To Read, or Not To Read

The Dashner Dash continues with The Death Cure ! The first two books in this series are amazing! And now to read the final book and see how it all ends, I'm on pins and needles.  In case you're not familiar with the #DASHNERDASH Binge Read,  c lick here to read all about it.  But here's the short of it. Counting down to September 27 for the release of  The Fever Code , we'll be reading  The Maze Runner  series on the 27th of each month. Follow me on Twitter  @2readornot2read  and/or  Facebook  as I live tweet my reading progress. Reading will begin at 8:00 a.m. cst on July 27. I do have to work today, so my reading will be sporadic, but I hope you can join me. And if you're reading along with the #DASHNERDASH, leave me a comment below or tweet/facebook me because I'd love to know your thoughts on  The Death Cure. Tonight,  July 27 th,   there's a Google Hangout with James Dashner, to discuss THE SCORCH TRIALS, at 8pm EDT. Here's the link to joi

Title: What This Story Needs is a Munch and a Crunch Author: Emma J. Virjan Publisher: Harper Published: May 10, 2016 Hardcover, 40 pages ISBN: 9780062415295 Genre: Children's Fiction Source: Publisher About the book:  Join Pig and her friends in another fun read-aloud adventure as they figure out a way to keep the picnic fun and games going, even with a little rain. What this story needs is a pig in a wig baking bread, pouring punch, and meeting a friend for a picnic lunch. But just as the outdoor fun and games get started, a thunderstorm rolls in and it turns out what this story really needs is . . . another place to eat! My Thoughts: From the author of What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig and What This Story Needs Is a Hush and a Shush , comes the latest adventure of Pig in What This Story Needs Is a Munch and a Crunch . In this adventure Pig is gearing up for a picnic, but when her picnic gets rained out, Pig must come up with an alternate plan to keep the

What I'm Currently Reading What I Finished Review to come What I'm Watching It's so hot outside we decided to stay in and binge watch Veronica Mars over the weekend. And I watched a few more episodes of Lost Girl . Kenzie left! She was my favorite character. Reading Challenge Update Still reading This book will qualify for my nonfiction reading challenge I posted my thoughts on Letters to a Young Poet. You can read it here:  http://www.toreadornottoread.net/2016/07/2016-nonfiction-reading-challenge.html New Books

Title: Letters to a Young Poet Author: Rainer Maria Rilke Publisher: Start Publishing LLC Published: March 13, 2013 9781625587640 ebook, 66 pages Nonfiction Source: Bought Summary: In 1903, Rilke replied in a series of 10 letters to a student who had submitted some verses to the well-known Austrian poet for an assessment. Written during an important stage in Rilke's artistic development, these letters contain many of the themes that later appeared in his best works. Essential reading for scholars, poetry lovers. My Thoughts: I've always been rather skittish about poetry. I blame my English-lit teacher for that. I have had many good teachers, but I've also had many not-so-great teachers as well. The reason for the blame game is that this particular teacher made me feel as though poetry were out of my reach, as if somehow only the cleverest of human beings could understand it. And there was only one way you could interpret a poem. Only one r

A conversation with Anna Solomon , author of LEAVING LUCY PEAR How did you come to this story? I grew up in Gloucester, where Leaving Lucy Pear is set. Our house was in the woods at the end of a long dirt driveway, and below our house was a big field with a few pear trees in it, and for a number of years during my childhood it seemed that as soon as the pears were near ripe, they would disappear—we would just wake up one morning and they’d be gone. My dad liked to joke about giraffes coming in the night, but then he also had an idea about another family, one who really needed those pears, for food, or to sell, or for some other purpose. The mystery of that stayed with me. It was ripe, you could say, for a writer’s picking. Then a few years ago my step-father handed me a copy of an old history book called The Saga of Cape Ann , and in it was an anecdote, reported in a funny, stiff style, about a Boston woman who was summering in Gloucester while suffering from a “nerv

JILO A Witching Savannah Novel By J.D. Horn 1950s Georgia: King Cotton has fallen. Savannah is known as the “beautiful woman with a dirty face,” its stately elegance faded by neglect, its soul withering from racial injustice and political corruption. The dark secrets of Savannah are intertwined with the story of the young Jilo Wills who rises to become a legendary part of the most powerful family of witches in the South. The origins of the famed Taylor witch family finds its roots with Jilo’s great-grandmother, Tuesday Jackson, and her grandmother, May Wills, both who used their sorcery to influence the city’s powerbrokers.  The two matriarchs, however, die before they can provide Jilo with a solid education in the magical arts. In desperation to make a quick buck, Jilo takes advantage of the family’s reputation and her scant magical knowledge to create a “Mother Jilo” persona. But soon, Jilo is forced to accept

