The Olympics Book Tag

Photo credit: thepancakelife.com

Yes, I know I’m a month late but it’s only these past two days that this tag showed up on my “Suggested Videos” scroll on Youtube. I checked it out and hey, I wanna do it too.

I would have you know that the Olympics has a special connection to my very existence. I was born on the exact same day as the Opening Ceremonies of the Seoul Summer Olympics. Google that and you’ll know my exact age. Yup. Exact. So I make it a point to watch at least the Opening Ceremonies at every Summer Olympics. And Swimming. And Tennis, of course, my favorite sport to watch. In fact, it was at the 1988 Olympics that they reintroduced tennis as an official Olympic sport since 1924. See, tennis… South Korea… it’s all in the cards since the day I was born.

Anyway, enough about me. Let’s head on over to the tag. I’ll add a few anecdotes here and there apart from my answers.

OPENING CEREMONY – Books You Loved From the First Page
(My favorite Opening Ceremonies ever is Beijing’s epic production.)

Vicious by VE Schwab. It was my 2nd book by her and I knew I was going to love it from the first page. I tend to enjoy her “adult” writing vs her “YA” style. It’s dark, very calculated and structured. I loved it all the way through. I really hope that the sequel comes out soon.

CYCLING – Favorite Road Trip Book
(My house watched Tour de France. My folks even met a couple of yellow jacket wearers.)

I’ve only read one that I’m positive is a road trip and that is Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. And I loved it. I never thought that I would put a YA Contemporary under “Favorites” but this book decided to come into my life.

TRIATHLON – Book With A Good Love Triangle
(My favorite triathlon event is not from the Olympics but from Superman is Back.)

Actually, the book that I’m currently reading has a good love triangle. I’m having a hard time reading it but the triangle between Mather, Meira, and Theron from Snow Like Ashes by Sara Raasch is being handled well. I can’t pick between the two!

HANDBALL – A Book You Didn’t Really “Get”
(Why handball? LOL. I watched a bit of this during the Rio Olympics and I just watched it for the pretty.)

Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes. A lot of people sing its praises. But I… actually unhauled it right after reading the last page. The cover didn’t have anything to do with the story; the story itself was all over the place. Whut?

BEACH VOLLEYBALL – A Book Set in Summer
(I was supposed to go to a beach volleyball charity meet by Josh Hutcherson but oh well.)

Summer is the season of YA Contemporary and Beach Reads. I don’t read a lot of either of those. So I really don’t have an answer for this item.

FENCING – A Book With A Lot of Fighting/Bloodshed
(I watched the semis of Men’s Fencing. There was this cute American guy competing. Hah!)

I would have to give it to Serena by Ron Rash. This books doesn’t shy away from death and killing. More than that of A Song of Ice and Fire even.

GYMNASTICS – A Book With A Lot of Plot Twists
(I used to watch this religiously back when the Chinese and Russians dominated the sport.)

Uh hello, Morning Star by Pierce Brown. What was that towards the end? And the ending!

SWIMMING – A Books that Made You Sob
(Don’t judge me… but I like Ryan Lochte. The Swimmer. His “Lochte Turn” is life. But just… sigh, don’t open your mouth.)

I don’t really cry when I read books. Yes, I get touched but not to the point of crying. But there’s this part of Voyager by Diana Gabaldon that absolutely destroyed me. If you’ve read it, you know what I’m talking about. You know, print shop… photos… Claire… Jamie. Yup.

GOLF – A Slow-Paced Book
(I tried watching golf but I don’t get it and I don’t have the patience for it.)

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. I didn’t really have a hard time reading it but it was a brick of a book and I remember just staring at huge blocks of text with so few breaks. I do like that book but man, it took a while.

TRAMPOLINE – A Childhood Favorite

The Nancy Drew Mysteries. Of course. I loved it then, I still love it now.

EQUESTRIAN – A Book Featuring Animals

The Saga graphic novels by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples feature something named the “Lying Cat”. I want one.

HURDLES – A Book You Struggled to Finish
(To me, it ain’t the Olympics until the track & field events start LOL.)

I’m struggling right now. Snow Like Ashes. It’s the writing that is throwing me off. I like the story well enough but everything about the writing is reminding me why I stayed away from YA at the first place. But I’m almost there and I’m determined to finish.

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING – A Book With Great Friendship
(I enjoy watching the Diving events more than Synchronized Swimming.)

It’s not a tag without Harry Potter by JK Rowling. Especially the first book. As they grew up, romance began to creep into their relationships but back when things were simple, it was cute.

BONUS – Books that Actually Feature Olympic Sports

I thought I could get away without mentioning this book but The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. You know… archery. Also, The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien. Legolas.

There you go. Not only a bunch of book recommendations, but a little something about me as well.

What’s your favorite sport? Do you play a sport? Let me know. Let’s talk in the comments!

TOP TEN TUESDAYS | REWIND

I got so many ideas from that past topics spreadsheet, I might not wait for another throwback or freebie week to make another top ten list!

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday , we’re listing down the Ten Books I Loved But Never Wrote A Review For.

If you follow me on Goodreads (please do if you haven’t already), you know that I do finish reading books but I don’t review them right away. Or at all. If I’m a mood reader, I’m an even moodier reviewer. I rate as soon as I turn that last page over but as for penning reviews, I either word vomit immediately or I sit down and think about it. I don’t always take notes but there are times when I’m in the perfect mood for it.

But more often than not, I don’t review books that I love. I can’t review my Favorites without being biased. You can see that in my reviews of Golden Son and Morning Star by Pierce Brown. And I actually made notes while reading these books, writing reviews for them as soon as I finished them. And still, I was raving and gushing. But that doesn’t mean I love writing bad reviews. 😉

Heck, I’m just a lazy reviewer in general. If I could fill this blog with tags and memes, I’d do that but variety is the spice of life. I will try to not make this list a mini-review extravaganza but I can’t make any promises. I love all these books and I can talk them to the ground if someone would let me. And who knows, maybe someday I’ll write a full review on them.

1. Confessions by Kanae Minato. How many times has this title been #1 on my list? Enough to let you know that this is an absolute favorite. From the moment I read the blurb to the final word on the page, winner! I cannot recommend this enough.
2. Lexicon by Max Barry. This was one of the first recommendations I got from the booktube community. I remember Rincey Reads getting this from a book subscription service and for some reason, it stuck with me without knowing anything about it. Years later, I bought a physical copy and is in the running for a reread.
3. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I figured if I were to review this, I will be filling it with so many nerd references that it’s not going to make sense to the average reader. I connected with this book so much; it spoke to all the nerdy parts of me. If you like video games, anime, Japanese culture, sci-fi, and all that goodness, read this. You will thank me later.
4. Parasitology and Symbiont by Mira Grant. I’ve yet to read the final book, Chimera, but I have it and will get to it before the year ends. I picked up the first book purely out of free shipping necessity and frankly, it was the best book in that haul. Now, I’m obsessed with this trilogy. I want my own Nathan Kim. I might review this whole series instead of per book.
5. Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. This was originally a cover-buy. I now own four books in this series, the 5th one is a collection of stories so I’m sort of not counting it as part of the series proper. Man, I should’ve marathoned this series when I started it. Now, I have to figure out when to read the rest in between other books. If you like The Walking Dead, this one is for you.
6. The Last American Vampire by Seth Grahame-Smith. I reviewed the first book, I liked it. I read this one when it came out and loved it even more. I fully meant to write a full review but I got lazy. That’s the story with a lot of these.
7. A Darker Shade of Magic and Vicious by VE Schwab. I decided to put them together because they’re by the same author and I have pretty much the same reasons for not reviewing them. I was speechless at how inventive, imaginative, and engaging these books were. The world-building and language… stunning. After reading these two, I went on a hunt for Miss Schwab’s other book. I could put This Savage Song here as well but I… don’t know. I don’t love that as much as I love these two books.
8. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I’ve read until half of the 5th book. Obviously, books 2-4 are on this list too. I feel that in order to review those, I have to set a foundation, something to continue, something to compare them to. I don’t think I’ll ever put down in words my feelings for Outlander. It was such an eye-opener when I read it, totally worth the time and effort.
9. Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. There’s so many and as much as I love them, they will eventually look the same after a couple of books. But I love them nonetheless. I am in the quest of not only collecting all of them but also reading them in order. I have my favorites but no, I won’t be reviewing them any time soon. I have one though, The Ringmaster’s Secret. That made the exception because it’s one of my all-time faves and if you read the review, it’s not really about the book itself. It’s more of a general overview for every Nancy Drew book.
10. My all-time favorites: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Generation Kill by Evan Wright, and The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. You can’t make me. The fact that I don’t get tired rereading them year after year is proof enough that they’re awesome reads and I love them. You can’t make me write about them.

