Wrap Up

Middle Mark | January 2020

January 15, 2020January 14, 2020 bookishluna10 Comments

Middle Mark

Hello and welcome to the first Middle Mark post of 2020! I cannot believe that we are already halfway through the month. If you are new here, Middle Mark is where I talk about the books I read the first half of the month with mini reviews and what I am currently reading.

I have to say, I am starting 2020 on a really good note. I have been doing a ton of reading and I have been so inspired to just keep going. I have read a wide array of genres from graphic novels to Russian classic literature and nonfiction of mythology. I am truly all over the place with my mood reading and I am embracing it fully. Now, without more rambling, on to the books!

Crime And Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Going into this novel I new it was well known, but had no idea what it was about. Having now finished it I will say I did not expect such a start to the novel. With that surprise out of the way I really enjoyed how the novel explores guilt and morality. It was a very interesting read and I did not feel like there was too much fluff in it. The ending was a bit much, but it was nice to see as well. Overall, a good book to start off 2020.

View all my reviews

The Morrigan: Celtic Goddess of Magick and Might by Courtney Weber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very good insight into the Celtic goddess who I previously knew nothing about. This book was well written and broke down the subject matter very nicely. I really like the history aspect of this book, the main reason behind picking it up, but it was a lot more. I love reading about individual experiences and thoughts on her as well.

View all my reviews

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a story filled with family grief, journey, and things coming full circle. It is written beautifully and the characters for the most part were interesting. I will say I did not enjoy the story of the mother for some reason and I was angered at the whole college situation, but I don’t want to say more than that. I don’t want to spoil anything. I can see why so many people love this book, it was good, but I feel like some things were too perfect if that makes any sense.

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Revised Widow’s Weeds and Weeping Veils : Mourning Rituals in 19th Century America by Bernadette Loeffel-Atkins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fascinating read. While today this is not an easy topic to discuss it is interesting to explorer just how much mourning played in the lives of humans only a few hundred years ago. This small book covers quite a bit from clothing, food, home decor, and more. It goes into symbolism, ways to remember loved ones, I honestly could keep going. It is apparent that the author is knowledgeable.

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Mythos by Stephen Fry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is such a wonderful retelling of the classic Greek Myths. While I am very familiar with a lot of these stories, the random comments and little additions of Fry make them magnificent. This is well organized and Fry tells these in a way a Greek Myth beginner can easily jump into the tails. I highly recombined this collection of tails of you are interested in it, even slightly. The humor is spot on.

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Farmhand, Vol. 1: Reap What Was Sown by Rob Guillory

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A dark and imaginative science fiction tale. For me, this was a very original graphic novel that explore a medical break through and its impact on a family. The plot line was great and the art was beautiful. I really am enjoying how they are exploring different aspects of how this breakthrough could impact this family, this world, and their relationships with each other and others. Like I said, this a dark one and I can see it getting even more grim. I can’t wait to jump into the next volume.

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Farmhand, Vol. 2: Thorne in the Flesh by Rob Guillory

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am very glad that I had the second volume ready to go after reading the first and this did not disappoint. The plot continues to be interesting and imaginative and thee artwork continues to really lend itself to the story. The story has gotten a bit more dark and family relationships continue to evolve. I am excitedly and impatiently waiting for the release of Vol.3. I can easily say this graphic novel series is one of my favorite I have read.

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Currently Reading 2

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, 39%

The Wicked King by Holly Black, 28%

The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, 3%

What was the last book you finished? What book are you currently reading?

Sign Off 2020

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Hauls & Unboxings

Blogmas | Book Haul | November & December 2019

December 18, 2019December 14, 2019 bookishluna2 Comments

Hello and welcome to my my book haul for both November and December. I fell a bit behind with my haul last month so I decided to just put everything together. I don’t want to ramble too much, so here are the books I picked up in one way or another!

