Tag Archives: Bookish Babble

March 2019 Bookish Summary

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Total books read in March: 6

Comics/ Graphic Novels = 3  |  #LoveOzYA / #LoveNzYA = 0 |  the remainder = 3

The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James.
A YA Sci-Fi tale that follows Lowrie and Shen, the last teenagers on earth, as they live in the aftermath of a virus that caused global infertility. There are plenty of twists and turns and plenty of moments that make you ponder life and what it means to live.
Published March 7th, 2019 by Walker Books [View on Goodreads] [My Full Review Here].

Runaways, Vol. 4: True Believers by Brian K. Vaughan,  Adrian Alphona & Craig Yeung.
The teens get a grave visit from the future, fight off against some retired superheros and dodge a supreme bad guy. I wasn’t as into this one as the previous three, but it was still enjoyable and it ended with a cliff-hanger that has me keen for Vol.5.
Published November 29th, 2006 by Marvel [View on Goodreads].

We Are Okay by Nina LaCour.
A queer contemporary tale of a young woman drowning in, then dealing with her grief for the grandfather and life she’s lost and for the mother she never knew. A beautiful story that will break your heart, then turn around and heal it.
Published March 5th, 2019 by UQP [View on Goodreads] [My Full Review Here].

Long Macchiatos and Monsters by Alison Evans.
A sweet and heart-warming 44-page story set in Melbourne. It’s a meet cute and the two MAIN characters giving it Transgender and Nonbinary representation (woop woop). Alison is the bomb when it comes to inclusive queer YA, but I’d have to say this short would be considered an adult because of the sex.
Published January 28th, 2015 by Less Than Three Press, LLC [View on Goodreads].

Heartstopper Volume One by Alice Oseman.
I had a smile on my face the whole time I was reading this. It is just about the sweetest thing I’ve read. Two teen boys meet, grow as friends, one openly gay, the other not so much, and the ending leaves us with the hope they could be more.
Published February 7th, 2019 by Hodder Children’s Books [View on Goodreads].

Darcy Swipes Left (OMG Classics) by Courtney Carbone (Adaptor) & Jane Austen.
Pride and Prejudice told entirely through social media posts and emojis. I’ve previously read the Shakespeare retellings in this series and enjoyed them. This wasn’t bad, but how could you ever capture the beauty of P&P in so few pages.
Published September 27th, 2016 by Random House Books [View on Goodreads].

Conclusion:

March was an off month for me reading wise. I only actually managed to read two full length books, I just had too much going on.
I did however manage to write and publish a short poem, which i’m going to try and do each month and I got to do a fun Q&A with author Michael Earp.

Read I Can’t, a poem HERE

Read Michael Earp Q&A HERE

 Past Monthly Summaries:  Oct 18 ∣ Nov 18 ∣ Dec 18 ∣ Jan 19 ∣ Feb 19 ∣

Thanks for visiting The Adventures of SacaKat 🙂

Until next time, enjoy your shelves :-).

February 2019 Bookish Summary

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Total books read in February: 8

Comics/ Graphic Novels = 2  |  #LoveOzYA / #LoveNzYA = 3 |  the remainder = 3

I Had Such Friends by Meg Gatland-Veness #LoveOzYa [Full Review Here].
The story follows Hamish during his last year of high school. We journey with him as he discovers his sexuality and self-identity. This story is filled with grief, hate, and heartbreaking sadness.
Published August 1st 2018 by Pantera Press [View on Goodreads].

Songs That Sound Like Blood by Jared Thomas #LoveOzYa [Full Review Here].
A beautiful coming of age tale about a young aboriginal girl coming out and discovering herself. This story is filled with courage, love and music. A heartfelt yarn that I highly recommend you read.
Published August 1st 2016 by Magabala Books [View on Goodreads].

Aurealis #99 by Michael Pryor, Alan Baxter, Michael Earp, Aaron Emmel, Gillian Polack, Chris Large & Russell Kirkpatrick.
I’d never read an issue of Aussie Sci-fi zine Aurealis before and I picked this one up because I wanted to read Michael Earp’s short story. I’m glad I did. Michael’s short story was brilliant, and I enjoyed the other shorts & articles.
Published April 9th, 2017 by Chimaera Publications [View on Goodreads].

