Monday Minis – January 28th
Here’s our set of mini reviews this week!
Shari’s Minis:
Narwhal's Otter Friend by Ben Clanton on February 5, 2019
Genres: Children's Fiction, Picture Books
Pages: 72
Format: eBook
ISBN: 0735262489
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
"Hilarious and charming. The most lovable duo since Frog and Toad." --NYT-bestselling creator of the Dog Man and Captain Underpants series, Dav Pilkey
Narwhal and Jelly . . . and Otty?! Exuberant Narwhal and skeptical Jelly test the waters of adding a new friend to their pod when they meet Otty the super-adventurous otter in the fourth book of this blockbuster early graphic novel series!
Dive into three new stories about the joy of adventure and the power of friendship! In the first story, Otty the otter makes her debut splash; while Narwhal greets her with immediate enthusiasm, Jelly's not so sure about her...mostly because he worries she'll take his place as Narwhal's best friend. Readers will easily see why Narwhal's so excited to meet Otty, a boisterous explorer who even has an aunt who's a real live sea captain! But readers will also relate to Jelly's uneasiness seeing his best friend making a new pal.
Jelly tries to work out his jealousy in story two, and in story three, the new trio say "Ahoy, adventure!" and discover they all have more in common than they thought . . . including a love of waffles! Jelly also takes over the "Super Waffle and Strawberry Sidekick" comic providing a sidekick's-eye-view of defeating the dreaded dEVILed egg!
eARC received from publisher in exchange for an honest review
I love adorable illustrations, so it’s no surprise that I’ve followed Narwhal and Jelly in their adventures from the beginning. Clanton’s drawings and humour continue to be a delight and I specially loved that this instalment included facts about otters and jellyfish. Narwhal’s Otter Friend was a fun-tastic read with otterly charming characters. It’s full of water-ful puns too!
Insight: Why We're Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps Us Succeed at Work and in Life by Tasha Eurich Published by Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group on May 2, 2017
Genres: Non-fiction
Format: Audiobook
Length: 11h 28m
Source: Library
Goodreads
The first definitive book exploring the science of self-awareness, the meta-skill of the 21st century, Insight is a fascinating journey into everyone's favorite topic: themselves. Do you know who you really are? Do you ever wonder how other people really see you? Though we are usually confident that we do, we are wrong more often than we think. And if we could see ourselves through others eyes, we might be really surprised. Yet regardless of our line of work or stage of life, success depends on understanding who we are and how we come across. Research shows that self-awareness means better work performance, smarter life choices, deeper, more meaningful relationships, and a more fulfilling career. There s just one problem: people can be remarkably poor judges of their behavior, performance, and impact on others. And despite the lip service given today to feedback, in the business world and beyond, it's rare to get candid, objective data on what we re doing well, and where we could stand to improve. Of course, at work and in life, we ve all come across people with a stunning lack of self-awareness but how often do we consider whether we might have the same problem? And if we did, how would we even know it? Drawing on her three-year, first-of-its-kind study of people who have dramatically improved their self-awareness, organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich reveals why we don t know ourselves as well as we think and what to do about it. Alongside her research, she integrates hundreds of academic studies and her 15 years of work with Fortune 500 clients, challenging conventional wisdom to reveal many surprising truths like why introspection is the enemy of insight, how experience isn t a bullet train to self-knowledge, and just how far others will go to avoid telling us the truth about ourselves. Readers will learn battle-tested techniques and tools to improve self-awareness and thus their work performance, leadership skills, interpersonal relationships, and more. Insight is a guide surviving and thriving in an unaware world."
Insight provides an essential reminder that we are not as self-aware as we think. Rich with research data and evidence, Insight helps us question and examine our behaviour while offering practical ways on how we can do better. I found this book very eye-opening and it made me question whether I’m as self-aware as I thought I was. I appreciated how the author emphasized that becoming more self-aware is an ongoing process that needs to be checked on regularly, and no one is perfect at it. The book also referred to extra materials available for readers to use, and even mentions a group you can join to share your journey with others. I took away many insights (heh!) from this book and I hope more people pick it up!
Mackenzie’s Minis:
A Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner Published by Greenwillow Books on February 28, 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 312
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 0062642995
Goodreads
Discover the world of the Queen’s Thief
New York Times-bestselling author Megan Whalen Turner’s entrancing and award-winning Queen’s Thief novels bring to life the world of the epics and feature one of the most charismatic and incorrigible characters of fiction, Eugenides the thief. Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief novels are rich with political machinations and intrigue, battles lost and won, dangerous journeys, divine intervention, power, passion, revenge, and deception. The New York Times bestseller A Conspiracy of Kings won the Los Angeles Times Book Award and is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Marie Lu, Patrick Rothfuss, and George R. R. Martin.
After an attempted assassination and kidnapping, Sophos, heir to the throne of Sounis, disappears. Those who care for him—including the thief Eugenides and the Queen of Eddis—are left to wonder if he is alive and if they will ever see him again. The Queen’s Thief novels have been praised by writers, critics, reviewers, and fans and have been honored with glowing reviews, “best of” citations, and numerous awards, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, a Newbery Honor, the Andre Norton Award shortlist, and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award. Discover and rediscover the stand-alone companions, The Queen of Attolia, The King of Attolia, A Conspiracy of Kings, and Thick as Thieves, all epic novels set in the world of the Queen’s Thief.
This edition of A Conspiracy of Kings includes a conversation between bestselling author Leigh Bardugo and Megan Whalen Turner, an introduction to the characters from the world of the Queen’s Thief, a map of the world of the Queen’s Thief, and an exclusive teaser to Thick as Thieves.
I can’t say too much since this is the fourth book in a series and I don’t want to spoil the earlier books! But I really enjoyed this one. I didn’t think it was quite as good as the previous two books, but still amazingly well done. Things that were set up in the first book played out in this book! I want to go back and reread the whole series once I’m done to try and catch all the foreshadowing, because Turner is a master at it. I love that in each book we get to know the cast of characters better and better. I thought I wouldn’t like this as much because it didn’t have as much of Gen (the main character from the first three books) in it, but turns out I love Sophos (this book’s main character) as well!! Also I feel like no matter how good you are at guessing plot twists, there is always something that manages to shock and surprise you. The ending of this one!! I am excited to read the next installment 🙂
- Do you think you’ll add any of these books to your TBR?
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