Black Publishing Power

Black Publishing Power
June 14 to June 20, 2020
#BlackoutBestsellerlist #BlackPublishingPower
Purchase any two books by Black writers to...

Blackout bestseller lists with Black voices
My picks:

I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness
by Austin Channing Brown
Memoir | Goodreads

Girl, Woman, Other
by Bernardine Evaristo
Contemporary, Short Stories, Man Booker Prize 2019 | Goodreads

The City We Became
by N.K. Jemisin
Fantasy, SciFi, New York | Goodreads

The Nickel Boys
by Colson Whitehead
Historical, Pulitzer Prize 2020 | Goodreads

Lovely Books and Things - 6.14.20

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

~*~
HAPPY THINGS:

1. Starting a Spotify account - oh, the music!

2. Pop-up sidewalk Jazz ensemble performance (with plexiglass dividers and everyone in masks)

3. *!*~Winner~*!* of Spotlight Giveaway featuring Marlene Bell's Annalisse series

Stolen Obsession by Marlene M. Bell
Mystery, Romance | Goodreads

Spent Identity by Marlene M. Bell
Mystery, Romance | Goodreads

~*~
NOTE: Most of the virtual author events below are recorded and can be currently accessed for a listen - check per site

Virtual Author event: hosted by Alta Magazine
Check out their calendar for future free author events (here)
Tune in Wednesdays 12:30pm pst Alta Asks

Passage West
by Rishi Reddi
Historical, California, India, Sikh | Goodreads
Virtual Author event: hosted by BookShop West Portal
Check out their calendar for future free author events (here)

Everything She Touched
The Life of Ruth Asawa
by Marilyn Chase
Biography | Goodreads
Virtual Author event: hosted by Green Apple Books
Check out their calendar for future free author events (here)

A Burning
by Megha Majumdar
Literary, India | Goodreads

Parakeet
by Marie-Helene Bertino
Literary, Magical Realism | Goodreads
~*~
AND watched: online part of We Are One Global Film Festival (here)

Mystery Road (2013)
Director/Writer: Ivan Sen
Stars: Aaron Pedersen, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten
Crime, Drama, Thriller, Australia | imdb | my rating: 4
An indigenous detective returns to the Outback to investigate the murder of a young girl.

LOVED the landscapes of the outback and slow pace that unravels this mystery.

Wrath of Silence (2017)
Bao lie wu sheng (original title)
Director/Writer: Yukun Xin
Stars: Wu Jiang, Yang Song, Wenkang Yuan
Crime, Drama, Mystery, North China | imdb | my rating: 5
A young boy tends sheep on a hillside in Northern China goes missing. His mute father looks for him with a special way of solving problems: Fisticuffs.

NOT your fancy balletic martial arts, but raw ugly fight scenes moves this mad/sad story along.

~*~
* Prize was won at The Delighted Reader (here)

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

*** THANKS to those on the front line during these times ***
Shelter In Place - Day 90, Week 14
Stay healthy! Be safe!

Thanks for stopping by :-)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
by Suzanne Collins
narrated by Santino Fontana

Published: 2020
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Genre: Dystopia, YA
Hardback: 528
Rating: 5
Goodreads | Website

Hunger Games series:
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

First sentence(s):
Coriolanus released the fistful of cabbage into the pot of boiling water and swore that one day it would never pass his lips again.

Ambition will fuel him.
Competition will drive him.
But power has its price.

It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He’s been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined — every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute... and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

My two-bits:

Yummy, certainly satisfies a Hunger Games craving.

Good origin story of Coriolanus Snow. Had mixed feelings for the character because we all know what becomes of him in his later life.

This inspired me to re-watch The Hunger Games film series.

~*~
* Listened to audiobook version.

Lovely Books and Things - 6.7.20

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

~*~
HAPPY THINGS:

1. Despite repetition of 4 lines (840 pages worth), relentlessness, one becomes mesmerized by pianist, Igor Levit's, livestream piano-a-thon, of Vexations by Erik Satie (excerpt: 11 hrs) (complete: 15 hrs) - so fitting for these times

2. Happy Birthday wishes :-)

3. Morning coffee and a book at Justin Herman Plaza, San Francisco

~*~
Bought:

Weeping Waters
by Karin Brynard
Mystery, South Africa | Goodreads

Flow
issue 35 | website
Flow Magazine issue 35 includes stories on the Dutch art of doing nothing, and letting worrying work to your advantage. The colorful cover was illustrated by Hadas Hayun. This issue has four dividers with cat illustrations and, of course, there are some lovely paper goodies: a set of ‘conversation starter’ cards and a notebook illustrated by Tallulah Fontaine.

