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Friday, January 16, 2015

The Mortal Instruments Series and My Nieces

I think I've mentioned before that I am a bit of an oddity in my family.  My pursuit of the written word is pretty much my only hobby.  When people ask me what I do - well, I read.  A lot.  I do have two nieces that are fond of reading.  Both college age now.  It will not surprise any of you to know that for many years I was the "Aunt Kay who always gives us books".  I have definitely tried to encourage all my young relatives to enjoy reading.  My own daughter is more of a movie buff, but she loves audio books and uses them extensively on her commute to work.

So, when we were all together at Christmas I got into a conversation with the two nieces - what have you been reading?  Was it good?  Do you recommend it?  And they asked me the same questions.  Both of them read Young Adult books as a rule.  I told them that I was reading one of the Mortal Instruments books - #3 in fact, The City of Glass by Cassandra Clare.  Ooh, they said and told of their love of that series.  Would I please finish it so they could talk to me about it?  Well, I said yes, of course.  And today I finished #6, The City of Heavenly Fire.

I enjoyed this Young Adult fantasy series - not as much as Harry Potter or the Twilight series, but there were some interesting aspects.  The books were a little long for me, but I persevered.  I have not read of the exploits of Shadowhunters (who hunt demons) before, but was familiar with vampires, werewolves, warlocks, and the fey or faerie realm.  I was intrigued by this author's use of some of the more obscure aspects of the Bible - the Nephilim, the handwriting on the wall in the Book of Daniel, and angels in specific and in general.  Something different.  There was kind of a Scooby gang of Shadowhunters, Clary, Jace, Isabelle and Alec, and their friends of other types, Simon, a vampire, Maia and Jordan, werewolves, and Magnus, a warlock.  Much drama ensues, of course.  It was good fun.

I'm sure my nieces and I will have a nice little discussion the next time we are all together, spring break maybe.  Oh and one of them asked me if I had started reading the Divergent trilogy yet.  She reminded me that I had promised her I would.  I guess I better get on that pretty soon.  Pant, pant.  She is relentless and this is what "Aunt Kay who always gives us books" gets, right?

15 comments:

  1. It's wonderful isn't it? I have similar discussions now with my 14 year old grand-daughter and I absolutely love it.

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    1. It's a way to connect, Cath. I'll talk books with anyone, but I'm pleased that they mean so much to these girls. Bet you feel the same about your granddaughter.

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  2. That is just too cool that you can share book talk with your nieces. One of my cousins lived with us several years ago and she was also a bookworm so we would talk about books and it was so fun to take her to the bookstore and see her wandering the aisles of the books she liked.

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    1. I think we just all love to share our enthusiasm about books - mostly without people looking at us like we might be a little bit nuts. :-)

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  3. How wonderful that you and your nieces are able to talk books! I have only read the first Mortal Instruments book. I will someday read the next book, but I admit it is not high on my priority list. I wasn't as enamored by it as I had hoped.

    I would love it if my daughter develops a love for reading even when she's older. My mom and I sometimes discuss books, but we more often than not don't read the same books.

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    1. My daughter has always been very tolerant of my love for books. She doesn't share it completely, but she has the same love of movies. She did love to be read to, even when she got into older childhood. Audiobooks are perfect for her.

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  4. I so love it that you are doing this.

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  5. I'm somewhere in the middle of this series. I love it, too! So does my 13yo daughter. I'm so glad she loves books as much as I do -- it's the best hobby to have and to share with people you love :)

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    1. I agree totally, Susan. The nieces seem to like the fact that I'll read stuff that other "old" ladies won't. :-)

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  6. You are the good aunt then :) I try to give books as gifts as much as I can. I've heard lots of good things about this series but I don't really read a lot of YA.

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    1. I don't really read a lot of it either, Stacy. Just occasionally.

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  7. Ha! I am the aunt that gives books too. I always give my nieces books or B&N gift cards for their birthdays. And gave my daughter in law a NOOK for Christmas. I just can't understand why people wouldn't want to read, do you?

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  8. I used to read YA dystopian fiction or fantasy as a kind of buddy-read with my older daughter, who was in her late 20s at the time. Now with her new job the last couple of years she just doesn't have the free time to read because she works nights and spends days with her kids or errands. I miss this part of my reading experience. We read Cinder, Angelfall, Divergent, some Lauren Oliver books, etc. I don't read almost any YA anymore but I'm open to it, of course. Thanks for sharing your story :) I always give my grandkids books with the expected toys at the holidays.

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    1. I think that those of us who love books so much just naturally want to share them everyone. Whether they like it or not. LOL

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Thanks for stopping by! I am so happy to hear your thoughts and will respond as soon as I can. Happy Reading!