#staycationswap

@AmyG Thank you for everything! I love Norway, and Maine is on my go-to list ;) You chose everything so well, excited to dive in these books.

@Chrissyreadit, @DinoMom Thanks for organizing this great swap ;)

What a cute manga! Loved it, I will definitely read the other books in the series.
Themes: homosexuality in Japan, prejudices, tolerance, family, etc.
I like how the different characters evolve, how Tagame mixes awkwardness with humor. It's been on my tbr list for a while, so happy to have read it.

Soft pick - 3/5
This book contains mostly paintings of women holding things. Some of the text is purely descriptive, used to describe the paintings. But some poetry can also be found, always in relation to the paintings and to the concept of “holding things.“
Like all art and poetry books, some pieces are more appealing than others, or are resonating more than others with me. Hence the soft pick.

Excellent book about AI
Across chapters dealing with different themes (livelihood, health, freedom, etc.), the author presents the hopes vs the reality/limitations of AI.
She reminds readers that it's foremost a statistical tool made out of data, by men, and that using it without human oversight could have dangerous/unfair consequences.
She also asks relevant questions about the making and future of it, and its possible impact on society.

Here is my June wrap-up... A lot of books read, a lot of short books too.
I keep on with the manga series Blue Period, while some books are less interesting, the book 10 was good. I love how this manga shows how hard the creation process is. I'll definitely keep on reading this series till the end.
Also read a lot of children's books. I highly recommend Slow Down, interesting content and beautifully illustrated ;)

In this graphic novel, we follow Paul in his first experience as a counselor at a summer camp in the 1970s.
I haven't read the first book in the series, but it's really not a problem. This book is readable by itself.
Well done, with interesting themes: coming of age, first responsibilities, first love, self-confidence, etc.

#FridayNightShare #MidsummerSolace

🌞 I don't have a go-to book when I'm feeling low or struggling. Just the act of isolating to dive in a book brings me peace and comfort.
🌞 My favorite format is physical books 📚 While I read a huge ton of magazines online, ebooks I rarely read. I just can't do audio.
🌞 I read mostly inside. During the day, on my couch in the living room, at night in bed ;)

@Chrissyreadit @TheBookHippie

@AmyG - I just dropped your package at USPS, so keep an eye for it ;)
Really looking forward to opening day. Hope you'll enjoy what I picked for you!
#Staycationswap
@Chrissyreadit @DinoMom thanks again for organizing this swap

What a wonderful book!! Highly recommend for kids, but also for adults.
Each page is beautifully illustrated, showcasing to the reader a moment in nature, reminding us to pause to admire the beauty of our surroundings.
Definitely a book crush ;)

2.75
Glad to have read this short classic of the romantic era. While it's a so-so read for me, it led to an interesting conversation at my French book club.

3.5/5
Time isn't the same for Murano glassmakers, and so we travel through centuries with the same family, discovering their trade, their ordeals, and how the outside world influenced their glassmaking process.
Well-written, I enjoyed the parts about the glassmaking process, and the evolution of the trade.

Claire Keegan delivers here quite a sad, but not uncommon tale of an unhappy marriage.
Quite atmospheric, it's a well-written short story.

2.75 - soft pick
Published in 1992, this first book in a series introduces the character of Blanche White, a black American working as a housekeeper in North Carolina.
A lot of setting the scene, also a lot of social/political commentary (at times repetitive), with the actual murder occurring only at half the book.
Loved the way the house is used in her writing.
Curious to read the second book to see how her storytelling evolves.

Thanks @AmyG
I received your package 📦 Still working on mine. Waiting to receive the books I ordered specifically for you ☺️
Looking forward to the 4th of July to open it.
#Staycationswap
@Chrissyreadit @DinoMom Thanks for organizing this swap

3/5 - topical, interesting but aggravating book to read.
Everyone in this book, including the author, seemed very amateurish, sometimes incompetent, and yes, careless.
While the author points at clear dysfunctions and at the lack of values, and shares her disenchantment, it was hard for me to take her seriously: her appalling naivety, her indecision about quitting (she actually gets fired) makes me think that she too sold her values for money.

