#leni’s tbr

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

💜 Books for Women's Day 2024 💜

🦇 Welcome to March, my beloved bookish bats. It's Women's History Month AND Women's Day! To celebrate, here are a few books that highlight powerful, courageous women -- both throughout history and across our favorite fictional realms. These women have contributed to our history, shaping contemporary society with bold, outspoken, badass moves. Let's celebrate and champion these voices by adding more female-focused stories to our TBRs!

❓QOTD Who is your favorite female fictional character AND real-life heroine?

❤️ Fiction ❤️ 💜 The Power - Naomi Alderman 💜 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood 💜 The Vibrant Years - Sonali Dev 💜 Red Clocks - Leni Zumas 💜 Conjure Women - Afia Atakora 💜 City of Girls - Elizabeth Gilbert 💜 A Woman is No Man - Etaf Rum 💜 Of Women and Salt - Gabriela Garcia 💜 Circe - Madeline Miller 💜 Song of a Captive Bird - Jasmin Darznik 💜 The Women - Kristin Hannah 💜 The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois - Honorée Fanonne Jeffers 💜 The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison 💜 Women Talking - Miriam Toews 💜 Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly 💜 The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

💜 Young/New Adult 💜 ❤️ Loveboat Reunion - Abigail Hing Wen ❤️ Realm Breaker - Victoria Aveyard ❤️ Only a Monster - Vanessa Len ❤️ This Woven Kingdom - Tahereh Mafi ❤️ Serpent & Dove - Shelby Mahurin ❤️ I’ll Be The One - Lyla Lee ❤️ Squad - Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrated by Lisa Sterle ❤️ These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong ❤️ The Box in the Woods - Maureen Johnson ❤️ The Wrath & the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh ❤️ You Should See Me in a Crown - Leah Johnson ❤️ A Sky Beyond the Storm - Sabaa Tahir ❤️ Nimona - N.D. Stevenson ❤️ Legendborn - Tracy Deonn ❤️ Blood Scion - Deborah Falaye ❤️ Not Here to Be Liked - Michelle Quach

❤️ Queer ❤️ 💜 Imogen, Obviously - Becky Albertalli 💜 The Fiancée Farce - Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston 💜 The Henna Wars - Adiba Jaigirdar 💜 Girls of Paper and Fire - Natasha Ngan 💜 Delilah Green Doesn't Care - Ashley Herring Blake 💜 A Guide to the Dark - Meriam Metoui 💜 She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan 💜 Written in the Stars- Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir 💜 Gearbreakers - Zoe Hana Mikuta 💜 You Exist Too Much - Zaina Arafat 💜 Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker 💜 The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon 💜 She Gets the Girl - Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick 💜 The Jasmine Throne - Tasha Suri

💜 Non-Fiction 💜 ❤️ The Secret History of Wonder Woman - Jill Lepore ❤️ Girlhood - Melissa Febos ❤️ Our Bodies, Their Battlefields - Christina Lamb ❤️ The Radium Girls - Kate Moore ❤️ Twice As Hard - Jasmine Brown ❤️ Women of Myth - Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy ❤️ Nobody Ever Asked Me About the Girls - Lisa Robinson ❤️ Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship - Kayleen Schaefer ❤️ The Book of Gutsy Women - Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton ❤️ The Underground Girls of Kabul - Jenny Nordberg ❤️ Feminism Is for Everybody - Bell Hooks ❤️ Invisible Women - Caroline Criado Perez ❤️ The Women of NOW - Katherine Turk ❤️ Eve - Cat Bohannon ❤️ We Should All Be Feminists - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ❤️ Bad Feminist - Roxane Gay

❤️ Memoirs ❤️ 💜 Mom & Me & Mom - Maya Angelou 💜 Crazy Brave - Joy Harjo 💜 Reading Lolita in Theran - Azar Nafisi 💜 I'm Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy 💜 Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner 💜 The Soul of a Woman - Isabel Allende 💜 See No Stranger - Valarie Kaur 💜 They Call Me a Lioness - Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri 💜 Becoming - Michelle Obama 💜 Bossypants - Tina Fey 💜 My Own Words - Ruth Bader Ginsburg 💜 I Am Malala Malala Yousafzai 💜 Finding Me - Viola Davis 💜 Return - Ghada Karmi 💜 Good for a Girl - Lauren Fleshman 💜 The Woman in Me - Britney Spears

[mediaevalmusereads]

Red Clocks. By Leni Zumas. Little, Brown and Company, 2018.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Genre: literary fiction

Part of a Series? No

Summary: In this ferociously imaginative novel, abortion is once again illegal in America, in-vitro fertilization is banned, and the Personhood Amendment grants rights of life, liberty, and property to every embryo. In a small Oregon fishing town, five very different women navigate these new barriers alongside age-old questions surrounding motherhood, identity, and freedom. Ro, a single high-school teacher, is trying to have a baby on her own, while also writing a biography of Eivør, a little-known 19th-century female polar explorer. Susan is a frustrated mother of two, trapped in a crumbling marriage. Mattie is the adopted daughter of doting parents and one of Ro's best students, who finds herself pregnant with nowhere to turn. And Gin is the gifted, forest-dwelling homeopath, or "mender," who brings all their fates together when she's arrested and put on trial in a frenzied modern-day witch hunt.

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: abortion, blood, gore, animal death, references to domestic violence, infertility, references to cannibalism

Overview: I put this book on my TBR list after Roe was overturned in the United States, and I’m only now getting around to reading it. When I did pick it up, I finished it in the span of one day, and that’s perhaps due to a number of things I liked: the short, vignette-style chapters; the lush, evocative prose; the sympathetic yet flawed inner lives of the protagonists. There are things I feel like I can criticize - such as the lackluster story of the female Arctic explorer - but overall, this was a well-written novel that really resonated with me as a reader interested in reproductive rights. Thus, it gets 4 stars from me.

Writing: Zumas’ prose is very literary in that it combines lyrical descriptions with a kind of experimental, loose structure. Some readers may be put off by this style, but personally, I found it incredible engaging and it held my interest, perhaps because I find the topic of reproductive rights more meaningful when driven by emotional, human stories (as opposed to debates about power and statistics). Zumas has an incredible talent for writing emotion, and I felt like I could understand what each character was experiencing without being told “XYZ happened” and “this character did this.”

I do think, however, that the little snippets of the life of the Arctic explorer, Eivør, were under-developed. These snippets occur between each chapter, and most are only a few lines or a paragraph. While I do think they added to the tone and setting of the novel, they didn’t really do much for me in terms of the themes of the book. If Eivør had been another character in her own right or her life was much more strongly about rejecting motherhood, I think it would have fit in better, but as it stands, the snippets felt a bit like filler.

Plot: The plot of this book follows four women in a small Oregon fishing town as they try to navigate issues of motherhood and womanhood in a world where abortion, IVF, and adoption by single parents have been banned. Over the course of the novel, we watch Ro (a single woman in her 40s) struggle to conceive a child using artificial insemination; Susan, a mother of two who is trapped in an unhappy marriage; Mattie, a teenager faced with an unwanted pregnancy; and Gin, a “witch” who lives on her own and distributes remedies to the local women.

Zumas seems less interested in telling the reader what happens than she is showing the reader various impressions of the protagonists’ emotions, and personally, I liked it better than your traditional dystopian novel. Zumas doesn’t put power and government at the center of these women’s lives, but instead focuses on their inner lives and what challenges they face in a post-Roe world.

As a result, this book perhaps hits a little differently today than it would have at the time of publication. Reading it in 2022, the “dystopian” elements are less a product of imagination and more a reflection of the very real reproductive rollbacks we’ve been seeing in the United States. The “Pink Curtain,” for example, calls to mind the recent discussions surrounding restricting women to travel for abortions; the claim that less abortions would mean more available babies for adoption - while seemingly farfetched in the novel - was actually said by a US lawmaker this past year. All in all, the scary similarity to today’s world makes this book feel less “speculative” than something like The Handmaid’s Tale, and perhaps that’s why I took to it so readily.

Characters: There are quite a few characters in this book, so for the purposes of this review, I’m going to focus on our four protagonists: Ro, Susan, Mattie, and Gin.

Ro was incredibly sympathetic in that she was desperate to have a child and was irritated by all the judgments put on her regarding her age, marital status, and income. Reading her perspective made me understand how earth-shattering it could be for one’s life to go in an unexpected direction, and I think her story was an important look at what a post-Roe world would mean for (potential) mothers who were not your typical young, married, upper-middle class white women. I did get annoyed by her when she began to feel resentful of Mattie’s pregnancy, and I got the sense that she was almost entitled at a certain point - but this was a very real and understandable flaw that doesn’t necessarily come from a place of rationality, and it made Ro a bit more realized as a character.

Susan was also sympathetic in that she was presented as both a loving parent and a parent who felt trapped by her kids and her marriage. Reading her perspective illuminated the pressure that many women feel to present themselves as devoted wives and mothers, and after reading about how Susan’s husband is absolutely useless, I was rooting for her to find some happiness away from her family. Susan also has some flaws in that she can be judgmental - especially of Ro - but again, it’s a very human flaw, and though I might be irritated as a reader, it also meant that Susan felt like a real person.

Mattie was perhaps the perspective that tugged at my heartstrings the most. At age fifteen, she gets pregnant and seeks an abortion, going so far as to attempt to escape to Canada and avoid arrest when visiting underground, unregulated providers. Her perspective was filled with fear, and I think it would be hard to look at someone like Mattie and tell her to just have the baby - so much was at stake, including Mattie’s future, and I desperately wanted her to be okay in the end.

Gin was a very intriguing perspective in that her role as the “village healer” was an interesting callback to the days when women’s local knowledge was in conflict with male institutionalized knowledge. Gin seemed to have a cure for any ailment, including unwanted pregnancies, and her failure to finish school just hammers home the gap between knowledge and education, as well as the history of women taking care of other women. But what I really liked about Gin was her rejection of the “normal” world and her insistence on living her life on her own terms. Even in her more grumpy and eccentric moments, I took a liking to her, and I think her trial was an important lynchpin that tied many of the book’s narratives together.

TL;DR: Red Clocks is a eerily prescient look at a post-Roe America, focusing on four very distinct women as they navigate the nebulous category that is “womanhood.” While the prose style and organization might not be to every reader’s taste, I think the more impressionistic look at a post-Roe world makes for a great emotional impact, and I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the effect that a rollback on reproductive rights might have on individuals.

[theinquisitxor]

Favorite tropes book rec: The North

There’s something about an icy, cold northern land that draws me into the story.  Here’s a list of books I’ve read with this setting, as well the the one’s on my tbr. Feel free to comment and make recommendations! I will keep this list updated as I read. 

more book recs here!

