Welcome to the conclusion of my 2nd quarter reading wrap-up! In this episode, I share with you the graphic novels, and comics I’ve read in the last 3 months.
If you enjoyed listening to this episode, feel free to subscribe, rate and review on a podcast platform of your choice. You can also follow and message me through Instagram, or through the comments sections here in my blog.
If you enjoyed listening to this episode, feel free to subscribe, rate and review on a podcast platform of your choice. You can also follow and message me through Instagram, or through the comments sections here in my blog.
I’ve first heard of Wikathon through Kath’s Instagram. I pretty much swore to myself I will join in, and for once I WILL FINISH IT. I’ve joined readathons before, but I have never finished one. I even joined two reading challenges for 2020 and , well, I’m probably not going to complete that either. But this one, this one I’m going to commit to.
What is wikathon? Wikathon is a month long readathon dedicated to Filipino authors. If you don’t know, I am Filipino: born and raised (although I am currently residing outside the country). I remember my elementary school doing a weeklong celebration every school year on August where the Filipino language and culture are the main focus. There would be assemblies, contests, games, the school would be decorated — all these for the whole week. So when I found this readathon, I decided to join in. And I intend to finish the books I’ve chosen.
Wikathon TBR Prompts
Now with less than a week before the readathon starts, I present to you my TBR. I found these recommendations over Instagram and the Wikathon discord server.
The books I plan to read in August.
Patron Saints Of Nothing (This book worked for half of the prompts which I was incredibly happy with because there is no way I’ll be able to read 8 novels in a month.)
Stay A Little Longer
My Fate According to the Butterfly
Lalani of the Distant Sea
I do plan on recording / documenting the month as I finish these books. I just need to figure out the medium I’m going to use. Other than that, I’m all set for August except for one prompt: Sariling Wika. But hey, I initially planned on simply reading a work by a Filipino author, so the fact that I only have one empty prompt left is already a win for me.
If you enjoyed listening to this episode, feel free to subscribe, rate and review on a podcast platform of your choice. You can also follow and message me through Instagram, or through the comments sections here in my blog.
In this episode, I talk about why I started this podcast and where I think this podcast is going.
Books mentioned in this episode:
So You Want to Start a Podcast: Finding Your Voice, Telling Your Story, and Building a Community That Will Listen by Kristen Meinzer Amazon | Audible | Kindle | Indigo.ca
If you enjoyed listening to this episode, feel free to subscribe, rate and review on a podcast platform of your choice. You can also follow and message me through Instagram, or through the comments sections here in my blog.
Books I’m currently reading (T-B): Hungry Hearts, Winter by Marissa Meyer, and The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
I’m currently reading three books coming in to July:
Hungry Hearts – which I’m enjoying so far. It’s a collection of stories centred on food on Hungry Hearts Row.
Winter – Ah, the conclusion to The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. I’m a little upset I haven’t finished the series already.
The Goldfinch – I have heard great and bad things mostly about writing preferences. So far it’s going ok.
Recently Finished
Under The Table by Stephanie Evanovich
Under The Table by Stephanie Evanovich was our June pick in our online book club. I didn’t particularly enjoy this book because it had certain characteristics I found to be inconsistent and unbelievable.
Reading Next
Me And White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
I’m kind of glad our online book club simply announced we were reading Layla F. Saad’s Me And White Supremacy. The Black Lives Matter Movement is thriving during these times and I think it’s important, especially for future generations, that we educate ourselves. We can’t truly be an ally unless we have the foundation to help us stand firm for what we believe.
Let me just say I’m very excited to start this today, and for the coming discussion.
Have you read any of these books? Let me know your thoughts about them, or if they’re on your TBR list on the comments section.
Human and goblin brothers Cole and Tinn are finding their way back to normal after their journey to the heart of the Oddmire. Normal, unfortunately, wants nothing to do with them. Fable, the daughter of the Queen of the Deep Dark, has her first true friends in the brothers. The Queen allows Fable to visit Tinn and Cole as long as she promises to stay quiet and out of sight—concealing herself and her magic from the townspeople of Endsborough.
But when the trio discovers that humans are destroying the Wild Wood and the lives of its creatures for their own dark purposes, Fable cannot stay quiet. As the unspoken truce between the people of Endsborough and the inhabitants of the Wild Wood crumbles, violence escalates, threatening war and bringing Fable’s mother closer to the fulfillment of a deadly prophecy that could leave Fable a most Unready Queen.
In Book 2 of The Oddmire Series, we follow Fable as she learns how to control her powers while somewhat running on teen angst.
If you’ve read The Changeling, The Unready Queen picks up right where this left off. The Burtons are once again adjusting now that they know Tinn is a goblin. This makes certain aspects of their lives a challenge. Annie starts a new job, and Tinn has been spending time with his goblin family to learn his background and learn how to control his magic. Fable, on the other hand, is such a wild spirit. She’s so glad she has friends from town to hang out with. I especially love how she calls everything outside of the Wild Wood: people-this, people-that. It’s a different take on what we humans have, which also constantly reminds us that Fable is different from the rest of us.
