Musing Mondays: Week 2

Musing Mondays is a weekly feature from Should Be Reading.  Each week, a question is asked, and we have the opportunity to answer it!  This weeks question is:

'How far along are you in your current read before you start thinking about what you'll read next?'


Usually within the first few chapters of the book that I'm currently reading.

I actually have a giant pile of books that I still need to read, and so I usually just grab from the top, and work my way down the pile.  There are times that I really don't think about what I'm going to read next because I'm so enthralled in the current book that I'm reading, and than there are times where I come to a point in the book that is slow, that I start to look around my book shelf/pile of books and decide if what I really want to read next.

When it comes down to it, it's all about the current book I'm reading and how it makes me feel.

In My Mailbox: Week 2

In My Mailbox is a weekly feature hosted by The Story Siren, where I talk about the books I received during the week either from buying, ARCs, gifts, library, etc...

This week, I received a few ARCs that I'm excited to start reading!  I also bought a few books, that I happened upon while I was out and about.

Advanced Reader Copy:

Zombie: A Novel by J.R. Angelella  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

Alpha Instinct by Katie Reus  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

Bought:

The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

Murder at Mansfield Park by Lynn Shepherd  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

An Education: A Screenplay by Nick Hornby  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

I'm thrilled to have my first two ARCs!  I am going to breeze through them this week since I have a week off from work (not as exciting as one must think), and then I cannot wait to start reading The Italian Secretary by Caleb Carr.  I'm a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, and I've heard really good things about this book.

Hope everyone had a great weekend, I can't believe tomorrow is almost Monday.

- Brittany :]

Book Review: Hollywood Noir by Jeff Mariotte

Title: Hollywood Noir (Angel Tie-in series)
Author: Jeff Mariotte
Publisher: Pocket Books, a division of Simon and Schuster Inc.
Publication Date: January 1st, 2001
Genre: TV Tie-in, Horror, Mystery

Pages: 292 (Softcover)
How I came upon this book: I've had it on my shelf since the day it came out.
amazon.com    goodreads.com

Summary: 'At a Hollywood construction site, a decayed corpse is the harbinger of a supernatural evil, while at Angel Investigations, Doyle's latest vision leads him to a puzzling address.  He, Angel, and Cordelia start tracking down the real McCoy: a cigarette girl named Betty McCoy.  But they're not the only ones to do so.  There's a new PI in town -- Mike Slade -- who dresses and acts as though entrenched in the era when lounge singers, swing dancing, and martinis first made the Hollywood night scene.  The golden age of the silver screen. Tinseltown.  


Still, Mike's agenda is thoroughly modern -- he has a long-standing bone to pick with local officials.  Now Angel and his team find that their research leads them directly to Slade, and some files that are strictly L.A. Confidential.  But what do a cigarette girl, a water commissioner, and a slew of disappearing demons have in common?' - Pocket Books summary

Feature & Follow Friday: Week #2

Feature & Follow is hosted each week by Parajunkee, and Alison Can Read.  It's a blog hop, where bloggers can expance their following, and get to know each other.

Question of the week: Which book genre do you avoid at all costs and why?


I find myself reading a lot of different genres, when I used to only read mystery, horror, and science fiction/fantasy.  I guess I should thank those couple of years of working at my local bookshop!

One genre though, that I really don't read at all is anything to go with Religious tones and/or Christian Fiction.  I tried to read a few books, and it made me feel uncomfortable.  So I really try to stay away from anything to do with religion.

Are there any genres you tend to stay away from?

- Brittany :]

Booking Through Thursday: Week 2

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly book blogging meme, that asks a question a week, mostly related to books and/or reading.  This weeks question is:

'What's more important: Good writing?  Or a good story?'

I think it depends.  There are certain books, that I just enjoy the story, no matter how bad the writing may be.  Those are the types of books that I call, "My Quick Reads".  Those are the books that take me only about a day or two to finish.  The books with the good writing, are those that I enjoy probably the most, with a nice cup of tea, the ones that make me think, and question the book itself.

I do love it when an author articulates a character or a plot with certain words though.  So I feel like the most important to me would have to be writing now that I think about it.  Though, like I said, I do enjoy quick reads once in a while!

