Throwback Thursday: First Book Love-Fairy Tales Storybooks

This weekly feature is hosted by Renee,(Its Book Talk). Throwback Thursday offers a way to share some of our old favorites as well  as sharing books that we are finally getting around to reading that were published over a year ago.

 

This week, I saw a post by Kim (By Hook or By Book)on bookish cakes. One of the cakes had a fairy tales theme. Just seeing that cake brought back so many wonderful memories of the first books that I ever read.

They were fairy tales.

 

Fairy Tales Bookish Cake

Let me confess, I was super mean with my books. I never liked giving them out because I was afraid that other kids would ruin them or fail to return them. I read and reread them so many times. Then watched the disney movies and reread the books. Unfortunately, I don’t know what happened to my books since I no longer have any storybooks. If I ever have kids though, I will definitely get them the books.

Here are some of my favorites:

 

Beauty and the Beast – I just loved Bella, the books and the talking teapots

Cinderella – I think what I admired most was the gown that the fairy godmother gave Cinderella for the ball

Goldilocks and the three bears

Aladdin and his magic lamp

Alibaba and the forty thieves

Alice and Wonderland – I loved Alice’s adventures

 

 

Rapenzel

The Little Mermaid

Little Red Riding Hood

Puss in Boots

Jack and the BeanStalk

Pinocchio- This book made me afraid of telling lies lol

 

Snow white and the seven dwarfs

Sleeping Beauty

The Empror’s New Clothes

The Little Mermaid

 

 Lion King – A fairy tale set in Africa with lots of Swahili. The book and movie were definitely childhood favorites. There was something extra special about Lion King.

I also love the fact that it taught the world a few Swahili words such as Hakuna Matata and Simba.

As an adult, I have read and heard a lot of criticism about fairy-tales, their portrayals and messages. Right now at is age,I can understand the basis for the criticism. However, that still doesn’t change the fact that I discovered the joy of reading through my childhood fairy-tales storybooks. These books opened up my mind to a new world of imagination and at that time, talking lions, flying mats and princesses all made sense to me.

Fairytales taught me lessons about good and evil; they broadened my thinking and I believe they also helped in making me more creative and hence influenced my becoming a storyteller.And for that, I choose to celebrate them.

So, what are some of your favorite fairy tales?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten of the Vilest Villains in Books

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 The Villains – let’s revisit: top ten favorite/most compelling villains in books, top ten of the most vile villains/bad guys in books, top ten villains I secretly (or not so secretly) love, favorite TV villains, favorite comic book villains, ten “villains” of contemporary lit.

Here are the vilest villains in books that I could think of:

Old Nick in  Room by Emma Donoghue- This is one of the most heartbreaking books that I have ever read. Old Nick is one of the vilest characters that I have ever encountered. He imprisoned a woman in his home-built prison for seven years. He raped her continuously throughout the imprisonment eventually impregnating her. He then continued to rape her with her son locked up in a closet in the same room. What is even worse is that the book was inspired by true events. There are real Old Nick’s out here in the world.

George Harvey in Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold– This man raped and killed Salmon, a young teenage girl and he got away with it. He interacts with the family after murdering their daughter and continues living on their street knowing what he had done.Ugh!

Ryann- Pretty Wicked by Kelly Charron– The newest serial killer in town and she is only 15 years old. Ryann is so cold and calculating although she is one of those villains who are easily likeable.

 

Joe-Hidden Bodies and You by Caroline Kepnes- Joe reminds me of Dexter. The serial killer, who like Ryann, is actually likeable. The guy worked in a bookshop and kept talking about Dan Brown and Stephen King. However, he left quite a body count wherever he went.

Kevin- We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver- A young boy who was also a mass murderer, who hated his mother and is quite un-remorseful. One of the darkest villains of all times.

Silas in Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown- Some say that he was misunderstood. Silas is an albino monk, a devotee of the Catholic organization Opus Dei, who practices severe corporal mortification (he is seen using a metal cilice and flogging himself). His characterization has received a lot of criticism due to the negative portrayal of albinism.

