Sunday Post ~ You Get a Training, and You Get a Training!

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things received, and share news about what is coming up on the blog for the week ahead. To get in on the Sunday funday, see the rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

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Remember, there are free audiobooks all summer long! Sign up for the text alerts to remember to grab them each week! All you need is an Overdrive account.

I cannot believe I survived this past week. Monday morning the man follows me out to my car to kiss me and see me off, and it wouldn’t start. Remember, he lives an hour and a half away from me and my workplace. He called AAA for a wrecker, and I had it taken to the closest dealership thinking that would be easiest. In some ways it was, because everything was still under warranty, so all I was out was about $70 for a rental and gas. I waited over an hour for my rental and saw some very interesting “business practices” while I waited. I’m pretty sure it’s policy that if you get a rental, it should be kept in better condition and nicer than your own vehicle. Just sayin’. Because of that I missed the entire first half of my training on Monday. I arrived in my district around lunchtime.

I was not very interested or pleased with our Mental Health First Aid training on Tuesday. I read the entire book they gave us before lunch. I have my own thoughts on my takeaway, and if we do what I believe the unsaid expectation is, there will be lawsuits left and right.

Wednesday and Thursdays trainings were fabulous. I also discovered the best place to work in the district is the technology department. They have an entire lab with brand new computers with extra-large monitors. And it’s so quiet. I want to go there to work on staff development days.

Baby has been moody this week because the man has been gone everyday. This went into effect the day following the Dallas police shootings. All Baby knows is he leaves every night and when he is home he’s sleeping. She doesn’t like it. Friday night he leaned over the couch and was whispering to her as he got ready. She was in a snit because he was leaving, so she sat up, gave him and “eat shit and die” look, and ran off to the beanbag. And then proceeded to give him the eyes. She is so sensitive.

What would you like to see in place of the “Around Town in the Spotlight” section? I want to add something else to my Sunday Posts, but I’m not sure what. Leave me a comment about something fun or interesting you’d like to see!

 

 ~ Last Week  on G1000W ~

• Sunda
  • Sunday Post ~ Release the Kraken
•  Monday
  • Cover Characteristics ~ Schools
  • Audiobook Review ~ The Reluctant Assassin
• Tuesday
  • Top Ten Tuesday ~ Things Books Have Made Me Want To Learn or Do
  • First Chapter First Paragraph ~ Regarding Anna
• Wednesday
  • WWW Wednesday
• Thursday
  • Famous Last Words #12
• Friday
  • Feature Follow Friday ~ My Stance on DNF

 

~ This Week on G1000W ~

• Monday
  • Cover Characteristic ~ Flags
  • July Chit Chat
  • Love & Other Disasters Contest
  • Audiobook Review ~ Anne of Green Gables
• Tuesday
  • Top Ten Tuesday ~ Books I’d Buy NOW
  • First Chapter First Paragraph ~ Dodger
• Wednesday
  • WWW Wednesday
• Thursday
  • Famous Last Words #13
  • Thoughts on Thursdays ~ Why I Read What I Read
•  Friday
  • Feature Follow Friday ~ Favorite Book Boyfriends

 

~ New Arrivals to Land of 1000 Wonders ~

I did select a few new free ebooks from Amazon. I had a specific criteria when reading the summaries. I ended up passing on most that I clicked on to view, so that’s a good thing! I also picked up a few earlier this week, too.

 ~ Open Giveaways ~

The SockKids Say NO to Bullying | Photo Contest by Author Christy Deveaux

Feature Follow Friday ~ July 29, 2016

Feature & Follow is a blog hop hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. The goal of Feature & Follow is to meet new bloggers, make friends, and gain readers.

My Stance on DNF

What is your take on DNF books? Do you review them? Choose not to review them?

*UPDATE* 

I never stop before the 40% mark with a book. I am still a perfectionist with a Type A personality, so I try my best to finish reading books. After looking back at my data, I’ve DNFed 4 books since I started blogging (although I haven’t updated my DNF shelf on Goodreads). I also have one I have set aside and have in my Carousel waiting to be read. At the time, my life was too chaotic to dedicate to that book.