Nice fun read. I wish the cartoons featured would be placed back in context. Often, press cartoons are linked to a specific news story, I feel it would have added value...
Overall, it's a nice read to unwind.

Soft pick - 3/5
Alia, librarian in Basra, Iraq, does her best to save the books of her library from being destroyed by the raging war.
Why soft pick? Not a fan of the illustrations and of the writing style.

Nice reading month for me, yeah 👍
The first two books are not available in English, but my third favorite is the tagged book ;)
Since I left a couple of book clubs, I feel I have more time to read books I'm interested in, hence reading more books.

Finished this one this morning. I liked it more than the first book in the series. As the first book, it's little stories (memories), but it felt more connected to me, or perhaps I'm getting used to the narrative style.
The Loop is closed, but a strange flood happens... A lot of the text is related to said flood.
Quick, interesting read, beautifully illustrated. 80s-90s nostalgia meets dystopian parallel universe (made me think of Sliders).

Enjoyable middle school read about Marion, a young girl chosen to serve Madame de Montespan, Louis XIV's favorite.
Marion, daughter of a gardener, is a gifted nose. Her talent for perfume is going to place her in the middle of an intrigue to kill the queen...

Another interesting mystery led by now Chief inspector Darko Dawson.
It's nice to see the evolution of the different characters (Dawson and his family). It's the 4th book in the series, I already put a hold on the 5th (the last) book of the series.
Set in another region of Ghana, this mystery brings us to the illegal gold mines of the Ashanti region.

New books from Nowhere book store ;)
Looking forward to diving into them.

On the fence on this one. I honestly value the creativity and the world building, but on that last note, I feel something is missing. It's like a series of disconnected events. I'll read the other books in the series to see if they satisfy me more.

Talking about satisfaction... I'll enjoy a nice cup of green tea, with a delicious tart... Miam !

Nice fictional introduction to Christina Olsen, and to the artist Andrew Wyeth.
Kline's writing transports us to this isolated house to meet Christina's world. Effortlessly, we plunge into another time and place, into the intimacy of a guarded woman, hurt by life, who only wants to be seen.

I really enjoyed diving into this book which makes you question who you are as a reader. A nice tale of friendship, and a coming of age story worth the read.

*Not in English* A2/B1 level - 5/5
In this powerful book, Anne Plantagenet brings back humanity to Letizia Storti, a woman she met during the shooting of a movie, a woman she interviewed, who had been working for over 35 years in a plant.
It's a really sad story, unfortunately not uncommon, of a woman broken by the company she dedicated so many years to. Plantagenet describes all the events which led Letizia to her suicide attempt at her work. ⬇️

3.75/5
While I prefer Foster and Small Things Like These, these three short stories are still very representative of Keegan's writing style: well-written story which slowly but surely sucks you in.

New day, new books, yeah 📚📚📚

I really love the collection The Passenger by Europa Editions, so any new book, I automatically buy from Bookshop.

And I also received my Book of the Month selection.
Very nice to have book mail, after a lovely morning spent with the San Antonio silent book club, and a lunch with a dear friend.

Now, guess what??? I'll read some more, haha

I decided to drop two of my book clubs...

I'm a member of too many book clubs, and I tried to push myself to only read the books I found interesting, but it just doesn't work for me, and I end up trying to read them anyway, and then I get overwhelmed.

So here are the books I plan on reading next. Only one is a book club pick, which I happened to choose, haha.

I want my reading to be more fun for me ;)

2/5
What a disappointment... I had so much difficulty going through this book. Interesting ideas but their presentation is boring and very repetitive. It is also lacking in depth.

Welcome to @McMeredithLemonMeringue 🎆🎉🎆

It's always great to have friends from real life joining Litsy. Let's give her a warm welcome!!!

Last book read in April!
I'm not going to lie, it's a slow read. Still, it's well-written, well-researched, and interesting. I've learned a lot from reading it. I feel the author did a great job trying to stay as unbiased as possible, and to give, as much as he could, the point of view of the natives.