Fantasy

-The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman Bolvanger, Svalbard, the northern lights! One of the first books I have read about ‘the North’ and the first installment of one of my favorite series. middle grade/young adult

-A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland this is an adult fantasy that takes place in a northern fantasy land. Even though this isn’t primarily about the North, the setting and world building are fantastic. The story follows a storyteller, Chant as he’s been wrongly thrown in prison. adult fantasy

-The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden  This is possibly the most wintery series I have ever encountered. It follows Vasya, a young woman growing up in medieval Russia and her abilities to interact with the folklore and fantastical around her. One of my favorite series and possibly best winter read. adult fantasy

-Grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo The Shadow and Bone books are set in Ravka, a fantasy land based on Russia. In Six of Crows, the icy land Fjerdia is a location visited by the characters. All of Bardugo’s Grishaverse books have this theme that I so much. young adult fantasy

-Winter of Ice and Iron by Rachel Neumeier A fantasy book that takes place in a wintery setting. A country faces the threat of invasion and war, and it is up to the princess of this land to try to save her people.  She comes across the man known as the Wolf Duke who might be the key. adult fantasy

-East by Edith Pattou a well loved retelling of East of the Sun West of the Moon.  A young woman agrees to accompany a white bear in exchange to save her family. Takes place in Scandinavia and the mythical lands even farther to the North. young adult fantasy

-Hunted by Meagan Spooner This is a beauty and the beast retelling set in a russian type land. A batb retelling that I thoroughly enjoyed. It stays true to the original fairy tale, while also creating a new story and setting. Definite winter vibes, and Russian folklore. young adult fantasy

-Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik This is one of my all time favorite books. A fairy tale retelling set in Eastern Europe, following three main female protagonists. I can’t recommend this book enough. adult fantasy

The Girl From Shadow Springs by Ellie Cypher A shorter standalone novel that feels like a mix of The Revenant and True Grit. With a splash of Frozen. It’s a refreshing change, and the fantastical elements of the book were a favorite part. young adult fantasy.

-Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett This is a Nepal inspired fantasy about a young woman who leads an expedition up the highest mountain. But beware, because not everyone is who they seem. young adult fantasy

Fiction:

-The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah takes place in the 70s and follows a teenage girl Leni as her father decides to movie his family to Alaska in hope of outrunning his ptsd from the Vietnam War, but as the long nights of darkness descend on Alaska, Leni learns that she is on her own. 

-To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey  this is about an expedition to map and explore previously uncharted parts of Alaska by Conel Allen Forester and a group of men. The story also follows his wife, Sophie as she waits in Vancouver.  Ivey does a amazing job describing the Alaskan wilderness and all the strange, unsettling things that happen out there. 

-The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey  is another one set in Alaska, and a retelling of a Russian fairy tale. Follows a couple, Jack and Mabel as they try to survive the Alaskan wilderness. They think they will never have children until one day the snow child Mabel makes out in the snow becomes a real child. Even more great descriptions of the cold darkness of the North and the psychological stress. 

-I am still alive by Kate Alice Marshall This is a crime thriller/ survival story about a teenager who is sent to live with her father in northern Canada.  Her father is attacked and killed and Jess is left to fend for herself. 

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy is set in the near future where climate change has devastated much of the world’s animal population. A desperate woman follows what she believes to be the last migration of Arctic Terns in existence. It’s a bleak as it sounds, but so good. 

Historical Fiction:

-Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys is historical fiction about the Russian work camps that many Eastern European people were sent to. Many of these camps were in Siberia.  This does take place in a Northern icy land, but not for good reasons. Its a harrowing and difficult read, but one that is important to something often forgotten in history.

-We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen This is a sweeping historical fiction novel covering seafaring in Danish history. Only part of the novel takes place in the Arctic, but it is really well done. 

-The Bronze Horseman trilogy by Paullina Simmons A love story set during the siege of Leningrad in ww2. Another story that is difficult and about a very dark time in human history. I’m not quite sure where my feelings stand on this series, but I did enjoy the first one. 

-We, the Drowned by Carsten Jensen This is a sweeping historical fiction novel covering seafaring in Danish history. Only part of the novel takes place in the Arctic, but it is really well done.

-The Kristin Lavrensdatter series by Sigrid Undset  This is a trilogy published in Norway in the early 20th century that follows the life of a noble woman in medieval Norway. it is a bit of a rare gem, but a series that has found a spot among my favorites. 

NonFiction: 

Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez A gorgeous book covering almost every aspect of the arctic Language is a little dated (at least in my edition) but just a result of when it was published (newer editions may be updated) 

TBR:

-The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell a story about a family in Russia that helps re-train wolves so they can survive in the wild. This one has been on my tbr for a long time, and I’m still hoping to read it one day. middle grade

-Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente another Russian fairy tale, about Koschei the Deathless. I’ve heard a lot about his and I hope to read it soon. adult fantasy

-The Word for Woman is Wilderness by Abi Andrews this a memoir about a woman who left her home in Great Britain and headed to Alaska. It seems like something I would enjoy reading, but I have yet to find it anywhere. memoir

-The Wolf in the Whale by Jordanna Max Brodsky is a novel about an Inuit shaman who travels across Canada looking to save her people teams up with a Viking warrior. adult historical fantasy

-Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer this seems like a beauty and the best retelling but with a wolf and a magical library with mirrors. It has ‘north’ in the title, so it seems like it fits the list. young adult fantasy.

