Merry Misfits Book Club (Year Two): February: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

For February, the book club had the choice of a couple of different fairy tale retellings: Cinder by Marissa Meyer and Goose Girl by Shannon Hale.  Although I like Shannon Hale as an author, I chose Cinder simply because it was available as an audiobook from the library through the overdrive app, lol.

I really enjoyed this book.  I do enjoy retellings of the Cinderella story, and this was a really innovative one.  It has this whole sci-fi thing going on that was really cool.  I don't want to sound shady, but I didn't know it was AS sci-fi as it was, so if I had read a summary of the book beforehand I probably wouldn't have read it... which I'm definitely glad I did, because I enjoyed it.  So even if the story doesn't SOUND like it would appeal to you, it just might.  You could still enjoy it.  Like last month's book, this one is the first of a series and I'm considering eventually reading later books in the series.  I'd recommend it!

Merry Misfits Book Club (Year Two): January: Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

This year, I'm not doing a traditional reading challenge like I have done these last couple of years... I feel bad about that, because I kind of enjoyed having a theme and picking a book to fit it, but it's just been so stressful as I have not had the time.  I hate not having enough time to read enough, but... you know.  Capitalism, lol.  Anyways... I am still doing the book club I joined last year, but it's been kind of revamped.  Last year, it was similar to the reading challenges in that we'd have a theme and then pick a book to fit it.  This year it's a more traditional book club -- we all read one of a couple of different books and are free to discuss.

January's book was Howls' Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones.  I listened to the audiobook of it.

I picked this over the other selection because of the Ghibli movie.  Even though the book is quite different than the movie, I really enjoyed it.  The characterization and world building will really draw you in.  The narrator of the audiobook (I forget her name) had a really enchanting voice that fit the story so perfectly.  I might eventually go back and check out the sequels.  I don't have a lot to say about the book other than the fact that I enjoyed it and definitely recommend it.  Makes me want to re-watch the movie, lol.

I'm going to be doing a more casual format with these book posts and try to make more formal reviews on Goodreads.  Follow me there for more incoherent thoughts, lol.

DYRC 19/Merry Misfits Book Club December: The Snow Tree by Caroline Repchuk

So this is my second time writing this because the computer I'm using is a literal piece of shit and decided to just... go ahead and delete the entire fucking thing after I added an image lol.  (And then it autosaved before I could load a previously saved draft.  Cool, so cool.)  My next blog post should probably be my computer woes lol.

Anyways...

So there was a lot of cheating involved in the selection of the book I read for December.  As I've mentioned before, I don't have a lot of time to read anymore and due to stress and depression and etc I don't necessarily spend a lot of my very little free time reading (like arguably I should/could).  So in these reading challenges, I'm always excited when I can have a shortcut -- covering both challenges with one book, whenever I can read a short book or a comic or children's book, etc.  The theme for Merry Misfits was holiday -- easy enough.  The theme for DYRC was fantasy.  Now, I know they mean something like Lord or the Rings or Game of Thrones, but I didn't want a big long book right now.  I decided to take "fantasy" as a broad descriptor rather than as a genre, really just so I could make things a little easier on myself.  Sue me, lol.  I just wanted a fantasy-esque Christmassy children's book, so I picked The Snow Tree by Caroline Repchuck.

I'm giving myself a pass on calling this fantasy because it has talking animals and nothing could be more fantastic, lol.  Anyways, this is a really cute little book and the art is beautiful.  The pages are textured and it's really fun and sweet.  Because it's just a little children's book I don't have a lot to say, but I just really wanted to read a cute little book like this and it hit the literary spot.

I didn't post a goodreads review on this book.  However here is my profile, and you should follow me.  Here is the page for this book... other people have written better reviews than this one and you can read them there, lol.

I read this book on December 22.

Would I recommend this book to a friend?  If you like children's books, yes.

DYRC19/Merry Misfits Book Club November: Edgar Allen Poe: The Complete Tales and Poems

New year, same old me.  Here I am, months after the fact, writing a book post for y'all… knowing full well that no one was waiting for this, lol.  Anyways, the theme for DYRC in November was poetry, and the theme for the Merry Misfits was short story.  I was deciding on this book during October, the spookiest month of the year... I dressed as the Phantom of the Opera for Halloween, and there's a scene in that book where the Phantom dresses in a Poe cosplay lol, so it all added up to me picking this Poe collection (which I got in ebook format for my Kindle tablet for like $1).

