Book Haul

Happy Monday!

This past weekend, I bought a few books that have been on my radar for a while. So yes, my bookshelves are losing space at an alarming rate. At this point, I'm pretending that I don't need to invest in another bookcase - which is a blatant lie.

This past weekend, I also decided that I'm going to invest more of my time and my creativity into my blog and my Goodreads account because a) blogging is a passion of mine, b) blog work is something that I'd like to be able to incorporate into my career, and c) Goodreads is an amazing community that I'd like to grow into while applying that growth to my own blog, as well.

I also hope that you all like the aesthetic/layout changes that I made to my blog, over the weekend. The minimalistic aesthetic vibes wonderfully with my personal tastes. While the aesthetic is minimalistic, I wholeheartedly plan on continuing to give the content on this blog, depth and qualities that will generate thought provoking conversation.



Title: What Happened to Goodbye
Author: Sarah Dessen
Genre: Young Adult; Romance; Contemporary; Women's Fiction; Chick Lit
Goodreads Rating: 3.97/ 5 stars
Pages: 402 (Paperback)
Publisher: Speak
Published: April 9, 2013 (Original publication: 2011)

Summary: Following her parents' bitter divorce as she and her father move from town to town, seventeen-year-old Mclean reinvents herself at each school she attends until she is no longer sure she knows who she is or where she belongs.

Sarah Dessen is the author who made me fall in love with contemporary novels and romance novels. I'm a romantic, but a romantic who has zero tolerance for puppy love; toxic NA love; instantaneous love; and most YA love centric novels. But, Dessen isn't your typical YA author. She possesses a wonderful amount of depth and insight, that she isn't afraid to utilize. Dessen also doesn't sugarcoat anything. She's honest and authentic; particularly when it comes to love. Obviously, (I hope it's obvious, anyways) no one and no relationship is perfect. But our imperfections shouldn't keep us from experiencing the beauty and joy of love and being in love, and everything in between.

I'm ecstatic to be getting back into Dessen's work and to be revisiting her novels that were and are the highlights of my contemporary and romantic reading. I'm also incredibly disappointed that I most likely won't be able to meet Dessen on her 2017 summer book tour/promotion for her upcoming release, Once and for All . For any of you that may be interested, here is a link to the dates, times, and locations for the book tour: Dessen book tour 2017 .




Title: Anansi Boys
Author: Neil Gaiman
Series: American Gods #2
Genre: Fantasy; Fiction; Urban Fantasy; Mythology; Science Fiction; Humor; Adult; Contemporary
Goodreads Rating: 4.0/ 5 stars
Pages: 368 (Paperback)
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Published: January 22, 2008 (Original publication: 2005)

Summary: God is dead. Meet the kids.

Fat Charlie Nancy’s normal life ended the moment his father dropped dead on a Florida karaoke stage. Charlie didn’t know his dad was a god. And he never knew he had a brother. Now brother Spider is on his doorstep—about to make Fat Charlie’s life more interesting . . . and a lot more dangerous.

Neil Gaiman is one of my favorite authors - the man is ridiculously talented. I read the first book in this series, American Gods, about three years ago. Although it was confusing at times and somewhat all over the place, it was a fantastically engaging read. It was an instant page turner because you were dying to find out what else Gaiman had up his sleeve.

The second that I got wind of American Gods being adapted by Starz for a TV series, I wanted to reread American Gods and finish the series. The TV series is only three episodes in and Starz has already signed it on for a second season. So far, the show is fantastic. I can't wait to see how the rest of the season will play out. The second episode, "The Secret of Spoons", introduced viewers to the god, Anansi. It was a phenomenal performance by Orlando Jones. It left me on the edge of my seat, dying to see more of Jones.

I believe that watching the show and reading the book simultaneously would be the easiest way to best understand and retain the material. I highly recommend reading the series and checking out the show! Here is a link to the trailer for the show: American Gods .

