Tuesday, March 19, 2019

March 19, Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

This week’s TTT topic is Books On My Spring 2019 TBR

What a topic. I guess the whole bookcase is on my TBR. I am a mood reader and not sure about which one I will pick up next. But I will make an effort and put most anticipated books that I want to read this spring.

Goodreads
1. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

      Another hyped middle grade book everybody is talking about. The second book is already published and the third out will be out soon, so it is time to join all the fun.

Goodreads
2. The Thirst by Jo Nesbø

     The last published book from Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbø. I am an avid fan of Jo Nesbø, but still did not read this one. I guess I am saving it.

3. Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Goodreads

 I am greatly intimidated by this huge classic novel. I must be a difficult read and I keep finding pretexts not to pick it up.

4. The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter
   Twenty-eight years ago, Charlotte and Samantha Quinn's happy small-town family life was torn apart by a terrifying attack on their family home. It left their mother dead. It left their father—Pikeville's notorious defense attorney—devastated. And it left the family fractured beyond repair, consumed by secrets from that terrible night.

Goodreads
5. Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye

     Jane Steele by A Gothic retelling of Jane Eyre.

Like the heroine of the novel she adores, Jane Steele suffers cruelly at the hands of her aunt and schoolmaster. And like Jane Eyre, they call her wicked - but in her case, she fears the accusation is true. When she flees, she leaves behind the corpses of her tormentors.
Goodread

6. Career of Evil by by Robert Galbraith

Though I am not a big fan of this series, I still have a book. So I want to finish it as soon as possible and unhaul the whole series. I do not have the final book due to really poor reviews.
Goodreads

7.  The Lollipop Shoes by Joanne Harris

     Another long postponed sequel to a favorite book. Hope it will live up to the first one int he series.


Goodreads
8.  Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

     The new Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University's Walking One-Night Stand. .
 
Goodreads
9.  Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbø

     Jon is on the run. He has betrayed Oslo’s biggest crime lord: The Fisherman.
Fleeing to an isolated corner of Norway, to a mountain town so far north that the sun never sets, Jon hopes to find sanctuary amongst a local religious sect.
Hiding out in a shepherd’s cabin in the wilderness, all that stands between him and his fate are Lea, a bereaved mother and her young son, Knut. But while Lea provides him with a rifle and Knut brings essential supplies, the midnight sun is slowly driving Jon to insanity.
 
Goodreads
 
10.  Inés of My Soul by Isabel Allende
    Born into a poor family in Spain, Inés, a seamstress, finds herself condemned to a life of hard work without reward or hope for the future. It is the sixteenth century, the beginning of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, and when her shiftless husband disappears to the New World, Inés uses the opportunity to search for him as an excuse to flee her stifling homeland and seek adventure. After her treacherous journey takes her to Peru, she learns that her husband has died in battle. Soon she begins a fiery love affair with a man who will change the course of her life: Pedro de Valdivia, war hero and field marshal to the famed Francisco Pizarro.

Monday, March 18, 2019

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Original title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Pages: 359
Edition Language: English
Series: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe #1
Format: paperback
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
  
My thoughts: 
     Another over-hyped book, that did not bring any pleasure in my reading life.  Saying that I hated this book would be an outright lie. But it did nothing. What I got was just an okay “something plot” with okay characters. 
    Like I hinted, there was no plot. It was hard going into this book and reading every single word and just promising myself "something is going to happen" when really, nothing exciting did. Dante and Ari were characters that one can enjoy reading about, maybe even relatable to some, but there was still nothing that was even interesting about either one.
    There were some bright spots like Dante and Ari’s friendship, discovering your identity. But that doesn’t erase the fact that I’m unsure what the point of this book was and so I grew bored very quickly and began skipping a lot. 
      My main issue was actually the epic moment when Ari was coming to the realization that he is gay. It looks like from every corner there was a nice, understanding relative with convenient smile: Oh Ari, don't you realize, you love Dante, and not just love, but LOVE. What the hell? I actually felt the pressure; the poor boy confused and cannot figure out his emotions and here come such understanding relatives and tell him whom he loves. I hated this part, they almost pushed him to Dante; it is good it all worked out, but there was so much pressure in so little words; this can change a person’s life. 
     Do not know if I would recommend it, but I see the book has its circle of admirers. I would probably soon forget about it and unhaul.
 
Rating:  
    2/5 

Sunday, March 17, 2019

Sunday Post #42, Manchester vibes

The Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer.  It’s a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things received, and share news about what is coming up on the blog for the week ahead. To get in on the Sunday fun, see the rules here: Sunday Post Meme. 

Outside the Blog
      This weekend I am flying to Manchester (UK) for the first time. I was hoping to go to the game: Manchester United should have played against Manchester City, but they moved the game and, wow, I saved like a fortune on tickets. So the only thing left is to go on a tour on Old Trafford stadium. Should be enough for me, since it is not my favorite team. I am not sure what other sightseeing I might find interesting, but I will definitely check Manchester Liverpool Road railway station, which the oldest railway station in the world (at least I did not find any contradicting information).
    I guess I will not be reading much, but I have great hopes for book stores. Maybe there will be a small Manchester book haul.

