Tag Archives: Bookish Babble

Quotes Collection Part Ten

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A lump forms in my throat as the truth hits me. Hard.

“That’s why people are speaking out, huh? Because it won’t change if we don’t say something.”

“Exactly. We can’t be silent.”

“So I can’t be silent.”

Daddy stills. He looks at me.
I see the fight in his eyes. I matter more to him than a movement. I’m his baby, and I’ll always be his baby, and if being silent means I’m safe, he’s all for it.

This is bigger than me and Khalil though. This is about Us, with a capital U; everybody who looks like us, feels like us, and is experiencing this pain with us despite not knowing me or Khalil. My silence isn’t helping Us.

Daddy fixes his gaze on the road again. He nods. “Yeah. Can’t be silent.”

The above quote is from The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, which I read back in July 2017. T.H.U.G. was a spectacular book and I am so looking forward to watching the film adaptation.

The Hate U Give not only has an important and powerful message to get across. It is a beautifully written and captivating story, with a protagonist you can’t help but want to fight for.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does—or does not—say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

Past Bookish Babble Quotes Collections: Part One ∣ Part Two ∣ Part Three ∣ Part Four ∣ Part Five ∣ Part Six ∣ Part Seven ∣ Part Eight ∣ Part Nine.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

November 2018 Bookish Summary

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Total books read in November = 11
Comics/Graphic Novels = 4
#LoveOzYA / #LoveNzYA = 2
the remainder = 5

The Rift by Rachael Craw.
Published November 1st, 2018 by Walker Books Australia [View on Goodreads].
A gripping tale of an isolated island with paranormal secrets [Full Review HERE].

The Dog Who Lost His Bark by Eoin Colfer.
Published November 1st, 2018 by Walker Books [View on Goodreads].
A beautiful story of love, friendship and recovery [Full REVIEW HERE].

All Aces (Circus Hearts, #3) by Ellie Marney.
Published November 1st, 2018 by Bearded Lady Press [View on Goodreads].
An action-packed finale to the #LoveOzYA dark romance trilogy, Circus Hearts [Full Review HERE].

The Coven Heir (The Coven Series Book Two) by Lily Luchesi.
Published October 5th, 2018 by Vamptasy Publishing [View on Goodreads].
A paranormal tale of romance, revenge and necromancy [Full REVIEW HERE].

Hex Hall (Hex Hall #1) by Rachel Hawkins.
Published March 2nd, 2010 by Hyperion Book CH [View on Goodreads].
Witches, Demons and boarding school, oh my! A tale of fitting in, friendship and family secrets.

The Portal (Tales of Mentara, #1) by Ashley Uzzell.
Published April 13th, 2018 by Ashley Uzzell [View on Goodreads].
A fantastical tale of friendship, nature magic and mysterious new worlds [Full Review HERE].

The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses by A. B. Banjo Paterson.
Published April 8th 2016 by Spoken Realms [View on Goodreads].
A collection of 19th century Australian bush poetry that serves as a time capsule for the way we were.

What If? Spider-Man (2018) by Gerry Conway, Diego Olortegui & Patrick Zircher.
Published October 3rd, 2018 by Marvel [View on Goodreads].
The tale of a world where it wasn’t Peter Parker who was bitten by the radioactive spider.

Fence #12 by (Author) C.S. Pacat (Illustrators) Johanna the Mad, Joana Lafuente, Hamlet Machine.
Published November 28th, 2018 by BOOM! [View on Goodreads].
A loveable underdog, competitive fencing, the drama of an all-boys school
= a compelling series.

Batman Damned: Book One by Brian Azzarello & Lee Bermejo.
Published September 19th, 2018 by DC Comics [View on Goodreads].
Batman together with Constantine is my jam! My dark Jam!

Kat: The Legend of Gnawbonia by Nick White.
Published 2017 by Nick White [View on Goodreads].
A whirlwind adventure involving a little cat fighting for her freedom [Full REVIEW HERE].

Conclusion: I feel like I smashed it out of the park this month. I’ve had a few rather low reading months prior. But I felt like I was back in fine form. I had plenty of awesome reads and I managed to get out quite a few reviews, woop woop.

Last month’s summary [HERE].

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

October 2018 Bookish Summary

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The start of last month was an emotional one for my entire family. We held our heads high and celebrated our matriarch, my grandmother’s life. She illuminated this earth with her light for 91 years. I will mourn her for the rest of my life. But, I will take the lessons she taught me and try to be the best version of myself I can be.

So as you can imagine October was a pretty crappy month for me and I didn’t have much motivation to do anything. But somehow I did still manage to read some wonderful books.

I decided while reading Stephanie’s September 2018 Recap post [shout out to Stephanie] that I should start doing a summary post each month.
A lot of bloggers do a monthly roundup /recap type posts. I’ve sporadically done it over the years in one form or another. I always read more books than I write up reviews for, and I want to try and shout out more of them. I won’t go into to detail on comics, as some months I smash quite a few single issues and that would make this post too long and a pain in the butt to write. So here we go.