I received A Christmas Carol through Coffee and a Classic Box, which I have been subscribed too for months at this point. The Queen of Nothing I picked up at Barns and Nobel it is a signed edition because I could not resist. Bonhoeffer is actually my mothers and I wanted to read it for a while so I am borrowing it from her because she is very supportive in my reading habit. Last, but not least is Gwendy’s Magic Feather which was a pre-order and a sequel to Gwendy’s Magic Box.

Great Goddesses is my latest purchase, I feel like Nikita Gill is one of the few poets I auto buy their works. I decided to pick up two of Shakespeare’s plays for a project I am working on for next year, I decided on Midsummers Night’s Dream and Twelfth Night. You should hear about that project very soon if you have not already. The Light Between Oceans is actually from my library, but I borrowed it this month for my book from Australia read, Bury What You Cannot Take is also for for that challenge, but takes place in China. Last in this pile is The Glittering Hour, this was my BOTM pick for December, if you want to see why I picked this one you can see my post here:BOTM Unboxing | December 2019.

My Best Friends’s Exorcism I picked up from a library sale, I know a lot of people were reading it during Halloween this year so I wanted to give it a go. I finally caved and picked up Alexander Hamilton that inspired the play. I also have my BOTM from November, if you want to know my reasonings you can see that here: BOTM Unboxing | November 2019.

Lastly I have The Morrigan, which is tales of a Celtic Goddess, I have always loved lure and myths so I wanted to explore more. I also picked up a book called Muse with the Moon, which is almost like a reflection activity book that has specific prompts during a particular phase of the moon. You all will be seeing that a lot, I am thinking about starting a series with what I put in that book each month until it is full.

What was your most recently acquired book?

Do any of these books sit on your shelf or have you read them already?

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To Be Read

TBR | November 2019

November 1, 2019October 28, 2019 bookishluna5 Comments

ToBeRead12:17

Hello and welcome to my TBR for the 11th month of the year! I cannot believe how quickly this year is now going since we are in the home stretch. This month I was thinking I was going to really keep an eye on my reading challenges, but I wanted to read so much I had to go to twitter and ask for some volunteers to send me some numbers so I could narrow my TBR down in addition to reading a book that was on my post Lists | Top 5 Books I Want to Read Before 2020. Anyway, on the to TBR!

I am going to go a little out of order here, but Middlemarch was the only book on this list I picked for myself. It is the last classic on my shelf and I honestly am very much in a classic reading mood. It is also one of the five books I want to read before 2019 comes to an end. I picked this book up on a whim at a local independent bookstore because I never read any of Eliot’s works and I felt like I would really enjoy this one.

Next up is The Bone Season, which is number 27 on my TBR. This number was picked by Rosie, you can check out her blog by clicking here. I am really happy that this number was picked because I picked this book up in October, but I didn’t get a chance to read it and I was bummed out.

27!

— 𝑅𝑜𝓈𝒾-EEEK! 👻 ɟo ǝpɐɥs ɹǝʞɹɐp ɐ (@ashadeofrosie) October 27, 2019

The next number that was picked was number 10 by Katerina, you can find her tweet below. Number 10 was It Would Be Night in Caracas, which I was given when I went to BookCon earlier this year. I am excited to have this on my TBR because the story sounds so interesting.

10

— katerina but not petrova 🤣 (@bibliokatherine) October 27, 2019

The next number is 25, picked by Emma, you can check out her blog by clicking the link here. Number 25 is Nothing to See Here, which was my Book of the Month from last month, so I guess Emma is trying to get me to catch up on those books. I am excited to get to this one though, I mean the cover has an illustration of a person on fire… I need to know why!

25

— Emma✨ (@EmmaS_92) October 27, 2019

The next book I am going to be reading this month is The Toll with Reg, Jenna, and Amy as part of our buddy reading group. I am so excited to be reading the final book in the Scythe series by Neal Shusterman. All of us have pretty much loved this series since we read the first one together.

