Hodgepodgeing Again [Finally]

Well, I did say that I was going to try and blog again with some sort of regularity. So, here goes: I'm returning to the HodgePoge with Joyce over at From This Side of the Pond because she has some great questions this week - and I needed some inspiration to write! 

Let's do this!

1. Tell us about a time you found yourself in the 'middle of nowhere.' Was this deliberate? 

I like to spend time 'in the middle of nowhere' - especially at night. It's usually deliberate for me.  There's something beautiful about being out of the city and in the world. The last time for me with this was probably either at my friend's wedding a few weekends ago or the last time I was up in Maine for work. 

2. What's something you're 'in the middle of' today or this week?

Everything? Packing, setting up a new bank account, VISA applications, TSA PreCheck Applications, etc, etc, etc. Also in the middle of The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken which is phenomenal already! 

3.  At what age do you think 'middle age' begins? What does it mean to be 'middle aged'?

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that middle age is a made up period of life that only happens when you've decided that it happens. 

Act young, live young, be young - at 10, 50, or 100... 

4. What's your favorite food from the list with something yummy in the middle? 

I love me some perogies stuffed with potatoes and cheese. 

Not on the list would have to be

5. Albert Einstein is quoted as saying "In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity." Would you agree? Have you found this to be true in your own life?
I'd have to agree with this man, he's pretty smart.
I think that out of adversity some of the most amazing things that can happen.
And I think I've lived to see that happen for me and others enough to believe it. 

6. What's a song you remember loving from your middle school years? Do you love it still?

Anything by *Nsync. And, yes, of course I still love it all today! 

7. May 18th is National Visit Your Relatives Day? Will you celebrate? Who would you visit if possible?

Unfortunately I can't head home today (though my dad was here this morning and left to drive home, does that count?) but will be soon! I would probably visit my parents - even though I visit them a lot, they're my favorite people on the planet and no amount of time with them is ever enough.

8. Insert your own thought here.

I cannot believe that in just over a month I will be wrapping up my time here in Montreal! It feels like I just moved here. But, moving to Italy will be amazing in ways that I can't even begin to understand right now. And I cannot wait for that adventure to begin. 

TTT: I LOVED These Books (And You Should Too)

So, I've been gone from this for a while (both participating in Top Ten Tuesday from  The Broke and The Bookish and binge-reading fiction in general), but I thought, since I started back up with this blog a few days ago, this might be a good way to flex my fingers and write some more. Totally noncommittal style.

And probably to embarrass myself in the minimal amount of for-fun books I've been reading (seriously, I had to dig back to 2013 to fill out this list).

In any case, this week's topic seemed like an easy one to get back into the groove, Ten of My Most Recent 5-Star Reads. Which is likely to expand into my all time favorite books, with an emphasis early on in the list of recent books that I love. Who knows how this will go, so buckle your seatbelt, let's try this out.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I finished this book in a day. I cannot tell you how long it's been since I last did that, but this book was worth it. Cath is every one of us who has ever become a part of an online community - be it through a fandom or book blogging or any other means of connection. How many of us haven't felt awkward in social situations but then thought, man if only these people would meet me online. And there are Emergency Kanye Dance Parties, and a goofy boy named Levi, and a realization that you can be loved and liked for who you are, that you don't have to lose sight of you to expand and grow. I loved this book.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

I knew I loved Leigh's writing when I fell for Nikolai in Shadow and Bone. I knew I loved who Leigh is as a human being when a series of fun & encouraging tweets were exchanged with her during my very!stressful! comprehensive exams were taking place. And I knew I would love Six of Crows when Leigh told me I would (when I went to Toronto to buy and have it signed by her just after completing my exams and she covered a page of the book with a huge CONGRATS!). Leigh hasn't let me down yet, and this book is such a fantastic and wonderful start to a series that I was already anticipating book #2 a few chapters into #1. What a cast. What a story. I think I love this series more than the Grisha Trilogy already - and that's saying something.

The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness

In true Courtney fashion, I put off reading the conclusion to the All Souls Trilogy for a year. A. Year. Because, despite wanting to know how Diana and Matthew's story would play out, I did not want to see it end. I was not (and am still not) ready to let go of these characters. I still think that In some not-so-far-off parallel universe I am Diana Bishop and that my current pursuit of a History PhD aligns quite nicely with her career. Someone just send the intelligent and dashing eons old Vampire my way, okay?

