Friday Finds #September 30th

Friday Finds is a meme currently hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat .  This is an opportunity to share the books that you have recently found and added to your TBR.

 I added four books to my bookshelf this week. They are all from NetGalley.

Stay With me by Ayobami Adebayo

 ‘There are things even love can’t do… If the burden is too much and stays too long, even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking and sometimes does break. But even when it’s in a thousand pieces around your feet, that doesn’t mean it’s no longer love…’

Yejide is hoping for a miracle, for a child. It is all her husband wants, all her mother-in-law wants, and she has tried everything – arduous pilgrimages, medical consultations, dances with prophets, appeals to God. But when her in-laws insist upon a new wife, it is too much for Yejide to bear. It will lead to jealousy, betrayal and despair.

Unravelling against the social and political turbulence of 80s Nigeria, Stay With Me sings with the voices, colours, joys and fears of its surroundings. Ayobami Adebayo weaves a devastating story of the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, the wretchedness of grief, and the all-consuming bonds of motherhood. It is a tale about our desperate attempts to save ourselves and those we love from heartbreak.

I was super excited to find this one on NetGalley. It is my first African Literature from the site and I really like the sound of it.

 

Miracle on 5^th Avenue by Sarah Morgan

 It will take a Christmas miracle for two very different souls to find each other in this perfectly festive fairy tale of New York!

Hopeless romantic Eva Jordan loves everything about Christmas. She might be spending the holidays alone this year, but when she’s given an opportunity to house-sit a spectacular penthouse on Fifth Avenue, she leaps at the chance. What better place to celebrate than in snow-kissed Manhattan? What she didn’t expect was to find the penthouse still occupied by its gorgeous—and mysterious—owner.

Bestselling crime writer Lucas Blade is having the nightmare before Christmas. With a deadline and the anniversary of his wife’s death looming, he’s isolated himself in his penthouse with only his grief for company. He wants no interruptions, no decorations and he certainly doesn’t appreciate being distracted by his beautiful, bubbly new housekeeper. But when the blizzard of the century leaves Eva snowbound in his apartment, Lucas starts to open up to the magic she brings…This Christmas, is Lucas finally ready to trust that happily-ever-afters do exist?

I decided to get something different this time and went for a Christmas romance.

 

Pretty Wicked by Kelly Charron

The daughter of a local police detective, fifteen-year-old Ryann has spent most of her life studying how to pull off the most gruesome murders her small Colorado town has ever seen.

But killing is only part of it. Ryann enjoys being the reason the cops are frenzied. The one who makes the neighbors lock their doors and windows on a hot summer’s day. The one everyone fears but no one suspects.

Carving out her own murderous legacy proves harder than she predicted. Mistakes start adding up. And with the police getting closer, and her own father becoming suspicious, Ryann has to prove once and for all that she’s smarter than anyone else—or she’ll pay the ultimate price.

I read reviews of this book written by Kim @ By Hook or by Book and Lauren’s Page Turner and I just had to request this book on NetGalley. Thankfully, I got approved. Thanks ladies for the recommendation!

 

And now, drum-roll please…..Robert Bryndza’s latest book is now available on NetGalley. I saw it yesterday and immediately requested it. Seriously, I didn’t even read the blurb at that time. Luckily, the approval email came in just a few minutes later. I really enjoyed The Girl in the Ice and The Night Stalker .Dark Water by Robert Bryndza will be published on October 20th.

Beneath the water the body sank rapidly. She would lie still and undisturbed for many years but above her on dry land, the nightmare was just beginning.

When Detective Erika Foster receives a tip-off that key evidence for a major narcotics case was stashed in a disused quarry on the outskirts of London, she orders for it to be searched. From the thick sludge the drugs are recovered, but so is the skeleton of a young child.

The remains are quickly identified as seven-year-old Jessica Collins. The missing girl who made headline news twenty-six years ago.

As Erika tries to piece together new evidence with the old, she must dig deeper and find out more about the fractured Collins family and the original detective, Amanda Baker. A woman plagued by her failure to find Jessica. Erika soon realises this is going to be one of the most complex and demanding cases she has ever taken on.

