The Singer of Stories

Remember how last week I said it was surprising to me that I'd been able to theme everything so well when I normally have a ton of books going that I finish at random? Yeah, so apparently this was "finish half the books Singer was in the middle of" week, and there is no rhyme or reason to how they're organized that I can see (although if you can see a pattern please don't hesitate to point it out.). This is going to be a long, largely random weekly round-up with four different books representing four different genres. Here we go! Our first book is a Christian nonfiction work that I've been working my way through and finished this week. Garden City: Work, Rest, and the Art of Being Human Author:  John Mark Comer Genres:  Nonfiction, Christianity, Theology Star Rating:  3 Stars Review Type:  I was simply curious My Tags:  nonfiction Synopsis * You’ve heard people say “Who you are matters more than what you do”. Does the Bible really teach that?  In  Gard...

Happy October! We made it! Something that I didn't expect when I started this blog three whole weeks ago (Can you believe it? I can't) was that my posts were going to theme themselves so neatly. I normally have anywhere from two to ten books going at any point in time, so what I finish and when has never seemed particularly organized. Sure, I'll get into moods where all I want to read are retellings of a specific fairy tale or hard science fiction, but those moods normally last months and don't lend themselves to three weeks of three very different kinds of book reviews.  This week appears to have been an exclusively nonfiction week. Who knew? Get Your Life Back Author:  John Eldredge Genres:  Nonfiction, Christianity, Self-Help Star Rating:  4.75 stars Review Type:  Recommended to me My Tags:  nonfiction, favorites Synopsis * We live in soul-scorching times. The 24-7 onslaught of contemporary life--with its never-ending feed of global tragedies and shrieki...

This week I hit 150 books read so far this year! I'm not entirely sure how I've read that much this year (....honestly it's probably because I had a manga phase this summer), but I'm happy I've been able to explore so many stories. It's been a good year for reading! The honor of being the 150th book I've read so far this year went to... The Porcelain Menagerie! Author:  Jillian Forsberg Genres:  Historical fiction and Adult Fiction Star Rating:  4 Stars Review Type:  NetGalley ARC review My Tags:  NetGalley-ARC, historical-fiction, region-europe Synopsis * In a world where ambition is as fragile as porcelain, two lives are shaped by a king's dangerous obsessions.  In 18th-century Dresden, the dangerous whims of King Augustus the Strong shape the court and the lives of those held captive, both people and animals. Johann Kändler, a talented young artist, is drawn into the world of King Augustus the Strong. The king's relentless desire for a lifelike po...

And here we go! Post number one!  This week I finished two reads that somehow both had to do with curses and magic? I promise it wasn't intentional.  Anyway, without further ado, here are the week's book reviews! The Gentleman's Guild for Cursed Adventurers Author: R. Lindsay Carter Genres:  Fantasy (Magical Realism) and Historical Fiction (Alternative History) Star Rating : 4.5 Stars! Review Type:  BookSirens ARC review My Tags:  Booksirens-ARC, historical-fiction, region-north-america, standalone-fantasy Synopsis * New York, 1915 A man turning to stone. A bloodthirsty letter opener. And … a chicken? Welcome to the Gentlemen’s Guild for Cursed Adventurers, a place where all manner of oddly afflicted men are members and call the grand house of Birchwald their home. Here, cursed gentlemen can retire from polite society, safe from judgement, and under the care of the Guild’s enigmatic president, Malcolm Drury. Norah Abernathy is no stranger to curses—her family ha...