Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgernstern

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review11 Comments

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The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. The black sign, painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates, reads: Opens at Nightfall Closes at Dawn. As the sun disappears beyond the horizon, all over the tents small lights begin to flicker, as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies. When the tents are all aglow, sparkling against the night sky, the sign appears. Le Cirque des Reves. The Circus of Dreams. Now the circus is open. Now you may enter.

I absolutely adored this book. I found it magical and beautiful, and I don’t know how anyone could not feel involved and enchanted by this book.

It’s been a year now since I found this one, and although it’s taken me a while, I’m so glad I finally got round to reading it! It’s not often that I find a book so heavily setting based, but it worked. It worked so well. It’s hard to describe what exactly I loved so much about this book. I just felt utterly captivated by it.

I can understand why people have called this book boring – but I think sprawling suits it much better. This book kind of needs a large collection of pages to explain itself completely. The plot can come across as so complicated, it works being revealed slowly.

“Secrets have power. And that power diminishes when they are shared, so they are best kept and kept well. Sharing secrets, real secrets, important ones, with even one other person, will change them.”

I felt so completely inside this book. That’s hard to describe, but it’s true. I felt so deeply involved with this thing that is the circus. And I think that’s why this book stands so far apart from many others, because I didn’t feel necessarily involved in the characters or the plot or any normal bookish things. But I felt involved in the circus, and for me, that was enough.

I would agree that this book is slow. But it’s slow in a relaxing, chilled way. It’s slow in a way that let me consume this book over weeks. This book isn’t without romance, but don’t go into it thinking you’re going to read a romance book. Actually, I would say this book is much more about love than romance. Love between people. Love between places. Love contained in letters sent across the globe.

“ Writing them down is worse, because who can tell how many eyes might see them inscribed on paper, no matter how careful you might be with it. So it’s really best to keep your secrets when you have them, for their own good, as well as yours.”

I don’t know what else I can possibly say about this book as I don’t feel I could possibly do it justice. This is an incredibly atmospherical read and I would highly recommend that if you like the sound of it, you should go and read it. And when you do, be prepared to be transported into a world that will completely and utterly enchant you.

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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How to read more books. #35

On By paperbackpeteIn Pete3 Comments

Hey guys!

Todays blog post is going to be slightly different from the kind of stuff that I usually post.

I want to talk about books (obviously) and how to read more of them.

This is going to sound big headed (but I promise i’m not trying to be).

A lot of people ask me, how do you read so fast? or how did you finish that book so fast? and so I feel today, morally obliged, to share my 3 powerful tips with you so that all you bookworms out there who are constantly having internal battles regarding goodreads goals can stress no more!
Before I start with my tips I would like to mention that I wasn’t always a fast reader. In fact for a while the reason I didn’t enjoy reading was because of how slow a reader I was.

Tip Number One

-Don’t Set Goals

This might sound like a strange thing to do when everyone around you and everyone in the book community is talking about their goodreads goal but trust me, it works.

Think of it this way:

If you are stressing about achieving a book goal then every time you go to pick up a book you are going to have associated anxiety with the speed at which you are reading and the speed at which you are completing any given book.

Not only does this take away from the pleasure of the activity it also slows down your reading speed because you are putting active energy into worrying about how fast you are reading and so your thoughts are going to drift away more often therefore slowing your reading speed down. I know right?!! Who knew reading could be so ironic and sciency?

A Note to be mentioned

Just because I personally don’t find a reading goal helpful doesn’t mean they are not helpful for everyone! Goodreads is a wonderful platform and if you are still wanting to contribute to your reading goal maybe just total all of your logged books by the end of the year and make a post about them on your profile!

Tip Number Two

–Have a routine 

Lots of people ask how I can read so many books in a week but those same people are only reading once every 17 months anyway! For me, one of the most important ways of quickening your reading speed is ensuring that you are reading every day and if possible at the same time every day.

This not only creates a natural pattern for your mind – meaning you will be able to slow down easier and stop thinking so much ( a key to getting engrossed in a book ), you will also be able to be practicing your reading style regularly.

Just like any skill,  your reading is a muscle that, with proper use, will get better with time. Therefore it is important to go to that literary gym EVERYDAY and work out! I know this might sound really obvious but seriously try it out!

Tip Number Three

-Please, do your research

This is by far the most important of all the tips. Too many people waste hours and hours of their lives drudging through a book at a snails pace because they simply hate the plot.

If only they had done their research about the book prior to reading it then they would have known in the first place that they were going to hate it.

I am not talking about revealing every spoiler and reading a summary of every chapter before you turn the first page. Essentially I am asking you to be reading reviews, reading blurbs, watching book tube videos about said book and quite often in my case looking at star ratings! Many people in the book community believe that it is a huge literary no no to overlook a book because of how well it has done with the critics. Well let me just say this: It wouldn’t have gotten such a low star rating if it was as good as sliced bread!

It might sound like a mean casting off of new authors and books that got misunderstood but seriously: don’t read a book if it got one star on goodreads! (Once again I sound obvious but people need to realise that they don’t have to put up with crap literature!).

The conclusion and thinking behind this tip is simple: if you enjoy a book, you are going to read it faster!

Thanks for reading this strange and slightly bossy blog post.

Keep on reading!

And thanks again Beth!

 

Review: The Territory (#1) by Sarah Govett

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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Limited Space requires Limited Numbers
The year is 2059. Noa Blake is just another normal 15 year old. Except in the Territory normal isn’t normal. The richest children can download information and bypass the need to study. In a flooded world of dwindling resources, Noa and the other ‘Norms’ have their work cut out to compete. And competing is everything – anybody who fails the TAA exam at 15 will be shipped off to the disease-ridden Wetlands, to a life of misery, if not certain death.
But how to focus when your heart is being torn in two directions at once?

I have been provided with a copy of the book and payment by the author in exchange for an honest review. This has not changed my review in any way.

I started this book thinking it might take me a while to get into. Thinking it might be a little young and not something I’d usually read. But soon enough, I was picking this book up whenever I had a spare minute just to find out what was happening next.

Rather than this book being in chapters, it had a break every couple of pages and I loved that. It meant that I didn’t have to committ myself to sitting down and finishing 20+ pages, and that I could literally read this book whenever. And that’s one of the reasons I finished this one in under 2 days!

I also found the writing utterly captivating. Although this book read as though it would suit young teens, I still enjoyed it immensely. Because of this, the book was only 200 pages long and very easy to read, which I loved!

I adored the characters and world. The world had just enough relating to Earth as we know it to ensure I could picture everything clearly, but enough differences to make it stand completely on it’s own as something unique. And this book is just that – unique.

Noa lives in a difficult, dangerous and terrifying world and I felt I could really relate to her feelings. Her thoughts shone through incredibly in the writing and I felt her emotions clearly. Noa isn’t the only character I loved – this book actually has some really great side characters. I felt close to Noa’s friends and family and I felt everything they went through right along with them.

Overall, The Territory is intense, emotional and unique. It left me with tears in my eyes, and now I’m absolutely hooked and can’t wait to continue with the story! I would highly recommend this book for teens aged 12-16 and are readers of dystopia.

★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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All the Crooked Saints. Book Review #34

On By paperbackpeteIn Book Review, Pete1 Comment

Hi everyone!

I want to talk about a book that only came out in October and has been talked about non stop ever since!

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater is a YA magical realism novel that follows the Sorias, a family of saints living in the dusty part of Colorado that regularly receive pilgrims and regularly perform miracles. Everything is going smoothly until the family’s current saint, Daniel, runs away and leaves his two cousins Beatriz and Joaquin in a difficult situation that may or may not result in his eternal doom. Stiefvater’s newest novel looks at the science behind magic, the impracticalities of falling in love when you have a hole in your heart and the importance of family.

Ever since I read the first paragraph of the Raven Boys I have had infinite respect for Stiefvater as a writer and ATCS could very well have damaged that respect- I’m glad it didn’t!

