Posted in books, reading, writing

Tiny Navajo Writes: Thursday Three TBR

Hey guys! I know that I missed writing a Top Ten Tuesday this week, so I thought I would take the opportunity to write a Thursday Threes on the same topic. This week’s TTT topic is all about the Spring TBR.

I don’t really do TBRs based on the season or on the time of year, it’s more about what books I need to read soonish, and which books can be put off a bit longer before I get to enjoy them. So, these are the top three books that I need to read sooner, rather than later!

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Lore by Alexandra Bracken

Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.

Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family’s sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man–now a god–responsible for their deaths.

Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.

The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore’s decision to bind her fate to Athena’s and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost–and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.

Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke

Of Silver and Shadow by Jennifer Gruenke

Ren Kolins is a silver wielder—a dangerous thing to be in the kingdom of Erdis, where magic has been outlawed for a century. Ren is just trying to survive, sticking to a life of petty thievery, card games, and pit fighting to get by. But when a wealthy rebel leader discovers her secret, he offers her a fortune to join his revolution. The caveat: she won’t see a single coin until they overthrow the King.

Behind the castle walls, a brutal group of warriors known as the King’s Children is engaged in a competition: the first to find the rebel leader will be made King’s Fang, the right hand of the King of Erdis. And Adley Farre is hunting down the rebels one by one, torturing her way to Ren and the rebel leader, and the coveted King’s Fang title.

But time is running out for all of them, including the youngest Prince of Erdis, who finds himself pulled into the rebellion. Political tensions have reached a boiling point, and Ren and the rebels must take the throne before war breaks out.

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in fear and anticipation of the blood ceremony that will determine whether she will become a member of her village. Already different from everyone else because of her unnatural intuition, Deka prays for red blood so she can finally feel like she belongs.

But on the day of the ceremony, her blood runs gold, the color of impurity–and Deka knows she will face a consequence worse than death.

Then a mysterious woman comes to her with a choice: stay in the village and submit to her fate, or leave to fight for the emperor in an army of girls just like her. They are called alaki–near-immortals with rare gifts. And they are the only ones who can stop the empire’s greatest threat.

Knowing the dangers that lie ahead yet yearning for acceptance, Deka decides to leave the only life she’s ever known. But as she journeys to the capital to train for the biggest battle of her life, she will discover that the great walled city holds many surprises. Nothing and no one are quite what they seem to be–not even Deka herself.

These the the top three books that I need to read soonish! Let me know what you think, have you read them yet? What do you think of them? Comment below and let me know! I’m curious as to what you’ve thought of them.

Posted in book reviews, books, children, reading, writing

Tiny Navajo Writes: Three Native America Books You Should Read

Hey guys, today is Thursday, and we’re going to be visiting an old tag of mine, Thursday Threes. And today’s theme is going to be all about the Native American books.

November is Native American Heritage Month and I’m all about learning more about my heritage and about the lives of the people whose land I live on. So, today I will be touching on three books about Native Americans written by Native Americans that I have either read, or want to read. Here we go!


  1. There There by Tommy Orange. I had a friend recommend this to me a few years ago, she recently did a book talk about it and it reignited my interest in it. It’s about how each Indians’ life, and the life they are living, are different. Just because we are all Indian doesn’t mean we all live the same life.
  2. The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones. I have read this book and it is a horror master piece. Please, please, please! Go and read this book!
  3. Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard. This is a beautiful picture book about fry bread, which is a Native American food, and about family and what it means to be Indian in a modern world. So, so good! Please read this book!

Here’s my list for Thursday and the three Native American books that you should definitely check out! And if you have read these books, let me know what you think of them and leave a comment about your favourite aspect of them below!

Posted in books, reading, writing

Tiny Navajo Reads: Thursday Three Snow Day Reads

Hi guys! Today is Thursday and yesterday was most likely the best part of my week. You want to know why? Yesterday was Oklahoma’s annual Snow Day! The one day a year just about everything shuts down because of snow. And we actually got some snow this snow day! A good few inches and it actually made me happy!

