Wednesday Scrolls -- RYFBM!!

It has literally been a year since the last post on this blog. Please forgive us, we are both poor busy college students.

Even though it's summer, we're both still rather busy, but I got the urge to review a book (look forward to it this weekend), plus it's almost July! No matter how busy I am, you know I'll never miss...

RYFBM!!

Yes, in the past it went by another name. RAMFAP. But... okay, so I'm in college and... y'know. That could be taken another way. I'm sorry.

So it is now Reread Your Favorite Books Month! Not quite as catchy, but it still gets the point across. Plus it's actually easier to say.

Anyway, it's my favorite month of the year. I get so stoked for this. I've got my list all planned out, and it took a lot of self control not to go ahead and get all my books out in a neat orderly stack.

I hope you take this opportunity to reread a few of your favorite books, and I hope you forgive us for being so MIA all the time!

--Persy

RAMFAP Is Here.

I know we haven't exactly been punctual lately, but there's one thing that I still take deathly serious.

RAMFAP MONTH.

That's right, I'm sitting here counting down the hours, artfully arranging the first five books on my list, ready to snatch up the first one and start reading. I'm so pumped for this. I don't get pumped for anything except marathon reading.

For those of you who may not know, RAMFAP month is Reread As Many Favorites As Possible month. Technically, you don't have to read fifteen thousand. You can just read one, and you'll still have participated. I encourage everyone to participate, because sometimes you just need to sit down and read an old favorite, y'know?

So let me know if you take part in RAMFAP 2014! What are you reading this July?

--Persy

Wednesday Scrolls -- RAMFAP Requiem AKA July Review

Last year, RAMFAP was quite a momentous occassion. I read so many books. Had so much fun. Not that I didn't have any fun this year either... 

 

For RAMFAP 2013, I read a total of 7 favorite books, with 1,612 pages read not counting an unpaged manga and an unpaged children's book. I actually read a total of 11 books in July, with 3,328 pages read, but not all of those were for RAMFAP. Honestly, I don't think I did too shabby considering all the stuff I've been busy with.

 

Here's my favorites book list from RAMFAP 2013:

 

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr, John Archambault, and Lois Ehlert
Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George

Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce

Maid-Sama! Vol. 6 by Hiro Fujiwara

Night Gate by Isobelle Carmody

 

It's interesting to note that Night Gate is the only book that has been in both RAMFAP lists so far -- I tried to keep this year's priority list limited to the books I didn't get to last year, but Night Gate snuck to the top anyway.

 

How did y'all do, if y'all participated? I'm hoping for a good August!

 

--Persy


Arty here.  Yes.  The Arty who hasn't written a review in ages.  COLLEGE, GUYS. *lame excuses*

For RAMFAP... I reread one book.  And it turns out I probably shouldn't have, because The Angel Experiment, the first book in the Maximum Ride series, was a lot better when I was thirteen than it is now.  I still really like the story, but... sorry, Max, you're just not one of my favorites anymore.  Except for maybe nostalgia.

I did get to read around thirteen other books - what can I say, July caught me when my to-read stacks were high and I had succumbed to multiple library temptation.  Some of them were pretty lame - the Supernatural tie-in novel, One Year Gone, was disappointing, as was Mortlock by Jon Mayhew (it had black page edges - black page edges!) - but some of them were pretty dang fantastic and destined to end up on the next RAMFAP list.  Such Wicked Intent, the second book in the Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein series by Kenneth Oppel, and Trickster: Native American Tales: A Graphic Collection by Matt Dembicki are destined for my favorites shelf.

August is already looking pretty good - hope you all have similar prospects!

-Arty 

Persy - Wednesday Scrolls - RAMFAP 2013!!

It's that time of the year again, folks... Yes, it's back. Are you ready?

 

For RAMFAP 2013!!!!!!

