Bookish Board Games Wishlist

In July I made a post with some board games I own that have a bookish theme You can find that post HERE. Recently I’ve discovered few more bookish board games I got my eyes set on! I’ve already put them on the wishlist and have watched many tutorial videos. So far I did not have a chance to see them up close but I’m hoping that will change this October when we travel to Essen Spiel 2017 in Germany. It is the largest board game fair in Europe and I think in the world as well. Here are the two new bookish board games I’ve got my eyes set on!

Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas / Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas: Malleus Maleficarum

In this game there is a hidden library with many forbidden and dangerous books and tomes. Naturally this special library is placed over the bottomless pit. In this game players are acting as library acolytes and each is tasked to keep watch over four damned bookish volumes. Every book in the library must be properly placed to ensure that the chaos and the evil is contained from ever escaping the library. The library is a fiddly place and the corridors and narrow passageways keep spinning and moving.

The original game Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas was published in 2008. and the second edition which includes a whole game plus the expansion for the game Malleus Maleficarum was published 2015. What I love about the game are puzzle abstract type of play and a fact I get to play a librarian on the hunt for books! It has a bit of a dark theme and background for sure but I really like the whole package especially since the box of the game itself is designed to look like an old tome!

There is even an special deluxe edition where the whole game is one leather bound volume and many players take to themselves to paint and decorate the game pieces.

For more info check the Board Game Geek websites HERE and HERE

Ex Libris

In this game each player is a book aficionado living in a small gnomish village. The Mayor has just announced an opening for a position of a Grand Librarian. The winner of this dream job and flattering title is the player who makes the most impressive library. There are plenty of types of players to choose from and each has a special assistant –  from ghosts and cats to gleatinous cubes and other weird creatures.

What I love most about this game is the effort the designers made when they designed book cards. Each is different and holds funny and endearing unique book titles. The alphabetical rules apply and each player has special powers and goals. From what I’ve seen I could just browse through the components and have fun!

This is a fairly new game that came out only recently. I do hope I will get the chance to buy this one at Essen Spiel 2017!

or more info check the Board Game Geek website HERE!

If you find any other bookish board games please let me know!

Many Bloody Returns – Book Review

Finished reading

Many Bloody Returns

edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner

★★★★

Expectation

This is was my TBR Jar Draw for September. I was looking forward to it and reading some good short stories. I like reading short story collections because they introduce me to some new authors and ideas.

Summary

There were all together thirteen stories in this collection and what made me squeal was a dedication before the stories in the book. This gave me some extra enthusiasm for reading the stories. I went and wrote a few thoughts on each story.

1. Dracula Night by Charlaine Harris ****

I very much enjoyed this story. It reminded me how much I loved reading Sookie Stackhouse book series. The funny and quirky dialogue was delightful. And offcourse Eric <3.

2. The Mournful Cry of Owls by Christopher Golden ***

This story had a YA feel to it. The timeline placing, the cultural tidbits and the actual supernatural creature in question were different than expected. It was more baffling than anything else.The mystic and pensive feel to it just did not work for me. And the owls I just cant perceive as anything but cute nocturnal animals.

3. I was a Teenage Vampire by Bill Crider ****

This author was completely unfamiliar to me before. At first this felt like a story for much younger audience and since the true age of the narrator character is somewhere around middle school it kinda fit. I was nicely surprised by the vampire of the story. It was a truly intriguing portrayal and I loved its subtle creepiness.

4. Twilight by Kelley Armstrong ***

This was so far the heaviest story. It was interesting and thought provoking but also kinda depressing for a short story. I expected more from a well renown author.

5. It’s My Birthday, Too by Jim Butcher *****

I never read The Dresden Files and have only watched a few episodes of the TV show that did not last long. I loved this story. It had meat to the plot and characters were quite lovable. Everything about this story made me want to learn more about the characters and had me wondering about them. I had reservations about starting yet another UF book series but this one sure is intriguing.

6. Grave-Robbed by P.N. Elrond ****

I have not read anything from this author before but I have few other books and collections edited by her. This was an unexpected surprise. While the vampire of the story made me wonder quite a bit the setting and the general feel to this story was overwhelmingly positive.

7. The First Day of The Rest of Your Life by Rachel Caine ****

I loved this teasing introduction to Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampires series. I enjoyed the dramatic background and intriguing hints on characters in the story. I will definitely give these a chance when I get some other books series to a close.

8. The Witch and the Wicked by Jeanne C. Stein ***

This story seemed quite silly. The main character is kinda depressing and the plot was kinda far fetched. I did not know should I laugh or pay more attention. The vampires in this story bugged me. It was just not my kind of story it seems. This author was completely new to me and I have no desire to read more from her.

