December 24 2020

The strange library, by Haruki Murakami

Murakami

The strange library, by Haruki Murakami

Title: The strange library
Author: Haruki Murakami
Genre/ issues: Fantasy.

Shop local where you can: For Australian readers, you can find this book on Booktopia, or support your local independent bookstore. US readers, check out Bookshop.org.

There are a few sure-fire ways to get me to buy and/or read your book. One of them is to make it set in, or about, a weird library. I cannot resist.
Murakami’s The Strange Library certainly fits that bill, with lovely and creepy library ephemera scattered throughout the pages. This illustrated tale tells the story of a boy who wants to return his books and borrow a volume about tax collection in the Ottoman Empire, but instead finds himself in a cell reading restricted collection volumes to fatten up his brain for his eventual demise at the hands of a creepy librarian who wants to feast on him. A sheep man, a girl who can’t speak and might not actually be a girl at all, and a maze of corridors … will he escape? What does it all mean?
This book has Twin Peaks, Gaiman, Burton, and Orwellian undertones. It’s my first Murakami and it won’t be my last! And with that, I’m at 100 books for the year, after readjusting my goal from 52 when it became obvious I was going to smash through that in July. It’s been a good reading year. I’m not relishing putting together my “best books” list for 2020, but that’s a Future Tamara problem.

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 100/100

Happy reading,

Tamara

 

 

Category: Book chat, Serious Adulty Books, YA Books | LEAVE A COMMENT
December 6 2020

The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig

audio

The midnight library, by Matt Haig

Title: The midnight library
Author: Matt Haig
Genre/ issues: Fantasy. Finding your purpose.

Shop local where you can: For Australian readers, you can find this book on Booktopia, or support your local independent bookstore. US readers, check out Bookshop.org.

When a book has a chapter heading “God and other librarians”, I can’t help but feel it’s been written specifically for me. And in Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library, that’s kind of the point. But first, trigger warnings: suicidal ideation/ action. Depression, anxiety, drug & alcohol abuse/ addiction.
Nora is deeply unsatisfied with her life & is filled with regrets – alone, no meaningful relationships, she lost her job and her cat died. She decides she doesn’t want to see tomorrow, and does something about it.
She finds herself in the Midnight Library – existing only in the moment between life and death, as time doesn’t shift past 0:00:00, and curated by her school librarian, the Midnight Library is an inexhaustible collection of possible future lives for Nora, if only one thing had been different. Each potential alternative lives on the shelves in books with covers of varying thicknesses and in varying shades of green.
This novel deals with some complex topics, delving into theories of philosophy which was appropriately Nora’s major at university, as well as deep scientific concepts such as the multiverse and string theory. Despite this, it’s fairly easy to follow, with a linear narrative that carries you through Nora’s explorations of her possible lives if only she’d done something different – she ponders at one point, “Are there any other lives at all, or is it just the furnishings that change?”
There are moments of desperate sadness in this book, and whilst I found the beginning stronger than the end, it was compelling enough that I started listening to the audiobook yesterday morning when mowing the lawn, and laid in bed finishing it last night, reaching the final few words, appropriately, just as the clock hit midnight.
What would your book of regrets contain? I know mine contains a lot of things that I wish I could undo – mostly because of their impact on others than on me. But I hope that, most days, I’m more ok than not with the current volume of my life, depression and anxiety and regrets and all. Whilst I love the concept of The Midnight Library, I’m ok with not visiting it – although I do know without question who the librarian would be.

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 94/100

Happy reading,

Tamara

 

 

Category: Audiobooks, Book chat, Serious Adulty Books | LEAVE A COMMENT
November 28 2020

Gaiman graphics love

Gaiman graphics

Likely Stories and Snow, Glass, Apples, by Neil Gaiman

Title: Snow, Glass, Apples
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Colleen Doran

Title: Likely Stories
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Mark Buckingham

Genre/ issues: Horror. Illustrated stories. Fairytale retelling. Urban horror.

Shop local where you can: For Australian readers, you can find this book on Booktopia, or support your local independent bookstore. US readers, check out Bookshop.org.

I have a secret to tell you. Are you ready? It’s going to be earth-shattering to you all.
*deep breath*
I love @neilhimself.
There, I said it.
It’s Sunday, I’ve just had a Covid test so I’m isolating until I get the results (something new and different for me!) so instead of working on my NaNoWriMo project, I’m working my way some comics and graphics that I’ve collected but not yet gotten around to reading. Holy crapballs, these two are stunning!
Not for children nor the faint of heart, Snow, Glass, Apples is a retelling of the Snow White story completely unlike the Disney fairytale you’re used to. It’s not like any version, really. A chilling reimagining of a familiar tale, with the most breathtaking illustrations by Colleen Doran. I’m feeling a little off-kilter after finishing it, and I guess that’s the point. If you’ve not seen this masterpiece, I’d highly recommend it. Warning – very adult. This is not for the children obsessed with fairytales in your life. It depicts (spoilers ahead – skip to next paragraph if you don’t want to know!) sex, vampirism including a child vampire sucking blood from her father’s nether regions, slaughter and a being burned alive. I told you, chilling. But utterly beautiful and compelling.
Likely Stories  is an anthology of 4 creepy stories, artfully illustrated in traditional comic strip panel style by Mark Buckingham. I’d seen an animated version of Feeders and Eaters once, and had heard Closing Time as an audio story, but the other 2 were new to me. Disturbing and leaving you a bit on edge in that signature Gaiman style, this is a wonderful collection – as long as you’re ok with that lingering wondering following you around for days after you finish reading. I think I need to find something a bit more uplifting to finish off my weekend!

