Chuckles Childhood Book Loves

I'm sticking with the theme of talking about my primary school reads. In my last post I talked about the Ladybird books that I enjoyed so much, featuring classic tales from around the world. Today it is time to talk about my all-time favourite children's book and the only one that I ever kept. 

I loved this book from the first time I saw it. It tells of a group of bear cubs who hear a strange noise outside and go to investigate it. The bears are very cute and I love their expressions as they venture out in the dark! 

I still look at and enjoy this book. I also have a whole pile of books featuring a family of bears by the same author, focusing on Brother and Sister Bear as they learn life lessons. But this one is still my favourite. I do recommend The Berenstain Bears books and these are a few of my favourites.

Stacking the Shelves #152

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! Click on the link under the book to find its page on Goodreads or Smashwords. 

Please note that I always leave a message on your STS/SP if you visit me, but if you use DISQUS or a similar third party I will not be able to leave a comment on your page. I don't allow any company access to my social media accounts and I certainly don't allow them to edit and take over my accounts the way DISQUS does. So if you use DISQUS, I can't leave comments on your page so I can't really follow you back, sorry! I'm noticing that some blogs set with Google Plus are trying to force you to open a Google Plus or Facebook account before you can leave a comment. Well, I have no interest in rejoining Google Plus or joining Facebook so if your blog uses this set up, I won't be following it or commenting! And sometimes, I have problems leaving messages on blogs hosted by Wordpress-they try to block me so there might not be a message from me some weeks or you might get a double message sometimes! Blame them, not me!

I've been getting a nice mixture of reading and TV watching done this week and last weekend I got two films watched that I have still to review, which I'm pleased about. (The Program, The Special Relationship) I hope to get another couple watched on Sunday if things go according to plan. I probably need to start thinking about my plans for November reading and viewing!

On the book buying side of things it was a good week. Digital buys include Jurassic Sea, a follow up to a dinosaur book I enjoyed last week (Jurassic Island), Megatooth by the same author, the latest Bug Out Texas book (book 5), the sequel to the brilliant Claws, which I read a while back, a new dinosaur offering and a short story in a series I've just grabbed. I had the Extinction series in digital format but enjoyed book one so much I bought them all in paperback, along with a couple of sport books, the latest two books in my favourite zombie series and an urban fantasy series. Nice!!!

The week itself has been full of medical appointments-testing my kidney function, getting my asthma review, flu jag etc plus catching up on stuff around the house I got behind on when I was sick-so it has been pretty busy overall. I hope next week is a bit less manic and I get some more time to do my blogging!

DOWNLOADS:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30223573-jurassic-sea 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28096303-megatooth 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13088719-claws-2-after-the-apocalypse 

    

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32496835-bug-out-texas-book-5

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25526371-lost-world-of-patagonia 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30119315-flashback 

PAPERBACKS: 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24156733-extinction-horizon 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24384184-extinction-edge 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25332734-extinction-age 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25957736-extinction-evolution 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26855264-extinction-end 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23944302-strange-magic 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25496308-cold-hearted 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27065362-wendigo-rising 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31949860-savage-prophet 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31453740-deathmatch 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/31806903-carnage 
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17164683-seven-deadly-sins 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21110114-cycle-of-lies 

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Book Review: Magic of the Gargoyles by Rebecca Chastain

Mika Stillwater is a mid-level earth elemental with ambitions of becoming a quartz artisan, and her hard work is starting to get noticed. But when a panicked baby gargoyle bursts into her studio, insisting Mika is the only person she’ll trust with her desperate mission, Mika’s carefully constructed five-year plan is shattered.

Swept into the gritty criminal underworld of Terra Haven, Mika must jeopardize everything she’s worked so hard for to save the baby gargoyle from the machinations of a monster—and to stay alive…

My Review: 

I read another series by the author which I only rated as 1 star but I liked the sound of this series and decided to give it a try anyway. I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed this one.

Mika is in a job she hates with a boss she dislikes, trying to save up enough money to go into business for herself. She has her eye on premises for her new business and to get it she is taking on jobs in her free time to get more money and make a reputation for herself, using her elemental magic and affinity for working with quartz. But everything is put on hold when Anya, a panicked panther gargoyle begs her for help to heal her dying sibling Herbert who was almost drained of magic after being used in a dark magic ritual. After discovering that the other siblings are about to be sold for a similar fate at an auction, Mika and her aspiring reporter friend Kylie decide on a rescue plan.