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

Truth be told it took me a little to warm up to the 5-stars that I gave this book. Perhaps it was because I put off reading this one for a long time (are we sensing a pattern here?) because I knew it would be a while before the next book came out. It was also probably because this book has a whole lotta stuff going on in it and there were times when I had to stop and reassess what I knew and what I didn't yet know. Maybe I was reading it too fast, but dangit I wanted to know. In the end, after the book hangover haze cleared away I realized just how wonderfully this book came together. That despite feeling like I was sometimes stuck inside a tornado of words and stories, that all of the pieces fit together in this insane and beautiful installment of this series. That's a good book.

The Smart One  by Jennifer Close

I absolutely adored Girs in White Dresses. So when I saw that she had another book, I knew I had to have my hands on it and my brain immersed in it. It's one year in the life of a family. It's about expectations and what happens if and when you don't meet them. Or when someone you have expectations doesn't meet them. It's about accepting a person for who they are and allowing them to do and be what they need to do and be. It's about how we never really succeed at growing up (but get pretty good at faking it), coming home, and accepting that we're all a little flawed - and that's okay. 

Let's Pretend This Never Happened  by Jenny Lawson

This book gave me all the laughs. From taxidermied squirrels playing poker to colon cleanses gone wrong, this book is such a true and unashamed picture of what real life is, or what it could be. Lawson doesn't hold back any punches and she doesn't skirt around the harder issues that we so often try to sweep under the rug of our day-to-day lives. If you need a laugh, but you also want a book that raises - and discusses - a number of real-life problems, you need to pick up this book. 

 So, what about you guys? What books have you read recently that get all the stars? Which ones have really knocked your socks of that you just can't stop recommending? Have you read any of these? 

Let's talk! 

It's (Almost) Time To Pack Up (Again)

I'm hoping this picture of me thumbs-upping with a Yeti
will distract  you from the time-stamp of my last post.

Woah.

Yep, I read that right.

It's been over six months since I last posted.

I cannot believe how forgotten this little blog of mine has been since I moved to Montreal. Things have been crazy over the past two years.

Two. Years. I cannot believe that I'm almost done with two years of my PhD. In some ways it feels like I've been doing this thing forever. In some ways I still feel so brand new at the whole process.

In a lot of ways I feel the same way about this city. It's started to feel like a place I sometimes call home. You know in that way that you get jaded about your hometown that you feel like you've done everything there is to do, eaten at all the cool places to eat, and seen all the fun things to see. Except in this city I feel like there's still a million and six restaurants I still have to try.

Which is why now is the perfect time to pack up and move.

Again.

Because that's apparently what I do.

Oh, you're starting to feel at home here? Pack your bags, kid, we've got moving to do.

No, I'm not done with my PhD (either actually, as in graduating, or metaphorically, as in quitting).

Me at the Montreal Botanical Garden's 
Jardins de Lumière  back in October

It's just that I need to head overseas to do my research (in my head I've said that so blasé and you're probably sitting there going: "wait, need to head overseas" who is this chick?) because apparently the Middle Ages didn't really happen the same way over here as they did over there. And Europe is all "these are our documents, we're gonna keep them on this side of the pond, thanks." Which makes doing research from North America a little bit difficult.

So now you know why I study medieval history - it means traveling is pretty much non-negotiable. And we all know how much I love to travel.

And, well, you know that old joke about graduate students being poor as dirt? Well, it's not a joke, thankyouverymuch, and I simply can't justify paying rent in Italy and rent in Montreal in the same month. 

So, after two glorious years of having my own kitchen and my own bed and a door with a lock and key and a closet instead of a suitcase to keep my clothes in (and unwrinkled) (oh, who am I kidding, my clothes are always wrinkled, much to my mother's displeasure - sorry mom), come June I'll be packing up my things and again trying to fit my life into two suitcases.

And I really, really, really love my apartment. So sending in that "hey, appartment rental people, I'm not renewing my lease this year" email was absolutely heartbreaking. Seriously. I'm pretty sure I had an anxiety attack as soon as I hit send to the tune of: What if this all falls through? What if I can't get to Italy? Then I just gave up this SWEET apartment for nothing.  And I'll be homeless in Montreal. Because there are clearly no more apartments in this city other than this one. NONE. And I won't be able to do any research, so I'll never finish my degree because you can't write a research dissertation without research. I wonder if you can send in "JK apartment rental people, I'm not really moving, April fools! Oh? It's still March, my bad. Let's just forget this whole thing and I'll be keeping the apartment, thanks!" email? I love this apartment. I love my yoga studio. OMG WHAT AM I DOING.

