River of Flesh and Other Stories by Ruchira Gupta

River of Flesh and Other Stories:
The Prostituted Woman in Indian Short Fiction
by Ruchira Gupta

Find out more about this book and author:
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Published: 2016
Publisher: Speaking Tiger Books
Genre: Short stories, Women's Studies, India
Paperback: 272
Rating: 4

'River of Flesh and Other Stories' brings together twenty-one stories about trafficked and prostituted women by some of India's most celebrated writers-Amrita Pritam, Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, Indira Goswami, Ismat Chughtai, J. P. Das, Kamala Das, Kamleshwar, Krishan Chander, Munshi Premchand, Nabendu Ghosh, Qurratulain Hyder, Saadat Hasan Manto and Siddique Alam, among others. Jugnu, in Kamleshwar's 'River of Flesh' ('Maas ka Darya')-stares at a lifetime of servitude as age and disease take hold; Ismat Chughtai creates the unforgettable character of Lajo in 'The Housewife', a carefree young woman who must conform to society's idea of decency, or risk being branded a whore; in 'Heeng-Kochuri', by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay, a boy growing up near a red-light area discovers the adult world of patrons, connoisseurs and customers-as well as savouries offered to young boys as bribe; and in Manisha Kulshrestha's 'Kalindi', a son looks in through a window and his life falls to pieces around him. An unprecedented anthology-for its subject, as well as for the range of authors and translators who are part of it-'River of Flesh and Other Stories' offers a harsh indictment of this practice of human slavery, too often justified-and occasionally glorified-as the 'world's oldest profession'.

My two-bits:

Tough reading. This is a set of sad and painful stories that must be shared to get the word out.

~*~
* part of World Reads challenge - India (here)

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril 13

R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril 13
September 1 - October 31, 2018
details and signup | review links

~*~
I participated in this challenge back in 2009 and 2015 had a blast. I am DTFor it again.

I carried over some picks from the past that I finally want to get to.

~*~
Rules:
1. Have fun reading (and watching).
2. Share that fun with others.

Select from these genres and pick your peril:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

Or anything sufficiently moody that shares a kinship with the above.

My Peril picks:

Peril the First: Read four books, any length, that you feel fit (our very broad definitions) of R.I.P. literature. It could be Stephen King or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Shirley Jackson or Tananarive Due…or anyone in between.

A People's History of the Vampire Uprising
by Raymond A. Villareal
-Horror, Vampires | Goodreads | my review: tba

Grotesque
by Natsuo Kirino
-Mystery, Horror, Japan
Amazon | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5

I'll Be Gone In The Dark:
One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
by Michelle McNamara
-True Crime, Mystery
Amazon | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4

Demon Freaks
by J.R.R.R. Hardison
-Horror, Humor, YA
courtesy of Wunderkind -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads | my review: tba

Night Film
by Marisha Pessl
-Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Amazon | Goodreads | my review: DNF
~*~
Peril of the Short Story: Read short stories any time during the challenge.

The Living Dead
edited by John Joseph Adams
-Short Stories, Zombies
Goodreads
~*~
Peril On the Screen: This is for those of us that like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large.

Patient Zero
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Screenplay: Mike Le
Stars: Natalie Dormer, Matt Smith, Stanley Tucci
-Action, Drama, Horror, Zombies
imdb | my review: tba

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
Director/Screenplay: Christopher Landon
Screenplay: Carrie Lee Wilson, Emi Mochizuki
Story by: Lona Williams, Carrie Lee Wilson, Emi Mochizuki
-Action, Comedy, Horror, Zombies
imdb | my review | my rating: 5

The Visit
Director/Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
-Horror, Thriller
imdb | my review | my rating: 4

All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft by Geraldine DeRuiter

All Over the Place:
Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft
by Geraldine DeRuiter

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
BookExcerpt
Website | Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

Published: 2017
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Genre: Humor, Memoir, Travel
Hardback: 288
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
The problem with writing a book ostensibly about travel is the people automatically assume it falls into one of two categories:

1. It is somehow informative.

2. It involves a button-nosed protagonist nursing a broken heart who, rather than watching The Princess Bride while eating an entire five-gallon vat of ice cream directly out of the obtainer while weeping (like a normal person), instead decides to travel the world, inevitably falling for some chiseled stranger with bulging pectoral muscles and a disdain for wearing clothing above the waist.

