Review: The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts by Maja Säfström

Title: The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts
Author: Maja Säfström
Source/Format: Blogging For Books, Hardcover (review copy)
More Details: Nonfiction, Nature, Animals, Illustration
Publisher/Publication Date: Ten Speed Press, March 29, 2016
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Synopsis from Goodreads...

An artfully playful collection of unexpected and remarkable facts about animals, illustrated by Swedish artist Maja Säfström. Did you know that an octopus has three hearts? Or that ostriches can't walk backward? These and many more fascinating and surprising facts about the animal kingdom (Bees never sleep! Starfish don't have brains!) are illustrated with whimsical detail in this charming collection...

When I finally got my copy of The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts, I couldn’t wait to read it. So, I put aside everything else, and read it in one sitting—literally. The book was fantastic. It was short and full of fun animal facts and cute illustrations. I knew some of the facts, but there were other’s I was surprised by—such as the one I picked for this Fridays 56. I never wanted to know that much about spiders, because ew, gross. Still, the book had many other interesting facts, and Säfström did a good job with the illustrations, which were done all in black and white.

All around, The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts was a cute, but also informative book about animals. Some of my favorite facts involved Beavers, Owls, Crocodiles, and an interesting piece of information about Moose antlers. This is the first time I’ve heard about Säfström, but I would consider checking out more of her work when it becomes available.

This copy of the book was provided by Blogging For Books (publisher) for this review, thank you!

About the Author...

MAJA SÄFSTRÖM is a Stockholm based architect and illustrator who has gained international recognition for her quirky animal drawings. For more of her works, visit: www.majasbok.se

Musing Mondays (50) What I'm Reading This Week

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...

Random weekly question from April 11th: Name a book everyone should read at least once.

For this question I'm going to go with Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, which I recommend for fans of books with fantasy and alternative history elements. It was a really great introduction to the trilogy, and I liked Westerfeld's take on historical events. He created a truly unique alternative retelling of history filled with fantasy elements such as advanced machinery that reminded me of mecha, and genetically modified creatures that almost seemed mechanical—all around, a cool concept. Plus, Keith Thompson's illustrations were pretty awesome.  

Other Musings...

Today, I'm just going to be sharing what I plan to read this week. I have two books I definitely want to get through. One of them is really short, so it won't be hard to read them both while possibly picking up a couple more books, depending on what catches my attention. The first one is Dead is a State of Mind by Marlene Perez, and the second is The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee. You can read more about them below...

Synopsis from Goodreads....

Welcome to Nightshade, California—a small town full of secrets. It’s home to the psychic Giordano sisters, who have a way of getting mixed up in mysteries. During their investigations, they run across everything from pom-pom- shaking vampires to shape-shifting boyfriends to a clue-spewing jukebox. With their psychic powers and some sisterly support, they can crack any case! There’s a gorgeous new guy at Nightshade High: Duke Sherrad, a fortune-teller claiming to have descended from Gypsies. Even though she’s psychic herself, Daisy is skeptical of Duke’s powers. But when a teacher who was the subject of one of his predictions ends up dead, she begins to wonder if Duke is the real deal after all. Maybe if Daisy can track down the teacher’s killer, she can find out the truth. The only trouble is, all signs point to the murderer being of the furry persuasion. Is Daisy any match for a werewolf? Maybe she is . . . in more ways than she bargained for!

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Now nearly a full-fledged member of the Agency, the all-female detective unit operating out of Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls, Mary Quinn is back for another action-packed adventure. Disguised as a poor apprentice builder and a boy, she must brave the grimy underbelly of Victorian London - as well as childhood fear, hunger, and constant want - to unmask the identity of a murderer. Assigned to monitor a building site on the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament, Mary earns the confidence of the work crew, inching ever nearer her suspect. But if an irresistible desire to help the city's needy doesn't distract her and jeopardize her cover, unexpectedly meeting up with an old friend - or flame - just might.

What are you reading this week?

The Friday 56 (57) The Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. Baker

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...

In this new stand-alone fairy tale, Princess Annie is the younger sister to Gwen, the princess destined to be Sleeping Beauty. When Gwennie pricks her finger and the whole castle falls asleep, only Annie is awake, and only Annie—blessed (or cursed?) with being impervious to magic—can venture out beyond the rose-covered hedge for help. She must find Gwen's true love to kiss her awake.

But who is her true love? The irritating Digby? The happy-go-lucky Prince Andreas, who is holding a contest to find his bride? The conniving Clarence, whose sinister motives couldn't possibly spell true love? Joined by one of her father's guards, Liam, who happened to be out of the castle when the sleeping spell struck, Annie travels through a fairy tale land populated with characters both familiar and new as she tries to fix her sister and her family . . . and perhaps even find a true love of her own...