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath [Full Review Here].
Should I be worried about how much I saw of myself in Esther Greenwood, a character that Plath based on herself?
This was one of the darkest and most beautiful things I’ve ever read. It was compulsive reading. The story, the writing, the words, the girl, it sucked me in.
Published 2006 by Harper Perennial Modern Classics (first published January 1963) [View on Goodreads].

Defensive Play (Boys on the Brink) by Jamie Deacon [Full Review Here].
A boy meets boy tale. We follow Davey as he gets his first boyfriend and comes out to his family and friends. It was a quick and cute read that I really enjoyed.
Published November 30th, 2018 by Beaten Track Publishing [View on Goodreads].

Runaways, Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland by Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona.
Collects Runaways vol. 1, issues #7-12.
All the things I loved about Pride and Joy (issues #1-6) continue in this engrossing teen tale.
Published July 19th, 2006 by Marvel Comics [View on Goodreads].

Runaways, Vol. 3: The Good Die Young by Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona.
Collects Runaways vol. 1, issues #13-18.
And so the first story arc ends, but we are left with an opening for another and set up for the rest of the series – which I’m looking forward to reading 😊
Published June 7th, 2006 by Marvel Comics [View on Goodreads].

Freedom Swimmer by Wai Chim #LoveOzYa.
Based on the real-life events of the authors father and set in 1960’s China, Freedom Swimmer is a story of oppression, survival, friendship, hope and freedom. It is beautiful and powerful, and I implore you to read it.
I was in the water with Ming, willing him to keep moving forward.
Published September 1st, 2016 by Allen & Unwin [View on Goodreads].

Conclusion: How the heck is it march already? Where did February go?!
I had to DNF a book in february, my first for 2019 and my first in years! I’m still bummed about it, but life’s too short and my time’s too valuable (obviously this book does not appear above). While I enjoyed all my completed reads this month, Defensive Play was a highlight for me – it was a super cute and quick queer read.

Past Monthly Summaries: Oct 18 ∣ Nov 18 ∣ Dec 18 ∣ Jan 19

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

January 2019 Bookish Summary

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Total books read in January: 8

Comics/ Graphic Novels = 2  |  #LoveOzYA / #LoveNzYA = 1  |  the remainder = 5

Frankie by Shivaun Plozza #LoveOzYA.
A compelling YA contemporary, with lead characters you can’t help but fall for.
Frankie is full of sass, anger, hurt, heart and humour.
Frankie is pure awesome! (and so is Shivaun Plozza’s writing).
Published March 23rd, 2016 by Penguin [View on Goodreads].

Paper Girls, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughan, Cliff Chiang, Matt Wilson & Jared K. Fletcher.
A gang of feisty 12-yr-old girls, time jumps, meeting future selves and self-clones. Sounds like it should be awesome, right? And it was by no means bad, just slower paced than I’m used to from Vaughan.
Published November 30th, 2016 by Image Comics [View on Goodreads].

Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi [View Full Review].
A YA contemporary featuring a strangers-to-friends-to-couple plot.
A slow starter, but once the main characters friendship started to develop, I was hooked.
Some heavy issues were touched on during the story, but by the end my heart was warm and full.
Published January 1st, 2019 by Simon Schuster Australia [View on Goodreads].

Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride & Joy by Brian K. Vaughan & Adrian Alphona.
“At some point in their lives, all young people believe their parents are evil … but what if they really are?” Loved the premise of this one and I enjoyed the execution enough to say that I’m excited to continue reading this series.
LOVED the psychically linked Velociraptor – gimme gimme gimme gimme gimme!
Published December 6th, 2006 by Marvel [View on Goodreads].

Falling for Cindy Fellars by Regina Puckett.
A 24-page Cinderella retelling, that is a cute and fun little read. I found it a perfect in-between read, short and sweet. I can see myself rereading it somewhere down the line.
Published October 14th, 2014 by Punk & Sissy Publications [View on Goodreads].

Inkling by Kenneth Oppel [View Full Review].
A glorious middle grade book featuring magical realism that hit a lot harder than I expected.
Inkling is a beautiful story of a family drowning in, then overcoming their combined grief with the help of an adorable animated splotch of ink.
Published October 1st, 2018 by Walker Australia [View on Goodreads].

