Week 43

This week I listened to a couple of audiobooks. The first one was When the Lights go out by Mary Kubica. I’ve read a few of her titles and love the thrillers she writes. The story is told in two viewpoints in alternating timelines. We experience Jessie’s story in the present while uncovering her mother’s story told from the past. Then we get to the big reveal, and I must admit, I was disappointed this time.

The second audiobook was a Reese Witherspoon bookclub title Something in the water. I was also listening to this as a bonus title for the Erin 9.0 reading challenge.

What a page turner! This book was full of twists, I never suspected any of them,  I just kept listening  not wanting it to finish! Highly recommend.  

Week 42

This week I worked on the bonus round for Erin 9.0 reading challenge and ticking off more categories for the Ultimate Reading challenge.  Dumplin by Julie Murphy was highly recommended by other readers in Erin’s challenge for the unlikeable character. Willowdean is a curvaceous sixteen year old living in a small Texas town. The highlight of Clover city is its yearly beauty pageant which her mother is head of the committee. Willowdean enters the beauty pageant along with a few unlikely candidates.

This book is due to be a film next year with Jennifer Anniston.

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Next was another highly recommended title, also due to be released as a movie. The goodreads winner for debut author and young adult read, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. This was a  powerful story... informative, eye-opening, emotional and message filled. I also highly recommend this one! 

Lastly is a book by someone not known as an author. Mycroft Holmes was a collaboration between Kareem Abdul - Jabber and Anna Waterhouse. After finishing The adventures of Sherlock Holmes I picked this book up based on Sherlock’s brother. It is set in the same time period as the original short stories and feels like it is written in the same voice. This story is set however in 🇹🇹 Trinidad, full of mystery and thrills. 

Once Upon a Book Club - spooky box

I’m really loving the Once Upon a Book Club subscription and they were doing a once off box in October for Halloween. So I had to have it. Earlier this week my mailman delivered it... it was really heavy and this is what the gifts looked like upon unpacking.

The book was The Retreat by Mark Edwards. I was worried that I may not enjoy the book as horror is not my thing, but I found it a real page turner more intriguing than spooky. What happended to Lily the night she disappeared at the river? Who or what is spooking the retreat? 

These were some of the gifts that brought the book to life. 

I just loved the red coat. I read the book last night and it was pouring with rain and very cold. I couldn’t wait to put to on. It was really snuggly as well as spooky.

In the story, Julia and Lucas are given a map. I won’t show you the map, as it’s a plot spoiler but Once Upon a Book club pay attention to detail. It’s written on stationary that has the name of The Retreat on the top. 

Lastly I got a practical gift that has a few uses.

The book was fantastic, one of the best I’ve read this year. It has a gripping ending too. Highly recommend this one! What a great thrilling read for October! 

Week 40

Its spring break and I managed to get some serious reading done this week. I really liked the hint for the young adult once upon a book club title, and as soon as the title was known I ordered the book. In Another Time tells the story of The Women’s timber corp in Scotland during the war. I loved hearing about the strong lumberjills and it was a side of the war I hadn’t heard before. Interspersed in the story is a love story between Maisie and John. 

Americanah has been sitting on my shelf for a while. I bought it second hand as a title for my Read around the world for 🇳🇬 Nigeria. The title was also on an unlikeable character list and so it was one of my titles for Erin’s 9.0 reading challenge. This was the tenth title read for this challenge. This book takes on race, immigration and emigration, the politics of natural hair, interracial relationships, what it means to leave home, and what it means to return, all things I have no experience with wrapped up in a love story. I liked the main characters Ifemeulu and Obinze, I’m not quite sure which character was meant to be unlikeable. I’m unsure about the ending, it left me wanting more. 

So after reading this book, I planned my titles for Erin’s 9.0 bonus round. Walk Two moons was on someone’s TBR pile the longest and it was also sitting in my bookshelf. I had bought this as a Newberry title that might be good to use in the classroom. It had been a while since I had read a Newberry title. I found it slow to start, but the ending was powerful and had me shed a few tears. This book deals with issues relating to internalizing feelings, judging others, coping with emotions and not taking things for granted. All things children in upper primary experience and are learning about.