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 90-91/100

Happy reading,

Tamara

 

 

Category: Book chat, Graphic Novels, Serious Adulty Books | LEAVE A COMMENT
November 27 2020

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by VE Schwab

Addie LaRue

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by VE Schwab

Title: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Author: VE Schwab
Genre/ issues: Magic realism. Fantasy. Historical fiction. How we leave a mark. Relationships.

Shop local where you can: For Australian readers, you can find this book on Booktopia, or support your local independent bookstore. US readers, check out Bookshop.org.

I’ve been sitting outside finishing this masterpiece of a book, as the sun has moved around the yard casting shadows and light in varying patterns across the grass and trees. I wish I’d written this book, so much that it almost hurts.
Addie is desperate to escape a life being forced upon her, and makes a deal in the dark – she is granted the freedom to live forever, but destined to be forgotten when she passes from sight. For almost 3 centuries she leaves no mark on anyone’s memories – but then one day, she returns to a book store. And Henry remembers her.
Across continents and centuries, this book explores what it means to be loved, to be seen, and to be significant. I know I’ve said many times this year that the book I’m reviewing is one of the best I’ve ever read. Saying it about this one doesn’t make the others any less true. Exquisite, magical, wonderful. Thank you for Addie and Henry, Victoria. I will remember them and love them with clear eyes for many years to come.

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 79/100

Happy reading,

Tamara

 

 

Category: Book chat, Serious Adulty Books | LEAVE A COMMENT
November 15 2020

Sandman: Dream Country, by Neil Gaiman

Sandman

Sandman: Dream Country, by Neil Gaiman

Title: Sandman: Dream Country
Author: Neil Gaiman
Genre/ issues: Magic realism. Fantasy. Historical fiction. How we leave a mark. Relationships.

Shop local where you can: For Australian readers, you can find this book on Booktopia, or support your local independent bookstore. US readers, check out Bookshop.org.

I finally finished listening to the Sandman audiobook today, featuring the editions that make up the Dream Country TP (#17-20). These chapters are some of my favourites – Calliope, the cat who wants to change the world with dreams, and Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s an extraordinary audio production of an incredible comic series. I can’t wait for the the rest of the books to make their way to audio format.

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 78/100

Happy reading,

Tamara

 

 

Category: Audiobooks, Book chat, Graphic Novels, Serious Adulty Books | LEAVE A COMMENT
October 26 2020

Cassandra Speaks, by Elizabeth Lesser

Cassandra speaks

Cassandra speaks, by Elizabeth Lesser

Title: Cassandra speaks: When women are the storytellers, the human story changes
Author: Elizabeth Lesser
Genre/ issues: Non-fiction. Gender. Women’s role in storytelling and history.

I grabbed this audiobook after this book was announced as the first pick for book club running along with the Amanda Palmer podcast. Cassandra Speaks looks at the history of storytelling by and about women – the narratives that are shaped by history, and how they impact how women see themselves in their own and other people’s stories. I’ve been listening to it on and off over the past couple of weeks, and today’s final chapters dealt, appropriately, with imposter syndrome.
I enjoyed what I remember of this book, but I’m coming to realise that when I’m listening to non-fiction I tend to disconnect sometimes in ways that I don’t do when listening to fiction audiobooks. I don’t think my review of this book does it justice – if you’re interested in feminism, the role of women in shaping the narrative of history, and how women and re-evaluate and revalue their own position in the story of life, this might be a good read for you.

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 74/100

Happy reading,

Tamara

 

 

Category: Audiobooks, Book chat, Non fiction, Serious Adulty Books | LEAVE A COMMENT
October 17 2020

Diamonds by Armin Greder

Diamonds

Diamonds, by Armin Greder

Title: Diamonds
Author: Armin Greder
Genre/ issues: Picture book. Consumerism. Diamond trade. Inequality. Corruption.

Shop local where you can: For Australian readers, you can find this book on Booktopia. or support your local independent bookstore. US readers, check out Bookshop.org.

I read 6 picture books last night, so be prepared to be bombarded with reviews. Diamonds by Armin Greder is as complex and thought-provoking as you’d expect a Greder book to be. A child asks their mother where her diamonds come from, and after a detailed explanation of the buying and gifting process, the mother eventually mentions that they’re mined in Africa. “Where Amina comes from”? the child questions – and what follows is a nightmarish depiction of the process of diamond consumption from the ground to the consumer, with the corruption and exploitation of the industry illustrated in signature Greder style.

