Title: Nobody’s Business Author: Jhumpa Lahiri In: Unaccustomed Earth (Jhumpa Lahiri) Rating Out of 5: 4.5 (Amazing, but not quite perfect) My Bookshelves:Contemporary, Relationships Dates read: 15th October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Bloomsbury Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: The one you took the message from when I was away.
Paul has had a crush on Sang for years. But she’s always had a boyfriend. Yet, when he finds out the truth about Freddy, things quickly come unravelled and he realises that it miight just be his business.
My partner always says our relationship is nobody’s
business. Which I completely agree with. Except. Except for things like this
story, when Sang’s relationship very quickly did become Paul’s business. After
all, he was in a no win situation where he kind of did need to say something.
Or at least, that’s how I felt. His own emotions did kind of get in the way,
but he was still placed in a position where he needed to deal with “nobody’s
business”.
There is nothing worse than being put in a position where you just don’t quite feel right about your friends’ other half. I’ve had it happen a few times, and the gut wrenching feeling every time you are both together and see how they’re being treated… it’s absolutely freaking horrible. Lahiri was able to describe this perfectly. Although the backstory might have been completely different to what I’ve experienced, that feeling of horror is still there.
I found this short story a little bittersweet and tragic. Which I’m kind of learning to expect from Lahiri. There is something so much more realistic about not having a happily ever after ending. After all, there isn’t a ride off into the sunset, live happily ever after for anyone in real life. Even if we do get that one moment, there are all of those enjoyable, messy, ridiculous moments afterwards…
Title: The Bricks of Gelecek Author: Matthew Kressel In: Naked City (Ellen Datlow) Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this) My Bookshelves:Music, Urban fantasy Dates read: 15th October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: St. Martin’s Press Year: 2011 5th sentence, 74th page: But you have.
He is an annihilator. One who destroys cities, and then doesn’t remember them. Until he meets a young girl with a gift for songs… and he realises that maybe he shouldn’t forget what he’s destroyed.
Many mythologies have a creature of destruction woven into
their stories somewhere… but I’ve never read a short story in which one such
creature felt regret. Of any kind. Which made this incredibly enjoyable. I love
when a story takes a slightly different spin. Instead of being the antagonist,
the brother of destruction was simply doing what he’d been born to do. Until he
found a conscience…
The power of music is something that has always fascinated
me. And filled my life with happiness. Which meant that the use of music to
bring a conscience to an annihilator hit a great chord with me. After all,
music is often about memories. And love. All of which are eventually realised,
and the course of one beings life changed for ever.
Cities come and go. That’s a part of history, and it’s not
entirely ridiculous. Yet, this story really helps to drive home that when your
city disappears, eventually no one will remember it… ever. It’s a little bit
sad, a little bit nostalgic. But mostly, it’s a great reality check and
reminder of reality.
A routine job turns into something a little more sinister. Especially when the end of the journey results in everyone dead and grudges being held.
It took me a little bit longer than I would like to admit to
realise that the lead in this wasn’t alive. That he was dead. And that was why
he got hit with a shovel (and other implements) multiple times and didn’t die. It
finally started to make a little more sense… but in the best, most beautiful
way possible. Because I really like stories about people who are weirdly undead
rolling around the world.
This is one of those short stories that really didn’t end
the way that I expected it to. Everyone is dead. There is no happily ever
after, although there is a sense of finding oneself at the very ending.
Or maybe refinding oneself is the better way to put it… since the narrator
eventually realises what his original calling in life was and decides to return
to it.
This short story has added yet another series to my
wishlist. If this is the tale of one of the “enemies” in the story, then the
heroes are going to be fantastically beautiful. There is something alluring about
this story and the idea of hellhounds… they’re certainly a paranormal beast
that I haven’t read much about…
Title: With Friends Like These Author: Dawn Cook In: The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2 (Trisha Telep) Rating Out of 5: 3.5 (Liked this) My Bookshelves:Urban fantasy, Vampires Dates read: 15th October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Short story Publisher: Robinson Year: 2009 5th sentence, 74th page: “You can’t kill me,” he said, boots scuffing.
His roommate has a way with women. And people in general. But, even if he’s a little bit jealous… he loves their nightly run. That is, until he finds out the truth about Jim…
Alright, so the friend in this kind of sucks. He uses his
room mate to find his way back into the vampire hierarchy. He kind of drugs
him. And then he almost gets him killed. Oh, and he’s a douche nugget to women.