-Ice Land by Betsy Tobin is set in Iceland and Freya must travel to find a golden necklace to save her people, but the threat of Christianity impedes her. fantasy

-Alaska by James A. Michener This seems like a multi-generational story set in Alaska from the frontier days up through ww2. historical fiction

-A Land so Wild by Elyssa Warkentin A novel about finding the northwest passage, and lgbt. historical fiction 

[jeanmoreaux]

november wrap up

this month, i came to the realization that i am what you could call a stress-reader... i should be studying for my finals next week, but instead i am lying in my bed, reading and listening to audiobooks. i haven’t had such a productive reading month in a while. it could also be due to the fact that it’s basically winter here which in general is always the best time to get comfy with a book. my physical tbr is still too big (45+ books??!?) and i really hope i can work through some of it in december and january.

as alway, feel free to drop book recs, questions, or opinions in my inbox; i am always happy to talk about books with you!

* –> newly added to my favorites shelf

follow my goodreads | previous wrap ups

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero-O'Connell (Illustrator) | ★★★★★ | review

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie | ★★★★★

Beowulf x, x by Unknown (i read 2 translations, one by Seamus Heaney, which was better poetically speaking but deviated from the original text more noticeably in structure, and one by R.M. Liuzza, which was great, too, but less poetic since it stuck closer to the original text’s structure.) | ★★★☆☆

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas | ★★★☆☆ | review

Less by Andrew Sean Greer | ★★★★★ | review

*Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie | ★★★★★ | review

Avatar: The Last Airbender: North and South by Gene Luen Yang | ★★★☆☆

How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly Bourne | ★★★★★

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor | ★★★1/2☆ | review

Still Me by Jojo Moyes | ★1/2☆☆☆ | review

Everyone Is Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling | ★★★☆☆

*Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid | ★★★★★ | review

Der Hundertjährige, der aus dem Fenster stieg und verschwand by Jonas Jonasson | | ★★★☆☆

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid | ★★★★☆

Reread:

The King’s Men by Nora Sakavic | ★★★★★

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

[chapterchapterbook]

Goodreads Monday #2: Red Clocks

Goodreads Monday is a weekly "challenge" started by Lauren's Page Turners, where you pick a random book off your TBR to highlight books that might get lost in the shuffle.

This week, I'm highlighting Red Clocks by Leni Zumas!

Five women. One question. What is a woman for?

In this ferociously imaginative novel, abortion is once again illegal in America, in-vitro fertilization is banned, and the Personhood Amendment grants rights of life, liberty, and property to every embryo. In a small Oregon fishing town, five very different women navigate these new barriers alongside age-old questions surrounding motherhood, identity, and freedom.

Ro, a single high-school teacher, is trying to have a baby on her own, while also writing a biography of Eivør, a little-known 19th-century female polar explorer. Susan is a frustrated mother of two, trapped in a crumbling marriage. Mattie is the adopted daughter of doting parents and one of Ro's best students, who finds herself pregnant with nowhere to turn. And Gin is the gifted, forest-dwelling homeopath, or "mender," who brings all their fates together when she's arrested and put on trial in a frenzied modern-day witch hunt.

Oof. That's hitting a little close to home with the state of America, right? What do you think? Adding it to your TBR? Already on your TBR?

[bibliobethblog]

Hello everyone and hope you’ve had a lovely weekend. It’s my last #alphaauthorstack day, created by the lovely @puellalegit and here are six authors whose surname begins with Z: Sour Heart - Jenny Zhang The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon Red Clocks - Leni Zumas How Much Of These Hills Is Gold - C Pam Zhang We Are All Birds Of Uganda - Hafsa Zayyan Bridge Of Clay - Marcus Zusak Out of this little stack I’ve read The Shadow Of The Wind and look forward to reading the rest of the series. The rest are on my TBR and I hope to prioritise a few of them quite soon! I’d love to know your thoughts on any of these books or authors. Let’s have a chat in the comments! #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #tbrpile #sourheart #jennyzhang #theshadowofthewind #carlosruizzafon #redclocks #lenizumas #howmuchofthesehillsisgold #cpamzhang #weareallbirdsofuganda #hafsazayyan #bridgeofclay #marcuszusak #bookstagramchallenge #booksineedtoread https://www.instagram.com/p/CTKuxz-gIzJ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[bookpolarreviews]

Library haul 📚 and TBR . The Queens Rising by Rebecca Ross The Girl in 6E by A R Torre The Girls by Emma Cline Defy the Worlds by Claudia Gray Dark Lake by Sarah Bailey Company Town by Madeline Ashby Savage Island by Bryony Pearce Red Clocks by Leni Zumas The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman Ace of Shades by Amanda Foody . .. ... .. . #booknerd #books #lovebooks #booklove #bookcover #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookhaul #bookhoarder #bookpolarreview #bookbuy #newbooks #readingtime #justkeepreading #lovebooks #lovetoread #beautifulbooks #readingtime #beautifulcover #lovetoread #bookhoarder #bookish #bookpolar #bookreview #bookblogger #bookblog #bookreviewer #bookpolar #bookpolarreviews #currentread

[kraken-spines]

#thereadingquest A Knight’s TBR

1. The First Book in a Series - Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu trans. by Ken Liu

2.  A Book with a Verb in its Title - The Djinn Falls in Love edited by Mahvesh Murad and Jared Shurin

3. A Book with a Red Cover - Red Clocks by Leni Zumas 

4. A Book with a Weapon on its Cover - Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson

5. A Book that has a TV/Movie adaptation- The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King

And like in all the video games I play, I’ll probably do a lot of side quests. :) 

Info about #thereadingquest 

10 EXP Level 1

[willreadforbooze]

Hello fellow boozie readers!