Is the suspect someone close to home? Someone is keeping secrets. Someone who doesn’t want this case solved. And they’ll do anything to stop Erika from finding the truth.

From the million-copy bestselling author of The Girl in the Ice and The Night Stalker, comes the third heart-stopping book in the Detective Erika Foster series.

Have you read these books yet?Have you read the other two books by Robert Bryndza in the Detective Erika Foster series?And have you added any books to your bookshelf this week? Let me know.

Happy Friday!

 

 

Diversity Spotlight Thursday# September 29

Diversity Spotlight Thursday is a weekly feature hosted by Aimal at Bookshelves and Paperbacks. Please click on this link to get more details about the feature.

To take part all you need to do is answer the following questions:

1. A diverse book you have read and enjoyed
2. A diverse book that has already been released but you have not read
3. A diverse book that has not yet been released

 

A Book I Have Read

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaleed Hosseini

Born a generation apart and with very different ideas about love and family, Mariam and Laila are two women brought jarringly together by war, by loss and by fate. As they endure the ever escalating dangers around them—in their home as well as in the streets of Kabul(Afghanistan)—they come to form a bond that makes them both sisters and mother-daughter to each other, and that will ultimately alter the course not just of their own lives but of the next generation.

This is one of the best books that I have ever read. I really like Khaleed Hosseini and have read all his books. The Kite Runner and And the Mountains Echoed are both pretty good but A Thousand Splendid Suns is my favorite of the three.

 

A Book on my TBR

The Lovers: Romeo and Juliet in Afghanistan by Rod Norland

Zakia and Ali were from different tribes, but they grew up on neighboring farms in the hinterlands of Afghanistan. By the time they were young teenagers, Zakia, strikingly beautiful and fiercely opinionated, and Ali, shy and tender, had fallen in love. Defying their families, sectarian differences, cultural conventions, and Afghan civil and Islamic law, they ran away together only to live under constant threat from Zakia’s large and vengeful family, who have vowed to kill her to restore the family’s honor. They are still in hiding.

I have had this memoir for a while now. I hope to read it sometime soon.

 

 A Book that has not yet been released

Stay with me by Ayobami Adebayo

‘There are things even love can’t do… If the burden is too much and stays too long, even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking and sometimes does break. But even when it’s in a thousand pieces around your feet, that doesn’t mean it’s no longer love…’

Yejide is hoping for a miracle, for a child. It is all her husband wants, all her mother-in-law wants, and she has tried everything – arduous pilgrimages, medical consultations, dances with prophets, appeals to God. But when her in-laws insist upon a new wife, it is too much for Yejide to bear. It will lead to jealousy, betrayal and despair.

Unravelling against the social and political turbulence of 80s Nigeria, Stay With Me sings with the voices, colours, joys and fears of its surroundings. Ayobami Adebayo weaves a devastating story of the fragility of married love, the undoing of family, the wretchedness of grief, and the all-consuming bonds of motherhood. It is a tale about our desperate attempts to save ourselves and those we love from heartbreak.

Hardcover, 304 pages

Expected publication: March 2nd 2017 by Canongate

 I received this book from NetGalley and I can’t wait to read it.I just know that I will like this book!

Exciting News: I wrote about Trevor Noah’s Memoir: Born a Crime on my post last week on Thursday. I didn’t think that I would get the book and it took three weeks before I got feedback.However, I am happy to say that I got approved last night!

Have you read any of these books? Which other books would you recommend that I add to my TBR. If you participated in this weekly feature, please leave your link in the comments section and I will visit your post.

WWW-Wednesday #September 28th

 

This meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words

To take part all you need to do is answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

So here’s my 3 W’s for the week.

 

Recently Finished

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva– You can read my review here.

Two Days Gone by Randall Silvis – I read this book last weekend because once again, I received an expiration notification informing me that I had 5 days to read it.

I wrote my review on Monday but on checking the email instructions from NetGalley, I found out that reviews are to be posted at least a month to publication date. I have scheduled mine for December 17^th. I have never had to wait that long to post a review before.