Some people are meant to travel the globe, to unwrap its secrets and share them with the world. And some people have no sense of direction, are terrified of pigeons, and get motion sickness from tying their shoes. These people are meant to stay home and eat nachos.

Geraldine DeRuiter is the latter. But she won't let that stop her.

Hilarious, irreverent, and heartfelt, All Over the Place chronicles the years Geraldine spent traveling the world after getting laid off from a job she loved. Those years taught her a great number of things, though the ability to read a map was not one of them. She has only a vague idea of where Russia is, but she now understands her Russian father better than ever before. She learned that what she thought was her mother's functional insanity was actually an equally incurable condition called "being Italian." She learned what it's like to travel the world with someone you already know and love--how that person can help you make sense of things and make far-off places feel like home. She learned about unemployment and brain tumors, lost luggage and lost opportunities, and just getting lost in countless terminals and cabs and hotel lobbies across the globe. And she learned that sometimes you can find yourself exactly where you need to be--even if you aren't quite sure where you are.

Jane Austen sighting:
If Jane Austen were alive today, she'd be forced to have Mr. Darcy and Lizzie get together in the first twenty-five pages (also, Darcy would be into sadomasochism).
-chapter 2, page 29

Zombie sighting:
And sometimes I think about the zombie apocalypse.
-chapter 4, page 70

My two-bits:

I inhaled this book ;-) with its tips on life, love and dash of travel.

FYI: Discovered this book while listening to podcast that featured this author's husband. Funny how you can find book recommendations from unusual places.

The Completionist by Siobhan Adcock

The Completionist
by Siobhan Adcock
narrated by Jacques Roy

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
Website
Facebook
Twitter

Just released: June 19, 2018
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Genre: Dystopia
Hardback: 320
Rating: 5

First sentence(s):
Everything is heavy here: his weapon, the metal and synthetic particles in the air, the way the light falls through them.

After months of disturbing behavior, Gardner Quinn has vanished. Her older sister Fredericka is desperate to find her, but Fred is also pregnant—miraculously so, in a near-future America struggling with infertility. So she entrusts the job to their brother, Carter.

Carter, young but jaded, is in need of an assignment. Just home from war, his search for his sister is a welcome distraction from mysterious physical symptoms he can’t ignore...and his slightly-more-than recreational drinking.

Carter’s efforts to find Gardner lead him into a dangerous underground, where he begins to grasp the risks she took on as a Nurse Completionist. But his investigation also leads back to their father, a veteran of a decades-long war just like Carter himself, who may be concealing a painful truth, one that neither Carter nor Fredericka is ready to face.

My two-bits:

Engaging and eerie (kind of mystery) story that came across as a warning.

Got me thinking of future families and relationships as well as environmental issues.

~*~
* Listened to audiobook version.

* part of BookSparks Reading Challenge, Summer (here)

Murder on the Left Bank by Cara Black

Murder on the Left Bank
by Cara Black

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
YouTube | Twitter

Just released: June 19, 2018
Publisher: Soho Crime
Genre: Mystery, France, Paris
Hardback: 288
Rating: 4

Aimée Leduc Investigation series:
Murder in the Marais (1999)
Murder in Belleville (2000)
Murder in the Sentier (2003)
Murder in the Bastille (2004)
Murder in Clichy (2005)
Murder in Montmartre (2006)
Murder on the Ile Saint-Louis (2007)
Murder in the Rue de Paradis (2008)
Murder in the Latin Quarter (2009)
Murder in the Palais Royale (2010)
Murder in Passy (2011)
Murder at the Lanterne Rouge (2012)
Murder Below Montparnasse (2013)
Murder In Pigalle (2014)
Murder on the Champ de Mars (2015)
Murder on the Quai (2016)
Murder in Saint-Germain (2017)
Muder on the Left Bank (2018)
Book 19 -tba

First sentence(s):
Pale afternoon light filtered into Éric Besson's wood paneled office as Monsieur Solomon untied the twine that bound together a bulging old notebook.

