If you’re only going to read a handful of books this year, make sure you read The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. Everything about this book is incredible. It is truly a wonderful and perfect story. I literally have nothing but glowing things to say, I simply loved everything about this book. …
You’re Officially One of My Favorite Authors, Celeste Ng
Celeste Ng’s first novel, Everything I Never Told You, made it onto my personal ‘top five books I read in 2016’ list. In fact, I still get chills thinking about it. Ng’s writing is so powerful and deeply, harrowingly insightful. When Ng’s second novel, Little Fires Everywhere, was released last year, and immediately climbed the ranks as a NYT Best Seller, I was a tad bit skeptical. The same thing happened with Ruth Ware, Paula Hawkins, and Shari Lapena. And you all know how disappointed I was with all three of those authors second novels…
But of course I was going to give Little Fires Everywhere a shot, I mean, how could I not?
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Does Listening to an Audiobook Count as Reading?
Does listening to an audiobook count as reading? This is a question I have been grappling with for quite sometime. This blog post has been on my mind for months and months, and once I started digging and reading about the history of audiobooks, I knew I had to share with you.
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Perplexing Thoughts about Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
Deep exhale. Martha Hall Kelly’s first novel, Lilac Girls was really tough for me to rate on GoodReads. Mainly because I have very strong and conflicting feelings the way in which this story was told. Lilac Girls is based off a true story, the horrors that took place at Ravensbrück, and the ‘Rabbits’ that were experimented on. If this book added any good into the world, it brought this piece of history — one that is so often overlooked when it comes to WWII — to life. It’s rare that I walk away from a WWII novel and dislike it, or rate it lower than a 4 on GR, but with Lilac Girls….Lilac Girls made me really ragey…
My biggest issue with the book is, well, the piss poor story telling. If you’re familiar with Elizabeth Gilbert’s work, you know that she’s a believer that creative ideas are floating around in the universe, waiting to be claimed. Stories are begging to be told, and it’s just a matter of who listens, and who claims it as theirs. With that said, I think if this creative idea for a story was given to any other writer it would have given the story justice. And I’m honestly heartbroken at how disappointing the story was molded by Martha Hall Kelly. Let me explain……
Two Audiobooks You’ll Be Glad You Listened To
Some books are meant to be listened to. I’m a firm believer in that, and will preach that until the day I die.
Though, I do get a tad anxious anytime I load up a new audiobook, because the flip side of believing some books are meant to be listened to, I also strongly believe that terrible narration can ruin a perfectly well written novel. And trust me, it’s happened so many times over the course of my audiobook listening life, that I’m pretty used to it by now. …
How to Save Money on Books & eBooks
The cost of being a bookworm can add up very, very quickly. Especially if you’re flying through four, five, or even six books per month — $18 here, $25 there, and next thing you know you’ve spent several hundred dollars in a mere few months.
There’s no reason why you need to purchase new and shiny hardcovers, when there are so many excellent, and cost-effective, alternatives around you. …