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Mar 12

Bookworm’s Life in Books: Picture Books

So my obsession with the end of the human race even translated over into my favourite picture book: Not Now Bernard by David McKee

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the book, the storyline is as follows (kids turn away now as this contains spoilers):

1) There is a monster under Bernard’s Bed

2) Every time he tells his mother about the monster he is greeted with the phrase “not now Bernard”

3) Eventually the monster eats Bernard

4) The monster gets into Bernard’s bed

5) Bernard’s mother doesn’t notice

Sounds like a scary book for a child doesn’t it? But it appeals because the mother is wrong and the boy is right. It’s also a warning to parents to make time for their children and to beware of saying “not now” too much.

Bookworm approaching the apocalypse 2 Babes in the wood and 1 Bernard at a time

Mar 10

Blind Date Book Review: Soulless Gail Carriger

I am not surprised that so many of you have joined in the book blind date, I mean it was a totally irresistible idea. I am really looking forward to seeing what you think of the book you were given, so to kick things off here is my review of my book blind date…

Synopsis from Amazon

Alexia Tarabotti is labouring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire – and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society? Or will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

Soulless Gail Carriger
3 stars

I must confess I probably wouldn’t have chosen this for myself based on the cover or the book blurb, but I found myself enjoying it certain aspects of the story, and some points made me laugh out loud.

What I enjoyed about the book:

Alexia Tarbotti is a great character a strong female lead and it made a nice to change to have a book with vampires and werewolves and NO love triangle bonus points! !

The setting Victorian England is a great setting for this type of story with the steam punk elements and the chaste romance.

The situations in the book are amusing, as is the use of a well applied parasol.

What I didn’t like:

The use of racial stereotypes. Alexia is part Italian which according to the author means that her skin is unfashionably dark, she talks with her hands and is opinionated and bossy.

The Scottish werewolf is gruff and hard to understand when excited.

The English are a delightful enlightened people, well of course we are.

The Americans are overly religious and superstitious, you get the idea.

To be fair, the author could be using these stereotypes as being indicative of the thoughts of the time.

Great literature this is not, a good laugh it is.

Don’t forget that the deadline for the Blind Book Date is March 15th. Make sure you send your reviews to Jen (jenlane3@yahoo.com) to be eligible for the prize! We will publish a special Blind book review post on March 16th that will have the compilation of all the books picked and the reviews (along with the reveal of books that were not selected).

Mar 8

3 Comments

Read Around the World: Nigeria

The next stop on our world tour of reading is The Federal Republic of Nigeria. Here are some facts about Nigeria (and please feel free to add your own facts in the comments section):

Nigeria has the largest population in Africa with over 170 million people and approximately 250 ethnic groups. The Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and Igbo are the three largest ethnic groups in Nigeria.
Archaeological discoveries have shown that Nigeria is one of the oldest locations of human existence.
The official language is English but more than 500 native languages are also spoken.
Home to Nollywood, the Nigerian movie industry that trails just behind Bollywood
It is the 12th largest producer of crude oil in the world
Average life expectancy is 52 years old due to poor healthcare, living conditions, and lack of access to clean water.
Nigeria has been plagued by sectarian violence, military coups, and corruption as a result of both ethnic and religious tensions.

Book Selected: Half of a Yellow Sun  by Chimamanda Ngozi Acidly
Published in: 2006
Find it/buy it here:Half of a Yellow Sun

Reason Selected: To be honest, the main reason we selected this book is because we both loved it and wanted to share it with you. The book is also a good selection to represent Nigeria for several reasons: 1) It gives readers a background to understanding some of the sectarian violence that has plagued Nigeria for many years; 2) it is filled with descriptions of cultural traditions; and 3) it follows characters from different backgrounds, highlighting the diversity of traditions within Nigeria. But more than anything, this book is a beautiful novel about a country and a people who have struggled with adversity.
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Mar 7

1001 Book Review: House by the Medlar Tree

The House by the Medlar Tree (I Malagovia) Giovanni Verga
First Published in: 1881
Original language: Italian
Find it/buy it here: The House By the Medlar Tree (Classic Reprint)

Synopsis (from Amazon)
Realist (verismo) novel of Sicilian life by Giovanni Verga, published in 1881 as I Malavoglia. The book concerns the dangers of economic and social upheaval. It was the first volume of a projected five-novel series that Verga never completed. The author’s objective narrative and extensive use of dialogue to advance the action and reveal character represented a new style in Italian fiction. The action centers on the Malavoglia family, who borrow money from the local usurer against unreceived goods they expect to resell. When the shipment is lost at sea, the family must nonetheless repay the debt. A series of setbacks and losses follow, as the family encounters trouble from every quarter. The house is lost and heroic sacrifices are required of both the men and women until the debt is repaid. At the novel’s end the family retakes possession of the house by the medlar tree.
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Mar 5