This story also minimally touches on Tinn and Fable’s attitude regarding their magical abilities. Due to being raised by humans, Tinn longs for time spent in the goblin horde. It allows him to learn more about his powers, hone his abilities, and learn more about his goblin heritage. Despite being born with incredible magic, it doesn’t come naturally to him. He had to work with it, understand how to make it work with him, and constantly practice. He takes in all of his lessons with the understanding that he needed this; he needed to learn how to control it. This determination is clear when he pleaded he needs all the help he can get when his hand turned the color of the ink he accidentally got on his finger and he couldn’t transform it back to normal. Fable’s magic, however, comes naturally to her to a point where the Queen deemed magic lessons necessary and mandatory – something Fable isn’t a fan of.
I found this story to heavily lean on Fable being “The Unready Queen” because she’s about 13 or 14 years old, with basic magic knowledge. Imagine if something happened to her mother. It’s a situation no kid should be thrown into. At the same time, the term could’ve easily defined the Queen of the Deep Dark. The prophecy showed Fable, blood, and a gunshot / bullet. Imagine if something happened to Fable. It’s a situation no mother, no parent, should be thrown into. Until that prophecy is fulfilled, they’re both unready queens.
The Unready Queen is a story of friendship, family, and bravery. It’s understanding why things needed to get done a certain way. If The Changeling is Tinn and Cole’s story, Fable’s is The Unready Queen.
WILLIAM RITTER is an Oregon educator and author of the New York Times bestselling Jackaby series. He is the proud father of the two bravest boys in the Wild Wood, and husband to the indomitable Queen of the Deep Dark.
Thank you to Algonquin Books & Algonquin Young Readers, and Netgalley for providing a copy of The Unready Queen for review.
I remember randomly choosing Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham alongside Anna Kenrick’s Scrappy Little Nobody when I was looking for audiobooks for my commute to work. Our restaurant was closed for a week and I got to work on a different branch which was a half-an-hour drive each way.
Talking As Fast As I Can is about how she got started on her career. From odd jobs, to side gigs, memorable auditions, and relationships formed on and off set.
Since I’ve never watched Parenthood, the parts that hit me hard were when she talked about her time in Gilmore Girls. I LOVE GILMORE GIRLS. I love Lorelai and Rory’s mother-and-daughter relationship that I hoped to have the same kind of relationship with my daughter, if and when I am blessed with one.
Closer to the end of the audio, she rounded off her book with her experience on Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life. From the uncertainty of the mini movies, to finally filming, to reminiscing Edward Herrmann, to finally knowing what the four final words were. Her reading of her journal entries while filming added a touch of nostalgia as I was getting it from her point of view, in addition to my flashbacks of watching the Year In The Life when it came out.
Listening to Graham’s audiobook is akin to listening to Lorelai do a monologue. There are times where she slows down when she talks, but most of the time it’s her signature Lorelai speed and I enjoyed it very much.
A few weeks ago, as I was scrolling through my Goodreads profile, I noticed how dull my bookshelves were. All I could see were a number of “read-in-insert year here” in addition to the default shelves. So I decided to fix it. I deleted my yearly shelves and changed them to something more specific. Listed below are the three things I learned in doing so.
Goodreads do count the number of books and pages you read per year.
I found this out as I was randomly clicking links around my profile. As much as I wanted to get rid of my yearly shelves, a little part of me was a little hesitant especially since I made a point of reading a certain number of books per year. However, Goodreads do keep track of them in three different ways: through your Year In Review which they release close to the end of the year; through your reading challenge (if you ever so decide to participate); and through that little “Stat” link at the bottom right of your shelves section.
I’m not doing as bad as I thought.
About 2 years ago, around the same time I started getting into bookish podcasts, I made it a point to read outside my comfort zone. My comfort zone is Young Adult and it’s a genre I will constantly go back to. I didn’t include this on my shelves to force me to look into other aspects of my reading that I wanted to better keep track of. I’m still fixing my shelves to reflect if I’ve read works by women, BIPOC authors, and to reflect representation.
Fixing my shelves made me realize which books I want to read more of.
Having my shelves keep track of specific things made me realize what I need to read more of. I’ve always wanted to be well read person and I can’t do that if I don’t proactively seek out books which will better my well being and reading habits.
Deleting my yearly goodreads bookshelves have been a great idea. Knowing what I’m lacking in my reading will help me be a better reader and a better person. It will also allow me to be more conscious in choosing what to read next.
For today’s episode, I would like to share my thoughts on the first book on William Ritter’s The Oddmire series: Changeling. This is in anticipation for the release of book two entitled The Unready Queen.
I did not expect to like this as much as I did.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EPISODE CONTAINS SPOILERS SO IF YOU WANT TO READ CHANGELING SPOILER-FREE THEN I SUGGEST YOU SKIP THIS EPISODE.
Make sure to tune in on June 25th for my review and thoughts about The Unready Queen.
Thank you to Algonquin Books & Algonquin Young Readers for providing a copy of The Oddmire: Changeling.
If you enjoyed listening to this episode, feel free to subscribe, rate and review on a podcast platform of your choice. You can also follow and message me through Instagram, or through the comments sections here in my blog.
