Bookish Weekly Wrap-Up: 5/13 – 5/19/19

Happy Sunday bookworms!

I had a fabulously productive weekend, so I have no complaints.  We did a lot of things around the house, including finally doing a little landscaping and planting in the beds.  Only 1.5 years after living here… better late than never right?

*Bookish Weekly Wrap-Up is a weekly post where I feature what posts were published on the blog for the past week, any bookish/blog happenings, what I recently finished reading, what I am currently reading, what I will be reading next, noteworthy posts around the bookish blogisphere, and any interesting bookish articles I came across.

Wednesday 5/15

Mini Book Reviews: May 2019 (Part 1)

Recently Finished Reading:

» Winnie-the-Pooh (Winnie-the-Pooh #1) by A.A. Milne

*Family read together*

I adored watching the movie & TV adaptations of Winnie-the-Pooh as a kid, but had never read the book before.  We listened to the audiobook as a family, but it wasn’t the hit I was anticipating.  Unfortunately, we found the story to be very long-winded.  We were also not big fans of this particular audiobook narration.

» Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy #1) by Emily A. Duncan

*3.5 Stars*

Wicked Saints was on my list of most anticipated books of the first half of 2019.  I thought the magic system & the competing ideologies between Kalyazin and Tranavia in Wicked Saints was very compelling.  This book started off with a bang but unfortunately slowly started to fizzle in the middle.   Things did pick up towards the end, but I was not surprised at the plot twist in the slightest.  I also wasn’t buying the romance… the angsty romance felt too forced.

» The Muralist by B.A. Shapiro

I do think The Muralist would interest artists, or anyone interested in art or art history.  As someone who knows little to nothing about art, the writing came across a little pretentious at times.  I also thought the pacing was far too slow.

---

Currently Reading:

» Matilda by Roald Dahl

*Family read together*

Status: 10%

» Rich People Problems (Crazy Rich Asians #3) by Kevin Kwan

Status: Just starting via audiobook

» Five Roses by Alice Zorn

Status: Just starting

---

What Am I Reading Next?:

» Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Darius doesn’t think he’ll ever be enough, in America or in Iran.

Darius Kellner speaks better Klingon than Farsi, and he knows more about Hobbit social cues than Persian ones. He’s about to take his first-ever trip to Iran, and it’s pretty overwhelming–especially when he’s also dealing with clinical depression, a disapproving dad, and a chronically anemic social life. In Iran, he gets to know his ailing but still formidable grandfather, his loving grandmother, and the rest of his mom’s family for the first time. And he meets Sohrab, the boy next door who changes everything.

Sohrab makes sure people speak English so Darius can understand what’s going on. He gets Darius an Iranian National Football Team jersey that makes him feel like a True Persian for the first time. And he understands that sometimes, best friends don’t have to talk. Darius has never had a true friend before, but now he’s spending his days with Sohrab playing soccer, eating rosewater ice cream, and sitting together for hours in their special place, a rooftop overlooking the Yazdi skyline.

Sohrab calls him Darioush–the original Persian version of his name–and Darius has never felt more like himself than he does now that he’s Darioush to Sohrab. When it’s time to go home to America, he’ll have to find a way to be Darioush on his own.

» Melanie @Grab the Lapels talks about feminism & her blog ⇒ Is Grab the Lapels actually feminist?

» Fadwa @Word Wonders talks about YA & how it need to include heavy topics ⇒ YA BOOKS WITH “HEAVY” TOPICS ARE NECESSARY

» CW @The Quiet Pond shares a series where book bloggers talk expenses ⇒ The Pond Gets Loud: 8 Book Bloggers Share Their Costs of Book Blogging – Part I and ⇒ The Pond Gets Loud: 9 Book Bloggers Share Their Costs of Book Blogging – Part II

» Marie @Drizzle & Huricane Books shares book recommendations about mental health ⇒ 18 YA BOOKS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH FOR MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH and talks about book blogging with anxiety ⇒ BOOK BLOGGING WITH ANXIETY

» Jackie @Death by Tsundoku discusses the future of the Holocaust novel ⇒ Between the Lines: The Future of the Holocaust Novel

» How to Welcome Someone New to Your Book Club

» Why Kids Need the Freedom to Choose the Books They Read

* This!!! “If we want to pass a love of reading to the next generation, we have to allow them to have joy when they read. This sometimes means reading books with fart jokes, books with wizards that defeat evil, graphic novels, series, and books that speak truths that resonate with kids.”

» May Book Club Picks: Mysteries, Motherhood, and More

» 5 Tips for Reading Aloud to More Than One Child

» Pick 6 Cookies and We’ll Tell You Which May New Release to Read

» Page-Turning Classics for 9- to 12-Year-Olds

Have you read any of the books included in this post?  If so, what did you think?

What are you currently reading?

What will you read next?

Have a wonderful week & happy reading