 

A quick recap of what it is: Reread-As-Many-Favorites-As-Possible month! And it's as easy as that. All you have to do is reread a minimum of one favorite book. I like to make it a challenge and see how many I can squeeze into the month of July, but that's definitely not a requirement. All it is is one month devoted to favorite books. Other than that, it's open to everyone's unique interpretation.

 

I honestly wasn't sure I would participate this year, because my reading kind of fell behind due to ballet, school, and college prep. We were in a week into July when I realized how ridiculous I was being. Heck yeah I'm gonna participate! And you should too! There's really no excuse not to pick up a favorite novel and give it another read!

 

So please, if you do participate, let us know! Start a conversation! Both Arty and I will gladly talk for hours on the subject of literature (as you've surely discovered by now). What book(s) are you reading this month?

 

--Persy

Wednesday Scrolls -- RAMFAP Roundup AKA July Review

That's right, folks, RAMFAP is over. Sad.

Except that I finished with an epic 22.5 favorite books completed and 7,031 pages read! I deserve a reward!

Instead of our usual Month Review format where we highlight best and worst books, I figured I'd just give you a rundown of everything I got read, since obviously, all the books were amazing and none of them were awful.

When I first invented RAMFAP month, it was because I wanted a good excuse to reread all the Harry Potter and League books in one month, but, as you might've noticed, the idea grew a little since then. So instead of getting through all seven of the Harry Potter books, I just got through the first three. But I'm determined to finish the last four by September! I also got all the League books read, except for the last one that only just came out (that's actually getting read by September too).

Here's a list of the other fabulous books I read: Hana-Kimi, Evil Genius, Night Gate, Sabriel, Graceling, Dragon Slippers, Ouran, Alice In Wonderland/Through the Looking-Glass, Fire, Brightly Woven, Bad Kitty, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Nightlight, The Comedy of Errors, and Jabberwocky & Other Poems. I also got halfway through The Prophecy of the Stones.

It was definitely a good month, but I'm looking forward to going back to a more leisurely reading pace and discovering brand new wonders and horrors in the world of literature. I will keep you posted.

What about you? How did y'all do on RAMFAP month, if you participated?

--Persy




Arty here, coming it at 21 books read.  But... I have a small confession to make.  Only 11 of those were actually very-favorites. I know.  Shame on me.  If I could show you a picture of my To-Read Stacks, you'd understand.

Still, that's 11 favorites revisited!  Eleven favorites that include The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis (of course), Dread Locks by Neal Shusterman, The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan (RANGER'S APPRENTICE), Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (ARTEMIS FOWL), Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, the whole Books of Umber trilogy by P.W. Catanese (which EVERYONE should read, I kid you not), the first two books in the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine, and The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter.

What you might appreciate: in the month of July, I read the first and last Artemis Fowl books.  Yep, I got The Last Guardian for my birthday.  And it was... well.  The ending.  The ending was... oh, just read it.

Like Persy, I'm ready to dive back into the unstable world of new books. (Actually I already have, since it's the second, but anyway.)  Happy August and good luck with your new stuff!

-Arty

Persy -- Wednesday Scrolls -- RAMFAP is almost over!

That's right, there's onle one week left of RAMFAP month! How many of you have participated? What books have you reread? How maany more do you hope to squeeze in?

I'm not doing as well as I'd hoped, but I still feel pretty proud of my accomplishments. I'm on my fourteenth book. I got off to a very bad start, but I've been slowly catching up as my life quiets down and I have more time just to read. My last class of summer ballet just ended today, so I'll have even more time for this last week of RAMFAP, so I've got a lot of rapid reading planned!

Don't let RAMFAP escape you! Don't put it off! Go grab that favorite book and read it! I strongly recommend some frozen hot chocolate or a tasty milkshake to go along with it (it's way too hot to go without)!

Look forward to a review from Arty this weekend, and next Wednesday we'll sum up our RAMFAP adventures!

--Persy

Persy -- Born of Ice by Sherrilyn Kenyon

You may remember my reviews of the first two books in Sherrilyn Kenyon's League series: Born of Night and Born of Fire. You may remember how much I love these books. I mean, it's not like I rave about them all the time or anything.

