100th Post! + July Nightstand Books {2017}

100th Post!

This is my 100th post on The Page Dreamer! Happy hundredth post to meee!

*confetti and leftover-Independence-Day-fireworks*

*passes cookies around*

I’m very excited! ^_^ I started this little book-blog a bit over a year and a half ago, on the first day of 2016, and I’m so pleased to have come this far!

Thank you SO much, all you lovely readers, for putting up with my bookish babblings and reading and commenting! Y’all are the best! ❤

Nightstand Books

What with the Silmarillion Awards (Award Presentations begin today! :O) and reviews and such, I’ve been too busy blogging about other things to get around to a nightstand books post until now!

But here I am, halfway through the month, to share my July books, that I’ve either read this month, am currently reading, or hope to read soon. 🙂

(Nightstand Books is a blogging meme created by Jenelle and DJ to share our currently-reading books each month and be excited about them. …With me it’s more like my-bookish-plans-for-the-month, but still. Join the fun if you like!)

July Nightstand

• The Skin Map by Stephen R. Lawhead — Still working on re-reading through this aloud, so the amount of time I spend reading it is kind of out of my control… But hopefully we’ll get through it this month.
• The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien — Re-reading this for the third/fourth/whatever time, because the Silmarillion Awards is an awesome excuse and it was just way overdue for a re-read. (I think last time was 2010? Yeah… But I’d read it a few times before that, so anyway. ;)) I’m reading a chapter every day and enjoying it SO MUCH. It’s like coming home. ❤
• Starflower by Anne Elisabeth Stengl — For another Goldstone Wood readalong. 😀 Haven’t started yet but I’m SO excited to!
• The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman — I got this from the library; how appropriate. (It was a visible one though. *cough*) I’ve heard great things so I’m excited. 🙂
• The Illusionist’s Apprentice by Kristy Cambron — This caught my eye when it was up for review one time when I was too busy to read; so I was excited to find it at the library. Let’s be honest: I’m here for the character names (Wren and Elliot), Houdini + murder mystery, and that pretty cover.
• Heartstone by Elle Katharine White — Found at the library — yay! Pride and Prejudice retelling with dragons? Yes please and thank you.
• Intermission by Serena Chase — Also libraried (totally a word, hush). I honestly don’t think this is going to be a “for me” book, but I’m curious about it anyway. XD Disclaimer: I miiiight not get around to finishing the library books before they need to head back. >.> We shall see! *must read faster*
• Coiled by H.L. Burke — I won this gorgeous book in a giveaway, and I hate snakes but… this author got me addicted to cute snek memes and I love her writing, so. XD And mythology YA romance thingy with a prettiful cover… yes. I just read it this weekend and it was fantastic! ^_^ This author is awesome. ❤

Other Books Not In Above Picture

• Kate’s Capitol by Sarah Holman — I breezed through this on Independence Day and quite enjoyed it. 🙂 [REVIEW]
• The Reluctant Godfather by Allison Tebo — Quite a funny and enjoyable novella I accidentally read one evening. XD Aside from punctuation errors driving my editor self somewhat batty, it was super fun and hilarious! XD Plus Burndee. 😀
• Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith by Shaun Hume — Currently reading this review book and it’s been very intriguing so far!
• An Earthly King by Hazel B. West — A readalong book, this is a re-read for me. I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUUUCH! ❤ Re-reading this series is absolutely delightful! ^_^ *flails* (There’s still time to join the readalong, which is HERE!)

• Perception by Emily Ann Benedict — The next in the Vintage Jane Austen series, this one is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, set in the 1930s; it’s releasing this month and I can’t WAIT. 😀 (Plus THAT COVER!!!! :O)

• The Tomb of the Sea Witch by Kyle Robert Shultz — This is the much-anticipated sequel to The Beast of Talesend (which I flailed about earlier), and it’s releasing NEXT MONDAY! I’m so so stoked! 😀 I can’t wait to read more hilarious Nick and Crispin and Cordelia adventures!! ^_^

As far as how my reading in the last month went: I read 12 books in June, so I got through almost all my reads from the last post like this I did! Leftover from my June nightstand post is only my re-read aloud of The Skin Map, and Ewan Pendle and the White Wraith. Not bad… (There’s also a beta-read that I didn’t get around to, and I dropped The Tempest for now, just ’til I have time.) But I did also read a book (For Love and Honor by Jody Hedlund) in June that wasn’t on my June list. So things more or less even out. XD

As usual, some of these may migrate to August, especially as I seem to accidentally be doing Camp NaNo…? Ahem. So that’s kind of eating into my reading time and I’m not reading as fast as I had been, between that and the Silmarillion Awards and general life insanity. But in any case, there’s a glimpse at what I’m reading these days. 🙂

What’s on your nightstand? Read any good books lately? Or any of these?

