January 2022 Monthly Wrap Up //Sunday Post #23

 

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly from The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. Thanks to Nicole from Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon from It Starts At Midnight for hosting the Monthly Wrap Up Round Up.

This past week was a good one, but I am beyond excited for February. Next Sunday is my youngest daughter's birthday. She will be 10. Then my mom's birthday on Super Bowl Sunday!!! Overall, January was a good one but it just dragged. I read some good books. I finished a couple series. I am not sure on two because the sequels just came out this year and there is no news on if there will be more books. I watched some great TV shows this month. Homeschooling this month was good. We are a little behind in some subjects, but my girls are not having any meltdowns, so it's a win in my book. 

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY:

I am currently in the middle of reading Anna Karenina which will not be finished this month and To Trust in What We Cannot See which is an alternate history time travel where two guys go back and kill Hitler and then go back to the present and realize that it didn't change anything, and they have to go back and kill other leaders and people involved with Hitler. Really weird. I also have reviews for the other books on my blog and I talk about them on my YouTube channel.

MY BOOKTUBE VIDEOS THAT I UPLOADED THIS MONTH: 

Monday: Review: V for Vendetta

Tuesday: Top Ten Tuesday: New to Me Authors

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday #6

Thursday: Blog Tour: When the World Turned Upside Down

Friday: Review: The Hidden Palace

Blog Tour- Castle in Their Bones

Top Ten Tuesday

To Trust in What We Cannot See review

Anna Karenina Review??

Tag Thursday

Received two arcs for upcoming blog tours and a edition of a classic that I have been wanting to read for a while. 

I watched the same shows as last week and started a new show on Friday night. I always laughed at the trailers for this show whenever it came on and I just decided to start it and I am going to be starting the third episode later today. 

My hubby and I finished season 1 and it was so damn good. This show is WAY better than the graphic novels. Just need to start season 2 now.

I had no idea that the second season of Superman and Lois started earlier this month, so we binged the first three episodes this week and I have to say that this season is so much cringe and tropey. I can't handle it. Just hoping that the show lays off a little bit on the family and teen drama and give more action.

This week's episode of Boba Fett had to be the best so far. The Mandalorian is back and honestly, I didn't miss Boba Fett in this episode. I am just beyond ready for the third season of the Mandalorian. I NEED MORE GROGU!!

This is the show that I started on Friday Night and I am so glad I did because it gave me the laughs I needed. There are some raunchy sex scenes that I was not expecting but I should have. I am holding myself back on watching more episodes because I need to get things done, but Hulu is calling. 

Hope everyone has a good week. 

Review: The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker

 

Who am I??? I never read sequels back to back. I read The Golem and The Jinni last month and absolutely LOVED IT! So much that I immediately requested this one from my library. I don't know if it is only going to be a duology because the author took 8 years to write this after the first book. She took her time and it paid off. I still felt everything for the characters, the new characters that were introduced grabbed at my heartstrings and every emotion that you can think of, I felt. 

The beginning starts right off with where we left off with Ahmad the Jinni and Chava the Golem. They are still going on their nightly walks and they are watching the city and people around them change. Which is what starts the fight between the two of them and drives them apart. Chava makes a different life for herself and Ahmad basically becomes a hermit. We get point of views from Toby, Anna's son and a girl who loses her father in an apartment fire and they make something that will eventually change everything. We follow Sophia Winston on her years long journey throughout the middle East to try and find a cure for what happened between her and the jinni. It is also confirmed what was implied that she went through and the reason for her illness. We also meet a new jinniyeh who becomes a major antagonist in a way.

Helene Wecker just has a way of making these characters come to life and weaving thier stories so intricately and smoothly. I am hoping that eventually there will be a third book to wrap up these characters, because there is room for growth. 

BLOG TOUR: When The World Turned Upside Down by K. Ibura

I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the WHEN THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN by K. Ibura Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!

