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Today I learned...🥭

This book was amazing! You have to read it. Ressa is a Philippine American dual citizen, journalist, and Nobel Peace Prize winner. Her story is incredible. She describes her work to preserve the integrity of journalism and democracy in the Philippines, the global south, and the world. What she‘s been through under Duterte and his successor, her fight against Facebook/social media misinformation…it‘s all so relevant. Just take my word and read it.

Whoops! Late to post my (nonfic heavy) #ReadingBracket2025.

Aimee Nezhukumatathil will *always* end up on the board whenever she‘s got a book to enter into the fray.

Titles written below (for those of us who struggle with tiny print):

Jan: The Witching Year by Diana Helmuth
Feb: Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson
Mar: Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Wild: Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel 🏆
Wild: Eight Bears by Gloria Dickie

#DynamicDs Day 7: I loved seeing how the two friends were able to tell each other about the things they love through their dancing hands. The Afterword provides information about Filipino Sign Language and how it is distinct from American Sign Language. People tend to assume homogeneity among the non-speaking, #differentlyabled communities, and this book shows how this is not the case. My review of this award-winning book: https://wp.me/pDlzr-r64

I used to try to read aloud to my pet house rabbit and, though she was my little soul-twin in many ways, she was decidedly uninterested; she preferred a cozy silence.

Bite by Bite will go down in personal memory as the first book I read aloud to my pup. He *loved* it. We started with Nezhukumatathil‘s essay on potatoes. Jett is now my “best spud.” 🥔 He also loved the chapter on maple syrup. As such, I‘m unable to rate this book objectively.

“No one survives a war's front lines without ghosts clinging to them.”

The planning of the actual rescue mission of the prisoner of war camp was thoroughly and meticulously researched from several primary sources. A must-read for those who want to know more about World War II in the Pacific.

Many trigger warnings -violence, massacre, torture, starvation.

Very memorable moment was during the rescue - the POWs were so traumatized that they had to be persuaded to leave. It broke my heart.

#LitsyAtoZ @Texreader

Like other books set in WWII Philippines, parts of this book is brutal. The treatment the soldiers received from the Japanese was horrendous and this book does not sugar coat any of it. Specifically, the scenes on the warship were the stuff of nightmares.

I liked that the story was told from the perspectives of the two main characters, Sam and Sarah.

Full review: https://oddandbookish.wordpress.com/2025/01/15/review-hold-strong/

This book gives you something to think about and is completely different from anything I‘ve read in the past … Alon is an islander that protects people from the Diwata … who or what that is is explained during an intrusion from a crew of Hollywoods actors and tv crew … as with all of Rin Chupeco‘s writings this is top of the list in originality … I love this read and know that any book by this author is a must read