Bout of Books 12 Wrap-Up!

This past week I took part in Bout of Books 12, for no other reason than that I wanted to get 2015 off to a great reading start! I didn't read as much as I wanted, but I did manage to read four books and considering I didn't really set myself any goals other than 'READ', I think I did rather well!

White Ravens

by Owen Sheers

My Rating: 3.5 Stars

Based on the fable of Branwen, Daughter of Llyr, this interpretation revives one of the most action-packed stories in the whole myth cycle. Moving this bloodthirsty tale of Welsh and Irish power struggles and family tensions into the 21st century, this retelling retains many of the bizarre and magical happenings of the original. After being wounded in Italy, Matthew O’Connell is seeing out WWII in an obscure government department, spreading rumors and myths to the enemy. When he is assigned the bizarre task of escorting a box containing six raven chicks from a remote hill farm to the Tower of London, he soon finds himself ensnared in an adventure that leaves him powerless.

As part of the 2015 Fairytale Challenge I read my first retelling of the year this past week. White Ravens is a retelling of one of the tales from The Mabinogion, old Welsh Celtic folk tales that are thought to be the oldest written stories in Britain. I enjoyed this retelling, though it was certainly a lot less epic and much quieter than the blurb had me believe!

Saga: Volume 1

by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

My Rating: 5 Stars

When two soldiers from opposite sides of a never-ending galactic war fall in love, they risk everything to bring a fragile new life into a dangerous old universe. 

From New York Times bestselling writer Brian K. Vaughan (Y: The Last Man, Ex Machina) and critically acclaimed artist Fiona Staples (Mystery Society, North 40), Saga is the sweeping tale of one young family fighting to find their place in the worlds. Fantasy and science fiction are wed like never before in this sexy, subversive drama for adults. 

I've been meaning to start Saga for so long, and after I received some money for Christmas I headed straight into Waterstone's to buy the first three volumes. I've since acquired the fourth after finding it over on the Book Depository! I loved this so much; the dialogue is so fun and the character designs are fantastic. This kind of plot has been done so many times before - star-crossed lovers pop up everywhere nowadays! - and yet Vaughan and Staples have managed to create a story that really stands out.

Saga: Volume 2

by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

My Rating: 5 Stars

Thanks to her star-crossed parents Marko and Alana, newborn baby Hazel has already survived lethal assassins, rampaging armies, and horrific monsters, but in the cold vastness of outer space, the little girl encounters her strangest adventure yet... grandparents.

After reading Volume 1 I jumped straight into Volume 2 and, again, I loved it. I don't know what else to say: this series is amazing.

Saga: Volume 3

by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples

My Rating: 4 Stars

Searching for their literary hero, new parents Marko and Alana travel to a cosmic lighthouse on the planet Quietus, while the couple's multiple pursuers finally close in on their targets.

Naturally, after finishing Volume 2 I jumped straight into Volume 3, and I would have read Volume 4 immediately afterwards if I hadn't been as sleepy as I was. Again, I love this series. I didn't like this volume quite as much as the previous two, but it was still fantastic; I think I felt a lot of this volume centered around Gwendolyn and I'm still waiting for her to grow on me. 

So Bout of Books 12 was pretty successful for me! I read 4 books, and while 3 of them may have been graphic novels I enjoyed everything I read. 

I also read 70 pages of A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf, but I haven't finished it yet. That means all in all I read 710 pages this week. Hooray!

What did you read this week?

What's Up Wednesday! | 07/01/15

What's Up Wednesday is a weekly feature created by Jaime Morrow and Erin L. Funk as a way for readers and writers to stay in touch!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

What I'm Reading

Since the last WUW I've read My Family and Other Superheroes by Jonathan Edwards, The Christmas Surprise by Jenny Colgan, Witch by Damian Walford Davies, Burial Rites by Hannah Kent and White Ravens by Owen Sheers.

Right now I'm reading The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau, and just this morning I started The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse. I'm taking part in the Bout of Books 12 this week; I haven't set myself any challenges because they only stress me out and I don't want to turn reading into something that brings me stress. I'm taking part so that I can get 2015 off to a great reading start!

With that in mind I want to try and finish both The Crown and The Winter Ghosts this week, and I also want to try and read The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier, Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers and A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf.

What I'm Writing

I'm ashamed to say I've written barely anything over the holidays! I'm aiming to enter a few writing competitions so I've been trying to tweak, complete and write some short stories that have been stuck in my head for a while. One story in particular has been driving me nuts, so some of the people from my MA course are very kindly going to read it and tell me what they think.

Then yesterday inspiration struck, so I started scribbling in my notebook during my lunch break. I don't think any character's voice, without a story, has ever come through so clearly before; I won't say much (because I'm not even sure what it is yet!), only that whatever it is is from the POV of a biracial dragon whose parents own a Chinese restaurant.

What Works For Me

Actually writing when I get a new idea. I have this habit of thinking of an idea and 'saving it' for later, as though writing it later is going to make it somehow better, but most of the time when I do that what actually happens is that I convince myself it's a bad idea or I forget something (especially if I don't have something with me to jot the idea down!) and the idea doesn't get written the way I want it or it doesn't get written at all.

This has worked for me very recently! The story I mentioned above isn't exactly a story yet, it's just this very loud character talking through me; I have no idea what I'm going to do with what she's telling me once she's finished talking...

What Else Is New

I had a great Christmas and New Year! I spent Christmas with my family and got some great presents, including a bunch of books and DVDs I'd been after. And then I spent New Year in York, the most haunted city in Britain, with my best friend; we shopped, ate, drank, went to the cinema to see Night at the Museum 3 (and I totally teared up near the end; I'm going to miss seeing Robin Williams in new films) and binge watched the first three seasons of Parks and Recreation. Why have I never watched that show before?

I'm still enjoying my job and my wages, and last night I bought tickets for me and my parents to go and see The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. I enjoyed it - I certainly enjoyed it better than the other two films which, while good, felt very much like "Bilbo and the Road Trip" to me - but I think I'm always going to love The Lord of the Rings more. Eowyn's my home girl.

What's new with you?

Bout of Books #12!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I want to start 2015 with a bang and read as much as I can, giving myself a great reading start to the year! I'm not setting myself any goals - I only stress myself out when I give myself reading goals - I'm just going to read.

Are you taking part in Bout of Books?