Unfortunately, book #3, Born of Ice doesn't quite live up to the first two books. Sure, the more you read any Kenyon books and the less amazing they are, but even the first time through, "Ice" wasn't overly impressive. But I still love it.

Devyn Kell is the son of Shahara and Syn (see Born of Fire), and a runner (similar to a smuggler, but not quite). He used to work as a army medic, but effectively "resigned" when he turned against his own unit in order to save a ten-year-old boy (Omari, who becomes Devyn's adopted son). And then there's Devyn's ex-fiancée, who mortally injured Devyn years ago, leaving him with a dangerous heart condition.

Alix is a slave. After her father/owner dies, a man named Merjack gets a hold of her and decides to use her to get back at Devyn's family. Y'see, Alix bears a startling resemblance to Devyn's ex-fiancée. So Alix joins Devyn's crew as the engineer. Even in the beginning, she doesn't want to take down Devyn, but it becomes harder and harder as she falls deeper and deeper... IN LOVE!!!

I'm going to go right out and say it. Devyn and Alix are both pretty stupid. I don't really care about either of them. And let's face it: the plot of "Ice" is pretty basic too, and not at all interesting. I get the feeling Kenyon didn't spend a lot of time editing this book, because it just isn't too awesome compared to the other books in the series.

And don't get me started on Kenyon's all time favorite line. "And in that instant, she/he knew insert-obvious-fact-of-life-here." She used it a few times in her other books, but she really goes overboard in "Ice". It gets a leetle ridiculous.

It would also be very confusing for people who haven't read books #1, #2, and #4 (possibly #5, but I haven't read that yet, so I don't know if it makes things clearer or not). It seems like every single character ever named in the League series had about fifteen children, and they're all in Born of Ice. It gets very hard to keep track of them.

The only things that save this book are Vik and Omari. Vik first appeared in "Fire", and he's only gotten better since then. I have a soft spot for snarky robots. And then Omari is just cute.

So...basically it's not a very well-written book. But! The first time through is as captivating as ever, and I mean... VIK!! He makes it all okay.

By the way, we're over halfway into RAMFAP month...how are y'all doing? Better than I am, I hope... That's all I'm gonna say.

--Persy

You might like this if you: like dramatic romances with stupid main characters; improbably spaceship chase scenes; tortured characters; or just the other books in Sherrilyn Kenyon's League series.

Arty -- The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine

Since we're now going into the third week of RAMFAP Month (time has flown), I haven't read anything but favorites, so you're going to get to hear me rant!

(Actually, I did read Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare and the first volume of Ultimate Spider-man, but Angel had me severely depressed, what with the whole Jem thing [WHY IS HE IN LOVE WITH TESSA HE'S SO INTELLIGENT AND AWESOME OTHERWISE WHY JUST WHY], and I'm not qualified to judge comic books.)

Moving on.

Two Princesses starts out with, yes, two princesses.  Princess Meryl is bold and adventurous - a fearless princess with great plans of great adventures.  Princess Adelina, or Addie, is her sister's exact opposite, a girl afraid of everything; she embroiders beautifully, but relies on her sister to do everything else.  In fact, she's made Meryl promise never to go adventuring until Addie is wed, and has someone else to look after her.

Meryl's plans include finding the cure for the Grey Death, a horrible disease that always ends in, well, death.  The princesses' mother was taken by it.  And when it once again visits the royal house of Bamarre, Meryl's determination to find the cure strengthens.  That is, until it strikes Meryl down as well.

There's no way Addie can survive without her sister.  But to keep her sister, Addie is going to have to find the cure for Grey Death herself.

Levine's most popular book by far is Ella Enchanted, but this book has always been my favorite of hers.  She captures Addie's fearful voice perfectly, without making her overly annoying but never excusing her cowardice.  I love Addie.  She's one of the best princesses ever.