Like I said, a really bad friend… but what can you expect, he’s a
vampire.
My biggest issue with this story though is the fact that
they like to run late at night. I don’t like running. I would never run
in a city… and doing so late at night? That just seems ridiculously
unrealistic. Like stupidly, unbelievably unrealistic. Who the heck runs late at
night in a city in a dangerous part of town? Oh, right, a vampire and his pet
friend…
This was a really well written story, one that I thoroughly
enjoyed. But it did kind of leave a sour taste in my mouth… after all, he stuck
with the insane vampire even after her realised how much manipulation had
occurred. And the nasty vampire man also treated women like trash… I know that
I definitely don’t need (or want) friends like these…
Title: A Veiled Deception Author: Annette Blair Series: A Vintage Magic Mystery #1 Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Chic lit, Cozy mystery, Mystery Dates read: 8th September – 15th October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Year: 2008 5th sentence, 74th page: “Bummer,” I said, and she smiled.
With years of experience working for a top New York designer, Madeira Cutler has learned to appreciate the clean line, rich texture, and elegant draping of a finely crafted garment. It’s not until Maddie goes home to Mystick Falls, Connecticut, for her sister’s wedding, however, that she discovers her understanding of fashion goes much deeper…
Before the accessory shopping and fittings can begin, the festivities hit a snag when Maddie finds her sister’s nemesis strangled with the bride-to-be’s veil. In between opening her own vintage clothhing shop and keeping the wedding on track, Maddie’s determined to perform her own investigation to clear her family’s name. She soon finds that her best witness may be an antique wedding dress that magically unveils to her the secrets of those who have worn it. But if the gown doesn’t talk fast enough, the lives of everyone Maddie loves will surely fall apart at the seams.
This is my first ever “cozy mystery” book and I truly had no idea what to expect. After all, what in the heck even is a cozy mystery? And how does this fit into my normal taste in books? I mostly just bought A Veiled Deception because I loved the other books I read by Annette Blair. Turns out that cozy mysteries are something that I really enjoy, and now I can’t wait to explore the genre even further!
There is nothing like the bond of sisters. We drive each
other nuts, bully each other, make each other mad. And, at the end of the day, love
each other ridiculously. And would do literally anything for each other. Madi
just decides that she’s going to solve a murder to help show her love. Luckily,
she eventually does, and there’s a happily ever after moment, but there’s a few
touch and go moments as you try to figure out who the actual culprit is.
I’m really not interested in fashion. Or makeup. Or really
anything even remotely in that field, so the quotes at the beginning of each
chapter, and some of the intricacies of the story didn’t really pull me in. Yet,
I loved this insight into an entirely new world. I’ve never read a book which explores
this aspect of life which is often glorified on TV. There is something fun and unique
about it. Add that to the fact that it is a vintage wedding dress and a psychic
gift that help to finally solve the murder… completely priceless.
This is one of those incredibly, wonderfully easy reads that I like to have in my reading list. They’re a great late night adventure that doesn’t take on too much emotional and mental impact. But it’s not overly simplistic – there is just a tangible innocence and love to the storyline that Blair is able to uniquely bring to life. And now I can’t wait to sink my literary teeth into the next book in the series, Larceny and Lace.
Title: The Last Black Unicorn Author: Tiffany Haddish Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Comedy, Memoirs, Race Dates read: 7th – 13th October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Gallery Books Year: 2017 5th sentence, 74th page: So we started being serious and being together all the time.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“An inspiring story that manages to be painful, honest, shocking, bawdy and hilarious.” —The New York Times Book Review
From stand-up comedian, actress, and breakout star of Girls Trip, Tiffany Haddish, comes The Last Black Unicorn, a sidesplitting, hysterical, edgy, and unflinching collection of (extremely) personal essays, as fearless as the author herself.
Growing up in one of the poorest neighborhoods of South Central Los Angeles, Tiffany learned to survive by making people laugh. If she could do that, then her classmates would let her copy their homework, the other foster kids she lived with wouldn’t beat her up, and she might even get a boyfriend. Or at least she could make enough money—as the paid school mascot and in-demand Bar Mitzvah hype woman—to get her hair and nails done, so then she might get a boyfriend.
None of that worked (and she’s still single), but it allowed Tiffany to imagine a place for herself where she could do something she loved for a living: comedy.
Tiffany can’t avoid being funny—it’s just who she is, whether she’s plotting shocking, jaw-dropping revenge on an ex-boyfriend or learning how to handle her newfound fame despite still having a broke person’s mind-set. Finally poised to become a household name, she recounts with heart and humor how she came from nothing and nowhere to achieve her dreams by owning, sharing, and using her pain to heal others.