Currently Reading

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

I am taking my time  reading this book because one does not simply rush through a classic. I am at 34% but I hope to finish it by Sunday. It is quite interestingly and very beautifully written although sad so far. I tried reading the library copy but ended up really struggling to get through it. I am now reading an e-book version.

Reading Next

Home Going by Yaas Gyasi- This was supposed to be my next read. However, my book club  meeting will take place on October 8^th and I have not yet started reading the book for review. So courtesy of the Literary Gems (my book club), this is what I will be reading next:

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

 So how about you, what are you reading now? What do you plan on reading next? Feel free to leave your WWW links in the comments section.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Fall TBR List

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by  The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, bloggers get a topic which entails giving a list of ten things based on the topic.

Today’s topic is about Fall TBR so here are some of the books that I plan on reading this fall:

Source: NetGalley

• Stay with me by Ayobami Adebayo
• Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt
• Miracle on 5^th Avenue by Sarah Morgan
• Safe with me by K. L Slater

 

Source: My Bookshelf

Some of these books are new additions while others have been on my TBR for quite a while.

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Looking for Alaska by John Green
• The Perks of being a wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
• Only Daughter by Anna Anoekstra
• Born on a Tuesday by Elnathan John
• The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel

 

Book Club pick: In October, my  Book club will be reading Love in the time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Have you read any of these books? Which books are on your Fall TBR? Feel free to leave me your links on the comment sections. Happy Tuesday!

 

“But when fall comes, kicking summer out on its treacherous ass as it always does one day sometime after the midpoint of September, it stays awhile like an old friend that you have missed. It settles in the way an old friend will settle into your favorite chair and take out his pipe and light it and then fill the afternoon with stories of places he has been and things he has done since last he saw you.”
― Stephen King, ‘Salem’s Lot

Book Review: The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva

Survival is the name of the game as the line blurs between reality TV and reality itself in Alexandra Oliva’s fast-paced novel of suspense.

She wanted an adventure. She never imagined it would go this far.

It begins with a reality TV show. Twelve contestants are sent into the woods to face challenges that will test the limits of their endurance. While they are out there, something terrible happens—but how widespread is the destruction, and has it occurred naturally or is it human-made? Cut off from society, the contestants know nothing of it. When one of them—a young woman the show’s producers call Zoo—stumbles across the devastation, she can imagine only that it is part of the game.

Alone and disoriented, Zoo is heavy with doubt regarding the life—and husband—she left behind, but she refuses to quit. Staggering countless miles across unfamiliar territory, Zoo must summon all her survival skills—and learn new ones as she goes.

But as her emotional and physical reserves dwindle, she grasps that the real world might have been altered in terrifying ways—and her ability to parse the charade will be either her triumph or her undoing.

Sophisticated and provocative, The Last One is a novel that forces us to confront the role that media plays in our perception of what is real: how readily we cast our judgments, how easily we are manipulated.

Review

The Last One by Alexandra Oliva is like nothing that I have ever read before. Initially, I wanted to read this book due to the reality TV aspect but just before I started it, I saw goodreads comments describing the book as dystopian. This made me a bit hesitant because I wasn’t sure whether I would enjoy it given that dystopian is not a genre that I have ever read. Anyway, with this trepidation, I decided to delve into the narrative and see how it goes.

The story starts off with the reality TV angle which is a narration of past events when the show started filming. I was really excited to read this part. One of my favorite shows of all time is Survivor and this reminded me so much about it. The castaways were named based on their careers just like in Survivor. There was a black doctor (I didn’t think the race was necessary), Engineer, Rancher, Waitress, Zoo, Tracker, Air Force, Exorcist, Cheerleader Boy, Carpenter Girl, Asian Girl(I don’t get this one) and Banker. What was even more interesting was the reason given behind each casting. For instance; there was the dumb, blonde (not my words) who was supposed to provide some entertainment for viewers by being clueless. Tracker was supposed to be the one who adapts to the outdoors mush like Ozzy on Survivor. We had exorcist who reminded me of every obnoxious, weird castaway such as Coach on Survivor. The castaways have individual and team challenges. They also have confessions which I love. Seriously, I loved these sections of the book. We get an omnipresent narrator explaining these scenes.

