I’m Back! (Announcements and Summer Reading Adventures)
I liveeee!!!
It’s been a while. The last few weeks have felt like months, yet days at the same time. This blogging break snaked by, but also sped along. It was a nice break, but I’m ready to get back to blogging.
One of the biggest changes that happened over this break was to my whole entire blog.
The main thing that changed was the name of this blog. I’ve had my blog named “Tiny Town Stories” ever since it was half started back in 2017. (Honestly, I have no idea why I named it that..) I asked friends and family if the name actually showed a general idea of what I wrote on this blog, and they said no. So then I gathered inspiration, went through many name ideas, and eventually decided on Precarious Book Stacks, because, well, life is precarious. (See the “Hello” page for more on that)
After changing the name and self hosting my blog, I rediesigned the whole thing. This took way too long, but I’m really happy with the results. I don’t at all have an eye for graphic design, so a huge thanks to E. C. Colton for designing the logo/banner at the top. She runs a blog and design business, and guys, she’s super talented! Go check out her business and blog here.
(Just a quick note for the followers of Tiny Town Stories: You will need to follow the new site to get weekly updates)
Okay, I think I’m finished with the announcements. Now, onto the actual post:
Today, I’m going to go through the books I read this summer. As soon as the weather was nice enough (and some cold days too) I went outside in the hammock and read. I’ve been attempting to keep track of what books I read this year, so I have a pretty good idea of what I read this summer. Here are some of the highlights from my summer reading adventures:
Harry Potter
I hadn’t read Harry Potter for about four years, so I went into this reread with a pretty foggy memory of how things happened. The first three books honestly felt like mystery novels that followed the same formula, but after The Goblet of Fire, things started rolling along. If I had to pick my favorite book in the series, it would have to be The Half-Blood Prince.
The Lunar Chronicles
I took Cinder with me on a camping trip to read, which I finished way too soon. As soon as we got back, I rushed to the library to get Scarlet. A few days later, I went back to get Cress when low and behold, my local library doesn’t have Cress or Winter! *flails*
I decided to buy all four books for a pretty cheap price off of Ebay. The only issue: they were going to arrive three days after we left for our road trip. I definitely had plenty to think about other than this agonizing wait, but it was pretty long wait. Finally we got back home and I devoured Cress and Winter. I’d say Cress was my favorite book out of the series, but I’m not sure if that is because of the giant wait or not.
Scythe
I liked this book. It reminded me a lot of The Giver. The world was really well developed and kind of the main focus of the book. (I’ll be honest, I laughed when I read about people splatting themselves for fun.) That being said, it was pretty slow-paced, but still a very thought-provoking read.
Caraval
Yet another that has been on my TBR list for a long time. I’ve read this, contemplated it, and still can’t decide if I like it or not. The story was very magical and mysterious. But it was also a little confusing and just… cluttered? (Especially the ending.) I’m hoping that when I reread it in a few months that I’ll be able to decide if I like it or not.
Six of Crows/Crooked Kingdom
I didn’t expect Six of Crows to be so entertaining! The first few chapters were definitely confusing and a little boring, but after I got past those I couldn’t put this book down. As soon as I finished it, I got Crooked Kingdom. While still being pretty good, it just felt a little rushed and all over the place. But overall, I didn’t want to leave the world of Ketterdam!
This summer was pretty much the summer of YA books. While some didn’t live up to my expectations, others blew me away! How was your summer reading? What did you read during these past warm months? Until next time!
-Hannah
