The Island of Missing Trees was recommended as a "must read" by my dear friend Diana. Until now, all her recommendations became favourite books ... so I knew I have to read is as soon as possible. Plus, Elif Shafak is one of my favourite writers ever, alongside Margaret Atwood and Haruki Murakami. I read … Continue reading The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak (book review) – about figs, humans, and other stories
Tag: fiction
The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida won the Booker Prize in 2022 - that's how I first heard about it. I only knew it told the story of a war photographer from Sri Lanka who died and woke up in a “celestial visa office”. Quite intriguing, isn't it?! A small fun-fact before going further - … Continue reading Afterlife and Sri Lankan civil wars: The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka (book review)
All I knew about this book before reading it was: ghost story, bookseller as main character, shortlisted for Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022. Oh, and it was supposed to be super funny as well! Now, after reading the book, I can say that my initial hypotheses were only a fraction of what The Sentence offers. … Continue reading The power of books and a wicked ghost: The Sentence by Louise Erdrich (book review)
One of my favourite childhood books was a collection of stories about Greek mythology. I was fascinated by Artemis and Athena, by Poseidon and Apollo. Later on, my fascination with mythologies from other cultures continued - discovering the Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman (my review), and more recently learning about the Indian gods and beliefs. … Continue reading Women’s voices from Greek mythology: Phaedra by Laura Shepperson and The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood (book review)
Every culture has folklore stories that are passed on from generation to generation, carrying the beliefs and wisdom of those times. Sometimes they provide great advice, sometimes they're totally out-of-sync with the cultural shifts and mindsets of the current times. Author Stela Brinzeanu started from one local Moldavian legend she hated - a legend infused … Continue reading Moldavian folklore and fearless women: Set in Stone by Stela Brinzeanu (book review)
Do you know that cozy feeling of meeting an old friend after a long time? That's exactly how I felt when I reading The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton, sequel of The Miniaturist (my review). What a lovely rendezvous! The House of Fortune in a nutshell The House of Fortune tells the fiction story … Continue reading Spellbinding sequel of The Miniaturist: The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton (book review)
John Wyndham is one of the authors I discovered through Ariel Bissett - the only booktuber I follow - in this video about classics. Funnily enough, in the video she explained how she hated The Chrysalids because of her teacher at that time ... no idea what convinced me to read the book she hated … Continue reading Dystopic science-fiction worlds: The Chrysalids and The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (mini book reviews)
Stacey Halls is one of the writers I discovered through a fellow blogger - Chantelle from Wild Library Blog. After reading her review of The Familiars, I knew I have to read the book ... and it was love at first page read. It's no wonder that I continued the journey with reading The Foundling, … Continue reading Charming historical fiction: The Familiars and The Foundling by Stacey Halls (mini book reviews)
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel presented itself as the awaited opportunity to discover the writer I heard so often about ... yes, you guessed it, I refer to her other book, Station Eleven. I avoided to read Station Eleven as much as I could, simply because I did not want to read … Continue reading Time travelling and life on the Moon: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel (book review)
Being shortlisted for a famous literary prize is like a springboard to get on the radar of so many readers! That's how I found out about Ruth Ozeki and her book The Book of Form and Emptiness - after it was shortlisted on the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2022. Only few days later I noticed … Continue reading (Un)Twisted reality and talking objects: The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki (book review)
Readers' High Tea 