The second narration is by Zoo which tells of the present events. She is one of the castaways and we get to see her on her own after the pandemic. At first I wasn’t sure whether the events around her were occurring within the show or outside. However, it quickly becomes apparent that something sinister was going on. However, our castaway still thinks that the show is going on. Her narration was filled with a lot of tension. I couldn’t tell what would happen next and I also couldn’t tell when and how Zoo will find out what is going on. The dystopian sections were so dark full of mystery and suspense. For instance; in one scene Zoo encounters bodies but assumes that they are props. I can’t even explain how nerve-wrecking her narration was. This section is reminded me so much of the show Walking Dead. The abandoned cars on highways, empty stores and supermarkets, lonely stretches of roads and streets gave an eerily apocalyptic feeling to the story.  I think I like the whole dystopian angle.

The story alternates between the two perspectives and timelines. The show goes on for quite some time while on the other hand; we get to see Zoo trying to survive in the dystopian setting without knowing what is going on. I liked her character in both timelines. She is strong and determined to win. She also has a sensitive side to her despite the hardships that she undergoes. I also liked the fact that she wasn’t one dimensional. Zoo was a complex character and different aspects of her personality became evident with the different scenarios. We also get to know about her past and her reasons for joining the show. All this made her appear more relatable. I also liked Brennan and really sympathized with him. I didn’t get to know the other characters though because they are mainly described only within the show. In addition, I don’t think that I successfully managed to match all the characters with their real names so this was a bit frustrating for me.

Nothing can be worse than what they’ve already put me through. I’d never choose this, not again. But I’m here and I’m a woman of my word and I promised myself I wouldn’t quit.

Interesting, there is also a social media aspects. There are online threads describing the show and the characters. This angle was also quite interesting. It is something that I do a lot. I like following the conversations online and see how others relate to the characters on the reality shows and the things that they do. I am usually online as I watch Reality TV.I definitely liked the fact that the author decided to add this angle.

The book ends with sort of a cliffhanger. Something happens to our protagonist, Zoo. However, she doesn’t know it but as readers, we get to discover it towards the end of the book. This left me with so many questions.

The Last One by Alexandria Oliva was quite an enjoyable book. It was fast paced and as I have indicated, it was like a combination of Survivor and The Walking Dead, two shows that I love. This made it all quite thrilling. I have never encountered a book with such a concept before. As a fan of Reality TV, it made me think about the shows that I like and how ‘real’ they actually are. This book described how editors would edit the character’s dialogues and actions if they go against their intended portrayal. For instance, a villain showing random acts of kindness would be edited because this goes against the characterization of the cast. They were also scenes that are manipulated to heighten drama and make the show more exciting. Another thing that I found interesting is the off-camera support that contestants get. If it is making a fire, we get to see the contestants struggling at it but probably there is a cameraman or expert obscured from viewers offering assistance and guidance to the castaways. Seriously, which part of reality TV is actually real?

If you enjoy reality shows then you may like this book. If you also like dystopian books then this one is for you. If you are fan of thrillers like I am then yes, this one may also interest you. The Last One by Alexandria Oliva is quite an exciting, fascinating read and I definitely recommend it to fans of these genres.

Many thanks to Alexandra Oliva, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for providing my copy in exchange for an honest review.

About the Book

• Hardcover, 304 pages
• Published July 12th 2016 by Ballantine Books
• My Rating: 4.5 stars!

Book Review: The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter

Blurb from goodreads

The latest novel in the Will Trent series from No. 1 bestelling author, Karin Slaughter.

A body is discovered in an empty Atlanta warehouse. It’s the body of an ex-cop, and from the moment Special Agent Will Trent walks in he knows this could be the most devastating case of his career. Bloody footprints leading away from the scene reveal that another victim – a woman – has left the scene and vanished into thin air. And, worst of all, the warehouse belongs to the city’s biggest, most politically-connected, most high-profile athlete – a local hero protected by the world’s most expensive lawyers. A local hero Will has spent the last six months investigating on a brutal rape charge.

But for Will – and also for Dr Sara Linton, the GBI’s newest medical examiner – the case is about to get even worse. Because an unexpected discovery at the scene reveals a personal link to Will’s troubled past. The consequences will wreak havoc on his life and the lives of those he loves, those he works with, and those he pursues.

But Sara’s scene-of-the-crime diagnosis is that they only have a few hours to find the missing woman before she bleeds out . .

Review

The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter is yet another book that I requested form NetGalley without knowing that it is part of a series. As a matter of fact, it is actually the eighth book in the series. So this review is based on my thoughts about the book without any prior knowledge of the series or the characters.

The first chapter starts at a crime scene. There is a dead ex-cop and clues indicating that a woman left the scene. It is also pretty obvious that the missing woman lost a lot of blood at some point. The first twist is revealed then when the identity of the woman is discovered. The investigators now rush to put together the pieces and solve the mystery at the scene while also looking for the missing woman before she dies from the excess blood loss.

The Book Sections: The first section was pretty much about the investigation. There were details on the search for the missing woman and the processing of the crime scene. I didn’t like this section much. However, the second section was delightfully different. It was so fast paced with so much happening that I had a difficult time putting the book down even for five minutes. New twists emerge that give answers to the first section of the book. In fact, this narration basically covers events that took place before the crime. It is fast-paced and thrilling. The third section goes back to the present events after the crime has occurred. It is also quite fast-paced with numerous twists that I didn’t see coming.

The Narration: The book has multiple narrators. Will, who is one of the detectives, is the first narrator. We get to see things from his perspective which was interesting due to his involvement in the investigation and the other characters (both good and bad). Sara is another narrator. She is the Medical Examiner who also happens to be Will’s girlfriend. This adds an interesting dynamic to the narration because we get to read about her relationship with Will and how the investigation affects them. Faith is also one of the narrators. I didn’t connect much with her as a narrator or character. There are other narrators whose identities I can’t reveal because of the fact that they are part of the big twist in the story.

The Characters: Despite the fact that I met the characters in this book. I was able to connect with them. If anything, I was able to go into the book with no prejudgment. For instance; I know most of people of who have read the series hated Angie from the get go. However, it was interesting to get to know her through the pages. The end was still the same though, I loathed her. I liked the fact that the character’s background stories were shared through the chapters hence giving more details about them. I don’t really feel like I missed much by not reading the other books in the series. The character development was pretty solid. These characters were real and easy to relate with. Of course, there were also twisted characters who I loathed but they did a great job of spicing up things and making the book more interesting.

There was a twist and a main event towards the end which included a hostage situation. It had everything from suspense, tension and all that. After this we get to see the character’s lives after the dust settled. I am not a fan of neat, wrapped-up endings. So I wasn’t too keen on this part but I did like the fact that the very last sentence was a cliffhanger. The Ending.

The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter is a great, fast-paced suspense novel. It is perfect for fans of both mystery/suspense and police procedurals. As I mentioned before, the fact that I haven’t read the other 7 books in the series did not affect me (as far as I know). I was able to connect with the characters and enjoy the story. I do recommend this novel and I believe that it can be read as a standalone. Nevertheless, I am now on a quest to find the other 7 books.

About the book

• Hardcover, UK, 560 pages
• Published July 14th 2016 by Century (first published June 14th 2016)
• Original Title: The Kept Woman
• Series: Will Trent #8
• Source:NetGalley
• My Rating: 4.5 stars

 

The Will Trent series
• Triptych (2006)
• Fractured (2008)
• Undone (2009), Genesis (UK/Australia title)
• Broken (2010)
• Fallen (2011)
• Snatched (2012, ebook novella)
• Criminal (2012)
• Busted (2013)
• Unseen (2013)
• The Kept Woman (2016)

Friday Finds #September 23rd

Friday Finds is a meme currently hosted by Jenn at Books and a Beat .  This is an opportunity to share the books that you have recently found and added to your TBR.