Zombie sighting:
Translation: Eve Gilet resided in a locked down secure facility -- either a zombie from shock treatments or under severe sedation.
-chapter Tuesday Afternoon, page 62

A confession fifty years in the making puts everyone’s favorite Paris détéctive très chic, Aimée Leduc, on a collision course with the “Hand,” a cabal of corrupt Parisian cops among who masterminded her father's murder—and among whose ranks he might have once found membership. When a friend’s child is kidnapped while wearing her daughter’s hoodie, Aimée realizes that the case has crossed into the realm of the personal in more ways than one.

A dying man drags his oxygen machine into the office of Éric Besson, a lawyer in Paris’s 13th arrondissement. The old man, an accountant, is carrying a dilapidated notebook full of meticulous investment records. For decades, he has been helping a cadre of dirty cops launder stolen money. The notebook contains his full confession—he’s waited 50 years to make it, and now it can’t wait another day. He is adamant that Besson get the notebook into the hands of La Proc, Paris’s chief prosecuting attorney, so the corruption can finally be brought to light. But en route to La Proc, Besson’s courier—his assistant and nephew—is murdered, and the notebook disappears.

Grief-stricken Éric Besson tries to hire private investigator Aimée Leduc to find the notebook, but she is reluctant to get involved. Her father was a cop and was murdered by the same dirty syndicate the notebook implicates. She’s not sure which she’s more afraid of, the dangerous men who would kill for the notebook or the idea that her father’s name might be among the dirty cops listed within it. Ultimately that’s the reason she must take the case, which leads her across the Left Bank, from the Cambodian enclave of Khmer Rouge refugees to the ancient royal tapestry factories to the modern art galleries.

My two-bits:

While I have not read all the books in this series, this one works alright as a standalone. However, there are some spoilers when it comes to Leduc's past relationships.

Local investigations in Paris in this story introduces the 13th arrondissement. I enjoyed the focus on the individual arrondissements in this mystery series. It is a fun way to arm chair travel.

This fast-paced action story pulls in some of the protagonist's past and present in regards to her parents.

Love the signature fashion and food blips that were sprinkled in.

~*~
* part of Paris in July (here)

* part of Bout of Books 23 (here)

Lovely Books and Things - 8.25.18

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Stacking the Shelves (details)
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

~*~
HAPPY THINGS:

1. Macadamia nuts sprinkled on fruit salad

2. Connecting with someone with a book as a conversation starter

3. Starting the day with reading an affirmation once-a-day from the Affirmators! deck of cards.

~*~
Bought:

Death On Demand
by Paul Thomas
-Mystery, New Zealand
Amazon | Goodreads
SEPTEMBER pick for Books, Inc. Foreign Intrigue Book Club (here)


Author event:

Open Me
by Lisa Locascio
-YA, Romance
Amazon | Goodreads
Green Apple Books on the Park hosted a discussion between Lisa Locascio and Kate Folk about the newly released novel, Open Me. The premise of female interior exploration was touched upon in the fascinating talk.


Unboxing:

Once Upon A Book Club
August Book Box
details | instagram
Once Upon a Book Club is a unique, interactive online community that offers a monthly subscription service where readers will receive a monthly box in the mail containing a newly released book to read for the month, along with 3-5 individually wrapped gifts. The gifts will have page numbers attached to them and are strategically designed around something that is mentioned in the book. Readers are not meant to open the gift until they have reached that particular page.

We are a unique, interactive reading experience that allows our readers to 'become' the character(s), holding items they are holding and bringing the book itself to life. Our monthly read-a-longs and discussion questions included with every box allow readers to interact with other subscribers and discuss the book/gifts. It's all the wonder of a book club without leaving your living room!

August Adult Book Box includes:
theme: A Starry Night Murder!
-The Space Between by Dete Meserve
-packages with page numbers corresponding to the book - to be revealed later
-Quote card
-Flyer with readalong details
-Envelope of book related vendors

I love the whimsical presentation of this box subscription.

I plan to open the page boxes as I come upon the pages while reading the book to prevent any spoilers. The reveals will appear on my review post. This is a great incentive to move this book onto the top of the reading pile.

The Space Between
by Dete Meserve
-Mystery
Amazon | Goodreads
The truth isn’t what it seems in this stirring novel of suspense.

