Book – Page 5 – The Reading Nook

Posted on Apr 15, 2019Sep 2, 2019 by TheReadingNook · 6 Comments

All The Light We Cannot See – Anthony Doerr

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‘Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever!’

For Marie-Laure, blind since the age of six, the world is full of mazes. The miniature of a Paris neighbourhood, made by her father to teach her the way home. The microscopic layers within the invaluable diamond that her father guards in the Museum of Natural History. The walled city by the sea, where father and daughter take refuge when the Nazis invade Paris. And a future which draws her ever closer to Werner, a German orphan, destined to labour in the mines until a broken radio fills his life with possibility and brings him to the notice of the Hitler Youth.’ – book blurb

Posted on Apr 11, 2019Sep 2, 2019 by TheReadingNook · 8 Comments

Becoming – Michelle Obama

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‘When she was a little girl, Michelle Robinson’s world was the South Side of Chicago, where she and her brother, Craig, shared a bedroom in their family’s upstairs apartment and played catch in the park, and where her parents, Fraser and Marian Robinson, raised her to be outspoken and unafraid. But life soon took her much further afield, from the halls of Princeton, where she learned for the first time what it felt like to be the only black woman in a room, to the glassy office tower where she worked as a high-powered corporate lawyer – and where, one summer morning, a law student named Barack Obama appeared in her office and upended all her carefully made plans.

Here, for the first time, Michelle Obama describes the early years of her marriage as she struggles to balance her work and family with her husband’s fast-moving political career. She takes us inside their private debate over whether he should make a run for the presidency and her subsequent role as a popular but oft-critized figure during his campaign. Narrating with grace, good humour, and uncommon candor, she provides a vivid, behind-the-scenes account of her family’s history-making launch into the global limelight as well as their life inside the White House over eight momentous years – as she comes to know her country and her country comes to know her.

Becoming takes us through modest Iowa kitchens and ballrooms at Buckingham Palace, through moments of heart-stopping grief and profound resilience, bringing us deep into the soul of a singular, groundbreaking figure in history as she strives to live authentically, marshaling her personal strength and voice in service of a set of higher ideals. In telling her story with honesty and boldness, she issues a challenge to the rest of us : Who are we and who do we want to become?’ – book blurb

Posted on Apr 4, 2019Sep 2, 2019 by TheReadingNook · 4 Comments

March Wrap Up

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I can’t believe another month has already passed! It feels like only a few days ago that I was compiling my February wrap up. I’m quite happy with the books I read this month, I got through a good few of the books on my Goodreads list. I would have liked to add a few more to the list but oh well, there’s always April!

Posted on Mar 31, 2019Sep 3, 2019 by TheReadingNook · 2 Comments

Blood Orange – Harriet Tyce

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‘Just one more night. Then I’ll end it.

Alison has it all : loving husband, daughter and a career on the rise – she’s about to defend her first murder case. Why is she risking everything for someone who treats her with no respect?

I did it. I killed him.

Alison’s client stabbed her husband ; she wants to plead guilty. And yet something about her story feel off…

I’m watching you. I know what you’re doing.

Someone knows Alison’s secret. Someone who wants to make her pay for what she’s done, and who wont stop until she’s lost everything…’

Posted on Mar 29, 2019Sep 3, 2019 by TheReadingNook · 11 Comments

The Seven Deaths Of Evelyn Hardcastle – Stuart Turton

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‘”The Rules of Blackheath : Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11pm. There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit. We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer. Understood? Then let’s begin…”

Evelyn Hardcastle will die. Every day until Aiden Bishop can identify her killer and break the cycle. But every time the day begins again, Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest. And some of his hosts are more helpful than others’ – Goodreads

Posted on Mar 20, 2019Sep 3, 2019 by TheReadingNook · 9 Comments

The Ghost Orchid – Carol Goodman

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‘For more than one hundred years, creative souls have traveled to Upstate New York to work under the captivating spell of the Bosco estate. Cradled in silence, inspired by the rough beauty of overgrown gardens and crumbling statuary, these chosen few fashion masterworks–and have cemented Bosco’s reputation as a premier artists’ colony. This season, five talented artists-in-residence find themselves drawn to the history of Bosco, from the extensive network of fountains that were once its centerpiece but have long since run dry to the story of its enigmatic founder, Aurora Latham, and the series of tragic events that occurred more than a century ago.

