The Reader's Room

Mar 26

1001 Books Round-Up March 2023

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The image might have given it away…I only managed one 1001 books this month.

Mar 14

1 Comment

The Official Booker International Longlist

BI 2023

Let the Reading begin:

Boulder by Eva Baltasar, translated by Julia Sanches
Whale by Cheon Myeong-Kwan, translated by Chi-Young Kim
The Gospel According to the New World by Maryse Condé, translated by Richard Philcox
Standing Heavy by GauZ, translated by Frank Wynne
Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel
Is Mother Dead by Vigdis Hjorth, translated by Charlotte Barslund
Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Rueben Woolley
The Birthday Party by Laurent Mauvignier, translated by Daniel Levin Becker
While We Were Dreaming by Clemens Meyer, translated by Katy Derbyshire
Pyre by Perumal Murugan, translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan
Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey
A System so Magnificent It Is Blinding by Amanda Svensson, translated by Nichola Smalley
Ninth Building by Zou Jingzhi, translated by Jeremy Tiang

What do you think of the list? Let us know.

Mar 13

1 Comment

Booker International Longlist 2023 Our Predictions

Where has the year gone I blinked and it is already time for the Booker International Longlist to be announced.

Ahead of tomorrow’s official list here are our predictions.

BookWorm: I have absolutely no clue so this is a total stab in the dark

Cherries on a Pomegranate Tree Li Er
Daughters Beyond Command Véronique Olmi
Our Share of Night Mariana Enríquez
Nights of Plague Orhan Pamuk
Space Invaders Nona Fernández
Ghost Town kevin Chen
Is There Rush Hour in a Third World Country? Rogelio Braga
The Disappearance of Josef Mengele Olivier Guez
A Mountain to the North, A Lake to The South, Paths to the West, A River to the East László Krasznahorkai
Whale Cheon Myeong-Kwan
The Lost Spell Yismake Worku
Weasels in the Attic Hiroko Oyamada

Tracy: In no particular order

Pachinko Parlour- Elisa Shua Dusapin tr. Aneesa Abbas Higgins
Still Born- Guadeloupe Nettel tr. Rosalind Harvey
Ninth Building- Zou Jingzhi tr. Jeremy Tiang
Identitti- Mithu Sanyal tr. Alta Price
Thirsty Sea- Erica Mou tr. Clarissa Botsford
Two Sherpas- Sebastian Martinez Daniell tr. Jennifer Croft
Whale- Cheon Myeong-Kwan tr. Chi-Young Kim
Stolen- Ann-Helen Laestadius tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles
Thread Ripper- Amalie Smith tr. Jennifer Russell
Ada’s Realm- Sharon Dodua Otoo tr. Jon Cho-Polizzi
Wake Me Up at Nine in the Morning- A Yi tr. Nicky Harman
Farewell Fountain Street- Selcuk Altun tr. Mel Kenne and Nilgun Dungan

Rachel’s Predictions:

Body Kintsugi by Senka Marić, tr. Celia Hawkesworth
Of Saints and Miracles by Manuel Astur tr. Claire Wadie
Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, tr. Rosalind Harvey
The Private Lives of Trees by Alejandro Zambra tr. Megan McDowell
Tell Me About It by Sacha Naspini, tr. Clarissa Botsford
Whale by Cheon Myeong-Kwan, tr. Chi-Young Kim
Greek Lessons by Han Kang, tr. Deborah Smith and Emily Yae-Won
Is There Rush Hour in a Third World Country by Rogelio Braga, te. Kristine Ong Muslim
Call Me Cassandra by Marcial Gala, tr. Anna Kushner
Salt Crystals by Cristina Bendek, tr. Robin Myers
So Distant from My Life by Monique Ilboudo, tr. Yarri Kamara
Thread Ripper by Amalie Smith, tr. Jennifer Russel
Chinatown by Thuan, tr. Nguyen An Li

Which books do you think will make it?

Mar 12

1 Comment

A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

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A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀
UK Publication: Feb 2023
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★]

This ARC was provided by Canongate (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

One word review – Ouch

Mar 6

Love Will Tear Us Apart by C K McDonnell

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Love Will Tear Us Apart by C K McDonnell
UK Publication: Feb 2023
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★★]

This ARC was provided by Random House UK (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

Two Word Review – Read it! 5 Word Review What Are You Waiting For?

Feb 28

2 Comments

1001 Books Round-up February 2023

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Just the one this month but was it a winner or loser?

Feb 27

1 Comment

Read Around the World February 2023 – Scotland

Scotland

Map link

February 2023 and we are off to the beautiful Scottish Isles….

Feb 26

2 Comments

This Charming Man by C K McDonnell

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This Charming Man by C.K. McDonnell
UK Publication: Feb 2023
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: [★★★]

This ARC was provided by Random House UK (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.

One word review – Charmed

Synopsis from Goodreads: Vampires do not exist. Everyone knows this. So it’s particularly annoying when they start popping up around Manchester .

Nobody is pleased about it. Not the Founders, the secret organisation for whom vampires were invented as an allegory, nor the Folk, the magical people hidden in plain sight who only want a quiet life. And definitely not the people of Manchester, because there is nothing more irksome than being murdered by an allegory run amok. Somebody needs to sort this out fast before all Hell really breaks loose – step forward the staff of The Stranger Times.

It’s not like they don’t have enough to be dealing with. Assistant Editor Hannah has come back from getting messily divorced to discover that someone is trying to kidnap a member of their staff and while editor Vincent Banecroft would be delighted to see the back of any of his team, he doesn’t like people touching his stuff – it’s the principle of the thing.

Throw in a precarious plumbing situation, gambling debts, an entirely new way of swearing, and a certain detective inspector with what could be kindly referred to as ‘a lot of baggage’ and it all adds up to another hectic week in the life of the newspaper committed to reporting the truth that nobody else will touch.

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed book 1 in this series so you will be glad to know that I also enjoyed book 2 and already have book 3 ready to go very soon.

The madcap humour continues as Manchester is plagued by supernatural happenings and non-existent beings. The reader is given more background into the accord between The Founders and the Folk and the idea that things are not as they should be and that events will soon start ramping us is there subtly ticking away in the background.

Victor has found an ingenious way to get around Grace’s swearing ban and it is an idea I intend to steal if a swear box should ever appear in the office!

It was great to catch up with the crew of the Stranger Times and even better to meet new characters my favourites being Cogs and Zeke. While this may be a humorous, supernatural adventure story, it is also a story with a lot of heart as our favourite newspaper employees come to realise they are more to each other than just colleagues and that while Banecroft may be the foul mouthed boss from hell there is actually more to him as well. Just don’t tell anyone.

Favourite Quotes:

“Only in Manchester could hot weather in summer be classed as unseasonable”

“The Jag was a ‘classic’ which meant it looked good but had none of the fixtures and fittings, such as air-con, that actually made a car comfortable.”

“Obviously put your hands in the air, and then, don’t move. There was an Oxford comma between the two actions, implying a list of events happening in sequence.”

“The sex shop was gone, replaced by an estate agents. Ox couldn’t help but think that if anything, this development had lowered the tone of the area.”

“You think you’re the first sleazy arsehole I’ve met in my life? I used to edit a tabloid newspaper.”

Who would like this? I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed book 1, anyone who enjoys English humour and those who like the supernatural.

Feb 19