"Tomas didn't look as if he believed her, so after tucking him in beside Clara, Annie assured him again, then didn't leave until he had fallen asleep. When it had been quiet downstairs for some time, Annie crept to the trapdoor and lifted it ever so slowly."--The Wide-Awake Princess by E.D. Baker

What are you reading this week?

Review: Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce

Title: Flora Segunda
Author: Ysabeau S. Wilce
Source/Format: Purchased, Paperback
More Details: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher/Publication Date: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, May 1, 2008

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Flora knows better than to take shortcuts in her family home, Crackpot Hall--the house has eleven thousand rooms, and ever since her mother banished the magickal butler, those rooms move around at random. But Flora is late for school, so she takes the unpredictable elevator anyway. Huge mistake. Lost in her own house, she stumbles upon the long-banished butler--and into a mind-blowing muddle of intrigue and betrayal that changes her world forever...

I’ve had my copy of Flora Segunda for a very long time. I don’t know why I haven’t read it till now, but all I can say is that I’m happy I finally did. Flora Segunda was a wholly adventurous, and delightful novel with the perfect blend of mystery, action, and magic.

The story is about Flora who makes the mistake of taking the elevator in her house, which doesn’t work properly since the butler was banished. The resulting trouble served as one of the main conflicts of the book. The idea of a house with eleven thousand rooms, diminished into disrepair, was very interesting and handled quite well. I did enjoy Wilce’s writing style. It had the right amount of descriptive language and dialogue, and had a nice flow to it, making it easy to get into the story.

Flora’s adventures were pretty cool, even if she spent half the novel trying to hide her secrets to keep out of trouble. She had a lot to worry about—everything from her upcoming birthday, to her future (which was basically planned out for her, according to family traditions), a mountain of chores, and, of course, magical trouble. Flora’s friend, Udo, was an interesting side character. It was easy to see that he cared a lot about her, as a friend. And, as far as characters go, Flora and Udo made a pretty good team when they needed to.

The setting was centered on the house and the surrounding area, which fit perfectly with the story. Wilce spent some time building up the setting, giving it a history that was imaginative, and added an extra layer of depth to the story. So, despite the synopsis, the book wasn’t only about the magical houses and their impressive—sometimes mischievous—butlers. Flora Segunda was also about Flora learning how to speak up for herself—to say what she really meant.

Flora Segunda is the first book I've read by Wilce. Suffice to say, I was pretty impressed. Overall, it was a really good book, and I would be interested in the rest of the series.

Movie Review: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice

I haven’t done a movie review in a long time. However, I wanted to share what I thought about a movie I recently saw. So, today, that's what I intend to do. From the title of the post, I'm sure you can guess which one. But first, a little more about it...

Title: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice
Directed by Zack Snyder
Produced by Charles Roven & Deborah Snyder
Written by Chris Terrio & David S. Goyer
Release Date: March 25, 2016
CLICK HERE for the Official Website

So, I went to see Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. It wasn’t bad, and actually, I liked the film a whole lot more than I thought I would.

The story is basically about Batman (Bruce Wane, portrayed by Ben Affleck) and Superman (Clark Kent, portrayed by Henry Cavill) getting into a dispute. To me, it seemed like a warring of different opinions on how to handle injustice, as well as portraying themes of revenge and obsession. The tone was definitely darker without much humor to compensate for the bleak outlook of most scenes found throughout the movie.

Batman V Superman did have a lot of dialogue added between the scenes of tension and action. However, all the dialogue did set up a chain of events, which played out over the course of the film. The characters were both shown in their separate lives, and eventually how their situations collided. These things played a part in affecting Batman and Superman’s attitude towards one another.

There were parts that moved a little slower and were packed with information, but I didn’t mind them much. And when compared to what I liked about the film, it wasn’t that big of a fault. However, I do feel like the trailer provided some spoilers about what happened later in the film, which I was a little disappointed by. But, the visuals were nice; the cinematic score was dramatic and catchy, and a definite highlight was Wonder Woman, who I want to see more of (I have my fingers crossed in the hopes that Wonder Woman's independent movie will be good).

And then there was Alexander (Lex) Luthor (played by Jesse Eisenberg). I was not expecting his character to be done so well. At first appearance he seemed like, I don’t know, an ordinary person. But then, his troubling behavior evolved into something more sinister, which showed his true colors. In short, Lex Luthor was a convincing villain.

I tried to keep an open mind with the movie. So, I went in with the mindset of forming my own opinion. And overall, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice wasn’t really that bad.

So, have you seen the movie yet? What did you think of it? Did you like it, hate it, or just feel sort of meh about it?