Book: The Travelling Cat Chronicles

The Travelling Cat Chronicles
by Hiro Arikawa & translated by Philip Gabriel

Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group

Release Date: October 23, 2018

Format: ARC from NetGalley

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Satoru is travelling across Japan to find the perfect home for his cat, Nana. This journey tells Nana more of his owner’s past and his owner’s desperation in finding a new home for Nana.

This story is told through multiple perspectives: Satoru, Nana the cat, and three Satoru’s longtime friends. There are markers to portray a change in perspective and there is always some context that builds up to which perspective is coming next.

While reading I couldn’t help but see the story as a mute slice-of-life anime. Satoru is the connection that ties every character in the book together. Through the memories of Nana and the friend’s experiences with Satoru we learn about what type of person he is during different stages of his life. It’s these memories where I learned a lot of Satoru and helped me start to care for his character.

When reading I can’t help but wonder why Satoru is adamant on finding a home for Nana. I couldn’t help but chuckle at reading the perspective of a cat no matter how serious the undertone of the story. Nana is a what I imagine a cat would be like if we would understand what was going on in their minds.

The emotions that are evoked through the writing is very subtle where it seems as if we’re just watching a movie, yet I can’t help but drawn into the story. The story is very simplistic in nature with less complexity involved but is a beautiful tale that explores the bonds of friendship. Truly a wonderful book to pick up when trying to settle down for the day.

Read on October 14, 2018

Advertisements

Magical Readathon – Charms Extra Credit Wrap-up

Of course, I would start my readathon a day late. Talk about commitment issues. As usual I couldn’t keep to my TBR (I had to change two of my picks) and only finished four of the challenges (because I forgot about the flames). I probably shouldn’t have started with a fantasy book since after I finished the first one I was reaching for some more adventure, but I also wanted to get the ball rolling.

Adventurers Guild
Book 1 in the Adventurers Guild
by Zack Loran Clark & Nick Eliopulos

Publisher: Disney Hyperion | Disney Book Group

Read on October 9, 2018

Format: Library Loan

This book is middle grade fantasy. The world building is simplistic at best but with enough details to create an image of the world and the characters that live there.  The idea of guilds choosing their “students” reminds me of the manga Black Clover (except with less magic involved), and with the entire city encased within walls to protect them from the dangerous beings roaming the land reminded me of the manga Attack on Titan (except with less gore and death).

What stood out in the book were the magical beings/creatures. The book not only has the traditional fantasy beings like dwarves and elves, but also has monsters such as Kobolds and Nagas. This book seemed like a MMORPG in book format with the focus of the book surrounding two male protagonists, Zed and Brock.

Zed and Brock are ready to enter society by joining the Guilds. Zed wants to join the prestigious Mages Guild and Brock wants to continue his family business by entering the Merchants Guild. Their plans were drastically changed after they were called to the Adventurers Guild, the city’s most perilous Guild as they are the last line of defense against the monsters, the Dangers, beyond the walls.

I loved the friendship between Zed and Brock. Even though they both have very different personalities, they are both loyal to each other. Their friendship isn’t perfect as they keep secrets from the other that I can see becoming a future obstacle for them to overcome, but for some reason I find myself appreciating this. Most times friendships are depicted as “near perfection” and I would like to see how a friendship can learn and grow to become “near perfect”.

There is also a conspiracy that unfolds as Zed and Brock become more integrated with the Guild. A lot of key players are introduced in the book, but there is an overall feeling left that there might be something beyond those key players. I am intrigued and can’t wait to pick up the next book, Twilight of the Elves.

Challenge met: Alohamora, read a book that’s first in a series

1 2 3 4

2018 Spookathon

I don’t read much thriller books. I prefer a good mystery instead of psyching myself out on what may be lingering behind a corner. I did try to limit my picks to books either sitting on my shelf or sitting idle on one of my reading apps. Since I’m not gifted with thinking outside the box, I had to remind myself that I was not limited to just thrillers. So I just chose titles that felt or looked spooky.

This readathon begins on October 15th and ends on the 21st.

These are my picks that respectively correspond with the challenges below.