The majority of the story is wordless – a few pages of text at the beginning and end provide a frame for this powerful parable of the deeper impacts of greed and consumption. It’s hard to describe this book as enjoyable, but it’s certainly powerful and important. Greder’s work is always one of the ones I mention when people say that picture books are for kids!

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 66/100

Happy reading,

Tamara

 

 

Category: Book chat, Picture books, Serious Adulty Books | LEAVE A COMMENT
September 28 2020

Anxious People, by Fredrik Backman

Anxious people

Anxious people by Fredrik Backman

Title: Anxious People
Author: Fredrik Backman
Genre/ issues: Adult contemporary fiction. Mental health. Relationships. Family.

Shop local where you can: For Australian readers, search Indies to locate your closest independent bookstore, or find it on Booktopia. US readers, check out Bookshop.org.

“It ‘s such an odd thing, how you can know someone so perfectly through what they read.”
I’ve learned that when people whose bookish opinions you respect from different facets of your life recommend the same book to you within hours of each other, you listen. And boy, am I glad I listened when both some from my real life and my TikTok circles reviewed this book and sung its praises. I’ve been listening to the audiobook over the past few days, and I can’t remember the last time I felt so -seen- by a book.
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman is beautifully sweet and sensitive comedy about a bank robbery that wasn’t, a hostage situation that isn’t, and a group of people who are brought together by life, death, and circumstances beyond their control.
This book is magnificent. It’s my first by Backman, and it won’t be my last. Powerful, affirming, and poetically passionate, which is no mean feat for a novel in translation.
“We need to be allowed to convince ourselves that we’re more than the mistakes we made yesterday. That we are all of our next choices, too. All of our tomorrows.” Beautiful, and what I needed to read right now.

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 62/100

Happy reading,

Tamara

 

 

Category: Audiobooks, Book chat, Serious Adulty Books | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 25 2020

The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin

Fifth Season

The Fifth Season, by NK Jemisin

Title: The Fifth Season
Author: NK Jemisin
Genre/ issues: Fantasy. Science fantasy. Dystopia.

Shop local where you can: For Australian readers, search Indies to locate your closest independent bookstore, or find it on Booktopia. US readers, check out Bookshop.org.

 

Well. This book has taken me 2 weeks to read – not because I’ve been a reading slump, or have found it lacking in engagement, but because it’s so deeply complex and intricate that to rush it felt like paying a disservice to the incredible word that NK Jemisin has created.

This book is unlike anything I’ve read. A science fantasy in a completely original style – no comparisons to Tolkien here, a stunning diversity of race but described in its own unique way with descriptions that take some time to get your head around because they don’t rely on comparisons to any racial features or characteristics that we’re used to. Diversity, too, in the depiction of sexual and emotional relationships. The world ends, and this book carries you through one such ending, as we are introduced to “roggas”, a derogatory term for erogenes, who have the genetic ability to literally control the earth, but are feared and often reviled for their difference even though their skill is essential in maintaining and protecting life and civilisations.

This is the first book in the Broken Earth series, and both book 1 and 2 won Hugo awards. I’m not surprised, quite frankly. Jacob had already read this, and I bought him the box set for his birthday, but then cheekily decided to read The Fifth Season before sending them to him. Thank you, Jacob, I’m really looking forward to us reading the rest of the series together. A truly stunning read. 

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 55/100

Happy reading,

Tamara

 

 

Category: Book chat, Serious Adulty Books | LEAVE A COMMENT
August 25 2020

Stamped from the beginning: the definitive history of racist ideas in America

Stamped from the beginning

Stamped from the beginning, by Ibram X Kendi

Title: Stamped from the beginning
Author: Ibram X Kendi
Genre/ issues: Non-fiction. Race. Racism. History.

Shop local where you can: For Australian readers, search Indies to locate your closest independent bookstore, or find it on Booktopia. US readers, check out Bookshop.org.

 

I started this book by Ibram X Kendi months ago – I had ordered the YA version but it’s still not arrived, and in the meantime I found the audiobook available for free on Spotify. I highly recommend it – a thoughtful and comprehensive examination of the history of racist ideas in America, and how and why anti-racist actions and sentiments often fail. It’s taken me a long time to get through it because I found it really thought-provoking, and oftentimes wanted to just let some ideas sit for a bit before I moved on.
Hot tip for listening to the Spotify audiobook version- pay attention to where you’re up to. If you don’t, and then go off and listen to something else, you won’t be able to find your place when you come back to it. Even bigger hot tip – do NOT accidentally bump the shuffle button. It makes things VERY hard to follow.

#TamaraReads #2020readingchallenge 54/100

Happy reading,

Tamara

 

 

Category: Audiobooks, Book chat, Non fiction, Serious Adulty Books | LEAVE A COMMENT