Thanks for reading! 🙂

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer a.k.a. Deborah O’Carroll

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Random Bookish Post Thing

Hello fellow page-dreamers! I feel like a random bookish post today, so that’s what this is. ^_^

Lately

I actually read 2 books this past week, which makes me feel on top of things. 😉 For the last few months I’ve been reading 4 books a month… Not on purpose, it just worked out that way. So it felt really nice to actually read a couple shortish books in a few days. Don’t you just love that feeling when after awhile of a sort of reading slump, you just zip through a few books in a row? 🙂 A feeling of happiness, I tell you!

Current Stack

Aren’t they gorgeous? ❤

I actually don’t own these… The Last Dragonslayer I’m borrowing from the library, and I’m currently reading that. About half-done, I think, and it’s delightful. 😀 Trying to read it before it goes back. 😉

The other two I’m borrowing from my friend Sarah Holman who was kind enough to lend these to me — I’ve been eyeing Ashburn and The Sound of Diamonds for awhile now, have heard good things about both, and couldn’t pass up the chance to borrow physical copies! I haven’t started them yet but I’m very excited to read them once I finish some review books. 🙂

Blogging in the future

I was looking at my blog post drafts and thinking about future posts… I have a few books I’d like to review and a few bookish tags to do, so I may get to those at some point. Then again, I may be busy reading instead, which, obviously, I would not complain about. XD

Thoughts on reviewing & half-year of this blog etc.

We’re halfway through the year which always makes me look back and reflect… I’ve noticed that I’ve gotten better about reviewing books this year.

It may not look like it, considering I haven’t been posting reviews for everything, but with my Reading Roundup posts, I’ve realized that’s a chance to do mini-reviews of sorts, for… everything I read. Which, if I had planned to do, I would be totally daunted and end up not getting around to it at all. But since I just dash off a couple sentences to a paragraph of brief thoughts about each book, that ends up being mini reviews.

So even if I don’t do an actual review post, I’ve realized I’m kind of reviewing all the books I’m reading this year. Which… is kind of awesome. I am notoriously a longwinded reviewer, and I do still write long reviews for the books I read that require more discussion about them, but I think I’m getting better about not always being super long.

Also, even if I don’t write a long review, I’ve sometimes been posting my little paragraph mini-reviews from my Reading Roundup posts on Goodreads, which makes me feel like a good little bookdragon. 😉 It’s nice.

I also used to always procrastinate over reviews and agonize over having to try to make them perfect and all that sort of thing… But this year I’ve been relaxing and just dashing off a few thoughts. I’m really happy about this. I think this blog has been good for me. 😛

Anyhow, I don’t always post here very often, I know, but I really enjoy having it and it makes me happy. So. Success? I’d say yes. I would totally like to post more reviews but the whole point of this place was to be relaxed and post as little or as much as I feel like… So I guess that’s okay.

So. Ta-da! There you have my random rambly bookish thoughts for the day. 🙂

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer

March Book Haul and DWJ #Shelfie

Where has March gone?? *flails*

There seem to be several delectable books that have made their way into my possession this month . . . so I thought it would be fun to share my March book haul.

Because we all love seeing pictures of stacks of books. 😉

• The Beautiful Pretender – Melanie Dickerson

This ARC came in the mail today and I’m SO incredibly excited to read it! (There may have been squealing and book-petting. Ahem.) Ever since reading The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest and learning that this sequel is about the Margrave from the first one… I can’t WAIT to read about his story!

• Dreams and Wishes: Essays on Writing for Children – Susan Cooper
• Playing With Fire – Derek Landy (Skulduggery Pleasant #2)
• A Spy’s Devotion – Melanie Dickerson

These were birthday presents, which I’m delighted with so far! A Spy’s Devotion was lovely, I’m enjoying the banter of Skulduggery Pleasant, as always, and Susan Cooper has some interesting things to say so far on writing and fantasy.

• Comet in Moominland
• Moominsummer Madness
• The Exploits of Moomipappa
• Moominland Midwinter
• Moominland in November
• Tales From Moominvalley

(The Moomin books, by Tove Jansson)

The Moomin books were from an aunt and cousin who have impeccable taste in books, and I’m having the time of my life reading them — aloud, in a British accent, naturally. 😉 Originally written in Swedish by an inhabitant of Finland, they are a bizarre whimsical fantasy delight. So. Much. FUN! I’ve so far read two and a half, and my favorite character is SNUFKIN. You may hear a lot about him at some point… He’s the best. ❤

What I’m hoping to read this month for #MarchMagics

• Deep Secret – Diana Wynne Jones
• Guards! Guards! – Terry Pratchett

These I got from the library this week, in honor of March Magics hosted by We Be Reading, and am so excited to read them! I haven’t read this DWJ book yet, and I’ve never read a Pratchett before, so I’m excited to try this one (especially since it was a recommendation from Sarah).

Speaking of March Magics… March has been speeding away in the blink of an eye and life has been too busy for me to read or post about Diana Wynne Jones… which annoys me muchly because I will take any excuse to read or talk about that author! But I’m hoping to get some reading in now.

