Month: August 2018

Book Review: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

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4_DiscoBalls

4 disco balls

Published: September 9, 2014 by Knopf
Category: Sci-fi, Dystopian
Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel (2015); PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Nominee (2015); Sunburst Award Nominee for Adult (2015); John W. Campbell Memorial Award Nominee for Best Science Fiction Novel (2015); British Fantasy Award Nominee for August Derleth Award (best horror novel) (2015); The Rooster – The Morning News Tournament of Books (2015); NAIBA Book of the Year for Fiction (2015); Toronto Book Award Nominee (2015); The Great Michigan Read (2015); Women’s Prize for Fiction Nominee for Longlist (2015); Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction (2015); National Book Award Finalist for Fiction (2014); Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction (2014)

In this intricate, elegantly woven tale, the fate of five people at the end of civilization will connect in such a delicate, yet powerful way; some of them not ever meeting each other.Read More »

Audiobook Review: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin, narrated by Ann Richardson

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Author: Kate Douglas Wiggin
Narrator: Ann Richardson
Length: 8 hours and 11 minutes
Publisher: Post Hypnotic Press Inc.
Released: Dec. 8, 2017
Genre: Classics

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm has delighted readers for over 100 years. Published in 1903, when girls were inevitably depicted as pretty, gentle and proper, Rebecca Rowena Randall burst onto the scene of children’s literature. Sent to live with her prim and proper Aunt Miranda, who is expecting her much more demure sister, Rebecca is a “bird of a very different feather”. She has “a small, plain face illuminated by a pair of eyes carrying such messages, such suggestions, such hints of sleeping power and insight, that one never tired of looking into their shining depths….” To her Aunt Miranda’s continual dismay, Rebecca is exuberant, irrepressible, and spirited – not at all “proper” or “demure”. She wins over her aunt soon enough, and the whole town, and thousands of readers and listeners everywhere.

In 1904, author Jack London wrote Kate Douglas Wiggin: “May I thank you for Rebecca?…. I would have quested the wide world over to make her mine, only I was born too long ago and she was born but yesterday…. Why could she not have been my daughter? Why couldn’t it have been I who bought the three hundred cakes of soap? Why, O, why?” And Mark Twain called Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm “beautiful and warm and satisfying”. This recording, narrated by Ann Richardson, whose sweet voice has a facility for accents and character voices, is a satisfying listening experience you’ll want to revisit. Upcoming from Post Hypnotic Press is a new annotated print/eBook edition of this book, with illustrations from the original publication and a new introduction, as well as a work-book for children.

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Book Review: Tell Me You’re Mine by Elisabeth Norebäck

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3.5 disco balls

Publish Date: September 4, 2018 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Category: Suspense, Mystery, Domestic Thriller

Want to read upcoming new releases before they hit the shelves? Join Penguin Random House’s First to Read program – its free – to gain access to a variety of books. That is how I was able to read Tell Me You’re Mine by Elisabeth Norebäck.

When I read the synopsis for Tell Me You’re Mine I was sold. I am a fan of suspense/thriller books and the “is this my long lost daughter” narrative seemed very intriguing. Read More »

Book Review: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

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BFS –> Paris

4.5 disco balls

Published: February 6, 2018 by Algonquin Books
Category: Contemporary Fiction, Family Life

I started this book in Belfast, brought it with me to Paris and Avignon, and wound up finishing it in Nice. I could say that this book is quite the world traveler.

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Nice, France

I am tardy to the party in reading this book; mainly due to the fact that love triangles make me uncomfortable and I try to avoid them like the plague. What forced me to read this – and thank goodness for it because I was missing out – was my book club’s August pick.

Three’s Company? More like three’s a crowd. 

The 1+1+1=3 equation is as follows: Andre and Celestial are childhood best friends, Roy and Andre are college friends, Roy and Celestial meet through Roy. VoilàRead More »

Reading Challenge: High School Reading Redo

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September is right around the corner and can be known as Back to School Month. The start of school can vary based on location, but typically by September students are parked at their desks counting down the days until their next summer vacation. Well at least that was what I was doing. I certainly didn’t have the time to focus on required reading and often resorted to Cliff Notes. I needed my time to…I actually don’t remember but I just know my free time was not spent reading.

The adult me doesn’t even know that person: you can’t pry a book out of my hands nowadays. To rid myself of the guilt of not doing my homework I am going to spend the month of September reading the books I was supposed to read back in school (over twenty years ago). I only hope this makes my former English teachers – or English teachers everywhere – proud! If only I had my teachers emails, I would finally submit proper book “reports.”

Join or follow my progress through the hashtag #HSReadingRedo. Read from my list below or create your own. I would love to hear of your participation so come back an drop a comment below with your book “report” links!