9. Blood Wrapped by Tanya Huff ****

I have not read this author but I am familiar to her characters Henry Fitzroy and Vicki Nellson from the TV adaptation. I kinda like the TV show. This story is very much different from what I remember. This short story was interesting to read but I was annoyed with „What would Vicki think?“ that the characters kept asking themselves. Other than that I really enjoyed the story.

10. The Wish by Carolyn Haines ***

This author was new to me. The story was probably the shortest one in the whole collection. It was kinda morbid and nostalgic. The descriptions were depressing and ominous. I had to start reading it twice and force myself to concentrate since this short story already had a slow start and it took a few pages for anything other than setting descriptions to actually start. I’m still not sure what the author was talking about. The only thing I like in this story except the ever present madness is the actual vampire of the story.

11. Fire and Ice and Linguini for Two by Tate Hallaway ***

This story was rich in interesting new creatures and mythology. Author was new to me and some ideas were intriguing. There was something kinda off with the characters though and it made me not like them all that much. The characters were not compelling enough for me to be believable.

12. Vampire Hours by Elaine Viets ***

A new author and a bit different story. There was something intriguing in the main character. Vampire of the story seemed sappy and kinda off. I’m not sure how I feel about this story though. The vampire bit seemed almost fairytale in quality. There were some interesting points in this story but the vampire part seemed forced.

13. How Stella Got Her Grave Back by Toni L.P. Kelner ****

What I did not like from the start was a title of this story. It made me think it was going to be another „girl power“ story like the one that came before it. I’m so glad I was wrong. The characters were lovable and the story was interesting. Vampires of the story were somewhat different than expected but they fit in nicely with the story. Strangely I did not mind many of the „curtain down“ love scenes that normally annoy me. I enjoyed this story.

Conclusion

I’ve had this short story collection for almost a decade now and I’m glad I’ve finally read it. I am happy with the stories I’ve read. Most of the stories were good and better with only a few that just did not sit well with me. When it comes to vampires I can be quite picky. In the end it was a few little things that made me not love the story. I’m happy with the different vampire types the different stories brought out. I liked the action packed and funny stories more.

Reading in progress – September 2017

This September I’m in the middle of reading more than a few books. I’m trying to motivate myself to read more often. Therefore I picked more books than usual. Here are the books I’m reading this September!

A Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics

by Erich Fromm

I’ve been looking for this book for a while now. After I tried the local library where the only copy could not be found I almost gave up on ever getting it. Fortunately, a friend that works in a high school library had a copy for me to borrow. I believe it will take me a bit longer to read this but I’m already happy about it!

Many Bloody Returns

edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner

So far I’m progressing nicely with a few stories every day. I mostly like the stories and enjoy them. What made me love this collection from the start is a dedication at the beginning of the book. I will definitely post a review on all the stories and this collection!

Second Nature

by Alice Hoffman

This is actually a second reading for this book. I suggested it for my book club as November reading. I’m looking forward to the discussion. I wonder how will this book affect me the second time I read it. I have quite fond memories from the first time I read it. I cover of Croatian edition!

The Picture of Dorian Gray

by Oscar Wilde

This is another second reading. First time I read it it was in high school. I remember liking it but not much anything else. This time it is also a reading assignment but for a book club in November. I wonder how this discussion will go.

With the rainy weather my reading has turned somewhat more serious. I don’t remember the last time I was rereading two books at a time. Strangely I seem to have avoided all my book series as well! I will have to see how will this affect my reading for September and November.

Book series I started…

I love book series of all kinds. There are historical romance book series I enjoy. There are urban fantasy book series I cant get enough of. I have a few favorite manga and graphic novel series as well. It was only after I tried to keep track of the book series I started but for some reason never continued after reading only the first book did I realize how many of them are on my reading lists. It took whole two pages just to write the titles of the firsts books of the series I started reading. Now that I look at them all I see some I’ve totally forgotten about and some I keep meaning to continue but never actually do. I managed to put them all in three rough categories:

#1 First books of a series that I will not continue

#2 First books of a series I even forgot about

#3 First books of a series I want to continue

First I had to weed out many of the historical romances I read out of order and had no desire to follow from the beginning. There were also quite the number of graphic novel series I tried out because I wanted to learn an origin story of this or that character and never actually meaning to continue reading them. Also there were a few first books of a series I read and then switched to some prequel first book series and then everything got complicated and I just let them go. Those above mentioned I’m keeping totally out of this discussion.