Sam’s Update:

It’s Magical Readathon!! Working hard to be a Metal Charmer. It’s also Tome Topple, so I’ve started my Tomes as well =). It was an ok week, that ended with the premiere of GoT so color me happy.

What Sam finished this week:

Defense Against the Dark Arts: Reign the Earth by A. C. Gaughen: This is the story of Shalia, a desert woman who enters into an arranged marriage with a king to save her people. The king is a raging abusive asshole, but she’s trying her best. She’s also figured out that she’s got #forbiddenpowers so. I wanted to like this so much more. Maybe it was the audio narrator but damn that girl sounded so naive. She was also real dumb. The only reason this pushed up a star for me was because of the brilliant consent scene.

Transfiguration: Mirage by Somaiya Daud: I’m about half way through this book. It’s a eastern inspired sci-fi with our main lady Amani, taken from her home to serve as a body double for the crown princess, who is literally the worst. I super enjoyed this. It had the tropes that I wanted, it had good themes, and it had a decent character arc. However, not much actually happened in this book. More a set up for book 2, which i will absolutely be reading.

Divination: Space Opera by Cathrynne M. Valente: This was the book I didn’t know I needed. A hysterical story about the impending annihilation of earth/humanity by blue flamingo aliense unless two has been rock stars, Decibal and Oort, can win a singing competition. I gobbled up this book and my only disappointment was there wasn’t more. I think Linz did a review.

What Sam’s reading now:

It’s O.W.L.s Magical Readathon and Tome Topple bitches!!

History of Magic: Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay: This is the story of a conquered land, including the province of Tigana, who’s name cannot be remembered unless you were born there. (Very Weep from Strange the Dreamer). I’m audio and physically reading this book. Liking it so far, but I’m struggling with keeping names in place. What I liked in A Brightness Long Ago (my first novel by Kay), was he had a character list at the beginning. This could benefit from that. Otherwise, enjoying the hell out of political machinations.

Ginny’s Update:

Sam and I both missed Dewey’s readathon last weekend so we did a mini-readathon for ourselves this Saturday.  I may have been massively hungover (I’m a bit of a baby when it comes to hangovers), but I still managed to fit some books in.  

Currently Reading:

Say Yes To The Marquess by Tessa Dare: I almost returned this earl considering how similar it is to a book I read like a week ago, I’m only a few pages in so not sure I have much to say yet. This is the second in a series, and I have very little memory of the first book and I still haven’t seen the connecting thread but I still have 90% or more to go so that’s fair. Whatshername is engage to marry a dude who then left the country for 8 years. She no longer wants to marry him because that’s kind of a dick decision, but she needs his brother’s help to break the marriage.  And surprise surprise, he’s supes in love with her.  I wonder what will happen (I’m pretty sure the romance kick I’m on will tone down a little at some point – but I really do love walking into a book knowing there’s going to be a little bit of angst before a happily ever after).

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant:  Yeah, I know I finished a bunch of other books this week.  I usually keep up two to three at a time (kindle, phone, and physical)physical books take me the longest to read and I have 9 ebooks from the library (down from 11 on Friday) that I need to get through. I’m not far into this yet but I love the way Mira/Seanan writes these stories.  They build up so beautifully and I can’t wait for the catastrophe.

Completed this week:

An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole: Man, Alyssa Cole is absolutely amazing.  I found myself a little frustrated with the hero, I felt he could be incredibly stupid by not understanding the level of danger he was putting the heroine in just by being interested in her. But this book dealt with a lot of consent issues really well.  Elle, the heroine, was a complete badass with an eidetic memory, and she goes undercover well, pretending to be a mute slave in a Southern plantation.  Malcolm comes and accidentally causes a number of problems. From the beginning their immediately all about each other.  I thought that came on a little bit too quickly, mostly because of societal expectations, but at the same point god they’re so charming.  Elle tries so hard not to like him, but couldn’t help herself. 4/5

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal: This book was a delight. Nikki signs up to teach an English class at the Sikh Temple that she had attended for years. It’s a not-so-pleasant surprise that instead of teaching creative writing, she’s supposed to teach the women how to read and write. It quickly devolves into the widows talking about what would normally be taboo – the fantasies that the widows had been thinking of. I’m hoping I can get a review out of this so I’m not going to say more, but very enjoyable.

The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry: Natalie Cleary is having trouble staying in place, meaning that for whatever reason she has these slips where the world is subtly wrong; there’s a wing on the church that hadn’t existed before, a family friend’s business has suddenly disappeared, and more.  This is another one I’m planning on reviewing mostly because I’m a little bit conflicted and I feel like getting drunk and writing about it will make things more clear, because obviously that’s the way the world works.

Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden’s Syndrome by John Scalzi: This is a quasi-prequel to the Locked In series that John Scalzi has (which Sam, Parker, and I all LOVE). This goes back to the beginning of Haden’s syndrome, and honestly the formatting for this was great, it was done in an interview style which helped tell the story from multiple perspectives. It was still laugh out loud funny (I feel like all of Scalzi’s stories probably fit that, but it should still be mentioned). This helped me understand the full impact that Haden’s syndrome had on the world.  Frankly, it was a little bit terrifying to read at times. Still, it’s a very solid novella-length read.