I don’t like snow on principle, but the one day a year that we actually get it here, it does make me happy. I grew up in Idaho and went to college in Utah, and we had just buckets and buckets of snow and I absolutely hated it; out here though, the few times I’ve seen snow and gotten snow, I’ve enjoyed having it around. Not sure if it’s because it doesn’t come very often and or if when it does come, it’s only about 2-3, sometimes 4 inches and it melts away quickly.

Anyway, as yesterday was a snow day and today my library opened late due to snow, I figured I would bring back and oldie but a goodie Thursday Threes; Snow Day Reads. These are the books you wish you had a snow day for so you can cuddle up under blankets and have a mug of your favourite hot drink and just read all afternoon. These are the three that I would have chosen for yesterday.

  1. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. I’m slowly but surely making my way through this book. I’m not very far in, but I think it’s because it’s a different writing style than her previous book and it’s just a new book in general, so it’s takes some time to absorb what it is you’re actually reading.
  2. Rakkety Tam by Brian Jacques. I’m listening to this one on Audible right now and I listening to this as I was brushing off my car and my husband’s truck so that they wouldn’t completely ice over come the freezing night, and then I kept listening as I walked to a nearby Braum’s to pick up some sour cream I needed to make dinner. I love listening to Brian Jacques’s books, and this is one of my absolute favourites. I love the Highland accents of the main characters and the warrior spirit they hold as they try to defeat Gulo the Savage as this terrifying wolverine searches for the Walking Stone.
  3. A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Nonfiction by Terry Pratchett. I’ve been wanting to try Terry Pratchett’s writing for a while now, ever since I finished reading Good Omens he wrote with Neil Gaiman, and I’m loving his bits of wisdom and insight. And I love how authentic he is in his writing; there’s not faking here. So, slowly but surely, I’m making my way through this collection of nonfiction essays and I’m loving his writing.

I love being able to snuggle up with a blanket and a good book and spend my day reading. These are the my picks for my snow day reads and I do love enjoying the occasional snow day, if only because I’m able to get stay home and enjoy my day off to the fullest. What are some of your favourite books to read when you have an unexpected day off? And if you’re not reading, what are you doing with your day off? Comment below and let me know!

Posted in books, children, reading, writing

Tiny Navajo Reads: Thursday Three Books-to-Film

Hi guys! It’s Thursday and today we’re going back to an oldie but a goodie topic: books-to-film. I know that I’ve covered this topic several times before, but they have always been books that I have enjoyed and movies that I have enjoyed. This time around, we’re going to be talking about three books that were turned into films that I did NOT enjoy. Because there are those books and sometimes you just say why you didn’t like them.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

I honestly have no idea what happened when this movie was being made, but it was botched up bad! Like, I almost didn’t recognize it for the book it was based off of when I first saw the movie. Which is sad, because this is a book series that definitely deserves to have a movie franchise, better than what it got at least.

The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan

Oh….they did Rick Riordan dirty when they made this movie. The book premise holds so much promise to be made into a movie series just as Harry Potter did, but then they do and mess it up with this first one. What the heck guys?! And poor Annabeth…her character was not even how she was described in the book and watching this, I just felt sad that this wasn’t the Lightening Thief as I knew it.

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

My husband and I recently rewatched the cartoon based off of this book and all we could think by the end of the movie was how much Wilbur whined and complained even when his life was saved. And he didn’t even really do anything, it was all Charlotte. Yes, Wilbur performed tricks when needed, but the reason for those tricks was because of Charlotte’s work in creating her webs above Wilbur’s pen. Now, I haven’t read the book in a long while, so this may be the exact same way in the book, but all I could think was “I hope this wasn’t like this in the book.” I guess I’ll just have to reread it.

What are some books you felt were done wrong by their movies? Do you still wish to see them in movie format? Comment below and let me know!

Posted in books, reading, school, writing

Tiny Navajo Reads: Thursday Three Books I Should Have Read in High School

Hey guys! It’s another Thursday and I’m actually getting to write today without forgetting anything! This is a new win, for the year at least. Anyway, while trying to come up with a topic for today’s Thursday Threes I noticed that I was thinking a lot about all the books that I have already read throughout all 27 years of my life. And I have read a LOT of books in these past 27 years.