I feel there is a perception about DNF reviews. Those slimy 1 star reviews that focus on every single minute negative of the book. Where did this even come from? My reviews, whether DNF or a 5 star, are honest, fair and include elements I liked and those I didn’t. If it is a DNF review, I feel as a reviewer it is my duty to share why I couldn’t continue reading. This is helpful to readers like me, potential customers, and also the author.

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I don’t think I ever DNFed a book before I became a book blogger. I see so many of my students quit on books because they just don’t want to read, period. Very few actually don’t like the book or think it’s for them. I can’t ever remember either of those two scenarios growing up. If I checked it out, I read it.

So when I started blogging, I thought it was sacrilegious to DNF a book. So I didn’t…no matter how much I disliked the book.

About a year into this journey, the conversation about DNFing kept springing up around the blogosphere. I wasn’t an active participant, but I took note: a lot of bloggers were coming around to or okay with DNFing.

After stumbling across a few books that looked so promising and turned out to be such duds, I firmly believe in DNFing. I don’t do it very often, probably less than five times since I’ve been blogging, but why should we punish ourselves to finish a book that we do not enjoy? That will skew our reviews.

DNFing a book and reviewing a DNF are two different topics. Some are on board with DNFing, but would never write a review for that book.

I do. The longer I’ve been at this, and the more I say I’m not accepting review requests, the more that come in. It’s like our world no longer understands the meaning of the word “no.” It means yes, people think. And since so many bloggers clearly identify their review policies, I find more and more authors fudge their book description when pushing it to reviewers to cater to those individuals’ tastes.

I review my DNF books so that other readers who have the same reading interests as I or who had the same expectations as I know that the book might not be for them so they don’t waste their time. Although in the past year I have become quite lazy and have several books and audiobooks I haven’t written a review for…I haven’t DNFed a book in a long time, so I might just skip writing the review because I have better ways to spend my time. You know, reviewing other books. 🙂

There are just too many books out there to force myself to read things I am not enjoying.

 

How do you feel about DNF?

Famous Last Words #12

Famous Last Words is a new monthly feature here in Land of 1000 Wonders. I wanted to find a new way to share some fabulous quotations from reads old and new. The inspiration for this feature came from the character Pudge in John Green’s Looking for Alaska.

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It began at an ancient Scottish stone circle. There, a doorway, open to a select few, leads into the past—or the grave. Dr. Claire Randall survived the extraordinary passage, not once but twice.

Her first trip swept her into the arms of Jamie Fraser, an eighteenth-century Scot whose love for her became a legend—a tale of tragic passion that ended with her return to the present to bear his child. Her second journey, two decades later, brought them together again in the American colonies. But Claire had left someone behind in the twentieth century—their daughter, Brianna….

Now Brianna has made a disturbing discovery that sends her to the circle of stones and a terrifying leap into the unknown. In search of her mother and the father she has never met, she is risking her own future to try to change history … and to save their lives. But as Brianna plunges into an uncharted wilderness, a heartbreaking encounter may strand her forever in the past … or root her in the place she should be, where her heart and soul belong in Drums of Autumn.

Thoughts on Thursday: Mid-Year Check-In

Mid-Year Check-In

I have fallen behind in a lot of things on the blog, particularly discussion posts. One month late isn’t too terrible, is it?

Currently I stand at 15 books for the Shelf Love Challenge. Up until now, I have been doing a lot of review tours with books that came out this year. I slowly weaned myself off of review tours like I had been doing. I did sign up for a few in August-October for series I want to finish reading, but I am being much more selective in tours. And I am grateful one of the tour companies I was very stingy with opted to shut down their operations. The reviewers were doing most of the legwork, so it was really frustrating and why I only signed up with them once in a blue moon.

Now I can read almost anything! Which means I really need to read my NetGalley backlog…

 

How have your challenges been going? 

WWW Wednesdays (July 27)

 

This is a weekly meme hosted hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. To join in answer the following three questions and hop over to Sam’s and leave your link.

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What are you currently reading? 

I started reading Regarding Anna in the wee hours of Saturday morning. I’m still not very far into the book, but the more I read, the more my curiosity is piqued.

Things that happen to you in the past can mold you into someone you’re not.

After recovering from the shock of her parents perishing in a tragic accident, Grace Lindroth discovers clues in their attic that cause her to believe the people she called Mom and Dad her whole life may not have been her real parents.

In her search for the truth, Grace encounters people whose actions cause her to be distrustful of just about everyone, making her mission that much more difficult but heightening her determination to uncover what she believes is essential for her to go on with her life.

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 What did you just finish reading?

I thought I was making such progress with this book after days of reading, only to find out I was at 16%. I almost DNFed right then just because. But I did like the story and wanted to see where it would go. I finished A Love that Never Tires late Friday night, basically Saturday morning. There were a few things at the very end that didn’t fit with the rest of the book, seemed out of place.

It is set in 1913, and I thought there were several things that were not historically accurate in terms of items they had on their archaeological trips and in certain behavior and phrases. I used Google BOoks Ngram Viewer to assist with a particular phrase, an entendre, but I believe what was represented was not the context of the phrase in the book.

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What do you think you’ll read next?

I’m not positive these will be what I read next since I now am finished with review books, but these are likely choices.  I am free to pick anything!

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 How about you? What are you reading this week?

Leave a comment with your answers! Share the link to your WWW Wednesday post OR leave your answers in the comments if you don’t have a blog. Happy Reading! 🙂

Top Ten Tuesday: Things Books Have Made Me Want To Learn or Do

Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. We’d love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists. For the list of past topics and future schedule, click here.

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Things Books Have Made Me Want To Learn or Do

Did you ever want to learn to do something after reading a book? 

Upcoming Topics:

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros: Regarding Anna

Today I’m participating in First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea, in which bloggers share a bit about a book they’re reading or planning to read soon.

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I have only one more pre-TBR Jar book to finish! Although I have already read a few of my TBR Jar reads, and at this point I’m scratching anything non-NetGalley…so really, the TBR Jar is kind of out the window at this point. My next read will be Regarding Anna by Florence Osmund. I really like the cover, and I hope the book lives up to the expectations the cover presents.

Chapter 1

The Kindness of Strangers

Under different circumstances I could have been a carefree twenty-two-year-old driving to Oak Street Beach for a much-needed reprieve from the sweltering heat instead of sitting on the No. 54 bus headed for a shady neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side in search of Erma Fincutter. I had no one but myself to blame for my discontent – I could have simply accepted my uncertain parentage four years ago and moved on with my life in a more conventional way. But if I was right about things, all the aggravation I would endure in search of the truth would pay off in the end. If I was right about things.

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Synopsis

Things that happen to you in the past can mold you into someone you’re not.

After recovering from the shock of her parents perishing in a tragic accident, Grace Lindroth discovers clues in their attic that cause her to believe the people she called Mom and Dad her whole life may not have been her real parents.

In her search for the truth, Grace encounters people whose actions cause her to be distrustful of just about everyone, making her mission that much more difficult but heightening her determination to uncover what she believes is essential for her to go on with her life.

Would you keep reading?  

Cover Characteristics: Schools

This is a new meme hosted by Sugar & Snark. It came about when Sugar was wondering which cover to use for her #70 Cover of the Week post. Sugar kept on thinking of more than one, and they all seemed to have a theme/characteristic. So she decided to switch things up a bit!

Each week we will post a characteristic and choose 5 of our favorite covers with that characteristic. If you want to join in and share your 5 favorite covers with the weeks particular characteristic, then just make a post, grab the meme picture (or make your own) and leave your URL in Linky (so we can visit). You don’t even need to participate, just stopping by and saying hi would be great! Don’t forget to stop by the other participants!

Today’s Cover Characteristic: Schools

I had a difficult time finding covers that featured the school fronts. I was thinking of some books I knew that showed the front of the school, but it wasn’t the covers. Since classrooms has already been done, I tried not to pick those.