By turns hilarious, filthy, and brutally honest, The Last Black Unicorn shows the world who Tiffany Haddish really is—humble, grateful, down-to-earth, and funny as hell. And now, she’s ready to inspire others through the power of laughter.
This might be the funniest, most ridiculous, and yet serious
book I have read all year. Or maybe ever. It was intense, intriguing and made
me have a whole new appreciation for some of the horrors that other people, and
in particular, women are forced to endure. But there was also so much humour
and hope, that it was incredibly difficult to get bogged down in the tales
that, if anyone else wrote about them, would fill make me cry in the most
horrible way ever.
To start with, this novel is just downright funny. The first two chapters allude to some of the more difficult aspects of Haddish’slife, but mostly they’re just really funny. High school days in which a smart arse found a way to fit in, mostly by pursuing a boy that really didn’t have much interest in her. But then it gets a little, alright, a lot more serious. She talks about abuse, death and the many, many bad situations that she found herself in throughout her life. But, it’s still tempered with humour. So that when I was telling my partner about this amazing book I was reading, he just stared at me in abject horror, wondering what the hell kind of book I’d found this time…
I didn’t realise until the last few chapters that Tiffany Haddish was the woman in Girls Trip. But when I did, I not only rushed to finish the book, but I also grabbed out my remote, flicked Netflix on and settled in for a great movie. Somehow, her role and character in this movie had way more meaning because I understood a little more of the very real shit she’d been through. Like The Last Black Unicorn, Girls Trip touched on some serious issues but with so much humour that it wasn’t until afterwards that you realised it wasn’t all just a good lark. Actually, writing this review, I’ve decided that I need to watch that movie again…
The Last Black Unicorn details a life that is full of hurdles and difficulties. But they’re not told with a sense of loss or woe. Rather, Haddish tells her tales with a great dose of humour, a dark sense of humour that I absolutely adored. It was a great reminder that you can overcome almost anything, if you can find a way to move on and not be bitter (alright, not always that simple, but Haddish gives me so much hope). I am now madly in love with this woman. This is just an amazing read for everyone. No matter what your literary tastes…
Annie has always been told by her gifted grandmother that she has a bright future ahead of her. What she doesn’t know is that the brightness comes from phosphorus and will lead to a dark end…
I’ve recently read The Radium Girls, which gave me a whole new appreciation for what some women went through in the work force in the twenties. And, this story is about phosphorus, not radium. It takes place a long, long time before the occurrences in Radium Girls, but much of the storyline and themes echo. Which is probably why I loved it so much from the very beginning.
This is a very bittersweet and tragic tale. Annie seems to
have so much promise and a beautiful life before her. Yet, it is cut short by
the greed of others. Although she tries to stay around to watch their comeuppance,
but she still meets a kind of horrible end. One that I wouldn’t wish on my
worst enemy.
Historical fictions and tales which are based on the truths
of history have seriously begun to become a bit of an obsession with me.
Particularly ones which are based on the battles of women and the working
class. This short story perfectly fits that niche and makes me wonder what else
Schanoes has written that I can get my hands on…
Title: IT Author: Stephen King Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again) My Bookshelves:Horror, Thriller Dates read: 22nd June – 11th October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Novel Publisher: Hodder Year: 1986 5th sentence, 74th page: The door had opened at quarter past nine and in he had ambled, wearing jeans and a GO ‘BAMA tee-shirt and his old engineer boots, looking like he’d come from no farther away than cross-town.
It is the children who see – and feel – what makes the small townh of Derry so horribly different. In the storm drains, in the sewers, IT lurks, taking on the shape of every nightmare, each one’s deepest dread. Sometimes IT reaches up, seizing, tearing, killing…
Time passes and the children grow up, move away and forget. Until they are called back, once more to confront IT as it stirs and coils in the sullen depths of their memories, reaching up again to make their past nightmares a terrible present reality.
This is my first ever Stephen King. It’s also my first ever full-length horror novel. I was kind of scared to start it – horror is not a literary genre I’ve really spent much time with… but man am I glad that I did! Totally understand why so many people love Stephen King, and now I want to fill my shelves with his terrifying tales too…
When I started reading this book, I was really wigged out by the fact that King dedicated his book to his children. After finishing it? I’m even more creeped out. This is a book about a gruesome apparition of the night killing children… and he dedicated it to his children. Dude. Not cool. But the story also highlights the importance of children and their imagination as our future… so maybe it makes sense?