3 Comments

My Top 10 Favorite Recent Reads in Honor of World Book Day

It’s World Book Day (or at least according to the U.K.), the day many young children dress up as their favorite book characters and embrace their favorite books. Learn more about it on NPR. While, I won’t be dressing up like any book character, I have decided to honor the day with a a list of a few of my favorites. If you click the links, it will take you to Amazon where you can read the synopses.

My 10 Favorite Reads in recent years (in no particular order).
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: A Novel (Vintage International) by Murakami
Cloud Atlas: A Novel by David Mitchell
The Savage Detectives: A Novel by Roberto Bolaño
The History of Love: A Novel by Nicole Krauss
Black Box by Amos Oz
The Book Thief: Enhanced Movie Tie-in Edition by Markus Zusak
The Shadow of the Wind (The Cemetery of Forgotten Book 1) by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Of Love and Shadows: A Novel by Isabel Allende
The Name of the Wind: The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day One by Patrick Rothfuss
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Adichie

My 5 TBR books that I’m most looking forward to reading in the next year:

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
Station Eleven: A novel by Emily St John Mandel
All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel by Anthony Doerr
A Constellation of Vital Phenomena: A Novel by Anthony Marra
The Bone Clocks: A Novel by David Mitchell

Which books make your lists?

Mar 5

2 Comments

Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman

Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman
Published: 2015
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by: Jen
Find it/Buy it here:Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances

Trigger Warning is a Gaiman’s most recent collection of short stories that cuts across genres and includes horror and ghost stories, science fiction, fairy tales, and poetry. The collection includes a never before published American Gods story, a Doctor Who tribute, a Sherlock Holmes story, a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and a thematic companion to The Ocean at the End of the Lane. The book also contains an interesting introduction by the author where he discusses the meaning of the title and background on each story.
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Mar 3

1001 Book Review: Hawksmoor by Ackroyd

Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd
First published: 1985
Format: Audiobook narrated by Derek Jacobi
Reviewed by: Jen
Rating: ★★★

In the 18th century Nicholas Dyer, an architect, and secret devil worshiper, is commissioned to build seven London churches. In the 1980s, detective Nicholas Hawksmoor is investigating a series of gruesome murders that took place in the sites of those same seven churches. Hawksmoor alternates between the two time periods and Ackroyd uses different styles to reflect “modern” day language and 18th century language. As the story progresses, readers begin to piece recognize patterns and connections between the two periods.

Nicholas Dyer is loosely based on real life architect Nicholas Hawksmoor (I wish I had known this prior to reading the book – notice the overlapping names of characters) who worked with Sir Christopher Wren (also mentioned in Ackroyd’s book). The real Nicholas Hawksmoor was a free mason who incorporated pagan symbols into his churches and did in fact build the 7 churches mentioned in the book. The Guardian published an interesting piece on Hawksmoor and his churches. Scroll down the bottom of this review to see images of the 7 churches.

Let me begin by saying that audio is the wrong format with which to tackle this book. The book is confusing, the author jumps around between time periods, some names are similar across time periods, and the narrator does not do a good job of distinguishing between voices.

Now on to my review… Read more

Mar 1

14 Comments

Love it or Hate it? Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Have you ever noticed how some books seem to drive a wedge between people? You check the reviews and find almost no middle-of-the-road ratings. Instead people either seem to love it or hate it. Well, welcome to the Love it or Hate it post category! Each month, we’ll pick one book to review and two contributors will battle it out to convince you to pick it up or throw it out.

Last month we discussed Atonement and an overwhelming number of you voted for either “love it” or “want to read it.” Many thanks to Nicole R for writing the hilarious “hate it” section for Atonement.

This month we will be discussing: Life of Pi by Yann Martel. We have two contributors this month and their names will be revealed after voting closes! Please make sure to vote for this month’s book! The poll is at the bottom of this post.

Book Summary (from GoodReads):
Life of Pi is a fantasy adventure novel by Yann Martel published in 2001. The protagonist, Piscine Molitor “Pi” Patel, a Tamil boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of spirituality and practicality from an early age. He survives 227 days after a shipwreck while stranded on a boat in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.