The Friday 56 (86) The Lost Lullaby by Jason Segel & Kristen Miller, illustrated by Karl Kwasny

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Charlie Laird has a very bad feeling...

1. There’s a NEW GIRL at school, and Charlie and his friends have DEFINITELY seen her before.
2. He’s been hearing strange noises after dark, which is NEVER a good sign.
3. The nightmares are back, and they’re WEIRDER THAN EVER.

Not since he faced his fears has Charlie had so many bad dreams. Whenever he falls asleep, he finds himself in a Netherworld field, surrounded by a flock of CREEPY BLACK SHEEP.
They're not counting sheep. They refuse to jump. In fact, they don't do much at all. EVEN EERIER, THOUGH, is that it’s not Charlie’s nightmare. Somehow he’s trapped in someone else’s bad dream. And he’s pretty sure the twins ICK and INK are responsible.
Charlie and his friends thought they’d put the twins out of business, but it seems they didn’t quite finish the job. Now the WOOLLY NIGHTMARES are closing in, and INK has shown up at Cypress Creek Elementary! Charlie’s convinced that INK is up to NO GOOD. And if he’s right, it could be a very long time before anyone’s dreams are sweet again...

"He'd only just finished when Charlotte appeared in the kitchen and gave Charlie's father a kiss. "Charlie's annoyed with me."

Charlie crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at his stepmother."--The Lost Lullaby by Jason Segel & Kristen Miller, illustrated by Karl Kwasny

Comments: I basically binge read the rest of this series. And oh man, The Lost Lullaby was such a good book.

What are you reading this week?

Review: The Sleepwalker Tonic by Jason Segel & Kristen Miller, illustrated by Karl Kwasny

Title: The Sleepwalker Tonic
Author/Illustrator: Jason Segel & Kristen Miller; Karl Kwasny
Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; Hardcover
More Details: Middle Grade; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; September 8, 2015
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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Nightmares! The Sleepwalker Tonic is the sequel to the hilariously scary New York Times bestselling novel Nightmares! by multitalented actor Jason Segel and bestselling author Kirsten Miller. You thought the nightmares were over? You better keep the lights on!

Charlie Laird has a dream life.

1) He has a weirdo stepmom who runs an herbarium.
2) He lives in a purple mansion with a portal to the Netherworld.
3) Since they escaped from the Netherworld, he and his best friends have been sleeping like babies.

But Charlie can’t shake the feeling that something strange is afoot. Charlotte’s herbarium used to be one of the busiest stores in Cypress Creek. Now her loyal following is heading to Orville Falls for their herbal potions.
Weirder, though, Orville Falls is suddenly filled with . . . zombies? At least, they sure look like the walking dead. Rumor has it that no one’s sleeping in Orville Falls. And Charlie knows what that means. Things are getting freaky again...

After reading Nightmares I was pretty excited to get my hands on a copy of The Sleepwalker Tonic by Jason Segel & Kristen Miller. I mean, Nightmares was surprising in all the best ways. The ideas introduced were fantastic and the execution was spot on. And oh man, this series just keeps getting better and better. The Sleepwalker Tonic was so good. All the things I loved about the first book were brought back and incorporated into the continuation of Charlie Laird’s story.

Charlie Laird was pretty much enjoying life after the events of the first book. It made me happy to see how his life had changed for the better, but that peace doesn’t last long when strange things start happening. The plot was fantastic. I loved how all the dream and nightmare aspects were incorporated. There were a lot of imaginative ideas introduced in The Sleepwalker Tonic, and I loved how they were ultimately presented.

Once again, I really liked the characters. There were some new faces, but even if they were secondary, they had their place in the story. Charlie was a great narrator, and I enjoyed reading from his perspective. I liked how his character was developed, the growth that he went through, and the lessons he learned. I also enjoyed how involved his stepmother was. It’s always nice to see one or more of the characters parents involved in some way or another.

One thing that The Sleepwalker Tonic gets right is the conflict. I liked how it was set up and how it ultimately played out. The villains were suitably creepy in their own right.

The Sleepwalker Tonic was a fantastic addition to the series, and yet I have so many questions left unanswered. Needless to say, I’m definitely looking forward to the next book, The Lost Lullaby.

