Where Is Your Bookmark? (Featuring Inside Out & Back Again/My Favorite DC Characters/Do Ratings Matter When Buying a Book?)

As I write this, I see a lizard scurrying across the back fence.  I can hear the birds starting to sing in the trees as the sun begins to rise. I want to hold onto this peaceful moment  for a little while before I have to log in for work. Soon my daughter will be awake and, after breakfast, we will start on her school work for the day, me all the while hoping work isn't so busy I cannot juggle it and schooling at the same time (and hoping the little one wakes up on the right side of the bed this morning).  

Most of you will likely be reading this on Friday when I am back in the office, face mask on as required, and armed with my little bottle of hand sanitizer, which I wear hooked on my lanyard along with my work badge. There will not be many people in as my coworkers and I are rotating in and out for social distancing purposes. It is a bit eerie, really. I am working from home most of the week, but required to go in every Friday. 

Mouse and I currently are reading my April TBR Poll winner selection, Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai. This is Mouse's first free verse middle grade novel, and she seems to be enjoying it, even if she finds it sad. We are taking turns reading to each other. 

Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai (2011)

For all the ten years of her life, Hà has only known Saigon: the thrills of its markets, the joy of its traditions, the warmth of her friends close by...and the beauty of her very own papaya tree.

But now the Vietnam War has reached her home. Hà and her family are forced to flee as Saigon falls, and they board a ship headed toward hope. In America, Hà discovers the foreign world of Alabama: the coldness of strangers, the dullness of its food, the strange shape of its landscape...and the strength of her very own family.

This is the moving story of one girl's year of change, dreams, grief, and healing as she journeys from one country to another, one life to the next. [Goodreads Summary] 

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the wonderful Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

1975: Year of the Cat

Today is Tết,
the first day
of the lunar calendar.

My thoughts: The book opens with a celebration, although one that is shadowed by war. As the verse continues, the reader gets to see a hint of rebellion in our 10-year-old protagonist. My daughter and I instantly feel connected to Hà.

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

I choose my doll,
once lent to a neighbor
who left it outside,
where mice bit
her left cheek
and right thumb.

I love her more
for her scars.

I dress her
in a red and white dress
with matching hat and booties
that Mother knitted.

My thoughts: This is actually from page 55 & 56. It is one of my favorite excerpts we have read so far. This comes from a poem called "Choice," which describes what Hà chooses to take with her as they prepare to flee Saigon. It's the lines "I love her more for her scars" that gets to me every time I read it.


What do you think? Have you read Inside Out & Back Again? Does it sound like something you would like to read?

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

Do the star ratings a book receives on Goodreads or retail sites affect whether you buy the book or not? (submitted by Flora @ Flora's Musings)

When ratings might matter in my decision to buy a book:

• I am on the fence about a book.
• I am buying a book I have not read as a gift for someone.

In those two cases, I sometimes will turn to Goodreads or LibraryThing to help me decide. Goodreads reviews tend to be less critical than the reviews I find on LibraryThing, and so it gives me a good cross-range of the type of reader attracted to--or hating--a particular book. Frankly though, I never look just at the ratings. They do not tell me very much. Not to mention ratings leave a lot of room for interpretation. Besides, not everyone likes the same books.

I like to read a cross-section of reviews that fall under different ratings to get a good feel for the book I am on the fence about or thinking of buying as a gift for someone else. A lot of two star and below reviews are probably going to make me hesitate. Three stars--it all depends on what other readers have to say. Maybe they liked the book except for the romantic thread--something I would not mind in a book. Maybe they did not like that the book was preachy--something I would not like either.  I am suspicious when I come across a book with all five start reviews. How many reviews are there? Who is reviewing the book? How new is the book (because praise tends to be posted faster than the less than favorable opinions)? What do the reviews say? I prefer it when a book does not have all five star reviews. It keeps my expectations about a book realistic. Mostly, anyway.

Ultimately, ratings matter very little in my overall decision to purchase a book unless it is for one  of the two reasons mentioned above--and even that is with the caveat that I read the reviews that go along with the ratings. I am more likely to buy a book based on my interest level in reading it.

What about you? Do star ratings influence whether or not you purchase a book? 

Everyone has a favorite and then we also have something we dislike. Like a coin, there are two sides to every question. Each week, Carrie at The Butterfly Reads and Laura from Blue Eye Books ask participants to list what they like and don't like about that week's topic.

This week's topic is Favorite/Least Favorite DC Character

Admittedly, I am not too familiar with DC (or even Marvel) characters. I only know the ones I see on the popular or well-known television shows or movies. And even then, I probably do not know a quarter of them.

My least favorite DC Character is

Chesterfield Cobblepot (aka the Penguin), specifically the one in Batman Returns.


My favorite DC character is

Wonder Woman. I used to pretend to be her when I was a child (sometimes I would pretend she was my mother), and, even as an adult, I get excited whenever mention of the Woman Woman movies are made.

*

I missed out on last week's topic of Favorite Marvel Character and seeing as my husband and I are re-watching all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, I could not help but add in those too. Keep in mind my knowledge of Marvel characters is maybe just slightly broader than it is for DC, but still pretty slim.

My favorite Marvel character is

I think my husband wishes I would not go on about Captain America so much. There's just something about him--the time period he comes from, his strong moral fiber, and, well, Chris Evans does look good in that costume (embarrassingly, I had to ask my husband what his name for this post). So, yeah, Captain America is my favorite.


My least favorite Marvel character is

My least favorite was much harder to come to because I like all the superheroes (can Scarlet Witch please get more air time? She might be my favorite if she did), and the Marvel villains are all interesting. In the end, I am going with a group as opposed to a single character. They are insidious and evil, and sometimes I hear echoes of their belief system in real life people today, which is really scary.


Do you have favorite DC and Marvel characters? If so, please share! 

 I hope you all have a good weekend. Stay safe and well. Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!