Full disclosure: I didn't read this entire thing.  But to be fair, that's not the point of a complete works type of book.  Those are meant to be read as you please -- pick and choose pieces, read out of order, read in order but skip things if you want... it doesn't matter.  I read two of the short stories and a selection of the poems.  Obviously, Poe is an incredibly talented and important writer -- you don't need me to explain that to you.  I will say, I enjoyed everything I read here.  The stories I picked ("The Masque of the Red Death" and "The Cask of Amontillado") were great, but you really can't go wrong.  The poetry, of course, was wonderful too.  The great thing about a collection like this is that I can revisit it whenever I want and read another story or a couple more poems.  There's enough material there that even if you do want to read it straight through from beginning to end you won't run out of stuff to read for a while.

Here is my goodreads review.  It's only one sentence, lol.

I read this book between November 7th and (according to Goodreads) December 22.  I don't know if that date is accurate, I don't remember reading any of this that recently.  But whatever... like I said, I just sort of picked and chose what I read, so it doesn't necessarily matter.

Would I recommend this book? Of course.

Merry Misfits Book Club October: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (adapted by Shannon Donnelly)

The theme for October in the Merry Misfits Book Club was a book set in a different country or by an author from a different country.  The Phantom of the Opera is both, taking place in France (Paris, to be exact) and written by a Frenchman named Gaston Leroux and published in 1910 (the first English translation becoming available in 1911).  While I do want to read that original 1911 translation at some point (as well as another translation I've heard comes highly recommended), now wasn't really the time because it's long and I'm busy... and behind in this reading challenge.  So, Great Illustrated Classics to the rescue once again, lmao.

I wanted to read this because I've been super obsessed with the Phantom recently (I even dressed as him for Halloween) so I requested this from the library.  The story obviously is condensed, and since I haven't read the original I can't say how good it is as an adaptation, but it's interesting how contradictory the book is.  It moves slowly, yet it jumps from episode to episode.  It tells when it should show, yet there's a lot of detail.  The art (as with every Great Illustrated Classic I've read) was not great, but the cover is really nice, imo.  It's not a bad way to experience the story, I just don't feel like it's the best.  In fact, I read another kid's version after finishing this one and I liked it a lot better. 

I feel like I don't have a lot to say about this little book.  Even my goodreads review is like one sentence long lol.

I read this book between October 19th and October 21st.  I finished it in a Greyhound Bus station while on my way to see the Jonas Brothers!

Would I recommend this book? Ehh... If you want a young readers' adaptation of The Phantom, pick up the Kate McMullan adaptation I linked above instead.  (Or just... y'know... watch the musical.  It's sooo good.  Like, not High Entertainment, and it's hopelessly 80s, but it's guilty pleasure good... and I feel no guilt.)

Merry Misfits Book Club September: Aida by Leontyne Price

September's theme was fairy tales.  Now, that's pretty broad... and since I was so behind with the reading challenge, I decided to go ahead and pick something short and simple.  I saw this picture book version of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida (adapted by opera singer Leontyne Price, who was famous for playing the title role) at the library and had to check it out.  It is a children's book, so very short... debatably cheating, but reading is reading.  And I know what you're thinking... is this really a fairy tale?  According to the Dewey Decimal system, yes... it was shelved with the likes of Hans Christian Andersen and the Brothers Grimm.  Plus it's about a princess, true love, and adventure in a foreign land, so...

This was a good book.  I admit, I didn't really know the story of Aida -- I know next to nothing about opera -- so it was a good story to pick up and read in a condensed form.  The story was beautiful, the art was stunning, and it kind of made me want to go listen to the music from the show.  As I mentioned, it's about a princess and true love... but (SPOILER ALERT) since it's based on an opera, it does not have a happily ever after ending, and that would be the one place it differs from what we think of as fairy tales.  But the atmosphere of magic and romance was very fairy tale, and our heroine is brave as she suffers through everything life throws at her just like you'd expect of a fairy tale princes.  I don't really have much to say, other than the fact that kids' books are almost always better than adults' books, and I don't regret choosing this.

