Thursday Tea » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

Thursday Tea (Apr. 5): Six Against the Stars

Posted by Anastasia on April 5, 2012 1 Response »

Apr 052012

The book: I’m currently about 73% into Six Against the Stars by Stephen Hunt, author of The Court of the Air which I really liked back in 2010. Unlike TCOTA, Six Against the Stars is a comedy sci-fi novel, starring a self-professed genius who couldn’t reason his way out of a wet paper bag. It’s got aliens, and weird modified humans, and mechanical things that talk sort of like how Inspector Gadget’s car talked, and all sorts of other fun futuristic sci-fi stuff. It’s also got an Africa run by white people (I think?), which is even more disappointing than the majority-white cast is.

I like weird futuristic sci-fi (especially comedies), but I sure do wish that books would get away from blond-haired, blue-eyed heroes as the leads. Who’s with me?

The tea: The hotel I’m currently in has got some of those Lipton teas that taste mostly bleh. Maybe I’m just not making it right? How do I make these things taste GOOD?

Do they go together? Not really. I think if anyone had tea in Six Against the Stars they’d be drinking some weird hybrid of food and nano-thingies, just because they could. And it’d probably be a FLOWERING tea, or something fancy anyway.

Other tea drinkers

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Thursday Tea (Mar. 29): Catching Fire

Posted by Anastasia on March 29, 2012 6 Responses »

Mar 292012

The book: I am writing this post ~from the past~! Since I’ll be out and about for most of Thursday I thought I’d better write this here post beforehand, on Wednesday. So!

I should still be reading Catching Fire, the second Hunger Games books. I was going to put off reading it for a bit, to give myself some more time to digest the first book, but then we saw the movie on Wednesday and I’m all excited and stuff. So I started reading it right away! And you know? I’m actually liking it a little more than I liked the first book. I think it might have something to do with the fact that a) there’s less backstory to slog through and b) things are FINALLY getting worked out from the first book, things that bugged me so much I was angry after finishing it. Yay for that!

Also now that I know what “panem” comes from, I’m LOVING how (almost secretly?) clever the books are. And the ancient Rome references! And I totally want a mockingjay pin now.

The tea: I’ve been told that we MIGHT go find a Boba tea shop, which would be nice. I think I could be a serious Boba addict if I ever get the chance.

Do they go together? Yes, actually! Not that I think Katniss would drink a Boba tea, normally, but people in the Capitol would probably like them. They’re fanciful and expensive and almost a kind of status symbol, I think.

Other tea drinkers

Leave a link to your TT post in the comments and I’ll add you to the tea drinkers list!

Thursday Tea (Mar. 22): Lord of the Changing Winds

Posted by Anastasia on March 22, 2012 1 Response »

Mar 222012

The book: I finally finished reading Burn Mark last night– I went through a reading slump earlier this week, which means I’m about two or three books behind on my reading schedule. So I hope the book I’m reading right now, Lord of the Changing Winds, turns out to be good!

I’ve had it on my eTBR pile for at least a year, and I can’t really remember what it’s about except for that it’s got griffins. And possibly mages.

The tea: I’ve got a bit of a headache, so I hope I’ve got a tea that will help. Google tells me that some sort of mint tea might help! Anyone know for sure?

Do they go together? Honestly, I’ve only read, like two pages of my book so far, so I can’t really say. Have any of you read the Griffin Mage books? Do you think they go with mint tea?

Other tea drinkers

Leave a link to your TT post in the comments and I’ll add you to the tea drinkers list!

Thursday Tea (Mar. 15): Artemis Fowl

Posted by Anastasia on March 15, 2012 4 Responses »

Mar 152012

The book: This is probably my fifth or sixth time reading Artemis Fowl by now– including the two times I read it on audiobook– and it’s still one of my favorite books ever. How can you not like a book with kick-ass fairy police, a (believable!) teenage criminal mastermind, giant bodyguards with hearts of gold, and TONS of thriller-y action. I read somewhere that someone said Artemis Fowl was basically Die Hard with fairies: totally agree. It’s geared more towards the MG/YA set, sure! But still: Die Hard with fairies.

Technically all my Artemis Fowl books are in storage, waiting for me to drag them out and line them up on my new shelves (which I don’t have yet but hopefully will within a month or so!). The eighth (and final) Artemis Fowl book is coming out in July, however, and so Disney Hyperion is doing a promo on NetGalley where each month they’re releasing two Artemis Fowl books for people to download/read/review/etc. Yay!