This view from my balcony is one of the things I
am going to miss most about this apartment

And then I made myself some tea and told myself to calm down while watching Fuller House and I was immediately glad I waited until this moment to spend a day binge-watching this show. Because what better way is there to deal with the stress and anxiety of moving than a reboot of a beloved 90s sitcom? Nothing, I tell you, nothing.

Other than maybe finding a $100 on the street corner. But that has yet to happen to me, so I can't really be the judge on if that or a Fuller House binge is better.

All this is to say, maybe I'll be better at blogging again now that there's adventure on the horizon. I wrote a lot more and put up a lot more pictures when I was abroad last time. And maybe I'll even write a review or two about some books I've read recently (the few fiction ones I've gotten to, I'm sure you're probably not that interested in my thoughts on any historiography. Especially if you just had to google historiography to see what I was talking about).

No promises though, we all know what happened last time I did that (re: the 6 month hiatus I artfully didn't apologize for a the beginning of this post). But I will try. Of that we can be sure.

Thirty Seems Pretty Sweet

Today I turn thirty years old, which frankly, isn't as frightening as it sounds. 

I've spent a lot of time lately thinking about this next decade.

Thinking about all the amazing people I've met on this journey so far.

And on who I am today because of all of those people.

All of you people.

So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for being you.

And allowing that youness of you to shape the meness of me.

I honestly wouldn't be who I am, or where I am, today without you.

So, here I'll leave you with some bits of wisdom I've accumulated over the years.

There were a million more I thought of after

(like "drink those 8 glasses of water 'they' recommend"

or, "find a reason to laugh every single day, no matter how hard it may seem")

but these are a good bunch to reflect on today. 

And also, my parents deserve the biggest shout out,

and I LOVE YOU, 

that there ever was on the internet ever.

Because?

Well, I really wouldn't be the woman I am today without them.

At all.

So, thanks Mom and Dad.

For everything.

Woah, Hello There Blog

Well, it seems to have been quite a while since I posted last!

I'd like to say that's because life has been far too exciting to sit down and write a post, but it's more the opposite. I am busy all the time with this PhD program, but it's a pretty boring and sedentary life for me these days.

I am reading a lot. Which is cool - my book numbers are through the roof. But not any books for fun. They're all for school. My Goodreads account is starting to look a lot more academic these days. I did manage to read read one book for fun (the last Heroes of Olympus book) at Christmas, but that's about it for the past few months. I am trying to work on that - I miss my books.

I'm going to try and go back and write all the reviews I didn't get to - maybe that will get me back into blogging. Or at least be a productive waste of time unlike all my other technological outlets that distract me from my work.

In any case, life in Montreal is pretty beautiful. I may not have explored the city as much as I would have liked to over the months I've been here. But what I have seen I have loved.

But, you guys? Winter here is no!joke! We may not have a lot of snow up here yet (Juno missed us completely!) - but the temperatures are more than making up for that. We're talking nights where the "feels like" temperature is around -30F. Which is just crazy talk. Next time I move I'm going south. I need the sun back in my life.

So, here are a few pictures of life lately, and a potential-promise to be back round these parts more. I've missed you guys!

This was after the first snowfall in Quebec.
I was so naive about the cold back then....

Campus under it's first real snowfall of the year.

It was about 9 degrees out.
So obviously I needed a photo with the cow sculpture.

Phoenix misses me a lot when I'm gone.
Can you tell?

Oh, just DESSERT PIZZA
at my favorite chocolate place in town.

Because I don't get enough of the MA in my daily life...

When Technology Gods Strike

You guys?

Grad school is exhausting.

Actually physically and mentally exhausting.

All the time.

Sometime soon I plan on sitting down and writing a real post where I outline what the next year entails for me in this PhD program (short version: 200 books read by next June or September, depending on how fast I read) and what that has meant for my daily life (short version: bed around midnight, up by 7).

Honestly, I am going to make some time for the update of all updates.

But, for now?

For now I need a moment to vent. Serious venting. Something that I rarely (if ever?) do, but right now I'm so past frustrated at the technology gods. So, venting is necessary.

