BOOK HAUL:FEBRUARY

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

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The shortest month of the year is at an end and it's time to take a look at the books I got this month! February has been pretty good, although I'm totally ready for spring to arrive and for all this snow and ice to disappear. I'm over it!

Anyways, on to the books!

( a f f i l i a t e  l i n k s )

Short Poems of New Zealand edited by Jenny Bornholdt

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Ubik by Philip K. Dick

Spark Joy by Marie Kondo

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Bienes Historie by Maja Lunde (English version here)

Erebus by Michael Palin

Speak No Evil by Uzodinma Iweala

Wild Journeys by Bruce Ansley

I hope you're all doing well and that you've had a great month!

THINGS I LIKE NO. 19

Today I've got another beauty product to share with you, that I've been loving lately! I actually discovered this through one of my friends and it smelled so good I just had to get one for myself. It's from The Body Shop and it's one of their body butters called the Wild Argan Oil Body Butter.

This is perfect for my dry winter skin and it's super effective, and I don't even have to use it every day. I feel like in summertime, I'll only have to apply it every once in a while. I've also found it to be really soothing after having been in the sun!

I'd highly recommend going into one of their shops and smell this, because it's to die for! I love it aaaand it's cruelty free!

BOOK REVIEW: THE GENE BY SIDDHARTHA MUKHERJEE

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

Title: The Gene: An Intimate History
Author: Siddhartha Mukherjee
Published: 2016
Language: English
Pages: 608
Rating: 3/5

Summary:
Spanning the globe and several centuries, this explores the history of genes.

Review:
This was a really interesting book, but also exhausting to read.

I've never really known a whole lot about genetics, so it was quite exciting to learn about it. I especially enjoyed the very early history of it, as well as reading about the newest developments. It was a bit of information overload though and I'm sure quite a lot of it went a bit over my head.

I was especially interested in the discussions on the ethical and moral implications of this topic, both historical and presently. There are a lot of things happening in this field and have been happening for a few decades now that is quite mind blowing, as well as worrying.

It's a very well researched book and incredibly thorough, which is great, but there are parts in here that are dry and/or boring and a little hard to get through. Some parts are very accessible and easy to understand, whereas others it's hard to keep track of all the necessary terms and details.

So, although this is a fascinating topic and a very good book that you'll learn a lot from, it's quite the effort to get through as well. It's great to read if you're interested in the topic and have the time to make the effort to make your way through it.

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

MARCH MYSTERY MADNESS TBR

BOOK REVIEW: THE PERFECT MOTHER BY AIMEE MOLLOY

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

Title: The Perfect Mother
Author: Aimee Molloy
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 336
Rating: 1/5

Summary:
A group of new mothers, calling themselves the May Mothers, get together twice a week to get out of the house and share their new experiences of motherhood with one another, but one night, they decide to meet up at a local bar and while they're there, one of the mother's babies is abducted.

Review:
Honestly, I should have just stopped reading this when I was 50 pages in and I knew I wasn't invested in any of the characters or the story. I always harbour the hope that I'll discover something if I keep going though, so that's what I did.

I'm sure a lot of people would enjoy this book and I don't really know why I didn't, at least a little. I didn't mind the writing style, although it didn't blow me away, and some of the characters were interesting enough, but I just didn't care about any of it. I didn't find the mystery interesting or thrilling at all and when something shocking happened or was revealed, I just wasn't bothered at all.

So overall, I sadly didn't enjoy this at all. I was just bored by the whole thing.

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

#FRIDAYREADS

3 WEEKS IN NZ PART III: LAKE TAUPO + AUCKLAND

PENGUIN ORANGE COLLECTION: THE JOY LUCK CLUB

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

The lovely The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.

BOOKSTAGRAM SPOTLIGHT: @LOOKINGFORABURA

I've got another lovely bookstagram account you all need to take a look at: @lookingforabura! This is run by twenty-something Abeer and the whole atmosphere of her photos is amazing!

Se dette innlegget på Instagram

Et innlegg delt av 𝙰𝙱𝙴𝙴𝚁 ☾ (@lookingforabura) Feb. 9, 2019 kl. 6:59 PST

Se dette innlegget på Instagram

Et innlegg delt av 𝙰𝙱𝙴𝙴𝚁 ☾ (@lookingforabura) Feb. 5, 2019 kl. 4:53 PST

Se dette innlegget på Instagram

Et innlegg delt av 𝙰𝙱𝙴𝙴𝚁 ☾ (@lookingforabura) Jan. 3, 2019 kl. 6:58 PST

Go follow!

BOOK REVIEW: NORMAL PEOPLE BY SALLY ROONEY

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

Title: Normal People
Author: Sally Rooney
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 288
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
This is the story of Connell and Marianne, who grew up in the same town and are vastly different from one another, but they have a connection, one that follows them through their years at college.

Review:
This is one of the most intense books I think I've ever read.