 I only have three new additions to my TBR this week. All books are from NetGalley. My self-imposed ban from the site lasted for a week. I am still in control though. I mean;I got only three books (so far) this week, which is reasonable, right?

 Cruel Beautiful World by Caroline Leavitt

Set in the early 1970s against the specter of the Manson girls, when the peace and love movement begins to turn ugly, this is the story of a runaway teenager’s disappearance and her sister’s quest to discover the truth.

Caroline Leavitt is at her mesmerizing best in this haunting, nuanced portrait of love, sisters, and the impossible legacy of family.It’s 1969, and sixteen-year-old Lucy is about to run away with a much older man to live off the grid in rural Pennsylvania, a rash act that will have vicious repercussions for both her and her older sister, Charlotte. As Lucy’s default caretaker for most of their lives, Charlotte’s youth has been marked by the burden of responsibility, but never more so than when Lucy’s dream of a rural paradise turns into nightmare.

With gorgeous prose and indelible characters, Cruel Beautiful World examines the intricate, infinitesimal distance between seduction and love, loyalty and duty, and what happens when you’re responsible for things you can’t fix.

This book was recommended to me by Annie. You can read her review here.

 The Gossip by Jenny Holiday

 Dawn Hathaway is a realist. She’s not the smartest girl at Allenhurst College. She’s not the prettiest, either. So if she wants to be popular, she’ll need something else: power. What better way to get it than to start a gossip column in the campus newspaper? If she has to commit a few minor crimes in pursuit of the latest scoop, what’s the harm?

Arturo Perez loves being a campus cop. He knows Allenhurst’s nooks and crannies—and lately he’s been finding the campus gossip snooping into every one of them. He can’t deny that he enjoys bantering with the sassy schemer. But he also can’t shake the sense that there’s more going on with Dawn than meets the eye.When tragedy strikes and Dawn needs help, how far will Arturo go to protect her?

 The One that Got Away by Melissa Pimentel

Ruby and Ethan were perfect for each other. Until the day they suddenly weren’t.Ten years later, Ruby’s single, having spent the last decade focusing on her demanding career and hectic life in Manhattan. There’s barely time for a trip to England for her little sister’s wedding. And there’s certainly not time to think about seeing Ethan there for the first time in years.

But as the family frantically prepare for the big day, Ruby can’t help but wonder if she made the right choice all those years ago? Because there’s nothing like a wedding for stirring up the past. The last two books are not the usual kind of stuff that I read but I am in the mood for something lighter to give me a break from the  darkness of psychological thrillers.

Have you added any books to your bookshelf this week? Let me know.

Happy Friday!

Diversity Spotlight Thursday# September 22

Diversity Spotlight Thursday is a weekly feature hosted by Aimal at Bookshelves and Paperbacks . Please click on this link to get more details about the feature.

To take part all you need to do is answer the following questions:

1. A diverse book you have read and enjoyed
2. A diverse book that has already been released but you have not read
3. A diverse book that has not yet been released

A Book I Have Read

I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali and Delphine Minoui

“I’m a simple village girl who has always obeyed the orders of my father and brothers. Since forever, I have learned to say yes to everything. Today I have decided to say no.”
 
Nujood Ali’s childhood came to an abrupt end in 2008 when her father arranged for her to be married to a man three times her age. With harrowing directness, Nujood tells of abuse at her husband’s hands and of her daring escape. With the help of local advocates and the press, Nujood obtained her freedom—an extraordinary achievement in Yemen, where almost half of all girls are married under the legal age. Nujood’s courageous defiance of both Yemeni customs and her own family has inspired other young girls in the Middle East to challenge their marriages. Hers is an unforgettable story of tragedy, triumph, and courage.

This is one of the most shocking and saddest memoirs that I have ever read. It is the first book that I have ever read about a child bride. It was also the first book that I have ever come across set in Yemen.

A Book on my TBR

Simon Vs. Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

This should be an interesting read.