Burning Midnight by Will McIntosh: The beautiful thing about my tbr is I honestly forget the back-cover summaries of books that have been there for a while and get to go into the book with no expectations. It’s YA where a matched set of spheres gives you a particular extra ability, some small, some  big. Shit goes down and teenagers are saving the world.  Planning on writing a review on this too.

  Minda’s Update:

O.W.Ls Magical Readathon week 3! Completed my Ancient Ruins and Defense Against the Dark Arts exams. Now pivoting to a Tome Topple book that also counts for the Arithmancy exam as well.

What Minda finished this week:

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (Ancient Ruins) – I’m so happy I read this! A great retelling of a conglomerate of fairytales without relying on major tropes. Can’t wait to review! Ancient Ruins ✅

Red Clocks by Leni Zumas (Defense Against the Darks Arts) – This was such a slog. And such a bummer because the premise was killer! But, still finished it. Drunk reviewrant to come. Defense Against the Darks Arts ✅

What Minda is reading this week:

Illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman (Arithmancy) – I was going to read a different book to achieve the OWLs/Tome Topple challenge, but Sam and Ginny recommended this one while we did wine night on Friday. Looking forward to starting!

Linz’s Update:

You guys last week was so brutal. And then I got drunk all weekend. BUT the DragonCon costume lineup is in place and Game of Thrones starts back up tonight!!!

What Linz read:

Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay: I’M DONE. BOOM. Everyone on here’s reading it for book club, so I’m pretty sure someone’s mentioned already what it’s about. It’s pretty damn epic for a standalone, and it was not burdensome to read. Liked, not loved.

Family Trust by Kathy Wang: The patriarch of a Chinese American family finds out he has cancer, and his family finds out he might not be the millionaire he’s always claimed to be. I love a diversity read, and I didn’t not enjoy reading this, but I feel like there’s a lot of books about a dying rich father that explores how people deal with grief and life, and this didn’t excel at it.

Bright Burning Stars by A.K. Small: We were lucky enough to get an advanced copy for the blog tour, so look out for our review May 14! All I will say is if you’re into a darker look at the world of ballet, you’re going to really like this.

What Liz is currently reading:

Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto: This is one of my OWLs readathon picks, It’s kind of complicated – two royal sisters waged a war against each other that, among other things, led to the end of the elite Phoenix Rider fighters. Years later, two sisters are trying to find the underground remnants of the group, There’s also two other storylines with dudes that I CANNOT predict the direction of, and also some magic and also phoenixes. Very into it.

Bowlaway by Elizabeth McCracken: This book dropped, like, last month. A woman mysteriously appears in a New England town, with no memory of who she was and how she got there. Years later, after she dies, a man shows up claiming to be her son and heir to the fortune she built. It’s more lighthearted than creepy or weird, kind of like Big Fish? So far I’m into it.

 Until next time, we remain forever drunkenly yours,

Sam, Melinda, Linz, and Ginny

 Weekly Wrap-up: Apr 8-14, 2019 Hello fellow boozie readers! Sam's Update: It's Magical Readathon!! Working hard to be a Metal Charmer.

[woehaver-blog]

Books books books

thanks to the lovely @valtheimm for tagging me!

What is your favourite book of all time?

it’s hard to say! after i finish a book, i either didn’t like it or i get obsessed with it lol but i can read a game of thrones over and over and find something new and cool in it every time so let’s go with that

What are you currently reading?

this morning i finished the sunlight pilgrims by jenni fagan, which was good, and tonight i’m going to start red clocks by leni zumas. im also reading the bible because it’s a ‘culturally significant text’ or whatever but damn it’s a slog

Have you ever thought about writing a book?

i am always thinking about writing a book lol

What’s your favourite series?

it’s a tie between discworld and a song of ice and fire. i know that makes me basic af but [marge simpson potato dot jpeg]

What is a book you want to read?

well the bible’s a book i want to have read lmfao

What’s in your TBR list?

i’ve got an apocalypse/dystopia pile (the handmaid’s tale, station eleven, end of the world running club, future home of the living god) and a historical fiction pile (name of the rose, pillars of the earth, a skinful of shadows, now is the time) that i need to get through. plus i have some non-fiction on medieval society and perceptions of the world that i want to read soon

Who are your favourite fictional characters?

i would kill a man with my teeth if sansa stark asked me to

What is your favourite ship?

i don’t have any book ships now... when i was close to sansa’s age i used to hardcore ship sansan but now that i am older and wiser. hmm. don’t like that

Open the first page of the book closest to you and write down the first paragraph. 

‘We hanged him in front of Kingsbridge Cathedral. It is the usual place for executions. After all, if you can’t kill a man in front of God’s face you probably shouldn’t kill him at all.’

What’s the first fandom you were in?

not 100% sure but it was probably redwall

Tagging: all my mutuals, but only if you want to

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Books for Women's Day / Month

🦇 Welcome to March, my beloved bookish bats. It's Women's History Month AND Women's Day! To celebrate, here are a few books that highlight powerful, courageous women -- both throughout history and across our favorite fictional realms. These women have contributed to our history, shaping contemporary society with bold, outspoken, badass moves. Let's celebrate and champion these voices by adding more female-focused stories to our TBRs!

