The Sweet Far Thing

Today I finished the Gemma Doyle Trilogy. I never made a post about the second book Rebel Angels by my sister did. You can read her review below. 

In The Sweet Far Thing, Gemma and her friends Felicity and Ann try to solve the mystery of the Magic of the Realms. The Realms is a magical land of good and evil and everything in between. The story depicts this place as where you go after you die before you go on to heaven or wherever else you go according the Libba Bray. 

Gemma, in all three books, has visions that direct her to solving the mystery of this magic that is within her. In this, the third book, she tries to solve the mystery of the Tree of all Souls. She has the magic of the Realms within her and she has to decide what is the best course of action, on what to do with it. Who is to be trusted who should she turn from. I think this is a good example of why you should not judge a book by its cover and that you can't always trust what is in your heart for it is the first to deceive you. There are people that she trusts that she shouldn't have trusted and people that she should have trusted that she didn't. But that is real life if you ask me. One lesson that she learns through all three books is that you can't live in the past and regret the choices that you have made but to move on to the future and make the best of what was made. 

I find that there is a bit of controversy over the ending of the series. I do agree that the third book is a bit long and that it is a bit scattered. I think that Libba shouldn't have put a limit on herself to making a trilogy and left it open to writing more. She could have split the book in two and developed more and had it less like a run on sentence but thus she has not and like I said in the last paragraph you cannot live in the past. But back to how I feel about the ending. There are parts that make me very sad. I know that my sister thinks that Bray could have done something else but I feel that the course that the book took was more to reality (granted this is a fantasy book, a fairy tale; still it left me with a feeling that that is how life is) that not everything turns out how you would hope. There is not always going to be a happy ending in real life. You will be heart broken, you will cry for days, you will be disappointed and you will loose things very dear to your heart and mind. That is life. There is  time for everything, happiness and heartache. It comes, that is the way of life. I feel that the choices that Gemma made for her life were good choices. I feel that she was true to herself and who she was as a person. I am glad that she chose to allow herself to think and not be conformed to the mold that society tries to force on you. Good job Gemma. 

Do I recommend this book? Yes, I do. Even though it could have been better I still think it is a good story. I think that if you are to read any of these books that you should read them all. It is a continuing story after. 

Happy reading

~Christine

Rebel Angels

Last night, I finished reading the sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty of the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray, Rebel Angels!  I was really excited about the story and had even checked out the book on CD to listen to on my drive to Oroville today for my best friend Morgan's going away party, but like I said, I finished it last night, so the CD's and the book will be returned fairly soon.  

This second installment follows the young Miss Gemma Doyle in her Christmas holiday away from school to the bustling town of London where she has many adventures with her friends, deals with family problems and meets the dashing Mr. Simon Middleton.  Even though the pressures and politics of being a lady seem to rule their lives, Gemma and her friends still find time to whisk away into the magical realms that they discovered only months before.  However, things in the realm have changed due to unforeseen circumstances that I would rather not disclose as they conclude the first book of the series.  The girls, now equipped with the mission of figuring out how to save the realms, roam the streets of London by giving their chaperone's the slip in search of answers.  Though the journey is marked by mysteries, surprises and shocking events, the girls make their way through each learning something more about themselves but also retreating to their easy pasts and ultimately doing what they know in their hearts is the right thing to do.   Gemma, Ann, Felicity and Pippa's friendships all become stronger, even though they all have their secrets, hopes and fears that they keep from one another and can sometimes be cruel towards each other.  But deep down, I believe that they all know they need each other, even if that is the last thing they want to admit.  As Gemma says at the end of the book, "And for a moment, I understand that I have friends on this lonely path, that sometimes your place is not something you find, but something you have when you need it."

I started the final book A Sweet Far Thing, today and I look forward to what happens next and to see where all the girls end up as the school year is coming to an end and their lives are to begin.  Will they do what is expected of them?  Or will they dare to be all that they can be in a world that dictates their lives?  As Gemma points out as a glimpse of hope, "Beyond that, Buckingham Palace stands, governed by a woman."

Happy reading everyone!  And as always, please feel free to comment on your thoughts of the books or join us in reading them as well!

~Sarah

A Great and Terrible Beauty

Last night I finished reading the first installment of the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray, A Great and Terrible Beauty while waiting in line for the midnight showing of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince premier.  I was even photographed reading it by a local newspaper!  I was sad when it was over, mostly because of the story but also because I knew I still had 3 hours until midnight and because the sequel was waiting at home on my shelf.

