The Book Castle

2019/01/31

BOOK HAUL:
JANUARY

We're well on our way into the new year now and I've had the loveliest of months, mostly because I spent three weeks of it traveling around the North Island of New Zealand, where it's currently the middle of summer. Coming back to Oslo was quite the cold shock, but it's also good to get back into the swing of things. One can't be on holiday forever!

I'm already a little behind on my reading goal for the year, because although I feel like I read quite a lot while I was away, most of the days were spent exploring. I also got very distracted by the movies they had on the airplane (both on our way there and back), so although I had 26 hours (one way) to get some reading done, I didn't.

Either way, I've got some new books this month that will help me with getting back on track! One of them is an exciting arc sent to me by the publisher and the rest I all got myself.

(affiliate links)

(*book sent by publisher)

Black Holes and Baby Universes by Stephen Hawking

My Brief History by Stephen Hawking

Reality Is Not What It Means by Carlo Rovelli

Normal People by Sally Rooney

Asking For It by Kate Harding

Infinity In The Palm Of Your Hand by Marcus Chown

*The Gendered Brain by Gina Rippon

Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin

I hope you've all had a lovely January and a great start to the year!

EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY:
NEW YORK STORIES

The wonderful New York Stories by Everyman's Library.

10 TRANSLATED BOOKS I WANT TO READ IN 2019

BOOK REVIEW:
BECOMING BY MICHELLE OBAMA

Title: Becoming
Author: Michelle Obama
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 426
Rating: 3/5

Summary:
In this book, Michelle Obama chronicles her life from childhood through her eight years being the First Lady of the United States, the first African American women to serve in that role.

Review:
I quite enjoyed this book, although not as much as I thought I was going to, which I think in part has something to do with this being so incredibly hyped up. It's a good book but I expected to be blown away, and I'm not.

I've liked Michelle Obama ever since I first saw an interview with her; she's unapologetically intelligent, hard working, kind and graceful. I think she's a true inspiration, especially to women. Reading about her life, especially her early years, was really interesting, but I found that the further into the book I got, the less interested I was, perhaps because I'm not always that interested in reading about family life and marriage.

The way Michelle writes is honest and straightforward and she's quite detail oriented, which I like. I think this is a good book, but I wished that it had dug a little bit deeper. I think maybe I expected this to be more about her thoughts on certain issues or that she'd discuss topics in greater depth, but instead it's simply the journey of her life up until this point.

If I was going to rate Michelle Obama herself, she'd get an infinite amount of stars, but because this is a book, I've given it a rating which says I liked and enjoyed the book, which is accurate. I hope she writes another one because I'd love to know more about what she thinks!

You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads

#FRIDAYREADS

INTERNATIONAL BOOKTUBER TAG

EVERYMAN'S POCKET POETS:
ARABIC POEMS

An absolutely magnificent collection of Arabic Poems from Everyman's Library.

THINGS I LIKE NO. 18

In recent years, I've gotten really into doing face masks; the first ones I tried were the fresh ones from LUSH (which I've written a post about before) and I love them; they're so fresh and great. They do, however, expire within a few weeks and it's very rare that I manage to finish them. So, I've been looking for something similar and I've finally found it!

The Body Shop is one of those brands I feel like I've completely been ignoring for some reason, but I'm now finally taking a closer look at and I've found these absolutely wonderful face masks! They've got loads of different ones and I'm currently trying out a few (there was a sale recently which robbed my wallet), but the first one I tried and the one that made me fall in love with them is the Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask.

This is a purifying mask with bamboo charcoal, green tea leaves and organic tea tree oil, and it's both vegan and cruelty free. It has kind of a chunky texture and it looks like lumpy dirt when you put it on, but my skin always feels amazing after I've used it. And you know what my favorite thing about it is? You only need to use it for about 5-10 minutes before you rinse it off, so it's super quick and efficient!

10 NONFICTION BOOKS I WANT TO READ IN 2019

BOOK REVIEW:
THE SEVEN DEATHS OF EVELYN HARDCASTLE BY STUART TURTON

Title: The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
Author: Stuart Turton
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 528
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
Evelyn Hardcastle will be killed tonight - and every night until Aiden Bishop can figure out who the murderer is. Doomed to live the same day again and again, the only escape is to solve the mystery, but no one and nothing in Blackheath is exactly what it seems.

Review:
This was such an exciting and thrilling book!

Reading this is exactly like trying to put together a tricky puzzle where you can't see what the picture is until the very last piece. The plot is incredibly complicated and no one would blame you if you got a bit confused in points, but I found the further into it I got, the more manageable it was (I suspect it's meant to be this way). Most of the characters are incredibly interesting, although there are a lot of them so it requires a bit of concentration to remember them all.

It's a book that needs you to pay close attention because there is never a moment of peace, which in some stories can be a bit draining, but in this it's only fun because you constantly want to learn more and you want to figure it out. It's a story that sucks you right in and I especially loved the setting and the dark atmosphere. There are also parts in here where you learn something shocking and creepy about this place that freaks you out, but you can't stop reading!

It's not a book without faults - the ending was perhaps a bit too much and felt slightly rushed, not all the characters are well-developed and it is perhaps a wee bit too long and too perplexing - but for a debut novel, this is extraordinary. It's a complex novel that I admit can be slightly confusing if you're not vigilant, but it's worth making a bit of effort to get lost in.

You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads

10 FICTION BOOKS I WANT TO READ IN 2019

PENGUIN ENGLISH LIBRARY:
THE SCARLET LETTER

The vibrant The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

BOOKSTAGRAM SPOTLIGHT:
@MULANREADS

It's time for 2019's very first bookstagram spotlight and today I want to show you an account I found recently and absolutely love; @mulanreads!

Her pictures are full of flowers, which I love and, of course, books!

Se dette innlegget på Instagram

Et innlegg delt av wulan🇮🇩 (@mulanreads) Des. 28, 2018 kl. 7:06 PST

Se dette innlegget på Instagram

Et innlegg delt av wulan🇮🇩 (@mulanreads) Nov. 24, 2018 kl. 5:41 PST

Se dette innlegget på Instagram

Et innlegg delt av wulan🇮🇩 (@mulanreads) Des. 13, 2018 kl. 7:01 PST

Go follow!

BEST BOOKS OF 2018: NONFICTION

BOOK REVIEW:
THE WORM AND THE BIRD BY CORALIE BICKFORD-SMITH

Title: The Worm and The Bird
Author: Coralie Bickford-Smith
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 64
Rating: 3/5

Summary:
In this beautifully illustrated book, we meet a worm who longs for more space.

Review:
I've previously read The Fox and The Star by Bickford-Smith and I have kind of similar feelings towards this as I do towards that.

The story in this is short and meaningful and the words are obviously chosen with care, but the art is what steals the show. I love the style of it, I love the use of earthy colors and I really like how they've spread the artwork across the pages.

For anyone who enjoys art and picture books, this is a treat of a book. It's gorgeous, charming and bittersweet.

You can get this book at The Book Depository (affiliate link)
You can read more about it on Goodreads