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Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Waiting on Wednesday #142

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine and is where we can talk about books we are looking forward to being released.


Summary:

When Tea accidentally resurrects her brother from the dead, she learns she is different from the other witches in her family. Her gift for necromancy means that she’s a bone witch, a title that makes her feared and ostracized by her community. But Tea finds solace and guidance with an older, wiser bone witch, who takes Tea and her brother to another land for training.

In her new home, Tea puts all her energy into becoming an asha — one who can wield elemental magic. But dark forces are approaching quickly, and in the face of danger, Tea will have to overcome her obstacles…and make a powerful choice.
Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 400 pages (Hardcover)
Expected Publication Date: March 7th 2017 by Sourcebooks Fire

Why I'm Waiting:

I love books that deal with necromancy I think it's really cool and I'm all for witches! This looks like it might just be the start of a great new series, and that cover art is fantastic.





Tuesday, July 12, 2016

2016 Big Book Summer Challenge



 

Well I suppose that it's only proper that I mark my full return to the blogosphere with signing up for a book challenge that I can ACTUALLY do. I haven't done as much reading as I used to since I stepped away from the blog and I need a push to get through some of my TBR pile before the year is through. Enter the Big Book Summer Challenge hosted by the fabulous Sue over at Book by Book! Since the year is over halfway through I think this is perfectly suited to me.


The Details:

Hey, it's summer, so we'll keep this low-key and easy!
  • Anything over 400 pages qualifies as a big book.
  • The challenge will run from Memorial Day weekend (starting May 27 this year) through Labor Day weekend (Labor Day is September 5 this year).
  • Choose one or two or however many big books you want as your goal.  Wait, did you get that?  You only need to read 1 book with over 400 pages this summer to participate! (though you are welcome to read more, if you want).
  • Choose from what's on your shelves already or a big book you've been meaning to read for ages or anything that catches your eye in the library - whatever peaks your interest!
  • Sign up on the links list below.
  • Write a post to kick things off - you can list the exact big books you plan to read or just publish your intent to participate, but be sure to include the Big Book Summer Challenge pic above, with a link back to this blog.
  • Write a post to wrap up at the end, listing the big books you read during the summer.
  • You can write progress posts if you want to and/or reviews of the big books you've read...but you don't have to!  There is a separate links list below for big book review posts.
That's it!  Go check out your shelves and your TBR list and sign up over at  Book by Book

(Don't have a blog?  No problem!  You can still participate in the challenge - just leave a comment in the Comment section, stating your goals for the Big Book Summer Challenge or sign up in the Goodreads group.)
At the end of the summer, there will be a Big Book Giveaway! After Labor Day, Sue will select one name from among the participants (bloggers who leave a link below as well as those without a blog who leave a comment to announce their participation or participate through the Goodreads group) and will offer the winner a choice from a selection of Big Books from her own shelves - probably most of the titles I read this summer and perhaps a few others to choose from.

And help spread the word on Twitter with #BigBookSummer (you can follow sue at @suebookbybook).

My Goals:

I don't generally do well with reading according to a list and it isn't a requirement to post one if you sign up but here are some I might just finally get to:

Re-Reads :

Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon - 743 pages (Paperback) Time Travel/Historical Fictton
The Tiger Queens: The Women of Genghis Khan by Stephanie Thornton - 486 pages (Paperback) Historical Fiction
Voyager (Outlander #3) by Diana Gabaldon - 880 pages (Paperback) Time Travel/Historical Fiction


To Read For the First Time:

Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4) by Diana Gabaldon - 870 pages (Paperback) Time Travel/Historical Fiction
Wolf Captured (Firekeeper Saga #4) by Jane Linkskold  - 722 pages (Paperback) Fantasy 
The Beast (Black Dagger Brotherhood #14) by J.R. Ward - 508 pages (Hardcover) Paranormal Romaance

I read a lot of books that are over 400 pages and will add them to this challenge as I go along but these are the heavy hitters that I really want to get to. 
Happy Reading!