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum.
A captivating story that was darkly delicious and hauntingly beautiful.
The story touches on love, friendship, neglect, mental health and coping mechanisms.
Published October 31st, 2017 by Imprint [View on Goodreads].

Player’s Game by Desirae Clark.
A light and fluffy YA romance featuring a friends to lovers plot. There’s all the angst and drama you’d expect from a fluffy YA romance and even though the story was predictable – you knew going into it that they were going to end up together – it was still an enjoyable enough read.
Published December 25th, 2017 by BLVNP Incorporated [View on Goodreads].

Conclusion: Oh January, you came and went in a blur. My reading highlights for the month were Frankie and The Wicker King. I had a birthday!! and published a series of short poems about the relationships that shape us – read them HERE.
I actually really love the set of poems so please have a read ❤

Past Monthly Summaries: Oct 18 ∣ Nov 18 ∣ Dec 18

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

December 2018 Bookish Summary

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Ah, tis the season to end up in car park queues because you realise on Christmas eve that you forgot to buy more dog food when you did the grocery shopping the previous week to try and avoid going near the shops that close to Christmas – dumb ass I am.

On the 14th my littlest baby turned two and I am still in shock as to where that last two years have gone. I wrote a poem about it HERE.

On the 21st I got to have dinner with some fantastic people including the lovely Lynette Noni at Pantera press house in Sydney. I felt super blessed to have been invited and was ecstatic when we got to take home a copy of Vardaesia before its release. I am still buzzing from it.

Christmas day was overwhelming and tinged with sadness, as it was the first one since my grandmothers passing. But she raised a strong bunch and we will always come through.

Total books read in December: 9

Comics/ Graphic Novels: 3 | #LoveOzYA: 2 | The remainder: 4

Skin Deep (Paranormal Detectives #6) by Lily Luchesi.
Published June 10th, 2018 by Vamptasy Publishing [View on Goodreads].
Vampires, Skin Changers, Psychics. Fast and furious action. A PDS tale that is Classic Luchesi.

Stuck On Vacation With Ryan Rupert (Ryan Rupert #1) by P.S. Malcolm
Published June 30th, 2016 by P.S. Malcolm [View on Goodreads] #LoveOzYA.
A hate to love YA romance set on an island paradise with a murderous twist [Full Review HERE].

What If? X-Men (2018) #1 by Bryan Hill, Neil Edwards, Giannis Milonogiannis & Rahzzah.
Published October 3rd, 2018 by Marvel [View on Goodreads].
The X-Men reimagined in a dystopian like cyber-scape abusing world.

X-Men: Black – Magneto (2018) #1 by Chris Claremont, Dalibor Talajić & J. Scott Campbell.
Published October 3rd, 2018 by Marvel [View on Goodreads].
A deep and meaningful, dark and entertaining Magneto filled tale.

Paper Girls, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan & Cliff Chiang & Matthew Wilson.
Published April 5th 2016 by Image Comics [View on Goodreads].
A compelling read with a sci-fi twist that was giving me apocalyptic vibes.

Day of Execution (Paranormal Detectives #7) by Lily Luchesi.
Published January 1st, 2019 by Vamptasy Publishing [View on Goodreads].
Battle scenes, gore and vampire lore. I thought book 6 was fast and furious, book 7 is even more so. Bring on book 8 and what I’m sure will be a killer conclusion. *Full review to come.

Demonglass (Hex Hall #2) by Rachel Hawkins.
Published March 22nd, 2011 by Disney- Hyperion [View on Goodreads].
Two dreamy warlocks, a sassy part demon protagonist and a whole bunch of action and drama.

Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3) by Rachel Hawkins.
Published March 13th, 2012 by Disney- Hyperion [View on Goodreads].
Wicked witches, out of control demons, sexy self-sacrificing warlocks, and the trilogies conclusion.

 

Vardaesia (The Medoran Chronicles #5) by Lynette Noni.
Published: February 18th, 2019 by Pantera Press [View on Goodreads]
#LoveOzYA. Alex’s friendships, loves, loyalties, physical abilities and sheer force of will are all tested in the action packed and epic conclusion to one of my all-time favourite series. *Full review to come.

 

Conclusion: December was hectic, stressful and sad at times, but it was still awesome. I met some wonderful people and read some fantastic books.

Past Summaries: Oct 18 ∣ Nov 18

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

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 :-).