The White Mountain Librarian

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

26 Books to Read in 2016 Challenge

It's taken me a little while to get the finished list together but here are all the books I read for my book challenge group last year (2016)! I've been doing this challenge since 2015 & it's always really fun, plus you get to meet new people & interact with other book lovers. If you want to see a whole list of the books I read last year check out my Goodreads page. Also check my blog archive for reviews of almost all of these books. I'll be posting my tentative list for the 2017 challenge soon I hope...

My Book List For 2016

1. The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

2. Ink & Bone by Rachel Caine

3. Adulthood Is a Myth by Sarah Andersen

4. Janitors by Tyler Whitesides

5. The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

6. Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

7. Matilda by Roald Dahl

8. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

9. Ink Heart by Cornelia Funke (This book I have tried to read 3 times & just can't get into it so I never finished it)

10. Harry Potter & the Cursed Child by John Tiffany

11. Peter & the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Barry

12. And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson

13. Secrets of New Forest Academy by Tyler Whitesides

14. Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger

15. The Day the Crayons Came Home by Drew Daywalt

16. The 5^th Wave by Rick Yancey

17. The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas

18. A Court of Mist & Fury by Sarah J. Maas

19. Escape From the Carnivale by Dave Barry

20. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

21. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia Wrede

22. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (I never got to this book so I'm hoping to add it to my 2017 list somewhere)

23. Everything I Need to Know I Learned From a Little Golden Book by Diane Muldrow

24. Zoo at the Edge of the World by Eric Kahn Gale

25. The Glittering Court by Richelle Mead

26. Peter & the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry

Thursday, January 12, 2017

I Am Pusheen the Cat by Claire Belton

I Am Pusheen the Cat

Author: Claire Belton

Publisher: Touchstone (Simon & Schuster)

Year: 2013

Genre: Comic/Graphic Novel

Age: Any

I was surfing on Goodreads the other night while I couldn’t sleep & came across a recommendation for this book. I’m so happy I was able to get my hands on a copy, it is adorable!

We all know the cute & friendly face of Pusheen the Cat. We’ve seen her all over social media & love using her moving stickers on Facebook. Over the past few years she’s taken the internet by storm with merchandise & now this precious comic book. It’s a book in five parts filled with advice from a cat & funny pictures. I will try to find pictures from the book (there are some great ones). Overall this book would be a fun read for anyone at any age. For more info on Pusheen visit this website: http://www.pusheen.com/

Likes: EVERYTHING! Look for pictures below of some of the best moments J

Dislikes:-

Rating:

Friday, January 6, 2017

Marshmallow by Clare Turlay Newberry

Marshmallow

(Original edition)

(SMITHMARK edition)

Author: Clare Turley Newberry

Publisher: SMITHMARK (This edition)

Year: 1942 (Original) 1999 (This edition)

Genre: Picture Book

Age: 5+

This book was being shelved today off the children’s cart by a fellow co-worker & she said it was a cute story so I thought I’d pick it up for a cute pick me up. I’ve never reviewed a picture boo so let me know in the comments if you want me to do more, maybe one a week or possibly more.

This story was originally published in 1942 & won the Caldecott the same year.

Marshmallow is a small baby bunny who comes to live in an apartment in Manhattan, NY. He is the roommate of a spoiled cat named Oliver (a gray tabby). Oliver & Marshmallow are taken care of by Miss Tilly who is a housekeeper. Oliver gets his dinner every night served to him on a plate in the kitchen. This night however there is something else waiting for him…Marshmallow. When Marshmallow first arrives he is very scared & he misses his mother. But it isn’t long before he gets fed & gets his own bed, he doesn’t get along with Oliver though. One day while Miss Tilly is gone Oliver sees Marshmallow playing & hopping around, then before you know it the pair are like two peas in a pod. It turns out that Marshmallow with his red eyes & big ears, isn’t so bad after all!

Pictures

Likes: This story is VERY cute. You initially feel bad for Marshmallow who has been separated from his mother but very soon he makes a new friend.

The pictures are also VERY cute (I’ll include some down below). They look like they are done with charcoal or pencil with some hints of pink on Marshmallow.

This book was inspired by a true story of a friendship between the author’s pets!

Some of the words in the book are dated for our time, for example a toy Oliver has is described as grey flannelette & Miss Tilly writes poems on her typewriter. This would be a good story time book for young kids to teach them about old words or objects.

There are a few poems in this book about Marshmallow that would be fun for a story time activity as well.

Dislikes: -

Rating:

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

The Secret of the Sphinx by Samuel Bavli

The Secret of the Sphinx

Author: Samuel Bavli

Year: 2016

Publisher: Createspace (Amazon)

Genre: Adventure

Age: JUV 10+

This was a book I received as a digital ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

For a book that is less than 200 pages this story sure does move fast & encompass a lot of information.

The story begins in Ancient Egypt, the year is 2558 B.C.E. The king’s vizer Neb is taken from his chambers in the middle of the night to a temple in the desert. His captor is a man dressed in an Anubis mask. Neb is poisoned & killed, then his ka or soul is transferred to live out eternity in the body of the great sphinx. The only way to release his soul is when a descendant of the then King of Egypt rules on the throne again.

Fast forward to the present day & there’s a boy named Jon visiting the museum where the sphinx is located. But it’s not just an ordinary sphinx, it’s talking to him. The sphinx with Neb trapped inside needs his help to escape. The pair travel back in time to Ancient Egypt to discover the truth. It turns out that Jon is a descendent of the royal family & he looks just like Prince Baka. The two boys decide to switch places so Jon can find out more information without putting the Prince in danger. While they are there they find out about all the corruption inside the palace & discover who is really behind Neb’s death & several other’s. Once Jon & the sphinx return to the present day there’s a surprise waiting for them.

But will Neb’s ka be released so he can reach his final resting place after thousands of years, or will he be trapped as a sphinx for all eternity?

Likes: This was a fast paced, short book with an easy to follow energetic storyline.

You learn a little information about Egyptian culture.

Dislikes: -

Rating:

January 2017 TBR

I've never really been a resolution person but I do like to set achieveable goals! One of my goals for 2017 is to read more. I read 55 books last year & my goal was 50. I use Goodreads to track all my reading, you can follow me here. So my goal this year is 60, cross your fingers that I make it! Speaking of making it some of these books have been on my TBR for months...I'm determined to finally finished or get to them this month!!!

The Secret of the Sphinx by Samuel Bavli

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke