Life Update and Goodreads Monday #14

 

As you might have noticed, I skipped my wrap-up post this past weekend. The reason is that my boyfriend came to visit and we could finally spend more than one day together (living in different cities sucks). On Saturday we watched Deadpool 2 in the cinema, had a good laugh during certain scenes and cooked lunch together afterwards. On Sunday we had a lazy day but we managed to book accomodation and plane tickets for our summer outing to London. Comic con, here we come!

Tomorrow I'm starting my new job with Travelliance. I'm a teeny tiny bit excited for that... I'll do my best running the blog the same way I have so far but let me say sorry in advance if in the first couple of weeks my posts will come in an erratic fashion. I'll have to come up with a comfortable schedule to make it work but I surely will.

A week went by since the last Timeless episode and there is still not one peep from NBC about the show's future. The ratings went up with the season finale, Clockblockers almost broke twitter on Sunday and still, there's no news from the network. It makes me worried and angry sometimes because it's not fair towards those who work on the show and towards fans either. I apologize if you follow me on twitter and see my daily #SaveTimeless tweets but I'm serious about wanting to help save this show. You know how much I love history and this show makes a good job gathering and conveying unknown facts to the viewers, which is only one of the reasons why I'm obsessed with it. I refuse to give up on Timeless and I'm letting NBC know that ever day.

 

I'm a bit behind myself with my May reading schedule but hey, what's new? I'm currently reading Clowders by Vanessa Morgan, which is my first horror novel since December last year, when I read and loved Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot. Clowders is too slow-burning for my liking so far and not as scary as I expected it to be, though I'm only half-way through so my opinion can still change if the plot thickens a bit.

And now, onto my customary GoodReads Monday post...

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

I think it's time I got acquainted with Hamilton the musical (I've heard a lot about it but never listened to the soundtrack) and the story behind it too. It seems the following book could be a nice companion to the musical:

My Dear Hamilton

by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie

Synopsis:

A novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton

A general's daughter...

Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington's penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she's captivated by the young officer's charisma and brilliance. They fall in love, despite Hamilton's bastard birth and the uncertainties of war.

A founding father's wife...

But the union they create - in their marriage and the new nation - is far from perfect. From glittering inaugural balls to bloody street riots, the Hamiltons are at the center of it all - including the political treachery of America's first sex scandal, which forces Eliza to struggle through heartbreak and betrayal to find forgiveness.

The last surviving light of the Revolution...

When a duel destroys Eliza's hard-won peace, the grieving widow fights her husband's enemies to preserve Alexander's legacy. But long-buried secrets threaten everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her own legacy. Questioning her tireless devotion to the man and country that have broken her heart, she's left with one last battle - to understand the flawed man she married and imperfect union he could never have created without her...

 Which book are you dying to read right now? Let me know in a comment below!

Goodreads Monday #13

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

I started watching Alias Grace on Netflix two days ago and I'm hooked. I'd like to read the book and soon. This won't be my first Atwood, I've read The Penelopiad before and loved it.

Alias Grace

by Margaret Atwood

Synopsis:

Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer, Thomas Kinnear, and Nancy Montgomery, his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life sentence, Grace claims to have no memory of the murders.

Dr. Simon Jordan, an up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness, is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story while bringing her closer and closer to the day she cannot remember. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories? Is Grace a female fiend? A bloodthirsty femme fatale? Or is she the victim of circumstances?

 Is there any book on your TBR that you are truly dying to read right now? Which one is that?

Goodreads Monday #12

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

 I'm a sucker for dual timeline stories, let me show you one set in two time periods that I especially can't wait to read:

Last Letter Home

by Rachel Hore

Synopsis:

On holiday with friends, young historian Briony Andrews becomes fascinated with a wartime story of a ruined villa in the hills behind Naples. There is a family connection: her grandfather had been a British soldier during the Italian campaign of 1943 in that very area. Handed a bundle of letters that were found after the war, Briony sets off to trace the fate of their sender, Sarah Bailey.

In 1939, Sarah returns with her mother and sister from India, in mourning, to take up residence in the Norfolk village of Westbury. There she forms a firm friendship with Paul Hartmann, a young German who has found sanctuary in the local manor house, Westbury Hall. With the outbreak of war, conflicts of loyalty in Westbury deepen.