As mentioned above, apart from #10, I might eventually find the time, energy, and inspiration to write a full review for these books. On the reread maybe? I have good memory. *wink*

TOP TEN TUESDAYS | Because of Books

(I just finished my EVO 2016 post. Click on over if you’re more interested in that. I’m watching Lucifer right now. Where have I been? This show is awesome!)

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday , we’re listing down the Top Ten Things Books Have Made Me Want To Do or Learn About After Reading Them.

This is such an interesting topic! Books are a huge source of inspiration. And one can always dream of doing the fantastical things on the pages. Contemporary books offer more realistic goals. Or if you are currently unable to do something, live vicariously through a book.

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – ARCHERY. This is a popular choice. Archery seems so cool. This was offered as a PE class at my university but I couldn’t get a slot. Especially with movie!Katniss being left-handed, I so want to try it out.
2. Armada by Ernest Cline – PLAY MORE VIDEO GAMES. I also blame EVO for this itch. When I read this book, I really wanted to grab a controller and get lost in a video game, may it be a fighting game or RPG. I’m not the best at it but I can play.
3. Amy & Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson – MAKE PLAYLISTS. I already did the cross-country road trip thing. Twice. It was an awesome experience. But I suck at making playlists though.
4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – GO TO A CIRCUS. It doesn’t have to be a magical circus. It’s been about 20 years since I last went to one.
5. This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab – PLAY THE VIOLIN. I just finished marathoning Your Lie in April so I’m in that violin mood. I already play the guitar but I’ve always been fascinated by the violin.
6. Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys – SOLVE MYSTERIES. I’ve been a fan of forensic science and solving mysteries even before CSI was a show. I have these two series to thank.
7. The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien – LEARN ELVISH. I’m fairly good at languages. I want to tackle this one.
8.  Divergent by Veronica Roth – DO “DAUNTLESS” THINGS. Jump off a plane, run off to the great unknown, get a tattoo.
9. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden – DRESS UP. Yeah, this includes full on cosplaying. I’m fascinated with Japanese and Korean traditional dress. And that makeup? Yes, please.
10. Not inspired by any specific book but… I WANT TO BE A VAMPIRE. Haha, if I were to choose from all the paranormal, supernatural beings, I want to be a vampire.

MAILBOX MONDAY (MUSINGS) #7 | Book Outlet’s Mothers Day Sale

Fourteen books for $30, excluding shipping (which was $9.99). It was a grueling eight hours of carefully crafting the perfect shopping cart with the best deals and best reads. But I did it. Although I did miss out on the Snow Like Ashes deal that came out the very next day. However, I still did enjoy what I got and cannot wait to get into them.

Last week, these beautiful babies finally came in the mail. I finally got that iconic Book Outlet brown paper. It’s so exciting to get book mail and this is the most exciting I’ve been so far. I should have one more coming up before I go on vacation. Yes! I’m going on vacation and I’m gonna need books to accompany me on this long ass plane ride. Feel free to scour through my book hauls and let me know what you think I should bring.

As the title suggests, this is another two-meme post. Let’s get into it!

• I’m currently reading…
• Up next I think I’ll read…
• I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
• I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
• I can’t wait to get a copy of…
• I wish I could read ___, but…
• I blogged about ____ this past week…

I am currently reading Confessions by Kanae Minato. It’s a bit less than 300 pages, translated into English, and is so engaging and easy to read. It’s about a retiring school teacher giving one final lecture to her homeroom class. And in that class sits her daughter’s murderer. This was that one book in my Book Outlet order that pushed me over $35 towards that $5 off. My first read from that stack. And oh, I started reading it at Little Tokyo. Heh.

It’s a short read so I’m hoping to finish it today or tomorrow, depending on how busy I get. I still haven’t packed for my vacation and there are a ton of stuff to settle at work and at home. I’ll be bringing my SGT4N with me as well as a physical book or two. What should I bring?

