books | The Reader's Room

Jul 6

Summer Reading Challenge: 4 more days to join!

There are four more days to join our fun summer reading challenge and earn the chance to win some cool bookish prizes! This summer we will be hosting an Olympics-themed reading game. You will work with teams to pick out Olympic teams to sponsor for various sports categories. All reading and prizes will be awarded for individual reading so teams are more about meeting other readers and brainstorming strategy, although all members of the winning team will win a $5 Amazon gift card.

To read the full rules, check out our challenge page. We expect this to be a fun team activity that will challenge you to expand your reading horizons by pushing you to pick books to match the countries your team sponsors. Participants will be randomly assigned into teams by us. Teams will pick countries together but individual players will get to pick which books they want to read for various sports categories (sports categories will be matched to general book categories). Keep reading to see what kind of prizes you could win. Read more

Jul 5

5 Comments

Kids Corner: Macavity by T.S. Eliot and Arthur Robins

macavity

It’s been a while since we’ve done a Kid’s Corner post so this month we’re featuring a book I received at BEA from Faber & Faber. This book is perfect children over the age of 3+ and is a great way to introduce your child to poems and/or broadway musicals. Read more

Jul 4

2 Comments

Read Different: When Breath Becomes Air Paul Kalanithi

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Happy July 4th to those of you celebrating in the U.S. today! Here’s one of the books that Book Worm chose for her read different challenge. If you want to read more about that you can read about it here. If you haven’t already, we hope you join us in pushing your reading boundaries. Read more

Jul 1

6 Comments

Book Review: Smoke

Book Worm and I both read this highly hyped novel by Dan Vyleta. It is described as by Amazon as a “blend of historical fiction and fantasy” for readers of The Harry Potter Series and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Book Worm and I seem less than enchanted with the book. Here are our reviews… Read more

Jun 30

7 Comments

June Monthly Recap

pile-of-books

Time for our June 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 in July and a glimpse of our upcoming content. We also want to hear from you so let us know what you read this month and what you look forward to reading next month. Make sure you read about our summer reading challenge and sign up before July 10 to play in a fun team challenge with a chance to win prizes.
Read more

Jun 29

7 Comments

Terrible Reviews of Great Books: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

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 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

I’ve been a bit of a slacker when it comes to this book. I received a galley a while ago (although to be fair I received it after the publication date) and have only just gotten around to reading it. Here’s what I thought… Read more

Jun 27

5 Comments

Non 1001 Book Review: All the Missing Girls Megan Miranda

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
Published in: 2016
Reviewed by: Book Worm
Rating: ★★★★
Find it here: All the Missing Girls

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

Synopsis from Goodreads: Like the spellbinding psychological suspense in The Girl on the Train and Luckiest Girl Alive, Megan Miranda’s novel is a nail-biting, breathtaking story about the disappearances of two young women—a decade apart—told in reverse.

It’s been ten years since Nicolette Farrell left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared from Cooley Ridge without a trace. Back again to tie up loose ends and care for her ailing father, Nic is soon plunged into a shocking drama that reawakens Corinne’s case and breaks open old wounds long since stitched. Read more

Jun 24

38 Comments

The Reader’s Room Summer Reading Challenge

olympics

With just a few days to go until we officially end our March Madness challenge (winners will be announced in early July), we decided that it was time to announce our summer reading challenge! As you might have guessed by the image, we’ll be hosting a reading Olympics challenge. Keep reading to find out more. We hope you join in. Read more

Jun 23

4 Comments

Book Subscriptions: Indiespensable Volume #59

indiespensable

The Indiespensable subscription is Powell’s subscription club. Boxes ship out every 6-8 weeks at a cost of $39.95 per box including shipping. The website advertises these boxes as featuring “the best new books with special attention to independent publishers.” The boxes include a signed first edition, a booklet that explains the items, and a few extra goodies. I started the service in October 15. Yesterday week I received my fifth box. I’m starting to think that Powell’s staff is sneaking into my house at night and stalking my bookshelves in order to send the perfect box. Here’s what we got this month and my review: Read more