When, 70 years later, Briony begins to uncover Sarah and Paul’s story, she encounters resentments and secrets still tightly guarded. What happened long ago in the villa in the shadow of Vesuvius, she suspects, still has the power to give terrible pain …

Don't forget to leave your Goodreads Monday link for me in a comment below! Happy reading!

Goodreads Monday #11

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

 Let me show you a promising novel that's been on my wishlist for a while. I'm excited to learn more about Canadian history while losing myself in this historical romance.

Promises to Keep

by Genevieve Graham

Synopsis:

Summer 1755, Acadia

Young, beautiful Amélie Belliveau lives with her family among the Acadians of Grande Pré, Nova Scotia, content with her life on their idyllic farm. Along with their friends, the neighbouring Mi’kmaq, the community believes they can remain on neutral political ground despite the rising tides of war. But peace can be fragile, and sometimes faith is not enough. When the Acadians refuse to pledge allegiance to the British in their war against the French, the army invades Grande Pré, claims the land, and rips the people from their homes. Amélie’s entire family, alongside the other Acadians, is exiled to ports unknown aboard dilapidated ships.

Fortunately, Amélie has made a powerful ally. Having survived his own harrowing experience at the hands of the English, Corporal Connor MacDonnell is a reluctant participant in the British plan to expel the Acadians from their homeland. His sympathy for Amélie gradually evolves into a profound love, and he resolves to help her and her family in any way he can—even if it means treason. As the last warmth of summer fades, more ships arrive to ferry the Acadians away, and Connor is forced to make a decision that will alter the future forever.

Heart-wrenching and captivating, Promises to Keep is a gloriously romantic tale of a young couple forced to risk everything amidst the uncertainties of war.

"But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep." 

Seems like Goodreads Monday always makes me want to recite poems... When I worked in London I had a colleague who loved quoting this particular line from Robert Frost's Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. It's a lovely piece of poetry and since Genevieve Graham's book title always calls it to mind, I want to read the novel even more.

Goodreads Monday #10

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

The Song of Achilles is one of my all-time favourtie novels and since Cicre by Madeline Miller came out I've been yearning to put my hands on the book. This is my Goodreads Monday choice for the week:

Circe

by Madeline Miller

Synopsis:

In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe has neither the look nor the voice of divinity, and is scorned and rejected by her kin. Increasingly isolated, she turns to mortals for companionship, leading her to discover a power forbidden to the gods: witchcraft.

When love drives Circe to cast a dark spell, wrathful Zeus banishes her to the remote island of Aiaia. There she learns to harness her occult craft, drawing strength from nature. But she will not always be alone; many are destined to pass through Circe's place of exile, entwining their fates with hers. The messenger god, Hermes. The craftsman, Daedalus. A ship bearing a golden fleece. And wily Odysseus, on his epic voyage home.

There is danger for a solitary woman in this world, and Circe's independence draws the wrath of men and gods alike. To protect what she holds dear, Circe must decide whether she belongs with the deities she is born from, or the mortals she has come to love.

Have you read The Song of Achilles? Did you like it? Would you give Circe a try?

Goodreads Monday #9

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

I've never been much of a short story reader, however lately I've started to put some short story collections on my reading list because, you know, sometimes you gotta read outside your comfort zone. Let me show you one such collection that sounds especially promising to me.

Death or Ice Cream?

by Gareth P. Jones

Synopsis:

Larkin Mills: The Birthplace of Death!

Larkin Mills is no ordinary town. It's a place of contradictions and enigma, of secrets and mysteries. A place with an exquisite ice cream parlour, and an awful lot of death.

An extraordinary mystery in Larkin Mills is beginning to take shape. First we meet the apparently healthy Albert Dance, although he's always been called a sickly child, and he's been booked into Larkin Mills' Hospital for Specially Ill Children. Then there's his neighbour Ivor, who observes strange goings-on, and begins his own investigations into why his uncle disappeared all those years ago. Next we meet Young Olive, who is given a battered accordion by her father, and unwittingly strikes a dreadful deal with an instrument repair man.

Make sure you keep an eye on Mr Morricone, the town ice-cream seller, who has queues snaking around the block for his legendary ice cream flavours Summer Fruits Suicide and The Christmas Massacre. And Mr Milkwell, the undertaker, who has some very dodgy secrets locked up in his hearse. Because if you can piece together what all these strange folks have to do with one another... well, you'll have begun to unlock the dark secrets that keep the little world of Larkin Mills spinning ...

I have a rather strong suspicion this book was inspired by Wallace Stevens's poem called  
The Emperor of Ice-Cream. 

Call the roller of big cigars, 
The muscular one, and bid him whip
 In kitchen cups concupiscent curds. 
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
 As they are used to wear, and let the boys
 Bring flowers in last month’s newspapers.
 Let be be finale of seem.
 The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

 Take from the dresser of deal,
 Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
 On which she embroidered fantails once
 And spread it so as to cover her face.
 If her horny feet protrude, they come
 To show how cold she is, and dumb.
 Let the lamp affix its beam.
 The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. 

Do you often read short stories? 
If you can recommend me some good collections, go ahead, please.

Goodreads Monday #8

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

 The thing about me is, I am an enthusiastic admirer of Vincent Van Gogh. You could catch me staring at his paintings for hours at the National Gallery in London. It is truly magical to be in the presence of his works.

A few years ago I read a fictional recollection of his last days – The Last Van Gogh by Alyson Richman – that I unfortunately didn't like very much. When one day I saw the book below in a bookshop, I realised I'm might not yet ready to give up on fictional Van Gogh novels. I'm determined to own a copy of Let Me Tell You About a Man I Knew someday in the future, and hopefully I'll love it!

Let Me Tell You About a Man I Knew

by Susan Fletcher

 

Synopsis:

No one knows the name of 'the painter' who comes to the asylum in St Remy in the south of France, but they see his wild, red hair and news of his savaged ear soon circulates in the village and comes to the notice of the wife of the asylum's doctor. She feels herself drawn to him and learns that his presence is disturbing - and not just to her either. But back she goes - again and again. Until she is banned, but still she makes her way over the wall, through the garden to talk to this apparently mad and passionate man. And the consequences of her indiscretion, of what van Gogh comes to mean to her, of what it will do to her marriage, her life once she has touched danger and passion will have far reaching effects - both surprisingly catastrophic and tender.

Do you think you'd like this novel? What book did you feature in you Goodreads Monday post?

Goodreads Monday #7

 Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

The following book is intended to be my first ever Christopher Isherwood experience. Now, you have to know that Christopher and his kind – Isherwood's autobiography – has been sitting on my shelf for ages, however I promised myself I'd read a novel by him before diving into that. 

A Single Man is an LGBTQ modern classic about a middle-aged man who is grieving for the love of his life. I expect it to be very emotional but all in all I feel it conveys a positive message to the reader.

I've come across this book many times in second hand bookshops, yet never purchased it, because I always find it with the ugly green Penguin Vintage Classic cover (click here to see). I usually love the cover of these vintage classics; not this time. One day when I'll buy it, I'll buy it with the cover you can see below.

A Single Man

by Christopher Isherwood

Synopsis:

When A Single Man was originally published, it shocked many by its frank, sympathetic, and moving portrayal of a gay man in midlife. George, the protagonist, is adjusting to life on his own after the sudden death of his partner, determined to persist in the routines of his daily life. An Englishman and a professor living in suburban Southern California, he is an outsider in every way, and his internal reflections and interactions with others reveal a man who loves being alive despite everyday injustices and loneliness. Wry, suddenly manic, constantly funny, surprisingly sad, this novel catches the texture of life itself.

What gem do you have on your Goodreads TBR? Please leave a link to your Goodreads Monday post below if you have one, if not, just say hi :)

Goodreads Monday #6

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

Since there are witches in the book I'm currently reading, I thought I'd intorduce you to another series-starter that includes witches. It's very fresh on my Goodreads TBR, I came across this title only a few days ago. I can't wait to read it!

How to Hang a Witch

(How to Hang a Witch #1)

by Adriana Mather

Synopsis:

The more things change in Salem, the more they stay the same.

Salem, Massachusetts is the site of the infamous Witch Trials and the new home of Samantha Mather. Recently transplanted from New York City, Sam is not exactly welcomed with open arms. She is a descendant of Cotton Mather, one of the men responsible for those Trials—and almost immediately, she becomes the enemy of a group of girls who call themselves The Descendants. And guess who their ancestors were?

If dealing with that wasn’t enough, Sam finds herself face to face with a real, live (well, technically dead) ghost. A handsome, angry ghost who wants Sam to stop touching his stuff.

Soon Sam discovers she is at the center of a centuries-old curse affecting everyone with ties to the Trials. Sam must come to terms with the ghost and work with The Descendants to stop a deadly cycle that has been going on since the first alleged witch was hanged. If any town should have learned its lesson, it’s Salem. But history may be about to repeat itself.

What do you think? Have you ever read a book about the Salem witch trials before? 

Can you imagine yourself curling up with this book on a rainy day?

Goodreads Monday #5

Hello, Lovelies! I'd say have a happy Monday morning, but then I'd be throwing a paradox at you, thus all I'll say is I hope you're dealing with the first day of the week valiantly so far.

The weekend might be over, but the countdown till the next one has already started, so... stay positive and rock!

Since it's Monday, I'll intorduce you to another book from my Goodreads TBR. Let's do it!




Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

I'd like to put a smile on your face, so go on, read the synopsis of this intriguing book!

The Gentleman

by Forrest Leo

Synopsis:

When Lionel Savage, a popular poet in Victorian London, learns from his butler that they're broke, he marries the beautiful Vivien Lancaster for her money, only to find that his muse has abandoned him.

Distraught and contemplating suicide, Savage accidentally conjures the Devil -- the polite "Gentleman" of the title -- who appears at one of the society parties Savage abhors. The two hit it off: the Devil talks about his home, where he employs Dante as a gardener; Savage lends him a volume of Tennyson. But when the party's over and Vivien has disappeared, the poet concludes in horror that he must have inadvertently sold his wife to the dark lord.

Newly in love with Vivien, Savage plans a rescue mission to Hell that includes Simmons, the butler; Tompkins, the bookseller; Ashley Lancaster, swashbuckling Buddhist; Will Kensington, inventor of a flying machine; and Savage's spirited kid sister, Lizzie, freshly booted from boarding school for a "dalliance." Throughout, his cousin's quibbling footnotes to the text push the story into comedy nirvana.

Lionel and his friends encounter trapdoors, duels, anarchist-fearing bobbies, the social pressure of not knowing enough about art history, and the poisonous wit of his poetical archenemy. Fresh, action-packed and very, very funny, The Gentleman is a giddy farce that recalls the masterful confections of P.G. Wodehouse and Hergé's beautifully detailed Tintin adventures.

Whoever this Lionel Savage is, I sure as hell – haha, see what I did there? – don't want to be him.

First he learns from his butler that he is broke. (Money comes and goes, eh? He must be such a dandy.) Then he accidentally conjures the Devil (oops), then he finds out he inadvertently sold his wife to him (how do you do that by accident??)... Poor unlucky fellow.

I can't wait to know how the strange companions he gathers for the rescue mission work together and the Devil character fascinates me as well.

No doubt that this will be Victorian social caricature at its best and that I'll roll with laughter once I dive into this book.

Do you think you'd like this novel? What book did you feature in you Goodreads Monday post?

Goodreads Monday #4

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

Sorry I've been off for a few days, I went to London for a long weekend but now I'm back and the posts will be coming! :)

Since it's Monday again, let me introduce you to another book from my TBR. 

I watched Disney's Beauty and the Beast (1991) for the first time two days ago (I know, I know... what have I done with my life so far??) and I can't wait to check out the movie. 

On the book front I'm yearning to read this retelling, because Juliet Marillier's writing style is something else.

Heart's Blood

by Juliet Marillier

 Synopsis:

Whistling Tor is a place of secrets and mystery. Surrounded by a wooded hill, and unknown presences, the crumbling fortress is owned by a chieftain whose name is spoken throughout the district in tones of revulsion and bitterness. A curse lies over Anluan's family and his people; those woods hold a perilous force whose every whisper threatens doom.

For young scribe Caitrin it is a safe haven. This place where nobody else is prepared to go seems exactly what she needs, for Caitrin is fleeing her own demons. As Caitrin comes to know Anluan and his home in more depth she realizes that it is only through her love and determination that the curse can be broken and Anluan and his people set free.

  

What is on your radar this week? Please share your GM posts with me! :)

Happy reading!

Goodreads Monday #3

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

This week I'm reading a YA fantasy novel, Bohermore by Jennifer Rose McMahon.  

Here's another YA fantasy I'm planning to read:

Finnikin of the Rock

(Lumatere Chronicles #1)

by Melina Marchetta

Synopsis:

At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh to save his kingdom. He stands on the rock of the three wonders with his friend Prince Balthazar and Balthazar's cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood to safeguard Lumatere.

But all safety is shattered during the five days of the unspeakable, when the king and queen and their children are brutally murdered in the palace. An impostor seizes the throne, a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere's walls, and those who escape are left to roam the land as exiles, dying by the thousands in fever camps.

Ten years later, Finnikin is summoned to another rock--to meet Evanjalin, a young novice with a startling claim: Balthazar, heir to the throne of Lumatere, is alive. This arrogant young woman claims she'll lead Finnikin and his mentor, Sir Topher, to the prince. Instead, her leadership points them perilously toward home. Does Finnikin dare believe that Lumatere might one day rise united? Evanjalin is not what she seems, and the startling truth will test Finnikin's faith not only in her but in all he knows to be true about himself and his destiny.

Which book did YOU feature in your GM post today?

Goodreads Monday #2

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

I decided I will always link Goodreads Mondays with my current read, so I will never have to choose a book from my TBR randomly (that's just too... random for me, I guess).

Right now I'm reading Girl in Disguise by Greer Macallister and since it touches upon the Civil War that eventually ended slavery in America, it brought a book to my mind that is set just before the war and features a heroine who becomes an abolitionist.

Meet today's can't-wait-to-read:

Candle in the Darkness
(Refiner's Fire #1)
by Lynn Austin

Synopsis:

The daughter of a wealthy slave-holding family from Richmond, Virginia, Caroline Fletcher is raised in a culture that believes slavery is God-ordained and biblically acceptable. But upon awakening to the cruelty and injustice it encompasses, Caroline's eyes are opened for the first time to the men and women who have cared tirelessly for her. Her journey of maturity and faith will draw her into the abolitionist movement, where she is confronted with the risks and sacrifices her beliefs entail.

Have you read any books from this period? Are you planning to?
Don't forget to leave your GM links down below! :)

Goodreads Monday #1

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren @ Lauren’s Page Turners. To participate, choose a random book from your TBR and show it off! Don’t forget to link back to Lauren’s Page Turners and link up to the inlinkz so others can see what you picked!

There are 309 books on my Goodreads TBR. Oops. The thing is, I can't stop adding new titles, I think you fellow bookworms understand this urge...

Anyway, I have a wide range of books to choose from, but today this post will feature a retelling, because I was reading a fairy tale retelling in the second half of last week (The Lady and the Highlander by Lecia Cornwall) and I think it's a good idea to keep this theme going today.

I picked the following book because I'm extremely fond of Shakespeare and I have already read one Shakespeare retelling from this author that I loved dearly (read my review of Ophelia by Lisa Klein here).

So on to the book:

Lady Macbeth's Daughter

Lisa M. Klein

Synopsis:

Albia has grown up with no knowledge of her mother of her father, the powerful Macbeth. Instead she knows the dark lure of the Wychelm Wood and the moors, where she's been raised by three strange sisters. It's only when the ambitious Macbeth seeks out the sisters to foretell his fate that Albia's life becomes tangled with the man who leaves nothing but bloodshed in his wake. She even falls in love with Fleance, Macbeth's rival for the throne. Yet when Albia learns that she has the second sight, she must decide whether to ignore the terrible future she foresees—or to change it. Will she be able to save the man she loves from her murderous father? And can she forgive her parents their wrongs, or must she destroy them to save Scotland from tyranny?

Recently I had a few 'encounters' with Macbeth the play and the story; I was lucky enough to see a midnight performance of it in Shakespeare's Globe and I also saw the movie with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard, which I enjoyed a lot too. I can't wait to put my hands on this book!

Do you like retellings? Which one is your favourite?