For this week’s random question: Name a book you thought you wouldn’t like, but ended up loving.

It would be my latest finished read: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. I’m not much for contemporary and I picked this up on a complete whim. I found myself breezing through it and I’m completely in love with the story. I’m dream casting Colin Firth as Don Tillman.

And now, on to the haul.

MAILBOX MONDAY #7 | Thank you, Book Outlet!

Ain’t that pretty. So many books! And still so many on my wishlist. XD

From left to right:

• Malice by Keigo Higashino. I fully blame Song Minho for this new-to-me author. The Devotion of Suspect X was such a fascinating read. I cannot wait to read more. I own another one from this author, Naoko, that I bought full price.
• The Scandalous Sisterhood of Prickwillow Place by Julie Berry. I’m dipping more and more into middle grade. I’m starting to appreciate the easier read without sacrificing complex storylines and rich characters.
• Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor. I bought the first book at the One Dollar Bookstore. I’ve always wanted to start this series ever since I received sample chapters of Daughter of Smoke and Bone years ago.
• Escape from Furnace series: Lockdown, Solitary, Death Sentence, Fugitives, Execution by Alexander Gordon Smith. This was a total cover buy. Kind of like Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry. I picked it up without knowing what it’s about and I ended up totally loving it. I hope the latter happens with this series too. They’re fairly short reads and they look so interesting. By the way, my supposedly Scratch/Dent copy of Lockdown came signed. 😉
• Confessions by Kanae Minato. I already talked about it above. I’m still on my Japanese authors kick.
• The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski. Another series that I want to get into.
• You by Caroline Kepnes. Finally! This was a booktube buy. I almost bought this full price but I finally found a price that agreed with me.
• Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas. This was a “scour through Book Outlet” find. I also wanted to get the sequel, Dangerous Boys, but it wasn’t there. Next time. I’m pretty sure I have more than enough books to keep me occupied.
• 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison. This was a recommendation from Richard Denney. I also picked up Liesl & Po and The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls as per his recommendation.
• Nancy Drew Mysteries: The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene. Of course, I can’t pass up on a new cover. I don’t have this book yet so I picked it up.

Whew, that’s quite a list! Have you read any of them? I think I’ll be going on a book-buying-ban for a while. Vacation and July’s conventions will sap everything out from my resources lol. And I think it’s about time I make a dent on this ever growing stack of newly acquired tomes.

 

MONDAY IS BOOK HAUL DAY | Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys

Happy Spring Forward Monday. Where did 2AM go? (If you’re a K-pop fan, I’m sorry if that hurt a little bit.)

As you know, it’s my life’s goal to collect all Grosset & Dunlap editions of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. I already have quite the collection acquired from thrift shops, both physical and online. All the books I got this week are ND and HB. Just how many? Well… 😉

I actually have enough stuff for both Monday tags. For MUSING MONDAYS, I’m currently reading Fire by Kristin Cashore because I have the whole trilogy and I want to get that off my series completion list of 2016. The review for Graceling is stumping me so much so you’ll have to do with these blog fillers until I get that review out of my system.

Over the weekend, I went to the OC Marketplace Swap Meet. I was happy with my large bag of kettle corn but not too far from the food, I spotted a booth selling books – 3 for $5 hardback and 2 for $3 paperback. And the first crate I saw… was an array of blue spines. Hardy Boys Mysteries. I was doomed. XD

This beautiful spread… all for $30. $2.50 per book. The bookseller asked, “Is this all for you or a gift?” I showed him my handwritten list and he seemed impressed. Hah. I first bought six on my first go-around the swap meet. Then as I sat down to enjoy my kettle corn, I decided that it was too good of a deal to pass up. I borrowed $20 from my mom (because they don’t accept cash and I didn’t have much on me) and went back. I saw later that he had Nancy Drew titles in his truck too… but not as many as the Hardy Boys titles.

I just love these books. I’ll have closer pics of the titles at the end of the post.

For this week’s random question: Approximately how many books do you usually read per week? Per month?

Lately, I’ve been good. I haven’t been this consistent in years. I’m averaging 1 to 1.5 books per week. I’m happy about that. I’m nearly halfway through my GoodReads goal of 25 books in 2016. It’ll stay that number even if I (will surely) surpass it.

