The rules are answer the questions below and share a link to your blog in the comments section of Sam’s blog.
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you will read next?
Hello
My reading seems to have improved a little bit this month so I am really hoping it continues to improve because I really do miss it when I can’t get a proper reading session in.
What I am Currently Reading
I have fallen slightly behind with my reading challenge for the Wheel of Time books but I am hoping to catch up over the next couple of days. I have only just started the first few pages of The Daughter of Doctor Moreau but so far so good.
What I have Recently Finished Reading
I will be honest, I didn’t really enjoy The Midnight Folk but I absolutely loved World of Wonders and will be writing the review tomorrow.
What I Think I will Read Next
There are so many good books that I want to read and not enough time. I am really trying to fit in more reading but some days it is hard.
Please drop me a comment with your WWW Wednesday and I will head over for a visit.
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. I had a slightly longer lunch break in my car today which meant more reading but it was rather hampered by the fact my car has developed a party trick of randomly setting it’s alarm off for no reason.
My chosen quote today is by one of my favourites!
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
Talking paintings and animals help Kay in his attempt to outwit the witches and locate his great-grandfather’s buried treasure.
Review
I have read the Kay Harker books in completely the wrong order but I am kind of glad I did. I absolutely love The Box of Delights and think it is a wonderful book filled with magic and fantastic characters. However, if I had read The Midnight Folk first I doubt I would have bothered to read The Box of Delights afterwards.
I really struggled with this book as it was just such a jumble of characters and plot lines. I understand that Masefield was going along the lines of a dreamlike structure but it just lacked the refinement of The Box of Delights. The Box of Delights had structure but this book had no structure that I could tell. This book also has no chapters so it is one long story with divides. The Box of Delights had chapters with relevant chapter headings and it really helped give structure to the story.
Kay is an orphan but we aren’t told why but it is clear that he hasn’t had an easy childhood so far. Yes he has a big house and a fab garden to run around in but his governess is not a nice woman and the maid Ellen who looks after him tells him terrifying tales which would give any child nightmares. What Kay needs is someone to love him and make him feel safe.
I will be honest I didn’t like Kay very much in this book. I found him rather annoying and not very loyal to his friends. He knew his friends were in danger but his attitude was very much ‘oh I can’t help otherwise I will be late for breakfast or tea, if you are still in trouble I will help you later’.
I really struggled with this book and almost gave up several times with it. I certainly wouldn’t inflict this book on a child or read it again which is a shame as The Box of Delights is so good. Overall, I give this book 2 Dragons out of 5.
(All purchases made using one of the above affiliate links gives a small percentage of money to myself with no extra cost to yourself. All proceeds go towards the upkeep of this blog. Thank you ever so much, your support is gratefully received.)
About the author
John Masefield (1878-1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967.
Goodreads Monday is now hosted by Budget Tales Book Club. All you have to do is show off a book from your TBR that you’re looking forward to reading.
Happy Monday!
I hope everyone has had a good start to the week. I only had a little bit of teaching today as school has been moved to Thursday for this week so we went to Hanbury Hall for a day out.
My chosen book to feature off my Goodreads TBR this week is a book I bought last year and I am quite excited about. I think this book will be a fascinating read and a different take on the history we know so well.
Here’s how the history of the Roman Empire usually goes…
We start with Romulus, go on to Brutus overthrowing Tarquin, bounce through an appallingly tedious list of battles and generals and consuls, before emerging into the political stab-fest of the late Republic. From there, it runs through all the emperors, occasionally mentioning a wife or mother to show how bad things get when women get out of control, until Constantine invents Christianity and then Attila the Hun comes and ruins everything. But the history of Rome and empire is so much more than these Important Things.
In this alternative history, Emma Southon traces the story of the Roman Empire through women: Vestal Virgins and sex workers, business owners and poets, martyrs and saints. Each gives a different perspective on women’s lives and how they changed, across time and across class lines.
Please drop me a link with your Goodreads Monday and I will head over for a visit.
I hope everyone has had a nice weekend so far. I have had a lovely afternoon reading. I sat and read my book for an hour and a half with a big mug of tea and it was bliss!
World of Wonders is turning out to be a stunningly beautiful book! I have fallen a little bit behind with my reading challenge with The Shadow Rising but after today I have managed to catch up slightly.
I have decided that every month I will choose four books to try and read in the month. Out of the four books I had planned in January I actually managed to read two of them and I started another one yesterday. The one book I finished yesterday. I’m not great at sticking to a TBR list so I was quite pleased that I had actually managed to read two.
Three of these books have been sat on my TBR pile for way too long and one is a brand new book. I am still reading another book off my January TBR so once I have finished it I will hopefully move on to one of these books.
I hope everyone has had a good week so far. I have managed some lovely reading today and finished a book!
My chosen poem this week is by the British-American poet Wystan Hugh Auden (1907-1973).
O Tell me the Truth About Love
Some say love's a little boy, And some say it's a bird, Some say it makes the world go round, And some say that's absurd, And when I asked the man next door, Who looked as if he knew, His wife got very cross indeed, And said it wouldn't do.
Does it look like a pair of pyjamas, Or the ham in a temperance hotel? Does its odour remind one of llamas, Or has it a comforting smell? Is it prickly to touch as hedge is, Or soft as eiderdown fluff? Is it sharp or quite smooth as the edges? O tell me the truth about love.
Our history books refer to it In cryptic little notes, It's quite a common topic on The Transatlantic boats; I've found the subject mentioned in Accounts of suicides, And even seen it scribbled on The backs of railway guides.
Does it howl like a hungry Alsatian, Or boom like a military band? Could one give a first-rate imitation On a saw or a Steinway Grand? Is its singing at parties a riot? Does it only like Classical stuff? Will it stop when one wants to be quiet? O tell me the truth about love.
I looked inside the summer-house; It wasn't ever there; I tried the Thames at Maidenhead, And Brighton's bracing air, I don't know what the blackbird sang, Or what the tulip said; But it wasn't in the chicken-run, Or underneath the bed.
Can it pull extraordinary faces? Is it usually sick on a swing? Does it spend all its time at the races, Or fiddling with pieces of string? Has it views of its own about money? Does it think Patriotism enough? Are its stories vulgar but funny? O tell me the truth about love.
When it comes, will it come without warning, Just as I'm picking my nose? Will it knock on my door in the morning, Or tread in the bus on my toes? Will it come like a change in the weather? Will its greeting be courteous or rough? Will it alter my life altogether? O tell me the truth about love.
So my January wrap up will be somewhat short as I barely did any reading. I only managed to finish 2 books which is very strange for me and has made me somewhat annoyed!
This year I am trying to read more of my books that I have bought before this year so I will be listing new books bought this year and old books bought or received before 2024.
Lady Book Dragon 