Waiting on Wednesday: A Parliament of Spies: A Mystery by Cassandra Clark

'Waiting on Wednesday' is a weekly event, hosting by Breaking the Spine, which spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I picked:
A Parliament of Spies: A Mystery by Cassandra Clark
Publication Date: January 31st, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Summary via Amazon:
'All the danger and intrigue of 14th-century England spring to life in this "compelling" (Publishers Weekly) series about the brace, incorruptible Abbess of Meaux.  


Abbess Hildegard may consider herself "just a nun with no useful skills or connections," yet her loyalty and intelligence have brought her to the attention of King Richard II himself - not the safest place to be, when the king has enemies on all sides.  As Hildegard wrestles with her role as a spy in the parliament that is hastily gathering at Westminster, Cassandra Clark shows us the human side of history, giving readers new reason to follow Publishers Weekly's rallying cry: "Medievalists rejoice!"'


Why I'm excited: There is just something about historical mystery novels that I love.  I'm a huge fan of Lauren Willig and her Scarlet Pimpernel series, and when I was search Amazon for new reads, I came upon this novel.  I was intrigued as soon as I read the words, '14th-century', 'England', and 'spy'.  I will not have to blink twice before I get this book.  I just hope it's as good as I think it will be!

Musing Mondays: Week One

Musing Mondays is a weekly feature from Should Be Reading.  Each week, a question is asked, and we have the opportunity to answer it!  This weeks question is:

'Why do you think the Young Adult genre is so popular with even adult readers?  Do you read YA books, yourself?'


I feel like one of the main reasons the Young Adult genre is so popular with even adults, is because it reminds us of when we were younger and reading.  It gives us that sense of youth that we wish we could have had, or that we wish we could have back.

Now, okay, so I'm twenty-three years old, so technically I'm a "young adult" still, but there is just something about some (not all) Young Adult books that make me feel like a kid again.  When I read the Harry Potter series, it beings back memories of sitting outside on a summer day reading that same exact book, or an other series.  It just brings back those memories, you know?

I still read Young Adult books from time to time.  I'm one of those people that get easily distracted by pretty/flashy things, and when you have a pretty/flashy book cover, you will automatically have a sale with me, and what better way to take away all my money, then to make every single Young Adult book have a pretty/flashy cover.  This is why my family and friends know never to take me to the book shop, in fear that I might leave with my credit card maxed out on books.

Also, I'm not ashamed to admit that I still read middle school novels (Nancy Drew, Fear Street, etc...), because who doesn't love a good story like those once in a while.

- Brittany :]

In My Mailbox: Week 1

In My Mailbox is a weekly feature hosted by The Story Siren, where I talk about the books I received during the week either from buying, ARCs, gifts, library, etc...

This is my first week doing this, and I'm just letting you all know.  I buy a lot of books.  It's sort of a bad habit of mine.  Usually, I spend most of my days off of work at the thrift shop, book store, or used book shops.  This past week, I went a little nuts with the buying.  All of the books I received via the thrift shop or Half Price Books.

Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

Bridget Jones: the Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding  Amazon ♥  Goodreads

Best New Horror: Volume 21 by Various Authors, edited by Stephen Jones  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

Doctor Who: The King's Dragon by Una McCormack  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

Matched by Ally Condie  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

The Devil's Rooming House by M. William Phelps  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella  Amazon  ♥  Goodreads

I'm really excited to read these, especially Matched by Ally Condie, and The Devil's Rooming House by M. William Phelps.  I'm a huge fan of serial killers (not that I would you know, date one or be pen pals with one, or you know, become one.  Just putting this out there because I can only believe some of you are side eyeing me, and slowly backing away from your computer to call the F.B.I.).  and I love books that are dystopian themed.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

- Brittany :]

Feature & Follow Friday: Week #1

Feature & Follow is hosted each week by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read.  It's a blog hop, where bloggers can expand their following, and get to know each other.

Question of the week: What's the craziest thing you've ever done to get your hands any particular book?