MUSING MONDAYS | Thrift Shop Finds

As you can already tell, I am in the process of collecting all Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books that I can get my hands on. I’ve been scouring used bookstores and thrift shops for great deals. I’ve gotten a lot of titles from the One Dollar Bookstore and will keep going back to that haven from time to time.

But what’s better than a $1 book? Well, finding a thrift store that has them for 75 cents! One of the thrift stores near me was having a book sale: 75 cents for hard covers and 25 cents for paperbacks. You don’t have to tell me twice. 😉

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:
* I’m currently reading…
* Up next I think I’ll read…
* I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
* I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
* I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
* I can’t wait to get a copy of…
* I wish I could read ___, but…
* I blogged about ____ this past week…

I should have a check list of all the titles that I have. I have the recent acquisitions on my Instagram but I should make one full list.

Guys, I’ve found my new favorite word: CHUMS. I mean, do you still use that word to refer to your friends? The first time I encountered that on the page, I had to stop and actually say the line out loud. And it sounded ridiculous as it looked on paper. But I love it. CHUMS!!!

Mind you, these were back-to-back trips to the same thrift shop. I pass by it on my way home from work. But they close early on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. They close at 6pm on Thursdays that’s why I was able to drop by. This one’s the Friday haul. The ND/HB books were from the same children’s section. How I missed them on Thursday, beats me. The Nancy Drew one is a limited edition even. And it’s the FIRST ONE in the series!

Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books of life. I have multiple copies. I picked up this one because it was dated “14 November 1967”. My parents would’ve been 5 years old. I also picked up The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King but I didn’t include it in the photo. I remember one of my cousins lending me his copy in exchange for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I remember loving it so I picked one up. This book always reminded me of him.

For this week’s random question: Have you read – or do you plan to read – the Shannara Chronicles by Terri Brooks? Have you been watching the new TV series based off the books? If so, what do you think?

My goodness, I don’t need to start another series. So probably not. As for the TV series, Manu Bennett, Jed Brophy, and John Rhys-Davies are there and my Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit heart is screaming for joy. I might check it out. I do like shows in this genre.

MUSING MONDAYS | More Dollar Bookstore Finds!

I went back, you guys! The folks did some grocery shopping at the same place where the One Dollar Bookstore is located so I did my thing while they did theirs. I didn’t think I’ll find more stuff but I did. And I’m so happy about my purchases!

It’s still Monday here in California so this still counts, right? Okay, let’s go.

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:
* I’m currently reading…
* Up next I think I’ll read…
* I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
* I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
* I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
* I can’t wait to get a copy of…
* I wish I could read ___, but…
* I blogged about ____ this past week…

• Identical by Ellen Hopkins. I’ve heard about her books for a while and I’m curious because they seem to have a heavy subject. And it’s poetry. I’m not really a fan of that but like I said, the subject matter had me very interested.
• A couple more Nancy Drew titles for the collection.
• The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty by A.N. Roquelaure aka Anne Rice. I’ve read this before but I lost my copy. And do you know where I found this? At the YA shelves. Yes. I just saved your children, parents. You’re welcome.

I also received one book in the mail, The Dinner by Herman Koch. I signed up for this blogging for books service called, well… Blogging For Books. It’s kind of like NetGalley but they can also send you physical books depending on the availability. I’ll tell you all about it on a separate post.

For this week’s random question: Do you have any particular “quirks” when it comes to reading? (eg. taking notes while reading, etc)

… I don’t think so? I mean, I can read anywhere. It doesn’t matter if it’s dead silent or there’s a rock concert playing in the background. I do write quotes that I like on sticky notes and put them in my journal but other than that, I’m a pretty normal, albeit voracious, reader.

*****

Also, I don’t know if this is bookish but I’ll put it here anyway. Last week, we lost so many talented people. One of those had been a part of each Harry Potter fan. Rest in peace, Alan Rickman. Thank you for breathing life and heart into the character of Severus Snape.

 

MUSING MONDAYS | Dollar Bookstores

Guys, I said in my Resolutions post that I’m trying to read more physical books. Well, with that comes buying more books. If I were the kind to purchase full price books, I’ll be broke. Thank goodness there’s an awesome ONE DOLLAR BOOKSTORE in Eagle Rock, CA. I’ve seen people… families… with carts of books. I especially like it when I see little kids with their parents going around a used bookstore looking for good stuff to read.

