2017 Man Booker Longlist
It’s official! The Man Booker Longlist was just announced. How did our shadow panel do with our predictions? Here are the books that made the list… Read more
Jul 26
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Jul 24
2017 Man Booker longlist: Our predictions
The 2017 Man Booker longlist will be announced on July 27. Those of you who follow our blog know that we are obsessed with the Man Booker and for the last two years, BW and I have tried to read our way through the entire long list in order to make our predictions. This year our panel comes back together to make predictions on which book will win the prize. Our panel this year is comprised of BW and myself along with three contributors: Nicole, Lisa, and Andrew. Nicole and Andrew were part of the panel last year and Lisa joins us this year. We also have a guest reviewer who will step in to help out when needed. Book Worm and I will be attempting to read all the nominated books and our three contributors will be helping out along the way.
Each panel member made predictions for which books will make the longlist. Panelists were able to nominate up to 13 books for the list but some chose to nominate fewer. Here are our thoughts and predictions: Read more
Non 1001 Book Review: Crazy House James Patterson
Book Worm and I are hosting a reading challenge to read across the USA in books. You are welcome to join in that challenge at any time before the end. You can read more about the challenge here. Book Worm selected this book as her choice for New York. Keep reading to see what she thought about it. Read more
Jul 11
Non 1001 Book Review: Last Seen Alive Claire Douglas
Last Seen Alive by Claire Douglas
Published in: 2017
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: ★★★
Find it here: Last Seen Alive
This ARC was provided by Penguin UK (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
Synopsis from Goodreads:
The Hero
Libby Hall never really wanted to be noticed. But after she saves the children in her care from a fire, she finds herself headline news. And horrified by the attention. It all reminds her of what happened nine years ago. The last time she saw her best friend alive.
The Swap
Which is why the house swap is such a godsend. Libby and her husband Jamie exchange their flat in Bath for a beautiful, secluded house in Cornwall. It’s a chance to heal their marriage – to stop its secrets tearing them apart.
The Hideaway
But this stylish Cornish home isn’t the getaway they’d hoped for. They make odd, even disturbing, discoveries in the house. It’s so isolated-yet Libby doesn’t feel entirely alone. As if she’s being watched.
Is Libby being paranoid? What is her husband hiding? And. As the secrets and lies come tumbling out, is the past about to catch up with them?
Book Worm’s Thoughts: This was a solid 3 star thriller where nothing is what it seems and the line between guilty and innocent is blurred.
I always find it hard to review thrillers, as you don’t want to give away the twists and turns in the book that take the reader to the final conclusion. The fun of reading a thriller is seeing what you can guess for yourself (well at least it is for me).
What I can say is that Douglas does a good job in building up an oppressive atmosphere, in describing paranoia, and showing how even the people we love most in the world are not always truthful. I also loved the descriptions of a marriage in trouble and how much compromise is needed to keep things on an even keel.
Who would like this? I would recommend this to anyone who needs a break from heavy reading and who enjoys twisty books. I hate to say it but, if you liked Gone Girl you will probably enjoy this. Great literature it is not but it is great fun to read.
Want to try it for yourself? You can find a copy here: Last Seen Alive
We want to hear from you! Have you read this book? What did you think?
Jul 10
Gradle Bird by J.C. Sasser
Looking for a good Southern Gothic novel that’s perfect for the summer? I just finished a book that might be the perfect addition to your summer reading list: Gradle Bird by J.C. Sasser. Keep reading to find out why. Read more
Jul 1
Reading Road Trip: And we are off!
And we are off! Our reading road trip challenge starts today. To join and sign up visit the challenge page. The challenge will run from today until September 30. Cool bookish prizes for the winners.
Participants: You may start reading. Good luck everyone!
Jun 30
June Monthly Recap
Time for our May 2017 monthly recap. Find out which books were favorites and which were duds. We’ll end our wrap up with a a list of books due out next month and a glimpse of our upcoming content. We also want to hear from you so let us know what you read this month and […]
Jun 29
Read Around the World: Thailand
We spent the month of June visiting Thailand with all of you. Two months ago we converted our Read Around the World feature into an informal group challenge and invited you all to join us as we make our way around the world. We took nominations and used the randomizer to plan our itinerary. Thailand was the second stop on our group reading tour. I’m not going to lie, I found this month quite a challenge in terms of selecting a book and if not for one extremely helpful person on Litsy, I would have failed the task of completing a book.
Join us as we explore literary Thailand and find out which book I selected and which books our participants (across Litsy, this blog, and Instagram) read this month. Read more
Jun 28
Literary Road Trip Across the U.S.
Credit: Literary poster by 3Fish Studios
It’s officially summer time which means it’s the perfect time to take a road trip! This year we’re going on a road trip across the continental United States. Next year, we’ll backpack through Europe. Join the challenge and win cool bookish prizes. Keep reading to find out more… Read more
Jun 26
Terrible Reviews of Great Books: Gone with the Wind
There is no such thing as a universally loved book. Each month, we’ll feature a book from Time’s list of the best 100 English language novels of all time. From the nasty to the snarky to the downright absurd, we’ll highlight some of the strange reasons why some people hate these great reads. This month we’ll be taking a look at reviews for Gone with the Wind by Mitchell
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