#1 First books of a series that I will not continue

These are the books that for some reason did not appeal to me enough to consider to continue reading the rest of the series. As happened with Anne Bishop Ephemera book series. I expected to like the enough to continue reading and bought first two books right away. It has been years since I read the first and will probably never read the second. Demonica series from Larissa Ione was a sort of gamble when I bought it. For some reason it did not blew me away and I did not feel like buying or reading the rest of the series. On Dublin Street book series I just joined in on the hype on the first book when it was translated to Croatian. I never felt motivated enough to read beyond that first book.

Some of them I did not like and was disappointed after reading them. My biggest disappointment was by far Hellsing manga by Khota Hirano. I loved anime adaptations and had high expectations from the original manga. I even felt cheated on it and was later glad I did not start buying the whole series. Wrinkle in Time I read this year as a book club assignment and was not impressed at all. Beautiful Disaster was one of those books in the YA genre everybody was suddenly talking about. I found it to be shallow and boring.

And then there were some book series in this category that I just decided they were not for me and just made a decision not to continue reading the rest of the books in the series. How to Train your Dragon and The Penderwicks were both funny and lovely but I could feel they were intended for much younger audience. I’m glad I’ve read them both but will not be reading the rest. Homeland by R.A. Salvatore is the most famous Dungeons and Dragons novelization and first book in a very long book series about the legendary elf drow Drizzt. I tried it out since I was curious about the character and since I’m an avid RPG player. After reading the first book I realized that the author had decided to keep the PG rating for the mostly American market and availability. I am not a fan of books where author ends a scene with a simple curtains down and a morning after routine. I decided to give it up altogether for lack of sex scenes. I find it hypocritical how violence is OK but sex is not OK for the readers. The last book series in this segment is Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. The violence and brutality of the book kept me on edge most of the reading. I decided to let it go since it bothered me too much. With the book series I even stopped watching the TV show. Now I’m having second thoughts and I’m continuing watching the TV show so I might go back to the books as well

There are a few I was happy about reading and did not feel the need to continue it as a series. One of the books I was impressed with and was actually surprised at how much I liked it was Foundation by Isaac Asimov. After reading it and getting the general feel to the ideas behind the book I did not feel like reading the other books from the series. Same was with the Wallbanger series by Alice Clayton. I enjoyed the book and even bought it as a present for other but never felt the need to read the rest of the books from the series. The Shadow of the Wind was a book club reading assignment. I enjoyed the writing style and have read few other books by Carlos Ruiz Zafon before. The story for me felt complete enough and I haven’t searched out the rest of the books from the series

#2 First books of a series I even forgot about

These books I read long ago and I forgot about reading them. With Blake Crouch‘s Wayward Pines thriller I was intrigued and picked it up even though it was not my favorite genre. I remember being immersed in the book. I even watched the TV show and enjoyed it. And I seem to forgot about it later on. I enjoyed reading YA novel Matched by Ally Condie. I even liked the book covers for all three books and how they actually made sense with the plot of the books. I never continued the series though…

Some books and series were not actually memorable and nothing about them set them apart from similar books in their genre. I found Julia Quinn‘s Bridgertons book series not particularly memorable. The plot and the characters just seemed to blend in with many others I’ve read at the time. Down to You by M. Leighton also got lost in the sea of other similar books in the genre. I remember plot having potential but not actually delivering more than simple erotic fiction. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich is a first in a rather long book series that even got a movie. I remember enjoying the funny parts of the book. After watching the movie I was confused about the stupid plot holes that came over from the book and just forgot about the rest of the series altogether.

When I first read these series I did not have other books of the series available for reading. Later on I just simply forgot about them. Love is Darkness was a freebie first book from Valerie Dearborn book series on Kindle. I enjoyed it quite a bit. At the time I was unsure weather to buy the other books or not. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was another book club assignment. In Croatian translation all five books are hard to come by since they are mostly sold out. I have a first one from my boyfriend and I for some reason I did not want to read the library copies.

#3 First books of a series I want to continue

Here I have sorted book series that I want to continue and have the books ready. All I need is to start reading them, but for some reason I hesitate. Interview with the Vampire I’ve read only recently. While I have most of the other books in this series available I still hesitate to read them. I think I want to like them and have a feeling I won’t. Howl’s Moving Castle was a book I was hyped about. I loved both of the anime versions – Japanese and English voiceovers. I expected the book to blow me away but it did not. I’m still hoping to read other books of the series and keep them close by. I liked all the books by Cassandra Clare I’ve read so far. Earlier this year I’ve read Clockwork Angel. I like it despite its steampunkish traits. While the characters are quite charming I feel a bit apprehensive toward reading next books from this series. Of Saints and Shadows is an older UF book from the Shadow Saga book series by Christopher Golden. I remember it being creepy and downright scary. I always thought of picking it up again one day. I have next tree books already waiting. I think since it has been years I’ve read the first book that I might have some problems into getting into the second one now.

