Weekly Wrap Up + What We’re Reading 1/10/16

Hey all! In accordance with our bookish resolutions, Michaela and I will be doing weekly wrap up videos where we talk about what’s gone on in all our bookish spheres. As you know, Betwixt the Books contains my blog, Micheala’s blog, Betwixt the Books videos and our Bibliomancy for Beginners Book Club. That’s a lot! So here’s a quick and easy way to keep track of it all!

Monday: Michaela’s Pop Sugar Reading Challenge TBR Post

Tuesday: Betwixt the Books 2016 Bookish Resolutions

Wednesday: Michaela’s Review of Rat Queens Vol 2; Gretchen’s Worth It Wednesday on The Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce

Thursday: Gretchen’s Thesis Thursday Review of Seeker by Arwen Elys Dayton

Friday: Michaela’s Book and Movie Review of The Martian

 

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Worth It Wednesdays: The Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce

Worth It Wednesdays is a weekly post where I feature my favorite YA titles. Find out more about it here!

Titles: First Test, Page, Squire, Lady Knight

Author: Tamora Pierce

Goodreads Description of First Test: In the medieval and fantastic realm of Tortall, Keladry of Mindelan is the first girl to take advantage of the decree that permits females to train for knighthood. Up against the traditional hazing of pages and a grueling schedule, Kel faces only one real roadblock: Lord Wyldon, the training master of pages and squires. He is absolutely against girls becoming knights. So while he is forced to train her, Wyldon puts her on probation for one year. It is a trial period that no male page has ever had to endure and one that separates the good natured Kel even more from her fellow trainees during the tough first year. But Kel Is not a girl to underestimate, as everyone is about to find out…

Why it’s worth it: Listen. You could pick up any Tamora Pierce series you wanted and have something worth it. You’ll probably see me talk about all of them over the course of this feature. However, out of all the series, I think that Protector of the Small is my favorite.

I. Love. Kel. Kel is the quintessential female warrior who stands up for what’s right. The first books, especially, deal with Kel struggling to be accepted as a girl in a room full of men, but the books never lose sight of that struggle. However, the books are hardly just about that. Kel also battles her way through tough situations, fights, battles, wars–not to mention constantly having to push herself through her own fears and terrors.

This is also Kel’s story. Sometimes YA today feels like the story of two people, usually the romantic duo. Romance happens in this series, but it happens on a minuscule scale around everything else. Above anything else, Kel is on a mission to get her shield and prove herself. She certainly enjoys acting like a traditional female sometimes, but she refuses to sacrifices every talent and skill she fights so hard for.

Out of all the books, I think that Squire is my favorite, followed quickly by Lady Knight. While I was home from break, I abandoned any new book purchases because I was filled with a need to read them again. They are classic, quintessential, and pretty damn perfect. They influenced my childhood and they fill me with joy to this day. If you haven’t read these yet, and this sounds like something up your alley, then GET THEM NOW.

Read it if you’re looking for: Lady knights, strong female characters, books without romance, humor, classic fantasy, books about friendship, action, adventure, magic, feminism.

Top Ten Books About Friendship

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish!

So something I just discovered is that there are a lot of books that just have generic friendships that I was meh about. However, there were also some books that had a bunch of GREAT friendships that made me swoon over their beautiful friendship-ness. Here the top ten of those are!

Books are the Best Medicine – Here’s My Preferred Prescription!

Today’s post is going to be a little bit of a shorter one, because as you may have guessed I’m so ill as to be seeing stars and hanging out all day in bed. Of course, hanging out in bed all day DOES come with the awesome upside of having a lot of quality time to spend with one’s bookshelf. Therefore, I decided today’s post would be all about those books of mine that I just read over and over and over again when I’m feeling down. After all, who needs meds when you’ve got books? (Let it be noted that the following are just a sample. My books number in the thousands. :P) If you have a book that helps YOU feel better, let me know in the comments! My cough tells me I’m going to have a loooot more time to kill before I get much better. ^.^

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

This is probably the newest book I’ve added to this list, but I just can’t get enough of it. You can check out my initial review of the book here–it still shows how I feel about this book quite well. I just CANNOT get enough of these characters or the story or … anything. I actually reread it just the other day and discovered that–despite how many times I’ve read this–I still have to be careful while I’m reading, because I STILL laugh hysterically at the jokes that always happen to show up every time I want a drink.

Demon Glass by Rachel Hawkins

Yes, Hex Hall too, but at the moment I’ve been reading Demon Glass a bit more with the reason that the third book IS coming out March 13. These books are action packed AND include cute guys and awesome one liners. I’m not one who easily laughs out loud at books, but when I’m STILL doing that on my one gajillionth reread, I know I’ve got something special that I just refuse to let go.

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

I COULD have titled this entry “anything by Cassandra Clare” and still be telling you the truth, but I really have a thing for City of Glass. Probably because of all the Jace/Clary-ness but whatever. I just had a new urge to reread the entire Mortal Instruments series (if you want to know just what these are, check out my article here) again after going through Clare’s section of Goodreads quotes and laughing so hard I tipped over my chair. All that goodness undiluted can kill, I swear. These books are also so awesome and widely appealing that my brother read them, so we have quote wars. It’s amazing, let me tell you.

Squire by Tamora Pierce

Now, throughout this post you’re going to notice I have a thing with rereading the final books in series. If you know anything about Pierce’s Protector of the Small series, however, then you’ll know Squire is actually the 3rd of 4 books. Don’t ask me why, but I just adore this book like nobody’s business. I actually broke the spine of the library’s copy before I realized I should prooobably get my own. But hey, how can you go wrong with Kel, Raoul and a baby griffin? (The answer is, you can’t.)

Lioness Rampant by Tamora Pierce

Alright, here we go, back to the “last book in the series” trend. Well, I’ll be honest, any time I name one book in a series it’s a good bet I just spend all day rereading the ENTIRE series, but this is just my favorite. You’ve got the Shang Dragon AND George AND Thom AND Jon AND her friends AND–erm. Everything. This book has everything. I better just leave it at that…

The Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

Full disclaimer: I usually don’t reread the entirety of this book. In fact I usually don’t read the entirety of this series. I reread all Rose and Dimitri sections and flip through the rest. Don’t get me wrong, I adore the other characters–Adrian especially after Bloodlines–but…AAGH. Rose and Dimitri. Never have I shipped a couple so hard. Seriously. (Although Sydney and Adrian are coming up close second.) I have reread this book quite a few times, but I have mauled the end pages that include Rose and Dimitri’s “happily ever after.” I may be a sucker, but you can’t tell me it isn’t reasonable with this two.