I didn't end up reviewing this one on Goodreads because I didn't really have anything to say, but here's the book on Goodreads and here's my profile.  Mark it as "to read" and then follow me, lol.

I read this book on Septermber 22, making me technically on track for that one day, lol.  I finished it before the August book I just posted about, but I didn't want to post out of order.

Would I recommend this book?  Sure!  It's a quick read but it's a good one, and I think it'd be at home in any library of children's books.

i'm only a million behind

I'm so determined to get caught up on my reading challenge, but I don't know when/if I will be able to.  Here's what I'm working on though:

August: (theme sci-fi) Moving Target
September: (theme nonfic) Burning Up
September: (theme fairytale) Aida (finished this one, just don't want to post it out of order)
October: (theme a book from another country) The Phantom of the Opera
October: (theme young adult) tbd YA book lol

Hoping to have August and September finished soon.  I hate being this far behind... I hate that having a full time job now prevents me from doing the most minor amount of reading.  Sigh...

Merry Misfits Book Club August: Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent by Thomas B. Allen

We're going to stick a pin in the fact that it's nearly the end of September and I'm only just finishing one of my August books.  I do not plan on addressing it later, lol... y'all already know.  I just had to mention it.  I know.  I'm sorry.  Anyways, the theme was non-fiction.  Nice and broad, easy to pick something interesting.  I saw this book, Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent: How Daring Slaves and Free Blacks Spied for the Union During the Civil War, and thought it looked really interesting. 

I liked this book quite a lot.  Short, well researched, interesting.  It's obviously a very important period of American history, so I was happy to see an honest but entertaining children's book about it.  Obviously it doesn't give completely in depth information about the events or about any of the historical figures it discusses, but it's a good introduction to the period... and it will hopefully inspire a young reader and budding history nerd to do further reading and research.  It would have for me as a kid.  But as it is, this book is informative and easy to digest.

Here's my Goodreads review.  Obligatory reminder that you can and should follow me there, lol.

I read this book between September 7th and September 21st.  Wouldn't have taken that long if I had had more time to dedicate to it.  I'd call it a fast read.

Would I recommend this book?  Sure, especially for someone who likes history... or someone who wants to like history but doesn't have a lot of background info yet.

Merry Misfits Book Club July: Sailor Moon Eternal Edition Vol. 4

So I didn't quite finish on time, but I was a lot closer this month than the last few, lol.  The theme for July was a sequel... which was great for me, because I've been reading these new translations of Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon manga as soon as the library gets them in.  The most recent is  the fourth volume.

The fourth volume of Sailor Moon continues where the third left off.  Chibi-Usa is staying with Usagi and they're still learning to get to know one another.  I've been enjoying them very much... I unfortunately can't go into many details about this volume because I finished reading it a while ago and have since taken it back to the library.  Also spoilers, lol.  But as for the merits of the book, which I can go into, the art is gorgeous (especially the colorized pages) and the translation is really nice and reads very naturally.  I have the next volume here and I can't wait to read it!

Here's my goodreads review.

I read this book between July 24th and August 3rd (yes, over a month ago... see my previous post for an apology/explanation).

Would I recommend this book?  Do you love Sailor Moon and have you read the previous volumes?  If so, yes!  If not, maybe watch the anime and decide if you like the story enough to read the anime... and if so, start with volume 1.

changes

One more book and then I'll be caught up!  And I'm actually like... on track to finish, I think, before the month ends.  Excited about that... this could potentially be the first time I finish both books for the month on time like all year, lol.  In other news, I'm no longer going to be doing the book log posts I had been doing for a while there.  I'm simply not reading anywhere near as much as I was when I started those, and I don't have the time to keep up with one more thing.  If those were actually of any interest to you, I'd encourage you (once again lol) to follow my Goodreads.  I'm pretty good about keeping track of what I'm reading on there.  Sometimes I post reviews too... different than just what I post here, lol.  I do want to do more non-book related posts, since this blog is meant to be about my life in general.  I don't know if anyone is reading this, but I do want to make this blog a cool space to read but still a good outlet for me.