Because?

So, I'm in the middle of writing a grant application - you know, so I can afford to live in a city on my own for the next few years. And it has been eating up all of my time and brain power (seriously, I am pretty sure I go to bed every night in some state of brain-dead-mush) and every last bit of emotional sanity I have left.

These things are not for the faint of heart my friends!

And tonight all of my iProducts decide they NEED!TO!BE!UPDATED! Because, you know Apple recently updated everything to do with their products (except for their desktops, we have to wait a few months for the update for that which in itself is causing me tremendous heartbreak - apparently you lose the ability to sync between a desktop and your other devices until that new software is on your computer. So now I can't integrate all my devices like I was able to prior to the updates. UGH!).

So, the iPhone, the iPad, and the desktop all decide to do their thing. And in the process my iPad decides it wants to play some sort of awful game and deletes everything out of my Pages folder. Including this one document I had been slaving away over for a few hours.

Fortunately everything else was backed up a bazillion places, but this document hadn't uploaded to the cloud yet because of the mass electronics updates going on Chez Courtney. So, yes it could have been a lot worse if I had lost all my PhD work so far - so, thank God for that one.

But still! That one document? It's the one that has been causing me the most stress. And I had to start from scratch. After having it almost to complete perfection. So I've spent the last few hours rewriting it and trying not to dissolve in a mess of sloppy, ugly tears over what could have been a much bigger catastrophe.

If you're wondering, that document is done - and probably a whole lot better than the one I had lost was going to be. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself now. Because otherwise I would be a whole lot more grumpy than I was.

If y'all need me you can find me curled up in a ball taking deep breaths and a  nap (or eight).

Technology, guys.

Seriously.

Most of the time I love it, but right now I'm ready to retreat into a hermitage in the woods where all I need is the sunshine and a cup of coffee.

How are you guys all doing on the technological front?

Welcome Back, Me!

Well, hey there everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it?

Good news - I think I'm back to blogging! I've got, oh, about 20+ books to review and a whole new life adventure to write about!

See, I moved to Canada to do my PhD - which means that there is potential around every corner for things to see and do and eat and talk about. So, that makes this little blog of mine a whole lot of multifaceted again - and I couldn't be happier.

So, strap in guys! It's gonna be an exciting ride!

Just so I can brag - look at the view from my bedroom window!
I see you Quebec! Lookin' all fantastic!
We're gonna have a lot fun! 

2013 Reads: Fifty {Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn}

I guess it's time I finally finished up the reviews of the books I read in 2013, wouldn't you say? So, here it is, the last book of 2013: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

I think it's safe to say that you have some sort of idea about what you're getting into when you pick up one of Gillian Flynn's novels. Even if you haven't read one of her books before.

Maybe not exactly what the story you're about to read is about, exactly. But that you're in for a crazy, suspenseful, and twisted ride.

Much like with Gone Girl, I finished this book unsure about if I actually liked what I had just read. Or, maybe, I wondered how if I did like it what that had to say about me. That sentence will make a lot more sense if you've read one of her books. Promise.

WHAT WAS WRITTEN

Camille Parker has inscribed the words of her life all over the contours of her body. Her past haunts every moment of her waking life - enough that she spent some time in a mental hospital. Now that she has checked herself out, she is seemingly on a fast track back.

The newspaper she works for - a second-rate, local daily paper - wants to send her back to her hometown for a story. Back to the world she so desperately has tried to leave behind. She returns reluctantly to cover the deaths of two local girls. 

Once home she is confronted by everything that went wrong with her childhood. Her mother, a narcissistic and neurotic hypochondriac, is unimpressed by her return. And her half-sister, a thirteen year old and beautiful girl, who she barely knows might just be the in she needs on the inner workings of her hometown. 

Once she steps foot back inside her family's Victorian mansion everything that she has fought so hard to forget comes flooding back. A tragedy which shaped her childhood and marked the rest of her life is unfolding before her eyes and she's not sure she can keep it together long enough to crack the story of the dead girls. As she identifies more and more with the girls she is investigating, Camille realizes that she needs to confront her own past in order to make sense of the present. 

WHAT MY BRAIN HAS TO SAY ON THE MATTER

Oh!My!God!

I wasn't sure Gillian Flynn could throw me for a loop again after Gone Girl. I was convinced that I would be able to pick up all the signs that she was laying down - that I was aware of her tricks now.

