Friday Reviews Week 8

🍁 Friday Reviews Week 8: 🍁

October 21st- 27th, 2017

☠️ Book 1: Tropic of Kansas by Christopher Brown 💀

Narrated by Josh Bloomberg and Bahni Turpin 

Listened to October 16th -22nd

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Going into this book I was not sure of what I was going to think about it. I am not a major fan of dystopian books. I have read two dystopian series, The Hunger Games and the Divergent series. Also, I have read The Giver. Really, I lost interest in dystopian books while reading the Divergent series. Tropic of Kansas looked interesting though and I wanted to do a review on it because I thought the description was intriguing.

We follow along two characters mainly throughout the book, Sig and his foster sister Tania. In this book, the United States does not exist anymore, at least as it now. It's split into territories that are fighting back and forth. At the center of this is the wasteland which the citizen's call "the Tropic of Kansas."

Sig is a fugitive orphan who is trying to survive out in the wasteland. He causes a lot of mischief as he traverses the territories trying to get to New Orleans. Tania, his foster sister, who used to watch over him when he was very young, is sent out to get him for the government. If she does, they tell her that they will let her trouble-causing mother out of prison. As she goes searching for him, we learn about their past and what has happened to the country.

Overall, I thought that this had an interesting premise. The narration for this audiobook was great with the two different narrators. The beginning of the book was not the best, but it got better as it continued. I would recommend this to readers that enjoy dystopian books. You might just enjoy this book.

*I was given this audiobook for an honest review.*

🎃 Book 2: Macbeth by William Shakespeare 👻

Read October 20th- 23rd

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This is my favorite of Shakespeare's plays and every time I read it again it brings back so many great memories. I first read this play when I was in eighth grade. We performed the Double Double scene in class on Halloween exactly ten years ago. This is one of my favorite pieces from any piece of literature let alone play. Macbeth is a play that I know that I will be able to go back to again and again and still enjoy it. 

🍂 The Plot 🍂

We begin the play with Macbeth and Banquo going to three witches after defeating the invading armies. The witches prophecize that Macbeth will become king of the Danes but also that Banquo's sons will be future kings. This is what starts all of the conflicts in the play. 

Macbeth tells his wife of this prophecy and she is the one to come up with the plan that Macbeth has to kill King Duncan. After the murder of the king, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are driven mad with guilt. 

🍂 The Characters 🍂
Macbeth: Macbeth struggles with what the witches (the weird sisters) have told him throughout the play and does not want to complete the crimes originally. It is with the insistence of his wife that he finally decides to complete many of the deeds in this play. 

Lady Macbeth: Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, is manipulative, calculating, vicious,  and altogether a wicked seeming woman. She is the one to push Macbeth multiple times and even does some of the actions for him when he cannot even stomach them himself (I won't say what so I don't spoil the plot). Eventually, though we see a switch in her character. Once Macbeth takes on the role being the vicious murderer and becomes cold himself, she fully escapes into madness. This is where the famous "Out, damned spot" line comes from. She is a very interesting character to watch throughout the play and is definitely the most intriguing other than the witches. This is because of her drive and also some of the lines that she says. To me, she is one of the best Shakespeare female characters. 

The Three Witches (Hags/ The Weird Sisters) and Hecate: The witches are my favorite characters from any of Shakespeare's plays, besides the multiple fools/clown characters. They are some of the driving force behind this play. Macbeth first learns about becoming king from them and if he did not he would have most likely never become one. Their parts throughout the entire play are enjoyable to read/ watch/ or listen to. Also, it's kind of funny to see how they react to seeing Macbeth's downfall. They totally enjoy it and make it much worse for him later on in the play. The plays on wording that Shakespeare uses in this play, especially with the witches, is some of the best that I have ever read. 

🍂 Overall Thoughts 🍂

Again I would like to say, that I love this play. It's my favorite of Shakespeare's plays for a reason. For those interested in finding a Shakespeare play to read, I would recommend this one. I believe that you will find it interesting. 

🍂 Favorite Quotes 🍂

~ALL.              Double, double, toil and trouble, 

                         Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. 