Well, there you have it the 5 books I am planning on reading in the month of November. I want to take a moment to thank everyone who sent me numbers, but there was no way I would have been able to read 16 books this month. I wish I could though!

What books are you planning to read this month?

Have you read any of these books? What were your thoughts?

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Hauls & Unboxings

Unboxing | Coffee and a Classic September 2019

October 20, 2019October 19, 2019 bookishluna4 Comments

Unboxing

Hello and welcome to another unboxing of Coffee and a Classic! This month is something extra special since it is Halloween related. I know I am posting this a tad bit late, but better late than never! Anyway, I was so excited about this months pick because I have read the main tale that was sent out, and loved, but I did not read the “Other Stories” so I am excited to find more stories I adore. Anyway, on to the unboxing.

Here is the goodness I saw when I opened the box up. I do love that they really individualize every box to totally surround the box. It really adds to the experience for me.

Here are some of the goodies in this months box. I have to say I was so thankful to get the book light. Mine was starting to act funny and I was ready to go out and get a new one when my next paycheck came in, this could not have been more perfect timing! Also, this months bookmark is so adorable, I started using it right away. Plus, I can always find my books in the dark now with this glow in the dark potion.

I really loved the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, talking about the dual sides to each person and humanity as a whole. It is just as much as a monster story as much as a story about humans, which makes it even more eerie. Even though I really enjoyed reading this story, I for some reason have not picked up another one by this author so I am happy to see the & Other Stories on the cover of this beautiful edition.

Now, I think this is my favorite thing I have gotten from Coffee and Classic since being a subscriber. I took this pillow case and stuffed it full of teddy bear stuffing and put it right now my bed. It is a perfect little Halloween decorate as well as a literary one and that just makes my halloween book loving heart happy. Also, it is a pun and I LOVE puns.

Have you read this book?

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Hauls & Unboxings

Unboxing | Coffee and a Classic August 2019

September 9, 2019September 9, 2019 bookishluna5 Comments

Unboxing

Hello and welcome to another unboxing of Coffee and a Classic! I am so excited about this months box, because it is a book I loved and wanted to reread in the future. I don’t want to type too much and ruin the surprise so I am just going to be jumping into the unboxing and then gush about why I really loved this book.

Here is the first thing I saw when I opened the box. I loved this color of blue that popped out at me. Also, I saw a really beautiful cover peaking through. It gave me 1920s/Great Gatsby vibes I am not sure why now that I know the book.

I opened it up and I saw that it was a hand printed kitchen towel with the quote “All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow”― Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina. Which, I love this quote the only bummer is that my kitchen is not this color, but if it was this would be on display somewhere. The other items I picked out was a ribbon bookmark, which is cute and goes with the book for sure. I have never used a ribbon bookmark so using this will be a new experience. Another goodie I got was a hand poured candle, I did not LOVE the smell of this personally, but my friend did so I gave it to them. It is apparently very fragrant and burns nicely.

Now, here is the coffee and the classic! This month the book is Anna Karenina. I read this book last year and I have to say at first I gave it only 3 stars. Since reading it I keep moving the rating up because I always think back to this book and I realize how relatable this classic is even today, which is hard to come by. The characters were also just so out there at times and it was just a blast to read and I realized more and more after putting it down. I normally have the opposite experience with a classic, I like it less or I don’t ever think about it again. This months coffee smelled so yummy, I cannot wait to have a cup of it. I just wanted to finish up my coffee from last month before jumping into this one.

Now, can we just take a moment to appreciate the beauty of this edition. It is much a beautiful cream color and the details are just magnificent. I am so excited to reread this book with this edition. I am going to feel like such a fancy reader with a ribbon bookmark.

What did you think of this book box?

Have you ever read Anna Karenina? If you haven’t I recommend you give it a try!

SignOff12:17

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Reviews

Blog Tour Review | A Knife in the Fog by Bradley Harper

August 11, 2019August 12, 2019 bookishluna3 Comments

Before I get started with this review, which I am terribly excited about, I wanted to state that I was gifted a copy of the book to review and be part of this amazing tour. Also, please check out all of the stops!