 

About the Book:

Title: WHEN THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

Author: K. Ibura

Pub. Date: February 1, 2022

Publisher:  Scholastic Press

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook

Pages: 288

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

What do you do when the world shuts down? A heartwarming story of friendship and overcoming adversity in a time of COVID, When the World Turns Upside Down is about community, giving back, and understanding the world around us through the power of generosity from debut middle grade author K. Ibura.

Nobody expected a tiny little virus to change the whole world in such a big way, especially not Shayla, Liam, Ai, and Ben. But when school closes to keep everyone safe, their lives turn upside down. It is one thing to learn that the outside world isn’t safe, but why does it seem that the virus is causing trouble inside their homes too?

As they each struggle to adjust to life in quarantine, they discover they are not alone: their apartment building is full of people who need their help. Working together, they begin to see that there is power in numbers. When they cooperate, they can ease each other’s challenges and help their neighbors through tough times. It’s a lesson they’ll need when protests explode in the streets. Soon, each friend has to decide what it means to be part of a community—and how much they’re willing to do to make this world safer for everyone.

Set against the onset of COVID, When the World Turned Upside Down navigates issues of race and social justice in a heartwarming story of generosity, friendship, and the power of youth.

Reviews:

“When The World Turned Upside Down is as clear-eyed as it is engaging, as timely as it is timeless. I fell in love with every single student in this book. And days after reading it, each of them remains with me.” ― Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award-winning author of Brown Girl Dreaming“

A beautifully written story that will inspire young readers to work for positive change even in times of turmoil and stress. This book reminds readers that all of us can make an impact and find ways to shine bright.” ―Angela Cervantes, author of Pura Belpré Honor Book Lety Out Loud"

A hope-filled book dealing with the struggles children face in extraordinary times, K. Ibura has crafted a story perfect for young readers looking to make sense of current events. Timely and important." – Adrianna Cuevas, author of Pura Belpré Honor Book The Total Eclipse of Nestor López and Cuba In My Pocket

"A heartwarming call to action." -- Kirkus Reviews

 

Review: Coming Soon!!

 

About K. Ibura:

K. IBURA is an essayist, science fiction and fantasy short story writer, and painter from New Orleans, Louisiana. The middle child of five in a family of human rights activists, she grew up in a hardscrabble neighborhood with oak and fig trees, locusts and mosquitoes, cousins and neighbors. Her short story collection Ancient, Ancient won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award for 2012. Ibura’s debut YA novel will be coming out with Alloy and Harper Teen in spring 2022.

 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon

 

Giveaway Details:

3 winners will receive a finished copy of WHEN THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN, US Only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

1/17/2022	YA Books Central	Excerpt
1/17/2022	Kait Plus Books	Excerpt
1/18/2022	For the Love of KidLit	Excerpt
1/18/2022	The Reading Wordsmith	Review
1/19/2022	Bibliosini	Review
1/19/2022	Rajiv's Reviews	Review
1/20/2022	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review
1/20/2022	Nerdophiles	Review
1/21/2022	Books Are Magic Too	Review
1/21/2022	Pick a good book	Review

Week Two:

1/24/2022	Two Points of Interest	Review
1/24/2022	Not In Jersey	Review
1/25/2022	Hauntedbybooks	Review
1/25/2022	The Book Review Crew	Review
1/26/2022	The Momma Spot	Review
1/26/2022	Bookhounds YA	Review
1/27/2022	Lifestyle of Me	Review
1/27/2022	Perusewithcoffee	Review
1/28/2022	PopTheButterfly Reads	Review
1/28/2022	Cindy's Love of Books	Review

WWW Wednesday #6

 

This weekly meme is hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

The three W's: 

1. What are you currently reading?

2. What did you recently finish reading?

3. What do you think you'll read next?

Currently reading three books. A classic on audio, an e-book and a read aloud to my kids.

Still have two library books to get to before they are due back along with more that were on hold.

Finished the two books that I was in the middle of last week. I am keeping up with series. I don't know if these two are conclusions or just sequels. 

Top Ten Tuesday: New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2021

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jana from That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's prompt is to share authors who I read from for the first time last year. There was a lot of new authors, but this list wasn't hard to make because these authors are now auto buy even after one book. Reading these author's works last year, I went through so many emotions and that is what I need in a good book. 