After presenting a major scientific breakthrough to a rapt audience across the country, renowned astronomer Sarah Mayfield returns home to a disturbing discovery. Her husband, Ben, a Los Angeles restaurateur, has disappeared, leaving behind an unexplained bank deposit of a million dollars, a loaded Glock in the nightstand, and a video security system that’s been wiped clean. The only answers their son, Zack, can offer are the last words his father said to him: keep the doors locked and set the alarm.

Sarah’s marriage was more troubled than anyone suspected, but now she is afraid that her husband’s recent past could be darker than she dares to admit. Suspecting that nothing about Ben’s vanishing is what it seems, Sarah must delve into the space between old memories, newfound fears, and misleading clues to piece together the mystery of her husband’s disappearance—and find what she hopes in her heart is the truth.

Updated: 11/14/18 the gifts revealed...

AND watched: on DVD

Thoroughbreds (2017)
Director/Writer: Cory Finley
Stars: Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy, Anton Yelchin
-Comedy, Crime, Drama | imdb | my rating: 4
Two upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. Together, they hatch a plan to solve both of their problems-no matter what the cost.

STRONG feeling of detachment vibe amongst wealth and privilege.


AND watched: in theatre

Three Identical Strangers (2018)
Director: Tim Wardle
Stars: Robert Shafran, Eddy Galland, David Kellman
-Documentary | imdb | my rating: 5
In 1980 New York, three young men who were all adopted meet each other and find out they're triplets who were separated at birth. Then they discover why.

WHOA. The discovery part of the film is lots of fun. But then, the story takes a turn. Whoa.

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
Director: Jon M. Chu
Screenplay: Peter Chiarelli, Adele Lim
Based on book by: Kevin Kwan
Stars: Constance Wu, Michelle Yeoh, Henry Golding
Release date: August 15, 2018
-Comedy | imdb | my rating: 5
This contemporary romantic comedy, based on a global bestseller, follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Singapore to meet her boyfriend's family.

MADE me smile and laugh throughout most of the film. Follows the book pretty well. Great to see the Singapore sights.


~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton

My Lady Jane
by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton
narrated by Katherine Kellgren

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
Website

Published: 2016
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: Historical, Fantasy, Romance, YA
Hardback: 512
Rating: 5

Jane series:
My Lady Jane
My Plain Jane
book 3 - tba

First sentence(s):
You may think you know the story.

In My Lady Jane, coauthors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows have created a one-of-a-kind YA fantasy in the tradition of The Princess Bride, featuring a reluctant king, an even more reluctant queen, a noble steed, and only a passing resemblance to actual history—because sometimes history needs a little help.

At sixteen, Lady Jane Grey is about to be married off to a stranger and caught up in a conspiracy to rob her cousin, King Edward, of his throne. But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. Jane gets to be Queen of England.

Like that could go wrong.

PeekAbook:



My two-bits:

A riot! of the hilarious sort ;-)

Loved the humorous telling of this fantastical story of arranged marriage, royalty, love and horses.

The three authors voices blend well.

~*~
* Listened to audiobook version.

* part of Bout of Books 23 (here)

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza

A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
BookExcerpt
Website
Twitter

Just released: June 12, 2018
Publisher: SJP for Hogarth
Genre: Literary, Family, India, Muslim
Hardback: 400
Rating: 4

First sentence(s):
As Amar watched the hall fill with guests arriving for his sister's wedding, he promised himself he would stay.

As an Indian wedding gathers a family back together, parents Rafiq and Layla must reckon with the choices their children have made.

There is Hadia: their headstrong, eldest daughter, whose marriage is a match of love and not tradition. Huda, the middle child, determined to follow in her sister’s footsteps. And lastly, their estranged son, Amar, who returns to the family fold for the first time in three years to take his place as brother of the bride.

What secrets and betrayals have caused this close-knit family to fracture? Can Amar find his way back to the people who know and love him best?

A Place for Us takes us back to the beginning of this family’s life: from the bonds that bring them together, to the differences that pull them apart. All the joy and struggle of family life is here, from Rafiq and Layla’s own arrival in America from India, to the years in which their children—each in their own way—tread between two cultures, seeking to find their place in the world, as well as a path home.