Books read in October: total books read = 9

Comics/ Graphic Novels = 4

#LoveOzYA / #LoveOzMG = 5

Does My Head Look Big in This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah.
Published August 1st, 2005 by Pan Australia [View on Goodreads].
A contemporary tale of an Aussie Muslim teenage girl battling, then embracing her identity. This is not the first Abdel-Fattah book I’ve read and it won’t be the last.

All the Little Bones (Circus Hearts #1) by Ellie Marney.
Published September 1st, 2018 by Bearded Lady Press [View on Goodreads].
A dark romance that is fast, exciting and so delicious you’ll want more. Oh Ellie Marney I love you. All hail Ellie the queen of young-adult crime-romance mash-ups.

Obsidio (The Illuminae Files #3) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff.
Published March 14th, 2018 by Allen & Unwin [View on Goodreads].
A sci-fi symphony. The Pow-pow-ping-ping-BOOM-hacktastic and thrilling conclusion The Illuminae Files trilogy. Amie & Jay = pure sci-fi awesomeness.

All Fall Down (Circus Hearts #2) by Ellie Marney.
Published October 1st, 2018 by Bearded Lady Press [View on Goodreads].
Ellie Marney at it again with book two in the circus hearts series steaming up my reading space. Bring on book three!!! [Full REVIEW HERE].

The Bogan Mondrian by Steven Herrick.
Published September 3rd, 2018 by University of Qld Press [View on Goodreads].
A contemporary tale of friendship, grief and domestic violence. Steven Herrick is a brilliant storyteller and his books are always deep and meaningful, while being easy to read and entertaining. [Full REVIEW HERE].

Conclusion: Sometimes life is hard. Losing loved ones is always hard. We must make sure each moment counts. Steven Herrick is a gem and Ellie Marney is awesome.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Quotes Collection Part Nine

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You only have to have been following me for a minute, to know i’m a SAGA fan. I read issue #44 back in July 2017 and was immediately drawn to the above text. It struck a chord in me and made me sit back as go “Shit, that sounds about right”.

I sat back and thought about all the things I was passionate about, and all the times I’d done stupid don’t-do-it things, and came to the conclusion that Brian was 100% on the money.

I’m lucky that this fact doesn’t bother me. I like to think I have to pretty open minded and compassionate parents who taught me good values and morals – even if I didn’t always follow them.

I found it interesting to ponder and the more I thought on it, the more I could see how the lives my parents lived with their parents had shaped them to be who they are.

SAGA, always providing food for thought! Seriously, if you haven’t picked this series up yet you really should. Here is another SAGA tidbit from back in late 2015.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Bookish Babble: Quotes Collection Part Eight

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I laughed out loud the first time I read the above two sentences. I’d never really thought about it. What does happen after they ride of into the sunset?

I read Steph Bowe’s Night Swimming back in May 2017. It is an LGBT friendly, adorable #LoveOzYA feel good romp about growing up, first love, true friendship, finding your inner strength and place in the world and finding the courage to move forward. It’s well worth a look.

33128455Night Swimming by Steph Bowe

Published April 3rd 2017
by Text Publishing

[Add to Goodreads]

Imagine being the only two seventeen-year-olds in a small town. That’s life for Kirby Arrow—named after the most dissenting judge in Australia’s history—and her best friend Clancy Lee, would-be musical star.

Clancy wants nothing more than to leave town and head for the big smoke, but Kirby is worried: her family has a history of leaving. She hasn’t heard from her father since he left when she was a baby. Shouldn’t she stay to help her mother with the goat’s-milk soap-making business, look after her grandfather who suffers from dementia, be an apprentice carpenter to old Mr Pool? And how could she leave her pet goat, Stanley, her dog Maude, and her cat Marianne?

But two things happen that change everything for Kirby. She finds an article in the newspaper about her father, and Iris arrives in town. Iris is beautiful, wears crazy clothes, plays the mandolin, and seems perfect, really, thinks Kirby. Clancy has his heart set on winning over Iris. Trouble is Kirby is also falling in love with Iris…

Quotes Collection Part Seven

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Nothing profound this month. Just a quote that transported me to my late teens and made me laugh out loud. Oh those pub rat days.

I loved the line, because as I read it, I could smell the exact smell the author was on about. You youngins will never get to experience this, what with the no smoking laws and modern metrosexuality – hey don’t get me wrong both of these things are awesome. But you will never experience the wall of STANK as you enter a dingy little pub or club. That mix of beer, B.O. and cigarette. Yes, this is probably a good thing, but for a second I was nineteen again and I was out on the town, drawing the toxic fumes into my lungs, and I loved it.