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Saturday Spotlight: Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Saturday Nite Reader14 Comments

Introducing Saturday Nite Reader’s weekly meme: Saturday Spotlight! Each Saturday I will spotlight a book I have read or am currently reading; and, of course what I think is special about it. I invite you to participate as well! Just link back to my weekly post and don’t forget to add your spotlight link in the comment section for all to see. Happy Sharing! XO, Nikki

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This Week:
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Published: August 3, 2017 by Apollo (first published February 7, 2017 by Grand Central Publishing)
Category: Historical Fiction, Cultural
National Book Award Finalist for Fiction (2017); Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Historical Fiction (2017); Reading Women Award for Fiction (2017); Litsy Award for Historical Fiction (2017)

img_1275While in Paris, I had to visit the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore. There were so many books to choose from and I wasn’t sure which one I was going to buy: I wish I could have purchased more than one but I already overpacked my suitcase. Being in Europe and seeing the different book covers was burning a hole in my pocket; that darn suitcase saved my bank account.

While browsing I picked up this version of Pachinko and thought it was absolutely stunning. After that, the choice was easy. I mean just look at it and that inside cover, woah.

Louvre, Paris
That inside cover!
Hotel Perouse, Nice France
balcony view, Nice, France
Shakespeare and Company Official Stamp

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Books throughout Belfast, Northern Ireland

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I am on vacation from August 10 – 19th and can finally check Paris off my bucket list! I am enjoying my time away, but wanted to pop in quickly and share a few photos from my time in Northern Ireland. 

Prior to heading out on holiday, I was working in my Belfast office for the week. I packed way too many books, so I decided to take them with me around town and share a few spots I hit up during my stay. I used the hashtag #booksthroughoutbelfast on Instagram to chronicle my week.

Seven days in Belfast and I finished Tied to Deceit by Neena H. Brar, Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, and started An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. I may not get to all the books I packed but they enjoyed traveling throughout Belfast with me. What was not enjoyable was that they definitely weighed down my suitcase – but its what we do for the love of books, right?! Enjoy!

grabbed a coffee at Patisserie Valerie
Just chilling at The Giants Causeway
reading at the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge
Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Centre
The Fountain (working and missing my pups at home)
View from my office in the Scottish Provident Building
Victoria Square Viewing Gallery
Victoria Square – amongst the Wizard of Oz theme art
Babel Rooftop Bar
Babel’s colorful elevator
my airbnb was super stylish that I had to take a picture of my books there!

Saturday Spotlight: The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

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Introducing Saturday Nite Reader’s weekly meme: Saturday Spotlight! Each Saturday I will spotlight a book I have read or am currently reading; and, of course what I think is special about it. I invite you to participate as well! Just link back to my weekly post and don’t forget to add your spotlight link in the comment section for all to see. Happy Sharing! XO, Nikki

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This Week:
The People in the Trees by Hanya Yanagihara

Published: August 13, 2013 by Doubleday (edition shown published July 10, 2018 by Picador)
Category: Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Magical Realism

Earlier in 2018 I read author Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life and it destroyed me. I still talk about this book: its so fresh in my mind. It probably doesn’t help that I created a Spotify playlist called All the Feels that were songs that reminded me of scenes from the book, and that I listen to it almost every day. But, I digress…

img_0968On a worktrip to Belfast, Northern Ireland, I stopped by Waterstones bookstore and had to grab a copy of the UK paperback version of A Little Life. It’s a different cover therefore it needs to be added to my collection: I already have the US paperback and hardcover versions. Since books are home decor then it’s okay have more than one copy of the same book – or at least that is what I tell myself.

While in the fiction section, I came across Yanagihara’s first novel The People in the Tress and of course I had to get that one too. They compliment each other so well don’t you think? Like, you can’t have one without the other. If the writing is anything like A Little Life, than I know I will love it.

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Book Review: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Saturday Nite Reader11 Comments

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3.5 disco balls

Published: March 7, 2017 by Riverhead
Category: Contemporary Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy
Man Booker Prize Nominee (2017); Los Angeles Times Book Prize Nominee for Fiction (2017); National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Fiction (2017); Andrew Carnegie Medal Nominee for Fiction (2018); Folio Prize Nominee (2018); Kirkus Prize Nominee for Fiction (2017); Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fiction (2017); Brooklyn Public Library Literary Prize Nominee for Fiction (2017)

This book is deep dude.
But, in all seriousness, author Mohsin Hamid did an exceptional job at conjuring up my inner psyche and putting it to work. The first half of this book I was sucked in and kept stopping and thinking “wow, what would this be like for me?” and even more so “this is all too relevant and that is scary.”Read More »