Welcome to Litsy!

The Broken Binding special edition of The Dandelion Dynasty came the first week of September! It‘s very pretty! 🖤

Categorized as Silk Road Fantasy, Liu‘s debut novel takes a while to get going—a lot of set up & pieces to move around ahead of the remaining 3 books in the series which all come in around 1000+ pages—but once it does, readers are rewarded with a complex, interesting story populated with flawed characters—& the gods manipulating/aiding/undermining them—that keep things interesting. A good start to the series, one I will likely continue reading.

Epic fantasy this weekend…

Book mail 📚📚😊

I wanted to like this, and it started well, but it‘s just a bit over my head and I‘m not sure I like the portrayal of the women characters. So bailing!
#roll100 done-I have not had good luck with these lately!

I really enjoyed this fantasy novel. It felt fresh and different, which is good, right?

#fantasy #epicfantasy #fiction

Really excited about these two new beauties 🥰

I really enjoyed this one! The first half of the book was hit and miss on the pacing but had some good pieces that kept urging me forward. But I really enjoyed the last half of the book. There were so many interesting pieces. And I loved how the gods were involved and I loved their commentary. I‘ll definitely continue the series.

Thank you @sprainedbrain I love everything in my #Fallingforfallswap package. The owl is adorable and I can't wait to read the books and the stickers are cool and the tea smells so good lol. And the bookmarks are beautiful. @Avanders

Happy New Year, Litsy!! 🥳🎇📚⭐

I've got a few things to catch up on, but after that I'm hoping to get to Grace of Kings.

The dandelion dynasty is my choice for day 18 #20series20days @Andrew65

I have been super burnt out and not reading, not chatting, just sort of hermitting. Not sure if I am back, but I am reading again! I was warned this book was hard going, but I'm really not finding it to be so? I am a little frustrated by all the different characters, but it's starting to become clear who I should pay attention to, and the actual reading is a breeze.

#MagnificentMarch #flowersOnTheCover

How about just one flower. A weed even. I'll tell ya what, though, The Dandelion Dynasty books are epic AF and a great alt-history fantasy read.

I need book 3 stat!

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
@OriginalCyn620

I so wanted to love this book. I‘m a big fan of epic fantasy, and Liu has been recommended as a master. I enjoyed the historical nature of the writing, but the intense focus on warfare was jarring, and not where I wanted to be right now. I had planned to move on to the sequel, Wall of Storms, but have chosen to set it aside, maybe for another time.

240 pages left and I want to finish it before going out of town Tues. I believe my mug is right! (even though today is mostly busy with housework and I still have to pack 😅)

Took a long break from this book just shy of the halfway point. Not cause I wasn't enjoying it, just cause it's long. I'm still really enjoying it now that I've picked it back up.

I'm not loving the tiny font though. Very hard on my eyes just before bed, which is when I want to read it. I give this book an A for overall look of the design but a C- for readability. If the sequels are like this too, I'll prob switch to ebook or audio.

Didn't quite finish my #14books14weeks stack (mostly cause I got distracted with other books) but made good progress! 9 finished, 2 half done, and 3 not started.

Thanks for another fun challenge @TheHeartlandBookFairy 🙂

Logged 16h22m reading and writing this weekend. Only got a bit over 500 words of writing but it was good progress so I'll take it. Finished 1 short audio and 2 GNs, and read parts of 4 other books.

It was a good weekend! #24in48

It's 28 feels like 38 but I can't resist some outdoor reading (in the shade with plenty of water). Gonna hang out here til lunch or thunderstorms hit, whichever comes first. #24in48 almost at 2h

I've decided to do #24in48 unofficially this time. I'm really behind in #CampNaNo and want to write a lot this weekend, but also want to read... so I figure why not adapt this to my goals and count writing time and reading time! Feeling good about my stack - got some fic, non fic, short, long, print, audio, GN - and hoping for 2k+ in writing.

#seriesread @TheSpineView

#readinggifts2019 @Velvetfur

Book from @Itchyfeetreader from the #feedareader swap!

Jizu's father helped create a #legend in Rima. #literaryluck @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88

(Tbh, there's a lot of #legends in this book)

1. Done
2. No
3. No
4. Have visited Dublin
5. @elvinareads

@wanderinglynn #hellothursday

All the characters in my #currentread have #uniquecharacternames, these are a selection & refer to the Gods of Dara. #literaryluck @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @vkois88

I finished the #24B4Monday readathon with a total of 13 hours, 10 minutes.

I finished one book that fit the Black History Month theme, Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala, which I liked very much.

I also finally got through Ken Liu‘s epic-fantasy novel set in an alternate Ancient China. It was OK but I much prefer Guy Gavriel Kay‘s River of Stars, which has a similar setting.