I instantly liked Mika who is just trying to get ahead in life and get out of a dead end job to be her own boss. When she hears about the plight of the gargoyles she is determined to risk her job and new career, and use all her savings to try to save the gargoyle family. She is the kind of character that you like and have sympathy for, so you care about what happens to her. This is what I want to see in my main character. Her friend Kylie I wasn't as sure of, as she put her desire to sell a story about the gargoyles ahead of Mika's privacy and security, which had bad consequences. I'll have to reserve my opinion of her for now.

I liked the fact that this book provided something a bit different in urban fantasy. Firstly we have the wonderful stone based gargoyles who each have their own animal form including lion, panther, cygnet and dragon. They are full of magic that can be used for healing but are being sought by evil people who want to drain their magic to use for their own purposes. Mika's magic and gift for quartz are similar to the gargoyles which allows her to help heal them which is why Anya sought her help. I liked the way that Mika worked with elemental and gargoyle magic and could manipulate quartz as a defence and a weapon. It was different from anything I had read before and I liked that. I also enjoyed the fact that it was not deemed essential to have some pointless romance in it to detract from the story. This was all about the gargoyle story.

It is a short story but I think it was the perfect length to introduce the characters and of course, the gargoyles. Those guys sound so adorable! It is well written without pointless over description or time being wasted-just straight into the story. It also sets up the plot nicely for future books. I certainly intend to look at the next book to see what happens and would recommend this story to urban fantasy and magic fans. 
Read September 2016.

Book Review: White Out by Eric Dimbleby

An apocalyptic snowstorm sweeps the globe. Experts predict this freak storm will be "The New Ice Age." Electricity is gone, as are all forms of communication and road travel. As each member of a divided family tries to survive in their own way, they must deal with a snow-driven madness that has gripped the underlying evil in the hearts of men. In an epic struggle to get home and reunite, they will find that terror lies around every snow drift... and even in their very own backyard.

My Review: 
I liked the idea of the story, featuring several linked people trapped at home and work in a massive blizzard, trying to survive and escape. However the interesting concept was ruined yet again by a cast of dreadful characters that you couldn't care less about.

First there is the whiny, irritating Annie who got stuck at work when her car broke down. She moans about being stuck there with the guy she hates the most in the world-Tony-who is interested in her and won't back off. Then we discover that Annie has cheated on her husband with Tony so is it any wonder that Tony fancies his chances with her? Stupid cow. Why would you have sex with a guy you hate, a guy your husband hates for making it clear he likes you??? She despises her husband Christian for being suspicious about her and Tony (I wonder why!!!) and moans that he is a saint, a good husband and good provider! I wanted to slap this ungrateful bitch.

Then there is the sleazebag that is Tony. He is what he is and you can hardly blame him for thinking Annie likes him given the circumstances but he is the kind of guy that you would avoid like the plague if you had any common sense! Frankly Annie and Tony deserve each other and I hope they both freeze to death-but I didn't stay with the book long enough to find out.  
Read April 2016

Chuckles Childhood Book Loves

 

Last time I told you about my dad reading me Tolkien bedtime stories but this time I want to talk about my earliest remembered reads! In my first ever year at school in primary one, aged five, while others played in the sandpit or with the water, I liked going into the reading corner and looking at the books. I can well remember sitting on those hard, small red plastic chairs and reading! My parents had taught me reading basics at home before I started school so I was pretty keen to expand on that at every opportunity!

The official books to teach us to read were Kathy and Mark Basic Readers by Mabel O'Donnell. I think the dog in it was called Socks but it's so long ago I can barely remember it but I did enjoy reading them! My parents were read Janet and John books with Spot the dog! 

My favourite book in the school library which I read countless times is still a childrens classic. So who else read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle?

That brings back memories! My parents then bought me some Ladybird Well Loved Tales. I had quite a collection of these and read them over and over! Do you remember any of these titles?

I loved these books! Chicken Licken was my total favourite and I could quote every bit of the book back then! Ducky Lucky was a great character as I just love ducks for some reason. In my copy, the fox ate everyone, so I must have been a bit of a twisted child!