World Book Day 2016

Selection of WBD books from 2016

Every year, around the first week of March or so, always during term time, World Book Day, is celebrated, an event at which children of school age all receive a coupon worth £1 which can be exchanged at a participating book shop or supermarket for one of the special world book day edition books (these books can often also be purchased for £1 each, should the child or parent wish to buy more) The proceeds from the books helps to fund child literacy programs ran by the charity behind world book day. The adult version of the event, world book night, is held every April 26th, at which volunteers give out books for free. Sadly, this year there were not enough books to go around, and so I'll be hosting my own give-away nearer the time.

This year, world book day landed on 3rd March. The list of titles was quite long, but as I am no longer the target audience, I selected the three titles that appealed the most to me, as a childhood reader of Roald Dahl, and an adult reader of Rainbow Rowell's books. I'm unfamiliar with Juno Dawson's work, so a shorter book seemed the ideal way to sample their work.

Title: The Great Mouse Plot [WBD edition]
Author: Roald Dahl , Illustrated by Quentin Blake
Date Started: 06/03/16
Date Finished: 06/03/16
Star rating: 3 out of 5
Thoughts and Quotes:  
"When I was seven, my mother decided I should leave kindergarten and go to a proper boys' school." With this, so begins the great mouse plot, and the tale of the prank involving a dead mouse (the mouse was found dead) and four other boys that Roald Dahl had made friends with during his two years at Llandaff Cathedral School.
The Great Mouse Plot tells of a practical joke played by an 8 year old Roald Dahl on a shopkeeper with very dirty hands indeed. I won't say more because of spoilers, but I'd recommend it to any mischievous children (or adults!)
Great short story taken from the childhood memories of Roald Dahl himself, with a chapter sampler and activity page at the back, featuring the BFG in this World Book Day 2016 edition (£1 rrp)

The Sin Eater's Daughter

Originally, this next post should have been about Middlesex, but I've just not been able to settle into it, so I will try again in a few weeks, however, I've had a few particular books sat on my shelf that I have only recently started itching to read.... and The Sin Eater's Daughter was one of those books.

 

Title: The Sin Eater's Daughter
Author: Melinda Salisbury
Date started: 03/03/16
Date finished: 04/03/16
Star Rating: 4 out of 5
Thoughts and Quotes:
Being a fan of the film 'the sin eater' which stared the late Heath Ledger, I was already familiar with the concept of a sin eater, one who 'consumes' the sins of the dying or recently deceased in order for that person's soul to pass on to the afterlife or heaven or where ever it is believed that we mortals go after death. I expected this novel to be about the family of whomever performs that role, and perhaps their training to be the next replacement, which to an extent, was the life of Twylla, the 17 year old protagonist of The Sin Eater's Daughter, before she learned she was destined to be Daunen Embodied, the living incarnation of the daughter of the two gods worshipped in the kingdom of Lormere. The Daunen Embodied is the queen's own executioner, only the royal family are immune to her touch, as within her skin, a deadly poison resides.

Twylla does not enjoy her role, but performs her duty in order to keep her queen happy and her family provided for, waiting for the day to arrive when she will marry the crown prince, Merek. Lormere has it's own rich history of myths and legends, one in particular, the sleeping prince, is reminiscent of the pied piper of hamlyn, with a grizzly twist, and folk songs, sung by Twylla at the court. A few of the lyrics appear in the book, appearing to follow the same tune as the sung version of "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allen Poe. The only welcome distraction from Twylla's lonely life, is her new personal guard, Lief.

**Potential Spoiler Alert**








Lief helps Twylla see past what she believes is her destiny, and encourages her to choose a new future for herself....with him. Whilst the prince is a likeable character once we get to know him, I'm still team Lief, as he was the one that showed Twylla that she could indeed love as others do, as well as being a rather attractive piece of forbidden fruit.

