Weekly Round-Up 9/30

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan and listening to Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, read by Erin Moon. I'm reading Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Lab by Bob Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith with my son right now.

Weekly Round-Up 9/23

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan and listening to Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, read by Erin Moon. I'm reading Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Lab by Bob Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith with my son right now.

Last week I reviewed The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann, read by Peter Altschuler.

Sent from Quirk Books for review

 Nick and Tesla's Robot Army Rampage: A Mystery with Hoverbots, Bristle Bots, and Other Robots You Can Build Yourself by Bob Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith

In this second novel of the Nick and Tesla series, the precocious brother-and-sister duo find themselves solving another baffling mystery.  As the story opens, their Uncle Newt takes a consulting gig at a cut-rate amusement park, engineering animatronic figures for a cheap Hall of Presidentsknockoff.  One perk of the job is that Nick and Tesla have unlimited access to the amusement park all summer long—but the kids quickly discover that one of the park employees has a sinister plan.  They’ll have to build a few robots of their own to foil him! Readers are invited to join in the fun as each story contains instructions and blueprints for five different projects. Learning about science has never been so dangerous—or so much fun!

The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann (audio)

Don’t get yourself noticed and you won’t get yourself hanged.
In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings—Peculiars—and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.
One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley—Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.
First he’s noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.

If I had to describe this book in a few words I'd say fairy, dystopian, steampunkish. In this world, fairies have waged war on humans and lost and are now subjugated to the slums and minority sects of England except for a few who have risen in the ranks. And the changelings have it the worst. Half human, half fairies, the changelings are viewed as abominations by all.  So Bartholomew and his little sister Hettie are kept indoors and away from the windows and prying eyes. Until one day when they do get noticed putting them both in danger. And on the other side of town, Arthur Jelliby is a mild-mannered government official who just wants to live his quiet, unassuming life. But when he confidentially overhears a nefarious plot by the Chancellor Mr. Lickerish, he feels compelled to stop him and to save the woman in the plum-colored dress.

I enjoyed this book. It was a delightful book with a different take on fairies and them living in a human world. It was interesting how the humans found ways of keeping the fairies subjugated and how the fairies became stuck in our world. I liked Bartholomew and how all it wanted to have was a friend. It was actually sad the lengths he went through to have a friend of his own, stuck in his house with his sister and mother. But find an unlikely friend, he does. There is a lot of action and danger in this book especially for Bartholomew and his sister. 

I feel like this story could have been wrapped up in one book though so I'm curious what the sequel The Whatnot will be about.

Provided by SYNC

Peter Altschuler is the narrator. I enjoyed his reading though I wasn't fond of a few of the voices he choose, still he did a great job. He has a very nice voice and puts a lot of emotion into his performance.

7 hours, 35 mintues

Weekly Round-Up 9/16

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan and listening to Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, read by Erin Moon. I'm reading Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Lab  by Bob Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith with my son right now.

Last week I reviewed  The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

Cormoran Strike is having some serious troubles with his girlfriend, with paying back his debts and with life in general. But when a wealthy lawyer walks into his office asking him to solve the murder of his famous supermodel sister, he becomes embroiled in a case where everyone has something to hide. Because although the police have already determined that her death was a suicide, something tells Strike there is more to it than that.

How easy it was to capitalize on a person’s own bent for self-destruction; how simple to nudge them into non-being, then to stand back and shrug and agree that it had been the inevitable result of a chaotic, catastrophic life.

I picked this up after I learned who the real author was under the pseudonym.  Of course I did. I tried her Casual Vacancy but literary novels are not my thing.  But mysteries are. It was really good, long but good. I enjoyed it. Rowling can certainly write and certainly world-build. She also creates great characters like Cormoran Strike, the main character and detective in this novel. He is flawed but a good person and a very thorough detective. I liked him. And his temporary assistant Robin was also a great character though she needed more fleshing out.

Overall the mystery was very well done and the ending was a surprise. Though there was a part that I guess was hinted at but still felt like it came out of nowhere. I'm happy that there is another book planned because I liked Cormoran and his methodical detective work and his life story and I'd like to see it explored more rather than doled out in bits and pieces.

Weekly Round-Up 9/9

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard and then The Cuckoo's Calling and listening to The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann, read by Peter Altschuler. I'm reading Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Lab  by Bob Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith with my son right now.

I haven't finished anything lately to review. I think I'm in a reading slump mostly because I'm too tired at night to pick up a book. Sorry about that. 

Weekly Round-Up 9/2

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard and then finishing The Cuckoo's Calling and listening to The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann, read by Peter Altschuler. I'm reading Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Lab  by Bob Pflugfelder and Steve Hockensmith with my son right now. I think I will start featuring the chapter and middle grade books we are reading together.

Last week I reviewed She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith.

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia…

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

download from SYNC
The Peculiar by Stefan Bachman (audio)

Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged.

In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings—Peculiars—and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.

One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley—Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.

First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.

Part murder mystery, part gothic fantasy, part steampunk adventure, The Peculiar is Stefan Bachmann's riveting, inventive, and unforgettable debut novel.