Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update
Linking up with:
Sunday Post (
details)
Mailbox Monday (
details)
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HAPPY THINGS:
1. Catching up with a friend at tea time
2. Home made lunch (for workday) - that someone else prepared ;-)
3. Spotting a Louis Vuitton Wizard of Oz themed sweater on display
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Bought:
The Plotters
by Un-su Kim
-Thriller, Mystery, South Korea | Goodreads
CURRENTLY drawn to things Korean.
Author event:
Bookshop of West Portal hosted a jam-packed event with Lisa See and her new novel. Interesting to learn about the dangers of this diving profession.
The Island of Sea Women
by Lisa See
-Historical, South Korea | Goodreads
Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends that come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility but also danger.
Despite their love for each other, Mi-ja and Young-sook’s differences are impossible to ignore. The Island of Sea Women is an epoch set over many decades, beginning during a period of Japanese colonialism in the 1930s and 1940s, followed by World War II, the Korean War and its aftermath, through the era of cell phones and wet suits for the women divers. Throughout this time, the residents of Jeju find themselves caught between warring empires. Mi-ja is the daughter of a Japanese collaborator, and she will forever be marked by this association. Young-sook was born into a long line of haenyeo and will inherit her mother’s position leading the divers in their village. Little do the two friends know that after surviving hundreds of dives and developing the closest of bonds, forces outside their control will push their friendship to the breaking point.
This beautiful, thoughtful novel illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous physical work, and the men take care of the children. A classic Lisa See story—one of women’s friendships and the larger forces that shape them—The Island of Sea Women introduces readers to the fierce and unforgettable female divers of Jeju Island and the dramatic history that shaped their lives.
SF Public Library and Booksmith hosted an Author Talk with Nebula Award winners Charlie Jane Anders and Annalee Newitz. Fun readings from their latest which included some singing ;-)
The Future of Another Timeline
by Annalee Newitz
-SciFi | Goodreads
Release date: September 24, 2019
A mind-bending and thought-provoking speculative thriller about a group of time-traveling geologists who are trying to prevent a dark future from coming to pass.
The City in the Middle of the Night
by Charlie Jane Anders
-SciFi | Goodreads
"If you control our sleep, then you can own our dreams... And from there, it's easy to control our entire lives."
Set on a planet that has fully definitive, never-changing zones of day and night, with ensuing extreme climates of endless, frigid darkness and blinding, relentless light, humankind has somehow continued apace -- though the perils outside the built cities are rife with danger as much as the streets below.
But in a world where time means only what the ruling government proclaims, and the levels of light available are artificially imposed to great consequence, lost souls and disappeared bodies are shadow-bound and savage, and as common as grains of sand. And one such pariah, sacrificed to the night, but borne up by time and a mysterious bond with an enigmatic beast, will rise to take on the entire planet--before it can crumble beneath the weight of human existence.
Freebies: Green Apple Books free bin
99 Nights in Logar
by Jamil Jan Kochai
-Magical Realism, Afghanistan | Goodreads
THE dog character got me curious.
AND watched: in theatre
An Elephant Sitting Still (2019)
Da xiang xi di er zuo (original title)
Director/Writer: Bo Hu
Stars: Yu Zhang, Yuchang Peng, Uvin Wang
-Drama, China | imdb | my rating: 5
Four people in a Chinese city live through a complicated day as their lives intersect.
WOW. This film felt an epic film that takes place in a span of a day. I thought I might leave this one with a heavy heart. But, not. Loved the filming style and how everything came together.
AND watched: in theatre - SFFilm Festival
Winter's Night (2018)
Gyeo-wul-ba-me (original title)
Director: Woo-jin Jang
Stars: Yang Heung-ju, Sang-hee Lee, Young-hwa Seo
-Drama, South Korea | imdb | my rating: 4
Winter's Night, the third film of Jang Woo-jin, is a tapestry containing of two stories: one is about a man and his wife wandering around Chuncheon and the other is about a soldier and a woman visiting him in the army.
STARTING the SFFILM festival with this one. This had a magical realism aura that blends the past and present in a beautiful way. It initially left me with a "huh?" which got me thinking.
AND watched: on DVD - nominated for the Oscar's 2019
Eternity's Gate (2018)
Director/Writer: Julian Schnabel
Writers: Jean-Claude Carrière, Louise Kugelberg
Stars: Willem Dafoe, Rupert Friend, Oscar Isaac
-Biography, Drama, France | imdb | my rating: 4
A look at the life of painter Vincent van Gogh during the time he lived in Arles and Auvers-sur-Oise, France.
LOVED the cinematography with the colors and presentation. But found Van Gogh's story sad. Made me wonder, do all great artists have tortured souls?
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* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently
Thanks for stopping by :-)