Despite possessing such a fantastical plot, All the Crooked Saints is really a book about people and the relationships they build and tear apart. This hit home to me very early on simply from my reading of the characters themselves. Each are uniquely displaced in their own worlds and yet each of them manage to come together and act as a unit when the time comes. This is what I mean when I say that this book is about family: It is as though through ATCS Stiefvater is trying to remind her young audience how important it is to respect and value your loved ones even at a time in life when everything seems to be about ones self. The conversation that is had in this book about parents and family is an important one that too many Young Adult books forget to include (why is it that no one seems to ever have any parents in YA? Amirite?).

The topic of miracles and sainthood is very dangerous to talk about when catering to a mass audience because it borders subjects that are personal, like religion. Stiefvater, in my opinion, balances the line between the spirituality behind Saints and the fictional attributes she gives them so perfectly that I don’t think it could ever be argued that she was attempting to encourage any religious sect through her narrative. Rather, I feel that ATCS is a book of whimsy that is constantly tip-toeing the line between reality and the otherworldly; It is like a experiment being carried out by the author in front of the readers eyes at how much magic she can find in our boring old world.

Lastly I want to talk about language. Stiefvater, similar to writers like Claire North and April Genevieve Tucholke, writes about people and events as though they are songs or poems. Her work feels like some sort of grimoire and you can see this massively in ATCS. Every chapter feels parabolical and every line feels ornate. This hyper sensitive and transcendental way of writing is something that always makes me love a book and is certainly something that I could never describe in just one blog post. You will just have to read one of these author’s books to find out what i’m talking about!

All the Crooked Saints was a massive delight to read and I thoroughly recommend it to all of you.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Keep on reading!

And thanks again Beth.

Review: Twelve Days of Dash and Lily by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

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Dash and Lily have been dating for nearly a year, but when Lily’s beloved grandfather falls ill, the repercussions take their toll on everyone. Even though they are still together, somehow the magic has gone out of their relationship and it’s clear that Lily has fallen out of love with life.
Action must be taken! Dash teams up with Lily’s brother and a host of their friends, who have just twelve days to get Lily’s groove back in time for Christmas.

I know, I know. It’s after Christmas, and here I am reading a Christmas book. Why? Because I found it on my shelf and knew if I didn’t read it now I’d have to wait another year! These books are pretty short and easy to read, so I knew I just had to do it.

And I actually really enjoyed this book. I’ve found other books by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan are not usually my favourites, but this is definitely the best I’ve read.

“The minute she left the apartment, I missed having her there.”

I like that this book was short, because I felt like I didn’t need any more. I love the Christmassy feel and Dash and Lily’s relationship. Emotions are explored and written about a lot, and I think the authors wrote about the sad situations in Dash and Lily’s lives were explained really well.

This book made me laugh out loud often, simply because it is so random sometimes. There were some very unexpected moments and it isn’t common for a book to make me laugh!

“But as with all loves, I supposed, the consolation was in the fact that she’d be back.”

I won’t say this book was without it’s problems, though. For a start, I kind of didn’t like Lily for parts of this novel. She’s just so…whiny. She seems so self-centered and really didn’t think about what was best for everyone else. I did feel like this improved throughout the novel, but it annoyed me at the start.

But I have to say, I enjoyed this novel. I felt that the authors talked about the progression of relationships in a relatable way, and although it was cheesy, it was just such an easy, enjoyable read.

★★★★
(3.5 stars)

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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Before the asteroid we let ourselves be defined by labels:
The athlete, the outcast, the slacker, the overachiever.
But then we all looked up and everything changed.
They said it would be here in two months. That gave us two months to leave our labels behind. Two months to become something bigger than what we’d been, something that would last even after the end.
Two months to really live.

Happy New Year everyone! I welcomed in the new year with a quiet night in with my boyfriend, and honestly it was lovely. While we were away, I read We All Looked Up, one of the two books my good friend Pete gave to me for Christmas!