A Book that has not yet been released

Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

Noah was born a crime, the son of a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother, at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the first years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, take him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.
 
A collection of eighteen personal essays, Born a Crime tells the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. Born a Crime is equally the story of that young man’s fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that ultimately threatens her own life.
 
Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Noah illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and an unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a lovable delinquent making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed with only a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.

 I really like Trevor Noah. I used to watch his shows in South Africa before he moved to the States and started hosting The Daily Show.Well, now I watch The Daily Show because of him. I saw this book on NetGalley and requested it.I have my fingers crossed  but if my request is not approved then I will definitely buy this one.

Pub Date 15 Nov 2016

Have you read any of these books? Which other books would you recommend that I add to my TBR. If you participated in this weekly feature, please link me to your post.

WWW-Wednesday #September 21st

This meme is currently hosted by Sam @Taking on a World of Words.

To take part all you need to do is answer the following questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

So here’s my 3 W’s for the week.

Recently Finished

 

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover– This was a wonderful, powerful read though quite emotional. You can read my review here.

The Kept Woman by Karin Slaughter– I finished reading this book in the morning on my way to work. It started out quite slow such that I had difficulties getting through the first section. However, the second and third sections were quite entertaining and fast-paced.My review will be up this week.

 

 Currently Reading

I wasn’t planning on reading this book so soon but I just got a notice on Aldiko that the book will expire in 6 days. This means that I have to start reading it now. I have heard that the book has a reality TV vibe and since I like SURVIVOR(TV Show), I hope to enjoy it.I am a bit apprehensive though because it is described on goodreads as dystopian/apocalyptic. I have never read any book that falls into this genre.

 

Reading Next

Home Going by Yaa Gyasi

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

These books were still on my list last week. I wasn’t able to read them but I hope to read them this week or the next one.

So how about you, any interesting books that you have read lately? What are you reading now? What do you plan on reading next? Feel free to leave your WWW links in the comments section.

 

 

TTT: Ten Books I want to Listen to on Audio

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by  The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, bloggers get a topic which entails giving a list of ten things based on the topic.

Today’s instructions were as follows: All About Audio freebie —  aka top ten audiobooks you should listen to, 10 books I want to listen to on audio,10 bands you should check out, 10 podcasts you should be listening to, 10 of my all time favorite albums, 10 songs I love, really whatever you can come up with.

I have never listened to an audio-book.To me it feels like listening to music while not doing anything else so I fear getting bored or losing concentration. Anyway, I hope to listen to my first audio-book sometime soon. This is what I would pick:

Credit: I got the audio book details from http://www.audible.com

Books that I have read

The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

• Narrated by Imogen Church
• Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
• Release Date: 07/19/16

The Girls: A Novel by Emma Cline

• Narrated by Cady McClain
• Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
• Release Date: 06/14/16

Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris

• Narrated by Georgia Maguire
• Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
• Release Date: 08/09/16

Books on my TBR

The Underground Railroad (Oprah’s Book Club) by Colson Whitehead

• Narrated by Bahni Turpin
• Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
• Release Date: 08/02/16

Sting by Sandra Brown

• Narrated by Stephen Lang
• Length: 11 hrs and 40 mins
• Release Date: 08/16/16

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

• Narrated by Caroline Lee
• Length: 17 hrs and 27 mins
• Release Date: 07/26/16

All the Light We Cannot See: A Novel by Anthony Doerr

• Narrated by Zach Appelman
• Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins
• Release Date: 05/06/14

Homegoing: A Novel by Yaa Gyasi

• Narrated by Dominic Hoffman
• Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
• Release Date: 06/07/16

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

• Narrated by Polly Stone
• Length: 17 hrs and 26 mins
• Release Date: 02/03/15

A Book That I want to read and maybe listen to

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley

• Narrated by Robert Petkoff
• Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
• Release Date: 05/31/16

Do you listen to audiobooks? What do you look for when picking them? Do you consider the narrator or just the book/author? Feel free to leave me your links on the comment sections.

 

Happy Tuesday!