Children's Book Review: Walk on the Wild Side by Nicholas Oldland

I received a copy of this children's book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I did not like Walk on the Wild Side very much. I think the illustration in the book is only okay.  It can be cute, but also slightly odd. I guess it's supposed to be funny that the moose, bear, and beaver are walking around on two legs. But when they walk, they almost look like they are doing a Nazi march without the arm gestures. Not when they are running or climbing, just walking.

The author is trying to convey the message that competing over everything can get in the way of enjoying yourself, I guess. They all three put their lives in danger because of a race, which might be a little bit of an extreme way to get your message across. It was also too abrupt. They start out walking together, sit down and eat, start competing in a race, almost fall off a mountain, realize that being competitive is not always a good thing, explore a bit and help each other, and then it's over. I know it's supposed to be a children's picture book, but there could easily have been more too this and it would have been much better. I didn't even read it to my own children because I didn't like it. I am giving this book a 2 out of 5 stars.

Review: The Little Bookshop in Paris by Nina George

Check out more from Nina George on her website!

I actually enjoyed this book, even after I realized it wasn't going to be what I thought it would be about. I thought it was going to be more about the main character, Jean Perdu, and his bookshop on a boat where he "prescribed" books for whatever is ailing his clients. While there is some of this in the novel, that is not it's plot.

The book is about Jean's journey of healing from heartbreak and grief, all while taking a physical journey down the river on his boat. I was, admittedly, disappointed about this because that isn't what I was expecting. However, I also didn't know much about the book going into it, so I really didn't know what to anticipate from the story.

I'm not really sure how to describe this book other than elegant and thoughtful. It spoke to me on a personal level. Some things that were brought up made me examine my life a little bit and how I was living it. The impact was small, but it did have an impact. This book is definitely not one to speed read. I had to read this one in chunks. I would have to read some, then have to stop and think about what I had just read before reading more because I had those thought provoking moments. It did have some meaningful quotes in it about reading, and what reading can mean or do for people, which I loved.

The story is very descriptive...of everything. This is a 2 sided coin for me. The descriptions were the part that I found elegant. At the same time, I usually don't like this. I didn't mind it too much in this book, except towards the last fourth of the book, The last fourth dragged and it got to the point that I kept wishing it would end already. I kept thinking, "what possibly is taking so long for this to finish?" There were things that could have been left out and it likely would have been a better story.

It is also not action packed. In fact, there is none. The story kind of meanders along through Jean's journey. The most exciting part in when men storm into the bar where people are secretly tango dancing and the men are angry because they consider it lewd. Even that scene is short, though.

The Little Paris Bookshop is not going to be for everyone. I normally would not like books like this. I did because it had an impact on me and made me think. If you don't like overly descriptive writing, want action, or expect this book to be more about the "prescribing" of books on the boat, you probably don't want to read this. If those things don't apply to you and you want to read a story about a person's healing journey after 20 years of being closed off to others, and enjoy some wisdom about reading, then this is the book for you.

I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars. If the last part of the book hadn't dragged, I probably would have given it a 5.

If you would like to purchase this book, please consider supporting my blog by clicking on this link: The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George from Book Depository

*I received The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

Children's Book Review: The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires

(Check out Ashley Spires' website for more about her and her books)

Welcome to a new series I am on writing on my blog! I have young children and I'm always looking for books to read and enjoy with them. Or, in the case of my 8 year old, for her to lso read for herself. Here is the very first:

I loved this book! Not only did I love it, so did my kiddos! I loved the illustrations. Ashley Spires is very talented. The illustrations on their own made me smile. Most of all, I loved the message of the story! It's about a girl that really wants to make something MAGNIFICENT! However, she gets frustrated when she can't get it right the first time. I really loved the message of perseverance. It's a message that I have been trying to share with my oldest child, who is 8. The message of not giving up is very important and this story does a great job of getting it across. 

I also did like the fact that the little girl had trouble explaining the "thing" she wanted to make. I think it made her more relatable for my oldest, who also has trouble explaining her thoughts. I think my favorite part was towards the end with the adults admiring her various creations. This book has a great message, awesome illustrations, and I would highly recommend it! I give it 5 out 5 stars. (I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review).