My two-bits:

Tough family struggles that deal with past and present day cultural traditions and lifestyle.

One of those sad and painful stories along with frustrating moments.

~*~
* The first novel from Sarah Jessica Parker’s new imprint, SJP for Hogarth.

* part of World Reads challenge - India (here)

* part of Bout of Books 23 (here)

Havana Lunar by Robert Arellano

Havana Lunar
by Robert Arellano

Find out more about this book and author:
Amazon
Goodreads
Twitter

Published: 2009
Publisher: Akashic Books
Genre: Mystery, Cuba, Havana
Paperback: 200
Rating: 4

First sentence(s):
It's Friday, and when I get back to the attic I see that Julia hasn't returned.

One hungry, hallucinatory night in the dark heart of Havana, Mano Rodriguez, a young doctor with the revolutionary medical service, comes to the aid of a teenage jinetera named Julia. She takes refuge in his clinic to break away from the abusive chulo who prostituted her, and they form an unlikely allegiance that Mano thinks might save him from his twin burdens: the dead-end hospital assignment he was delegated after being blacklisted by the Cuban Communist Party and a Palo Monte curse on his love life commissioned by a vengeful ex-wife. But when the pimp and his bodyguards come after Julia and Mano, the violent chain-reaction plunges them all into the decadent catacombs of Havana's criminal underworld.

Inspired by fifty years of Cuban literary noir, from Cold Tales by Virgilio Piñera to Reinaldo Arenas’ Before Night Falls, Robert Arellano’s Havana Lunar intertwines an insider testimony on the collapse of socialist Cuba with a psychological mystery.

Zombie sighting:
We went through our morning chores like a pack of walking zombies: sweeping the patio, feeding and tending to the animals, readying the places for lunch in dubious hope that Manolito might return.
-chapter August 12, 1980, page 104

My two-bits:

Got a good dose of doctors and prostitutes during the times period in this mystery. Interesting to note that the story is not told by the detective's point of view.

~*~
* part of Books, Inc. Foreign Intrigue Book Club (here)

Lovely Books and Things - 8.18.18

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Stacking the Shelves (details)
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

~*~
HAPPY THINGS:

1. Dreaming and making plans for travel to Portugal in the fall season.

2. Listening to hits from the 80's.

3. Black Forest Cake from Schubert's Bakery - film made me do it ;-)

~*~
Author event:

A River of Stars
by Vanessa Hua
-Contemporary Fiction, China
Amazon | Goodreads
Booksmith in San Francisco hosted a celebrated the release of A River of Stars with author Vanessa Hua in-conversation with Oscar Villalon, Managing Editor of ZYZZYVA. A couple things spoiled during discussion at this jam-packed event. Ah well, still plan to read it though. The inspiration for the story was triggered by the maternity centers phenomenon. Also, Vanessa's previously released short story collections includes a couple characters from this story.

Charlotte Walsh Likes To Win
by Jo Piazza
-Women's Fiction, Politics
Amazon | Goodreads
BookShop West Portal hosted a panel discussion with author, Jo Piazza and Lindsay Lassman, political fundraiser; Kimberly Ellis, former Executive Director of Emerge CA; and Judson True, Chief of Staff and Senior Advisor to Assemblyperson David Chiu.

A lively and informative discussion on the state of women and politics highlighted this event that also introduced Jo Piazza's latest, Charlotte Walsh Likes To Win.


Other book-ish stuff:

Bout of Books 23
read-a-thon
hosted by Bout of Books
August 20 to 26, 2018
signup | details | my post
JOINING this challenge for a third round of fun ;-)

The Fall Film Challenge
September 1 to November 30, 2018
hosted by Quirky Pickings | details | facebook group
SIGNED up to do this again! Some of the films I picked were based on books. See my complete list (here).


AND watched: in theatre

The Cakemaker (2017)
Director/screenplay: Ofir Raul Graizer
Stars: Tim Kalkhof, Sarah Adler, Roy Miller
-Drama, Israel, Germany | imdb | my rating: 5
A German pastry maker travels to Jerusalem in search of the wife and son of his dead lover.

