Jun 22
In keeping with the theme of books that teach a lesson, we decided to review A Tale of Two Beasts by Fiona Roberton. E picked this book out herself during one of our trips to the bookstore. It’s certainly eye catching with it’s bright orange cover and vivid illustrations inside the book, but Emma liked the cover because “that girl is trying to talk to the cute animal.” Read more
Jun 21
My husband and daughter several years ago. Happy Father’s Day!
Happy Father’s Day to all those wonderful dads out there! We hope your day is filled with joy, relaxation and good literature!
In honor of father’s day, we are listing our top literary fathers. Read more
Jun 21
It’s official. Our Spring Cleaning Challenge is finally over and we have some winners to announce. You all did an amazing job cleaning up your TBR shelves while I unfortunately added to mine. As a group you read over 100 books. Our top two participants combined read over 50 of those books!
Our grand prize winner was selected at random. Each book you read counted for one entry and the winning entry was selected using random.org.
So without further ado, here our winners:
Grand Prize: Becky. Congrats to Becky! She wins a box packed with books and book-related goodies. Included in the box are the following items: book tote bag, literary teas, a personal library kit, bookmarks, a book journal, an adult coloring book, a $25 Amazon gift card, and a selection of 9 new books from a variety of genres. Books include a graphic novel, 2 non-fiction books, a classic, a short story collection, a science fiction book, a comedic fantasy, contemporary fiction, and magical realism/romance novel. Becky – please send me an email with your mailing address for the box. Here’s a glimpse of what she gets:
Most read: Our first place prize goes to Kate who received and incredible 26 points. Even more impressive, she even read Infinite Jest by Wallace for which she received 3 points. Kate wins a $40 gift card to Amazon.
First Review posted: Anita. She posted the first review in the challenge – The Housekeeper and the Professor by Ogawa. She wins: a pair of library card socks & a book lover’s journal. Anita – I will also need your mailing address. The socks crack me up.
Last Review Posted: This technically goes to Kate but since we limited everyone to one prize, the runner up gets the prize. Lynsey posted the second to last review of Adichie’s Americanah. Lynsey wins: A hardcopy edition of Judy Blume’s new book, In the Unlikely Event that was released earlier this month.
So congrats to all the winners. We hope that even if you didn’t win, you enjoyed the challenge.
And, if you didn’t win, there’s always the next challenge. I’ve already started collecting prize materials for the summer prizes. Sign up for our Summer challenge that begins today!
What did you think of the challenge? Which was your favorite TBR read? Which was your least favorite?
Jun 19
Several months ago I signed up for a Book Riot quarterly box subscription and last week my first box arrived. With Father’s Day just around the corner, a book box subscription may be a perfect gift for the dad in your life.
I’ve been hesitant to sign up for any book subscription services because I don’t love the idea of someone else picking out my books. I’m picky and I generally don’t love the popular books that everyone else is reading. But the Book Riot box sounded interesting and arrives quarterly (at $50 per box). Each “Quarter” is designed around a specific theme and includes a personal letter and hand-picked items. See what I got and whether it was worth it after the jump — I don’t want to give away the items for those who have yet to receive your box so click more only if you want to see what items arrived in July. Read more
Jun 18
After Dark by Haruki Murakami
Published in: 2004
Translated from Japanese by Jay Rubin
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: 4 stars
Find it here: After Dark
Synopsis: (from the Back Cover): Eyes mark the shape of the city
The midnight hour approaches in an almost-empty diner. Mari sips her coffee and reads a book, but soon her solitude is disturbed: a girl has been beaten up at the Alphaville hotel, and needs Mari’s help.
Meanwhile Mari’s beautiful sister Eri lies in a deep, heavy sleep that is ‘too perfect, too pure’ to be normal; it has lasted for two months. But tonight as the digital clock displays 00:00, a hint of life flickers across the television screen, even though it’s plug has been pulled out.
Strange nocturnal happenings, or a trick of the night?
Review: If you read our featured author post you will know that I love Murakami’s writing and this book was no exception. From the moment I read the back cover, I had a happy warm feeling in my tummy. I knew this was going to be a good read. The front cover just calls out to you “read me, read me.” The only problem with this book is that it is short. I could have stayed wandering around Tokyo at night much longer than the time Murakami allowed me.
From the opening lines of the book we, the readers, are told that we are voyeurs. We can watch what happens in the city. We can zoom in on bits that interest us, but we cannot get involved. We cannot influence anything. We cannot be heard and we are entirely neutral.
The book is set on a midwinter’s night between the hours of 11:56pm and 6:52am in Tokyo. It revolves around 3 central characters: the beautiful Eri who has decided to sleep and not wake up; her intelligent sister Mari who cannot sleep; and Takahashi a young musician who provides a link between the 2 sisters.
While Eri sleeps her beautiful sleep, Mari stays awake in the city where she encounters Takahashi in a Denny’s restaurant. Their meeting leads her to be pulled into the life of the “Night People.” Night people are those who are more at home after the sun has gone down — the insomniacs, prostitutes, and others who prefer the night.
