Reading and Camping: A Ramble
Every now and then, it’s really fun to write a simple, rambly post about books. Every now and then, it’s also fun to go on a camping trip. So this week, I’ve decided to combine the two. As you are reading this, I am in the mountains on a grand camping/hiking adventure. But by the powers of WordPress and scheduling, you are reading this right on schedule!
Now, onto the books. This week, I’m going to take my book journal, flip to a few random pages, and talk about the books that come up. Settle in with a mug of tea and/or hot chocolate. Let’s begin the Great Book Ramble.
Fable by Adrienne Young
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the amazing cover on this book and the sequel, Namesake. *chef’s kiss*
Overall, I liked Fable. I had pretty high expectations for it, and I feel like the actual reading of the book came a little under those expectations, but it was enjoyable. I was thinking it was going to be a Pirates of the Caribbean-esque pirate ship adventure, but it wasn’t. The adventure that actually happened was still really entertaining, and a new spin on the classic pirate ship adventure (even though those will never get old)
Was anyone else a bit confuzzled by this book? I think a reread is definitely in order, but I remember getting very confused over the gemstones and magic stuff like that. It was interesting, but confusing. Still, I enjoyed this and can’t wait to read Namesake.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
This is probably one of my favorite YA books, and for some reason I always read it while on a road trip. The first time was during a long and crazy trip across the country, and another was during a much more chill and short road trip last spring. I read it just in time for the Shadow and Bone show to come out, and generally everything worked great.
Six of Crows is very interesting because the characters, world, and plot are all so dark and menacing. But at the same time, it’s kind of iconic? Along with the darkness is a lot of banter and humor. This is something I definitely want to dive into in a future blog post.
The Selection by Kiera Cass
*cracks knuckles*
I listened to the audiobook for this because of a deal I made with a friend. I binged it over a weekend of puzzles and scrapbooking.
My general thoughts summed up in a sentence: Classic YA dystopian combined with classic YA romance which my younger self probably would have loved.
The world of The Selection reminded me a bit of Divergent, and almost like The Hunger Games, except THG pulled it off better. (again, this is another thing I want to write a post about) Apart from the class system, and I guess the rebels, the setting of the dystopian world didn’t really affect much of the plot.That was the main thing I couldn’t get over.
I really liked the clothes in this book. There were some very fancy dresses and costumes and it was a lot of fun to imagine. I also liked a lot of side characters, too.
I hated America’s name with a passion. There are some names that I just hate and can’t stop thinking about how much I hate them. But seriously, American Singer?!
I know that if I had read The Selection a few years ago, I would have absolutely LOVED it. And I did enjoy it, it just felt.. Unoriginal? I’d love to hear all of your thoughts on this, because I’m still debating in my head what I thought about it.
Emma by Jane Austen
I’m proud to say that I’ve finished a Jane Austen book! After watching the 2020 Emma movie adaptation 3 times in the span of a month, I decided it might be a good idea to actually read the book.
I enjoyed Emma a lot. I feel like watching the movie so much helped me have a bit of a background for the characters’ motives in the book, and I know without it I would have gotten hopelessly confused. I also noticed some parts of the dialogue from the book were said almost word for word in the 2020 movie, which was fun to notice!
A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
This book appealed immensely to the true crime obsessed side of myself. I binged it in about 3 days, and then immediately binged the sequel, Good Girl, Bad Blood.
I was honestly so surprised at how much I liked this book. The teamwork between Pip and Ravi was absolutely amazing, and the unraveling of the mystery was really cool (I would love to write a mystery story, but how do you even begin creating the mystery?!)
And just as I was reading along happily, I decided to commit the cardinal sin of reading ahead.
*major sighs*
I found out the answer to the mystery right at the halfway point, which didn’t make the story any less fun, but I didn’t really get a shock when Pip figured out who was doing the shenanigans around town. This is one of those books that I wish I could read for the first time again.
After finishing AGGGTM (oh my gosh… that acronym) I immediately hopped onto my Kindle to borrow Good Girl, Bad Blood from the online library.
General thoughts: I spoiled myself yet again. (WhY dO I KeEP DoinG tHaT?!) I don’t think this book was as good as the first, which was a little disappointing. I wasn’t as invested in the mystery, and even though I’m super happy Pip and Ravi got together, I missed their fluid, platonic teamwork.
And now I must wait for the ending to the trilogy, As Good as Dead to come out. We only have a few more days left, but it’s been a long wait. I hope the last book is better than the second, and I’m excited to see what happens!
Alright, I’m going to stop there for now. This was a fun caboodle of mini book reviews. What do you think of some of these books? Tell me what you think of books you’ve recently read. Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great rest of your day!
-Hannah (currently camping and hiking with a million brothers before winter comes)