 

Upcoming Themes:

July 31 – Flags

Then:

• Desks
• Smiley Face
• Dress/Clothing Only
• Mountains
• Handcuffs
• Pyramids
• Big Ben
• Utensils (fork, spoon)
• Cheerleaders
• Statue of Liberty
• Playing Cards
• Teapots
• Cookie Jar
• Cookies
• Elephants
• Santa
• UFO
• New York City
• Person Sitting in Field
• Perfume
• Balloons
• Pencils/Pens
• Wolves
• Footprints
• Clocks
• Swamp
• Compass Symbol
• Face in the Sky
• Movie Screen

Audiobook Review: The Reluctant Assassin

Title: The Reluctant Assasin
Author: Eoin Colfer
Publisher: Hyperion
Release Date: May 2013
Length: 341 pages
Series?: W.A.R.P. #1
Genre: YA, Sci-Fi, Fantasy 

Find the book: Goodreads | Amazon

The reluctant assassin is Riley, a Victorian boy who is suddenly plucked from his own time and whisked into the twenty-first century, accused of murder and on the run.

Riley has been pulled into the FBI’s covert W.A.R.P. operation (Witness Anonymous Relocation Program). He and young FBI Agent Chevie Savano are forced to flee terrifying assassin-for-hire Albert Garrick, who pursues Riley through time and will not stop until he has hunted him down. Barely staying one step ahead, Riley and Chevie must stay alive and stop Garrick returning to his own time with knowledge and power that could change the world forever.

The Skinny

Riley is a teen orphan living in Victorian London. He is an apprentice for an illusionist who has fallen on hard times and now uses his powers for evil and can be hired as an assassin. During one of these schemes, Garrick encourages Riley to commit murder – his first killing.

Thankfully, the victim turns out to be from the future and part of the FBI’s Witness Anonymous Relocation Program (WARP). Riley and Garrick travel via wormhole to modern-day London, where Riley are helped by Chevron Savano, who is there as punishment after a disastrous operation.

Together Riley and Chevie evade Garrick, who is not quite right after his trip through the wormhole: he truly is evil, and he know holds all of the scientist’s knowledge. He is determined to track the pair down and use Chevie’s timekey to go back to Victorian London.

 

The Players

Riley – a teen orphan boy

Albert Garrick – the evil illusionist assassin who wants to travel back in time and ruin the entire world

Chevron Savano – a 17 year old FBI agent in London as punishment

Professor Smart – also known as Agent Orange, he is Chevie’s superior

The Quote

“And God bless Harry Potter is all I can say. If not for him, all of London would have been consumed by the Dark Arts.”

“Keep eating,” said Chevie, thinking she would have to watch the videos with him next time.

The Narration

Max Caufield does the narration for the audiobook, and he is a talented man! He was able to portray Garrick’s depravity and ghastly character in such an incredible way, and then completely switch in his portrayals of Riley and Chevie. I did have to get used to his British accent. It was a bit gravelly and I had to pay closer attention, but once I got in the listening groove I was mesmerized by his storytelling.

Highs and Lows

• POVs. The story is told through the alternating POVs of Riley, Chevie, and Garrick. While sometimes things are repeated through each of their viewpoints, I found that it was interesting what each character chose to pay attention to and also to dismiss.
• Settings. Just like the POVs flip flop, so does the setting. Riley and Garrick originally start out in 1898 London and through a series of events are transported 110 years into the future. The old fashioned juxtaposed with the futuristic makes for one culture shock. The culture shocks for Riley were hysterical. Chevie told him at one point she would get him McDonald’s later, and he was wanting to know why she was bringing him a Scotsman. Oh, sweet Riley.
• Description. Colfer does an incredibly fantastic job of describing Victorian London. The imagery was of the same level I found with JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series in the way that I could clearly and easily picture the setting and goings on.
• WARP. The government has been utilizing time travel to hide key witnesses from prominent trails via the wormhole. These witnesses travel back to a time where/when they are safe from the reach of the bad guys, and then brought back forward in time to testify.
• Riley. As I said, sweet Riley. He is quite naive and innocent, but he is also pretty witty. His character reminded me of the orphan Annie
• Chevie. Is awesome. She is sassy and scrappy. While she could kick butt and handle things, she is also only 17 and had her moments she had to face when she was overwhelmed.
• Garrick. Garrick is the most fowl of creatures. He was slimy and horrendous in the worst possible way. Abhorrent. Abominable.Appalling. Chilling to think that this man comes to hold an intense amount of knowledge with the most terrifying objectives. While I shudder at Garrick, I also can appreciate his ultimate villainy.
• The Epilogue. The book didn’t seem to really need the epilogue, and in fact it felt wasted. The epilogue didn’t feel like it fit, as if it was tacked on at the last moment in order to leave the door open to turn this into a series when that wasn’t really the intention.
• Caution! I do caution younger readers who cut their teeth on the Artemis Fowl series. This new Colfer series is not for the faint of heart. It is gory and gruesome and graphic right from the beginning.