    

1. Read a thriller
2. Read a book with purple on the cover
3. Read a book not set in the current time period
4. Read a book with a spooky word in the title
5. Read a book with pictures

| Inferno by Dan Brown |
I actually had to look on Goodreads for what constituted as thriller and was pleased to see Dan Brown’s work on the list. I was originally going to pick up Origin when I realized that I never read Inferno yet. Seeing that I did check Origin out I will do my best to read the book.

| The Diviners by Libba Bray |
I’ve been meaning to pick up the book but there was always something else I wanted to read. I’ve heard nothing but good things so I’m a little nervous yet excited at the same time.

| Frankenstein by Mary Shelley |
I can’t believe I never read about this classic horror character (or this classic tale of a man’s creation). Over the past year I have grown interested in reading more classics (granted I haven’t picked one up since Peter Pan) but I’m probably going to slowly start my way through them.

| The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón & translated by Lucia Graves |
The spookiest word I could find among my books was ‘shadow’. That plus the summary of the book has got to qualify as a little bit spooky. I can’t wait to find out.

| Thunderstruck by Erik Larson |
This was originally chosen to meet the third challenge, but when I flipped through the book I realized that there were pictures in it. Hooray since I could only think about manga to fulfill this challenge (and I didn’t own the first volumes to the series that I would have read instead).

Happy readings~

Book: Power’s Wrath

Power’s Wrath
Book 1 in The Hourglass Series
by Stephen Shortall

Publisher: BooksGoSocial

Release Date: October 16, 2018

Format: ARC from Net Galley

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

After the King is assassinated by an unknown entity, several people have to step up and reclaim roles they never thought possible.

Magical Readathon: Charms Extra Credit

I actually did not participate in the OWLs or NEWTs Magical Readathon created by Book Roast. When I learned of them it was already too late into the month participate (there was literally a week left and I was too petty just read what I could). I decided to at least participate in this readathon because it appears that I enjoy reading under pressure.

This project begins on October 8th and ends on the 14th. There are five main coursework that need to be completed:

• Alohamora, read a book that’s first in a series
• Accio, book that’s top of your TBR –
  
• Incendio, words ‘fire’ or ‘flame’ in the title/series name, or flame picture on the cover
• Rictusempra, book that ‘tickles you the right way’
• Lumos, book with a light cover

These are the titles that I’ll be completing for each coursework, respectively.

    

So I’m expecting to read about…
…an adventure
…a magical setting
…a boarding school
…events that take place in London
…a boy with a complicated life

Ah, all elements that I enjoy.

Manga: Coyote Volume 1

Coyote
Volume 1
written & illustrated by Ranmaru Zariya

Publisher: VIZ Media | SuBLime

Release Date: October 9, 2018

Format: ARC from Edelweiss

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Coyote lives a guarded life around humans to avoid being outed as a werewolf. He becomes captivated by the pianist at a bar he frequents who he penned as “Marleen”, and their lives become entangled once Coyote’s heat occurs.

July • August • September Book Haul

Purchasing e-books when they are on sale can get very addicting and can add up very quick if I don’t keep myself in check. Most of my purchases are from Kobo and Amazon.

• Alexander Hamilton, Revolutionary by Martha Brockenbrough
  • I’ll probably never see the Broadway nor have I listened to the full soundtrack, but I enjoyed It’s Quiet Uptown. Maybe reading about his life will be fine.
• The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang
  • I’ve been seeing this book around so when there was a deal I just purchased it.
• Age of Myth by Michael J. Sullivan
  • I’m probably going to get a physical copy, but I couldn’t help grabbing the e-copy when there was a deal on it.
• The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
  • I’ve wanted to read this series for the longest time. Now that I have it, I hope it doesn’t disappoint.
• Girl in the Blue Coat by Monica Hesse
  • I was

• Cinder by Marissa Meyers
  • This is a repurchase. I think I’m finally ready to read the series. Baby steps though.
    
• Sufficiently Advanced Magic by Andrew Rowe
  • The premise was interesting (even though I’m not sure what LitRPG entails) and I couldn’t say no to the price.
• The Fifth Ward: First Watch by Dale Lucas
  • I read the chapter sample from Barnes & Noble and enjoyed it so look at where we are.

• The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty
  • After reading the book during Booktubeathon I really wanted to get my own copy. I can’t afford the physical copy right now, but when I saw this baby on sale I immediately purchased it. The fact that there was a deal on the book was just a perk.

That was all my purchases for the past three months. Now if I can just get around to picking them up than picking up titles from the library. It seems like the more I own books the more I try to avoid them.