Hello readers!
I have been having a reading week, seriously, I have surprised myself by reading as much as I have. So, yay for that.
The Creator and the Rules
This was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story — she has a new blog though called Sunflowers and Wonder!
- Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf
- Order on ascending date added.
- Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
- Read the synopses of the books.
- Decide: keep it or should it go?
- Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week!
Book #1
The Trojan Woman by Euripides
“This is a new translation of the classic play. It combines a poet’s translation with a scholar’s introduction and notes.” “Among surviving Greek tragedies only Euripides’ Trojan Women shows us the extinction of a whole city, an entire people. Despite its grim theme, or more likely because of the centrality of that theme to the deepest fears of our own age, this is one of the relatively few Greek tragedies that regularly finds its way to the stage. Here the power of Euripides’ theatrical and moral imagination speaks clearly across the twenty-five centuries that separate our world from his.”
The theme is really a double one: the suffering of the victims of war, exemplified by the woman who survive the fall of Troy, and the degradation of the victors, shown by the Greeks’ reckless and ultimately self-destructive behavior. It offers an enduring picture of human fortitude in the midst of despair. Trojan Women gains special relevance, of course, in times of war.
It presents a particularly intense account of human suffering and uncertainty, but one that is also rooted in considerations of power and policy, morality and expedience. Furthermore, the seductions of power and the dangers both of its exercise and of resistance to it as portrayed in Trojan Women are not simply philosophical or rhetorical gambits but part of the lived experience of Euripides’ day.
Verdict: Keep!
So, I obviously have a physical copy of the book. I am gonna keep it.
Book #2
History Is All You Have Left Me by Adam Silvera
When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course.
To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues. He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart.
If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.
Verdict: Remove
I feel bad for removing this one because I have a feeling I am not gonna keep any of Adam Silvera’s books at this rate because that side of YA doesn’t interest me right now. Oh, well. I feel so bad though!
Book #3
Adam Silvera reminds us that there’s no life without death and no love without loss in this devastating yet uplifting story about two people whose lives change over the course of one unforgettable day.
On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.
Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.
Verdict: Remove
So, I am removing this one because I have actually read like 20% of it and then put it down and never picked it up. It’s a hint to me that I am not gonna pick it up anytime soon. And if I am not gonna read it definitively then it’s time to let go. That’s not to say that I won’t ever read anything by this author. I just don’t see myself reading anything sad and contemporary right now.
Book #4
Release by Patrick Ness
It’s Saturday, it’s summer and, although he doesn’t know it yet, everything in Adam Thorn’s life is going to fall apart. Relationships will change, he’ll change, but maybe, just maybe, he’ll find freedom in the release.
Time is running out though, because way across town a ghost as risen from the lake. Searching, yearning, she leaves a trail of destruction in her wake…
Verdict: Keep!
Ok, so one of my friends swears that I will love this book even though she does not tell me anything about it other than the synopsis. I have to have faith in her so this one remains.
Book #5
Cloaked in Shadow by Ben Alderson
Zacriah Trovirn is concerned with two things in life: hunting and dodging Petrer, the boy who broke his heart.
Heartbreak becomes a distant concern when Zacriah is taken to the Elven capital of Thessolina, where he is forced into King Dalior’s new legion of shapeshifters. But Zacriah isn’t a shapeshifter. In truth, he doesn’t know what he is.
Zacriah joins forces with new friends and they soon find themselves embroiled in a clash between the three Elven continents. With war looming on the horizon, Zacriah must learn to use his latent power to fight and protect those he loves before they are destroyed.
Verdict: Keep!
From the synopsis, this seems like my kind of book. I have seen mixed reviews from one star to five star ones and I decided to see if I like it or not by actually reading it. So, it stays.
Books Removed in this Post: 2/ 5
Total Books Removed: 28/ 394