And for the end I have books that I want to read but have problems with getting the actual books from the series. Some like Log Horizon manga I have issues with identifying the second volume manga edition. I keep coming up with light novelization and I’m not interested in those at all. supposedly the author Mamare Touno had some legal issues and even the anime series has stopped. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness was an absolute pleasure to read. I really loved Croatian translation edition in hardcover. I’m thinking on getting a hardcover copy for sure. Not sure yet will it be in English or Croatian though.The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams was a part of a reading challenge from my boyfriend. It is one of his favorite book series. He used to have them and borrowed them to someone who never returned them. I’m planing to get the whole series for him someday in a nice package with the new books coming out this year.

It has been a while since I made a post this long. Hopefully you did not find it too boring.

TBR Jar Draw September 2017

After finishing the last TBR Jar Draw from May in a lot longer than expected I took my time with pulling out the new titles for reading. No doubt that my little reading project is going rather slowly if taken into account that I skipped on it for the last few months. I’m considering indulging and reading some books off my shelves that strike my fancy as well as those titles I pull from the jar to compensate for these few months. Lately some of the books on my shelves caught my eye.

The last book I was reading for the TBR Jar Draw was Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles #1) by Anne Rice. I’m very pleased with finishing it and I made a short review of my reading experience that can be read HERE.

The two draws I have not read are going back in the jar:

 # The Crooked Sixpence (The Uncommoners #1) by Jennifer Bell, Karl James Mountford (Illustrator)

# Angel Souls and Devil Hearts (Shadow Saga #2) by Christopher Golden

My three new TBR Jar draws are as follows:

1 # Many Bloody Returns edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner

I love these urban fantasy short story collections. This one has many exciting authors for me to try out. I bought it a long time ago and even forgot about it. All the stories in this collection share a topic of supernatural birthdays. I think I’ve read the one from Charlaine Harris long time ago somewhere. This would be a nice pick to read!

2 # Necroscope (Necroscope #1) by Brian Lumley

This is one of the gems from the eighties. This book was praised by H.R. Giger whose macabre masterwork art inspired many. This book series is one of the first i got interested in when I started exploring the vampire themed literature. I got first two books of the series but never actually got to reading them. Interesting pick for sure.

3 #  Naamah’s Kiss (Naamah Trilogy, #1) by Jacqueline Carey

This book is actually part of a longer series. Before this trilogy there were two others which I’ve read years ago. I got this Naamah trilogy as a whole. What kept bugging me was that the editions were different from the first two trilogies and looked just awkward on the shelf. As much I enjoyed first two trilogies I loved the main characters and had doubts on how I was going to like this one. I’m still unsure since I want to like it

Again I am reminded at some books that I’ve completely forgotten about. I kept being surprised by why I find on my bookshelves. While all three books have their merits I will have to think and choose one carefully. Right now I’m leaning towards Many Bloody Returns or even Necroscope.

Interview with the Vampire – Book Review

Finished reading

Interview with the Vampire

(The Vampire Chronicles #1)

by Anne Rice

★★★

Expectation

As a reader who enjoys stories with vampires this has been on my reading list for a shamefully long time. I even had a phase when I was collecting Anne Rice books with vampires. I managed to get most of them and right now there are only a few out of a dozen that I’m missing. I was hyped about this book and when I pulled it out of my TBR Draw Jar I felt good. When I was younger I watched the movie version more times than I can count.

Summary

And it was watching the movie so many times that gave me issues with reading the book. This is the third time I was beginning to read this book. I kept coming back to the movie plots and characters. This was a problem since the movie and the books are very different. The differences, especially in the beginning where there were some characters that were left out of the movie, kept me thinking about the character motivation. I was lost through the most of this pensive book. I was not prepared for the languid pace of this book. Metaphors were aplenty and so were constant melancholic states of the characters. At times it was exhausting.

The writing style reminded me of some mandatory reading I had trough schooling. It was almost as it was written long ago. Now that I think more on it, I can hardly believe that the author is a modern writer.

