Posts tagged ‘books’

Apr 1

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 29

16 Comments

Non 1001 Book Review: Nation Terry Pratchett

Beloved fantasy novelist, Terry Pratchett passed away on March 15th this year and to pay a tribute to his life and his works, we have each decided to read and review one of his works. I’ll start it off with a review of Nation and next week Jen will share her review of The Colour of Magic, the first in the Discworld series. We hope you join us in sharing your thoughts about some of your favorite Pratchett books.

We will be giving away one kindle copy of either The Colour of Magic, Mort, or Guards, Guards — you chose which one you want. Why these books? Although not in order of publication, they represent the first books in three story lines within the Discworld series (Rincewind novels, Death novels, and Watch novels).

How do you win? Simply share your thoughts about Terry Pratchett and his books in the comment section by April 1st and we will randomly select one person to win the copy. If you’ve never read any of his books, you can just comment on why you’d like to read one of his books.
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Mar 27

1001 Book Review: Alamut Vladimir Bartol

Alamut by Vladimir Bartol
First Published in: 1936
Reviewed by: Book Worm & Jen
Find/Buy it here:Alamut

Synopsis from Amazon: Alamut takes place in 11th Century Persia, in the fortress of Alamut, where self-proclaimed prophet Hasan ibn Sabbah is setting up his mad but brilliant plan to rule the region with a handful elite fighters who are to become his “living daggers.” By creating a virtual paradise at Alamut, filled with beautiful women, lush gardens, wine and hashish, Sabbah is able to convince his young fighters that they can reach paradise if they follow his commands. With parallels to Osama bin Laden, Alamut tells the story of how Sabbah was able to instill fear into the ruling class by creating a small army of devotees who were willing to kill, and be killed, in order to achieve paradise. Believing in the supreme Ismaili motto “Nothing is true, everything is permitted,” Sabbah wanted to “experiment” with how far he could manipulate religious devotion for his own political gain through appealing to what he called the stupidity and gullibility of people and their passion for pleasure and selfish desires.

The novel focuses on Sabbah as he unveils his plan to his inner circle, and on two of his young followers — the beautiful slave girl Halima, who has come to Alamut to join Sabbah’s paradise on earth, and young ibn Tahir, Sabbah’s most gifted fighter. As both Halima and ibn Tahir become disillusioned with Sabbah’s vision, their lives take unexpected turns.

Alamut was originally written in 1938 as an allegory to Mussolini’s fascist state. In the 1960’s it became a cult favorite throughout Tito’s Yugoslavia, and in the 1990s, during the Balkan’s War, it was read as an allegory of the region’s strife and became a bestseller in Germany, France and Spain. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, the book once again took on a new life, selling more than 20,000 copies in a new Slovenian edition, and being translated around the world in more than 19 languages. This edition, translated by Michael Biggins, in the first-ever English translation
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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 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 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

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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