Kiwiria's September Stories

[kiwiria]

The Invisible Library - Genevieve Cogman, 2/5, 329 pages
I'm really sad to only give this 2 stars, because I'd been so eager to read it! It came highly recommended and sounded like something I would absolutely adore... but it ended up taking me almost half a year to read, and could only just make it to "Okay". It wasn't bad... I just didn't care. I didn't care about any of the characters, I didn't care about their plight, and I certainly didn't care about the budding relationship. The writing was fine, so I wasn't bored by the book... I just didn't care.

I think a lot of my problem with it, was the steampunk / fae aspects. I really liked the first few chapters, where Irene and the library were introduced, and had the entire book been like that, I'd probably have loved it! But as soon as Irene entered alternative London it started to fall flat for me, and it took me more than 3 months to read the last 100 pages. I can see the next book is more of the same, so I'm just going to leave it in the "not for me" pile.


The Mystwick School of Musicraft - Jessica Khoury, 4/5, Audiobook ~8.5hrs
This is definitely a book that gains hugely from being "read" as an audiobook. The inclusion of music in every chapter is awesome and made for a totally different (and more immersive) reading experience... even if listening to the music did sometimes cause me to forget all about listening to the actual words! No matter - worth it :-D

It started out being very Harry Potter'ish, but fortunately quickly changed tracks completely with Mystwick being very different from Hogwarts. I do wish we could have heard more about the Musicraft classes themselves though, as I always find that fascinating.

I mostly loved the story... it was charming and fun and though obviously written for children/YA still definitely appealing for adults as well. My one complaint about it - and the main reason I subtracted a star - is the same issue I have with so many books in this genre: Kids who have really serious concerns about something BUT NEVER TALK TO AN ADULT ABOUT IT!!!! I guess it could be argued that Amelia didn't really have any cause to trust the teachers... but still.

Ah well, the rest was absolutely delightful, and for once I actually really HOPE it will end up being a series, rather than just a stand-alone novel.


The Unhoneymooners - Christina Lauren, 4.5/5, 400 pages
I wish I could remember who originally recommended this book to me and thank her profusely, because I ended up absolutely loving it! Sure, it's the enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating trope, but so charmingly written that I loved every single minute of it. It was originally designated train reading, but I ended up picking it up every free minute at home as well.

It made me laugh, it made me cry. It was predictable as anything, but the characters so likable that I just didn't care. Even the final resolution was more satisfying than I had originally feared (with proper growth, rather than just ignoring everything to swooningly - yes, it's a word - fall into each others' arms).

It's not high literature in any sense of the word, but for pure enjoyment, it might be one of my favourite reads this year.


The Diary of a Bookseller - Shaun Bythell, 3/5, Audiobook ~10hrs
This was equal parts really charming and really boring... go figure :-P

But honestly - it is exactly what it says - a diary of a bookseller. There's no plot, there's no red thread, it's just a year in the life of a bookseller in Scotland. And just like real life - it's equal parts charming and boring. I did consider giving up on it once or twice, but could never actually make myself do it. I 'read' it as an audiobook, which I think was both good and bad. Good, because the narrator was really good and his voice was very pleasant to listen to. Bad, because it meant I couldn't skim past the more boring entries. At the end of the day, there was more I liked about the book than I didn't, as I grew fond of the people. Also, I want to go visit the bookshop now - it sounds amazing!

I recommend checking out Reader's Delight on youtube. Funnily enough, Nicky looked exactly as I expected her to!


Hearing God - Nathan Finochio, 3/5, 224 pages
Very accessible book with a lot of good points on how we can open ourselves up to guidance from God and some suggestions of how to apply this to our every day life in the end notes. Nathan especially caught my attention by elaborating on the difference between following the general will of God for our lives vs. following the specific will of God.

"Even if you never have a prophetic word in your life, just do what you know the Bible tell you to do, work hard, develop your skills, and stay in community, and you'll absolutely be doing God's specific will without ever having necessarily 'heard' it."

However, at the end of the day Nathan focuses more on how to hear God through circumstances and through other people than on actually hearing His voice. Which definitely serves a purpose as well, but wasn't what I was looking for. As a practical guide of how to start hearing God's voice, I'd recommend Mark Virkler's book 4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice instead.


Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane - Suzanne Collins*, 3.5/5, Audiobook ~8hrs
I'm "reading" these as audiobooks, which I think is a good thing. The plot itself is nothing special, but the writing works nicely as a story read aloud, and I find myself utterly charmed by the tale. Especially Boots who's just plain adorable :)

Book of the Month: The Unhoneymooners
Biggest Disappointment: The Invisible Library.