1. Xiaran Jay Zhao

2. Helen Wecker

3. Jenny Jaeckel

4. Aisha Saeed

5. Courtney Gould

6. Lauren Blackwood

7. Rebecca Stead

8. Colleen Oakes

9. Robert Beatty

10. Victor Lavelle

Review: V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

 Growing up, every time this movie was on TV, I would watch it. It is fantastic and never knew that it was a graphic novel until a few years ago when I clicked on a link taking me to a list of must read graphic novels and V for Vendetta was the number 1. 

It has taken me a few more years to pick it up, and I am sad to say that I was very disappointed. I just could not get into it. Granted I haven't watched the movie since I was a teenager, and I am now 31. I hated how tiny the font was and how it was all crammed together. I also kept getting the characters confused because they were all the same. They were so flat and had no personality.

If you don't know what this is about this is a dystopian where England has turned fascist and is under a big brother police state where they watch everyone, and send people of color, homosexuals and opponents to concentration camps. Our main character, a man codenamed V is a former prisoner of a camp and he was experimented on. He is causing the most havoc and hacking broadcast and blowing up major government buildings as revenge for what they did to him. He speaks in riddles and one night he saves a young girl named Evey who is attempting to prostitute herself out and she goes for the wrong men. V saves her and takes her back to his place and teaches her his ways, kind of like an apprentice. 

I will be watching the movie again soo, and see if it has held up and how accurate the adaptation is. 

January, why must you drag???// Sunday Post#22

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly from The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. 

From the title, you can tell I am OVER January. It is dragging and it feels like we have been in January for years instead of 23 days. I looked at the calendar yesterday and asked myself did the new year start only 3 weeks ago. It feels so much longer than that. I think mainly the reason for the drag feeling is that this month has been very busy. We have had to pay 4 tax bills this month, thankfully two of those are paid by our mortgage company but it was like pulling teeth to get them to pay it.  My two youngest daughters got their first round of Covid shots, and thankfully didn't experience any symptoms. 

Doing daily phone calls for checkups on my husbands grandmother who has more bad days than good now. We had a laptop go down, so now my 3 kids are having to share our 2 computers between them and I also work from home, so our school days have gotten longer and my work days have extended into early morning hours. We had a small snow storm on Friday night and it melted yesterday afternoon. It was the first significant snowfall that we have had since 2016.

But other than that, it's been good. How has your month been going?

Sunday: Review: The Man Who Played With Fire

Monday: Top Ten Tuesday: 2021 releases

Wednesday: WWW Wednesday #5

Thursday: TBR Thursday #7

Friday: Blog Tour: Shattered Midnight

The Hidden Palace review

Top Ten Tuesday

WWW Wednesday

When the World Turned Upside Down blog tour

I have put myself on a permanent book buying ban for 2022. Let's see how long this last. I am only going to buy books if I really enjoy it, or my library doesn't have the next in the series, or if the hold time is months and the book I want to read is for a book club or readathon. So, this is my library haul for January. I got most of these at the beginning of the month and I have not read them yet because surprise, I have decided to read my owned books and ebooks. My brain is so mean sometimes.

This is everything that I have watched this month. I have enjoyed everything that I have been watching. My favorite thing has to be Encanto. I have the soundtrack on repeat. I have watched it twice this week with my kids and highly recommend it. Everyone should watch this. Luisa needs all the love and little Antonio, I want him as my kid. 

I am going to be finishing season 1 of this tonight. So much better than the graphic novels

EVERYONE WATCH THIS ASAP!!!

I loved this. It is no for cry babies though because I cried constantly. I understand why most people don't like it, but the story is about the relationships and bonds between the eternals and how to choose between right and wrong. Also Karun is the real MVP. LOVE HIM! Get those action sequences...lol.

It took me the first two episodes to really get into this because of his defense of the Tusken Raiders. I am still not over the death of Anakin's mom. 

Anything Idris Elba, sign me the hell up. This was a short lived series on Netflix about a man who is a one hit wonder and is now a nanny to his best friend's kid.