34109142

The quote is from To Betray My King by Kayla Lavan, a book a read in May last year (2017). To Betray My King is set in a medieval world. There is forbidden love (a love triangle), elemental magic and war.

While I enjoyed stepping into Ms Lavan’s medieval world of Sol and meeting the magic weavers she filled it with, it was only a Three Star read for me all up. I found it hard to warm up to either of the male leads as love interests and the ending felt out of place, like I’d missed multiple characters. BUT I did enjoy the playful banter and friendship between Prince Roland and his bodyguard/best friend, Conrad :-).

To view previous Bookish Babble Quote Collections click HERE.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Quotes Collection Part Six

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I read Steven Herrick’s #LoveOzYA verse novel The Simple Gift in May last year (2017). It affected me way more than I expected it too. Below is one of the quotes I jotted down while reading it.

The Simple Gift is a story of friendship and second chances, of healing and new love. The characters Caitlin, Billy & Old Bill are three people from different walks of life brought together by circumstance, with the result being that they all end up making each other’s life better. It is a beautiful book and one I highly recommend.

The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick

I’m not proud.
I’m sixteen, and soon
to be homeless.

Weary of his life with his alcoholic, abusive father, sixteen-year-old Billy packs a few belongings and hits the road, hoping for something better than what he left behind. He finds a home in an abandoned freight train outside a small town, where he falls in love with rich, restless Caitlin and befriends a fellow train resident, “Old Bill,” who slowly reveals a tragic past. When Billy is given a gift that changes everything, he learns not only to how forge his own path in life, but the real meaning of family.

To view previous Bookish Babble Quote Collections click HERE.

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Quotes Collection Part Five

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The below is a quote from a Q&A by transgender writer and activist, Nevo Zisin, that I shared on this blog back in May 2017.

Go back and read it again. When I first read that sentence I actually examined out loud something along the lines of: Yes Nevo, HELL YES!! And this quote is just from Nevo talking about their book! 

Meet Nevo: girl, boy, he, she, him, her, they, them, daughter, son, teacher, student, friend, gay, bi, lesbian, trans, homo, Jew, dyke, masculine, feminine, androgynous, queer.

Nevo was not born in the wrong body. Nevo just wants everyone to catch up with all that Nevo is.

Personal, political and passionate, Finding Nevo is an autobiography about gender and everything that comes with it. It is Zisin’s powerful and brave account of their journey to transgender, and all the stumbles, victories and life-changing moments along the way.

“A gorgeous coming of age story about one person’s journey to discover themselves. Zisin is a compelling storyteller with a delightful and exciting new voice.” Clementine Ford

Released on May 1st 2017 by Black Dog Books this book touches on the themes of transgender, queer, family, acceptance, self-discovery, bullying, weight issues, and change.

Links: Nevo Zisin full Q&A | Goodreads | Booktopia | Bookdepository | Black Dog Books

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves 🙂 .

Bookish Babble: Quotes Collection Part Four

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I have Quote File where I write down sentences/paragraphs that for whatever reason at the time I was reading them jumped out of the page at me. It might’ve been because I was having a bad day and something the character said encapsulated my emotions perfectly or I just loved the poetic way a sequence read or the imagery it inspired etc.

You can’t tell me that isn’t one of the most beautiful sentences you’ve ever read. It’s whimsical and magical and all sorts of wonderful.

I read and reviewed Strange the dreamer via an e-ARC back in April 2017. I enjoyed it/was haunted by it so much that I bought my mum a paperback once it was released to force her into reading it. As soon as she finished it she rang me up to find out when the sequel was coming (Muse of Nightmares is to be released this October).

Laini Taylor’s writing is immaculate and beautiful. Strange the Dreamer is an enthralling story. And the cliffhanger ending is EPIC!

Oh, Lazlo. I Weep for you.

My Review of Strange the Dreamer | Strange the Dreamer on Goodreads

Links to my other Quote Babbles: Part Three | Part Two | Part One

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Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

Quotes Collection Part Three

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The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom – Chapter 7, Gwendolyn contemplating:

“…if no one else is going to act for me, then I have a choice: remain a child and do nothing, or become an adult and do it myself. That, it seems to me, is the difference between the child and the adult, the difference between the girl hunted by wolves and the woman who hunts them.”

The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom – Chapter 23, Bohdan to Sofia (Gwendolyn):

“A woman who seeks to rise in this world must be crueller than even men.”

I read the YA action spy thriller The Cruelty back in March 2017. I enjoyed reading it and was feeling the killer girl vibe at the time. I was drawn to these strings of words so much that I wrote them down in my Quote File and now i’m sharing them with you. These quotes still resonate with me. I believe that; unfortunately in the world we live in, most girls have to grow up way too soon and women need to be ten times stronger than the men to succeed.

My Review of The Cruelty | The Cruelty on Goodreads

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat.
Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).