Bookish Quote of the Day!!!

 

Top Ten Tuesday - Books I Was Super Excited to Get My Hands on but Still Haven’t Read

 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally 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.

I have SO MANY BOOKS I was super excited to get my hands on, but sadly have not read yet... I had a difficult time narrowing down my choices to just ten!

1. Dewey the Library Cat by Vicki Myron

2. S by J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst

3. The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins

4. Riven Rock by T. C. Boyle

5. Courting Darkness by Robin LaFevers

6. Igniting Darkness by Robin LaFevers

7. The Mothers by Brit Bennett

8. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

9. The Swan Gondola by Timothy Schaffert

10. The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

Have you read any of the above books? Which ones would you recommend reading first? Lastly, which books were you super excited to get my hands on, but have not read yet?

Bookish Quote of the Day!!!

 

Voices in the Snow by Darcy Coates

I listened to the unabridged audio version of Voices in the Snow by Darcy Coates and narrated by Angela Dawe. Voices in the Snow is the first novel in the Black Winter series. This novel falls into the atmospheric horror genre. However, it also contains zombies and an apocalypse theme. If you're into this type of genre, then this may be the novel/series for you. Angela Dawe is a good narrator too!

Horror and apocalypse books with zombies aren't my go to types of novels to read. However, Darcy Coates seems to be a popular horror writer among readers. With that in mind, I wanted to give another one of her novels a try since the previous novel I'd read by Darcy Coates earlier this year was likable, but not fantastic, in my opinion.

I felt that Voices in the Snow by Darcy Coates was overall a good read, but started off slowly for roughly the first half of the novel. It finally picked up the last half of the novel. I liked the two main characters a lot and the overall premise of the novel. The writing is good. I am just not that curious to carry on with reading the remaining three novels in the Black Winter series.

Below is the plot summary for Voices in the Snow by Darcy Coates from Amazon's website:

Clare remembers the cold. She remembers abandoned cars and children's toys littered across the road. She remembers dark shapes in the snow and a terror she can't explain. And then... nothing. When she wakes, aching and afraid in a stranger's gothic home, he tells her she was in an accident, a crash in the snow. He claims he saved her. Clare wants to leave, but a vicious snowstorm has blanketed the world in white, trapping them together, and there's nothing she can do but wait.

At least the stranger seems kind... but Clare doesn't know if she can trust him. He promised they were alone here, but she sees and hears things that convince her something else is creeping about the surrounding woods, watching. Waiting. Between the claustrophobic storm and the inescapable sense of being hunted, Clare is on edge... and increasingly certain of one thing:

Her car crash wasn't an accident. Something is waiting for her to step outside the fragile safety of the house... something monstrous, something unfeeling.

Something desperately hungry.

I am giving Voices in the Snow by Darcy Coates a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

New to Me Little Free Library in Castro Valley, California!

 

Yesterday, my husband and I briefly visited the cities of Castro Valley and Hayward, California. While in Castro Valley, we found another new to us Little Free Library. This one was a repurposed newsstand that had been repainted with fun art designs on its exterior.

This LFL is located just outside a small housing development. Although, this LFL was a cute find, its interior was in quite a disarray as books were thrown about in a haphazard way. So sad!

I left a book, but didn't attempt to seek out any books to bring back home with me. If we weren't off to an event, an attempt to organize the books in an orderly fashion would have been made.

Have you found any LFLs lately?

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

World of Books ~ Review

 

Roughly six months ago, I watched a video created by a booktuber on YouTube. The booktuber had mentioned buying books from World of Books and their positive experience with shopping with this online retailer.

After checking out the World of Books website off and on since then, I finally decided to take the plunge and purchased four used books from their website last week. The books arrived within a week from the date of order.

What I loved about my purchase was the fact that I received free shipping after spending the minimum amount of ten dollars. Plus, I took advantage of World of Books's promotion where one could buy 3 books, get 1 free on select books.

I went with buying all graphic novels/books for my first purchase from World of Books. All four books were used ones and in the condition described on the World of Books website. Shipping was pretty quick too for free shipping.

Above is the photo I took of the books I purchased from World of Books. Now to find some time to read and review them. I look forward to buying from World of Books in the future.

Have you purchased books from World of Books? What was your experience like with this online retailer?

New to Me Little Free Library in Pleasanton, California

 

My husband and I ran some errands yesterday morning. One of our stops was at a nearby Little Free Library in Pleasanton, California. I left four paperback books and took one book home with me. I enjoyed finding this cute LFL near a cute local park.

Have you found any Little Free Libraries lately?

A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton

 

I love a good mystery! I came across the unabridged audio version of  A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton and narrated by Rafe Beckley on the Chirp's audiobooks website and decided to give it go after reading the novel's description.  

A Most Efficient Murder is the first novel in 'The Mr. Quayle Mysteries' series and is a historical mystery novel set in England during the 1920s. I enjoyed the writing, the storyline, most of the characters, and the pacing of this novel and am looking forward to reading future novels in the series. 