Thanks to @Andrew65 and @TheReadingMermaid for hosting the readathon!

I liked the book, even if it read a bit like a military report or history book at times. I have serious trouble rating this, but in the end, I enjoyed reading it. Let's see if the next book builds a less back-and-forth story.
This is definitely not for everybody, fantasy with very little magic but with a focus on politics and military

I've had this on my shelf for the longest time and I often question myself why. It has been ages since I've read and loved a fantasy series and this book is one of those that I love! This book has all the potential in the world to be a fantastic series. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series. #fantasy #thegraceofkings #kenliu

Epic and sweeping tale. I loved the world and the two opposing heroes - one the ne'er do well commoner and the other the classical unyielding warrior hero. The premise seems to be loosely based on the unification of China but the world is very much it's own unique fantasy world.

I've seen mixed reviews but I'm looking forward to high fantasy based on Chinese history and culture. I love big fat fantasy novels and the style of this one is pretty quick and readable although there is a large cast. Hopefully I'll be able to keep everyone straight.

Off to DC and the VA Beach with my last group of 8th graders. I don‘t #%^* around with snacks on these trips! Reading the tagged book and getting ready for the first (and my fave) stop - the African American History Museum!

Unfortunately, I wasn‘t overly impressed by this massive tome. I think for me, it mainly suffered from the shallow pond effect: a wide but shallow scope. It spans years and has a large cast of characters but I never felt like I got to know any of them very well, many secondary ones I confused for others, and the events weren‘t often focused on with any detail. This will be another book to add to the garage sale pile.

So originally, I was going to read The Martian. I got a few chapters in and wasn‘t really feeling it though so I switched to this. I‘m about 50 pages in and sensing some impending political machinations or something. I went into this totally blind so I don‘t know what to expect.

All I can really say is Wow! & thanks so much to @Itchyfeetreader for this amazing #feedareader package! The treats look amazing, the egg separator will be incredibly handy, and there looks like there's a lot of new recipes for me to try! I'll post my comments about the books in comments! Thank you so, so much Jo & @TricksyTails & @MinDea for organising.
It also came a day before my bday so have allowed myself an early present!

Saturday‘s do not get much better than this

Comfy sweats and new book

We had the opportunity to interview the brilliant Ken Liu back in 2016 about his novel The Grace of Kings, (spoiler-free episode here: eclecticreaders.fireside.fm/28 if you‘re interested) and now one of his short stories is being adapted for the screen! Full article: http://deadline.com/2018/04/ellen-shanman-adapt-ken-liu-sci-fi-short-story-the-h...

Making progress on my 2018 TBR #bulletjournal

This month‘s wrap-up. I may or may not have spilled 😞 I loved all the books I read this month, so it‘s impossible to pick a favorite.

#bulletjournal

Finished this just before bed. It was so good 😭

#FriyayIntro
1. I‘m rewatching the Netflix Marvel shows, so: Charlie Cox.
2. Grey.
3. Tagged book - I‘m trying to read more non-Western fantasy. Highly recommended!
4. Imma stop you right there because there is literally no way I would go to Mars. Ever. I have spacephobia. It‘s one of the great ironies of my life - I‘m a SFF reader who is terrified of space.
5. If you are reading this, watch Stardust, and then my crush will also be yours!

This month‘s TBR is pretty small because one of the books is such a behemoth. I‘m trying to be at least a little realistic #bulletjournal

February in books #februaryreads It‘s been a great reading month. Continuing the theme of reading more diversely, I‘ve tackled an epic fantasy (loved it & the genre!), historical (loved it too!) a thriller (well written and a good read, but not sure I‘m in love with the genre!). Also got in my #onenonfictionamonth and two Bookclub reads! #happyreader

Finished this off between shifts today! I had a real good time with it! Excited to see where book two takes us! 🙃

4 out of 5 ⭐'s.

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1508981993

The first half was dense, lots of characters jostling for power, across many lands. Every chapter characters were killed, disposed of & forgotten. As the landscape clears & 100's of lords and potential dominant rulers goes to two - it got better. I liked the strategy, the meditations on power, leadership, honour and trust. The role of the waring Gods, directing & influencing the wars and battles on earth lead to an interesting conclusion.

Kids are great and all and I respect all the effort that goes into raising them...but this has pretty much always been the way I've looked at it. 😂🚫😷☢️💲💸💲😭

Reading in bed - desperate to keep going, but my eyes are say no! #goodnightlittenseverywhere.

Split shifts aren't so bad when you have fancy coffees a book and a cinnamon bun to break them up with. ❤️

Husband‘s away for the night - #bookmail unwrapped, snacks in, wood piled high for the stove and novel awaits. It‘s going to be a good night! #goingoutisso2017 #booknerdTshirton !