Top Ten Tuesday #87

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish in June 2010. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post and, if you want to, add your name to the Linky widget on that day's posts (typically put up midnight EST on Tuesday) so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top 10 Facts About Me as a blogger:

1. I started Turning the Pages on October 29th 2011. 
2. I have taken about a year and a half off blogging and am just now getting back into it full time. 
3. On my blog you will find reviews for romance, fantasy, sci-fi, YA, new adult, historical fiction, thrillers & mysteries, non-fiction, graphic novels and manga and all the subsets in between
4. My Mister reads all my posts and comments on them religiously, so he's the guy you see me calling Babe in the comments.
5.  Once upon a time I had 3 or 4 blog posts up a day for weeks on end! Crazy, not sure I could go back to that scheduling. 
6. My brother reads my blog. Hi Jay!
7.  The blog has had about 6 different layouts over the years, however this current one has been my layout for a few years now and I love it.
8. Because of blogging my TBR list on Goodreads is now at 14,000 books long!
9.  I have met some incredible authors in person that know me because of this blog :)
10.  I love bookish memes! Seriously I do them as much as I can :) 


Monday, July 11, 2016

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? #125



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It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It's a great post to organise yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are!

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join them!

Currently Re-Reading:


Currently Reading:


Up Next:


What are YOU reading this week? Did you read anything last week that you'd recommend?
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Friday, July 1, 2016

An Ode To Canada (My Favourite Canadian Books)



Well, it is officially Canada's 149th Birthday today and I thought why not do a blog post celebrating some awesome books that take place in this beautiful country of mine. These are just a few of the books that take place in Canada and are, written by Canadians (whether by birth or by immigrating here). When I think of Canadian books these are the ones that come to mind for me because they are my favourites. I hope this post convinces you to give at least one of these Canadian books a try, and if you have read one of these (or more) tell me what you thought about it. To my fellow Canadians reading this, I hope you all have a safe and happy Canada day. 

 Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery  Set in Prince Edward Island this is one that I recommend to older and younger readers alike. Also, it's written by a Canadian as well.
Summary:
"She'll have to go back." Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert had decided to adopt an orphan. They wanted a nice sturdy boy to help Matthew with the farm chores. The orphanage sent a girl instead - a mischievous, talkative redhead who the Cuthberts thought would be no use at all. But as soon as Anne arrived at the snug, white farmhouse called Green Gables, she knew she wanted to stay forever. And the longer Anne stayed, the harder it was for anyone to imagine Green Gables without her.

Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache#1) by Louise Penny 
This is a  cozy mystery novel set in a tiny fictional village of Quebec and written by a fellow Torontonian. If you like your mysteries slower paced, cozy but still intriguing I recommend it.
Summary:
Winner of the New Blood Dagger, Arthur Ellis, Barry, Anthony, and Dilys awards.
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec and his team of investigators are called in to the scene of a suspicious death in a rural village south of Montréal and yet a world away. Jane Neal, a long-time resident of Three Pines, has been found dead in the woods. The locals are certain it's a tragic hunting accident and nothing more but Gamache smells something foul this holiday season…and is soon certain that Jane died at the hands of someone much more sinister than a careless bowhunter.
With this award-winning first novel, Louise Penny introduces an engaging hero in Inspector Gamache, who commands his forces--and this series--with power, ingenuity, and charm.

 
 Damaged (Kate Lange #1) by Pamela Callow
This one is just a great all around thriller. I loved how gritty it was and how engrossing of a read it was. I also loved that it was set in Halifax, Nova Scotia and written by a Nova Scotian.
Summary: 
Haunted by the death of her sister and wounded by her ex-fiancé's accusations, Kate Lange throws herself into her new career at a high-powered law firm.
When the grandmother of a lonely private school student seeks her counsel, Kate thinks it's just another custody case. But then the teen is brutally murdered. And it isn't only Kate who wonders if her legal advice led to the girl's death.
Put on notice by Randall Barrett, the firm's charismatic managing partner, Kate must fight for her career, for her reputation—and for redemption.
Unwilling to live with the damage she may have caused, Kate pursues the case on her own and unearths some chilling facts.
Facts that lead straight to the heart of a legal conspiracy.
Facts that lead Kate directly into the surgically skilled hands of the Body Butcher.