DYRC19/Merry Misfits Book Club June: Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson

This post is late too, I know.  I'm doing my best though!  June was a month where my two book challenge themes worked well together.  The theme for DYRC was a children's book. The theme for the Misfits was perfect Summer read.  Since I (and the rest of the tumblr) have been obsessed with the Moomins of late, I decided to go ahead and grab Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson.

So I wanted to start with the beginning of the Moomins, but this is actually the second book.  The first book, The Moomins and the Great Flood, was actually out of print in English for decades.  It is available now, but hasn't been for long... and the library didn't have a copy and I couldn't find a cheap used copy (or even a Kindle version).  A lot of more knowledgeable Moomin fans have said it's not the best introduction to the series and really more for the completionist fan anyways, so I just skipped on to the second book.  If I do go back and read this first one, however, I'll try and get a post up!

Anyways, I really enjoyed this book!  It was cute but it also had a lot of adventure and genuinely high stakes.  It was a good introduction to all of these characters.  The English translation doesn't feel weird or unnatural, as translations sometimes can.  The art is really cute and stylized.  It was just a really cozy book that made me feel warm all over.  Cute but not cutesy.

Here is my Goodreads review.  It's bare bones, to say the least, but it's there.

I read this book between June 18th and July 24th.  Yes, that is a long time.

Would I recommend this book? Yes!

Merry Misfit's Book Club May: The Cowboy's Second Chance by Riley Knight

May's theme for the Merry Misfits Book Club was a niche genre, or one you don't usually go for.  I mentioned last year that I struggle with picking a genre I haven't really read, because my interests are very broad.  I thought I'd go ahead and read a western, but then I realized that that sounded less than fun.  Sooo... I put "gay western" into amazon and this was something that came up. #noragrets

I ripped through this book so fast... I enjoyed it a lot!  It was just super cute.  Parts of  it were rushed and predictable, but I never minded.  It was just a sweet little book... there was a lot of mutual pining and other fanfic-y tropes (I say that without a hint of derision because I love fanfic; I write fanfic so these trope get me right lol).  The characters were what I would call loveable idiots, and honestly I almost immediately went back and purchased the other book in this series after finishing this one.  You could call a book like this a guilty pleasure, but I'm not even that guilty, lol.  I enjoyed it, and there's nothing to feel guilty about with that!

Here's my goodreads review.  Not a lot of thoughts there, but I was the first review on this title... so that's something, lol.

I read this book between May 7th and May 9th.  Quick read, fun read I was eager to continue and finish.

Would I recommend this book to a friend?  I mean... if you're into smutty gay romance novels that have some very fanfic-y tropes, then yes.  If not, no.

DYRC19/Merry Misfits Book Club April: The Return of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Finally added up and worked out in my favor, lads.  I could use one book to satisfy both themes of my reading challenges!  The DYRC theme was comic/graphic novel and the Merry Misfits theme was a book that has been on your TBR pile too long.  Obviously this is a comic, and it's been on my TBR since before it came out in the states.

I really really enjoyed this.  The story behind this one is that these comics were released in the 1940s in Italy (two things I like) and just within the last year or two became available stateside in English. The art, by Romano Scarpa, is gorgeous.  It looks very true to the Disney movie but also very Golden Age kids' comics.  The stories themselves were simple and fun, and it was an overall fun read.  Nothing about this was dumbed down, but it was still a nice easy read.

Here's my goodreads review.  I produced actual thoughts... different than the ones here!  So follow me on goodreads.

I started reading this April 26th and finished it May 6th.  Yes, I am aware May 6th is not a part of April.  But I did finish!  I was just really busy.

Would I recommend this to a friend?  Definitely, if you're a Disney fan or you love Snow White.

Merry Misfits Book Club: March: The Adventures of Mickey Mouse

Yes, I know it is already April.  Life has been kicking my ass, sue me, lol.  Anyways, the theme for March was a good book to read while it's raining.  I like that, nice and broad... but since I'm a dumbass, I saw the theme for another group's monthly discussion and got my wires crossed, so I spent most of the month thinking the theme was lore.  I was planning to read the first Percy Jackson book, even got a beautiful illustrated copy of it from the library, but since I didn't have time to get to it and it turned out not to be necessary for the theme (but I'll still make a post on it if I do get around to reading it... I really want to) I turned it back in to the library after not being able to renew it.  Just picked something else because improvising!  Anyways, as you all know, I love Disney.  On a whim, I bought a copy of The Adventures of Mickey Mouse for $4.  Somehow it became my March book, lol.