“I wanted love and goodness in this which is living death,’ I said. ‘It was impossible from the beginning, because you cannot have love and goodness when you do what you know to be evil, what you know to be wrong. You can only have the desperate confusion and longing and the chasing of phantom goodness in its human form. I knew the real answer to my quest before I ever reached Paris. I knew it when I first took a human life to feed my craving. It was my death. And yet I would not accept it, could not accept it, because like all creatures I don’t wish to die! And so I sought for other vampires, for God, for the devil, for a hundred things under a hundred names. And it was all the same, all evil. And all wrong. Because no one could in any guise convince me of what I myself knew to be ture, that I was damned in my own mind and soul.”
― Anne Rice, Interview with the Vampire

The Goth aspect of the book was harrowing. All the while I was reading I found one thing to resonate with the book I kept going back to the actor Tom Cruise – whose fan I am NOT – and this video insert from the movie.

Conclusion

I wanted to like it and gave it all the chances I could. It did not blew me away and I could not connect with any of the characters. I still harbor a certain respect for this book, genre and the author. I am still intrigued by this genre and this book series. I did not like the cliffhanger ending. I’m at odds and ends about continuing this book series. While I still hold the opinion that it is a must for any reader that likes vampire literature I’m not as infatuated with it as I was. Reading this book took a lot of effort. Also I’m still intrigued with the character of Lestat, not because he impressed me in the book, but because I cant seem to connect what I’ve read and watched with the impression I got from reviews and friends that read the other books as well. And I do have the other book of the series waiting on the shelf …

The Marriage Wager – Book Review

Finished reading

The Marriage Wager

by Jane Ashford

★★★★

 

Expectation

First of all I have to adress the state of a cover picture. The book was published over twenty years ago. This first cover with a ambiguous dark haired character holding a hand of cards at the gambling table is much more accurate to the story than the pinkish disaster where two fair headed people show much skin while they are embracing. While the main female character of the story is indeed fair headed, the male character is not. I don’t know why I get so agitated by these visual details but I do.

Summary

When I started this book I wanted some romantic historical story with quite possible some steamy parts in between. What I got had me surprised more times trough the book. The book opens with intrigue that leaves the author with plethora of plot twist options. Both characters seem to have a murky past. While the actual marriage wager of the book is settled quite fast there was another aspect of this book that caught me by surprise.

Trough most of the book characters are put into a position where care and understanding are the only thing that can lead them to prosperity. Both characters are scared by their pasts and get caught up in the healing power of love. I kept getting surprised from the constant sacrificing acts they do for each other but without each other actually knowing about it.

There were parts of this book when I thought that the author has made a story for couples who need marriage counseling. At times this book felt like a step by step example what happens with good intentions and not enough communication. The themes were strangely universal and easy to understand.

Conclusion

I expected a nice romantic historical drama. I got more drama than I expected but it was worth it. The amount of times I wanted to scream at something the main characters did was surprisingly low. I enjoyed this book even though it had way more intrigue than steamy moments.

 

Monthly reading review – August 2017

Monthly reading review – August 2017

This August I have read:

La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils, ★★★★

A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1) by Madeleine L’Engle ★

Queen of Dragons (Drakon #3) by Shana Abe ★★★★

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett ★★★★

1. How many books you’ve read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

After months of struggling and not reading this August I finally started working on getting my reading mojo back. This happened in the second part of August and four books in two weeks is not so bad.

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in August? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

The most enjoyable book I’ve read this August has to be Queen of Dragons. It made me remember why I love reading fantastic stories. The main character is a shapeshifter dragon and I loved reading about them.

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

In the last year or so I have more one star books than the few year before combined. This time the book that made me grade it one star was A Wrinkle in Time. I found the parts of it annoying and I tend to rate the books on the reading experience and general impression. The fact that it was book club assignment did not help either since I get more easily annoyed with the books I did not pick for myself.

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

Since the start of this year my reading was down and I kinda stopped making plans but set some goals instead. My goal in this case was just to enjoy reading more. I managed to do that and I think i’m on the right track again.

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

Drakon series was one I started reading quite a few years back. I’m glad I picked it up again. A Wrinkle in Time I was curious about but never really felt like getting to actually read the book. I will not continue it anytime soon.

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

The Uncommon Reader book was a nice surprise. The impact of reading was shown in a very simple way. I loved that it was a grown up person discovering the love and mania of reading. It made me connect more easily with the book. I’m interested in watching it as a play. I would recommend it for every reader as a reminder on what a reading can do.

Final thoughts on August reading

Second part of the month of August I got interested in reading again. I’m looking forward to new books. Some steps in the right direction have been made. I enjoyed reading in August and hope to continue it trough September.