As I was thinking about this though, I got back to thinking about the books that are assigned to you to read in your high school English classes, and about how they are some of the worst things to read…in high school. Or just the worst to read in general. So, this is today’s topic, three books I should have read in high school. Granted, I wasn’t assigned a lot of the normal books you see in high school English classes and the ones I was assigned, I generally read them, even if I didn’t like them because I needed the grade.

  1. 1984 by George Orwell. The fact that I know that this is dystopian and nothing else, that shows you how much I have paid attention to this book. But with the way our world and our country is going, quite a few people have recommended this book to me almost as required reading once they found out I have never read it.
  2. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I never read this book in high school. I want to say we saw the movie in my Honors English class junior year, but I knew a little bit more about this book because I did study it, just didn’t read it. It wasn’t till about a year or two ago that I finally bought myself a copy and read it that I could see why this would be required reading for an English class.
  3. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I have only read The Hobbit, and that was because it was required reading in sixth grade. I actually enjoyed this required reading so much that I would end up skipping ahead to see what happened next. But the actual Lord of the Rings series…nope, haven’t read them. I read the first one, but that was a few years ago and I was distracted by other books and classes in college that I can’t say for certain that I really remember what happened throughout the book that didn’t come from the movies.

Well, here they are. The three books I should have read in high school, and that I’m debating whether or not to read them now. I have read one actually, The Great Gatsby, but other than that, none of the others. What are some books you should have read in high school? Why didn’t you read them then, and will you read them now? Comment below and let me know!

Posted in audiobooks, books, comic books/graphic novels, goodreads, reading, writing

Tiny Navajo Reads: Thursday Three Nonfiction Books I’ve Enjoyed

Hi guys! Today is Thursday and we are almost to the weekend! I know I say this every time I write a Thursday Three but this is one of the first ones I’m looking forward to as it’s the first full week back to work and I can get my schedule back on track from the holidays. I love holidays, but they can really REALLY mess up my schedule.

Anyway, today’s Thursday Three is going to be about three nonfiction books that I have actually enjoyed and that I might turn to again for reading. I don’t normally read nonfiction, it’s not my favourite genre to read. Granted, there are some interesting books to read in nonfiction, but you won’t normally find me reading them. But, these are three that have caught my interest and I quite enjoyed reading.

  1. The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell. There is just something that seems to genuine and homely about getting to read the everyday doings of a bookseller and his secondhand bookshop. I have a feeling that reading something like this may turn people away from the idea of owning a secondhand bookstore, but if anything, this has further encouraged my (possibly) disastrous idea of opening and owning one.
  2. Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport. I know for a fact that I have way too much noise in my life. It’s hard for me to concentrate or really do anything nowadays without there being something else there in the background to make me feel more comfortable. I am also an introvert, so having a lot of digital distraction while I’m recharging my social batteries probably doesn’t help me as much as I would like it to. This will most likely be a book I have to come back to in order to get some more out of it.
  3. The Secret Loves of Geek Girls edited by Hope Nicholson. This is an anthology of stories told in graphic novel format of the loves geek girls have for science-fiction, video games, comics, and to other things in their life that they just love and don’t want to live without. It was a good book for me to chance upon, because I believe it’s good to give girls “permission” (not that we need it) to love all of these geeky things and to love them loudly and proudly. If I ever have a daughter of my own, this may need to be one that I give her to read as she grows up.

Of these three books, I can say that they have pushed me to be better in some small ways in my life. Whether it is seeking out more quiet time in order to get my head in order to giving me a glimpse into my possible dream someday, to learning that I can love what I love as much as the next person because it is MY love. And I think this is something that I will be opening myself up to this year, is reading more nonfiction, if just so I can broaden my own horizons of what is out there in the world.

What are some of your favourite nonfiction books? What about them keeps pulling you back in to reading them? Comment below and let me know!

Posted in books, reading, writing

Tiny Navajo Reads: Thursday Three New Year’s Resolutions

Hey guys, it’s Thursday and it’s January 2  of the new decade and that just still sounds really weird to me…anyway, today I figured it should be a resolution-y type of post, seeing as I didn’t post yesterday due to being somewhat sick. I hate being sick.

