Ninja Writer's Library- A Classic, Some Magic and the Failed Readathon

Hello Fellow Readers,

This post of the Library was suppose to be of my readings from the O.W.L's readathon, but I ran into complications. One book gave me trouble, and I didn't have one of the books I needed to fulfill the Writer's Career reading requirements, and I wouldn't get any of those from the library till after the readathon was over. It was a mess, oh well there's always next year... Lord willing. 
So let's get to our reads. This month we have another read in my Jane Austen reading journey, a trip to a magical land, and I believe the final books in my Sarah Addison Allen reads.

Mansfield Park- by Jane Austen

This was my first read for the readathon and the only one of my reading list I actually managed to complete. I had a little trouble getting into it at the beginning, but once I did I couldn't put it down, though I did loose focus frequently and found myself rereading parts.

Reading this made me think of how blessed we are to have our music anytime we want, back then you had to hope that someone not only knew how to play it, but could play it good.
This may be my 3rd or 4th favorite Austen work I'd have to reread Emma to make it a sure decision.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente

This was my second read for the readathon and this is the one that killed me. This one was a tough one to get through, though I don't really know why for sure. It was intriguing enough that I wanted to see where the story went, but I kept putting it down and loosing interest. I actually took a break from it to read Lost Lake.

One thing I did love about the book was this necklace that September gets that allows her to remember all her memories of her life to that point, I could use that!
I probably won't keep this in my permanent book collection, I don't look to be giving it a reread since it was so hard to get through the first time.

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

 I had this one I think in my holds and I'd hoped it would be ready to read for the readathon for my contemporary, but no. It did come in May and provided a respite from the previously mentioned book I struggled through.

This was a beautiful, but haunting book. Allen really wove a magical tale, as she usually does. This I believe was her first book after her battle with cancer, it's also the first book of hers set outside of North Carolina.

I say the book's haunting, because they speak a lot of passed people, the main character is actually been dealing with grieving the last year.
The book takes place in the summer and her descriptions of the summer time, make you ready for the season, so I'd totally add this to a summer reading list.

First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen

This was the latest book Allen had written and the final one I needed to have read all her books. This is another tale with Allen's first characters from Garden Spells the Waverlys. We had a couple of them make a cameo in her book The Peach Keeper. We find that 10 years has passed for the characters since the first book and all dealing with growing pains be it being a teen, a successfully business woman, or a woman wanting a second chance at motherhood.

This was a bittersweet read, which is what I usually say with books were we see a dramatic time shift. Seeing established characters age always makes me a bit sad, but it's an anxiety trigger for me. so it's just me.

Another thing in this book, as happens with many of Allen's is the food she mentions makes you hungry.  I'm actually quite curious to try that Fig and Pepper bread.

Well that's another visit to the Library. I hope you guys have a good weekend, get lost in a book, and God bless you!

Ninja <[0000]---------------[0000]> Writer

The Ninja Writer's Library: The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

Thank goodness it's Friday friends,

Today we are going to dive back into the Ninja Writer's Library. Today's book The Girl Who Chased the Moon is by an author who is actually from my region, Sarah Addison Allen. I love Allen's writing style. For all the books I've read by her she takes what could be an average small town you'd find around here and adds a surreal elements to it or the characters. This tale is no different. We have an orphaned teen moving in with the Grandpa she didn't know about and is having to unravel her deceased Mom's past as well as some town secrets, some quite surreal.

Allen also seems to include food in a good portion of her books. I didn't know whether to run out and buy some BBQ or make a cake after reading this. I mean you try reading about a town where the very air smells like BBQ and see how long it takes you to get a craving. Now I don't know if this is a supernatural phenomenon or the fact the town has so many BBQ joints in town.
I also loved they included the full moon names in the book, at least the digital I don't know about the physical version, she does provide a link to a PDF list on her site. I mean I know like the Hunter's and Harvest Moons, but I didn't know the others. Actually as a bit of trivia for you guys I read the majority of this book during the Full Worm Moon.

I actually encourage you guys to head over to this book's page on the author's site. It's got recipes and information surrounding the book, plus you can kinda tour the town of Mullaby.
A very good book, the ending left you wanting to know more of the story, so I hope she decides to make a sequel to it.

I hope you weekend is a good one friends, read lots of books, and may God Bless You!
Ninja <[0000]---------------[0000]> Writer