The Friday 56 (139) & Book Beginnings: Mem by Bethany C. Morrow

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

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Set in the glittering art deco world of a century ago, MEM makes one slight alteration to history: a scientist in Montreal discovers a method allowing people to have their memories extracted from their minds, whole and complete. The Mems exist as mirror-images of their source ― zombie-like creatures destined to experience that singular memory over and over, until they expire in the cavernous Vault where they are kept. And then there is Dolores Extract #1, the first Mem capable of creating her own memories. An ageless beauty shrouded in mystery, she is allowed to live on her own, and create her own existence, until one day she is summoned back to the Vault....

Beginning: "I am a memory. Now I suppose I'll live like one."

56: "The "more" he described seemed to be people; they swam about the hotel in graceful parties, gloved fingertips touching jacket arms, bare necks bowing like swans'. They were all important, I could tell by their almost competitively straight posture and by the way their gentle laughter and delicate perfume lingered in the air."

Comments: I've been meaning to read Mem by Bethany C. Morrow for a while. Recently, my library hold finally came in. Mem was a fascinating read. I liked it. Since the book is so short, my 56 comes from page 28 instead. What are you reading this week?

Cover Reveal & Excerpt: Blastaway by Melissa Landers

Today, Melissa Landers and Rockstar Book Tours are revealing the cover and exclusive content for Blastaway, Landers's new Middle Grade Sci-Fi which releases Summer 2019. Check out the awesome cover and excerpt below. On to the reveal!

  

Breana: I adore this book cover. I love the color choices and illustration style. It's cute....

About the book....

Title: Blastaway
Author: Melissa Landers
Pub. Date: Summer 2019
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Formats: Hardcover, eBook
Pages: n/a
Find it: Goodreads

Pitched as "Home Alone in space," a young science prodigy who runs away in his family spaceship must team up with a plucky mutant to save the Earth from destruction. Scheduled for publication Summer 2019.

Excerpt

At some point, I must have fallen asleep.

I say that for two reasons. First, my chin was wet with drool, and I hardly ever slobber on myself when I’m awake. And second, I was no longer on Earth.

I sat bolt upright and stared out the window as distant stars whizzed past in a blur. There were no planets in sight, and judging by the swirling purple nebula ahead of me, this wasn’t the way to Nana’s house. I checked the navigation screen and felt my mouth drop open. The flashing beacon that represented my ship was halfway between Earth and Fasti.

(So you see, it is totally possible to steal a spaceship on accident.)

I guess my hand hit the EXECUTE button when I fell asleep. And because it would take just as long for me to turn around and go home as it would to finish my journey, it made sense to keep going, right? Either way, my parents would ground me into the afterlife, so I might as well earn the sentence, right?

Right.

An electric thrill rushed through my veins when I thought about the possibilities that lay ahead of me. Anything could happen on this trip. Literally anything. I could discover a brand-new element. Or meet a secret race of aliens. Or invent a new energy source. Or eat so much chocolate that I puked. Either way, I had complete freedom to make this journey into whatever I wanted, and once I realized that, there was no freaking way I could turn back. It was like the universe had dropped a gift in my lap, a gift I had no intention of returning.

I wiped the drool off my chin and smiled.

“Hold onto your stars, Fasti. Here I come.”

About the author...

Melissa Landers is a former teacher who left the classroom to pursue other worlds. A proud sci-fi geek, she isn’t afraid to wear her Princess Leia costume in public—just ask her kids. She lives just outside Cincinnati in the town of Loveland, “Sweetheart of Ohio.”

Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

Recent Nonfiction Reads....

I’m very behind on writing reviews for the nonfiction books I’ve been reading. So, today, I’m going to compile my thoughts into a single post and talk about all three of the books I recently—and not so recently—checked out from the library.

Farming and the Food Supply by Debra A. Miller

Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; hardcover
Author: Debra A. Miller
Publisher/Publication Date: Greenhaven Press; June 21, 2011

Goodreads     Amazon    Barnes & Noble     Book Depository 


My Thoughts: When I think of global warming, the usual things that come to mind are extreme weather patterns and a rise in the annual, global temperature to name just a few. So, I was interested in reading more about how global warming would affect the food supply, which is what led me to Farming and the Food Supply by Debra A. Miller. This book had information from several sources; although, the majority cited a report put out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007. Farming and the Food supply was published in 2011, so some of the information could be a little outdated.  It was still an interesting read that made a lot of good points about the subject. Farming and the Food Supply also did a good job at talking about a broad range of subjects all with the common denominator of food/food supply, global warming, and the impact that food production has on the environment as well as potential solutions. All in all, this book was a good introduction to the subject. And if you’re looking or willing to delve further into researching the topic, there was also a handy section—page 117 to 123—that lists a number of different sources (like books, periodicals, websites, etc.) for further research.

Undercover Operation by Edna McPhee

Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; hardcover
Author: Edna McPhee
Publisher/Publication Date: Lucent Press; August 12, 2017

Goodreads     Amazon     Book Depository 

My Thoughts: I liked this book. It was a quick read that went over some of the basic details of how undercover operations are conducted as well as some of the history. There was mention of people like Mary Bowser, Sam Davis, and Mata Hari just to name a few. There was also a chapter for different types of investigations and another for technology. I do have to say that some sections of the book were more technical than others. And like with Farming and the Food Supply, it was more of a book to give a general idea of things while if I want to read something with more technical details, I would have to look elsewhere. Despite that, Undercover Operations was a good book.

American Art Deco by Carla Breeze

Source/Format: Borrowed from the library; hardcover
Author: Carla Breeze
Publisher/Publication Date: W.W. Norton Company; July 17, 2003

Goodreads     Amazon    Barnes & Noble     Book Depository 

My Thoughts: Out of the three nonfiction books I read, American Art Deco was probably my top-favorite. If you follow me on Instagram, I mentioned this book a while ago. It was the second book I read about Art Deco, and unlike the first one, American Art Deco focused on the US iteration of the architectural style. It discussed influences and buildings/art from around the country. It was a thoroughly eye-opening and fascinating read. I also drew some pencil sketches while reading American Art Deco. I’ll eventually talk about that page on a different blog post, but for now, if you want to see it, it’s on my Instagram…. 

So, those are the last three nonfiction books I’ve read. I do want to read more about some of these topics. What are some of your recent nonfiction or fiction reads?

Music Monday (58): CHVRCHES

   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 

Breana: Over the weekend, I was listening to more music by CHVRCHES. I've mentioned their Love is Dead album on a different Music Monday post, and since then I've listened to Every Open Eye. One of my favorite songs from the album is Keep You On My Side. I love this song enough to listen to it on repeat....

What are you listening to this week?

The Friday 56 (138) & Book Beginnings: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

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

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders... but her father isn't a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has loaned out most of his wife's dowry and left the family on the edge of poverty--until Miryem steps in. Hardening her heart against her fellow villagers' pleas, she sets out to collect what is owed--and finds herself more than up to the task. When her grandfather loans her a pouch of silver pennies, she brings it back full of gold. But having the reputation of being able to change silver to gold can be more trouble than it's worth--especially when her fate becomes tangled with the cold creatures that haunt the wood, and whose king has learned of her reputation and wants to exploit it for reasons Miryem cannot understand....

Beginning: "The real story isn't half as pretty as the one you've heard."

56: "He put the bag down on the table. We all gathered around and stared at it as though it were a live coal that might at any moment set the whole house ablaze."

Comments: I finally read Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. I loved it. What are you reading this week?