Musing Mondays (64) Random weekly Question(s) & Currently Reading

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat that asks you to muse about something book related each week.

My musings for the week...

I haven't done a Musing Mondays post in a while, and I figured that today I'm going to get caught up on some of the random weekly questions that I missed.

Random Weekly Question from October 10th:  Can you recall a time when you weren’t an avid reader?

Nope. I was probably too  young to remember.

Random Weekly Question from October 17th: Who are the key players in your current book? (or current themes, if nonfiction)

Yesterday, I just started reading The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell. The key players are Lin Rosenquist and her pet, Rufus.

Random Weekly Question from November 7th: Do you prefer fast-paced novels, or slow, descriptive novels?

Honestly, this question could go either way and I think it depends entirely on the book. Some are slow and saturated with descriptive prose, but if they're good--and I mean really good--then I don't mind the slower pace as long as I'm digging the story. Then, there are some that set a brisk pace, and I feel like the same sort of concept applies. I just don't think it matters as long as the story is good and the pace and descriptions ultimately serve a purpose. If it works it just works.

Random Weekly Question from November 14th: How has your reading changed in the last 10 years?

My reading hasn't changed that much in the last ten years. Except, I do read more and from a larger variety of genres, but that's about it.

Other musings...

To start out this week, I'm currently reading The Twistrose Key by Tone Almhjell.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Something is wrong in the house Lin's family rented. The clocks tick too slowly. Frost covers the flowerbed, even in a rain storm. And when a secret key marked "Twistrose" arrives for her, Lin finds in a crack in the cellar and unlocks a gate to the world of Sylver. This frozen realm is the home of every dead animal who ever loved a child. Lin is overjoyed to be reunited with Rufus, the pet she buried under the rosebush. But together they must find the missing Winter Prince in order to save Sylver from destruction…and they’re not the only ones hunting for the Prince...

What are you currently reading?

Music Monday (6) Tinashe, Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas, and the trio of Jaded(s)

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me, that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Normally, I don’t participate in two memes in one day, but today I’m going to do it. So, in addition to Music Monday, I'm also participating in Musing Mondays for the first time in a couple of weeks. And, of course, Adri is back today, and we’re going to talk about more of the music we’re currently listening to.

For my first pick today, I'm going with one of my favorite songs,  Feels Like Vegas by Tinashe. I first heard about Tinashe while listening to a radio station—I don’t remember which it was—but I do remember really liking All Hands on Deck, which led me to search for more of her music. And that's how I discovered Feels Like Vegas.

Jessica Hernandez & The Deltas are so underrated, which is a shame because I really love their music, especially Tired Oak. There are other fantastic songs like Caught Up and Sorry I Stole Your Man, but for today I'm sticking with Tired Oak.

Hi, Adri here again, I'm back for another round of Music Monday. This week, I wanted to share music in a slightly different way. Hence, the last part of the title for this post "...and the trio of Jaded(s)". For my picks this week, all the songs have the same name, but they are different.

For Jaded by Deadmau5, I only found it because I went hunting for other songs after listening to ALL the versions of Ghost N Stuff.

I've been listening to a lot of songs by Lone after finding the song Pineapple Crush. So, I was around when Reality Testing dropped. Naturally, I tried to listen to all of the songs when I found Jaded. Lone has too many songs, and I don't favor one over the other (he can't put out any songs that I don't like). 

And the last song from the trio of Jaded(s). I've been listening to Disclosure since their song featuring Sam Smith. So, like Lone, I was following them when their album dropped. After listening to the song and watching the video a couple of times, it was then that I realized that Jaded looked familiar. And I was right. Dun-dun-dun!

Have you listened to any songs that have the same or similar name?

The Friday 56 (85) Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed...

The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminaecontinues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.

Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy's most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station's wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands. But relax. They've totally got this. They hope...

"Donnelly, H: I'm not even sure what I'm trying to ask.

Guest591: Um, Okay.

Donnelly, H: Just...

Donnelly, H: If nothing was ever going to happen with us--and I know in what passes for reality for you that's obviously not true, but just pretend--if nothing was ever going to happen, would you want to be my friend?"-- Gemina by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Comments: I have waited so long for this book to come out. I was really excited for it, and while the story wasn't exactly what I was expecting, it was still a good book,

What are you reading this week?