Title: Everything I Never Told You

Author: Celeste Ng

Genre: Contemporary

Goodreads Rating: 3.77/5 stars

Pages: 292 (Paperback)

Publisher: Penguin Books

Published: May 12, 2015 (Original publication: June 26, 2014)

Summary: Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet . . . So begins this debut novel about a mixed-race family living in 1970s Ohio and the tragedy that will either be their undoing or their salvation. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee; their middle daughter, a girl who inherited her mother’s bright blue eyes and her father’s jet-black hair. Her parents are determined that Lydia will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue—in Marilyn’s case that her daughter become a doctor rather than a homemaker, in James’s case that Lydia be popular at school, a girl with a busy social life and the center of every party.

When Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together tumbles into chaos, forcing them to confront the long-kept secrets that have been slowly pulling them apart.

I've been wanting to check this book out for a while now, and not because of the buzz it's been generating. I'm always on the hunt for books that will serve as a personal compass for my journey towards better understanding myself. I'm a firm believer in books coming into our lives for (generally) unknown reasons at particular moments. And many of those books will allow us to better know who we are and what we want and need in life.

Title: In a Dark, Dark Wood

Author: Ruth Ware

Genre: Mystery; Fiction; Thriller; Suspense

Goodreads Rating: 3.64/5 stars

Pages: 352 (Paperback)

Publisher: Scout Press

Published: April 19, 2016 (Original publication: 2015)

Summary: Sometimes the only thing to fear…is yourself.
When reclusive writer Leonora is invited to the English countryside for a weekend away, she reluctantly agrees to make the trip. But as the first night falls, revelations unfold among friends old and new, an unnerving memory shatters Leonora’s reserve, and a haunting realization creeps in: the party is not alone in the woods.

The mystery/crime fiction/ thriller/suspense scene has been doing a superb job of holding my interest. One of my top favorite bloggers, Abby, the blogger behind Crime by the Book , recommended this book a while back, and I'm finally getting around to it.

Title: Macbeth

Author: William Shakespeare

Genre: Plays; Fiction; Classics; Literature; Theatre; Tragedy

Goodreads Rating: 3.88/ 5 stars

Pages: 336 (Paperback)

Publisher: Barnes and Noble Shakespeare

Published: January 25, 2007 (Original publication: 1606)

Summary: The only Shakespearean tragedy that has a villain as its hero, Macbeth presents a stark and disturbing view of the psychology of wickedness and guilt. The editor, Jesse M. Lander, draws on the early modern literature of witchcraft and demonology to provide an illuminating context for the play.

When you're a fan of Shakespeare and you have to create a power point about Shakespeare and his work, and then present said power point in a literature course, you're bound to want to read more Shakespeare - on your own time.

Title: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Author: Betty Smith

Genre: Classics; Historical; Fiction

Goodreads Rating: 4.24/5 stars

Pages: 493 (Paperback)

Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics

Publication: January 18, 2005 (Original publication: 1943)

Summary: The American classic about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the century.

I  finally purchased this beloved classic.

I have yet to purchase the following book, but I plan on doing so in a bit. It's a new publication by a budding author, that you can purchase from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. It is available as both an e-book and in paperback format.

Title: Strange Fate

Author: Jessica Miller

Series: The Guardians #1

Genre: Romance; New Adult; Paranormal; Fantasy

Goodreads Rating: 3.89/5 stars

Pages: 436 (Paperback)

Publisher: Self-published

Published: January 31, 2017

Summary: Olivia thought she was doomed to spend eternity in purgatory. A punishment worse than death for saving an innocent that was destined to die. Stopping death was against the rules and breaking those rules had consequences. The higher powers decided to give Olivia a second chance to redeem herself with a new charge, little did she know this particular charge would truly make her work for her redemption and lead her back to the person she risked her life to save.

Oliver had everything going for him. A girlfriend he cared for deeply, a best friend who was following him to college and the chance to start his life. That was until one night he ran into the girl he’d been dreaming about since he was five. The beautiful blonde who saved his life thirteen years ago. Oliver can’t believe she’s real and can’t seem to stay away from her, but their reunion isn’t coincidental. Fate has brought them back together for a reason. There is a war brewing between good and evil and destiny has chosen the only two people who can keep the balance and save the world from self-destruction.

Will Oliver and Olivia be able to stop the world from diving into darkness or will they be too blinded by their own inner demons to survive what fate has in store for them?

