UPCOMING RELEASES: MARCH

March is just a day away and it's time, once again, to look at some interesting new books coming out this month!

The Keeper by Jessica Moor

10th

This is a mystery thriller about a woman who is found in a common suicide spot and the police are ready to declare it as such, but the residents of a domestic violence shelter where who knew this woman disagree. I really want to read this one, firstly because it's a mystery thriller and I love those, but also because it explores domestic violence and violence against women.

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel

17th

What really interests me about this one is that it explores a very complicated mother-daughter relationship and it's about a girl who has grown up believing she was seriously ill until it turns out her mother was lying to everyone.

The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan

10th

This is set in Japan and apparently it's supposed to be quite a dark story, which intrigues me! The story is about a University student who commits suicide and it comes out after her death that she may have been running from something no one knew about. 

The Herd by Andrea Bartz

24th

This is another mystery thriller set in New York and it's about this company founded by a powerful woman wanting to raise other women up and so, when she goes missing, everyone in her life scrambles to find her. 

The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

3rd

This is a historical literary fiction novel based on a true story about a man who fought for the rights of Native Americans and that's all I really know! This has already been praised for its unforgettable characters though, which is why it peaked my interest.

#FRIDAYREADS

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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February has almost passed and it went by really quickly (even with an extra leap year day, it still feels like it's been a short month)! My favorite thing about this month has been that it's finally gotten noticeably lighter here and it finally feels like we're moving towards spring.

I spent a week of this February in Austria, skiing and chilling, which was awesome. It was good to have some days off work, as it gets a little depressing in winter, being inside a space without windows all day and not really seeing daylight at all during the week. 

I've got some exciting new books that have somehow piled up throughout the last few weeks, which is always exciting (I literally never get tired of new books, it just never gets old).

( a f f i l i a t e  l i n k s )

No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference by Greta Thunberg

Factfulness by Hans Rosling

The Misfit's Manifesto by Lidia Yuknavich

A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd

Ponti by Sharlene Teo

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Carol by Patricia Highsmith

Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa

I hope you're all having a lovely day!

BOOK REVIEW: THE UNINHABITABLE EARTH BY DAVID WALLACE-WELLS

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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Title: The Uninhabitable Earth: A Story of the Future
Author: David Wallace-Wells
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 336
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
In this book, Wallace-Wells delves into the science of climate change and explores the different and devastating consequences and effects the warming of the Earth will have.

Review:
This is the most alarming nonfiction book I've ever read and it was almost a painful read. And yet, I think it's a really good book. It's informative and relatively easy to understand and it's alarming for a reason: the consequences of the rise of the planet's temperature are much worse than most of us think.

One thing I really like about this is that the book explores and explains all kinds of things that can and will happen when the temperature's rise; we've got the more obvious ones that a lot of us already know of, but then there are also things that at least I had never thought of before or knew about.

It's an unflinching book and it sugarcoats nothing and it feels surreal to be reading these chapters and take it in that this is, most likely, our future. I'm not going to lie; reading this has not made me feel very hopeful and I am left feeling entirely overwhelmed and I don't really know what to do about that. But I also think that's kind of the point of the book; I think a lot of us push these issues to the back of our minds and think that "it'll work itself out" which is entirely false.

There is a little part of me that wishes there was at least a glimmer of hope in this book though; I do feel like I've gotten all this information thrown at me and it kind of just makes me want to give up, not going to lie. Because the book so intensely focuses on the negative, it almost feels unreal. It's very difficult to take in all of it.

Some of what is in here is, of course, speculative, because it's hard to accurately predict what is going to happen, which the authors points out several times, and so sometimes the book feels like it wavers  in its points a little bit, which is understandable. But it also shows us that the best case scenario is still absolutely horrific and I think that's important to be aware of.

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

AUSTRIA VLOG: READING, SKIING AND SNACKS

BOOK REVIEW: DET VAR IKKE VOLDTEKT BY HEIDI HELENE SVEEN

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Title: Det Var Ikke Voldtekt: 10 Menn Forsvarer Seg I Retten
Author: Heidi Helene Sveen
Published: 2019
Language: Norwegian
Pages: 269
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
By taking a look at ten different rape cases appearing in court in Norway, Sveen explores rape myths, consent and how we look and talk about rape and sexual assault in our society.

Review:
This was a difficult book to read, but really, really interesting. I've never read a book about rape specifically about Norway and I think that I went in with some sort of idea that "oh, we all know about rape myths and almost all of us know that those things aren't true." Apparently that is not the case.

We take a look at ten different cases in this and throughout them, we explore different rape myths and ways people accused of rape try to use them to free themselves of blame. At the end of each chapter, the author takes a closer look at the approach of each case and explains why whatever tactic was used could be effective (but usually isn't, luckily) and talks a little bit about public perception of things versus what the science tells us, like for example: some people think that victims who don't react to a rape the way "you're supposed", that calls into question their credibility, whereas in fact, studies show people react in all kinds of different ways to traumatic events and there is no "right way" to react.