 

Rasheed in A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini- An abusive man who treated his in the worst ways possible. He caused destruction and relished in the pain that he caused. Years after reading the book, I am still hunted by the scene where he forced his wife to chew pebbles.

 Assef in Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini- The boy rapes another boy then decades later as grownup; he decides to rape his victim’s son. Assef is one of the vilest characters of all times.

 

Death in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I liked Death as a narrator. However, the devastation that occurs at Himmel Street broke my heart. I can only blame death for that. An unlikely villain but still… he is death!

 

 

The Villain(s) who shall not be named in Only Daughter by Anna Snoekstra

This book was released in September, 2016 so I won’t reveal who the villain(s) are because that is one of the major twists in the story. These villain(s) are the worst that I have come across in a long time. They are so twisted that I don’t even think Criminal Minds ever brought un-subs close to these terrible humans. I was so shocked by the twists and what the villains were capable of. You have to read the book though to get what I mean.

Finally….

Jack in Behind Closed Doors by B. A Paris-Okay, when it comes to psychopaths, this one is in a league of his own.

“‘Fear,’ he whispered. ‘There is nothing quite like it. I love how it looks, I love how it feels, I love how it smells. And I especially love the sound of it.’ I felt his tongue on my cheek. ‘I even love the taste of it.’” Jack in Behind Closed Doors by B. A Paris

Have you read any of these books? Who are the vilest book villains that you can think of? Feel free to leave me your links on the comment sections. Happy Tuesday!

 

 

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is a meme currently hosted by Jenn(Mizz B). This is an opportunity for book bloggers to share the books that they have recently added to their TBR lists.

I found three books this week. I will admit, I actually went and looked for the three titles based on the fact that other book bloggers had written very good reviews about them. There were reviewers who didn’t like the books though but I was still quite intrigued. Here are my three finds for this week:

 

 

 

 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes- I got this book on Tuesday, promised myself that I would keep it until I get through my current TBR. Anyway, I am currently on Chapter 8 and Its getting really good with each page. I can’t wait to see how it ends.

 

 

November 9 by Colleen Hoover and Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins- I got these books last night.I hope to be disciplined enough to get through my current TBR before reading them but the temptation is so strong. I have seen only good reviews on November 9 and mixed ones on Anna and the French Kiss. I am intrigued though.

 

So those are the gems that I added to my collection this week. Tell me about your Friday Finds? Did you find any interesting books to add to your TBR this week? Have you read the ones on mine?

 

 

 

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is a meme  hosted by  Miz B. This is an opportunity to share the books that you have recently found and added to your TBR.

 
I found four books this week that I would like to add to my TBR this month. My March TBR  already has 10 books but I couldn’t resist these new finds. I know it’s a bad habit but in my defense, these books were calling out my name demanding to be read immediately 

So here are my new gems:

The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer

Synopsis:

Eight-year-old Carmel has always been different – sensitive, distracted, with an heart-stopping tendency to go missing. Her mother Beth, newly single, worries about her daughter’s strangeness, especially as she is trying to rebuild a life for the two of them on her own. When she takes Carmel for an outing to a local festival, her worst fear is realized: Carmel disappears into the crowd. Unable to accept the possibility that her daughter might be gone for good, Beth embarks on a mission to find her. Meanwhile, Carmel begins an extraordinary and terrifying journey of her own. But do the real clues to Carmel’s disappearance lie in the otherworldly qualities her mother had only begun to guess at?

I found the book based on a recommendation by an online book club and was intrigued by the blurb. Sounds like a good mystery/thriller novel. I hope to enjoy it.

 
The Lovers by Rod Nordlands– I couldn’t resist this book especially since the couple is described as Afghanistan’s Romeo and Juliet who defied their parents and escaped an honor killing. It is a true story by the way.

 

Synopsis: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 Know Why the Caged Bird Sing  and The Heart of a Woman by Maya Angelou– I have never read any books by Maya Angelou. I fell in love with her poem, Phenomenal Woman back in the day when I watched Janet Jackson recite the poem in the movie Poetic Justice.

Have you read any of the these books? I would love to hear your thoughts on them.