Sounds like the best of both worlds for the reader who loves a side of romance with his/her paranormal and fantasy reads. Miller is highly appreciative of honest and thorough reviews. If you do check this book out, don't forget to hop onto Goodreads, Amazon, and/or Barnes and Noble's website, and leave a review!

Let me know if you spotted any favorites or any books that you've been looking forward to reading.

Until next time! Thank you for stopping by! And if you have yet to do so, follow me here on my blog via email subscription to be able to stay informed on when new posts are uploaded.

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- A

Book Haul: Mystery & Thriller Week

Early May book haul. This haul was accidentally, but perfectly timed for Goodreads' Mystery & Thriller Week.



Title: The 9th Girl
Author: Tami Hoag
Series: Kovac and Liska #4
Genre: Mystery; Thriller; Suspense; Crime; Fiction
Goodreads Rating: 4.03/ 5 stars
Pages: 499 (Paperback)
Publisher: Dutton (Penguin)
Published: 2016 (Original publication: June 1, 2013)

Summary: On a frigid New Year’s Eve in Minneapolis, a young woman is found brutally murdered—the ninth so far this year in a string of grisly slayings. Homicide detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska fear that it’s the work of a serial killer they call Doc Holiday, a transient who has brought his gruesome game to a new and more terrifying level. But as Kovac and Liska uncover the truth, they find that the monsters in the ninth girl’s life may live closer to home. And even as another young woman disappears, they have to ask the question: Which is the greater evil—the devil you know or the devil you don’t?

Hoag had me hooked the second I started the first book, Ashes to Ashes, in this series. So, of course I had to keep up with the series.

Title: The Cuckoo's Calling

Author: Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)

Series: Cormoran Strike #1

Genre: Mystery; Fiction; Crime; Thriller
Goodreads Rating: 3.83/ 5 stars
Pages: 464 (Paperback)
Publisher: Mulholland Books
Published: April 29, 2014 (Original publication: April 18, 2013)

Summary: After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, the legendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

Introducing Cormoran Strike, this is the acclaimed first crime novel by J.K. Rowling, writing under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.

I'm a diehard fan of Rowling's renowned Harry Potter series; and while I didn't care for her novel, The Casual Vacancy, I figured I would give her other adult novel/series a chance.

Let me know if you spotted any favorites or any books that you've been looking forward to reading.

Until next time! Thank you for stopping by! And if you have yet to do so, follow me here on my blog via email subscription to be able to stay informed on when new posts are uploaded.

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- Anisa

Book Haul

First book haul of November.

My first and possibly last book haul of November, since Christmas is right around the corner. But whether this is the last haul of the month or not, I'm quite pleased with my selections from this past weekend's purchase. Book buyer satisfaction aside, I'm also more than happy to say that there are a series of similar running themes throughout each of these books. In light of the U.S. presidential election, the awful fallout, the amount of hate and ignorance that is still rooted within the country, and the saddening realization that there are many who are unwilling to use their voice to speak out against the ingrained hate and conditioned ignorance, I decided that I needed to turn to the comfort of the written word, as I usually do as a means to calm my nerves. Which is where my recurring theme stems from: characters who aren't afraid to challenge the conventional, government, religion, racism, prejudice, sexism, hate, and ignorance. I wanted authors and novels that addressed despair and greeted "the dark days" like an old friend, all while keeping hope propped up on their shoulders. I believe that hope and divine timing are just as indispensable in a novel as they are in life. Fiction is more than fiction; it's a parallel to reality, a means through which to come to terms with reality and to come to understand and plan for a way to create a better future. To grow in the face of adversity. Without further ado, a few novels to put life, compassion, humanity, humility, courage, and empathy into perspective. (Click on the titles for direct links to the books. The summaries that are below are the summaries provided from Goodreads).

• The Betrothed ~ Alessandro Manzoni

          Set in Lombardy during the Spanish occupation of the late 1620s, The Betrothed tells the story of two young lovers, Renzo and Lucia, prevented from marrying by the petty tyrant Don Rodrigo, who desires Lucia for himself. Forced to flee, they are then cruelly separated, and must face many dangers including plague, famine and imprisonment, and confront a variety of strange characters - the mysterious Nun of Monza, the fiery Father Cristoforo and the sinister 'Unnamed' - in their struggle to be reunited. A vigorous portrayal of enduring passion, The Betrothed's exploration of love, power and faith presents a whirling panorama of seventeenth-century Italian life and is one of the greatest European historical novels.

