Articles, Reading and Literature, Top 10 Lists4 Comments

Top 10 Longest Books I’ve Ever Read

The Perspicacious Bookworm

I feel like long books get a lot of slack these days – they tend to be set aside in favor of quicker reads that you can cross off your TBR – and people that read long books are often seen as self-flagellating or braggarts or both. But I have read some wonderful long books over the years, and I love being immersed in rich worlds that offer me a long journey, rather than a quick resolution. Per That Artsy Reader Girl’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt, here are 10 of the best long books I have read. 1. Don Quixote … Continue reading Top 10 Longest Books I’ve Ever Read

Book Reviews, Horror1 Comment

Classic Monsters: Witches in Passarella’s Wither

The Perspicacious Bookworm

But Abby still wasn’t afraid, she was curious. And when she found the gravestones, she ceased to be simply a visitor to this place – she knew she’d found a home. They lay in a tumbled heap, three stones so old they almost seemed natural rock. Abby kneeled down to peer at the first name carved into the green face of the first stone. She read the letters eroded by three hundred seasons of wind, rain, and snow. SARAH HUTCHINS CONDEMNED WITCH HANGED THIS DAY 1699 –Wither by J.G. Passarella Wither by J.G. Passarella Wither is a horror novel about the … Continue reading Classic Monsters: Witches in Passarella’s Wither

Articles, Reading and Literature, Top 10 Lists6 Comments

Top 10 Authors I’d Love to Meet

The Perspicacious Bookworm

One of the best things about reading is the way that a reader can get inside the author’s mind and live in the world he or she created. It always makes me feel like I have a direct line to the author – even though I have never met them! Thanks to That Artsy Reader Girl‘s prompt, here is a list of ten authors that I would love to meet, to know more about how they created their books. 1. Tamora Pierce Tamora Pierce was the first author that I really came to love. I loved the Lioness series, but … Continue reading Top 10 Authors I’d Love to Meet

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What’s Coming in October: Classic Monsters

The Perspicacious Bookworm

Happy October, everyone!I am so excited to dive into some fantastic horror books this season. This year, I’m doing a new theme: classic monsters. Each one of these books features a classic monster from Western mythology, so I will be posting reviews through the month, so even if you aren’t a big fan of horror, hopefully you will still find something that piques your interest. Happy reading! 10/4: Wither by J.G. Passarella 10/11: Feed by Mira Grant 10/18: The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski 10/25: A God in the Shed by J-F Dubeau 10/31: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova Continue reading What’s Coming in October: Classic Monsters

Book Reviews, Horror1 Comment

The Outsider

The Perspicacious Bookworm

She crossed the entryway to the fissure in the rock. “Can you smell that?” Ralph could, and knew that they were standing at the entrance to a different world. He could smell stale dampness, and something else – the high, sweet aroma of rotting flesh. It was faint, but it was there. He thought of that long ago cantelope, and the insects that had been squirming around inside it. –The Outsider by Stephen King The Outsider by Stephen King In The Outsider, an eleven-year-old boy is found brutally abused and murdered at a park in a Flint City, Oklahoma. Multiple eye-witnesses and … Continue reading The Outsider

10/10 Reviews, Book Reviews, Family Life, MemoirLeave a comment

And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready

The Perspicacious Bookworm

The macabre was everywhere, once I started looking. Breathability was advertised on all the baby products we bought, a word that used to mean fabric that didn’t cause a yeast infection but now referred to the lifesaving mesh in the sides of the bassinet or playpen. The baby’s crib came with a big warning about keeping it away from window blinds to avoid strangulation. I read it and froze where I was standing, visions of my baby, stiff and blue, flashing through my mind. Which I guess was the point. Thank God it was summer, so the omnipresent receiving blankets … Continue reading And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready

Articles, Top 10 Lists12 Comments

Top 10 Books on my Fall TBR

The Perspicacious Bookworm

We have finally made it to autumn! The weather is still pretty warm here in Kansas, but I have seen a few trees with their leaves turning already, so I am ready – and am already filling our October weekends with Halloween-themed plans. This Top 10 (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) is timed perfectly because I have finally gotten through my most recent reading slump and am ready for some great horror and thriller books. There are some great books coming out in October, too, so here are my top 10 books on my Fall TBR. 1. The Outsider by Stephen … Continue reading Top 10 Books on my Fall TBR

Reading and Literature, Top 10 Lists7 Comments

Top 10 Popular Books that Lived Up to the Hype

The Perspicacious Bookworm

I have been burned by the popular vote just enough times that when I hear that a book is really popular, I usually decide that it isn’t for me. However, on occasion I do cautiously decide to read a book that has done really well. Here is a list of books that have really worked for me. Top 10 Tuesdays are hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. 1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling Harry Potter was, to my recollection, the first book I ever refused to read because it was so popular. My mom actually talked … Continue reading Top 10 Popular Books that Lived Up to the Hype

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Raising the Next Generation of SFF Readers

The Perspicacious Bookworm

Somehow in the last six years, I have ended up with a six-year old daughter (What?? How does that happen??). When Annabel was born, I remember thinking about all the books I could read to her when she got to this age. When she was six months old, I read Shakespeare sonnets to her, and imagined that she “liked them” (it’s amazing how delusional parents can be sometimes). When she was three, I tried The Light Princess and we got about two chapters in before she declared “I just don’t think this is a book that I like.” These days, though, we … Continue reading Raising the Next Generation of SFF Readers

Book Reviews, Science Fiction2 Comments

Station Eleven

The Perspicacious Bookworm

“So there’s this initial group of patients – the Moscow passengers. Then, this afternoon, a new patient comes in. Same symptoms, but this one wasn’t on the flight. This one’s just an employee at the airport.” “I’m not sure what you’re – “ “A gate agent,” Wa said. “I’m saying his only contact with the other patients was speaking with one of them about where to board the hotel shuttle.” “Oh,” Gevan said. “That sounds bad.” The streetcar was still trapped behind the stopped car. “So I guess you’re working late tonight.” “You remember the SARS epidemic?” Wa asked. “That … Continue reading Station Eleven