CRUEL PRINCE CAN LIKE, GET IT

The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1)
by Holly Black
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
January 2, 2018

       Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever.
       And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe.
       Jude was seven when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King.
       To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.
       As Jude becomes more deeply embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, she discovers her own capacity for trickery and bloodshed. But as betrayal threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself.

CELEBRATE VALENTINE'S RIGHT

The Lady of the Camellias
by Alexandre Dumas Fils
D. Appleton & Co.

       One of the greatest love stories of all time, this novel has fascinated generations of readers. Dumas's subtle and moving portrait of a woman in love is based on his own love affair with one of the most desirable courtesans in Paris. 

Minor and Short Spoiler At The End

FANTASTIC MR. FOX

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Wes Anderson
November 13, 2009

    After 12 years of bucolic bliss, Mr. Fox (George Clooney) breaks a promise to his wife (Meryl Streep) and raids the farms of their human neighbors, Boggis, Bunce and Bean. Giving in to his animal instincts endangers not only his marriage but also the lives of his family and their animal friends. When the farmers force Mr. Fox and company deep underground, he has to resort to his natural craftiness to rise above the opposition.

THESE BOOKS HAVE GOT TO GO | READING RESOLUTIONS

I'm not putting in the effort to find new books to read, so I'll chop down my TBR pile. I've been pruning the list, but I didn't read those fallen books: I lost interest in them. Look at that unnecessary tree-related diction choice... I wrote this post almost a month in advance, so I've begun reading some of the books on the list already.  

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY | MCR'S GERARD WAY?!

The Umbrella Academy 

by Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá
Dave Stewart (Colourist), Nate Piekos (Letterer), Tony Ong (Designer)
Dark Horse Comics | October 17, 2007

   In an inexplicable worldwide event, forty-seven extraordinary children were spontaneously born to women who'd previously shown no signs of pregnancy. Millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of the children; when asked why, his only explanation was, "To save the world."
   These seven children form the Umbrella Academy, a dysfunctional family of superheroes with bizarre powers. Their first adventure at the age of ten pits them against an erratic and deadly Eiffel Tower, piloted by the fearsome zombie-robot Gustave Eiffel. Nearly a decade later, the team disbands, but when Hargreeves unexpectedly dies, these disgruntled siblings reunite just in time to save the world once again.

HOW YOU LIKE THEM APPLES? I DON'T

Forest of a Thousand Lanterns
(Rise of the Empress #1)
by Julie C. Dao
Speak | September 11, 2018 (paperback)
Source: won from a giveaway

     An East Asian fantasy reimagining of The Evil Queen legend about one peasant girl's quest to become Empress--and the darkness she must unleash to achieve her destiny.
     Eighteen-year-old Xifeng is beautiful. The stars say she is destined for greatness, that she is meant to be Empress of Feng Lu. But only if she embraces the darkness within her. Growing up as a peasant in a forgotten village on the edge of the map, Xifeng longs to fulfill the destiny promised to her by her cruel aunt, the witch Guma, who has read the cards and seen glimmers of Xifeng's majestic future. But is the price of the throne too high?
     Because in order to achieve greatness, she must spurn the young man who loves her and exploit the callous magic that runs through her veins--sorcery fueled by eating the hearts of the recently killed. For the god who has sent her on this journey will not be satisfied until his power is absolute.

NARCISSISM | REFLECTING ON WRITING

I used to bemoan my writing. What is this ghastly writing? It does not have a point, it's superfluous, and it's incredibly juvenile! I had enough of my whinging, and I'm sure others did too. I deleted the most offensive posts, ones that were not up to par, and took steps to improve my writing.

2018 WRAP-UP

I had low expectations going into 2018, "it's/was my junior year, I won't have time to read." I sought out to read 12 books, one a month. I surpassed that goal and read 45 books, and counting. Most of those "books" are manga: if you want to conquer your reading challenge, read manga! Overall, 2018 was an uneventful year-no major standouts-unlike in 2017.