A Knife in the Fog Description

September 1888. A twenty-nine-year-old Arthur Conan Doyle practices medicine by day and writes at night. His first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet, although gaining critical and popular success, has only netted him twenty-five pounds. Embittered by the experience, he vows never to write another “crime story.” Then a messenger arrives with a mysterious summons from former Prime Minister William Gladstone, asking him to come to London immediately.

Once there, he is offered one month’s employment to assist the Metropolitan Police as a “consultant” in their hunt for the serial killer soon to be known as Jack the Ripper. Doyle agrees on the stipulation his old professor of surgery, Professor Joseph Bell–Doyle’s inspiration for Sherlock Holmes–agrees to work with him. Bell agrees, and soon the two are joined by Miss Margaret Harkness, an author residing in the East End who knows how to use a Derringer and serves as their guide and companion.

Pursuing leads through the dank alleys and courtyards of Whitechapel, they come upon the body of a savagely murdered fifth victim. Soon it becomes clear that the hunters have become the hunted when a knife-wielding figure approaches.

Purchase links:

Amazon (US): https://amzn.to/2xMjcbV

Amazon (UK): https://amzn.to/2JGprn3

Indiebound (US): https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781633884861

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What I Liked

A Knife in the Fog is truly a wonderful atmospheric historical fiction murder mystery book that mixed the perfect amount of fact and fiction.

One of the most notable things about this book was the fact that it felt very accurate to the time period that was being written about. Not only does Harper take one of literatures well known figures, Arthur Conan Doyle, he embodies the time period. You can tell that author has done his research. He knows the use of language at the time well, clothing, customs, and social hierarchy. It is far from a haphazard combination of these vague ideas, which for me is a huge deal. In addition to being well versed in the time period, he is also very knowledgable about the Jack the Ripper case. This knowledge is essential since our three main characters are on the hunt for this vicious murderer.

While the author fuses fiction with the real life case of Jack the Ripper he also pulls from real world individuals such as, Professor Joseph Bell and Miss Margaret Harkness. In doing this it really brings this story to life for me. The characters were wonderfully written and had very distinct personalities. Professor Bell, the inspiration of Sherlock Holmes, was very much observant, interesting, and not afraid to speak his mind. Miss Harkness was a strong woman who was not afraid to do what she needed to do to tell her stories as well as help with this investigation. She was truly a wonderful strong character in this novel and I loved how bold she was.

Throughout the story the character acted true to themselves as different obstacles were presented to them. Between walking the unsafe streets, helping people in need, going to the police station, and murder scenes I was truly entertained by the story and plot. I laughed when they called themselves the Three Musketeers because I was actually thinking that were like the three musketeers before they said it themselves. Three great characters taking a very dangerous and risky mystery with some humor tossed in for good measure.

What I Didn’t Like

At times there were events that happened for the sake of happening to showcase something. But, it wasn’t out of character. It still felt like it belonged in the story and it didn’t take away from the story. But, a few things happened in the story were I was felt like it was kinda random just to show us something that needed to be established. While it might have felt random, the information gathered was needed and none of them were unenjoyable.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. I was very happy to find out that this is the first book in a series because I would be able to have another adventure this these characters, but also with this authors writing. I cannot stress this enough, this author does a wonderful job at building a very real atmosphere with what seems like minimal effort and that for me is a mark of a good writer. I highly recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction, mystery, murder mysteries, or if you have an interest in the Jack the Ripper stories or Arthur Conan Doyle.

4stars

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About the Author: Bradley Harper

Bradley Harper

Bradley Harper is a retired US Army Pathologist with over 37 years of worldwide military/medical experience, ultimately serving as a Colonel/Physician in the Pentagon. During his Army career, Harper performed some 200 autopsies, 20 of which were forensic.