I haven't really done anything crazy since the last Harry Potter book came out.  Actually, I believe that the Harry Potter series is the only set of books that I've actually spent HOURS waiting in line for, okay that's a lie, I've waited more then hours, more like a day.

Usually that day would start the night before, where I would make goodies, for the following day.  Then I would go to bed, wake up super early (sometimes not sleep at all), and head to my local book shop where I would hope I wasn't the only person willing to stay outside for a long amount of time for a book series.  I would then set down a blanket or a sleeping bag, cuddle up with a book (usually Harry Potter), and I would read, for hours.  Usually the book shop would have games going on closer to the time the book was to be released so I would participate in those, meet new people, and pass out the licorice wands and butter beer cupcakes I would make to others.  Oh yeah, did I mention I would dress up as well?

Have any of you done any crazy things for books?

- Brittany :]

Booking Through Thursday: Week #1

Booking Through Thursday is a weekly book blogging meme, that asks a question a week, mostly related to books and/or reading.  This weeks question is: 

'Do you skip ahead in a book?  Do you feel badly about it when you do?'

As much as I don't want to admit it, sometimes when I'm reading a book that is either boring, or I'm on a chapter that I find to be boring, I'll skip ahead to the next chapter, see how many pages that chapter is, and then usually read the last sentence of that chapter.  It's a habit I need to stop, because sometimes I end up reading something that I didn't want to read (spoilers will be the death of me, I swear).

It's only books that have caught me from the beginning, and continue to pull me in paragraph after paragraph that I don't look at other chapters/read ahead, because I'm so engrossed in the novel already.

Waiting on Wednesday: Zombie by J.R. Angelella

'Waiting on Wednesday' is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, which spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week, I picked:
Zombie by J.R. Angelella
Publication Date: June 5th, 2012
Publisher: Soho Press

Summary via Goodreads/Amazon: 
'Fourteen-year-old Jeremy Barker is obsessed with zombie movies.  He attends an all-boys Catholic High School where roving gangs in plaid make his days a living hell.  His mother is an absentee pillhead, his older brother a self-diagnosed sex-addict, and his father an ex-Marine realtor who disappears night after night without explanation.  Jeremy navigates it all with a code cobbled together from Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later, Planet Terror, Zombieland, and Dawn of the Dead: 


• Avoid Contact
• Keep Quiet
• Forget the Past
• Lock-and-load
• Fight to Survive


The code is put to the test when he discovers in his father's closet a bizarre homemade video of a man strapped to a bed, being prepped for some sort of surgical procedure.  As Jeremy - troubled but ever-optimistic -- attempts to trace the origin of the video, this remarkable debut moves from it's sharp, precocious beginnings to a climax of almost unthinkable violence, testing him to the core.'


Why I'm excited: I love zombies!  Anything and everything to do with the undead sparks my interest.  This brief summary, gives me enough information about the book to automatically hook me in.  I have a feeling this will be very Chuck Palahniuk/Bret Easton Ellis.  I cannot wait!

Book Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Title: Catching Fire (The Hunger Games Trilogy: Book #2)
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Publication Date: September 1st, 2009
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction/Fantasy

Pages: 391 (Hardcover edition)
How I came upon this book: I bought it at a thrift shop
amazon.com  goodreads.com

Summary (SPOILERS FROM THE FIRST BOOK): highlight to read in case you haven't read the first novel in the series!

'By winning the annual Hunger Games, District 12 tributes Katniss Everdeen, and Peeta Mellark have secured a life of safety and plenty for themselves and their families, but because they won by defying the rules, they unwittingly become the fans of an impending rebellion.' - Scholastic Press summary

Welcome to 'Bookish Books'!

'Bookish Books' is a blog for all things, well, book-y!  Here you will find reviews on books new and old every week.  You will find opinions that you'll agree with, and ones that you might not.

Here at 'Bookish Books', I do reviews on all different types of literature.  YA, Paranormal, Mystery, Science Fiction, Fiction, Political, etc...  You will have a nice wide variety of books to read reviews on no matter what your taste.

Reviews will be posted weekly, upon completion of a book.  If you would like me to review your novel/graphic novel, please contact me at bookishbooksblog@gmail.com for more information.

I hope you enjoy your time here!

- Brittany :]