so-soUnfortunately books like Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds and Blood Water Paint by Joy McCullough have set my expectations for YA novels in verse incredibly high. While I thought this was interesting, and really enjoyed the setting of a girl cleaning and exploring out of a Jewish cemetery this just didn't blow me away in language the way it did others. I do think it helps if you know some Yiddish and Hebrew words.
so-soI alternated between the print book and audiobook on this one. I really like it on a word-and-sentence level, and the imagery is vivid, which I love, but the overall meaning eludes me. This is possibly the point, but it also makes the novel a little too slippery. I still love Oyeyemi's writing, but this one doesn't quite hit for me.
Audiocooking (granola, chicken, Brussels sprouts, NOT all mixed together) to the tagged book, which is leaving me feeling a little drunk and a lot like I need to visit Prague.
A couple of finds today: a not very old Puffin edition of former National Poet of Wales, Gwyn Jones' Mabinogion retelling, but it has an evocative cover and some nice line illustrations.
The Golem is one of my favourite books, and this is a new to me translation, published in Czechia, so I'm guessing the original owner bought it as a souvenir, but that's an assumption as unreliable as the narrator.
🧀+🍷+🌰+📚+🎶=😌
pickWhether it's visual art, music, movies, or literature, I love seeing an artist reference their own favorite influences. In Oyeyemi's latest, she mashes up two Calvino novels - If on a winter's night and Invisible Cities (maybe more? - those are the only two I've read) with a few nods to Borges mixed in. It's perfect fuel for this meditation on the infinity of mental representations of the same city that exist in the minds of its visitors 👇
A friend brought us a bouquet from her garden yesterday, and I thought it would look nice with these library holds I‘m very excited about!! 💜📚💐
pickWe have a fantastic novel to discuss this week. Laurent Binet's debut novel “HHhH“ has been on both our radars since its release over a decade ago and our high expectations were met and exceeded by this brilliant, thrilling, and important book. We highly recommend this book and we hope you enjoy our conversation about all things “HHhH.“
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0YJ0Hwirv08rBPPHBry1oQ
I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!
#ABookADay2023
pickI absolutely loved this little gem of a book. It comes in at only 155 pages but Chatwin says so much within those pages in this elegant novel about a collector of Meissen porcelain in Communist-era Prague.
Second finish for #RushAThon #Readathon
@Andrew65
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