|
|
BookBrowse Highlights
|
July 16, 2015
|
|
|
Hello
As lovers of books, we especially cherish libraries and in this issue we highlight some very special old institutions, a Beyond the Book section for our recent review feature of The Library at Mount Char.
Our First Impressions program has generated quite a lot of buzz this summer and we include a selection of reviews for What Doesn't Kill Her, The Wild Girl and
Maybe in Another Life.
Fredrik Backman, author of BookBrowse Favorite,
A Man Called Ove, is back with My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She's Sorry, one of the books we're discussing in our book club. We're also discussing The Underground Girls of Kabul, which uncovers Afghanistan custom of bacha posh, in which girls are brought up as boys.
Members - this month's First impressions/Book Club books are now open for request. And all are welcome to enter to win Landline by Rainbow Rowell.
And, last but far from least, I hope you enjoy Donna's very personal perspective as she reviews Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman.
Happy reading!
Davina, BookBrowse Editor
|
|
1. This Month's Free Books
Each month we give away books to U.S. resident members to read and review/discuss. This month's selection is now open (closing Sunday 7/19 at 3pm ET). Most members who take part receive a book about once every 3 months. Priority is based primarily on when a member last received a book, so new members are extremely likely to receive a book when they first request.
Not yet a member? SUBSCRIBE TODAY for just $10 for 3 months or $35 for a year. Find out more!
|
2. The BookBrowse Book Club
Please join us to discuss:
The Underground Girls of Kabul: In Search of a Hidden Resistance in Afghanistan by Jenny Nordberg
Published by Crown Jul 2015. Nonfiction. 384 pages. Paperback & ebook
An investigative journalist uncovers the custom of bacha posh, in which girls are brought up as boys. This book will transform your understanding of what it means to grow up as a girl. More about this book | Join the discussion
|
3. The BookBrowse Book Club Please join us to discuss:
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman
Published by Atria Jun 2015. Novel. 384 pages. Hardcover & ebook
From the author of A Man Called Ove, a charming, warmhearted novel about a young girl whose grandmother dies and leaves behind a series of letters, sending her on a journey that brings to life the world of her grandmother's fairy tales. More about this book | Join the discussion
|
|
4. First Impressions: Members Recommend
Each month we give away books to U.S. resident members to read and review. Here are their opinions on three recently published books:
The Wild Girl by Kate Forsyth
July 2015, Thomas Dunne Books. Hardcover & ebook Historical Fiction. 496 pages
Number of reader reviews: 22 Readers' consensus: 4.0/5.0
Members Say "For those in love with well-researched historical fiction and sweet romance, reading doesn't get much better than Kate Forsyth's novel, The Wild Girl. Within the pages lies an in-depth look into the life and turbulent times of the Brothers Grimm and the unfolding of a forbidden love story ... You'll appreciate all things Grimm after reading this novel!" - Valerie V. (Pennington, NJ)
"Do you love history? What about storytelling? Are you a romantic but a realist as well? This book is for you! I found it delightful and so well written. The story of Dortchen Wild and Wilhelm Grimm is set in the early 19th century while Napoleon is trying to conquer Europe.... Kate Forsyth's second book is a beautiful work of art. I enjoyed her first book, Bitter Greens but for me this is a winner." - Deborah M. (Auburn Hills, MI)
"The title, The Wild Girl, open your imagination for a great adventure in storytelling ... I look forward to sharing my this book with our teacher book club. This is storytelling at its best." - Amy M. (Southlake, TX)
More about this book | Read all the reviews Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
|
|
5. First Impressions: Members Recommend Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid July 2015. Washington Square Press. Paperback & ebook Novel. 352 pages
Number of reader reviews: 34 Readers' consensus: 4.1/5.0
Members Say "This book was charming! It stayed with me long after I finished reading it. It is cleverly written in alternating chapters of different, but concurrent story lines, causing the reader to ponder the question: Can one inconsequential decision change the course of your life? The characters are well developed, very real and easy to connect with. Hannah is representative of so many young women trying to discover who they are and what they want." - Karen L. (Chicago, IL) "I was expecting the plot device (following two parallel stories branching out from a single decision a woman makes) to feel contrived or difficult to follow, but the author did a lovely job of it. I was engaged, interested, surprised, and moved. Excellent job with something that could have been horrid. Highly recommended, especially as a fun-but-deep summer read." - Susan B. (Rutledge, MO) I think this book would make for a fabulous book club pick as there is much to consider and ask what if? I have now read all of Taylor Jenkins-Reid's books and will anxiously await her next!" - Lori H. (Puyallup, WA)
More about this book | Read all the reviews Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
|
|
6. First Impressions: Members Recommend What Doesn't Kill Her by Carla Norton Minotaur Books. June 2015. Hardcover & ebook Thriller. 320 pages
Number of reader reviews: 25 Readers' consensus: 4.2/5.0
Members Say "One of my favorite authors, Jeffery Deaver, gave this book outstanding reviews which is one of the reasons I chose it - and I'm so glad I was selected to receive it. Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. This book had all the aspects of what I love to read - a thriller, suspenseful, psychological, nail-biting, chilling, great character insight to name a few. I think anyone would be remiss not to read this wonderful author. I have already spread the word to many of my friends and to my book club." - Carol G. (Little Egg Harbor, NJ) " What Doesn't Kill Her is the first Carla Norton book I've read, and I liked it so much I went back to buy the first book in this series." - Karen H. (Centreville, MD) "Boy, this is one gutsy girl! Reeve is almost to hard to believe, but the author makes her a real young lady who decides she must fight back against the most terrifying time of her life at the hands of her life at the hands of Daryl Wayne Flint. ... Well written, page turner, good character development, I really enjoyed this book and will look for Carla Norton's books in the future." - Caryl L. (Richmond, VA) More about this book | Read all the reviews Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