The Take-Away

I was sad to see the breakup of Riley and Chevie. They were such a pair! While the histories of the characters piqued me, I was pleasantly surprised that Colfer provided their backstories throughout the story as the plot progressed. Readers learn how Riley came to be an orphan, why Garrick became what he is, and what really happened to Chevie on her botched mission in L.A.

Recommendation – Buy, Borrow or Skip? 

This has the makings of another fabulous series, so it’s probably one you want to buy.

 

Eoin Colfer (pronounced Owen) was born in Wexford on the South-East coast of Ireland in 1965, where he and his four brothers were brought up by his father and mother, who were both educators.

He received his degree from Dublin University and began teaching primary school in Wexford. He has lived and worked all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Italy. After the publication of the Artemis Fowl novels, Eoin retired from teaching and now writes full time. He lives in Ireland with his wife and two children.

Find the author: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Sunday Post ~ Release the Kraken

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things received, and share news about what is coming up on the blog for the week ahead. To get in on the Sunday funday, see the rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

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Remember, there are free audiobooks all summer long! Sign up for the text alerts to remember to grab them each week! All you need is an Overdrive account.

I spent last weekend catching up on reviews. I estimated I had about a dozen to write, and I was close. I had ten that I churned out after putting them off all summer. I now have built up a few scheduled posts. I’m not back to where I used to be, but I’m working on it.

I’m a little peeved that next week we are required to attend various trainings outside of our contract that we will not be paid for, whether in our actual paychecks or in additional days. This is what in-service is for, which keeps getting longer and longer each year. I have to go to trainings Monday-Thursday next week, and I was notified my Wednesday afternoon one was cancelled, but I still have to go that day since I have one in the morning. So, my school year is effectively starting next week. And what do those ignorant anti-education folks out there say? Two and a half months of vacation? Kiss my ass! I’ve only had a month of non-school related duties.

I also had a very interesting time this past week, keeping my friend’s son two days. The second day I had to run my mom around and take care of some things at the DMV and bank, and then we went out to a friend’s who recently discovered some baby pictures of me. I’m making up for my grumpiness with all these photos. Enjoy!

Momma, I must check the yard for bunnies

Eating like a pro

learning how the bank works

learning how the DMV works

learning how to own a car

learning how to pay online bills

baby raccoon

he loves me

rescued by my mom

chilling

swimming

 

 ~ Last Week  on G1000W ~

I was kind of bummed this week and just hid in the blanket fort with Baby.

• Sunday
  • Sunday Post ~ Me and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
•  Monday
  • Cover Characteristics ~ Eggs
  • Review + Giveaway ~ The SockKids Say NO to Bullying
• Tuesday
  • Top Ten Tuesday ~ Books Set Outside the U.S.
  • First Chapter First Paragraph ~ A Love that Never Tires
  • Review ~ The Neverland Wars
• Wednesday
  • WWW Wednesday
  • Photo Contest by Author Christy Deveaux
• Thursday
  • Famous Last Words #11
• Friday
  • Feature Follow Friday ~ Two Fave Book to Movie Adaptions

 

~ This Week on G1000W ~

• Monday
  • Cover Characteristic ~ Schools
  • Audiobook Review ~ The Reluctant Assassin
• Tuesday
  • Top Ten Tuesday ~ Things Books Have Made Me Want To Learn or Do
  • First Chapter First Paragraph ~ Regarding Anna
• Wednesday
  • WWW Wednesday
• Thursday
  • Famous Last Words #12
•  Friday
  • Feature Follow Friday ~ My Stance on DNF

 

~ New Arrivals to Land of 1000 Wonders ~

I went casually browsing and picked up these two. I was trying to be very Scrooge McDuck with my choices.

~ Around Town in the Spotlight ~

I’m starting to think about giving up this section and adding something different. What are your thoughts? What would you like to see instead?

 

 ~ Open Giveaways ~

The SockKids Say NO to Bullying | Photo Contest by Author Christy Deveaux