❓QOTD Who is your favorite female fictional character AND real-life heroine?

❤️ Fiction ❤️ 💜 The Power - Naomi Alderman 💜 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood 💜 The Vibrant Years - Sonali Dev 💜 Red Clocks - Leni Zumas 💜 Conjure Women - Afia Atakora 💜 City of Girls - Elizabeth Gilbert 💜 A Woman is No Man - Etaf Rum 💜 Of Women and Salt - Gabriela Garcia 💜 Circe - Madeline Miller 💜 Song of a Captive Bird - Jasmin Darznik 💜 The Women - Kristin Hannah 💜 The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois - Honorée Fanonne Jeffers 💜 The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison 💜 Women Talking - Miriam Toews 💜 Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly 💜 The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

💜 Young/New Adult 💜 ❤️ Loveboat Reunion - Abigail Hing Wen ❤️ Realm Breaker - Victoria Aveyard ❤️ Only a Monster - Vanessa Len ❤️ This Woven Kingdom - Tahereh Mafi ❤️ Serpent & Dove - Shelby Mahurin ❤️ I’ll Be The One - Lyla Lee ❤️ Squad - Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrated by Lisa Sterle ❤️ These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong ❤️ The Box in the Woods - Maureen Johnson ❤️ The Wrath & the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh ❤️ You Should See Me in a Crown - Leah Johnson ❤️ A Sky Beyond the Storm - Sabaa Tahir ❤️ Nimona - N.D. Stevenson ❤️ Legendborn - Tracy Deonn ❤️ Blood Scion - Deborah Falaye ❤️ Not Here to Be Liked - Michelle Quach

❤️ Queer ❤️ 💜 Imogen, Obviously - Becky Albertalli 💜 The Fiancée Farce - Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston 💜 The Henna Wars - Adiba Jaigirdar 💜 Girls of Paper and Fire - Natasha Ngan 💜 Delilah Green Doesn't Care - Ashley Herring Blake 💜 A Guide to the Dark - Meriam Metoui 💜 She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan 💜 Written in the Stars- Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir 💜 Gearbreakers - Zoe Hana Mikuta 💜 You Exist Too Much - Zaina Arafat 💜 Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker 💜 The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon 💜 She Gets the Girl - Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick 💜 The Jasmine Throne - Tasha Suri

💜 Non-Fiction 💜 ❤️ The Secret History of Wonder Woman - Jill Lepore ❤️ Girlhood - Melissa Febos ❤️ Our Bodies, Their Battlefields - Christina Lamb ❤️ The Radium Girls - Kate Moore ❤️ Twice As Hard - Jasmine Brown ❤️ Women of Myth - Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy ❤️ Nobody Ever Asked Me About the Girls - Lisa Robinson ❤️ Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship - Kayleen Schaefer ❤️ The Book of Gutsy Women - Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton ❤️ The Underground Girls of Kabul - Jenny Nordberg ❤️ Feminism Is for Everybody - Bell Hooks ❤️ Invisible Women - Caroline Criado Perez ❤️ The Women of NOW - Katherine Turk ❤️ Eve - Cat Bohannon ❤️ We Should All Be Feminists - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ❤️ Bad Feminist - Roxane Gay

❤️ Memoirs ❤️ 💜 Mom & Me & Mom - Maya Angelou 💜 Crazy Brave - Joy Harjo 💜 Reading Lolita in Theran - Azar Nafisi 💜 I'm Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy 💜 Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner 💜 The Soul of a Woman - Isabel Allende 💜 See No Stranger - Valarie Kaur 💜 They Call Me a Lioness - Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri 💜 Becoming - Michelle Obama 💜 Bossypants - Tina Fey 💜 My Own Words - Ruth Bader Ginsburg 💜 I Am Malala Malala Yousafzai 💜 Finding Me - Viola Davis 💜 Return - Ghada Karmi 💜 Good for a Girl - Lauren Fleshman 💜 The Woman in Me - Britney Spears

[pamelacalloway817-blog]

Read Online and Download Red Clocks by Leni Zumas in PDF or Epub (Best Review)

Before I read this book, I had read some reviews which had me wondering if this one would be something I'd like, reviews from people whose opinions I trust. It's True, so the book stayed on my "TBR Someday". TIPS to Read / Download Book: 1. Visit: www.hirobook.club 2. Find your book and read the review. 3. You May Visit book ads link provided. 4. Just create free account, then you�ll receive access to entire library. The book format can easy access on PC, Tablet or Iphone. So, you can read anywhere and anytime. Hope this sharing helpfully. (Visit the site written above and search your book in search menu) ---------------------- Book Overviews: Five women. One question. What is a woman for? In this ferociously imaginative novel, abortion is once again illegal in America, in-vitro fertilization is banned, and the Personhood Amendment grants rights of life, liberty, and property to every embryo. In a small Oregon fishing town, five very different women navigate these new barriers alongside age-old questions surrounding motherhood, identity, and freedom. Ro, a single high-school teacher, is trying to have a baby on her own, while also writing a biography of Eivør, a little-known 19th-century female polar explorer. Susan is a frustrated mother of two, trapped in a crumbling marriage. Mattie is the adopted daughter of doting parents and one of Ro's best students, who finds herself pregnant with nowhere to turn. And Gin is the gifted, forest-dwelling homeopath, or "mender," who brings all their fates together when she's arrested and put on trial in a frenzied modern-day witch hunt. . ======================================================================= B.O.O.K Red Clocks by Leni Zumas Ebook. Ebook Red Clocks by Leni Zumas Kindle. BEST! Red Clocks by Leni Zumas Rar. Best Red Clocks by Leni Zumas Zip. !BEST Red Clocks by Leni Zumas Mobi Online. Best! Red Clocks by Leni Zumas Audiobook Online. D.o.w.n.l.o.a.d Red Clocks by Leni Zumas Review Online. Best Red Clocks by Leni Zumas Read Online. B.e.s.t Red Clocks by Leni Zumas Download Online.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

