Happy Release: The Book of Flora by Meg Ellison

The Book of Flora
(The Road to Nowhere #3)
by Meg Elison
-Dystopia | Goodreads
Release date: April 23, 2019
In this Philip K. Dick Award–winning series, one woman’s unknowable destiny depends on a bold new step in human evolution.

In the wake of the apocalypse, Flora has come of age in a highly gendered post-plague society where females have become a precious, coveted, hunted, and endangered commodity. But Flora does not participate in the economy that trades in bodies. An anathema in a world that prizes procreation above all else, she is an outsider everywhere she goes, including the thriving all-female city of Shy.

Now navigating a blighted landscape, Flora, her friends, and a sullen young slave she adopts as her own child leave their oppressive pasts behind to find their place in the world. They seek refuge aboard a ship where gender is fluid, where the dynamic is uneasy, and where rumors flow of a bold new reproductive strategy.

When the promise of a miraculous hope for humanity’s future tears Flora’s makeshift family asunder, she must choose: protect the safe haven she’s built or risk everything to defy oppression, whatever its provenance.

Excerpt:

The Bambritch Book

Fog moon, summer
Year 144, Nowhere Codex

Last night I dreamt I was back in Nowhere again.

I don’t know why. I haven’t seen Nowhere in so many years that I can’t number them, and I only ever stayed there for a few days, maybe a week.

But it was where I met Alice. Alice, the drugmaker with the impossible curls and the cruel, clever mouth. Alice, the keeper of som for sleep and hands for waking. Where Eddy brought me when I decided not to go home to Jeff City. Eddy, living child of Ina, killer of the Lion and liberator of the Lion’s harem. Eddy, my lover and my hero, whom I lost in the end. Eddy, raider of the road and hero of Nowhere. Eddy, forever in my heart. Alice and Eddy gave me my first taste there of something I hardly knew was possible, and it was where I learned something I would never forget. Nowhere. Nowhere. Nowhere.

(read more here)

Stacking the Shelves & Sunday Post - 3.4.17

Stacking the Shelves hosted by Tynga's Reviews (details)
AND
Sunday Post hosted by Caffeinated Book Reviewer (details)
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Caught up with some Oscar movie watching before the Sunday ceremony. Despite the 2017 OSCAR's being over, there are still a few more films that were nominated that I will be watching and posting about.

With March being Women's History Month, I will be including related books in this month's reading pile.

Also this month my favorite book competition, Tournament of Books 2017 (details) begins! It kicks off on March 8 and the bracket is now available (here).

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For Review:

The Second Jezebel
by Peter Mowbray
-Historical
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

A Ring of Truth
(A Henrietta and Inspector Clive Novel, #2)
by Michelle Cox
-Historical, Mystery
courtesy of publisher -Thanks!
Amazon | Goodreads

OTHER things book related):

Take Control of Your TBR Pile Challenge
March 1-31, 2017
sponsored by Caffeinated Book Reviewer (details)
JOINED this challenge to prompt me to reach into the depths of my TBR pile.

Cage Match 2017
sponsored by Unbound Worlds (details)

THOUGHT this would be a fun way to learn about popular Sci-Fi and Fantasy book characters.


Author event:

Booksmith in San Francisco hosted an event with Meg Elison to celebrate the release of The Book of Etta which is the second book in The Road to Nowhere series, The Book of the Unnamed Midwife. She mentions that her story is a mashup of The Handmaid's Tale (by Margaret Atwood) and queers. She also said that the buzz words that surround her books are "gender plague" and "gender fluidity". Looking forward to figuring out what these mean when I read her books. Book 3 is due to release in 2018.


Bought:

The Book of the Unnamed Midwife
by Meg Elison
-Sci-Fi, Post Apocalyptic
Amazon | Goodreads
Philip K. Dick Award Winner for Distinguished Science Fiction

When she fell asleep, the world was doomed. When she awoke, it was dead.

In the wake of a fever that decimated the earth’s population—killing women and children and making childbirth deadly for the mother and infant—the midwife must pick her way through the bones of the world she once knew to find her place in this dangerous new one. Gone are the pillars of civilization. All that remains is power—and the strong who possess it.

A few women like her survived, though they are scarce. Even fewer are safe from the clans of men, who, driven by fear, seek to control those remaining. To preserve her freedom, she dons men’s clothing, goes by false names, and avoids as many people as possible. But as the world continues to grapple with its terrible circumstances, she’ll discover a role greater than chasing a pale imitation of independence.

After all, if humanity is to be reborn, someone must be its guide.

The Book of Etta
by Meg Elison
-Sci-Fi, Post Apocalyptic
Amazon | Goodreads
Etta comes from Nowhere, a village of survivors of the great plague that wiped away the world that was. In the world that is, women are scarce and childbearing is dangerous…yet desperately necessary for humankind’s future. Mothers and midwives are sacred, but Etta has a different calling. As a scavenger. Loyal to the village but living on her own terms, Etta roams the desolate territory beyond: salvaging useful relics of the ruined past and braving the threat of brutal slave traders, who are seeking women and girls to sell and subjugate.

When slavers seize those she loves, Etta vows to release and avenge them. But her mission will lead her to the stronghold of the Lion—a tyrant who dominates the innocent with terror and violence. There, with no allies and few weapons besides her wits and will, she will risk both body and spirit not only to save lives but also to liberate a new world’s destiny.


AND watched: in theatre

Oscar shorts: Documentary
Extremis
4.1 Miles
Joe's Violin
Watani: My Homeland
The White Helmets -winner

THIS is the first set of documentary Oscar shorts I have seen at the theatre. And all very good. The one that touched me the most was, 4.1 Miles.


AND watched: on DVD

Life, Animated (2016)
Director: Roger Ross Williams
Based on book by: Ron Suskind
-Documentary, Animation, Drama | imdb | my rating: 4
A coming of age story about a boy and his family who overcame great challenges by turning Disney animated movies into a language to express love, loss, kinship and brotherhood.

Oscar nominated for Documentary Feature.

Wonderful story of a person with autism and how Disney movies provided more than viewing entertainment. Quite often we here about the kids, but this story portrays a young adult.

Suicide Squad (2016)
Director/Writer: David Ayer
Starring: Will Smith, Jared Leto, Margot Robbie
-Action, Adventure, Fantasy | imdb | my rating: 5
A secret government agency recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force. Their first mission: save the world from the apocalypse.

Oscar nominated for Makeup and Hairstyling. -winner

SURPRISINGLY I ended up liking this and thought it would be the winner at the Oscar's. Loved adorable couple, the Joker and Harley Quinn.


THESE are movie tidbit reviews posted before the nominee announcement:

Star Trek Beyond (here)
Oscar nominated for Makeup and Hairstyling.

Hell or High Water (here)
Oscar nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Film Editing.

The Lobster (here)
Oscar nominated for Original Screenplay.

Captain Fantastic (here)
Oscar nominated for Best Actor.

Silence (here)
Oscar nominated for Cinematography.

Doctor Strange (here)
Oscar nominated for Visual Effects.

Kubo and the Two Strings (here)
Oscar nominated for Animated Feature, Visual Effects.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (here)
Oscar nominated for Costume Design, Production Design.

AND these are ones I watched but did not review:

Jackie (2016)
Oscar nominated for Costume Design, Original Score.
my rating: 4

Zootopia (2016)
Oscar nominated for Animated Feature.
my rating: 4

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)
Oscar nominated for Best Actress.
my rating: DNF


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