BBAW Interview

Today I  have Bailey from Window Seat Reader for an interview.

What made you decide to start book blogging?  I love talking about books, and one day I came across Goodreads when I felt like venting about an upsetting read.  Next thing I know, I'm reading several blogs regularly!  I'd thrown the idea around a few times of starting a blog.  Finally, I just went for it, and it's been lots of fun ever since.

What is your favorite genre? I really enjoy historical fiction especially books with a Gothic setting.  I also like literary fiction and memoirs!

How did you come up with the name of your blog?  As a kid, I always thought it'd be awesome to have a window seat in my room.  I imagined it'd be a great place to relax and read and write.  My dream hasn't come to fruition yet, but I thought it was a fun and unique name for the blog!

You mention on your blog you are a graduate student what do you study?  I'm studying school psychology.  Some parts of the US don't really use school psychologists in their education systems so I'll briefly explain what that role entails.  Basically, I'll be trained to asses students with behavioral and learning deficits; additionally, I'll be able to implement interventions and consult with teachers and parents on effective strategies and solutions to help their children succeed in the classroom and in life.

What is your favorite book of this year?  Favorite audiobook: The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly O'Connor McNees; Favorite memoir: Little Princes by Conor Grennan; Favorite fiction (print): The Distant Hours by Kate Morton (Sorry, I can't ever choose one!)

What Have I Been Up To?

I know things have been quite on the blog front lately. No I havent forgotten about it, I have been studying all..the.. time for

the GRE. I am hoping to enroll in graduate school to get my Masters of Library Science. I have still been reading during study breaks. Most lately this book:

What are you reading?

Review:Nemesis

This is a historically imagined polio outbreak in Newark in the summer on 1944. Bucky who wishes he was in the military fighting in the pacific is disqualified because of his bad eyesight. Instead he is the playground director for a local school. Apart from his bad eyesight he is the epitome of manliness.  When the chance arises he goes to the Poconos which is polio free. Then the twist occurs which I am not giving away for it is spoilirsh.

I have to be honest I had a hard time getting through this book as it seemed nothing happened. I know usually the first 100 pages is used for scene setting but this book dragged on past that. The book went into detail about the playground. Kids died. It described in excruciating detail about Bucky’s past and how he wanted to join the military. The overall theme of the book was what kind of God would let polio happen? I was getting pissed. I wanted a twist or SOMETHING big to happen in the book. In the end I got what I wanted. I really did not see that twist coming. It is at the end of the book so you will have to suffer through 200 pages to get to it but boy, it it worth it!

To be fair it did give an accurate portrayal of the horrifying conditions and the panic that ensued.I was able to empatize with the characters. While reading this book I felt bad for the people that got polio and suffered it devastating effects before the vaccine was created. What it must have been like for those people not knowing where polio came from or how it was spread.Philip Roth does a brilliant job of creating a historically accurate portrayal of that summer. How the kids on the playground felt when their friends died or was confined to an iron lung. How healthy kids were falling one by one to the disease.

The part that bothered me was the long drawn out descriptions of the summer camp. That I could do without. I am sure most of us have been to summer camp and is aware of what it entails. However it is here that the twist comes up and it makes suffering through the 200 pages prior worth it.

Review: Wolf Mark

This book was sent to me by the publisher

From Goodreads:

Luke King knows a lot of things. Like four different ways to disarm an enemy before the attacker can take a breath. Like every detail of every book he’s ever read. And Luke knows enough—just enough—about what his father does as a black ops infiltrator to know which questions not to ask. Like why does his family move around so much?
Luke just hopes that this time his family is settled for a while. He’ll finally be able to have a normal life. He’ll be able to ask the girl he likes to take a ride with him on his motorcycle. He’ll hang out with his friends. He’ll be invisible—just as he wants.
But when his dad goes missing, Luke realizes that life will always be different for him. Suddenly he must avoid the kidnappers looking to use him as leverage against his father, while at the same time evading the attention of the school’s mysterious elite clique of Russian hipsters, who seem much too interested in Luke’s own personal secret. Faced with multiple challenges and his emerging paranormal identity, Luke must decide who to trust as he creates his own destiny.

My review: I am now a fan of TU a new imprint of Lee and Low Books. I have liked all three of the books they have sent me. I never thought I would like young adult books but boy, was I wrong. I think I am going to seek out the genre a bit more.

Wolf Mark is has sci-fi elements which I love. It also has a little romance thrown in but with a young adult feel to it. It brought back to memory of my own high school days.

The characters all of them are well developed. I found myself rooting for Lucas and he races to save his father. It is hard to find a book whose secondary characters are  as well developed as they are in this book. I could find myself empathizing even what I thought to be the bad guys (even though they weren't) and his best friend.

I also love the lore that was interposed in this book. I love mythology. And there was not short of it here. It explained in such a way that it was assessable to it target audience which is 12 and up. I myself learned quite a few things from this book. Such as what a grue is among other things.

I would recommend this book to any young adult who likes sci-fi and to any adult who likes sci-fi and young adult books.

Book Blogger Hop

                                   

“What is the one ARC you would love to get your hands on right now?”

I would kill to get my hands on “The last Werewolf”

For the rest of the hop click here

Review: And the Angels Were Silent

Max Lucado is one of my favorite Christian authors. He writes so fluidly and tight it almost as if God himself were feeding him words to say. He tone is never to condemn or to be to preachy but rather to convey the message that God really loves you and you are destined for better things in life.
In this book he examines the last week of Christ while explaining how it applies to real life. I have never thought about many of the aspects that he mentions. As always I have felt refreshed after reading one of his books.
I really enjoyed this book. You can see how his writing has evolved if you have read his earlier works. It is amazing to see.

My Library Loot for Today

Nemesis

Lover Mine

The Pale King

Mockingjay

State of Wonder

Atkins for Life-Low carb cookbook