I rather enjoyed reading The Sin Eater's daughter, which is the first in a trilogy, and I have the second book in the series, The Sleeping Prince, ready to go. I would have liked to have seen the queen get her comeuppance,  as her punishment is only hinted at in the book, as well as a little more detail into how deep her madness runs, of which it must run pretty deep as she wanted to marry her own biological son after her second husband had usurped her one time too many.

The cover art is beautiful, and I hope the third book will match, as the second book does, and I found the pacing to be quite steady, then speed up a little towards the third part of the book, where in all the major drama occurs. There are a few deaths along the way, and  several titbits of information as to what foods should be served to the sin eater for the eating of sins, such as crow should be served for a murderer.

I do not want to go into more detail as that would spoil the story for anyone who has not read it yet. This is a YA title, and suitable for anyone over the age of 13 due to mature themes.

I am Malala - QR #1

I've hit a bit of a reading slump. When I say a bit, I've been suffering from it for the best part of the last 2-3 years, which is in part why the bookshany tbr jar is so large. One of my favourite booktubers [booktubers refers to book bloggers who make videos for youtube instead of writing blogs, although some do both], Little Book Owl, made a video on reading slumps a while ago, and one of her suggestions was to read something that you would not normally go for, such as non fiction, a memoir or autobiography.

On a recent trip to Waterstones, I spotted this year's selection of Quick Reads, which is a range of books priced at £1 each, with the aim of being fast for those who want something short and sweet,  and easy to pick up, for adults who may feel daunted by a larger book. For somebody in a slump, this makes the quick reads range very suitable to help shake it off.

Having lived in the UK my entire life, I was quite familiar with the story of Malala Yousafzai, the young woman who was shot by the Taliban for daring to try to get an education for herself and for encouraging other girls to do the same, who had come to England for life-saving treatment, and is now the youngest person ever to be awarded the Nobel peace prize. I had considered buying her book, and felt that this abridged edition would give me some insight into the details of her story that I was unaware of.   

Title: I am Malala : the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban
Author: Malala Yousafzai with Christina Lamb
Date Started: 02/03/16
Date Finished: 02/03/16
Star rating: 4.5 out of 5
Thoughts and Quotes: 
Malala's story, is a stark reminder of the liberties that women and girls in the west often take for granted, such as the right to vote, being allowed to travel without a male companion or needing permission to do so, the right to have our own property, and most importantly of all, the right to a free and equal education. There are some people in the west do not appreciate school, or see the importance of reading and writing, because it is not something they think about, it is taken for granted that they will be taught as children, and then used in a basic form as adults. This book should be given to those people, so it can be held up as a mirror and remind them that others do not have it so easy, and yes, life is hard in the western world, but it is far, far easier and safer for a huge majority than life is in the middle east. Though of course, some may argue against this point.

I would have liked a little more detail on the stark differences between life before and after the shooting for Malala, as I would have given this book a 5 out of 5 if that had been the case, however this is an abridged edition that I am reviewing, and the full length book may indeed give more detail. The book is split into named chapters, that in many ways, serve as interview question between Christina Lamb and Malala, Lamb being a recognised war correspondent and shares co-author credit on this book. I don't want to go into too much detail, as that would defeat the object of others reading this book, but one aspect of Malala is clear and jumps from every page: Malala is very humble and grateful for the help and support she has received for both herself and her cause. Through out her ordeal it is clear she has held tightly onto the wish that all children should receive a full education so that they might reach their full potential, a wish that I personally support wholeheartedly and hope to see come true in the future. All girls are equal to boys, they should be treated as equals and yet they are not, they denied the right to go to school and learn how to read and write in both Malala's home land and neighbouring countries due to poverty, extremists in control, and other political and economic factors. 

'I am Malala' chronicles Malala's fight to make it right.