Flow Magazine is all about positive psychology, mindfulness, creativity and the beauty of imperfection. We love illustrations and in each issue there is a gift made of our much-loved paper.

NOTE: Most of the virtual author events below are recorded and can be currently accessed for a listen - check per site

Virtual Author event: hosted by Booksmith
Check out their calendar for future free author events (here)

Running Toward Mystery:
by Venerable Tenzin Priyadarshi and Zara Houshmand
Memoir, Buddhism | Goodreads
Virtual Author event: hosted by Book Passage
Register and listen to the archive of this or to future Book Passage author talks for free (here)
A conversation between Téa Obreht and R.O. Kwon

Inland
by Téa Obreht
Historical, West | Goodreads

The Incendiaries
by R.O. Kwon
Literary, Coming of Age, Asian American, Korean | Goodreads

AND watched: on Netflix

The Midnight Gospel (2020)
tv series, season one
Creator: Duncan Trussell
based on Duncan's podcast (here)
Animation, Adventure, Comedy | imdb | my rating: 4
Clancy, a spacecaster with a malfunctioning multiverse simulator, leaves the comfort of his home to interview beings living in dying worlds.

Recognized a couple authors featured, Anne Lamott and Damien Wayne Echols.


AND watched: online part of We Are One Global Film Festival (here)

Sisterhood (2016)
Gwat mooi (original title)
Director: Tracy Choi
Writers: Kin-Yee Au, Yee Lam Wong
Stars: Gigi Leung, Fish Liew, Jennifer Yu
Drama, Macau | imdb | my rating: 5
Love intertwines at the wrong time. Sei and Ling, former masseuses in Macau, in retrospect, had the best time together. Decades after, Sei learns that her late best friend has kept a secret she never knew...

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

*** THANKS to those on the front line during these times ***
Shelter In Place - Day 83, Week 13
Stay healthy! Be safe!

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Winterbottom Trips

I took a trip arm-chair traveling with binge watching this series that ties in road trips, foodie experiences and books.

The Trip (2010)
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Stars: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon
Comedy, Drama, Travel, North England | imdb | my rating: 4
Steve is asked to review restaurants for the UK's Observer who is joined on a working road trip by his friend Rob who fills in at the last minute when Coogan's romantic relationship falls apart.

Places:
Yorkshire Dales, Trough of Bowland and The Lake District

The Inn at Whitewell
L'Enclume
Holbeck Ghyll Country House
Yorke Arms
The Angel Inn
Hipping Hall
Bolton Abbey
Dove Cottage

Book/author mentioned:
Wadsworth
Coleridge

~*~

Trip to Italy (2014)
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Stars: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon
Comedy, Drama, Travel, Italy | imdb | my rating: 4
Two men, six meals in six different places on a road trip around Italy.

Places:
Liguria
Tuscany
Rome
Amalfi
Capri

Book/author mentioned:
Byron
Shelley
Cassanova

~*~

Trip to Spain (2017)
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Stars: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon
Comedy, Drama, Travel, Spain | imdb | my rating: 4
Actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon embark on a six-part episodic road trip through Europe. This time they're in Spain, sampling the restaurants, eateries, and sights along the way.

Places:
Cantabria & Basque
Navarra & Aragon
Rioja
Guadalajara
Castilla La Mancha
Andalucia
Morocco

Book/author mentioned:
Don Quixote
As I Walked Out One Midsmmmer Morning by Laurie Lee

~*~

Trip to Greece (2020)
Director: Michael Winterbottom
Stars: Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon
Comedy, Drama, Travel, Greece | imdb | my rating: 4
Actors Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan travel from Troy to Ithaca following in the footsteps of the Odysseus.

Places:
Turkey
Lesvos
Kavala
Halkidiki
Damouchari
Pinakates
Piraeus
Athens
Hydra
Limeni
Ithaca

Book/author mentioned:
Odyssey
Harry Stottle - poetry
Byron
Sappho
Aristotle

~*~
* image source header: Trip to Greece