2. WITCH.       Fillet of a fenny snake,

                         In the cauldron boil and bake;

                         Eye of newt, and toe of frog, 

                         Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,

                         Adder's fork, and blindworm's sting, 

                         Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing-

                         For a charm of pow'rful trouble

                         Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. 

ALL.                Double, double, toil and trouble, 

                         Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

3. WITCH.       Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,

                         Witch's mummy, maw and gulf...

ALL.                 Double, double, toil and trouble,

                          Fire, burn and caulron bubble.

2. WITCH.       Cool it with a baboon's blood, 

                         Then the charm is firm and good. ...

                         Something wicked this way comes. (4. 1. 1-45)

~ MACBETH. The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

                         Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player 

                         That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

                         And then is heard no more. It is a tale

                         Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, 

                         Signifying nothing. (5. 5. 23-28)

🦇 Book 3: Sourcery by Terry Pratchett 🕸️

Read October 23rd- 25th

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The fifth book from Terry Pratchett's Discworld series and the third book in the subseries: Rincewind/ Wizards/ Unseen University. If you are new to this series or want a refresher here is a link to all my posts, Terry Pratchett's Discworld. This book is part of the series and also the subseries, but really can be read as a standalone.

🍂 A Short Synopsis 🍂
Sourcery is about a wizard who had seven sons and then he had an eighth son-  a Sourcerer. On the Discworld, wizards are not supposed to have an eighth son, but the dying wizard at the beginning of the novel does not really care. He's actually quite evil.

" 'What is he?' (Ipslore, the wizard says this). 
THE EIGHTH SON OF AN EIGHTH SON OF AN EIGHTH SON, said Death, unhelpfully. "- Terry Pratchett's Sourcery 
- To explain this quote a little better if a person has an eighth son who was the eighth son, their son is then a wizard. Then if a wizard has an eight son, they get a sourcerer (which is not a good thing at all).

We then jump ahead eight years and are in the Unseen University where we follow along Rincewind (the most inept wizard on the Discworld) and many of the other wizards. The Sourcerer comes to the Unseen University with his staff and causes great trouble. The child is only eight years old and is easily the most powerful being, but he is much more than he seems. Throughout the story, we see his scenes, Rincewind and his companions, and other forces in the Discworld.

🍂 Rincewind 🍂
The book focuses mainly on Rincewind as our hero. He's the most unlikely of heroes, but that also as a wizard. This really makes his journey throughout this book even better just seeing how foolish he can be. This is the third book I have read of his subseries and I just cannot get enough of him.
 As I have mentioned above, Rincewind is inept. It is described a lot throughout the book on how horrible he really is (in extensive detail). He may just surprise us all though in the end.

"Examine Rincewind, as he peers around the sullen shelves. There are eight levels of wizardry on the Disc; after sixteen years Rincewind has failed to achieve even level one. In fact it is the considered opinion of some of his tutors that he is incapable even of achieving level zero, which most normal people are born at," Terry Pratchett's Sourcery. 

🍂 Other Important Aspects 🍂
There are many other characters that we follow along with other than Rincewind. Many of the wizards at the Unseen University are focused on throughout. They are blindly following along with the Sourcerer and we see a different side of them. Each feels very differently about the way to use magic. It's very obvious why they shouldn't rule anything, ever.

Then we come to The Luggage. The Luggage is a character that makes appearances in at least every Rincewind book so far. The Luggage is an aggressive suitcase that was given to Rincewind by a tourist. It eats people, falls in love (or at least develops a crush), and follows it's master across the Discworld.

This little fellow is The Luggage. Doesn't it look friendly? 

 One other character that really stood out to me is the Librarian, who has been in basically all of the books so far. The Librarian at Unseen University was turned into an orange orangutan in The Light Fantastic (Discworld Book 2) when a spell blasted the library. He speaks in a language of ooks and eeks, that most people understand. The reason he kept his job as the librarian after the spell was because of how good he is at it. He takes great care of the library. I really loved his storyline in this book and how comical and understandable Terry Pratchett makes this character.

Oh, and make sure you don't call him a monkey. He hates that.

🍂 Overall Thoughts 🍂

Again, I would like to say how much Terry Pratchett amazes me as an author. This man was a genius with his descriptions and just writing in general. The little puns and wordplay were a joy to read yet again. Reading his books always makes me a little sad inside when I think about his untimely death. This man was a genius wordsmith. 

