Tag: recommendations

Book Reviews

About a Book joins FB + a thank you

by Ida2 Comments on About a Book joins FB + a thank you

IMG_2053Creating About a Book and writing about books for the past year has been a very enriching experience.  It has given me the opportunity to connect with so many wonderful readers, authors, fellow book bloggers and led me to discover books I may not have come across otherwise.  In an effort to make the blog updates more accessible for friends, family, and readers who are not members of WordPress or Instagram, I decided to create a Facebook page.  You can find it here!  I would love to connect with you there as well. 🙂

A big thank you to everyone who has found their way to About a Book, whether it be through the website or Instagram.  I sincerely appreciate all your comments, recommendations, and feedback.  I look forward to sharing more reviews and discovering more wonderful books.

Thank you for your continued support!

❤ Ida

Lists, Recommendations

My Favourite Books About Books

by Ida2 Comments on My Favourite Books About Books

IMG_2029“The words you can’t find, you borrow.
We read to know we’re not alone.  We read because we are alone.  We read and we are not alone.” – Gabrielle Zevin, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

My recent read of The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman, a book about a secret Library society, spies, and of course books, made me think back to some of my favourite books that have books as one of the main themes.  It is always wonderful to read something that captures the love of reading so many of us share and the beauty of a story.  These are my favourite books about books:

1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Young Daniel becomes fascinated by a book called The Shadow of the Wind by Julián Carax.  When he sets out to find other works by tis mysterious author, he discovers that someone is destroying every book Carax had ever written.  Beautifully written and engaging story with an intriguing mystery.

2. Mr. Peneumbra’s 24-hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Young protagonist Clay Jannon stumbles upon a pattern in customer book selection, and sets out to uncover the mystery of Mr. Penumbra’s bookstore with the help of his friends.  A fun adventure that examines the relationship between new technology and old school books.

3. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Independent bookstore owner A.J. Fikry is grieving the loss of his wife and has isolated himself from just about everyone.  When he discovers an unexpected package left at his bookstore, his life takes a turn in a whole new direction.  A beautifully written and touching story. Continue reading “My Favourite Books About Books” →

Book Reviews, Non-Fiction

Make Me Remake Me by Gillian Cott

by Ida2 Comments on Make Me Remake Me by Gillian Cott

IMG_1810“I realized that I deserved romance if I dreamt it and adventure if I desired it.”

With a desire to travel and expand beyond what is familiar, Gillian Cott embarked on an adventure by saying “Yes!” to an opportunity to live on a farm in Burgundy, France.  A decision which would lead her to Paris, Prague, Montreal, and New York, among others.  Through a combination of poetry and prose, she recounts moments, people, and locations that were significant to her experience, along with the feelings that came with those moments.

Walking on Windy Days

Embrace all colours and feelings of life
like the wet autumn leaves that stick together
crushed under boots
but still bold

At times, you still feel inexplicably alone
more like the last leaf left on a tree
begging to fall
to feel more than
just yourself
shaking against the wind.

Make Me Remake Me: Writing Myself Across Two Continents is a lovely little book that beautifully conveys the author’s feelings about the different and new places she found herself along with romantic hopes, desires, and disappointments.  The combination of prose and poetry works very well and I loved the writing style, finding myself quite often marking phrases that particularly struck me.  Mostly this is a book about self-discovery, finding your place in the world, learning to love yourself and not be defined by another.

Lists, Recommendations

Top 5 YA Novels I Have Read & Reviewed

by Ida4 Comments on Top 5 YA Novels I Have Read & Reviewed

IMG_0297In the past couple of months I read a few YA novels, all within a relatively short span of time.  I found them to be nice reads but falling short of the intrigue presented by their premise, and ultimately not reaching the full extent of their potential.  This made me look back at the YA novels I have read and reviewed so far to re-visit my prior experiences.  While there are a few books that fell short for me, there are five stand-outs that I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.

1. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
If I had to recommend just one book, it would be this one.  It is a smart, character driven debut novel that is absolutely brilliant.  It follows a nine-member crew travelling on a tunnelling ship whose job it is to punch holes through space in order to create shortcuts.  A must-read.

2. The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton
A strange and heart-breaking story about a girl born with the wings of a bird.  It’s wonderfully engrossing with great depth of character as it explores the struggles of Ava and her family. Continue reading “Top 5 YA Novels I Have Read & Reviewed” →

Recommendations

RANKING| Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series Novels

by IdaLeave a Comment on RANKING| Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series Novels

IMG_2917The Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series is based around Armand Gamache, the Chief Inspector of Homicide of the Sûreté du Québec.  It follows him and his partner Jean Guy along with a variety of characters of a small fictional Quebec village called Three Pines.  The novels are well-written, suspenseful, and I have been a big fan ever since I stumbled across the eight book in the series, The Beautiful Mystery a couple of years ago.  Soon after, I had read each book and have continued to follow the series ever since.  Some books I enjoyed a lot, others a little less, and a couple not so much.  Here is my ranking of the books in the series, from my favourite to least favourite.  (no spoilers)

1. Still Life
My favourite book is also the first one in the series.  Still Life introduces us to Chief Inspector Gamache who is called in to investigate a suspicious death in the village of Three Pines.  It is a great introduction to the series and along with getting to know all the characters, the investigation of a very mysterious death makes for a great read.  Continue reading “RANKING| Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series Novels” →