 A Private Man (Max Dexter #1) by Chris Laing
Set in Hamilton, Ontario in 1947 and written by a native Hamiltonian this is a smaller press book that I absolutely loved for the authentic feel the author's voice gave this historical mystery. I recommend it for everyone loving mysteries set in the 40s.
Summary:
In 1947, World War II veteran and former lawman Max Dexter opens his own detective agency in Hamilton, Ontario. Max and his assistant Isabel O'Brien are on the case from murder to money laundering and organized crime.

 Except the Dying (Detective Murdoch #1) by Maureen Jennings
This one is set here in my home town of Toronto in 1895 and is written by a a British Ex-Pat. It's a fantastic historical mystery that really brings the era and the city to life. This is also the series that the TV show is based on (a show which I love!) but be warned this is not exactly like the show but both are fantastic.
Summary:
In the cold Toronto winter of 1895, the naked body of a servant girl is found frozen in a deserted laneway. The young victim was pregnant when she died. Detective William Murdoch soon discovers that many of those connected with the girl’s life have secrets to hide. Was her death an attempt to cover up a scandal in one of the city’s influential families?

 Creatures of the Rock by Andrew Peacock
This one is written by an Ontario native but chronicles (hilariously I might add), his life as a veterinarian in Newfoundland. It reminded me of James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small and is one I recommend to any animal lover.
Summary:
When Andrew Peacock made the move from Ontario to Newfoundland, he thought he was kicking off his career as a newly qualified veterinarian with an adventure in a temporary location. It was certainly an adventure--a whole series of adventures--but there was nothing temporary about it. He practiced in Newfoundland for nearly 30 years and is still living there. In fact, he has lived there so long, the locals are starting to think of him as one of them.
Creatures of the Rock chronicals a career spent working with and getting to know a rich variety of animals and their owners, on farms, in homes and in the wild. Andrew was the only vet for miles around. A day of practice could include anything from a Caesarian section on a cow in a blizzard to freeing a humpback whale from a trap designed for cod to capturing a polar bear after its surprise visit to a bingo parlor. And, on the human side, anything from trying to impress a surpringly large audience of farmers with your first boar castration, to taking care of a family just as well as its stricken cat, to discouraging farm hands from helping themselves to hypodermic needles. All this against the background of a domestic scene in which Andrew's wife Ingrid--also freshly qualified, as a doctor--shares the adventure of making a new life, and in due course of starting a family.
Told in a series of brief, endlessly engaging stories, Creatures of the Rock is a funny, thrilling, unflinching but ultimately heartwarming narrative about the connections between people and animals, and people with each other.
 

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Friday 56 #37


This is a fun meme to do hosted by Freda's Voice If you'd like to join on the fun go to The Friday 56 

 Rules:
 
 *Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it



Summary:

A tale of humane wolves, beastly men, and a brilliant heroine who must find her way in a dangerous world

Raised by intelligent, language-using wolves, brought back to the human society at the court of Hawk Haven, young Firekeeper had to learn to cope with human society and its complexities . . . and discovered that, for someone raised in a wolf pack, the politics of a royal court were neither complex nor wholly unfamiliar.

But the happy ending of Through Wolf's Eyes has proved to have consequences. Hawk Haven and Bright Bay are unifying, but the power balance of the neighboring lands is threatened by this prospect. New intrigues abound. The rulers of Bright Bay, it transpires, have been hoarding a collection of forbidden magical artifacts . . . which Queen Gustin took with her when she abdicated, intending to use them to restore her power. Melina Shield is still scheming to obtain them, and she's older, smarter, and more devious than the Queen. And the even-more-devious civil service of neighboring New Kelvin would like to get their hands on that magic as well . . . .

Which will make life very hard for Firekeeper. Because the powers of the world have decided who'll be required to obtain those much-contended-for magical articles. It'll be her.
Summary & Cover taken from Goodreads.com
Length: 746 pages (Mass Market Paperback)
Publication Date: August 18th 2003 by Tor Fantasy
Page 56

Crown Princess Sapphire was, despite the amount of blood she had lost, evidently conscious. However, she was so pale that the white oval on her forehead had vanished into the general hue of the surrounding skin. Her reply was prefaced by a small, defiant smile.

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