The only major complaints for me were the overuse of some phrases that lost their impact over the course of the novel... Plus, a couple of minor characters that became annoying due to their behavior. Otherwise, I felt that A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton was a really good read.

Below is the publishers plot summary for A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton from Amazon's website:

When a party thrown by the reclusive Lord Unsworth is marred by murder, his loyal secretary, Mr. Quayle, must unravel a web of red-herrings and old family secrets in this English country house mystery.

"I do not wish to disturb you, your grace, but there is a body in the garden...."

England, 1925. When a strange young woman is found murdered on the grounds of Unsworth Castle, the duke and his family are astounded at first, but quickly become enraged when the police begin asking all sorts of impertinent questions.

And when suspicions dare to fall on one of their own, it is up to Mr. Quayle, Lord Unsworth's exceedingly efficient secretary, to find the true culprit and save the House of Unsworth from scandal and ruin.

A Most Efficient Murder is the first in the The Mr. Quayle Mysteries.

I'm giving A Most Efficient Murder by Anthony Slayton a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

My Top Ten Favorite Nonfiction Books About Animals - Take Two

In October 2019, I published a post listing my top ten favorite nonfiction books about animals. Since then, I've read more nonfiction books about various animals.

Below is my newest list of favorite nonfiction books about animals that I've enjoyed reading since my prior post in October 2019.

1. The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship by Joanna Burger

2. You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness by Julie Klam

3. The Loved Dog by Tamar Geller

4. H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald

5. The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery

6. The Book Of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World by Patrik Svensson

7. Where the Lost Dogs Go: A Story of Love, Search, and the Power of Reunion by Susannah Charleson

8. The Perfect Horse: The Daring U.S. Mission to Rescue the Priceless Stallions Kidnapped by the Nazis by Elizabeth Letts

9. Darwin Comes to Town: How the Urban Jungle Drives Evolution by Menno Schilthuizen

10. Eloquence of the Sardine: Extraordinary Encounters Beneath the Sea by Bill François

Do you enjoy reading nonfiction books about animals? If so, have you read any of the above books? Also, share with me any nonfiction books about animals you've read and enjoyed reading in the comment section below. Maybe I'll find some new favorite nonfiction books about animals!

Eloquence of the Sardine: Extraordinary Encounters Beneath the Sea by Bill François

 

Eloquence of the Sardine: Extraordinary Encounters Beneath the Sea by Bill François was my 20th read for 2024! I listened to the unabridged audio version of this nonfiction book, which was nicely narrated by Graham Halstead. 

Listening time for Eloquence of the Sardine is 5 hours, 1 minute, which made for another quick read/listen for me.

Eloquence of the Sardine by Bill François is such a wonderful read as it combines science, natural history, and various oceanic animals among its topics. I really enjoyed learning about the different animals discussed by the author as well as the natural history and other science related topics the author brought up in his book. The Eloquence of the Sardine is well written and flowed nicely from chapter to chapter. The content for Eloquence of the Sardine is also engaging with just the right amount of science in it without making it dry or boring.

Below is the publisher's summary for Eloquence of the Sardine: Extraordinary Encounters Beneath the Sea by Bill François from Chirp's website:

If we listen to the ocean, what do we hear? What can it teach us? How can it change us?

Written by a marine scientist (and winner of French eloquence competitions), this work of narrative nonfiction blends Bill François’s personal story with that of sea creatures to create an original and exciting work. In poetic prose, he describes his unlikely journey from being a Parisian child, afraid of the water and crippled by self-consciousness, to an eloquent and self-assured young man with a passion for the ocean and all who inhabit it. In doing so, he tells the stories of sardines, anchovies, eels, suckerfish, and whales (to name a few), and demystifies their fascinating conversations.

A mix between science and storytelling from the past and present, Eloquence of the Sardine is an invitation to dive deep and learn from the secrets of the ocean.

I am giving Eloquence of the Sardine: Extraordinary Encounters Beneath the Sea by Bill François a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Top Ten Tuesday - May Flowers - Books I've Read With Flowers in the Title!!

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally 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.

Here are ten books I've read and reviewed on my blog over the years which contain a flower in its title. The links will take you to my review of each book.

1. Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach

2. Evil In Carnations by Kate Collins

3. Orchid Fever by Eric Hansen

4. Mum's the Word by Kate Collins

5. Night of the Living Dandelions by Kate Collins

6. Hothouse Orchid by Stuart Woods

7. The Strange Orchid by H. G. Wells

8. Orchids and Stone by Lisa Preston

9. Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim

10. Rose Gold by Walter Mosley

Have you read any of the above books?

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo and narrated by the author. Listening time for The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is 3 hours, 30 minutes, which made for a quick listen!