• The Crucible - Arthur Miller

         (Reread for me).

         Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witch-hunts" in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing, "Political opposition... is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence."

          In the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town's most basic fears and suspicions; and when a young girl accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, self-righteous church leaders and townspeople insist that Elizabeth be brought to trial. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence.

• The Stranger - Albert Camus

        Through the story of an ordinary man unwittingly drawn into a senseless murder on an Algerian beach, Camus explored what he termed "the nakedness of man faced with the absurd." First published in English in 1946; now in a new translation by Matthew Ward.

• Veronika Decides to Die - Paulo Coelho

        Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for: youth and beauty, plenty of attractive boyfriends, a fulfilling job, and a loving family. Yet something is lacking in her life. Inside her is a void so deep that nothing could possibly ever fill it. So, on the morning of November 11, 1997, Veronika decides to die. She takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up.       
         Naturally Veronika is stunned when she does wake up at Villete, a local mental hospital, where the staff informs her that she has, in fact, partially succeeded in achieving her goal. While the overdose didn't kill Veronika immediately, the medication has damaged her heart so severely that she has only days to live.

         The story follows Veronika through the intense week of self-discovery that ensues. To her surprise, Veronika finds herself drawn to the confinement of Villete and its patients, who, each in his or her individual way, reflect the heart of human experience. In the heightened state of life's final moments, Veronika discovers things she has never really allowed herself to feel before: hatred, fear, curiosity, love, and sexual awakening. She finds that every second of her existence is a choice between living and dying, and at the eleventh hour emerges more open to life than ever before.
In Veronika Decides to Die, Paulo Coelho takes the reader on a distinctly modern quest to find meaning in a culture overshadowed by angst, soulless routine, and pervasive conformity

• Dawn - Elie Wiesel

         Elisha is a young Jewish man, a Holocaust survivor, and an Israeli freedom fighter in British-controlled Palestine; John Dawson is the captured English officer he will murder at dawn in retribution for the British execution of a fellow freedom fighter. The night-long wait for morning and death provides Dawn, Elie Wiesel's ever more timely novel, with its harrowingly taut, hour-by-hour narrative. Caught between the manifold horrors of the past and the troubling dilemmas of the present, Elisha wrestles with guilt, ghosts, and ultimately God as he waits for the appointed hour and his act of assassination. Dawn is an eloquent meditation on the compromises, justifications, and sacrifices that human beings make when they murder other human beings.

• To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee

          The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

          Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos.

• The Relic Master - Christopher Buckley

         The year is 1517. Dismas is a relic hunter: one who procures “authentic” religious relics for wealthy and influential clients. His two most important patrons are Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony and soon-to-be Cardinal Albrecht of Mainz. While Frederick is drawn to the recent writing of Martin Luther, Albrecht pursues the financial and political benefits of religion and seeks to buy a cardinalship through the selling of indulgences. When Albrecht’s ambitions increase his demands for grander and more marketable relics, Dismas and his artist friend Dürer conspire to manufacture a shroud to sell to the unsuspecting noble. Unfortunately Dürer’s reckless pride exposes Albrecht’s newly acquired shroud as a fake, so Albrecht puts Dismas and Dürer in the custody of four loutish mercenaries and sends them all to steal Christ’s burial cloth (the Shroud of Chambéry), Europe’s most celebrated relic.

         On their journey to Savoy where the Shroud will be displayed, they battle a lustful count and are joined by a beautiful female apothecary. It is only when they reach their destination that they realize they are not alone in their intentions to acquire a relic of dubious legitimacy. Filled with fascinating details about art, religion, politics and science; Vatican intrigue; and Buckley’s signature wit, The Relic Master is a delightfully rich and intelligent comic adventure.

Until next time! Thank you for stopping by! And if you have yet to do so, follow me here on my blog via email subscription to be able to stay informed on when new posts are uploaded!

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- Anisa