Upon retiring from the Army, Harper earned an Associate’s Degree in Creative Writing from Full Sail University. He has been published in The Strand Magazine, Flash Fiction Magazine, The Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine and a short story he wrote involving Professor Moriarty in the Holmes tale of The Red Headed League (entitled The Red Herring League) won Honorable Mention in an international short fiction contest. A member of the Mystery Writers of America, Authors Guild, and Sisters in Crime, Harper is a regular contributor to the Sisters in Crime bi-monthly newsletter.

Harper’s first novel, A Knife in the Fog, involves a young Arthur Conan Doyle joining in the hunt for Jack the Ripper, and was a finalist for the 2019 Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America for Best First Novel by an American Author.

Queen’s Gambit, the upcoming sequel to A Knife in the Fog will be released in September 2019.

ONLINE LINKS:

Website: www.bharperauthor.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bharperauthor

Instagram: www.instagram.com/bharperauthor

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bharperauthor

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Book Information

Publication Date: October 2nd 2018

Publisher: Seventh Street Books

List Price: $15.95

ISBN: 9781633884861

Pages: 288 pages

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Let's Talk

Let’s Talk | My 5 Least Favorite Books I Have Read So Far This Year

July 24, 2019July 11, 2019 bookishluna10 Comments

Welcome to part two of my continuation of my mid-year check in! Earlier I did a whole post talking about my top 5 books I have read so far this year. Now, it is time to talk about the bottom 5 books I have read this year. If you would like to see my top 5 you. can find that. here:Let’s Talk | Top 5 Books I Have Read So Far This Year. Anyway, I don’t want to do too much. of an introduction, but the books I mentioned just didn’t do. it. for me personally for one reason or another. That doesn’t mean they are a bad book or that you can’t like them. I just didn’t and thankfully most of these were library books.

-The Books-

There is only a single “book” I gave so far this year and that would be a work by Shakespeare. Since I first read some of his works back in high school, I did not enjoy them in the slightest. I thought that this feeling was mainly due to teachers in the past making me read a bunch of them. Turns out, I still don’t like the plays all that much. Maybe it would be different if I saw one of them preformed, but I just thought it was WAY too dramatic.

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

So far there is only one book I have given two stars and this would be The Woman in the Dark. I was just bored by it and I don’t really think it has anything to do with the book. I just read a lot of thrillers and this one never really surprised me or kept my interest. I think It was just predictable because I read so many of them. The writing itself was good and the author is talented, just the plot of me was meh.

The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage

The fact that I need to list any three star reads is great in my eyes. That means I have not read a lot of books that I didn’t enjoy. I am finally getting better at finding books I am more likely to enjoy. But, while these books are not bad at all, they are at the lower end of my rating scale.

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

While this was an enjoyable book, I was not wowed by it. It was just something I read and moved on. It was not notable for me personally.

Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough

Behind her eyes has a similar reason as The Woman in the Dark apart from the ending being surprising. I was just not totally feeling into the story as I read, but I liked it enough to finish it.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

War and Peace was good, just I was not that drawn into the lives of the people I was reading about. These stories are very character driven in my opinion and if you are not feeling the characters you most likely wont enjoy it very much.

What is your least favorite read so far?

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Hauls & Unboxings

Unboxing | Coffee and a Classic June 2019

July 7, 2019June 26, 2019 bookishluna13 Comments

Unboxing

This month I decided I would give a new book box a try. I have tried many in the past and only one to this point has been one I have kept for over a year. The others were wonderful, but I no longer read a lot of YA so I was on the hunt for a book box that fits my current reading habits. With my youtube and blog searches I came across this lovely box called Coffee and a Classic.

If you know me I love classic literature, I find it a wonderful way to look into the past without reading non-ficiton, which I also love. On top of that, you get some delicious coffee to sip while you read. An entire experience!