IT wasn’t as terrifying as I was expecting. Don’t get
me wrong, I couldn’t read it late at night, or when I was going to spend the
night alone… but it just wasn’t quite as horrifyingly terrifying as I expected.
I could actually sleep each night after reading it, and I really wasn’t
expecting that. Instead of making me jump at too many shadows, I felt uncomfortable
about the state of the world and what people are willing to do to one another. Particularly
Beverly’s story… after all, she’s the only woman and so much of what she goes
through is what I, myself am terrified of. Each of the seven in fact go through
horrors that are human induced. It’s not so much the creature of IT that terrifies…
but the things he manages to convince other humans to do to one another…
I loved how the timeline for this tale flickers. Jumping between their childhood (the 50s) and adulthood (80s) two different stories that are eerily familiar echo one another. I loved the parallel storylines and the mystery of just what happened underground. Instead of giving anything away, you have to read to the end to find out how both storylines end. It’s almost impossible to put down, even if it is over 1,000 pages! Definitely a great introduction to the writings and insane inner workings of Stephen King.
Title: The Dreaming Wind Author: Jeffrey Ford In: The Coyote Road (Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling) Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Easy reading, Tricksters Dates read: 11th October 2019 Pace: Medium Format: Short story Publisher: Firebird Fantasy Year: 2007 5th sentence, 74th page: In the southern corner, rows of folding chairs had been set up facing a slightly raised, makeshift stage that was formed from the wooden pallets where the town’s brickmakers stacked their wares.
Every year the dreaming wind blows through town and wreaks havoc. Yet, when they finally stop blowing, the people realise that there’s just not much to live for without the dreaming.
I liked the way that this story used dreams and insanity to
construct a story full of tricksters and change. Mostly, I love the imagery of
change being bought by the wind. After all, trickster stories are about change
and balance, the wind is often something that brings new things into our lives…
all weaved together in a beautiful, stunning tapestry.
Although I loved the idea of the “dreaming wind”, I found
the cause of it even sweeter. Taking the essence of an old fairy tale, and
turning her magical enchantment into the reason for all the weird happenings in
the town was incredibly clever. I liked that there was just a hint of another
story woven into the tale, enough to make you feel intrigued, but not an
outright secondary tale.
The Dreaming Wind is a fun, quaint and entertaining short story. It’s a great reminder that imagination and dreams are so incredibly important. And something that is impossible to live without.
Title: African Myths & Tales Author: Flame Tree Studios Series: Flame Tree Studios Rating Out of 5: 4 (Really good read!) My Bookshelves:Easy reading, Mythology Dates read: 3rd June – 10th October 2019 Pace: Slow Format: Anthology Publisher: Flame Tree Studios Year: 2019 5th sentence, 74th page: So Mohammed came out from the bathroom and took the leg and hung it up at the top of the house, and went back to wash.
Africa south of the Sahara is a land of wide-ranging traditions and varying cultures. Despite the diversity and the lack of early written records, the continent possesses a rich body of folk tales and legends that have been passed down through the strong custom of storytelling and which often share similar elements, characters and ideas between peoples. So this collection offers a hefty selection of legends and tales – stories of the gods, creation and origins, trickster exploits, animal fables and stories which entertain and edify – from ‘Obatala Creates Mankind’, from the Yoruba people of west Africa, to ‘The Girl Of The Early Race, Who Made Stars’, from the San people of southern Africa, all collected in a gorgeous gold-foiled and embossed hardback to treasure.
I’ve never had the pleasure of reading a collection of
African mythos before. And now I’m kind of wondering why it took me so long
with my obsessions… after all, I love Africa and I love mythologies. And now
I’m kind of disappointed that it’s all over… but I’m sure I can find more to
add to my shelves.
I honestly bought this book because the cover is pretty. I
wasn’t expecting such a fantastic breakdown of African myths and legends to
fill the pages. Some of the stories felt like they were slightly awkward in
their breakdown, but the general gist was still there and it was still
seriously enjoyable. Generally, the stories which lacked a certain level of flow
were incredibly short and segued into the next tale perfectly.
African Myths and Tales is a very easy read. It’s one of those books that you don’t need to read in order, but tend to get a little more out of it if you do. The myths are broken into their themes, but they don’t flow onwards from one another. Definitely a collection that I’m going to pick up again and again… learning something new each and every time.
Earth and Skye 