This book has some of the most interesting characters I think I've ever read about in a really long time. The relationship between the two main characters is incredibly complex, fascinating and maddening. It's quite emotional to see these two people go on this journey.

The writing is excellent throughout most of the book and there are certain phrases that hit you right in the gut. It's almost overwhelming how intimate and private this book feels, like you're getting to look at something you're not supposed to look at (which of course makes you want to look at it).

Although I think this book is one of the most interesting books I've read in a good while, there is a little part of me that also found it a little frustrating because I often just wanted to shake the characters and scream "Just talk to each other!", but perhaps that's just because I was so invested in them. Overall though, I'd definitely recommend this for anyone who likes contemporary literary fiction. It's also a great one to read alongside someone else and discuss!

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

FEBRUARY WRAP UP PART I

BOOK REVIEW: A KEEPER BY GRAHAM NORTON

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

Title: A Keeper
Author: Graham Norton
Published: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 326
Rating: 3/5

Summary:
A woman returns to her hometown of Buncarragh in Ireland after her mother's funeral and as she's cleaning out her mother's house, she finds a pile of letters that holds the key to her mother's mysterious past.

Review:
This was an exciting and engrossing story, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading it.

I've previously read Holding by Norton which I very much enjoyed, and I have some of the same feelings about this that I did about that. This is an intriguing story with some really interesting characters, and Norton is incredibly good at bringing life to the rural small town and the people in it. The atmosphere is fantastic and you can really picture the landscape.

I think perhaps the mystery in this is better than in Norton's previous book, but one of my favorite parts about Holding was the moments of delightful humour in it and I kind of missed that in this.

Overall, this is an enjoyable, slightly dark cosy mystery and I was very much entertained by it even if it isn't the best book of this kind I've read. It's definitely worth the read if you like mysteries!

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

#FRIDAYREADS

3 WEEKS IN NZ PART II: ROTORUA

BOOK REVIEW: SEASON OF MIGRATION TO THE NORTH BY TAYEB SALIH

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

Title: Season of Migration to the North
Author: Tayeb Salih, Denys Johnson-Davies (translator)
Published: 166
Language: English (translated from Arabic)
Pages: 192
Rating: 2/5

Summary:
A young man returns to his village in Sudan after being educated abroad and becomes friends with a new face in the village; a man who has a troubling past.

Review:
I don't have a whole lot to say about this book. I was quite excited to read it, but I'm afraid it wasn't quite for me.

The writing in this is beautiful and the only reason I've given this two stars instead of one. The story started off pretty well with the first thirty or so pages, but the rest was wholly uninteresting to me. I wasn't particularly invested in any of the characters and honestly felt a little bored by the whole thing.

I feel like this might be a better book to study in school, as I'm aware it's a commentary on colonisation and the history of Sudan and I'm sure it's fantastic when you understand all of that, but as just an average reader, I didn't really feel like I got a whole lot from this.

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

NEW ON MY TBR

BOOK REVIEW: GRIEF IS THE THING WITH FEATHERS BY MAX PORTER

I N C L U D E S  A F F I L I A T E  L I N K S

Title: Grief Is The Thing With Feathers
Author: Max Porter
Published: 2015
Language: English
Pages: 114
Rating: 3/5

Summary:
In this collection of poems, we meet two young boys who have lost their mother, a father who has lost his wife and the crow that has attached itself to the grieving family.

Review:
This was an interesting poetry collection and there are things I love about it and things I don't.

I really like the theme of this book and you can really feel the grief of this family. The story is told through the narrative of the dad, the boys and the crow, which is interesting. I like the image of this black bird suddenly being a part of the family, but I struggled reading his parts as they literally made no sense to me. The other poems though, were magnificent.

Perhaps I would've gotten more out of this if I had read Ted Hughes' Crow before reading this which is heavily referenced, but I feel like I shouldn't have to. I still very much liked this though and I feel like it's worth checking out if you like reading poetry.

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

3 WEEKS IN NZ PART I: PAIHIA

BOOK REVIEW: EXIT WEST BY MOHSIN HAMID

Title: Exit West
Author: Mohsin Hamid
Published: 2017
Language: English
Pages: 231
Rating: 3/5

Summary:
In a country where war is about to break out, two people meet. Just as their relationship is taking form, the violence of their hometown escalates and they decide to escape through these mysterious doors they've heard whispers about; doors that can whisk you far away.

Review:
This is a wonderful book.

I'm a little weak for a quiet story and this has exactly the kind of quietness I like. The writing is beautiful and manages to conjure up people and cities without an excess of words. The two main characters are incredibly interesting to read about and I loved coming on this journey with them and seeing them grow.

There's an obvious commentary of our current world in this that I really liked. It discusses war and immigration, as well as love, family and courage. The writer doesn't over do it though; it's subtle, yet powerful. My only complaint is that I do think it starts off a lot stronger than it ends and there are parts of the story that are left unexplained.

It's a novel that feels truthful and I think that's why I liked it so much. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction.

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