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme that asks you to choose one of the following prompts to answer:
* I’m currently reading…
* Up next I think I’ll read…
* I bought the following book(s) in the past week…
* I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…
* I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…
* I can’t wait to get a copy of…
* I wish I could read ___, but…
* I blogged about ____ this past week…

For my first MM of the year, here’s my loot from last weekend’s trek to the dollar bookstore:

I took the liberty of including my Instagram name. If it interests you, do check it out and follow. It’s not really a dedicated bookstagram but I do post about books quite a lot over there.

(I’m debating to go ahead and make a separate bookstagram. Should I? What do you think?)

Not pictured are two more books: Final Fantasy XII game guide by Brady Books. And a beautiful illustrated version of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I can’t remember off the top of my head what edition it is but it’s a hefty hardcover, same format as the Harry Potter illustrated edition.

My total was $9 and some change. I pretty much cleaned out the Hardy Boys books. I actually only have one, #3 The Secret of the Old Mill. I have more Nancy Drew hard copies. But I will only get the books from the ~original~ 56 of Nancy Drew and 58 of The Hardy Boys. I will collect them all. I promise. My future child will thank me.

I swear, I can spend hours in that place. And spend probably less than $20 lmao. I’m being smart. I only picked up the books that I collect. (I saw a Resident Evil tie-in book there but I put it back down. I have an ebook of it. I reviewed a couple of them somewhere in my blog years ago.) If I pick up every single book that interested me, I will definitely go off track with my current reading plan. And I’ll probably fall back to my old habit of buying books but never getting around to read them.

For this week’s random question: What book(s) are you most excited to read, this year? Is there anything special on tap?

I’ve been moseying around NetGalley lately and I’ve encountered (and requested) some titles that had me interested. But I am most excited about Morning Star by Pierce Brown, the conclusion of his Red Rising trilogy. I have a love-hate relationship with that whole story but I end up sticking with it anyway. So I guess I love it…? I don’t know. I do enjoy it.

Review: The Ringmaster’s Secret (Nancy Drew, #31) by Carolyn Keene

The Ringmaster’s Secret / Nancy Drew

My mom introduced me to the Nancy Drew Mysteries. You know, those yellow hardcover books? They were first released in the 1930s and to date, there are about 175 volumes. My collection spanned only the first 56 volumes. Certainly, I haven’t read all of them but I’ve read a whole lot. In fact, collecting this 56 volumes is part of my bucket list.  My first Nancy Drew book is The Sign of the Twisted Candles and it remains as my absolute favorite from the bunch. Then the book that I dreamt about, The Secret of Mirror Bay. During a bookstore stop, my mom said that The Ringmaster’s Secret was one of her favorites. She bought it for me and I was not disappointed.

Nancy Drew Mysteries are… not complicated. But a surprising number of them are not predictable either. I bet today’s readers will be somewhat amused with the language used in these books. “Good-by, Nancy. Talk to Father about it. It should be swell, without mumbo-jumbo, for you.” Can you imagine talking like that today? The first 56 were published between 1930 and 1980. And with that, I’m sure some people will raise an eyebrow at the ideas that are in these books. Their views towards gender roles are way different than today so keep in mind the time period these were written before making judgments.

The blurb for The Ringmaster’s Secret, as with a lot of Nancy Drew books, is pretty straightforward. It doesn’t really give away anything:

Nancy Drew is given a beautiful gold bracelet and finds that one of the horse charms is missing. When she learns the unusual story behind the jewelry, she sets out to solve the fascinating mystery.

And what does Nancy do to solve this fascinating mystery? She joins the circus. Yes. Just nod and move on, okay? The story starts out with Nancy getting horse-riding lessons. And not just your simple gallops, mind you. Actual show riding. Yep. And she becomes good enough to substitute for an injured circus performer… up to the point of touring with the company. That right there is Mary Sue even before the term was coined in pop culture.

(By the end of the series, Nancy has accumulated quite a skill set that is totally irrelevant to sleuthing. But that’s what makes her the best, right? LOL.)