Books for Women's Day / Month

[ List below. ]

🦇 Welcome to March, my beloved bookish bats. It's Women's History Month AND Women's Day! To celebrate, here are a few books that highlight powerful, courageous women -- both throughout history and across our favorite fictional realms. These women have contributed to our history, shaping contemporary society with bold, outspoken, badass moves. Let's celebrate and champion these voices by adding more female-focused stories to our TBRs!

❓QOTD Who is your favorite female fictional character AND real-life heroine?

❤️ Fiction ❤️ 💜 The Power - Naomi Alderman 💜 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood 💜 The Vibrant Years - Sonali Dev 💜 Red Clocks - Leni Zumas 💜 Conjure Women - Afia Atakora 💜 City of Girls - Elizabeth Gilbert 💜 A Woman is No Man - Etaf Rum 💜 Of Women and Salt - Gabriela Garcia 💜 Circe - Madeline Miller 💜 Song of a Captive Bird - Jasmin Darznik 💜 The Women - Kristin Hannah 💜 The Love Songs of W.E.B. Dubois - Honorée Fanonne Jeffers 💜 The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison 💜 Women Talking - Miriam Toews 💜 Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly 💜 The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

💜 Young/New Adult 💜 ❤️ Loveboat Reunion - Abigail Hing Wen ❤️ Realm Breaker - Victoria Aveyard ❤️ Only a Monster - Vanessa Len ❤️ This Woven Kingdom - Tahereh Mafi ❤️ Serpent & Dove - Shelby Mahurin ❤️ I’ll Be The One - Lyla Lee ❤️ Squad - Maggie Tokuda-Hall and illustrated by Lisa Sterle ❤️ These Violent Delights - Chloe Gong ❤️ The Box in the Woods - Maureen Johnson ❤️ The Wrath & the Dawn - Renee Ahdieh ❤️ You Should See Me in a Crown - Leah Johnson ❤️ A Sky Beyond the Storm - Sabaa Tahir ❤️ Nimona - N.D. Stevenson ❤️ Legendborn - Tracy Deonn ❤️ Blood Scion - Deborah Falaye ❤️ Not Here to Be Liked - Michelle Quach

❤️ Queer ❤️ 💜 Imogen, Obviously - Becky Albertalli 💜 The Fiancée Farce - Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 One Last Stop - Casey McQuiston 💜 The Henna Wars - Adiba Jaigirdar 💜 Girls of Paper and Fire - Natasha Ngan 💜 Delilah Green Doesn't Care - Ashley Herring Blake 💜 A Guide to the Dark - Meriam Metoui 💜 She Who Became the Sun - Shelley Parker-Chan 💜 Written in the Stars- Alexandria Bellefleur 💜 Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir 💜 Gearbreakers - Zoe Hana Mikuta 💜 You Exist Too Much - Zaina Arafat 💜 Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker 💜 The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon 💜 She Gets the Girl - Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick 💜 The Jasmine Throne - Tasha Suri

💜 Non-Fiction 💜 ❤️ The Secret History of Wonder Woman - Jill Lepore ❤️ Girlhood - Melissa Febos ❤️ Our Bodies, Their Battlefields - Christina Lamb ❤️ The Radium Girls - Kate Moore ❤️ Twice As Hard - Jasmine Brown ❤️ Women of Myth - Jenny Williamson and Genn McMenemy ❤️ Nobody Ever Asked Me About the Girls - Lisa Robinson ❤️ Text Me When You Get Home: The Evolution and Triumph of Modern Female Friendship - Kayleen Schaefer ❤️ The Book of Gutsy Women - Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton ❤️ The Underground Girls of Kabul - Jenny Nordberg ❤️ Feminism Is for Everybody - Bell Hooks ❤️ Invisible Women - Caroline Criado Perez ❤️ The Women of NOW - Katherine Turk ❤️ Eve - Cat Bohannon ❤️ We Should All Be Feminists - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ❤️ Bad Feminist - Roxane Gay

❤️ Memoirs ❤️ 💜 Mom & Me & Mom - Maya Angelou 💜 Crazy Brave - Joy Harjo 💜 Reading Lolita in Theran - Azar Nafisi 💜 I'm Glad My Mom Died - Jennette McCurdy 💜 Crying in H Mart - Michelle Zauner 💜 The Soul of a Woman - Isabel Allende 💜 See No Stranger - Valarie Kaur 💜 They Call Me a Lioness - Ahed Tamimi and Dena Takruri 💜 Becoming - Michelle Obama 💜 Bossypants - Tina Fey 💜 My Own Words - Ruth Bader Ginsburg 💜 I Am Malala Malala Yousafzai 💜 Finding Me - Viola Davis 💜 Return - Ghada Karmi 💜 Good for a Girl - Lauren Fleshman 💜 The Woman in Me - Britney Spears