The story may be a little slow - the action doesn't pick up until a good ten or twelve (shortish) chapters in - but it's not boring.  Until then, you have lovely character and world building that's always interesting.  You learn of the different creatures in Bamarre - specters that will lead you to your death but can tell the future if you catch one, fierce dragons that steal both treasure and prisoners to entertain them, elusive fairies that haven't been seen for years, and the elves that sometimes serve humans - as well as some of the customs.  Drualt is the great Bamarrian epic, telling the tales of 'the laugher,' Drualt, who is Addie's hero.  I just love Bamarre.  One of my favorite worlds ever.

And the side characters are awesome.  Rhys is a sorcerer - he's in his seventies, but since sorcerers are actually a whole different race (they're born when lightning strikes marble) and live for five hundred years, he's actually only in his early twenties in human time.  Naturally he becomes Addie's love interest, but he's so cute.  He has a habit of bowing; he has white eyelashes and unattractively large, bony feet; and he actually helps Addie in her quest as much as he can.  One of the best love interests ever.

Meryl, as the spunky princess, is amazingly tolerable, and I can see why Addie is so devoted to her; you can tell she really does care for Addie.  Milton and Bella, servants of the princesses, have smaller roles but are equally fun to listen to.  And Vollys, the dragon Addie meets, is... interesting.  Very, very interesting.  One of the most interesting dragons ever.

And the ending.  Oh, man, the ending.  I can't give anything away, but... one of the best endings ever.

Okay, by now, you may think that Princesses is one of my favorite books ever.  And it is.  It's not brilliant, maybe, and it's a very quiet sort of awesome - not an in-your-face, screaming sort of awesome, like the Books of Umber or Harry Potter.  But it is awesome, and I can find very little fault with it.  The whole love issue between Addie and Rhys was a bit abrupt?  Whatever, it's a fairytale.  They're adorable anyway.  Everyone's adorable.  And awesome.  Like the book.  Read it.  Seriously, go read it now.

Persy -- Wednesday Scrolls -- RAMFAP Is Closing In!

This'll be a short and sweet post, because I'm still in Ireland and I kind of need to get some sleep and journal and read some and do my Bible study and... yeah. But this is important too.

RAMFAP is right around the corner! Are you ready? I'm ready! I have Evil Genius and Graceling in my suitcase just waiting for July 1st. What books are you going to start RAMFAP off with? How many books do you hope to read?

I'm not exactly sure what I'll be doing on Sunday (I'll be in Dublin), but I hope a good part of it will be spent curled up somewhere with a favorite book. And then Monday I'll have the whole 8 hour flight to read as well!

So what about YOU?

--Persy

Persy -- Wednesday Scrolls -- RAMFAP MONTH!

Okay, so maybe it's not as important as the caps make it out to be. At least, it's not life-threatening. Just very very cool, and very very important.

I have decided to make July the OFFICIAL Reread-As-Many-Favorites-As-Possible Month! RAMFAP Month, for short. This is going to be a thing FROM NOW ON. And you all have to participate, so don't leave me alone in this.

It's simple. Around now, you start picking what books to put in your lineup. If you're anything like me, you'll realize that there's waaay too many to read in just one month, but don't let that stop you! Just put your priority favorites at the top and see how far you get. We can even make it a competition: who can read the most favorites in Ramfap Month (should we shorten it even more to RM?)? Or if you want to be more relaxed, don't sweat it and just read one or two favorites. The important thing is to reread A favorite.

I'm going to make this an open Facebook event, and I'm also talking about it in my book vlogs. So here's what I want YOU to do: "join" the event on Facebook (just search for RAMFAP Month and if you can't find it, let me know); make a video response to my vlog about MY favorites with a list of the favorites YOU'RE going to read in July or post here or on the Facebook event about what favorites you're going to read; tell aaaall your friends; and GET EXCITED.

You guys really can't leave me alone in this, because it's going to be AWESOME. And I really want to know what your favorites are!

--Persy