We All Looked Up follows four teenagers in the months before an asteroid hits Earth. It sounds unique, and I’ve heard good things. It’s a contemporary, with romance, and poetic words about the end of the world. What’s not to like?

Unfortunately, I found a few things to dislike. I wouldn’t go as far to say I’m not a fan of this book, or that I didn’t enjoy reading it, but it definitely wasn’t without its faults.

The good

Like I said, I did enjoy these books. I felt a connection to the characters and their ways and I loved the apocalyptic feel of the ever-changing world around them. Wallach explores the way the asteroid affects high school, shopping, eating out, prison and even gas stations. And it actually doesn’t seem unrealistic – because I think it’s grounded by the connection we have with our four narrators.

In some ways, I really liked having the viewpoint of four people – two women and two men. I think it gives every reader someone to relate to, and I definitely felt closer to one or two of them. I also really enjoyed Wallach’s writing, it’s so easy to read. I got through this book in a couple of days and I almost felt lazy reading it. The plot was steadily paced, and that made for a relaxing, laid back kind of reading.

“The best books, they don’t talk about things you never thought about before. They talk about things you’d always thought about, but that you didn’t think anyone else had thought about.”

The bad

Unfortunately, I did find faults with this novel. I may have liked the slow pacing of the plot, but it was just that – slow. I can’t overlook the parts that dragged without much happening at all. It’s the end of the world, let’s have some movement!

Even though in some ways I enjoyed having more than one narrator, you’re always at risk of having a little confusion. And I did feel confused in parts, because I don’t think Wallach defined his characters well enough. I realised around halfway through the book that I couldn’t actually picture any of them. I’m not looking for extensive descriptions, but just a bit of a mention would be nice. Something to help me imagine them – the only one I could describe for you would be Misery. However, I did like Eliza’s development and her interest in photography. It still doesn’t mean I can picture her, but at least she has some kind of defining feature. Something that makes her who she is.

I also have mixed feelings about the ending. I’m so conflicted, but it left me unsatisfied in some ways. I would have just liked something more definite. Something a little more solid and a little less mushy and poetic.

“You read them, and suddenly you’re a little bit less alone in the world. You’re part of this cosmic community of people who’ve thought about this thing, whatever it happens to be”

I don’t know if it’s worth mentioning, but something else stood out for me in this book. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing, because I don’t think Wallach really did a bad job…but I could tell this was written by a man. It just stood out to me when the female characters were talking about men, and it was nothing bad, but I just knew.

So there might be more bad than good here, but don’t read too much into that. The bad is always easier to write about, and even if there were faults, I can’t say I didn’t find this an enjoyable and interesting read.

★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review6 Comments

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Sixteen-year-old Aza never intended to pursue the mystery of fugitive billionaire Russell Pickett, but there’s a hundred-thousand-dollar reward at stake and her Best and Most Fearless Friend, Daisy, is eager to investigate. So together, they navigate the short distance and broad divides that separate them from Russell Pickett’s son, Davis.

Aza is trying. She is trying to be a good daughter, a good friend, a good student, and maybe even a good detective, while also living within the ever-tightening spiral of her own thoughts.

As you may or may not know, I’m not a massive John Green fan. It’s not like I hate him or anything, I just have really mixed opinions about his books. For me, The Fault in Our Stars is overhyped, Will Grayson, Will Grayson and An Abundance of Katherine’s are not worth the read, Looking for Alaska is pretty good and Paper Towns is my favourite.

But nevertheless, Turtles All the Way Down got me intruiged. And the more of my friends that were reading (and loving) it, the more I wanted to find out what was so good. Before I continue, thank you to my lovely friend Pete for gifting me this book for my birthday!

I have to say, Turtles was a really pleasant surprise for me. Especially after struggling with Gemina, I really needed a good contemporary. And Green, for a change, didn’t let me down!

I’m not going to say this book isn’t niggle-free. It still niggled me in the classic way Green manages to get on my nerves. For a start, you can tell that these are his characters. The way he writes is still pretty pretensious, and the characters still talk like no person I have ever met – only seeming to have these big, important discussions about the sky.

