Xepherus Reads

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons !   Top 5 Wednesday is a Goodreads Book Club that meets weekly to answer questions presented.  Our moderators are YouTubers, Lainey (GingerReadsLainey) and Samantha (ThoughtsOnTomes). I enjoy how every week this group brings the book community together. Great fun!   This week's question asks: What are Top 5 Books from 2017 that you did not read that you want to get to in 2018 ? .   Caraval by Stephanie Garber- I was ready to pick this one up, and for some reason it got lost in my TBR stack. With the sequel, Legendary, arriving on May 29, 2018. I definitely want to get to this. Into That Bright Unknown by Rae Carson- Since I have the trilogy and have read book one, it is time to take on book two and this book, part three. I loved Walk on Earth a Stranger so much, and this should be a fitting conclusion to this wonderful historical fiction trio. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz- A bookseller literally shov...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons !   Top 5 Wednesday is a Goodreads Book Club that meets weekly to answer questions presented.  Our moderators are YouTubers, Lainey (GingerReadsLainey) and Samantha (ThoughtsOnTomes). I enjoy how every week this group brings the book community together. Great fun!   This week's question asks: What are your Top 5 Reading Resolutions? I always love the turning of the year. I feel revitalized and feel that I can now begin with a clean slate. Here are my Top Five Reading Resolutions: Visit my local libraries more often- I have several libraries in my area that have a lot of great programs that I would like to attend. And I want to save money by checking out titles. Visit thrift stores for my books- Again, save money. I want to begin a weekly visit to my local thrift stores again. I fell out of that habit once the holidays began to arrive. Donate books to charity that I do not plan to read- I have a lot of book...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons !   Top 5 Wednesday is a Goodreads Book Club that meets weekly to answer questions presented.  Our moderators are YouTubers, Lainey (GingerReadsLainey) and Samantha (ThoughtsOnTomes). I enjoy how every week this group brings the book community together. Great fun!   This week's question asks: What are your Top 5 Favorite Childhood Reads?     While I was gro wing up I loved reading books. The Scholastic Book Fair that a nnually occured at my elementary school was an epic part of my life at a kid. I would always get involved with read-a-thons and always had my book reports in on time. My teachers would reward readers with small trinkets like stickers o r candy pieces, and the library was always my haunt before and after school. When my elementary school was set to be demolished I knew that I had to visit one last time while it was open before the fences went up and the cranes got to work with the w rec king ...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons !   Many of you have been asking me: W hy does some one re-read a book?   I have a few reasons why I re-read books : Series Re-Reads - Many times I get involved in a series of books. Duologies, t rilogies and l ong- t erm s eries are my main factors. If a book was released in 201 5 and a year later its sequel comes out, I may have forgotten important details in the story line that I need to revisit. I can do this by referencing parts of the novel, or I can just set aside some time to re-read the entire book. I find that re -reading the entire novel is the best way.   Seasonal and Holiday Re-Reads- I tend to re-read certain books at certain times of the year. For Halloween I re-read the Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. For Christmas I pull out my Christmas Story leather bound book by Charles Dickens. I also have re-read S.E. Hinto n's Outsiders in the Summer, which reminds me of being a teenager and rea...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!   Tuesday Talks is a Goodreads Group serving the book community that is moderated by YouTubers, Janie Johnson and her book pal, Janelle. Check it out!    This week's Tuesday Talks question is: Do You Shop for Specific Books, or Are You a Browser?   When I venture out to look for books I usually shop both ways.  When I am at a thrift shop or book fair I am looking for specific books to either complete a series or to find the more harder to find or out of print books. Just recently I began re-reading my childhood favorites. Many of them are hard to find. That is where the thrift shop and book fairs come in handy. With books either free or ranging from fifty cents to two dollars, it is a very inexpensive way to get the books that you need to complete a series of favorites. My box full of Janet Evanovich books I found at book fairs last year were a wonderful investment. I have read almost...

   Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,   I have asked myself this question many times, answering it with fond memories.  What impact did books have on me as a kid?   I began to read when I was very young. It started with comic books that my parents purchased for me every week. I would pour over the pictures and try to decipher the word balloons on my own. I was purchased Little Golden Books, books based on comic book characters, and the occasional workbook. My mother was an avid reader that loaded our home with bookcases filled with books. As I began to read more, I was given my own shelf and that made me very happy.  One of my favorite book covers as a kid   It was not until the early 1980s that I discovered Beverly Cleary, Lois Lowry, John Bellairs, and Judy Blume. These Yearling and Scholastic books were purchased in bulk from Waldenbooks (remember that place?) by my mother, as I entered into solo reading. My kid brain...

Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons,   Last month I managed to get only a few books finished and reviewed. March has started out pretty slow due mainly to my schedule. But I have goals, and I wanted to share them with you.   I will be releasing my answers to Tuesday Talks and Top 5 Wednesday weekly.  I am also working on a Comic Book Pull List for this blog that will run also every Tuesday of the month.  I am looking to write at least six book reviews.  I will be going through my Advanced Reader Copies to pick upcoming books for review, starting with Double Down by Gwenda Bond. I plan to catch up on my graphic novels, with reviews coming for those, as well.   In march I am looking to finish at least six books. On my to read list I have the flowing:   Dashing Through the Snow by Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark Lois Lane: Double Down by Gwenda Bond Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates Find Her by ...

  Hello, Fellow Book Worms and Book Dragons!   I t is time for another Tuesday Talks question !   For those of you who are not famil iar with this Goodreads group: we meet every week and share our answers to the   questions presented to us by Janie Johnson and her fellow Youtuber fri end, Janelle. It is a fun and very diverse group, that never ceases to make me add new reads to my to be read list!    This week's answer comes in late due to my schedule . But, here is my answer to this week's question: Have you ever met your favorite author ? I f so did it change the way you thought about books ? I did not meet my choice for this question, but I did receive correspondence via mail at a an age that made an impact.   When I was nine years old I was a huge fan of L ois Lowry. I loved her books, and wanted to let her know. I wrote to her in my handwritten , elementary school writin g (on paper... yes, we did that in the eighties), and se...