Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Review: And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

Title: And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer
Author: Fredrik Backman
Review: 5/5

Summary:

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here comes an exquisitely moving portrait of an elderly man’s struggle to hold on to his most precious memories, and his family’s efforts to care for him even as they must find a way to let go.

“Isn’t that the best of all life’s ages, an old man thinks as he looks at his grandchild, when a boy is just big enough to know how the world works but still young enough to refuse to accept it.”

Grandpa and Noah are sitting on a bench in a square that keeps getting smaller every day. The square is strange but also familiar, full of the odds and ends that have made up their lives: Grandpa’s work desk, the stuffed dragon that Grandpa once gave to Noah, the sweet-smelling hyacinths that Grandma loved to grow in her garden.

As they wait together on the bench, they tell jokes and discuss their shared love of mathematics. Grandpa recalls what it was like to fall in love with his wife, what it was like to lose her. She’s as real to him now as the first day he met her, but he dreads the day when he won’t remember her.

Sometimes Grandpa sits on the bench next to Ted, Noah’s father—Ted who never liked math, prefers writing and playing guitar, and has waited his entire life for his father to have time for him, to accept him. But in their love of Noah, they have found a common bond.

Grandpa, Grandma, Ted, and Noah all meet here, in this peculiar space that is growing dimmer and more confusing all the time. And here is where they will learn to say goodbye, the scent of hyacinths in the air, nothing to fear. This little book with a big message is certain to be treasured for generations to come.

Review:

This was the first book by Fredrik Backman that I've ever read (and since reading this I've only read one more of his novellas) and it was perfect.

Grandpa and Noah are the stars of this story and it's heartbreaking and heartwarming to see the two of them grow closer and further apart due to Grandpa's advancing Alzheimer's Disease.  There are little bits where Grandpa mixes Noah with his son, Noah's father, Ted and it's sad.

Personally, I have seen the affects of this disease on a family member and watch as she forgot her own children and grandchildren until she was gone.  This book was almost a soothing balm over that memory rather than being triggering.

The ending was also way out of left field, but utterly perfect.

Highly recommend!


Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Waiting on Wednesday [#10]





Title:  Wild Embers
Author:  Nikita Gill
Release Date: November 16, 2017

Summary:

Nikita Gill's poetry has captured hearts and minds all over the world; her inspirational words have been shared hundreds of thousands of times online, been plastered across placards on international women's marches and even transformed into tattoos. This collection will showcase mostly unseen poetry and prose, delving into ideas about passion, identity, empowerment and femininity.



I have been following Nikita Gill on Instagram for a while, here are some samples:





Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Waiting on Wednesday [#9]



If there were ever a book I couldn't wait for, this is it.

Andy Weir, author of AMAZING book The Martian, has finally written a  new book!


Title:  Artemis
Author:  Andy Weir
Release Date:  November 14, 2017

Summary:

Jazz Bashara is a criminal.

Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.

Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.


Who else is excited for the return of this author?


Friday, October 13, 2017

Spookathon 2017


Halloween is around the corner my friends!  

Therefore, a read-a-thon is in order and this one is hosted on booktube by the lovely BooksandLala.  Click here for the original challenge video.

Duration:  October 16th - October 22nd 2017
Challenges: See below along with what I will be reading


I've read this book before, actually a few times, but
it's time to read it again for this challenge!



The first book in the Shadow House Trilogy. How
can a book with the word "shadow" in the title
not be spooky? 
 



I don't know about you all, but I HATED the
basement as a kid.  I would always walk back up the stairs
sideways so I could see if anyone was following me.



I know this isn't a traditionally scary book, but people have something implanted in your brain?  Yeah, no thanks.
Also my copy is much more orange so it counts.



Second book in the Shadow House Trilogy.  The main
characters are trapped in the spooky estate named
"Shadow House"


What spooky books do you plan to read?!

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Top Ten School-Required Reading Books that I Loved


I used to detest school reading, but then I hit my junior year in high school and everything changed.  Here are my ten favorites through high school and my undergraduate years


1.  Night - Elie Wiesel
2.  Beowulf - Seamus Heaney













3.  The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath













4.  The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton













5.  Ordinary People - Judith Guest













6.  Lord of the Flies - William Golding













7.  The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls













8.  Abandoned Prayers - Gregg Olsen













9.  The Guardian - Nicholas Sparks













10.  Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson