Posts by jenp27

Apr 3

1001 Book Review: Los Jefes/Los Cachorros by Mario Vargas Llosa

Los Jefes/Los Cachorros by Mario Vargas Llosa
English Title: The Cubs and Other Stories
Originally published in: Spanish
Reviewed by: Jen
Rating: 3.5 stars
Find it here: The Cubs and Other Stories

Synopsis: The Cubs and Other Stories is a collection of six short fictions about young men in Peru. It is Llosa’s only volume of short stories available in English. The stories all center on issues of masculinity, machismo, and manhood. Protagonists are mostly boys and young men who play out their masculinity in everyday places: a soccer field, school, with friends, etc. The title story, and the most interesting in the collection, is the tale of a young man named Cuéllar who is partially castrated in a childhood accident. The story focuses on his life after the incident and highlights his struggles to define himself after losing what he perceives to be the thing that defines his masculinity.

Apr 1

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Love it or Hate it: The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

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 Life of Pi and once again the “love it” fans won with 66% of the vote. Many thanks to Sara and Kristel for their wonderful reviews.

This month we will be discussing: The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz. 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 even if you haven’t read the book you can vote! The poll is at the bottom of this post.

Book Summary (from GoodReads): Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd, a New Jersey romantic who dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the fukú — the ancient curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still dreaming of his first kiss, is only its most recent victim – until the fateful summer that he decides to be its last.

With dazzling energy and insight, Junot Díaz immerses us in the uproarious lives of our hero Oscar, his runaway sister Lola, and their ferocious beauty-queen mother Belicia, and in the epic journey from Santo Domingo to Washington Heights to New Jersey’s Bergenline and back again. Rendered with uncommon warmth and humor, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao presents an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and the endless human capacity to persevere – and to risk it all – in the name of love.
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Mar 26

3 Comments

1001 Book Review: Her Privates We by Frederic Manning

Her Privates We by Frederic Manning
First published: 1930 (published as The Middle Part of Fortune in 1929).
Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewed by: Jen
Find it/Buy it here: Her Privates We

Her Privates We refers to the common soldiers who fought during World War I. The novel is the fictionalized account of the author’s own experiences as a soldier. It is a extraordinary account of the lives of foot soldiers that is told with the elegance and emotionally-evocative brilliance that only the best authors can achieve.
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Mar 24

11 Comments

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

The GoldFinch by Donna Tart
Published: 2013
Format: Audio narrated by David Pittu (32 hours & 9 minutes)
Award: Pulitzer prize for fiction, 2014
Reviewed by: Jen
Rating: 3.5 stars
Find it/Buy it here: The Goldfinch: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)

The Goldfinch is a monster of a book at close to 800 pages. It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2014 and received rave reviews from many of my friends. So, it was probably about time that I finally read it. The story begins with 13 year-old Theodore Decker, a tragedy and a small painting by Fabritius. The book took 11 years to write and is an ambitious coming-of-age tale that delves into the world of art and antiques and spans 14 years in the life of its protagonist. For those who aren’t familiar with the plot, I’ll refrain from saying too much more because part of the “fun” of this book is the journey and uncovering the twists and turns for yourself.
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Mar 20

213 Comments

Spring Cleaning Challenge

Welcome to our newest reading challenge! Are you like us with a TBR shelf that just keeps growing? Time to clean up that TBR. And what better motivation to clean up that shelf, than cool prizes?

In order to participate you must have either a goodreads or shelfari account & you must be willing to give us access to your shelf (send us your GR profile link or shelfari shelf link).

This challenge will start March 20th (first official day of spring) and will end June 21st (first day of summer).

Spring Cleaning Challenge
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Mar 18

3 Comments

Book-Wine Pairing: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Welcome to our first Book-Wine Pairing! This recurring post combines two of my favorite things. If only I could find a way to add coffee and chocolate, my life would be complete. This month I will be starting off with a relatively easy pairing: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.

Thanks to Needham Center Fine Wines for helping me pick out two wines to match with the book. I love wine, and I know what I like, but I’m a far cry from a wine expert. So, I needed a little extra help in making a selection. They have a great selection of wonderful wines, great customer service, and you can order online. So, Massachusetts friends, if you like the pairing this month and want to try it out, throw some business their way!

The Book: Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day by Winifred Watson

First Published: 1935
Find it/Buy it here:Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (Persephone Classics)
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Mar 16

12 Comments

Book Blind Date Results & Reviews

Thanks to all for participating in our book blind date challenge! We had a lot of fun organizing this challenge and we are happy that so many of you decided to join us. Keep reading to find out who won our prizes, the book titles of those poor dates that weren’t selected, and the compilation of all your reviews.
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Mar 15

6 Comments

Featured Author: David Mitchell

David Mitchell is a British author who was listed as one of the most influential people in world by Time Magazine in 2007. He was born in 1969 in Southport in Merseyside, England, and was raised in a middle-class family. He has a master’s degree in comparative literature. In his 20’s he fell in love with a Japanese woman and moved to Hiroshima where he lived for many years teaching English to technical students. He currently lives in Ireland with his wife and two children. Mitchell has talked openly about his son’s autism, and he and his wife, Keiko Yoshida, recently translated into English a memoir about autism titled, The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism. To hear him talk about this book on The Daily Show, click here.
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Mar 13

2 Comments

1001 Book Review: Wild Harbour by MacPherson

Wild Harbour by Ian MacPherson
Published in: 1936
Reviewed by Jen
Rating: 4 stars
Find/Buy it here: Wild Harbour (Canongate Classics)

When news of war comes to Scotland, Terry and Hugh, a married couple, decide to abandon their home and society in order to avoid the war and its consequences. They set up camp in a cave in an isolated area around Loch Ericht in the highlands of Scotland. Wild Harbour has the feel of a post-apocalyptic novel (isolation, struggle to survive, and conflict with other men who are struggling to survive off limited resources). It is a survival story that explores the bonds of human relationships. Set in the 1940s, but published in 1936 before World War II (thus, MacPherson predicts the war), it is told as a series of journal entries written by the husband, Hugh.
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Mar 8

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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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