Book Haus

Hey again! This is a really speedy read (yet another graphic novel) called Celeste, which, first of all, has gorgeous art

(I mean, get a load of that) and also a really spooky, surreal vibe to the whole thing, with few words but just enough to make it super interesting. Again, it’s very short, and my favorite thing about it is that much of it can be left up to interpretation meaning-wise. Go read it, it’s gorgeous!

Hey kids I’m back with another book review! This week, I’m doing Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk.

This book is a story told by the last remaining survivor of a Creedish death cult from the recording of a plane about to crash. Already a pretty disturbing opening, this book deals in a satirical way with many unsettling topics throughout the course of the main character’s life, such as suicide, morality, and ultimately the dark demands of the media. Though admittedly this book was creepy and gross enough to freak me out a little (a lot), I couldn’t put it down-- it’s very well-written, mesmerizing, and often pretty hilarious. Though not for the faint of heart, I would definitely recommend this book.

Hey guys it’s me and I am back from the throes of death!!

Basically today I’m recommending this totally rockin’ comic book series that you probably have heard of from those stupid hipster websites called Scott Pilgrim.

The art in this book is A+ the characters are A+ the plot and coherence of it I’ll give a B (mainly being there are so many damn characters it just gets annoying to keep track of, but there’s a nice little chart at least in the beginning of the books to help out!)

The plot is pretty good, based on twenty something (22? 23?) Scott Pilgrim who is fighting all of his girlfriends ex boyfriends (and one girlfriend) to get the privilege to...date her? Be officially together? Get married?? Spoiler alert: super lame ending

Hey y’all! My book rec this week is another graphic novel called Just So Happens by Fumio Obata.

This book is a very quick read; in fact, I finished it in one night, but it’s incredibly beautiful in art, language, and story. It’s about a young woman named Yumiko who has built a life for herself in London and separated herself, in many ways, from the family and culture she grew up in. That is, until she receives the news that her father has died. She returns to Tokyo to see her family and must work through topics such as grief, identity, relationships to loved ones, the fear of disappointing them, and where her future lies.

Though I’m not generally one for more realistic storylines, this book is so powerful and real that it was amazing to read and honestly sat with me for quite a while in the way it makes the reader look at the world. It has a gorgeous art style, intriguing metaphor and a very unique beauty to it that I would definitely recommend.

Hello everyone! For my second review this week, I’m doing the book Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris, one of my favorite writers. Though it isn’t the holiday season quite yet, I would still reccomend reading this book at any time of the year.

David Sedaris writes short stories and essays, and you can find both in this book. He writes fiction and also stories from his life. The main and longest memoir in this book is the first story about his personal experience working as an elf in SantaLand in New York City. It’s hilarious, and I would really reccomend reading it. The other ones in the book are all published around the holiday season as well.

Strengths about this book are how funny it is, and he has a very sarcastic, dry sense of humor. However, if you are really bothered by dark humor, I would be more cautious around reading his work, not just this book, because he talks a lot about more mature themes.

This is a great gift to give someone you know like short essays, and if you’re more tentative around reading novels because of theur length, I would also check this out. Short stories and essays can often be a great way to get into reading because of their shorter length.

I almost forgot to post today but here I am

So today my book rec is Go Ask Alice by Anonymous. This book was so good and just so raw and like wowie oh my god. 10/10 would recommend to anyone who is looking to get some insight on the world of drugs through the eyes of an actual teenage girl.

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Haikyuu!! Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei Characters: Tsukishima Kei, Kuroo Tetsurou Additional Tags: the title says it all, bohemian rhapsody is so important, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Underage Drinking Series: Part 1 of jaywalkers Summary:

Today on ways not to start your study break: unless your breakeven analysis looks like something out of a failed Tetris game, try to avoid being hit by cars. (Or, the story of how Tsukishima Kei discovered a niche category of annoying human beings.)

☼

Hey, Guys! It’s Tess.