Hope you enjoy!

Jen

Number 3!

Beat the Heat Read-a-thon sign up!

Yes! Here we go! Read-a-thon number 3! I love read-a-thons! They motivate me so much to just read, read, read! Therefore, I was very excited when someone left me a comment on my YouTube channel the other day and told me about the 3rd Annual Beat the Heat read-a-thon. This one is similar to the Bout of Books read-a-thon in that you can choose your own goals. However, the time frame for this one is longer. It starts tonight at midnight in your own time zone and goes until September 6th at 11:59.

Since this one is a longer running readathon, I'm probably only going to update once a week or so one this one. This is is perfectly timed since I just finished up my books for the Bout of Books readathon and am just starting up on some other books. I haven't yet decided if I'm going to plan ahead with books or if I'm going to just wing it. Probably wing it.I have a video coming within the next day or so about my Bout of Books update in it, so stay tuned for that.

I'm pumped (yes, I said pumped!) for this next readathon! How about you? Do you have a game plan for this one?

Leave a comment! :)

Jen

Day 3 of Bout of Books Read-a-thon!

Day three is mostly over....and I haven't made much progress! I was hoping for 4 books, in addition to finishing Shadow of Night. I just finished it today! I've started on Cardboard by Doug TenNapel and should be able to get through it pretty quickly. So that will be one book out of 4!

(Courtesy of Doug TenNapel's website)

I haven't had much time this week, unfortunately. My oldest's birthday was this week, so I had a lot of stuff going on that didn't allow for much reading. Oh well. Family is more important after all. If you didn't see the vlog I posted yesterday, I talked a little bit about my plan for this read-at-thon, in addition to going through some other updates. If you missed it, you can view it here: Jen on YouTube.

I received another book for review and I'm very excited to review it. It's called A Little Bookshop in Paris! After the read-a-thon is over I will dive into it. It seems like it would be a great story!

Just a quick update! See you soon!

Jen

Another Read-A-Thon?!?!

Yes! Another read-a-thon! This one is from Bout of Books and it is a little bit different than Booktube-a-thon. It's a no pressure read-a-thon. You set a goal for yourself on how many books you
want to read within the time given. As you can see, this one runs from 8/17 to 8/23. I'm going to pick 4, or more accurately, 3 & 3/4ths. I'm going to try to finish a book that has been taking me forever to finish! If I finish it before the read-a-thon starts, I'll go for 4. That may seems like a low number, but given my family and work life, that's pretty ambitious! :)

If you'd like to learn more about this, here is a link to the about section of the Bout of Books website.

Are you going to participate? What goal are you setting for yourself?

I'm excited to start another read-a-thon! Woohoo!!


Jen

Booktube-A-Thon: Conclusion

Hi all,

Here to share with you my results of the Booktube-A-Thon challenge with a quick post! I've been a little busy because of an odd work schedule this week and my oldest's birthday is coming up soon. However, here I am again.

I accomplished a lot more of the challenges than I thought I would! I'm excited to share that I completed the following challenges:

• Read a book with blue on the cover: Armada by Ernest Cline
• Read the book that I received last & a book that I wanted to read: Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton
• Read a book without putting it down: Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss

I only read 4 out of the 8 books that I set for myself. But I did read much more than I thought I would be able to do. I had sooo much fun with Booktube-a-thon and am so very grateful to the friend of mine who told me about it. I most definitely plan on participating next year too! Look for a conclusion video from me later on this week.

How about you? Did any of you participate? How did you do? Let me know! I'd love to hear from you!!

Jen

Review: Armada by Ernest Cline

I am three days into Booktube-A-Thon and almost halfway done with the amount of books I've set for myself (4/8). I've only managed 2 challenges though so far! I'm not sure if I'm going to make it through the rest of them, but I'm enjoying the effort to get there! As part of my Booktube-A-Thon challenges, I read Armada by Ernest Cline. I read this one for the challenge to read something with blue on the cover. Armada definitely has that!