Now, this box has a few customizable things going for it as well. You can pick coffee or tea, and the type of classic you would want to read. They have children’s classic, classic literature, and then a non-fiction classic. Which, I love that they give the subscribers so much choice in the box. On top of that you can can pick from starter ($29.99) or standard (40.99). Which, if you want to know more please check out their website. www.coffeeandaclassic.com.

Anyway, I picked the classic literature starter box here is what I got this month!

Can I just say I am a sucker for cute simplistic packaging? This logo is just so cute and I love it. I also loved how everything was packaged in a box that was appropriate in size. Everything fit safely and snuggly inside nothing was shifting all over and there was unneeded stuff.

I am so excited to try this coffee, I am also so happy that it happens to be themes as a Grand Adventure because I am currently rereading The Fellowship of the Ring and I feel like it would fit in perfectly. On top of that it smells heavily.

Here are the two bookish goodies I got this month. The first are two absorbent car coasters. I feel like these people are spying on me because I said a few weeks ago I needed some of these and I was on the look out for them. Looks like I don’t need to keep searching. The second is a beautiful lined notebook, which is in a beautiful blue color. I love that both of these have artwork that actual applies to the book that is in this book instead of just something generic. You can see the thought that goes into this.

Last, but certainly not least we have the bookmark and the book. Can I just say I love that they send a bookmark with a book. I never understood when book boxes never came with a bookmark. Anyway, this bookmark is made of Sassafras and features art pertaining to the book. I have never had a wooden bookmark that I can remember, but I love the feel of this. Then, we have the classic! I am happy to say I have not read this classic, but I have heard quote a lot about it. I am excited to dive into this, sip my coffee, and maybe take some notes.

I have to say I am really happy with this book box. The items inside are usable and not just knickknacks and all have to do with the book that was sent not just a generic theme. I can see the hard work that was put into this and I want to say well done. I am going to continue on with this box!

What did you think of this book box?

Do you subscribe to any bookish boxes?

SignOff12:17

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Wrap Up

Wrap Up | June 2019

June 30, 2019June 28, 2019 bookishluna15 Comments

WrapUp12:17

June was a very crazy month for me, I am so I am very surprised at how much I ended up reading this month. I was expecting to read maybe only 4 books, but I ended up reading much more than that.

I will say this month I was very bad about sticking to my TBR, June TBR | 2019, I ended up only reading 1 book on that list until the 24th of the month. Then, I kinda tried to binge the rest of the list. The main reason I did not do to well with sticking my my TBR was my mood reading and the books that became available from my library. Library books always take precedence with me because I can’t keep them and I might not be able to extend my time with it if someone else is in line.

Anyway, I overall liked a lot of the books I read this month, but below is some more details about the books themselves and my thoughts.

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The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really liked the time period this was set in and how it was true to that time period. It showed the hardships that African Americans faced and the horrible treatments that were thrust upon them. I enjoyed the writing style and the theme of bees throughout the story.

I think I have come to realize though, that I do not like stories about young girls who lose their mothers at a young age. I think it is because I have read it so many times or what, but I am just not in the mood or enjoy stories with that plot line.

View all my reviews

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have not read a lot of books or comics or anything in a while that dealt with HS aged people. But, I am very happy that I read this. I started reading this as a preview from the publisher on their website, when the preview ended I needed more and got it from my library that thankfully had it. I finished it in one sitting.

The story line was heart wrenching, but heart warming at others. I loved that the characters were raw at times, but the issues that were hinted at and full on explored are real issues that are dealt with every day. I really enjoyed reading this.

On top of the storyline/plot being amazing, the art work was beautiful. I enjoy the style that is used and the color pallet and use of color to highlight certain aspects of the story. You can clearly see a lot of time and hard work went into this graphic novel.

View all my reviews

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I first started to read this I started to feel like I was mislead by the title of this book, but that quickly turned around for me when I was about 70 odd pages in. This story had me really engaged for a few reasons. The first being the time period, how can you not want to hear a story about a rock and roll group in the 1970? The second being the format of this novel.