   Like the loser I am, the majority of prose that I read takes the form of fanfiction. Am I embarrassed by this? Slightly. Do I think the quality of fanfiction isn’t on par with published literature? Absolutely not. So I’m going to share with you guys some of my favorites every week. At the moment, the two fandoms I am invested in are Haikyuu and Voltron. If you aren’t into either of these, I apologize. But let’s give it a shot.

   We start out with this series: Jaywalkers. Probably one of the best pieces, or in this case collection of pieces, I’ve ever had the pleasure to read. I have linked the first installment of the series, and each installment contributes to a larger plot.

  I’m going to attempt to summarize the mess that is this ongoing trainwreck as best as I can. Our story takes place at a college, centered around a group of friends who have an uncountable variety of inside jokes and roles around the campus. We meet Tsukishima Kei, on his drunken way to Le Petit Tangerine after one too many drinks. As he’s going on his way, Tsukishima Kei is almost run over by a cherry red Prius. It’s later revealed that this cherry red Prius belongs to a man by the name of Kuroo Tetsurou. Atheist. Baker. Queen cover artist extraordinaire. 

  They continue to meet through less than desirable circumstances and Kuroo takes it upon himself to annoy the living shit out of Tsukishima– while maybe falling in love along the way. Over the course of this (currently 17-installment) story, we are introduced to a beautiful, quirky, absurd cast of characters, including but not limited to: Iwaizumi the Angry Review Guy, Akaashi the God of Disc-Jockeying, Sugawara Koushi (he has standards!), Hinata the Hug Guy, and of course Gecko Tooru. 

  The author of the series is kind of a genius. Her use of language is beautiful and can instantly transport you into the world of jaywalkers. You feel like you are a part of this wacky friend group, and the humor can make you laugh until your stomach hurts. But it can also make you cry too, and I am consistently amazed by the amount of meaning, symbolism, and imagery the author can pack into this piece. I recommend this piece to anyone. You don’t even need to watch Haikyuu to enjoy the jaywalkers series. Just sit back, relax, and let Gecko Tooru guide you through this insane universe.

  This series gets a solid 10/10 for writing quality, characterization, setting, and plot. 

  I hope you’ll like it as much as I do!!! 

Hey kids it’s gonna be kinda brief but my book recommendation is Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons! 

It’s a graphic novel about superheros, but not at all in a conventional way. As someone who normally isn’t a huge comic fan, the book was nothing like I expected and was honestly absolutely amazing. 

It begins with the death of a man named Edward Blake, aka the Comedian. This starts rumors of a conspiracy to dispose of “costumed adventurers”, and spirals into many other events, showing what it means to be a “superhero” on many different levels. The plot becomes very complex, so I’m going to leave it at that, but it is an extraordinarily intriguing book in so many ways; amazing writing and art, well-rounded characters, and metaphor and insight to human morality that can keep a deep conversation going for hours.

This book is a little hard to follow at times and not super big on the representation, but it’s made up for with all of these incredibly intelligent symbols and plot points that dig so much deeper than a regular comic book.

Alright y'all it’s Tuesday again so here we go

Today I’m gonna be recommending a book I just recently started to read called Romeo and/or Juliet by Ryan North.

This book is so good and so unique, I love it. The style is super funny and straight to the point and, here’s the big thing: it’s a choose your own adventure book! With over 50 different endings and around 400 pages, this book is very entertaining. You can play as Romeo or Juliet, and in some parts both Romeo and Juliet.

Although some parts can get a bit repetitive…

Hey! For my book review I’ll be recommending Jacqueline Carey’s Santa Olivia, a book I read earlier this year and could honestly not put down for several days.

The book is set in a dystopian future in a town called Outpost 12, completely isolated from the rest of the world after a flu pandemic. The story centers around two half-siblings; Tom, who hopes to escape the town and see the world by becoming a boxing champion, and primarily Loup, a girl who has inherited her father’s strangely engineered genes. She has to hide her abilities, but this proves to be difficult– along with her strength and agility, she is unable to feel fear.