This is a 1978 reprint of a children's book from 1931.  I thought it was going to just be like a quick little story book, but it's over 100 pages (although there are illustrations on each one) because it actually combines three vintage story books in one, and the last one was a chapter book.  The Mickey in this book is very different from the character we see in more modern Mickey cartoons.  He's almost like a little farm boy, and he's very adventurous and enterprising.  It's kind of a cross between his depiction in the early black and white Mickey shorts and the way Floyd Gottfredson wrote him in the comics.  The most memorable thing about this book, though, is the charming art work.  That alone makes this worth the price of admission for any Disney fan.

My goodreads review this month is very brief but like... what more could I really say? Lol.  Just follow me on goodreads.

Started this book on March 31st and finished on April 1st.  Quick read.

Would I recommend this book?  If you're a Disney fan, sure.  Otherwise, probably not.  Actually, you need to be a Disney fan who likes kids books.

Merry Misfits Book Club: February: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The theme for February was a book that was made into a movie or show.  That gave me lots of options obviously, but I wanted one that I had seen and liked the movie, but never read the book.  Since I really adored A Little Princess when I read it last year, I decided to go for The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett's other very famous work.  (I know she wrote more than just these but I believe these are her most famous/lastingly popular.)  I do like the 1993 film a lot, so I was curious to see how similar it was to the book.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book.  The story itself is lovely, but there's a lot of racism and classism (and even some misogyny) that aren't fun to read, even in an old book.  What I hated most of all, though, was the Yorkshire dialect that many characters (all the lower class ones...) speak in.  There were times when I had to reread sentences to understand what the characters had said.  I think about how some parents won't let their kids read silly books like Captain Underpants because there are misspellings... I don't see why being a classic makes that okay.  (Not that I'm saying kids shouldn't be allowed to read this, that should be up to each parent... I just find the double standard gross.)  I sound pretty down on the book and I don't mean to, because I did like it!  Like I said, the story is lovely... the setting is so picturesque, the plot is so slice of life, the characters are oddly endearing.  Even though I didn't like it as much as A Little Princess (as or much as the 1993 movie, if I'm honest) I did still like it.

My goodreads review is here.  Not too many in depth thoughts there, but like... follow me on goodreads lol, I post lots of legit reviews.

I read this book between February 2 and February 21.  I know that's a long time.  Not a reflection of the quality of the book so much as a reflection on the quality of my attention span and non-existent motivation.

Would I recommend this book?  If you, like me and a lot of other people around my age, grew up with and loved the movie, yes.  It's definitely worth a shot.  And if you like classic children's stories, it's probably a must read.

Merry Misfits Book Club: January: Scrooge's Quest by Marv Wolfman

I'm doing two reading challenges this year.  One is the diversify your reading challenge, which I had previously posted about.  The other is in a facebook group I'm a part of.  I wasn't going to do posts like this for that second challenge, but then I realized I may as well.  Writing these is kind of fun and makes me think a little.  Anyways, lol...

January's theme was a book you were gifted over the holidays.  I didn't get a lot of books this time around, and I definitely picked this one out for myself, but it worked.  I read Scrooge's Quest, a Ducktales comic by Marv Wolfman and drawn by Cosme Quartieri.

This comic is a tie in to the 1987 Ducktales series, and it's really consistent in tone with that show.  It was a fun little adventure and honestly the art was gorgeous.  A lot of reviewers on Goodreads marked it down basically for not being Carl Bark, but it isn't trying to be.  It isn't claiming to be.  There's a lot of heart here and a lot of fun, even a few laughs.  I enjoyed it!  More thoughts here, in my Goodreads review.

I read this book between January 14th and 18th.  Quick read, but I wasn't spending a lot of time on it (because I was doing other things, not because I didn't want to).

Would I recommend this? If you like 1987 Ducktales and/or Duck comics, yes.  It's not Barks or Rosa, but that doesn't make it trash.