The only reason I dropped this down a star was because of how it sometimes gets bogged down in the descriptions. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves a great fantasy book. You could go into the series at this book or at any of them. 

👻 Book 4: King Lear by William Shakespeare 🎃

Read October 27th
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This was the first time that I have read this play and overall I enjoyed it. It took me quite a while to actually get into it. I read and also listened to an incredible production of the play. It did not become a favorite for me, but it was enjoyable.

The play centers around a king of England, King Lear and his journey into insanity. Lear decides in the beginning that he wants to give his kingdom to each of his daughters because he is getting old. He decides that he will give them each a share, leaving the largest for the daughter who convinces him that she loves him most. His two oldest daughters, Goneril and Regan, who are foolish and deceitful, flatter him with their devotion. They are very insincere though while doing it. His youngest daughter, Cordelia, speaks truthfully and tells him that she does not want to just state her love of him for his kingdom. This enrages Lear and he disowns her and drives her from the kingdom.

He drives himself into madness with his treacherous oldest daughters helping along the way.

At first, I really could not stand any of the characters in this play besides Cordelia. The rest were just so awful to each other. Every character seems to be scheming against one another. Then there's King Lear, who is completely obvious to any of this going on around him. Over the course of the play, my early perception of Lear changes. By the end of the play, I really felt sorry for him.

This was different for me than any of Shakespeare's other plays. I have never found a tragic hero in any of his plays change so much in my view of them by the end of the play. It was what really made me like the play. I would recommend it. The characters can be quite annoying, especially Goneril and Regan, they are awful. The third-fifth acts of the play make up for this though.

Books Featuring Faeries/ Top 5 Wednesday

🎃 Books Featuring (Faeries/ Fae)/ Top 5 Wednesday 🍁

This week we were meant to pick one type of paranormal creature to talk about. For this week, I picked fae because I knew that I would have more books to talk about then the other creatures. One thing I have always liked about faeries/fairies/ fae, is the fact that they can be depicted in so many different ways. There is not one set in stone depiction of them.

Top 5 Wednesday is a group created by Lainey of Ginger Reads Lainey on Booktube. It is now hosted by Sam of Thoughts on Tomes on Booktube. Here is a link to the group on Goodreads if you are interested in joining.

5. Stardust by Neil Gaiman: One of the lands in Stardust is actually called Faerie and the citizens that reside there are Faeries. I will say that both the book and movie are amazing but are different from each other in tone (the movie is my favorite movie of all time). This is one example of the term "Faerie" meaning many sorts of people and not just one set type of creature. It is an adult faerie tale that is filled to the brim with magic.

4. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine: There are multiple fairies in this book. Lucinda is the fairy that actually puts the curse on Ella to make her obedient at birth. She's dim-witted and believes that this would be a blessing and everyone else knows that this is not true. Her character is an important character that helps add great aspects to this book. Mandy, their cook is also a fairy but is not very good at casting spells. It's interesting to see the different types of fairies and just learn more about the world of Kyyria.

I'll have to read this again soon, it's been a long time since I picked it up.

3. Midsummer's Night Dream by William Shakespeare: There are many fairies in this book, but I'll focus on my favorite, Puck. Puck is an example of a very mischievous fairy who is always pulling pranks on others around him. He is the closest that the play will come to a protagonist and is the reason why many of the actions take place. His character is one of my favorites from any of Shakespeare's plays.

2. The Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi: In this series, the Fey are magical beings that live in the Invisible World. Faerie is also the name of that world. They use magic to hide themselves from humans and the humans that have the Sight can see through this magic. The intricate world that the authors created is one of my favorites.

Here are some of the types of Faerie mention in the book.
Banshees, Brownies, Dwarves, Elves, Gargoyles, Dragons, Hobgoblins, Sprites, Griffins, etc.

1. Wings series by Aprilynne Pike: This is one of my favorite series from high school. The faeries that exist in this world are very intriguing and different than I have seen in other books. Laurel, the main character in the novels has spent most of her life at home being home-schooled but during her tenth grade year she starts at high school. Sometime in the early fall, she starts to grow what look like flower petals out of her back and is worried about what this could be. These petals almost look like wings. The world of the faeries in this book is different than any other that I have seen. One aspect I really enjoy are the different types of faeries (spring, summer, fall, and winter) and learning about their cultures throughout the books.
This series may not be for everybody and I know that it can be strange at times. I really have always loved how different and strange it was. (I have yet to read the new fifth book in the series. I loved the fourth book and thought it was a good ending to the series. I'm not sure of what I'll think about the new book.)