I didn’t know that this was set up as an interview the entire book and I think it really lent itself to the story. I feel like the story would not have been as powerful and I would not have felt as much as I did if it was written another way. Also, if you are into audiobooks, I think this is one of the best I have ever listened to. They have an entire cast and it makes the voices so much more distinct, even through they would be without the audio.

This story talks about a lot of different struggles and it really is a roller coaster, but not the one you would expect from a rock group.

View all my reviews

The Woman in the Dark by Vanessa Savage

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I am kind of struggling to pin point why this book didn’t blow me out of the water. I think the main reason is because I was able to predict a lot of what happened from very early in the book. I think once I made an assumption and it started to be proven correct I was just kinda meh about it.

I think if you have not read a lot of thrillers this is a great place to start. It is shocking and has quite layers to it. The writing style itself is good and it flowed for sure. One thing I really liked is the fact that I was debating throughout that maybe this is actually happening or it isn’t happening at all. What is reality?

View all my reviews

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I still don’t like Shakespeare, I am not sure why I keep trying at this point.

View all my reviews

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A great reread and adventure! Not really much to say other than I love this book and this story. It is filled with quirky wonderful characters and takes place in a very imaginative world.

View all my reviews

Middle Mark Books 2

The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 4 Stars
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling, 5 stars
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, 5 stars (NEW FAVORITE BOOK)

Beat the Backlist 2

Current TBR: 45

Backlist TBR: 6

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What was your favorite book you read this month?

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Reviews

REVIEW | Women Talking by Miriam Toews

June 27, 2019 bookishlunaLeave a comment

BookReview12:17

* I received this book from publisher via netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review.*

Women Talking
Description:

One evening, eight Mennonite women climb into a hay loft to conduct a secret meeting. For the past two years, each of these women, and more than a hundred other girls in their colony, has been repeatedly violated in the night by demons coming to punish them for their sins. Now that the women have learned they were in fact drugged and attacked by a group of men from their own community, they are determined to protect themselves and their daughters from future harm.

While the men of the colony are off in the city, attempting to raise enough money to bail out the rapists and bring them home, these women—all illiterate, without any knowledge of the world outside their community and unable even to speak the language of the country they live in—have very little time to make a choice: Should they stay in the only world they’ve ever known or should they dare to escape?

Based on real events and told through the “minutes” of the women’s all-female symposium, Toews’s masterful novel uses wry, politically engaged humor to relate this tale of women claiming their own power to decide.

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What I Liked

The main reason I wanted to read this book was because it was based upon real events. I enjoy reading non-ficiton and historical fiction and I felt like this book would be enjoyable. This book tackles dark events dealing with an established religious group and how the women must either come to terms with the status quo or make changes. As you can see from the description the status quo is not something I think many of us would want to endure.

I really enjoyed that the author did put this struggle into words and I feel like it could be applied to many other situations. While this story very dark and very extreme in its content, if you are triggered by rape or the discussion of it please do not read it boils down to women in a very bad situation determining if it is worth living with the devil you know, or chancing it with the devil you don’t know in a world you don’t understand. In other words, you can either endure traumatic treatment and stay with what you know and fear, or go off and try to get away for your hope of a safe situation in a world you have no idea how to navigate. On top of that the fear of what might happen if you are not successful. Obviously, every situation is different and each needs to be thought of on its own merits, but I can appreciate that this author was willing to have a discussion about this.

What I Didn’t Like

I didn’t like how slow paced this book was. I kind of had to push myself through it. I am not sure if this is because I was expecting a lot to happen based upon the description, but I felt that for the size of the book it was a slow mover. At times I felt it was rambling and I would grow bored.

Overall Thoughts

I feel like this was a good topic to discuss and should continue to be discussed. The topic was interesting for sure. I just don’t know if the topic was enough for me to fully enjoy this book. For me personally I do not enjoy slow moving books that are more talk than action. So, I feel like if you enjoy that type of writing style, you would easily like this book more than I did. 3stars