BEAUTIFULLY done with scenes in Berlin and Jerusalem. Themes of being kosher, germans, jews, love and loneliness with the binding element of food. Gotta love it.


AND watched: on Netflix

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2018)
Director: Mike Newell
Screenplay: Don Roos, Kevin Hood, Thomas Bezucha
Based on book by: Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Stars: Lily James, Michiel Huisman
-Drama, History, Romance | imdb | my rating: 5
In the aftermath of World War II, a writer forms an unexpected bond with the residents of Guernsey Island when she decides to write a book about their experiences during the war.

LOVELY adaptation that treats us to a few actors from Downton Abbey.


AND watched: on DVD

The Shallows (2016)
Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
Writer: Anthony Jaswinski
Stars: Blake Lively, Óscar Jaenada, Angelo Josue Lozano Corzo
-Drama, Horror, Thriller, Shark | imdb | my rating: 5
A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.

PERFECT summer horror flick and villain.


~*~
* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Bout of Books 23

Bout of Books 23
read-a-thon
hosted by Bout of Books
August 20 to 26, 2018
signup | details | daily
instagram | #boutofbooks @boutofbooks
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda Shofner and Kelly Rubidoux Apple. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, August 20th and runs through Sunday, August 26th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 23 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

TBR pile:

A Place for Us
by Fatima Farheen Mirza
-Literary, Family, India, Muslim
Amazon | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4
8/20/18: Started - been working on this one slowly and want to finally finish it this week.
8/22/18: Finished

Murder on the Left Bank
by Cara Black
-Mystery, France, Paris
Amazon | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 4
8/20/18: Started - part of my picks last month for Paris in July - finally cracking it open.
8/25/18: Still working on this. Should be done today. Finished in the evening.

News of the World
by Paulette Jiles
-Historical, Western
Amazon | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5
8/20/18: Started
8/26/18: Reading this in bits but will post review next month for a Western theme I am plotting.

Lady Jane
by Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton
-Historical, Humor, Retelling, YA
Amazon | Goodreads | my review | my rating: 5
8/23/18: Started - loving it so far
8/24/18: Loved it to the end.

Reservoir 13
by Jon McGregor
-Literary
Amazon | Goodreads | my review: DNF
8/20/18: Started
8/23/18: Stopped - lost my attention

Children of Blood and Bone
Legacy of Orïsha #1
by Tomi Adeyemi
-Fantasy, YA
Amazon | Goodreads | my review: DNF
8/20/18: Started
8/21/18: Stopped - just could not get into it


CHALLENGES:

Monday 8/20 (daily post)

Introduce yourself #insixwords

adventurous, anxious, curious, reader, observer, open

instagram-a-day: currently reading

Tuesday 8/21
Book Plot Emoji - for News of the World by Paulette Jiles.

👧 🐎 🔫

instagram-a-day: favorite color covers

Wednesday 8/22
Literary Villain - he who must not be named aka Lord Voldemort

instagram-a-day: book spine poetry

maestra, open me
sacré bleu
cruel beautiful world
Thursday 8/23
Book Trip - Venice in October for the infamous Masquerade

Masquerade in Venice
by Velda Johnston
-Mystery, Gothic
Amazon | Goodreads
instagram-a-day: 5 star read

Friday 8/24
Bookish Playlist - feeling French with my current read, Murder on the Left Bank, so pairing it with Claude Debussy's Suite Bergamasque - Claire de Lune



instagram-a-day: unfinished book series - Crazy Rich Asians

Saturday 8/25
Discover Books - I was excited to see this cover on a Bout of Books related post.

Lethal White
by Robert Galbraith - but we all know it's J.K. Rowling ;-)
-Mystery, Thriller
Amazon | Goodreads
instagram-a-day: published in 2018 - just picked this up from the library

Dance of Thieves
by Mary E. Pearson
-Fantasy, YA
Amazon | Goodreads
Sunday 8/26
Stretch Goal

I found that I had to revise the reading pile as a couple did not work out for me this round of Bout of Books.

Feeling pretty good that I got around to reading from the tbr pile.

instagram-a-day: series love - Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series

Twitter Chats
(chats last approximately one hour)
TZC = Time Zone Conversion

Monday: 8pm CST (TZC)
Saturday: 10am CST (TZC)