It's extremely provocative to read about both the accused and their defence going after the victims with questions that all try to shift the blame on to them. The book also includes a lot of details about the different assaults and those bits definitely make the book harder to read, but I think it was the right choice to keep them in there.

One thing to note in this is that all the cases mentioned in this book ended up with the court condemning the accused of rape; there are no cases where they go free and so we only see that side of what these cases can be like.

Overall, a very interesting book that I think most people would find infuriating, but also educational.

You can get this book at Adlibris
You can read more about it on Goodreads

REVISITING MY TBR'S FROM 2019 TO SEE HOW I DID

NEW ON MY TBR

BOOK REVIEW: THE DEVOTION OF SUSPECT X BY KEIGO HIGASHINO

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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Title: The Devotion of Suspect X
Author: Keigo Higashino, Alexander O. Smith (translator)
Published: 2005
Language: English (translated from Japanese)
Pages: 440
Rating: 3/5

Summary:
Set in Tokyo, we follow a woman whose ex-husband has been murdered and we follow the story of the mystery through the woman, her neighbor and the detective investigating the case.

Review:
This was a pretty interesting story and I'm glad I read it!

This isn't your typical murder mystery in a lot of ways; you're told quite early on a lot about the murder and then throughout the story, different facets of the characters involved and facts of the crime come to light. The further into the story you get, the more you start questioning things and wondering what's really going on, until finally, we get to read about it in a surprising and twisty ending.

I think most of the characters are interesting, but I did notice that the woman in the story felt a little flat on occasion and I think she could've been better developed. The language is not particularly intricate; I think the whole book has a delightful tension to it throughout, but I sometimes wished we had more descriptions of both setting and characters. Like I mentioned, the twist at the end was a surprise and I didn't see it coming at all. I do perhaps think we spent a little too much time getting there; the story did feel a little slow in parts.

Overall though, I very much enjoyed this and it was fun to read a little bit of a different mystery thriller! I hope more of this author's work has been translated into English because I'd love to read it!

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: THE WILD SWANS BY HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

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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Title: The Wild Swans
Author: Hans Christian Andersen, Misha Hoekstra (translator), Helen Crawford-White (illustrator)
Published: 1838
Language: English (translated from Danish)
Pages: 64
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
This little volume contains the classic fairytales The Wild Swans and The Nightingale.

Review:
Andersen's stories were a big part of my childhood, so I'm pretty sure I must have come across these back in the day. Reading them again was nostalgic and wonderful.

The stories in here are full of magic, atmosphere and beautiful imagery, even if they are quite short. This particular edition of this book is also illustrated with black and white drawings scattered throughout and I really liked them. I felt they added something a little extra to the story, although they only appear in the first story, The Wild Swans, and I really wish the second story had been illustrated as well, because out of the two, The Nightingale was my favorite.

I think this is a great little read for anyone who enjoys fairytales and I really do love this particular edition, it's wonderful.

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

#FRIDAYREADS

A WEEKEND TRIP TO ENGLAND

A COOKBOOK HAUL

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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We've got a little mid-month book haul this month, but it's not a regular haul, this one is all about cookbooks! These are books of recipes I've gotten in the past seven or eight months and I just thought it would be fun to show you! About half of them were birthday or Christmas gifts, but the rest I picked out myself.

I really want to get better at making different kinds of food, because I actually really enjoy cooking when I make time for it. Also, who doesn't love eating delicious homemade food?

Also, if you want a look inside all of these, take a look at the video!

( a f f i l i a t e  l i n k s )

Book of Crumbles

Cravings: Hungry For More by Chrissy Teigen

Kokken, Bakeren, Hun Komikeren og Mat De Elsker by Hærland, Svensson & Fjeld

Half Baked Harvest: Super Simple by Tieghan Gerard

5 Ingredients by Jamie Oliver

Jubilee by Toni Tipton-Martin

I get hungry just looking at these!

BOOK REVIEW: GOTTA GET THEROUX THIS BY LOUIS THEROUX

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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Title: Gotta Get Theroux This: My Life and Strange Times on Television
Author: Louis Theroux
Published: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 416
Rating: 4/5

Summary:
In this, journalist and documentary film maker Louis Theroux takes us on a journey through his life and career.

Review:
I'm a huge fan of Louis Theroux's documentaries and I've watched almost all of them, so for me, being fascinated by his work, this was obviously a great book to get to read.

I thought it was very interesting to get to know the person behind all of his work and seeing the inner workings of the world he's in. I thought it was especially interesting to read about his thoughts on the more controversial stuff he's worked on and the people he's met and worked with and how he's tried to show that people are complex and complicated, even if they're doing really crazy things.

It was maybe not as personal as I thought it would be, which is fine, but I'd just expected it to dig a little bit deeper, since it's quite a long book. I also think sometimes he keeps harping on about the same things over and over and that obviously got a little repetitive.

I do wonder how this book would be to someone who isn't familiar with Theroux's work, like I really don't know if it's the kind of book that can stand alone without having a little bit of background beforehand. I did though, so I really enjoyed it!

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