Tag: Pets

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The Bookish Owl – Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

It’s time for assassins and disgruntled mummies with Pyramids by Terry Pratchett.

You didn’t think I was done with Discworld, did you?

I only have a few books left to finish my reread of this entire series, but I’m pacing myself. Running out of Pratchett books is one of the biggest problems I face in my reading life, so I’m rereading even those books that weren’t among my favorites the first time around. Pyramids doesn’t have the greatest story or characters, but it does have some pretty funny scenes. There’s Teppic getting ready for his Assassin’s exam and then promptly falling over from the weight of all the weapons he’s hidden on his person. And then there’s his prophetic dreams:

“There was seven fat cows and seven thin cows. One of them was playing the trombone.”

What the book needed was more Assassins. But considering I own two pairs of Assassin’s Guild socks, I might be bias…

Pyramids
by Terry Pratchett

It’s bad enough being new on the job, but Teppic hasn’t a clue as to what a pharaoh is supposed to do. After all, he’s been trained at Ankh-Morpork’s famed assassins’ school, across the sea from the Kingdom of the Sun. First, there’s the monumental task of building a suitable resting place for Dad — a pyramid to end all pyramids. Then there are the myriad administrative duties, such as dealing with mad priests, sacred crocodiles, and marching mummies. And to top it all off, the adolescent pharaoh discovers deceit, betrayal – not to mention a headstrong handmaiden – at the heart of his realm. 

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

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Of Bathtimes and Murderous Owls

Wet Owl Bath

Ever since the leg amputation, Artemis the owl has been doing remarkably well. He does, however, have trouble scratching away the loose feathers on his head. So what does a good owl momma do?

She gives him a bath, then take pictures of how absolutely pathetic he looks.

Wet Owl Bath

He looks like something you pull out of a blocked sewage pipe.

He also looks like someone who will kill me in my sleep, but I swear to you that he made his ‘happy sounds’ while he was drying in his cage, so I’m fairly sure it’s just the only expression available to a bird that’s mostly eyes and beak. If not, I might regret watching a lot of ‘How to Get Away With Murder’ with him…

He should be happy I didn’t  try to blowdry him. He would have ended up looking like a murderous Pomeranian and nobody wants that.

(Okay… Maybe I want to see it just a little bit…)

But it turns out that a lot of people relates strongly to the feelings portrayed in this photo, if the responses on Twitter are anything to go by. ‘Wet furious owl’ got ten times as many likes and comments as any of my new book announcements. It’s slightly depressing, but Artemis will always be the star of the show.

 

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The Bookish Owl – An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Another book, and this time it’s An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.

Overall I enjoyed this book. The romantic relationships between the characters seemed a bit juvenile compared to the dark themes of the book and the situation the characters found themselves in, but not so much that I felt it distracted from the rest of the book.

I bought the second book in the series and I look forward to seeing what happens next, because honestly, all the character screwed up a lot in the end of the first book.

An Ember in the Ashes
by Sabaa Tahir

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

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The Bookish Owl – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Today’s book is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling.

I don’t think I need to tell you that this book is fairly depressing. A lot of beloved characters die, but I’m going to completely ignore that for this post and instead focus on my favorite part of the book:

The Battle of Hogwarts.

All the awesome parts of this final battle don’t get enough credit, because everyone only tend to remember the deaths. But there is so much badassery going on. Not only has Neville turned into a surprisingly capable rebel leader, but the elderly ladies of Hogwarts are basically guerilla fighters when let loose. Professor McGonagall leading an army of animated desks and yelling “Charge!” might just be my all time favorite scene in a book. And Professor Sprout didn’t hesitate for a second when told she would need to fight, just rushing off to get every dangerous plant she could think of. Even Trelawney went berserker and cracked heads open by throwing crystal balls at them

Who cares about Harry, Ron and Hermione? Just piss off the lady professors, sic them on Voldemort, and be done with it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter is leaving Privet Drive for the last time. But as he climbs into the sidecar of Hagrid’s motorbike and they take to the skies, he knows Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters will not be far behind.

The protective charm that has kept him safe until now is broken. But the Dark Lord is breathing fear into everything he loves. And he knows he can’t keep hiding.

To stop Voldemort, Harry knows he must find the remaining Horcruxes and destroy them.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

 

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The Bookish Owl – Nation by Terry Pratchett

Nation by Terry Pratchett

We’re back with a familiar author on this blog, seeing as today’s book is Nation by Terry Pratchett.

I’ll admit that this book wasn’t quite what I expected. I felt like reading something funny, so of course I went with a Pratchett book, but ‘Nation’ starts out with the main character surviving the tsunami that wipes out his entire village and he then has to bury everyone he’s ever known and loved in the sea.

So, yeah… Funny.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great book. It is very deep and enjoyable, and not as dark as the beginning leads you to believe. It was, however, not quite the right book to pick when you needed a laugh. It still has a lot of Pratchett’s usual wit to lighten the dark themes, but it’s still more serious than his other books.

Nation
by Terry Pratchett

Finding himself alone on a desert island when everything and everyone he knows and loved has been washed away in a huge storm, Mau is the last surviving member of his nation. He’s also completely alone – or so he thinks until he finds the ghost girl. She has no toes, wears strange lacy trousers like the grandfather bird and gives him a stick which can make fire.

Daphne, sole survivor of the wreck of the Sweet Judy, almost immediately regrets trying to shoot the native boy. Thank goodness the powder was wet and the gun only produced a spark. She’s certain her father, distant cousin of the Royal family, will come and rescue her but it seems, for now, all she has for company is the boy and the foul-mouthed ship’s parrot.

As it happens, they are not alone for long. Other survivors start to arrive to take refuge on the island they all call the Nation and then raiders accompanied by murderous mutineers from the Sweet Judy. Together, Mau and Daphne discover some remarkable things – including how to milk a pig and why spitting in beer is a good thing – and start to forge a new Nation.

Nation by Terry Pratchett