If  any of the readers of bookshany would like to support Malala's goal of universal access to education through the malala fund, a non-profit organisation investing in community led education programmes and supporting education advocates around the world, please visit:
www.malala.org 

#4 The Painted Lady

Slip No. 4 - Read a non fiction book

My pick for Slip No. 4 is The Painted Lady - The art of tattooing the female body by Dominique Holmes with photography by Terry Benson

Title: The Painted Lady - The art of tattooing the female body
Author: Dominique Holmes, photography by Terry Benson
Date Started: 20/02/16
Date Finished: 20/02/16
Star Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Thoughts and Quotes:  Part of the reasoning behind selecting this particular title is due to a personal interest in tattooing and body art. At present, I personally have five tattoos, two of which contain literary references.

The book itself charts a basic history of tattooing for women, and discusses the origins behind the most common themes, relating to vintage, nautical, butterflies & flowers, Japanese, Mehndi and fusion, touching upon roses, koi carp, Buddhism, swallows and many of the other common images relating to those core themes.

 

The books illustrations and photographs are crisp and clear, displaying pictures of real tattoos that relate to the topic discussed on the pages, sometimes sharing snippets that explain the personal reasons behind why they chose a particular tattoo for themselves.

I quite enjoyed the book, learning a little more detail behind the different tattooing styles as they related to female body art, making a refreshing change towards the normally male dominated angle that tattoo books use.

On a personal note, I would have given the book a higher rating if two key points that I have never seen referred to in a tattoo art book had been addressed.  (1) the nature of rip-off tattooist art work and the effect this has - many of the tattoo artists that I personally know, have worked on me or have spoken to, have all told me that the reason they never do the same tattoo twice is because they want to be artists, not just tattooists, and that it is not uncommon for people to ask for an exact replica of an image, to only find that that copying artist makes more money and gains more recognition for an image that they did not create.  This book, and others on tattooing that I own talk about looking for a picture, but never about using that picture as inspiration for a completely new and original art work.  (2) Cultural appropriation - on many occasions, I have seen men and women with tattoos of images that do not relate to their culture, and then behave in a manner which is racist or discriminatory towards those who do belong to the culture of which their tattoo image was taken from. This in itself is a clear example of cultural appropriation, and has never come up in tattoo books either. perhaps this is down to the fact that refusing to tattoo an image for this reason may result in the loss of work for the artist, who is doing their job by giving the customer what they wanted. For this reason, cultural appropriation falls to the customer. 

However, if the book were to discuss these issues, it would be a much thicker book as it would have to delve deeper into politics and social history rather than focusing on the core themes behind tattoos.

In summary, I would recommend this book to any woman who is looking to get a tattoo who wants to learn more about the images that she has in mind. It would also make a great coffee table book to anyone with an interest in female body art or tattooing in general.   

#3 Paddington Bear *updated*

Slip No.3 has now been drawn from the tbr jar.... "Read a Paddington Bear book"

For this one I have selected from the bookshelf 'Love from Paddington : Letters from the world's favourite bear' by Michael Bond, illustrated by Peggy Fortnum and R. W. Alley

Pre-existing fans of Paddington will know that Michael Bond and Peggy Fortnum are the original author/illustrator duo who created Paddington Bear and the charming images of him that we have all come to know and love, however with advancing years, it makes sense to bring in a new artist to carry on creating new paddington artwork once Peggy has to stop for good, and so I look forward to seeing the new life that Alley will bring to the books.  As a life long fan and collector of Paddington bear, and as an avid pen-paller,  I was extra excited when this book was published back in 2014.

I have not read the book fully, having only flicked through at the time of receiving as a Christmas gift that year.

TBR Challenge Participants: if you do not own this Paddington bear title, but have other books from the series, feel free to discuss those in the comments below or in the Paddington thread of the bookshany goodreads group. 

Start Date: 15/02/16
Finish Date: 20/02/16
Star Rating:  4 out of 5
Thoughts and Quotes:

....And with that he put a finger to his lips and we settled down to our cocoa and buns. .....