Anyway, today’s Thursday Threes will be three New Year’s Resolutions. I’m generally not a resolution girl as I tend to forget my resolutions or not follow through after a month. But! I’m going to be trying my best to follow through on these resolutions because they’ll be doing with my blog.

  1. Read at least 52 books for Beat the Backlist 2020. This one I’ve already set my sights on and have started but I figured it would be good to have it set somewhere else so that I can be held accountable.
  2. Keep up to date on my posts. This is one that I had a small issue with towards the end of last year, if only because I started a full-time job and had to get used to writing my posts in advance rather than the day of. So, learn to keep ahead on my posts and keep up to date on my reviews.
  3. Enjoy myself and my reading. I don’t want reviewing to become a job where I hurry to read the next book in order to have something to write about. I want reading to be my relaxer and my enjoyment. Granted, I work in a library so it wouldn’t be much of a chore for it to become more job-like, but I just want to enjoy reading for reading’s sake.

What are your New Year’s resolutions? Do you follow through, or usually end up dropping them after a few months? Comment below and let me know!

Posted in books, goodreads, reading, writing

Tiny Navajo Reads: Thursday Three Winter Reads

Hi guys! Today is Thursday and it’s not quite winter here yet…in fact, today’s temperature is supposed to be in the 50’s! 50’s! And it’s supposed to be into the 60’s come Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I like this! Granted, I grew up in Idaho and had snow every Christmas Day growing up, so it’s weird not having snow on Christmas Day, but I’d rather have it a little bit warmer than have all the snow. YUCK!

Anyway, with it being nearly Christmas, and no snow here in Oklahoma, I figured today would be a good Thursday Three for winter reads.

  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
  • Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie
  • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

I have only read one of these books that I considered winter themed, and I want to read the other two. A Christmas Carol because it’s a classic and I love a Muppet Christmas Carol and it’s probably time I read something by Charles Dickens. And for Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, I love reading Agatha Christie and I love Hercule Poirot and so this would be a fantastic winter read in my opinion. As for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe it’s a great book. I loved this book and what it means to have hope.

What are some of your winter reads? Why do you consider them winter reads? Comment below and let me know!

Posted in books, goodreads, reading, writing

Tiny Navajo Reads: Thursday Three Backlist Books I Still Need to Read

Hi guys! Today’s Thursday Three is about those books you have on your TBR that you’ve been meaning to read for so long! Well, here are three of my backlist books that I still intends to (eventually) read.

radio silence

Radio Silence by Alice Oseman

code talker

Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir by One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez

blood of elves

Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

Yeah…I do plan on reading these books at some point. Do I know when I’ll be able to read these books? Not a clue. BUT! I do plan on reading these books at some point. So, these will be in my TBR for the next year at least.

What books are on your backlist TBR that you still haven’t read yet? When do you plan on reading them? Comment below and let me know!

Posted in writing

Tiny Navajo Reads: Thursday Three Book Blogs I Love

Hi guys! This is a Thursday Three that I haven’t touched yet, and I’m glad for it. It’s a day for me to talk about three book blogs that I look up to and that inspire me to try better.

Austine @NovelKnight

She was one of the first book bloggers that I started following when I first started writing and publishing my book reviews on this site. And she puts out so content, well written content, and I just want to be able to blog as well as she does. Or, at least, half as well as she does. She writes so much and does so much, and there’s someone who writes along with her now, but Austine is just amazing with her blogging.

Kelsey @There’s Something About KM

Kelsey’s writing is also fantastic. She writes a lot and she writes so well! Some of her best content isn’t even about books, but can be about bookish gifts and other things. And as with Austine, I just want to be able to write, in my own style, in a style that is easily recognized like Kelsey’s writing.

Jana T @Reviews from the Stacks

I fricken’ love Jana! She is a friend from work and I love reading up on what she’s doing now that we don’t work together. And I love seeing what’s she’s reading because she reads many different genres than I do. It gives me a look at other books, other genres that I may want to give a try, but for now, I’ll just read Jana’s reviews.

What bloggers do you look up to? What do they do that you like? Comment below and let me know!