Little Bird Reads

5.13.2013

The world of Harry Potter

I have been a bit absent from the blogosphere this past week. I fell into a bit of a reading funk so to pull myself out of it I started in on a reread of Harry Potter. That always pulls me out! Plus, I have been extremely busy... I just started my new job and have spent a good chunk of time tearing down and cleaning out my old classroom, then more time setting up my new classroom. I am finally settled in at the new school and my class is running smoothly... feeling well adjusted.
I have a few books ready to roll and I am actually thinking of writing my thoughts up about rereading Harry Potter as well... I like the idea of writing a review based on my observations now, as an adult, after many many readings.
More to come soon! See you around!

write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

Gotta love a sweet book trailer

Eric Smith from Quirk Books sent me this video link for The Resurrectionist... this is SUCH an amazing book and the book trailer is pretty sweet too. Best part: it is due out later this month! You can check out my review of The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black here.

write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

FTC: I received a review copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review

Book Blogger Hop

Welcome to another Friday of Book Blogger Hop!... and another week of late posting!

May 10th - 16th

^^^ link up here! ^^^

As always, Billy is our fabulous host and our question comes from Tanya

This week she asks us:

What was the last book you re-read?

Oh, well I guess we're going back to my stock answer of Harry Potter!! I love the series and have reread it a trillion times (okay, maybe that is an exaggeration) and am perpetually reading the series. I just finished this up last night (Sunday) and started Prisoner of Azkaban.

I *really* wish I had this copy!

write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

5.07.2013

Book Blogger Hop

Happy Friday Book Blogger Hop Buddies!!

(Tuesday edit: whoops!... look like I forgot to hit publish and only saved it as a draft!)

May 3rd - 9th <<<< link up here!

Billy is our gracious host and this week we have another question from Tanya over at Girlxoxo.

She asks:

What is the last book you read that was recommended by someone else? Did you like it?

That would have to be These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf. My friend turned me on to her with The Weight of Silence, and then she read These Things Hidden and told me I absolutely had to read that too. I loved it... it is another great book..this is one I gave 5 stars. If you're interested, I reviewed it here.

write to be understood, speak to be heard, read to grow

4.30.2013

The Resurrectionist

The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black

Can I just start out by saying that I was THRILLED when Eric from Quirk Books sent me the summary of this book?! It instantly caught my attention, especially when he said it was a "cross between Mary Shelly's Frakenstein and Gray's Anatomy." I mean seriously, how could that NOT get you excited?! It was hard, but I saved it to read during Dewey's Read-a-thon, and enjoyed it in one sitting!

About the book:

Philadelphia. The late 1870s. A city of cobblestone sidewalks and horse-drawn carriages. Home to the famous anatomist and surgeon Dr. Spencer Black. The son of a “resurrectionist” (aka grave robber), Dr. Black studied at Philadelphia’s esteemed Academy of Medicine, where he develops an unconventional hypothesis: What if the world’s most celebrated mythological beasts—mermaids, minotaurs, and satyrs— were in fact the evolutionary ancestors of humankind?

The Resurrectionist offers two extraordinary books in one. The first is a fictional biography of Dr. Spencer Black, from his humble beginnings to the mysterious disappearance at the end of his life. The second book is Black’s magnum opus: The Codex Extinct Animalia, a Gray’s Anatomy for mythological beasts—dragons, centaurs, Pegasus, Cerberus—all rendered in meticulously detailed black-and-white anatomical illustrations. You need only look at these images to realize they are the work of a madman. The Resurrectionist tells his story.

My thoughts:

I absolutely LOVED The Resurrectionist. It really is two books in one, and both are exceptional. The first half of the book is all about Dr. Spencer Black. Hudspeth put this part of the book together as if it were a short biography of the mysterious Dr. Black, gathered through letters and journal entries. As I was reading, it was easy to get caught up in the story and almost forget that this was fiction. I loved that. There was a lot of mystery surrounding Dr. Black, however I do think that his character could be flushed out a bit more. I understand we need mystery, but I would have loved to know a bit more about him.

I also really enjoyed the inclusion of journal entries and letters throughout the first half of this book. It added a dose of historical relevance and dialogue that illustrates just how ahead of his times Dr. Black was.

The second part of this book is in one word stunning. Hudspeth is a masterful artist. The Codex Extinct Animalia reads like a beautiful anatomy text. This is not only Dr. Black's crowning jewel, but E.B. Hudspeth's as well. The artwork within is simply incredible. My breath was taken away more than once as I read through The Codex. Extremely detailed is both illustration and text, this second half of the book is more than worth the splurge of glossy hardcover. With anatomical renderings of such animals as Pegasus Gorgonis, Ganesha Orientis, and Minotaurus Asterion, you will be blown away and transported to another worth where these creatures just could exist.

The Resurrectionist is incredible. It is one of those stories that comes around once in a blue moon and leaves you wondering how one mind can create such mystery and beauty.