While there is some action in this book, it’s more about feelings and perceptions than about plot development. There is violence and vengeance, and in true Murakami style there are mystical and magical moments and cats!! How do you know you are reading a Murakami? Because there are always cats.
This is a stylized book and I can easily see it being made into a noir film as the story really lends itself to the visual.
For those who like a proper ending with all the loose ends tied up, this is not the book for you (nor is any other Murakami book). There are several mysterious events that are not explained and are just left dangling when the sun rises. Murakami has created a place that exists only after dark and so until the next time the sun sets the mysteries will have to stay mysteries.
Want to try if for yourself? You can find it here: After Dark
We want to hear from you. Have you read this book? What did you think? Do you like Murakami’s books?
Transit by Anna Seghers
Published in: 1944
Reviewed by Jen & Book Worm
Find it here:Transit (New York Review Books Classics)
Synopsis (from Amazon): Anna Seghers’s Transit is an existential, political, literary thriller that explores the agonies of boredom, the vitality of storytelling, and the plight of the exile with extraordinary compassion and insight.
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Jun 15
Call me crazy, but I’ve always liked Kafka and have appreciated the absurdity of his writing. My recent visit to Prague included a visit to the Kafka museum (photo above) and a walking tour of Kafka’s Prague. I snapped some pictures that I will share with you and I thought it only appropriate to feature Kafka as our June Featured author. What do you think of Kafka’s works? Love them or hate them?
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Jun 13
This is the final update I’ll be providing for our Spring Challenge since it is over next week. If you haven’t already signed up for our summer challenge, please do so early since it will start June 21st. Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll get.
I will mail hard copies to the first 10 people who request one (they took longer than I thought to make them so I’m limiting how many I make). I have 5 left since most have requested email copies. Once those are gone, everyone else will get a PDF copy. Inside is a list of reading destinations for the challenge!
Now on to the Spring Challenge update. The last two weeks have seemed like a back and forth between Kate and Tracy who are currently tied for first with 23 points. Special props to Kate who powered through Infinite Jest — a fairly mean assignment on my part.
As a group, you’ve read an amazing 135 books for this challenge! Please check your scores to make sure they are correct. You have one final week (until June 20 at midnight) to submit your last book. Here are the current standings.
Standings:
Kate – 23
Tracy – 23
Andrea – 6
Ellen – 6
Nicole D – 5
Becky – 4
Lynsey – 4
Sushicat – 4
Anita -2
Tessa – 2
Brandy – 1
Charisma -1
Sally -1
Tricia – 1
Prizes: The grand prize could go to any of you, although odds favor those with more entries. I will announce the winners on June 21st. What could you win? A box filled with a selection new books from a variety of genres, an amazon gift card, and several book-related items. The first place reader will also win an Amazon gift card and 1 new book. Anita (for being the first person to complete a book) also wins a small prize. And one final mystery winner (who will be announced) will get a copy of Judy Blume’s latest book!
NOTE: If an international reader wins the grand prize, she will receive the equivalent amount in Amazon gift cards and other online redeemable prizes since it might bankrupt me to mail the box overseas. In that case, a second randomly drawn person will be selected to win the box – so an extra person wins. Good luck everyone!
Keep reading to check out all the books you’ve read as a group along with the latest reviews. You might find a good book to add to your own TBR.
Jun 11
Summer is around the corner and we want you to join us for our next seasonal challenge! We are still having a blast as the spring cleaning challenge winds down. That challenge closes on June 20th and we will be announcing the winners on June 21st.
For now we want to announce our plans for our summer challenge and we hope that you all join us because we think it is pretty wonderful! Keep reading to find out more. It’s best to sign up early so you can get a “personalized” version. Read more
Jun 10
The Color of Our Sky by Amita Trasi
Publisher: Bloomhill Books
Release Date: June 30, 2015
Reviewed by: Jen
Rating: 4 stars
Pre-Order the book here: The Color of our Sky
This ARC was provided by Bloomhill Books (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
The Color of Our Sky is a beautifully rendered and emotionally powerful book. Set primarily in Mumbai, India, the novel tells the stories of Tara and Mukta, two childhood friends from vastly different social backgrounds whose lives are forever changed by a series of tragic events in their childhood. Mukta is a lower caste girl, the daughter of a temple prostitute, who is destined to the same fate as her mother. When her mother dies, Tara’s father rescues her from her fate by bringing her home to live with his family. The two girls become close until tragedy strikes again and Mukta is stolen from their house and seemingly lost forever. Tara and her father move to America and she grows up believing that Mukta is dead, carrying guilt for her role Mukta’s abduction. After her father’s death, Tara discovers that her father had lied to her about Mukta. Vowing to return to India and find Mukta, Tara embarks on a journey that takes her deep into the world of human sex trafficking.
The novel is told from the alternating perspectives of Tara and Mukta and the narratives weave back and forth in time spanning from the 1980s through present day. As the stories shift back and forth, we learn the fate of Mukta and the truth about the events that led up to her abduction. Heart-breaking but also inspiring, the novel highlights the resilience of the human spirit and the strength of human connection (friendship and family) to overcome unspeakable adversity.
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