The story surrounds young Gemma Doyle, an English girl raised by her British family in India during the late 1800's who longs to return to England and soon gets her wish after her mother's mysterious death and the devastation of her father.  Along with the mystery of her mother's death, there is the added mystery of the strange visions that seem to over power her.  Sent off to boarding school, Spence's Academy for Young Girls, she makes friends who at times can be more like adversaries than friends and realizes the struggles of fitting in while also finding that even the most popular girls have their secrets and fears to hide as well.  In one of her visions, she is lead to a cave where she finds the secret diary of mysterious Mary Dowd, a girl who she discovers experienced the same type of visions she does and also attended her school.  With the diary in hand, she sets out to learn what is happening to her, how to control it,  what this mysterious Order is about and more importantly who she is in a society that dictates how a lady should be.

As Christine said, there are the evident themes of friendship, trust, love, acceptance and power each pertaining to Gemma or one of her friends, Ann, Felicity and Pippa who in the end need to come to terms with their circumstance, even if it is a tragic, terrible beauty.

I'm excited for the next book, Rebel Angels; to find out what Gemma does next and what journeys her and her friends will embark upon.  If you've read or are reading this book, please feel free to comment with your thoughts on the story.  If you have never read it, please do and join our book club's journey with Gemma Doyle.

Happy reading!

~Sarah

The Great and Terrible Beauty

I finished the book The Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray today. I enjoyed the book very much. The plot of the book is that the heroine of the book is Gemma Doyle, has visions of things and she is seeking to find out who she is and why these things happen to her.

This book has a bit of mystery, romance and fantasy all rolled into one. It is funny, tragic and even has a moral at the end. This is a story of family, friendship and love; there is a measure of shame of ones self, learning to trust others with the truth of who you are and belief in hope that you can live up to your dreams or at least not be the mediocre that hunts us everyday. 

 I will end with a bit of a quote from the book about friendship, "That's why it's the most terrifying thing in the world, really- taking someone on faith, hoping they'll take you on faith too. It's such a precarious balance, it's a wonder we do it at all. And yet..."

Christine

PS if you have anything you would like to say about the book or would like to discuss anything just post a comment. 

  

The Gemma Doyle Trilogy

  

The first official series that this book club is recommending is the Gemma Doyle trilogy by Libba Bray.  This series as well as other series we have read in the past couple of months was recommended to me by a friend at my old job, Breezy.  If one good thing came out of that job, it was the 4 series that she introduced to us including, The Luxe by Anna Godbersen, The Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz and Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.  As we both like those three series, when Christine asked me what we should read next, I told her of the last series that Breezy recommended and here we are!  We also thought it would be a great way to kick off our book club! 

The first book is A Great and Terrible Beauty, the second Rebel Angels and the final one, The Sweet Far Thing.  It is the story of young Gemma, an English girl in the late 1880's who just moves to England from India after her mother dies.  What is also interesting about this series is that they are planning on releasing a movie based on the books next year!  So that is very exciting!

Stay tuned for our reviews as we will be posting them accordingly!  Please feel free to read the series along with us and share your comments and thoughts or to let us know what you thought of the series if you have already read them!  But no spoilers please!  Thanks so much and happy reading!

~Sarah

Welcome!!!

The Reading is my Hobby book club was founded by two sisters who love to read but also love to read the same books and discuss them.  Since Christine lives in Hawaii and Sarah lives in California, club meetings were bound to be difficult, so the idea of an online club was born.  During a recent visit, the girls decided to solidify the club by coming up with a name and figuring out how the club would work as they hoped others would join as well.  One night over dinner, the discussion turned to hobbies and how people use them to occupy their free time.  Trying to figure out what constituted a hobby, they decided that it was a pastime that one would get something out of.  Both the sisters felt like they didn’t have a hobby, as they like to spend their free time reading.  Sarah’s husband was adamant that reading wasn’t a hobby, but the sisters referred back to the definition that they had just discussed, something to pass time with but also obtain some sort of satisfaction in the end result.  The girls stated that 1) they spend time reading and 2) they obtain a story to savor in their memory and to enrich their minds.  They decided right then that reading was a hobby, but more importantly, their hobby!

Further more, according to dictionary.com, a hobby is an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation.  Also, Complete Lists, by Wikipedia lists reading books in ninth place on the List of Popular Hobbies.

This blog is the online meeting place for the Reading is my Hobby book club.  It is operated by both of us sisters.  We will be adding reading shelves for both of us as well as listing links to book reviews we have posted on other blogs.  The posts will be on books the club has chosen to highlight, read and discuss.

This book club is open to any reader who feels the same way we do about reading but most importantly, all readers are welcome to join!  If you want to join, please comment with your name and blog site so we can add you to our list of members and please feel free to comment on any blog postings as to further any book discussions!  Thanks for looking and happy reading!

 ~Christine & Sarah

List of Members

* Christine (founder)

* Sarah (founder)

* Irene