Ngl, I got this book for one main reason: I found it on an LGBTQ+ fantasy/sci-fi book list and was hoping for the best, since it’s almost impossible to find a well-written queer character, and even harder to find one in my favorite genre. But this book pulled it of perfectly. The book had raw and realistic wlw romance, strong female characters, and absolutely gorgeous writing. Along with this, it had almost entirely non-white characters, so the overall amount of representation was amazingly refreshing. Though the plot at times seemed to drag on a bit, this book was overall just genius.

I’d definitely recommend this book, especially to anyone else who adores sci-fi and fantasy but is getting a little sick of the constant straight white male love stories. This book is a unique take on the overused werewolf and superhero tropes, and I absolutely loved it.

Topics such as death, suicide, self-harm, and drug use are mentioned, and if you are sensitive to that then this is definitely not the book for you.

Hello everyone! This thursday I’ll be reviewing the book We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach. This book made me sit in a daze for the following few hours after I was finished with it, so I’d definitely recommend it to anyone I can.

The plot follows the stories of four people, Eliza, Peter, Anita, and Andy. Each of the chapters is told from a different point of view, which I have seen done in many YA novels in a way that comes off as tacky, but Wallach does such a good job with meshing their stories and really making the chapter switches flow that I have nothing to complain about. The book follows the four teens and their life after they realize that an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth.

The book explores themes such as being mentally and emotionally ready for sex, tumultuous relationships with family, and questioning if life really means anything. These topics are dark, so if you’re not a person who would want to read about them then I would not recommend this book. However, the topics are dealt with in a very real and raw way, which is just another reason why the book is so good. The characters are also very flawed, which makes them seem so much more real and personal.

Hey everyone! For my first book review, I’m recommending Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I read this book in two days, it was that good. 

The book is fantasy/YA, but it’s definitely not like a typical YA book or for young kids. It actually has a lot of adult themes, so I would only recommend reading it if those issues don’t bother you! The story is set in a world inspired by Tsarist Russia, so there are several things that are very connected to the real world. 

The story is about a group of thieves who have to break a prisoner out of one of the most highly secured locations in the world. It switches POV through several characters, and each one has a really incredible backstory. My favorite thing about this book is the amazing characters. Not only is this book amazing with racial diversity, there are strong female and canon LGBTQ characters. It makes it a much more interesting read because you aren’t getting the same straight white male victor trope. Each character is super interesting and flawed, which makes the story all the more interesting. 

Though I loved this book, it is definitely not for everyone. However, if you are tentative because it’s fantasy/YA, I would still recommend trying it out. It is definitely a read for someone more mature because it does deal with mature themes, but still injects humor regularly in the writing. If you are bothered easily by some topics, definitely be more cautious around reading this. 

However, I love this book, and I can’t wait to read the sequel (which just came out)! I think I am going to read Leigh Bardugo’s other series first though, which is set in the same universe, but a different time period with other characters.

You can find it on amazon here and the first book in Leigh Bardugo’s first series, The Grisha Trilogy, here. I hope you liked this review!

Hey guys it’s Tuesday! And it’s also me, Tuesday! (huehuehue)

So today I’m going to be recommending a fantastic fiction book called Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. 

This book captivated me. The basic plot centers around Jacob Jankowski, a man in his nineties remembering his past days in The Benzini Brothers’ Most Spectacular Show on Earth (a circus that he worked on in the thirties).

I loved this book. The plot is amazing, meshing past and present in a way that’s fun to read and not confusing. You can clearly tell when it switches, and even when it focuses on the present it makes the life of an old man in a retirement home interesting. The circus life is incredible, with description enough to give the picture yet not so much that it overwhelms you. The dialogue is spectacular, as is the characterization. I strongly recommend this book for anyone who likes fiction or partially historical fiction. 

We’re a group made out of seven friends, writers, and readers. Our goal for this blog is to share and review some of our favorite piece of writing and hope you’ll enjoy them too. We have one person of our group updating for each of the days of the week so look forward to lots of different kinds of writing. Check out our tags for specific reviewers or genres! The schedule goes as follows:

Monday - Tess

Tuesday - Tuesday

Wednesday - Emily

Thursday - Jay

Friday - Piper

Saturday - Cleo

Sunday - Everhart

We hope you have fun reading with us!

Sincerely,