And since the first prompt of the month (better late than never!) was to share your collection of Diana Wynne Jones (or Terry Pratchett) books, and/or which you were planning to read this month… and I just showed the ones I plan to read (and I wouldn’t say no to rereading any of the ones I own, if I have time, especially Dark Lord of Derkholm for the readalong this week) . . .

Here is my Diana Wynne Jones collection on my shelf.

It’s by no means all of her books, but I’m quite proud of what I HAVE collected. These were all careful, painstaking, slow-and-steady sporadic finds at various library sales (except for Fire and Hemlock, and The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, which were more or less Christmas presents).

(I’ve also read Enchanted Glass, The Pinhoe Egg, Castle in the Air, and Reflections: On the Magic of Writing, but tragically do not own them. Yet.)

And I couldn’t resist sharing them all laid out as well. *huggles all the loverly books*

So. Books, both new and old. ❤

Do you have a recently-acquired book you’re excited about?

If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be off now . . . I have a lot of reading to do . . . 😀

Dream away in those pages . . .

~ The Page Dreamer

TTT: Book Categories to Read More Of In 2016

I’m linking up with Top Ten Tuesday (from The Broke and the Bookish) because I love lists and I love books and this weekly meme is all about both. So join in if you like!

Today’s prompt is: Top Ten Resolutions We Have For 2015, which I’m putting a slight twist on.

I want to read more of these ten categories, and I’m listing some books in each category that I want to read soon if I can. (Yes, this makes for over 50, and I’m only scratching the surface… What can I say? There are a lot of books I want to read…)

Here they are, in no particular order. (Also, I’m too tired to link to all the books, but they’re all on my Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/DeborahOCarroll)

Steampunk

I discovered Steampunk last year (I’ve read three so far) and I really want to continue with the genre!

The Mark of the Dragonfly // Airborn // The Locket Thief // Larklight // Leviathan

Heists

I also discovered heists/con-artist-y books last year, and they’re fun to read, just for the cleverness of them. I have some I’d like to read that are contemporary, and some medieval fantasy… a bit of everything.

Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident // The Heist // The Thief Lord // The Thief // Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman?

High Fantasy

I really miss medieval/high fantasy. I used to read a lot of it… Most of what I read used to be in this category, but I haven’t in awhile, so I’d like to get back into it.

The Riddle // Ranger’s Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan // In the Hall of the Dragon King // King’s Warrior // Moonblood

Historical Romance

I’m not much of a historical/regency-type romance reader, but I’ve gathered a few that I’d like to get around to. (Especially Georgette Heyer and Melanie Dickerson!)

Northanger Abbey // Wuthering Heights // Mist of Midnight // The Healer’s Apprentice // Devil’s Cub

Mysteries

I do love a good mystery — especially short stories — and don’t read enough of them.

Father Brown (reread) // Double Sin // Sherlock Holmes (reread) // The Red House Mystery (reread) // Lord Peter

Flintlock Fantasy/1700s/Historical Fantasy

This is rather thrown together with a lot of categories, but I love the eighteenth-century setting with muskets and all, and if it has fantasy thrown in, all the better. I’m not real particular about whether it’s set in our world or another, just give me all the muskets and tricorn hats! (Pirates or Highwaymen are, apparently, a plus.)

Thieftaker // Piratica // The Highwayman’s Footsteps // Captain Blood // The Accidental Highwayman

Retellings

I love a good retelling, whether it be of a fairytale, or Robin Hood or Arthurian.

The Ryn {snow white and rose red} // Cruel Beauty {beauty and the beast} // Hood {robin hood} // The Perilous Gard {tam lin} // The Night Dance {arthurian/twelve dancing princesses}

Favorite Authors

Sometimes in a rush for the new, I put off books by authors I already love… even though I’m already fairly certain the books will be fabulous, especially when they’re by authors such as: Diana Wynne Jones, P.G. Wodehouse, Geraldine McCaughrean, Eleanor Cameron.

Julia’s Magic // A Tale of Time City // The Tough Guide to Fantasyland // The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen // The Code of the Woosters

Tolkien (Yes, this is a category in itself.)

As my favorite author, I have several books by or about J.R.R. Tolkien which I’ve not read yet, and I’d like to read some of them soon.

The Maps of Tolkien’s Middle-earth // Sauron Defeated // The Fall of Arthur // The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien // Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Rereads

There are so many good books I’ve read that I miss and want to revisit, or don’t remember. These are just a few…

Westmark {Westmark Trilogy} // The Book of Three {Prydain Chronicles} // The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet {Mushroom Planet series} // The Dark Hills Divide {Land of Elyon} // The Dark is Rising {The Dark is Rising Sequence} // The Gammage Cup // The Chronicles of Narnia // Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter // Mara, Daughter of the Nile // The Lord of the Rings (and the Silmarilion) // By Darkness Hid {Blood of Kings Trilogy}

Bonus

I’d also like to read more non-fiction, more e-books, and a few Star Wars, as well as go to the library more often.

Are there book categories you’d like to read more of?

What are your 2016 bookish resolutions?

~

Dream away in those pages!