She enlists the help of her best friends Bess and George, her boyfriend Ned, and her Father, even taking her outside of the US. Aside from sleuthing, she manages to reunite a mother and daughter as well as two lovebirds. The vibe of the story reminds me of Water for Elephants. There’s a tyrannical ringleader and the star of the show is kept under very strict rules. The mystery here is not a death or espionage as with Agatha Christie works or what we know now as mystery/thrillers. Nancy Drew is a amateur teen sleuth and these books are geared towards a younger audience.

What I love about this and other Nancy Drew books is just when you thought it’s over, a last-minute twist will blindside you. In the last two chapters of the book, the author – whoever it might be writing under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene – throws in a little curveball. A complication will arise that will make you think that they’re a new threat but when you look at how many pages are left, there’s no way. But there’s always a happy ending with these books. Not to mention a bit of shameless plug for the next installment.

It doesn’t matter how absurd these Nancy Drew stories sound like sometimes. I love them and will always love them.

Rating: 5/5. Always.

TOP TEN TUESDAYS | WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

It feels like forever since I last did this meme. This is a very interesting one. In today’s trend of sequels and trilogies, characters get more than one book to tell their story. But once that story ends, what happens next? Readers are left with hanging sometimes. Authors provide epilogues, yes. Yet, sometimes those are scenes YEARS after the main story. Did Peeta ever get his full memory back? Did Draco Malfoy come to peace with his parents’ parts in the War at Hogwarts? Yes, fan fiction can fill in the blanks but I often wonder what does the author have in his/her mind if ever s/he would want to milk the character further. I love theorizing about headcanon and there are my favorites.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday , Top Ten Characters You’d Like To Check In With (meaning, the book or series is over and you so just wish you could peek in on the “life” you imagine they are leading years down the line after the story ends).

1. Legolas from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
I know that we have the Appendices… Legolas founded a community in Ithilien, traveled with Gimli, and eventually sailed on with his Dwarven BFF after Aragorn’s death. How about a spin-off about his travels? Did JRR Tolkien have some unfinished writing about our other heroes? And what of Thranduil? Just like with the movies, we need an extended edition to the already vast universe that is Middle-Earth.

2. Hazel Grace from The Fault in Our Stars.
I admit, I wasn’t the biggest fan of TFIOS. But I’m curious to see what happens to Hazel Grace after Gus’ passing. Her health, her overall well-being… did she ever move on and if so, how. John Green has been hinting about the events after TFOIS but unless he goes the James Dashner way and writes a companion piece, we’ll never know.

3.  Jaqen H’ghar from A Clash of Kings.
Valar morghulis. But does that apply to him as well? Was he a “man” – human – to begin with? It would be awesome if he shows up in these next book to help Arya or some other Stark out.

4. Nancy Drew.
All I care about is if and when she ends up with Ned. Duh, I know she will but did they ever get married and have kids. I love their interactions in the books, no matter how subtle it is but I want to see more.

5. Kraft Lawrence and Holo from Spice and Wolf.
If you watched the anime, read the rest of the tale in the light novels. If you read the light novels, the more you’d want a continuation of the story. A flustered Holo is a cute Holo. And Kraft Lawrence is a saint. They fall in love and have their own store and what next? Kids? Yes, please.

6. Haymitch Abernathy from The Hunger Games trilogy.
You can’t just end it with geese. I’m honestly rooting for him and Effie to end up together! I still believe that they do… eventually.

7. The other dwarves from The Hobbit.
This was definitely inspired by the recent panel that I went to at WonderCon.  We know where Gloin, Ori and Balin went and again, the Appendices and Frodo’s conversation with Gloin in Fellowship of the Ring give us an slight idea about the more prominent dwarves like Dwalin. And really, a lot of them weren’t talked about much in The Hobbit but I still want to know what became of them.

8-9. Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist manga.
Still counts as a book, yeah? Headcanon says that Hawkeye’s grandfather becomes Fuhrer and vetoes the rule that supervisors can’t date their subordinates. Hawkeye is Mustang’s second in command but anyone with one working eye can tell that they love each other. The animated series hinted about that so much. The only thing missing was someone saying “I love you” outright. FMA ruined me for any other anime. Read it, watch it, do both.

10. Everyone from Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
This book has the sweetest ending.  And if someone does continue this story, make a movie out of it as well… with the original cast. *wink* (Forgive me. Two Lee Pace-related entries bookmarking this post.)