But man, I was not prepared for what happened in this book. Flynn got me again - and she got me good.

It's hard to talk about her books without giving too much away. And I do not want to give a moment of this book away. The way the little secrets and bits of information drop into your lap at exactly the right moment so you're forced to reevaluate everything you thought you already knew about the story. Those wtf?! moments? Those are the moments I read her books for. And I wouldn't want to deprive anyone from a single one of those moments - or potentially reveal the moment for them.

And if you've read this book already you know exactly which moment I'm talking about.

One thing I really love about this book (and yes, maybe 'love' much like 'like' isn't exactly the right word, but it's the best I've got) is the characters. Flynn is marvelous at creating characters who are people more than they are characters. In this book she has completely succeeded at crafting authentic mean, nasty women. You know those type of women I'm talking about  - the grown up Mean Girls (promiscuous, violent, abusive, self-destructive, and more). And then similarly she is able to perfectly capture their offspring, the mean girls themselves. And those young women? Oh my god, they're even worse.

It's rare to see women portrayed as anything other than either heroines or victim. Instead Flynn casts them as a source of violence and evil within their community as well as the victims of that evil. Because, as we all know so well, women can be so mean - especially to other women. Men in this novel are only secondary - they're the pawns and the playthings of the women around them. And it's interesting to see that so accurately portrayed in this novel.

I would totally recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a wonderful thriller of a novel. Especially one which, in a few ways, seems to turn the genre on its head. Sharp Objects is not for the squeamish though - it's full of sex, drugs, and violence - it's truly not for the faint of heart.

It's kind of like watching a train wreck - you feel bad about watching, but you can't look away. I think Flynn has the literary corner of that market covered perfectly. 

THE NITTY GRITTY

Title: Sharp Objects

Author: Gillian Flynn

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Crime

Medium: Paperback, 254 pages

Publisher: Broadway Books (31 July 2007)

Date Read: 31 December 2013

Source: Christmas Gift

Recommended For: High School +, Mystery Lovers, Thriller Lovers

Challenges: Goodreads 

First Line: My sweater was new, stinging red and ugly. 

Favorite Line: The face you give the world tells the world how to treat you. 

Last Line: Lately, I've been leaning towards kindness. [whited out, for spoiler's sake]

When You're Too Busy Looking Down, You Don't See The Chances You Miss

I know I've been a little absent these days. Sorry world.

I've been busy.

I was caught up so many things these last few months. First I got to revel in my acceptance to a PhD program in Montreal which I am super excited about (more information on that later)! Then I spent a lot of time at home with my family just taking life easy and enjoying the amazing relationship you get to have with your parents in your adult life. And then I got caught up in a month long road-trip which took me to North Carolina and Tennessee and many other places. Reconnecting with so many old friends and making a hand full of new ones. Then I returned to work and have been traversing across New England working with kids on life-skills and character education. And then working with combat veterans and their families.

Life has been insane. But it's been amazing. I've been living my life these days as in-person as possible and not through the lens of my phone or computer. And that, that's the way I want to spend more of my days.

Which really makes me love this campaign that's making its way around the internet these days:

We're a generation of idiots - smart phones, dumb people. I honestly had tears in my eyes throughout this whole video - not just the part that shoved all sorts of feelings in your face. And yes, it totally hits you with the feelings - hard. 

This is such a brilliant reminder about the type of people we should all desire to grow up to be. We should aspire to be the type of person who presses the power-off button on all of their technology and the power-on button to their lives. We should be fully present in the world around us - and should show the children in our lives exactly how great of a reward that can be.

We should be the generation who LOOKS UP.

And no, the irony of posting this video and this message on a social media site is not lost on me. But, please know, if I disappear again for a while it's not because I'm not reading or not doing anything interesting worth reporting - it's probably that I'm off reading or experiencing or enjoying.

I'm probably off LOOKING UP. 

Check Me Out

Just popping in today to mention that this little blog of mine is being featured over at The Paper Sea for Nikki's Book Blogger Spotlight. 

If you haven't checked out her blog yet, you really ought to! She writes awesome reviews of a lot of YA novels and has some excellent (and thought provoking!) discussions every week. So, head on over there and say hello. Or, at least, read about what I have to say about this ol' blog of mine.

And for those of you who have made your way over here from over there? Hello! And welcome! Enjoy your stay and I hope to see more of you round these parts! 

2013 Reads: Forty-Nine {Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld}

This was my first foray into Steampunk as a literary genre. I think. It's totally a genre that should be right up my alley too.

Add in that this book takes place in a reimagined Austro-Hungarian Empire on the eve of World War I, and you have the recipe for a book that I should adore.

However, I think I liked the idea of this book perhaps a little more than the book itself. It wasn't bad, that's for sure. And I enjoyed it. But I think I just wanted so much more from it.

WHAT WAS WRITTEN

It is 1914 and the world is divided between the Clankers (Austro-HUngarian) and the Darwinists (British). The Darwinists have used genetics to evolve animals into being useful to humans for things like transportation and war. Genes are spliced together and giant hybrid animals are the norm. The Clankers lie on the complete opposite end of the spectrum - they have advanced machines and technology to help their society flourish.

In the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Archduke, Franz Ferdinand, has just been assasinated. His son, Prince Aleksandar, is now on the run from the assassins. As the would-be heir to the throne,  his title is now worthless and has instead become a death sentence as all of his people has turned on him. All he has is an old war machine and a few close, loyal men to help him survive.

Hundreds of miles away, Deryn Sharp is a commoner who has disguised herself as a boy in order to join the British Air Service. She is brilliant at anything that has to do with flight and the 'beasties' who take men into the air. However, she's constantly in fear that her secret will be discovered and she'll be grounded forever.

With World War I on the horizon, Deryn and Alecsandar's paths cross in the most unexpected way. And what follows is an adventure which will take them around the world and change their lives forever.

WHAT MY BRAIN HAS TO SAY ON THE MATTER

Like I said earlier there is so much about this book that set it up to be a book I would adore. But there were times where it, well, where it just fell a little flat for me.

The major problem for me was also something that I found fascinating. Westerfeld spends so much time explaining the alternate history, the machines, and the world around Daryn and Alec that I feel like the story got lost amid the details. Now, yes, the details were fascinating. But by the time I got finished with one of Deryn's descriptions of a beastie I had forgotten what was going on in her part of the story.

It just made the plot drag on for me and stagnate at points. Because, really? The plot (when it was moving forward) was really exciting. With Alec being chased across the Austro-Hungarian Empire and slowly learning about his family history. And then with Daryn's fortuitous rise to a worker on one of the airships she has dreamed of her whole life. This book is primed for an action-packed, fast-paced novel that I should run right through. But it didn't, and that disappointed me. I hate when I get bored while I'm reading.

Now, some of the things that I thought were great.

Let's start with the illustrations. Because? Those are all fantastic. Absolutely amazing. The details that were put into each and every image of that book were marvelous. I loved having them there to bring some of the more technical pieces of Westerfeld's world to life. I would stop and stare at some of the drawings (especially when the story was dragging) because of the exquisite detail. They made such a positive and important impact on the story.

I also really loved the re-imagined history that Westerfeld tells. For a few reasons. One, I am such a history geek. I think it's fascinating when an author can look at a set history in our past and say "well, what would have that been like if...?" and then tell a wonderful story with that as its base. Two, how many kids read this book and then started looking into WWI? I bet a good few. And any book that makes a kid excited about learning makes me insanely happy. So, thanks for that Westerfeld.

Now, while I wasn't completely thrilled by this book, I am definitely intrigued. I plan on reading the second book in this series - I really want to see where he's going with this world. Maybe since so much time was spent in this novel explaining all the little details of the Clankers and the Darwinists the next book will be more plot driven. Fingers crossed.

THE NITTY GRITTY

Title: Leviathan

Author: Scott Westerfeld

Genre: Young Adult, Steampunk, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Alternate History

Medium: Hardcover, 440 pages

Publisher: Simon Pulse (6 October 2009)

Date Read: 27 DEcember 2013

Source: Borrowed From The Library

Recommended For: Middle School +, Those Who Enjoy Alternate Histories, Steampunk Enthusiasts 

Challenges: Goodreads

First Line: The Austrian horses glinted in the moonlight, their riders standing tall in the saddle, swords raised. 

Favorite Line: Maybe this was how you stayed sane in wartime: a handful of noble deeds amid the chaos. 

Last Line: But the eggs just sat there, not answering at all. [whited out, for spoiler's sake]