Overall a good reading month ;) I can recommend the three pictured books ;)

After cleaning pretty much the whole house, I deserve coffee + some reading time.
But before reading, here's a short review for tagged and pictured book: I still very much enjoy this series. The 3rd book is quite entertaining, I like keeping on learning about art, about Japanese art school systems. Plus, love to see the progress of the main character. It's really great to see the main character's journey and resilience.

Barbara Butcher shares her experience as a New York City Death Investigator, showing us how the system actually works. She talks about how she struggled with alcoholism, and how it led her to this job.
Overall a well-written and interesting read. She talks about several of her cases, and shares what she learned about the dead, but also about the living and life in general.

This book led to a very interesting conversation at my book club, plenty of themes: grief, justice/revenge, etc.

What makes a good person? When justice fails, are we allowed to seek revenge? How do we grieve? How do we react to people's grief?

Very well constructed plot, with different shades of grey. It's the type of books I really enjoy, books that make you question things, without leading you to an answer.

Literary quote of the day from my “Sorry, I'm booked“ mug a dear friend gifted to me.

Wish you all to find your happy place ;)

Fast read, Hallmark story with a little bit of Freddy in the mix.

On one side, the perfect family, very loving, and on the other side, an evil young man who likes to kill + a love story with a rock star. Well, the good vs evil, with no grey area, not my cup of tea, neither is the romance.

When I read this type of books, I keep thinking that it would be better with more shades of grey.

Morning coffee as I need fuel for my morning reading!

I finished the tagged book Friday, but I gave my copy to a member of my French reading group who didn't get the chance to get a copy.

This book was a so-so for me, but it led to a very interesting conversation about “les cités“ (projects) in France.
French is my native language, and I really enjoyed having a French book club and conversation club here in San Antonio.

New books, shipped directly from France!
Two are for my French book club, and the two others are for one of my English book club. When it's a translation, I prefer to read the book in my native language.
Yes, I could have bought ebooks, but I read enough magazines on my computer, my eyes need physical books 📚

2.5/5 - soft so-so

While I enjoyed some stories, too many left me really not interested. I disliked the lack of world building, and the orality of his writing. My favorites were Victory Lap, The Semplica girls diaries, and Escape from Spiderhead.

Cup of coffee + a book I'm about to start...
I've started so many books I want to finish, but need to read this one by Friday because I have to lead the book discussion (the person supposed to had a family emergency).
I really hope I'm going to like it...

Illustrated poem by Jacques Prévert for kids.
A lovely poem with nice illustrations.
Jacques Prévert is a very accessible poet, he wrote poems for kids, but also for adults.

I actually preferred this book over the first one in the series. I still like the concept of including art pieces made by actual artists. And it's a fun way to learn about art techniques. It's also nice to follow the progression of the main character.

2/5
Not my cup of tea.
Good writing, but the story didn't work for me. I didn't gain an interest for any of the characters, and I'm sure the story won't stay with me.

3/5 - soft pick
WWII in Italy, we follow Pino Lella from an awkward young adult to the end of the war. From his role in the resistance helping Jews to flee through the mountains to his uncomfortable role as a spy. All the experiences of war, good and bad.
Entertaining story based on a true story... How much is actually factual should be kept in mind.

2.5/5
In this book, that I'm sure will soon be translated into English, Édouard Louis recounts how his mom escaped, with his support, from an abusive relationship.
Some parts I found very interesting, but I had difficulty with his tone and ideas sometimes, hence the so-so.

3.5/5
Quick tale for adults with interestingly weird illustrations.
Tale of the past, tale also about the future. Well-constructed, and interesting. I enjoyed the short ride.

4.5/5
Well-written historical fiction about how war changes society and social rules. I found the characters diverse and well-developed, and I liked the evolution of the different characters.
While not everyone gets a happy end, it's still a feel-good book, full of humor. It offered me a perfect escape ;)

3/5 - Quick read, second book in the Wren Muller series. The descriptions are very realistic when it comes to what happens to bodies, so if you're sensitive, it may not be a book for you.
Writing is okay, the plot is interesting enough to want to finish the book. Some of the descriptions of the emotional states of characters are redundant and sound superficial.