Category: About books

What’s Ashley Reading?: Midnight Riot

We have several new apps and services.  My new favorite is RBDigital Unlimited.  It has a wide selection of older audio books available to download onto your mobile device.  I love to read the new releases but sometimes there is a book that I have been meaning to read but have not gotten around to it yet.  Well this is a good way to get them off the TBR list!  The best part of this is that there is no waiting for a title.  Every title on the site is available immediately.

Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch

First line: It started on at one thirty on a cold Tuesday morning in January when Martin Turner, street performer and, in his own words, apprentice gigolo, tripped over a body in front of the West Portico of St. Paul’s at Covent Garden.

Summary: Peter Grant, a probationary constable, has hopes of becoming a detective. When investigating a disturbance he gathers some information from a witness. However, this witness also happens to be dead. With the knowledge that Peter can communicate with ghosts brings him to the attention of Chief Investigator Thomas Nightingale. He heads a special department in the London PD who deal with magic and supernatural occurrences. As a string of murders overtakes the city, Peter is thrust into the world of magic and mystical beings.

Highlights: I found this to be a mixture of Sherlock and Harry Potter. This is a fun book. As a grownup who loves to read a mixture of YA, fantasy and mysteries, then this is the perfect combination. It was originally recommended to me by my German sister, Melanie. This sat on my to be read pile for a long time but when I saw that I could listen to the audiobook using RBDigital Unlimited, I immediately checked it out. It was gritty and dark but at the same time a little lighthearted. There was humor mixed in with the murder.  One thing that I found to be new and interesting is that several of the characters are rivers in human form.  This is the name of the series, Rivers of London, but I never actually considered that they would be actual characters.  If you want something a little different than this may be it.

Lowlights: A lot of the story was building the world. Who is Peter Grant? What is the magical department and what do they do? As with all new series it takes a bit to get the ball rolling. I think this was my main issue but I will definitely pick up book 2, Moon Over Soho.

FYI: There is language and violence.

A whole new year for books!

Aahhhhh! It’s nearly the start of a brand-new year! For many of us, that means new reading goals — Have you set that goal on Goodreads yet?! — and maybe a new reading challenge or two — or 63?!

I know several of us in the library and many of our library patrons participated in The Wichita Eagle‘s 2018 #READICT challenge. The 2019 challenge is looking pretty great as well, with categories including “A book from a genre you don’t normally read” and “A book recommended by a child or a teenager.”

But what if you are looking for a challenge that’s well, a little more challenging? Have no fear, there is apparently no shortage of reading challenges out in the Webosphere, and we’ve rounded up a few — and included links! — that we find intriguing, as well as one awesome clearinghouse that can hook you up with just about any kind of reading challenge you can imagine!

Reading challengesHere are our picks, in no particular order (except No. 1!):

  1. No. 1, of course, has to be The Wichita Eagle’s #READICT 2019 challenge, hosted by Suzanne Perez Tobias. Pick up a copy of the challenge here at our library or a bookmark with the challenge at any Wichita Public Library, register online on the WPL website, and make sure you join the #READICT Facebook group for lots more great reading suggestions!
  2. The Reading Women challenge from the ladies at the Reading Women podcast. This is a great challenge is you are looking to add female authors to your reading lists this year. Categories include a children’s book and a book about a woman athlete.
  3. The Modern Mrs. Darcy reading challenge is also one of my personal favorites. Not only does Anne Bogel provide you with a challenge sheet to record your books during the year, but she gives you adorable reading planning sheets!
  4. Book Riot has hosted a read harder challenge for a few years, and let me tell you, this challenge can really make you read harder! Categories include a book written in prison and a book published prior to Jan. 1, 2019, with fewer than 100 reviews on Goodreads. There is also a group on Goodreads for this challenge which may be helpful in finding titles in some of the categories.
  5. Another popular reading challenge (I usually find it linked on Pinterest before I see it anywhere else) is the PopSugar reading challenge. This challenge is made up of 40 categories, or 50 if you do the advanced version! There is also a group on Goodreads you can join for this challenge.
  6. And if none of the above recommendations quite floats your boat, over at Girlxoxo.com, they’ve put together a master list of the reading challenges that can be found for 2019. Who knew there were so many?! Surely, there must be something for everyone there.

And tell us in the comments, do you participate in reading challenges? Which one is your favorite and why?