(Ernest Cline)

Courtesy of  Ernest Cline's Website

The best way to describe Zack is a sci-fi nerd with anger management issues. For me, his level of anger in the beginning of the book irritated me a little. I felt like a he way overreacted to a few situations. It didn't detract much from my reading experience, though. The good news is that he does show character progression and he becomes less and less angry throughout the novel.

Armada is full of references to 80's music, sci-fi movies & tv, and video games. If you aren't much into sci-fi, or don't play a lot of video games, then some of these references will be lost on you. I know there were some that I didn't understand. However, again, this didn't detract from enjoying the book. 

This book says that it's for high schoolers, but the thing that surprised me was the swearing. I've never read Ernest Cline's other book, so I don't know if there's swearing in the other one. I wasn't prepared for it. It doesn't bother me to have swearing in a book, but I certainly don't remember reading any books in high school that had swearing like this book does. So just be forewarned in case something like this bothers you.

I did want to mention that I did receive this book for free from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. I did find this book to be a bit predicable. There wasn't much in the big that the reader doesn't see coming. There was only one thing at the end that I didn't see coming. However, it wasn't anything mind blowing or anything. I'm not going to say what it is, since it's at the end and I don't want to put any spoilers on here. My reaction to it, though, was just, "Oh. Ok." 

I can't help but compare Armada to Ender's Game. There are many similarities between the two. First, they use children to fight in war. Armada doesn't target children exclusively though. Second, both the books employ games and simulations to train their troops. There are other examples too, but I would reveal things about Armada by drawing the comparison that I would rather readers discover for themselves. 

Despite these criticisms, I still really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh throughout and I read it really fast. I usually only do that with books that I enjoy reading. It actually grabbed my attention quickly too. Before I hit page 100 I was already hooked. I stayed up late reading it, even when I had to work early the next morning. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Ender's Game. I would give this book 3 stars out of 5. 

Enjoy!

Jen

Booktube-A-Thon: Day 2

Hi everyone!

Here is a video from YouTube about my progress so far on the Booktube-A-Thon challenges. Enjoy!

Jen

YouTube & Booktube-a-thon

Hi all!

Just a quick update. In addition to this blog, I've also started a YouTube channel for vlogging. I plan on there being some overlap between the blog and YouTube, but I'm hoping you all will join me on both! I just posted an intro video for my channel, which you can find here: YouTube Channel!

Also, I found out from a friend about this thing called Booktube-a-thon. Basically, once a year, Booktube-a-thon sets out a series of challenges that involve reading and you have one week to complete them all. This year, the challenges are:

1. Read a book with blue on the cover
2. Read a book by an author that shares the same first letter of your last name
3. Read someone else's favorite book
4. Read the last book that you acquired
5. Finish a book without putting it down
6. Read a book you really want to read
7. Read 7 books

The first day of this challenge is today! It started at midnight in each time zone and will end by midnight of August 9th. I've picked most of my books, but still have a couple to choose. You can combine the challenges into one book, which I've done that, but I'm still picking 3 more to complete a total of 7 books. The books I've chosen are:

• Armada by Ernest Cline (has blue on the cover and is a book I really want to read)
• Ambergate by Patricia Elliot (author shares the same first letter of my last name)
• Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton (the last book I acquired)
• Ten Apples Up on Top! by Dr. Seuss (finish a book without putting it down)
• Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman (someone else's favorite book)

That's only 5 books so far. In order for me to complete the last challenge, I'll need to pick out 2 more. However, I chose the Dr. Seuss book because I have 2 small children and there is no way that I'm reading anything longer than that without putting it down! So, I plan on trying to shoot for 1 more book, making my total 8, to make up for that. You are allowed to read graphic novels for this challenge, so I may pick some up from the library. Those will be announced once I decided what they are! 

I plan on also making videos to go along with this challenge. So if you are interested, please subscribe to my YouTube channel and keep track on me on Twitter as well! 

I promise I will write a proper entry soon! Just wanted to update quickly!

I will see you all later!

Jen