Friday Reviews 5: September 30th- October 6th, 2017

Friday Reviews Week 5: 

September 30th- October 6th

🍁 Book 1: Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller 🍁

Narrated by Deryn Edwards

 Listened to September 24th- October 1st

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Sallot Leon is a thief that steals a poster announcing the open auditions for the Left Hand, who are the powerful collection of the Queen's personal assassins. They are named after the rings that she wears-- Ruby, Emerald, Amethyst, and Opal. Sal goes to the auditions hoping to be able to become the next Opal. Their reasoning is more towards wanting revenge. 

Sal is a gender-fluid character that has had to be tough their whole life because of their horrible past. This character really interested me especially once I learned more about their past. The bits and pieces we get throughout were important for their overall character. I have never read a book quite like this and was not sure of how I would like it. I'm glad to say that I enjoyed it. 

Deryn Edwards (the narrator) not only reflects the viciousness of the main character, Sal, but also the other characters that she is voicing. She conveys the brutality of this novel in her narration and also the vulnerability of Sal. As the story continued, I began to get attached to Sal and was rooting for them. 

This is a compelling story that will pull the reader into the world that is being created, wondering what will happen next. I would have liked to have a bit more about this world that we are getting thrown into so early on. There are many times that we do learn more, but not enough. This book intrigued me and I will be picking up the rest of the series. 

*I received the audiobook for free for an honest review*

🍁 Book 2: Hamlet by William Shakespeare 🍁

Read October 5th and 6th

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~Favorite Quotes~

I really love this play. This was the second time that I have read it, the first time was in my senior year of high school. It is one of my favorites of Shakespeare's plays. There are so many quotes that I could mention here, but I'll keep to three. My favorites: 

- HORATIO. Good night, sweet prince.  (5. 2. 364)- Hamlet by William Shakespeare- stunningly beautiful

- HAMLET. A dream itself is but a shadow.  (2. 2. 265)

- HAMLET. To be or not to be- that is the question: 

                     Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

                     The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune

                     Or take arms against a sea of troubles

                     And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep-

                     No more- and by a sleep to say we end

                     The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks

                     That flesh is heir to. 'Tis a consummation

                     Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep-

                     To sleep- perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub,

                     For in that sleep of death what dreams may come - my favorite part of this

                     When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,

                     Must give us pause. There's the respect

                     That makes calamity of so long life.

                     For who would bear the whips and scorns of times,

                     Th' oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely 

                     The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,

                     The insolence of office, and the spurns

                     That patient merit of th' unworthy takes, 

                     When he himself might his quietus make

                     With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,

                     To grunt and sweat under a weary life,

                     But that the dread of something after death,

                     The undiscovered country, from whose bourn

                     No traveller returns, puzzles the will, 

                     And makes us rather bear those ills we have 

                     Than fly to others that we know not of?

                     Thus conscience does make cowards of us all, 

                     And thus the native hue of resolution

                     Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,

                     And enterprises of great pitch cast of thought,

                     With this regard their currents turn awry

                     And lose the name of action.  (3. 1. 56-89)

                  This had to be here as a favorite. There are so many great lines and many that we still use today that come from Hamlet's famous soliloquy. This was hard enough to type up on here, I could not imagine memorizing the whole thing to act out. It's such a great part of the play. 

~ The Plot ~

Hamlet is about a young prince who has become doomed by his father's murder (or should I say murther) to plot his revenge. It is about a man's quest to avenge his father. The madness and tragedy ensues while he tries to incriminate his uncle. 

Hamlet's actions in this play can be quite comical. I enjoyed many of the parts of the play when he is acting "crazy" and the reactions of the others around him that are witnessing this madness. He can be quite cruel at times, especially to Ophelia. It was for the act but some of what he says to her is hard to read. Overall, I enjoyed Hamlet as a character and watching his actions. He's so funny. 

