doesn't release until February though!
IQ - Joe Ide - Sounds very interesting.

And finally, Entangled Teen sent me the following two books:

Spindle: Shonna Slayton - Look at that cover!
Remember Yesterday: Pintip Dunn - I really enjoyed book one and am interested to see what happens next!

So what did you pick up this week???

Weekly Reads (09/02/16)

HAPPY SEPTEMBER EVERYONE (from me and the boys)!!! I can't believe it's September already. We're having a few cool days here at The Farm but I'm pretty sure next week's supposed to feel like July again.  It was an OK reading week.  I managed to complete 2 things last night while sort of watching 2 football games at the same time.  I am really looking forward to a three day weekend and hope all my blogging buddies have the same luxury.

It wasn't really a big week for movies.  As I said, college football kicked off last night and we tend to follow quite a few things.  My Marshall Thundering Herd don't play until next Friday, but Florida State, Michigan State, Georgia and Ohio State are also teams we like to catch when we can.  We did manage to watch the new "The Jungle Book" movie and all I can say is it was really great.  They did a wonderful job filming it and for some odd reason, Cassius was really into this movie and we actually caught him intensely watching it several times throughout.  We will definitely be picking this one up to own sometime in the future (and that's saying a lot because we don't purchase tons of movies).

Like I said, I'm hoping to get a good amount of reading done over the holiday break.  The TBR for this month is so huge, I better.  Here's what's up on the stack next:

So what are all of you planning for this upcoming week?

September 2016 TBR(P) - The One Where I'm Drowning In All The ARCs

So July and August were actually pretty stellar reading months.  I'm still not sure how I'm doing it. However, once again I am setting the bar high for September and it's all because of the ARCs that I need to get read.  I have a few blog tours this month and next and Stormi and I are planning something special this month which features one of my planned reads so those books HAVE to get read.  Wish me luck because I'm going to need it!  (But on the plus side, look at all the gorgeous covers).

So what are you planning on reading this month?  Are any of these on your list as well???

August 2016 Wrap Up

I'm actually quite amazed at the books I managed to read in August.  I think some of the challenges I am doing actually encouraged me to read more than I might have without them so that's a good thing. I read some really great books this month and sad to say, summer COYER is almost done and I will really miss all the interaction this group has within it.  On with the recap!

GOODREADS: 82/100
WHAT AN ANIMAL IX: 20/12 (finished in July)
CLOAK & DAGGER CHALLENGE: 21/20 (FINISHED!)
HORROR READING CHALLENGE: 16/16 (FINISHED!)
NEW RELEASE CHALLENGE: 55/30 (finished in June)
SUMMER COYER CHALLENGE: 28

Plus I also participated in a "READ A SERIES IN A MONTH CHALLENGE" and read 3 books.

I am really pleased with how my reading is going but sad to say, most months there is still tons of stuff I would like to read.  Guess that will always be the case.  As far as ratings go, I had 3 3-paw reads, 6 4-paw reads, and 3 5-paw reads.  I think my faves had to be "Repo Madness" and "Betrayals."  This month I finished up two more challenges but will keep my adding to my totals so I can have an idea where to set my goals next year.

So how are your challenges and reading plans going???  Was August a good or bad reading month for you???

Curioddity (review) - ODD Indeed!

TITLE: Curioddity
AUTHOR: Paul Jenkins
PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Press
PUBLISHING DATE: August 30, 2016

FROM GOODREADS: Will Morgan is a creature of habit―a low-budget insurance detective who walks to and from work with the flow of one-way traffic, and for whom imagination is a thing of the distant past. When a job opportunity enters the frame in the form of the mysterious Mr. Dinsdale―curator of the ever so slightly less-than-impressive Curioddity Museum―Will reluctantly accepts the task of finding a missing box of levity (the opposite of gravity). What he soon learns, however, is that there is another world out there―a world of magic we can only see by learning to un-look at things―and in this world there are people who want to close the Curioddity museum down. With the help of his eccentric new girlfriend Lucy, Will will do everything he can to deliver on his promise to help Mr. Dinsdale keep the Curioddity Museum in business.

Curioddity is Paul Jenkins’ debut novel... exciting, fast-paced, and uncanny. A must-read.

MY THOUGHTS: 
I've sat and thought about this review for a little while now and I guess it's about time I try to put it in to print. When I requested Curioddity, I figured I was in for a Harry Dresden/urban fantasy type book and while I was somewhat right, I don't think this book actually lived up to my expectations. That's not to say it's a bad book because it really isn't. It was just really hard for me to become engrossed with the plot and I didn't really connect to any of the characters until Lucy came along. And let's just add, it's a good thing that ODD is in the title because it very accurately Jenkins' latest endeavor.

Wil Morgan has his own business as an insurance private investigator but right from the start, the reader finds that Wil is not happy with his life and really has only been going through the motions since his mother died when he was 10. Wil's mother sparked Wil's creativity and imagination as a young child and especially an interest in all things science related, but when she passed, he was raised by his more practical father. Wil has always disappointed his father and has never really been happy and sad to say, I'm surprised Wil just didn't off himself several years before the events in this book even took place. However, one day he is approached by Mr. Dinsdale - an odd curator for the Curioddity Museum and Wil's subsequent involvement with Mr. Dinsdale and the museum leads him to unravel a new mystery which leads to Wil changing the way he looks at absolutely everything.

I never really became attached to Wil and perhaps it was because he was rather drab and boring. However, I imagine Jenkins portrayed him exactly as he wanted and he was supposed to be this way. It also took me quite a while to get used to Jenkins' writing. Many paragraphs and even the chapters are long and descriptive and for me, it bogged down the novel. However, once Lucy arrived on the scene, both the dialogue and the action picked up and I can honestly say in my opinion, she saved the book. Plus her driving abilities - priceless! Also, Wil's father comes to visit and the reader gets some insight on their very strained relationship which did succeed in making Wil a tad more interesting.

If you like mysteries, science fiction and strange adventures with odd characters and contraptions, then this might just be the book you have been searching for. At this time, I believe it's listed as a stand alone, yet I could see where it might have a sequel sometime in the future. If so, I might pick it up to see what happens to Lucy and Wil in the future, but it wouldn't be high priority on my list.

I received this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: 3 PAWS