One on hand, I wouldn't really recommend any of these, and on the other, I would recommend all of them. That's how I feel about classics in general. (Of course To Kill a Mockingbird is an exception, that goes without saying.) Sometimes they're confusing, and sometimes they're boring, but I don't know -- there's just… Continue reading I finally read those classics I bought two years ago
Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes Keywords: fiction, war, Vietnam, marines, suffering, fear, boys, courage, friends First line: Mellas stood beneath the gray monsoon clouds on the narrow strip of cleared ground between the edge of the jungle and the relative safety of the perimeter wire. Last line: Only the shadows themselves could change. Thoughts: The author,… Continue reading Good books I read in April
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles Keywords: historical fiction, Russia, 1922-1954, the Metrepol Hotel, friends that are also family it's hard to tell, beautiful First line: At half past six on the twenty-first of June 1922, when Count Alexander Illyich Rostov was escorted through the gates of the Kremlin onto Red Square, it was… Continue reading Good books I read in March
If I had to defend why stories matter, I would first be exasperated and in disbelief unto the highest degree that I would even need to. Then I would say: It's because they let you see into somebody else's world through somebody else's eyes who most likely thinks, feels, and believes differently than you do.… Continue reading What I read in February // mini-reviews
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald Keywords: memoir, grief, a hawk, loss of a father, reflections, falconry history, author T. H. White First line: Fifty-five minutes north-east of Cambridge is a landscape I've come to love very much indeed. Last line: And in I go, where the dogs lie flat on the kitchen floor,… Continue reading What I read in January // mini-reviews
Out of the following 12 books, 6 are historical fiction, 5 are non-fiction ( 1 collection of essays, 2 memoirs, 1 true-crime/narrative non-fiction, 1 psychology), and 1 contemporary romance. Where is the fantasy and contemporary YA and middle-grade? Weird. The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson Keywords: historical fiction, 1947 London,… Continue reading So many mini-reviews
With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo First line: Babygirl doesn't even cry when I suck my teeth and undo her braid for the fourth time.Last line: With love & a sprinkling of cinnamon, always, EKeywords: YA, cooking, a little bit of magic, high school, a new boy, family, best friends I've read other… Continue reading Good books I’ve read recently