|
|
7. Blog: Go Set a Watchman Resonates With Me I pre-ordered Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee some time ago. It arrived Tuesday evening. I read it yesterday, in one sitting. I've also read many, many reviews and commentaries. Here are my Thursday morning thoughts: Although GSaW was actually written before To Kill a Mockingbird most reviewers have spoken about it as a sequel since it deals with events that occur decades later. They seem to feel betrayed by the fact that the Atticus Finch they had so revered is shown to be a racist. I'm really puzzled by this reaction. Style and point of view aside I would expect that readers -- people I hold in the highest esteem and who, because they are readers after all -- would be among the first to understand the concepts of cognitive dissonance and character complexity. Frankly, I fell in love with the old Atticus Finch right along with everyone else. But I also recognized the fact that as a character, as a human being, he was a fiction. He had depth but no breadth. Maybe I knew that because when I was the same age as Scout was during that trial, in my eyes my father was just like Atticus. He was no lawyer and no champion of civil rights. But he appeared to me as the kindest, most tolerant and benevolent man I knew. He didn't degrade people. He was as friendly with janitors and parking lot valets and waitresses as he was with the millionaire that owned the company he worked for. He treated all people, regardless of race or social situation, equally well. By his actions he taught me tolerance and respect and open-mindedness. It wasn't until years later that I learned he had much more complex views of the world. He was also a racist. I learned that the hard way, by dating a Black man. My father raged and ranted. We went round and round, me in tears, he in stroke-level fury. I confronted him with his own lessons, his own example that he had so clearly set for me as a child. I told him, "This is what you taught me; to take each human being as a respected individual." I was confused, angry, hurt beyond words. .... continuedRead this blog post | All blog posts | Review by Donna Chavez
|
|
8. Beyond the Book: Very Old Libraries Every time we review a book we also explore a related topic. Here is a recent "beyond the book" article for The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins One of the features of the magnificent library in Scott Hawkins' The Library at Mount Char, is its age. Some of the books and manuscripts it contains are said to be at least twenty thousand years old. In the real world there are many fascinating old libraries still in existence, a few of which are described below: Haeinsa Temple In the Gaya Mountains in South Korea, the 9th century Haeinsa Temple houses the Tripitaka Koreana, a collection of Buddhist scriptures carved on over 80,000 wooden printing blocks that date back to the 13th century. Since 1398, the blocks have been housed in the Janggyeong Panjeon complex within the temple. The incredible condition of these ancient wood blocks is attributed both to the sunless building which houses them and the way there were originally made. Each individual block of birch wood was first soaked in salt water for three years and boiled. They were then exposed to the elements for a further three years. After carving, each block was varnished in poisonous lacquer to keep insects away and framed in metal to maintain its shape. St Catherine's Monastery Located in Egypt at the foot of Mount Sinai (where it is said that Moses saw the burning bush) St Catherine's Monastery houses the world's oldest continually operational library, established in the sixth century. Only the Vatican library houses a larger collection of early manuscripts. Housed here are the Sinai manuscripts including the Codex Sinaiticus, a handwritten copy of the Greek Bible. The monastery was built on the orders of the Emperor Justinian I who reigned from 527-565. Read the beyond the book article and review in full, plus an excerpt
|
|
9. Publishing Soon
Members - we have copies of this book to give away to read and review for First Impressions (offer closes this Sunday.)Each month BookBrowse previews 80+ notable books before they publish. Here is a particularly interesting title from these upcoming books.
When the Moon Is Low by Nadia Hashimi
William Morrow. July 21, 2015. Novel, 400 pages. Hardcover & ebook Buy at Amazon | B&N | Indie
In Kabul, we meet Fereiba, a schoolteacher who puts her troubled childhood behind her when she finds love in an arranged marriage. But Fereiba's comfortable life implodes when the Taliban rises to power and her family becomes a target of the new fundamentalist regime. Forced to flee with her three children, Fereiba has one hope for survival: to seek refuge with her sister's family in London. Traveling with forged papers and depending on the kindness of strangers, Fereiba and the children make a dangerous crossing into Iran under cover of darkness, the start of a harrowing journey that reduces her from a respected wife and mother to a desperate refugee.... continued
More about this book | More previews
|
|
10. Win This Book
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
Published Jul 2015. Paperback & ebook 320 pages
Enter the Giveaway
From the Jacket
Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it's been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply - but that almost seems beside the point now. Maybe that was always beside the point.
Two days before they're supposed to visit Neal's family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can't go. She's a TV writer, and something's come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her - Neal is always a little upset with Georgie - but she doesn't expect to him to pack up the kids and go without her.
When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she's finally done it. If she's ruined everything.
That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It's not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she's been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts...
Is that what she's supposed to do?
Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?
5 people will each win a paperback copy of
Landline. This giveaway is open to residents of the USA only, unless you are a BookBrowse member, in which case you are eligible to win wherever you might live.
Enter the giveaway Past Winners
|
|
About BookBrowse
Get to know BookBrowse through our 4-part introductory series:
Back issues of this newsletterYou might also be interested in the content of our About section, including how we got started, profiles of our editorial staff and reviewers, and answers to frequently asked questions. |
|
|
|
|
|
|