But once I got past that this book is just unbelievably cheesy in some ways, I managed to accept it and enjoy it. And I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than I expected to.

“We never really talked much or even looked at each other, but it didn’t matter because we were looking at the same sky together, which is maybe even more intimate than eye contact anyway.”

I have to appreciate the way Green wrote about mental health. Although it’s an extremely subjective topic, I really felt for Aza and her situation. I felt an emotional connection to her and I understood her invasive thoughts in the best way. I also love how Green included the very real and difficult parts of mental illness – personal struggles, mental battles and therapy sessions that were portrayed as a postive and helpful part of Aza’s life. We need more of that in YA!

I loved the plot and I felt the mixture of romance, contemporary and even hints of mystery were done really well. Green did a great job of (thank you), keeping the romance underlying and not letting it take over the book. Friendship and family realationships were also explored deeply and I really appreciate the balance he managed to find. I love how the romance didn’t ‘fix’ Aza’s mental illness – that can happen too much in YA and make it completely unrealistic and unrelatable.

“I mean, anybody can look at you. It’s quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see.”

This may seem like a random point and isn’t something I’d usually mention, but I saw a review which mentioned the technology in this book and I completely agreed with them. The characters use technology as teenagers actually do, and I have to agree that Green got it spot on.

I also have to mention the ending before I go. I found it perfect for the book. Even though it’s not definite, it included a lot of hope and I really like that from an ending. It left things open but not too open. It had perfect balance.

So overall this book is a really easy but enjoyable read. I think it represents YA really well and it has a lot of really good points. And even though I might not be the biggest Green fan…I don’t think I can complain. This book just has to be awarded a solid 4.5 stars from me.

★★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Review: Secret Heir (Dynasty #1) by M.J. Prince

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review1 Comment

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I have been provided with an Advanced Reader Copy by the author in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book a really pleasant surprise. It’s not something I’d dive for but I was quickly absorbed by the beautiful and twisted world Prince has created.

The plot drew me in straight away. Jazmine is a girl from Earth who is a member of a royal family from a planet she knows nothing about. The grandfather she has never met takes her back to this planet, where she’s shipped off to boarding school with royal teenagers from the other 5 dynasties. It quickly becomes apparent that the other teens have been spreading rumors about her and her life on Earth and make her life a living hell. But are all of these people really her enemies, and is there more going on behind the scenes?

I found the world of Eden very cleverly done as it mirrors life on Earth, but differs with Elements and the powers each person has. I understood Eden easily but found it’s differences enthralling.

Let’s talk about the characters! I adored Jazime and I felt a really close connection to her. She’s a badass and she fights for what she believes in, and I really admired her throughout the book. The pranks she pulls towards the start of the novel made me laugh out loud in parts!

Unfortunately, this book isn’t without a few faults. It could do with a little touching up on the spelling and grammar side and I did find a lot of sentences repeated themselves throughout the novel. I felt the book dragged a little in the middle but loved the beginning and especially the end! Oh my, that ending. It left me desparate for the next book and I definitely want to continue with this series.

Even though I had my suspicions about the twist at the end, I was still completely shocked and torn. It just proves how persuasive and enthralling Prince’s writing really is, and I really admire how tricked I was by the writing.

I think partly due to the romance in this book, I felt like this was a real guilty pleasure, but I loved it all the same. It may have not been perfect, but I really enjoyed it and it actually reminded me of A Court of Thorns and Roses in many respects. In fact I have to admit, I liked it more.

So overall, Secret Heir is a really good romance/fantasy which took me out of my comfort zone. A solid 4 stars from me and one I’d definitely recommend!

★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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Spellsinger. Book Review #33

On By paperbackpeteIn Book Review, PeteLeave a comment

Hey guys!

First I would like to apologise for my lack of blog post last week! It snowed heavily where I live and it kind of messed with all the plans I made for the day (in a good way) which ultimately meant I didn’t have time to write a review.