The tea: Y’know, after two and a half months of living in hotels, I’ve finally caved and tried that generic orange pekoe tea they’ve got in nearly every room. It’s actually not that bad? I don’t know why I was so afraid of it all these years I’ve been staying in hotels.

Do they go together? Eh. I’d think Artemis would go for a more “refined” tea, y’know, like some posh blend of things that cost $50/bag. Fairies might like the orange pekoe, though, if they even drink tea. (I think they DO? Can’t remember, though. It’s been ages since I read an Artemis Fowl book!)

Other tea drinkers

Leave a link to your TT post in the comments and I’ll add you to the tea drinkers list!

Thursday Tea (Mar. 8): Shadows on the Moon

Posted by Anastasia on March 8, 2012 1 Response »

Mar 082012

The book: I’ve actually just finished Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott, but it was SO. GOOD. I actually started it a few weeks ago and then put it down because I hated the first three pages– it’s got that thing that annoys me where it’s got a lot of non-English words in it for no real reason other than to establish location– and when I started it again last night I had no idea how good of a good it’d turn out to be. It’s got drama, it’s got action, it’s go romance and death and magic! And, despite the fact that it’s set in a fantasy Japan-that-is-not-actually-Japan (another thing that annoys me), it’s got a great atmosphere and location.

So basically, I loved it. My review won’t be showing up until next month, though when Shadows on the Moon by Zoe Marriott is released in the US!

The tea: Probably everyone but me has already had boba/bubble tea, right? Although actually my boba tea was a boba smoothie: a lychee boba smoothie, in fact! It was really sweet (almost too sweet), and the boba was fun to chew.

Do they go together? Eh. Shadows on the Moon is set in a pseudo-historical not-Japan place, and bubble tea is pretty popular in Japan right now. So…maybe?

Other tea drinkers

Leave a link to your TT post in the comments and I’ll add you to the tea drinkers list!

Thursday Tea (Mar. 1): Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye

Posted by Anastasia on March 1, 2012 2 Responses »

Mar 012012

The book: So I’m reading an audiobook: Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye. I got this one free from Audible a while ago, and since I’ve been meaning to read an audiobook for a while now (…over a year, actually) I thought I’d figure out a way to actually do it. I’ve been listening to a half hour or so each night and so far it’s been going pretty well!

I mean, yeah, there’s way too many unnecessary details and some things are super boring. Like, do I really need to listen to five minutes of Abby choosing which shirt to wear for her date? This is one of the downsides of an audiobook– I’d totally would have skimmed over that part if I was reading this in paper/ebook format. Soooo.

Hopefully the actual mystery part shows up soon. I’m about an hour in with seven or so more to go, and while I’m liking the lighthearted cuteness of it my annoyance level at the boring bits is steadily rising. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll wait for it to get completely entertaining.

The ~~tea~~ coffee: I totally splurged at Starbucks today and got a white chocolate mocha. YUMMY. Expensive, but yummy.

Do they go together? Actually, there was this whole thing where Abby says she’s like French Vanilla ice cream instead of, like, Rocky Road or something (even though she’s a psychic investigator?), so I suppose that if we extend that metaphor to coffee Abby would be more like an Americano than my white chocolate mocha. So…no, they don’t go together? But maybe Abby turns into a white chocolate mocha by the end of the book, idk.

Other tea drinkers

Leave a link to your TT post in the comments and I’ll add you to the tea drinkers list!

Thursday Tea (Feb. 16): Fame Fatale

Posted by Anastasia on February 16, 2012 No Responses »

Feb 162012

I’m getting my new glasses today! They came in early. Yay!

The book: This is one of those books that I’ve had for so long I’ve forgotten why I originally got it, but once I started reading– I remembered! Well, sort of. So far Fame Fatale is (I think) about book publishing and authors and how there’s a lot of spite and backstabbing and stuff. It’s funny! I think some romance shows up later, too, which’ll be nice.

By-the-by, has anyone read Wendy Holden’s Pastures Nouveaux? Apparently it’s like an updated Cold Comfort Farm. True/false?

The tea: I have almost a whole box of Holiday Chai with me, and I’m not sure why. Because I don’t like it! It doesn’t taste good, and honestly I should have just left it somewhere instead of dragging it around with me for two months.

Do they go together? Not really, no. Unless! Oh! Okay: maybe the way I hate Holiday Chai but keep carrying it around with me is like the way that one of the protagonists hates her clients, but has to keep working with them so she’ll get paid? Yes?