What I'm Currently Reading Still listening to Britt-Marie Was Here and I'm determined to finish it this week! I'm reading this for many reasons, but it helps that it also fits into one or two of my challenges. What I Finished Reading I finished Roald Dahl and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. He was a complicated man. What I'm Watching I'm watching or should I say binge watching Veronica Mars. I just finished season 2. One more season and one movie left to go. I started watching the fifth season on Netflix. I don't know if it's because so much time has passed since I watched season four, but for some reason, I'm just not as into it as I have been in the past. I'll give it a few more episodes before I decide to continue.  New Books Reading Challenge Update Currently Reading for 2016 Classics RC Roald Dahl qualifies for the 2016 Nonfiction RC I'm still beh

This novel from bestselling author Conn Iggulden is the third book in the critically acclaimed Wars of the Roses series. Following Stormbird and Trinity this novel will continue through the brutal Civil War that we now know as the Wars of the Roses. Bloodline sees the Lancastrian and Yorkist factions clash at the battle of Towton - the single most bloody conflict every fought on British soil. The victorious Edward of York seals his claim to the English throne. It’s been said that  Game of Thrones  is the Wars of the Roses written as fantasy: this is the real thing, more glorious, more passionate, far, far more gritty.” — Manda Scott, author and Chair of the Historical Writers’ Association Quick Take:   In Winter 1461, Richard, Duke of York, is dead – his ambitions in ruins, his head spiked on the walls of the city. King Henry VI is still held prisoner. His Lancastrian queen, Margaret of Anjou, rides south with an army of victorious northerners, accompanied by pa

Title: Dead Man’s Curve Author: Alex Van Tol Release Date: October 2016 Publisher: Leap Books Shine Genre: Young Adult Horror Length: Novella The road to Hell passes through Dead Man’s Curve. It’s been two years since Booker broke up with Rachel, and he wants to get her back. Only problem is, he doesn’t realize it until he and his four friends are hip-deep in a deadly nightmare. They've run over a wispy figure on the highway on Halloween night and now something is preying on them, one by one, going after their deepest fears. Lost and scared in the New England wilderness, the group realizes they’re trapped in their own twisted version of The Blair Witch Project. They're powerless against dark forces. When Rachel's life is threatened, Booker realizes it’s up to him to figure out a way to stop the unholy madness. If he’s man enough to face it head on. Add to your  Goodreads  tbr pile. About Alex Van Tol: A born writer, Alex Van Tol cut he

Quick Take:  Led by the intrepid Grace MacBride, Monkeewrench is a gifted group of computer geniuses whose firm is brought in to help the cops solve their unsolvable cases.  Brilliant and way ahead of the curve in the world of technology, the eccentric team offers a glimpse of the future as it teams up with incisive Minneapolis homicide detectives Leo Magozzi and Gino Rolseth. Magozzi and Gino have turned to Monkeewrench when a barrage of seemingly random crimes shatters their serene Christmas holiday.  First, two friends are found murdered two hours and several miles apart.  Then, an elderly, terminally ill man is kidnapped from his home, while an Alzheimer’s patient goes missing from his care facility.  Initially the events appear unrelated, but when a young woman with casual links to both murder victims arrives home to find two dead men in her basement, a startling connection emerges—a connection that will make a target of anyone linked to the victims. Sixty years earl

The Irish Inheritance: A Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mystery by M.J. Lee Publication Date: June 15, 2016 eBook; 285 Pages ASIN: B01FR5PP9S Series: The Jayne Sinclair Series, Book One Genre: Historical/Mystery June 8, 1921. Ireland. A British Officer is shot dead on a remote hillside south of Dublin. November 22, 2015. United Kingdom. Former police detective, Jayne Sinclair, now working as a genealogical investigator, receives a phone call from an adopted American billionaire asking her to discover the identity of his real father. How are the two events linked? Jayne Sinclair has only three clues to help her: a photocopied birth certificate, a stolen book and an old photograph. And it soon becomes apparent somebody else is on the trail of the mystery. A killer who will stop at nothing to prevent Jayne discovering the secret hidden in the past. The Irish Inheritance takes us through the Easter Rising of 1916 and the Irish War of Independence, com

Welcome to Last Week In Review--midweek edition. I hope you all are having a fabulous week so far. If you're not, I hope your week gets better. What book are you currently reading? What I'm Reading I know what you're thinking: I should have finished listening to this book already. I still have a few hours left of listening to do. Maybe this will be the week I finish.  This cover did not want to enlarge. This is a biography of Roald Dahl by Jeremy Treglown. It's super interesting and it's also already available in stores. What I Finished I love her books. You can read my review of A Gentleman Never Tells here. Great mini biography on Dickens. Look for my review in the upcoming weeks. What I'm Watching I finished re-watching Gilmore Girls and now I'm ready for the revival which will hopefully be airing on Netflix soon. And since I'm in the re-watching mood, I've started re-watching Veronica Mars on Am