 Last on the Blog
Next on the Blog
  • On Monday I will review Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
  • On Tuesday I will publish March 19, Top Ten Tuesday
  • On Wednesday I will publish WWW Wednesday and Library Loot
  • On Thursday I will review Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
  • On Friday I will publish Friday in Memes #6
 Newcomers on my Shelf
Nothing this week so far.




Saturday, March 16, 2019

February 2019 Wrap up

Read books: 
read: 5/ listen: 2/ pages: 1256/ hours listened: 21h32m
1. Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman 6h29m -my review
2. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata p.163 - my review
3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky p.231 - my review
4. The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey p.460
5. Headhunters by Jo Nesbø p.320
6. Tales of Belkin by Alexander Pushkin p.82
7. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah 15h02m

Movie watched:
1. A Little Chaos (2014) *****
2. Wayward Pines S.2 (2015-2016) ** - my review
3. Colombiana (2011) ***
4. Alita: Battle Angel (2019) *****
5. Widows (2018) ** 

Challenges overview:
Goodreads Reading Challenge: 14/52
2017 PopSugar Reading Challenge 8/40
Pages Read Challenge: 2916/24000
Audiobook Challenge: 4/15
Russian Literature: 3/30
World of Literature: 18/50
Booker Prize Project: 7
Classics Club: 6/50

Friday, March 15, 2019

March 15, Friday in Memes #5

The Book Blogger Hop hosted by Coffee Addicted Writer. Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop's purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

This Week's Book Blogger Hop Question:
    Do you use NetGalley, Edelweiss, both, or neither? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)
My Answer:
      I do not. I have heard about Net Galley, but I have so many books on my shelves, that having even more on my Kindle...Edelweiss I have never heard about.

Book Beginnings of Fridays hosted by Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader. A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. 
The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice. Join us every Friday and share an excerpt from a book you’ve been reading.

My Book Beginnings:
Twilight was gathering, and Orpheus still wasn't here.
My 56:
Darius set to work at once, busy and eager, like a bespectacled squirrel, while Elinor gave Farid a glance as cold as if he were personally responsible fro the bad news he'd brought. Maggie still still remembered just how alarming she had once found that book.
Outline: I frankly do not remember the characters from the first book. So I wonder if it is going to be a big issue reading a sequel. It is long on my shelves and I want to finish the series, and now it is the best time to read it during Middle Grade March.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Author: Sayaka Murata
Original title: Agnes Grey
Pages: 164
Edition Language: English
Series: no
Format: paperback
Genres: Contemporary
Goodreads

Blurb:    
   Keiko Furukura had always been considered a strange child, and her parents always worried how she would get on in the real world, so when she takes on a job in a convenience store while at university, they are delighted for her. However, eighteen years later, at age 36, she is still in the same job, has never had a boyfriend, and has only few friends. She feels comfortable in her life but is aware that she is not living up to society's expectations and causing her family to worry about her.

 
My thoughts: 
    It is a very short novel and I have heard so many positive things about it, so I was actually hunting for it in the stores. But in the end, I was left disappointed and confused by the book.
        The novel is about a character who doesn’t change in a society that doesn’t change, and how both have found comfort in conformity. It’s never explicitly stated, but Keiko is obviously autistic. She comes off as robotic and unemotional. She has no interest in sex or relationships in general. She works, thinks and lives mechanically. She even has her sister come up with lines for her to repeat in social situations to seem like a “normal” person. So, since she knows her place in the world and she’s satisfied with it why everyone keeps pushing her to something else? She starts and ends as a convenience store worker. So why everybody is making a problem out of it?
      Additionally, the switches between somehow simplistic and almost philosophical way of thinking left a confused impression. Maybe the message of the novel is more relevant to closed Japanese society, but I was not impressed. 
       Still, it is generally a well-written book that is easy to read. Besides, for a novel mostly set in an ordinary convenience store it was never boring. So Sayaka Murata really managed it well. 
Rating:  
    3/5 

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

WWW Wednesday and Library Loot, March 13th

WWW Wednesdays is hosted by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. A similar meme, This Week in Books is hosted by Lipsyy Lost and Found.
Description: WWW Wednesday is a weekly event where you share answers Below questions:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
  
I am currently reading 3 books:

1. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
2. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
3. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty  

I have finished:
1. Bubble in the Bathtub by Jo Nesbo
2. Doctor Proctor Who Cut the Cheese? by Jo Nesbo
3. The Magical Fruit by Jo Nesbø
4. The Case of the Stolen Sixpence by Holly Webb
5. The Case of the Vanishing Emerald by Holly Webb
6. The Case of the Phantom Cat by Holly Webb
7. The Case of the Feathered Mask by Holly Webb
8. The Case of the Secret Tunnel by Holly Webb
9. The Case of the Spilled Ink by Holly Webb
10. The Case of the Blind Beetle by Holly Webb
11. The Case of the Weeping Mermaid by Holly Webb 

I am planning to start with the following books:
1. Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
2. Can Doctor Proctor Save Christmas?  by Jo Nesbø
 
Hosted by: The Captive Reader and Silly Little Mischief
Description: Library Loot is a weekly event that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

I got 2 new books for my Midle Grade March challenge:
1. Can Doctor Proctor Save Christmas? by Jo Nesbø
2. I Am Not A Loser by Jim Smith