I am back this week though and I want to talk about a book that has been on my radar for a while but has only recently become apart of my own collection.

Spellsinger is a Young Adult Fantasy book by Sebastien de Castell. The story follows Kellen, a young apprentice training to become a mage in a world where magic is held supreme. There is just one problem. He doesn’t have any himself. This book is a whimsical and enchanting adventure that follows card-wielding cow boy women, talking squirrel cats and an old, dark secret.

This novel was excitedly recommended to me by a fellow book worm who is always well informed on the good stuff and the positively bad stuff that is being released in the young adult world. As such, I trusted her opinion, and jumped at the chance to read Spellsinger. And I was not disappointed.

Right from the beginning this book possesses a steady kind of lighthearted banter and whimsy that holds true across the whole narrative. The writing style felt young and casual which, to me, was the correct choice coming from a narrator who was experiencing youth himself. Moreover, I felt that the pace and the style linked quite nicely to the subject matter of much of the plot itself: magic. The fact that almost all of the story was bordered with laid-back hilarity was important when exploring a force that innately does not take itself too seriously.

The characters were all generally very interesting. There were some questionable choices regarding the plausibility of Kellen’s parents and the situation he finds himself in at the end of the story (I will say no more). These must, to some degree, be overlooked when considering the context of the world that the events of the book existed in. My personal favourite was Ferius Parfax, for two reasons: her name is Ferius Parfax and that to me is delightfully intriguing. The second and more important reason being the fact that she was a total bad ass throughout the whole story and became a feminist icon to me by the end. As a main character Kellen possessed everything he needed not to be lost amongst the massive cast such as an interesting motive and an anti-power  but at times I felt he was just making random choices that did not feel natural in line with the plot that I was learning about.

The plot itself wouldn’t stop moving and undulating and pulsing. It felt sad and happy and rocky, just like real life is. It was this and the core focus on magic (which is always a big sell for me) that allowed me to genuinely enjoy Spellsinger immensely.

I would certainly recommend this book!

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars

Keep on reading!

And thanks again Beth.

Review: Gemina by Various Authors

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

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Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.
The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.
Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.
When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.
But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.

I don’t know how to write this review. I’m so conflicted and confused right now. I loved it. I was bored. I was, overall, disappointed.

I know, I know. I adored Illuminae, and I’ve been singing it’s praises ever since. I found it broke the YA rule book and I loved the authors for it. And I did go into Gemina with very high expectations – so many people said it’s even better and Illuminae is so hard to beat!

“This tiny moment. In between the time you decide to pull a trigger and the time death arrives.”

So, I did like a lot about this book. For one, the suspense. I would be on the edge of my seat, to find out that the character I thought would die actually lives. I also liked the whole concept of multiverses and wormholes and I thought that was done really well. This book made me smile, and made me chuckle.

Also, Ella. Ella is the ultimate feminist and all around badass and I loved her for it. And as with Illuminae, there are some utterly beautiful poetic parts of this book that I can’t wait to share with you.

Anddd it’s time for the bad. Let’s start with Hanna, the typical spoilt-rich-girl-who-actually-is-pretty-badass. It was just so cheesy and predictable. I did like Nik, but I also found him a pretty typical bad boy. What happened to throwing out the rule book?

“There’s just you and it and everything you’re about to take away. It’s too big. It goes forever.”

I was constantly confused. For this entire book. And I distinctly remember not feeling like this for Illuminae. I mean, maybe this is because I read Illuminae so long ago. But I still think I should have understood even a little bit more than I did in Gemina. In some ways, this book was kind of too much. There was too many plot twists. Too many people to kill. Too many files, and way too many pages. I kind of felt like I was reading this book and only understanding about 10% of whatever-the-f*ck was going on.

So it turns out I loved and really didn’t like this book, all rolled into a massive mix of emotions. I could rate this book from one to five stars for a variety of reasons (I was bored, I was amused, I was utterly overwhelmed by an incredibly random part of beautiful poetry), so I guess I’m going to be settling in the middle.

★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

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