Domi's Book Palace

MMD Reading Challenge 2017- For Fun Category:  Book with a reputation of being un-put-down-able This is not a book I normally would've been drawn to, but I found out that it was written by one of the writers for Arrested Development, and I became intrigued. I flew through this book. It's a pretty hilarious satire, and while it feels like a light "chic lit", the characters have depth. This novel is in epistolary form, made up of emails, psychology reports, FBI documents, school memos, etc. that have been collected by Bee, Bernadette's daughter, as well as Bee's first person account of her search for her mother .

Back to the Classics Reading Challenge 2017 Category: Romance Classic L. M. Montgomery wrote mostly children's books, but this book is geared toward adults. It is a hidden gem; a light read, but one with substance. The plotline of the movie, Last Holiday is very similar to this. Valancy Stirling lives with her mother and cousin, who are highly dysfunctional. Her extended family is just as dysfunctional, and they all live in the same town in Canada during the 1920's. At 30, she has been relegated to the status of "old maid". She is told by the Doctor that she has a year to live, tops. Upon hearing this news, she feels free to live and speak as she wants, which shocks her family. She moves out, and eventually, gets married. I won't give the rest away. The beginning of the book was a bit tedious, but it picks up after that. I actually laughed out loud several times!

MMD Reading Challenge 2017- For Fun Category- A Topic You Already Love One of my favorite genres is Fairy Tales and Fairy Tale Retellings. These are my ultimate comfort reads, even when they are on the cheesy side. I really didn't know what to expect from this $0.99 Indie Kindle Deal, but it really impressed me. It is a very unique take on the Little Mermaid. For instance, the Mermaids are protectors, who keep Sortheliege, an evil force, much like a zombie virus, from taking over sea and land kingdoms. Arianna is also different from the other mermaids because she has two natures, mermaid and human. It is also a story of faith, and there are little nods to the Disney version, which I really liked.

Back to the Classics Reading Challenge 2017 Category: Published Before 1800 Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval alliterative romance poem that is surprisingly deep for it's time. I really enjoyed it. The most striking thing about it to me was Gawain's character. He is a dynamic character which is not typical during that era of Literature. The imagery is fantastic. I chose the translation by Simon Armitage in audio book format. I really wanted to hear the poem spoken aloud, so this version was a great choice for me, and the introduction was very helpful. 

Back to the Classics Reading Challenge 2017 Category: Russian Classic This book took me a little while to get into, but once I got through the first few chapters, I was hooked! This is a long, philosophically dense book, but do not let that deter you. It is anything, but boring, and it will make you think. The main conflict in the novel is Faith vs Doubt. The characters are so dynamic that I believed they were real people. Definitely take your time reading this one. I read it in two months, and there is so much to it that I want to read it again. I think I will read a different translation every time. I actually regret that I can't read it in Russian. I would love to experience this novel in it's original glory .

Back to the Classics Reading Challenge 2017 Category: Classic with a Number in the Title The Sign of Four is Arthur Conan Doyle's second novel. While I enjoyed A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of Four is more complex and the writing style is greatly improved. There are some definite racist remarks in this book, but I realize that this was a typical view of the time period, especially in England, so historically accurate. I have read some Sherlock Holmes years ago, but I don't remember reading this one. I love the monologues, and the character development is good too. I noticed that in A Study in Scarlet, Watson claims that he has a shoulder injury, but in The Sign of Four, he states that his leg is where he is injured. I'm wondering if perhaps Watson may be a bit of an unreliable narrator?

MMD Reading Challenge 2017- For Fun Category: Book recommended by someone with great taste Back to the Classics Reading Challenge 2017 Category: 20th Century Classic I had such mixed feelings about this book. It is a Christian allegory, that has some great themes, and it does make you think, but I wasn't a fan of the writing style. Much-Afraid is called by the Shepherd to make a journey to His Kingdom of Love, where he will give her a new name. It was a really strange mix of biblical language and more modern language. She kept switching between Thee and Thou and You, etc. Also, it was really repetitive. The descriptions were wordy, but repetitive. I felt like I was having De'ja vu. I also felt like I was being spoon-fed a majority of the time. It actually has some very similar themes to Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, which I will be re-reading for my challenges this year, but Till We Have Faces is far superior in my opinion. There was one part in this book that drove m...