Love from Paddington, in many ways is a summary or collected edition of the Paddington bear books, in which each 'chapter' takes the form of a letter from Paddington Bear to his Aunt Lucy, which are numbered because Paddington doesn't use dates or fully understand the calendar.

Aunt Lucy reading one of the many letters she received from Paddington

Each letter to Aunt Lucy appears to summarise an adventure had by Paddington from each of the books published prior to this title. For those who want a change in the format of Paddington, you won't find that here, but if like me, you've grown up with Paddington, then 'Love From...' will be a welcome nostalgia trip, complete with marmalade sandwiches, regular visits to Mr Gruber's Antique Shop and even a ride on the London Eye.

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars for ease of reading and lovely illustrations that don't deviate from the original style used in the earlier books. Ideal for existing fans of Paddington Bear, or those who want to introduce their children / children in their life to Paddington and all of his charming antics without the financial investment of buying the complete series of books.

M M Feb Highlights

Mid Month Feb Highlights

This month so far as brought two exciting developments in the worlds where literature and culture meet.
 The first was the introduction of the first ever International Women in STEM Day (Feb 11th),  which if you're struggling to think of notable examples, then 'Headstrong: 52 women who changed science and the world' by Rachel Swaby needs to be added to your tbr pile. For far too long the contributions made by women to STEM fields has been overlooked, and I look forward to seeing positive changes in the future.

The second, and some might argue bigger piece of news, depending on who you're asking is the announcement of  A NEW HARRY POTTER BOOK!!! yes, here at Bookshany, I was that excited I used exclamation points when sharing the news on my own private facebook account. Of course, I have the new book, which shall be the playbook/script for 'Harry Potter and the cursed child' on pre-order at Waterstones. For UK readers, the pre-order cost at Waterstones is £10, which is half price of the final RRP.

Finally, as this weekend brings with it both Galentine's Day, (feb 13th) aimed at celebrating female friendships and Valentine's day (feb 14th) the new titles I've added to my tbr pile are: 'Beautiful Broken Things' by Sara Barnard [the cover itself on the UK release is very beautiful and shiny with accents of light gold and rose gold] and 'I Love You Beth Cooper' by Larry Doyle [I've never seen the film, so I have no idea what happens beyond the synopsis]

What are your recommendations for this month's holidays? Comment below!

Festive Reads: Chinese New Year

As the Chinese new year approaches (Monday 8th Feb 2016 is The Year of The Monkey), I thought about what I knew of the literature of the region of Asia. (China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea etc) and I realised, not much at all.

MCR - Photo Credit: Pamela Berry 2014

I know that my favourite book by a Korean author is 'The hen who dreamed she could fly' by Sun-mi Hwang, which is a beautiful yet simple story of a hen named Sprout, and her determination to be a mother, my favourite foods have their origins in Asia, and that as a fan of manga and Anime, I am familiar with the works of the collective known as CLAMP, the animation studio Studio Ghibli, and the film distributor Tartan Asia / Tartan Asia Extreme (responsible for the import of many Japanese live-action films and horror films), but I have read very little from that region of the world that was a novel, and not a comic [Manga is the name of the comic strip in Japan & South Korea, it differs greatly in style and format to the newspaper comic strips of England, and the brightly coloured American comics industry of which most people are familiar with, having seen comic adaptation films such as batman, Spiderman, superman or tv shows such as Arrow, Smallville for example]

MCR - Photo credit: Pamela Berry 2015

Of course, there are hundreds of English translations of Asian authors works available, if you know where to look, for this Chinese new year's festive reads, I have chosen:

Snakes & Earrings by Hitomi Kanehara
[synopsis can be read here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Snakes-Earrings-Hitomi-Kanehara/dp/009948367X ] 

The Man with the Compound Eyes by Wu Ming-Yi
[synopsis can be read here - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Compound-Eyes-Wu-Ming-Yi/dp/0099575620/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1454414205&sr=1-1&keywords=the+man+with+the+compound+eyes ]      

I will, of course, update with reviews shortly.