The one thing that makes this not perfect to me is a couple scenes from Act 3 and 4. They sort of dragged on and to me were not as great as the rest. 

I enjoyed reading this play again and seeing the actions of these characters again. Gosh, how I forgot how annoying Polonius truly is.  Sure "brevity is the soul of wit", go by your own advice sir. 

~ Overall Thoughts ~

If you are looking for a play of Shakespeare's to read this should definitely be on your list. And there's a ghost, so it somewhat fits with the Halloween vibes of October. 

Also, if you would rather watch the play there are many great performances you could watch. One is from the BBC from 2009, it has Patrick Stewart and David Tennant as Hamlet. It's fantastic. 

Hamlet BBC 2009, soliloquy scene 

Also, there's an abridged version of the play that I would recommend from the Reduced Shakespeare Company. 

Hamlet Performance

Also, it's done by just three men. It's hilarious. 

&

The Complete Works of Shakespeare 

🍁 Thanks for reading this. Have a great weekend. 🍁

Books Featuring Witches/ Top Five Wednesday

🍁 Books Featuring Witches/ Top Five Wednesday: 🎃
October  4th, 2017

These are some of my favorite books that feature witches as characters.

Top 5 Wednesday is a group created by Lainey of Ginger Reads Lainey on Booktube. It is now hosted by Sam of Thoughts on Tomes on Booktube. Here is a link to the group on Goodreads if you are interested in joining.

Runner-up: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz/ Whole Oz series by L. Frank Baum- I originally grew up with The Wizard of Oz movie and really enjoyed the Wicked Witch of the West, even though she scared me. In the books, each of the witches is quite interesting but different from the movie versions. This is a series that I would recommend. I hope to eventually read all of the books. It would not be a list of witch books for me without this book.

Runner-up: the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling- In these types of lists we try to avoid the Harry Potter series because really they can fit a lot of the categories for various reasons. Like I mentioned above though, this would not be a list of witches without the Harry Potter series. Some of my favorite witches come from this series. So another runner-up is this series. 

5.) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis- The name gives away that this book has a witch in it. Jadis first shows up in The Magician's Nephew and if you have not read that I recommend it. Jadis is another villain that used to creep me out. She takes over Narnia one hundred years before the events of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, beginning the long winter. She turns people to stone just for going against her. A lot of the creatures in Narnia fear her and I could see why. She always creeped me out as a kid. 

4.) Macbeth by Shakespeare- The three witches (Weird Sisters) in Macbeth play a pivotal role in the plot. They tell Macbeth many prophecies that ultimately cause many of his problems to occur. This is my favorite of Shakespeare's plays and the witches are a major part of that. I always enjoyed their parts of this play. Their famous lines "Double, double toil and trouble" are my favorites from Shakespeare. They had to make the list because they will always be some of my favorite witches.

3.) Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman- The witch in Good Omens is named Agnes Nutter. We learn about this character from her prophecies that are mentioned multiple times throughout this book. She was a witch in the 17th century and also the only true prophet that ever lived. She wrote a book called The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch, which was a collection of prophecies. It didn't sell though because they weren't spectacular and were very true. She's a very interesting character that helps bring the humor in this book.

2.)  The Discworld Series by Terry Pratchett- I have only met two of the witches so far in the Discworld series but so far I am loving them. One of the most popular characters in the series is Esmerelda "Granny" Weatherwax. She has become one of my favorite characters of all time. Granny has an unshakable belief in her own abilities. She's blunt with anyone she meets, she has a dry way of talking that brings a lot of humor, and her expressions make any book she is in. You don't want to mess with Granny Weatherwax. The first book that she appears in is Equal Rites. If you want to learn more about her or the series in general here is a link to my Discworld posts:
Terry Pratchett's Discworld

1.) The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell- This book just came out yesterday, October 3rd. I was given the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of it about a month ago. I wanted to highly recommend this book to anyone that is reading this post. I have a full review of the audiobook on my blog at this link if you would like to read it: Friday Reviews 2. The witches in this book are some of the creepiest that I have ever read. This is a world where witches are supposed to have been extinct for a long time, but this assumption is very wrong. I was surprised by these witches and cannot wait to continue on with this series and learn more about them.