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo is a young adult, coming of age novel that is set in Harlem. Xiomara Batista is the main character and she's a 15 year old high school sophomore. We see life through her eyes as she grows up in a very strict, religious household. Xiomara feels seen, not heard by her parents. Her parents are old school Dominican... Xiomara's mother had actually wanted to become a nun, but instead, ended up marrying Xiomara's father. Xiomara and her twin brother, Xavier, were considered miracles and are the only children her parents had. Xiomara writes poetry in order to express herself and we hear/read her poems throughout the novel along with reading about her frustrations growing up within her strict household.

I didn't expect The Poet X to be so powerful. Or to love it so much! The writing, in a word, is stunning. And to have the author narrate her novel made it all the more wonderful.

Below is the publisher's plot summary for The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo I discovered on Amazon's website:

Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking.

But Xiomara has plenty she wants to say, and she pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers - especially after she catches feelings for a boy in her bio class named Aman, whom her family can never know about.

With Mami's determination to force her daughter to obey the laws of the church, Xiomara understands that her thoughts are best kept to herself. So when she is invited to join her school's slam poetry club, she doesn't know how she could ever attend without her mami finding out. But she still can't stop thinking about performing her poems.

Because in the face of a world that may not want to hear her, Xiomara refuses to be silent.

I am giving The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo a rating of 5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

 

Gail Tsukiyama is an author whose name I first came across while perusing bookstore bookshelves back in the 1990s. However, I didn't read a novel Gail Tsukiyama had written until October 2020 when I read and reviewed The Color of Air. I enjoyed reading The Color of Air quite a bit, so I decided to read another one of her novels again in the future.

Last month, I chose to listen to the unabridged audio version of The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama and narrated by David Shih. I love both historical fiction as well as Asian literature, so The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama fits nicely into both categories.

I loved the slow pace of The Samurai's Garden. The writing is solid and well developed. I also loved the main characters of Stephen, Matsu, and Sachi. The major themes of loyalty and honor which are a big part of the Japanese culture and also the themes of love, loss, and beauty are all part of this novel as well. I enjoyed David Shih's narration of The Samurai's Garden.

Below is the plot summary for The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama from Chirp website:

The daughter of a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, Gail Tsukiyama uses the Japanese invasion of China during the late 1930s as a somber backdrop for her unusual story about a twenty-year-old Chinese painter named Stephen who is sent to his family’s summer home in a Japanese coastal village to recover from a bout with tuberculosis. Here he is cared for by Matsu, a reticent housekeeper and a master gardener. Over the course of a remarkable year, Stephen learns Matsu’s secret and gains not only physical strength but also profound spiritual insight. Matsu is a samurai of the soul, a man devoted to doing good and finding beauty in a cruel and arbitrary world, and Stephen is a noble student, learning to appreciate Matsu’s generous and nurturing way of life and to love Matsu’s soulmate, gentle Sachi, a woman afflicted with leprosy.

I am giving The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald

 

I was recommended The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald by a friend a few years ago who had read the novel for a book group. Last month, I decided to listen to the unabridged audio version of The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend which was well narrated by to narrators, Fiona Hardingham and Lorelei King. 

Listening time for The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald is 12 hours, 10 minutes.

Although, I enjoyed The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald, it wasn't entirely what I thought it would be! It was a decent novel and well done for a debut novel, but it didn't quite hit the mark for me. I liked the different characters and the small town vibe of life in a mid-western town in Iowa. The writing was captivating enough and the small town drama interesting enough... BUT I felt that some of the small town drama and other plot details, were not to my liking. Some of the drama was simply not that interesting as it felt unrealistic, unnatural, forced... hmm, not sure how to express it. Suffice it to say, I liked this novel, but didn't love it.

Below is the plot summary for The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald from Amazon's website:

A debut novel to charm all listeners, that shows beyond all doubt that it's books, along with love, that make the world go round.

It all began with a correspondence between two quite different women: 28-year-old Sara from Haninge, Sweden, and 65-year-old Amy from the small town of Broken Wheel, Iowa. After years of exchanging books, letters and thoughts on the meaning of literature and life, Sara, mousy, disheveled, who has never been anywhere in her life--has really lived only for her work in a beloved bookshop, which has just closed its doors for the last time--bravely decides to accept her unknown friend's invitation to visit. But when she arrives, she finds her house empty, the funeral guests just heading home. . .

Sara finds herself alone. And what choice do the inhabitants of Broken Wheel have but to take care of their bewildered tourist? And what choice does Sara have, faced with a town where nobody reads and her desire to honour her friend, but to set up the perfect bookshop with all the books she and Amy shared--from Yann Martel's Life of Pi to Iris Murdoch and Jo Nesbo, to Bridget Jones and Doug Coupland's All Families Are Psychotic to Little House on the Prairie? And then watch as the townsfolk are, one by one, transformed in unexpected ways. . .

In the glorious tradition of 84 Charing Cross Road, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café, Will Schwalbe's The End of Your Life Book Club, Jane Austen, and movies such as You've Got Mail and Love Actually, The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend is a big-hearted, witty book about books, friendship, love--and always being open to the unexpected.

I am giving The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!