End of Year Book Party!

[Kathleen]

Oof, it’s taken me forever to reply to all you guys, but here I am!

@trahia-the-minstrel

Woah, that’s like a consistent book week right? As a notoriously slow reader, I am in awe.

I’m going to have to check out Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers then! I usually don’t read romance because I find them a bit dull and predictable, but from what you described it doesn’t seem like the series was like that at all! Also, yes. Satisfying endings are massively underrated as qualities of a great book.

One more thing, what are your thoughts on the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson? I plan on reading the first book soon, So I’m curious if to know if you liked the series or not and your thoughts on them!

@elishavet-pidyon

Yeah, some of my favorite books are middle-grade books! However, they are not my “go-to” books which is why I thought it was strange that all the books I read this year (the entire four lol) were middle grade.

I totally get what you said about The God of Two Testaments and how eye-opening it is to read books including the Bible in their original language. So many things in language are simply untranslatable. I learned this when I started learning languages, and although I don’t know Hebrew or Greek, I can only imagine how insightful it would be to read the Bible in its original language, or this case, hear an analysis from someone who has.

@koshka

Yeah, after only reading 4 books this year it made me realize how much I like reading and how I miss it. It feels nice to get back into reading.

What made The Warden and the Wolf King your favorite?

[Kathleen]

@daisy-torres

I’ve never heard of The Lost Island of Tamarind, but now I’ll have to check it out after hearing what you said about it! I love stories with good characters and relationships.

@devastate-lasting

220? Manga or not that’s still a lot of reading.

Do you have any favorite Manga you read this year?

Most of the books you mention are on my “to read” list!

I really look forward to reading The Brothers Karamazov and East of Eden. I’ve heard a lot of good things about both of them.

@annabelle

I’m definitely going to have to check out Viking Quest! I haven’t read many books about Vikings so I’m intrigued.

The Hiding Place is great. It’s been a long time since I read it, but yeah, it’s probably the best autobiography I’ve ever read.

Also, I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews about The Left Behind Series, since you read all 13 books, what are your thoughts on the series?

[Koshka]

@kathleenramm

Oh yes!

*Sigh* I’m not entirely sure. By the time I reached The Warden and the Wolf King, I already loved the characters, especially Janner and Kalmar. Their development throughout the series climaxes at points in the last book, and sometimes you really question if certain charries are going to make it or find ‘healing’. And then there’s the deeper meanings which infuse the books in such a CSLewian way. Oh, and the end. It was so… Beautiful and horrible, so full of love and- I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, but I wouldn’t call it satisfying exactly. No, it’s something else; thoughtful, lovely (*smirk*), deep. It satisfies even though the reader desperately wants more. This book was intended to make you think. I wouldn’t want it another way, not after having reread a dozen times. Maybe I just enjoy poetry too much. XD

To be honest though, there were some other books that although they were good, I had read better of that Author so they didn’t rank as high as they probably should.

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Annabelle]

@kathleenramm

I enjoyed the Left Behind series, and I would definitely recommend it. It was very adult in content, but it was still good. The last three or four books in the series, especially Armeggedon, were very violent, and there was a lot of torture and gory things. There are no illustrations in the book, thankfully, but you can still picture those things in your mind when you’re reading them. So other than the gruesome deaths and violence, it was pretty good.

I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone under twelve years old, but of course, that depends on the person. It was also good that the books were Christian, and they were based on Biblical prophecies.

Also, I felt like in the last four or five books, there got to be too many “main” characters, and the author was splitting the book in too many different directions. There would be a few paragraphs from one person’s perspective, and then a few more from another person, and basically it would just go round taking turns with different characters’ perspectives. I would have probably liked the books better if there were only one or two main characters, not a whole bunch. I didn’t really get to know the personalities of all of the characters because the books were spread out too much.

Anyway, that’s about all I have to say about it. The books were good, and as long as you’re okay with reading some pretty scary prophetic events, then I think you would like them.

@koshka
Yassss, I totally agree about Warden and the Wolf King! So good, so deep… and yes, I enjoyed the ending, but at the same time I hated it. I have a lot of mixed feelings about it. And Andrew Peterson said he wasn’t going to write any more Wingfeather books either… so that was a real bummer. 🙁

In the words of Jinto Queb, "Hurry, reading is fun!"

[Linyang Zhang]

@kathleenramm

• Silver Spoon – A funny yet deep series about farm school; really hit hard with graduating high school and all, by the author of Fullmetal Alchemist so I highly recommend it
• 20th Century Boys – A classic story of good versus evil, one of the most emotional pieces I have ever read, another one of Naoki Urasawa’s best works
• Barakamon! – a comedy/slice-of-life that I sadly have not yet read the last volume to yet. But full of great child antics as well as themes of finding yourself and your purpose
• Spy x Family – Fake family dynamics all around. Enough said.
• Pluto – Another Urasawa work; beautifully done
• Yotsuba&! – Wholesome comedy about a little girl and her every day life. Very relaxing.
• Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun – The only manga, or book, to ever make me screech aloud in a very possessed manner. Four panel comedy about a manga artist and his classmates.

Yessss The Brothers Karamazov and East of Eden are both definitely at the top of my favorite books list! Probably among the best books out there, actually.

Lately, it's been on my brain
Would you mind letting me know
If hours don't turn into days

[Koshka]

@annabelle

I know! But then, it would be hard to continue any farther without it feeling like it would be; the author trying to write more on an already completed story arc. Hum…

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Annabelle]

@koshka

The writer part of me knows you’re right, but the reader part still is hungry for more Wingfeather. LOL

In the words of Jinto Queb, "Hurry, reading is fun!"

[Koshka]

@annabelle

Haha, I know! But then continuations are fun to write. If you want to read some there are a couple links in the Wingfeather topic under book review stuff. My sister and I wrote one of them.

Have you read Wingfeather Tales?

First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork

[Elishavet Elroi]

@kathleenramm

Yeah, it is wonderful. The whole book is so powerful but easy to read.

Languages are amazing!

You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan

[Annabelle]

@koshka

Yeah, continuations of WFS are so fun! I wrote one a few years ago, but it’s probably lost somewhere on my computer… Anyway, I’ll look in the Wingfeather topic and read your stuff.

I have read Wingfeather Tales! It wasn’t as moving as the main book series, but it was still great.

In the words of Jinto Queb, "Hurry, reading is fun!"

[Author]

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