Posted on Mar 18, 2019Sep 3, 2019 by TheReadingNook · 5 Comments

This Is Going To Hurt – Adam Kay

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‘Adam Kay was a junior doctor from 2004 until 2010, before a devastating experience on a ward caused him to reconsider his future. He kept a diary throughout his training, and This Is Going to Hurt intersperses tales from the front line of the NHS with reflections on the current crisis. The result is a first-hand account of life as a junior doctor in all its joy, pain, sacrifice and maddening bureaucracy, and a love letter to those who might at any moment be holding our lives in their hands.’

Posted on Mar 17, 2019Sep 3, 2019 by TheReadingNook · 6 Comments

Another Book Haul

Posted on Mar 16, 2019Mar 11, 2019 by TheReadingNook · 2 Comments

The Library Lover’s Book Tag

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So, since I’m becoming such a pro at these tag things, I thought I’d give this one a try. I wasn’t actually tagged in this one, but I saw it on Jack’s Bedtime Reading and thought it looked like a good one to do, especially since I’m using my local library more than ever before the past few months. So, here it goes!

-How often do you visit your local library?

Usually about once or twice a fortnight – I get a lot of books ordered to my library, so I tend to go in when I get a notification that a book is waiting for me. I haven’t just gone for a browse in a while though, because I have so many books already waiting to be read.

-Are you the type of person who checks out more books than you can read or are you someone who checks out the exact amount of books you intend to read before they are due?

Oh God, I am SO bad for taking out too many books. I’ve had to restrain myself a lot, because I’m like a kid at a candy store when I go in there, I’ll have an armful of books that I will never get through on time, so I’ve had to stop myself doing that!

-How old were you when you got your first library card?

I can’t really remember, but I know I was youngish. My mam signed me up for it and I remember reading a whooooooole lot of Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High books from the library. Oh and The Saddle Club books. Who else remembers The Saddle Club? They were great!

-Do you go to your library for a particular book or do you check out anything that piques your interest?

Lately I’ve just been going to collect the books that I’ve specifically ordered in, so I don’t make it past the reception desk. I have so many books already that I need to get through that I don’t really have time to pick up random library books, I wouldn’t get through them on time!

-Do you only check out books or do you also get DVDs, audiobooks, etc?

Yes, I only check out books. Audiobooks aren’t really for me, and I have Netflix, regular television etc for when I want to watch programmes or films. So just books for me!

-From what section do you check out most of your books?

General fiction usually, if it’s my local library – it’s really small so their selections aren’t amazing. There is another library that’s fairly close to me also though and they have a great YA and fantasy section that I’ve been known to peruse on occasion!

-What is your favourite part of using your local library?

The free books! The online ordering system is great too, I can request a book from any library in the country and they will send it to my local library when it becomes available. I love to buy books, but unfortunately they are so expensive, so the library is great. I don’t understand why people wouldn’t avail of the service, I think it’s amazing. I’m a huge library fan (obviously!!)

I really enjoyed this tag, libraries are one of my favourite places to go! Like before, I’m not going to tag anyone, I just did this because I saw it and thought it seemed fun.

Posted on Mar 14, 2019Sep 3, 2019 by TheReadingNook · 4 Comments

Lisette’s List – Susan Vreeland

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‘In 1937, Lisette Roux and her husband, André, move from Paris to a village in Provence to care for André’s grandfather Pascal. Lisette regrets having to give up her dream of becoming a gallery apprentice, but she soon discovers the the hilltop town is rich with unexpected pleasures, and that Pascal once worked as a frame maker, befriending Pissarro and Cézanne and trading his frames for paintings. Pascal begins to tutor Lisette in both art and life, and inspired by his advice, Lisette begins a list of vows to herself (#4 Learn what makes a painting great). When war breaks out, André goes off to the front, but not before hiding Pascal’s paintings to keep them from the Nazis’ reach. With the fall of Paris, Lisette sets out to locate the paintings. Her search takes her through the stunning French countryside, where she will learn to forgive the past, to live robustly, and to love again.’